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.

Jewish Voice for Peace Celebrates the Murder of Jews

What kind of "Jewish" organization celebrates the death of Jews?   Really?

Earlier this week, JVP tweeted out a celebration of the first Intifada, a series of riots and terror attacks that lead to the deaths of hundreds of civilians.  Their "L'Chai'im Intifada" tweet glorified murder, terrorism, and violence.

Jewish Voice for Peace celebrates violence

The response from Jewish Twitter was fast and furious.

From Elder of Ziyon

From Avi Mayer

From Stand With Us

Even Palestinian peace activist Bassem Eid expressed his dismay at JVP's blatant disregard for Jewish lives, writing "@jvplive cannot claim to stand for peace while celebrating the deadly terrorist attacks of the First Palestinian Intifada."

Mays Abu Gosh: Firebomber wannabe, and JVP latest Cause célèbre

Has Jewish Voice for Peace ever met a terrorist they didn't embrace?  Jewish Voice for Peace is so devoid of a moral compass they honored Rasmea Odeh at their annual gala.  Odeh is a vile terrorist whose claim to notoriety was placing a bomb in a kosher grocery store in Jerusalem, just before Shabbat.

Ben Lorber of JVP up close and personal with convicted murderer  Rasmea Odeh

Mays Abu Gosh (aka Mais Abu Gosh) is the latest cause célèbre for Jewish Voice for Peace. 

Mays Abu Gosh's history is difficult to ferret out,  so dominant is the Palestinian narrative on the Web.  She's either

1) a student
2) a journalist
3) student journalist
4) a peace activist

depending on what what piece of agitprop you're reading.

Cospicuously absent from the online  #FreeMays puff pieces are any mention her family, and their history of violent terrorism directed against the Israeli people

Mays Abu Gosh's brother Hussein murdered a 24 year old, Shlomit Krigman, in front of a Beit Horon grocery store in 2016. He was shot by a security guard after he tried to attack  others in the  store. The 17 year old Hussein (yes, another one of the "children" dead in the conflict) had planned to detonate 3 pipe bombs before he was neutralized. His accomplice Ibrahim Osama Allan, 23,  was also killed

Mays Abu Gosh 's cousin Hussein Salem Abu Ghosh, 24, attempted to ram his car into a bus stop, near the town of  Kochav Yaakov.  He was shot to death, still clutching his  knife.

Mays' brother Suleiman is also current in prison.

Mays Abu Gosh is a member of Al-Qutub, the student arm of the terrorist PFLP group on campus and was found with several firebombs in her possession.  (descibed in some of the online hagiographies as "organizing nonviolent student activities" ) She 's been sentenced to 16 months in prison, and a fine of 2,000 NIS.  

From the River to the Sea

The Palestinians reaction to the American Peace proposal shows an unwillingness to accept a Jewish state within ANY borders.

This, not the "occupation", and not the "settlements" is the main obstacle to peace in the region.

When they chant "From the River to the Sea", this is what they mean.

Hassan Fouda of Berkeley's comically named  Jewish Voice for Peace also rejects any plan that doesn't create a Palestinian state from the "river to the sea"

The newly proposed peace plan should open the door and provide an opportunity for both sides to return to the negotiating table.  Both Palestinians and Israelis should embrace it as a chance to move closer to peace and to resume negotiations after a long hiatus.

Comprehensive peace proposals were presented to Palestinian leadership three times in the past – once by the United Nations (1947) and twice by Israel (2000, 2008). All three times Palestinian leadership rejected broad peace deals, while Israel said yes. 

Palestinian rejection – anchored in refusal to accept the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state remains the primary obstacle to peace.

Unclear on the concept: David Mandel of JVP Sacramento

Jewish Twitterati is abuzz with Sacramento Jewish Voice for Peace's lack of knowledge of the most basic of Jewish ritual observances- the lighting of the Hanukkah candles.

"Asajew" David Mandel  posted a photo of his Chanukiah on the first night of the celebration.  Four candles are lit.   The shamash is empty.

The comments are priceless.
From A Yid In Dixieland
"JVP celebrates the 4th night of Hanukkah on the first night. And no shamash. Rumor has it they used a burning tire to light them."

A helpful suggestion from Talia Katz
"JVP posted this photo on their Facebook page...If you're going to pretend to be devout Jews, at least Google "Hanukkah" before posting a picture like this."

From  The Proctologist of The Elders of Zion:

Ignorant of  Jewish history.  Ignorant of Jewish Rituals.  "Proud to be ashamed to be Jewish"  JVP is the comic relief of Jew-ish social media.

