Keziah's Curse

Ah, the curse of naivety!

I mean, just look at the recent comments by Pamela Hardyment I posted yesterday.

And at this further one today.

And at this squalid nastiness:

And then consider the foolishness exemplified by Jewish students who happily support slurs against the Jewish State.

 "Stupid kid. You think you know it all. So did I at your age. But the truth is, you know absolutely nothing about the forces of racist evil you are trying to help unleash."

For that is the bottom line of a comment by one exasperated commenter on an article by Ms Keziah Berelson.in the University of Edinburgh's student magazine earlier this month extolling that univerity's student unions's shameful passage of a pro-BDS motion.

Ms Berelson had proclaimed inter alia: 

"As a Modern Orthodox Jew, a recent graduate from the University of Edinburgh and a former President of the University’s Jewish Society ... I congratulate the student body’s decision to pass a motion of BDS. This is a victory for minority rights and democracy at the University. BDS is a non-violent campaign called for by over 170 Palestinian civil society organisations which use the methods of boycott, divestment and sanctions from institutions and companies who benefit from and contribute to Palestinian oppression in order to pressure the Israeli state to operate within the boundaries set by international law....  This vote shows that EUSA and Edinburgh University students are still committed to liberation politics....

It saddens me that this successful move by BDS campaigners is overshadowed by accusations of anti-Semitism, which detract from the terrifying rise of fascism on UK and European streets. The Zeig Heils and blood-painted swastikas daubed onto vans in Dover earlier this year and the fascist demonstration held in Golders Green this Saturday have been eclipsed by fearmongering of pro-Palestinian successes. We must not let them rise again. I understand why Zionist Jewish students will feel intimidated by this decision but I must ask that you speak to fellow Palestinian students. How has this reaction affected them? How safe do they feel on campus?....

.... Do not assume a political opinion based on my religion or creed, for we are not all the same and we will not be silenced. Not in my name."

Among the justifiably appalled comments beneath her article this one stands out:

"I am currently studying in a University in Israel with a large Arab student body (Uni of Haifa), and I have to comment about how surprised I was at the ignorance of what Apartheid actually was. To describe Israel as an Apartheid state (which you allude to by saying that BDS brought down the Apartheid regime in South Africa) undermines the suffering that the non-whites suffered in SA and maximises the suffering of the Palestinians. There is no law in Israel forbidding an Arab to ride the same bus as a Jew (and such a law would be actively denounced by just about every Israeli, Jew and not), but this was the foundation of the Apartheid State. This goes on, the gist of what I am saying is that Israel does not have the multitude of discriminatory laws that South Africa had, and given the fact that 50% of Israeli Jews were exiled from Arab countries following the creation of the State of Israel, it is nearly impossible to accurately differentiate between Jew and Arab.

On another note, I am interested in the pressure being brought to bear on the State of Israel, what about on the Palestinian Authority and Hamas? Neither of which have held elections in about 10 years? Or to end their incitement to murder Jews, which has seen a 70 year old woman killed, among others. Please tell me if you can how murdering a 70 year old woman advances the creation of the Palestinian state? Hamas rules over Gaza, and instead of building a state, they have committed to shot rockets into Israel? Do you not think that it would be better for the people of Gaza if they built their state instead of trying to kill Jews that have anyway left their land? The follow on from this is that if they did build their state instead of trying to kill us, I think that they would get the freedom that they claim to want. What about the Egyptians who have also restricted the Rafah crossing into Gaza? Why does BDS singularly go after the Jewish State?

In summary, I have to say what you have done is not in my name. I would rather do the hard work on the ground, discussing our differences and working out how we can live together, instead of a one-sided narrative that absolves the other side of any responsibility for their actions. Both sides have a lot of work to do, and as long as you and the BDS movement focusses only on the Israeli transgressions and fails to understand the literal fear for our lives that is an every day reality for many of us, which would only be exacerbated by handing over power to a dysfunctional PA ... with ISIS not too far away (neither Syria nor Sinai are far from the borders of what would be the Palestinian State), is to many of us anti-Semitic. If not in intention, then in what it could well result in with us forced into a suicidal situation. By all means encourage dialogue, encourage reflection, encourage meaningful steps to peace but do not expect us to take kindly to you trying to force us to commit suicide, however well intentioned you may think you are being."

 But nobody has said it better than this great guy.

Meanwhile, some more ravings by Scottish PSC chief Napier:

Not A Man-Bites-Dog Story: In Britain, "black" leftist students endorse BDS

Reports Middle East Monitor:

'The UK's National Union of Student's Black Students conference has endorsed the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) at their national conference at the University of Warwick. The annual gathering passed Motion 402: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions by an "overwhelming" majority, according to NUS National Black Students' Officer Aaron Kiely [pictured left and below] ....

 The motion condemns Israel's "multitude of human rights and international law violations", describing "Israeli expansion on Palestinian land" as "a settler-colonial project, predicated on the ethnic cleansing and expulsion of its indigenous people". The motion also slams "systemic" racism in Israeli state policy, including "anti-Arab, anti-African and anti-migrant discrimination"....'

