8 july 2019
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is gaining momentum. There is no doubt about this. The Palestinian-led campaign for an educational, cultural and business boycott of Israel aims to get justice, freedom and equality.
Inspired by the South African anti-Apartheid movement, BDS started in 2005 by civil society and governments to take action to put pressure on Israel to comply with international law, mainly by ending its prolonged military occupation and colonisation of Palestinian land.
BDS is, by its nature, a non-violent form of resistance. Nevertheless, Israelis believe it to be an existential threat which wants to delegitimise their state’s existence.
The global movement backed by academics, unions, civil associations and grassroots movements has claimed a number of successes in isolating Israel. Last year, for example, 20 singers and artists, including American singer Lorna Del Rey, pulled out of a festival in Israel, following a similar move by New Zealand’s Lorde months earlier. More than 100 artists, including leading lights in film, theatre, literature and music came together to sign a statement in support of her move.
Concern about the growing movement has led to Israel asking its allies and embassies to curb BDS by any means. Millions of dollars have been allocated to this task. Germany responded by becoming the first parliament in Europe to declare that BDS is “anti-Semitic”. At a stroke, the Bundestag labelled supporters of Palestinian human rights as anti-Semites and warned that BDS activity was reminiscent of the Nazi persecution of Europe’s Jews.
The German decision — which was proposed by Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal FDP — came days after the BDS call for artists to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest held in Tel Aviv in May, just 65 km away from the besieged and bloodied Gaza Strip. BDS argued that Israel’s hosting of the event amounted to a “whitewashing” of its policies and treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the anti-BDS decision as “important”. As far as he is concerned, the BDS movement opposes Israel’s very existence, but the Palestinians say clearly that its existence should not be at their expense. Some would argue that Germany’s decision is another manifestation of the pressure exerted by Israel to make Berlin continue to pay for the Holocaust; it has already paid the “Jewish state” billions of dollars in “reparations”, even though Israel wasn’t even in existence when the Holocaust took place.
“The academic and cultural boycott of Israel is strictly institutional and does not target individual Israelis,” BDS declared in response to Germany’s move. “The German parliament’s equation of the nonviolent BDS movement for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism is based on outright lies. It’s not only anti-Palestinian McCarthyism, but it is also a betrayal of international law, German democracy and the fight against real anti-Jewish racism.”
According to Haidar Eid, an Associate Professor at Al-Aqsa University and political analyst, Berlin’s decision was undemocratic and in violation of the German constitution and the 2016 European Parliament’s “right to boycott” ruling. “The resolution emanates from a country with a history of anti-Semitism in its worst forms committed in WWII,” he wrote. “German parliamentarians know very well that the boycott movement is inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which does not discriminate between people on the basis of religion, race, sex, etc. It is clear that the Palestinian blood does not stir the feelings of the ruling elite in Germany, nor did Jewish blood stir the feelings of their fathers!”
Gaza resident Sami Abu Salem thinks that it is sad that Germany is aligning itself with the illegal and inhumane Israeli occupation. “Germany’s decision is shocking, because it means that it does not support justice and international law,” he explained. “It’s ironic that it supports the victims of the Holocaust and turns a blind eye to them victimising others, the Palestinians. It’s a shame that it does not work seriously towards ending Israel’s colonisation of historic Palestine, which led to the uprooting and ethnic cleansing of native Palestinians.”
There are some Palestinians who believe that “anti-Semitism” is being politicised in order to influence decision makers. “The allegation intimidates those who dare to criticise the actions of Israel towards the Palestinians,” alleged Abed Nasser from Gaza. He is not alone in thinking this.
Palestinian BDS activist Majed Abusalama, who went on trial last month in Germany for peacefully protesting against an Israeli parliamentarian’s talk at Humboldt University in Berlin, said that he and his comrades are not surprised at the anti-BDS motion. In fact, they expected Berlin to do everything in its power to cleanse its historical guilt. “We Palestinians should not pay for the sin of the Holocaust,” he insisted, “and we refuse to be called anti-Semitic; we refuse this manipulation of this discourse which serves Israeli propaganda and victimhood at the expense of Palestinian rights.”
