Much has already been said about the decision Limmud Cape Town took to invite three BDS activists to speak at Limmud 2018. Much has also been said about their decision to uninvite these three BDS activists. However, what has not been addressed is the interview Limmud National Chair, Adina Roth, gave to Howard Feldman on Chai FM on Tuesday 1 August 2018.
Let’s go through this and try to understand what Adina is saying.
Adina Roth, National Chair of Limmud SA.
• Her opening salvo was that BDS was not invited to Limmud CT. First problem. BDS was invited-BDS is not an object, it is not a thing – it is an organisation made up of hundreds of organisations, movements, groups, NGO’s etc all working for the same cause. It is made up of people supporting the call for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel. When you invite a BDS activist, you have invited BDS. To claim anything to the contrary, is disingenuous and a matter of mere semantics. Ms. Roth goes on to say that they would not invite anti-Semitism or hate speech into Limmud. What these three BDS activists promote is the BDS agenda, which as we know, is committed to the delegitimsation and destruction of Israel and uses the banner of human rights to launder anti-Semitism and hate speech.
• Ms. Roth then mentions that these BDS activists are “loosely affiliated” to BDS. Second problem. Heidi Grunebaum is a proud BDS activists and has sat on many BDS panels for at least a decade. Her movie, “The Village under the Forest” is shown on SA Islam TV over Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) and is also shown at other anti-Israel events. She calls for BDS against Israel publicly and proudly pushes the BDS agenda. How much more of a tight and total association with BDS could she have?
Jeremy Philips heads up the Palestinian Solidarity Forum (PSF) on UCT Campus which spearheads the IAW event on campus. This is nothing short of a hate-fest against Israel. IAW is a global event run by BDS and as such, the PSF forms a very important arm of BDS. To say that Jeremy Philips’ association with BDS is loose, is laughable.
Mitchel Hunter, too, can be found wearing his BDS T-shirt (literally) protesting outside Pro Israel events. To say he is loosely affiliated to BDS is disingenuous since he proudly calls for BDS against Israel. His various YouTube videos are public and cement his place firmly as a BDS activist.
• She goes on to say these BDS activists are human beings. Well, we all are and when you, as a BDS activist, separate yourself from the Jewish Community by working assiduously to damage the state of Israel, you lose the right to enter the tent and participate in a legitimate conversation pertaining to Israel. BDS activists are not being objectified. On the contrary, they are being identified by the work they do and the damage they bring to Israel and the Jewish community. What and who is being objectified is Israel and Zionism and those who support it by BDS.
• Ms. Roth then tries to claim these BDS activists are not members of BDS. Third problem. There is no “membership” to this anti-Semitic organisation. It is not like a political party where you are a card bearing member. All you need to do is espouse and act on the views of BDS to be a fully-fledged BDS activist/member, call it what you will. But once again, to say these three BDS activists are not members of BDS is pure semantics and disingenuous. Why does Ms. Roth feel the need to protect these individuals in the way she does?
• Furthermore, she claims that it was only understood that these three presenters were affiliated with BDS after it had been brought to their attention. The person or people involved who invited these three BDS activists, had to know what their stance was and how they push a BDS agenda. Simply to know these three people is to know their BDS association. And if not, even minor due diligence on the part of the organisers is what is required to be done for each speaker. This is what the community trusts you will do.
• Ms. Roth states that these speakers were not presenting specifically on Israel. Fourth problem. Heidi Grunebaum would have been speaking on the Palestinian “Nakba” which is the Palestinian narrative which specifically promotes the delegitimizing of Israel and its right to exist. Hunter’s topic included Zionism and if that is not about Israel, then what is?
BDS objective- to stamp out Israel…and it’s people. Why is Limmud supporting this?
• Ms. Roth acknowledged that Limmud does have red lines and that BDS would not be invited. What is not understood then is how Heidi Grunebaum was invited to Limmud previously where she was given two slots to show her movie which is trotted out every IAW and at every Anti-Israel Hate Fest to further serve the cause of BDS. Other BDS activists have also been given platforms at Limmud in previous years.
It was encouraging to hear that Limmud had to do some soul searching and introspection but the response, that after this exercise, when they realised that it was a step too far and that this was “too much for our community right now”, is probably the most telling part of the whole interview. Nowhere has Limmud acknowledged that this was a step too far for them as leaders.
This is the problem with the leadership of Limmud SA. It is patronising and condescending to imply that the community felt Limmud had gone a step too far. It is also an apologist stance towards the BDS activists. This is not something that the community is just not ready for at this time. BDS is something that a proudly Jewish and Zionist community will never “be ready for”.
As the National Chair of Limmud SA, Roth feels the need, in her own words, “to hold these people as there is no space for them in the community”. Yes, there is no space for them in a proudly Jewish and Zionist community. Why should there be? They, by their own volition, have decided to remove themselves from the main stream community. To this, there are consequences. They are free to join, as they have, any other community that supports their views. They cannot work actively to harm Israel and the Jewish people and then demand acceptance from the same people they are working so hard to damage.
The weak spot in our community is a lack of knowledge, of education and experience. Opinions are one thing, but distorted facts are dangerous; they lead to division and harm and in the worst-case scenario, to violence.
So how to get the community equipped with the best possible education to avoid this kind of fallout in the first place? When volunteers head a Jewish organisation, perhaps they should they go through a screening or training process? Perhaps we can devise one whereby there are parameters and rules that ensure the community can rely on the organization’s integrity?
SA Jewry will never accept BDS nor those Jews associated with it. Limmud either has those red lines themselves or they don’t!
