Israel - What's in a boycott?

[Oddball]

WHAT'S IN A BOYCOTT?
The campaign to delegitimize Israel has smelly historical roots
by David Pryce-Jones
National Review
May 23, 2005

Various Arab armed forces these past decades have resorted to military means to eliminate Israel from the world's map. All have failed. More than that, the wars each time strengthened Israel, and the Arabs have thus achieved the very opposite of their ambitions. This opens the way to the alternative approach of psychological warfare, a familiar element in all modern wars. PW, in the shorthand the experts use, mobilizes allies and undermines enemies. What is required is a master idea, and people to propagandize in words clever enough for the general public to accept it as the truth.

The master idea in this case is simplicity itself: Jewish nationalism, or Zionism, is an absolute evil, Palestinian nationalism is an absolute virtue. To establish this, the Jews must be shown to be wicked and wrong in every matter great and small, so that the Palestinians appear victims through no fault of their own, innocent people in special need of redress and rescue. With skill and persistence, the Palestinians and their Arab supporters have built up a worldwide PW lobby with helpers in the United Nations, the European Union, the Red Cross, the churches, the universities, and so on. One step at a time, they are subverting the legitimacy of Israel. Their multiple voices and pressures have persuaded the worldwide Left to believe that Israel is a state that ought to be dismantled forthwith. At the very least, they sap Israeli will to survive, and fortify Palestinian will to prefer armed struggle to the necessary compromises of peace.


Link (http://benadorassociates.com/article/15090)

[Moledet]

It's sad to see how wide spread are holocaust revisionism and antisetism around the world.

BTW, these muslims and some antisemites did a very dirty trick, they knew that the majority of that parliament supports Israel so they waited for friday to vote (when Jews are in synagogues or with their family), and even then it passed only by a slight majority.

[Violet Fashion by Mindy]

I treat everyone equally no matter what race,religion ect.

antisetism has existed in some form or fashion for as long as Judeism has been around. It's a sad fact. But it's something that we are going to have to live with.

The more Isreal tries to play the victim especially when many Palastinians/arabs live in poverty and under repressive regimes is not helping the matter. Palistinians do have to shoulder alot of the blame for what has gone on. As does Isreal.

But think about it. Your a Palistinian refugee living in a camp. You constantly see in the news the Jews playing the victims. Yet when you look at how the average Isreali lives. Do you really think the Palistinian is going to look at a Jew as a victim?

[UoUo]

The same reasons everyone hate the states.

But only regional here...the arabs jealous.
When we just came they were only malaria sand and ****.


And we turned into great country.
When those stupids ass will undersatnad that they can't defeat us and agree to deal peace with us.

That the time when they live the best.

[fantassin]

David Pryce-Jones is half jewish and his views are well documented.

I am not impressed.

[W(M)D]

No such thing as 'half Jewish', you either are or you are not. He is either 100% by birth or conversion or 0% but may have Jewish ancestry in his blood line which this does not make him Jewish.

[Mailman]

Fantassin, I just wonder...do you also instantly dismiss any article about the "victim" palestinians when the article is writen by a "half" palestinian?

Mailman

[Atlantic Friend]

Fantassin, I just wonder...do you also instantly dismiss any article about the "victim" palestinians when the article is writen by a "half" palestinian?

Mailman

Can I ask you a question, Mailman ? Where are you from ?

[fantassin]

Fantassin, I just wonder...do you also instantly dismiss any article about the "victim" palestinians when the article is writen by a "half" palestinian?

Mailman

Not necessarily; do a quick search under "David Pryce-Jones" and then you tell me if he should be considered a reliable, unbiased source.

Plus, being Jew, he is more than party to the case of affair he is presenting. I don't blame him for that.

But that's why I am not impressed at that sort of person and its "we are victims" industry.

[Clarsachier]

The 'boycott' is a legal reality in Israel, as well as Arab countries.

No cargo ship or aircraft can transit an Arab port en route to Israel and vice versa. Shipment documents are scrutinized upon arrival and if evidence is found to the contrary - the shipment's siezed. The vessel may be as well, under the laws of participant countries.

This rule must be strictly adhered to by all transportation to and from the region in order to comply with international insurance regulations. International insurance companies operate under the 'war powers' agreements and this situation is subject to their 'force majeur' rules.

All imports to Israel and Arab countries must have notarized documents certifying 'the country of origin.' - To ensure Arab goods don't come into Israel. Arab countries require a list of suppliers for their import documentation and they scrutinize them to determine if any of the suppliers are Jewish. The merchandise is checked for labels as well. These functions are only as effective as the customs officials, however.

The U.S. has an 'anti boycott' law to prevent this but the above procedures circumvent the law.

Well anyway, this is the reality of situation. - Back to the 'antisemitism',
conversation... p-)

[S'13]

Yet when you look at how the average Isreali lives. Do you really think the Palistinian is going to look at a Jew as a victim?

