Hundreds of protestors greeted Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC on Sunday, where he gave a speech to an Israel Bonds convention.
Last month, amid surging settler violence, Smotrich called for the Palestinian village of Huwwara to be “wiped out.” His remarks have received widespread condemnation. The U.S. State Department called them “disgusting,” but approved Smotrich’s visa.
The Progressive Israel Network, a coalition that includes J Street, Americans For Peace Now, T’ruah, and the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, organized a demonstration outside the hotel that also targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul. “This is a moral emergency,” said National Council of Jewish Women CEO Sheila Katz during a speech at the event. “We must name this deep pain that so many of us feel for what’s happening in Israel right now, a place that we love.”
On the same day as the event, representatives of a new organization of Israeli expatriates called UnXeptable held a press conference at the same hotel as the Israel Bonds gathering to highlight the economic impact of the Netanyahu government’s judicial reform plan and 200 U.S. Jewish business leaders announced that they would halt their investments in Israel if the Netanyahu government moved forward with its judiciary plans.
Outside the conference room where the meeting took place, the progressive Jewish group IfNotNow protested and prayed. A video posted on Twitter shows thirteen of the activists being attacked by security. According to the group, seven of the protesters were arrested.
“This is not just about Smotrich,” tweeted the organization. “We’re calling on our communal and political leaders to draw a line in the sand – not just with words but with action. It’s time to oppose Israel’s system of occupation and apartheid, and to end the blank check that enables it.”
“I salute the IfNotKnow activists who staged a powerful protest against this despicable anti-Palestinian character,” tweeted Palestinian-American political analyst Omar Baddar. “Palestinians are facing very dark prospects because of the power people like Smotrich now hold, and this is what meaningful allyship looks like.”
In addition, over 100 Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) members joined the protests outside, while chapters across the country joined in local protests. Rabbis and students affiliated with JVP attempted to take over the hotel’s atrium but were forced out of the hotel by security. “The American Jewish community is at a crossroads. Right now, at kitchen tables and on the steps of shuls, people are asking ‘How can I buy Israel Bonds when members of the Israeli government are calling for pogroms against Palestinians?’,” said JVP Rabbinical Council co-founder Rabbi Alissa Wise in a statement. “And we are here to say: ‘The Torah is clear. You don’t. You divest. Come talk to us — we’re so glad you’re here’.”
“Our outrage at Smotrich includes a determination to end our own complicity in the system he represents,” said Jewish Voice for Peace Executive Director Stefanie Fox. “We can stop the flow of money and support backing Israeli Apartheid: from the U.S. congress sending nearly $4 billion a year in taxpayer dollars to the hundreds of states, cities, unions, and organizations that invest in Israel Bonds. And as American Jews, we call on our communities and organizations to root out our own ongoing complicity in this government set on pursuing Jewish supremacy and domination. From the Israel Bonds we got when we turned 13, to the investments of Jewish Federations, the choice is clear: divest now.”
During his speech Smotrich tried to walk back the Huwwara comments. “I want to say a few words about the elephant in the room,” he told the crowd. “I stand before you now as always committed to the security of the state of Israel, to our shared values, and to the highest moral commitment of our armed forces to protect every innocent life, Jew or Arab.”
Smotrich also championed the United States/Israel relationship and called for continued support. “Last week, and in the last few months in general, we have heard a lot of harsh words – talks of boycotts and violence. Let me say, this has no place between our countries and between our people,” he said. “The alliance between Israel and the US is one of values, equality, democracy, and inclusion. This alliance is not just with Republicans or Democrats. It is not with only the right or left wing. It is an alliance of values that fight evil by adding light. Sadly, at times we all pay a heavy price for this alliance.”
Michael Arria
Michael Arria is the U.S. correspondent for Mondoweiss. His work has appeared in In These Times, The Appeal, and Truthout. He is the author of Medium Blue: The Politics of MSNBC. Follow him on Twitter at @michaelarria.
Perhaps more importantly, those who control the benjamins are also protesting in their own way:
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230313-us-investors-warn-israel-judicial-overhaul-will-prevent-future-investments/
US investors warn Israel judicial overhaul will prevent future investments…More than 250 US-based financial investors warned Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel’s judicial overhaul could prevent further investments into the country….In an open letter addressed to the Prime Minister, published yesterday, the 255 investors expressed “deepest dismay” regarding the planned legislation, which they described as a “judicial coup”….”Many leaders in the business community will feel compelled to re-evaluate their reliance on Israel as a strategic destination for investment, sourcing talent, building engineering centres and maintaining the intellectual property,” the letter stated, according to Channel 12 news.
“Palestinians are facing very dark prospects because of the power people like Smotrich now hold, and this is what meaningful allyship looks like….The alliance between Israel and the US is one of values, equality, democracy, and inclusion.”
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Those seeking a peaceful future are facing unprecedented opportunities…. with Smotrich inadvertently articulating the route forward.