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Israeli leader says likening US police killings to Palestinian treatment shows antisemitism

Today Isaac Herzog, a leading Israeli “left” leader and head of the Jewish Agency, suggested that it was antisemitic to liken Israel’s treatment of Palestinans to American racism.

In a webinar, David Harris of the American Jewish Committee asked Herzog, once a leading Labor Party rival to Netanyahu, “What is the role of the Jewish Agency in trying to confront the issue of antisemitism around the world?”

Herzog responded by saying that the Jewish Agency’s approach to antisemitism includes sending young Israeli “Fellows” to U.S. campuses to promote the country, and pivoted to George Floyd’s killing.

They’re just doing great work. And you hear also what’s going on on the ground, you realize that there is a whole onslaught against Israel with terrible things– I’ve seen even in the last few days people comparing what’s going on in the streets in America to the Israeli challenges and confrontations with the Palestinans. It’s totally different circumstances and totally different story. But it’s become like a political blame game.

Many on the left have linked the problem of police violence here, notably the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 27, to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, including the killing of Eyad al-Halaq on May 30 in occupied Jerusalem.

Even the liberal Zionist group J Street issued a statement yesterday saying it felt “agony” over al-Halaq’s killing. J Street linked that killing to George Floyd’s killing.

We express our solidarity with non-violent protesters in Israel and the Palestinian territory who took to the streets to demand justice for el-Hallak, many carrying “Palestinian Lives Matter” signs and drawing parallels to the killing of George Floyd.

While the two incidents are distinct, the connections cannot be ignored.

The J Street statement is exceptional. A great number of mainstream American Jewish groups that advocate for Israel have condemned the killing of George Floyd and addressed the issue of structural racism in the U.S. but have had nothing to say about the killing of Eyad al-Halaq and been silent on the parallels to Israeli treatment of Palestinians.

For instance, Jonathan Greenblatt of the pro-Israel group the Anti-Defamation League called for “systemic change” now:

We stand in solidarity with the Black community as they yet again are subject to pain and suffering at the hands of a racist and unjust system…. As an organization committed to fighting all forms of hate, we know that this brutal death follows an explosion of racist murders and hate crimes across the U.S…

In short, systemic injustice and inequality calls for systemic change.  Now.

Sheila Katz of the National Council of Jewish Women, another pro-Israel organization, also addressed “systemic racism.”

Mr. Floyd was murdered by multiple police officers who held him down with their knees, however, the underlying cause of his death is systemic racism. It is both unacceptable and exhausting that in 2020, we still need to insist over and over again: Black Lives Matter….

Americans for Peace Now, which advocates for Israel, said:

We stand with our brothers and sisters in the African-American community in the struggle against racism and injustice.

The Israel lobby group Democratic Majority for Israel issued a statement naming many victims of police violence in the U.S. and decrying racism. “We renew our commitment to work toward a more just and inclusive society.”

Jewish Federations of North America, another pro-Israel organization, said yesterday: “We will not stop fighting for a world free of racism and bigotry in all of its forms.”

Again, none of these organizations has cited Palestinians’ absence of rights. Though the liberal Zionist group New Israel Fund did link Floyd’s death to Palestinian conditions implicitly: “At New Israel Fund, we work to combat racism and to advance equality every day in Israel. Today we stand with communities of color here in the United States too and say: Black Lives Matter.”

Even the J Street statement that connects the two police killings suggests that the U.S. has a more profound problem. The Floyd killing exposes deeply-entrenched structural racism. While Palestinians suffer from a deeply-entrenched occupation.

The all-too-frequent instances of police brutality and the regular absence of police accountability in the United States are features of a deeply entrenched system of structural racism….

Within Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, the all-too-frequent instances of violence, arbitrary detention and harassment of Palestinians by security forces and police are a feature of a deeply entrenched occupation…

J Street suggests the American remedy will have to be more far-reaching. “[T]rue justice in the long run requires dismantling the systemic racism that led to these killings in the first place.”

The problem is not that deep in Israel:

And similarly, while today we call for justice in the killing of Iyad el-Hallak, we recognize that, in the long run, achieving true justice means ending the occupation.

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https://www.mintpressnews.com/deadly-exchange-america-racist-policing-training-roots-israel/268007/
“‘Deadly Exchange’ America’s Racist Policing Has Roots in Israel”
By Miko Peled, MPN News May 29/20
EXCERPT:
“Racism and violence against people of color in the U.S. is nothing new. In fact, the United States, with its claims to be ‘the land of the free,’ has always been a racist, genocidal and violent state. It was founded on genocide of the native people and on the backs African slaves. The United States committed the most egregious war crimes in the history of mankind, including genocide, the use of nuclear weapons, destruction of democracies and support for murderous dictators around the world, and the list goes on and on from the earliest days of the Union to this very day.
“The state of Israel, which historically speaking is a new creation, was also founded on genocide and racism. For close to one hundred years the Zionist movement which created Israel has been engaged in a brutal campaign to rid Palestine of its indigenous population and give the land to Jewish colonizers. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that good relations exist between the United States and Israel.
“There are countless areas of life in the U.S. in which Israel and various Zionist organizations influence and interfere. The Jewish Federation, the Anti-Defamation League, and AIPAC are the most commonly recognized but are only three out of countless organizations that operate throughout the fifty states and relentlessly pursue Israeli interests in all facets of American life.”
“A deadly exchange”
“As the video clip of a Minnesota police officer slowly and callously choking George Floyd to death went viral, many people, including myself, remembered Palestine. Officer Derek Chauvin, who casually placed his knee on George Floyd’s neck, could have easily been an Israeli soldier or police officer holding down a Palestinian. The way he just sat there, took a knee on Floyd’s neck…”

