Friday, May 29, 2015

New Israel Fund Is No Friend of Israel

From FrontPage, 17 March 2015, by Ronn Torossian, Hank Sheinkopf and George Birnbaum:
...Recently, many have stood up and told the truth about New Israel Fund’s support for the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, their actions to harm Israel Defense Forces personnel, and cooperation with the United Nation’s Anti-Israel activities.  
....We applaud Birthright Israel who has banned The New Israel Fund from partnering with them, and urge others to follow suit.
While we welcome political debate, there are limits.  ...boycotts of Israel be deemed unacceptable for any friends of Israel.The masses of Jews – on the left and right – shun those extremist Jews who sympathize with Israel’s enemies, who represent a tiny portion of world Jewry – but are given an oversized prominence in the media – and unfortunately amongst Jewish leadership. We are outraged about the cancer called the New Israel Fund, as they must be rooted out of the realm of acceptability.
Kenneth Levin, a Harvard psychiatrist, has noted that Jewish self-hatred is in part a result of Stockholm Syndrome, where “population segments under chronic siege commonly embrace the indictments of their besiegers however bigoted and outrageous.” 
The Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Yoni Chetboun said,
“The main goal of the NIF is to undermine the Israeli Army, by knowingly financing left-wing Israeli groups that try to get young Israeli soldiers prosecuted for war crimes.”
...As Naftali Bennett said,
Yes, New Israel Fund, I will boycott whoever persecutes Israeli soldiers. I will not apologize for it. Members of the New Israel Fund, listen carefully: Whoever harms, slanders and persecutes Israeli soldiers are not my brothers. The NIF works methodically and consistently to attack our Israeli soldiers, accuse them of war crimes of torturing Palestinians and intentionally attacking women and children. They turn to the UN and to the committees that are most hostile to Israel and try their best to convince them that Israel is a war criminal. I repeat: They say that our soldiers- you, I, your friends and your families, your children and their friends – that we are all war criminals. The New Israel Fund invests large amounts of money through its organizations with one purpose - to harm IDF soldiers who are physically protecting us with their bodies.
....we welcome debate and discussion – but we do not welcome hatred of the Jewish State.  No matter how difficult it is, all self-respecting Jews must renounce the New Israel Fund.
Harvard Professor Ruth Wisse has said, 
“The rapid demoralization of Jews in the face of anti-Zionism… shows the depth of the influence of the past, for many have yet to achieve the simple self-respect that has been eluding the Jews collectively since the dawn of modernity.”
They may be nice people, they may do good things on other fronts – but those who support the New Israel Fund stand against the Jewish people.
Hank Sheinkopf is CEO of Sheinkopf Communications and a leading Democratic strategist. His clients have included former President Bill Clinton, and others.
Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, one of the 20 largest independent American PR firms.
George Birnbaum is an international political consultant, who is partners with Arthur Finkelstein. Birnbaum formerly served as chief of staff for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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