Bay Area Anti-Zionist groups sponsor talk with member of Israeli Knesset

Yesterday, some of the most extreme anti-Israel groups in the Bay Area got together to sponsor a talk by an Israeli member of the Knesset.

In a gesture of startling hypocrisy, If Americans Knew,  Sabeel, Arab Resource Organizing Center, Jewish Voice for Peace, American Muslims for Palestine, CAIR,  Al Awda and others ignored their own established policies against  "normalization"  and hosted a member of Israel's government. 

Oh, but he wasn't a Jew.  That matters, apparently.   These extremists hosted Sami Abu Shehadeh, a member of Israel's Knesset member of the representing the Arab nationalist party,  Balad.  If you ever had a doubt that BDS and the movement to isolate Israel economically, politically and socially was directed solely toward Jews, now you have evidence.  

The very presence of of Sami Abu Shehadeh within the Israeli government negates the claims of these groups that assert that Israel is an "apartheid" state.   

Incidentally, although Jewish Voice for Peace has, on paper at least, denounced white supremacist Alison Weir, they had no trouble promoting and co-sponsoring this event with her and her group "If Americans Knew".  So much for that "formal policy".

Arabs make up nearly 20% of Israel’s population. They have full citizenship, including the right to vote, and have a major presence in the fields of  medicine, academia and in government.   Whatever these groups original intention was in sponsoring Sami Abu Shejadeh,  it was lost in translation.  The event only served to shine a spotlight on the hypocrisy and the falacies of their own movement.

Arab resource organizing Center Protesting Peace

In 1994 the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Yasir Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin, for their efforts to create a lasting peace in the Middle East.

From their press release:

"For several decades, the conflict between Israel and its neighbour states, and between Israelis and Palestinians, has been among the most irreconcilable and menacing in international politics. The parties have caused each other great suffering.

By concluding the Oslo Accords, and subsequently following them up, Arafat, Peres and Rabin have made substantial contributions to a historic process through which peace and cooperation can replace war and hate.

In his 1895 will, Alfred Nobel wrote that the Peace Prize could be awarded to the person who, in the preceding year, "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations". The award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 1994 to Arafat, Peres and Rabin is intended by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to honour a political act which called for great courage on both sides, and which has opened up opportunities for a new development towards fraternity in the Middle East. It is the Committee's hope that the award will serve as an encouragement to all the Israelis and Palestinians who are endeavouring to establish lasting peace in the region."

In 1996, Peres founded the Peres Center for Peace, in an effort to build a framework for his vision of peaceful coexistence.

From their Facebook page:

"The Peres Center for Peace is Israel’s leading non-profit organization promoting peacebuilding between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and in particular between Israelis and Palestinians. Founded in 1996 by the President of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres, the Peres Center conducts dozens of projects, involving thousands of Israelis and Palestinians, fostering socio-economic cooperation and people-to-people interaction in a wide range of fields, such as medicine, sports, agriculture, the environment, business, education, youth, technology, the arts, and more.

The Peres Center believes that working towards peace should not just be left to governments, but rather that Israeli and Palestinian civil society should be actively engaged in peacebuilding activities. Through bringing together Israelis and Palestinians and focusing on common Arab and Israeli social, economic, developmental, cultural and educational interests, the Peres Center enables real people-to-people relationships to be formed, paving the way to a real and lasting peace between peoples. "

On Tuesday March 7, Israel President Shimon Peres will be coming to San Francisco, to speak at the venerable Temple Emanu-El.

The Arab Resource Organizing Center plans to protest the Nobel laureate that has devoted his life to encouraging peaceful co-existence between Israelis and their neighbors. Blinded by their raw hatred of anything associated with Israel, they sent out an announcement urging people to disrupt the aging dignitary.

Their announcement follows:

Peres is a war criminal - apartheid is not a vision for a just future.
We must stand together to oppose Israeli Apartheid and the colonization of Palestine.
Let's show Peres what OUR vision of tomorrow would look like by greeting him with a mass protest at 5pm.
Bring signs, banners, chants, and your friends! Also bring flashlights and noisemakers to shine light onto Israeli apartheid and drown out Peres' lies!

Rejecting Peace. Rejecting Co-existence. Protesting a Nobel Laureate who devoted his life to justice, equality and opportunity for all. Can there be any more convincing evidence of the hatred and intolerance of the Arab Resource Organizing Center?

JVP and friends protesting a Jewish cultural fair. Again

Imagine 20,000 visitors, exhilarating music, yummy food and children dancing in a festival that highlights the Bay area Jewish community. Israel in the Gardens celebrates the diversity and beauty of our unique community, featuring Circus School Acrobats , African Drumming Circle and Dancing, and a day school Rap band. There is a serious side, as well. The festival proudly features "Be a Match"- a bone marrow registry. Chabad is there. Synagogues, day schools and non-profit all have booths. Its this Sunday, June 5, 2011 11:00am - 5:00pm , Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. If you are in the neighborhood, come on by. Even if you aren't in the neighborhood, its worth a special trip. Its that much fun

Faced with such a joyous celebration of communal Jewish life, whats a hater to do? Why, protest it, of course. A tag team of miscreants- Jewish Voice for Peace, Women in Black, Al Awda and the Arab Resource Organizing Center are planning on blocking the entrance and harassing attendees. They do it every year.

Both JVP and Women in Black have consistently refused to take a stand against Palestinian terrorism while they sponsor speakers who call for the destruction of Israel. Both endorse the so called Palestinian "right" of return- the call for the demographic destruction of Israel. Both advocate and endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions tactic meant to isolate the worlds only Jewish State. Jewish Voice for Peace has turned the temper tantrum into a political statement, repeatedly interupting Jewish Community speakers they disagree with, while whimpering softly "We're the victim".

And once again, the few, the angry and the ugly will try and spoil the day for the rest of the community. But when they put down their signs and sneak into the festival to listen to the music and grab a bite (and they always do!), they'll see what 20,000 Zionists look like. And they'll know just how irrelevant they are.