{"id":10412,"date":"2017-04-06T11:29:22","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T10:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=10412"},"modified":"2017-04-26T11:07:17","modified_gmt":"2017-04-26T10:07:17","slug":"israeli-apartheid-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/israeli-apartheid-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Apartheid Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Banners<\/a>
Banners were hoisted to promote Israeli Apartheid Week at the University of Sussex<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Brighton Bell<\/p>\n

Last month saw\u00a0what is known as \u2018Israeli Apartheid Week\u2019 (otherwise known as \u2018Israel Apartheid Week\u2019). This annual event<\/a><\/strong> was originally launched in Toronto in 2004.<\/p>\n

It has since spread to a number of different countries around the world. Primarily \u2018celebrated\u2019 at universities, the week is marked by lectures and events. \u00a0And by an aversion to the state of Israel.<\/p>\n

Naturally, all events\u00a0are designed to talk up supposed Israeli oppression of Palestinians. \u00a0And of course these must invoke the apparition of South African apartheid.<\/p>\n

My\u00a0University of Sussex, based in Brighton, is one of the most radically left-wing universities in Britain. \u00a0It follows it was only too glad to host Israeli Apartheid Week 2017.<\/p>\n

Non-\u2019progressives\u2019 are \u2018problems\u2019<\/h3>\n

Interestingly, the week took place just after\u00a0an article written in the Daily Telegraph the previous week. \u00a0In the article, one of my contemporaries declared that if you are conservative or right-wing at Sussex, you are \u2018a problem which needs dealing with\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"Professor<\/a>
Professor Adam Tickell, our Vice-Chancellor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The article made a number of valid points which tally very much with my own experience as a Sussex student. \u00a0There are certain \u2018progressive\u2019 views on subjects such as abortion, feminism, and transsexual rights. \u00a0(Forget ‘gay rights’. That horse bolted years ago.)\u00a0Anyone who does not subscribe to these views is a public enemy, let alone ‘a problem’.<\/p>\n

In response to the Telegraph article, Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex wrote an email to all students. \u00a0He called for tolerance for different voices and points of view.<\/p>\n

In the email, Professor Tickell said, \u2018Universities are places that are defined by a spirit of critical enquiry, the capacity to challenge, and a celebration of different views and opinions\u2019. He continued, \u2018we must never forget that we must value and embrace difference rather than try to shut it down\u2019.<\/p>\n

Israeli Apartheid Week \u2018deeply upsetting\u2019<\/h3>\n
\"A<\/a>
A flier for Israeli Apatheid Week<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If\u00a0only the Student Union would see things in a similar light. \u00a0Instead, it treats those with more conservative views with contempt. \u00a0Professor Tickell then wrote specifically of ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’. \u00a0He acknowledged \u2018even the language is deeply upsetting to many members of our Jewish and non-Jewish community\u2019. Upsetting it certainly was, with members of the Jewish society describing\u00a0the week as\u00a0anti-Semitic.<\/p>\n

So what actually happened on the Sussex campus during Israeli Apartheid Week? \u00a0Firstly, we saw\u00a0an art display with very little art. \u00a0Secondly, we had a protest which did not go ahead. \u00a0Thirdly, we put up with\u00a0events which\u00a0were\u00a0something of a shambles. \u00a0My favourite, so to speak, was a rally on the Thursday. \u00a0Naturally,\u00a0only pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel\u00a0activists were allowed to speak. They included speakers from Palestine, South Africa, and the Movement for Black Lives.\u00a0 The latter has been given hundreds of thousands of dollars by \u2018Funders for Justice\u2019. And that includes The Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations of George Soros. \u00a0Surprised, anyone?<\/p>\n

Israel not \u2018apartheid\u2019 at all<\/h3>\n
\"No,<\/a>
No, Israel is not like South Africa was. But that’s the narrative.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All the events were organised by the \u2018Sussex Friends of Palestine Society\u2019. \u00a0Naturally, they want only one particular, biased narrative to be heard. Not one Israeli or Jewish person was invited to participate. The organisers did\u00a0their best to compare the apartheid of\u00a0South Africa with current events in Israel.<\/p>\n

Never mind the Student Union\u2019s own beloved Guardian newspaper has said<\/a><\/strong> the word apartheid is not accurately applied when used to describe Israeli society. \u00a0Sussex is in the vanguard of the post-truth world. \u00a0The\u00a0comparison is specifically designed to lead\u00a0students to\u00a0conclude Israel is a racist country which practises segregation. What\u00a0a convenient comparison for those trying to push an anti-Israel\u00a0narrative.<\/p>\n

