1.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: In Israel, two Palestinian
suspects opened fire on civilians in a restaurant in Tel Aviv Wednesday,
killing four [homosapiens]. Police have identified the attackers as cousins from the
Israeli-occupied West Bank. In response, the Israeli military revoked permits
for 83,000 Palestinians to visit Israel, and said it would send hundreds more
troops to the West Bank.
We turn now to look at a growing debate here in New York
state. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has issued the first-ever executive order
forcing state agencies to divest from any organizations aligned with the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. BDS is an international
campaign to pressure Israel to comply with international law and respect
Palestinian rights. However, its opponents say BDS is a thinly disguised
anti-Semitic attempt to debilitate or even destroy Israel.
2.
AMY GOODMAN: Governor Cuomo’s executive
order forces state officials to make a list of businesses and groups that are
engaged in activities targeting Israel. On Sunday, Cuomo announced the decision
right before he marched in
the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York.
3.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO: Today I’m
going to sign an executive order that says, very clearly, we are against the BDS
movement. And it’s very simple. If you boycott against Israel, New York will
boycott you. If you divert revenues from Israel, New York will divert revenues
from you. If you sanction Israel, New York will sanction you. Period. ... We
are against the BDS movement in every way. We are against companies that do it.
We are against the promotion of it by companies and by entities. I am very
proud to be the first governor in the United States of America to sign this
executive order. And I encourage every—I encourage every governor in this
country to sign such an executive order.
4.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: The New York Legislature
had unsuccessfully tried to push through anti-boycott legislation for months,
and Cuomo signed the executive order just days before the legislative session
ended. Civil liberties groups and pro-Palestinian organizations have declared
Cuomo’s order unconstitutional and a form of 21st century McCarthyism. Several
other states have also moved to support Israel and prevent their governments
and agencies from doing business with companies or individuals that endorse the
boycott.
5.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more, we’re joined
by two guests. Here in New York, we’re joined by Rebecca Vilkomerson, who is executive director of
Jewish Voice for Peace. Her group is organizing a protest against
Governor Cuomo today. And in Baltimore, Maryland, we’re joined by Robert Freedman, a
visiting professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University, former
president of Baltimore Hebrew University.
6.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: Well, I think the
governor did the right thing. I would have preferred it to go through the
Legislature, if possible. But because of the goals of BDS, which are
particularly ugly, I think it was something that had to be done. Let me just go
over with you very quickly, Rebecca, if I could, what the goals are of the BDS
movement. If you look at them, one is allegedly to end Israeli occupation and
colonization of Palestinian territory. There, the Israelis—in 1948, there was a
chance for a Palestinian state; Palestinians rejected it. Clinton parameters
offered a peaceful solution for a Palestinian state and an end to occupation;
the Palestinians rejected it. In 2008, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
offered a peace plan; Arafat—Arafat’s successor, Mahmoud Abbas, rejected it.
So, the end to occupation is not just one-sided.
Secondly, they call
for, quote, “full equality of Arab Palestinian citizens in Israel.” Certainly I
support that, but according to Israel’s Declaration of Independence, there is
equality. There are Arab judges. Fifteen percent of the student body in Israeli
universities are Arab. Forty percent of Israeli doctors are Arab. So this is
not apartheid South Africa. It’s a very, very different situation.
But the worst
element to BDS, in my view, is their call for the so-called right of return of
Palestinian refugees. What that would mean—some 5 million refugees and their
descendants—that’s the end of Israel as the nation-state of the Jews, something
recognized by the U.N. And this comes very close to being anti-Semitism.
Indeed, Omar
Barghouti, who is the father of the BDS movement, is all for a one-state
solution, where the Arabs would be the majority. So, I have a real problem with that. Basically, it says that all
other nations—the Germans, the French, the English—can have their own
nation-state ethnically, but Jews cannot. And I think that’s the problem. Even worse, if you look at what the history of the
refugee problem was, in 1938, the Germans moved into the—
7.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to cut
you off right there, because we want to get a direct response from Rebecca
Vilkomerson to the executive order issued by—
8.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: OK, I want to come
back to these points.
9.
AMY GOODMAN: —issued by
Governor Cuomo. Rebecca?
10.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: Right. Well, first
of all, I would remind Robert and everybody that the Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions call is—has demands according to international law. They’re based on
very simple demands: again, end to occupation, full rights for Palestinian
citizens of Israel and right of return for refugees. All those are inscribed in
international law. The idea that demanding from Israel that it stop violating
the human rights of Palestinians, and to use a tool, which has been used, you
know, as a way to create change when governments are unwilling to do so, is
something that is—and until those conditions end. It’s not against Israel
forever. It’s not against Israel because it’s a Jewish state. It’s against
Israel because—specifically because of its human rights abuses and its
dispossession of Palestinians. So I think it’s very important to keep that in
mind.
