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U.S. Anti-Israel Activity  
Israeli Apartheid Week RULE IAW 2011

Posted: April 6, 2011


Introduction
IAW 2011
IAW 2010
IAW 2009
The Apartheid Analogy

The seventh annual Israeli Apartheid Week took place from March 7-20, 2011. In 2011, IAW events were held in approximately a dozen cities and states in the U.S., as well as in dozens of other cities around the world.

 

Below is a sampling of these events:

 

  • Benedictine University: The Students for Justice in Palestine chapter organized its first IAW on campus, which was comprised of several outdoor displays on campus designed to teach students about the "apartheid-like nature of Israel's occupation in Palestine," according to an article in the student newspaper. The IAW program also featured a panel discussion about Jerusalem that had representatives from Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The SJP organizers invited Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, who is a leader of the extreme anti-Zionist organization Neturei Karta (a group whose views are utterly rejected by the mainstream Jewish community), to represent the Jewish faith. The event, which had been promoted as an opportunity to learn about the effect of Jerusalem on the three Abrahamic faiths, was completely biased and obviously not intended to be a legitimate discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

  • Berlin, Connecticut: An event called the "One State Solution" took place at the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford and featured several local activists, including one speaker who made several anti-Semitic remarks during his talk. Lenni Brenner, a self-described "Trotskyist" and longtime anti-Israel activist, said that Jews are the biggest donors to U.S. political parties and called them, "crooked as a dog's hind leg." He further alleged that President Truman only recognized Israel because of political contributions from Jews. Another speaker, Justine McCabe, the co-chair of the International Committee of the Green Party, accused Israel of "delegitimizing Palestinians" and said that the only way Jews can maintain a majority population in Israel is by killing or transferring Palestinians. McCabe argued that the only way to prevent this from happening is a "one state" solution, which would allow Israel to emerge from its "pariah status." She stated that this solution was ideal and shouldn't be an issue because Judaism is a religion and not a nationality and that, in fact, this solution would restore the "Jewish-ness" to Jewish Israelis. A third speaker echoed McCabe's comments, describing the notion of a Jewish state as "racist" and said that Zionists, not Palestinians, are responsible for "promoting violence."

  • Boston University: The Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter held a protest on campus featuring signs that read, "End Israeli Apartheid" and "Legitimizing Apartheid: A BU Tradition." The SJP group also displayed a mock "apartheid wall" on campus after receiving an e-mail from the Boston University Students for Israel group urging them to not use divisive tactics during IAW and consider holding a joint demonstration with the pro-Israel group. The SJP responded that it refuses to cooperate because doing so would "whitewash Israel's public image" and noted that they refuse to participate in meetings that "do not explicitly aim to resist Israel's occupation, colonization and apartheid." The wall had graffiti-like writing on it that said, "Gaza Similar to Warsaw Ghetto" and "Tear Down the Wall," an attempt to equate Israel's security fence with the Berlin Wall during the Soviet Union.

  • Florida International University: Huwaida Arraf, the leader of the Free Gaza Movement, described Israel as a "colonial apartheid regime" and alleged that its laws are designed to discriminate against Palestinians. She also spoke out against Israel's blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, calling it "collective punishment" and urging individuals to support a second flotilla to Gaza that is being planned for May 2011. During the question and answer session, Arraf expressed support for a BDS campaign against Israel and indicated that she supports a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – which would eliminate the Jewish state – on the grounds that a two-state solution doesn't recognize Palestinian right of return.   

A second IAW event at FIU featured presentations by two speakers, FIU professor Abdy Javadzadeh and Muhammad Malik, a local anti-Israel activist in South Florida. Javadzadeh criticized U.S. military aid to Israel, describing it as "an obstacle to peace," and alleged that Israel is not interested in making peace with the Palestinians. During the Q&A, Javadzadeh opined that a rise in anti-Semitic sentiments can only be attributed to widespread disdain for Israeli policies, a thinly veiled excuse for anti-Semitism. Malik advocated for a BDS campaign against Israel and urged attendees to get involved in the campaign because U.S. policy is "aiding and complicit" to the perpetuation of the conflict. He also called for pressure on celebrities and artists to refuse to perform in Israel because their visits help "normalize the occupation."

 

  • Rutgers University: At the sole IAW event that took place on campus, the goal, according to organizers, was to demonstrate that the alleged "apartheid" system doesn't only apply to the West Bank but includes "Israel proper." Max Blumenthal, one of the speakers at the event, charged that Israel has made Palestinians the "victim" of democracy. Another speaker, Hannah Schwarzchild, advocated for BDS campaigns against Israel, noting that BDS "is part of an age-old, well rooted, well grounded campaign of non-violent resistance to oppression." During the Q&A, Blumenthal was asked about "normalization," which promotes dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians and their supporters, and he responded that the "apartheid system" in Israel has created an imbalance and that the two sides cannot sit down on equal terms until the "oppressor" accepts responsibility for its behavior.

  • West Hartford, Connecticut: Several pro-Palestinian films were screened as part of Connecticut's Israeli Apartheid Week program, including a documentary called "Gaza On Air" at the St. John's Episcopal Church in Hartford. Stanley Heller, the leader of the group that sponsored the evening's event, delivered an introduction during which he called Israel an "apartheid" state and compared the capture of Gilad Shalit to Israel's incarceration of Palestinian political prisoners. Heller also claimed that Palestinians could not have been responsible for the deaths of five members of a family in Itamar because of Israel's security fence.  "Gaza On Air" was then shown, which depicts Israel's military actions in the 2008-2009 Gaza war. The film claims that during the war Israel deliberately targeted civilian areas, including hospitals and schools, and used white phosphorous on the Palestinian people in Gaza.

  • Yale University: Mazin Qumsiyeh, a Palestinian former professor who recently moved back to the West Bank and regularly participates in protests against the Israeli army, spoke at an event promoting his new book, A Popular Resistance in Palestine. Qumsiyeh described Israel as the "worst colonial venture in history" and defended the right of Palestinians to resist "by any means," including violent resistance, but contended that violent methods are only a small part of Palestinian resistance. During the Q&A session, Qumsiyeh equated many of the major Israeli political parties, including Likud, Kadima and Labor, with the terrorist group Hamas, alleging that they too are "extremist" because they don't support Palestinian right of return. He also intimated that the alleged "apartheid system" is worse in Israel than it was in South Africa and expressed support for boycott campaigns against Israel and companies that do business with Israel. He specifically called on Yale and other universities to initiate BDS campaigns like those waged against apartheid South Africa.  




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