He labelled the German decision as “completely disrespectful” of the struggle for justice and equality. “It is also completely disrespectful to civil rights in Europe. At this moment, we are stronger and more united in the BDS movement in Germany and Europe.”
International pro-justice and pro-Palestine activists vow that they won’t be silenced or deterred in the wake of the German resolution. “It was an outrageous attack on free speech,” Irish BDS activist Zoe Lawlor pointed out. “Human rights activists in Germany will continue to struggle for freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people. BDS is an explicitly anti-racist campaign striving for justice.” Germany is attempting to silence criticism of the Apartheid state of Israel by parliamentarians of a state which continuously ignores the oppression of Palestinians, she added.
When Palestinian-Canadian activist and journalist Khaled Barakat was prevented from speaking about Palestine at a solidarity event held on 22 June in Berlin, the German authorities claimed that his words could be a threat to their relations with Israel. They justified this by alleging that Barakat’s ideas and political activism pose a threat to public safety, and endanger peaceful coexistence between Germans and foreigners.
The fear for BDS supporters now is that more countries will follow Germany and try to ban the movement. This makes it very clear that the nonviolent campaign has had an effect on raising awareness and generating support for Palestinian rights. It remains to be seen, though, if it can bring an end to the injustice and racial discrimination in Palestine under Israeli colonisation, as the anti-Apartheid movement did in South Africa.
Inspired by the South African anti-Apartheid movement, BDS started in 2005 by civil society and governments to take action to put pressure on Israel to comply with international law, mainly by ending its prolonged military occupation and colonisation of Palestinian land.
BDS is, by its nature, a non-violent form of resistance. Nevertheless, Israelis believe it to be an existential threat which wants to delegitimise their state’s existence.
The global movement backed by academics, unions, civil associations and grassroots movements has claimed a number of successes in isolating Israel. Last year, for example, 20 singers and artists, including American singer Lorna Del Rey, pulled out of a festival in Israel, following a similar move by New Zealand’s Lorde months earlier. More than 100 artists, including leading lights in film, theatre, literature and music came together to sign a statement in support of her move.
Concern about the growing movement has led to Israel asking its allies and embassies to curb BDS by any means. Millions of dollars have been allocated to this task. Germany responded by becoming the first parliament in Europe to declare that BDS is “anti-Semitic”. At a stroke, the Bundestag labelled supporters of Palestinian human rights as anti-Semites and warned that BDS activity was reminiscent of the Nazi persecution of Europe’s Jews.
The German decision — which was proposed by Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal FDP — came days after the BDS call for artists to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest held in Tel Aviv in May, just 65 km away from the besieged and bloodied Gaza Strip. BDS argued that Israel’s hosting of the event amounted to a “whitewashing” of its policies and treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the anti-BDS decision as “important”. As far as he is concerned, the BDS movement opposes Israel’s very existence, but the Palestinians say clearly that its existence should not be at their expense. Some would argue that Germany’s decision is another manifestation of the pressure exerted by Israel to make Berlin continue to pay for the Holocaust; it has already paid the “Jewish state” billions of dollars in “reparations”, even though Israel wasn’t even in existence when the Holocaust took place.
“The academic and cultural boycott of Israel is strictly institutional and does not target individual Israelis,” BDS declared in response to Germany’s move. “The German parliament’s equation of the nonviolent BDS movement for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism is based on outright lies. It’s not only anti-Palestinian McCarthyism, but it is also a betrayal of international law, German democracy and the fight against real anti-Jewish racism.”
