Saturday, October 28, 2006
Here's a little of the background story behind that letter against the idea of divestment written by the President of Wayne State University. This is another excellent piece by Charles Jacobs: Black Zionist speaks out
She stood out in the midst of an anti-Israel rally. She stood out even more as she joined the pro-Israel Jewish students to sing “The Star Spangled Banner.†She really, really stood out when she glared at an “Israel is a Racist State†sign and then sang “Ha-Tikvah.†Cornetta Lane is a young black woman.
Cornetta is a member of The Fellowship for Israel and Black America. This summer, Cornetta participated in a training session along with 111 college and college-bound students in understanding the Arab-Israeli conflict and in leadership skills. The goal of these sessions is to build the pro-Israel forces on campus, teaching students to make Israel’s case – from the left or from the right. Christians participated in all three of the summer’s week-long programs. In one of the programs, four of the Christians were African Americans.
At registration, Jewish students were baffled. Why would American blacks want to stand up for Israel and Jewish students on campus? The African Americans explained that their pastor, Glen Plummer, who heads FIBA, teaches that it was the Jews who helped African Americans during the civil rights era. They contributed significantly – with funding and advice – to the founding of both the NAACP and the Urban League. They were key advisors to Martin Luther King. They stuck their necks out and advocated for equal rights for blacks long before it was comfortable.
When Cornetta got an alert from an Israel campus advocacy team about a rally against Israel at Wayne State University on Oct. 12, she decided to go. The Anti-Racist Action (ARA) – an off-campus group in Detroit sought to press Wayne State to divest from Israel. Cornetta wanted to express what she believes: Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and it deserves to exist in peace as a Jewish state.
Cornetta’s presence and defiance completely undermined the basis for the ARA’s divestment campaign – the calumny that “Israel = White Supremacy.†Outnumbered and flummoxed by Cornetta and the 30 Jewish students with her, the anti-Zionists walked off. Irvin D. Reid, president of Wayne State, witnessed all this and the next day condemned “divestment†in the Detroit Free Press. Cornetta said that she was proud to stand up for Jewish people and would “do this again†at a moment’s notice.
The morning of the rally – before we knew of Cornetta’s actions, Boston Pastor Gerald Bell and I had flown to Detroit to meet FIBA Director, Glenn Plummer. He spoke about the benefit of teaching FIBA students how to defend Jews and Israel. He spoke at length about black-Jewish relations. He said that black Christians believe that the Bible is the literal word of G-d, and this certainly includes the promise in Genesis that “those who bless the Jews will be blessed.†Now may we be blessed with a thousand Cornetta Lanes.
"Why would American blacks want to stand up for Israel and Jewish students on campus? The African Americans explained that their pastor, Glen Plummer, who heads FIBA, teaches that it was the Jews who helped African Americans during the civil rights era"
Maybe because they have already forgotton what a close friend and supporter Israel was to the Aparthed regime in South Africa.
Not sure about South Africa, but I know Israel does not have any good relationship with apartheid, missogynistic, islamonazi states of Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and many others.
They want to kill the Jews in the same way they want to kill Blacks, Whites anyone who is different from them.
If you're "not sure", let me remind you.
Israel was one of SA's best friends during it's international isolation. I guess Israel had a 'special understanding' of the 'difficulties' of the Aparthied regime.
So Michael, what has that got to do with the price of tea in China? Was Israel alone in their alleged support of the Apartheid government on South Africa? SA had no other "friends" and supporters? Why is Israel singled out? Should Israel be condemned forever in your eyes because of this? What a bizarre statement to make.
"Israel was one of SA's best friends during it's international isolation"
What isolation are you talking about? To my knowledge USA and GB never broke relationship with SA and never put any sactions on it.
Take almost any Arab or Muslim country, you will find a regime much worse than the apartheid SA.
As I said before they hate everyone and everybody. To see what they idocrinate their children with, just go to memritv.com. They are missogynistic, anti-gay, anti-black anti-white and anti -jewish. The only regimes that come to mind for comparisons are those of Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia. Yet most of the countries (except for Israel) have relationship with those countries (everyone needs oil). Using their oil money the Islamonazi kingdom of Saudi Arabia virtually bought the UN and bought the US universtities where people like yourself are getting indocrinated.
BTW speaking of Palestine.
It is another Islamonazi theocracy in the making.
I think Palestinian, eventually should get a state, but only when they build a society based not only on hate.
Michael,
Before the Arabs turned most African States away from the Israeli help in agriculture, medicine etc., there was not much in the way of "support" for SA.
But the double standard reigns supreme because nobody points a finger at the French and Belgians who supplied SA with their arms and technology to manufacture those arms, from rifles to Mirage fighters.
Funny how all the military support the British and Americans supplied with the Cold War as an excuse is never mentioned.
Funny nobody mentions the difficulties placed in the path of South Africans, unless big names, trying to get out of the Apartheid State like trying to emmigrate to Canada and having to go through the process by way of the Canadian Embassy in Beirut!
Western moral hypocrisy is hard to surpass. So PC!
She is a brave soul, in my mind, and has my respect.
People like Michael--and he is certainly welcome to tell me if or how I am wrong--are of the type who feel that Israel merits being the target of 50% of the UN Security Council condemnations, and who feel that it is entirely appropriate that the UN Human Rights Commission, in whatever form it takes, seems to target Israel exclusively. Never mind the abominations going on in the Sudan. Never mind the mass murder in the Congo. Never mind the mass starvation in North Korea. Never mind the hideous crime of homicide bombings. I could go on, but why bother?
Did Israel have a relationship with South Africa? Sure it did, but I think that the best question is to ask why. The answer is that Israel was made into a pariah state just like South Africa, so it talked to whoever it could talk to.
And now that the stain of apartheid has been removed from the face of Africa, those who protested against it have found a new target for their ire, which is Israel. They want it gone. And, if a few million Jews die in the process, well, that's a small price to pay for progress, isn't it..........
Israel did trade with apartheid South Africa, but so did a lot of other countries, including black African states and the USSR. If I remember correctly, the Soviet Union even had a cartel arrangement with SA. I think that trade with the SA by all these countries, including Israel, was more out of necessity than genuine friendship.
"So Michael, what has that got to do with the price of tea in China?"
Miss Kelly, you must be kidding?
The whole theme of this story is that Cornetta is an "American black".
A better question might have been - what has that got to do with the price of tea in China.
What!, that question never occured to you?
Why where the "Jewish students .. baffled"?
Maybe they were also thinking of SA and Israels very cosy relationship with the Apartheid regime.
"Take almost any Arab or Muslim country, you will find a regime much worse than the apartheid SA. " - Gaby
Ah, the "others are worse" argument.
Didn't take long for someone to trot that old nag out.
The problem with it is, that following this logic, you can excuse just about anything.
"they hate everyone and everybody" - G.
Probably not even human either Gaby.
Glad to see you aren't blinded by prejudice like "them".
"Probably not even human either Gaby"
As human as Germans brainwashed by supremacist Nazi ideology.
"Ah, the "others are worse" argument."
You cannot blame tiny democratic Israel surrounded by very powerful enemies for following realpolitik some times, while all the countries do it all the time. (Tell me who broke relationship with Islamonazi kingdon of Saudi Arabia or Sudan or Egypt over slavery, yes, they still black slaves).
Finally Michael got something right! You CAN justify almost anything with "others are worse" when the "others" are opponents like Islamofascist terrorists like Hamas and the PLO, and terror states like Syria and Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, in fact we don't, because we have different morals.
"You CAN justify almost anything with "others are worse" when the "others" are opponents like Islamofascist terrorists like Hamas and the PLO, and terror states like Syria and Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, in fact we don't, because we have different morals." - Soloman
You won't but...... you just did.
As did someone else -"Take almost any Arab or Muslim country, you will find a regime much worse than the apartheid SA."
Wrong, Michael, the point was not the comparison of the apartheid SA with Islamonazi slave-trading genocidal dictatorships like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Pakistan, Syria, or many others.
I compared Israel with contries that still have relationship with them like Switzerland or the US or China or Russia for example, or name any other country.
And....?
Just a hunch, but I'm guessing that life in Israel would be far, far better for Black people than in any other ME country.
How much knowledge of the civil rights era would you expect college students (who were born two decades later) to have?