By Catie Stewart
As an organizer on college campuses for J Street U, I meet a lot of passionate students determined to stand up for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. But I also see how much of the American Jewish and pro-Israel establishment places far-right, extremist voices and talking points at the center of its pro-Israel, anti-BDS advocacy — with predictably disastrous consequences.
Last week, our student president told you about what took place when J Street U student leaders attended a major “Ambassadors Against BDS” summit hosted at the United Nations by the Israeli Mission to the UN and a range of pro-Israel organizations.
The students brought with them a deep concern over the threat that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank presents to Israel’s Jewish and democratic future, and the unacceptable burden that it places on Palestinians. And they were met with vitriol.
When one student asked a question about effectively opposing both the occupation and the BDS movement, a panelist, South Carolina state legislator Alan Clemmons, responded with a rant about how J Street is an “anti-Semitic” organization — earning him a standing ovation and inspiring jeers and insults against our student leaders.
In the aftermath, several mainstream American Jewish group that sponsored the event, including Hillel, the American Jewish Committee and the Israel Action Network have expressed their dismay at how J Street U was treated. The ADL, which did not sponsor the event, also condemned Clemmons’ remarks. Importantly, these groups have made clear that these kinds of attacks on progressive students are unacceptable and counterproductive, and that J Street and J Street U have an important place “in the tent.”
But that still does not answer a key question: Why was someone like Clemmons asked to speak about Israel advocacy in the first place?
In South Carolina, Clemmons is well known for authoring and helping pass a resolution that insists Israel could never be an occupier in the West Bank — using the Old Testament as its justification. He also received national attention for authoring one of the nation’s most restrictive Voter ID laws — a bill that the Department of Justice objected to as an effort to restrict the ability of non-white people to vote.
Clemmons wasn’t the only extreme voice highlighted at the summit. A session about how to combat BDS on campus was led by Mort Klein, head of the far-right Zionist Organization of America, instead of a speaker with a message that could actually resonate with all but a tiny minority of students. Klein talked about the importance of denying the occupation and defending the settlements.
That’s not just a terrible strategy in fighting BDS — it shows a total lack of seriousness or concern for those on the ground in Israel and the West Bank who suffer from the ongoing conflict.
Speakers like these don’t represent the mainstream of our community — they’re the far-right fringe. While the vast majority of American Jews have rallied against President Trump’s discriminatory executive order on immigration, Klein and the ZOA have championed it. While American Jewish and liberal groups have lined up to oppose Trump’s white nationalist adviser Steve Bannon, Klein and the ZOA have defended him.
On college campuses and in communities across the country, the vast majority of American Jews are working to oppose Clemmons’ and Klein’s brand of discriminatory right-wing politics. Yet their black-and-white worldviews and preference for ideology over facts seem to make them darlings of many pro-Israel groups.
Israel’s government has recently taken a similar approach, appointing strong opponents of the two-state solution to serve as ambassador to the UN, consul general in NY and deputy foreign minister.
The message is clear: Compromise, pragmatism and dialogue are no longer wanted or needed. I can see the impact of this on college campuses every day, as students are increasingly polarized, forced to choose between “Israel always right” or “Israel always wrong.”
The students I work with continue to fight for a principled and effective middle ground. When we succeed, we win new advocates for the two-state solution and make major contributions to the defeat of BDS efforts.
But empowering people on the political extreme and mainstreaming their ideas makes our work harder and only harms the long-term interests of Israelis, Palestinians and the American Jewish community. Defending progressive students against hate speech is important — but it won’t get to the root of the problem.
Fundamentally, pro-Israel leaders need to decide if they want to give platforms to voices on the far-right fringe, or if they want to follow the lead of the moderate and progressive students who understand how to reach other young people — and who embody the true values and beliefs of the majority of our community.
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Stewart is the Northwest Campus Organizer for J Street U.
Accusing ZOA of being far right is just as bad as accusing jstreet of being anti-Semitic. How does the author not recognize this?