Monday morning tussles at the GA
In case you missed it on Twitter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was disrupted on five separate occasions by the Left wing group Jewish Voice for Peace, as he spoke to several thousand Jewish federation officials at the New Orleans Marriott this morning.
Five different protesters stood up at various points during the Prime Minister's talk to protest the proposed loyalty oath.
“Your loyalty oath de-ligitemizes Israel,” screamed one protester before getting dragged by security out of the conference hall.
“I 'm gonna talk about legitimizing Israel, but they really have the wrong address,” Netanyahu said, addressing the first protester.
A second protester was dragged out of the hall after unfurling a banner that read, “Silencing Dissent De-legitimizes Israel.”
“If in past, Jews were singled out and demonized, today it is Israel in many quarters that is singled out and demonized,” Netanyahu said. “For too many, Israel is guilty until proven guilty. The greatest problem is when Jews start believing it themselves. That is what we are seeing here today.”
As each protester was removed, the crowd became more agitated – and reacted more violently, not waiting for security to subdue the protesters.
“I am an Israeli, you are a de-legitimizer,” the fourth protestor screamed before being tackled by a combination of GA security and an attendee wearing a yarmulke.
After the final protester stood up and opened a banner reading, “Young Jews say the loyalty oath delegitimizes Israel,” a man named Jeff Shapiro from San Antonio grabbed her from behind and put her in a headlock, dragging her backwards toward the floor.
"I really did not know what was going to happen, I wanted to keep her in check," he said. "I was trying to help.”
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I agree, Rabbi Waldoks. Moreover, I think the use of force in this instance against people peaceably holding banners is more than a bit ridiculous.
Interrupting a public speech by Israel’s PM is not the way to get a question asked - and, more importantly, answered.
If Waldoks and Ehrenreich have such strong feelings, they need to make aliyah, pay Israeli taxes, serve in the IDF - in other words put their lives where there mouths are. If they don’t make aliyah they have no moral right to tell the democratically government of Israel what to do.
As the Rabbi mentioned, if the issues raised by the protest had been part of the Assembly, then the protest wouldn’t have been necessary. What the Jewish Federations are doing is drawing a line in defining what is Jewish, i.e., including only those who stand with Israel as it is constituted, Jews who draw on traditions of justice, equality, solidarity and even anti-militarisml are locked out. This is in part a battle over what constitutes Jewishness and, for an increasing number of Jews, the policies of Israel are not it. This protest is reminiscent of the civil rights movement and other social and anti-war movements in the US. It is reminiscent of the song by Malvina Reynolds, famed folk and blues singer,--"It isn’t Nice” which has these lyrics, “It isn’t nice to block the doorway, it isn’t nice to go to jail...to shout freedom in the hotel or the store, ... there are nicer ways to do it, but the nice ways always fail...it’s not nice, no it’s not nice, you told us once, you told us twice, but if that’s freedom price, we don’t mind.” The young Jews have followed this legacy of disrupting the status quo, standing for a just, equal and democratic future in Israel/Palestine. I couldn’t be more proud.
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Rabbi Moshe Waldoks
11/08/10 09:29 PM
These protests would not have been necessary if the American Jewish leadership at the GA had created an open opportunity to ask the questions that need to be asked about the loyalty oath, about the weak response to haredi undermining of Israel as a democracy, on the role of Avigdor Lieberman , on bringing Israeli Arabs into the mainstream via drastic improvements in education etc. People who love Israel have the right and obligation to enter into these kinds of conversation with those they are in serous relationship.