A Wee Dram O' A Bluid Libel? A BDS Beastie's Tale Of Zionist Razor Blades

In a recent welcome article deploring "the bonds of convenience growing between elements of the Left and anti-Semitism," an Australian columnist noted:

'A basic grasp of history shows us the boycotting of businesses is a longstanding tactic in the campaign of hate against the Jewish people.

Boycotts of Jewish merchants were practised in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire and later across eastern Europe, especially in Romania, Poland and Russia where anti-Jewish activism was serious enough to bequeath us the word pogrom. In 1922, the Fifth Palestine Arab Congress called for a boycott of all Jewish businesses. In 1943, the Arab League banned the purchase of "products of Jewish industry".

The BDS presents itself as a reaction to the power of the state of Israel. In reality it is the most recent name for a centuries-old economic persecution of Jews for having the temerity to become educated and entrepreneurial despite their exclusion from many occupations, geographies and institutions."

She concluded:

"Stand with those who educate women, stand with those who let gays serve openly in the military, stand with those who allow free speech and political activism.

Stand, in short, with the Jewish people and their state of Israel."

Back at the time of Operation Cast Lead, the left-dominated council of Scotland's West Dunbartonshire (population 90, 600) decided to put the wind up the Zionist Entity for having the gall to defend itself, resolving to boycott "all Israeli goods":

".... Officers should immediately cease the purchase of any goods we currently source which were made or grown in Israel. Officers should also ensure we procure no new goods or produce from Israel until this boycott is formally lifted by the council."

Recently, as seen here, at the launch of this pro-BDS anthology by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire councillor and BDS heavy Jim Bollan (who's on record as describing Hamas as "freedom fighters"), indulged in claptrap about "apartheid" and "racist" Israel and the need to overthrow "the Israeli regime," spicing up the narrative with a tale of dark and dire deeds allegedly threatened in revenge for the boycott resolution (which was followed in 2010 by one calling upon other Scottish councils to follow suit):

"We also got a lot of vitriolic response from the Zionists across the world, particularly in America. We were getting threats for our lives, threats for our families' lives, "we know where you live", all this kind of stuff.... [W]e weren't going to be bullied, we weren't going to be threatened by these people who were phoning you at 2 o'clock in the morning and telling you that your granddaughter was in danger....  [The police] were explaining to us we need to check our mail, the mail would need to be sifted through the council before we got it because they had reports that the Zionists were posting these letters where, when you opened them up they had razor blades in them and they would have ripped your fingers ... That's how vicious they are."

  A wee dram of a blood libel there, it might seem.

SNP Boycotter, Spinning Softly (video) - Plus A Call For Whisky A Go Go!

Here's soft-voiced West Dunbartonshire Councillor Jonathan McColl, doing as much spinning as Robert the Bruce's celebrated spider!

Meanwhile, a suggestion that Scottish whisky from their patch of Caledonia be boycotted in retaliation for West Dunbartonshire Council's unconscionable action is catching on: 
http://muqata.blogspot.com/p/official-scotch-whisky-counter-boycott.html

"The diference between SNP and BNP is just one letter":

Scottish Boycott Latest!

Remember SNP Councillor Jonathan McColl, the West Dunbartonshire Council bigwig who, as I posted a few days ago, labelled anti-Boycott protesters "extremists"?
Well, he's digging his heels in.

The misguided laddie has a personal blog, on which he has posted a personal statement denying the Boycott is antisemitic.

He also states, inter alia:

"West Dunbartonshire Council remains committed to our boycott of Israeli goods and our resolve has been strenthened by the torrent of vile abuse [and] threats of violence to our families that has come from people who claim to be peace loving people."

And he's also made an appearance on video... [Update: You can view it on my final blog for May, along with another video about the SNP Boycott!]
See http://www.cllrjmccoll.info/israel
(Hat tip: Emet)

Someone really should make a video for the West Dunbartonshire Council along the lines of this one, made for Marrickville Council in Sydney:

Pro-Boycott SNP Councillor Calls Anti-Boycott Protesters "Extremists"

Well, the Boycott Derangement Syndromers who've got their iron grip in West Dunbartonshire Council (see
http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/05/swastika-underthe-snps-sporran-snp-led.html) may or may not have a swastika under their sporran, but whatever they wear under their kilts is evidently in a twist.

