The ADL keeps a database of extremist incidents, including antisemitic incidents. They list over 1700 so far for this year. I have been looking though their list for 2022, specifically incidents that mention Israel.
Here are only a few of them:
January, Brooklyn NY: Graffiti that read, "Kill Israel and the Jews" was found on the campus of a middle school.
January, Mountain ViewCO: In response to a Jewish middle school student's presentation on the Holocaust, the teacher harassed the student about the creation and policies of the State of Israel.
January, Seattle WA: The message "It's okay to be a Zionist genocider" was found spray-painted across the Jewish Family Service.
February, Buffalo NY: An antisemitic flier was posted on the campus of the University of Buffalo. The flier depicted Robert and John F. Kennedy with Stars of David etched over their faces, and the words, "Israel and the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers."
February, University City MO: In a social media post, a campus Birthright program was the target of an anti-Zionist campaign comparing them to Patriot Front, a White Supremacist organization. The campaign strongly suggested that, like the Patriot Front, the Birthright program should not be allowed on campus and the post included the call "Death to all Settler Colonialism!"
March, Storrs CT: A Jewish college student was the target of antisemitic harassment and removal from a campus community group for their pro-Israel activism.
April, New Brunswick NJ: The Israel Fellow for the University of Rutgers Hillel received multiple antisemitic Instagram comments in response to a video they posted regarding the recent terror attack in Israel. One comment read, "die jews die."
May, Santa Barbara CA:"Zionist the evil Jews have got to go" was written in chalk by a bus stop.
May, Champaign IL: "Death to Israel" and "Israelis kill children" was written in chalk on a college campus.
July, Lakewood CO: A Jewish person was approached by an unknown individual on the street who said, "The Zionists will burn."
July,Boulder CO: "ZIONIST SEX PREDITAR (sic) AREA!" was found written in chalk on a sidewalk.
August, Miami FL: A Jewish institution received a threatening phone call in which the caller threatened violence against the Jewish community on behalf of his "Palestinian Wife" in relation to events in Israel. The caller threatened to cut off the heads of Jewish people.
August, Brooklyn NY: Graffiti said that said, "Antisemitism was invented by a Zionist," "Zionism is Anti Semitism (sic) and "Antisemitism is overrated" was found on a train platform.
Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!
Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.
Last week, junior at Northwestern University Lily Cohen wrote an op-ed for the campus newspaper the Daily Northwestern about her pride at being Jewish in the face of antisemitism. It took up a full page in the print edition, with the headline "I am more proud of my Jewish identity than anyone can ever hate me for it."
She described how the slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" is a hateful attack on Jews that hurts her personally:
“From the River to the Sea” is a slogan used by Hamas — a terrorist organization — as a rallying cry to destroy the entire State of Israel and all of its Jewish inhabitants. The phrase originated more than 30 years ago, evolving from language in the 1988 Hamas charter that promoted the destruction of Jews, echoing Adolf Hitler’s messaging on the merits of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
This is where I draw the line.
When that slogan is plastered around the walls of buildings where I study, when it’s hung across The Arch that I walk under every day, when it’s painted over The Rock that I helped paint only five hours earlier — in support of voting for gun safety and reproductive rights — I take offense. I feel hurt. I get angry.
Spewing hate will never end in peace, and tearing down other causes is not a constructive way to promote your own.
When similar situations have taken place on campus in the past, I’ve remained silent, writing down how offended, hurt and angry I am, leaving it in the safety of my Google Drive. But, nothing ever changes, so I’m done staying silent. I’m done being blamed for the actions of the Israeli government. I’m done being told I’m undeserving of a safe, secure Jewish homeland.
I will still go on Birthright. I will still attend Hillel services. I will still don my Hebrew necklace. I will not relinquish my pride in my Jewish identity just because someone doesn’t like all that my identity entails.
In response, antisemitic students decided to directly attack her pain.
They took 42 print copies of her print column and used them as a background to a large poster saying the very words that she said hurt her.
The amount of time and effort it took to make this sign and aim it directly at Lily Cohen shows, with no doubt, that this was an act intended to hurt her and to tell the campus that Cohen's feelings and opinions are to be utterly disregarded and ridiculed.
