Resources on BDS and Israeli Lobby Propaganda
Submitted by wildleaf on 2 August 2010 - 12:49pm
When the Olympia Coop Board courageously and rightly decided on July 15 to
join the Boycott of Israeli products and remove them from their shelves,
many of us who have been involved in Middle East policies for a number
of years were expecting some type of negative response.
This was NOT primarily because of a grassroots knee-jerk response to any
criticism of the Israeli state (any oppressive state should be subject
to criticism), but a well organized and well funded effort (and no, this
is no conspiracy theory, but well documented with public information
that is cited throughout this essay) to blunt any criticism of the state
of Israel. This is even after that state was complicit in
the death of one our local and beloved citizens-- even after that state
was exposed before the world for one of the worst war crimes of the
past few years in Operation Cast Lead, the murder or over 1400 residents
of Gaza in 2008 and 2009-- and even after that state engaged in the
massacre of the Flotilla in May, 2010.
The world has made its judgment on the Israeli state’s criminal activities. We
will not examine all of that history here, but a bibliography is
attached below. (1) I have heard some people say that they do not have
enough information to understand the dynamics of the rationale behind
the decision to join the boycott. Below are several links
that will give some background information with the opportunity to
expand that knowledge if one wants to go deeper. See paragraphs A, B, C, and D below for that information.
Also see paragraphs E, F, G, and H for sources of misinformation that can
filter down to the local community and that often result in lies, racism
and hate speech that oppose any criticism of the state of Israel.
Some members of the Olympia Coop Board and members of Olympia BDS have
received threatening and abusive calls from overseas and from points of
the US (thanks to caller ID, it is possible to pinpoint which calls have
come from Israel and other places.) One would hope that our Olympia neighbors have a more civil temperament.
A. The Global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement was called for by civil society of Palestine and that call was initiated 5 years ago. For general information on BDS see http://www.bdsmovement.net/. There is a great deal of information on this site and the links are well worth exploring. For information on the initial call see http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/52. For some current calls and campaigns see http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/10. And for a list of fact sheets and other material see http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/49. The rest of the website is very comprehensive.
B. The Olympia BDS Movement also has a very good website at http://www.olympiabds.org/ that has specific information about the local activities and the Olympia Food Coop. A very good flyer that is available for download is available from their website from the “Resources” link- http://www.olympiabds.org/resources.html. Also check their website for petitions and how to send letters of support to the board at the Coop.
C. Jewish Voices for Peace has an excellent website (http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/) that is fully supportive of BDS and counters the slander that criticism of Israel is necessarily anti-Semitic. It has many links to sources for factsheets, toolkits and analyses that support disinvestment from Israeli businesses. Very specifically they have endorsed the Olympia Coop decision to join the BDS struggle.
“Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) condemns the attacks against the Olympia Coop’s recent decision to join the BDS movement. We
reject the assertion that Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions (BDS)
are inherently anti-Semitic, and we encourage discussion both within our
own community and outside of it of the growing BDS movement. We
defend the right of the Olympia Food Co-Op to use the full range of BDS
tactics without being persecuted or demonized. We consider BDS a
nonviolent response to the daily violence embodied in the occupation.
Those that are protesting the Olympia Food Co-op for its decision to
adopt BDS, should direct their energies to ending the injustices that
stand as the root cause of BDS. We look forward to the day when the
occupation will end and BDS will no longer be necessary…..” For the full statement see http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/jewish-voice-peace-statement-regarding-olympia-food-co-op-boycott-israeli-goods.
D. Locally in Olympia, Phan Nguyen has written a superb article in the latest Works in Progress, in the format of Frequently Asked Questions. In Olympia, pick up the latest WIP or read the article on line at http://www.olywip.org/site/page/issue/2010/08.html.
Of course, there are many other sources of information and many of them are linked to the sources above.
MISINFORMATION, DISINFORMATION AND POTENTIAL HATE SOURCES
E. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) unabashedly
describes itself as “America’s Pro-Israel Lobby” and is considered to
be one of the most powerful lobbies in the United States, right up there
with the National Rifle Association (NRA). The New York Times calls AIPAC "the most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel." AIPAC will excuse any action by Israel, including the massacre in Gaza last year and the massacre on the flotilla more recently. Their website at http://www.aipac.org/index.asp is worth checking out to see the sophisticated levels of misinformation.
F. CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is the very definition of Orwellian language as their main purpose is to monitor any criticism of Israel and make sure that virtually no accurate
information on Palestine and Israel reaches the American public. This is true whether that information comes from respected government
officials (Judge Richard Goldstone), new sources like the BBC or even the New York Times, academics such as Juan Cole, or human rights activists (international or national). See their websites for the type of disinformation disseminated- http://www.camera.org/index.asp. For a list of the type of media they contact (and/or harass) see the links on the top left of their home page for lists of the media they regularly contact. They are listed under “Media Analysis,” “Journalists,” “Be an Activist” (right wing advice), “Contact the Media,” etc.
G. Stand With Us (http://www.standwithus.com/)
(SWU) is a group that consistently misrepresents information about Palestine/Israel and any comments that question the essential goodness of the Israeli state. They also regularly demonstrate and attempt to intimidate anyone who would dare to question that “goodness.” See their website for stunning analysis of the flotilla, Rachel Corrie, or any campus activity (i.e. discussion) that they do not approve of. For an example of how they responded to the recent flotilla massacre see the video posted on MuzzleWatch from JVP of (C) above for how SWU abuses and threatens others, including fellow Jews. See http://www.muzzlewatch.com/2010/06/07/stand-with-us-members-shout-pigs-for-palestine-threaten-activists-in-san-francisco/
For an example on how SWU misrepresents information see their critiques of a recent panel discussion at UCLA at, “UCLA Symposium on Gaza Ignites Strong Criticism,” Tom Tugend, The Jewish Journal, http://www.standwithus.com/app/inews/view_n.asp?ID=820 and then see a response to the exact same event at Tikkun Magazine, September/October 2009
“The Trial of Israel’s Campus Critics,” by David Theo Goldberg and Saree Makdisi.
We can expect to see SWU getting involved with the issues around the Olympia Coop in a very negative way.
H. Perhaps the most dangerous and hateful of groups that have professed unqualified support for the state of Israel (aside from Christian
Zionist) is the Masada S.H.I.T. List (yes, that is the actual title for Self-Hating and/or Israel Threatening List.) This list (http://www.masada2000.org/shit-list.html)
Zionist) is the Masada S.H.I.T. List (yes, that is the actual title for Self-Hating and/or Israel Threatening List.) This list (http://www.masada2000.org/shit-list.html)
includes any Jewish person who has any sympathy whatsoever for anyone indigenous to Palestine. This vile list is misogynist, racist, nationalist and considers such all progressive Jews to be self-hating Jews. Perhaps some in the community should be aware of the company they keep when
they call their brothers and sisters “kapo” around this issue. Maybe they already know what company they keep.
they call their brothers and sisters “kapo” around this issue. Maybe they already know what company they keep.
The purpose of this email was to give some basic information around the issue of BDS that can be useful to understand the issues involved, and the predictable reaction by many groups to efforts to bring justice to the region. As noted at the beginning of this essay, this is not a comprehensive survey but only a sample. The issue is not “too difficult to understand.” Below is a short bibliography of the larger history of the region that I put together a few years ago when one of my faculty colleagues at The Evergreen State College said, obviously mistakenly, that she thought that she was in the Intifada because some on campus choose to wear
Kaffiyahs and there were posters on campus that advocated Palestinian rights (this was soon after the death of Rachel Corrie.) I wrote a long essay then that I will not repeat now, but here is the bibliography at the end of that essay.
Kaffiyahs and there were posters on campus that advocated Palestinian rights (this was soon after the death of Rachel Corrie.) I wrote a long essay then that I will not repeat now, but here is the bibliography at the end of that essay.
(1) “I would recommend the following reading list for anyone interested.
Ron David- Arabs and Israel for Beginners
Norman Finkelstein-Images and Realities of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Noam Chomsky-The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and Palestine
Edward Said-The Question of Palestine
Edward Said-Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the World
Hana Asharawi-This Side of Peace
The above list, for those who believe this is important, is “balanced” by Jews and Arabs. I also believe that these books present accurate analyses. For those who desire the U.S. government/Israeli government positions, see books by Thomas Friedman, Samuel Huntington, and Bernard Lewis. One
thing that becomes very noticeable is that those who are usually more accurate are the “dissidents” while the “apologists” are at or near the center of power.
For Pro-Israeli websites see the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee at http://www.aipac.org
or the state of Israel at http://www.info.gov.il/eng/mainpage.asp
For critical analysis of events in the Middle East see:
Alternative Analysis, www.commondreams.org
Middle East Analysis, www.merip.org
http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/index.html
Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/new.shtml
For Olympia websites see, www.omjp.net
For an excellent website on Rachel Corrie see, http://www.distanceeddesign.com/rachel/”
It should go without saying, but apparently disclaimers are needed that the views and analysis here are mine alone, do not represent any group
per se, and my name and place of employment are for identification purposes only.
Lawrence Mosqueda, Ph.D.
Faculty, The Evergreen State College
