Accuses Israel of war crimes, ethnic cleansing
By Alana Goodman, WASH FREE BEACON • September 23, 2021
A pro-Palestinian protest sign (Adam Berry / AFP via Getty Images)
The San Diego chapter of the American Federation of Teachers passed a resolution this month rejecting Israel’s legitimacy as a country and accusing the Israeli government of carrying out ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and war crimes against Palestinians.
In the resolution, AFT Guild Local 1931, which represents community college teachers in San Diego, refers to Israel as “historic Palestine” and calls on the Biden administration to “hold Israel accountable for its complete disregard of international law” and implement a “prompt reassessment of military aid to Israel.”
The statement does not mention Palestinian terrorism. It argues that Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing of the Gaza Strip has claimed a significantly greater and disproportionate number of Palestinian lives and destroyed essential infrastructure in the already oppressed occupied territories.”
The resolution comes as hate crimes against Jewish Americans are on the rise and progressives across the United States ramp up a campaign of delegitimization and economic pressure against Israel. On Tuesday, House Democratic leadership removed funding for Israel’s missile defense shield from its spending bill, in response to protests from progressive lawmakers.
AFT national president Randi Weingarten told the Times of San Diego she was “troubled” by parts of the resolution but had no control over the chapter’s decision. The Anti-Defamation League called it “unconstructive and potentially detrimental to San Diego area students, parents, faculty, and administrators.” A local Jewish group also condemned the resolution.
“We are concerned about many aspects of this statement and the misrepresentations and omissions throughout, and in particular that it questions Israel’s fundamental right to exist,” Heidi Gantwerk, the interim president of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County, told the Washington Free Beacon. “More importantly, we are deeply troubled by the negative climate this creates on these campuses. Jewish and Israeli students, faculty, and staff should feel safe and welcomed wherever they choose to teach and learn. Sadly, many now feel singled out, threatened, and anxious. Federation and our partners are committed to supporting all aspects of Jewish life in San Diego, and that includes at our institutions of higher learning.”
The AFT local guild resolution denounced Israel’s “73-year occupation,” a reference to the creation of the Jewish state in 1948. This claim goes beyond the accusations of many of Israel’s harshest critics, who trace the “occupied territory” dispute to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
The union also defended itself against charges of anti-Semitism, claiming that “condemning Israel for its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, occupation, apartheid, and war crimes is not anti-Semitism.”
Some members of the guild objected to the resolution and expressed concern that it would encourage hate crimes against Jews, according to meeting notes from the Sept. 5 vote obtained by the Free Beacon.
One dissenter said the statement was “factually inaccurate and takes much out of context” and added that it could “provoke and give people permission to engage in anti-Semitism.” Another member said “Israel has the right of self-defense” and called the resolution “an anti-Semitic hate crime.”
Supporters of the resolution rejected these arguments, with one claiming that “conflating Israel and Judaism is anti-Semitic,” according to the meeting minutes. Others accused former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “openly advocat[ing] for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians” and “engaging in a settler colonial project in line with historical colonialism.”
The guild’s president Jim Mahler did not respond to requests for comment. The National AFT did not respond to a request for comment.
@peloni
I am not trying to say that we should completely ignore antisemitism or learn to like it.
However, we largely have to learn to live with it because it is indestructible and the more you “fight” it, the worse it gets, and because there are other, more important things to focus on, such as the looming two-state Final Solution and the COVID/vaccine disaster (also a possible Final Solution).
Personally, if someone called me a kike or whatever, I would answer “KIKE AND PROUD!!!” because only an antisemite thinks that the word “Jew” in any form is an insult.
As far as worrying about voting in the US elections, I already posted here about a thorough Harvard University study from 2014 which basically concluded that the elections in the US don’t matter and that the PTB do whatever the hell they want – when the “voters” think they get what they want it is because the PTB happen to want the same things at the same time and not vice versa.
BTW, FDR said that presidents are SELECTED not elected.
@Reader
In fairness, you do a worse job describing my views than you do describing your own. Best you let me speak for myself.
I think to see your comment suggesting that to fight antisemitism is somehow exclusive from aliyah is an oddity, in itself, that reveals something not quite balanced, and something not quite true, in my eyes. Perhaps, it is because you think that antisemitism helps aliyah? Or perhaps it is a poorly written comment. I will let you, yourself, explain the reason for these topics being linked in an either-or manner as represented in your statement.
