Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumWhy Presbyterian Divestment Feels Like Anti-Semitism
In a hotel ballroom in Jerusalem jammed with journalists from all over the Jewish world, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a rambling speech that covered everything from Irans nuclear ambitions to an Israeli cow that he claims produces more milk than any other cow in the world. Really.
But I want to focus on his riff about the Presbyterians.
This was June 22, the day after the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to sell off its stock in three American companies who manufacture products they claim are used to further Israels occupation of the West Bank. Netanyahu mentioned the vote in the context of global anti-Semitism. Then you could sense he was extemporizing.
He invited the Presbyterians to come to the Middle East and look around. Hell arrange a bus tour through Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq. But the bus will need armored plates, he suggested. And the visitors should not announce that they are Christians. Then they should compare what they see to Israel, the only beacon of freedom in the region.
This was said in the snide tone Netanyahu employs when you are not sure he is trying to be funny or just being mean. I thought he verged on the obnoxious.
But, dammit, he had a point.
http://m.forward.com/articles/200724/why-presbyterian-divestment-feels-like-anti-semiti/
King_David
(14,851 posts)Channeling Netanyahu (something not easy for me to do) I could understand how the Presbyterian decision could seem biased, hypocritical and, yes, anti-Semitic.
http://m.forward.com/articles/200724/why-presbyterian-divestment-feels-like-anti-semiti/
shira
(30,109 posts)riqster
(13,986 posts)Silly statement on his part.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)the settlements are the focus of this group-odd how often we see the settlements equated to all of Israel, perhaps that says more than the writers intend
shira
(30,109 posts)...then that would have been very wrong too. Unfortunately, S.African apartheid was every bit as bad as advertised.
R. Daneel Olivaw
(12,606 posts)that BDS is really taking off.
I truely hope that more businesses divest from Israel just like they did from South Africa during the dark days of apartheid.
VAliberal
(297 posts)The PCUSA's General Assembly passed a divestment overture that included a reaffirmation of Israel's right to exist and a commitment to a 'two-state' resolution. Divesting from three U.S. companies whose products contribute to the oppression and misery of Palestinians was consistent with the denomination's social conscience policy regarding its investments (no holdings in tobacco, alcohol, firearms, etc.). Jewish Voice for Peace, among other organizations and individuals, was at the GA actively bringing a Jewish voice to the conversation in favor of divestment.
shira
(30,109 posts)http://juicyecumenism.com/2014/06/20/pcusa-votes-for-anti-israel-divestment/
JVP (Jewish Voice for Peace) was acting as cover for IPMN. JVP is as representative of mainstream Jews as flat-earthers are among geologists. Mainstream Jewish groups were outraged at IPMN's Zionism Unsettled and PCUSA obviously agreed, although PCUSA is still advertising and selling the IPMN booklet on their website.