Naomi Federlander: WHY JCRC IS RECKLESS AND IRRESPONSIBLE FOR DROPPING THE BALL ON SOMERVILLE

Naomi Federlander:

While Alan Ronkin proudly proclaims that JCRC is not going to drop everything because SDP plans another one of its campaigns,  as I connect the dots another truth becomes self evident.  Last year JCRC annointed itself the lead agency in the Somerville Divestment Project and kept all other players at arms length.  This year, JCRC is conspicuously absent from the local political scene because by forefeiting SDP they could embark on a national campaign with greater visibility, Darfur.  Photo ops for Nancy are the essence of life...This choice also spares JCRC from a major headache trying to explain how they could  justify their opposition to divestiture regarding Israel, while wholeheartedly supporting divestiture as it concerns Darfur?

Apparently JCRC doesn’t have time to deal with petty, local nonsense since they are now big players on the state and perhaps national and international scene.  But what they forget is what Tip O’Neill so rightly stated, “all politics are local.”  So while the Somerville Divestment Project is comprised of a rag tag army of key players that are united by their unadulterated hatred of Israel, they are making inroads into the local, state and national political scene.  How are they doing this? Through a symbiosis with the Green Rainbow Party [GRP].  The GRP, at the national level is thoroughly infiltrated by the Palestine Solidarity Movement, an arm of the International Solidarity Movement, and their sympathizers.  A cursory glance at the leadership of the US GRP in major cities reads like a Palestinian “Whose Who” playbook, a few examples ought to suffice: Muhammed Abed, Wisconsin Green Party,  author of US Green divestment resolution; Asantewaa Nkrumah Ture, DC Green Party, anti Apartheid campaign veteran; and Aimee Smith, though not Palestinian by birth certainly a full sympathizer by choice,  Smith is with the Peace Committee of US Greens, former GRP candidate for Cambridge City Council in 2003, has been a pivotal and extremely influential player working with and advising the MA GRP.  Against this backdrop, it is not surprisingly that the US GRP managed to enact divestment resolution 190 with ease, and in fact insisted  that the Palestine Solidarity movement must be led by those who reject Zionism.  At the fifth annual divestment conference of the Palestine Solidarity movement, the calls for boycotts by 170 Palestinian organizations were drowned out by demands for the full right of return, and demands for equal rights within Israel, and all participants agreed that “End the Occupation” was an inadequate slogan.  A mere accident of fate that these views are reflected in the party platform of US GRP and many of its State affiliates?

On the state level, the MA GRP under the leadership of Ron Francis has become radicalized and a single issue party obsessed with its hatred of Israel, Zionists, and inter alia, Jews, whom it variously refers to as “irrational statists,” racists, etc.  The nexus between the MA GRP and SDP is a simple one; membership between the groups is fluid and until very recently they shared leadership as well.  Ron Francis, president of SDP, was also  co-chair of the GRP. In an internal [State Comm] party communication, Ron Francis stated:
"...On connections between GRP proposal and Somerville divestment Project... My reason for wanting to get the Palestine proposal through has nothing to do
with the Somerville Divestment Project.  (By the way Adcom has already supported divestment...which was helpful and was done last november I believe).
My wanting to get the proposal through has to do with principle; it is my belief that our party, first and foremost must stand against racism.  I have a very difficult time with a party that can't stand up clearly and forthrightly against racism. At the point in the meeting that I was willing to have only ROR
[ROR=right of return; my comments] left in the proposal it needed to be passed immediately......Palestinians should not have to wait till the the next Statecom meeting to have our their right of return supported that is shameful.......To say that support for Palestiniand return has to be conditional on recognizing the ROR of some other human beings is absurd and close to racist in my mind."

Grace Ross, GRP candidate for Massachusetts governor wrote: "I did my best to facilitate the Palestine proposal -a topic area that we all know usually leads to a yelling match - And it was the hardest facilitation I have ever done. A few statecom members had already asked why the GRP needed such a statement, what purpose it would serve to pass this.  I was fishing for Ron to tell people - that if he had it, he would tommorrow be able to begin to use it to create significant political visibility in his ongoing campaign, Somerville Divestment Project.  This campaign like others the GRP could help organize is trying to get the City of Somerville to divest from companies in Israel - a replicable campaign that could begin to create a grassroots base in this country for pulling out funding for genocide. As Ron knows, I have been strongly in support of this type of work....I was fishing for Ron to make that connection for everyone - why it was both relevant and potentially immediately impactful to pass such a statement...."

Apparently not everyone at the meeting felt favorably disposed toward the strong aram tactics used to implement the pro Palestinian agenda.  Mike Heichman said, "...I apologize to the group for my silence during the discussion at the State Committee. I believed then(and believe now) that Ron's push for an "immediate" decision was inappropriate and harmful to our group. .....I "lost my voice" because I found that the dynamics were personally difficult for me. I am a "white" man and I have a hard time being "critical" towards people of color.   

