Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
16
Dan Diker
The US Campaign supports BDS and calls for Israel's destruction as a Jewish state.
Rather than opposing particular Israeli policies, it opposes Israel's very existence and
rejects a two-state solution.
The US Campaign leadership and key members support (and in some cases have
ties to) designated terrorist organizations and have a track record of violence and
incitement.
The policies of the BDS campaign adopted by the US Campaign have frequently
been described as discriminatory and anti-Semitic and may violate relevant antidiscrimination laws. Institutions facilitating the work of the US Campaign should
carefully consider the possible legal implications of this facilitation.
Introduction
The "US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation," a national coalition of anti-Israel
organizations, will hold its annual conference on October 14-17 in Arlington, Virginia.
The final day of the conference is designated as a congressional Lobby Day on Capitol
Hill, during which US Campaign members will be urged to meet with their
representatives to further the organization's agenda. The US Campaign is a pro-BDS
(Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) organization that denies the legitimacy of Israels
existence, demonizes the Jewish state, and calls for cutting all ties between the United
States and Israel. Its leadership and members are supporters of terror groups (in some
cases are tied to outlawed terror organizations) and have a record of violence.
Given the US Campaign's full-throated support for
the BDS campaign (which calls for the boycott of
Israeli academics, cultural figures, and businesses
based solely on their Israeli nationality), it is
possible that those who facilitate the
organization's work may run afoul of U.S. antidiscrimination and anti-BDS legislation. Members
of Congress might consider whether they wish to
provide an audience to members of a
discriminatory organization tied to terror and
violence.
3
attacks against Israeli civilians known as the "Second Intifada." The coalition now
consists of several hundred anti-Israel organizations. Its work is overseen by an 11person Steering Committee and carried out by an eight-person staff.
According to the organization's website, "The US Campaign endorsed the Palestinian call
for BDS shortly after it was issued in July 2005. Academic and cultural boycotts were
endorsed in 2009." The BDS campaign which the US Campaign endorses and promotes
aims for the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state. In the words of the founder and most
prominent leader of the BDS campaign, Omar Barghouti, "Definitely, most definitely we
oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine."2 The BDS campaign also makes clear its
opposition to the U.S. policy of support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, with Barghouti declaring, "Going back to the two-state solution, besides having
passed its expiry date, it was never a moral solution to start with."3
The US Campaign's Co-founder and Director of
Organizing and Advocacy, Anna Baltzer, has
likewise declared that she is not opposed merely
to any supposed Israeli occupation but to the very
existence of Israel itself, explaining, "I recognized
that the problem was not simply occupation, but
rather the creation and maintenance of an ethnonationalist Jewish entity....I realized occupation
was just one step in a much longer process, and I
couldnt simply oppose one and not the other."4
While some BDS organizations including the US Campaign occasionally try to maintain
ambiguity as to whether their opposition is to Israel's existence or to its presence over
the Green Line, they make little real effort to hide their ultimate goals. One of the most
experienced and well-known anti-Israel figures in the United States, Norman Finkelstein,
criticized his fellow activists for occasionally trying to hide their true goals, insisting, "I
mean we have to be honest, and I loathe the disingenuousness. [The BDS activists] dont
want Israel. They think they are being very clever....You know and I know what the
result is. Theres no Israel!"5
Ending Diplomatic Ties between the United States and Israel Malaysia as
a Role Model
The US Campaign works to end U.S. military, diplomatic, financial, corporate, and all
other forms of support for Israel. Baltzer recently held up Malaysia as a role model for
the United States in this context. In a 2015 lecture, she opined, "Malaysia has been a
leader in having no diplomatic ties with Israel, which is extraordinary. In many ways
[Malaysia's] status quo is something that [we] dream about achieving in our context. It
is our holy grail."6
5
positions in AMP. Whether they are still involved via AMP in terror financing is
unknown. What is clear is that AMP has become one of the most significant funders of
the violent campus BDS group "Students for Justice in Palestine," providing money,
speakers, training, and even apartheid walls to SJP activists on campus.
This penchant for violence and terrorism extends
beyond the leadership of the US Campaign to the
invited guest speakers at its upcoming conference.
