Anti-Israel activists are exploiting Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine in an attempt to make a political point about their cause. Supporters of the controversial and often blatantly anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement are seem to view the ongoing invasion as little more than an opportunity to attack the Jewish state, and they’ve discovered at least one mainstream news outlet that is willing to provide a platform for their ridiculous grievances.
An actual article published by Politico on Monday, March 7th claims that Republican lawmakers are “completely hypocritical” for supporting sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime but opposing economic warfare against Israel.
The headline of the article reads: “‘Hypocrisy’: Lawmakers fighting Israel boycott now all-in for Russia sanctions.”
Politico’s report earnestly touts the concerns of advocates of the BDS movement who feel “iced out of public debate” and are annoyed that sanctioning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine is far more popular than sanctioning Israel for existing as an “apartheid state.”
The Washington Free Beacon writes:
In fact, the BDS movement is about as unpopular as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The article accurately describes the “anti-BDS sentiment” among American lawmakers as “widespread.” In 2019, for example, the House of Representatives voted 398-17 in support of a resolution condemning BDS. A poll released that same year found that a majority of Americans considered the BDS movement to be rooted in anti-Semitism. The most prominent BDS advocates in Congress, Reps. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), have repeatedly been criticized for making anti-Semitic remarks and for associating with terrorists.
Perhaps that’s why the article cites only two BDS advocates to support its ludicrous premise that Israel and Russia are equally deserving of international condemnation and retribution in the form of economic sanctions. “Let’s be perfectly clear: Russia should be held accountable,” said Yousef Munayyer, a senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, D.C. “Members of Congress have shown their hypocrisy on this issue by supporting anti-BDS legislation when it comes to demanding accountability for Israel’s human rights violations, but now they are all for these kinds of efforts.”
Munayyer is best known for getting into a shouting match with Fox News host Sean Hannity in 2014 after refusing to describe the terrorist organization Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Despite bipartisan opposition to the BDS movement, only GOP politicians were singled out as hypocrites in the Politico article. The GOP representatives named in the article include Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), one of two Jewish Republicans in Congress, who is singled out for introducing anti-BDS legislation “a day after tweeting that Americans should cut all oil imports from Russia.”
Zeldin responded, stating that there was “absolutely no equivalence at all between the United States and our allies around the world sanctioning an authoritarian nation that has illegitimately and illegally invaded its sovereign neighbor and launched attacks against innocent civilians and the anti-Semitic BDS movement.”
Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) were also called out for their so-called hypocrisy in supporting sanctions against Russia while also cosponsoring the Anti-BDS Labeling Act to deter efforts to boycott Israeli goods.
A spokesperson for Senator Cotton issued a short response via email, writing: “The difference is that Russia is invading Ukraine. And according to our latest intelligence, Israel is not.”
Eileen Babbitt, a professor of international conflict resolution at Tufts University, provided a similar assessment of the Russia-Israel comparison.
“I think there is something qualitatively different about amassing 150,000 or 200,000 troops on the border of a sovereign country and then crossing into that country with the intention of decapitating the government,” she told Politico.
The article was widely mocked on social media.
“I’m sure if someone at Politico thought about this really, really hard they could come up with some reason why Israel and Russia are treated differently,” tweeted Drew Holden.
I’m sure if someone at Politico thought about this really, really hard they could come up with some reason why Israel and Russia are treated differently. https://t.co/8is2lRx8KR
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) March 8, 2022
Journalist Seth Mandel suggested an alternative headline for the article, tweeting: “We Treat Our Allies Better Than We Treat Those Who Wage War On Our Allies, a Politico investigation.”
We Treat Our Allies Better Than We Treat Those Who Wage War On Our Allies, a Politico investigation https://t.co/62dyeqkW8s
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) March 8, 2022
Source: Washington Free Beacon
