At Last - J Street Comments on Israel Apartheid Week... Weakly

 

More Than an "Analogy"

Following this blog's noting J Street's silence on the blood libel of Israel Apartheid Week, Jerermy Ben Ami has finally published a response.    In typical, studied, tortured and almost diplomatic prose, the statement nowhere rejects the substance of the campaign, namely, that Israel IS an apartheid state.  IAW is not constructing analogies - it defines "Israel as an apartheid system."

Rather than simply and emphatically stating that Israel is NOT an apartheid state, J Street nibbles at the edges by saying:
"We also reject comparisons of Israel to South African apartheid. The analogy clearly implies that Israel is illegitimate."(our emphasis).   

There is no "analogy" - according to IAW, Israel IS an apartheid state, clear and simple.  Continuing, the J Street statement criticizes the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanction) crowd by claiming that they are:
"making no distinction between West Bank settlements and Israel proper, and refusing to support a two-state solution..."

In other words, J Street would probably be quite delighted were the BDS movement to target the "settlements" per se.  Moreover, if IAW would only sign onto J Street's idee fixe of the two state solution, then they might go along with them. 

Clearly and irrefutably, Israel - including the "settlements"- are not "apartheid states".  Why won't J Street come out and unequivocally state that obvious fact?  Because they have the agenda juggernaut of "no settlements and a two state solution".

I suppose we must issue a muffled congratulations to Ben Ami, but nibbling at the edges of this modern blood libel will not suffice.