[Peace-discuss] Bend the Arc

Fri Jul 6 23:36:17 UTC 2018

Bob

Okay, be an asshole, reject my offer of “peace and reconciliation” and I will be happy to continue to uncloak you for the lying “paid by the Democrat Party, dirty trickster” that you are. You have forced me to remember your lies and propaganda of Jill Stein, it is after all public knowledge, and as they say “a leopard doesn’t change its spots.”

And, your statement: “There’s a whiff of anti-Semitism about it: let’s pick on them because they’re Jewish,” shows again, what you are. Painting anyone who appears to be a gentile, saying that which you don’t like, as an anti-semite.
Again, I obviously credited you too highly, because thats a stoop so low……….

On Jul 6, 2018, at 16:18, Robert Naiman <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org<mailto:naiman at justforeignpolicy.org>> wrote:

I think that if you want to send the local BtA chapter to hell because they didn't co-sponsor this one rally, or you want to send BtA to hell because they don't work on Israel-Palestine when they explicitly set themselves up as an organization that doesn't work on foreign policy so they could recruit Jews to work on domestic justice issues who would probably be bad on Israel-Palestine without having to deal with the potential consequences of that, you'd be practicing the same politics that you're denouncing.

As you know, we co-sponsored the Medea talk, even though it was co-sponsored by the Prairie Green Party, which I loathe because it gives a platform to Snarl, whom I loathe because he's an abuser who has been abusive to me personally. Nonetheless we co-sponsored the talk. We didn't pursue a policy of not co-sponsoring an event co-sponsored by an organization that gives the abuser Snarl a platform. We co-sponsored the talk anyway.

I expect that the local BtA chapter will do good things in the future that will involve cooperation with people who have different politics. I think that's more likely if they're not subjected to thoughtless and opportunistic attacks from the ultra-left. But in any event, there are much better targets, as I said before, organizations in this town that can be directly tied to Israeli government abuses of Palestinians. Why pick on BtA, when they have nothing to do with it? There's a whiff of anti-Semitism about it: let's pick on them because they're Jewish, even though, by their own account, they have nothing to do with Israel.

Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org<http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/>
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org<mailto:naiman at justforeignpolicy.org>
(202) 448-2898 x1

On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 6:01 PM, Karen Aram via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:
That maybe what you were told, but not what I was told, and as I said it wasn’t just about Israel, it was about the politics of many of the organizers.

As to BTA, I have no familiarity with them other than this one experience, and the article David just posted.

We all should be unifying, they had their chance as an organization, they chose not to do so.

I commend you, given our differences, for working with us on the Medea project in our continuing efforts to prevent further wars.

On Jul 6, 2018, at 15:51, Robert Naiman <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org<mailto:naiman at justforeignpolicy.org>> wrote:

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<http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/>
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org<mailto: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<mailto: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<mailto: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<http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/>
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org<mailto: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<mailto: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<mailto: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<http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/>
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org<mailto: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<mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:
http://mondoweiss.net/2018/07/progressive-jewish-justice/

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