RUTHFULLY YOURS

Cowardly Congress Won’t Condemn the Anti-Semitic BDS Movement

Why is it that almost every time the Left accuses the Right of some misbehavior or attitude, it’s actually something the Left is guilty of doing or being?

Take, for example, the regular accusations that Donald Trump is an anti-Semite. Forget the fact that his son-in-law is Jewish and his daughter has converted to Judaism. Those are minor inconveniences in the propaganda war against Trump. It truly does feel like the Left has a spaghetti approach at times: throw anything and everything up against the wall in hopes enough people are foolish and uncritical enough to accept whatever appears to stick.

Anti-Semitism is rampant on the Left. In all seriousness, people should be asking why Democratic leaders hate Israel and the Jewish people so much. They’ve embraced and nurtured anti-Semitism in the form of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

Democrats argue that the controversy surrounding the BDS movement is really more a debate over policy differences. Not so. The BDS movement is insidiously anti-Semitic, seeking to deny the right of self-determination and sovereignty to Israel. It is nothing short of economic war against the only Jewish nation-state in the world.

Founders and supporters of BDS claim they are all about freedom and equality. They are nothing of the sort: their ultimate goal is to annihilate and remove Israel from the map and they have been hoping that the world wouldn’t notice until it was too late.

But people around the globe are waking up to the BDS movement’s hopes for a “one-state solution” in which “Palestine” replaces Israel. Note what Germany did earlier this year. It passed a law in which it declared BDS an anti-Semitic movement and made it illegal for the government to fund any individual or organization involved in the efforts to boycott Israel.

Our Congress, on the other hand, is content to pass milquetoast, non-binding resolutions to address BDS. The House of Representatives in July passed HR 246, which denounced the BDS movement. While it was a feel-good resolution that passed overwhelmingly, it was a non-binding, toothless gesture.

Why won’t Congress do exactly what Germany did and pass legislation that clearly defines BDS as an anti-Semitic movement? Why won’t lawmakers forbid the use of taxpayer dollars to fund any individual or organization associated with it or to do business with any contractor or business participating in the boycott of Israel? Why not restrict foreign aid for countries participating in the boycott? Because the House is controlled by the Democrats, and the most outspoken proponents of BDS are Democrats.

The BDS movement, for nearly two decades, has sought to strangle Israel out of existence economically and politically. The United States can, and should, play a major role in confronting this anti-Semitic movement head-on.

We cannot stand by while our most trusted ally—and many feel our only real ally in the Middle East—is so blatantly and flagrantly attacked. Not all wars are fought with tanks and jets and missiles. Some are fought via economics, but it doesn’t make them any less dangerous for the survival of a nation.

We also should not mince words about those who support the BDS movement: not only are they anti-Semitic, many of them hold deeply un-American beliefs. That includes Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and others who not only support BDS but who also advocate coercive socialism in this country.

Yet what does House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) do in the face of their noxious activism? Almost nothing. There are slight slaps on the wrists, but no removals from committees, no real rebukes or denunciations. In fact, in response to Donald Trump’s pinning “the squad” on the sleeve of the Democratic Party writ large, Pelosi and company wholeheartedly embraced the anti-Semitic socialists.

Democrats at the national and state levels need to come to grips with their anti-Semitism problem and confront it forcefully. Many old-school Democrats are starting to realize they are in danger of being tarred as anti-Semites for not challenging the BDS movement. We should help them along in this discussion and force the conversation.

So, let’s have a vote. Let Congress debate a bill that declares BDS anti-Semitic for real and see where the Democrats fall. Granted, Pelosi would fight furiously to prevent any such bill from even making the floor because it wouldn’t be politically expedient in 2020. She can’t afford to alienate her base. But regardless of short-term success, the issue should be forced, not only because it is the morally right thing to do, but also because it is the politically intelligent thing for Republicans to do.

How glorious would it be to watch Democrats devolve into a vicious intraparty fight in 2020 over whether or not they’re anti-Semitic? Democrats likely would tear the party apart at the seams and help usher Trump back into the White House.

Content created by the Center for American Greatness, Inc. is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a significant audience. For licensing opportunities for our original content, please contact licensing@centerforamericangreatness.com.