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Thursday, November 04, 2010
Pro-Palestinian Group Is Not Promoting Peace
By Sam Sokolove And Sara Koplik
Executive Director, Jewish Federation of New Mexico Director, Hillel at the University of New Mexico
As described in an article in Tuesday's Journal, the Jewish Federation of New Mexico and Hillel, UNM's Jewish Student organization, are deeply troubled that the American Studies Department and Peace Studies Program are co-presenting an appearance by Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada this Sunday. Abunimah is a representative of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a global movement intent on destroying Israel and her credibility in the world.
Also known as the "3D's" — demonization, delegitimization and applying a double standard — BDS is another assault on the Jewish State; global, sophisticated and well-funded, cynically masqueraded as a "Peace and Justice" campaign.
A sampling of Abunimah's bon mots include: calling for the creation of a museum "dedicated to the end of Zionism as an ideology"; dismissing peace talks as a way for Israel to "legitimize" its land grabs and a way to save "Jewish supremacy" in Israel/Palestine; condemning Israel for "ethnically cleansing" Palestinians since 1948, describing Israel as "violators, criminals, killers;" calling Gaza the "Warsaw Ghetto of the 21st century;" insisting that Hamas's leaders are more moderate than the leaders of Israel; describing the situation in Gaza as a "Holocaust"; insisting "Jewish people don't require Israel"; and analogizing the Palestinian situation to Darfur and blasting "the collaborationist Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas and (Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister) Salam Fayyad" for meeting with Israel advocacy organizations.
To be clear: we do not oppose Abunimah's right to speak; that right is guaranteed by the Constitution. Nor are we opposed to any student group sponsoring this individual. Rather, we are opposed to the patina of respectability that departmental sponsorship provides, as it implicitly endorses the message of hate that is at the heart of the BDS movement.
The BDS movement is utterly disinterested in peace, the exchange of ideas or real dialogue. Its tactics deny Israel's cultural products; deny Israel's emissaries the right to be heard; delegitimize the Jewish historical ties to Israel; and portray Zionism not as an expression of Jewish Peoplehood, but as an extension of European colonization. In fact, the working definition of anti-Semitism embraced by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights now includes denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor; applying double standards not demanded of any other democratic nation and drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
Criticizing the policies of the Israeli government — often harshly and rightfully — is evident daily within Israeli society and American Jewish life. The daily suffering endured by Palestinians only underscores the long overdue need for a normalization of their status. "I am Pro-Palestinian," insisted Israeli author Neil Lazarus during his recent visit to New Mexico. "I want an independent Palestinian state. I don't want to control 3.2 million people."
But BDS offers no real hope to the Palestinian cause, as the movement actually opposes negotiations between Israel and Palestine — the building of a future for both peoples. The possibility of reconciliation, collaboration and realizing the vision of Israelis and Palestinians residing side-by-side in peace and security has no place in the BDS movement, dismissing a Two-State Solution as anathema to its vision of a world finally rid of the nuisance Jewish state.
The Jewish Federation of New Mexico and Hillel at UNM strongly support dialogue and a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. However, we believe that the tactics of BDS are antithetical to dialogue, reconciliation and an enduring peace.
The UNM Peace Studies Program's and American Studies Department's co-presentation of Abunimah sends a chilling message to the students and faculty of UNM that the very legitimacy of Israel's existence within the university community is questioned. For people of conscience the appearance of this academic endorsement is very bad news, especially for those accustomed to looking to our institutions of higher learning for the attributes of true dialogue, innovation and mutual respect; attributes all missing from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions manifesto.
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