On December 15, Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) is co-sponsoring a panel discussion titled “Dismantling Antisemitism, Winning Justice: A Panel Discussion”. People considering attending might be a bit confused by the event which promises to be more of an Israel-bashing session than an event opposing anti-Semitism.
JVP is a left-wing activist organization] focused on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In its own words, it views itself as the “Jewish wing” of the Palestinian solidarity movement ” seeking an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem”. The organization has openly declared itself to be anti-Zionist and advocates for Boycott Divestment Sanctions, a movement that has been defined by the US State Department as anti-Semitic.
According to NGO Monitor, JVP has embraced and advocated on behalf of Palestinian terrorists such as Ahmed Sa’adat and Rasmea Odeh. Similarly, JVP regularly justifies and excuses Palestinian violence.
Given JVP’s policies, their panelists come as no surprise. At the top of the list is Rep. Rashida Tlaib is from Michigan’s 13th congressional district. Like JVP, Tlaib advocates for BDS and a one-state solution that does not include Israel. Born to Arab-Israeli immigrants, Tlaib is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. In 2019, Tlaib was being interviewed for a Skullduggery Podcast when she made the following statement concerning the Holocaust:
“There’s a kind of a calming feeling, I always tell folks, when I think of the Holocaust and the tragedy of the Holocaust in the fact that it was my ancestors – Palestinians – who lost their land; and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity. Their existence in many ways had been wiped out, and some people’s passports – I mean, just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post the Holocaust, post the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time. And I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that – right? – in many ways. But they did it in a way that took their human dignity away – right – and it was forced on them.”
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, also a panelist, was fired in 2018 from his contributor position at CNN after calling for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea.
Another panel participant, Peter Beinart, recently wrote a NY Times op-ed in which he called for the end of Israel as the Jewish state.
“It’s time to abandon the traditional two-state solution and embrace the goal of equal rights for Jews and Palestinians. It’s time to imagine a Jewish home that is not a Jewish state,” he wrote. “Israel-Palestine can be a Jewish home that is also, equally, a Palestinian home,” he added.
Dr. Barbara Ransby, a historian, writer, activist, endorsed the BDS movement in a column in colorlines in which she described Israel as an apartheid state.
The utter absurdity of this panel discussing anti-Semitism was not lost on the public. “Were Louis Farrakhan and Richard Spencer unavailable?” the Daily Wire‘s Harry Khachatrian asked on Twitter.
Were Louis Farrakhan and Richard Spencer unavailable https://t.co/VWD4t7T5F5
— Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) November 20, 2020
Perhaps the most disturbingly ironic aspect of the panel was pointed out be Hen Mazzig, an Israeli writer, who noted that of the four panelists slated to discuss anti-Semitism, only one was Jewish.
Were Louis Farrakhan and Richard Spencer unavailable https://t.co/VWD4t7T5F5
— Harry Khachatrian (@Harry1T6) November 20, 2020
The event is also sponsored by If Not Now, United Against Hate, Jewish Currents, Foundation for Middle East Peace, the Arab American Institute, JFREJ, The Jewish Vote, The People’s Collective for Justice and Liberation.
