On March 4 the AIPAC Policy Conference held a panel discussion called “The Struggle to Secure Israel on Campus” that featured Wayne Firestone, CEO of Hillel, Roz Rothstein, CEO of Stand With Us, and representatives of The David Project and AIPAC. The panel also included an unexpected speaker: 22-year-old Liza Behrendt. Behrendt unfurled a banner that read, “Settlements Betray Jewish Values” and “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof,” the Jewish text from Deuteronomy meaning “Justice, Justice, You Shall Pursue.” Her statement called attention to the silencing of Palestinians – and young Jews who support them – on U.S. campuses.
Panelists discussed tactics for opposing human rights groups on campus, particularly those that promote the use of Boycott, Divestment, or Sanctions (BDS) to pressure Israel to be accountable to international law. Last year, Firestone issued controversial guidelines barring Hillel groups from partnering with organizations that support any facet of the BDS movement or that lack an outright Zionist stance.
“I felt it was necessary to confront Wayne Firestone, whose condescending guidelines barred my Brandeis University chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace from joining Hillel last spring,” Behrendt said. “Hillel’s guidelines are part of organized efforts to enforce an ideological status quo among young Jews on Israel, but they are completely out of touch with what’s happening among young people.”
AIPAC enticed over 1,000 students to attend this year’s policy summit, including 200 student body presidents, mostly by subsidizing their trips to DC. Sunday morning, student activists distributed hundreds of copies of an open letter from members of Students for Justice in Palestine and Young, Jewish, & Proud to AIPAC student delegates that highlights the myths and realities of AIPAC.
This effort to draw attention to the silencing of Palestinians and young Jewish activists is part of a weekend long series of activities to highlight the destructive practices of AIPAC. A separate group of Jewish activists from Jews Say No and Just Foreign Policy went inside the AIPAC conference and gave interviews to journalists, in which they stressed that AIPAC doesn’t represent the majority of American Jews who oppose war with Iran and who want the US to oppose settlement expansion in the West Bank. Activists held daylong creative protests outside the AIPAC conference and outside of the White House on Monday for Netanyahu’s visit. And on Monday another group of activists “mic checked” Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who was speaking on a panel about Iran. The four activists said, “AIPAC supports war. We support peace. Diplomacy not bombs. No war on Iran!” On Super Tuesday, March 6, Occupy AIPAC will place an ad opposing war on Iran in the prestigious newspaper The Hill. An ad from Tikkun and the Network of Spiritual Progressives is planned to appear in the NY Times soon as efforts to prevent war increase throughout the country.
Timed to coincide with the AIPAC policy conference, Occupy AIPAC is a coalition effort initiated by CODEPINK: Women for Peace and endorsed by Occupy Wall Street, Occupy DC, and over 130 organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace, Interfaith Peace Builders, Jews Say No, Just Foreign Policy, US Palestinian Community Network and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Occupy AIPAC urges Obama to reject the Israeli administration’s push for war on Iran, promotes respect for Palestinian rights, and draws attention to the role of AIPAC as a special interest lobby that maintains a stranglehold over US policies.
On Tuesday, AIPAC delegates will lobby congress in support of House and Senate Resolution 380, which would take diplomacy off the table and increase the likelihood of war with Iran. Please take action by visiting www.occupyaipac.org to send a letter to your congressperson and senators opposing this resolution.
i knew it! Occupy Wall Street has turned anti semitic and has joined a whole parade of anti Semites and self hating Jews. Israel is facing tough decisions and as Obama said, containment of Iran is not on the table. There is a time line here. iran will gat to a point where the nuclear facilities will be out of reach. You do not have Israel’s back. I always fear that Jews get involved with movements that eventually turn anti semitic. It happened with the New Left after Israel won the 6 day war and it is happening now. Israel is facing a existential threat from iran and you are thinking that your can win tyne Iranian regime over with love.
So here we have it, Tikkun endorses the destruction of Israel by Iran, plain and simple. It is an organization of self hating Jews and anti Semites. I may want Israel to carefully way it’s options, but iran has closed off any diplomatic path. If sanctions fail, there dare no other options. Ahamadinijad and his gang of Ayatollahs have one goal i mind, the elimination of Israel.
Kol ha Kavod to Liza Behrendt! She follows a well trod Jewish path by standing up for her beliefs and fighting for justice. Yesher Koach, Liza!
Sub:- Obama disappoints mankind at AIPAC
Obama has already obliged Israel by his speech at AIPAC on Sunday that – “[We all prefer to resolve this issue diplomatically. Having said that, Iran’s leaders should have no doubt about the resolve of the United States, just as they should not doubt Israel’s sovereign right to make its own decisions about what is required to meet its security needs]”.
