Whisky, West Dunbartonshire Council And Fakes.

In response to the symbolic boycott of Israeli products by West Dunbartonshire Council some people are organising a boycott of Scotch whisky.

It all seems to me a bit petty, given that West Dunbartonshire Council doesn’t actually import any Israeli products. Certainly, they use technology which is derived from Israeli know-how, that includes but isn’t limited to Intel chips, Microsoft XP software and Kinect.

However, the Council and the posturing Councillors are hardly going to inconvenience themselves by really boycotting Israeli technology, lest it proves too troubling, like giving up using Google (their key search algorithm was developed by an Israeli).

As for the retaliatory boycott, well I am not sure it makes the required point, but Drink Business Review explains:

“FJMC Executive Director Rabbi Simon’s boycott urge followed after Israeli-Anglo blogger and pro-settlement activist, Jameel Rashid publicized on his website a letter to several distilleries located within West Dunbartonshire.

In his letter he stated, the global counter boycott of Scottish whiskey products, distilled in the West Durbanshire council region, is beginning, and requested officers to cease the purchase of any goods that made or grown in Israel.

The West Dunbartonshire Council, while it has not responded publically to calls endorsing a boycott of locally manufactured spirits, has defended the decision which sparked the protest.

The council’s boycott only relates to goods ‘made or grown’ in Israel. The vast majority of mainstream books by Israeli authors are published in the UK, and are therefore not affected by this boycott. “

The intense interest in this issue has revealed an exceedingly unsavoury side to the instigator of the boycott, Councillor Jim Bollan.

Bollan seems perfectly comfortable contextualising the decapitation of a three-month old baby, as the JC reports:

“”Violence breeds violence. Have you any idea what may have motivated this man [Awad] to commit this crime? Could it have been because he may have seen Palestinian children slaughtered by the IDF?”

Udi and Ruth Fogel and three of their children were murdered in the West Bank settlement in March. The youngest victim, three month old Hadas, was decapitated.

Responding to another pro-Israel activist, Mr Bollan declared: “Hamas was elected and are freedom fighters alongside the Palestinians fighting an illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel.”

Mickey Green of Scottish Friends of Israel said: “I’m not surprised he has sunk to this level. This is a man with pre-conceived ideas and a mental block to reason. He is functioning at a nasty, visceral level.“

Judy reports that the fake Gay Girl in Damascus had form, as, er a “anti-Zionist” or something like that.

Marko at Greater Surbiton points out the Guardian’s complicity in this issue, The Guardian’s disgraceful treatment of Jelena Lecic.

Over at Though Cowards Flinch, Carl has a superb post on Chavez, anti-Zionism, and antisemitism. It is noticeable how the thread is almost monopolised by a particular “anti-Zionist”, who is keen to quibble and nitpick on these issues, but he can’t see any anti-racism. Well, not when it is aimed at Jews, that is.

Finally, Tim Marshall has a provocative post, The ‘Arab Spring’ And The Conspiracy Of Silence:

“Across the Middle East from the Arab leaders you can hear the sound…… of silence. A similar sound emanates from many Muslim ‘activists’.

Take the most glaring example – Bahrain. The allegation, backed by human rights groups, is that the Sunni ruled state opened fire with live rounds on peaceful protesters from the majority Shia population, killed large numbers of people, then followed up with a wave of arrests which resulted in widespread torture.

The response from Arab leaders? In the Gulf, the 6 nation Gulf Cooperation Council quickly sent troops to assist in the repression whilst most Western nations, aware of the US military fleet based in Bahrain did little to upset the old order. Elsewhere, the Jordanians, Egyptians, Syrians, Algerians et al – just kept quiet.

During the Egyptian upheaval the House Of Saud was quietly horrified at how quickly the Americans let the Generals get their way and remove Mubarak. In private they let Washington know their displeasure, but to have complained openly would have been to do what you don’t do in the Arab political world in public (and to a lesser extent in our own systems) which is to tell the truth. “

Update 1: This is a thoughtful perspective on Tom MacMaster, the fake blogger, Understanding #amina.

A Thin Skinned SNP Councillor, The Middle East And Boycotts.

I was going to forward a good letter on West Dunbartonshire Council’s boycott of all Israeli products to the Council and Councillor Jonathan McColl, but alas they are blocking communications on Twitter.

They seem naive and thoughtless, to imagine that their actions would not receive a response, but worse than that they haven’t really adjusted their positions. Instead they have become truculent and defensive, which is a pity for the Scottish National Party, as it makes them look small-minded and parochial.

