The activists of Occupy Oakland voted 135-1 to support the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement on Feb. 1, according to a report by the Jewish Week:
In a nearly unanimous vote at a general assembly meeting Feb. 1 at Oscar Grant Plaza, Occupy Oakland protesters voted to endorse a proposal in support of the BDS movement (boycotts, divestment and sanctions) against Israel.
The endorsement of the proposal was the first of its kind from any Occupy movement in the United States — and a decision that, though mainly symbolic, may have alienated many of the Jews who have made an effort to maintain a visible Jewish presence at Occupy Oakland since its beginnings, including members of the Occupy Bay Area Jewish Contingent.
The Jewish Week attempts to describe the Occupy Oakland protest as different, and more radical, than other parts of the Occupy movement. While it is true that Occupy Oakland has been more violent than other Occupy protests, violence and crime are widespread throughout the movement, and animosity toward Israel and/or Jews is hardly an anomaly.
The BDS effort is based on the false notion that Israel is an “apartheid” state like South Africa, and aims to force the retreat–or collapse–of the Israeli state through international isolation.
BDS remains a marginal project, confined to the most radical left-wing extreme of the political spectrum. It does not offer equal (if any) criticism of egregious human rights abuses in Israel’s neighboring countries.
President Barack Obama, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and the Democratic establishment in general have all embraced the Occupy movement, without criticism of its radical tactics or agenda, including its many instances of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish rhetoric.
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