In an extremely close vote, Presbyterian Church (USA) voted against boycotting Israel. That the motion was defeated by only two votes doesn’t point to a victory for Israel, but a growing sentiment against the Jewish state. One commentator said that it’s lucky the vote was held before the Netanyahu government released a report stating that West Bank settlements are legal.
The Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is undoubtedly gaining traction. In Britain its already seen huge advances and gains in popularity, as Howard Jacobson chronicled in his award-winning novel The Finkler Question.
Here in Switzerland, BDS recently scored a big win. The largest supermarket chain, Migros, announced they will cease labeling items from the West Bank as “Made in Israel”. Affected products include Ahava and Soda Stream, both Israeli companies, the latter’s headquarters in Ma’ale Adumin, or East Jerusalem. Migros claim they’re not boycotting goods, only increasing transparency. That the same policy is not applied across the board to other conflict regions makes their motivation suspect. Migros also haven’t explained how they will determine that the product originates in the West Bank. “Made in” labels don’t necessarily mean all that much nowadays. A product labeled “Made in Switzerland”, for example, can include up to 50% parts made elsewhere. So is it that Ahava sources its products in the West Bank? Or does this “Made in” label refer to the assembly, marketing, sales or administration? Some are likening this new label to the Swiss decision in the 1930s to mark their Jewish citizens’ passports with a “J”.
In another disturbing story originating in Switzerland, a politician from the right-wing Swiss Peoples’ Party, called for a Kristallnacht against Muslims. To be specific, he said, “Maybe it’s time for another Kristallnacht, this time against mosques.” The statement succeeds at simultaneously offending Muslims and Jews, the latter by implying that somehow the original Kristallnacht was appropriate for its time. (By the way, this the same party that proposed a minaret ban a few years back, so there’s a history here of anti-Muslim sentiment.)
Muslims and Jews are also uniting in Germany against a decision from Cologne’s district court banning circumcision, whether performed ritually in a synagogue or in a hospital. Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, head of the Conference of European Rabbis has recommended that the court order simply be ignored. Religious freedom is a concept that Europe understands intellectually, but not spiritually or morally. Therefore as soon as religion appears to clash with a different accepted value, its importance is demoted. Take, for example, moves to ban Muslim girls from wearing a hijab. This debate has been underway in most Western European countries, and has found success in France. It’s extremely difficult to imagine a similar discussion taking place in the United States, where freedom of religion is the cornerstone of the Bill of Rights. Or am I too rosy-spectacled?
Yes, Jewish and Israel related stories are abounding in Europe; unfortunately none of them bear good tidings.
