“BDS should not be defined as anti-Semitic.” This is the message from 39 Jewish groups who oppose equating antisemitism with criticism of Israel. On Tuesday South African Jewish Voices for a Just Peace (SAJVP) and South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP) joined Jews from the United States Germany England Argentina New Zealand and other corners of the world in a statement condemning the targeting of organizations that support Palestinian rights in general and the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in particular.
Attacks on pro-Palestine groups and the BDS Movement “often take the form of cynical and false accusations of antisemitism that dangerously conflate anti-Jewish racism with opposition to Israel’s policies and system of occupation and apartheid” the groups said. (In February the BDS Movement was officially nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for its ongoing commitment to fighting antisemitism and all forms of racism and bigotry).
“This conflation undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom justice and equality and the global struggle against antisemitism. It also serves to shield Israel from being held accountable to universal standards of human rights and international law.”
The groups stressed that it is more important than ever to distinguish between hostility or prejudice against Jews on the one hand and legitimate critiques of Israeli policies and systems of injustice on the other.
The Jewish groups also found the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism which is increasingly being adopted or considered by western governments problematic as it is worded in such a way that equates legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism. This is intended to stifle criticism of Israel.
They urged governments to reject the IHRA definition of antisemitism and instead take effective measures to end the international community’s complicity in Israel’s human rights violations against Palestinians.
Source: Afro-Palestine News Wire Service
