This past summer, proponents of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) once again promoted a resolution before the Cambridge City Council, that was designed to encourage divestment from a company with ties to Israel. The bill purported to promote human rights. Working with colleagues from ADL and JCRC, however, AJC succeeded in exposing the true intentions behind the legislation.
While purporting to advance human rights, the apparent purpose of Policy Order 129, introduced by Councilor Quinton Zondervan, was to tie a Cambridge based subsidiary of an Israeli company, Elbit Systems, to human rights abuses in the Philippines. This was a classic case of misinformation parading as fact. The Cambridge affiliate did not work in the Philippines. Even more concerning, research by AJC established that there are several Cambridge based military contractors that are doing business in the Philippines, including major global companies like Raytheon BBN, Boeing, GE Vernova, and Rockwell Collins. However, none of these major corporations were mentioned in the resolution.
This was the third time that anti-Israel advocates have attempted to turn the Cambridge City Council into a forum for transmitting their toxic views on Israel. Through our advocacy and with the courageous support provided by Cambridge City Councilor Patty Nolan, the language that sought to demonize Israel was removed from the resolution. We are mindful, however, that anti-Israel organizations are perpetually looking for new ways to demonize the world’s Jewish state. And this prompts a question that calls for an answer.
There are no rallies for the Uyghur in China, the Kurds in Turkey, or the women of Iran. In a world filled with scores of tragic and intractable conflicts, why is it that the world’s only Jewish state has become the magnet for the moral imagination of its critics? And why does Israel inspire a degree of opprobrium assigned to no other country?
Photo Credit and Usage License: Thomas Steiner
