More Thoughts on the Movement to Boycott, Divest From, and Sanction Israel (The BDS Movement)
August 26, 2014
Mark Twain reminds us that "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes," while Mao Zedong said, "A lie repeated a hundred times becomes the truth." In this regard there are many lies being told about Israel in order to discredit the Jewish state and advance the purposes behind the BDS Movement. While I am certain that many who repeat these lies do not know they are lies, they are lies nonetheless, and the antidote for such lies is four-fold;
Consider that what you have been told may not be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Recognize when and where you have been told falsehoods in the name of truth.
Replace lies with truths.
Have the courage to stand up for the truth in a climate where the truth is unknown, unpopular, underrepresented, or in some manner forbidden.
Today we will consider two areas where lies have been told concerning Israel by people in and around the BDS Movement: the accusation that Israel is an apartheid state, and arguments that Israel is engaged in war crimes and genocide. This consideration is not limited to but is informed by my reading of Jed Babbin's The BDS War Against Israel: The Orwellian Campaign to Destroy Israel Through the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement.
On Israel as an Apartheid State
Apartheid – means “apartness” – the statutory policy of the Republic of South Africa from 1948-1989. Ths policy mandated racial segregation, reserved seventy percent of land for white use, banned interracial marriage, and controlled education of blacks. Opposition to apartheid was banned, and opposition leaders imprisoned.
Contrast this with modern Israel.
About 21 percent of Israeli citizens are Arabs – 1.7 million, Arabs who remained in Israel after the 1948 War of Independence, and their descendants. These have the right to vote, including women. This right was denied to blacks in the Republic of South Africa, and in many Arab countries women cannot vote at all. Israeli Arabs can also hold public office, a right denied in the Republic of South Africa under apartheid.
Of 120 members of Israel's Knesset, her Parilament, twelve, that is, one in ten, are Arab.
Because of the question of divided loyalties, Arabs generally do not serve in Israeli Armed services. Thus they cannot get military-linked benefits; still their careers are not interrupted by military service, and this gives them some advantages.
Arab students study in Israel’s top universities, which was certainly not the case in the Republic of South Africa under apartheid.
South African Judge Richard Goldstone led a United Nations Human Rights Commission to investigate allegations of war crimes committed by Israelis in the Gaza conflict of 2008–2009. In a New York Times op-ed that appeard on October 31, 3011, Goldstone wrote words that need to be read at least twice in order to wash some of the toxins of anti-Israel propaganda from our minds. Realize again that the writer is a South African jurist who knows apartheid first-hand:
In Israel, there is no apartheid. Nothing there comes close to the definition of apartheid under the 1998 Rome Statute: ‘Inhumane. . . committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and dominiation by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.’ Israeli Arabs—20 percent of Israel’s population—vote, have political parties and representatives and occupy positions of acclaim, including on its Supreme court. Arab patients lie alongside Jewish patients in Israeli hospitals, receiving identitcal treatment.
War Crimes and Genocide
To promote this lie, Hamas routinely practices “fauxtography,” photoshopped and staged photos of supposed war crimes. Numerous examples have come to light of staged photographs, such as the recent collection of “dead bodies” arrayed under Muslim burial shrouds, presented on video wherein such “dead bodies” are seen to be moving under the shrouds. This practice is just one example of the overall strategy being adopted by Palestinian militant forces in a wide variety of arenas, including that of the BDS movement, seeking to manipulate Western opinion through control of the media and selected, manufactured, manipulated imagery. This is abetted through threatening journalists, limiting what can be said and what can be photographed and the language to be used, as for example, always speaking of those killed in Gaza as “innocent civilians.” For more information on fauxtography in the Gaza conflict see “Gaza: What Could the Press Corps Have Done Differently?” at http://honestreporting.com/gaza-what-could-the-press-corps-have-done-differently/
Some seek to discredit Israel by highlighting disproportionate fatality figures in the current confluct. Philip Klein of the Washington Examiner illumines these issues and helps clarifiy our thinking in his article – “Five reasons why comparing Israeli and Palestinian death totals is a misleading way to judge the conflict.” This may be found at http://m.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2550930
Klein makes five points relevant to our issue.
Comparative death totals don't say much about the morality of the various sides in a conflict. But that criterion, America was morally at fault in its prosecution of WWII because German deaths in the war outnumbered those of America 16:1 or 21:1, “According to the National World War II Museum, the war claimed between 6.6 million and 8.8 million German lives, compared with 418,500 American lives. That translates into a ratio of German to American deaths of at least 16 to 1, and as high as 21 to 1. Yet nobody is going to argue, based on these statistics, that Nazi Germany should be able to claim the moral high ground over the U.S. in the war.” He goes on to say that he is not saying that the Israel/Gaza war and World War II are the same, but only that “comparing raw death totals of parties in a conflict, devoid of context, says absolutely nothing about the morality of the various sides involved in a conflict. Nor does it reveal which side was the aggressor.”
