Anti-Semitism, assimilation and the paradox of Jewish survival – an interview with David Myers, new president of the NIF
#BDS
▻https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-anti-semitism-assimilation-unlikely-keys-to-jewish-surviv
And the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, BDS, has no anti-Semitism in it?
“Let’s try to make some distinctions here. Yes, some who support BDS are motivated by anti-Semitism. But I don’t believe all who support BDS are anti-Semitic. BDS is a nonviolent movement that would not have come into existence were it not for the occupation. Among its supporters are those who say that the State of Israel should be a state of all its citizens. Is that anti-Semitic? Not necessarily. It’s a political vision based on democratic principles. On the other hand, when someone comes along and says that the Jews are not a nation – as [BDS co-founder] Omar Barghouti says – that makes me mad. It’s no different from a Jew or an Israeli saying that there’s no such thing as a Palestinian people.”
So is Barghouti an anti-Semite?
“I have no idea what’s in his heart. And he is not preaching for the death of Jews, as they are on the right. But I don’t like people telling me who I am. That impulse to deny the right to self-definition of the other deeply disturbs and offends me.”
But you still work with them?
“How so? I neither support BDS nor work with BDS groups. I do have friends who support BDS. And they’re not anti-Semites. That said, BDS is not my way. Nor is it the most effective way to fight injustice and inequality in Israel.”