Israel Matzav

Shutting down the debate: Why the BDS'ers hate the hoopoe

Although I got through law school doing crossword puzzles, I really don't do them anymore. Perhaps that's why I didn't know that the hoopoe is Israel's national bird.

And perhaps Linda Claire and George Abendstern didn't know either and that's why they were so angry at the British Socialist Daily Morning Star for including 'Israel's national bird' as a clue in their crossword puzzle.

In a letter to the newspaper, Linda Claire, the chairwoman of Manchester’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign, asked why it had referred to the bird after it has “always been the newspaper you could rely on to support the cause of the Palestinians.”

“Maybe you don’t support the methods chosen by the international solidarity movement of BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel] to assist the Palestinians in their struggle for freedom and justice,” she said, adding that this included any reference to Israel’s wildlife.

“Despite its condemnation of zionists [sic] it yet finds space to include an item in its daily quiz about Israel’s national bird. Is the Star not aware there’s a cultural boycott going on?” Claire’s husband, George Abendstern, asked in another letter.

But that's not all that's going on in Manchester, a city with a sizable Jewish community. One Sarah Irving has written an ode to 'Palestinian terrorist' Leila Khaled, who was overpowered while trying to hijack an El Al plane near London in 1969. Irving was due to appear in Manchester to promote the book, but the appearance was canceled because the store was overwhelmed with phone calls and emails about it (yes, it does pay to call or email). Irving wrote the following on her new blog:

It is, of course, a measure of the desperate rearguard action which apologists for the actions of the State of Israel are currently fighting that they feel the need to close down all debate and discussion of issues around Palestinian history, politics and culture.

Funny. I thought that the goal of BDS was to close down all debate and discussion of issues between Israel and the 'Palestinians.'

By the way, Irving's book launch has been rescheduled.

Labels: BDS, Britain, Leila Khaled, Palestinian terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:39 PM