A picture says a thousand words

Saturday 12 March 2016

A picture says a thousand words

Report on Beth Israel vigil 03-05-16

Posted on March 7th, 2016 at 10:14 pm by Henry Herskovitz

A picture says a thousand words

A Palestinian businessman in Ann Arbor tells me this week that Judaism and Zionism are two distinct and separate entities, a claim heard often on the Left. When I shared with him that in 1942 over 800 rabbis signed onto the document “Zionism: an Affirmation of Judaism”, he responded “They are wrong”. Really? This Palestinian Muslim knows more about the religion of Judaism than 800 rabbis?

It might have helped the conversation had I in hand the fund raising advertisement from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor in which a Jewish woman proclaims “there is one value that as Jews – we all share. Israel. It is in our marrow.” She doesn’t say “as Zionists”, she chooses to say “as Jews”. No bones about it (pun intended).

Now another 1,000-word photo emerges from our friend in New Jersey who happened to walk by a Judaica shop in Teaneck and shares with us this Jewish religious garment – called a yarmulke or kippa – emblazoned with a clear political message: All of Palestine is Jewish. Here is what our friend says about this religious garment:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hersko/Photos/Jewish%20Skullcap%20-%20Lg.JPG

Taken this morning in West Orange, New Jersey, at the Lubavitcher Judaica Shop. The “kippa” is a religious article. It features a map of Palestine (“Israel”) with the word “mine”, as in “not yours”. I submit this to counter those who would argue that Zionism is a political agenda separate from the Jewish religion. This is an item worn exclusively by Orthodox Jews and its racist Zionist message could not be more clear.

Palestinians, like my friend above, would do well to remember that their lives have been destroyed and certainly disrupted by Jewish exclusivism, Jewish supremacism, and Jewish power. Herzl did not write “The Zionist State.”

Revealing statements from Dr. Jill Stein

Dr. Jill Stein (Green Party) is the second Jewish candidate (or perhaps third) for president of the US and, as such, bears similar responsibilities to that of Bernie Sanders, whose candidacy we spoke about in our report of February 2. A friend passes along an article by The Peace Resource which touts Stein’s alleged commitment to “…human rights, equality, peace, freedom and justice for everyone.” A few statements caught our eye. One, “Bibi is a threat not only to human rights and to U.S. interests, but also to the security and sanctity of the Jewish people living in Israel-Palestine.”

We thought Bibi was a threat to the Palestinian people, but Jill senses Jewish-centric concerns. And why not? Although it’s not stated in the article, Jill is a Jew and may have been swayed by her years of indoctrination of real and alleged Jewish suffering to view the ethnic cleansing of Palestine through Jewish eyes.

Second quote: “On taking office, I will put all parties on notice – including the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority, and the Hamas administration in Gaza – that future U.S. support will depend on respect for human rights and compliance with international law.” Is the US currently supporting the Hamas administration as implied by Stein’s statement? Are we actually funding what the US has declared to be a terrorist organization? Back to the drawing board on this one, Jill.

And what she doesn’t say looms large: no demand for the Right of Return for Palestinians whose lives have been destroyed by the Jewish state; a tacit agreement, rather than a challenge, to the legitimacy of a Jewish state foist upon an unwilling and remarkably resilient population. No visible support for BDS and certainly no challenge to Jewish power. Dr. Stein may look good to our friend, but as they say in Lenawee County, “That dog won’t hunt.”

Comments?

Three vigilers
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
Challenging Jewish Power since 2003
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