Welcome to Burgerim: Halal burgers served with BDS tears.

While hardly authentic Israeli cuisine, the Burgerim franchise is making a splash nationwide. Donna Tuchner, an Israeli native,  opened the first Burgerim in Tel Aviv.  The concept is customized mini-burgers, with ground meat, vegetarian and fish offered in burger form.  Oren Loni, Burgerim's current owner and president purchased Burgerim's name and rights and is selling franchising rights worldwide. Burgerim is slated to open its 500th store by the end of the year. In the East Bay alone, there are Burgerim locations in Walnut Creek, El Cerrito, Concord, Vallejo, San Ramon, San Pablo,  Livermore, Antioch and Newark.  

Its strange to imagine that the locally operated and locally owned franchises of a concept restaurant that originated in Israel would attract the BDSer's ire, but their choices have never been logical. After all, this was the group that instituted a boycott of  "made in New Jersey" Sabra hummus, because the name kinda sorta reminded them of Israel.

 The Burgerim boycott is in the true spirit of the Sodastream boycott, where hundreds of Palestinian workers lost their well paying jobs for their "own good" . The Burgerim boycott is as much of an "own goal". 

The Burgerim franchise proudly, respectful promotes its Halal burgers, providing a dining out opportunity to traditionally observant members of the Islamic faith.

In observance of Ramadan, the Dearborn, Michigan Burgerim (owned and operated by an Arab-American) set up a tent, was open until 3am, and gave out free burgers. 

Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) San Francisco Bay Area Zahra Billoo's irrational response to a business franchise respecting and embracing cultural diversity was...wait for it... blood libel.

To the blame Israel crowd, it simply Halal-washing.

Amer Zahr, in his blog "The Civil Arab"  knows the boycott is absurd, writing:

Now, it may be technically true that the US operations no longer have a formal, legal connection to the Israeli operations. But, of course, there would be no American Burgerim if there were no Israeli Burgerim, which proved the concept, showed market success, and imported the idea and CEO here to America. 

Yeah.  It kinda sorta reminds him of Israel and that's enough to merit a boycott.  

You know what to do.  Check out Burgerim.  If you don't eat meat, have one of their yummy milkshakes.  Or try their falafel burger.  It won't help Israel, but it might make an Israel-hater cry. And isn't that the least we can do?

Zahra Billoo of CAIR admits BDS fail

For all their rhetoric (the chortles of "BDS is unstoppable!"  "BDS is on a Roll!" ), American proponents of BDS know that they are losing the battle.

From Zahra Billoo , Executive Director for the San Francisco Bay Area Council for American Islamic relations (CAIR) ;

is incredibly disappointed that under @JerryBrownGov's leadership, CA is moving exactly opposite of #BDS and working with #ApartheidIsrael.
— Zahra Billoo (@ZahraBilloo) March 6, 2014

Thats a massive admission of BDS fail.

As is this:

From Algemeiner

Senior Israeli government officials recently asserted that despite calls for the boycotting of Israel in Europe and the United States, investment rates, exports and the Jewish state’s hi-tech industry have been unaffected, Israeli daily Ma’ariv reported on Thursday.

Furthermore, the international anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement has suffered a number of setbacks over the last few weeks, Ma’ariv said. 

Europe’s largest student organization announced this week that it opposes the boycotting of any Israeli products, including those produced in disputed territories situated over the Green Line.

Other blows to the global effort to delegitimize Israel include the England’s Supreme Court ruling a few weeks ago that the economic activity of businesses located over the Green Line does not violate international law. A court in France issued a similar ruling and at the same time, two European Union leaders – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Parliament President Martin Schulz – announced their opposition to the boycott of Israel.

After 13 years of  Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions, tourism in Israel is at record levels, the economy is booming,  and A -list stars and recording artists are flocking to Israel.

Life is good

CAIR director Hussam Ayloush tweets juvenile attack on Islamic moderate

 CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations lists their "core principles" as follows:

1. CAIR supports free enterprise, freedom of religion and freedom of expression.
2. CAIR is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, regardless of faith.
3. CAIR supports domestic policies that promote civil rights, diversity and freedom of religion.
4. CAIR opposes domestic policies that limit civil rights, permit racial, ethnic or religious profiling, infringe on due process, or that prevent Muslims and others from participating fully in American civic life.
5. CAIR is a natural ally of groups, religious or secular, that advocate justice and human rights in America and around the world.
6. CAIR supports foreign policies that help create free and equitable trade, encourage human rights and promote representative government based on socio-economic justice.
7. CAIR believes the active practice of Islam strengthens the social and religious fabric of our nation.
8. CAIR condemns all acts of violence against civilians by any individual, group or state.
9. CAIR advocates dialogue between faith communities both in America and worldwide.
10. CAIR supports equal and complementary rights and responsibilities for men and women.

They list these principles, but they do not live them. 

Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of the Los Angles branch of CAIR has been taken to task for calling the brilliant and principled  Dr. Zuhdi Jasser an "Uncle Tom" and a "monkey" .  As of now, there has been no consequence for Ayloush's juvenile attack and clear violation of CAIR's, um  "core principles".

Hussam Ayloush takes CAIR's core principles about as seriously as Zahra Billoo, Executive Director of the CAIR San Francisco Bay Area chapter,  does:

This latest revelation of CAIR's unbridled hypocrisy is not surprising .

From the Anti-Defamation League:

CAIR's credibility as a community relations agency promoting "justice and mutual understanding," however, is tainted. Founded by leaders of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), a Hamas affiliated anti-Semitic propaganda organization, CAIR refused for many years to unequivocally condemn by name Hezbollah and Palestinian terror organizations, which the U.S. and international community have condemned and isolated.

 On the fifth anniversary of the Madrid bombings in March 2009, CAIR condemned acts of terrorism by groups designated by the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organizations, acknowledging that Hamas is on that list. The statement, however, did not represent a genuine break from CAIR's past because it did not address its own historical links to Hamas.  

The statement also followed the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial, during which evidence was produced by the Federal prosecutors demonstrating that CAIR and its founders were part of a group set up by the Muslim Brotherhood to support Hamas. The trial ended with guilty verdicts on all charges against HLF and five of its officers. In May 2009, they were sentenced to between 15 and 65 years in prison, including 65 years for Ghassan Elashi, the founder of CAIR's Dallas chapter