According to Haidar Eid, an Associate Professor at Al-Aqsa University and political analyst, Berlin’s decision was undemocratic and in violation of the German constitution and the 2016 European Parliament’s “right to boycott” ruling. “The resolution emanates from a country with a history of anti-Semitism in its worst forms committed in WWII,” he wrote. “German parliamentarians know very well that the boycott movement is inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which does not discriminate between people on the basis of religion, race, sex, etc. It is clear that the Palestinian blood does not stir the feelings of the ruling elite in Germany, nor did Jewish blood stir the feelings of their fathers!”
Gaza resident Sami Abu Salem thinks that it is sad that Germany is aligning itself with the illegal and inhumane Israeli occupation. “Germany’s decision is shocking, because it means that it does not support justice and international law,” he explained. “It’s ironic that it supports the victims of the Holocaust and turns a blind eye to them victimising others, the Palestinians. It’s a shame that it does not work seriously towards ending Israel’s colonisation of historic Palestine, which led to the uprooting and ethnic cleansing of native Palestinians.”
There are some Palestinians who believe that “anti-Semitism” is being politicised in order to influence decision makers. “The allegation intimidates those who dare to criticise the actions of Israel towards the Palestinians,” alleged Abed Nasser from Gaza. He is not alone in thinking this.
Palestinian BDS activist Majed Abusalama, who went on trial last month in Germany for peacefully protesting against an Israeli parliamentarian’s talk at Humboldt University in Berlin, said that he and his comrades are not surprised at the anti-BDS motion. In fact, they expected Berlin to do everything in its power to cleanse its historical guilt. “We Palestinians should not pay for the sin of the Holocaust,” he insisted, “and we refuse to be called anti-Semitic; we refuse this manipulation of this discourse which serves Israeli propaganda and victimhood at the expense of Palestinian rights.”
He labelled the German decision as “completely disrespectful” of the struggle for justice and equality. “It is also completely disrespectful to civil rights in Europe. At this moment, we are stronger and more united in the BDS movement in Germany and Europe.”
International pro-justice and pro-Palestine activists vow that they won’t be silenced or deterred in the wake of the German resolution. “It was an outrageous attack on free speech,” Irish BDS activist Zoe Lawlor pointed out. “Human rights activists in Germany will continue to struggle for freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people. BDS is an explicitly anti-racist campaign striving for justice.” Germany is attempting to silence criticism of the Apartheid state of Israel by parliamentarians of a state which continuously ignores the oppression of Palestinians, she added.
When Palestinian-Canadian activist and journalist Khaled Barakat was prevented from speaking about Palestine at a solidarity event held on 22 June in Berlin, the German authorities claimed that his words could be a threat to their relations with Israel. They justified this by alleging that Barakat’s ideas and political activism pose a threat to public safety, and endanger peaceful coexistence between Germans and foreigners.
The fear for BDS supporters now is that more countries will follow Germany and try to ban the movement. This makes it very clear that the nonviolent campaign has had an effect on raising awareness and generating support for Palestinian rights. It remains to be seen, though, if it can bring an end to the injustice and racial discrimination in Palestine under Israeli colonisation, as the anti-Apartheid movement did in South Africa.
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High school students in Israel must pass an online test promoting racist ideology before being allowed to travel overseas for school trips, legal rights center Adalah has revealed.
Adalah said that the the course, which was created by Israeli education authorities, “requires students to watch a series of videos after which they must take a multiple-choice exam, the correct answers of which promote racist ideology”. The test includes questions such as “how do Palestinian organisations use digital social networks?” with the correct answer being “encouraging violence”, and asks students to identify the origins of modern anti-Semitism, the correct answer to which is “Muslim organisations” and the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign. Students are told that “anti-Semitism in Europe increased with the immigration of Muslims to Europe… from the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan, Afghanistan.” “The course presents a racist ideological perspective that creates an equivalence between Palestinian, Arab, or Muslim identities and violence and terrorism,” Adalah has stated, adding that “Palestinian Arab high school students in the Israeli school system are being asked by this exam to assimilate its racist values.” Adalah attorney Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi wrote to the Education Ministry demanding that the ministry “immediately cancel the mandatory course and |
exam and allow students to freely participate in overseas school trips with the start of the 2019-2020 school year”, after a school in Nazareth decided to cancel an exchange programme to Sweden instead of allowing its students sit the test which “promotes racist propaganda”.