It’s not
anti-Semitic. In fact, in my experience, in the experience of Jewish Voice for
Peace, the Boycott National Committee, which is the representative of all the
Palestinian organizations that have called globally for support for BDS,
has—calls very much for universal human rights. That includes speaking out against
anti-Semitism, against all forms of oppression and racism. And so, they apply
those values equally. And so, we’re very proud and honored to be part of that
movement fighting for human rights, fighting against Palestinian dispossession.
11.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Rebecca, in terms
of—were you surprised by this executive order by Governor Cuomo? And also, it
seems that the impact of this will perhaps be greater in terms—in Europe, where
the BDS movement has grown more rapidly than even here in the United States,
because obviously in a multinational world that we live in, there’s a lot of
European companies that do business in New York state.
12.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: That’s an
interesting point. We were surprised by the executive order, especially
because, as you mentioned at the top of the segment, that actually there was
bills going through the Legislature, and there’s four days from the end of the
legislative session, and they were really stalled in committee because there
was very strong opposition from over a hundred organizations around the state
to these bills. And so it did feel like Governor Cuomo was trying to do an end
run around the legislative process. And it’s clear that he’s trying to hold
onto a consensus that doesn’t really exist anymore in the electorate. There’s
growing support for BDS, partially because of all the ways that Israel is
continuing to—more and more people recognize how Israel is continuously
violating Palestinian human rights, and also because of the increasing
right-wing nature of the Israeli government.
13.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go to Glenn Greenwald, who wrote in The Intercept, “Beyond
the McCarthyism and profound free speech threat, the stench of hypocrisy of
Cuomo and Democrats is suffocating. Just over two months ago, Cuomo banned
state officials from traveling to North Carolina in order to support the
boycott against that American state in protest over its anti-transgender law.”
Rebecca Vilkomerson, can you talk specifically about what this executive order
would do?
14.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: Yeah. I mean, one thing is that we don’t exactly know. It seems to cast a
very broad net, and I think it’s very vague, it’s very disturbing. But what it
basically says is that state agencies have to proactively go out and figure
out—we don’t know exactly how—organizations and companies that are—not just who
participate in the boycott, but who advocate for the boycott. So that seems
like that could be—and it’s proactively creating this list, this blacklist, and
saying that the state has to divest from those companies and organizations. And
so, what that’s going to look like, we don’t exactly know. But I think that anyone,
regardless of what they feel about BDS or Israel-Palestine as an issue, anyone
who feels strongly about being able to, as residents of New York, speak out on
any kind of human rights issue needs to be concerned about the state dictating
what kinds of advocacy are available or not.
15.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, what happens to those
states that do—those companies that do this?
16.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: The state is
instructed, from what I understand—and again, this is new—to divest from those
organizations and companies, and also that they cannot do business within—with
the state of New York.
17.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Robert Freedman, were
you surprised by the governor’s action here and now the possibility that other
governors may follow suit? And I was particularly interested when the governor used the
word “entities,” not just companies. So I assume that would mean a university,
a church group that decides to participate in the BDS movement, as well, if
they have contracts with the state of New York.
18.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: It’s quite possible. I
just would like to refer you to the statement
of the American Association of University Professors of May 2013, which opposed
the BDS movement. And let me quote it for you. “In view of the Association’s
long-standing commitment to the free exchange of ideas, we oppose academic
boycotts. On the same grounds, we recommend that other academic associations
oppose academic boycotts.” Now, BDS is at the heart of the effort to
academically boycott Israel. There’s no question about that. There have been
attempts in a number of associations. The American Studies Association voted
for the boycott. The American Anthropology Association just voted against the
boycott. There’s very strong feelings on campuses about this. But if you
believe in the free change of—exchange of ideas, then you cannot boycott
universities. If you want change in Israel, the universities are the agents of
change, and boycotting them is self-defeating. You cannot blame universities in
a country for the actions of their government any more than you could blame
American universities for the U.S. intervention in Iraq, invasion of Iraq in
2003. But that is what BDS is doing. And it opposes the free exchange of ideas.
It’s self-defeating.
And to make matters
worse, Israel, among 196 nations of the world, is picked out by itself for this
kind of discrimination. You have what’s going on in Syria with 300,000 people dead, the
Russians actively supporting it, the Chinese supporting it at the U.N. But do
you hear anything about boycotts of Russian universities or exchanges between
Russian universities and American universities, or Chinese universities and
American universities? What about the crackdown on free expression in Turkey—
19.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, let’s get a
response from—
20.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: —where a number of
universities—
21.