The report adds:

'The motion commits the Black Students campaign to lobbying "institutions to adopt academic boycott of Israeli universities", disseminating "resources and materials on how to run successful BDS campaigns", and supporting "the annual Israeli Apartheid Week initiative".

The Black Students conference awarded Student of the Year to Malaka Mohammed, a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip recognised for her achievement in defying the blockade to study at Sheffield University, and then going on to win a full time sabbatical role in her student union with a record number of votes. Conference also gave an award for international peace and justice to King's College London for their campaign work for Palestine including right to education and BDS.'

(Read more here and here)

Hardly a man-bites-dog story, for this result was probably inevitable, given the idiosyncratic but no-longer-unusual-these-days (I'm thinking of the UK's National Black Police Association, which has a high-profile Iranian member) definition of what constitutes "black" to include Asians (for many of whom read "Muslims") and Arabs as well as the apparent far left bent of the "black" group leaders like Mr Kiely (see this post) himself.

We're told here:

'The role of Black students in leading the left to secure victories in NUS must not be underestimated. Piers Telemacque and three of newly elected Block of 15 left wingers are all members of the NUS Black Students’ Committee (Aaron Kiely, Zarah Sultana and Abdi-aziz Suleiman). It was the NUS Black Students’ Campaign that successfully proposed, alongside others, NUS’ new free education policy – and has been the main section of NUS that has consistently argued for free education for the past decade whilst the majority of the NUS leadership capitulated to tuition fees and student debt.'

That's on the website of UK-based Student Broad Left.  And this, that website's masthead, is all too eloquent regarding the obsession with Palestine that characterises the far left in general.  I mean, despite an international section, Palestine's a category all to itself!

Demonic on Campus: British students and academics instigate new anti-Israel measures

Harrogate, that rather genteel and prosperous spa town in north Yorkshire, will be the setting from 28-30 May of the anual conference of the University and College Union (UCU), which to the dismay of many rank-and-file members has been hijacked by elements devoted to the boycott of Israel.  (See, for instance, http://engageonline.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/jewish-chronicle-report-of-ucu-meeting-on-antisemitism/)

Among the items on the Congress's agenda, which in addition to issues directly focusing on the higher education sector in the UK also embraces topics pertaining to British society (including motions condemning the EDL and Islamophobia),  is a pernicious motion designed to redefine the meaning of antisemitism in order that Israel can be maligned with impunity on campuses in the UK.

The motion upon which delegates are asked to vote concerns the "Working Definition of Antisemitism" set out in 2005 by the European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), now known as the Fundamental Rights Agency.

The EUMC document, which was adopted by all the EU member states as well as by the USA, and by the National Union of Students (NUS), includes several clauses relating to Israel in its definition of antisemitism, but specifically says: "critiscism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be considered antisemitism".

See http://www.fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/material/pub/AS/AS-WorkingDefinition-draft.pdf

The Israel-demonising Left have predictably been deeply unhappy with the relevant aspects of this document, and some have sought to discredit it - witness a piece from 2007 in the Guardian's notorious "Comment-is-Free" online section by self-described "Jewish anti-Zionist" Arthur Neslen and a piece written earlier this year by Richard Kuper, a former chairman of the fringe group Jews for Justice for Palestinians.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/apr/05/whenanantisemiteisnotana

http://jfjfp.com/?p=21466

Last Tuesday, as the result of a vigorous campaign waged by the NUS's Black Students' Committee, supported by students from nine universities including such hives of anti-Israel activity as the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Sussex, Essex, and Bradford,  the NUS adopted a virulently anti-Israel motion.

To quote the current issue of the Jewish Chronicle, it undertook

'to send British students on future flotillas to Gaza, build links with the Hamas-backed Islamic University of Gaza, twin British student unions with Palestinian universities, and called for the right to return for all Palestinian refugees....

The motion makes no reference to Hamas, but acknowledges Archbishop Desmond Tutu's likening of Israel to apartheid South Africa, and former UN relief agency head John Ging's belief that conditions in Gaza represent a "medieval siege".'

The shock move was condemned by a spokesperson for the Union of Jewish Students, who said:

 "This is such a regressive move when NUS is taking so many steps forward with regard to hate speech and its negative impact on campus..... This is not just NUS taking a side on a heavily-polarised conflict, irresponsible though that is. It is NUS taking actions that isolate Jewish students from their national movement."

And a Board of Deputies official added:

"This motion will not contribute to bringing peace to the Middle East. It will only serve to undermine attempts to improve campus relations and will leave Jewish students and those who support Israel feeling marginalised and abandoned by the very union which is meant to protect, defend and represent them."

The motion to be voted upon in Harrogate, framed by the ECU's National Executive Committe, reads:

Congress notes with concern that the so-called 'EUMC working definition of antisemitism', while not adopted by the EU or the UK government and having no official status, is being used by bodies such as the NUS and local student unions in relation to activities on campus.