The letter was written on behalf of Masar Association and the parents of children studying at the association’s Nazareth school.
Shehadeh-Zoabi noted, according to the PNN, that “[Palestinian Arab teenagers] are being forced to internalise humiliating statements about themselves and their families”, which is “outrageous and illegal, adding that “Adalah will take all necessary steps to abolish this course that is repugnantly offensive to Arab citizens and students.”
The letter was written on behalf of Masar Association and the parents of children studying at the association’s Nazareth school.
Shehadeh-Zoabi noted, according to the PNN, that “[Palestinian Arab teenagers] are being forced to internalise humiliating statements about themselves and their families”, which is “outrageous and illegal, adding that “Adalah will take all necessary steps to abolish this course that is repugnantly offensive to Arab citizens and students.”
7 july 2019
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Khaled Barakat, the Palestinian writer who has been subjected to a political ban in Germany for his support of the Palestinian liberation movement, spoke out about the repression of Palestinian activism in Germany in an interview with the “Scope” program on Indus News on 4 July 2019. The program is hosted in Lahore, Pakistan, by journalist Waqar Rizvi.
Other guests on the program included scholar Neve Gordon and Irish parliamentarian Niall Collins. When the ban was issued, Barakat was threatened with up to a year in prison if he spoke at events, demonstrations or lectures. |
Barakat and Charlotte Kates, the International Coordinator of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, were told their residency would not be renewed in Germany as well.
The repression in Germany also comes as part of a state-sponsored international, multi-million-dollar effort by the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs to repress growing solidarity with the Palestinian people and organizing in Palestinian communities around the world, especially in Western, imperialist powers who have aligned themselves with Israeli apartheid and occupation.
The repression in Germany also comes as part of a state-sponsored international, multi-million-dollar effort by the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs to repress growing solidarity with the Palestinian people and organizing in Palestinian communities around the world, especially in Western, imperialist powers who have aligned themselves with Israeli apartheid and occupation.
2 july 2019
German authorities barred Palestinian-Canadian journalist Khaled Barakat from speaking at a Palestine solidarity event in Berlin, claiming his “anti-Semitic” speeches posed a threat to public order and could undermine relations between the country and Israel.
The activist has been prohibited from attending future political events and threatened with up to one year in prison, marking another success in the Israel lobby’s bid to clamp down on criticism abroad.
Barakat had been invited to speak at an Arab community event in Berlin on 22 June to discuss Palestinian liberation and its implications for other Arab communities, as well as US President Donald Trump’s so-called Deal of the Century.
But, he was accosted by police on arrival.
“As soon as we left the U-Bahn station nearest the venue my wife and I noticed heavy police presence in the area, including multiple vans full of police,” Barakat told The Electronic Intifada.
“I was approached by a group of police and one officer spoke to me. He said: ‘You have an event here tonight and you are the speaker … you cannot speak.’”
The police took Barakat and his wife to a police station where government officials handed him an eight-page document prohibiting him from political activity.
The document, issued by the Berlin Foreigners Registration Office and seen by The Electronic Intifada, states in German that Barakat faces a ban on participating in specific events and a general “limit on your political activity until you leave the Federal Republic of Germany.”
“They [representatives of the foreigners office] told me that I am banned from speaking at any public event in Berlin and even attending meetings and gatherings,” Barakat said.
He said was also ordered to avoid social events of “more than 10 people,” or face a one-year prison sentence.
Barakat’s wife is also a Palestinian rights activist, but not Palestinian and she was not banned.
“After I was told to acknowledge that I had received the document we were released from the police station. We also noticed significant police presence on the way home,” Barakat added.
