{"id":93542,"date":"2022-03-02T17:05:45","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T15:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=93542"},"modified":"2022-03-02T11:32:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T09:32:03","slug":"09-09-61","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=93542","title":{"rendered":"BDS and the Apartheid Libel Are on the March"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>BDS and the Apartheid Libel Are on the March<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Alexander Joffe<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Illustration with the logo of Amnesty International on the vest of an observer of a demonstration in Paris, France, Paris, on Dec. 11, 2021. Photo: Xose Bouzas \/ Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

A key development in BDS activity in February was a report by Amnesty International entitled \u201cIsrael\u2019s Apartheid Against the Palestinians.<\/a>\u201d The BDS movement<\/a> and its various supporters, immediately lauded the report. BDS advocates also complained about what they deemed as inadequate coverage<\/a> by mainstream media \u2014 despite the fact that the report\u2019s lies and distortions received prominent coverage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Observers immediately noted that the report, based almost entirely on its own and other NGO \u201canalyses\u201d <\/a>(sometimes quoting nearly verbatim<\/a>) was filled with egregious errors<\/a> of fact and overt fabrications<\/a>, and was undermined by Amnesty leaders\u2019 farcical ignorance and obsession<\/a> regarding Israel. By advocating for a Palestinian \u201cright of return,\u201d the report also effectively argued for the destruction of Israel. Palestinian terrorism and rejection of negotiations were completely omitted.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Amnesty report was widely condemned by US and European governments, Jewish and Israeli organizations, and by both an Islamist Israeli Arab politician<\/a> and the head of Amnesty\u2019s Israel branch<\/a>. But it follows similar reports by Human Rights Watch and B\u2019Tselem, and anticipates additional reports from the Commission of Inquiry that was recently created by the United Nations Rights Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite a hostile reception from governments<\/a>, BDS supporters are already referencing the Amnesty report, including those promoting a BDS resolution at Concordia University<\/a>. In Britain, the Labour Party\u2019s former shadow chancellor, John McDonnell<\/a>, spoke in opposition to a government plan to prohibit local councils<\/a> from adopting BDS measures<\/a>, saying that he was \u201cagainst investments going into Israel, as I do believe according to the Amnesty Report, the Human Rights report and many Jewish institutions as well, that actually it is an apartheid state the way they treat the Palestinians.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There were also a number of significant BDS-related developments in academia. Among the most noteworthy were campus protests aimed at Israelis. At the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, BDS supporters protested outside a classroom<\/a> where retired IDF Major General Amos Yadlin was speaking. Calling Yadlin a \u201cwar criminal,\u201d the protestors accused the university of \u201clack of regard for Palestinian narratives.\u201d The same BDS group also protested the presence of Sabra brand hummus<\/a> on campus. Additional protests again the brand were held at Northwestern University<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, at Cambridge University<\/a>, Israeli official and former cabinet minister Tzipi Livni was met by anti-Israeli protests that included flares and whistles, chants of \u201cfrom the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,\u201d and posters calling her \u201cZionist scum.<\/a>\u201d Jewish students and the British Universities Secretary condemned the tone of the protests.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the University of Manchester, the head of StandWithUs in Britain<\/a> was confronted and abused by pro-Palestinian protestors, who called her \u201cworse than Hitler.\u201d At the University Chicago, the local Students for Justice in Palestine<\/a> (SJP) chapter urged the boycott of \u201csh**y Zionist classes,\u201d<\/a> specifically naming several taught by Israelis, warning that they \u201cserve as vehicles to spread Zionist propaganda.\u201d In response to a media inquiry, a university spokesperson stated that the institution\u2019s \u201cvalues compel our steadfast opposition to discrimination, including rejection of antisemitism, anti-Palestinian bias, and other forms of bias that are incompatible with our commitment to diversity and inclusion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, at the University of Illinois, the SJP chapter condemned the School of Public Health\u2019s<\/a> hosting of Israeli speakers, while the chapter at UCLA called on students to boycott a scholarship<\/a> at the School of Public Affairs founded by former Rep. Lynn Schenk (D-NY) because she is a \u201cZionist.\u201d At the University of Connecticut, the SJP chapter protested the university president\u2019s plan<\/a> to travel to Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Efforts to ostracize Israelis are also underway in the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), where the membership is voting on a BDS resolution. In response, at least a half dozen universities<\/a> have dropped or declined to renew their institutional memberships. The bases of these decisions have not been publicized, but they are likely in response to potential threats to funding should educational institutions endorse MESA\u2019s desired policy of discrimination on the basis of national origin.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Netherlands, a number of universities have issued a statement suspending compliance<\/a> with a freedom of information request filed by an anti-Israel NGO, that demanded they disclose ties with Israeli and Jewish entities<\/a>. The group making the request \u2014 the Rights Forum \u2014 was founded by a notoriously antisemitic former Dutch prime minister, who has accused Israel of being a \u201cNazi state\u201d that \u201cpoisons Palestinians.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There were also a number of BDS developments in the student realm. Reports indicate that an unofficial sexual assault awareness group at SUNY New Paltz<\/a> excluded Jewish students on the basis of their support for Israel. The group responded that any defense of Israel as a \u201ca non-colonial state and justifying its occupation of the area, is being indifferent [and] condoning the oppression of Palestinians,\u201d and that \u201cAllowing these beliefs to permeate into our organization would exclude Palestinian students and survivors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pushback against the IHRA working definition of antisemitism also occurred in February. At the University of Texas, the student government took up a resolution to withdrawn and condemn<\/a> its previous endorsement of the IHRA definition. The local SJP chapter later withdrew the resolution after university officials expressed concern about the student government taking up \u201cnon-university issues.\u201d At Queen Mary University of London<\/a> Jewish students protested an event on \u201cresisting and refusing IHRA.\u201d In contrast, the student government at Duke University approved a resolution<\/a> condemning antisemitism and endorsing the IHRA definition.<\/span><\/p>\n

