ANTI SEMITISM IN AMERICA: An Israeli Soldier to American Jews: Wake up!

A former liberal Israeli, shocked by anti-Israeli anti-antisemitism in America.

As a young Israeli who had just completed five years of service in the IDF, I looked forward to my new job educating people in the Pacific Northwest about Israel. I was shocked, however, by the anti-Israel bigotry and hostility I encountered, especially in the greater Seattle area, Oregon, and Berkeley. I had been very liberal, a member of the leftist Zionist party, Meretz, but the anti-Semitism and hatred for Israel that I have seen in the U.S. has changed my outlook personally and politically.

As part of my work as an educator at StandWithUs, between January and May of this year, I  traveled to college campuses, high schools and churches, sharing the history of modern Israel.  I also shared personal stories about growing up in the Jewish state, and about my family. I always spoke about my military service as an officer in an IDF COGAT unit that attends to the needs of Palestinian civilians who are not involved in the conflict and promotes Palestinian civil society. Each time I would speak and take questions for an hour or more. I have shared my personal story with over 16,000 people at many, many college campuses and high schools, including UC Berkeley, Stanford, the University of Washington, Seattle University and many others. Many of those to whom I spoke were supportive, friendly, and open to hearing about my Israel. But, sadly, far too many were not.

When I served as a soldier in the West Bank, I got used to having ugly things said to me, but nothing prepared me for the misinformation, demonization of Israel, and the gut-wrenching, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic hostility expressed by many students, professors, church members, and even some high school students right here in the Pacific Northwest.

I was further shocked by how unaware the organized Jewish community is and how little they are actually doing to counter this rising anti-Semitism, which motivated me to write this article.

This new form of bigotry against Israel has been called the “new anti-Semitism,” with “Israel” replacing “Jew” in traditional anti-Semitic imagery and canards, singling out and discriminating against the Jewish state, and denying the Jewish people alone the right to self-determination. The new anti-Semitism is packaged in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS), which claims to champion Palestinian rights though its real goal is to erode American support for Israel, discredit Jews who support Israel, and pave the way for eliminating the Jewish state. One of BDS’ central demands is the “complete right of return” for all the descendants of the original Palestinian refugees, subtle language that means the end of Israel as the Jewish homeland because it would turn Israel into a Palestinian-Arab majority state.

It is surprising that an extremist group like BDS is ever taken seriously, but BDS advocates have found receptive audiences in some circles. Their campaigns are well organized and in many cases, well financed. They have lobbied universities, corporations, food co-ops, churches, performing artists, labor unions, and other organizations to boycott Israel and companies that do business with Israel. But even if these groups don’t agree to treat Israel as a pariah state, the BDS activists manage to spread their anti-Israel misinformation, lies and prejudice simply by forcing a debate based on their false claims about Israel.

To give you a taste of the viciousness of the BDS attacks, let me cite just a few of the many shocking experiences I have had. At a BDS event in Portland, a professor from a Seattle university told the assembled crowd that the Jews of Israel have no national rights and should be forced out of the country. When I asked, “Where do you want them to go?” she calmly answered, “I don’t care. I don’t care if they don’t have any place else to go. They should not be there.” When I responded that she was calling for ethnic cleansing, both she and her supporters denied it. And during a presentation in Seattle, I spoke about my longing for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. When I was done, a woman in her 60’s stood up and yelled at me, “You are worse than the Nazis. You are just like the Nazi youth!” A number of times I was repeatedly accused of being a killer, though I have never hurt anyone in my life. On other occasions, anti-Israel activists called me a rapist. The claims go beyond being absurd – in one case, a professor asked me if I knew how many Palestinians have been raped by IDF forces. I answered that as far as I knew, none. She triumphantly responded that I was right, because, she said, “You IDF soldiers don’t rape Palestinians because Israelis are so racist and disgusted by them that you won’t touch them.”

Such irrational accusations are symptomatic of dangerous anti-Semitism. Yet, alarmingly, most mainstream American Jews are completely oblivious to this ugly movement and the threat it poses. They seem to be asleep, unaware that this anti-Jewish bigotry is peddled on campuses, by speakers in high schools, churches, and communities, and is often deceptively camouflaged in the rhetoric of human rights.

The American Jewish community and its leaders are not providing a united front to combat this latest threat. Unfortunately, this repeats a pattern of Jewish communal groups failing to unite in a timely way to counter threats against us individually and as a community.

