Hoping they will kick their addiction to the war on Zionism - by Jonathan S. Tobin

After the Israel-UAE normalization deal, will the Palestinians or the Jewish left realize that events require them to change their thinking? Don’t bet on it.

Jonathan S. Tobin..
JNS.org..
13 August '20..

On a day when something historic and obviously positive happens, it’s always instructive to listen to those who aren’t joining in the cheering. While even many critics of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to applaud the U.S.-sponsored diplomatic deal struck between Israel and the United Arab Emirates for “full normalization of relations,” there were still some who were decrying it.

Both the Palestinian Authority and their Hamas rivals were united in describing the agreement as a “betrayal” and a “black day in the history of Palestine.” They are angry about an Arab state deciding that they will no longer remain hostages to the Palestinians’ century-old war on Zionism.

Equally upset were some on the Jewish left. Anti-Zionist groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow proclaimed their solidarity with the Palestinian rejectionists. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a congressional supporter of the anti-Semitic BDS movement, tweeted that it was a “sweetheart business deal,” and using language that seemed similar to the statement issued by Hamas said it would merely prolong Israeli “apartheid” and “land stealing.”

But even those on the left who approve of the UAE’s willingness to normalize ties with Israel couldn’t do so wholeheartedly. J Street said that while it welcomed Netanyahu’s decision to suspend plans to extend sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, it was wrong to “leave Palestinians on the outside looking in.” Elsewhere on the left, the same rhetoric about “occupation” and “apartheid” continued, coming, for example, from Obama-administration Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes.

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Aside from the zero chance that the Palestinians would accept Beinart’s binational Disneyland - by Steve Frank

Although the reaction to Beinart’s latest vision has been mixed, most reasonable people agree on one thing: it will never happen. That is because, for different reasons, it is totally unacceptable to both parties to the conflict. It might be a diverting thought experiment for Beinart and his fellow academicians on the Upper West Side, but it is totally divorced from reality to those who have skin in the game, i.e., the Palestinians and Israelis.

Steve Frank..
JNS.org..
16 July '20..

Peter Beinart, the enfant terrible of Zionism, is at it again.

The darling of the progressive left has long been an ardent advocate of the “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but in a jaw-dropping recent op-ed in The New York Times, with the click-bait title “I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State,” calls for abandoning it in favor of the more extreme “one state solution.” As JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin acutely observes, “that state is not Israel.”

Instead, Beinart proposes dismantling the 72-year-old State of Israel and replacing it with a hypothetical “Jewish-Palestinian binational state” in which he concedes Jews would be a minority. But he nevertheless insists, with a straight face, that the Jews would fare well in a democratic regime under their Muslim rulers.

Even Beinart realizes he has crossed a “red line” with his latest epiphany. In the longer version of his proposal (“Yavne: A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine,” published in Jewish Currents), he acknowledges that:

“Questioning Israel’s existence as a Jewish state is … akin to spitting in the face of people I love and betraying institutions that give my life meaning and joy. Besides, Jewish statehood has long been precious to me, too. So I’ve respected certain red lines.”

No more. Beinart now has irrevocably crossed that line. His latest—and likely final—solution to the conflict has been greeted with glee by some and denounced by others as beyond the pale.

Although the reaction to Beinart’s latest vision has been mixed, most reasonable people agree on one thing: it will never happen. That is because, for different reasons, it is totally unacceptable to both parties to the conflict. It might be a diverting thought experiment for Beinart and his fellow academicians on the Upper West Side, but it is totally divorced from reality to those who have skin in the game, i.e., the Palestinians and Israelis.

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The World of One-Stater Israel-Haters: Attacking Jewish Human Rights in the Name of Morality - by Elder of Ziyon

Sometimes, though, the one-stater Israel-haters are forced to answer the question about Jewish human rights directly. And their response is simply, yeah, that might be a problem, but we hope it won’t be that bad, and anyway it is a small price to pay for their vision of a world without Israel.

Elder of Ziyon..
10 July '20..

The Israel-haters, a category that we must now add Peter Beinart to, use the argument that the imperative of Palestinian human rights demands a one-state solution with a natural Arab majority and Jewish minority.

The basic problem with the thesis that a one-state solution is the only way to give Palestinians the human rights they deserve is that this same “solution” would ensure that Jews lose the human rights they deserve.

The issue isn’t human rights. Everyone supports human rights. The issue is how to balance competing human rights of two different groups. But the Israel haters don’t want you to think about that problem – they want to emphasize the Palestinian human rights issue and they do everything possible to avoid the obvious fact that Jews would not do well under any Arab majority government. They also avoid the equally obvious fact that Palestinians under “occupation” are in far better shape than Jews would be under Arab rule.

