Same old song: US supporter of Israeli apartheid dishonestly claims to be victim of racism

SCoJeC accuses SPSC of “strident support for bullying, intimidation, and racist stereotyping”. In fact, we oppose their never-ending attempts to conflate anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism, itself a dangerous and racist campaign to implicate all Jews in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people, crimes on which these nauseating hypocrites are utterly silent. The intent is clear - to change the subject as far as possible from the crimes of the State of Israel, increasingly a “polecat State in world opinion” (Ronnie Kasrils). It is, frankly, rather sickening to hear the defenders of the mass murder of Palestinians in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead lying that they are the victims of a wholly invented assault, and these same supporters of Israel’s rigorous State-enforced ethnic residential segregation claim to be victims of racism when their support for crimes is challenged.

The Northern Region Jewish Chaplaincy is rushing to smear opponents of Israeli terrorism and ethnic cleansing as racist, hoping to build on the bizarre ruling handed down in Cupar Sheriff Court on Tuesday. During deliberations, Sheriff MacNair called US citizen Chanan Reitblat a ‘member of Israel’.

The press release by the Northern Region (i.e. Scottish) Jewish Chaplaincy claims that Chanan Reitblat was “attacked in his own bedroom…His property was abused…[and] he was subjected to serious harassment and humiliation, was jumped upon in his bed, and had his Jewish identity questioned and insulted”.

Ephraim Borowski, on behalf of SCoJeC (Scottish Council of Jewish Communities) denounced ”Donnachie’s thuggish behaviour...[as] racist action...bullying...and intimidation” and accused all those who deny the allegation that Donnachie was motivated by racism as themselves “racist...hid[ing] their racist stereotyping and violence behind facile lip-service to anti-racism.” (For a taste of Borowski’s previous history of unfounded accusations of racism, see examples here, here and here.) The issue of unfounded accusations of racism, however, is international.

The claim that Reitblat was attacked is manifestly untrue. Despite the evidence of inebriated behaviour in poor taste, for which Donnachie rightly apologised, no assault took place, no one was ever charged with assault and no evidence was presented in court that anyone attacked Reitblat. It didn’t happen. By “his Jewish identity”, Rabbi Wayland means his and Reitblat’s support for the State of Israel, a wholly political affiliation opposed by supporters of human rights, including many Jews, who distinguish sharply between the religion of Judaism and the project of dispossession that is the State of Israel.

The basic facts are these: Paul Donnachie and Reitblat knew each other well; the two had socialised extensively in St Andrews' smallest University hall, as part of a close friendship group, would eat together every day and had even attended a lecture on the "Economy of the Occupation" by Israeli economist and activist Shir Hever, organised by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign. This despite Reitblat being on the extremist fringe of supporters of Israel, as evidenced by his courtroom statement that he considers Israel to encompass all the areas it conquered in 1948, 1967, and 1973, i.e. the whole of Palestine plus parts of Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.

Two St. Andrews University students, Paul Donnachie and Sam Colchester, at the end of a night out, having overindulged in ales, went to check on Matt Cunningham, their third drinking companion who had retired earlier in the evening, somewhat the worse for wear. Matt Cunningham shared room 3.14 in the John Burnet Hall of residence with Reitblat. Knocking on the door at 1.30am, the two requested entry and were invited in by Reitblat, whom the two students knew well.

While the two were checking up on their inebriated friend, Paul Donnachie saw the Israeli flag on the wall of the room shared by Reitblat and Cunningham and, as many opponents of Israeli crime would do, for a few pints had not broken his moral compass, pointed out that Israel is a terrorist state committing unspeakable crimes against the Palestinian people. For good measure, with a gesture apparently common among St Andrews undergraduates, Donnachie stuck his hand down his trousers and symbolically rubbed his hand on the Israeli flag, signalling his opposition to Israeli ethnic cleansing and the mass murder of Palestinians. The entire exchange and the besmirching of the “butcher’s apron” took around one and a half to two minutes from start to finish. No-one was attacked; no-one’s ‘Jewishness’ was remotely impugned.

Matt Cunningham was the only person present in the room during the altercation other than Reitblat, Paul and Sam. Matt testified under oath that what happened during those two minutes was boisterous but good natured; nothing that was said or done was malicious; comments were of a political nature and focussed on Israel; and that nothing was directed or targeted at Reitblat as an individual. In his opinion, the incident was not seen by any of those involved, including Reitblat, as being as serious as Reitblat would later claim, and that, in the context of what goes on frequently in student halls, this incident did not stand out. Reitblat admitted that he had sought advice from the head of the Jewish Society, spoken with his parents, and contacted the Dean of his home University (Yeshiva, New York). Matt’s testimony was that the incident had “been given retrospective gravity”. At the time Reitblat “talked about being annoyed at the property damage; not as a victim of a hate crime”.

