Is Teaneck NJ Trying to Ban the Keffiyeh? Tuesday Apr 16 7 pm
The Teaneck Town Council is meeting on Tuesday April 16. They are considering a proposal for a resolution with the stated intention to address anti-Semitism. The resolution language cites information from ADL (Anti-Defamation League). ADL is mentioned as a source about rising anti-Semitism in the US.
But using the ADL as an authoritative source of the information to base the resolution upon is problematic. The ADL does not separate out protected free speech in support of the Palestinian cause from actual acts of anti-Semitism. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt recently greatly expanded ADL’s definition of anti-Semitism to anyone who wears a Keffiyeh. Indeed on Joe Scarborough’s March 29 Good Morning America show he adamantly stated that wearing a keffiyeh is equal to wearing a nazi armband. Also a review of ADL CEO Greenblatt’s twitter account shows that he views opposition to US – Israel policy in Gaza equivalent to Hamas support.
So if a government body wants to quote ADL in a resolution intended to address Anti-Semitism it needs to clarify if it agrees with the anti-Semitism definition the ADL espouses – including that the keffiyeh is equivalent to a nazi armband and also with the ADL perspective that opposing Israel’s Gaza operation is equivalent to supporting Hamas. If so – that government body is not a credible body to write a resolution about Anti-Semitism. And if it disagrees with the ADL on those two points, then ADL should not be mentioned in the resolution.
It is true that there are indeed acts of Anti-Semitism that are occurring in the United States and this editor condemns anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic acts. However opposition to US support for Israel and opposition to the genocidal actions by Israel is not part of anti-Semitism – they are protected speech and indeed a necessary expression for anyone connected with their humanity. The Jewish faith is well represented in the effort to end Israel genocide and US support – organizationally and individually. Organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now in the US and Israeli peace organizations with Jewish leadership are all part of efforts to end genocide. Having a different policy position from those who support Israel is not an act of anti-Semitism and expressing that position verbally does not constitute anti-Semitism. Pro – Israel advocates engage in sophistry by conflating any opposition to Israel with anti-Semitism.
The connection of this resolution proposal to the ADL suggests that this could be an attempt to restrict wearing of the Keffiyeh in Teaneck NJ. This editor publicly asks the proposers of this resolution to answer the questions – do they agree with ADL equivalency between the Keffiyeh and a nazi armband and do they consider the Keffiyeh to be an anti-Semitic expression? The question speaks to the issue as to whether the Teaneck council is a credible body to bring forth their proposed resolution
My question to the supporters of this resolution is:
IN YOUR OPINION IS WEARING A KEFFIYEH AN ANTI-SEMITIC ACT AND EQUIVALENT OF WEARING A NAZI ARMBAND AS STATED BY ADL CEO JONATHAN GREENBLATT ON NATIONAL TELEVISION?
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT CRITICS OF ISRAEL ARE “HAMAS SUPPORTERS” AS ADL CEO JONATHAN GREENBLATT DOES – PER A REVIEW OF HIS TWITTER ACCOUNT – THAT CRITICS OF ISRAEL’S ACTIONS IN GAZA ARE HAMAS SUPPORTERS?
If the answer to these questions is YES – then this resolution is clearly advancing a dog whistle call to violence as Jonathan Greenblatt has done with his keffiyeh smear. And if the answer is NO you should remove the ADL reference from the resolution,
These are my recommendations as the editor of FightBackBetter.