As a result of all the adverse publicity in the press at the weekend and in blogs over the last few days, which has provoked indignant e-mails to council officials, the Council has posted a clarification on its website:

"West Dunbartonshire Council utterly refutes recent media claims that it has ‘launched a boycott on Israeli books’.

The Council’s boycott only relates to goods ‘made or grown’ in Israel. The vast majority of mainstream books by Israeli authors are published in the UK and are therefore not affected by this boycott. Only books that were printed in Israel and transported to the UK for distribution would be potentially boycotted...."

And the Council has reproduced the motion concerned, which, it turns out, was passed in 2009 following a proposal by Councillor Jim Bollan, who appears to be a dyed-in-the-wool Socialist:

"This Council deplores the loss of life in Palestine which now numbers well over 1,000. This Council also recognises the disproportionate force used by the IDF in Palestine and agrees to boycott all Israeli goods as a consequence. Officers should immediately cease the purchase of any goods we currently source, which were made or grown in Israel. Officers should also ensure we procure no new goods or produce from Israel until this boycott is formally lifted by WDC."

They've been frightfully earnest about that "made or grown" clause, it transpires: hence the decision to interpret it to the very letter (no pun intended) by including Israeli printed matter - and thus intellectual property.

On Modernity Blog, there's a rather delicious, perceptive post concerning this issue.  It points out that since there are in practice likely to be few if any such books in West Dunbartonshire libraries, the boycott is mere "posturing" ... "political posing".

What the council really needs to do, to display its commitment to the cause, suggests Modernity wryly, is to throw out all the useful equipment in its offices originating in Israel.

(In short, to put its money where its mouth is, like Marrickville, the BDS Council in inner Sydney, meant to do, until its humiliating climbdown when it found how much jettisoning Israeli products would actually cost it!)

Writes Modernity, inter alia:

"If they were truly serious then they would stop using all of that sophisticated Israeli medical equipment, computer technology and finally Google, which uses a search algorithm developed by an Israeli.

The Council could stop using all of that computer technology from Intel and Microsoft, all developed with Israeli know-how, but they won’t, because it would be a hindrance to them. West Dunbartonshire Council’s supposed boycott is just a pose, a piece of political theatre as they won’t inconvenience themselves, really, for the sake of their alleged principles."

Modernity's post has flushed out a retort in the Comments section from Councillor Jonathan McColl (SNP, pictured) who's Deputy Leader of the Council, Spokesperson for Educational Services, Chair of Education & Lifelong Learning, andChair/Vice Chair of Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers.

Says he:

"You do realise this is really REALLY old news?

We’ve had this boycott in place since January 2009!"

To which Modernity bluntly replies:

"The fact in two years that you’ve manage to do nothing, really, concerning Israeli products shows what a pile of political trite it is.

If you weren’t such a bunch of hypocrites, then you’d stop using your PC, never use Google, and probably buy a different processor for your computer.

Then when you went to hospital you could deliberately ask to avoid all of those sophisticated medical techniques that the Israelis have developed recently.

But you and the Council won’t.

You won’t inconvenience yourself, you will posture, play petty politics, but not inconvenience youself.

Will the Council have a motion on boycotting products from the rest of the Middle East? All of unsavoury dictatorships which are shooting their own populations (Yemen, Syria, Mauritius, etc) or helping to put down legitimate protests (Saudi Arabia and Bahrain)? Unlikely.

...."

Councillor McColl responds:

"You think we should replace all of our computers and stop using medical services?

You clearly have a screw loose somewhere. [My emphasis]

....

To cease to use medicine and kill ourselves to make a point is also a ridiculous suggestion. I’m getting flashbacks from ‘Monty Python’s The Life of Brian’ and the ‘Judean People’s Front crack suicide squad! Suicide squad’.

As a Local Authority, our primary responsibility is to our own citizens and I could not vote to spend tens of millions of pounds replacing computer systems.

This was a private member’s motion from an Independent Councillor who wanted support to express his feelings on Israel’s military policy.

As a small Council, we are well aware that a boycott will have little actual impact in the Israeli economy, but it’s about taking a position on the issue.

You call it “posturing”, I call it standing up and saying, “We think what you are doing is wrong.”

