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| Myths and Facts
about the divest-from-Israel campaign |
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Myth: Since most schools, cities and towns
that invest in Israel do not invest in the Palestinians, aren't
divest-from-Israel activities simply a way to make sure no one is taking sides
in the Middle East conflict?
Fact: Anti-Israel activists in the
US must tread more carefully than their Middle East colleagues in calling for
direct boycotts of Israel due to US anti-boycott law and America's general
support for the Jewish state. Thus, calls to divest from Israel must be dressed
up in human-rights vocabulary, and "sold" as a means to "level the playing
field" among universities, cities, churches and other institutions that may
have investments that benefit the Israel, but no similar investments in the
Palestinian territories. This argument carefully ignores the fact that the
Arab-Israeli conflict involves not just Israel and the Palestinians, but over
twenty Arab states in which schools, cities and other institutions invest
heavily. Read
more…
Myth: Aren't those calling for divestment in
Israel just fighting the same human-rights battles waged against South Africa
where divestment was a key reason for Apartheid's downfall?
Fact: Those calling for divestment or boycotts of Israel are
following what they call an "apartheid strategy," modeling their activity on
the anti-apartheid activism of the 1980s in order to isolate Israel
internationally and economically. What this theft of the anti-Apartheid
human-rights vocabulary fails to mention, however, is that anti-Israeli
activists are allied with nations with far worse human rights records than even
the Apartheid regime of South Africa. Read more…
Myth:
Given the power imbalance between the Palestinians and Israelis, and a similar
power imbalance among those calling for divestment and the organized Jewish
community, shouldn't we be listening to these "voices in the wilderness" on an
important human-rights issue?
Fact: Israel's foes like to
portray themselves as small, powerless, stilled voices battling an imaginary
vast, interconnected power structure of Jewish interests. If that is the case,
why are those calling for divestment allied with some of the richest, most
powerful countries and corporations in the world?
Read more…
Myth:
Given the violence visited upon the Palestinians in places like the West Bank
and Gaza, isn't divestment a non-violent means to protest Israeli human-rights
abuses?
Fact: One of the talents of anti-Israel activists is
their ability to paint elaborate, emotional pictures of the suffering of
Palestinians, completely divorced from the violence and visited upon Israelis
and how Palestinian militantism has led to the suffering in both communities.
By coupling a glorification of Palestinian violence with declarations that any
defense against such violence represents the only human-rights issue to be
considered when thinking about the Middle East, Israel's foes are damaging not
just their own case, but harming attempts to teach our children of the virtues
of real non-violent protest. Read
more... |
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| Myth Breaking
Articles |
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When Reuters Miscaptioned a Photo, They Changed an Accidental
Death into a Murder
By David Bedein |
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JCPA: The
Academic Boycott Against Israel
By Manfred Gerstenfeld |
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