Shockingly, a small but very vocal number of Jews actively support BDS. They often belong to organizations that prominently include “Jewish” in their names, like Jewish Voice for Peace, to give cover to BDS and the anti-Semitism that animates it. A question that we, as a Jewish community must ask ourselves, is whether it is ever appropriate to include and accept Jews who support BDS and directly or indirectly advocate the ultimate elimination of the Jewish State of Israel.

I think it is not.

My experiences in America have changed me. I never expected to encounter such hatred and lies. I never believed that such anti-Semitism still existed, especially in the U.S. I never knew that the battlefield was not just Gaza, the West Bank, and hostile Middle Eastern countries wanting to destroy Israel and kill our citizens and soldiers. It is also here in America, where a battle must be waged against prejudice and lies.

I implore American Jews: do more.

Israel cannot fight this big battle alone. If you are affiliated with a Jewish organization, let it know you want it to actively, openly and unequivocally oppose the BDS campaign and those who support it. Inform yourself, your friends and families, by visiting websites of organizations like StandWithUs, Jewish Virtual Library, AIPAC, AJC and others that will update you and provide information about BDS and anti-Semitism.

I urge the organized Jewish community and its members to wake up and stand up for the Jewish state of Israel, and for all it represents, and for all it works to achieve.

Times of Israel 

HATE MONGERS : BDS calls on Rolling Stones to cancel plans for Israel- But they're wasting their time because the Stones are legends not to be intimidated by cretins

Facebook page calls on legendary British rockers to boycott Israel "due to the state's crimes against humanity." But the stones are legendary and will not be intimidated by wasters and liars.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement wasted little time in trying to convince legendary British rockers The Rolling Stones to cancel their plans to perform in Israel for the first time.

Just days after The Jerusalem Post broke the story that the Stones were closing in on a June 10 show at Ramat Gan Stadium, the BDS movement opened a Facebook page Wednesday, calling on the band to cancel their plans to play in Israel "due to the state's crimes against humanity."

"This page has been under attack by unskilled Mossad-paid script-kiddies. They've been neutralized. Now it is time to bring the Zionist regime to it's knees, be it by stones or with a swift kick to the wallet. Don't bother, Rolling Stones. Israel will probably not exist come June."A Thursday post on the Facebook page claimed that pro-Israel hackers had unsuccessfully attempted to take down the site.

A previous BDS efforts failed to stop R&B singerAlicia Keys from performing in Israel last year.

The Jerusalem Post quoted a source as saying on Monday that the Rolling Stones show will probably be promoted by Shuki Weiss, who has been involved with many of the top international performances of recent years including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, Depeche Mode and Metallica  and  who represents all LiveNation concerts and events in Israel.

The Stones, led by iconic front man Mick Jagger and prototypical guitar god Keith Richards, emerged alongside The Beatles in the early 1960s to become one of the most successful groups in rock & roll history, with hits ranging from “Satisfaction” in 1965 to “Honky Tonk Women” in 1969 and “Miss You” in 1978.

Since their acclaimed 1981 album Tattoo You, the band has not been very impressive in the studio, but instead has relied on its potent live shows to fill stadiums and arenas around the world.

After a few years of inactivity, the band returned with a vengeance at the end of 2012, for their 50th anniversary, and toured extensively throughout 2013.

In December, the Stones’ bass player Darryl Jones visited Israel and performed with the Australian- based hard rockers Dead Daisies at a sold-out show at the Barby Club in Tel Aviv.

Second rate artist and attention seeker Roger Waters attacks Neil Young and Scarlett Johansson

Second rate singer and attention seeker Roger Waters has accused both singer Neil Young and actress Scarlett Johansson of supporting Israel and neglecting human rights. 

He's not on about the human rights of Israelis not to be bombed or blasted by rockets, this idiot is talking about the fictional neglecting of human rights that only occur in this morons mind.

Neil Young is scheduled to appear in Israel this July while Johansson has recently signed on as Israeli company Soda Stream's spokeswomanamid controversy over the company's factory in Mishor Adumim, in the West Bank.

The second rate artist goes on to cite several 'alleged' human rights abuses by Israel, including political discrimination against Beduin communities in the South and citizens who are not Jewish. But this ever so concerned liberal doesn't mention the Israeli victims of rocket attacks or the tortured Israeli kidnap victims. He doesn't mention the lost human rights of thousands of a Israelis who were thrown off their land in Gaza in 2005 and he doesn't seem to care about the 'human rights' of the Israeli victims of bus bombs, suicide attacks and shoots.

He also points out that many of the workers in Soda Stream's Mishor Adumim factory are residents of the West Bank and as such they do not enjoy Israeli citizenship. 

