[Opinion] Palestinian Children Are The Child Soldiers No One Is Talking About
Professor Gerald Steinberg describes how international organizations are using Palestinian children such as Ahed Tamimi to wage a propaganda battle against Israel.
Publications: | Reports, Books, Academic Publications, Submissions, Resource Pages |
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Other Content Types: | Press Releases, In The Media, Presentations, Posts, , Key Issues |
NGOs: | Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) |
Start date: | 1 Jan 1988 |
End date: | 18 Oct 2019 |
Professor Gerald Steinberg describes how international organizations are using Palestinian children such as Ahed Tamimi to wage a propaganda battle against Israel.
The Israeli government has prepared a list of 20 organizations that lead BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns, such that officials of these groups will not be allowed to enter Israel. Reasonable people can disagree on whether or not banning activists who seek to harm the country they desire to enter is the best policy approach or not.
In a video that has gone viral, a young Palestinian approaches two Israeli soldiers. She hits, prods and slaps them. She is trying to provoke a reaction that will be caught on camera and show the ugly violence of the Israeli army. The soldiers respond with professionalism and restraint, and ignore her attack.
NGO Monitor research reveals that the NGO involvement in Congresswoman McCollum's legislation runs more deeply than endorsement from BDS NGOs. The entirety of the proposed bill is premised on factually inaccurate claims from anti-Israel advocacy NGOs, including direct quotes from DCIP’s “No Way to Treat a Child” 2016 report and website.
Legislation ostensibly addressing Israel and children’s rights, introduced in Congress yesterday by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), is the latest BDS strategy to demonize and impose sanctions on Israel, notes Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) led by Defense for Children International Palestine’s (DCI-P) have been conducting a campaign under the label of “No Way to Treat a Child” (NWTTAC). This initiative calls on government officials “to use all available means to pressure the Israeli government to end the detention and abuse of Palestinian children” and will “continue until the occupation is ended.”
Anne Herzberg points out the decision to deny BDS activists entry to Israel and the amendments to the law must be seen in context.
Professor Steinberg argues that if Michael Sfard is truly for fighting for human rights he would be more careful with whom he allies himself with.
On June 29-30, 2017, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) held a forum to “mark fifty years of Israeli occupation.” As anticipated, the event “Ending the Occupation: Creating the Space for Human Rights, Development and a Just Peace,” featured antisemitic rhetoric, calls for BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions), and demonization campaigns against Israel’s existence.
The speakers and their organizations that are scheduled to speak at a UN CEIRPP conference on June 30 have long-standing pro-BDS, lawfare, and ‘48 agendas.