Zionism

July 16, 2018 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Haman, Hitler and BDS: We should know better!

What do the book of Esther, the Nuremberg Laws of 1933 and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement have in common? A lot more than meets the eye! There is a theme found in Esther about Haman’s disdain for the Jewish people that is quite unique in the biblical record. We find the first step in Chapter 3 where Haman puts his curse against the Jews in motion, and because of one Jew, namely Mordecai, Haman seeks to destroy all of them. We start seeing the irrational behaviors promoted by an anti-Semitic heart. Haman seeks to destroy all the Jews of the Persian Empire (at that time the vast majority of the Jews lived in the Persian empire, thus Haman sought to kill ALL THE JEWS). In a sense, Haman tries to make anti-Semitism a government-sanctioned policy

After these events, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him. And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage. When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. (Esther 3:1-2, 6-5)

Furthermore, he proceeds to give the reason why the Jews are not wanted in Ahasuerus’ kingdom, and that is simply because they are different from everybody else and Haman feels that they just don’t fit.

Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people, and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. (Esther 3:8)

Haman realizes that his endeavor will require some logistical finesse, so he asks the king to issue a decree for the destruction of the Jewish people. He even offers to finance the carnage.

“If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry on the king’s business,…And letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder.
(Esther 3:9-13)

Fast forward to 1935, the Nuremberg Laws were introduced and Jewish people lost their citizenship. Marriage and/or sexual relations between Jews and Aryans were prohibited and severely punished. Additionally, guidelines were created to determine who in Germany would qualify as a “mischling” (half breed) and who wouldn’t. The Nuremberg Laws would set the stage for the final delegitimization of the Jewish people before the Final Solution could be implemented. By 1935, Hitler was solidly established in power. Few, if any, would dare to contradict him. His obsession with the “Jewish problem” would soon lead him to the next step in his attempt at the destruction of European Jewry. While the outcome was unfortunately different in each case, the process by which Haman sought to annihilate the Jews as seen in various verses of Esther 3 and the one used by Hitler have many similarities:

One Man’s jealousy led into uncontrolled hatred (Esther 3:5) – Hitler was obsessed with the destruction of all Jews.
Targeted hatred became global hatred (Esther 3:6, 13) – Nazis would go out of their ways and way beyond Germany to go get Jewish people and bring them to the camps.
Hatred was apparently caused because of non-conformity (Esther 3:8) – The “Aryan race” and the now debunked science of Eugenics very precisely categorized the Jews as a sub-human race.
Attempted annihilation of the Jews was structured and organized (Esther 3:9-13) – “The final solution to the Jewish Question”– a euphemism for the Holocaust, was a very well oiled machine that took the life of 6,000,000 in a very short period of time. Nazi Germany utilized the European railroads to go find Jews as far as the trains would allow them to go.
Funds were spent and financial wealth was provided for the perpetrators (Esther 3:9, 4:7) – Hitler used a lot of his resources to get the Jews, to the point where he lacked many of them during the Russian campaign at the end of World War Two.

We can clearly see the correlation between Haman’s attempt to annihilate the Jews and Hitler’s evil agenda of death, but what about the current BDS movement? BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti doesn’t even hide the fact that the ultimate goal of BDS is the eradicaton of Israel. BDS is another way to delegitimize Israel in the eyes of the global community in the name of human rights and social justice. Yet, under this self-righteous veneer of human rights activism, is a new brand of antisemitism. Whole countries are now starting to follow suit. Ireland just passed a law to Boycott Israeli products from Israeli settlements.

Just like Haman and Hitler, BDS proponents are:

• Trying to make anti-Semitism a government-sanctioned policy

• Painting the Jewish people as misfits of society as Israel “occupies Palestine.”

• Recruiting the help of willing promoters and seeking financial back-up anywhere they can find it.

Satan, the ultimate enemy of the Jews is constantly re-inventing himself to further demonize and ostracize Israel. Ideologically, BDS is an extension of Hitler’s agenda which was parallel to Haman’s agenda. BDS is a lot more than an economic, academic or entertainment boycott. People need to dig a bit deeper to see the real motives of that sick movement.
Incidentally, when we are told by BDS to stop buying Israeli products, we should do the exact opposite and support Israel’s economy. How? It is quite simple. Go to a BDS website and buy the exact products they tell you to stay away from. They’ve done all the work for you!

