Ambassador EIan Carr, Col. Richard Kemp, Brooke Goldstein, echo message at Pulse of Israel conference
Unmasking Jew-Hatred Within the Palestinian National Movement
The first Pulse of Israel Conference, Unmasking Jew-Hatred https://pulseofisrael.com/2023/06/22/first-pulse-of-israel-conference-unmasking-jew-hatred-within-the-palestinian-national-movement/Within the Palestinian National Movement, took place Sunday evening at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. The four-hour conference featured an international roster of speakers, all prominent leaders in the fight against antisemitism, as well as an in-person audience and online viewers from over 25 countries. Those watching the livestream were from Australia, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Malta, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, the United States, and Canada among others.
Conference creator Avi Abelow, CEO of 12Tribe Films Foundation and host of its media project, Pulse of Israel, created the conference as a call to action to spark ongoing engagement and activity throughout the year. “We are here today to highlight what many in our Jewish leadership are failing to do, and that is to simply call out Palestinian nationalism for what it is: antisemitic rhetoric. My hope is that all those attending will be empowered to get our leaders to do what it takes to bring about a much-needed change in ending this growing hatred around the world that is endangering Jews on city streets in Western cities, on US college campuses, and in Israel. Currently, organizations and leaders who proclaim that they are fighting antisemitism are failing us, because they are silent about the massive funding world governments provide to the organizations that support the Palestinian national movement that has created a society of Jew-hatred and glorifies killing Jews. There is nothing more antisemitic than that.”
Among the conference presenters were Col. Richard Kemp, former Commander of British Force in Afghanistan, who spoke via video on why Israel and the Jewish people must fight the antisemitism of the Palestinian national movement despite international apathy. British author and journalist Melanie Phillips encouraged the audience to take charge of the narrative and “build a coherent strategy to tell our story.” Palestinian Media Watch founder Itamar Marcus showed disturbing interviews with Arab leaders – including PA President Mahmoud Abbas – praising terror, encouraging the killing of Jews and spreading lies about Jews and Israel. Caroline Glick, columnist and author, criticized the inefficacy and silence of world Jewry for not speaking out against the Palestinian Authority and its erasure and appropriation of Jewish history for themselves. “This rhetoric has already filtered into American universities who teach Middle Eastern history that invalidates any Jewish claims to the land of Israel,” she said.
In a pre-taped video message from the US, attorney Brooke Goldtstein, Founder of The Lawfare Project, cited Jew-hatred as “the last form of racism that is still tolerated by polite society.” She recently initiated the #EndJewHatred campaign on social media, “the first Jewish civil rights movement in the West.”
“The time has come to demand equality for Jewish civil rights, and demand that they be protected in the United States and in the West,” Goldstein said. To bolster this effort, Goldstein pledged to provide a $5,000 grant to any individual or group who takes on the fight, and presents to her the best initiative against anti-Israel Jew-hatred that negates Zionism.
During the conference, the Pulse of Israel presented its first Brave Leader of Zion Award to Sara Haetzni-Cohen, Chairwoman of My Israel. She was recognized for her role in rallying hundreds of Israeli volunteers to protect the Jewish citizens of Lod from their Arab neighbors during the violent Arab riots there in May 2021. The award was presented to her by US business executive Kenneth Abramowitz, President and Founder of SavetheWest.com.
Social media and campus activism were discussed on a panel moderated by Ido Daniel, Senior Director for Digital Strategy and Partnerships at Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. Joining him were three young adult pro-Israel activists. Social media influencers Adiel Cohen, Yirmiyahu Danzig and campus activist Nina Raab described their grassroots efforts to mobilize the next generations with positive and personal stories on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Cohen and Danzig both present the beauty of Judaism and Jewish peoplehood while explaining to followers that anti-Zionism, and negating Israel’s right to exist, is in fact Jew-hatred. Raab described how the virulent antisemitism she experienced on the University of Illinois campus prompted her to lead hundreds of campus activists in a vociferous fight against the student government’s resolution stating that ‘‘anti Zionism is not antisemitism’ as a precursor to passing a BDS motion. When she spoke at the session, a member of the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine called Raab – the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors – a Nazi in front of several hundred students. It was then that she decided to take on the fight in a positive way.
“How could it be that we are seeing a tsunami of Jew-hatred,” asked Amb. Carr in his closing keynote, repeating the question he’s heard from members of the US Congress. “Who could have believed that 80 years after humanity’s greatest crime against the Jews that antisemitism would rise again,” and reiterated the official statement made by former US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism. So how, Carr asked, do we fight the “ancient, yet recurring indefatigable sickness known as Jew-hatred?”
Carr offered six key solutions: “Double down on Jewish peoplehood, explain our right to our homeland. Combat antisemitism in all its forms – from neo-Nazis on the right to radical Marxists on the left and antisemitic activists who justify their actions in the name of the palestinian national movement as well. Bring balance back to college campuses and schools, and differentiate between protected speech and propaganda. Suffocate state sponsors of antisemitism, particularly Iran, and the jaw-dropping, shocking textbooks being used by the Palestinian Authority in schools. ‘Any country that is funding Iran or the PA is, in effect, collaborating with them in teaching children to hate Jews.” Finally, he said, “play offense by proactively promoting a Philo-Semitic narrative that tells the Biblical story of the Jewish people.
“There is a Jewish story in just about every country. For example, just as America is covered with content and marketing campaigns educating Americans about Black History Month, there is no reason America shouldn’t be covered with content for Jewish Heritage Month, designated by the US government to be the month of May,” Carr said.
The program concluded with a call to action by conference organizer Avi Abelow. “It is critical that we move this part of the conversation on antisemitism within the Palestinian national movement out of the darkness. The conference gave us an opportunity to shine a light on this extremely troubling and rapidly growing problem. It’s been incredible to see the level of interest and passion in others who agree, and we plan to work with our followers and conference attendees all over the world to make sure the right message gets out there. We must get everyone involved to change this conversation in order to properly protect Jews around the world and save lives.’
The Pulse of Israel, a project of the 12Tribe Films Foundation, aims to cut through the noise and influence public opinion by amplifying the truth vis-a-vis current events in the State of Israel and the world. It features short and long form videos with VIP personalities that entertain, inspire, and educate about Israel with a dedication to the truth that is not concerned with political correctness.