The student union at the University of Toronto voted to approve<\/a> a BDS resolution that calls on the union to<\/a> \u201cwholly divest funds and further on forbid investment to firms complicit in the occupation of Palestinian Territory.\u201d The concepts of \u201cfirms\u201d and \u201cPalestinian Territory\u201d were not defined. The new resolution comes in the wake of a late 2021 decision by the student union at the Scarborough campus to boycott all such \u201cfirms\u201d active on campus, and to \u201crefrain from engaging with organizations, services, or take part in events that further normalize Israeli apartheid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The impact of the wave of BDS protests and efforts to ostracize Jews and Israelis on campus was highlighted by a call from members of Congress for the Department of Education to do more to prevent <\/a>campus antisemitism. The Department of Education has delayed issuing rules<\/a> regarding antisemitism until the end of 2022. Jewish leaders similarly called on Congress<\/a> to provide more support for Department of Homeland Security programs aimed at protecting Jewish institutions. The impact of BDS rhetoric and protests has also been documented in reports showing the rise of antisemitic incidents in both the US <\/a>and in the UK<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the political sphere, support for BDS and animosity towards Israel are now clear litmus tests on the \u201cprogressive\u201d left, in both districts with and without <\/a>Jewish constituencies. The split within the party is demonstrated by the selection of \u2018Squad\u2019 member and BDS supporter Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) to give a response<\/a> to President Biden\u2019s State of the Union Address on behalf of the Working Families Party.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another important BDS-related development is a statement<\/a> by a number of progressive groups opposing the Abraham Accords<\/a>. Led by \u201cJewish Voice for Peace Action,\u201d the 29 groups included all major BDS organizations, such as the American Friends Service Committee, CAIR, the Center for Constitutional Rights, IfNotNow, and the Presbyterian Church (USA). The statement makes the accusation that<\/span><\/p>\n

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While masquerading as \u2018peace\u2019 and \u2018diplomacy\u2019, the Abraham Accords and this legislation are in fact an endorsement of arms sales and political favors between the U.S. and authoritarian regimes \u2014 including weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates and the recognition of Morocco\u2019s illegal annexation of Western Sahara \u2014 in exchange for the sidelining of Palestinian rights.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Legislators are thus increasingly caught between the positions of their constituents and the far-left anti-Israel consensus. One example of this is Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D) of New York, who withdrew his support<\/a> for bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening the Abraham Accords. Bowman, whose district includes heavily Jewish southern Westchester, stated that after a J Street-sponsored trip to Israel, he <\/a>\u201cbecame aware that the deals that this bill supports and seeks to pursue, have included deals at odds with human rights and safety for everyday people in the region.\u201d In reality, the legislation specifically calls for the US<\/a> to \u201csupport a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states \u2014 a democratic Jewish state of Israel and a viable democratic Palestinian state \u2014 living side by side in peace, security, and mutual recognition.\u201d <\/strong>Bowman had been previously criticized for his trip by the Democratic Socialists of America.<\/span><\/p>\n

The impact of antisemitism in politics is likely reflected in the continuing upswing in antisemitic acts across the US, including vandalism of property in New York<\/a>, Chicago<\/a>, Washington, DC<\/a>, and elsewhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A version of this article was published at SPME,<\/a> where the author is a contributor.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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BDS and the Apartheid Libel Are on the March Alexander Joffe Illustration with the logo of Amnesty International on the vest of an observer of a demonstration in Paris, France, Paris, on Dec. 11, 2021. Photo: Xose Bouzas \/ Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect A key development in BDS activity in February was a report […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93542"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93542"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93559,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93542\/revisions\/93559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}