Boycott, Divestment and\u00a0 Sanctions (BDS)<\/h3>\n

Israeli Apartheid Week is\u00a0inflammatory in nature to Jewish and Israeli people. \u00a0Moreover,\u00a0it is an indicator of wider anti-Israel\u00a0sentiment. \u00a0This does not just happen at the University of Sussex. \u00a0Campuses not just across the country but around the world take part. \u00a0In 2015, students at Sussex voted by 68% to 32% to join the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement. \u00a0This exists to boycot Israeli goods and artistic and academic contacts. The vote was on a total turnout of less than 10% of all students. Around 7% of students voted for a boycott on Israel for the other 93% of students.<\/p>\n

\"As'ad<\/a>
As’ad Abukhalil: promoter of Israeli Apartheid Week<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The BDS movement itself is closely linked with an extreme rejectionist form of Palestinian nationalism. This seeks to destroy the state of Israel, establishing in its place a state of \u2018Palestine\u2019. Indeed, key leaders in the BDS movement have stated: \u2018the real aim of BDS is to bring down the state of Israel\u2019.<\/p>\n

That was As\u2019ad AbuKhalil. \u00a0He also said: \u2018Justice and freedom for the Palestinians are incompatible with the existence of the state of Israel\u2019. \u00a0One John Spritzler wrote: \u2018I think the BDS movement will gain strength from forthrightly explaining why Israel has no right to exist\u2019. \u00a0Charming.<\/p>\n

Academic Boycott proposed<\/h3>\n

Firstly, BDS started by boycotting Israeli goods. \u00a0Secondly, it swiftly spread to include an academic boycott of Israel. \u00a0In 2014 there was a referendum at Sussex where students were asked if they wished to support just that. Anyone from Israel or holding an Israeli passport would have been barred from speaking at or being employed by the university. Students ultimately voted against the academic boycott by 904 to 649 votes.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the proposal demonstrates some of the more extreme aims of the BDS movement. \u00a0Are you surprised to learn these are supported by a number of universities across Britain? \u00a0 Back in December 2016, the University of Manchester\u2019s student union voted to join the growing BDS movement. \u00a0And that is\u00a0the largest in the country.<\/p>\n

Much as on subjects such as abortion, sexuality, gender and feminism, students are presented with a one-sided\u00a0view. \u00a0They are told Israel\u00a0is an apartheid state. \u00a0Meanwhile, student unions are supporting a movement which wants to see Israel wiped off the map. There is such a clear bias here. \u00a0It always\u00a0seeks to sideline those with more traditional or conservative views while elevating those deemed to be \u2018progressive\u2019. And of course the ‘progressivism’ is anti-Christian, anti-family, anti-life, anti-Jewish, and pro-Muslim.<\/p>\n

Islamic Awareness Week<\/h3>\n
\"Firstly,<\/a>
Firstly, a week bashing Israel. Secondly, a week extolling the wonders of Islam. Welcome to the University of Sussex!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During Israeli Apartheid week, I asked someone from the student union why we were not holding an \u2018oppression in Islamic countries week\u2019. \u00a0We could expose the discrimination faced by women and Christians in Islamic countries. \u00a0I thought that was a really good idea. But I was promptly told my question was entirely misplaced and I had better shut my mouth.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0couple of days later I saw a poster. \u00a0You are way ahead of me.<\/p>\n

Next week on campus would be \u2018Islamic Awareness Week\u2019. \u00a0In one week the student union went\u00a0from attacking Israel and Jewish people, to promoting the \u2018peace\u2019 and \u2018tolerance\u2019 of Islam. \u00a0Heaven help us.\u00a0 And Israel.<\/p>\n

PRAY<\/b>: For the State of Israel and for Jewish students facing this rise of anti-Semitism.\u00a0 Pray for your children and grandchildren at universities in the United Kingdom, that they may discern the truth and stand against all forms of evil.<\/p>\n

Genesis 12:3, \u2018And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/b>Ezekiel 37:21, \u2018And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Please share this article by clicking the links below:<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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By Brighton Bell Last month saw\u00a0what is known as \u2018Israeli Apartheid Week\u2019 (otherwise known as \u2018Israel Apartheid Week\u2019). This annual event was originally launched in Toronto in 2004. It has since spread to a number of different countries around the world. Primarily \u2018celebrated\u2019 at universities, the week is marked by lectures and events. \u00a0And by 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& antisemitism<\/a> UK Christian Constitution<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"By Brighton Bell Last month saw\u00a0what is known as \u2018Israeli Apartheid Week\u2019 (otherwise known as \u2018Israel Apartheid Week\u2019). 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