These behind the scenes  insights serve to illuminate the fait accompli nature of the Palestinian agenda as it relates to the MA GRP politics.  The GRP has wholly endorsed the Right of Return and Divestment, any disagreements to the contrary, notwithstanding.

Parenthetically, you might also remember Ron Francis for his extracurricular activities.  When not teaching physics at Andover High School, Ron has admitted to recruiting and paying students from Andover High to canvass for him in Somerville.  He also proposed an “internship for credit program” in collusion with the AHS social studies teacher, for this young, captive audience.   Additionally, Ron acts as the unofficial 'advisor' to the AHS Middle East club he established, denying he in any way influences or brainwashes his young students.  Curious statement in light of Ron's position regarding the State of Israel  "...as to using the term 'Israel' for the land: it's not acceptable and acknowledges the legitimacy of the Zionist Project.” [Ron Francis]

Ron Francis has also been instrumental in getting a virulently anti Israel group, the Wheels of Justice which is touring the US, to come to Andover High School on October 27 and to Somerville on October 28, 2006, per the request of its organizer Mazin Qumsiyeh.  I wonder if the impending election, where SDP managed to place two non binding questions on the ballot, in Denise Provost's district, might have anything to do with the decision to invite this discredited "human rights" group, exposed by the ADL as being blatantly antiSemitic, to induce the voters of Somerville before the Nov 7 election to vote for the right of return and for divestment?

"Serendipitously,"  the GRP agenda mirrors the SDP agenda.  But the nexus doesn’t end there.  As the plot thickens, one uncovers a long, inglorious and incestuous trail between other pro-Palestinian organizations and the SDP/GRP which is compelling and concerning.  The New England Committee to Defend Palestine [NECDP], is a virulently anti Israel organization.  One of its co-founders, Amer Jubran, was deported from the US because of his terrorist ties and activities.  The other co founders, Lana Habash, M.D., writes "love songs" praising the Palestinian “martyrs” for their selflessness and heroism and effusively praises homicide bombers.  She, of course, is immune from charges of anti-Semitism, after all, she is married to a Jew, Noah Cohen, self hating as he might be.  Lest there is any doubt where NEDCP stands on Israel here are a few of its Principles of Unity,  “we oppose the existence of the colonial-settler state of "Israel,”  “we support the struggle of the Palestinian Arab people to liberate themselves from military occupation and colonial settlement in all of historic Palestine, “we oppose all forms of normalization with "Israel,” and “we recognize that the struggle of the Palestinian people is part of a regional struggle against US, European, and Zionist imperialism.”   

No mere coincidence, therefore, that under the bold stewardship of Dr. Lana Habash an invitation was issued last month to attend a fundraiser for Palestinian political prisoners, aka terrorists.  This marked the first in a series of such ignoble events.  Stay tuned for others to follow.  GRP, under Ron Francis‘ leadership was quick to spring into action by posting this invitation on its list serve making it available far and wide to all GRP members and their supporters.  In case your curiosity hasn’t been sufficiently peaked, guess who showed up for this stellar civic event with check in hand and merriment in heart?   MA gubernatorial candidate, Grace Ross, came to this fundraiser only a few hours after she made the rounds at Temple Emunah in Lexington posing unashamedly under a “Stand with Israel” banner, while trying to convince the congregants of her undying devotion and loyalty to their issues, causes and concerns.  Of course this fundraiser wouldn’t be complete without the presence of other esteemed members of the GRP the likes of Ron Francis and David Rolde [Rolde was secretary of the GRP until he and Francis were deposed the day before.  Rolde paraded around Boston pro Palestinian and anti Israel events this summer draped in a Quaffiyah and a huge “VICTORY TO HEZBOLLAH“ sign around his chest].  The theme of the evening and the message to come out of the terrorist fundraiser was that supporters of political prisoners ought to co-opt the “successful” Hezbollah model [kidnapping Israeli soldiers and using them as bargaining chips to release Palestinian and Lebanese held political prisoners] and implement this model far and wide, including here in the US to free all Black, Puerto Rican and other incarcerated "political prisoners," struggling against their oppressors!

The striking parallel in language, message and ideology between these groups [SDP/GRP/NECDP/onepalestine/BostonJericho/Boston2Palestine] to name but a few,  is self evident.  They exist as separate organizations but in point of fact they endorse each others agendas, participate in each others functions and provide the resources to implement their mutually reinforcing and congruous agendas.   It begs the question whether they are all funded from the same source(s), and whether this source exists outside the US?

