Opinion
A MIX OF IDEAS
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Dry Bones MIRE SHOCK
Editorial
Counter The Hate
I
srael Apartheid Week has become a force
to be reckoned with in the anti-Israel
wars. To ignore or downplay the annual
event is to misread the long-range impact of
the organizers of this specter of hate.
The event is a spotlight time to ridicule
and even abuse Jews on campuses of
higher education across North America.
Observers say what once was considered
anti-Zionist rhetoric has morphed into
unadulterated anti-Semitism.
This year's "week" of Jew-bashing is set
for March 1-14, the exact week to be deter-
mined by each local campus sponsor. Pro-
Palestinian groups will rally in 40 cities;
the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
is always a hotbed; Wayne State University
in Detroit also has been targeted.
To heighten awareness of this discon-
certing trend, a seven-minute condensed
version of the 40-minute documentary
Crossing the Line: The Intifada Comes to
Campus will be available at no charge
beginning Monday on the film's Web
site www.campusintifada.com . The film
explores the rising tide of anti-Jewish sen-
timent on our campuses.
It's a film that Jewish student groups
should go out of their way to view.
Imagine Productions, a New York
nonprofit that produces multimedia
educational tools on Israel and Jewish
issues, made the film to spread concern
about campus dangers not only for Jewish
students, but also others who support
Zionism. The film's thrust is based on
Jewish Agency for Israel Chairman Natan
Sharansky's assertion that Israel is dele-
gitimized and demonized — and judged
by a different, hate-filled standard.
Israel Apartheid Week, now into its sixth
year, has proven itself to be the primary
outlet for anti-Semitism and all of its
ugly manifestations on campus, including
physical assault.
"Israel Apartheid Week 2010 takes place
following a year of incredible successes
for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
(BDS) movement on the global level.
Lectures, films and actions will highlight
some of these successes along with the
many injustices that continue to make
BDS so crucial in the battle to end Israeli
Apartheid:' reads the Web site www.apart-
heidweek.org.
"Behind a veil of criticism of Israeli
Don't Rely On CAIR
Washington
T
he Council on American-Islamic
Relations was an unindicted co-con-
spirator in a major terrorism fund-
ing case. At least five then-current or former
CAIR staff and supporters have been jailed
or deported on terrorism-related charges.
Yet the news media often treat the council
uncritically as a civil rights organization.
After the Fort Hood massacre involv-
ing Maj. Nidal Hasan, USA Today (Nov. 9,
2009) quoted communications director
Ibrahim Hooper and identified CAIR only
as "a Muslim advocacy group:'
When five American Muslims from
the Alexandria, Va., area were arrested in
Pakistan on suspicion of intent to wage
jihad (holy war), the Washington Post (Dec.
12, 2009) reported without context that "two
major groups — the Muslim Public Affairs
Council and the Council on American-
Islamic Relations — said this week that
they would launch counter-radicalization
programs aimed at young people."
The same day, National Public Radio
introduced a segment with Hooper about
the Americans arrested in Pakistan by allud-
ing to something more:"... It's important to
note that there's been a contentious relation-
ship between CAIR and the FBI in recent
policies, professors, teach-
ing assistants and other
university authorities are
putting Jewish students at
risk," says Wayne Kopping,
director of Crossing the
Line.
The film is a byprod-
uct of Jewish students
knowing accusations cast
against Israel are rooted in
lies, exaggeration or decep-
tion, but not knowing how
to react confidently and
definitively. This is why
students must be empow-
ered through education
and knowledge — and
the will to care about their
religious identity. Kopping
says this is the only
solution to the growing epidemic of anti-
Semitism on campus.
The film's Web site also taps into
an exclusive online crash course from
JerusalemOnlineUniversity.com to serve
up facts about Israel and its conflict with
the Palestinians. The coursework will
involvement with the Islamic
years." But details like the follow-
Assembly of North America.
ing were absent:
IANA was suspected of aiding
• In 2009, Ghassan Elashi
sheiks opposed to the Saudi
and Shukri Abu Baker, Holy
Arabian government and linked
Land Foundation for Relief
to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin
and Development founding
Laden. Khafagi pled guilty to
members, once America's larg-
visa
and bank fraud charges
est Muslim charity, were each
and was deported.
sentenced to 65 years in prison
• Rabih Haddad, once a CAIR
in a federal case charging HLF
fundraiser,
was arrested on ter-
Eric
with funneling more than
rorism-related
charges. In 2002,
Rozenman
$12 million to Hamas. llamas
the
U.S.
Treasury
designated the
Special
— the Palestinian Islamic
Global
Relief
Foundation,
which
Commentary
Resistance Movement — is
he
co-founded,
as
a
terrorist-
responsible for the murders of
financing organization. He was deported.
hundreds of Israelis. Elashi was a founder
In 2009, members of the Somali immi-
of CAIR's Texas chapter and had been con-
grant
community in Minneapolis protest-
victed in a 2004 llamas-related case.
ed
at
a
CAIR ice cream social, alleging that
• Mousa Abu Marzook, a one-time CAIR
the
group
had discouraged local Somalis
official, was designated by the U.S. govern-
from
cooperating
with the FBI. The bureau
ment in 1995 as a"terrorist and llamas lead-
was
investigating
the disappearance of
er." He now helps direct llamas from Syria.
at
least
20
young
Somali-American
men,
• Randall Royer, CAIR's former civil
who
reportedly
traveled
to
Somalia
to
rights coordinator, began serving a 20-
wage jihad against the U.N.-supported
year federal sentence in 2004 411101ping
transitional government.
Al Qaida and the Taliban fight U.S. troops
In 2006, CAIR reached an out-of-court
in Afghanistan and recruiting for Lashkar
settlement
with a Web site called anti-cair-
e-Taiba, the jihadi network blamed for the
.
The
agreement seemed to let stand
net.org
2008 Mumbai massacres.
three
of
five
original
anti-CAIR daims: that
• Bassem Khafagi, CAIR's former com-
the
group
was
founded
by llamas mem-
munity relations director, was arrested for
DryBones.com
allow students to acquire the wherewithal
to proudly rise up as advocates for Israel,
which is more important than ever, given
that the Jewish state is the most-hated
nation in the world.
❑
Please share your thoughts online: thejewish-
news.com/community. Go to Israel News.
bers, was founded by Islamic terrorists and
was funded by llamas supporters.
In 2000, CAIR attacked Children of
Abraham: An Introduction to Islam for
Jews, co-authored by Professor Khalid
Duran. The council reportedly claimed
that the book, part of an American Jewish
Committee series on interreligious under-
standing and praised by the crown prince
of Jordan, tarnished Islam's image. Shortly
after, Sheik Abd Al-Munim Abu Zant, of
Jordan's extremist Islamic Action Front,
called for Duran's "blood to be shed."
CAIR co-founders Omar Ahmad and
Nihad Awad, the council's current execu-
tive director, had been members of the
Islamic Association for Palestine. Other
IAP founders included Abu Marzook of
Hamas and Sami al-Arian, the former
University of South Florida professor who
pled guilty to raising money for and sup-
porting Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Islamic
Jihad, like Hamas, is designated by the U.S.
government as a terrorist organization.
When reporters turn to CAIR as a cred-
ible source on Islam in America, readers,
listeners and viewers should ask why.
❑
Eric Rozenman is Washington director of
CAMERA/Committee for Accuracy in Middle
East Reporting in America (www.camera.org ).
N
February 11 • 2010
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