(The following blog is my own opinion an not of any organization within or outside of the Unitarian Universalist Association or its affiliates)

It's a sad day when civil rights is overstepped by politics, even in the U.U. G.A. At the 2016 G.A., a vote to support the divestment of corporations supporting Israel because of the human rights violation  fell short of the 2/3 approval which Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East brought forth for a vote at the G.A. There seems to be an association with BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanction) and Antisemitism that only 54 percent of the U.U. denomination supported the UUJME business resolution. Why did it fail? Probably because even our side, many on the left do not support BDS and associate BDS as being anti-Jew...that is so far from the truth, that it's painful to pen this blog.

As I mentioned, the left is fighting tough against BDS that Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton spoke up against BDS and said

Hillary Clinton Criticizes Group Advocating Boycott Against Israel
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/05/10/hillary-clinton-criticizes-group-advocating-boycott-against-israel/?_r=0

In her letter, Mrs. Clinton reiterated her previous opposition to the B.D.S. movement, and pointed out that anti-Semitism is on the rise globally. She called the B.D.S. efforts “counterproductive.”

“Anti-Semitism has no place in any civilized society — not in America, not in Europe, not anywhere,” Mrs. Clinton wrote. “We must never tire in defending Israel’s legitimacy.”

She added: “I believe that B.D.S. seeks to punish Israel and dictate how the Israelis and Palestinians should resolve the core issues of their conflict. This is not the path to peace.”

In California, the State is trying to pass a bill: Assembly Bill No. 2844 prohibiting the state to give contracts to corporations who support BDS. Why? Because:

(j) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that taxpayer funds are not used to do business with or otherwise support any state or private entity that engages in discriminatory actions against individuals under the pretext of exercising First Amendment rights. This includes, but is not limited to, discriminatory actions taken against individuals of the Jewish faith under the pretext of a constitutionally protected boycott or protest of the State of Israel.

This includes not only Presbyterians who voted to boycott corporations who do business with Israel but Jewish organization like the liberal Jewish Voice for Peace and the ultra-conservative Orthodox Jewish organization Neturei Karta. Though Neturei Karta are saying that the Palestinians should take over all of Israel and that the Jewish people should go back to Europe, Jewish Voice for Peace compromised and are demanding a two-nation state.

The problem about supporting Israel is not about ending terrorism but supporting racism in a nation that believes that Palestinians are subhuman. Because of this, PoC in Israel are discriminated against and are victim of racial hatred too...and it ain't just Muslims that are victims...example:

01: Israeli Jew Stabs Another Jew in Failed Revenge Attack
      http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.680298

02: Thousands in Jerusalem Protest Racism Against Ethiopian Israelis
      http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/thousands-in-jerusalem-protest-racism-against-ethiopian-israelis-1.407998

03) Two Black Jewish Americans Reportedly Denied Entry to Israel
       http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.665858

There are more stories like this and proof that the government is trying their best to keep Israel white by discriminating against PoC...even folks who believe in the same faith...Judaism. The enabler in this case is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he repeated over and over again that Iran will drop a nuclear bomb on Israel and that Israel must attack Iran. Netanyahu was also against the Iranian nuclear power

Netanyahu Calls on American Jews to Oppose Nuclear Deal With Iran
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/08/04/israeli-prime-minister-netanyahu-makes-direct-appeal-to-american-jews-over-iran-deal

Netanyahu has mentioned that Iranians want to kill all the Jews and wish to wipe all the Jews off the face of the earth. The problem?

Iran's Jews: It's Our Home And We Plan To Stay
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/02/19/387265766/irans-jews-its-our-home-and-we-plan-to-stay

So why aren't the Jews in Iran imprisoned or executed? Because of a fatwa or order from the former Ayatollah Khomeini which reads: The Ayatollah Khomeini decreed that Iran's Jews were to be protected and the order still remains in place.

Therefore after all this, boycotting, divesting and placing sanctions on Israel is not an antisemitic move but a way to punish a country that's violates the rights of fellow human beings because they are of a different skin color. Judaism has nothing to do with the struggle the people of Palestine face but a greedy, racist, genocidal, xenophobic government that is oppressing the people, while the oppressed are doing something so that their oppression would end. The Unitarian Universalists should follow the steps of six Holocaust survivors who are speaking up against the illegal occupation and racism brought forth by the nation of Israel against the Palestinians:


 6 Holocaust Survivors Who Fight Against Israel's Treatment of Palestinians
The lesson of the Holocaust should be "never again" for anyone, including Palestinians
http://www.alternet.org/world/6-holocaust-survivors-who-fight-against-israels-treatment-palestinians

Because if Holocaust survivors are against the oppression against the Palestinians, shouldn't we as Unitarian Universalists?