Congress believes that the EUMC definition confuses criticism of Israeli government policy and actions with genuine antisemitism, and is being used to silence debate about Israel and Palestine on campus.Congress resolves:

that UCU will make no use of the EUMC definition (e.g. in educating members or dealing with internal complaints)

that UCU will dissociate itself from the EUMC definition in any public discussion on the matter in which UCU is involved

that UCU will campaign for open debate on campus concerning Israel's past history and current policy, while continuing to combat all forms of racial or religious discrimination

Notes blogger and academic David Hirsh, who's been in the forefront of opposition to the UCU's noxious boycott of Israel policy:

"The EUMC definition says it may, in some contexts, be antisemitic to accuse Jews of being more loyal to Israel than to their union; to say Israel is a racist endeavour; to apply double standards; to boycott Israelis but not others for the same violations; to say that Israeli policy is like Nazi policy; to hold Jews collectively responsible for the actions of Israel. All of these things have been going on a lot inside the academic unions for the last eight years. Instead of addressing the antisemitic culture, the leadership of the union now proposes to alter the definition of antisemitism. The union wants to carry on treating ‘Zionists’ as disloyal; singling out Israel and only Israel for boycott; holding Israeli universities responsible for their government; allowing ‘Zionist’ union members to be denounced as Nazis or supporters of apartheid.

The precise form that bullying typically takes within UCU is that people who complain about antisemitism are accused of doing so in bad faith in a dishonest attempt to outlaw criticism of Israel. The antisemitism isn’t seen, isn’t acknowledged, the accuser is accused; and Israel is blamed for the unseen and unacknowledged antisemitism.

The new motion makes this form of bullying into official union policy. Even though the definition says that ‘criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic’, the new motion declares that the definition outlaws criticism and is intended to silence debate.

UCU will now oppose all bigotry except for one particular category: racism which can be said to resemble criticism of Israel. UCU will oppose racist and religious antisemitism, but political antisemitism will be protected under the new policy."

He adds, with understandable sarcasm:

"Israel murders children? Not antisemitic. Israel controls US foreign policy? Not antisemitic. Magen David = Swastika stuck on your office door? Not antisemitic. Jews invent antisemitism to de-legitimise criticism of Israel? Not antisemitic. Host a man found guilty of hate speech by the South African Human Rights commission? [For this shameful incident see http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/antisemitic-meeting-soas] Not antisemitic. Exclude nobody but Israelis from the global academic community? Not antisemitic."

And observes:

"It is clear now how antisemitism against Israelis far away, in the form of a boycott campaign, also threatens ‘Zionists’ within the union. We have learnt that the boycott campaign brings antisemitism with it into any organisation which treats it as one side in a legitimate debate. UCU have understood it too, now. The only thing left for them, now, is to change the defiinition of antisemitism so that they fall outside of it."

http://engageonline.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/instead-of-adressing-its-antisemitism-ucu-proposes-to-change-the-definition-of-antisemitism/  (The Engage blog is essential reading for developments in academia)

Mark Gardner of the Community Security Trust's Mark Gardner told the Jewish Chronicle:
"It proves, once again, that the UCU's executive are political extremists who care only about their ideological wars, including obsessively hating Israel and condemning mainstream political attempts to protect Jews from antisemitism..."

And on his blog he notes, inter alia:

'This resolution ... not only hurts Jews and the fight against antisemitism, it actually reinforces antisemitism; and does so notwithstanding that noisy minority of people of Jewish identity or origin, who consciously parade their Jewishness in order to help legitimise political and rhetorical attacks upon Israel and Zionism and Zionists (and therefore the broad mass of their co-religionists, over 70% of whom self-identify as Zionists).

The resolution comes under the header, “Campaigning for equality”. It would be funny, or at least ironic, were it not so Orwellian.'

Read all of Mark Gardner's blogpost here: http://thecst.org.uk/blog/?p=2575

“You’re a Filthy Tory Jew”

Here’s video footage of a student protest in Manchester on 29 January against the Coalition government’s policy on tuition fees , in which marchers hurl abuse at National Union of Students’ president Aaron Porter.

Notice how chants of “Aaron Porter, we know you, you’re a f*cking Tory too” quickly morph, amid laughter, into “You’re a filthy Tory Jew”.

The fact that Mr Porter is not, in fact, Jewish, and whether or not the marchers knew that, is immaterial.

The fact that such taunts are chanted on the streets of Britain today is deeply shameful, and shows the depths to which some extreme leftists – no less fascistic than the extreme right, be it remembered – are prepared to sink. 

I wonder how many of the raucous angry people screaming antisemitic abuse at Porter are also in the vanguard of the repulsive delegitimisation movement against the Jewish State.

I wonder, too, how many of them read that darling of the left, the increasingly judeophobic Guardian, about which Israel's ambassador to Britain, Ron Prosor, wrote so aptly this week – a must-read; he has the measure of the Guardian down pat: it's out-Hamasing Hamas!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-prosor/the-guardians-assault-on-_b_817701.html