Why is this obvious? Just look at how Christians are doing in the Arab world. They are oppressed and fleeing as fast as they can.

Arab Muslims hate Jews much more than they hate Christians.

Sometimes, though, the one-stater Israel-haters are forced to answer the question about Jewish human rights directly. And their response is simply, yeah, that might be a problem, but we hope it won’t be that bad, and anyway it is a small price to pay for their vision of a world without Israel.

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Does Beinart seriously believe that Hamas and Islamic Jihad would be disarmed in his fantasy state? Does he care? - by Elder of Ziyon

Peter Beinart is supremely concerned over what he sees as Jewish mistreatment of Palestinians yet shows literally zero concern over the certainty – not probability, but certainty - that his plan will result in massive Arab abuse of Jews.

The New York Times published
a similar op-ed in 2009 for a
one-state solution

Elder of Ziyon..
09 July '20..

Peter Beinart has gotten a lot of press this week over his essays in the far-Left Jewish Currents and the increasingly far-Left New York Times opinion pages for his proposal that instead of a two-state solution, the preferred outcome is a Jewish “homeland” in a single state that would presumably be called “Palestine.”

This is of course not a new idea. In 1947, when Arabs faced the possibility that the UN would vote for partitioning the land and creating a Jewish state, they suddenly declared that they were interested in a “bi-national” state with the Jews – predicated on the idea that Jewish immigration must end first, which would ensure an Arab majority in any election.

The more modern version of the idea espoused by many English-speaking Arabs also emphasizes to their Western audiences that a one state solution with equal rights is wonderful, as long as millions of Arabs with Palestinian ancestry are first allowed to flood the area and ensure that there is an Arab majority in any election.

Another version of the plan is Iran’s, where only the Jews whose families were in Palestine before 1917 would be allowed to vote.

The New York Times published a similar op-ed in 2009 for a one-state solution. It’s author was that famous peacemaker, Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, where he actually pretended to be proposing this plan for Jews’ security:

A two-state solution will create an unacceptable security threat to Israel. An armed Arab state, presumably in the West Bank, would give Israel less than 10 miles of strategic depth at its narrowest point.

Obviously Jews should live next to Arabs who want to kill them rather than across a border. See how much he cared?

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Hamas Hearts Human Rights Watch - by Bassam Tawil

A terrorist group that has failed its own people on an epic level is pretending that it is worried about where Arabs in Israel will live.

💓

Bassam Tawil..
Gatestone Institute..
15 May '20..

Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group dedicated to the destruction of Israel, is apparently very pleased with Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international organization headquartered in New York. Hamas is so pleased that this week it issued a statement praising HRW for its systematic and continuous bashing of Israel.

It is rather rare for a radical Islamic terrorist group to heap praise on a Western supposed human rights organization, particularly an American one.

Exceptions exist in all areas, however, and HRW, known for its anti-Israel bias and for peddling anti-Israel hate, stands as an especially blazing one.

What motivated Hamas to express its admiration for HRW? Another anti-Israel report, this time claiming that Arab citizens of Israel are facing a "housing shortage."

The HRW report focuses on only three Arab towns in Israel -- Jisr al-Zarqa, Qalansawa and Ein Mahel, with a total population of 50,000. It deliberately ignores the other two million or so Arab Israelis. Moreover, the report fails to mention that the housing crisis affects not only Arabs, but also Jews.

"We are on the brink of a socio-economic abyss," said Raul Srugo, President of the Israel Builders Association.

"As long as the government doesn't begin strategic planning for the next generation in Israel, we'll find ourselves in the biggest crisis since the state was founded. In 2030, there will be 12 million residents in Israel, and in 2050 there will be 17 million people here. Remember, this is a country where it takes 15 years to approve construction of a single [new] neighborhood."

HRW, however, does not seem inclined to allow a few crucial facts to spoil its efforts to delegitimize Israel by accusing it of "discrimination" against Arab Israelis.

The good news is that Israel has been working hard in recent years to solve the housing crisis -- for both Arabs and Jews.

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Question. Why would anyone celebrate the failed, deadly "Arab Revolt" of 1936? - by Elder of Ziyon

The revolt killed thousands of Arabs, destroyed the Arab political and economic leadership in Palestine, and the results were disastrous for any Palestinian national aspirations since there was no leadership or unity in 1948. There is a direct line from the 1936-9 Arab Revolt to what the Palestinians call the naqba. So why would anyone who pretends to be pro-Palestinian celebrate this huge failure?

