I
s the Boycott, Divestment,
Sanctions (BDS) movement,
which calls for economic, cul-
tural and academic boycotts of
Israel, just a way of punishing the
Jewish state for its policies toward
Palestinians — or is it anti-
Semitic? Well, let’
s ask the
experts — Germany.
The German parliament last week
forcefully and overwhelmingly con-
demned BDS, likening its tactics
and methods to “Nazi-era cam-
paigns targeting Jewish businesses
in Germany.”
According to a report in the Wall
Street Journal, members of parlia-
ment were particularly incensed by
the “Don’
t Buy” stickers BDS affixes
to Israeli products. The resolution
opposing BDS stated that the stick-
ers “inevitably prompt associations
to the National Socialist Slogan
‘
Don’
t Buy from Jews’
and the cor-
responding smears on facades and
shop windows.”
Anti-Semitism is rising in Europe
and America. Groups on the left
and right of the political spec-
trum are finding common cause in
demonizing Jews. Media platforms,
ranging from the New York Times to
the Daily Stormer and Atomwaffen
Division, either subtly or blatantly
revive and advance damning Jewish
conspiracy theories.
There’
s a memorable line from an
advertising campaign touting the
investment firm E.F. Hutton. “When
E.F. Hutton Talks, People Listen.”
When it comes to BDS, there are
a lot of expert talkers who claim,
occasionally with hints of sincer-
ity, that a broad-based boycott of
Israel, its products and citizens has
nothing to do with anti-Semitism.
But when it comes to boycotts,
anti-Semitism and disastrous con-
sequences for Jews, Germany is
talking. How arrogant are those
who choose not to listen. ■
When Germany Talks BDS,
It’s Time to Listen
have lost respect for each other and rare-
ly engage in meaningful dialogue. This
led to a fractured Jewish community in
which we are more like rivals than broth-
ers and sisters.
According to Torah, we are all one fam-
ily, descendants of our forefather Jacob.
We are to love and care for one another
regardless of our differences. We know
from history that HaShem will leave our
midst if we dismiss His Commandments
and show animosity toward our fellow
Jews. This occurred prior to the Roman
destruction of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.
Because of the recent election to the
U.S. Congress of radical Muslim women
and left-wing activists, we can no lon-
ger rely on the Democrat Party for its
unconditional support for Israel and
Jewish causes. Anti-Semitism is brazenly
demonstrated by groups such as the BDS
Movement (Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions), Black Lives Matter, J Street
and If Not Now. College campus groups
like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)
and the Muslim Student Association
(MSA) instigate and promote violence
toward Jewish students and pro-Israel
speakers across the country. Our apathy
and indifference toward these groups will
only fan the flames of Jew-hatred.
As HaShem’
s chosen people, we must
set aside our differences, engage in civil
discourse and demonstrate goodwill
toward each other. The adage “united we
stand, divided we fall” is as true today as
ever before. Our love and respect for one
another will usher in a time of blessing
for all Jews and make us far less vulnera-
ble to outside threats and intimidation.
To quote Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, “…
Remember, God chose us as a people, and
it is as a people that we come before God
and before the world. The Sages said…
‘
Great is peace because even if Israel is
worshipping idols and there is peace
among them, God will never allow harm
to happen to them.
’
Go think about that.
”
The time for Jewish unity is now!
Michael S. Ginsburg
Southfield
views
8 May 30 • 2019
jn
continued from page 5
commentary
Why We Really Aren’t Debating Abortion
I
love men. I am the mother of the
most generous, caring son and the
wife of a man who has blessed me
with his devotion for 23 years. My prob-
lem is not with men. My problem is
with patriarchy.
Patriarchy is a system
of society or govern-
ment in which men
hold predominant
power and social privi-
lege. Like all systems of
power, patriarchy seeks
one thing and one thing
only: self-preservation.
Whether consciously
or unconsciously, the
people who profess to be pro-life are
primarily motivated by the desire to
maintain their way of life. I am 100 per-
cent sure that, if they could, along with
making abortion illegal, many of them
would vote to put slaves back in the
cotton fields.
Their message is the same as it was
during the Salem witch hunts.
Their message is the same as it was
during Jim Crow.
Their message is the same it was
during the Anita Hill hearings.
It is as cruel as it is insane.
Yesterday, I was emptying out my
teenage daughter’
s leftover lunchbox as
she sat next to me in the kitchen watch-
ing the television show Once Upon A
Time. The storyline was about a beauti-
ful young woman who had been cursed.
“The only way to reverse the spell is
with a kiss,
” the narrator explained. And
who has to kiss her? Her captor. She
must make him fall in love with her,
kiss her and then she will be free. Sound
crazy?
Remember the story of Beauty and
the Beast? Belle is captured by a large,
overwhelmingly powerful, angry male
creature. He locks her in his castle. But
they fall in love, kiss and the spell is
lifted. I loved the musical. I saw it on
Broadway. But come on. No woman
in her right mind falls in love with her
captor. And captors are not knights in
shining armor in disguise or misun-
derstood beasts. They are characters in
a misogynistic mythology that goes all
the way back to the bible itself.
Think of our first myth, the myth
of Eve. Eve is the very first person to
have the chutzpah to take charge of her
body. She eats the apple and because
of this, Paradise is over. Forever. For
everyone. Yes, Adam is punished too,
but he is not blamed. Eve is blamed for
all the suffering that all men will have to
endure until the end of time. The need
to control women entered the matrix
of society as the most essential norm to
maintain the patriarchy.
This is the reason why we are not
really debating abortion in our coun-
try. The debate on abortion is almost
a distraction. It has so much less to do
with saving “unborn children,
” as it has
to do with controlling women, terri-
fying females and sending a message
to people of color. I do not believe for
a minute that the men (and women)
of Alabama and Missouri and Ohio
and Michigan advocating for abortion
restriction sincerely care about the lives
of all children.
Do you think that they are going to
protect and provide for the children
who, as a result of the new laws, will
be born from rape and incest? Do you
think they will include the mothers of
those children fully and completely in
society? Invite them to church picnics?
Don’
t be distracted by the conversa-
tion on killing babies in late-term abor-
tions. The fine white folk who are trying
to overturn Roe Vs. Wade don’
t really
care about “unborn babies.
” They really
care about maintaining power. They
care about money and privilege and
staying in charge, especially of women.
We must see them for who they really
are: Predators whose worst nightmare is
powerful women with self-esteem. ■
Tamara Kolton is an independent rabbi in the
Detroit community and the author of the upcom-
ing book, Oranges For Eve: My Brave, Beautiful,
Badass Journey to the Feminine Divine.
Rabbi Tamara
Kolton, Ph.D.
Corrections:
• In “Water is Life” (page 22, May 23),
it should have said the concert will start
at 4 p.m. June 4 at Congregation Shir
Tikvah in Troy.
• In “Politically Active” (page 34, May
23), Contributing Writer Esther Allweiss
Ingber should have gotten a co-byline.
• In “Broadway Bound” (page 106, May
23), Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish is
extended through January 2020 at Stage
42; Michael Yashinsky rejoined the cast.
editorial