This is not microaggression. This is aggression against a specific student.
Let's see if Northwestern takes this at all seriously.
(h/t Andrew P)
Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!
Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.
The Birthright program is often in the news, mainly because of the tremendous work it does to strengthen the Jewish sense of identity of young Jews by creating the opportunity for them to visit Israel for free.
The Birthright trips have expanded over the years and now you can choose your own theme/itinerary:
o Active: Dive-in to the ultimate outdoor adventure and get ready to hike, bike, and climb your way through Israel o Professional: Delve deeper into your professional industry by experiencing the best of Israel through an occupational lens o Culinary: Savor the flavor of Mediterranean cuisine and develop your palate and culinary skills alongside some of Israel's finest chefs o Spiritual: Embark on a meaningful quest through mystical Israel. Connect with the land, the people and yourself o Cultural: Get lost in Israel's thriving city centers and explore music, theatre and award-winning film o LGBTQ: Join like-minded peers on a curated tour of Israel's thriving LGBTQ culture Study Abroad: Make the country your classroom and travel Israel for 12-14 days. You will experience all the best parts of our Classic trip and master a topic of your choosing earning 3 credits in the process
Birthright Israel seeks to ensure the future of the Jewish people by strengthening Jewish identity, Jewish communities, and connection with Israel via a trip to Israel for the majority of Jewish young adults from around the world.
Our hope is that our trips motivate young people to continue to explore their Jewish identity and support for Israel and maintain long-lasting connections with the Israelis they meet on their trip. We encourage our alumni to take active roles in Jewish organizations and to participate in follow-up activities worldwide.
But Birthright also gets into the news because of the attempt by left-wing groups to politicize what the program does. These groups offer suggestions -- if not outright demands -- that the Birthright 10-day program includes a 'balanced' introduction to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The J Street U campaign emphasizes that it is important for American Jewish students to be well-informed and to receive a full and nuanced picture of the challenges facing Israel today, including the threat that the occupation presents to its long-term future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people. The petitions warn against the damaging consequences of excluding and omitting Palestinian voices and narratives from the conversation.
So now J Street has started its own alternative to Birthright trips.
Why is this a concern?
Because of J Street's controversial agenda to use the US to impose its politics on Israel.
Israel’s supporters have the right and the obligation to speak out when the policies or the actions of the Israeli government are hurting the long-term interests of Israel and the Jewish people.
J Street presents itself as a more liberal alternative to AIPAC. But it is more than that. Unlike AIPAC, which advocates for Israeli policy independent of politics and who leads the Israeli government, J Street actively pushes its own agenda in the US in order to influence the policy in Israel. For example, unlike AIPAC, J Street actively involves itself in US elections and supports only Democratic candidates. Considering how Democratic candidates are moving the left and are less supportive of Israel, that is a major concern that needs to be addressed.
While J Street U has put together its own "Birthright trip, this is not the first time J Street has tried this.
The blog Mystical Politics has a copy of the original press release from J-Street posted by J Street U director Daniel May on January 25, 2011, announcing a trip in conjunction with Birthright. (The press release has been removed from the J Street site):
J Street U is very happy to announce that we will be leading a free, ten-day Taglit-Birthright trip this summer titled, "Explore Israel: Progressive Zionism and Social Justice."
This trip is an incredible opportunity to connect with the Israel that isn't on the front page or in the guide books. Move beyond the headlines, and see what's really happening on the ground.
If you're Jewish, age 18 - 25, and have yet to take a peer group trip to Israel, we strongly encourage you to sign up and be the first to know when registration opens.
The trip is a chance to appreciate the vibrancy of Israel's history, culture and landscape from a perspective that acknowledges your Jewish and progressive values.
The best way to discover the richness of Israeli society and the full contours of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to travel around Israel and meet people from the diverse groups of the region. There is simply no substitute for seeing the land and connecting with the people.
On the trip, we'll speak with members of Israeli civil society working to advance the goals of democracy and human rights. Our itinerary will provide a cross-section of Israeli opinion.