And if that weren't enough, this travesty of a "Hannukah" celebration was a fundraiser for the terror-supporting SFSU professor Rabab Abdulhadi, whose fiscal sponsor is the extremist antisemtic Al Awda group.

JVP's Ellen Brotsky is just fine with Model Curriculum that erases the American Jewish Experience

Jewish Voice for Peace has come out with a statement endorsing the widely discredited California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum.

Of course Jewish Voice for Peace approves of the California Model Ethnic Studies Curriculum that erases Jewish identity.  They've been working hard to erase Jewish identity for years.

The document appears to have been authored by Ellen Brotsky.  Recently,  Brotsky was restrained and taken away by the police after interrupting programming at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center.

Ellen Brotsky does not represent Jewish communal interests.

JVP's Ellen Brotsky:  arrest  at the San Francisco Jewish community Center

Or perhaps you remember her assault on Jewish elders conducting a silent vigil in remembrance of victims of terror.

JVP's Ellen Brotsky: Assault on a Jewish elder

Ellen Brotsky does not represent Jewish communal interests.

Perhaps Ellen Brotsky thinks she speaks for the Jewish community, but no one else does. Ellen is as much of an outlier as her organization, which aspires to create “a wedge” within the American Jewish community, while working toward the goal of eliminating U.S. economic, military, and political aid to Israel.

JVP has infamously offered Ramadan accommodations, but not kosher food at their BDS boot camp. Not surprising- their marketing has never been directed towards Jewish community interests.

Jewish Voice for Peace does not represent Jewish interests

Brotsky and JVP dismiss the 83 civil rights, human rights, religious and education organizations  expressing concerns regarding the California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC),  berating them as "Israel-aligned" and "Zionist".   Some  classes may read some parts of Anne Frank's diary in 8th grade.  To JVP, thats sufficient Holocaust education.     JVP's  accusation of "weaponizing antisemitism" echoes that of the white nationalist movements, and their allegation that Palestinians were "forced" to immigrate to the US is just blantantly false.

Jewish Voice for Peace claims "Jewish" heritage for the sole purpose of gaining political leverage in their fight against the Israel, the state of the Jewish people.  They speak for no one except themselves. For the proponents of this bigoted curriculum to use JVP as cover for their own irresponsibility in drafting this deeply flawed curriculum is the worst kind of "Jew-washing"

Jewish voice for Peace conflates Zionism and white supremacy

According to the most current FBI data on hate crimes, released in November 2018, hate crimes targeting Jews and Jewish institutions in the U.S. rose 37 percent between 2016 and 2017 . Although Jews account for just 2% of the population, the FBI data shows that attacks on Jewish people and institutions accounted for 58.1% of religious-based hate crime incidents. 

The discussion on anti-Semitism  and anti-Semitic attacks in America have taken on a new urgency since the massacre at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue. The proliferation of anti-semitic imagery and rhetoric in the media, and in public spaces   comes from the both the far left, the far right.

Its a discussion we need to have.  In particular, its a discussion that we need to have a UC Berkeley, where Jewish students have  felt particularly besieged this week.

But not this way.

In a classic  "fox guarding the hen-house" moment,  The UC Berkeley branch of Jewish Voice for Peace  oversaw a discussion on anti-semitism.  Orwell would be spinning in this grave.  The fringe organization that exists to create “a wedge” within the American Jewish community, "while working toward the goal of eliminating U.S. economic, military, and political aid to Israel."  scheduled the event for erev Pesach, all but guaranteeing that Jews wouldn't attend.

At least 2 did.

From the Jewish Voice for Peace Announcement:

We are living in frightening, strange, and confusing times: white nationalists march in the streets of Charlottesville shouting “Jews will not replace us,” vandalize cemeteries in Philadelphia , and massacre synagogue attendees in Pittsburgh while Black and Muslim Congresswomen and leftist college students who support Palestine are deemed in the media the true faces of antisemitism, the real threats to Jewish safety in the present. In a time where a unified front against the violence of white supremacy is ever more critical, accusations of antisemitism have increasingly sowed conflict and division in social justice movements. How do we make sense of this? how did we get here? and how do we address this?

Join Jewish Voice for Peace at Berkeley and the SSWANA Initiative as we unpack these questions and seek to understand what antisemitism is, what it isn't, and how fighting it strengthens all of our movements. Come learn about 1. how antisemitism functions within the larger structure of white supremacy, 2. how it differs from anti-Zionism and why the two are so often wrongly conflated, and 3. how we can effectively fight it by dismantling other systems of oppression.

