A person angry at Israel, now angry at Starbucks too. Credit: Creative Commons
Back in 1995, while studying abroad in Jerusalem, an American Jewish friend and myself were invited by a Palestinian friend to go to a pop music concert at Bethlehem University in its outdoor arena. The female Arab singer was fabulously talented and charismatic, and of course she sang all the songs in Arabic. At one point, she led a song with her fist high in the air, repeating a rhythmic chant, with the impassioned audience repeating the chant, fists high in the air. Again, all in Arabic. Because it was so rhythmic, my Jewish friend and I joined in. When there was a break in the music, I turned to a Palestinian next to me who spoke English and said to him, “That was really great! Oh, and by the way, what were we chanting that whole time?”
He said, “Kick the Jews out!” Of course, that meant all of the land, not only the 67′ lines.
Memories of that Bethlehem episode came flooding back after reading Omar Barghouti’s op-ed in The New York Times today titled, “Why Israel Fears the Boycott.” It seems that at least some of those who reject Israel as a Jewish state for the Jewish people – a people who have endured milennia of persecution that culminated in the Holocaust – have finally seen the limited public relations range of fist-pumping exhortations of ethnic cleansing, and have instead gone all Madison Avenue on us. In fact, tobacco companies still holding out hope that they can get 5th graders addicted to cigarettes through all manner of subliminal messaging ought to read Barghouti’s op-ed. They could use some new pointers.
The ever-subliminal Joe Camel. Credit: Creative Commons and Big Tobacco
As Barghouti himself spells out in his New York Times piece, his policy prescriptions, including a right of return for Palestinian refugees throughout what is now Israel, all amount to an end to self-determination of the Jewish people: the end of Israel. And yet, he craftily spells this out by tugging at the heartstrings of those who deeply sympathize with the right of Palestinian national self-determination, and broader Arab human rights and dignity. Move over Joe Camel, you’ve got a challenger in the Subliminal Messaging Heavyweight Competion.
From invoking the language of “full equality,” to a handily-placed reminder about Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons arsenal, to a swipe at Saudi Arabia’s atrocious human rights record, to a recollection of leftist Jewish writer and intellectual I.F. Stone, Barghouti is effectively telling every young idealist in America, including young Jewish idealists, the following: “I, and the goals of this BDS movement that I push, are nothing more than the miror reflection of your very own dear idealistic hearts that pine for love and peace for everyone.”
Tragically, many young idealists would rather invest in slogans and T-shirts, which have the enticement of creating political community, than in the values of liberalism that are humankind's best hope for an end to all oppression. Credit: Creative Commons.
Going at this clip, one can expect Barghouti to call for the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, to immediately and without delay institute same-sex marriage rights in all the West Bank and Gaza – and with Elton John and Lady Gaga providing the entertainment for the first newlywed couple. Of course, since Barbara Streisand is Jewish, under Barghouti’s vision, Babs might only be able to sing “Evergreen” for the gay newlyweds via satellite from L.A.
If one is politically aware enought to see that the phrases “Kick the Jews Out” and “End Israel as a Jewish State through BDS” have all the difference and distinction that can be said of linguine and fettucinne, you should be seriously worried about the one true fact that Barghouti writes about in his piece, and that is this: “B.D.S. is no longer taboo in the United States.”
True liberals, as opposed to indoctrination-prone ideologues on the left and the right who are not well-grounded in the values of liberalism, have got to do a better job of creating awareness of the values of classical liberalism; values under heavy attack both domestically and internationally, precisely from people who, in this age of state-of-the-art PR machines, can tweak what is, in and of itself, a justified moral outrage in the broader human saga, and spin it into an engine of perpetual rage; rage that breathes new life into all manner of anti-liberal thought and politics.
Barghouti and the BDS movement – which, shamefully, Secretary Kerry subtly or not-so-subtly validated this weeked in his remarks, depending on one’s interpretation – epitomize the latter: taking a justified moral outrage – the denial of Palestinian human rights and their right of national self-determination – and spinning that justified moral outrage into a de facto, and indeed de jure, denial of the human rights and the right of self-determination for the Jewish people.
Activists, academics, writers, etc. who support the B.D.S. movement – or who assert that this movement shares the same human spirit as the broader nonviolent tradition – are not only wasting time, they are doing something far, far worse: throwing gasoline onto the fires at home and abroad that are already consuming classical liberalism.
While reading this article, I became curious about the phrase, “End Israel as a Jewish State through BDS.” Was it a typical usage by proponents of BDS? How often had it appeared? So I googled it.
