The Biden campaign's attack on BDS and activist Linda Sarsour shows that the
DNC is not ready to truly embrace the progressive values it claims to
represent.
by Kathryn Shihadah
August 24th, 2020
By Kathryn Shihadah Kathryn Shihadah
Linda Sarsour, a prominent Palestinian American activist, got the cold
shoulder from the Biden campaign last week, followed by a sotto voce apology
- but an elephant lingers in the room with the initials B.D.S.
Sarsour has worked across the progressive agenda on issues running from
immigration, mass incarceration, and Black Lives Matter, to name a few. But
her position on free speech has overshadowed all the rest, and made her an
outcast - at least temporarily - from the Joe Biden campaign.
The Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement calls on the international
community to exert economic pressure on Israel to comply with international
law. In its own words, "BDS is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom,
justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are
entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity."
Sarsour's support for the movement is what ostensibly led to the Biden
campaign's hostility. When she appeared in a DNC virtual meeting Tuesday on
Muslim voter engagement, the "Trump War Room" tweeted: "Anti-Semite Linda
Sarsour.supports the Israel-hating BDS movement which boycotts Jewish-owned
businesses Her extreme bigotry is welcomed by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."
A Biden spokesperson was quick to distance the campaign from Sarsour, saying
in a statement:
Joe Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel and a vehement opponent of
antisemitism his entire life, and he obviously condemns her views and
opposes BDS, as does the Democratic platform. She has no role in the Biden
campaign whatsoever."
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A number of Arab, Muslim, and progressive groups called for a retraction of
the campaign's censure of Sarsour and the Biden campaign eventually issued a
semi-apology in an off-the-record phone call that did not include Sarsour.
Biden's top foreign policy adviser, Tony Blinken told the activists,
"Historically, Republicans and Democrats have been quick to dismiss Muslim,
Arab-American and especially Palestinian-American voices, and I want to
reiterate on behalf of all of us our support for your communities."
Biden adviser Symone Sanders added,
That's not how we do business. We are not in the business of condemning
people and large swathes of the community, absolutely not.
We are going to do better going forward. This will not be a situation that
will happen again."
The DNC platform, however, suggests otherwise. This is not the first time
the DNC has publically admonished a Muslim, a Palestinian, or a woman - and
the attack on Sarsour was consistent with the plaform's public stance on
BDS.
This is how DNC does business
The Democratic platform is clear on the issue of BDS:
[We oppose] any effort to unfairly single out and delegitimize Israel,
including at the United Nations or through the Boycott, Divestment, and
Sanctions Movement [BDS].
Biden AIPAC
Biden runs up a set of stairs to address the 2016 American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Conference in Washington. Cliff Owen | AP
The party can not "do better going forward" as long as this clause is in
place, some activists argue. They worry that condemnation of BDS not only
alienates those who support the movement - but neglects a position held by a
majority of Democrats.
In fact, recent polls show that over 70 percent of American adults are
against anti-boycott measures, and 53 percent of Democratic voters say BDS
is a legitimate movement The DNC's platform does not, therefore, align with
the Democratic people.
Is BDS anti-Semitic?
Israel and its allies have targeted the BDS movement since its inception in
2005, alleging that it is inherently anti-Semitic because of its criticism
of the "Jewish State."
BDS critics point to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)
working definition of anti-Semitism - particularly to some of the
"contemporary examples," including: "Denying the Jewish people their right
to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of
Israel is a racist endeavor."
However, the IHRA definition and its application are not without their
detractors - including by one of its authors. The boycott movement against
apartheid South Africa - on which the BDS effort is modeled - also denied a
group the right to self-determination: white South Africans, whose
self-determination came at the expense of non-white South Africans.
Is Linda Sarsour anti-Semitic?
When Sarsour was attacked for giving a commencement address at CUNY in 2017
- not because of the content of her speech, but because of her criticism of
Israel and support for BDS - at least one hundred Jewish American leaders
came out in support of her, writing in an open letter, "We may not agree
with Sarsour on all matters. We do not offer our stamp of approval to every
tweet or message she has ever posted. But.we are committed to bridging
communal boundaries and standing in solidarity with one another."
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One of Sarsour's most famous remarks, made at the 2019 annual conference of
American Muslims for Palestine in Chicago, may also be her most
controversial:
[H]ow can you be against white supremacy in America and the idea of being in
a state based on race and class, but then you support a state like Israel
that is.built on the idea that Jews are supreme to everyone else."
When criticized for this statement, she apologized unequivocally, explaining
that she was not referring to the Jewish people - rather, Sarsour was
referring to Israel's 2018 Nation-State Law. This Basic Law (on par with our
Constitution) declares, among other things:
The right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is
unique to the Jewish people.
The state [Israel] will be open for Jewish immigration.
The state [Israel] views the development of Jewish settlement as a national
value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and
consolidation.
These statements met with disapproval, not just by Sarsour, but also by many
American Jewish leaders. This legislation disregards the 20 percent
non-Jewish minority in Israel: Palestinian aspirations for
self-determination; Palestinian refugees' right of return; and the worldwide
consensus on the illegality of Israeli settlements.
If the DNC wishes to truly become the inclusive platform that stands for
social justice and the marginalized, it must reconcile its position on
Israel, BDS and the wider movement for human rights.