Tikkun Daily Blog Archive (https://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/author/dharris-gershon/page/3/)
Open Hillel launched a three-day conference, determined to create what Jewish institutions have largely refused to permit: dynamic spaces where both Zionists and anti-Zionists can come together and discuss Israel as equals, and with equally valuable perspectives as respected members of the American Jewish community.
On Friday evening, Bill Maher and Sam Harris did what white men in America have been doing for the last twenty-five years: they shielded their racism and anti-Muslim bigotry under the umbrella of liberal values.
“Targeting and blaming Jews living in the United States or Europe for the actions of Israel is blatant anti-Semitism. For as a political state, albeit a ‘Jewish’ one, Israel clearly does not represent all Jews, nor does it embody Judaism. However, many anti-Semites choose to conflate the two — Israel and global Jewry — so that they can use Israel’s actions as an occasion to target, sometimes violently, Jews around the world. This conflation is not just faulty, given the diversity of Jewish opinions on Israel, but dangerous as well.” David Harris-Gershon critiques Israel’s Prime Minister, Binaymin Netanyahu’s, Rosh Hashanah message as a conflation of Israel and Judaism, and not unifying, but hurting Jews across the globe.
On Sunday, The New York Times featured a full page advertisement on page A7 sponsored by the group Creative Community for Peace (CCFP). The advertisement, which at first glance appears to be a benign call for peace in Israel and a denouncement of terror, was signed by the likes of Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, Aaron Sorkin, and hundreds of other entertainment stars. A closer look at the ad reveals its less-than-benign intentions, and a closer look at the group behind the ad, CCFP, reveals that it is actually a front organization for the extremist pro-settler, pro-occupation organization StandWithUs, which is dedicated to laundering Israel’s image and shielding it from critique while demonizing Palestinians. (For the purposes of transparency, StandWithUs tried to have one of my book appearances cancelled this year.)
Those who signed the letter, to be examined shortly, were almost certainly unaware of CCFP’s affiliation with a pro-occupation organization, particularly since it’s careful to hide that affiliation. Indeed, CCFP has attempted to claim that it is a wholly independent group, though the Forward found the opposite to be the case:
Formed in 2011, CCFP partnered with StandWithUs, a group widely perceived as being on the far right of the pro-Israel spectrum, which accepts tax deductible donations on CCFP’s behalf.
During a press conference for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, democratic officials slam his opponent, Zephyr Teachout for her views on Israel. Her reluctance to speak openly about the conflict caused the New York democrats to paint her as anti-Semitic — demonstrating how in American politics, if you’re not pro-Israel, you are branded as a potential enemy.
Israel is appropriating a 1,000 acres of private land in the West Bank for settlement expansion — a move that is one step closer to pushing towards a one-state solution.
The difference between how the New York Times described Michael Brown — an unarmed black teenager –and the mass murderer, Ted Bundy, reveals the blatant racism in American media and society.
Holocaust survivors and their descendants publicly condemn the occupation of Palestine and the massacre of Palestinians in a letter published as an advertisement in The New York Times.
Hedy Epstein, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor was arrested in Ferguson while protesting Governor Jay Nixon’s actions. Epstein said after her detainment, “I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager. I didn’t think I would have to do it when I was 90. We need to stand up today so that people won’t have to do this when they’re 90.”
Palestinians’ accounts of the destruction in one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in Gaza.