German-Israeli relations trump free speech
Barakat’s case mirrors that of Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh who was smeared in the German media before being banned from speaking at an event in Berlin for International Women’s Day earlier this year.
She was finally forced to leave the country.
The official document states that Barakat’s political activities “pose a threat to public safety,” that his talk would “impair and endanger the peaceful coexistence of Germans and foreigners” and that Germany’s relationship to Israel could be “considerably endangered” if he were allowed to speak.
The document also states that it believes Barakat might be working for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – PFLP – which the document notes is listed as a “terrorist” organization by the US, Israel and the European Union.
However it acknowledges that the group is “not prohibited” in Germany. Israel considers virtually all Palestinian political parties and organizations that militarily resist occupation to be “terrorist” groups.
“If you look at the campaigns being carried out by Israel and the Ministry of Strategic Affairs against BDS organizations around the world, or Students for Justice in Palestine in the US, they are trying their best to criminalize all movements for Palestine or even human rights organizations by using so-called connections to Hamas and the PFLP,” Barakat said.
Barakat observed that in the leaked Al Jazeera undercover film The Lobby–USA, “representatives from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies openly advocated for this tactic and now we are seeing it in practice.”
BDS stands for boycott, divestment and sanctions – a global campaign for Palestinian rights modeled on the one that helped end apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s.
The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies is a Washington-based neoconservative think tank and agent of Israel’s strategic affairs ministry.
The document goes on to list a number of speeches given by Barakat in Germany, but fails to cite any examples of anti-Semitism.
Barakat believes this is because the authorities need to “exaggerate in order to justify their repressive measures.”
Despite offering no examples of anti-Jewish bigotry on Barakat’s part, the government order insists the draconian ban on his political activities is justified because “the public should be protected from your expected anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements.”
Fear of a united front
Barakat strongly refutes the claim that his speech would have caused tensions between Jewish and Arab communities in Berlin and asserts, rather, that authorities are trying to prevent a united front from emerging.
“The same forces advocating for and issuing this political ban against me are involved in repressing Jewish voices that criticize Zionism, Israeli policy and German policy on Israel,” he said.
Barakat noted that under Israel lobby pressure, the director of the Jewish Museum Berlin was recently forced to resign.
Moreover, the group Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East had its bank account closed. And, two Jewish activists with Israeli nationality are on trial for criminal charges alongside a Palestinian activist from Gaza for interrupting an Israeli politician who supported Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza that killed more than 2,200 Palestinians including 550 children.
In recent years, German music festivals have also been banning international artists who refuse to denounce the nonviolent BDS campaign for Palestinian rights.
These facts, as well as the German parliament’s recent resolution smearing the BDS movement as anti-Semitic make it increasingly difficult for activists to advocate for Palestinian human rights.
The people who face the brunt of these attacks are Palestinians themselves.
The racism, political bans and growing repression aside, Barakat remains undeterred: “I firmly believe that the vast majority of people in Germany support justice for the Palestinian people and reject Israeli war crimes and apartheid, but they live in fear and I understand.”
~ Electronic Intifada/Days of Palestine
The activist has been prohibited from attending future political events and threatened with up to one year in prison, marking another success in the Israel lobby’s bid to clamp down on criticism abroad.
Barakat had been invited to speak at an Arab community event in Berlin on 22 June to discuss Palestinian liberation and its implications for other Arab communities, as well as US President Donald Trump’s so-called Deal of the Century.
But, he was accosted by police on arrival.
“As soon as we left the U-Bahn station nearest the venue my wife and I noticed heavy police presence in the area, including multiple vans full of police,” Barakat told The Electronic Intifada.
“I was approached by a group of police and one officer spoke to me. He said: ‘You have an event here tonight and you are the speaker … you cannot speak.’”
The police took Barakat and his wife to a police station where government officials handed him an eight-page document prohibiting him from political activity.