Here’s what I found: It appears only once, in a certain online periodical called “Tikkun Daily.” Its date of appearance is Feb. 2, 2014. In other words, its only citation that google came up with was this very article, the one to which I am responding.
For the author of this article, under the banner of defending liberalism, to be putting words in the mouths of political opponents seems…what’s the right word?…disingenuous, maybe…or inappropriate, perhaps… or how about “shameful”?
Dear Gene,
I’m not surprised that in your research into the phraseology of the B.D.S. movement that you did not encounter the words “End Israel as a Jewish state through B.D.S.”
To this day, and certainly throughout the entire 20th century, if you conducted “Google” research to find out what R.J. Reynolds and the other tobacco companies thought about the health effects of cigarretes, I would bet the farm that you would not find any such open statements from those companies along the lines of “These are the nastiest little time-bombs for a person’s health ever invented, but they sure do make us big bucks.”
I guess all those anti-smoking activists, members of Congress, etc. who called the tobacco companies ruthless deceivers for all those years were “shameful” too.
Sincerely,
Timothy Villareal
Gene, no one is putting words in anyone’s mouth by noting that proponents of BDS want to end Israel as a Jewish State. BDS calls for the “return” of all refugees and all of their descendants to Israel. That most certainly would mean the end of Israel as a Jewish State.
Dear Gene,
I would also refer you to this letter published in the New York Times in response to the Barghouti op-ed.
To the Editor:
Re “Why Israel Fears the Boycott,” by Omar Barghouti (Sunday Review, Feb. 2):
When one considers the campaign’s true objective – the disappearance of the Jewish state of Israel – the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement’s complaint of being the victim of bullies who falsely apply the label of anti-Semitism is disingenuous.
By insisting on “the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the homes and lands from which they were forcibly displaced” in 1948, Mr. Barghouti effectively denies the Jewish people the right to fulfill their aspirations for a nation state. Singling out only Jews for the boycott – and encouraging governments, businesses and individuals to join in – is, at its core, anti-Semitic.
The so-called Palestinian “right of return” is a political tool – concocted and perpetuated by the Palestinian leadership to undermine a two-state solution by eliminating the Jewish majority in Israel. It is the demographic equivalent of invasion and conquest, clothed in more palatable terms of “nonviolence” and “democracy.” It is time those who side with the B.D.S. proponents wake up to the true goals of this enterprise.
MICHAEL A. SALBERG
Director, International Affairs
Anti-Defamation League
New York, Feb. 3, 2014
.
John Kerry did not “validate” the boycott movement. He observed that it exists, and that it is a real threat, just as Israeli media and commentators have been doing the past month. (Note: two weeks ago, Israel’s Channel 2 ran a profile on the boycott movement, and its impact, on Israel’s most-watched news program. The next day, Israel’s most-read newspaper, Yehidot Achronot, ran the same topic on its front page. Are Israelis giving “subtle validation” to the BDS movement? No — they’re reporting on a reality.)
I wonder if this author supports those Israeli politicians who tarred Kerry with veiled anti-Semitism charges under the banner of classical liberalism? Because this author is doing similarly — casting boycotts as an anti-Semitic endeavor and then suggesting Kerry validated such anti-Semitism.
That’s not classical liberalism. That’s something else entirely.
This may be a first.. BUT I agree in this one comment with David regarding his first paragraph before his descent into a personal attack.
David is right… John Kerry pointed out something that is pretty obvious. Should talks fail due to Israeli intransigence (and I am not saying they will or that it won’t be Palestinian intransigence that kills them – as it has been the case before), there will be boycotts. That is a fact.
Secretary Kerry is guilty of nothing more than calling attention to this issue and probable action. That is NOT an endorsement, a hope or anything else it is merely what will probably happen.
Just for information sake, Please understand that I loathe the BDS Movement immensely. All it is, is an attempt to bring back the “Jew Boycotts” of the old Nazi Regime. It attempts deny the Jewish people their legitimate rights to self determination in part of their historic homeland.
That said, I think it only fair that we be honest rather than repeat nonsensical Right Wing Memes. And as for my agreeing with DHG, well even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes.
Dear Jon,
I share your view of B.D.S. That said, John Kerry is not a blogger, or a TV or radio talk show host, or a political analyst: he is the Secretary of State of the United States, and he must be held to a far higher standard.
Kerry’s impromtu remarks, which I interpret at minimum as B.D.S. moral validation, much like his sloppy remarks during the very brief debate on the Syria strike congressional resolution last September, which I interpreted – and which later proved to be – as a backtracking in response to the Assad regime’s crimes against humanity, have major diplomatic and security consequences.
