Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Tuesday 18 June 2013

With Due Regard For Ramadan, Quaker Israel-Haters Sow Their Vile Oats

I've mentioned before that I attended a Quaker liberal arts college in the United States, and admire the historic record of the Society of Friends in the promotion of gender and racial equality as much as I regard their pacifism as naively dangerous and deplore their contemporary slide into a foolish politically left mindset that in effect gives aid and succour to the enemies of the West.

I blogged some time ago about the "Boycott Derangement Syndrome" that infects Britain's Quakers.

Alas, the Quakers have again demonstrated their capacity for malice and mischief with the American Friends Service Committee due to hold (28 July-1 August) a "Summer BDS Institute for Student Leaders" in upstate New York in which college students will be given intensive training in holding campus boycotts against Israel.  This vile initiative is supported by Jewish Voices for Peace,founded in California in 1996, which as the ADL has pointed out,
'is the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States....
In the past few years, JVP has become a leader in the American anti-Israel movement and has assumed a particularly visible role in the renewed Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.... Although JVP focuses on boycott and divestment campaigns that specifically target Israeli settlements and the "occupation," the group notes that it supports more radical BDS campaigns that call for a complete economic, academic and cultural boycott of Israel.... 
JVP, like other prominent Jewish anti-Zionist individuals and groups, uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide it with a greater degree of legitimacy and credibility.  JVP even recognizes its role as such, noting on its Web site that it is "inspired by Jewish tradition" and that the group's Jewish nature gives it a "particular legitimacy in voicing an alternative view of American and Israeli actions and policies" and the ability to distinguish "between real anti-Semitism and the cynical manipulation of that issue."...'
The AFSC website explains that this "fun in a summer camp-like environment" is intended for "All campus activists currently running or hoping to launch BDS campaigns on their campus" and will include: 

"Extensive campaign development coaching
 Grassroots organizing skill building
 Media & Messaging trainings
 Anti-oppression analysis workshops
 Nonviolent direct action planning
 Historical overview of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions
 Relationship building with activists on campuses nationwide
 Strategy sessions with BDS movement leaders
 Two tracks for existing and new campaigns"


Moreover, "Meal and other accomodations will be made for those observing Ramadan." 

As noted in the Washington Free Beacon:
'An AFSC official said the number of attendees for this year is not yet finalized and said the 2013 program will focus on “call[ing] attention to what is happening in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories while supporting a just and lasting peace that benefits both Palestinians and Israelis.”....
The AFSC’s Michael Merryman-Lotze, who helped organize the summer program, objected to the argument that the BDS campaign is anti-Semitic.
“We see nothing inherently anti-Semitic in the use of these proven nonviolent tactics nor in the BDS movement as a whole,” said Merryman-Lotze. “Are BDS opponents next going to argue that these same tactics were anti-White in the Jim Crow south and apartheid era South Africa?”
Merryman-Lotze also disputed claims from critics that the campaign has been ineffective.
“Why, if BDS is ineffective and largely a failure, have the Israeli government and groups like the ADL, the Wiesenthal Center, and AIPAC invested millions of dollars in developing campaigns to counter minimally funded grassroots BDS activism?” said Merryman-Lotze. “If our efforts are ineffective, why write a story about our planned training program? The answer is that BDS is effective and successful.”...'
Read the rest here

Meanwhile, as reported here,
"Shurat HaDin's American office has been investigating whether the camp violates federal and NYS anti-boycott laws and whether a legal proceeding can be brought against the organizers and participants."
(Hat tip: reader Shirlee)

2 comments:

  1. For what it's worth, Richard Abzug's "America Views the Holocaust, 1933-45 : A Brief Documentary History" details communiques FROM the Quakers in Germany in the 1930's showing what could be described at best, complete indifference to the Nazi's treatment of the Jews and more often than not, a patent racism blaming the Jews for their own treatment.

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