May 4, 2018 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Christ at the Checkpoint: Is the Virus Spreading?

Every two years since 2010, a conference takes place at Bethlehem Bible College (BBC) in the Middle East. That conference is known as Christ at the Checkpoint (CaTC) and focuses on Middle East issues between Israelis and Palestinians, seen from a Christian perspective. It is a conference centered around biblical reconciliation and justice…or so it claims! The organizers of CaTC write that they are ” a community of evangelical Christians who believe that following Jesus with integrity means that our lives are formed by our love for God, the teaching of the Bible and a fearless life of discipleship in the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We believe that one of the first hallmarks of discipleship is love for both our own community and for our enemies. We wish to find Jesus at the center of everything we do and to make his life our life. Which means finding courageous love for Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews alike.” Even the CaTC Manifesto claims that the Conference and its speakers hold to biblical principles that are critical to the solving of the Arab/Israel conflict. This year, it will take place again in Bethlehem May 28- June 1.

The very first article of their manifesto says ” The Kingdom of God has come. Evangelicals must reclaim the prophetic role in bringing peace, justice and reconciliation in Palestine and Israel.” While I would agree on various aspects of the Manifesto, I also have some serious concerns about other parts. “The Kingdom of God has come” assumes that we all agree about a theology known as “Kingdom Now Theology.” Kingdom Now Theology claims, among other things, that Yeshua’s Kingdom was inaugurated at His First Coming, while Scripture states that He will reign as Messianic King on the throne of David from Jerusalem in the yet-to-come Millennial Messianic Kingdom (Psalm 72:8, 11, 17; Isaiah 9:7, 11:6-11; Jeremiah 23:6, Zechariah 3:10.)

Furthermore, in article 5, we read “Any exclusive claim to the land of the Bible in the name of God is not in line with the teaching of Scripture.” I would have to disagree with that statement as well, since the Land of Israel belongs to God Himself (Leviticus 25:23), but He chose to make a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:12-18, 17:7-8, 24:7), reconfirmed through Isaac (Genesis 26:1-3) and then Jacob (Genesis 35:9-12), that would include that piece of land as an eternal AND unconditional part of that covenant. Additionally, God’s gifts are irrevocable (Romans 11:29) AND while many other promises were made by God to Ishmael, the land promise was never one of them (Genesis 17:18-21).

For the honest person who respects the Word of God, the veneer of reconciliation and fight against injustice isn’t very hard to peel. Once that is done, it is easy to see that Christ at the Checkpoint is indeed interested in reconciliation, as long as by it they mean Israel’s unilateral apology for its “crimes” against Palestinians along with Israel relinquishing the “occupied” land of Palestine and further submitting to the regional demands by its Arab neighbors. As a one-way street, this has nothing to do with true reconciliation. A definition for reconciliation goes as follows:” The act of causing two people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement.” or “The process of finding a way to make two different ideas, facts, etc., exist or be true at the same time.” Reconciliation should be the act of getting two people or people groups–the Jewish people and the Palestinians–to agree through dialogue and compromise, as they find spiritual common ground in Yeshua and His salvific message. It must include mutual forgiveness, a mutual acceptance, and a shared desire to press on towards a common goal.

When one reviews the list of speakers for CaTC 2018 in Bethlehem, it doesn’t take long to find people who have for a while now, promoted a one-sided solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict. I am never interested in character assassination, so I would instead encourage my readers to visit the speaker’s page for CaTC 2018 and check out what these people have to say by cross-referencing previous messages that can be found on the Internet.