Put it this way: If Secretary Kerry is as opposed to BDS as you and I are on moral grounds, it is imperative that he make that clear, not only in his daily remarks, but in his messaging. He certainly has the ability to do that.
Without that clarification, advocates for BDS will doubtless view Kerry’s remarks as an arrow in the quiver of their cause. That’s just politics 101.
I do not begrudge those in Israel’s leadership who expressed alarm at his comments.
Sincerely,
Timothy Villareal
Dear David,
I disagree with your assessment that Secretary Kerry did not, in effect, give his political imprimatur to the B.D.S. movement with his comments in Germany. The only question is to what degree.
He did so by not – as far as I can see in the press reports – making abundantly clear that the values that underlie the movement are not at all peace-oriented, precisely because its architects reject Israel as a Jewish state.
John Kerry is the Secretary of State of the United States. He’s not a blogger. I am a liberal, and in no way, shape or form do I begrudge Israeli leaders of any political stripe for expressing their alarm that a man who is three steps removed from the U.S. presidency, and the anchor of American diplomacy, is lending even subtle moral legitimacy to the B.D.S. movement, which threatens to destroy Israel. It deserves condemnation.
Moreover, unlike the propagandistic language used by Omar Barghouti, clearly intended to ingratiate his movement with American idealists, I find nothing propagandistic in the quotes you gave from the Israeli leaders expressing their alarm at Kerry’s comment, which I sense is what they are sincerely feeling about it.
Sincerely,
Timothy Villareal
BDS + JVP si’
Tikkun no!
Thanks for demonstrating what an intolerant, anti-liberal movement B.D.S. really is, and why it is important for liberals to stay focused on supporting the two-state solution, not supporting the dogmas of indoctrinated apparatchiks who find fulfillment in anything and everything that demonizes Israel.
Israel doesn’t need others to “demonize” it. It appears happy to do it to itself.
How does Israel demonize itself? By being the only democracy in a region full of failed states? By being the only country in which Arab citizens freely vote for their leaders? By having by far the highest human development in the Middle East? By having the most Nobel Prizes per capita? By having the most NASDAQ listed companies by capita?
Dear Mr. Kurman,
Are we Americans guilty of demonizing the United States by our own government’s behavior?
The U.S. military has committed major war crimes in just the past decade alone. When one young soldier, Chelsea Manning, blew the whistle on those war crimes, he was put in a cage at a military base in Kuwait, treated like an animal. Then when returned to the U.S., stripped naked, and put in solitary confinement. The U.N. rapportuer on torture, Juan Menendez, declared his treatment by the U.S. as torture.
Then, of course, we have the continued existence of gulag of Guantanamo, not to mention millions of Americans languishing in our prisons for minor drug offenses and many, in fact, languishing in prison having committed no crime at all.
Are the B.D.S. advocates who demonize the entire state of Israel calling for an all-out end to the United States the way they effectively call for an end to Israel?
This all comes back to the contemporary distortion of liberalism. Liberalism is about human regard for all and the political reforms needed to ensure the rights, safety and dignity of all, which requires always asking tough questions of those in power.
Liberalism is not about denying entire nations the right to exist.
B.D.S., and the culture of rage and Israel denial it is engendering, has totally blurred those fundamental lines.
But if enough people excercise their First Amendment rights to speak out against this anti-liberal movement, they will not succeed.
Sincerely,
Timothy Villareal
I have read pieces by Villareal and i have been impressed by this passion and compassion. This article, however, lacks the truth. He is really misinformed about the reality. BDS is to end the occupation. Villareal needs to know more to write a more accurate report.
Yes, the goal of BDS is to end the occupation. Occupation being defined as the existence of Israel within any borders.
This sounds like the type of rationalization that Finklestein, an anti-Israel voice, spoke about:
“He continued to assault common objectives of anti-Israel activists. He specifically took issue with the BDS movement’s claim of being “rights-based” while again not recognizing Israel’s right to exist, saying, “That’s pure unadulterated hypocrisy. And, speaking personally, I don’t want to have anything to do with it. And speaking politically, it won’t go anywhere.””
http://blog.adl.org/international/norman-finkelstein-throws-wrench-in-anti-israel-movements-claim-to-a-rights-based-agenda
The essayist is as informed about BDS as the commenter, but the commenter’s “rights-based” view reflects ” pure unadulterated hypocrisy.”
