Anti-Israel Hate at the DNC

Jeffdunetz | July 31, 2016
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Some Democrats did their best to demonstrate where they stood in the Israel/Palestinian conflict at their convention in Philadelphia last week (ironically known as "The City of Brotherly Love"). Many events inside and out of the Wells Fargo Center (where the main part of the convention was held) turned out to be anti-Israel hate-fests. 

While they did not represent all the people at the Democratic convention, the lack of demonstrations in support of the Jewish State made the anti-Israel demonstrations stand out even further.

On the main stage, only one of the primetime speakers at the Democratic gala mentioned Israel. That was Mrs. Clinton, who mentioned Israel as part of bragging about the Iran deal. “I’m proud that we put a lid on Iran’s nuclear program without firing a single shot — now we have to enforce it, and keep supporting Israel’s security. “

A second Democratic Party speaker, Rev. William Barber, didn’t mention Israel, but claimed from the podium that Jesus was a Palestinian.

In comparison, Israel was a much bigger topic at the Republican Convention. At the GOP gathering in Cleveland (which I attended) nine different prime time speakers mentioned Israel including Trump. All of the comments spoke of the Jewish State in relation to Obama’s anti-Israel policies. [Note: The Israel mentions for each convention were counted from the transcripts of each speech, issued to the press by the host party.]

Media mostly ignored the the lack of American Flags on the early nights of the convention. Daily Caller reporter Alex Pfeiffer reported , “It doesn’t look like there are any American flags. The stage is bland and grey, with no red, white or blue present. A thorough look at the crowd present also turns up no American flags.”

While there weren't American flags at the DNC, there was the Palestinian flag.

By searching “Palestinian flag at 2016 Democratic Convention”  on Bing or Google, one will find dozens of pictures of the Palestinian flag both inside the Wells Fargo Center and at the protests outside the convention.

 

The pro-Israel news site Algemeiner suggested “Palestinian Flags Outnumber American Flags at Democratic National Convention,” which really was only true for the first night as the DNC added American Flags each night after the first.

More prevalent than the Palestinian flags inside the convention hall were the delegates brandishing hand-held yellow signs with black letters proclaiming “I support Palestinian Human Rights,” and buttons proclaiming the same.

The Israeli flag was seen outside the convention at least once - when protesters burned it.

The U.S. flag was burned at a different protest. Ironically, at the U.S. flag burning, Old Glory got revenge when the person who ignited the flag got a bit too close to his dirty work and set himself on fire.

It would remiss not to mention the part of the Wikileaks email dump the day before the convention that some have called anti-Semitic. According to the emails, just prior to the Kentucky and West Virginia primaries, Democratic Party Chief Financial Officer Brad Marshall wrote that Bernie Sanders has "skated on" his "Jewish heritage." He added, “I think I read he is an atheist." He wonders whether the DNC can arrange for someone to ask Sanders, "Does he believe in a God?" Marshall writes: "This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist," adding, "It's these (sic) Jesus thing."

To be perfectly honest, the Marshall “plan” described in the emails was more anti-Atheist than anti-Jewish. However, one may object to the fact that Marshall, a Southern Baptist believes that he is the “Jewish heritage police.”

On the first day of the convention, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) took time away from his party's nominating event to speak at an anti-Israel meeting sponsored by the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, an organization that tries to unite the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. According to the Washington Free Beacon, Johnson (who once warned that too many Marines on Guam may tip the Island over) made some anti-Israel remarks. 

Rep. Hank Johnson, D- Ga., launched into a tirade against Israel and its policies toward the Palestinians, comparing Jewish people who live in disputed territories to “termites” that destroy homes. Johnson also compared Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a remark that drew vocal agreement from those in the room.

After facing heavy criticism for his rant, Johnson apologized on Twitter for his “Poor choice of words – apologies for offense. Point is settlement activity continues slowly undermine 2-state solution.”

Also speaking at the same event was Democratic Party platform committee member and anti-Israel activist James Zogby.

The final night of the convention featured Rev. William Barber who repeated the Palestinian propaganda point that Jesus was a Palestinian. He said, “Jesus, a brown-skinned Palestinian Jew called us to preach good news to the poor, the broken, and the bruised, and all those who are made to feel unexpected.”

Any student of history knows that there is no way that Jesus could have been a Palestinian. According to most historians, Jesus was crucified somewhere between 30 A.D. and 36 A.D., 100 years before the Romans changed the name of Judea to Syria Palaestina. 

In comparison, the Republican Convention which I attended had very few protests of any kind and the protests that did happen were against a rules committee procedure inside the convention and mostly against Donald Trump outside the convention. Not one anti-Israel protest was observed by myself or the news media.

Also noteworthy is that the same media that were quick to point out and obsess over every perceived racist act by the Trump campaign - such as David Duke, without prompting from the candidate announcing his support of Trump or their perception that what Donald Trump thought was a sheriff's badge in a tweet was really an anti-Semitic use of a Jewish Star, totally ignored the story of Israel hate at the DNC.

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