In Condemning the Occupation, Liberal Jewish Organizations Accept the Anti-Israel Position – Mosaic

Secretary of State Mike Pompeos announcement last November that the U.S. would no longer consider it illegal for Israelis to reside in the West Bank brought widespread condemnationsome of it from mainstream Jewish leaders and organizations. To Asaf Romirowsky, these critics misunderstand not only the historical and legal issues at play but also the underlying causes of the Israel-Palestinian conflict:

The president of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, said the U.S. governments new position on Israeli settlements will undercut the fight against the movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel (BDS) , . . . specifically on college campuses.

It is not clear when Rabbi Jacobs was last on a college campus, but the debate in North American universities is not about the so-called occupation but about whether Israel has a right to exist, period. Pro-BDS groups, including Jewish ones, are talking about the illegitimacy of the 1949 armistice lines, not those of 1967. Moreover, a recent survey . . . shows that most students who care strongly about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories do not have knowledge of even basic facts on the subject.

Far more than American policy, it is the language of occupation that plays a key role in [the accepted dogma about the] Israel-Palestinian conflict. The main feature of this dogma is the Palestinian claim that their alleged territories are occupied by Israel, regardless of where they are located on the map, much less in any legal sense under international law. The mantra of occupation, and the demand that Israel be shunned until the occupation is endedmeaning the time when Israel is dissolved by the implementation of the Palestinian right of returnis the key demand of the Palestinians and the BDS movement.

Read more at BESA Center

More about: BDS, Israel on campus, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Settlements

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In Condemning the Occupation, Liberal Jewish Organizations Accept the Anti-Israel Position - Mosaic