Martha Larsen — you are very very wrong if you truly believe that BDS is about ending the occupation. The objective of BDS is not to end the occupation or the creation of a two-state solution; by its terms BDS seeks to end Israel as a Jewish state.
Dear Mr. Larsen,
This post was by no means a report, but a response to a New York Times op-ed by Omar Barghouti that was simply laden with false appeals to peace and justice.
If your interpretation of the B.D.S. movement is that its adherents really wish for a Jewish state and a Palestinian state to live side by side in peace and security, I would strongly encourage you to remind the leaders of this movement to affirm their public and vocal support for Israel as a Jewish state as they stand for Palestinian rights and self-determination.
I wish you luck, but I would certainly not hold my breath.
Sincerely,
Timothy Villareal
Thanks for this great piece. It is nice to see that Tikkun has someone on board who does not stump for BDS and its goal of ending Israel’s existence.
Dear Bizziks,
Thank you for your comment. Here is a letter to the editor in the New York Times in response to Omar Barghouti’s op-ed. I would encourage everyone who has had their heartstrings tugged by the BDS movement to read this letter, and stop wasting time, energy, and spirit, into this backward movement when there is so much hate and injustice in the world that needs to be confronted:
To the Editor:
Re “Why Israel Fears the Boycott,” by Omar Barghouti (Sunday Review, Feb. 2):
When one considers the campaign’s true objective – the disappearance of the Jewish state of Israel – the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement’s complaint of being the victim of bullies who falsely apply the label of anti-Semitism is disingenuous.
By insisting on “the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the homes and lands from which they were forcibly displaced” in 1948, Mr. Barghouti effectively denies the Jewish people the right to fulfill their aspirations for a nation state. Singling out only Jews for the boycott – and encouraging governments, businesses and individuals to join in – is, at its core, anti-Semitic.
The so-called Palestinian “right of return” is a political tool – concocted and perpetuated by the Palestinian leadership to undermine a two-state solution by eliminating the Jewish majority in Israel. It is the demographic equivalent of invasion and conquest, clothed in more palatable terms of “nonviolence” and “democracy.” It is time those who side with the B.D.S. proponents wake up to the true goals of this enterprise.
MICHAEL A. SALBERG
Director, International Affairs
Anti-Defamation League
New York, Feb. 3, 2014
Its not Liberal to affirm the right of self determination for the White Christian people in the one and only White Christian state , with immigration only open to such, and hundreds of laws priviledging the white Christians over the land ethnically cleansed of its indigenous inhabitants, although it did happen historically, all with legitimacy gained from quotations from the Bible.
No this is generally called something different than Liberalism.
Nor does the creation and continued existence of Israel, and the unbroken presence and history of the Jewish people in our historic homeland, of which today’s Israel makes up just part, comport to the silly analogy you use above.
Dear Reality,
I agree with your comments here. Mr. “Liberalism” here is just one of the many people who claim that their moral conscience is rooted in empathy for the victims of historical injustice. Of course, when it comes to the millennia of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, their “profound empathy” for the persecuted and murdered of previous eras seems to dry up altogether.
And that, Reality, in my view, points to another core reality: anti-Semitism is still very much alive in our world and in our country, and no one interested in fighting anti-Semitism should belittle organizations like the ADL for supposedly being too old and out of touch, as was done by another Tikkun Daily blogger the other day.
Sincerely,
Timothy Villareal
I dream of Jewish people being for Pslestinians, and Palestinians being for Jewish people
This post suggests
Palestinians seek to squeeze Jews out of existence
And Jews occupy more and more land until the Pslestinisns are gone
What nonviolent strategy might Jews use to bring peace? The Palestinians? Tikkun readers?
Dear Timothy,
If you want to leave anonymous comments, you should not deliver them with an e-mail address that has your full and distinct name.
That said, I will not tamper with your anonymity.
But, knowing who you are, I would say the most essential – and missing – ingredient to bring about peace between Israelis and Palestinians is for Westerners, in their effort to support Palestinian rights and dignity, to stop validating Palestinian Jew hatred in the process.
Of course, for both some Catholic and many Protestant denominations, which you certainly know a lot about, standing up against that Jew hatred is hard if one is convinced, apparently down to his bones, that Jews are morally inferior to Christians.
Confronting latent anti-Semitism in Christian denominations, the manifestations of which vary from Catholic to Mainline Protestant to the evangelicals, is must.
By the way, Rabbi Michael Lerner, who is Jewish, has written books and countless articles on nonviolent strategies to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Sincerely,
Timothy Villareal
Brother Timothy, you may contact me at my email address, too