Food and drink will be provided :-)
Location: Stiles Hall, 2400 Bancroft Way

The JVP facilitators Anna and Elisa used a powerpoint straight from Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, and made it clear, from the onset, that there was to be no debate of their definitions of "Zionism" or  "anti-semitism."  There was no discussion of the collective trauma that led 12 Jewish groups on campus, as dissimilar as Chabad, J Street U and J Fem  to join in unity against the open anti-Semitism they experienced on campus.  The experiences and very existence of Jews of color and Jews from Arab lands were marginalized.  The indigenous rights movement of Zionism was conflated with white supremacy.  Anna  and Elisa had an agenda to push, and they were going to plow through it,  truth be damned.

We've been promised a full report after the Chaggim.  Stay tuned.

David Mandel of Jewish Voice for Peace is kinda sorta maybe against anti-Semitism

This is not the support or solidarity that Jewish people want or need.  Thank Jewish Voice for Peace's David Mandel for this  "All Lives Matter" statement  with the violence directed at the Jewish people a mere afterthought :

The National Lawyers Guild notes with alarm the re-emergence of virulent and violent antisemitism, a core element of historical and currently resurgent white supremacy in the United States and around the world. Adherents of this phenomenon have aimed their toxic attacks at a wide variety of scapegoats – Muslims, refugees, Latinx, indigenous people, immigrants, Blacks, Arabs, LGBTQ-identified people and women, among others, and the left in general – all in an effort to install and bolster regimes that promote nationalism, racism and sexism to suppress democracy, worker rights and movements to save our planet. Moreover, the current U.S. regime and its growing coterie of look-alikes worldwide are fast establishing a pattern of tolerating and giving succor to the various phenomena that spring from white supremacist ideology.

The Guild further notes that in the wake of the hate-inspired killing of worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue, there has been an increase in the volume of Trumpian, Charlottesville-style “both sides-ism,” citing “antisemitism of the right and the left”—the latter involving a false conflation of support for Palestine with anti-Jewish hatred. The Guild vehemently condemns this effort, which has fueled ongoing legislative and other initiatives to redefine antisemitism as including criticism of Israeli policies and unconstitutional attempts to suppress and even criminalize boycotts aimed at demanding Palestinian rights. At the same time, Israel’s government and some of its backers have welcomed support for Netanyahu from ultra-right groups in the United States and abroad, dangerously ignoring their deeply rooted antisemitism while aligning with their virulent Islamophobia.

Antisemitism and all forms of racism must be confronted and defeated whatever their source, and with full understanding of their sordid histories, but it is crucial to recognize that these phenomena today are overwhelmingly a function of dangerous fascist and white supremacist movements.

The Guild claim that antisemitism is a function of  "overwhelmingly  fascist and white supremacist movements" is wrong.  Anti-Semitism is the sordid middle ground where the far left and the far right find common cause. Denying that does not make it go away.

There was some good news from the California Democratic Paty's  2018 Fall Executive Board Meeting held this week in Long Beach.  Mandel's attempt to introduce a similar resolution was shot down by the party leadership.

David Mandel's recolution at CADEM  fails

All's fair in love, war, and in Jewish Voice for Peace fundraising

All 's fair in love, war, and in Jewish Voice for Peace fundraising, apparently.

JVP put a considerable amount of effort lobbying for the defeat of famed civil rights attorney Kenneth Marcus's appointment as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Education.

Ultimately Marcus was confirmed, but JVP still holds a grudge. Enough of a grudge, in fact, to spread this whopper of a lie. Marcus is reopening an investigation regarding a 2011 incident at Rutgers University, in New Jersey.  JVP  falsely claims Marcus has "declared all students who support Palestinian human rights anti-Semitic", and that his motivation in declaring the event anti-Semitic was because  "it included criticism of the Israeli government".

JVP lies.

The Rutgers event,  organized by Sara Kershnar, now legislative assistant to controversial Berkeley City Councilperson Cheryl Davila was well documented at the time.

From the New Jersey Jewish News:
Members of the Jewish community and other pro-Israel supporters complained that organizers initiated an admission fee to the Jan. 29 event — which was advertised as being free — in order to prevent demonstrators from attending....

The estimated 500 students and members of the Jewish community who gathered at the Douglass Campus Center outnumbered the 200 or fewer program attendees. While the program was originally billed as being free and open to the public, organizers decided at the last minute to charge a $5 admission fee, in part, according to a number of Jewish community and Hillel leaders, to discourage the attendance by demonstrators who would hesitate to give money to the organizations that planned the event.