I believe fighting antisemitism is an important task for each of us, Zionist and non-Zioinist, whether we live in Israel or the Diaspora. It is a difficult prospect and victory is ever disappointing, as with cancer, it too often returns after lying dormant for such a time that you deceive yourself with a false sense of success. Antisemitism is the hatred of our people. The active opposition to it should be something we, as Jews, should all be able to agree upon, in complete disregard to politics or residency. It should not be viewed as controversial in the least. Since that idiot Lapid has chosen to deny that antisemitism is actually antisemitic in nature, perhaps we differ on definitions here, but I doubt this is the case. It is historic in its foundation, perniciousness in its exercise and quite difficult to combat. But it is an important task and an awesome responsibility that we all must accept, I would hope.
As for Donald Trump, where ever you live, having the POTUS represent a fair playing field between the Jewish state and her neighbors, as well as the Jewish people of his own nation with their neighbors, should be a lofty goal that we should all hope to see return sometime in the future, hopefully sooner than later. His actions opposing those who proliferate hate against us, and readily diminish and wantonly murder our people, should be seen as a great success for all of us, regardless of our residence, and one which we should all have found to be a refreshing, if not enduring, change. Perhaps you disagree? I will let you speak on that for yourself as well.
Aliyah is a topic that I have never addressed here on Israpundit that I can recall, which is why I was caught more than a little off kilter by your suggestion that I do not support it. In fact, I think aliyah is very important. Aliyah is the life-spring by which the Jewish state has grown to become the envy of the world and a powerhouse of military, economic, scientific, and medical success that it holds today among nations. So, whatever I might have said about antisemitism or President Trump that led you to believe I thought otherwise was either badly interpreted or badly written, I am not sure which. In any case, this is a better rendering of my views on these matters, than your words purport.
@peloni
What correction?
It wasn’t a correction, it was an explanation of what I meant.
Again, the Jewish history repeats itself, the Jews refuse to see the signs, and then things change seemingly overnight.
I don’t care what anyone thinks or whether they accept my views or not.
In my opinion, there should be a wave of aliyah to correct what is wrong with the State of Israel.
In your opinion, we should rather devote ourselves to “fighting antisemitism”, saving the Diaspora, and giving the White House back to Trump.
To each his own.
@Reader
Thank you, I was hoping you would reform your statement. See – much better. With this correction, you have greatly improved your argument, as the truth is always an easy battle with which to win.
Your previous comment on medieval Spain, though it likely might garner a sense of panache from some, it is quite unfactually supported. Half the people will think you have no concept of our history, which is not fair, while others will consider our history far less difficult than the terrible truth of our past. For if we say what is happening today is similar to the 15th Century Spain, the low information thinkers, which let’s face it comprises most people, might come to accept your panache as having a thread of truth and thinking the Jews of medieval Spain were not subjected to the many terrors, which we know quite well, they were. And such terrors as these might fill our fears of the future, but they are easily not yet within our current experiences, not withstanding the shadow of the Holocaust.
It is always best to use the more accurate argument, which, let’s be honest, who could argue with[largely].
@peloni
My analogy is apt because the cycles of the Jewish history are the same and human nature stays the same.
The slaughter of the Jews which was far worse than whatever happened in the 15th century Spain is less than 100 years old, and yet everyone is too eager to forget it, it is almost as if they yearn for a repeat which WILL happen and then whoever is left will reminisce about how “the United States was the best country for the Jews to live in until the accursed XXXXX came to power!” just like the German Jews remembered Germany.
“there is no Jewish community on Earth today which lives in any similar context to this age of horror” – NOT YET!
Advocating for aliyah is not my hobby, it is the only solution.
Zionism is synonymous with aliyah, it is not the same as preaching to the converted in Jewish publications how it is legally all ours and not theirs.
If not for aliyah we wouldn’t have a state, and without it we may lose the state, and then the Diaspora will be finished off.
The hyperbole is all yours.
@Reader
The comparison between the modern era and the 15th century Spain has few factual similarities to support your hyperbole here. I appreciate your steadfast support for Jews to make aliyah, but this poor analogy acts to greatly dilute the substance and significance of a great tragedy of our history, as no Jew today lives in such a shadow of terror as did our ancestors in medieval Spain.
The 15th century opened with the backdrop of a vast international slaughter of one-third of the Jews living in the Spanish peninsula and immediately moved towards the forced segregation of Jewish society from their former integral association with their Christian neighbors. It was in this age that the Jews were, overnight, forbidden to live outside of a prescribed ghetto, forbidden to work outside of it, and forbidden to associate with anyone else outside of it. In this same moment of tragedy, synagogues were routinely seized and converted to churches. It was these acts of tyranny combined with the impassioned speeches which promised protection and freedom to all who would convert. It should be noted that these speeches were delivered before the masses, many of whom actually fulfilled the recent butchery, which was itself still within living memory of both the victims and their persecutors. This was how the 15 Century began and it led to the mass coerced conversions of this age.