Elder of Ziyon..
20 April '20..

Students for Justice in Palestine tweeted this thread:

It was 84 years ago on April of 1936 when Palestinians began what we now call the 1936 Arab Revolt. In opposition to the British enforcement of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which prioritized Jewish immigration to Palestine and displaced indigenous Palestinians, the revolt began as a general strike. Rural Palestinians in the 1930’s lived during a debilitating economic depression. Their struggle was only worsened by British colonial policies and heightened anti-Semitism in Europe resulting in an increase of Jewish immigration to Palestine.

In response, the Arab Higher Committee led a general strike against the British and Zionist opposition. As the action progressed, however, the Arab Higher Committee had been accused of betraying the cause after agreeing to the request of the Arab kings to end the strike.

The general strike lasted for six months making it one of the longest general strikes in history and marking the start of the Arab Revolt that lasted until 1939. Today we want to honor this collective resistance as we continue our joint struggles for liberation!⁣

5000 Arabs were killed in the Arab Revolt, many by the British but perhaps most by infighting.

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University of California students justify Palestinian terror. Actually, they justify ALL terror. - by Elder of Ziyon

...I can see nothing in the Bears for Palestine justification of murdering Israeli Jews that does not preclude justifying campus terrorism as well. Students with such a twisted view of morality are a danger to everyone on campus.

Elder of Ziyon..
12 April '20..

In The Daily Californian, the group "Bears for Palestine" not only support terrorist Rasmea Odeh, but they also explicitly justify all Palestinian terrorism:

Regarding Leila Khaled and Fatima Bernawi, many individuals throughout history have demonstrated strategic means of resisting occupation and have been labeled as “terrorists.” ....And like Mandela, Khaled and Bernawi sought to bring attention to the brutal occupation of Palestinians. As millions of Palestinians have been expelled from their homeland and thousands of Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli occupation, it is only natural that Palestinians would militarize and resist the occupation.

It signals power and privilege to presume that individuals are “terrorists” without first asking what forces them to resort to protests. To individuals who seek to teach us oppressors’ morals, we respectfully say we do not take orders from colonizers. To quote the anti-colonial phenom Frantz Fanon: “When we revolt, it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.”
Khaled was the notorious airplane hijacker involved in the 1969 TWA Flight 840 and El Al flight 219 in 1970. Bernawi attempted to bomb a cinema in Jerusalem.

Notice that the justification by the Bears of Palestine for the terror acts of these two women can extend to the most depraved acts of terror imaginable - if Bernawi is justified in her attempt to blow up people watching a movie, then any murderous act against any civilians is justifiable as long as it is called a mere "protest." ISIS beheadings are no different than suicide bombings which are no different than cinema bombings.

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Introducing the @Amnesty employee who insisted Hamas arrest Gazans for videoconferencing with Israelis - by Elder of Ziyon

This one incident shows the abject hypocrisy of the entire so-called "human rights" and "peace" communities. Amnesty hires a worker who explicitly supports terror, "peace groups" are silent when ordinary Gazans are arrested for speaking to Israelis online, and the head of HRW implies that Hamas' actions would be OK if only the Jews were more right wing. It would be unbelievable if this sort of thing hasn't happened so many times before.

Elder of Ziyon..
12 April '20..

The New York Times reported:

For five years, a small but feisty group of Palestinian peace activists in the blockaded Gaza Strip has been organizing small-scale video chats with Israelis under a bridge-building initiative it calls “Skype With Your Enemy.”

On Monday, the group, the Gaza Youth Committee, drew one of its biggest crowds yet — more than 200 participants — this time on Zoom, the newly popular teleconferencing platform.

But other Palestinians in Gaza, who took umbrage at the idea of befriending Israelis, were also listening in. And the resulting public uproar prompted Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, to arrest the youth committee’s leader and several other participants.

The charge: “holding a normalization activity” with Israelis, which a Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman, Iyad Al-Bozom, called a crime, saying it amounted to the “betrayal of our people and their sacrifices.”

...[E]arly Thursday morning, a freelance Gaza journalist, Hind Khoudary, posted angry denunciations on Facebook of Mr. [Rami] Aman and others on the call, tagging three Hamas officials, including Mr. Al-Bozom, to ensure it got their attention.

An arrest warrant was issued by the Hamas military prosecution, which handles accused collaborators with Israel, would-be suicide bombers and other serious security threats, Mr. Al-Bozom said. He did not identify or say how many other youth committee members had also been detained.