The document, issued by the Berlin Foreigners Registration Office and seen by The Electronic Intifada, states in German that Barakat faces a ban on participating in specific events and a general “limit on your political activity until you leave the Federal Republic of Germany.”
“They [representatives of the foreigners office] told me that I am banned from speaking at any public event in Berlin and even attending meetings and gatherings,” Barakat said.
He said was also ordered to avoid social events of “more than 10 people,” or face a one-year prison sentence.
Barakat’s wife is also a Palestinian rights activist, but not Palestinian and she was not banned.
“After I was told to acknowledge that I had received the document we were released from the police station. We also noticed significant police presence on the way home,” Barakat added.
German-Israeli relations trump free speech
Barakat’s case mirrors that of Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh who was smeared in the German media before being banned from speaking at an event in Berlin for International Women’s Day earlier this year.
She was finally forced to leave the country.
The official document states that Barakat’s political activities “pose a threat to public safety,” that his talk would “impair and endanger the peaceful coexistence of Germans and foreigners” and that Germany’s relationship to Israel could be “considerably endangered” if he were allowed to speak.
The document also states that it believes Barakat might be working for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – PFLP – which the document notes is listed as a “terrorist” organization by the US, Israel and the European Union.
However it acknowledges that the group is “not prohibited” in Germany. Israel considers virtually all Palestinian political parties and organizations that militarily resist occupation to be “terrorist” groups.
“If you look at the campaigns being carried out by Israel and the Ministry of Strategic Affairs against BDS organizations around the world, or Students for Justice in Palestine in the US, they are trying their best to criminalize all movements for Palestine or even human rights organizations by using so-called connections to Hamas and the PFLP,” Barakat said.
Barakat observed that in the leaked Al Jazeera undercover film The Lobby–USA, “representatives from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies openly advocated for this tactic and now we are seeing it in practice.”
BDS stands for boycott, divestment and sanctions – a global campaign for Palestinian rights modeled on the one that helped end apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s.
The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies is a Washington-based neoconservative think tank and agent of Israel’s strategic affairs ministry.
The document goes on to list a number of speeches given by Barakat in Germany, but fails to cite any examples of anti-Semitism.
Barakat believes this is because the authorities need to “exaggerate in order to justify their repressive measures.”
Despite offering no examples of anti-Jewish bigotry on Barakat’s part, the government order insists the draconian ban on his political activities is justified because “the public should be protected from your expected anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements.”
Fear of a united front
Barakat strongly refutes the claim that his speech would have caused tensions between Jewish and Arab communities in Berlin and asserts, rather, that authorities are trying to prevent a united front from emerging.
“The same forces advocating for and issuing this political ban against me are involved in repressing Jewish voices that criticize Zionism, Israeli policy and German policy on Israel,” he said.
Barakat noted that under Israel lobby pressure, the director of the Jewish Museum Berlin was recently forced to resign.
Moreover, the group Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East had its bank account closed. And, two Jewish activists with Israeli nationality are on trial for criminal charges alongside a Palestinian activist from Gaza for interrupting an Israeli politician who supported Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza that killed more than 2,200 Palestinians including 550 children.
In recent years, German music festivals have also been banning international artists who refuse to denounce the nonviolent BDS campaign for Palestinian rights.
These facts, as well as the German parliament’s recent resolution smearing the BDS movement as anti-Semitic make it increasingly difficult for activists to advocate for Palestinian human rights.
The people who face the brunt of these attacks are Palestinians themselves.
The racism, political bans and growing repression aside, Barakat remains undeterred: “I firmly believe that the vast majority of people in Germany support justice for the Palestinian people and reject Israeli war crimes and apartheid, but they live in fear and I understand.”
