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BDS Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 11, 2015 4 Comments
When the University of California system-wide student government passed a resolution not only divesting from Israel, but also the United States, it was met with widespread mockery and ridicule. The Stanford University Undergraduate Student Senate avoided that fate by failing to pass an Anti-Israel Resolution heavily promoted, including by dozens of Stanford pro-BDS professors to influence the outcome. As now seems to be a common tactic, the #BlackLivesMatters leadership was recruited to help with the effort. There was a Petition and some very good dissections of the Resolution by opposition students. One analysis indicated it wasn't even clear that Stanford invested in the companies from which divestment was sought, The Hidden Agenda Behind SOOP’s False Divestment Claims. The vote was close -- the boycotters needed a 2/3 majority, but fell just short. But a fail is a fail, and this at least gives pro-Israel, pro-peace students some time to regroup and reconsider how to fight this scourge. Multiple student Senate members who voted for divestment claimed in speeches that they did it for love of Israel, as if it was their job to know better what is good for Israelis than Israelis. When the vote was announced, there was a chorus of cheers, followed by someone (not sure if faculty, administrator or student) asking people to just get along, followed by shouts from an angry member of the crowd:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 10, 2015 7 Comments
Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Congressman Juan Vargas (D-CA) have just introduced sweeping revisions to anti-boycott legislation long on the books, in order to counter the global and domestic anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Prior legislation countering the Arab League Boycott arguably did not apply to the BDS movement because BDS is not a country-sponsored boycott. I believe that BDS was structured that way to evade such legislation, and Congress appears to be both tightening the language, and expanding its scope. The Times of Israel reports that the bill is linked to pending U.S.-European Union trade negotiations:
The bill, which has been worked on for over six months, does not authorize any sort of federal response to domestic BDS initiatives, but rather would use free trade negotiations to discourage foreign and international institutions from supporting initiatives to boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel. The bill’s sponsors have their eyes on the ongoing negotiations to create a free trade agreement between the US and EU – an agreement that proponents say will be the largest free trade deal in history....

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 08, 2015 20 Comments
We have covered anti-Israel student government divestment votes the past couple of years. Groups, typically led by Students for Justice in Palestine assisted by Jewish Voice for Peace, try to get student governments to vote to divest from specified companies doing business in Israel, such as Caterpillar and HP. Sometimes they succeed, mostly they fail. In the end, it's purely symbolic, since student governments have no such power. Symbolism matters, though, because the campus movement is part of a larger goal of demonizing and dehumanizing Jewish Israelis.  Even when they lose a vote, the BDS crowd claims victory because they forced people to talk about their issue. Last academic year there were a series of divestment initiatives that failed, but recently in the U. California system, several have passed. The anti-Israel groups are very strategic, taking the time to elect their supporters to student councils, and that long-term strategy has paid off in places like UCLA, which rejected divestment last spring, only to see it pass this fall after a change of board membership. One thing that slowly is coming to light, however, is that the anti-Israel movement is not the grassroots, student-led movement it purports to be. In fact, it has a highly coordinated, well-funded action plan assisted and coordinated by outside groups. A column in the UCLA Bruin newspaper details what is happening, Co-author of UCSA resolution needs to disclose affiliations:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 03, 2015 3 Comments
On Tuesday night, February 3, 2015, there will be a fundraiser organized by Chicago-area branches of Students for Justice in Palestine, honoring and supporting Rasmea Odeh. Full details are in our prior post, Upcoming fundraiser for convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh at DePaul Univ. The fundraiser is being held at the student center at DePaul University, the scene of some not-so-pleasant anti-Israel protests in the past. Rasmea was convicted of the SuperSol supermarket bombing in Jerusalem in 1969 that killed two Israeli students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. [caption id="attachment_106161" align="alignnone" width="490"]http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d93_1412329044 (Newspaper headline “The War Came to the Supermarket”)(via Live Leak)[/caption] Rasmea then lied about her conviction and imprisonment when she immigrated to the United States and became a naturalized citizen.  Rasmea was convicted of immigration fraud in November by a federal jury in Detroit, and is awaiting sentencing. The evidence supporting Rasmea's Israeli and Detroit convictions was overwhelming, as I documented in Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud. Nonetheless, Rasmea has become a hero to the anti-Israel activist community, particularly in Chicago where she lived since immigrating.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 02, 2015 9 Comments
This is a theme we have explored exhaustively here, in connection with the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement and anti-Semitic rallies and violence in Europe. There is a theoretical difference between being anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic. But that theoretical distinction has been completely lost on the street and campus thugs in Europe and elsewhere, who use anti-Zionism as cover for hate of Jews. That they are urged on by some left-wing Jews doesn't change the reality on the street or campus. That's why anti-Zionists attack Jews for appearing Jewish (what I call Walking While Jewish). The Prime Minister of France called it what it was:
“There is a new anti-Semitism in France,” he told me. “We have the old anti-Semitism, and I’m obviously not downplaying it, that comes from the extreme right, but this new anti-Semitism comes from the difficult neighborhoods, from immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa, who have turned anger about Gaza into something very dangerous. Israel and Palestine are just a pretext. There is something far more profound taking place now.” In discussing the attacks on French synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses this summer, during the Gaza war, he said, “It is legitimate to criticize the politics of Israel. This criticism exists in Israel itself. But this is not what we are talking about in France. This is radical criticism of the very existence of Israel, which is anti-Semitic. There is an incontestable link between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Behind anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.”
And now a German Judge has also, via Times of Israel, German judge rules: Anti-Zionism is code for anti-Semitism:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 01, 2015 4 Comments
Rasmea Odeh is the Palestinian woman convicted of the 1969 Supersol supermarket bombing in Jerusalem which killed two Israeli students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner.  Rasmea also was convicted of the attempted bombing of the British Consulate. [caption id="attachment_106215" align="alignnone" width="600"]http://www.investigativeproject.org/4634/part-3-spinning-a-terrorist-into-a-victim-rasmieh (Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner)[/caption] Rasmea lied about her past on her immigration and naturalization papers, and was recently convicted by a federal jury in Detroit.  The brother and niece of Joffe attended the trial. The evidence against Odeh was overwhelming on both the murder and immigration charges, as I documented in my post, Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud:
If this were just another immigration fraud story, it would be unremarkable. Regardless of whether Rasmea’s Israeli conviction and prison time were deserved or just, they happened and needed to be disclosed in response to clear questions on immigration forms. Case closed. But there is another story here, in which Rasmea, her attorneys and supporters seek to exonerate Rasmea in court and in the court of public opinion by trying to relitigate Rasmea’s 1970 conviction, and the history of the Middle East conflict going back to the creation of the State of Israel.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 31, 2015 27 Comments
We have reported extensively on the dangerous tactic of blockading the San Mateo - Hayward Bridge, including abandoning cars and draping a Palestinian flag across the roadway at the highest span point. Hundreds, if not thousands, of motorists were trapped on the bridge, with no way out and no way for emergency vehicles to exit. While ostensibly a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day #BlackLivesMatter protest, the event was completely hijacked by anti-Israel activists: [caption id="attachment_113857" align="alignnone" width="600"]https://twitter.com/farah_salazar/status/558214869648814080 (via Farah Salazar Twitter)[/caption] In a recent post, I noted that this how dangerous this tactic was, and how it differed from other protest road blockages:
While the protest ostensibly was about the #BlackLivesMatter movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it was hijacked as so many such protests are by the anti-Israel contingent, just like in Ferguson and to a lesser extent in New York City during the Eric Garner protests. Subsequent to that initial report, we have learned that it was much worse than originally thought. The tactics used were designed to cause maximum traffic disruption and mayhem, including protester cars being abandoned on the roadway, resulting in several car crashes and emergency vehicles being blocked. The activists used a dangerous tactic of blocking both directions initially, making the scene inaccessible initially to emergency vehicles... It’s nothing short of a miracle that there were no serious injuries and that no ambulances had to be redirected, as happened in Boston, or worse, were stuck in the traffic jam.
It turns out my fears were realized, as the parents of a three-year old girl in medical distress have threatened suit against Stanford University, whose students constituted most of the blockaders (h/t Instapundit via The College Fix). The Stanford Daily student newspaper reports:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 29, 2015 22 Comments
Earlier today we reported that controversial former professor Steven Salaita had filed a federal lawsuit over his non-hiring. I identified what I saw as a glaring defect in the Complaint. The University of Illinois has responded with a Statement which previews how the case will be defended. The defense hones in on what I saw as a glaring defect in the Complaint, namely that Salaita never claimed that anyone -- much less anyone with authority -- promised him that Board of Trustees approval was not needed or waived. As such, Salaita will have a more difficult time converting a contingent offer into an enforceable agreement. Similarly, much like the official faculty committee, the University views the tweets in the context of Salaita's fitness, citing a tweet from June, before the Gaza fighting:
Specifically, Dr. Salaita began making a series of statements via social media on precisely the subject matter that he proposed to teach at our University. For example, on June 19, 2014, after three Israeli teenagers were reported kidnapped and presumed dead, Dr. Salaita posted a statement on Twitter which read: “You may be too refined to say it, but I’m not: I wish all the f**king West Bank settlers would go missing.” Dr. Salaita continued to post this comment even after the three teens were found murdered later that month.... These statements and many more like them demonstrate that Dr. Salaita lacks the judgment, temperament and thoughtfulness to serve as a member of our faculty in any capacity, but particularly to teach courses related to the Middle East.
The University denies that donor pressure influenced the decision. Presumably, as Chancellor Wise said in an interview recently, the university constantly gets donor complaints on a variety of issues, including sports. Those among Salaita's BDS supporters -- who have driven the protests -- who thought that Salaita had a strong case may be in for a rude awakening. They want to put the university, the Chancellor and the donors on trial, but Salaita may find himself on trial. As someone who handled employment cases as a large part of my private practice prior to joining academia, almost always for the employee, the Salaita case will be no easy win, no matter how much supportive websites with an anti-Israel agenda and pro-BDS faculty tweet out support and urge Salaita on. When this story first broke on August 6, I asked the following question to readers:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 28, 2015 8 Comments
On Tuesday night, January 27, 2015, I spoke at the Rochester (NY) Jewish Community Center on the topic of Boycotting Israel - The insidious threat of the BDS movement I was invited to speak by Rochesterians for Israel (Roc4Israel), a very active multi-faith group. The official attendance count was 354 people, quite a crowd. Before my speech, the organizers played the video of the Cornell student harassed and attacked by anti-Israel activists on campus, as well as a video of aggressive anti-Israel campus activities: (Language Warning) (BTW, that "Gandhi Quote" is fake.) In my speech I put the aggressiveness of anti-Israel student groups in context. I focused on the academic boycott movement pushed by faculty professional organizations, which deprives faculty, students and the greater academic community of academic freedom.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 26, 2015 36 Comments
We previously reported how anti-Israel activists hijacked a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day #BlackLivesMatter protest and turned it into an anti-Israel event. They trapped hundreds, if not thousands, of motorists by setting up a protest line at the highest point of the bridge span, and also abandoning their own cars on the bridge to block traffic. This was an extremely dangerous maneuver. Unlike the blockade of Route 93 in Boston, for example, there was no possibility of motorists exiting. If an ambulance or someone in need of medical care had been trapped, there would have been no way out and no way to redirect ambulances or other emergency vehicles that needed to cross the bay. This maneuver created havoc on the bridge, with motorists driving the wrong way near the toll area in a desperate attempt to escape. [caption id="attachment_113843" align="alignnone" width="600"]http://kron4.com/2015/01/19/protesters-block-westbound-lanes-on-san-mateo-bridge/ (Source: KRON4 Video)[/caption] For extensive video and photographic coverage, see our prior posts: Here's a video we have not previously posted:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 23, 2015 25 Comments
We previously reported how, on Monday, January 19, 2015, Anti-Israel activists blocked the San Mateo - Hayward Bridge. While the protest ostensibly was about the #BlackLivesMatter movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it was hijacked as so many such protests are by the anti-Israel contingent, just like in Ferguson and to a lesser extent in New York City during the Eric Garner protests. Subsequent to that initial report, we have learned that it was much worse than originally thought. The tactics used were designed to cause maximum traffic disruption and mayhem, including protester cars being abandoned on the roadway, resulting in several car crashes and emergency vehicles being blocked. The activists used a dangerous tactic of blocking both directions initially, making the scene inaccessible initially to emergency vehicles:
Over 100 Stanford students and community members demonstrating against police brutality temporarily shut down the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge Monday afternoon, snarling the evening commute. The group made their way on eastbound and westbound lanes of state Highway 92 on the bridge at the high-rise around 4:50 p.m., CHP Officer Daniel Hill said. The protesters had been dropped off by cars on westbound lanes and briefly made their way to both sides of the freeway, he said. As of shortly after 5 p.m., eastbound lanes were reopened for motorists heading to Hayward but westbound lanes were still closed off for cars traveling to Foster City, Van Eckhardt said. Drivers were seen turning around at the toll plaza and going the wrong way on the bridge as CHP tried to find tow trucks to take away abandoned cars left on the bridge by protesters. The bridge was reopened shortly before 5:30 p.m.
