Go to college. Vote to ‘kill Israel’

Perhaps you went to college. Perhaps you remember what college was like. It was good, right?

Now your sons and daughters go to college. You probably think they’ll have experiences similar to those you had. Think again.

At college campuses across America, anti-Israel protests proliferate. At some campuses, life is so challenging for Jewish students that, as Jews in Europe, many no longer feel safe (“Student Voices: Being Intimidated, Harassed or Bullied as a Jewish and/or a Pro-Israel Student on Campuses Today”, AMCHA Initiative, no date—but last entries are dated April, 2015).

One of the leaders in this campus anti-Jewish/anti-Israel harassment is the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). On American campuses, SJP has become the major anti-Jewish, anti-Israel player (Daniel Mael, “On Many Campuses, Hate is Spelled SJP”, The Tower, October 2014, issue 19).

 SJP claims to stand for human rights. It claims to promote the rights of the ‘Palestinian’ people (ibid). It portrays itself as an advocate for a just solution to the Israeli-‘Palestinian’ conflict (ibid).

That sounds nice. But a closer look at the group’s actions tells a different story. Instead of promoting justice, SJP members spend almost all of their energy demonizing Israel, advocating for its eventual destruction, showing an unfortunate affinity for pro-terrorist figures, bullying and intimidating pro-Israel and Jewish students with vicious and sometimes anti-Semitic rhetoric, and even at times engaging in physical violence (ibid).

In other words, these aren’t nice people. They aren’t ‘collegial’. They are hate-mongers. They are harassing and intimidating your Jewish sons and daughters.

This week, they’re actively seeking a vote on the campus of Bowdoin College (William Jacobson, “Bowdoin College students start voting on total Israel boycott”, Legal Insurrection, May 2, 2015). The Bowdoin College SJP is seeking a boycott vote. This particular vote is distinctive because it doesn’t seek some kind of token boycott of Israel. It seeks a full boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions through a vote by the full student body (ibid). This isn’t a gesture. It isn’t a ‘statement of solidarity’ with ‘Palestine’. It’s a vote to endorse the Mission Statement of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement (see the BDS Homepage).

Specifically, it wants a boycott of Israel until Israel does all of the following:

1. Ends its occupation and colonization of all Palestinian lands and dismantles the Wall;

 2. Recognizes the fundamental rights of the Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and

 3. Respects, protects and promotes the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194 (ibid).

Take a close look at the language here.

First: ‘end occupation and colonization of all Palestinian lands’. Since BDS and SJP see all of modern Israel as ‘occupied’ territory, this requirement means that Israel as a sovereign state must cease to exist; that will be the only way ‘all occupation’ will end.

Second, BDS wants full equality of ‘Palestinians’ in Israel. This is nonsense. All Arabs who are citizens of Israel have full equal rights. In fact, Israel is the least-apartheid country in the Middle East.

Third, Israel must promote the rights of ‘Palestinian’ refugees to return to their homes. This is an interesting requirement. If Israel opened its doors according to this requirement, there’d be more ‘Palestinians’ in Israel than Jews. Most of these ‘Palestinian’s would come from outside Israel. Virtually none of them speak Hebrew. Most are on welfare. They would outnumber Jews.

Jewish Israel would disappear. Israel would disappear.

This is the goal of SJP—the complete disappearance of the Jewish state. They want students at Bowdoin College to join them. But they don’t say their goal is to destroy Israel. They say their goal is to free oppressed ‘Palestinians’.

They’re right. All they want is for Israel to disappear.

Bowdoin College isn’t the only place for such behaviour. It’s just the most recent.

Your sons and daughters go to college in America. This is what they must deal with: Jew-hate, Israel-demonization, harassment, violence and intimidation. Even if they voted to ‘kill Israel’, they’d continue to be harassed because they’re Jews.

That’s not collegial. It’s not American. It’s as close to being Jewish in Nazi Germany of 1936 as you can get in America.

Aren’t you delighted your children are in America?