The peninsula was slowly pursuing a policy of unification under the Catholic banner of universal faith, which was best described as a strict intolerance of any other faith. In addition to this, the 15th century was also characterized by a Catholic resolve to end the Western Schism, which saw the century open with 3popes, as it closed with but one. The century ended with the arrival of the Spanish Inquisition against both the Converted Jews and their more resolved cousins, alike. This and the fall of Granada each led to the expulsion of the Jews and Moors by close of the century.
This reunification of Papal power coincident with the unification of the Spanish state were each, in part, related to the Jewish tragedy as well, but this age of misery for the Jews will be poorly understood by any who might think these matters were the result of authoritarian decrees of popes and monarchs. In fact, nothing could be more unjustly stated. The Jews were ever a source of public hatred and their tolerated existence and protection was maintained by the national monarchs against this public will to their own advantage. Indeed the slaughter in the late 14th Century was the result of a headless monarchy with a child king which caused the withdrawal of this protection and allowed the tragedy to commence in Seville. This unrestrained violence then spread across the peninsula under the public’s appetite for Jewish blood. Even as Isabella handed the reigns of the Spanish Inquisition to her own Jew-hating confessor to specifically target the non-converted Jews themselves, she initially refused his calls to expel the Jews. Meanwhile public festivals marked the ceremonial strangulations and burnings following the Inquisition rulings. These tragedies against the Jews were well supported by an endemic groundswell of public hatred, largely based upon both Christian identity against the Jews of Spain, as well as an economic envy of their wealth. This generalized enmity was ever present in this age and was consistently employed with advantage by the powerful monarchs and popes alike, but it was a hallmark of the general public view.
So, there is not much here that actually supports your thesis of comparison between the situation of the modern Jewish situation and this very dark period of history. I don’t mean to be severe, but these poor comparisons between modern hardships and past horrors is too often left unexposed and actually acts to diminish the very real horrors of our past history when compared to anything occurring today. I expect most are familiar with the horrors of the Holocaust even as similarly unwarranted comparisons are made, so I rarely mention what is likely obvious to all. The topic of the tragedies in medieval Spain, however, is less familiar to many, I believe, and a closer inspection will only distinguish the ages more acutely, and I don’t believe the distinction is more vast than simply the lack of a Jewish state. So as I admire your constancy on the support for aliyah, I would hope you would agree that there is no Jewish community on Earth today which lives in any similar context to this age of horror that our ancestors suffered in medieval Spain. The modern situation is not improving, and I don’t mean to suggest that it is, but our situation is far from the medieval comparison presented in your analogy.
They are dumping 54 million $$ of Jewish money to defend what ultimately cannot be defended instead of helping people make aliyah:
They will proceed to delegitimize the American Jews after/as they delegitimize Israel.
This is like the 15th century Spain, except now we have our own state, no matter what anybody thinks of it.
We need to get out before it’s too late: we need to get out and Israel needs us to settle Judea and Samaria ASAP.
I am wondering how many Hispanic members this chapter has and how many of them voted for the resolution (I’ll be happy to find out that my assumptions are incorrect).
BTW, Ferdinand and Isabella who expelled the Jews in 1492 and proceeded to establish the inquisition for the New Christians (who by that time had been Christians for several generations) are Catholic saints and are respected and admired in all the Spanish-speaking countries for defending “the true faith”.
It is foolish to blame ignorance for this when there is almost complete literacy and the unimpeded access to the libraries and the World Wide Web (even though it is being increasingly censored).
retired22
Ignorant? I doubt that this is ignorance. It is pure and malicious anti-Semitism. Do you think that such actions would be ignored it the targets were any other religious or racial group? The fact that the medial takes a pass on this story makes it complicit.
This is but a small step in the delegitimization of the Jews/Israel. There will be much more to follow. It is increasingly acceptable for any and all organizations to malign the Jews/Israel. The 1930s – 1940s redux.
This is truly appalling, and not the least concerning aspect is that teachers are allowed by law to do this, or so it seems. So anyone can teach anything to American children, even if it contradicts history and geography, as long the union thinks it’s OK? How did these ignoramuses ever qualify as teachers? They should all be fired ASAP.
Aside from the anti semitic aspects to this story,
these people need to be complete ignoramuses to real facts that can be found in any decent library.
How can such ignorant people be allowed to teach others if they are factually illiterate themselves?
decades ago a industrial class student wound up in academic english class !
the teacher picked him to answer questions and embarrass him, day after day !
most classmates smirked! couple decades later embarrassed student became a
technical writer and learned that teachers who care to help know it hurts !
think about how john wayne taught a little boy how to swim ! the boy’s mother ran
away when john thought maybe she also needed to swim…..good movie !
Eddie….ps: not all teachers go to school and learn !
Notice how those [many redactions here] who call Israel an illegitimate state never say the same thing about India or Pakistan, although all those countries were created by a UN mandate.