Monday, January 22, 2024
Report on Beth Israel vigil 01-20-24
We Pitch a Shutout!
January 13 loomed as a cold and extremely windy day. Fearful that our signs, which we attach to chairs, might be blown into the street and cause traffic dangers, we offered only the signs we could carry, and held a new flag presented to us by a passing Palestinian man. The result was a smashing 21-0 score (see Scoreboard, below), but reflected the omission of what we feel drives Israeli terror – Jewish Power, Jewish identity politics, and Jewish supremacist ideology. When our signs of “Jewish Power corrupts” or “Jews Bomb Hospitals” are displayed, our message is more clearly honed, but approval suffers. And we accept that.
Begging for Crumbs
On Thursday, January 11, the Ann Arbor City Council passed a “cease-fire” resolution. That’s the good news. The reality is that the resolution had to be word-smithed to a point where it became meaningless, but even that didn’t prevent some local Jews speaking in opposition. Speaker after speaker lined up (there were 90!) to prattle on about Israeli crimes, without a whit of blame placed on the Ann Abor Jewish community for its support of those crimes. Even the Arab voice, like leadoff speaker Omar Abdala, was obedient to the Power. He said:
We are a coalition that stands against anti-Semitism. Our members have said that protests at synagogues are wrong, full stop. When a known holocaust denier spoke last meeting we refused to listen to him and walked out. Do not conflate our calls for a cease fire with anti-Semitism. That is wrong; it is beneath you and it is racist. This is a simple resolution that takes no sides...
A resolution that “takes no sides” needs a response, and we provided that response (text follows signature). It’s instructive to view (a) the City Council members turning their backs to us and (b) the so-called “Palestinian activists” fleeing the room as we rose to speak. Please click here and adjust timeline to 04:15:43 to observe
We had an opportunity to speak to a Lebanese student after the meeting and asked her why she left as I spoke, and she explained that her Jewish co-workers were upset with our weekly vigils and she wanted to show solidarity with them. See how Jewish Power works? This young woman knew that if she questioned forbidden topics – like why are Jews leading local Palestinian activists? - she would be ostracized and couldn’t tolerate that outcome. So 10,000 Palestinian children and infants get bombed to smithereens, but she maintains friendships.
Another Day at the Office
Scorecard
Date/For-Against
30-Dec 17-3
6-Jan 14-3
13-Jan 21-0
20-Jan 18-7
Henry Herskovitz
Witness for Peace
Victory to Hamas!
#
January 11, 2024 [262 words]
Topic: Agenda Item CD-1, Resolution Denouncing Rising Hate and Discrimination in Ann Arbor and Calling for a Lasting Bilateral Ceasefire in Gaza and Israel
Good evening,
The Jewish state has been committing genocide against the Palestinian people for over 75 years. Now, in The Hague, these crimes are being identified and exposed by South Africa.
Much will be made of a “proportional response”: Are the Jews of Israel responding proportionally to the Al-Aqsa Storm of October 7?
So, it’s reasonable to ask if this Resolution is proportional to the atrocities committed by the Jewish state since that date
Reading from the Resolution: “The Ann Arbor City Council calls for an immediate lasting bilateral ceasefire”
Bilateral: meaning both sides stop using their weapons against the other
Does this resolution demand Palestinians stop using their Merkava battle tanks? Their Apache Helicopters? Their F-35 fighter jets? Should they be required to stop dropping 2,000 pound bombs?
Of course not. It’s not the Palestinians that have these Weapons of Mass Destruction
It’s only Israel. And the Jewish state is using them mercilessly, driven by a religious ideology that tolerates no sympathy for the defenseless Palestinians
Calling for a bilateral cease fire with this imbalance in strength is not a proportional response to genocide
Calling out the perpetrators is
Taking sides is what’s required of Council, even if it means standing up to the Chosen, be they friend or family. A milquetoast request for a cease fire is totally inadequate and not only ignores the enormous disparity in weaponry, but fails to address even the minimum of human rights violations being committed by the Jewish state
Personally, I don’t believe your vote, whether yea or nay, will count for much. I cannot imagine a more meaningless document.
Thank you,
