It is very interesting to see how one person uses their power for good like the video below, and others, especially in a group, like to follow the crowd, sometimes in a directions that they themselves do not fully understand.
NEGATIVE POWER
A glimpse into BDS:
Let’s say Israel complies 100% with BDS wishes, which means withdrawing unconditionally from the West Bank, cancelling any blockade on Gaza, and welcoming all Palestinian refugees into Israel, here is what would happen:
– Hamas would take over the WB by force, just as they did in Gaza.
– Any Jews left in the West Bank would be killed or deported to Israel, just as in the war of Independence.
– Hamas would be able to receive advanced weapons from Iran, and perhaps even dirty bombs that use nuclear material, just as they have been trying to do for years.
– Hamas attacks on Israel would render Israel’s airports inoperable, would destroy Israel’s economy, and would likely result in many Israeli deaths, just as Hamas has been trying to do from Gaza. To defend itself, Israel would have to use extreme force that would result in many Palestinian deaths.
– Jews would become a minority in their own country, and they would within years face deportation (if some countries are willing to take them, which is less and less likely) and pogroms at the hands of Arabs, just as they have faced everywhere else in the Middle East.
These are not wild guesses. These are educated predictions based on plenty of historical evidence.
This article is about an amazing Palestinian human rights activist that speaks the truth, and he is attacked by Students for the Justice of Palestine, and even Jstreet, which is a Jewish organization, because he is different from the masses and does not fit with what they are standing for. This is where power is used ineffectively to intimidate, shame, and make noise but doesn’t solve anything.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/261921/lie-pro-palestinian-activism-caroline-glick
Leora Noor Eisenberg
There was a rapid jump in logic. From being an activist against racism and police brutality to being against Zionism? It seemed illogical, yet I couldn’t disagree. Those unfamiliar with the language of “intersectionality” and social justice might not understand the point my friend made– but to me it made perfect sense. The norm is that anyone who fights for progressive values is anti-Israel.
Oh, why, why, why? This post, this article, this thought has been written before! We have all lamented the new identity shift of “pro-Israel” and “right wing.” And I’ll also bet money that, at some point or another, we have all had that moment where we look at a social justice advocate and think to ourselves that s/he has probably been to an anti-Israel protest at some point.
This phenomenon, not new and not novel, means we brush aside all the liberal, progressive supporters of Israel who aren’t already in our camp. Deemed too radical and “noisy,” there is no way they support us. And some certainly are radical and noisy, but I doubt that they all participate thanks to ideology. Some surely participate because of “radical chic.”
Radical chic: participating in a radical/ fringe movement because it just seems cool.
So students participate, and we assume that they want no part of our Zionist schemes. Thus, we (generally rightfully) assume that they wouldn’t fit in well with our crowd, nor would we with them. Our radicalism– for peace and tolerance, however flawed it may be– doesn’t fit the social justice bill.
I don’t want to resort to the dirty tactics of SJP or BDS– not my style. That said, I want to give otherwise-radical students a chance to channel their energy into a cause that would do more good than boycotting SodaStream. I call for an opening of the Zionist tent– to the curious, to the opposed, to the pondering. Give them the social justice they want, need, crave– and let them do good in Israel’s name, loudly and proudly.
Radical chic becomes radical-for-peace-chic. And then, hopefully, we’ll be inclined to think more that “something tells me this girl is a Zionist.”
The video below is so powerful, positive power is a choice, I hope more people will make informed, educated positive choices that heal and are of service to the world.
Coach Yulia
POSITIVE POWER