Doc's Talk: 'Tis the Season for BDS

Thursday, December 23, 2010

'Tis the Season for BDS

NGO Monitor

During the 2010 Christmas season, NGOs such as War on Want (UK), Sabeel, Trócaire, and Pax Christi are exploiting the holiday for radical attacks against Israel through politicized Christmas carols, cards, messages and calls for donations and gift-giving. This year, there is a stronger emphasis than in previous years on promoting BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns, attacking the security barrier despite greatly reduced suicide bombings and other terror attacks.

NGO Monitor’s analysis reveals that:

* Groups such as Sabeel, War on Want, Trócaire, and Pax Christi manipulate Christmas symbols and traditions to advance BDS campaigns. These campaigns are part of the Durban strategy that seeks to eliminate Israel through international isolation.
* Many exploitations of Christmas conflate the suffering of Jesus with the Palestinians, invoking classical antisemitic themes and blood libels against Jews.
* Friends of Sabeel – North America circulated a list targeting Israeli companies for boycotts during Christmas shopping. The vast majority of these companies are located within the 1949 armistice lines, and are included because they are Israeli or Jewish.
* As in the past, War on Want is promoting donations to Stop the Wall (Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Coalition - PGAAWC).
* War on Want, Amos Trust and the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) are selling Christmas cards and wood carvings depicting the security barrier as part of the nativity scene.

Prof. Gerald Steinberg stated: “Manipulating religious symbols and images for these purposes is deeply offensive, and clearly does not foster an environment of co-existence among Israelis and Palestinians. It does demonstrate the hatred that is inherent in the BDS movement – a movement based on Hypocrisy and Double Standards (HDS).”

War on Want’s campaign “Help win justice for the Palestinian people this Christmas” accuses Israel of “illegal Occupation,” “daily human rights abuses,” and “the siege on Gaza and the Apartheid Wall.” As in previous years, this NGO calls for holiday donations in the form of “alternative gifts,” in order to “launch a sustained campaign against UK companies that are profiting from the Occupation” and to “secure compensation for those who have lost land due to construction of the Apartheid Wall.”

Friends of Sabeel--North America circulated a list of ten companies to boycott entitled “All I want for Christmas is an End to Apartheid,” stating that “While there are many Israeli and multinational companies that benefit from apartheid, we put together this list to highlight ten specific companies to target.” The vast majority of the list comprises companies located within the 1949 armistice lines and are included because they are Israeli or Jewish-owned.

For example, Teva Pharmaceuticals is included because it is “one of the largest generic drug manufacturers in the world” and part of a “well established industry in Israel.” The Delta Galil textile company is featured because its founder and president is a “a close associate of former Israeli Pr0esident [sic] Ehud Barak”; similarly, Estee Lauder is boycotted because chairman Ronald Lauder is also the chairman of the Jewish National Fund.

Adalah-NY (not the same as Adalah in Israel), a central actor in the BDS movement, held a demonstration in front of Lev Leviev’s store in New York. Adalah-NY has been holding this demonstration annually since 2007. Activists doctored traditional carols and stories such as “The 12 Days of Boycott” and “The Grinch who Tried to Steal Palestine,” claiming that Leviev’s “dark task” and “true crime” are to “steal Palestine.” The song also blames Leviev for alleged human rights violations in Africa.

The UK-based Ahava Boycott Campaign also composed an alternative BDS carol, “Away with Ahava! No more Dead Sea mud! Its settlement products are tainted with blood.” This is part of a longstanding campaign by BDS activists against Ahava.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign markets “Ideal Christmas Presents,” including a “Boycott Israeli Goods/Justice for Palestine T-shirt.”
Problematic Theology

NGOs also exploit Christmas, using inflammatory rhetoric to promote a distorted and biased view of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The head of Sabeel, Naim Ateek, published a Christmas message blaming Israel alone for the failure of the peace process: “The problem today lies with the unwillingness of the government of Israel to respect the demands of international law.” Ateek accuses Israel of using “peace rhetoric while daily it devours Palestinian land. . . One is reminded again of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths. Their roads they have made crooked; no one who walks in them knows peace’ (Is. 59:8).” Invoking the Prophet Isaiah recalls classical antisemitism, which uses Biblical sources to argue that Jews are intractably immoral.