In the name of dialogue, CaTC had occasionally invited speakers that are from the Messianic Jewish perspective. This year, Dr. Michael Brown is such a guest. Dr. Brown is a biblical scholar with much integrity. There is no doubt that he can speak up and defend a biblical view of Israel and the Middle East. My doubts lie elsewhere though. I fear that Dr. Brown might have been invited to falsely validate a sense of fairness and authentic dialogue at CaTC. By his very participation, as needed and fruitful as it might be, he brings instant cred. Is it possible that the main reason why he was allowed as a speaker was to give the false impression of true dialogue towards reconciliation? When I see the rest of the speakers, I wonder! Dr. Brown needs our prayers as he will be like a gladiator singlehandedly fighting in a very antagonistic arena.

There should be another concern for genuine Evangelicals in search of real reconciliation in the Middle East. CaTC has expanded their tentacles outside of Bethlehem to have their first International Conference in Oklahoma City. Christ at the Checkpoint USA will be on October 15-18, 2018. Several of the Bethlehem speakers will attend, as well as many others. They claim that “The theme of CATCUSA is “Holy Land Realities and Our Response,” and it is the hope of the organizers to hear from our Palestinian and Messianic brothers and sisters about their daily experiences, and how the church worldwide can engage with them in a way that is helpful and productive.”

It has been very difficult to change the minds of CaTC speakers and organizers over the years. Is it worth attending such a conference and try to dissuade people from being so one-sided? I suppose there could be value in that, but I think that sticking to God’s view of Israel, Jewish people, the Nations, sin and atonement is more valuable. We are better off equipping those who are on the fence with a properly balanced biblical truth. Christ at the Checkpoint might possibly hope to find a solution to the crisis, but they keep inviting speakers, several of which I would consider being antisemitic. The CaTC virus seems to be spreading. Are American Evangelicals properly inoculated to resist it? I am not convinced!

December 28, 2017 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Antisemitism in 2017: A Year in Review! – Part I

Another year is coming to an end, and as expected, it isn’t too difficult to find antisemitic events that can be used to punctuate the last twelve months amidst our global village. The Jewish people continue to be the “Scapegoats of Humanity,” while Israel is still painted as the colonialist invader of “Palestine.” One more year of propaganda is only hammering the peg of anti-Jewish sentiment deeper into the soil of our planet. In this first part of a two-part series are some highlights from January to June 2017.

JANUARY: How can the UN both remember and ignore the Holocaust?
Every January 27, the international community remembers the Holocaust with International Holocaust Remembrance Day initiated in 2005 by the United Nations through UN Resolution A/RES/60/7. It is different from Yom Ha Shoah (Day of the Catastrophe) or Holocaust Remembrance Day that was initiated by David Ben Gurion in 1953 and takes place every year in Israel on the 27th of Nisan.

I am not sure why it took the international community 60 years to declare a day for Holocaust memory, especially in light of the death of more and more of the survivors in the last few decades and the push by many pseudo-historians to deny that it ever took place. Nevertheless, the UN recognizes the Holocaust. But there are two sides to that coin! United Nation’s webpage for the event has the following statement: “Denying historical facts, especially on such an important subject as the Holocaust, is just not acceptable. Nor is it acceptable to call for the elimination of any State or people. I would like to see this fundamental principle respected both in rhetoric and in practice by all the members of the international community”. (UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.)

But when we look at the UN’s role in contemporary antisemitism and demonization of Israel, one wonders if it applies to current events?

FEBRUARY: Will Donald Trump Make America Great or Unsafe for Jews?
Along with Donald Trump’s victory came support from a variety of groups that carry a very negative reputation such as Neo-Nazi and Alt-Right groups. Mr. Trump never endorsed any of these fringe elements but his opponents made the connection for him, and before you knew it…Trump was the new Hitler. If I have to explain to anyone why Trump IS NOT even close to being like Hitler, they probably don’t deserve to be told. Trump isn’t a violent dictator, he isn’t a sociopath, he has no intention of disarming America and he isn’t obsessed with destroying all those who do not fit his ideal racial profile like homosexuals, handicapped people, Jehovah’s Witnesses and of course 6,000,000 Jews. Hitler was all that. Hitler was pure evil. Comparing Trump to Hitler isn’t demonizing Trump as much as it is exonerating Hitler for his actions.