Well if the West Bank was part of a Israel proper they would get Israeli citizenship but this idiot avoids this obvious fact.

Rogers has been a long supporter of the campaign for boycott and divestment against Israel and has accused the country of being an "apartheid state."

He is a vile anti Semite bigot and in our opinion a rubbish artist and so it's not surprising he's resorted to being another trouble maker. Perhaps he might get more notice than his music got him.

A Slap in the Face for Anti-Israel BDS Movement

Abbas's stance against the BDS campaign should serve as a wake up call to all its supporters, especially those who are not Palestinians, that negative campaigns only serve to promote hatred and extremism in the region.

Many Palestinians seem to share Abbas's view. That is why many Palestinians continue to do business with Israelis on a daily basis and continue to hold joint conferences in Israel and different parts of the world.

US President Barack Obama and PA President Mahmoud Abbas meet at the memorial service of Nelson Mandela in South Africa. In a press conference, Abbas denounced the BDS campaign against Israel. (Image Source: GCIS)

The international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions [BDS] against Israel received a slap in the face last week from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

As BDS supporters continue to campaign against Israel around the world, Abbas, asked about his position regarding the BDS campaign at a press conference in Johannesburg, where he was attending Nelson Mandela's funeral, stated that he does not support the boycott of Israel.

It is ironic that while Abbas is saying no to a boycott of Israel, the American Studies Association, an association of U.S. professors with almost 5,000 members, voted to endorse an academic boycott of Israeli colleagues and universities.

The U.S. professors obviously do not care about what the Palestinian Authority president has to say about the boycott of Israel. The professors, like BDS supporters, apparently believe that Abbas is a "traitor" because he is conducting peace talks with Israel.

Abbas's attack on the BDS movement is a serious embarrassment for the anti-Israel activists, many of whom are not Palestinians.

The statements have enraged BDS activists worldwide, with some calling into question Abbas's right to speak on behalf of the Palestinians.

Prominent Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab noted that Abbas's statement in Johannesburg "naturally has angered many Palestinian and international supporters of the BDS movement."

Kuttab wrote that Abbas's statement "reflects the absence of any clear strategy from the Palestinian political leadership except for negotiations. It is unclear whether the reason behind the Palestinian leader's public attack at the BDS movement is a result of trying to protect the Palestinian elite or not wanting to anger the Israelis and their US allies."

Abbas did, however, call on people around the world to boycott products of settlements. "No, we do not support the boycott of Israel," Abbas said. "But we ask everyone to boycott the products of settlements because the settlements are in our territories. It is illegal."

Abbas's statements conflict "with the Palestinian national consensus that has strongly supported BDS against Israel since 2005," Omar Barghouti, one of the founders of BDS, told Electronic Intifada.

"There is no Palestinian political party, trade union, NGO [non-governmental organization] network or mass organization that does not strongly support BDS," Omar Barghouti continued. "Any Palestinian official who lacks a democratic mandate and any real public support, therefore, cannot claim to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people."

Salim Vally, spokesman for the Palestine Solidarity Committee in South Africa, told The Electronic Intifada that Abbas's comments were "shocking" and represented an "attack on the global solidarity movement."

The claim that Abbas does not represent the Palestinian "consensus" regarding a boycott of Israel is inaccurate. In fact, many Palestinians seem to share Abbas's view, which supports a boycott only of settlement products.

That is why many Palestinians continue to do business with Israelis on a daily business. That is also why, despite the BDS campaign, Palestinians and Israelis continue to hold joint seminars and conferences in Israel and different parts of the world.

In wake of Abbas's statements, the BDS movement should reconsider its strategy. Calls for boycotting any party do not contribute to the cause of peace. Abbas's stance against the BDS should also serve as a wake-up call to its supporters, especially those who are not Palestinians, that negative campaigns only serve to promote hatred and extremism in the region.

by Khaled Abu Toameh

-------------------------------------

Europe REJECTS BDS - Well done for a change Europe and well done all those who helped change opinion

A number of European Union parliamentarians and at least one head of a leading European
trade union have openly rejected the continent's recent decision to boycott Israeli "settler goods" and ban deals with Jewish businesses with a presence in Judea and Samaria (the so-called "West Bank").
In July, EU foreign policy chief Catheron Ashton announced new policy guidelines to go into effect on January 1, 2014 that would effectively end all business dealings with Israeli companies that maintained any kind of presence in what are often referred to as the "Jewish settlements."

On Wednesday, a group of 27 EU parliament members sent a letter to Ashton urging her and the European Commission to rethink that decision.