Hind Khoudary isn't just a "freelance journalist." She works for Amnesty International.

Yes, a person working for an organization that was founded to fight for the freedom of people imprisoned for free speech demanded that a terror group put people in prison for talking to Israelis.

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Thank you J Street for misleading Congress members into signing racist letter on Israel - by Stephen M. Flatow

The signatories, except for a few diehard Israel-haters such as Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, are unaware of the reality on the ground in Judea and Samaria. They are unaware because J Street misled them.

Stephen M. Flatow..
JNS.org..
17 March '20..

Did you hear the shocking news? Sixty Congress members just signed a letter demanding that the federal government stop dismantling illegally built homes belonging to whites, though they didn’t object to the dismantling of illegal homes built by African-Americans.

Oops, wait! Sorry, I got that mixed up.

The 60 Congress members demanded that the Israeli government stop dismantling any illegally built homes that have been built by Arabs. But they did not object to Israel’s continuing policy of dismantling of illegally built Jewish homes.

Who would have thought that in this day and age, members of Congress would stoop so low as to make policy recommendations based on the idea that one specific ethnic group should be targeted?

We were supposed to have given up the old practice of making policies based on the color of people’s skin, rather than the content of their character. Images of George Wallace standing in that schoolhouse door were supposed to be just a bad memory. Yet here we are, in 2020, with 60 Democrats signing a letter that echoes the attitudes of those dark times.

J Street played a major role in organizing the congressional letter.

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Stephen M. Flatow, an attorney in New Jersey, is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. He is the author of “A Father’s Story: My Fight for Justice Against Iranian Terrorism,” now available on Kindle.

Breaking the Silence! Why do you Lie About This Now? (Because they can?) - by Sheri Oz

...the Arabs of Hebron do not vote in Israeli elections because they are citizens of the Palestinian Authority and not Israel? That the Arabs of Hebron vote in elections that take place in the Palestinian Authority? Do you need to hear that again?

Sheri Oz..
Israel Diaries..
11 March '20..

Breaking the Silence wants you to think that Israel is an apartheid state. How do I know that? Because they sent out an email to subscribers about the last elections, bemoaning the fact that 30,000 Arab residents of Hebron’s H2 sector could not vote in Israel’s last election while their Jewish neighbours did. First what they wrote; then my comments pointing out their lies:

In total, 215 votes were cast [in Hebron in the Israeli national election]; every one of them by Jewish Israelis. The 220,000 Palestinians in Hebron – 30,000 of whom live in H2, the area under direct Israeli municipal and military control – were not asked their opinion.

They went on to say that nobody knows what the next government will look like. But they do know that:

… when a group of people has no power to vote you out, you can do whatever you want with them without any fear of the electoral consequences. That’s the essence of occupation: military rule over a civilian population who have no choice in the matter.

We know, because we were the ones sent to enforce it. And we know that things must change.

What Breaking the Silence apparently does not know — and why should they, because they do not care about details or facts — is that the Arab residents of H2 are not Israeli citizens but citizens of the Palestinian Authority along with all the other Arab citizens of Hebron in H1. In other words, all Arabs who live in Hebron vote in the Palestinian Authority elections and not in Israeli elections.

Therefore, when Breaking the Silence cries at the injustice that Arabs did not vote in this last election but do not tell you that the Arabs are not Israeli citizens according to the Oslo Agreement signed by their late leader, Yassir Arafat, they are lying and making you think Israel is an apartheid state. Do I need to write that again?

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Question. Did Zazim ask the residents of Umm el Fahm what they think? - by Sheri Oz

Regardless of the motives of the Jews in Zazim and Breaking the Silence, the big problem for Israel and for the Arabs-who-would-rather-be-Israeli-citizens is that the world beyond our region is easily hoodwinked by nefarious NGOs that advertise themselves as human rights organizations.

Sheri Oz..
Israel Diaries..
25 February '20..

Jews who seem to love to hate Israel have instigated a new project. On 18 February, the leftist NGO, Zazim, made a supplication to your wallets. My translation is below the copied message, keeping the emphasis found in the original.

לא ניתן להם למחוק את הפלסטינים: בכנסת ובתקשורת מדברים בכל הזדמנות על סיפוח בקעת הירדן, אבל דווקא קולם של הפלסטינים עצמם לא נשמע, ואפילו את הפנים שלהם אף אחד לא טורח להראות. היום יש לך הזדמנות לשנות את זה.