In the meantime, many Jewish people in America are starting to feel uneasy. 57 Jewish Community Centers in more than twenty states have received bomb threats in the last month. Then there was the man who plastered a Chicago synagogue with swastikas and broke its window, and those who wrote antisemitic remarks such as “Jews belong in the oven” on NY subway windows. Is Trump encouraging Jew haters to come out of their caves and spew their venom across America? Some really believe that, but I don’t believe that antisemites need to be prompted by a new president to come out and harass the Jewish community. They have done it long before him and will do it long after him.

MARCH: Switzerland strikes an unprecedented blow against BDS!
France–the one European country with both the largest Muslim AND Jewish communities–has also been involved in fighting BDS in the form of lawsuits against BDS activists. But what Switzerland just did was unprecedented. It was the first of all the European parliaments to pass a bill to prevent their country from financing organizations that clearly promote racism, antisemitism and BDS. In and of itself, this is a major breakthrough. In our age of over-reaching political correctness, it is a breath a fresh air to see a whole country stand against BDS, especially in Europe!What we shouldn’t miss in this bill is the fact that BDS is now bundled with racism and antisemitism equating the movement with the other two expressions of hatred. In essence, it claims that BDS is antisemitism, and it is!
The hypocrisy is obvious when you consider the fact that many other countries that have repeatedly violated human rights and are not even considered a threat.

APRIL: Ahead of his time, General Eisenhower was right about the Holocaust!
The voices of the Shoah are fading away, while the voices of historical revisionism are shouting that the Holocaust was either grossly exaggerated or simply didn’t happen. Its memory is in the hands of family members of Holocaust victims. But some people realized early on that the horrendous, organized genocide of the Jewish people had to be documented. One of these people was General Dwight Eisenhower.He caught the importance of documenting and remembering the Holocaust the minute that he walked into the camp at Orhdruf. As he visited this sub-camp of Buchenwald with Generals Bradley and Patton, he started to realize the magnitude of what he was witnessing and immediately wrote a letter to the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General George Marshall in which he said: …I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to “propaganda.” And yet, despite the commendable efforts made by Eisenhower and others, the Holocaust increasingly runs the risk of being relegated to some obscure corner of history, even worse…Some will soon believe that it simply never happened.

MAY: Do Jews Have a Future in France Under Emmanuel Macron?
Under Macron, we can expect political correctness to become the rule of law, especially as it pertains to radical Islam. We will probably soon see an influx of new migrants come to the “New France.” How will that affect the 500,000 French Jews, who have already started to immigrate to Israel in large numbers over the last five years? In the near future, it would appear that the Jews of France wouldn’t be at risk. After all, over 93% of French Israeli voted for him. But is it possible that they really voted against Le Pen instead?

Macron’s multiculturalism and globalism will do very little to stop Europe’s Islamist invasion. As much as Le Pen’s agenda was extreme in many ways, she did have the intention of controlling immigration. Macron might just open France’s borders further and allow for thousands of unchecked migrants. Once again, the French Jewish community is at risk, even if the vast majority voted for Macron. It appears that they were more interested in putting a bandage on France’s wounds instead of amputating the infected limb. Time will tell, but what do you really expect from a French president who claims “there is no such thing as French culture?”

JUNE: Will Nikki Haley Succeed in Reforming the UNHRC?
The United-Nations Human Rights Council is one of the many agencies borne out of the United Nations. They seek to defend human rights and yet they target Israel–a strong promoter and enforcer of human rights–as a violator. They buy into the Palestinian narrative on a regular basis. On June 9, 2017, during the opening of the 35th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights compared that Palestinians to Holocaust victims in a statement.

Ms. Haley boldly but not blindly came to the defense of Israel when saying: “According to Hillel Neuer of UN Watch, in its first decade (2006 to 2016), the council adopted 68 resolutions condemning Israel and 67 condemning the rest of the world’s countries combined.” She delineated the three reasons why she believed that the UNHRC is flawed: Bias against Israel, blatant double standards against Israel, and the fact that human rights abusers actually hold seats on the council. Her challenging the body of the UNHRC is courageous and necessary. It remains to be seen if the UNHRC can be reformed since many of its members are either Arab or Muslim countries that support the Palestinian narrative.

