Responding to Omar's proposed BDS resolution

Sar Shalom

Someone in the House should speak on the floor regarding Ilhan Omar's proposed resolution supporting the BDS movement in front of a picture like the following.

In front of that picture, he or she should say:

Here is a picture of the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives. Notice the tombstones in the picture. What do you think the purpose is of those tombstones?

Many of you hearing that question are probably asking why I bother to ask that question. You probably think it is obvious that their function is to mark who is buried in the cemetery and their exact burial location. However, not everyone agrees that it is so obvious. When Jordan occupied the territory between 1949 and 1967, the occupation authorities saw the tombstones as a resource to be harvested to pave their latrines.

So I ask the esteemed sponsor of the present resolution, is that what you believe the proper function is for these tombstones? Do you believe that they are meant for paving Arab latrines?

Nonsense that can lull us into a sense of security

Sar Shalom

On Israel Hayom, there is an article by Judith Bergman about BDS and its efforts to penetrate western society. Bergman is correct in describing BDS as just another form of terrorism and not a movement about "peace and justice." However, she makes a claim that BDS is losing, and that claim fails to recognize the actual strategy and can lull us into a false sense of security. In reality, all the votes against BDS have as much to do with our victory against BDS as Westmoreland's body counts had to do with attaining victory in Vietnam. To understand how Bergman's declaration of victory misses the mark, it is necessary to have a definition of what constitutes victory.

Einat Wilf provides such a definition. Victory will be the advocates of BDS enjoying the social acceptability of neo-Nazis. As of now, the proponents of BDS are gaining in social acceptability and their arguments are gaining traction. They might not be getting over the hump to garner a majority of votes favoring divestment. However, their presentation of Israel as evil-incarnate is being welcomed as a legitimate viewpoint and the margin of defeat does not dismiss the argument, rather considers BDS's actions on behalf of the argument is a bridge too far. Victory will be BDS's arguments being greeted the way neo-Nazism is and winning is making progress towards that end.

We Are Synonymous

Geoffff

A call to arms if I've ever heard one.

Israel. Some pear. Some shape.

[hat tip Shirlee]