From The Jeruslaem Post:

Around 400 pro-Israel students, as well as Holocaust survivors, say they were barred from a public pro-Palestinian gathering at Rutgers, New Jersey's state university, on Saturday night.

"The event page on Facebook [said] that the event was free and open to the public... [and] a suggested donation of $5-$20 would be asked for at the door," wrote Rutgers News Real blogger Aaron Marcus, who led the Zionist students in protest. "Only after 200- 400 pro-Israel supporters showed up did the event – held in a state school, paid for by both tax dollars and student fees – begin to discriminate who could enter the event free-of-cost."

Rutgers student Binyomin Sheis told The Jerusalem Post, "We came straight from Havdalla [the service marking the end of Shabbat], and hardly any of us had money. However, I saw an older woman give [organizers] five dollars, and they gave her money back."

Sheis added that there was also a physical effort to block the group.

From Aaron Marcus at the NewsRealBlog

Only after 200-400 pro-Israel supporters showed up did the event–held in a state school, paid for by both tax dollars and student fees–begin to discriminate who could enter the event free-of-cost.

First, the organizers of the event asked all of those who gathered together in opposition to the event to stand in a separate line and wait for seating to take place. Meanwhile, those in anti-Israel apparel, keffiyahs and hijabs were taken aside, given green wristbands, labeled as event “staff” and given free entrance. At one point, the hosts of the event, which ranged from groups like the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network to the International Socialist Organization, tore apart a suggested donation sign leaving only the admission fee visible. The group then said students could attend free-of-charge if they became members of BAKA. However, this policy once again did not apply for the Jewish students hoping to attend. In fact, at one point, I signed my name and the woman behind the desk read it and furiously crossed out the information I had just posted.

JVP claims, falsely, that this is a free speech issue.  It is not.   The incident at Rutgers involves differential admission fees based on a religious litmus test.   And that, best beloved, is  discrimination.

Gaza's newest luxury resort: The White Chalet

A new luxury resort, the White Chalet, has opened up in Gaza.  It features lush manicured lawns, a volleyball court, a swimming pool, and stunning architecture. 

White Chalet Luxury Resort Gaza

White Chalet Luxury Resort Gaza

White Chalet Luxury Resort Gaza

White Chalet Luxury Resort Gaza

Poolside dining at the White Chalet Luxury Resort,Gaza

Yet, just yesterday, Lynn Gottleib of the Rabbinic Council of Jewish Voice for Peace posted "Israel does not permit building materials to come into Gaza."

Lynn's not keeping up.

From Cogat:
Since the establishment of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), over 6.5 million tons of construction materials have entered into the Gaza Strip. These building materials have helped the development of the construction sector in the Gaza Strip, where more than 100,000 housing units have been refurbished or renovated, and another 10,000 new units are currently in various stages of construction.

In spite of continued agression from Gaza, essential humanitarian aid and building supplies enter Gaza nearly every day.  What is not diverted by the Iranian funded Hamas terror group is used to  build homes, schools, civic infrastructure, and apparently luxury resorts.

Another Jump the Shark Moment from JVP

The latest email from Jewish Voice for Peace's Deputy Directory Stefanie Fox may be a jump the shark moment for the anti-Israel group.  The subject line reads  "Why is the ADL training ICE in Israel?"  Maybe Stefanie is secretly hoping you don't bother to read the rest of her offering.  (Spoiler alert: they aren't)

Stephanie claims ICE has been learning techniques and tools from the Israeli military.  She doesn't care if Peter Edge was in Israel studying cyber-security or attempting to learn from Israel's remarkable sucess at curtailing human trafficking.  If it involves Israel, it must be made to be nefarious.  Stefanie Fox spews typical JVP vitriole:   "The real-world results of these trips have been Israeli & US officials sharing “worst practices” -- deportation and detention, shoot-to-kill policies, massive spying and surveillance -- that have become the go-to policies of agencies like ICE."    

Why the hyperbole?  Because 3 years ago, during the Obama administration the Deputy Associate Director of Homeland Security Investigations, one man,  Peter Edge joined a delegation to Israel sponsored by the ADL.