The lawmakers said Ashton must "take all the necessary steps to withdraw the commission guidelines or, at the very least, to come to terms with the government of Israel to ensure that their implementation will reflect the deep bilateral relations between the European Union and Israel and would by no means harm them."

Israel responded angrily to the new EU guidelines, accusing Europe of trying to prejudge the outcome of the peace process. Ostensibly, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is supposed to decide the future of Judea and Samaria via bilateral negotiations. But, the Palestinians, Europe and America already refer to the entire area as "Palestinian territories," nullifying legal and historical Jewish claims to the biblical heartland.

In addition to the brave showing by the above parliamentarians, German trade union leader Michael Sommer on Sunday said he would take on anyone who tried to boycott Israeli goods, regardless of their origin.

"As long as I am head of this organization, there will never be a resolution that says 'Don’t buy from Jews,'" Sommer declared during the third annual German-Israel Congress in Berlin.

Britain's failing anti-Israel BDS campaign

SUSSEX FRIENDS OF ISRAEL are a UK based pro-Israel organisation who are doing a fantastic Job fighting against anti Israel bias. Here is a link to their website.

http://www.sussexfriendsofisrael.org/interesting-facts/

Below is an extract from their Facebook page and Good News for Israel and Britain's pro-Israel fight against anti Israel bias.

 

Ever keen to boycott Israeli goods, even at the expense of the Palestinians they claim to support, Britain’s anti-Israel BDS groups planned a nationwide “day of action” against the popular Sodastream last Saturday (28 September), to mark a year since the flagship “Ecostream” store opened in Brighton stocking the full range of Sodatream products.

Demonstrations were scheduled at John Lewis in London’s Oxford Street and stores in Sheffield and elsewhere, besides a march and some speeches at the Brighton store.

Maybe the supporters of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and their companions in boycott were all busy that day, or maybe the steam is running out of any enthusiasm for boycott campaigns that have zero effect on Israel’s economy! Whatever the reason, Saturday turned out to be a day of supreme inaction everywhere.

Sodastream was popular in the sixties for making home-made fizzy drinks, as anyone over about 50 years old will tell you. Recently, the brand has been revived by an Israeli company based in an industrial area a few miles East of Jerusalem.

Of course that places it in the category of an “illegal settlement” in BDS-speak on “stolen Palestinian land” and therefore fair game for boycott campaigns, denigration and general demonisation — irrespective of the fact that 160 Palestinians are earning a good living working there.

The fact that a successful boycott action that closed the factory down would return these innocent men and women and their families to the poverty line does not touch the hearts of the anti-Israel campaigners one bit. All that matters is having another false pretext to beat Israel about the head with.

PSC (Palestine Solidarity Campaign) publicity last week promised that “Human rights activists will be protesting across the country this Saturday…” This should have included “protesters… outside the John Lewis store in Oxford Street, London, and outside SodaStream stockists from Sheffield to Southampton, calling on retailers to stop stocking SodaStream products.” Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the ever-loyal protestors, because hardly any of them bothered to turn out.

PSC subsequently published photos on Facebook of protests in Sheffield (eight people), Cardiff (nine people) and a Youtube video filmed at John Lewis (about ten people). Mass protests everywhere then! (Anyone know why the Youtube backing track is in Arabic??)

Of course the prime location for this day of action was Brighton, with a huge mass protest that (by police estimates) totalled about 45 people by the time they reached the Ecostream store. According to PSC’s Brighton branch, this constituted a “large and noisy reminder to the shop’s managers” by “Brighton and Hove citizens of conscience” (only many of them weren’t from Brighton).

Sussex Friends of Israel mounted a friendly counter-protest that outnumbered the PSC group and consisted of a “Bagels Against Bigotry” party outside the entrance to the Ecostream store; thus preventing the PSC crowd from stopping shoppers entering the store. This was a success as the store had one of its best trading days since opening just over a year ago — obviously a successful boycott campaign has been run since then by PSC!

According to the Sussex Friends of Israel site, the Police allowed the PSC demo 20 minutes outside the store before moving them over the road, where the traffic drowned out their speeches (oh dear!).

Sodastream ticks all the boxes as an eco-friendly brand that encourages us to recycle and reuse plastic bottles by making our kids’ fizzy drinks at home. The Israeli owner of the company is doing a service to the Palestinian population of the West Bank by employing local people at far better pay rates than they could ever get in Jericho or Ramallah (the factory is one of the largest employers in the disputed territory).