יחד עם ארגון שוברים שתיקה, אנחנו מפיקים סרטון בו פלסטינים מהבקעה פונים אלינו הישראלים כדי להזכיר לנו, עוד לפני שנלך לקלפי – שהם אלה שישלמו את המחיר של תכנית הסיפוח. הצילום, העריכה וההפצה יעלו 29,500 אלף ש״ח. האם תוכל/י לתרום כדי שקולם של הפלסטינים ישמע?

Translation:

We will not allow them to erase the Palestinians: In the Knesset and in the media they talk at every opportunity about annexation of the Jordan Valley, but the voice of the Palestinians themselves is not heard, and nobody even bothers to show their faces. Today you have the chance to change all of that.

Together with Breaking the Silence, we are producing a film in which Palestinians from the Jordan Valley address us Israelis in order to remind us, before we go to the ballot box — that they are the ones who will pay the price of the annexation plan. The filming, editing and distribution of the film will cost 29,500 NIS. Can you contribute to this in order to allow the Palestinian voice to be heard?

I guess that Zazim and Breaking the Silence were asleep when residents of Umm el Fahm protested what they believed was Trump’s plan to move the border so that their town, among others, become part of the Palestinian state the Deal of the Century wants to establish (along with every other do-gooder wanna-be peacemaker). Many Arab citizens of Israel call themselves Palestinians but God forbid (!) you actually suggest that that be the passport they hold! They will not give up their Israeli citizenship and will fight to keep it.

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A New One for the Books: The 'Crime' of Arabs Singing to Arabs in Israel - by Khaled Abu Toameh

The controversy surrounding the performance of the Jordanian singer in an Arab town in Israel showcases how bizarre anti-Israel activists around the world have become. As always, Israel's enemies are ready to hurt Arabs in order to advance their anti-Israel agenda. When an Arab visiting an Arab has become an act of "treason" that "serves the interests of the Zionist enemy," we know that we are in for a big performance.

Khaled Abu Toameh..
Gatestone Institute..
21 January '20..

Here is a new one for the books: An Arab singer stands up to perform in front of an Arab audience, and the anti-Israel brigade goes berserk.

What has so inflamed the Israel haters this time?

The singer is Aziz Maraka, a Jordanian composer, performer, recording artist, and producer. The audience are Arab citizens of Israel from the town of Kafr Yasif in the Northern District of Israel.

Maraka, who was invited last month to entertain Arab citizens of Israel during the annual Christmas Market festival in Kafr Yasif, has been facing widespread criticism and a shaming campaign on social media for agreeing to perform in Israel.

Never mind that Maraka, an Arab, was invited by Arabs to a Christmas event in an Arab town. Never mind that Maraka was not invited by any Israeli private or public institution. Never mind that Maraka did not perform before a Jewish audience.

None of that matters to the anti-Israel groups and individuals who are slandering the Jordanian singer and accusing him of "treason" and "promoting normalization" with Israel. The campaign of hate against Maraka shows that those who are calling for boycotting Israel care nothing about the well-being or interests of Arabs, including the two million Arab citizens of Israel.

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Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.

Please, Don’t Confuse Me With Facts. It’s Always About the “Occupation” by Dr. Asaf Romirowsky

The American Jewish Left has once again fallen in line with the Palestinian demand that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict always be conflated to a problem of “occupation,” regardless of facts or history. By leaping to condemn Mike Pompeo’s factual statement that Israeli West Bank “settlements” do not violate international law, American Jewish leftists joined forces with the BDS movement, which views the entirety of Israel as “occupied.”

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, photo via Religious
Action Center of Reform Judaism

Dr. Asaf Romirowsky..
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,392..
05 January '20..
Link: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/occupation-jewish-left/

Like clockwork, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent observation that “the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per se, inconsistent with international law” was immediately denounced by the Jewish Left.

The head of the Reform movement in North America, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, said the US government’s new position on Israeli settlements will undercut the fight against BDS and the delegitimization of Israel in the US, specifically on college campuses.

It is not clear when Rabbi Jacobs was last on a campus, but the debate on North American college campuses is not about the so-called “occupation” but about whether Israel has a right to exist, period. Pro-BDS groups, including “Jewish” ones, are talking about the illegitimacy of the 1949 armistice lines, not those of 1967.

Moreover, a recent survey conducted by Ron Hassner at the University of California, Berkeley shows that most students who care strongly about the “Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories” do not have knowledge of even basic facts on the subject.

Jacobs’s lack of understanding speaks to the divergent lexicon of the conflict, and more pointedly to the growing split between American Jews and Israelis. In many “progressive” circles there is little to no understanding of what areas are even in dispute; witness the continued claims that Gaza is “occupied” by Israel. For the BDS movement, everything Israeli, including Haifa and Tel Aviv, is a “settlement” and hence “illegal.”