The second part of “Antisemitism in 2017: A Year in Review!” (July through December) will be published in the next few days.

January 15, 2017 By Olivier Melnick 10 Comments

The anti-Israel Paris Conference needs to be “Trumped!”

Less than a week before Mr. Obama walks into the sunset–or at least walks out of the White House– further damage to US/Israel relations is still possible. Beyond a shaky relationship that has been crumbling over the past eight years, Israel is a risk once again because 72 world leaders are being manipulated by her fiercest foes. They are about to meet in Paris on January 15 and decide on the fate of the tiny Jewish State. Like a thorn in the flesh of our global village, according to these leaders, Israel must accept and recognize Palestine for her [Israel] own good.

Neither Mr. Netanyahu nor Mr. Abbas will be attending the Paris Conference. Mr. Abbas isn’t interested in negotiations (nothing new here) and Mr. Netanyahu, while opened to negotiating, will only do it with no preconditions AND in person with Mr. Abbas. But the world has “a wonderful plan for Israel” even if it leads to its destruction!

Several ambassadors wrote a letter ahead of the conference, explaining why it is in Israel’s interest to accept a two-state solution and finally recognize Palestine. They are asking France to lead the way in recognizing Palestine, and this could very well take place on January 15 in Paris, UNILATERALLY.

Last December, in passing resolution 2334, the United Nations officially made the building of settlements in the “disputed territories” illegal and punishable by international law. Not all within the US government were thrilled with the US abstention that facilitated the passing of resolution 2334 by the UN. As a matter of fact, several senators are currently proposing that the UN be defunded of taxpayers money if they don’t reverse the measure. President Elect Donald Trump has also expressed his disagreement and has asked Israel to hang tight until January 20, 2017, the official date of his inauguration into office.

We mustn’t forget that earlier in 2016, UNESCO decided that the Temple Mount–one of the oldest Jewish site– biblically, archeologically and historically wasn’t Jewish but was a Muslim site. Both the UN and UNESCO (as a UN agency) joined by the current US administration are simply ignoring factual, historical truth. In a recent article, journalist Maria Polizoidou said it well,
“The US and the UN – both the Security Council and UNESCO – are not who determine what is historically true and what is not. These shameful votes should be reversed immediately; if not, all funding should be withdrawn from the United Nations, by United States and all freedom-loving democracies. They are now, to paraphrase the words of the Soviet Union’s Vladimir Lenin, ‘paying for the rope with which members of the UN will hang them.'”

The Paris Conference on Israel/Palestine without Netanyahu or Abbas will possibly lead to a vote in favor of recognizing “Palestine.” The two main countries that are interested in such a move are France and the United States (under the current administration.) President Hollande of France will be out in May and Obama will be out in on January 20th. Both are lame ducks and have nothing to lose. They both believe that their legacies would benefit from a declared state of Palestine on their watch. By the end of Sunday, the arrogant world leaders who chose to convene in Paris might have enough momentum to push forward yet another United Nation resolution on January 17, only three days before our new POTUS is sworn in. If they could only take these few facts in consideration:

• The land of Canaan was given to the Jewish people through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by divine decree in a covenant without preconditions as seen in Genesis 15:18-19: On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.” Geographically speaking the real estate includes much more than current Israel even if you add the Gaza Strip and the West bank back in. They might not believe that the Bible is a binding document, but they will find out soon enough that it is!

• The two-State solution isn’t an option for the Palestinians. Any map of “Palestine” published by the Palestinian side includes all of Israel “from the River to the Sea” with no room for Jews.

• Israel became a state on May 18, 1948 after being voted in by the United Nations and back then Palestinians didn’t exist.

• No other sovereign state ever had to give land conquered at war back to the enemy except for Israel. The territory gained during the Six-Day War isn’t to be returned unless Israel wishes to commit a geographical suicide.

