B'Tselem: Where is the morality?

Dror Ider
November 08, 2010
Yisrael HaYom (Hebrew)

To read the original Hebrew article, click here [page 25].
[Translation by NGO Monitor]

Here is a quote from the “Bubbes and Zaydes for Peace” (BZP) website: "First launched in Toronto in 2005, ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar... This year, IAW occurs in the wake of Israel's barbaric assault against the people of Gaza. Lectures, films, and actions will make the point that these latest massacres further confirm the true nature of Israeli Apartheid. IAW 2009 will continue to build and strengthen the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement at a global level." Based on their declaration, Bubbes and Zaydes supports and seeks to strengthen the BDS movement. The BDS movement began at the infamous Durban Conference in 2001, which became an anti-Israel show. The final declaration of the NGO Forum at Durban called for “a policy of complete and total isolation of Israel as an apartheid state …” This statement has become the strategy of the BDS movement, which has been promoting boycotts against Israel since 2005.

A visit to the Global BDS Movement website reveals, for example, that the strategy of sanctions and boycotts against Israel are designed to ensure “that Israeli apartheid and occupation become unprofitable and finally untenable, catalyze an anti-Zionist movement in Israeli society and boost the morale of those struggling under Occupation.” In other words, the strategy is not just one of international activity to delegitimize Israel, but also undermining of the basic consensus of Israeli society. The second section, “support those who struggle under the Occupation” also grants indirect support and legitimacy to the armed struggle against Israel, that is to say, indirect support for terrorism.

In contrast to the liberal-humanitarian image of the organization, the BDS Movement globally promotes the delegitimization of Israel through its support of the Palestinian “right of return,” branding of Israel as an apartheid state, applying a double standard towards Israel, and even sabotaging existing collaborations between Israel and Palestinians (from a report of the Reut Institute).

Now we’ll return to the nice Bubbes and Zaydes. Two weeks ago they donated money to B’Tselem, and the organization’s executive director, Jessica Montell, was quick to boast on Twitter: “I don't know the group but it brought a big smile to my face.” NGO Monitor, headed by Prof. Gerald Steinberg, contacted B’Tselem and warned them that the donation was from an anti-Israel organization that promotes Israel’s delegitimization, and supports the anti-Israel, and essentially anti-Semitic, policy of BDS. This contradicts the stated principles of B’Tselem – and the recent declarations of the New Israel Fund which supports B’Tselem – not to cooperate with organizations that deny Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

Will you reject the contributions, asked NGO Monitor, now that the donors have been revealed to be anti-Israel? The organization’s response was that it was honored to accept donations that aim to ensure the highest ethical standards for life in Israel.

So ‘grandmas and grandpas’ in Yiddish (Bubbes and Zaydes) sounds harmless, and what could be wrong with accepting donations from them? A simple search, however, exposes the harsh face of this organization.

Organizations such as B’Tselem, that hold Israel to exceptional moral standards, should themselves be held to the same standards, especially when it comes to Israel’s existence.