This trip is a gift of Taglit-Birthright Israel and will be provided by The Israel Experience, Ltd. [emphasis added]
The intended focus of the trip was political -- from a 'progressive' perspective, focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and meeting representatives of human rights groups -- as opposed to Jewish identity and connection to Israel. That was, and is, their prerogative. However, the description does not seem like it would mesh with the Birthright goals of identity and connection
He contacted Birthright and encouraged others to as well, and in the end, the Birthright trip was canceled.
Moriel Rothman, President of the J Street U student board, issued a statement which read in part:
J Street U had planned our trip in order to forge an avenue through which liberal-minded college students – who may otherwise not engage – could develop a deep and lasting relationship with the Jewish homeland. The trip was to include the traditional highlights of a Taglit-Birthright experience – visits to Masada, the Kotel, and Yad Va’Shem – as well as opportunities for students to engage with Israeli human rights advocates, journalists, and politicians involved in the struggle to preserve the democratic future of the Jewish homeland.
...Despite their initial approval for a trip that would provide just such an experience, Birthright’s leadership has now decided that it is inappropriate for JStreetU to organize a trip because we are politically oriented. Nonetheless, comparable organizations with different politics than ours participate and help organize trips every year. For instance, AIPAC’s “Capital to Capital” Birthright trip is designed for Jewish political activists who are “significantly involved in the American political process.” Given that other such trips are regularly offered, we were surprised and saddened that our trip was suddenly deemed inappropriate. [emphasis added]
Again, there are politics and there are politics. FresnoZionism in the same post makes reference to the politics of Moriel Rothman:
What is J Street U? Its National Board President U is a Middlebury College student named Moriel Rothman. Here is how he explains the controversy around the Sheik Jarrah / Shimon haTzadik neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Pay attention not only to his words, but his tone:
…the Jerusalem municipality has been bending to the will of fanatic Jewish settlers, and producing - based on archaic documents from the Ottoman period and manufactured Israeli law - eviction notices to a number of Palestinian families, and in some cases - such as with three families in Sheikh Jarrah- acting on those eviction notices by force and removing those Palestinian families from their homes. The municipality’s actions are hugely problematic from a moral standpoint: not only are Jews buying up and/or stealing Arab land in East Jerusalem, but Arabs are moreover unable to buy land in the primarily Jewish West Jerusalem… These policies are also hugely problematic from the standpoint of peace, as East Jerusalem must be the capital of the future Palestinian state, and the Clinton Parameters, which state that Palestine will get control of Arab neighborhoods and Israel will control Jewish neighborhoods, are made harder and harder to implement with each infiltration of Jewish settlers into Arab neighborhoods like Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah. [emphasis in the original]
This is the example set by a head of J Street U at the time.
In the end, it appeared that the provider J Street U was working with, Israel Experience, did not clear the arrangement with Birthright in advance.
J Street U students are petitioning Birthright CEO Gidi Mark to “provide more Birthright trips that speak to the values of social justice, democracy, and peace that are so important to young, progressive Jews. [emphasis added]
“We said such a trip, as described in a brief conversation with the Israel Experience, would likely be out of keeping with our longstanding policy of not conducting trips with a political orientation,” Birthright said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Birthright subsequently confirmed that the policy was adopted in 2009, when the organization decided not to partner any longer with groups that are “overtly political.”
Prior to 2009, Birthright trips were run in conjunction with the Zionist Organization of America and the Union for Progressive Zionists, the precursor to J Street U.
Birthright continues to partner with AIPAC, though references to the pro-Israel lobby group were scrubbed recently from the website of the Israel Experience. Birthright said AIPAC did not fall under the 2009 policy change because the organization does not generally seek to influence Israeli policy. [emphasis added]
For years, we have run a Capital-to-Capital trip through another trip provider, which focuses on the Israeli political system. The provider has been running this trip, with input from AIPAC, a mainstream Israel advocacy group, long before JStreet was established. It focuses on Israel’s political structure, with an approach similar to a political science class; the trip has never been tilted to one side of the political spectrum. [emphasis added]
In the end, J Street went on the trip on their own.
