Mobilize now, save the world

Just over three years ago, at the first-ever global forum on anti-Semitism organized by the State of Israel, the essential task was to define the beast - the new anti-Semitism. Since then, as the fourth such global gathering meets this week, efforts to incorporate the "three-D" distinction between legitimate criticism of Israel and the new anti-Semitism - demonization, double standards and delegitimization - have become part of international documents and discourse.

These and other accomplishments, as important as they are, have been dwarfed by the quantum leap anti-Semitism itself has taken. It has leapfrogged from isolated attacks against Jews to incitement to genocide - the actual elimination of the Jewish state.

This shift has come in the form of a pincer movement. On one side, we have the Iranian regime, which is denying the Holocaust and calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map" while racing to develop the physical means of doing so. On the other side, we have what is, in effect, international silence in response, coupled with growing willingness to discuss Israel's existence as a mistake, an anachronism, or a provocation.

We must recognize the fact that though sympathy for Iran's expressed goal of Israel's destruction is hardly mainstream, the idea of a world without Israel is more acceptable in polite company, the media and academia today than Hitler's expressed goal of a Europe without Jews was in 1939.

Given this situation, it should be clear that we are beyond the stage of definitions. The Jewish world now must mobilize at a level no less than during the struggles to establish the State of Israel and to free Soviet Jewry. It is this latter struggle that presents the most potent model for action today.

Though both sides of the genocidal pincer are in quite advanced stages of development, the Jewish world remains mired in pre-mobilization debates reminiscent of the early stages of the Soviet Jewry struggle in the 1960s. This may be hard to recall in light of the subsequent success, but back then a debate raged among Jews over whether a campaign to free Soviet Jewry was "too parochial," and whether being out front risked making it too much of a "Jewish issue."

BEFORE THESE internal debates were resolved the Soviet Jewry effort could not be regarded as a movement, capable of attracting allies and moving governments. Nor were such debates easily, or ever fully, put to rest.

As late as 1987, when the by then mature and powerful movement organized the largest-ever Soviet Jewry rally on Washington's mall to coincide with Mikhail Gorbachev's visit, some Jewish leaders wondered if the community could be mobilized, and if such a rally would be counterproductive. They warned that only a few thousand souls would brave the winter weather, and that the Jewish community would be considered "warmongers" who were spoiling the recent warming of US-Soviet relations.

In actuality, over 250,000 people came to a rally that was pivotal in opening the floodgates, not just to 10,000 or 20,000 Jews, which seemed like a dream at the time, but to a million Jews who came to Israel over the following decade.

Since it has been a while, a reminder is in order of what full mobilization looks like.

First, as Shlomo Avineri has recently proposed, Iranian officials should get the Soviet treatment. Just as no Soviet official, including sport and cultural delegations, could travel without being accosted by protests and hostile questions, so it should be with anyone representing the Iranian regime. As in the Soviet case, such protests will not themselves change Iranian behavior, but they are critical to creating a climate that will influence the policies of Western governments.

Second, an inventory of the governments and companies that provide Iran with refined oil, huge trade deals, and even military and nuclear assistance should be taken and public pressure be put on them to end their complicity with a regime that is racing to genocide.

Third, the pension funds of US states should be divested from all companies that trade with or invest in Iran. This divestment campaign must be pursued without apologies or hesitation.

Fourth, every country that is party to the Genocide Convention should be called upon to fulfill its obligation under that treaty and seek an indictment of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the charge of incitement to genocide, which is a "punishable offense" under Article III of that treaty.

Fifth, human rights groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which are heavily nourished by Jewish values, passion

and funding, must stop squeezing both sides of the genocidal pincer. These groups must be challenged, on the one hand, to press for enforcement of the Genocide Treaty, to stand up for human rights in Iran, and to oppose and expose Iranian support for terrorism. On the other, they must stop perverting the sacred cause of human rights into a cudgel in Iran's hands against Israel. This happened just months ago when, during the Lebanon war, such groups all but ignored Hizbullah's terrorism from behind human shields and called Israel's self-defense a "war crime."