A video about the factory has an Arab employee calling his fellow Arab and Jewish co-workers “brothers” and “family” and another proudly showing off the house his Sodastream salary enabled him to buy.

PSC and other anti-Israel boycott groups need to face reality; Arabs deeply appreciate the employment opportunities offered by Israeli settlements, they have no problem working alongside Jews, and statistics show that attempts to stop British shoppers saving the planet by buying Sodastream or from buying Israeli dates or whatever have minimal effect on the Israeli economy.

Someday soon most PSC supporters will wake up to the futility and deception they have been drawn into and will desert the cause in droves — and the sooner the better for both Jews and Palestinians.

Pass me a Sugar Free Cola, someone!

Nick Gray is Director, Christian Middle East Watch, a British organisation dedicated to objective and factual discussion of Middle Eastern issues, especially of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Nick blogs at cmewonline.com

---------------------------------

UK - Sussex Friends of Israel mount counter demonsrations against BDS

A fantastic pro-Israel organisation in the UK is fighting back against anti-Israeli bias and anti-Semitism. 'Sussex  Friends of Israel' have been holding counter demonstrations against the pro-hamas and anti-Semitic BDS in Sussex England below is an extract from their website and also a link to their website is here http://www.sussexfriendsofisrael.org/

 

Ecostream Demonstration. Western Road, Brighton UK.

As you may be aware, on-going demonstrations are taking place every Saturday at a British enterprise, EcoStream, Brighton. The aim of this demonstration is to close the store – permanently!
 
The demonstrators have been orchestrated by BDS, an international consortium of organisations carrying out a campaign of “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” against the State of Israel.
 
BDS opposes SodaStream, the shop’s parent company because it operates a manufacturing plant in Mishmor Adumim, located in the Israeli administered “Area C” sanctioned by the Oslo II Peace Accords.
 
BDS activists wilfully ignore that SodaStream employs more than 500 Palestinian workers, the majority of whom have stated categorically that they do not ‘require the help of BDS’.
 
Significantly, EcoStream is part of Brighton Pavilion, which has its own Member of Parliament, Dr. Caroline Lucas. Equally significant, Dr Lucas has refused to intervene in these demonstrations, despite the store’s green credentials and even though she is the first MP elected as a member of the Green Party.
 
Sussex Friends of Israel has mounted successful counter-protests against the BDS demonstrators since the shop first opened 12 months ago. Our aim is to oppose these anti-Israel and frequently anti-semitic activities and to engage the public about Israel and its quest for peace in the region.
 
At a recent meeting of pro-Israel activists, the question was raised as to whether the counter-demonstrations should continue. The vote was a resounding and unequivocal YES!
 
The group was unanimous in the conviction that our community must stand up against those who perpetually spread lies, half-truths and hate about EcoStream, British Jewry and Israel.
Therefore we need your help – and we need it now!
Only by standing together can we make a difference.
 
So please join us each Saturday in front of EcoStream and become a part of SFI and find out what you can do to stop the hatred.
 
You’ll find us on Western Road (near Waitrose) Brighton, between 1 and 3 pm.
We look forward to seeing you there.

An interesting video countering BDS claims of the so-called 'Apartheid State'

So it is about anti-Semitism - BDS self admits they are Nazi hatemongers

South African supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel sang "shoot the Jew" during a protest against a performance of Israeli jazz musician at Wits University last Wednesday. 

A leader of the South African Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel justified calls to "shoot the Jew" during a protest last Wednesday against a concert by an Israeli musician.

Protesters, who gathered at Wits University in Johannesburg last Wednesday in opposition to a performance by Jazz saxophonist Daniel Zamir, screamed at concertgoers slogans such as "Israel is apartheid" and "down, down Israel." Some also threw paper at the Jewish attendees.

Despite condemnations by both University vice-chancellor Adam Habib and the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, BDS coordinator Muhammed Desai defended the call to shoot Jews and told a student newspaper that the word Jews was not meant in a literal fashion. 

This is a bit like the Nazis saying Jews were being resettled when in reality they were being gassed to death. 

This obvious Nazi said calling to kill Jews was “just like you would say kill the Boer at [a] funeral during the eighties [and]  it wasn’t about killing white people, it was used as a way of identifying with the apartheid regime," Desai told the Wits Vuvuzela.

What complete waffle - it's plain and simple - they called for the death of Jews. 

"What this incident unmistakeably shows is that BDS-SA’s real agenda is not to stand up for the Palestinian cause but to incite hatred, and possibly even violence, against Jewish South Africans,” SAJBD National Chairman Mary Kluk said in a statement.

Source Jerusalem Post