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22 Oct, 11 tweets, 3 min read
A State Department Memo Suggests It’s About to Accuse Prominent Human Rights Groups of “Anti-Semitism” – Mother Jones motherjones.com/politics/2020/…
“‘Certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) regularly participate in and promote the Global BDS Campaign or engage in other activities that meet the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of anti-Semitism,’...”
“... reads a memo produced by Carr’s office, which Mother Jones obtained, that urges Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to permit the release of its report...”
“‘Through their participation in the Global BDS Campaign, these organizations have advocated in favor of harming U.S. economic relations with Israel & US foreign policy interests.’”

This is Trump Admin’s rationale for demonizing human rights orgs (which, btw, don’t support BDS).
Again, if you are suddenly SHOCKED to see the IHRA definition of antisemitism wielded NOT to target actual antisemitism, but to try to quash/demonize all criticism of Israel - for the love of free speech, open your damn eyes & START PAYING ATTENTION.
Some background for folks just waking up to this twisted reality - from Dec 2019: responsiblestatecraft.org/2019/12/12/how…
Some more background for folks just waking up to this twisted reality - Feb 2020:

jewishcurrents.org/states-are-mov…
Some more background for folks just waking up to this twisted reality - Aug 2020:

jewishcurrents.org/israel-advocac…
Some more background for folks just waking up to this twisted reality - hey look, a compendium of resources to make it super easy for folks to understand the issue:

fmep.org/resource/const…
Some more background for folks just waking up to this twisted reality - a nifty table tracking all the IHRA-linked attacks on US academia since Trump’s IHRA EO -

fmep.org/wp/wp-content/…
Some more background for folks just waking up to this twisted reality - great resource (from @IJVweb - Canadians fighting this same fight) documenting some of IHRA impacts on free speech around the world so far -

ijvcanada.org/ihra-definitio…

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More from @LaraFriedmanDC

Lara Friedman🔥 Profile picture
22 Oct
Another quick thread re State Dept plan to label human rights orgs “antisemitic”:

Key thing to understand is that such labeling is a feature, not a bug, of efforts to promoting definition of antisemitism that focuses NOT on hatred/threats to Jews, but on criticism of Israel.

1/
This re-definition is at the core of the IHRA definition of antisemitism’s “contemporary examples.”

And make no mistake: these examples - which conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism - are the ONLY parts of the IHRA that backers of this effort are interested in.

2/
So rather than focus on real lethal antisemitism surging around the world, the massive effort focuses on promoting this definition, so that today they can say, “hey, it’s not us labeling them antisemitic, it’s this definition that everyone accepts, and who can argue with that” 3/
Read 10 tweets
Lara Friedman🔥 Profile picture
21 Oct
New Menendez (D-NJ)/Feinstein (D-CA) bill, S4814, "to ensure that sales, exports, or transfers of F-35 aircraft do not compromise the qualitative military edge of the United States or Israel, and for other purposes”

congress.gov/bill/116th-con…
Press release: menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/press…
Bill text: foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/…
Read 5 tweets
Lara Friedman🔥 Profile picture
20 Oct
And the lawfare continues, with David Abrams’ latest case targeting Christian Aid (UK).

facebook.com/ZionistAdvocac…
This is another False Claims Act lawsuit, per Abrams’s previous post:

facebook.com/ZionistAdvocac…
I wrote about this Abrams’ creative legal tactic— weaponizing the False Claims Act by linking it to a US contract certification signed by NGOs -- back in Jan 2019 — forward.com/opinion/417058…
Read 9 tweets
Lara Friedman🔥 Profile picture
31 Aug
U.S. pro-Israel groups failed to disclose grants from Israeli government

forward.com/news/israel/45…
"More than half of all American states have passed laws designed to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel…"
"No advocacy group was more important to this push than the Israel Allies Foundation, an American non-profit that supports a network of pro-Israel legislators across the globe.” 3/
Read 11 tweets
Lara Friedman🔥 Profile picture
11 Aug
As @Facebook & @sherylsandberg are pressured to adopt IHRA definition, reminder: in May Congress adopted “Never Again Education Act” which…included a different — and entirely non-controversial definition of antisemitism.

1/
@Facebook @sherylsandberg Why isn’t there a campaign to get Facebook and others to adopt THAT definition?

Because it doesn’t re-frame antisemitism in order to delegitimize/deplatform criticism of Israel.

2/
@Facebook @sherylsandberg That legislation: HR 943, which became Public Law 116-141.

Text of the law: congress.gov/bill/116th-con…

3/
Read 6 tweets
Lara Friedman🔥 Profile picture
10 Aug
If you’re not paying attention to efforts to get social media (FB, Twitter) to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism — as a means to deplatform/quash criticism of Israel — you should be.

Latest: prnewswire.com/news-releases/…
Fun to look at signers cited in the press release — who’s who of orgs backed by Adam Milstein & fellow travelers.
The letter to FB_ stopantisemitism.org/open-letter-to…
Read 17 tweets

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