Most of our “old sayings” usually have origins in fact and historical experience. Thus, we know that birds of a feather stick together. We also know that a person is judged by the company they keep. And the friend of my enemy is my enemy.
When the US Congress recently considered resolutions condemning the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) “movement” against the State of Israel, the only true democracy and our only tried and true ally in the Mideast, the resolutions were co-sponsored by our own Representative Chris Pappas and Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan.
But our own Congresswoman Annie Kuster refused to be a co-sponsor, and we now should all know why- it is because of her support for the J Street organization, which, itself, actually supports BDS, no matter what they would have you believe to the contrary.
If you are unwilling to condemn BDS, you actually support it.
Over more than 5 centuries, Jews have been targeted for destruction by various groups for one reason and one reason only- that they are Jews. The Jewish State of Israel has spent the blood of many Jews (as well as Christian supporters of Israel) and much of its treasure to establish itself and protect its way of life. Its only desire is to live in peace and be left alone by its neighbors. Many Israelis fought and died to capture the Sinai, the Gaza Strip, the Golan, and the West Bank of the Jordan. It gave up the Sinai and the Gaza Strip for a promise of peace, which has never really materialized, although ceding the Sinai has produced a modicum of calm between Egypt and Israel.
Although on the surface, J Street proclaims that it is “pro-Israel,” under the table J Street and its allies are funding trips for Jewish college students to go to Ramallah and pay homage at the tomb of Yassir Arafat, the father of modern day terrorism and probably the greatest mass murderer of Jews in the second half of the 20th century.
On college campuses, J Street partners with the rabidly anti-Semitic Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a group in the forefront of the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement. An SJP document uncovered by an education watchdog group revealed SJP plans to target, ostracize, harass and silence pro-Israel students.
These are the bigots that J Street deems “pro-Israel, pro-peace.”
It is no secret that some of the most vehemently anti-Israel money is behind J Street, most notably billionaire George Soros who once referred to his teenage years assisting his father collaborating with the Nazis in confiscating the property of Jews before their massacre as “the happiest time of my life.”
Add the wallets of donors such as Genevieve Lynch, former board member of The National Iranian American Council, also known as the voice of the mullahs in Tehran, and Mehmet Celebi, who co-produced the abhorrently anti-Semitic film “Valley of the Wolves,” and you have a money trail that resembles funding for Hamas, not anything that would support the safety and security of Jews.
Among the candidates J Street has endorsed and supported were the minority voices saying “No” to Israeli security- those who voted against funding the Iron Dome missile protection system for Israel; and those who defended the Muslim Brotherhood and advocated continuing U.S. taxpayer funding for Hamas, the US-designated terror group that refuses to change its charter. “Obliterating” Israel and murdering Jews is still the goal of Hamas.
J Street tries to sugarcoat its support for BDS on its own web site by claiming that it does not oppose BDS initiatives that explicitly support a two-state solution, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and focus only on occupied territory beyond the Green Line- the artificial line from the minds of anti-Zionists arising from the 1967 war in which Israel was able, with great difficulty and loss of lives, to push back against its Arab neighbors who sought its destruction.
There is a curious paradox that is somewhat difficult to understand or explain.
Many of the supporters of J Street are Jews. But those Jewish supporters of J Street are almost always from the far left politically. Liberty loving, politically conservative Jews (yes, there are quite a few and our numbers are growing every day) almost invariably do not support J Street and abhor everything it stands for or does.
It is useful to consider that after over 40 years have passed since Israel’s victories in the 1967 war, the lands retaken by Israel are, and should continue to be, integral parts of the State of Israel. They are facts on the ground, and they should never be relinquished for the false promise of peace with those who would kill you.
Never.
Finally, I suggest that a careful look at the map of Israel and its neighbors might be instructive. Israel is a very small country, with enemies sworn to its destruction on every border. Compare living in Texas, Arizona, or any of our states bordering Canada, with those Israelis living near the Gaza Strip and the Golan. How would we feel, and how would we react, if our fellow citizens were subjected to random rocket and missile attacks originating from Mexico or Canada?
Annie Kuster seems to think that it is truly representative of the citizens of New Hampshire to support the travesty of BDS and J Street, along with George Soros and others of his ilk.
As human experience has shown, the friend of my enemy is my enemy.
