 |
|
Before the Riots, Divestment Was the
Rage
By Fred Taub
November 16, 2005
 Make no mistake about it. The riots in France
are related to the campaign to divest from Israel, and in a scarier way than
you may imagine. Let's look at the basic facts.
The
divest-from-Israel campaign is part and parcel of the Arab boycott of Israel.
Divestment is, by definition, a boycott of investments. Divestment advocates,
along with the Palestinian Authority, are pressing businesses around the world
to boycott Israel, as evidenced by the push to have Caterpillar stop selling
products to Israel, and PA efforts to isolate Israel economically in Malaysia
and in other parts of the world. The Caterpillar boycott did not just include
products used by the Israeli military, but equipment used to build housing and
roads, as well; thus, it was an overall campaign to hurt Israel as a nation.
In the US, asking businesses to engage in the Arab
boycott of Israel is a direct violation of the US antiboycott laws, which were
put in place to protect trade with nations friendly to the US and to prevent
boycott efforts from being used to create de facto foreign policy, which
Congress affirmed as its role when passing the law. Divestment advocates made
Caterpillar itself a target by telling people Caterpillar is bad just for
selling its products to Israel. Caterpillar was not just asked to stop
investing in Israel, but more simply, to directly boycott Israel by stopping
all sales to the government of Israel and to Israeli businesses in general. The
Caterpillar campaign was started by the Palestinian Authority, which is
signatory to the Arab League boycott of Israel. If some people, therefore,
think that the divest-from-Israel campaign is not related to the Arab boycott
of Israel, they only have to look at the Caterpillar boycott effort to realize
it is.
Caterpillar has rejected calls to boycott
Israel because they realized, among other things, that refusing to sell
products to Israel based on information supplied in support of the Arab boycott
of Israel would be a direct violation of US import-export regulations. As such,
Caterpillar, just like other businesses and municipalities, such as the city of
Somerville, Massachusetts, has rejected efforts to engage in the
divest-from-Israel campaign. The divest-from-Israel campaign is illegal, and
Divestment Watch has outlined the illegalities in complaints to the US Office
of Antiboycott Compliance of the US Department of Commerce.
In France, not only has boycotting Israeli products
been pushed, but boycotting the products of Jewish-owned businesses in France
is prevalent. Synagogues in France have been bombed and Jews in France are
afraid to show any symbols identifying their faith in fear of attack. The
problem is so bad in France that rabbis have forbidden Jews from wearing
religious head coverings despite the fact that such head coverings are
religious mandates dating back centuries.
In
essence, French Jews are in fear, and have been in fear, of their lives for
many years, and from the same people who are now rioting in France. Some media
pundits have claimed that the riots are because of a lack of economic
opportunity, which is to say that people who refuse to look for jobs and
compete are therefore somehow justified to riot, which is absurd. First, we
have learned in the US that anyone in any ethnic group can build their own
future if they just try, and that can be applied in any country, including
France. Second, the French socialist society makes sure that even people who do
not want to work have everything they need anyhow; thus, they created a
disincentive to work. By subsidizing unemployment, France has just encouraged
it. France hands out all basic needs and these riots are the thank-you cards in
return.
Even if the economic claim was true, these
are not economic riots. The trigger of the riots is seldom mentioned in the
media. Two Muslim teens trespassed into a power substation and were
electrocuted. Muslims then falsely claimed that the teens were chased into the
power station by the police, who are therefore responsible for their deaths. In
reality, the teens illegally entered into a hazardous area where only trained
professionals are allowed. Yes, the riots are based on the false claim by
Muslims that infidels killed Muslims; thus, the riotous mayhem and destruction
is aimed at everyone whom Muslims call "infidels", specifically, Christians and
Jews.
One media pundit tried to claim that the
Muslims were burning their own cars and in their own neighborhoods. While some
in the media are clearly trying to cover the fact that Muslims are specifically
rioting against non-Muslims, the claim that Muslims were targeting their
co-religionists has been quickly shot down, and rightfully so. The riots in
France are simply Muslims attacking non-Muslims, the same way Muslim
governments sanction oppression of non-Muslims in their countries under Islamic
laws.
And what was the response from France? Not
much. Then again, what should we expect from the same country that taught its
children not to fight for any reason and as a result, stood by and watched as
the Nazis were marching into Paris. These days, France stood up for Saddam
Hussein, but Jews in France are scared to even say they are Jewish. The French
still teach non-resistance to violence, and we see the results of that policy
here again today.
Forgetting the lack of response
and action by France to stop the riots, these riots are an outgrowth of the
spread of the Arab boycott of Israel, of the divest-from-Israel campaign. The
riots were simply a next phase after a lack of response from French citizens to
stop bigotry. The Muslim Arab anti-Semitic attacks in France started with
boycotts, then came small attacks, then bigger attacks, then the divestment
campaign, then even bigger attacks, and now, riots. What does each stage of
these anti-Semitic campaigns have in common? The answer is the lack of response
from the French people and the French government to stop the attacks. By
keeping silent, the French sent a message of approval and complacency, which
only led to the escalation of violence as we see in the Muslim riots in France.
Rioting is a far cry from peaceful protest. Rioters
simply do not care about the property or safety of others or about peaceful and
friendly relations with others. Rioting is a selfish act of hate. No one can
ever claim that rioting can ever bring peace. Allowing riots to go on for
weeks, as the French government did, is tantamount to acceptance of the
rioters' destruction, if not their mission. France should have taken immediate
action to stop the riots when they first began, and because they didn't, the
riots intensified. This is a direct result of the non-response by the French
government, which lead to more rioting and to a virtual sense of permission to
continue rioting, because nobody was stopping it or cared to stop it.
The divest-from-Israel campaign is simply a weapon
in the arsenal of hate that preceded the riots in France. In order to achieve
peace, there needs to be economic cooperation, and the goal of divestment and
boycott is to end all economic cooperation. Israel has peace with Jordan and
that peace is based on the free trade between the two countries. By advocating
divestment, one is by definition anti-peace. There is simply no way one can
claim divestment and boycott will bring peace, especially when the same Arab
countries that enforce the Arab boycott of Israel refuse to have any peace with
Israel, and when countries that have peace with Israel have open trade with
Israel. Peace and economic cooperation go hand in hand.
Is there a connection between the divest-from-Israel
campaign and the riots in France? Absolutely. These riots are divestment gone
wild. If we ever want to see peace in the Middle East, it has to come with free
and open trade. The next time you see so called 'peace activists' advocating
the divest-from-Israel campaign, call them what they really are - call them
hate- and war-mongers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
©2007 Light Unto Nations .org |
|