The hatred of the Jews existed long before Israel was reborn. The voluntary or forced shrinking of the Land of Israel will never stop those who loathe the Jews from hurting them in the Land or anywhere else in the world. For anybody to think that Israel is the biggest obstacle to world peace in general and Middle East peace in particular is ludicrous. This is a false premise historically, geographically, archeologically, politically AND last but not least…Biblically. How could these 72 countries ignore the carnage in Syria, the ethnic cleansing in so many other parts of the world and the myriad of crimes against humanity committed daily, and yet, concentrate their effort on pushing the Jewish state off the cliff?

But then again, there is always a chance that the whole thing will get “Trumped” in a few days. President Elect Donald Trump has been called a “Nazi”, “Hitler”, a “Racist” and many other names. He has much on his plate and many opportunities to show his true colors early. He might surprise us all.

Am Yisrael Chai!

September 11, 2016 By Olivier Melnick 2 Comments

Get University Credits for being Antisemitic!

The sick American university system has just gotten a little bit sicker. Some will remember the glory days when places like Duke, Notre-Dame, UCLA, Yale, NYU were sought after institutions. They were so because they had a reputation for quality higher learning, an ethical academic staff and for being a fair platform for a balanced exchange of ideas without threats, criticism or xenophobia. Gone are those days!

It is a known fact that much moulding of the mind occurs at the College and University level. Students come in their freshman year with opinions somewhat formed even in their infancy stage and by the time they graduate, their opinions are solidly formed. American universities are more liberal than conservative and as such, their influence might appear to some as unfair, or biased at the very least. But this is America, “Land of the Free.” Free speech, free thinking and free press are very present on US campuses, and that is a good thing…at least in essence.

Unfortunately, all of this has been challenged lately by the rise of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanction) movement against Israel as well as the increase in what we can call Campus Intifada. Universities like UCI (University of California Irvine), USC or even UC Berkeley have hosted many conferences and events promoting the Palestinian narrative. The Muslim Student Association (a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood) and Students for Justice in Palestine (first established at UC Berkeley in 1993) are at he helm of this movement.

One would expect that a university campus would be a platform where a civilized exchange of ideas could take place. After all, it would be acceptable to promote the Palestinian narrative if Zionism was given equal air time. But it is almost always never the case. Pro-Palestinian speakers and lecturers are invited to spread their antisemitic poison, unchecked and unbridled, while the pro-Israel side is ignored, repressed, insulted and even abused. So much so that the Board of Regents of the University of California had to finally adopt a policy earlier in 2016 that links anti-Zionism to antisemitism. While we cannot honestly claim that anti-Zionism is always antisemitism cloaked in social justice, it is often the case. A healthy criticism of Zionism has the right to exist in any democracy, but not at the expense of the Jewish people or the Jewish students opposing it. But when it comes to Israel and Palestine, most of the world is guilty of using their own set of double standards.

I applaud the Board of Regents new policy. It was needed and will hopefully encourage other US campuses to follow suit. That is of course if it is properly enforced and judging by the latest class offered at UC Berkeley in the Fall of 2016, it seems to be hardly the case. Dr. Hatem Bazian (affiliated with American Muslims for Palestine) is sponsoring the class titled: Palestine: A Settler Colonial Analysis. The course description remains vague, yet its foundation will undoubtedly be a shaky mix of historical revisionism and antisemitic narrative. Reading requirements from people like Ilan Pappé, will obviously tip the scale towards the Palestinian side. As a matter of fact, instead of looking a both sides of the Middle East crisis academically and ethically–two words that once would have been redundant within the same sentence–the class syllabus is pretty much a shameful piece of Palestinian propaganda.

Based on the false assumption that Palestinians have been in the Land of Israel for centuries, the class will most certainly paint Israel as the colonizing invader who doesn’t belong. This argument is easily debunked if one is interested in factual history. But this is hardly the case anymore. It seems that all parties interested in the pro-Palestinian narrative are really more interested in the anti-Israel agenda, wherever that will lead them. At the end of the day, if an antisemitic agenda leads one to choose camps that are less than ethical and possibly lethal to Israel…it will be a small price to pay.

So it is fair to say that being pro-Palestinian might be more of a by-product of being anti-Zionist than a just cause in and of itself, and this definitely qualifies as antisemitism. Starting in the fall of 2016 at UC Berkeley, you will even be able to get university credits for it!

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