Ayoon wa Azan (The Ongoing Campaign against Protestant Churches)

Shaaban Abdel-Rahim, the Egyptian entertainer, once sang that “he loves Amr Moussa and hates Israel.” The way I see it, if Amr Moussa had as many supporters as those who hate Israel, he would win the presidency of Egypt, and Sudan as well. Today’s column is not about Amr Moussa, but about those who hate Israel – or to be more precise, those who reject the policy of occupation, racism, murder and displacement as practiced by criminal gangs that are called the Israeli government. If readers hate Israel, then they should stand in a line as long as the line for people heading in to watch the World Cup final. I remind readers about what I wrote in this column about the address of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the United Nations General Assembly in September, and how 80 percent of the member states applauded him, chanted, stood and cried, and how this was followed by the war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, who earned the applause of his country's delegation and his wife. However, today I would like to talk about the background to the ongoing campaign against American Protestant churches, and particularly the Presbyterians, for supporting the rights of Palestinians and condemning Israeli occupation. These churches have urged their members to take part in a campaign to boycott Israel, divest, and issue sanctions (referred to as the BDS movement). The American-Likudnik magazine Commentary and extremist websites backed by the pro-Israel lobby have led a months-old campaign against American Protestant churches, for their support of the Palestinians. They are focusing on the Presbyterians, claiming that the church’s members do not support the stance of their leaders, who are trying to de-legitimize Israel. I say that Israel has no legitimacy to begin with, since it is located on Palestinian territory. It will remain as such until the Palestinians grant it this legitimacy at the end of the peace process, since the United States and Europe have no power to grant legitimacy to Israel in a country that belongs to another people, who have been there for a long time. If the hatred of Israel and the rejection of its fascist policies were limited to one church only, then this stance would be due to religious duty of supporting the weak. However, the objection to the theft of Palestine from its people covers all segments of the international community, from religious figures to people in the realm of art and entertainment. On many occasions, this column has mentioned the names of bands, theatrical troupes and singers who have refused to perform in Israel. Today I will add the name of Jello Biafra and his band, who canceled a scheduled concert of theirs in Tel Aviv last summer. The singer then visited Israel and Palestine, as he said, and spoke positively about what he saw, although he noted the “crimes of the occupation” and criticized Christian Zionists in the US who support Israel and the settlements, believing that the “savior” will arrive to save them alone. In addition to the realms of religion and entertainment, we have the growing number of American universities with campaigns to boycott Israel. I admit that I would not have known about many of these student activities, were it not for the fact that I follow the pro-Israel lobby and the evil American-Likudnik gangs. These extremists monitor such efforts and end up promoting them as a result, without realizing it. Once again, if readers are opposed to Israel’s policies, they should form a line. They will discover that the evil cabal will not only accuse them of opposing occupation, murder and displacement, but also claim that they are anti-Semitic. It is a charge that has lost its impact, since it has been overused, to the point that no one believes it anymore. I believe that the two American university professors, Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, paved the way with their book “The Israel Lobby,” which caused a controversy that has yet to abate. People now say – without fear – that the pro-Israeli lobby has bought Congress and that American soldiers are being sent abroad to be killed in Israel’s wars. I do not forget Richard Falk, the special envoy of the United Nations Human Rights Council to the Palestinian territories. He is an honorary professor of international law at Princeton University, and should have been protected by his academic credentials from the accusation of anti-Semitism. Instead, the campaign against him continues because he supported the Palestinians against Israel’s imperialism. They even attack pro-environment types after Reverend Naim Ateek wrote an article describing how the Israelis deliberately pollute the environment in Palestinian areas. They wrote that this preacher heads a Christian center that is anti-Jewish. There are thousands of people like him, most of whom are unknown soldiers in the campaign against the enemies of humanity, and not just the Palestinians alone.