Ann Arbor Quakers Put it to Josh Ruebner

Floating across our desk this week appears a letter to several top dogs in the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and Jewish Voice for Peace from the local Quaker peace group, Palestine Israel Action Group (PIAG). Obviously concerned about USCEIO and JVP’s recent ouster of Alison Weir, this letter asks for assurance that “USC and JVP’s investigations of coalition members will end.”

PIAG reports to their constituents: “PIAG is sad to report that US Campaign is unable to give the assurance they requested in the final line above. Policy Director Josh Ruebner stated in a conference call with PIAG that if any further group were to request the ousting of another member, US Campaign’s standard procedures would mandate that such a request be duly considered.”

Perhaps PIAG members in attendance last April when Josh spoke at the Quaker’s Meeting observed his dodge of a vital question from the audience: Does Israel have a “right” to exist as a Jewish state, and if so, on what grounds? Then PIAG members witnessed the removal of If Americans Knew from the coalition which makes up Josh’s group and are now, hopefully, catching on to the nature of Jewish Power within the Palestine solidarity movement.

Go PIAG!

Questioning the US Campaign

The letter from PIAG highlights US Campaign’s Common Principles, which stand “opposed to Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, all forms of racism…” yet the authors fail to ask an obvious question: Why, if the USC stands against all forms of racism, don’t they stand firmly against Zionism and demand the peaceful dismantlement of the Jewish-privileged state? After all, even the United Nations “Determine[d] that zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination” in 1975, and, in spite of being strong-armed by Jewish Power to revoke the resolution in 1991, the UN never “determined” that Zionism was not a form of racism. A slight, but salient detail we think…

Last Reminder: Eat-a-Cheeseburger Day Wednesday

Readers are reminded that this writer will host a gathering Wednesday September 23 at 4:00pm for a celebration of the 6th Annual Bill Henry International Eat-a-Cheeseburger Day. Please call ahead or email your plans to attend so the correct amount of cheeseburgers may be grilled. And wherever Wednesday finds you, hoist a burger for Bill.

Correction

In last week’s report we mistakenly identified Alan Haber as one of the architects of the purge of the Middle East Task Force. He was not. We apologize for this error and hope that our rash conclusion did not do any harm.

Comments?

Seven vigilers
Henry Herskovitz
Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends
Challenging Jewish Power since 2003
#