Education Secretary DeVos: Efforts to boycott Israel are a 'pernicious threat'
By Collin Binkley
Associated Press
July 15, 2019
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Monday that a movement to boycott Israel has become a "pernicious threat" on college campuses and is fueled by bias against Jews.
Speaking at a Justice Department summit on anti-Semitism, DeVos issued a scathing rebuke of the BDS movement, a campaign led by pro-Palestine activists calling for a boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.
The movement has inspired activism at many U.S. universities but is often a source of tension, especially among students and professors who support Israel. DeVos said Monday that Israel has friends in the Education Department and that the BDS campaign is "one of the most pernicious threats" of anti-Semitism on college campuses.
"These bullies claim they stand for human rights," she said. "But we all know that BDS stands for anti-Semitism."
DeVos, who is Christian, warned of an "alarming rise" in anti-Semitism but said President Donald Trump's administration is committed to stopping discrimination. She spent much of her speech defending Israel, and she drew applause when she referenced Trump's 2017 decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that drew condemnation from the United Nations.
"Peace in the Middle East begins with recognizing Israel's right to exist," DeVos said. "Israel is a light to the region, but we all know it's surrounded by jihadists who embrace evil."
Her comments supporting Israel followed a series of Twitter posts in which Trump accused four congresswomen of color of being anti-Semitic. In an online diatribe that drew scorn from Democrats, Trump said that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and her allies are "a bunch of Communists, they hate Israel, they hate our own Country."
DeVos made no mention of the president's comments Monday and instead focused on her own agency's work to fight anti-Semitism.
She noted that the Education Department recently intervened at Williams College after the student government rejected the creation of a pro-Israel group. The department negotiated an agreement that gave the pro-Israel group recognition as a student organization.
She said the department is now investigating a March conference on the Middle East that was organized by Duke University and the University of North Carolina. The event, which was funded with an Education Department grant, drew complaints of anti-Israel bias.
"We're looking at whether the conference violated grant terms and perpetrated anti-Semitism," DeVos said.
11 comments:
This ignorant hag shows why it is a terrible idea to nominate people for cabinet posts solely based on their family’s donations to the Republican Party. She takes the position that any criticism of Israel is, ipso facto, anti-Semitism. America has a first amendment which allows anyone to advocate a boycott of any country whether it be Bolivia, Turkey, China, Mexico or even the Zionist state. Singling out Israel for special protection causes anti semitism because people wrongly believe that Jews are controlling the government to get special protection for a country that is no more critical to America than any of the previously referenced states. Tell this Nut job to run for the Knesset.
Mr. Goldfarb, your criticism of Betsy DeVos is downright sickening to say the least. You are obviously one of those Israel-hating liberal Jews that I detest. The BDS movement is most certainly anti-Semitic and is designed to destroy the Jewish state ... and you damn well know it.
As much as I detest your kind, you will always be welcome to make a comment on BGB.
I would guess based on your name, Mr. Goldfarb, that you are at least an ethnic Jew. You certainly appear to be ashamed of your connection to Jewishness and your opening line (ignorant hag) does not bode well for whatever reasonableness or open mindedness you may pretend to have. There are some aspects of Israeli settlement policy that I find personally disturbing. I have, however, taken the trouble to read the Balfour Declaration which gave international legitimacy to the founding of the modern state of Israel. Until opponents of Israel stop publishing maps in school books that do not show the state of Israel as existing at all, and until the so-called Palestinian government stops paying people to send young children and the mentally disabled out to be suicide bombers I am going to lean towards supporting the only functioning democracy in the region. And I will continue to oppose the fascism of the left. Have a nice life.
Very well said, Bob. I think you hit the nail right on the head when you told Mr. Goldfarb, "You certainly appear to be ashamed of your connection to Jewishness ..."
In response to Mr Walsh. I am in fact an American who is of the Jewish faith. Judaism is not an ethnicity or a culture, but a religion. As an American I am not an Israeli or a Zionist, therefor, my only concern and loyalty is to the United States. I am not Jonathan Pollard and could care less what happens to Israel, just like i'm sure, while the name "Walsh' indicates Irish forefathers, your primary concern is for the well-being of the United States, not Ireland. I do not see it as wise for Americans to give up our first amendment right to advocate a boycott against any country simply because some folks may view it as anti-Semitic. The first amendment does not include a carve out that says we have freedom of speech, "Unless it offends Jews or can be construed as anti-Zionist"
My other reason for being against this foolishness is it reinforces the stereotype of the Jews having disproportionate power and controlling government by singling out speech against only one country in the world, that under any objective standard, is irrelevant to
the well-being of the average American. Israel has no precious metals, contains no oil, and takes over 3 billion dollars in hand outs each year that could be better spent in the United States. If someone points out the same thing about , say , Pakistan, which receives the same amount of money each year, and torments gays, does calling for a Pakistani boycott make them an Islamophobic bigot? Are the folks over at the council on American Islamic relations calling for a law criminalizing boycotts of Muslim countries? Creating these special laws that "protect" Israel by stifling debate is bad for Jews, and most important to me, bad for America. Our collective forefathers that fought and died for our Bill of Rights would be turning over in their graves knowing we gave up our rights to boycott for any country.