https://israelpalestinenews.org/minn-cops-trained-by-israeli-police-who-often-use-knee-on-neck-restraint/?utm_source=If+Americans+Knew+Subscribers&utm_campaign=d94f30890e-IAK_Daily_Updates&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_492062bf3f-d94f30890e-79054121
 
“Minnesota cops trained by Israeli police, who often use knee-on-neck restraint”
 
“Over 100 Minnesota law enforcement officers attended a 2012 conference organized by the Israeli consulate in which Israeli police trained them. Israeli forces often use the knee-on-neck restraint on Palestinians. (Meanwhile, Congress is poised to pass a bipartisan $38 billion package to Israel)… Read two reports below:

“Minnesota cops ‘trained by Israeli forces in restraint techniques’”
By Jon Collins, reposted from the UK Morning Star newspaper

EXCERPTS:”Israeli forces broke necks”
“But in a chilling testimony, a Palestinian rights activist said that when she saw the image of Derek Chauvin kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck, she was reminded of the Israeli forces’ policing of the occupied territories.

“Neta Golan, the co-founder of International Solidarity Movement (ISM) said: ‘When I saw the picture of killer cop Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd by leaning in on his neck with his knee as he cried for help and other cops watched, I remembered noticing when many Israeli soldiers began using this technique of leaning in on our chest and necks when we were protesting in the West Bank sometime in 2006.”
 
“Officers from the US police force responsible for the killing of George Floyd received training in restraint techniques and anti-terror tactics from Israeli law-enforcement officers.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This is what Phil Weiss claims:  
“Israeli leader says connecting US police killings to Palestinian treatment shows antisemitism” 
This is the quote from Mr. Herzog:
 
 
They’re just doing great work. And you hear also what’s going on on the ground, you realize that there is a whole onslaught against Israel with terrible things– I’ve seen even in the last few days people comparing what’s going on in the streets in America to the Israeli challenges and confrontations with the Palestinans. It’s totally different circumstances and totally different story. But it’s become like a political blame game.
 
Why doesn’t PW provide a quote which mentions Anti-Semitism?

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/minnesota-cops-trained-israeli-forces-restraint-techniques
The Morning Star, Britain, June 1, 2020 
“OFFICERS from the US police force responsible for the killing of George Floyd received training in restraint techniques & anti-terror tactics from Israeli law-enforcement officers.
“Mr. Floyd’s death in custody last Monday, the latest in a succession of police killings of African Americans, has sparked continuing protests & rioting in US cities.
“At least 100 Minnesota police officers attended a 2012 conference hosted by the Israeli consulate in Chicago, the second time such an event had been held.
“There they learned the violent techniques used by Israeli forces as they terrorise the occupied Palestinian territories under the guise of security operations.
“The so-called counterterrorism training conference in Minneapolis was jointly hosted by the FBI.
“Israeli deputy consul Shahar Arieli claimed that the half-day session brought ‘top-notch professionals from the Israeli police’ to share knowledge with their US counterparts.”
“But in a chilling testimony, a Palestinian rights activist said that when she saw the image of Derek Chauvin kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck, she was reminded of the Israeli forces’ policing of the occupied territories.
“Neta Golan, the co-founder of International Solidarity Movement (ISM) said: ‘When I saw the picture of killer cop Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd by leaning in on his neck with his knee as he cried for help and other cops watched, I remembered many Israeli soldiers began using this technique of leaning in on our chest and necks when we were protesting in the West Bank in 2006.’
“’They started twisting & breaking fingers in a particular way around the same time. It was clear they had undergone training for this. They continue to use these tactics…”

“And you hear also what’s going on on the ground, you realize that there is a whole onslaught against Israel with terrible things– I’ve seen even in the last few days people comparing what’s going on in the streets in America to the Israeli challenges and confrontations with the Palestinans. It’s totally different circumstances and totally different story. But it’s become like a political blame game”
 
Sob Sob Sob Sob Sob Sob Sob. Poor victimised Zionists. Its like the poor Israel is lying face down on the ground and has the knees of all these Human Rights Groups pressing down on its neck and can`t breathe.
 
Sob Sob Sob Sob Sob Sob Sob.