In order to understand better the motivations and tactics of Israel’s enemies in Britain, David Collier has made a habit of attending events connected to BDS and similar movements. Here he reports on two such events, one in which Israel was “tried” and found guilty, and the other in which it was “sentenced”:
I witnessed the [“trial” phase] at a meeting of the Arab Organization for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR-UK). The group swung into action after the latest wave of anti-Israel terrorism erupted. For pro-Palestinian groups, the attacks are deeply troubling because they strike at the very foundation of their argument. These acts of terror, such as the stabbing of innocent Israeli civilians, are classic examples of anti-Semitic violence, . . . [m]otivated by religious incitement. . . .
Pro-Palestinian groups . . . must somehow replace the narrative of violence against Jews with a narrative of violence against Israelis, so as not to appear anti-Semitic. To do this, Israel must be accused of committing nationalist “crimes,” i.e., changing the religious status quo on the Temple Mount. This is precisely what the AOHR-UK set out to do. . . .
The next event I witnessed was a different stage of the process altogether. Having already declared Israeli guilty, it was now time to debate, publicly, a suitable punishment. . . . Unlike the first event, however, the audience was not predominantly Muslim. It was a mix of activists, anti-Semites, and a few misguided if well-meaning people caught in the gravitational pull of the BDS movement. . . . At this point, non-Muslims are welcome, because the rhetoric of religious incitement and the lies it fosters have already done their work. . . . This is no longer about what happened, who started it, or even where to apportion blame. It is simply about how to punish Israel. . . .
Now that the Islamist message has done its work, the left-wing activists can concentrate on humanistic messages of equality and universalism. Any opposition is shouted down as racist, uncaring, and inhumane. . . . Palestinians are presented as an oppressed group of radical atheist left-wing socialists with a universal vision of peace and tolerance. With a united front of Jewish non-Zionists, [always present at such events], and Palestinians attacking the state of Israel, Palestinian violent resistance to a “racist apartheid regime” becomes both inevitable and legitimate.
Read more on Tower: http://www.thetower.org/article/what-the-anti-israel-boycotters-are-saying-when-they-think-were-not-listening/