JUST AS the two sides of the pincer themselves are connected, so too must be the efforts to combat them. All the above steps concern the Iranian side of the pincer. But combating the other side, the denial of Israel's right to exist, is no less critical - and more difficult, since at times they necessitate confronting, not a rogue regime, but our own cherished institutions. On this front:

First, universities that provide chairs for professors who campaign against Israel's right to exist should be boycotted. In a number of countries, denying the Holocaust is a criminal act. In the current context, denying Israel's right to exist lays the groundwork for a second holocaust even more directly than does denying history. Therefore, the promulgation of such an ideology should be fought even by societies that justifiably revere freedom of speech.

This may seem a hopelessly difficult task, but it is not. After 9/11, one woman, a student, took on Harvard University, which was ready to accept a $10 million "gift" from a Saudi sheikh. Harvard backed down, showing that moral clarity, unapologetically and passionately expressed, can change seemingly unassailable ideas.

We must stand for a basic principle: If denying the Holocaust can land a professor in jail, denying Israel should not land him tenure.

Second, support for Israel must be demonstrated. Two decades after the massive Soviet Jewry rally of 1987, we need to return to the Mall on Israel's Independence Day in May with two messages: Support Israel and Stop Iran. It is late, but not too late, to overcome those fears of being "too parochial" that the Soviet Jewry movement succeeded in dispelling more than 30 years ago.

The fight to support Israel and stop Iran now is, if anything, less "parochial" than the Soviet Jewry movement was then. Then, the Jewish world took on a global superpower, the Soviet Union, and confronted the reigning American foreign policy paradigm - detente - with a very different one: linkage of trade to human rights.

Then, we successfully argued that the freedom to emigrate was not just a Jewish concern, but a universal one, and we were more right than we knew. The Jackson-Vanik amendment and the Helsinki Accords were critical factors in triggering the internal collapse of the Soviet empire. This collapse not only freed millions of Jews, but all the peoples behind the Iron Curtain, and ended a half-century-old superpower stalemate that threatened the entire planet.

NOW THE WORLD stands at a no less fateful watershed. The world's most dangerous rogue regime is on the verge of obtaining the ultimate weapons of terror. Already, Iran's confidence that it will not be stopped has led to one war, last summer's war in Lebanon started by Hizbullah. Already, Iran is fueling conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Gaza - and all this before the regime enjoys its own full, declared nuclear umbrella.
The moment before mobilization is always a lonely one, in which it seems that the obstacles to making a cause universal are insurmountable. Yet, as in the case of the Soviet Jewry movement, we are not alone. We are surrounded by potential allies who may not themselves know they are ready to join us until we create a movement for them to join.
Our leadership will give others the opportunity to act. If the Jewish world does not lead the way, who will? It is as true now as it was then; if we build it, they will come.
A decade after the wave of democracy that came with the fall of the Soviet Union, an Iranian-led wave of terror is rising that will not stop until it is stopped. Ultimately, we overcame our fear of parochialism to stand up for Soviet Jewry, and left the world a much better place for it. Now we must do the same to prevent a second holocaust, and in the process save the world.

Divest from Iran

Financial weapons can be the most effective against terror.

Laura Goldman     20 Mar 07   20:12 

Since there have already been 3,468 military deaths and countless civilian fatalities in Iraq, shouldn't we search for non-military solutions before we go to war with Iran?

Former Prime Minister Netanyahu has recently been barnstorming the United States to call on the fiduciaries of America’s largest pension plans. Netanyahu is asking the state and city treasurers to stop investing in companies that do business with Iran.

Netanyahu is concentrating on companies that have ties to Iran, but the US State Department has also designated Sudan, Syria, and North Korea of concern.

Companies such as Bank BNP Paribas, oil producers Total, Repsol, Statoil, and Royal Dutch, car manufacturer Hyundai, Coca Cola, Siemens and Sinopec are on the terror watch list. These companies generate billions of dollars in revenues for these rogue nations. By holding them accountable, we are able to defund terrorism.

