Community Magazine May 2012

M ost participants in the annual “Celebrate Israel Parade,” in New York (or as it was known before 2011, the” Salute to Israel Parade”) probably see the event as an opportunity to express their Zionistic pride and appreciation for the gift of a Jewish homeland. So it would probably surprise many of these participants to learn that the upcoming parade will include groups that have expressed support or provided funding for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel – and this won’t be the first time such groups will have marched in the 48-year old parade. JCCWatch, run by Richard Allen with a committee of several rabbis and activists, has charged that the June 3 rd parade – an initiative of the Jewish Community Relations Council-NY (JCRC), in collaboration with UJA-Federation of New York, the Consulate General of Israel in New York and Israel’s Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs – will include the New Israel Fund (NIF) and Partners for Progressive Israel (PPI) – organizations that, at least by extension, appear to represent the enemies of Israel. PPI (also known as Meretz USA) displays on its website, “boycott these settlements’ [Jewish communities outside the Green Line] products sold in the US,” with a list of Israeli products, including Ahava cosmetics, SodaStream products and wine from various Israeli vineyards. NIF, meanwhile, authorized grants amounting to $897,000 to the known Israel bashing group B’Tselem, between 2006 and 2009. B’Tselem’s CEO Jessica Montell was once quoted as saying, “In some cases, the situation in the West Bank is worse than apartheid in South Africa,” and the chair of B’Tselem’s board, Oren Yiftachel, has called Israel’s actions during Operation Cast Lead “war crimes”; advocates the so-called “Palestinian right of return”; and called Israel a “giant ghetto.” B’Tselem provided video footage for a film shown at Israel Apartheid 2012 events at universities and colleges worldwide. NIF also subsidized several other BDS-friendly groups: nearly $300,000 to Coalition for Women of Peace; about $200,000 to Machsom Watch; and about $500,000 to Mossawa, according to NGO Monitor. “I can sum it up like this,” Allen says, expressing his dismay at the inclusion of these groups in the parade, “Jews do not call upon Jews to boycott Jews.” Naomi Paiss, the Director of Communications at the New Israel Fund, based out of Washington, D.C., says that in the past two years or soNIF has strengthened its policy opposing what it calls “Global BDS” and those who support it. However, goods produced in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) are still fair target according to the organization, “because we oppose the occupation.” So why are such groups allowed to march in what most people consider a pro- Israel parade? The parade’s website tries to explain the desire for political correctness, “The Parade enables the tri-state community to celebrate in a non-partisan, apolitical show of unity with Israel.” “It is strange,” said Allen. “The UJA and JCRC have embraced groups who have no issues with those who want to cripple Israel economically. It makes no sense to me.” What may make even less sense to most participants is the idea that AIPAC, which the New York Times called, “the most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel,” is not allowed to march because it is a political organization. Representatives of UJA Federation did not return phone calls or emails for official comment. However, three parade organizers from the JCRC spoke to Community on condition that the questions were submitted in advance, their names were not mentioned, they were not quoted directly, and parts of the conversation were off the record. They explained that these conditions were necessary in order not to appear to be picking a personal fight with Allen and JCCWatch, or adding legitimacy to his arguments. The organizers explained that there are some 200 groups in the parade coming together in a show of unity, and – officially, at least – no political slogans or signs are permitted at the parade. The parade dates back to 1964 and is said to be the largest of its kind in the world. To say groups like NIF should not participate, they claim, is to imply they are anti-Israel, which the organizers do not believe to be the case. Actively political groups, such as AIPAC, J Street, and the Jewish Republican Coalition, are prohibited from marching by virtue of their being political, but there is no de-facto policy excluding non-profit groups who directly support the BDS movement. One staffer noted that the groups that have aroused the concern of JCCWatch number less than 60 people anyway, a negligible figure considering the tens of thousands of scheduled marchers. Last year, the parade attracted some 30,000 participants and hundreds of thousands of spectators, reports say. But relative size of group isn’t the point, according to Allen. “It’s more than just optics. What do we teach our children if they see groups aligning with an Israel Parade who have a connection to boycotting and divesting from other Jews?” In spite of protests from JCCWatch, NIF and PPI will probably march in this year’s parade and perhaps few will notice. But will continued efforts to make the parade “inclusive” end up corrupting the very character of the event? Or has that already happened? STRANGE PARTICIPANTS DAVE GORDON ISRAEL parade at the 34 Community magazine