Surprise? UK’s 'The Independent', Gives Platform to Terror-Supporting Amnesty Official - by Emanuel Miller

In what world does calling for a violent uprising of murderous violence, of glorifying plane hijackers and senior terrorists who advocate suicide bombing attacks, without appearing to recant, make a person a suitable candidate for a ‘human rights organization’?

Emanuel Miller..
Honest Reporting..
29 December '19..

There’s no doubt that life for many Palestinians is hard. However, their situation is a complex one that has arisen as a result of years of bloody violence directed against Israelis. Put briefly, their situation is a consequence, not simply a cause. That’s why pieces focusing on Palestinian suffering without any mention of Israel’s legitimate security needs are misleading and misinform readers.

Regular readers of these pages are no doubt aware of the UK’s The Independent, a media outlet which regularly exhibits an anti-Israel bent. But one such piece, entitled, “My friend was banned from travelling to visit his dying mother. This is the personal, intimate price of occupation” — which tells the sad story of how one man was not allowed to see his mother before she died in an Israeli hospital — runs significantly deeper than readers may realize.

The writer of this piece is identified thus: “Saleh Hijazi is deputy regional director for Amnesty Middle East and North Africa.”

That’s one way of describing Hijazi. Here’s another: A terror-glorifying, war-crime-supporting anti-Israel activist in the clothing of a human rights worker.

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The very ugly truth about BDS and campus anti-Semitism - by Jonathan S. Tobin

“The New Anti-Semites” should make for sobering reading for Jews and other Americans who may dislike Trump, yet still want to support the fight against anti-Semitism. There is no way to defend or rationalize the BDS movement without being compromised by its anti-Semitic purpose, discourse and conduct. Those who oppose Trump’s order may claim they are defending the moral high ground and free speech, but they are actually rolling in the mud with the worst sort of anti-Semites and supporters of terrorism.

Jonathan S. Tobin..
JNS.org..
17 December '19..

In the week since President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order about enforcing Title VI protections of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to Jewish students subjected to anti-Semitism on college campuses, efforts to discredit the move have continued to be heard. Both left-wing groups and their cheerleaders in the mainstream media, like The New York Times, are working to create the impression that the government’s determination to protect students against hate from the BDS movement is a controversial scheme that will repress free speech and hurt Jewish students more than it will help them.

The order was opposed by openly anti-Zionist groups such as IfNotNow and Jewish Voices for Peace, as well as J Street, which still claims to be pro-Israel but whose links to the anti-Trump resistance obligate it to oppose just about anything the president does. The two separate features published by the Times in the past few days on the topic show just how determined some in the media are to portray support for BDS on college campuses as idealistic activism endangered by a repressive administration. BDS backers were portrayed sympathetically, and the articles quoted more Jewish opponents of Trump’s decision than supporters.

As far as Trump’s critics are concerned, the talk of campus anti-Semitism from both the government and mainstream Jewish groups that support the order, including some that are deeply critical of Trump, like the Anti-Defamation League, is a subterfuge whose true aim is to suppress voices of dissent on Israel. But a new report titled “The New Anti-Semites,” authored by Marc Greendorfer of the Zachor Legal Institute and published by StopAntisemitism.org, is a powerful antidote to the disinformation about BDS being spread by those who wish to undermine efforts by the U.S. Department of Education to enforce the law and protect Jewish students.

The report is required reading for all those whose view of the issue is distorted by their distaste for Trump. It examines in excruciating detail the numerous incidents of anti-Semitic incitement related to the BDS movement around the world and in the United States, including those involving Students for Justice in Palestine, the group that the Times attempts to whitewash.

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Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS—Jewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at @jonathans_tobin.

Pick the Prefix: Racist, Sexist, Homophobic, Reactionary, Totalitarian Palestine - by Divest This

Perhaps it is our general wussiness that keeps us on the course of dialog, discussion, argument, persuasion and compromise, rather than jumping into the sewer with those who have made it their life’s work to see the world’s one Jewish state dismantled. Although given the state of Israel and the Jewish world – vulnerable though it might be – versus the hell on earth Israel’s enemies have constructed for themselves, perhaps hanging on to our humanity is a wise strategic, as well as a moral choice.

Divest This..
12 December '19..

It dawned on me that all of Israel’s friends and defenders have been wasting our time over the last several decades.