For example, one guest speaker is Abir Kopty, a
Christian Arab citizen of Israel, former member of
the city council of Nazareth, and BDS activist, who
in 2013 was investigated by the Israeli police for
incitement to violence. The investigation was
triggered by her call for the Christian Arab
organizer of a meeting to discuss Christian
enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces to be
defamed and branded as a "collaborator."11
Another session at the upcoming conference will
be led by Al-Haq, a Palestinian NGO headed by
Shawan Jabarin. Jabarin has admitted to being part
of the U.S.- and EU-designated terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP). While he claims to have ended his PFLP connections during his student
years, the Israeli Supreme Court determined in 2007 that [Jabarin] is apparently active
as a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde....In part of his activities, he is the director of a human rights
organization, and in another part he is an activist in a terrorist organization which does
not shy away from acts of murder and attempted murder which have nothing to do with
rights, and on the contrary deny the most basic of all human rights...without which
there are no other rights the right to life.
6
origin...in places of public accommodation." It further notes, "The provisions of this
chapter shall be construed liberally for the accomplishment of its policies."
The BDS conference will conclude with a Lobby Day on Capitol Hill. It should be noted as
well that the type of discrimination inherent in the BDS campaign is prohibited in
Washington, D.C., as well. The Washington, D.C. Human Rights Act states, "It is the
intent of the Council of the District of Columbia...to secure an end in the District of
Columbia to discrimination for any reason other than that of individual merit, including,
but not limited to, discrimination by reason of race, color, religion, national origin."
Conclusion
Due to the discriminatory and anti-Semitic nature of the BDS campaign, more and more
countries and states are taking concrete steps against it. As mentioned, 13 American
states have passed anti-BDS legislation; Congress has passed two pieces of anti-BDS
legislation and is considering several more. President Obama, as well as both the
Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, have strongly condemned efforts to
promote boycotts of Israel. Beyond the United States, anti-BDS legislation and legal
decisions have come into effect in the UK, France, and Spain, and bank accounts of BDS
organizations have been shut down in Germany, Austria, France, the UK, and Ireland.
Members of Congress, regardless of their stance regarding Israel's presence in the West
Bank, must carefully consider accepting requests to be lobbied by representatives of an
organization that calls for the destruction of a U.S. ally, supports terror and violence,
and promotes discriminatory and anti-Semitic policies.
***
Dan Diker is Director of the Political Warfare Project at the Jerusalem Center for Public
Affairs. A former director general of the World Jewish Congress, he is also a Research
Fellow, International Institute for Counter Terrorism at IDC, Herzliya.
***
Notes
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/
https://vimeo.com/75201955, at 5:53
https://electronicintifada.net/content/relative-humanity-fundamental-obstacle-one-state-solutionhistoric-palestine-12/4939
http://www.virtualmosque.com/society/international/an-interview-with-anna-baltzer/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iggdO7C70P8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDv5T1UqeBU, at 3:26
https://electronicintifada.net/content/nablus-invasion-diary-iii-resistance-hypocrisy-and-deadmen-walking/6806
8
It should be noted in addition that questions have been raised as to possible financial
irregularities relating to Baltzer's fundraising efforts for her BDS activities. While she appears to
solicit donations under the surname Baltzer, her legal name appears to be Anna Piller, and she
does not appear to have legally associated herself with the name Baltzer at any point.
9
http://www.newjerseyhills.com/mt_olive_chronicle/news/immigration-ralliescollide/article_2edd0b74-3219-58ca-be28-db611b693272.html
10
http://docs.house.gov/meetings/HM/HM05/20160512/104904/HHRG-114-HM05-WstateSchanzerJ-20160512.pdf
11
https://abirkopty.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/an-old-israeli-plan-resurrected-to-recruitpalestinian-christians-into-the-israeli-military/#more-1195
12
For example, in 2015, Jewish American singer Matisyahu had his invitation to perform at a
Spanish music festival rescinded following an intensive BDS campaign (although the invitation
was extended once again following an international outcry). Jewish-American college students
have frequently reported feeling threatened and uncomfortable due to aggressive anti-Israel
activity on campus.
13
In New York State, the anti-BDS measures have taken the form of an Executive Order.