If you really believe that’s such a terrible thing to do then we’re going to have to agree to disagree.

I supported Jim’s motion two years ago and I’d support it again were the vote today".

It seems to yours truly that the councillor really had no idea of all the essential and everyday items that originate in Israel, or he would not have responded as he did, so I decide to help him learn by recommending to him this post of mine: http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/01/boycotting-israel-your-essential-bds.html

Another commenter takes aim:

".... Gaza elected the overt homophobes and anti-semites of Hamas – people who do not hide the facts and rather seem to proud of them. Why not boycott them too?"

As does Modernity:

".... It is purely a gesture....

But like many politicians you are oblivious to history and obviously won’t know of the historical resonance of boycotts and Jews, because if you did you probably wouldn’t go there, assuming you had an ounce of common sense.

I’m pointing out as well that Israelis do many wonderful things (and yes, their government does make major mistakes), they contribute to the wealth of human knowledge, whereas you and your council come across as small-minded and unaware of the issues.

Could you ask Cllr Jim Bollan if he is so aggrieved at the conduct of China in Tibet? Been going on for 60+ years.

Or perhaps Cllr Bollan feels the conduct of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain deserves a boycott too?

.... Please ask Cllr Bollan if he has any motions on Syria forthcoming or do you and him judge their rulers by a lower standard?"

Adds somebody else:

'Perhaps you should read your own resolution - the one you voted for. It says: “This Council also recognises the disproportionate force used by the IDF in Palestine and agrees to boycott all Israeli goods as a consequence.” ....

So according to that plain text of your resolution, you have to boycott all (ALL) Israeli goods – and that includes microchips. You voted for this piece of nonsense so it appears you are the one with a screw loose. Or did you not understand the implications of what you were voting for?

With so much evil in the world today (from Zimbabwe to Tibet to Syria to Libya), you single out the Jewish state of Israel for a boycott. That is not anti-Zionism; it is anti-semitism."

This proves all too much for the worthy Councillor McColl:

"I'm not going to comment on here any more.

It’s occurred to me that by responding to these ridiculous posts from people who are clearly extremists and don’t care, let alone understand how Council’s operate, is futile and only spawns more mince from your keyboards. [My emphasis]
....

From now on you can waffle amongst yourselves."

Oy!

As Corporal Jones used to say in Dad's Army, "They don't like it up 'em!"

Read the entire thing here: http://modernityblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/west-dunbartonshire-council-israel-and-political-posturing/

A Swastika Under The SNP's Sporran? A SNP-led Scottish Council Bans Israeli Books

West Dunbartonshire Council, which is in the hands of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) - which following its landslide victory at  this months polls is the governing party in Scotland - has taken its espousal of the odious BDS movement a step further into the ordure of antisemitism by ordering public libraries under its sway to boycott any new volumes by Israeli authors, printed or published in Israel.  (They are gracious enough to allow Israeli books already in stock to remain on the shelves.)

The shameful move, of course, invites painful memories of 10 May 1933, a day that lives in infamy as that upon which a Nazi mob in Berlin made a bonfire of some 25,000 works by Jewish authors.

SNP-led Dundee City Council sought to do as its West Dunbartonshire counterpart has, but decided against the move - not because it had a sudden twinge of conscience, but because it heeded legal advice that such a move flouts European Union law.

Says a Labour member of the Scottish Parliament, Ken McIntosh, his party's spokesman for Culture and External Affairs:

"This is not just anti-Israel, it is anti-knowledge. While everybody, including councils have the right to express opinions, this simply smacks of a closed minds and actually shuts down debate. I find the move pretty deplorable.

This reflects not so much on Israel, but on West Dunbartonshire Council."

Amir Oftek, press attaché at the Israeli Embassy in London, commented:

"This must be the only organisation in the 21st century which is still banning books. Not only does it close down debate but for many Jews and others who wish to contribute to the peace process in the Middle East this is grossly insensitive.

What happened in Europe in the 1930s should be a warning to us all. Where will this end? By burning books again?”

I think that's a question for Scotland's First Minister, SNP chief Alex Salmond.

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/247880Fury-as-council-launches-boycott-on-Israeli-books#ixzz1N5c7qFa3
Update: See also: http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/05/pro-boycott-snp-councillor-calls-anti.html