Physical Assaults, Smearing Professors, and Silencing Palestinian Refugees

This e-mail was originally sent to signatories of this Open Letter on April 16, 2016. 

When we came together last summer to oppose false accusations of anti-Semitism within the movement for Palestine, we agreed, “We are painfully aware that there are well funded opponents who spare no effort to undermine and divide this movement for justice and human rights in Palestine.”

Unfortunately, we were right.

When Alison Weir gave a talk last month in Walnut Creek, California, anonymous Zionist activists used false accusations of anti-Semitism from US Campaign and Jewish Voice for Peace to mobilize protests against the talk. One of the Zionist protesters then physically assaulted a woman in the audience and was arrested by police.

When eminent Stanford professor David Palumbo-Liu recommended If Americans Knew in an article written in Salon, a writer at the Zionist Tablet Mag began smearing the professor — making liberal use of the accusations provided by US Campaign and Jewish Voice for Peace. Unfortunately, it appears that Professor Palumbo-Liu, conceding that If Americans Knew provides useful information from reliable sources, felt compelled to withdraw his recommendation.

And perhaps most regrettably, Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine attempted to censor Amena El-Ashkar, a guest speaker from a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, from challenging Israel’s “right to exist”. When the speaker, understandably infuriated, called off the talk, Stanford SJP tried to cover up censoring their own guest by falsely blaming it on Alison Weir — making full use of JVP’s accusations. Alison was in the audience and had provided informational flyers for the talk — one of which, written by John Whitbeck, argues against Israel’s so-called “right to exist”. Alison wasn’t even presenting!  And that same student group recommends If Americans Knew on their own website! The Students claim that Alison “refused to leave,” causing them to cancel the talk, but El-Ashkar says that she — not the Students — called off the talk out of frustration with attempted censorship. Alison Weir denies being asked to leave and no security personnel were ever called to remove anyone.

Watch Palestinian refugee from Lebanon, Amena El-Ashkar explain why she was censored at Stanford.

 

The students have since conceded that they attempted to censor the talk out of fear of campus repression, but have not issued any apologies to Ms. El-Ashkar and insist that Alison Weir is to blame.

Unfortunately, it appears that the damage from these attacks is still resonating — to the point that information sessions, Stanford professors, and even Palestinian refugees from Lebanon — have to pay the price.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Don’t let Zionist activists shut down talks. You can attend one yourself here.

2. Don’t let Palestinian refugees like Amena El-Ashkar be silenced. Consider attending one of the talks on the North American Nakba Tour. Please watch and share Amena’s version of the events.

3. Take Dr. Palumbo-Liu’s advice. Visit If Americans Knew for news and analysis!s!

Share this e-mail with your lists.

Unfortunate Attacks in our Movement Continue.

This update was sent to letter signatories and US Campaign organizations on 26 September 2015 during the US Campaign conference.

Today, the movement for solidarity with Palestine remains deeply divided due to a series of unfortunate attacks on one of the most effective Palestine solidarity organizations in the movement.

 

Despite nearly two-thousand signatures, including Palestinian grassroots resistance leader Iyad Burnat; Palestinian grassroots resistance leader Bassem Tamimi; UN special rapporteur on Occupied Palestine Richard Falk;  Al-Awda Steering Committee member Abbas Hamideh; professor and activist Mazin Qumsiyeh; Holocaust survivor and peace activist Hedy Epstein; Palestine-based activist leader George Rishmawi; peace activists Cindy Sheehan and Arun Gandhi; American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee founder James Abourezk; authors Joel Kovel and Sunaina Maira; former US government officials-turned-peace-activists Ray McGovern, Edward Peck, Philip Giraldi, and Ann Wright; nearly 200 members of Jewish Voice for Peace; and at least 15 Gaza Flotilla activists,

 

the US Campaign and Jewish Voice for Peace’s national leadership have ignored our beliefs that it is unacceptable to fabricate accusations of anti-Semitism — especially when failing to take principled stances on matters like Zionism.