~ Electronic Intifada/Days of Palestine
19 june 2019
Sheldon Adelson attends Friends of The Israel Defence Forces (FIDF) gala in California, US on 1 November 2018 [Photo by Shahar Azran/Getty Images]
Israel has been granted protection from its critics by the state of Florida in recent amendments to the Florida Educational Equality Act (FEEA), which includes provisions that suppresses free speech. Under new definitions of anti-Semitism adopted by the American state, limits have been placed on discussions of the plight of the Palestinian people and underscoring the brutality of Israel’s occupation.
The bill is likely to open the door for criminal charges to be levelled against human rights activists and critics that advocate a single democratic state in which Israeli Jews, Palestinians and all others are granted full, equal rights. Supporters of the Palestine cause face the prospect of being silenced on the grounds that calls for equality under a single democratic state is deemed to be an attempt to deny the Jewish people their right to self-determination and that such a call for non-discrimination questions Israel’s right to exist.
Florida signed the bill while its governor, Ron DeSantis, was on tour of Israel and the occupied territories. DeSantis, who has called Florida “the most Israel-friendly state in the country”, visited the US embassy in Jerusalem to ceremonially sign the new law. He also paid a visit to Ariel University, located in an illegal settlement, to receive an honour for “his dedication, leadership and commitment to the State of Israel.” Reports also confirm that he had met with Sheldon Adelson, a top funder of the Republican Party and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Amendments to the definition of anti-Semitism in Florida’s House Bill 741, include examples that conflate criticism of Israel with the universally accepted definition of anti-Semitism, the main characteristic of which is hatred for the Jewish people. The new provision sets limitations on the criticism of Israeli policy by insisting that “demonising Israel” or “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is anti-Semitic.
Under the new provisions, focusing on the long history of human rights abuse committed by Israel can also fall foul of the law. Aiming criticism of Israel can be interpreted as “applying a double standard” and “requiring behaviour of Israel that is not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” Despite Israel being an occupying power and in violations of several UN resolutions and international law, “focusing peace or human rights investigations only on Israel” is cited as an example of anti-Semitism.
Further controversial examples of anti-Semitism include: “Delegitimizing Israel by denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination and denying Israel the right to exist.” Such a provision opens the door for the prosecution of anyone who called for an alternative political solution to the conflict, one that not only protected the rights of Jews to self-determination but also that of every other nation within historic Palestine.
Modern secular democracies, like the US, France and UK, which are based on the concept of civil nationalism have successfully cultivated a national identity that protects every human and political rights of multiple religious and ethnic groups who are citizens of the country. By contrast Israel, founded on the notion of ethno-Nationalism, is unable to extend such rights to non-Jews. Critics point to the Nation-State Bill and insist that the state of Israel, in fact, sanctions discrimination to insure that it remains an exclusive Zionist state.
The amendment uses language similar to the definition of anti-Semitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which has been pushed by Israel lobby groups. The controversial definition has been criticised by a number of academics and legal experts. Jewish academics, David Feldman, Brian Klug, Tony Lerman, have concluded that the IHRA definition is inadequate and unhelpful in numerous ways.
Concerns were also raised by the author of the IHRA code itself, Kenneth Stern. He disagreed with its expansion saying that the document was being used around the world to chill free speech. A legal opinion of the document was provided by Sir Stephen Sedley, Hugh Tomlinson QC and Geoffrey Robertson QC who explained in detail the failings of the document.
Civil rights groups have also warned that the Florida amendment will have a “chilling effect” on free speech. The new law will be “used as a tool to censor advocacy for Palestinian freedom, the redefinition [in the Florida law] chills free speech rights and suppresses badly needed debate about US and Israeli policies that abuse Palestinian rights,” said the civil rights group Palestine Legal.
Caveats within the bill, which claims that the amendment does not undermine the First Amendment of the US Constitution, have been dismissed. “Florida’s new anti-Semitism law dramatically undermines the Governor’s initiative to promote campus free speech. It labels criticisms of Israel as anti-Semitism, & will serve as a tool to suppress student & faculty speech around one of the most hotly debated topics of our time,” said the free speech advocacy organisation Fire.
~Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine
Israel has been granted protection from its critics by the state of Florida in recent amendments to the Florida Educational Equality Act (FEEA), which includes provisions that suppresses free speech. Under new definitions of anti-Semitism adopted by the American state, limits have been placed on discussions of the plight of the Palestinian people and underscoring the brutality of Israel’s occupation.
The bill is likely to open the door for criminal charges to be levelled against human rights activists and critics that advocate a single democratic state in which Israeli Jews, Palestinians and all others are granted full, equal rights. Supporters of the Palestine cause face the prospect of being silenced on the grounds that calls for equality under a single democratic state is deemed to be an attempt to deny the Jewish people their right to self-determination and that such a call for non-discrimination questions Israel’s right to exist.
Florida signed the bill while its governor, Ron DeSantis, was on tour of Israel and the occupied territories. DeSantis, who has called Florida “the most Israel-friendly state in the country”, visited the US embassy in Jerusalem to ceremonially sign the new law. He also paid a visit to Ariel University, located in an illegal settlement, to receive an honour for “his dedication, leadership and commitment to the State of Israel.” Reports also confirm that he had met with Sheldon Adelson, a top funder of the Republican Party and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Amendments to the definition of anti-Semitism in Florida’s House Bill 741, include examples that conflate criticism of Israel with the universally accepted definition of anti-Semitism, the main characteristic of which is hatred for the Jewish people. The new provision sets limitations on the criticism of Israeli policy by insisting that “demonising Israel” or “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is anti-Semitic.
Under the new provisions, focusing on the long history of human rights abuse committed by Israel can also fall foul of the law. Aiming criticism of Israel can be interpreted as “applying a double standard” and “requiring behaviour of Israel that is not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” Despite Israel being an occupying power and in violations of several UN resolutions and international law, “focusing peace or human rights investigations only on Israel” is cited as an example of anti-Semitism.
Further controversial examples of anti-Semitism include: “Delegitimizing Israel by denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination and denying Israel the right to exist.” Such a provision opens the door for the prosecution of anyone who called for an alternative political solution to the conflict, one that not only protected the rights of Jews to self-determination but also that of every other nation within historic Palestine.
Modern secular democracies, like the US, France and UK, which are based on the concept of civil nationalism have successfully cultivated a national identity that protects every human and political rights of multiple religious and ethnic groups who are citizens of the country. By contrast Israel, founded on the notion of ethno-Nationalism, is unable to extend such rights to non-Jews. Critics point to the Nation-State Bill and insist that the state of Israel, in fact, sanctions discrimination to insure that it remains an exclusive Zionist state.
The amendment uses language similar to the definition of anti-Semitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which has been pushed by Israel lobby groups. The controversial definition has been criticised by a number of academics and legal experts. Jewish academics, David Feldman, Brian Klug, Tony Lerman, have concluded that the IHRA definition is inadequate and unhelpful in numerous ways.
Concerns were also raised by the author of the IHRA code itself, Kenneth Stern. He disagreed with its expansion saying that the document was being used around the world to chill free speech. A legal opinion of the document was provided by Sir Stephen Sedley, Hugh Tomlinson QC and Geoffrey Robertson QC who explained in detail the failings of the document.
Civil rights groups have also warned that the Florida amendment will have a “chilling effect” on free speech. The new law will be “used as a tool to censor advocacy for Palestinian freedom, the redefinition [in the Florida law] chills free speech rights and suppresses badly needed debate about US and Israeli policies that abuse Palestinian rights,” said the civil rights group Palestine Legal.
Caveats within the bill, which claims that the amendment does not undermine the First Amendment of the US Constitution, have been dismissed. “Florida’s new anti-Semitism law dramatically undermines the Governor’s initiative to promote campus free speech. It labels criticisms of Israel as anti-Semitism, & will serve as a tool to suppress student & faculty speech around one of the most hotly debated topics of our time,” said the free speech advocacy organisation Fire.
~Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine