Move over, Ben & Jerry’s. Now the congresswomen known as “The Squad” have launched a new attack on Israel—and, just like the ice cream maker, one of their prime targets is Jerusalem.
The dirty little secret of the Ben & Jerry’s assault is that it is aimed not just at “settlements” but at Israel’s capital, Jerusalem. The ice cream company’s use of the vague term “Occupied Palestinian Territory” is a deliberate attempt to hide the unpopular fact that their boycott extends to the Western Wall.
Now “The Squad” is taking aim at the Wall, too—only they are being much more open about it.
In a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen this week, four self-described “Squad” members, together with three other Democrats, called for revoking the tax-exempt status of American charities that send funds to projects in “Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Yes, the Squad and company used the exact same term as did Ben & Jerry’s—except that they actually defined the territory in question. No less than five times in the letter, the signatories said they are referring to “the West Bank, including East Jerusalem” or “occupied East Jerusalem neighborhoods.”
The signatories were “Squad” Congressmembers Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, joined in this case by perpetual anti-Israel bandwagoneers Betty McCollum of Minnesota, André Carson of Indiana, and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin.
The letter is pretty much what you would expect from the Israel-bashing crowd. Lots of angry, overheated rhetoric. Ample slinging of mud. The standard rhetorical blasts— “forced evictions,” “seizing lands,” “destroying Palestinian homes,” “international crimes,” “systematic discrimination.” And, of course, “apartheid.”
It would be almost comical if it wasn’t so outrageous. “Forced evictions” of people who are illegal squatters. “Seizing lands” that have belonged to the Jewish people for thousands of years. “Apartheid” in a country that has an Arab justice on its Supreme Court, Arab ambassadors in its diplomatic service, and an Arab political party in its governing coalition.
But we owe these seven extremist congressmembers a bit of gratitude for being more open than their comrades at Ben & Jerry’s, and acknowledging that when they say “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” they mean Jerusalem, too.
Here’s what the Squad’s “East Jerusalem” includes:
— Major Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Ramot, French Hill, Gilo, Ramat Eshkol, Givat HaMatos, Talpiot Mizrach and Ramat Shlomo.
- The Mount of Olives cemetery, which is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the world. The 150,000 graves in the 3,000-year-old burial site include—and here I am quoting Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish organizations—"three of our prophets, foremost Torah scholars, heads of Hassidic dynasties, and many of our national leaders over the ages, including Prime Minister Begin.”
— The ancient Jewish Quarter in the walled Old City.
— Judaism’s holiest site, the Temple Mount.
— And, of course, the Western Wall, the most-visited Jewish religious site in modern history.
All of that, according to The Squad and Ben & Jerry’s, is “Occupied Palestinian Territory.” However, according to the overwhelming majority of Jews around the world, and countless millions of Christian friends of Israel, it is Liberated Jewish Territory.
In other words, we have—to put it politely—a very serious difference of opinion with the haters of Israel. So be it. At least now it’s clear what we’re fighting over.
Stephen M. Flatow, an attorney in New Jersey and the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. He is author of “A Father’s Story: My Fight for Justice Against Iranian Terror,” and an oleh chadash.