Tuesday, February 12, 2019

A simple question with a complicated answer

Is criticism of Israel in and of itself, anti-Semetic?

Some say yes.

Some say no.

First-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives Ilhan Omar tweeted a response that brought this subject back into the headlines over the weekend, on Twitter:





The subject of whether or not Israel is a Jewish state is debatable.  The Chief Rabbinate is governed by Israeli law, but it is not the official state Rabbinate.  But that Chief Rabbinate does not recognize two of the three divisions of Judaism.  The three are Orthodox, Conservative and Reform.  To illustrate, marriages performed by Conservative and Reform rabbis are not recognized as valid.

On the other hand, Israel passed into law The Right of Return in 1950, which grants any Jew from any nation the right to enter Israel and become a citizen.  

* * *

Congresswoman Omar made reference to AIPAC.  The American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent over $3.5 million lobbying Congress last year.  In their last not for profit tax return, covering a fiscal year that ended on 9/30/2016, they received just under $95 million in contributions.  Their mission statement is telling:

TO STRENGTHEN, PROTECT AND PROMOTE THE U.S. ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP IN WAYS THAT ENHANCE THE SECURITY OF ISRAEL AND THE U.S.

Note how Israel is mentioned first.  

Former member of Congress Brian Baird had a lot to say about AIPAC in an article published in The New Yorker in September of 2014.  Here is an excerpt:

Baird said, “When key votes are cast, the question on the House floor, troublingly, is often not ‘What is the right thing to do for the United States of America?’ but ‘How is AIPAC going to score this?’ ” He added, “There’s such a conundrum here, of believing that you’re supporting Israel, when you’re actually backing policies that are antithetical to its highest values and, ultimately, destructive for the country.” In talks with Israeli officials, he found that his inquiries were not treated with much respect. In 2003, one of his constituents, Rachel Corrie, was killed by a bulldozer driven by an Israeli soldier, as she protested the demolition of Palestinians’ homes in Gaza. At first, he said, the officials told him, “There’s a simple explanation—here are the facts.” Or, “We will look into it.” But, when he continued to press, something else would emerge. “There is a disdain for the U.S., and a dismissal of any legitimacy of our right to question—because who are we to talk about moral values?” Baird told me. “Whether it’s that we didn’t help early enough in the Holocaust, or look at what we did to our African-Americans, or our Native Americans—whatever! And they see us, members of Congress, as basically for sale. So they want us to shut up and play the game.”

Is criticism of AIPAC or the actions of Israel anti-Semetic?  That's your call.

posted by me at 6:12 AM