“$188 billion from the top 100 pension plans in the United States have been invested in companies that are doing business with states that sponsor terror,“ said Frank Gaffney, founder of the Center for Security Policy. Gaffney was temporarily Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan administration.

A trade embargo against Iran will not succeed. Iran is home to the world’s second largest oil producing reserves. Their oil revenues were more than $44 billion last year. Our SUV loving world might be willing to give up Cuban cigars but they are not willing to give up their favorite mistress.

Netanyahu’s divestment plan in conjunction with the Center for Security Policy is modeled after the successful South African campaign of the 1980’s. Divestment triumphed where diplomacy, international sanctions, and public condemnation against South Africa had previously failed. Without economic pressure, the government in Cape Town had no reason to oppose apartheid.

Why does divestment work when other campaigns have failed? Unfortunately, most of us are not pure of heart and are motivated by greed. Divestment of stocks hits the decision makers, C-suiters (CEO, CFO etc) where it hurts them the most in their pocket books.

Most senior executives are paid in stock. The stock of a well run profitable company will not go up unless buyers are clamoring for the stock. Divestment policy against the company will limit the number of potential buyers.

The economic and political case for divestment in Iran is compelling. Iran main industry is oil. National Iranian Oil Company Managing Director Gholamhossein Nozari has already admitted at an oil conference that Iran needs $94 billion of foreign investment by 2011 to bolster oil and gas production. There is an urgent need for this money because current output is dropping by 7% a year due to depletion and lack of upkeep at the wells. If Iran does not receive this investment, oil production will decline by 35% in five years.

Without oil, the Iranians will not be able to command the world stage. More importantly, they will be unable to pay for the nuclear reactors that they are now building.

The people of Iran have already expressed their frustration with their president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They voted for the opposition party in the local election. Less oil production may mean fewer votes for Ahmadinejad. He could be removed from office by the force of the voter not the might of the soldier.

There is another reason to avoid companies that does business with Iran. They could be underestimating their global security risk. The SEC asked Ford in a July 5 letter “if its share value and reputation were not being compromised by its activities in Syria, Iran and Sudan.” Marathon Oil was also questioned.

Currently, there are two public officials leading the charge for terror free investing New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. and Missouri State Treasurer Sarah Steelman. Each approaches it differently.

As New York City Comptroller, Mr. Thompson is in charge of $100 billion dollars of pension assets, notably the Police and Fireman Welfare funds. With the help in screening from the Conflicts Security Advisory Group, William Thompson introduced shareholder resolutions to American companies with foreign subsidiaries doing business with states that sponsor terrorism. Even though is legal, the resolution asked why they were doing business in places like Iran? In return for his withdrawal of these resolutions, companies like General Electric, Halliburton, Conoco Phillips, AON, and Cooper Cameron agreed not to do business through the foreign subsidiaries in countries whose governments sponsor terrorism.

Thompson was able to wring major concession from giant companies that will slow the pace of terrorism and save human lives.

Treasurer Steelman said at a Washington press conference, “It seems strange to me that we send men and women to defend freedom some of whom pay the ultimate sacrifice however, we have not yet used our most powerful weapon, America's financial markets.”

Steelman has answered the critics of terror free investing and shown it is a fiscally sound choice to make for both governments and individuals. In July of last year, the state of Missouri under Sarah Steelman became the first public agency to implement a terror free investment fund called the Missouri Investment Trust. Although it is a new fund, the returns are 74 basis points over the benchmark index for international equities in developed Asia and Europe. A back tested portfolio for five years showed that there would no impairment to performance. A terror free portfolio would match the benchmarks.

An individual can participate in terror free investment by purchasing the world’s only certified terror free mutual fund, Roosevelt Anti Terror Multi Cap fund. The macroeconomic fund has a five-star rating and is considered low risk by Morningstar. The fund company in some variation has been managing money since 1971. This fund has achieved a 13.75% annualized return since inception two years ago.

