[Peace-discuss] Bend the Arc

Fri Jul 6 22:51:17 UTC 2018

It wasn't just that 'mention of “Palestine" might come up'. A number of
people in the group objected to specific things that they feared
"anti-Israel" people would say and they didn't want to be associated with
that.

Full disclosure: I'm not quite a member, but sort of a lurker on the
outskirts of the local BtA chapter. I'm trying to encourage them to do good
things and not do bad things, within the ambit of what is realistic for
them to do and not do.

I encouraged them to co-sponsor the anti-ICE demo on the basis of a
specific agreement about what would and wouldn't happen in the demo rather
than have a blanket policy of not participating in a demo co-sponsored by
SJP. A number of people were open to that, and I actually thought that
position might win out. Then I found out that they had decided not to
participate, following some conversations that I didn't see that I think
involved national BtA staff. So I don't completely know what happened with
that.

I don't endorse the politics of many of their members. But I'm against
bashing them as a group for stuff that is outside their remit as a group,
as they understand it. Indeed, I've been encouraging them to stay out of
Israel politics, consistent with the national BtA line, because I know that
if they got involved in Israel politics  their positions would be bad. If
you want to attack Jewish communal institutions that actively support
Israeli government violations of Palestinian human rights, that's a
target-rich environment, there's a very long list. I don't see what the
utility for Palestinians of bashing BtA is. Perhaps it serves some other
objective. But picking on BtA isn't going to stop a single Palestinian
house from being knocked down.

If you think you know more about this than I do, bring it on. You don't,
and I've got all day, and the next day, and the day after that.

Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
(202) 448-2898 x1

On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 5:26 PM, Karen Aram via Peace-discuss <
peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:

> Because Bend the Arc, backed out of working with socialist/ Marxist groups
> on the rally opposing ICE we had at the Drury Inn, on the 23rd, we had over
> 300 people. They feared mention of “Palestine" might come up.
>
> That may not bother you Bob, but you didn’t back out of co-sponsoring
> Medea’s presence here even though association with socialists took place.
> You looked at the “bigger picture”, rather than petti politics.
>
> Yes, BTA did do their own rally on the 30th, though it would have been
> better had we been united.
>
> Also, these good things people do for their communities, and immigrants,
> isn’t a real solution.
>
> A real solution would be to stop creating the immigrants, who should be
> referred to as “refugees,” because that is what they are, refugees fleeing
> US wars and interventions, sanctions, NAFTA and crime.
>
> Attempts to keep the American people ignorant of the connection between
> foreign policy and domestic, supports and continues the killings and
> destruction.
>
>
>
> On Jul 6, 2018, at 15:15, Robert Naiman <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org>
> wrote:
>
>
> The link works for me now.
>
> BtA was explicitly set up to be an organization that works only on U.S.
> domestic justice issues, not U.S. foreign policy, including not Israel.
> It's foundational, it's constitutional, that's what they were set up to do
> and not do. There is zero possibility of moving them on this.
>
> From what I know of the local chapter here, if they took positions on U.S.
> foreign policy, their positions would be horrible, certainly no better than
> those of the Jewish Federation.
>
> On the other hand, they're very good on opposing anti-Muslim prejudice and
> anti-refugee prejudice, which are also things that need to be done. I also
> understand that some of them are working to try to get the Champaign
> ordinance allowing landlords to discriminate against ex-prisoners repealed,
> which is another thing that needs to be done. And which project, I
> understand, could use some help right now from people who live in
> Champaign.
>
> So, why not let them work on the things that they're good on, instead of
> picking on them and trying to bully them for not working on issues that
> they would be bad on, which there is zero possibility that they're going to
> do in any event?
>
>
>
> Robert Naiman
> Policy Director
> Just Foreign Policy
> www.justforeignpolicy.org
> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
> (202) 448-2898 x1
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 4:48 PM, David Green via Peace-discuss <
> peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:
>
>> http://mondoweiss.net/2018/07/progressive-jewish-justice/
>>
>> Yes, it's still there.
>>
>> Just to clarify, Bend the Arc is a national Jewish progressive
>> organization with a local chapter; it is criticized in this article for not
>> considering foreign policy, which is the experience that AWARE members have
>> had with it locally.
>>
>> DG
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 4:32 PM Robert Naiman <
>> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org> wrote:
>>
>>> This link doesn't work for me. I searched on the web and that link
>>> doesn't work either. Maybe they took the article down?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Robert Naiman
>>> Policy Director
>>> Just Foreign Policy
>>> www.justforeignpolicy.org
>>> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
>>> (202) 448-2898 x1
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 11:14 AM, David Green via Peace-discuss <
>>> peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> http://mondoweiss.net/2018/07/progressive-jewish-justice/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Peace-discuss mailing list
>>>> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
>>>> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
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>>
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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