So why is this story important and not just about a local "grass roots" effort put together by a bunch of losers, as one might think judging by JCRC‘s total indifference?  Because, while the local players are, on the whole, an unsavory bunch of individuals many of whom are quite laughable and pathetic souls, they form part of a larger network.   Al Awada, the lead advocacy group for the “Right of Return” of Palestinian “refugees” was established by Saeb Erakat’s niece in California.  As many of you may know, Saeb Arakat is a pivotal and powerful player in the Palestinian Authority.  He was Arafat’s chief negotiator and now has a role under the current Hamas/Fatah government as well.  Several members of the SDP had been on trips to “Palestine” sponsored by the ISM, not entirely surprising when you belong to or are a sympathizer of the Palestine Solidarity Movement, the US arm of the ISM.  The insidious and nefarious work of the International Solidarity Movement is well documented.  While the proliferation of organizations supporting the Palestinian cause may appear more numerous than they are in fact, since they all link on to each others' Websites, and many are spawned off of each other, they nonetheless merit a watchful eye. This proliferation creates an illusion of broad based popular or grass roots support for a cause, but it also serves to muddy the money trail and sources of influence, domestic and foreign.  Suffice it for a handful of strongly organized groups, interconnected financially and politically,  to cause extensive harm. Especially when they are aided and abetted by perhaps well intentioned and poorly informed associates like the First Congregational Church in Cambridge, acting as host and home to the SDP providing space and possibly in kind contributions to the group.  Or, from a less charitable perspective, the host of Jewish organizations including JCRC, who have reached out to groups, knowing their hateful agendas, yet willing to provide them with a voice and a forum from which to spew their hatred because they are bound by the dictates of "political correctness."
The key players in MA are the SDP/GRP/NECDP.  Through their interconnected networks they have succeeded in making inroads into the political process as is the case of Grace Ross appearing in the debates with other legitimate candidates; or the SDP placing a question on the Somerville ballot; or the NECDP organizing pro Lebanon rallies all over Boston importing the likes of Mahdi Bray, of the Muslim American Society, part of the Muslim Brotherhood, to officiate over their prayer services before the start of their "peace" rally.  This peace and solidarity rally, incidentally turned out quite violent when an outsider tried to videtape their event, where anti Israel banners and epithets were loosely flung about.  Banners advocating for terrorist organizations or advocating for the destruction of Israel.  For the uninitiated, the Muslim Brotherhood is so feared and dreaded that it is banned in many Middle Eastern countries yet manages to operate freely in the US under the guise of various groups [i.e., MAS] using our protected liberties as a shield behind which to operate. Suffice it to mention that Osama Bin Ladin, as a member of the Brotherhood, formed his own Al Queda organization.  The underlying principles these organiztions share, whether Shitte or Sunni, concerning Israel are the same. Their bottom line is the destruction of the State of Israel.  They are more than happy to temporarily set aside their differences and work collaboratively in order to dismember the Jewish State [i.e, Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, Al Queda, and Hammas uniting unconditionally behind Shiite Hezbollah]. 

Misguided as usual, JCRC can consistently be counted on to make the wrong choices.  There is nothing to bar JCRC from engaging in two activities simultaneously.  They have a dedicated agency and staff to deal with Israel related issues [the Israel INACTION Center] , and a staff dedicated to all other issues.  So there is no reason why JCRC could not be engaged on both fronts; Darfur and Israel, barring its own ineptitude and incompetence.  As we already know how JCRC and other Jewish agencies are allocating resources to “help” Israel rebuild after the Lebanon war, the excuse of being over extended because of their exclusive focus on helping Haifa, a sister city, is worn too thin to even try. Moreover, as this article has laid out the Somerville Divestment Project is hardly a local grass roots effort.  Through its networks it is well  known and closely followed by other pro Palestinian extremists in the US, and abroad.  Furthermore, SDP always claimed it wanted to become the national model to be applied in other cities and towns across the US.  Thus a victory for SDP, no matter how small or how insignificant like winning on a non-binding advisory question, is a symbolic victory nonetheless.  As the lessons in Lebanon should have taught us all, Hezbollah was able to claim a very significant, albeit symbolic victory.  This symbolic victory has caused more damage to Israel’s credibility and interests,  nationally and internationally.  This same blindness and failure to recognize the obvious, inhibits JCRC from making well informed decisions.  SDP’s traction is national and international in scope.  By dropping the ball and allowing the chips to fall wherever they may, JCRC has engaged in extreme recklessness.  Perhaps JCRC's adventurism complements the new bar they set. Once, JCRC's threshold for active intervention entailed usurping Israel's right to exist, now the trigger appears to be genocide.  I for one, don't plan to sit by quietly until JCRC awakens from its slumber.  The red flags are all around us, the luxury of time is not on our side.  When will the rest of you in the Jewish community start reading the writing on the walls, and rise up to demand real leadership?

posted by: jrtelegraph