 

This website details all of the information regarding our open letter to stop the attacks on If Americans Knew and Alison Weir, and provides in-depth analysis on some of the issues that this debacle has touched upon: the failure of the movement to put the Palestinian cause first, stigmatizing those who discuss and criticize Zionism, and engaging in witch-hunts for anti-Semitism.

 

Racist rhetoric at the Campaign? The US Campaign has sent around new “common principles,” up for a vote at the organization’s conference. The Campaign again refuses to consider Zionism a form of racism, while condemning “anti-Semitism” and “Islamophobia”. How an organization ostensibly dedicated to Palestinian rights can actively ignore that Zionism is a form of racism, while witch-hunting for anti-Semitism, is beyond many of us. The common principles also limit the Campaign’s opposition to Israel’s “apartheid policies” — not the Israeli government itself.

 

Likewise, as events have shown, the Campaign’s commitment to “reject the charge of anti-Semitism when used spuriously to silence legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies and practices” are false.

 

Ironically, while the US Campaign has sought to make in-roads among genuine mass movements like the Black Lives Matter movement, the Campaign’s claims of rejecting racism in all forms closely resemble the rhetoric of anti-black activists. While ostensibly claiming to reject racism generally, US Campaign singles out intolerance against the ethnic group Israel claims to represent, while refusing to condemn Zionism as a form of racism against Palestinians. This is the kind of problematic rhetoric that Black Lives Matter has repeatedly rejected.

 

The Campaign has also exhibited an appalling double standard to diverse Middle Eastern communities. When another member organization took a public stand that was widely condemned by many of its own members and hundreds of others as genocide denial – and was even openly rebuked by a Campaign leader – the Campaign did not expel the offending organization. Perhaps this was because the Campaign, appropriately, stayed focused on the issue of Palestine. In fact, the Campaign has given the organization, American Muslims for Palestine, a workshop slot at the upcoming conference.

 

Yet the US Campaign expelled If Americans Knew over tenuous accusations of anti-Semitism that outside observers consider unfounded and has barred the organization from even tabling at the conference. This despite that numerous activists consider IAK’s materials some of the most useful on Palestine and its workshops among the most valuable. Such hypocrisy is not acceptable.

 

You are not alone. Many of us no longer feel that the US Campaign is a safe space for us to put forward more principled resistance to Israel, Zionism, the pro-Israel Lobby, and racism more generally. More organizations have resigned from the US Campaign for the same reasons, including the Berkeley-based Free Palestine Movement and the Louisville Committee for Peace in the Middle East. Others have publicly condemned US Campaign’s behavior, including Al-Awda, the Chico Palestine Action Group, and the Ann Arbor Quakers in the Palestine-Israel Action Group. Others are in the process of reconsidering their membership.

 

We want to let those of you who have expressed feelings of disillusionment know that you are not alone. We believe that our Open Letter has spurred much needed internal discussion and hope that it urges those of us who are in the movement for justice in Palestine to behave as allies should.

You were ignored.

A version of this statement was e-mailed to signatories of the statement on 19 July 2015. 

If you are reading this, it means you joined former UN special rapporteur on Occupied Palestine Richard Falk; Holocaust survivor and peace activist Hedy Epstein; founding member of the Board of Trustees of Birzeit University Samia Khoury; Palestine-based director George Rishimawi; peace activists Cindy Sheehan and Arun Gandhi; former senator and founder of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee James Abourezk; former US government officials-turned-peace-activists Ray McGovern, Edward Peck, Philip Giraldi, and Ann Wright; and over 1200 others in defending Alison Weir and If Americans Knew from the vitriolic attacks on that organization by the national leadership of US Campaign and Jewish Voice for Peace.

But like them, you were ignored.

Earlier today, the US Campaign released a statement officially expelling If Americans Knew and Alison Weir from their non-profit coalition.