This letter from Pete Tobias‎ to Councillor Jonathan McColl of the SNP is well worth a read:

” June 1st 2011

Dear Councillor McColl,

I have just watched your video blog on YouTube and would like to apologise for the abuse that you and your fellow council members have received from members of the public who are responding inappropriately to your council’s decision to impose a (somewhat selective) ban on goods produced in Israel. I shall refrain from commenting on your interesting views how items such as mobile phones purchased in stores Glasgow owe nothing to Israeli technology, or how you seek to avoid any accident that might require you to receive medical treatment pioneered in the country you and your council seem to have singled out as the sole perpetrators of human rights abuses and atrocities.

Please allow me to be slightly more constructive and make some suggestions as to how you might restore the image of your council as a legitimate and sensible authority rather than appearing to be anti-semitic by focusing exclusively on the State of Israel for your ‘symbolic’ gesture.

Why not propose a motion at your next Council meeting condemning the violent and oppressive treatment of the Syrian people by their own government? And in case you think what is currently happening is an isolated incident, check this out: http://bit.ly/mBGcr9 . Worth a symbolic protest of some sort, don’t you think?

Or how about the Democratic Republic of Congo? www.savethecongo.org.uk. Darfur? Burma? Tibet? Sadly, the list of places in which human rights abuses are perpetrated by one group of people against another is a long and painful one.

As a rabbi, I have consistently found myself being vilified by my own community for comments that I have made criticising Israel’s actions. We are, after all, a people who are taught to think of ourselves as ‘poor we us’, as you so rightly observe, and how dare one of the Jewish people’s own leaders dare to add his voice to those who demand no less than Israel’s destruction? But when I do so, I try to balance my arguments (eg http://bit.ly/kLFUky , http://bit.ly/bYbSAI) – and I also recognise that there are other regimes in the world worthy of criticism.

That last point, I am afraid, is where your claim that West Dunbartonshire Council’s venture into international relations represents a genuine concern with human rights smacks of the anti-semitism that you seek to deny. Your council’s actions are unbalanced, are directed towards one individual country’s failings, but do not even try to take into account the numerous other human rights’ abuses that exist in our troubled world.

Councillor McColl, if you are genuinely concerned about human rights, and you genuinely want to demonstrate that West Dunbartonshire Council is similarly dedicated to such issues, might I suggest that you seek out one or two other causes to champion in your Council Chambers, some different human rights’ violations over which to make a ‘symbolic’ gesture? Otherwise, I am afraid, your protests that you are not behaving in an anti-semitic manner founder on the knee-jerk reaction your Council has made to one situation while ignoring numerous others.

I look forward very much to hearing that West Dunbartonshire Council has passed a resolution condemning the actions of the Syrian government, the Libyan government, the Egyptian government, the Burmese government, or any other cause of your choice. If you are unable or unwilling to do this, then I am afraid you are guilty as charged, and your position in singling out Israel is indefensible.

Yours sincerely,

Rabbi Pete Tobias”[My emphasis.]

Questions for West Dunbartonshire Council.

One of my readers, Penny, has some excellent questions for West Dunbartonshire Council:

“I haven’t time or space right now to pick up on every issue so I’ll just mention two statements that I found troubling and which I’ll post separately. I trust the councillor –should he read the posts – will see them as constructive criticism from one who has done the job herself.

In my opinion the following statement is very unfortunate:

“West Dunbartonshire Council remains committed to our boycott of Israeli goods and our resolve has only been strengthened by the torrent of vile abuse threats of violence against our families that has come from people who claim to be peace loving people.”

So, what has actually been said here?

There is no mention of Israel having exacerbated the situation that existed in 2009. Yet the council’s resolve has been strengthened. Why? According to Cllr McColl this is because the councillors have experienced a very negative reaction from some members of the public.

What a very bizarre way to approach policy!

Has the Councillor considered how this might be interpreted by residents in Dunbarton? Because what this position seems to be saying is that a) if the council votes on a contentious issue and that vote causes public protest, outrage and threats and b) this public reaction then results in councillors becoming hurt or otherwise emotionally distressed then c) those councillors will not only stick with their original decision but will strengthen their resolve to do so! This isn’t professional and it isn’t very democratic either.

A councillor is most unlikely to complete his/her term without some form of public disapproval. I certainly didn’t! But if a decision creates such outrage – and I daresay distress – then shouldn’t the councillors first course of action be to listen to the people, undertake a proper and professional review of the issue and do all that is necessary to maintain the good name of their council rather than viewing it only through a prism of self-defence and acting on that alone?

Reading the motion and listening to the video has not convinced me that there has been an honest and in-depth appraisal of the situation with further research undertaken. One would have thought that before strengthening resolve some consideration might have been given to Judge Goldstone’s retraction – which weakens the original case.

