"Palestinian Suffering Is Caused by Very Existence of Israel"

-Miko Peled

Miko Peled, the feisty little ex-Israeli who now lives in Southern California and travels around absolutely trashing his birthplace for the benefit of various Palestinian groups, has written an article in the left-wing American Herald Tribune. (As you can see from the above photo, he is also a supporter of those imprisoned as a result of the Holy Land Foundation trial involving charitable funds that were diverted to terror groups overseas.) But that is another story.

Having previously seen this character's dog and pony show in 2013 at UC Irvine, where I videotaped it over his angry objections, I knew that he was solidly on the Palestinians' side. This latest article confirms to me that he doesn't even think Israel has a right to exist.

https://ahtribune.com/world/north-africa-south-west-asia/palestine/2114-antisemitism-zionism.html

"In a pathetic attempt to hide its apartheid nature, the Israeli government decided to ban members of twenty international human rights and Palestinian rights organizations from entering its borders. The list is so outrageous, black listing as it does highly respected human rights groups, that it even made it to the Washington Post." (Emphasis mine)

Here is the list courtesy of the Washington Post:

Europe

AFPS (France-Palestine Solidarity Association)
BDS France
BDS Italy
ECCP (The European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine)
FOA (Friends of al-Aqsa)
IPSC (Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign)
Norge Palestinakomitee (The Palestine Committee of Norway)
Palestinagrupperna i Sverige (PGS-Palestine Solidarity Association of Sweden)
PSC (Palestine Solidarity Campaign)
War on Want
BDS Kampagne

United States

AFSC (American Friends Service Committee)
AMP (American Muslims for Palestine)
Code Pink
JVP (Jewish Voice for Peace)
NSJP (National Students for Justice in Palestine)
USCPR (U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights)

Other groups

BDS Chile
BDS South Africa
BDS National Committee

Without going into detail on each of the above organizations, let me address the ones I know about.

BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions). Why should Israel allow anybody connected to BDS to enter their country? BDS is devoted to the destruction of Israel. I take particular note of Swedish and Norwegian groups. Those two countries arguably have more anti-Israel organizations than any other European countries. The names of these organizations make it clear where they stand.

In the US, we have Students for Justice in Palestine. Their tactics of intimidation and disruption have been documented by videos by many people and organizations across the US including by Yours Truly. American Muslims for Palestine, co-founded by UC Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian, is a financier of SJP. In addition, the curiously-named Jewish Voice for Peace, is solidly anti-Israel and engages in tactics of disruption. Then there is Code Pink, which opposes any and all military actions by the US or Israel but ignores the terrorism, death and destruction wrought by the Palestinians and their allies.

These are not highly respected groups. They are radicals. As for the American Friends Service Committee, they are misguided supporters of the Palestinian narrative. I could care less if they were given a Nobel prize. So was Yaser Arafat.

As for Peled's issues with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-semitism, here it is since I was unable to open Peled's link.

https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/node/196

Note: Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.(Emphasis mine)

Yes, there are some references to Israel which could fall under the definition. The US State Department's definition of anti-semitism is very similar when it comes to references to Israel. What the above statement means is that mere criticism of Israeli policies is not anti-semitic. Yet when Israel is singled out for human rights abuses while those of other countries, such as virtually all of her Arab neighbors, are ignored, singling out the one Jewish nation in the region could be considered anti-semitic. That is the reality of what is happening. The four "points" raised by Peled are a figment of his fevered reasoning.

"Israel does nothing to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians and any expectation that it will is naive or foolish. It is crucial that this is understood fully. Palestinian suffering is caused by very existence of Israel because it is a settler colonial project. No serious attempt to permanently alleviate Palestinian suffering can be successful without dismantling Zionism and freeing Palestine from the Zionist regime."

What about the suffering brought upon by Palestinian leaders like Yasir Arafat and the government of Hamas in Gaza? What is their responsibility? What is the responsibility of the Palestinians themselves, who have bought in with a policy of terror and hatred of Jews? When those Arabs who left Israel during the fighting in 1948 became residents of refugee camps, what was the responsibility of the Arab states, which left them in those camps all these decades? Now we are talking about children and grandchildren who were never afforded the opportunity to assimilate into those neighboring lands and make something of themselves. Meanwhile the half million or so Jews who were driven out of Arab lands at the same time frame found their homes, mostly in Israel, and assimilated. How much does the dysfunction of these Arab countries contribute to the "suffering" of the so-called Palestinians?

In my view, Peled is a strange duck who has a hatred for the country of his birth. I assume he is now a naturalized American, but I find it bizarre how one can so hate his country of origin that he denies its very right to exist.