In doing so, they ignored over one thousand dedicated activists and human rights defenders like you, including many members of their coalition, who signed our Open Letter within 48 hours.

They ignored at least 15 activist leaders who risked their lives to break the siege of Gaza by boat. 

They ignored at least 83 members of Jewish Voice for Peace from around the country, the organization whose national leadership originally released a statement attacking Alison Weir without the approval or consensus of their membership

They ignored several hundred members of several dozen US Campaign member organizations.

The statement by the US Campaign repeated some of the same accusations that have been addressed meticulously before, with little new material. The only new item is yet another guilt-by-association argument, targeting Alison Weir for re-posting a lengthy piece — without endorsing it — by Roger Tucker on her blog. While the piece is undeniably controversial, it hardly suggests that Alison Weir seeks to “blame Jewish people for any bigotry they might face” as the US Campaign suggests.

It is worth noting that the same accusation was recently leveled against Yale University chaplain Bruce Shipman, for suggesting that Israeli actions could have prompted a spike in anti-Semitism, and even against renowned German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt, for discussing what she called “Jewish responsibility” for the rise in anti-Semitism during the interwar period.

If you are like the rest of us who have come together to defend If Americans Knew, you probably do not agree with everything Alison Weir or IAK has ever said — and certainly not everything said by those with attenuated associations with her. You probably do, however, agree with her opposition to bigotry and believe that everyone should treated with respect, and with the statement on her website:

“If Americans Knew supports justice, truth, equal rights and respect for all human beings; and we oppose racism, supremacism, and discrimination of any and all forms.”

You probably also agree that there is something deeply wrong with an organization that is willing to engage in extensive witch-hunts and excommunication campaigns based on combing through extensive writings and advocacy over two decades to find instances of speech that could be perceived as anti-Jewish.

You may feel that such a tactic is excessive, especially given the blatant failures of the American movement for solidarity with Palestine to take more militant stances with regards to the oppression of Palestinians, let alone other oppressed groups.

You might dislike that the Campaign seems intent on expunging Alison Weir from public awareness, just as opponents worked to disappear Dorothy Thompson, Grace Halsell, Donald Neff,Helen Thomas, and other journalists who revealed too many truths.

You might also wonder what sorts of things might be found if someone were to apply the same sort of McCarthyistic tactics to those who are currently leveling such harsh charges.

But whatever your views are, it is clear that the US Campaign ignored you along with hundreds of others, including those who are leading the movement for solidarity with Palestine.

Defend your voice. Act Now.

Already, some organizations in the US Campaign are considering measures to end their affiliation with the Campaign and pulling their membership funds. While we cannot tell you how to deal with this situation, we suggest the following possible responses to the US Campaign’s unfair and undemocratic decision:

1) Let the US Campaign Steering Committee know that their decision was unfair and did not represent you. You can e-mail the US Campaign here.

A sample message might state,

“Dear U.S. Campaign Steering Committee,

Your expulsion of Alison Weir and If Americans Knew did not represent my views or input. I call on you to reverse your decision and consider that it was not representative of the views of this movement. Thank you.”

2) Post your objection to the Campaign listserve in your region.

3) Forward this e-mail to all of your lists.

4) Propose leaving the US Campaign to others in your USCEIO-affiliated organization. You can cancel your membership in the US Campaign by e-mailingmembership@endtheoccupation.org.

5) Cancel your membership fee. (Since only a tiny number of organizations seem to have paid this, this option probably only applies to handful of you.)

6) Stay in the Campaign and work for a more representative, democratic and focused organization, while demanding that your membership fee not be used for witch hunts.

A US Campaign that does not, in fact, represent the campaign for Palestinian liberation in the US is an undemocratic and unaccountable one.

You can also consider donating and volunteering for the organization that has come under attack, and joining their list-serv. Consider also purchasing Alison Weir’s latest book.