From Peter Edge's Linked in profile:

The ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) directorate is a critical asset in the ICE mission, responsible for investigating a wide range of domestic and international activities arising from the illegal movement of people and goods into, within and out of the United States.
HSI investigates immigration crime, human rights violations and human smuggling, smuggling of narcotics, weapons and other types of contraband, financial crimes, cybercrime and export enforcement issues. ICE special agents conduct investigations aimed at protecting critical infrastructure industries that are vulnerable to sabotage, attack or exploitation.
In addition to ICE criminal investigations, HSI oversees the agency's international affairs operations and intelligence functions. HSI consists of more than 10,000 employees, consisting of 6,700 special agents, who are assigned to more than 200 cities throughout the U.S. and 47 countries around the world.

JVP claims to have made a FOIA request, but they aren't sharing the report.   JVP's not going to tell us, because their mission is to erode support, not only for Israel but for all Jewish institutions.  

One man from the Homeland Security Investigations team visits Israel during the Obama Administration,  3 years ago.  This is what JVP calls the "Deadly exchange."

For more information about the anti-Semitic undertones of JVP's Deadly exchange campaign, read Andrew Bennett's essay  The Antisemitism of the so-called Jewish Voice for Peace.

In which Jewish Voice for Peace admits it is an outlier when it comes to Jewish community values

In which Jewish Voice for Peace admits it is an outlier when it comes to Jewish community values, recognizing that their views  do "not necessarily a reflection of the Jewish community at large".

In June, JVP posted a notice on Facebook looking for a campus coordinator at George Washington University.  A month later, people weren't exactly rushing to fill the vacancies.

In response, JVP posted their "Privacy Mechanism"
Emphasis mine.

JVP AT GW·THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2018
Hello all,
We recently posted our online application for GW students to apply to become a coordinating committee member for Jewish Voice for Peace. We want to take a moment to address the needs and concerns of folk who want to work and organize with JVP, but are concerned about privacy and visibility on and off of campus.
Jewish Voice for Peace is grateful to all those who, inspired by Jewish tradition, are committed to working towards peace, social justice, equality, human rights, and respect for international law—in Palestine, the United States, and all across the world. However, while our interpretation and understanding of Jewish values underlines human rights and self determination for all, including the Palestinian people, we recognize that this is not necessarily a reflection of the Jewish community at large. Moreover, we recognize that for some, holding these values can have consequences. Namely, being ostracized from one’s family, one’s community, and even one’s home country. These consequences are not fair nor just but are a reality for pro-Palestine activists and organizers in our contemporary political climate.
Because we are an organization that seeks to empower and foster a radically inclusive Jewish community on campus, we want to emphasize the importance of privacy and respect in our coordinating committee. This means we will work with those who are unable to organize with us visibly to create a privacy plan that allows them to participate in our organization in a way that ensures their privacy and safety.
If you are interested in joining JVP but share these concerns, we encourage you to email us at jvpgwu@gmail.com, and we will work to accommodate you and welcome you into our org.
With love and solidarity,
JVP GWU

After years of claiming they speak for the Jewish community, JVP is finally acknowledging just how fringe they really are, catching up with the rest of the community that already knew.

Al Awda orders. Jewish Voice for Peace Complies

Al Awda orders.

Eyad Kishawi  of Al-Awda orderd the shut-down of Israeli peace activist

Jewish Voice for Peace complies.

Jewish Voice for Peace members were among those arrested at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center for attempting to silence former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Arrest of professional Israel-hater Ellen Brotsky of Jewish Voice for Peace 

From the J Weekly:

Speaking May 16 to a near sellout crowd at the JCC of San Francisco, Barak said the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies are “embarrassing,” and that they have “locked the door on the two-state solution, which is the only viable and sustainable one.”

In town as part of a book tour in support of his newly published memoir “My Country, My Life,” Barak was scheduled to speak the next day at the Commonwealth Club. At the JCC, he said many things that would please progressive observers of Middle East politics, such as harshly criticizing Netanyahu’s support of Jewish settlements deep in the West Bank.

Not progressive enough for more than a dozen anti-Zionist protesters in attendance, part of a larger group protesting outside. They noisily interrupted Barak three separate times, chanting slogans, such as “Palestine will be free,” and calling Barak — a former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces — a war criminal.

Eyad Kishawi's response

Jewish Voice for Peace honors Gaza terrorists

Extremist group Jewish Voice for Peace has created downloadable prints for the inevitable protests this week, bearing the names of those killed in Gaza.

May his memory be a blessing?   Really,  JVP? Really?

The Meir Amit center helpfully provides background information on JVP's "innocent civilians", 80% of whom  have been positively identified as members of terrorist organizations.

Again, Jewish Voice for Peace by opening honoring terrorists proves its own moral bankruptcy and its willing abandonment of truth and human decency.