|
Trending Topics
|
Source: https://www.newsweek.com/human-rights-anti-semitism-beyond-partisan-divide-opinion-1549572
The Abuse of Human Rights to Promote Hate
(Newsweek) Gerald Steinberg - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent declaration on "identifying organizations that engage in, or otherwise support" boycott campaigns singling out Israel is an important acknowledgement of an unfortunate reality. There is ample evidence that the agendas of such groups and their impacts go far beyond straightforward criticism of policies, and venture into anti-Semitism. This problem has persisted at least since the 2001 NGO Forum of the infamous UN Durban Conference ostensibly on racism, at which anti-Semitism was very visible. I have devoted the past 20 years to researching and documenting the activities of these non-governmental organizations, particularly as they relate to Israel. Singling out Israel as the NGO forum did, referring to it as inherently racist, and denying Jews the right to self-determination are among the examples listed in the consensus definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Hyperactive NGO campaigns are filled with examples of modern blood libels and whitewashing of terror. Organizations which purport to promote human rights have repeatedly and obsessively singled out Israel for attack on social media, while systematically erasing the history of terror it has faced. The writer, a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, is president of NGO Monitor and professor emeritus of political studies at Bar-Ilan University.