How did it go?
In a J-Street U mailing no longer online, Daniel May, Director, J Street U, wrote on June 21, 2011
I can tell that these two weeks are making a life-long impact on the participants. And amidst the painful stories of this conflict, that fact is giving me tremendous hope. But I don't want you to hear it from me. I want you to hear it directly from the students...
Simone Zimmerman, Berkeley ‘13 – Read her whole post here.
As aspiring peacebuilders, we have already been given so much to challenge us, and we have barely chipped the surface. I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility already, and a tremendous amount of privilege for being able to participate in this journey with J Street U. I’ve been to Israel many times in many different capacities, but this is my first trip where I am finding that I can, without contradiction, bring together my deep love for this country with my deep commitment to exploring the toughest challenges facing Israel today. [emphasis added]
After Zimmerman, a former J Street student activist, was hired by the Sanders campaign, it was discovered she previously wrote on Facebook, “Bibi Netanyahu is an arrogant, deceptive, cynical, manipulative asshole,” according to the Washington-based Free Beacon.
She continued: “F— you, Bibi, for daring to insist that you legitimately represent even a fraction of the Jews in this world, for your consistent fear-mongering, for pushing Israel in word and deed, farther and farther away from the international community, and most importantly, for trying to derail a potentially historic diplomatic deal with Iran and thus trying to distract the world from the fact that you sanctioned the murder of over 2,000 people this summer.”
She edited the post on March 3, 2015, changing “asshole” to “politician” and the second expletive to “shame on you.” She was dismissed by the Sanders campaign after being its Jewish outreach coordinator for only two days.
Simone Zimmerman. Screengrab from Haaretz video on YouTube
Considering the example of J Street's past activities against Israel, the attitude demonstrated in the past by J Street U leaders like Moriel Rothman and the activities of the products of J Street U leadership such as Simone Zimmerman -- who is one of the founders of the virulently anti-Israel If Not Now -- suspicions of J Street "Birthright-style" trips are natural.
Day 6: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Occupation 101
Morning: Settlement Tour and Palestinian Village
Afternoon: Hebron
Evening: Group conversation
Overnight: Jerusalem
Day 7: Israel and Palestinian Perspectives Over the Green Line
Morning: Ramallah–Palestinian self-rule under occupation.
Afternoon: Conversation with Settlers
Evening: Israeli and Palestinian Peace Activists
Overnight: Ein Gedi
There is nothing wrong with criticism of Israel.
The issue is not criticism but rather J Street's record of undercutting Israel and its subversion of support for it.
o We see it reflected in J Street statements o We see it reflected in J Street's actions. o We see it reflected in J Street's support for anti-Israel Democratic candidates o We see it reflected in J Street 'graduates'
J Street is a special interest group with its own agenda.
It is a political agenda that contrasts with AIPAC, just as its politicized idea of an Israel trip contrasts with Birthright trips that encourage Jewish identity and connection with Israel.
Neither AIPAC nor Birthright have a particular agenda that it imposes or politics it is trying to push onto others.
The same is not true of J Street.
The goal of its trip is just one more way for J Street to push its agenda.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
Every birthright trip includes a heavy dose of right wing propaganda.
My trip leader was a settler who told us all Arabs were terrorists and threatened to throw me off the trip for my "Arab beliefs." American Jews were hazed by Israeli soldiers who pushed pins into their chests.
On my trip, one of our evening activities was a simulation of a checkpoint, in which we had to pretend to be IDF soldiers denying entry to pleading Palestinian women.
Even if they told us their children were sick, we were to deny everyone entry. It was horrifying.
He was immediately challenged:
David Sebs @dsebs
I went on a trip in 2012 and this couldn't be further from the truth.
If anything our guide was extremely sympathetic to the Palestinians... Even organizing Ultimate Frisbee tournaments with those on the other side of the 'wall'.
Gritty 2020🔥 @maxberger
It totally depends on your trip leader. They are discouraged from talking about the conflict, but some bend the rules.
David Sebs @dsebs
I mean you mentioned 'every Birthright trip' and then conceded that it 'depends on your trip leader.'
