> I am not a big fan of Lerner, but his statement below is perfectly
> reasonable. There is plenty of antisemitism in the U.S. political
> left, and knee jerk reactions against any use of the term are a
> real problem.
Chip, anti-Semitism isn't non-existent in the US left, but calling for divestment from Israel without calling for divestment from the US, China, Russia, Sudan, etc. isn't ipso facto anti-Semitic, as Rabbi Lerner alleges in this case.
Lots of people called for divestment from South Africa without at the same time calling for divestment from the US or any other country committing acts of oppression. I doubt that anyone said that you couldn't call for divestment from South Africa unless you also called for divestment from the US, etc., or else you were guilty of anti- white prejudice.
With Bryan's permission, I reformatted and published his posting at <http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/atinsky110206.html>. I hope that it will promote discussion.
See, also, Majed Nassar, "Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment against Israel," News from Within XXII.1, January 2006, <http://alternativenews.dyndns.org/download/nfw/nfw_22_1/ Boycott_sanctions.pdf>.
Yoshie Furuhashi <http://montages.blogspot.com> <http://monthlyreview.org> <http://mrzine.org>