Joel Fishman: "Zionism=Racism, Its Beginning, and the War Of Delegitimization Against Israel"

The delegitimization of Israel did not begin at Durban I, nor even back in 1975 with the UN Resolution equating Zionism with racism. The beginnings of the delegitimization of Israel goes back to 1965--and at the time, few in the West, or in Israel, were aware of foundation that was being carefully established.

It all started with the refusal to recognize antisemitism as a form of racism.

Here is the conclusion from Joel Fishman's article.

"A Disaster of another Kind”: Zionism=Racism,
Its Beginning, and the War of Delegitimization against Israel

The 1965 debates in the Third Committee of the UN are a matter of great relevance to the present. A failed attempt of Israel and the US to have antisemitism defined as a type of racism resulted in two important setbacks: the failure of Israel to achieve a universally accepted definition of antisemitism with the force of international law and, a decade later, the UN acceptance of the libel “Zionism is racism.” From then on, it was almost impossible to raise the problem of antisemitism as a human rights issue. Others framed the reality of Israel, attributing to the Jewish State a completely specious and negative meaning. By setting the agenda of the international community, Israel’s enemies caused lasting harm in obstructing its claim to legal recourse in the matter of antisemitism. As a consequence, Israel must live with a disability and make do with a less than equal status in the community of nations.

One of the most valuable insights of this study is that there is a nexus between the defamation of Israel, as is the case with the “Zionism is racism” libel, and the need to ensure that antisemitism is defined as an internationally recognized human rights violation.

NGO Monitor: NIF Delegitimization Of Israel Continues

From NGO Monitor:

New NIF Funding Details: Delegitimization Continuing According to the New Israel Fund (NIF) 2010 financial report, published at the end of July 2011, NIF authorized grants worth approximately $16.4 million in 2010. This is a significant decrease from 2009, when $19.9 million was authorized (17% decrease).  Approximately 26% of 2010 funding went to highly politicized groups involved to varying degrees in delegitimization campaigns. In September 2010, NIF published new funding guidelines, declaring, in part, that groups working "to deny the right of the Jewish people to sovereign self-determination within Israel, or to deny the rights of Palestinian or other non-Jewish citizens to full equality within a democratic Israel" will "no longer be eligible" for funding. NIF also issued various statements expressing opposition to anti-Israel "lawfare" and BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions). The 2010 grants do not reflect any apparent changes or implementation of the guidelines, in particular funding for Adalah, Mada al-Carmel, and Coalition of Women for Peace (CWP).

Jonathan Rosenblum: The Hidden Costs of Delegitimization

The Hidden Costs of Delegitimization

by Jonathan Rosenblum
Yated Ne'eman
August 26, 2011


Reality returned with a vengeance to Israel last Thursday, as at least 20 terrorist infiltrators from the Sinai mounted a sophisticated multi-pronged attack across the Sinai border into Israel, about fifteen kilometers north of Eilat. Eight Israelis were killed in the attacks and the subsequent battle after IDF soldiers rushed at the scene. In addition, five Egyptian soldiers were accidentally killed by IDF forces, as the latter pursued the terrorists back across the border, creating a rift in Israeli-Egyptian relations that required the direct intervention of Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to repair.

One of the most lethal terrorist attacks in recent years, followed four months of "social justice" demonstrations, in which growing numbers of demonstrators have put forth an ever expanding list of goodies, beginning with cheaper housing, even in the highest-rent districts of Tel Aviv, free day care, and, for good measure, lower taxes.