Instead of writing thoughtful essays that provide facts and perspectives while making the case for the Jewish state, or organizing talks, educational programs or other campaigns that present arguments in favor of our cause or against our foes, we could all have spent that time doing something much simpler, so simple that it requires almost no thought.

So what could we have been doing, rather than bombarding the world with longwinded explanations based on facts and logic?

The answer is simplicity itself, and so easy to implement. For all it would involve would be to never use the term Palestine or Palestinian without first prefixing it with the string of pejoratives titling this piece.

We would not have to be mindless robots uttering the same phrase over and over again. Certainly whenever we find ourselves in debate, we would make sure the words “racist, sexist, homophobic, reactionary, totalitarian” precede the use of any reference to Palestine, Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas (and maybe their friends and allies throughout the Middle East). But we could get creative with the ways we slip those words into the discussion over and over and over again. For instance:

Comparative: Yes, there is a difference between the racist, sexist, homophobic, reactionary, totalitarian, corrupt Palestinian authority and the racist, sexist, homophobic, reactionary, totalitarian, religious fanatics in Hamas. But the two have important things in common: they’re both racist, sexist, homophobic, reactionary totalitarians.

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Israel bashing and the further forays of Peter Beinart in his fight against Israel and Zionism - by Yisrael Medad

Arabs who support the idea of an Arab Palestine engage in falsification of history, identity theft and something even worse than bigotry. And a Jew supporting them is no friend of Zionism—no matter how much he claims to be one.

Yisrael Medad..
JNS.org..
03 December '19..

Peter Beinart has made another foray in his fight against Israel and Zionism. The contributing editor at The Atlantic has written as a supporter of IfNotNow, and has helped inspire other radical anti-Zionists. But, of course, he denies what is obvious to all in his thinking and actions.

In remarks he recently delivered in the framework of a Munk Debate, the question of which was “Be it resolved, anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism,” his fellow debater was New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, and since a debate consists of arguments from both sides of an issue, I, at least, can only presume that Beinart thinks anti-Zionism is, at least a bissel, not quite anti-Semitic.

Indeed, in the published version, Beinart asserts that “No, anti-Zionism doesn’t always mean anti-Semitism.” Perhaps indicative of his convoluted presentation, the Munk Debates site highlighted his words that “equating Palestinian politics with bigotry undermines the quest for peace.”

Having followed him since his 2010 essay in which he promoted the view that the reality of Israel challenged the liberal values of Jewish college students they had imbibed as Americans such as a belief in open debate, a skepticism about military force and a commitment to human rights and contradicted them. Beinart, however, did not so much as seek to explain to those students that those values very much existed in Israel, did not exist in the Arab/Muslim culture that threatened Israel’s existence and that, despite their innocence, they did not have think they were required to shed those values when it came to Israel.

Rather, he sought to rip out the heart of Jewish solidarity from these youth and pit them against Israel. Ever since, he has been pirouetting—twisting ideas, terms and concepts so as to confound and discombobulate a younger generation of Jews.

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Yisrael Medad is an American-born Israeli journalist and political commentator.

HRW's Shakir Is No Human Rights Defender - by Becca Wertman

At best, Shakir has abused his platform to promote discriminatory BDS campaigns aimed at delegitimizing the Jewish State. At worst, Shakir “stands with” an NGO linked to an internationally designated terrorist organization, instead of the innocent children murdered by the terrorists.

Becca Wertman..
TOI Blog..
25 November '19..
Link: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/shakir-is-no-human-rights-defender

On November 5, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected the demand that Israel renew a work visa for Human Right Watch’s (HRW) local representative, ending a nearly two-year long legal ordeal. The decision confirmed that Shakir has been a consistent and active promoter of BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanction) campaigns against Israel for years –grounds for denying entry into the country.

Whether or not you agree with the merits of Israel’s BDS law, ample evidence shows that Shakir overtly promotes boycotts and sanctions against Israel. This includes his efforts to have FIFA sanction the Israel Football Association, supporting US legislation to sanction Israel by restricting military aid, and his involvement with HRW’s ongoing BDS campaign targeting Airbnb and Booking.com.

Without missing a beat, HRW and Shakir’s loyal supporters have cried out in the defense of their beloved “human rights defender” who is being “deported.” However, putting his obsession with Israel aside, Shakir’s human rights priorities appear to be highly questionable, at best.