How much confidence Israel will have in diplomatic resolution of this problem by USA in order to stop Iran’s nuclear program and how much Israel will prefer Obama’s advice to exercise Israel’s sovereign right to make its own decisions about what is required (euphemism for military action) to meet its security needs, is any body’s guess
But Obama will do well to consider the following before deciding to spill the blood of Americans and their Allies (who are bound to be sucked in if Israel attacks) in Iran:-
(1)- No justice loving person can buy Obama’s argument about Iran. Iran is unnecessarily being harassed and humiliated by USA and its Allies in the name of stopping Iran from having Nukes. Against all the logic & reason, USA & its Allies think that they and some other countries (including Israel, India and Pakistan) have some divine right to posses the nuclear WMDs but countries like Iran, do not have so. As far the past record, USA still remains the only country, which used nukes (in Hiroshima and Nagasaki of Japan). If USA is really interested in mankind getting rid of nuclear WMDs then ‘forced global de-nuclearization through UN’ in a time bound period is still the only solution commensurate with justice.
(2)- Instead USA and its Allies are making and especially have allowed Israel to make war cries against Iran without realizing that it has already sent shock waves to entire world (including developing countries) which fear, due to this crises, shortage of petroleum oil and steep rise in its price and which is beyond their capacity to bear. Let USA & Allies be under no delusion that remaining mankind will not go against them due to their war in Iran especially when the just remedy, commensurate with justice, of ‘forced global de-nuclearization through UN’ in a time bound period is still available.
(3)- The USA & Allies (and Israel) have not taken one more factor into reckoning. Iran is the only country which is not ruled by politician or traditional rulers but by a religious leader of Islam (a religion with traditional rivalries against Jews and Christians including from the days of crusade) the Ayatollah, who is also a constitutional authority as ‘Supreme Leader of Iran’. The USA & Allies ought to understand that there is a fundamental difference between religious leader and other people. Whether rightly or wrongly but religion thinks that it knows the final truth (otherwise who will go to religion). Hence religion never changes its position on various issues. Therefore Ayatollah will rather take (that too in this age of 24×7 television and internet) whole of Iran to even total destruction (by USA & Allies) with him but will never budge on its position on nuclear program of Iran especially when as per Iran it is for civilian purpose.
(4)- Not withstanding present support of regimes of some Muslim countries to them, if USA & Allies think that global Muslim population (whether Shia or Sunni) will not go against USA & Allies especially in the face of total destruction of such a country as Iran by Jews and Christians – then these governments of USA & Allies are living in their make belief world.
(5)- Even Russia (which has become much powerful after dismemberment of USSR) will find an opportunity in this scenario and will certainly try to take the revenge against USA & Allies by converting Iran into late-eighties-cold-war-Afghanistan. During crucial stage of cold war USA & Allies used Islam through Mujaheddin in Afghanistan to defeat USSR and now it will be the turn of Russia to use Islam in Iran against USA & Allies.
(6)- Moreover one more factor Obama should keep in his mind before deciding any course of action about Iran & Syria. In Syria at least Syrians (mainly most of its Sunni Population which is in majority of 74 %) can be used after some defections from the army and after arming the rebels to teeth to fight the Syrian war. But what about Iran? In Iran Obama will have to shed the blood of Americans and their Allies only. Even Muslim regimes of Arab countries may support politically USA & Allies in their war against Iran but they will never provide their armed forces to shed their blood and the blood of Irani Muslims in war against Iran. Even it will not be the Jewish blood which will spill in Iran.
(7)- Therefore Obama (who, as a Statesman friendly to human rights and justice, aroused the hopes of entire mankind immensely, when he came to White House in 2008) is expected, if not to bother about the hardships of the remaining mankind then at least to respect the blood of Americans and their Allies and should ensure that it is not shed unnecessarily especially when alternative remedy, commensurate with justice, of ‘forced global de-nuclearization through UN’ in a time bound period is already available.
(8)- And by the way, would Obama enlighten the mankind that if he is so confident about diplomatic (sanctions etc) solution to Iran problem then why he (being the President and supreme commander of armed forces of USA – the leader of uni-polar world) left Israel, through his said Sunday AIPAC speech, free to exercises its sovereign right to make its own decisions about what is required to meet its security needs, which is nothing but euphemism for military action of Israel against Iran and which (Obama also knows) will leave no country on this earth, un-wounded ?
Liza Behrendt and Rae Abileah are a couple of spoiled children who have never had a tough day in their lives. And JVP is about has pro-Israel has the Iranian parliament and the society of waffen SS veterans. But, since disrupting events is evidently OK that’s good to know, I got guys who are ready to roll
Hem:
The USA & Allies (and Israel) have not taken one more factor into reckoning. Iran is the only country which is not ruled by politician or traditional rulers but by a religious leader of Islam (a religion with traditional rivalries against Jews and Christians including from the days of crusade) the Ayatollah, who is also a constitutional authority as ‘Supreme Leader of Iran’.”
yes, It is a fine government indeed, one where a woman can get stoned to death for adultery.
Hem
“commensurate with justice, of ‘forced global de-nuclearization through UN’ in a time bound period is already available.”
China and Russia have castrated the UN
” Even it will not be the Jewish blood which will spill in Iran.”
You’re quiet wrong there
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Playng Travian,
I agree, he writes great fiction