The average Palestinian should probably have a look at how the average PA member and his family lives and then he will probably understand why he is in the state he is in.

Israel's part in raising Palestinian poverty is the fact that we don't let them enter Israel in order to work, in the past it wasn't a problem.
However, since the waves of suicied attacks, an incident in which a Palestinian bus driver working for an Israeli bus company ran over and killed eight people as part of a terror attack and the murder of Israeli employers by their Palestinian workers, no one should be surprised that the number of Palestinians who are allowed to work in Israel is a lot lot smaller.

[S'13]

Anyway, some good news...




AUT overturns boycott by two thirds in a re-vote
By YAAKOV LAPPIN AND JPOST STAFF

British Lecturers overturned their decision to boycott Haifa and Bar-Ilan universities in a vote on Thursday.

Britain's 40,000-member Association of University Teachers voted last month to boycott the academic institutions for actions that it said undermined Palestinian rights and academic freedom.

Haifa was targeted because the union said the university was threatening to fire a political science lecturer for supporting a student's research into allegations of killings by Israeli troops.

Bar Ilan was sanctioned for its alleged links to the College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel, which is in the West Bank.

It also referred a motion to its executive committee to boycott the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The association said last week it would reconsider the boycott.

The decision was overturned by two thirds to one.

Upon exiting the meeting, Scott Styles, an AUT member from the Aberdeen local branch, remarked: "It was a passionate but measured debate." He said that in the first AUT meeting, when it was chosen to pass boycott motion, there was no proper debate, which upset many members."

Styles thought that the first meeting's lack of discussion is what motivated members to vote against the boycott on Thursday.

Paul Anderson, from City University branch of the AUT and part of the department of journalism told The Jerusalem Post that "on all of the substantive motions, the boycott was overturned. It's good news."

Anderson also mentioned "the meeting was quite passionate at some points."

Luciana Berger, a spokesperson for the Union of Jewish Students, was elated at the outcome. "This is fantastic news," she said, pleased with the "good results today."

Berger categorized the results as just. "The feeling here is not one of being triumphant, but that the right decision was made. I'm disappointed we even had to be here in the first place."

UJS's sectary Andr Oboler also felt "relieved," but he was not willing to view the overturned decision as a victory. "This is the start of an ongoing problem," he warned.

Right before the boycott, there was a vigil of about 150 Jewish students standing outside the conference center. The group was addressed by a number of speakers, including MPs. The vigil ended with a singing of the Israeli national anthem, "Hatikva."

With AP


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1117074327846


Also related...


Druse student rallies against boycott
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
LONDON

Amir Khnifess, an Israeli Druse student, sits in a small, bustling London School of Economics campus cafe and talks about the University of Haifa, where he was a student for seven years and which has been targeted by Britain's Association of University Teachers (AUT) for an academic boycott.

Khnifess, who is from Shfaram, is amazed that his former university is facing sanctions by British academics. Completing a master's in political studies, Khnifess has spent weeks defending the University of Haifa against allegations that it represses academic freedom and is complicit with the "occupation."

Looking forward to Thursday, when an emergency AUT session will convene to vote on a motion calling for the boycott to be rescinded, Khnifess says he is hopeful for a good outcome, but adds that a negative result will not deter him.

"This university produces some of the most educated and successful young people, whether they are Jews or Arabs," Khnifess said. Furthermore, the University of Haifa is a model for coexistence, and that its tolerant atmosphere will produce promising leaders, for both Israel and the Middle East.

In a statement he has circulated to the British media, Khnifess emphasizes that "there is no official policy of racism or discrimination at Israeli universities" and has expressed "shock at the boycott."

In addition, Khnifess says that he is wary of pursuing his plans to pursue a PhD at Oxford University next year. "They might see Haifa University on my application and reject me because of it," he said. "Why should I have to state what my political views are? Entry into higher education in Israel is not conditional on race, religion or politics. I am amazed that it should be in Britain," says the statement. The boycott, it continues, should be opposed by all those who are against discrimination.

He said that what he would really like is to get his message across to AUT members in the near future. As such, he plans to send personal notes to AUT members in the coming days. "Though I have dedicated days to this campaign, and I have examinations in two weeks, I don't regret it. I am fighting for my home. Haifa University is a place I love."

"Even where there are bitter differences of opinion, very problematic divisions, there is an open, tolerant atmosphere. Haifa is simply an incredible place. As someone who supports the peace process and who would like to see peace for the country, and in our area, I think that the leadership for enabling that can emerge from Haifa University."

While studying Middle Eastern history, Khnifess says he has sat through some of the lectures of Ilan Pappe, a University of Haifa lecturer in political science who has called for a boycott of his own university and who has alleged that he is being persecuted and threatened for his political views.

"I'll never forget some of the things he said in his lectures," he says. "He tried to equate Hizbullah members with IDF soldiers. I have personally lost some of my best friends in Lebanon, and this was extremely difficult. But nobody has ever threatened him... The fact that he is teaching there is evidence of the academic freedom in Israel," said Khnifess.

