Recently, at a university named for “the father of our country” (and if you’re of a certain age you’ll know who that is), a rather startling and appalling decision was made. In modern parlance “BDS” is Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, and it is exclusively directed at Israel. Why? We will have to delve into that as we go along. For now, understand that a resolution at this university failed to gain momentum in 2017, but then when it was raised again this year, it passed.
Now, think about this…an American university has allowed itself to be taken over, figuratively, by a small group of students. That group has decided that Israel is evil and it must suffer for that evilness, and they propose to not buy or use anything made in Israel. If they, or the school, own any stock in any business that has even the slightest connection to Israel, they want that to be divested. On top of that this group wants to create sanctions that will (they hope) cripple Israel economically. There is a lesson being taught here, if you realize it.
Change the university to Germany in the 1930’s, and change the small group to The National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Instead of them wearing the black “uniform” of Antifa, change that to “brown shirts” and if you are with me so far, you’ll see the parallel between the two. Oh, did you notice that the Germans were Socialists? That’s another thing we need to contemplate…the utter stupidity of people that think Socialism is going to work. It doesn’t seem to have worked anywhere in the world so far, so why would we expect it to work in the United States?
Are we surrendering our right to free speech? A recently released report by a watchdog group at the school, highlights the rampant anti-Semitic and anti-Israel tactics that were used by members of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) amid the vote. Forty individuals were instrumental in the resolution’s success: Thirteen belonged to the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter; there were eight SJP coordinating committee members, according to SJP activist Abby Brook, four SJP-aligned group leaders; the resolution’s four co-sponsors; and 11 student senators who voted in favor of the measure, which was held in a secret ballot. Forty people, who had no status in the administration, were able to create a hostile environment for other students…and if you think it was NOT hostile, you’re dead wrong.
Persisting in spreading horrible rumors about Jewish people, rumors that have long since been proven not just false, but somewhat humorous to think that people still believed them, BDS supporter Liz Burkemper spread the blood libel that Israeli Jews poison Palestinian water, while resolution co-sponsor Eden Vitoff implied it is Israel’s policy to pollute Palestinian water, and murder “children and other civilians.” Resolution co-sponsor Shaheera Jalil Albasit accused Israel of inflicting “forced labor” on Palestinians and capturing them “segregated into ghettos.” SJP member Jessica Martinez co-sponsored the resolution and accused the Jewish state of “murder, segregation and occupation” while presenting her case in front of the Student Association (SA).
Tyler Katz, a now former SJP member who remarked that “the United States of America was a mostly bad idea,” accused Israel on Facebook of “genocide” and “aggression against Palestinians everywhere.” “A struggle for Palestinian freedom is not anti-Semitic,” Katz added. “It’s the struggle for people given a place of power to be held accountable for the genocide they commit and for there to be consequences for such human rights violations.” In that same post, Katz slammed and shared an article by a student who wrote about not feeling “welcome in the progressive movement anymore” due to its vitriol against Israel.
It’s no wonder that someone thinks they cannot be welcome in the progressive movement as it careens along the path to self-destruction. If you’re attending a school, and paying very good money to do so, you might think that you’d be welcome…and you would be so long as you agree with what they’re proposing/saying. Once you disagree you might just as well be branded on your forehead as a traitor. It’s forbidden, in this 1984-style world that’s evolving, to have an independent thought. You can’t say “that”, whatever “that” might be, anymore.
Graduate student Brady Forrest, has spewed anti-Semitic and anti-Israel vitriol such as calling for boycotting Multicultural Student Services Center’s annual Winter Formal because of Hillel and the Jewish Student Association’s involvement. “Both organizations are complicit with and supportive of the state of Israel and programs and ideology that are exclusive and racist,” Forrest posted on Facebook. See? Now there’s another anomaly…Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, while he might not admit it, is Jewish, but he’ll take the side of anti-Jewish/Israel writers and protesters. Forrest denounced the aforementioned Jewish groups for partaking in an event titled “Faith and the Environment.” What?
I thought that America was FOR both of those? No? When did we turn away from those concepts? It would seem, at least to me, that we are building the world that George Orwell predicted in 1984. The names might be changed, to protect the guilty, but it’s pretty much the same as far as it’s being presented.
Parting shot: The recent confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh is sure to begin to paint a different picture for America. Can we get back to patriotism?
Image: CCO Creative Commons; https://pixabay.com/en/nineteen-eighty-four-1984-1211494/
