Anti-Israel organizations spend the summer teaching hatred to young Westerners

There is no summer break for anti-Israel groups, who use this season to indoctrinate youngsters to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. BDS attempts to influence universities, academics, trade unions, companies, artists, singers, writers, lecturers, consumers, and others to boycott the State of Israel until it is no longer a Jewish nation. Unsurprisingly, the BDS movements’ leader, Omar Barghouti, vehemently opposes peace talks with Israel.

“Efforts to isolate Israel on campus do not cease with the end of the school year,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “These organized summer camps serve to indoctrinate the next generation of activists with biased messages intended to single out Israel. Organizers of the college-level programs seek to provide students with tools to steer public opinion away from the Jewish state.”

As the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Abraham Cooper told the Washington Free Beacon, “It doesn’t help a single Palestinian. It doesn’t improve the quality of life for Palestinians. It is simply anti-Israel.”

THE ANTI-ISRAEL SUMMER CAMPS

American campuses may feel even more anti-Israel heat come September. This summer American Friends Service Committee and the Jewish Voice for Peace are hosting a “five day intensive program for campus BDS organizers” in New York. According to the American Friends Service Committee website, participants will be coached in campaign development, grassroots organizing, media engagement, direct action planning, and strategic planning. The Jewish Voice for Peace is one of the ten most vocal anti-Israel groups in the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League, while the American Friends Service Committee, the political arm of the Quaker Movement, has also been active in supporting BDS and sponsoring anti-Israel events across the US.

Younger children are also targets. The American Muslims for Palestine summer camp in Chicago attracts 8-to-12-year-olds. “If the past is any indication, AMP will likely provide these kids the most misleading and distorted narratives of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Foxman said. “By AMP’s cynical calculation, there is no such thing as being too young to start learning how to hate Israel.”

According to the Anti-Defemation League, “the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) is the leading organization providing anti-Zionist training and education to students and Muslim community organizations in the country, promoting “extreme anti-Israel views” and “a platform for anti-Semitism.”

Additionally, Birthright Unplugged teaches young people primarily living in the West to support the BDS Movement during a six to 10 day Israel visit. According to the Birthright Unplugged website, “Throughout the journey, we help participants develop an understanding of daily life under occupation and apartheid.” When participants complete the trip, the young adults are invited to make a two-year commitment to the BDS Movement.

EDUCATING YOUNGSTERS TO HATE

Summer camps and programs that teach Westerners to hate Israel are merely an extension of a prevalent youth indoctrination phenomenon within the Palestinian Authority. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad summer camps routinely brainwash children to be terrorists. Additionally, Palestinian textbooks educate young children in violence and opposition to peaceful coexistence with the Jewish state.

These programs prompt deep concern about the next generation’s ability to create or sustain a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.

By Rachel Avraham, staff writer for United with Israel