A conversation with CiF Watch
When the J Street smear video broke (see my last post), CiF Watch tweeted a link to it, saying I was pro-BDS (I’m not). I replied, and over the next hour or so, we had a conversation about anti-semitism and anti-Zionism. I committed to writing a post exploring what I believe to be substantive differences between the two. I think an understanding of those differences is key for Zionists (or anyone who’s not an anti-Zionist) – crying wolf at false cases of anti-semitism is not only incredibly damaging to those accused, which in and of itself should be enough of a reason not to do it, but ultimately counterproductive in actually identifying real cases of anti-semitism.
I’m planning to write that post tomorrow or early next week, but here’s the conversation that @CiFWatch and I had on Twitter. CiF Watch deleted their initial tweet claiming I was pro-BDS after I corrected them, so you won’t see that one here. Also note that the conversation goes on beyond the excerpt here – hit the “view more” button at the bottom to see the whole thing.
Comments
Comment from Adam Levick
Time: March 5, 2011 at 11:11 pm
Harpo, are you really prepared to defend the openly anti-Zionist blog, Mondoweiss? If not, please say so. Mondoweiss enthusiastically supports BDS, often advances explicitly anti-Semitic narratives (Philip Weiss has called for a quota on Jewish journalists, and often warns darkly of the injurious effects of the organized Jewish community on the U.S. political system, to give but two examples), and is opposed to the existence of a Jewish state within any borders.
There are certainly many gray areas when it comes to supporting Israel, and I agree with the idea of big tent Zionism, but the right of my nation to exist is not open for discussion. What about this don’t you get?
Adam Levick
Jerusalem, Israel
Comment from Hawkeye
Time: March 5, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Harpo
Did you read Lozowick’s article that I tweeted you?
http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/2011/03/progressive-israel-scolds-inadvertantly.html
Comment from Capa
Time: March 6, 2011 at 12:44 am
Be kind Hawkwaye, Harpo Jaeger is just a child. An Ivy League punk yes, but a child still. He will learn soon enough. Perhaps volunteering for the IDF as most of my family has will help him gain some perspective. American Jews have nothing to do lose when it comes to Israel. But when it is their lives….then the logic and reason start.
Comment from shlomtsion
Time: March 6, 2011 at 3:48 pm
This ‘selective’ BDS which you apparently support – which settlements does it include? The big blocks that everyone – including the Palestinians – knows will be part of Israel under a future agreement? The outlying hilltop unauthorised ones which produce practically nothing, certainly export nothing and which most Israelis are in favour of dismantling? Or the ones in Jerusalem which were just neighbourhoods in one unified city until 1948 when a belligerent Arab force over-ran them and ethnically cleansed their Jewish population for 19 years?
Comment from Harpo
Time: March 6, 2011 at 4:25 pm
These are all good questions – and I’m not promoting a specific interpretation of them. All I’m saying is that I have no problem with the concept of boycotting settlements. In all fairness, I don’t have that much of a problem with larger boycotts, although I don’t agree with them or think they’re an effective tactic. In other words, most of my problems with BDS are tactical ones, not conceptual ones.
Comment from Capa
Time: March 6, 2011 at 9:13 pm
“I have no problem with the concept of boycotting settlements”
Right, did you know the Palestinians don’t even boycott the settlements? They providde over 60,000 with high-paying jobs, earn more working for Jewish settlers than Jordanian or Arab businessman. The only real decent-paying job a Palestinian can get is in the government, and all those are tied to nepotism and friendship.
Harpo, how many jobs have you provided to the Palestinians? Maybe consider donating your 50,000 year annually tuition to brown to the starving Palestinians (life expectancy 75) to offset the unfortunate economic boycott of the settlements – which hurt the Palestinians more than Israel.
Comment from shlomtsion
Time: March 7, 2011 at 8:15 am
I’m afraid you have avoided my question, but that’s OK – I know that it’s a tricky one for people who have not really thought about BDS in terms of anything more than a fashion statement.
But even fashion statements come with moral strings attached, and in the case of BDS that moral string is very long and complicated. The leaders of the BDS movement are, of course, not content with just walking past a few Israeli oranges in a store. BDS is only the tip of the iceberg and it is promoted by people who are part of organisations which are trying to bury the two-state solution.
So here comes another tricky question: are you willing to allow yourself to be used as a pawn (and a Jewish fig-leaf) by a movement which has the eventual aim of destroying the Jewish state?
Comment from Harpo
Time: March 7, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Your claims about the motives of BDS organizers have no basis. Furthermore, there are plenty of BDSers who do in fact believe in a two-state solution. From JVP’s mission statement: Israelis and Palestinians have the right to security, sovereignty, and self-determination within political entities of their own choosing.
…are you willing to allow yourself to be used as a pawn…
I’m not a part of the BDS movement. So your question is moot.
Comment from Hawkeye
Time: March 5, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Harpo:
Nice try. But very strawman. We never accused you of antisemitism. You use this to wonder into Livingstone Formulation territory which is quite shameful of you.
And in reviewing the twitter conversation, I see you support targeted boycott of settlement products. That my friend is BDS.