[caption id="attachment_113857" align="alignnone" width="600"]https://twitter.com/farah_salazar/status/558214869648814080 (Image via Farah Salazar Twitter)[/caption] In this video taken by a stalled driver on the other side of the highway, you can see how initially traffic was backed up on both sides creating a dangerous situation high on the span (the initial comments seem to indicate the drivers thought it was an abortion protest until they got closer):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 22, 2015 10 Comments
This has to be a new low. Anti-Israel activists in New York City have started a campaign as part of the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement to try to prevent City Council members and other politicians from visiting Israel. A coalition of 40 groups, most of which are quite small but including the usual suspects like the inaccurately named Jewish Voice for Peace are leading the effort. At a NY City Council meeting today, anti-Israel activists disrupted a vote commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, shouting for one of the council members not to travel to Israel, as reported by Jacob Kornbluh at Jewish Political News & Updates website, which has video:
Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists disrupted the City Council’s stated meeting on Thursday while members were voting on a resolution commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The protesters started yelling, “shame on you, Melissa”, “why are you supporting an apartheid” and “Palestinian lives matter.” After five minutes of yelling and screaming, the some 40 protesters were ordered to leave and escorted out the balcony. Council member Cory Johnson called it “incredibly disrespectful and offensive. Simply awful.” Councilman Mark Weprin added, “The State of Israel has never supported the killing of innocent people, and they want to love in peace.” “I am still shaken, upset and angry,” Councilman David Greenfield. “Shame on them for hating Jews.” “But I’m pleased, because we can stop pretending that this is about Israel. What we saw here was blatant antisemitism, good old fashioned antisemitism,” Greenfield roared. “They were angry, you know why? because Hitler did not finish the job.” The trip to Israel is a message that “we will not be cowered by this fear and hatred,” he added.... Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said in an emailed statement, “At a time when the Council was voting on a resolution commemorating the 70thanniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, this outburst was offensive, outrageous and counter to the values of the City Council.”
One of the people in the protest recorded Vine loops(h/t Gothamist).

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 20, 2015 18 Comments
Don't say I didn't warn you about how anti-Israel activists have set on a deliberate course to hijack the Ferguson and #BlackLivesMatters protests to their own anti-Israel agenda: It started in Ferguson, then the Eric Garner protests, and is being pushed by the anti-Israel Students for Justice in Palestine through groups like Dream Defenders, which carries a Tides Foundation logo on it's website.  Dream Defenders was responsible for Marc Lamont Hill's trip to "Palestine" in which he recorded a video supporting "Revolutionary Struggle" against Israel. http://youtu.be/L2yMMdPTQ30 A key player in the effort to turn the #BlackLivesMatter movement into an anti-Israel movement is recently graduated Stanford student and SJP activist Kristian Davis Bailey, who writes not only for the anti-Zionist Mondoweiss website, but also has been promoting the effort in Ebony Magazine.

Posted by Russell Berman on January 17, 2015 2 Comments
[WAJ Note: On January 10, 2015, we reported how Modern Language Assoc postpones anti-Israel boycott vote until 2017.  I asked Stanford Professor Russell Berman, a former President of MLA who attended the debate and vote, to provide us with a first-hand account and analysis.] ----------------------------------- At the recent Modern Language Association (MLA) Convention in Vancouver, proponents of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement made a concerted effort to score an electoral victory for their anti-Israel campaign. BDS and its supporters failed. I was present during the debate and votes at the Delegate Assembly, and the failure was clear. Nonetheless BDS supporters have rushed to claim success, asserting that straw polls taken at the Delegate Assembly supported both BDS and Professor Steven Salaita (who is in a dispute with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). To make such claims requires misrepresentation of the facts of what happened. But facts matter, and a reasonable examination of the series of votes in Vancouver leads to the conclusion that BDS lost.

Boycott Resolution Delayed Two Years

First some background: in the run-up to the convention, two resolutions were submitted to the MLA’s Delegate Assembly Organizing Committee (DAOC). One resolution called for a boycott of Israeli universities, while the other opposed academic boycotts. Because the two resolutions were in direct conflict with each other, the DAOC requested that both proposals be withdrawn during a two-year moratorium on any resolutions concerning Israel. Instead the DAOC proposed a series of discussions about the matter in order to inform the membership. Both sides agreed, and neither resolution was brought to the floor. However, when the Delegate Assembly convened in Vancouver, the DAOC had to bring its two-year moratorium proposal before the assembly for a vote. BDS supporters attacked it bitterly because they were eager to vote against Israel, and they correctly saw the moratorium as prohibiting such a vote until 2017 at the earliest. The voting showed that they were a distinct minority: the Delegate Assembly adopted the moratorium proposal 95 to 49. This was a victory for the DAOC and a dramatic 2 to 1 loss for BDS. That first vote was important not only because it rejected the BDS effort to accelerate its anti-Israel campaign but because it took place relatively early in the afternoon when attendance was still high.
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