Goldfarb, you've just admitted that you hate Israel. I've got news for you. Judaism is more than just a religion, it's also an ethnicity. And as a refugee from Nazi Germany, I can tell you that Israel is of vital importance to the Jewish people because it is the only real refuge for the Jews who are persecuted and not wanted throughout the world. And the BDS movement that you support is not simply a boycott, its only purpose is to destroy the Jewish state.
You obviously support the Palestinians over the Israelis. PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas has vowed time after time that there "will be only one state from the river to the sea, and that will be a Palestinian state" and that it will be Judenrein.
I strongly support Israel and the policies of PM Netanyahu, but my only loyalty is to the USA. I proudly served in the U.S. Army during WW2.
You are a disgusting disgrace to Judaism! Bob Walsh is right when he describes you as ashamed of your connection to Jewishness.
Sorry Mr. Goldfarb but I must disagree with you slightly. While I realize that technically "Jewishness" is a faith and not an ethnicity I have over my 70 years known more than a couple of people who described themselves as "Jews" but who did not practice any aspect of the Jewish faith. I, and many people, describe them reasonably as "ethnic Jews." These are people who recognize their Jewish family background but who do not practice the faith to any degree.
I would also have to say that I think it is in the best interest of the United States to support the only stable democracy in a very volatile part of the world. Would the U. S. crash and fall if Israel were to disappear tomorrow? Obviously not. Would he world in general and the middle east in particular become a much more dangerous place? I believe so.
Erin Go Bragh
Under Jewish law, a convert is just as Jewish as someone born to a Jewish mother. There is absolutely no difference, the convert is 100 percent Jewish. You can convert to Judaism, you cannot convert to an ethnicity or a race. That is why , we Jews are a religion, not a race or ethnicity.
Goldfarb, no matter how you put it, you are full of unadulterated horseshit. As a Jew, your hatred of Israel makes you a worm of the worst kind. You make me puke.
Since you “could care less what happens to Israel,” you are obviously not the least bit concerned about the possible slaughter of more than six million Israeli Jews. As a Jew you can’t get any lower than that!
I suggest you join one of the neo-Nazi groups where you will feel more comfortable than around people, be they Jew or gentile, who support Israel.
While I still invite you to make comments on BGB, I will not approve any further comments by you on this particular post.
Fact, Israel was founded by anti-Semitic Jews who were only Jewish because they had Jewish mothers. Theodor Herzl bragged that he hated religion and did not circumcise his son. “The Jewish people are very nasty people. Their neighbors hate them, and they are right” a quote from Zionist Vladimir jabotinsky. “ those loathsome Jews are vomited out by any healthy collective state, not because they are Jews, but because of their Jewish repulsiveness” A quote from Yosef Chaim Brenner, another leading Zionist and advocate for the creation of a Zionist state. And no less than David Ben-gurion said “ never a nomad but always a parasite in the body of other peoples” a quote easily similar to hitler in mein Kumpf
That is why us Torah Jews have always followed our Torah command that we are never to have a state until the arrival of Messiah . We would rather live here in Brooklyn, and be part of and loyol to the greatest country on earth, then join a group of heretics who followed a group of irreligious self-hating marginal Jews in stealing another people’s lands. As rabbi teitelbaum warned us, Zionism is satanic. Howie , please come to New York , visit our shul, learn from our Rabbi’s and appreciate the difference between the wonderful religion of Hasidic Torah Judaism and it’s polar opposite, satanic Zionism
You Torah Jews in your long black coats and black hats are still living in the Middle Ages. Whenever I've been in Brooklyn, you guys stand out like a sore thumb. Your hatred of Israelis is beyond the pale.
Mr. Teitelbaum, you are most welcome to stay in Brooklyn alongside your black neighbors who hate your happy ass.
As my readers know, I am a very strong supporter of Israel. You talk about loyalty “to the greatest country on earth” as if Jewish-American supporters of Israel are not. Well, you can take this to the bank … I guarantee you that my loyalty to the good old USA far exceeds yours!
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