Monday, 20 March 2017
There is
an old saying, I learned in my school days, which if I remember correctly, goes:
“S/he, who loves roses, must take them with their thorns”.
The
saying came back to me after I read the article of Naomi Zeveloff titled American Critics of Israel Anguished by Ban
on Boycott Backers, in Forward, one of those “so-called” progressive Jewish
publications, March 8, 2017.
Zeveloff
quotes a spokesperson of Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs that the law is
meant to target activists who intend to do “serious damage” to Israel.
The anguished
Jews interviewed for this article appear to be doing considerable amount of BDS
work included, among others: two members of the Jewish Voice of America (JVA),
one being its executive director; a Rabbi, with several of her congregants who are
active supporters of BDS, who is also associated with an organization named
“Rabbis for Human Rights”.
Rebecca
Vilkomerson, the executive director of JVA is quoted as saying: «Not being able
to enter is a serious loss for me personally”, and calling Israel” a place that
has been very important to me throughout my life.”
The
article quotes one of Forward’s senior columnists, Peter Beinart .He supports
the boycott of goods produced in settlements, wilfully intending to cause financial hardship for his
fellow Jews and their families living on the settlements, as well as for the Palestinians working in these
settlements earning decent wages with which they in turn support their own
families. He is reported to have said that “the law lumps Israel’s most severe
critics with those who love it but want to change it, placing everyone into ‘enemy’
camp.”
Well.
starting with Vilkomerson, becoming allies of the anti-Israeli militants
through that execrable outfit called JVA and with the BDS folks who seek to delegitimise,
demonise and aim for the ultimate destruction of the very country that has been very important to
her throughout her life, is hardly the way to treat the country and its people.
If she thinks, Israel should fold the settlements; she should settle in Israel,
join the party which shares her views, win the general elections, get into the
Cabinet and convince her Cabinet colleagues to proceed with a plan to dismantle
the settlements.
As to
Beinart, who is so very concerned with the alleged innumerable number of
hardships suffered by the Palestinians of the West Bank living on lands
occupied by Israel; then he should work tirelessly to encourage and support the Palestinians to
demand, and, if necessary, to do what it
takes to force the P.A. to negotiate in good faith a peace treaty with the
Israelis; something which they have refused to do for the last 50 years and
dismissing out of hand the treaty proposals made by Israel, in their spare
time.
Beinart
claims that the law lumps him with the most severe critics of Israel. Well,
from where I stand, there is not much difference between the “severe critics”
Vilkomerson, Beinart and their ilk.
Having
been brought up in Turkey , I can say with upmost confidence that if you were
to ask any Palestinian or for that matter, any self-respecting Muslim
nationalist in the Middle- East and elsewhere to point to the worst of the two
lots, they would not hesitate, even for 10 seconds, to point to the latter
people.
For example, nowadays,
Turkish university students do not care much for those of their professors, the
“so-called” “Jewish intellectuals” of
Istanbul, who bad mouth Israel and speak in support of Palestinian cause. The
students do not like it or them. To their thinking, these fellow are unfaithful
to and betraying their very own people and country, thereby committing an
unpardonable capital offence
For the Palestinians,
these folks are nothing- more than useful idiots.
They are incapable of
loving their own people and Israel unconditionally. And to date, I have yet met
one single person who cares to be loved conditionally.
They are incapable of
loving their own people even the way they would love a rose, thorns and all.
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