Adam Pener, COO of Conflicts Security Advisory Group, reminded me, “This is not like other types of socially responsible investing. Anti-tobacco investing eliminates all the tobacco stocks. Terror free investing, however, cross-cuts several sectors leaving room for using peer companies to replace “noncompliant” firms. Early terror-free portfolios have clearly demonstrated that the impact on return is de minimis -- the investor does not have to lose return.”

Critics of the movement in the United States fear that this will isolate the United States even more from Europe and do irreparable harm to an already fragile relationship. I disagree. Nobody is for terrorism.

Exercise your shareholder rights and vote stocks with terror links off your investment island. Be drafted in the economic war on terrorism.

Laura Goldman is an independent commentator. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of "Globes" newspaper.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 20, 2007

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2007

22 Jewish Leaders Arrested Calling for Removal of Iran  at UN
by Alex Traiman

Twenty-one rabbis, and a Jewish community layperson were arrested at  the United Nations Tuesday, demanding that Iran be removed from the  international body.

The group, organized by AMCHA – Coalition for Jewish Concerns, was arrested by New York  City Police and imprisoned for several hours after peacefully crossing  over from the public city street to the steps leading down to the United  Nations.

AMCHA Director, and Rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of  Riverdale, Avi Weiss stated in response to his incarceration, "It's a  serious matter to step beyond the line, to violate the law. But we must do  so as a moral outcry to the world that it can't be business as usual. The  time has come to expel Iran from the United Nations."

After being  warned of their impending arrest, the group sat down under the large Peace  Wall quoting the words of the biblical prophet Isaiah: "Nation shall not  lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more." 

At the rally which began several blocks away at the Iranian  Mission to the UN, Weiss exclaimed, "There's a fire burning, and we must  raise a voice of moral outrage. We urge that the presence of any Iranian  delegation be protested, that pressure be put on countries not to trade  with Iran, that state governments divest from companies trading with Iran,  and that nations signed on to the Genocide Convention strongly condemn  Iranian President Ahmadinejad who's threatened to wipe Israel off the  map.

"We demand that the United Nations expel Iran, which has  threatened to annihilate Israel, a fellow UN member state."

The  group then proceeded to the headquarters of the World body, with the  intent of getting arrested.

Former Deputy District Attorney,  turned Conservative Rabbi, Mark Ankorn, of the Southwest Orlando Jewish  Congregation stated prior to his arrest, "It’s not a decision I take  lightly, believe me. I’ve never written a letter to the editor, never  written my congressman or my senator about any issue, never been a part of  a sit-down or teach-in or anything else.

"But the government of  Iran denies the Holocaust and supplies the rockets that killed dozens in  Israel this past summer. They furiously seek nuclear weapons and kidnap  British sailors. When will it stop? When will we stand up and say,  Enough?"

Rabbi Joseph Potasnick, president of the New York Board  of Rabbis, stated after the protest, "Iranian President Ahmadinejad says  he'll wipe Israel off the map. We say, remove the map from him -- he  should not be allowed to enter any halls of power anywhere. Ahmadinejad  should be made to feel like a pariah."

Conservative Rabbi Bruce  Ginsburg of Congregation Sons of Israel added, "Iran trains terrorists to  murder Israelis and insurgents to kill American soldiers and Iraqi  civilians. We say to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, kick Iran out of  the United Nations."

Each of the 22 arrested protestors were  released after being held for over five hours, and were charged with  disorderly conduct. Each of the protestors must appear in Criminal Court  by May 15.

Following their release, organizers added, "We call  upon the American Jewish community to organize a mass march on Washington,  joined by hundreds of thousands, to raise a powerful voice of moral  conscience and a simple message: there's a fire burning, burning from  Iran. There cannot be business as usual until Iran is stopped."
"We  are calling upon all rabbis and clergy of other faiths to join together  and in an act of civil disobedience demand that Iran be expelled from the  United Nations. To be successful in our mission, our actions need to be  continuous and make a significant impact that will cause a shift around  the world. On the week of Holocaust Remembrance Day, we, the leaders of  our communities, will stand together and show the world that we will not  tolerate Iran’s threats to the Jewish State, nor will we accept Iran’s  defiance of nuclear treaties without being expelled from the  UN."