He added that the motives behind the boycott are either misguided, or nefarious.

"The academic boycott has nothing to do with Ilan Pappe," he says. "It is driven by a political agenda. If the AUT is interested in advancing the peace process, it has chosen the wrong course of action. I'm not clear what their goal really is though. What starts as a boycott of universities spreads to other things."

In conversations with the media and campus talks, "I've tried to explain the wonderful life that Jews and Arabs share at Haifa University – how the Arab minority is very well represented at the university and how the Arab student committee is very strong there. At both the academic and student level, Arab students are accepted with honor."

Khnifess believes that his message is being heard and is optimistic that he can make a difference.

"People's responses to me have been very positive. They were happy to hear from someone who actually studied at Haifa [University]. The fact that I did, over seven years, two degrees there, and maybe also that I am Druse, combine to represent what really is happening there. I've also been heavily active in the political life of Haifa University myself, including serving two terms in the student union there."

"I don't know whether we will succeed on Thursday, but even if we don't I will continue the fight."

Important votes are not new for Khnifess. "Having worked in the Knesset for almost five years, where there are 10 votes every day, some which I saw as fateful decisions, I am determined we can win this," he says. "Our struggle is just, and I very much hope that AUT members see that there is no place for this boycott. It's a terrible mistake."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1116901694360

[PigSnake]

David Pryce-Jones is half jewish and his views are well documented.

I am not impressed.

noam chomsky is "jewish" too.....hardly makes him a neo-con zionist does it ;)

[PigSnake]

I treat everyone equally no matter what race,religion ect.

antisetism has existed in some form or fashion for as long as Judeism has been around. It's a sad fact. But it's something that we are going to have to live with.

The more Isreal tries to play the victim especially when many Palastinians/arabs live in poverty and under repressive regimes is not helping the matter. Palistinians do have to shoulder alot of the blame for what has gone on. As does Isreal.

But think about it. Your a Palistinian refugee living in a camp. You constantly see in the news the Jews playing the victims. Yet when you look at how the average Isreali lives. Do you really think the Palistinian is going to look at a Jew as a victim?

look, before arafat and his henchmen came back from tunis (wtf was israel thinking?!?) the palestinian terrorities had a higher GOP growth rate than israel.

plus, the only reasons palestinians still live in those appalling refugge camps is because they are intentionally kept there by the palestinian powers-that-be, whether in the west bank, jordan or lebanon. they have been kept there under the illusion that one day they will return to their villages and towns in israel "proper". they are being used by their own leaders as a "weapon" against israel.

[nagant_m44]

why can't jews and arabs just get along? Their cultures, languages, and religions are all similar. Why do they have to keep killing eachother?

[alexz]

why can't jews and arabs just get along? Their cultures, languages, and religions are all similar. Why do they have to keep killing eachother?

There is very little in common between European Jews (Ashkenasy)
and Arabs. I don't think there is hatred of arabs in Israel as there is
the hatred of Israel in the Arab world. This Hate serves a purpose
which is to shift the public anger from curropt brutal dictators and monarchs the have billion in swiss accounts to Isreal. This is why
brainwashing of the masses by religious sermon or media

http://www.memri.org/cartoons/

http://www.memri.org/video/

BTW most of the blood that is spilled in the ME in last 100 years
was between muslims. Only recently a civil war between the army
and extrimist in Algeria caused a 100,000 deaths and 1/2 million
arabs were killed by saddam alone. Hafez of Syria killed 20,000
in less then a week in the Hama rebellion in the early 80s.

Israelis were the ones that elected Rabin and Barak to make territorial concessions in this tiny land and i think the current actions of the
palestinians have killed any chance of a true peace during this generation.

[Mailman]

Fantassin, I just wonder...do you also instantly dismiss any article about the "victim" palestinians when the article is writen by a "half" palestinian?

Mailman

Not necessarily; do a quick search under "David Pryce-Jones" and then you tell me if he should be considered a reliable, unbiased source.

Plus, being Jew, he is more than party to the case of affair he is presenting. I don't blame him for that.

But that's why I am not impressed at that sort of person and its "we are victims" industry.

Fantassin,

Dont tell me you are one of these people who see's all jews as being murderers because their country moves to protect its citizens from terrorism?

If you arent impressed by people who go on about being victims then you must also be unimpressed with that moron who started the boycotte thing against Haifa...after all...she too was claiming the Palestinians were victims?

Atlantic, Im a kiwi currently living in England and working for a swiss investment bank :) As far as Im aware none of my senior managers are jewish money counters :)

Mailman

[Atlantic Friend]

Atlantic, Im a kiwi currently living in England and working for a swiss investment bank :) As far as Im aware none of my senior managers are jewish money counters :)

Mailman

Wow, God forbid I ever have this kind of sick, twisted reasoning. I was just curious, because something in your answer made me think of a British guy.

As for the points you make, they seem perfectly valid to me.