Matt’s testimony stands directly against Reitblat's uncorroborated claim, accepted by Sheriff MacNair in a clear violation of Scottish legal norms, that Paul said to Reitblat, "You are a terrorist". It was clear to those who sat through the proceedings that Sheriff MacNair wanted to accept Reitblat’s accusation in court that Sam had said the same thing. However, given that Reitblat had admitted at the time of the incident that “Sam had done nothing in the room”, a fact known to the investigating police officers and firmly highlighted in court by the Assistant Warden of the halls of residence, MacNair was unable to disagree when Sam’s lawyer’s asserted that Reitblat’s testimony was not only uncorroborated, but clearly “unreliable and incredible”. For the uninitiated, that is lawyer-speak for “Reitblat has clearly lied either in court or in his earlier statements”. This will be one of the issues addressed in Paul Donnachie’s forthcoming appeal. Even the “unreliable and incredible” testimony of Reitblatt, however, never at any time included the claim that he was assaulted by Donnachie.

The following morning, Donnachie wrote a letter of apology to Reitblat for his bad taste, while reserving the right to condemn Israel’s crimes in future in a more appropriate fashion. He was not, however, to be charged and found guilty of bad taste and drunkenness – such charges would empty many of our universities – but with racism against an Israeli flag!

Reitblat testified that after the altercation he had felt violent and that, as an experienced wrestler, he could easily have beaten up both Donnachie and Sam. He told the Assistant Warden, “If they don’t shut up I’m going to kick their asses.”

What a difference a night makes. By the following morning, almost certainly egged on by Zionist comrades, Reitblat was claiming that he was unable to eat or sleep. He would later testify in court that he had had to get out of St Andrews in his fear of “Palestinian organisations linked to terrorist atrocities” and seek sanctuary in the Jewish Chaplaincy in Glasgow. He would claim he had been so traumatised that he almost failed important exams. All this trauma because someone touched his Israeli flag! Truly, this American citizen suffers from the familiar "Israel syndrome": simultaneously arrogant and prone to violence, whilst at the same time claiming to be terrified for his safety.

A Zionist political agenda is evident on the part of both SCoJeC and the Jewish Chaplaincy (whose moral guidance never includes condemnation of Israel burning hundreds of Palestinian civilians with white phosphorous). The Jewish Chaplaincy press statement is a political one: it “asserts the rights of students to express their…identification with the State of Israel” and continues, “We believe that Israel being singled out for demonization…goes beyond legitimate debate”. SCoJeC Board member Paul Morron is pleased that Sheriff MacNair “has ruled that because a Jewish person's identity is associated with Israel that criticism can, as in this case, constitute racialist aggravated behaviour."

The desire to inhibit and limit criticism of Israel couldn’t be clearer; SCoJeC and the Jewish Chaplaincy aim to put ever larger areas of condemnation of Israel "beyond legitimate debate" as "racialist aggravated behaviour". The potential effect is clear, when the Palestinian people are fighting for their existence, facing Israel’s ruthless programme of ethnic cleansing.

Opponents of Israel's brutal racist system will continue to “single out Israel” for its abuses of human rights and crimes against humanity, horrors meticulously documented across Palestine and over decades by, for example, the Goldstone Report. For many Zionists, for example, even noting that Israel is responsible for the killing of hundreds of Palestinian children is judged to be an “anti-Semitic” accusation. It’s not. It’s the well-attested truth. We will continue to promote this and other truths.

“Israel is an important part of my religious belief”, said Reitblat. “They attacked my beliefs.” Now, George Bush and Tony Blair are Christians, but their very public religiosity doesn’t wash away the blood of their victims or protect them from the contempt of millions. Against the likes of Bush, Blair, the pro-Buddhist junta in Burma, the Hindu chauvinist BJP in India, the brutal Saudi regime and its corrupt Ulema, and Zionist Jew Reitblat, a supporter of colonialism, ethnic cleansing and burning Palestinian civilians with white phosphorous, we can do no better than commend the words of the courageous American, Fr. Berrigan, "If they come for the innocent without walking over your body and mine, then a curse on our life and a curse on our religion." We honour all men and women who fight for justice, from either a secular or religious impulse, and damn all those who support oppression.

States are not people. Paul Donnachie explained to Sheriff MacNair in simple language his position that, "The citizens of a country cannot be held responsible for the actions of a state". Later, Sheriff MacNair gave his own ignorant opinion that, "The state of Israel is the land and its borders and the people in it... Saying that a state is terrorist says that everyone within the state is terrorist." All British citizens who opposed the aggressive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should ponder on the idiotic and dangerous effusions of the Cupar Sheriff.

Far from SPSC promoting “racist stereotyping and violence behind facile lip-service to anti-racism”, we work tirelessly against Israeli criminality as endorsed by Borowski and Reitblat. Thankfully, public opinion is swinging strongly against Israeli violations of international law and the type of racist manifesto for Greater Israel promoted unchallenged in open court by Reitblat.

SCoJeC and the Jewish Chaplaincy accuse SPSC of “strident support for bullying, intimidation, and racist stereotyping”. In fact, we oppose their never-ending attempts to conflate anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism, itself a dangerous and racist campaign to implicate all Jews in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people, crimes on which these nauseating hypocrites are utterly silent. The intent is clear - to change the subject as far as possible from the crimes of the State of Israel, increasingly a “polecat State in world opinion” in the words of Ronnie Kasrils. It is, frankly, rather sickening, to hear the defenders of the mass murder of Palestinians in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead lying that they are the victims of a wholly invented assault, and these same supporters of Israel’s rigorous State-enforced ethnic residential segregation claim to be victims of racism when their support for crimes is challenged.

(SPSC opposes all racism as disgusting, including Islamophobia and genuine examples of anti-Semitism.)