On August 23, 2019, Israeli 17-year-old Rina Shnerb was brutally murdered when a terrorist hurled an explosive device at her and her family, injuring her father and brother, while they were hiking. A Palestinian by the name of Samer Arbid, who worked in a financial role at the NGO Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) and had previously served in a similar capacity at Addameer, was later arrested for his leading role in making, planting, and setting off the explosive device. It would seem impossible for a true human rights organization or activist to ignore this horrific incident of violence, terror, and the exploitation of human rights organizations. Yet this is exactly what Shakir did.

Despite the fact that Shakir always seems to make time for attacking Israel on his Twitter account, this self-proclaimed human rights defender apparently failed to craft even a few characters to condemn this clear violation of human rights. There were no calls for an investigation into the incident, no condemnation of the overt violation of the rights of the child, and no cries denouncing the abhorrent abuse of the universal human right to life.

However, when it comes to defending the terrorist and affiliates of the terrorist organization he belonged to, Shakir’s words flow.

The ‘Labeling’ of Israel as an unequal player on the world stage - by Melanie Phillips

The European Court of Justice has discriminated against Jews by singling out Israeli businesses from Arab ones. Its ruling is deeply politicized and disreputable, owing everything to boilerplate European prejudice against Israel, and nothing to law and justice.

Melanie Phillips..
JNS.com..
14 November '19..

As Israel came under attack this week with hundreds of rockets raining down from Gaza, and as it steeled itself for even worse, the Israel-bashers were up to their old tricks.

On Tuesday, the European Court of Justice issued its ruling in the Psagot winery case.

It said that the origin of any foodstuffs, such as Psagot wine, made in an Israeli settlement in the “occupied territories” must be described as such. This was to enable consumers to make “ethical considerations and considerations relating to the observance of international law,” which could “influence consumers’ purchasing decisions.”

What’s unethical here is not the behavior of Israel but the ECJ. Singling out Israel like this creates a discriminatory double standard. No other country with a territorial dispute or whose behavior is subject to criticism has its products labeled in this way.

As Eugene Kontorovich, a scholar of international law, tweeted: “Products around the world are made in many situations that raise ‘ethical’ and legal questions, from Chinese prison labor factories to Moroccan drilling Sahrawi oil. Only such concern that requires labeling in E.U. is Jews living in neighborhoods where they are not ‘supposed’ to be.”

Moreover, the court has discriminated against Jews by singling out Israeli businesses from Arab ones. Its ruling is deeply politicized and disreputable, owing everything to boilerplate European prejudice against Israel, and nothing to law and justice.

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Melanie Phillips, a British journalist, broadcaster and author, writes a weekly column for JNS. Currently a columnist for “The Times of London,” her personal and political memoir, “Guardian Angel,” has been published by Bombardier, which also published her first novel, “The Legacy,” in 2018. Her work can be found at: www.melaniephillips.com.

Talking With The Terrorist That J Street Won't Invite - by Daniel Greenfield

‘Shabeh’ in Arabic means ghost. It’s a torture recently made famous by ISIS. But it’s also used by the PA. And these days, Muhammad is a ghost. He can’t go back home. And J Street and other anti-Israel groups which claim to care about human rights would rather listen to the lies of his torturers than to him.

Daniel Greenfield..
Sultan Knish..
09 November '19..

“You are partners in everything that is being done to us, you are collaborating in the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the crackling Arabic-accented voice on the phone says. “You think that you are working for peace, but you are actually supporting the terrorists of the Palestinian Authority.”

He pauses as he ponders the events going on thousands of miles away in Washington D.C.
“You are not working for peace, but for murder.”

That’s Muhammad’s message to J Street. The anti-Israel organization claims that it wants to listen to ‘Palestinians.’ But the man I’m on the phone with is one Palestinian they don’t want to hear from.

While Senator Elizabeth Warren and other 2020 Democrats bemoaned President Trump’s eviction of the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic delegation from Washington D.C., he’s all for it.

“We don’t want them. If the Democrats want them,” Muhammad says. “They can take and keep them.”

While I’m on the phone with Muhammad, and Amit Deri of Reservists on Duty, a pro-Israel campus group getting the real story out there, in D.C., Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar, and other 2020 Democrats are partying with the biggest anti-Israel group in America.
Reservists on Duty, a group of former Israeli soldiers, whose Shillman Fellow activists come to American college campuses to tell the truth about Israel, have a fraction of J Street’s massive budget.

None of the 2020 Democrats come to visit their events. Instead, Amit and other Reservists are in touch with Arabs like Muhammad who are telling the stories that J Street doesn’t want its members to hear.

Muhammad had spent 7 years in an Israeli prison fighting for a Palestinian state. And when he got out of prison, he learned the hard way the ugly reality of what he had really been fighting for.

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