The activism industry:Annika Hernroth-Rothstein
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=16807
Earlier this month, the visitors’ log of the Jewish part of Hebron enjoyed a boost as activists, largely American Jews, descended on the ancient Jewish city. Not as tourists to the Cave of the Patriarchs, or for contemplation or prayer at the Avraham Avinu synagogue, but to organize a protest against “Israel’s crimes” and to support the Palestinian community.
There was no mention of the fact that only 3% of Hebron is accessible to Jews and the remaining 97% is Palestinian, with a small area functioning as a military buffer zone, or that Palestinian Hebron has functioned as a terrorist hub for some time. The group’s main objective, according to their spokesperson, was to take over an old Palestinian factory, now part of the buffer zone, and turn it into a movie theater.
Some of the activists brought popcorn labeled “Cinema Hebron” with them as a prop to drive the point home. There were 45 American Jewish activists and a handful from various other countries. They did their best to provoke the authorities in the already volatile city, but while a few activists with Israeli citizenship were detained and charged with presence in a closed military zone and organizing an illegal protest, the others were merely banned from entering Hebron for two weeks and then permitted to return to Tel Aviv. No violence erupted, and despite a heavy media presence, the event could be considered a calm affair. At around 2 p.m. the activists left Hebron to go have lunch, and, according to their spokesperson, they have no plans to come back to complete the movie theater task.
The leaders of this pack were Peter Beinart, an American left-wing activist and self-proclaimed intellectual, and Amna Farooqi, the Muslim president of J Street U. The activists belonged to such well-known groups as J Street, the New Israel Fund and Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization that supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel. During the hours spent in Hebron, Beinart said he was very happy with what they had achieved that day and that he saw this as proof of not only the success of their message, but also of a “new leadership” emerging within the Jewish world.
Beinart has every reason to be happy and content, because he is a major player in one of the world’s most lucrative and trendy industries — conflict and activism. I have personally seen an example of this industry much closer to home, as my home of Sweden is also the home of the infamous Gaza flotilla, known as “Ship to Gaza,” involving well-known intellectuals, politicians and pundits far more concerned with an idea than with actual results. This is clearly demonstrated by their cargo manifest, which includes 10-year-old antibiotics, a few footballs, canned goods, a second-hand fridge and a generator — a considerably more humble contribution than the 700 trucks entering Gaza every day from Israel, carrying building material, food, medicine and clothes.
Add to this the fact that the activists essentially chose to stir up trouble — hopefully of the violent and media-friendly kind — so that they could call it a day and retire to Malta, as was the case with their last voyage, and it becomes evident that their trade is more about public relations than humanitarian aid.
Beinart, and many others like him, manipulate Diaspora youth desperately seeking purpose for their own personal gain, be it wealth or notoriety or both, and unfortunately their selfish gambit is being used by forces darker than themselves. It is well known that many of these organizations engaging in “anti-occupation activism” have partners in less than reputable groups — for example, the Ship to Gaza group worked with the Islamist Turkish organization IHH, and Jewish Voice for Peace habitually refrains from condemning members who voice support for both Hamas and Hezbollah. But by virtue of their Jewish origin, they lend much credibility to the anti-Zionist cause.
What is worse, though, is how terribly cynical it all seems to be. These groups, and more specifically their leaders, do not seek peace and definitely not conflict resolution. They thrive on being the faces of “conscience” and the voices of progressivism while showing little to nothing of either, and while they make lucrative careers in the activism industry, people on both sides are suffering from the activists’ need for exposure and fear of tangible political gains. So while they go on their much-publicized field trips to Hebron or sail to Gaza, these are no heroes or harbingers of truth — they are well-paid peddlers of conflict and any actual, substantive result would leave them out of a job.
Annika Hernroth-Rothstein is a political adviser and writer on the Middle East, religious affairs and global anti-Semitism. Twitter @truthandfiction.
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