Pax Christi once again published its list of ideas for actions in “Prayer and Solidarity for the people of the Holy Land.” They suggest that supporters use the Pax Christi Bethlehem Story PowerPoint with a school, family, or parish group. Ignoring intra-Palestinian violence and the targeting of Christians by Islamists, the presentation falsely attributes the declining percentage of Christians living in Bethlehem to “the government of Israel … buil[ding] this large wall around the town of Bethlehem.” Replete with images of the “large wall,” the presentation dismisses Israeli security concerns – “they think the wall will keep them safe” – and asks the children to ”imagine Mary and Joseph trying to get through the wall to Bethlehem today.”

Pax Christi’s “list of ideas” also directs readers to the Just Peace For Palestine website for resources on the Arab-Israeli conflict. This website includes a call for BDS and accuses Israel of “segregation.”

Trócaire (funded by the Irish government) asked supporters to purchase a gift of olive trees because “Palestinians have faced enormous hardship since Israel started building its Separation Wall around the West Bank in 2002.” Trócaire also claims that a “gift of olive trees . . . will also support Israeli and Palestinian organisations working to promote a just and lasting peace.” Yet, Trócaire funds some of the most radical organizations (Badil, Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Al Mezan) operating in the Arab-Israeli conflict, many of which are active in BDS and have signed an anti-normalization pledge to “reject any normalization activities with the occupier, neither at the political-security nor the cultural or developmental levels.”

A Beirut-based group named the “Never Before Campaign for Justice in Palestine” has posted a video for Christmas asking, “If he [Jesus] were here today, what would he say?” It opens with a close-up of a traditional nativity scene and ends with pictures of Jesus and Mary superimposed on the separation barrier. The accompanying text states, “Bethlehem is surrounded by a racist wall of biblical proportions, by regime which is racist to biblical proportions.”
Christmas Cards and Nativity Scenes

As in previous years, War on Want is selling Christmas cards depicting the security barrier and traditional Christmas images. The Ireland Palestinian Solidarity Campaign is selling a card with a Madonna and child image in green, red, and white – the colors of the Palestinian flag.

The Amos Trust Large Wall Nativity comes “complete with separation wall” depicting the “current situation in Bethlehem. It includes... a palm tree to replace the wall for a more traditional nativity scene – ideal for churches and campaigners.” One may also buy the “poignant” and “ironic” Small Wall Nativity, where “this year the wise men won't get to the stable.”

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) features in its online store a wood nativity scene similar to the one sold by Amos Trust. IPSC requests of its supporters: “This Christmas, when you think of the birth of Jesus, we ask that you also remember Palestine and the historic injustice being carried out today…The set depicts what the famous events of over 2000 years ago might look like today, the two wise men (and one wise woman) find their path to the Manger of Jesus blocked by the modern monstrousity [sic] that Israel calls ‘the seperation [sic] barrier’ and which the rest of the world calls the Apartheid [sic] Wall.”

The IPSC is also features a Christmas card with the three wise men’s path blocked by the security barrier: “Imagine the bewilderment of the three wise men if they tried to bring their gifts to Bethlehem today. Their path would be blocked by Israel's Apartheid Wall and it's doubtful if they would be allowed through the checkpoints.”
Conclusion

Through the use of holiday and religious symbols, NGOs are manipulating Christmas to advance a political agenda, including anti-Israel boycotts. In some cases, the association of Palestinians with Jesus’ suffering invokes classical antisemitic tropes.

The prevalence of Christmas-linked BDS reflects an increase in the intensity of these campaigns. These groups are exploiting the holiday themes and fueling the conflict, rather than publicizing a message of peace and co-existence.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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