Via Jutta Ditfurth:
The main concern of the anti-Semitic BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) is not to criticize Israel’s policies or racism in Israeli society, but to destroy the existence of Israel. In reality, it is not just about boycotting products from the occupied territories, as many people still believe. But: The only Jewish state in the world is to be demonised and delegitimised for as long as it takes to attain that actual goal: its annihilation. The BDS does not want a two-state solution, but just one state called Palestine. Only “non-Zionist” Jews will be allowed to remain in the new state; but as practically all Jews are Zionists in the eyes of the BDS, only very few Jews would be able to stay in Israel – only those who bow to the BDS and the organisations affiliated with it like FOR Palestine etc. Not only should the Palestinians who were really expelled return to the new state, but also their descendants, even if they have never lived in Israel. That would mean 5 to 6.5 million people. But Israel is only the size of the German state of Hesse and has 8.3 million inhabitants, of which 6.1 million are Jews. Israel would no longer exist. Even international law does not have an inheritable right of return.
Jutta Ditfurth
Current conflict: The Catalan party Candidatura d’Unitat Popular (CUP) [1] invited me to Barcelona in March 2017 to speak at their conference “International Conference: Sovereignty and Self-Determination. Political Change in the Euro-Mediterranean Region”. On 20 May I was to hold a talk at the conference and take part in a round table discussion; on 22 May I was to speak at a conference of the Fundacio Tia Salellas in the city of Girona.
The invitation stated: We would like you as a “feminist, radical ecologist and anti-nuclear activist, and as co-founded of the Green Party and of the Ecological Left … to elucidate your experiences and positions regarding civil disobedience as a non-violent tool of social change …. We would like to combine theory, analysis and practice … It would be a great honour for us if you would take part in our international conference.” The CUP is “non homogeneous” and wishes to “learn from other people’s experiences”.
Now I have been disinvited by email. The reasons:
1. We knew nothing about your “political positions and activities against the BDS.” … We strongly support the BDS because it opposes colonialist and racist policies. … We are against colonialism, occupation and discrimination, and the Palestinian struggle for liberation is a central and decisive issue.”
This means: Whoever criticises the BDS – i.e., does not contest Israel’s right to exist – cannot be against either racism, colonialism or discrimination. No other form of solidarity with Palestinians is possible than the adaptation of the strategy and interests of the BDS.
2. Furthermore, the CUP wrote, a representative of the BDS campaign was invited to the round table discussion and it was not considered appropriate that an anti-BDS activist should be included.
Obviously, one’s relationship to Israel is a dominant question for the Candidatur d’Unitat Popular. The supposed theme of discussion, my “experiences and positions as a tool of civil disobedience and non-violent social change” (invitation) combining “theory, analysis and practice (ibid.), has become subjection to the concept of the BDS. The feminist, radical-ecological and anti-nuclear positions are of no value to the CUP as soon as someone criticises the BDS. So much for the CUP’s claim to be “non-homogeneous” and to want to “learn from the experiences of others”.
[1] According to information published by the CUP, it has 10 parliamentarians in the Catalan Parliament and about 381 local councillors in Catalonia.read more
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