[Peace-discuss] Bend the Arc

Sat Jul 7 02:34:23 UTC 2018

So glad to hear that Stuart, not that its changed my mind regarding BTA. However, I do applaud them for doing good things, especially going ahead and organizing a second anti-ICE rally. I hope they, and or others continue to do so.

Never mind that they backed out of working with us because some of us are socialists, you’re not a socialist so that probably doesn’t bother you, I am, so it does, and I was curious over their perceived concern that  “someone might mention Palestine.”

The article David Green posted from Mondoweiss, does explain, their separation of foreign policy from domestic.

On Jul 6, 2018, at 19:15, stuartnlevy <stuartnlevy at gmail.com<mailto:stuartnlevy at gmail.com>> wrote:

I think Bend the Arc has been doing some good work.  It doesn't bother me that they didn't cosponsor the Drury Inn demonstration but instead worked on another very successful demonstration in support of just immigration - as they had also done during the winter.   It doesn't bother me that they don't also address all the issues that I think are important.

 -- Stuart

-------- Original message --------
From: Karen Aram via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>>
Date: 7/6/18 18:01 (GMT-06:00)
To: Robert Naiman <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org<mailto:naiman at justforeignpolicy.org>>
Cc: "Peace-discuss List (peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>)" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>>
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Bend the Arc

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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