Raw totals don't differentiate among civilians and terrorists. In addition, in the Gaza conflict, even Western sources that formerly accepted statistical reports of casualities as supplied by Hamas, have gone on record as saying that these statistics cannot be relied upon as they are fraudulent and “managed.”
Israel takes tremendous precautions to protect its own citizens and this largely accounts for the disparity in death tolls. The building of the security wall, the Iron Dome network, and air raid preparedness on the Israeli side with no comparable provisions on the Palestinian side help to account for a disparity in fatalities. It should never be forgotten that Israel has the capacity to totally obliterate Gaza but has not done so, practicing a level of restraint in wartime which is unparalleled in the conduct of other nations.
Palestinian authorities put their civilians in harm’s way. This is commonly denied, but is demonstrable. Recently a team of journalists from Indid posted photographic evidence of this practice, but only dared to do so after leaving Gaza because journalists who publish damning photographs are endangered by doing so. While Hamas encourages its people to stay put when shelling is going on, Palestinians also know that if they amass themselves visibly at sites which Israel would otherwise target, Israel will back off rather than kill masses of civilians. See evidence of ths, for example, here. On the other hand, when Israel attacks such a missile launching site and there are inevitable casualties on the Palestinian side, it serves as a propaganda victory for Hamas, because Israel's opponents in the media will then use the casualty counts to de-legitimize Israel. This, in turn, generates more international pressure against Israel to cease its military operations.
The reality of Israel’s military edge actually shows that it is acting morally. Members of the BDS movement commonly portray Palestinians as defenseless victims of Israel’s powerful military. But the reality of Israel’s vast conventional military edge actually demonstrates that it is acting with remarkable restraint, as they could at any point level Gaza to the ground, but instead use a minute fraction of their capacity to launch limited attacks on strategic targets.
I return then to the points raised at the beginning of this blog post, and challenge us all to implement them.
Consider that what you have been told is not the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Recognize when and where you have been told falsehoods in the name of truth.
Replace lies with truths.
Have the courage to stand up for the truth in a climate where the truth is unknown, unpopular, underprepresented, or in some manner forbidden.
How will your rhetoric with others and your response to theirs be different as a result of considering what you read here today, and found linked here to other sites? Remember, if nothing changes, nothing changes, and remember also the wise words of Edmund Burke:
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement
1 year
Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
ct_pointer_data
session
CleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
ct_timezone
session
CleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
ts
3 years
PayPal sets this cookie to enable secure transactions through PayPal.
ts_c
3 years
This cookie is provided by PayPal when a website is in association with PayPal payment function. This cookie is used to make safe payment through PayPal.
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Cookie
Duration
Description
nsid
session
This cookie is set by the provider PayPal. This cookie is used to enable the PayPal payment service in the website.
tsrce
3 days
This cookie is set by the provider PayPal. This cookie is used to enable the PayPal payment service in the website.
x-pp-s
session
This cookie is set by the provider PayPal. This cookie is used to process payments from the site.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_gat
1 minute
This cookie is installed by Google Universal Analytics to restrain request rate and thus limit the collection of data on high traffic sites.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_ga
2 years
The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gid
1 day
Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT
2 years
YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
tk_lr
1 year
The tk_lr is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
tk_or
5 years
The tk_or is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
tk_r3d
3 days
JetPack installs this cookie to collect internal metrics for user activity and in turn improve user experience.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Cookie
Duration
Description
c
20 years
This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services.
IDE
1 year 24 days
Google DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
test_cookie
15 minutes
The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
5 months 27 days
A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSC
session
YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devices
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-id
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_calendly_session
21 days
No description available.
_ir
session
The cookie is set by Pinterest. We do not know the exact purpose of the cookies.
apbct_cookies_test
session
CleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
apbct_page_hits
session
CleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
apbct_pixel_url
session
No description
apbct_prev_referer
session
No description available.
apbct_site_landing_ts
session
CleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
apbct_site_referer
3 days
No description available.
apbct_timestamp
session
CleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
apbct_urls
3 days
No description available.
apbct_visible_fields
session
CleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
ct_checked_emails
session
No description
ct_checkjs
session
CleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
ct_fkp_timestamp
session
CleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
ct_has_scrolled
session
No description
ct_ps_timestamp
session
CleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
ct_screen_info
session
No description
enforce_policy
1 year
No description available.
KHcl0EuY7AKSMgfvHl7J5E7hPtK
20 years
No description available.
l7_az
30 minutes
No description available.
LANG
9 hours
No description
m
2 years
No description available.
paypal-offers--country
3 days
No description available.
sc_f
5 years
No description available.
tk_ai
5 years
Gathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
tk_qs
30 minutes
Gathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.