AMY GOODMAN: Let’s get a
response from Rebecca Vilkomerson.
22.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: —you know, you have
this? Why is—
23.
AMY GOODMAN: And we’re going to
get a—we’re going to get a response from Rebecca.
24.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: Yeah, but answer the
question: Why is Israel being singled out?
25.
AMY GOODMAN: And also, if you
can talk about companies that have been successfully boycotted?
26.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: Yes, yes. So, I
mean, I think this is a very old and, in my opinion, tired argument to say that
Israel is being singled out. There’s all kinds of trouble in the world. There
are all kinds of various different fights happening against all kinds of terrible
things and struggles in front of the world. The U.S. actually is, of course,
boycotting places like Syria and North Korea. But this is a response to a call
by Palestinian civil society. The fact that this is not the only problem in the
world does not mean it’s not one that needs to be responded to. And we have a
way to respond to it, because we are responding to the Palestinian call and the
request for solidarity in the face of these human rights violations. So that’s
one thing.
The other thing is
that we, as Americans, are certainly complicit in this ongoing oppression and
abuse of human rights, because the United States government gives more money to
Israel than any other country. And with our diplomatic, economic and military might,
we are putting all of our weight behind the Israeli government. And without
that support, I don’t think that Israel could continue to do what it does. So,
as Americans, we really have an obligation to do what we can and use the tools
that we can. And as Robert actually mentioned, I think BDS is the most
effective tool, because we actually are having some victories. It’s the one
thing that’s putting pressure on Israel, and I think it’s the reason we’re
seeing things like this executive order, we’re seeing things like the tens of
millions of dollars that are being invested in trying to stop the BDS movement,
by people like Sheldon Adelson, by the Israeli government itself, because they
see how effective it is, because it’s gaining ground on campus. And so, things
like this executive order attempt to [inaudible]—
27.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Let me ask Robert Freedman
to respond to that particular issue, that given the amount of aid that the
United States has been historically giving to Israel and enormous economic support
that Israel receives from Americans who support that country, that there might
be a particular reason why the BDS movement would arise here in this country as
an alternative tactic or movement.
28.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: Well, we heard from
Rebecca—and I’m quoting now—it was a “response to a call by Palestinian civil
society.” The call was from
Omar Barghouti, not particularly known as a democrat even in Palestinian
society. And basically he calls—
29.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: I have to interrupt.
I have to interrupt that.
30.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: —openly for a one-state
solution. Period.
31.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: I’m sorry. I have—I
need to interrupt that. That’s not correct. Over 170 Palestinian organizations,
from a wide range of civil society—trade unions, root groups, union groups,
Palestinian political parties—a broad spectrum of civil society have called for
the boycott, divestment and sanctions.
32.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: And
who is the leader of that—who is the Palestinian leader of that movement?
33.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: The Boycott National Committee.
34.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: Omar Barghouti. Do you
deny that?
35.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: The Boycott National
Committee.
36.
ROBERT FREEDMAN: Do you deny that Omar
Barghouti is the leader of this?
37.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: Omar Barghouti is
one—Omar Barghouti is of the leaders of the Boycott National Committee, which
is the group that—of those 170 wide-range organizations that have called for
the boycott.
38.
AMY GOODMAN: I
want to hear about one successful boycott campaign you’ve launched.
39.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: Yeah. Well, I think
one incredibly successful campaign, most recently, has been against G4S, which
of course is a company that’s involved in security around the world. And this
is one of the ways that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement works so well,
because it is global. So there have been campaigns in Europe, as you mentioned,
Juan. There’s been campaigns here in the U.S. And just recently, G4S announced
that it’s actually pulling out of Israel, because of—they haven’t said that it’s
because of the pressure, but we believe it is because of the pressure that has
been put on it and the contracts that they are losing because of their
involvement in Israeli prisons.
40.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave
it there. We thank you both for discussing this, and of course we’ll continue
to cover this issue.
41.
REBECCA VILKOMERSON: May I just say, I would love
it if folks could come to a demonstration today at 5:30 at the Governor’s
Office in New York City. It’s at 3rd Avenue and 40th
Street.
42.
AMY GOODMAN: Rebecca Vilkomerson is executive director of Jewish
Voice for Peace. Robert Freedman, visiting professor of political science at
Johns Hopkins University and former president of the Baltimore Hebrew
University.
This is Democracy
Now! When we come back, we go to the Stanford rape
case and get the latest. Stay with us.
No comments:
Post a Comment