Socialism seen as biggest threat to Israel at AIPAC by alexnazaryan
WASHINGTON—The first evening of the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, was punctuated by a rousing address from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who like several other speakers sharply criticized the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
Hoyer seemed to indicate that while Israel’s traditional enemies, such as Syria and Iran, remain as determined as ever, it is the rising antipathy toward Israel expressed through the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, that is the bigger threat. BDS, which seeks to curb Israel’s economic might, has found support on college campuses, as well as from celebrities such as Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters.
Inside the cavernous convention hall, the mood was just as pugnacious. Vowing to “defeat BDS,” Hoyer declared the movement “anti-American,” though he did not explain why this was so. Hoyer’s message matched the theme of this year’s AIPAC conference—which is “Together for Good.” The implication was clear: Insult Israel, and you insult the United States.
Yehudit Barsky, who works for the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism in Manhattan, pointed out that Israel has a rich history of socialism, perhaps best reflected in the farm collectives known as kibbutzism. She hoped that “more education” would wean the new House members off their suspicion of the Jewish State.
Ron Dermer, the former Israeli ambassador to the United States, went so far as to suggest that Israel might enact a boycott of its own by refusing to trade with certain countries. He asked the audience to imagine a world without mobile phones or certain medications, a reference to Israel’s vaunted digital technology and biomedical sectors.
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