The Bigger Picture

I’m attending my first AIPAC Policy Conference this week and, seeing the organization in action, I can understand why it’s the subject of so much demonology by Israel’s enemies. While I’ll have more to say about the experience in the coming days, suffice to say that this is one American Jewish organization that has its SH*T together. While many of us struggle to find our mission or our audience, AIPAC combines the professionalism, discipline and long-term thinking that one rarely sees in any institution public or private.

Switching back to the subject of demonology, I was pretty disappointed at the number of protestors who turned out to this event. Even the AIPAC New England dinner (which I’ve attended twice) seems to bring out bigger numbers of people who at least have a semblance of a coherent message. But with 7500 AIPAC supporters gathering in DC, the best the Israel haters could manage was a contingent of black hats from the Norman Klitorus sect, a gaggle of people waving anti-Israel and anti-Obama signs with the delightful message of “God Hates Fags,” and a small group who, for some reason, decided to dress up as pieces of Swiss cheese.

Word has it that a few Code Pinkers paid the $500 registration fee to get into the final dinner so that they could heckle Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu before realizing that using this same tactic for a second year in a row meant the dreaded Zionists were ready for them (drowning out their shouts in a burst of applause before ejecting them from the room). In fact, those of us in the cheap seats only found out the “edgy” “transgressive” Pinkians did their thing when we were walking out of the dinner to fetch dessert. Thus is the fate of people whose entire political movement consists of posting pictures of themselves acting naughty on their own Facebook pages.

I was curious as to whether the subject of BDS would be featured at the event and, in typical AIPAC fashion, this subject was fit into a broader, well thought-out context that falls under the heading of “Delegitimizing of Israel.” While BDS was an example of this type of de-legitimization, speakers correctly pointed out that the de-legit program originates with the Arab states working through their domination of organizations like the UN to create ugly bits of nastiness like the Goldstone Report which they can then use to whitewash their propaganda program.

Within this framework, BDS is just a hanger on, a barnacle clinging to a bigger De-legitimization ship created and manned by some of the world’s most powerful and wealthiest states. No doubt this is not the reality the BDSers (who see themselves as brave, righteous lonely souls battling against powerful enemies) want themselves or others to comprehend, but it is a useful way to understand what we’re really dealing with when confronted by those advocating for boycott, divestment and sanctions.

Now it would be fair to point out that if BDS is simply a parasite gaining sustenance from the actions of the wealthy and powerful, then this site is simply attaching itself for a ride on that parasite, having fun at the expense of a “movement” that is really just a third-removed threat from the real action. To which I would say “guilty as charged!” But in a world where groups like AIPAC (with support from the 7500 people in that room last night) are dealing with big stuff (like securing the US-Israel relationship and trying to stop Iran from going nuclear), it’s nice that BDS provides people like me with a hobby.