Given that this issue has been discussed on several blogs in the UK and has reached American sites, I would have thought that the best way forward would be to convene a meeting between the council and an organisation able to represent the Israeli perspectives. At least that way some academic information might surface and the council could be seen to be doing its best to understand both the issues and the outrage.

Furthermore, if councillors are receiving abuse/threats then such a move would go a long way to stopping that. Which is an awful lot better than going on the attack, sending out warnings and mentioning the police straight away. These types of actions are not the best way to shape the public’s view of a council and although the police take threats seriously, personally, I think it might be better to instigate other measures first in order to support police resources.” [My emphasis.]

Scottish Socialists Invoke Conspiracy Theories.

Reading this article on the Scottish Socialist party’s web site (reproduced below just in case it goes missing), I am torn between my natural sympathies for Scottish socialists and disgust that one of them would so blatantly invoke conspiracy theories to defend his comrades:

“The trial of the SPSC 5 protesting against a performance of the Jerusalem String Quartet
by Allan Armstrong, SSP International Committee – 25-1-10

Who are the Jerusalem String Quartet? Perhaps a quote from their Israeli state backers will give some idea.

“If one minute they’re in T-shirts and the next in ties and jackets, these days they can just as frequently be seen in army fatigues. Last year they were inducted into the Israeli Defense Forces and endured a month of basic training…
The Quartet now serves as Distinguished Musicians, performing for troops three times a week…
For the three immigrants {one member was born in Israel}, carrying a rifle in one hand and a violin in the other is the ultimate Zionist statement.”
Shelley Kleiman – World Zionist Press Service

Who are the five protestors? Kevin Connor, Neil Forbes, Vanesa Fuertes, Sofia Macleod and Mick Napier, all members of the Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) in Edinburgh, disrupted a concert performance of the Jerusalem String Quartet, at the Edinburgh International Festival on August 29th, 2008. This was a protest against the Israeli state’s barbarous treatment of the Palestinians.

Initially the five protestors faced the relatively mild charge of ‘breach of the peace’. However, a few days before the trial, last March, and without any explanation, the charge was changed, at the instigation of the Crown, to ‘racially aggravated breach of the peace’.

This followed stepped-up Israeli state pressure upon the British government to make it illegal in the UK and EU to promote the growing international campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), directed against Israel. The campaign took off after the Israeli savage attack on Gaza, between December 2008 and January 2009, leading to 1417 deaths, 1181 of whom were non-combatants, including 114 women and 313 children, and the continued denial of Palestinian access to the necessities of life. The BDS campaign models itself on the earlier successful international campaign targeted at another apartheid state – South Africa. As members of the SPSC, the five protestors were heavily involved in the BDS campaign.

Of course, none of the anti-racist protestors at the concert shouted any slogans directed against Jewish people. Last November, the defence was allowed access to a BBC televised transcript of the performance. This completely verified the fact that their slogans were directed solely against the Israeli state. In court, on January 21st and 22nd, the Crown shamefacedly withdrew its accusation that this had been an anti-Jewish protest. Amazingly, however, when the defence called for the charges to be dropped, the Crown still appeared to want to proceed. The case was adjourned until March for the Crown to make its case, before the judge makes a ruling in April.

If the Crown case was to be upheld, this would make any effective protest against Israel illegal, on the grounds that to criticise Israel is to attack the Jewish people (63% of whom don’t even live in Israel!) Theoretically it would also make protests against Chinese state actions in Tibet, anti-Chinese; US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, anti-American. However, much the current government might like the latter to be the case, this isn’t going to happen. However, it wouldn’t be the first time that blatant hypocrisy was enshrined in British law.

This highlights the ridiculousness of the ‘racially aggravated’ charge, made at the behest of Israel, one of the last states in the world with a racist constitution. It also shows the lengths to which British government will go to protect their murderous ally from facing any effective sanctions for its longstanding war crimes and systematic repression of the Palestinian people.”

I don’t think any socialist should be proud of being arrested on this racially aggravated charge, for attempting to attack Israelis.

I think it is even worse that socialists push barely disguised conspiracy theories, were they assume that the Procurator Fiscal’s Office in Edinburgh cooked up the charges “at the behest of Israel”.

I will let readers pick this awful article apart, but thinking on this trial should be worth following, if only to hear the nonsense arguments put forward.

(Hat tip: entdinglichung)

Update 1: More on the Jerusalem String Quartet.

Update 2: Edinburgh Evening News covered this story in August 2008.

Update 3: Adam Holland touched on these issue in July 2008.

Update 4: Engage provided some background to those involved in March 2008.

Update 5: Greens Engage on Thoughts from an SPSC (Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign) supporter.