You understand the hypocrisy in that right?
I'm not even trolling, but it c'mon....
And:
Melissa Weiss
@melissaeweiss
I don’t often call people liars, but I went on Birthright as a student. Dozens of my friends have staffed and guided trips. Hundreds of my friends and colleagues have been participants over the years. Not a single one has had the experience Max describes. Not a single one.
Berger backtracks big time:
Gritty 2020🔥 @maxberger
Replying to @melissaeweiss
I don't think this was the least bit typical! Lots of stuff happened on my trip that wasn't according to protocol. But the larger point still holds.
The "larger point," apparently, that Birthright is still right wing propaganda even if his own supposed case was an outlier. And if that really happened, there would be lots of people talking about it.I
Berger was asked repeatedly the name of the leader of his trip. Obviously, if his claims were true, everyone from the left to the far right would condemn it. But he won't say.
His "bravery" at "exposing" Birthright apparently doesn't extend to allowing himself to be fact-checked.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
So the original name for the areas is meant to erase the history of the one that came thousands of years afterwards.
Beyond the stupidity of that assertion, the West Bank is a Jordanian name, not a Palestinian name. (The term was not consistently capitalized until after the Six Day War.)
Even the UN referred to Judea and Samaria when talking about the area, e.g., the UN partition plan of 1947 saying "The boundary of the hill country of Samaria and Judea starts on the Jordan River at the Wadi Malih south-east of Beisan..."
The format of this infographic indicates that IfNotNow has an entire series of them that they were planning to tweet daily. But the derision they have received for this one may make them bury the rest of them. Too bad! Debunking them is one of my new favorite hobbies.
I'm still hoping against hope that they say that the name you should use is Al Quds instead of Jerusalem.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
You're proud of the young Jews who are bashing Birthright, the organization which your family personally benefited from for years? Wow, what an ingrate. #BiteTheHandThatFeedsYou.
(This may be a long thread.)
Your husband, Jay Golan was named CEO and President of Birthright Israel Foundation in 2005 and he remained in that position until 2012, meaning that for about seven years your family enjoyed his salary, paid for by the government of Israel and benefactors such as Sheldon Adelson
Jay's successor's salary was about $500K, according to @jdforward (Thank you, Forward, for digging into the financials of Jewish institutions!). I imagine your husband was also well-compensated. Did he "return the birthright"? Or did it help pay for Sophie's college tuition?
Sheldon Adelson has donated tens of millions, if not billions of dollars to Birthright over the years. Yet Sophie derides him as having a "twisted vision" of Jewish safety. And you posted an article comparing him to Farrakhan. Did you return his "despicable" money?
Yes, your husband spent years helping to raise money for a program which strengthens Jewish youth's connection to Israel. In 2007, he described how participants meet Israeli Arabs and Bedouin "to learn about Israel's cultural complexity." IfNotNow lies.
More recently, your daughter Sophie participated in Birthright Israel herself, in June of 2014. She had a great time, by the looks of it. Now she says "Israel is wrong" and shouldn't be defended.
Yes, Sophie Ellman-Golan, media person for Women's March and staunch ally of anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour, was a Birthright participant. She didn't walk out. She didn't protest. She rode donkeys and camels, went swimming, and danced at the kotel. And befriended IDF soldiers
A few weeks after her trip ended, the three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped. She reached out to the soldiers who had been on her trip, saying she was thinking of them and hoping they were safe. I guess she used to think Israel was worth defending.
These are the soldiers tagged in that post.
Looks like she had fun sharing Sheldon Adelson's "twisted vision" of the Jewish future.
She even turned to her fellow Birthright participants, those terribly misguided and brainwashed tools of the evil Israeli government, to join her social activism.
So, in summary, you and your family happily benefited from the generosity of the Israeli government, wealthy Jewish donors, and "the Jewish establishment", and now you shit all over them. Well done, rabbi. I hope you're proud of that, too. (rant over)
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
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Friday, November 25, 2022
Elder of Ziyon
January, Seattle WA: The message "It's okay to be a Zionist genocider" was found spray-painted across the Jewish Family Service.
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