Somerville Middle East Justice

Somerville Middle East Justice

One more time! (Sort of)

Did you know you could get your question on the ballot of a district election with just 200 petition signatures? Apparently, that's how the so-called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) managed to get divestment onto the 27th district ballot this November. (I am currently working on my own question for next election's ballot that will require our congressional delegation to call for the US to annex the moon.)

If I don't seem particularly vexed about this turn of events, it is simply because 2006 (when divestment has been decisively defeated across the nation) is a long way from 2004 when divestment had such significant momentum. And as I describe in this piece, the more time that passes from the 2004 Aldermen's debate (when the SC-SDP was about to receive the backing of state power for their divestment initiatives) the more their activity resembles the garden variety anti-Israel petitioning that's been background noise in the Boston area for decades.

In the various pieces below, I've said most of what needs to be said on the subject of divestment (although the addition of a "Right of Return" question to the SC-SDP's ballot initiative certainly requires a response). While you can expect a few surprises on this page between now and November, the limited significance of this latest incarnation of the Somerville divestment wars calls for a more limited reaction.

Stay tuned.

Jon

Changes
(September 29, 2006)
"They're back!" chimed The Somerville News earlier this week after Primary Day on September 19^th, during which members of the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) could be seen at a number of polling places (as were our forces).

Return Part 1
(October 6, 2006)
For three years, the Somerville Divestment Project has tried to push the city of Somerville to divest its retirement fund of assets invested in Israel. Its leaders have championed a sweeping (if impotent) divestment program within the US Green Party, forcing the party to shred its key principles and electoral prospects in the process. Hell, "Divestment" is the SDP's middle name! So why is it that their 2006 campaign makes no mention of the "D" word?

Return Part 2
(October 6, 2006)
Anyone taking on the legal and historical issues behind "Right of Return" must, by necessity, fall into a trap laid by those who advocate this formula for a settlement of the refugee problem. For when groups like the Somerville Divestment Project (SDP) claim right of return is backed by international law, they are not actually making a legal argument. Rather, they are stating this as if it were a known fact that all must agree to, much like referring to Israel's presence in the West Bank and Gaza as an "illegal occupation" is meant to end a legal debate, rather than start one.

Quotes
(November 1, 2006)
In most of their communication (fliers, letters to the editor, posters, Web site postings), SDP advocates for divestment and "right of return" take great pride in presenting large numbers of Jewish and Israeli sources as virtual spokespeople for their cause. Rhetorically, this is not such a bad strategy. After all, if they can make their case that their issues are actually supported by prominent American and Israeli Jews, their positions can be made to seem less extreme, despite the fact that they have been rejected again and again by mainstream voters and leaders (as in Somerville or in the Presbyterian Church).

Consequences
(November 6, 2006)
Given that we don't live in the State of Florida, Tuesday's election will likely result in one of two options: victory or defeat for Questions #5 and #6, the Somerville Divestment Project's last best hope for convincing themselves of their relevance and significance.

Fame
(November 10, 2006)
Two good friends were comforting me a few weeks ago after their fondness for political street theater earned them a mention on the Somerville Divestment Project Web site. "Why can't I ever get their attention?" I complained like a jilted schoolgirl. After all, my site has been taking apart their arguments for years, and I have written a fair number of articles and letters (especially during this campaign) demonstrating how the SDP failure in Somerville helped crash the divestment movement nationwide. Isn't that at least worth a snide comment or condemnation as a "Zionist scribbler?"

Three
(November 21, 2006)
If history repeats itself, first as tragedy, twice as farce, what are we to make of so-called Somerville Divestment Project's (SPD) latest failed attempt to drag the Middle East conflict into the city of Somerville for the third year in a row?

STRATEGY
(December 7, 2006)
There is not much to be learned about political dynamics by reading communications put out by divestment advocates after each of their numerous defeats. For, according to their analysis, time and time again, it turns out that setbacks are always the result of unrelenting pressure from the all-powerful, well-funded (albeit largely ill-defined) "Zionist Lobby."

2005 Essays

Somerville Divestment Defeat Not Bitter, But Sweet
(April 12, 2005)
The residents of the city of Somerville, Massachusetts woke up to a post-Halloween scare when they read their local paper in early November. Apparently, on October 28th, eight out of eleven members of the Board of Aldermen (our local legislative council) voted to recommend that the city's retirement fund divest itself from Israel bonds and companies doing business with the State of Israel.

NUMB3RS
(April 20, 2005)
A friend who sells for a living once taught me that no matter how well a sales presentation or demonstration goes, the only thing that travels up the decision-making chain is numbers. Quantitative information plays a similarly powerful role in the presentation of an argument.

D-EVOLUTION
(April 27, 2005)
There is something noticeably different between this year's anti-Israel divestment campaign and the one that was so soundly defeated in 2004.

DIALOG
(May 4, 2005)
During last year's alderman's debate, I kept noticing a nattily attired fellow who spent an inordinate amount of time jotting little notes on a printout of this Web site.

GOLDBERG
(May 12, 2005)
You can't say that some good has not come out of the divestment debate. It has given Somerville's citizens and aldermen the chance to learn about the reality of the state of Israel, with all of its rich virtues and genuine flaws (a far cry from the ludicrous cartoon upon which the Divestment Project's supports its unsupportable campaign). The Mayor was able to experience first hand the miraculous reality and spiritual power of modern Jerusalem, and neighbors involved with battling divestment have turned from strangers into allies and friends.

DEMOCRACY
(May 19, 2005)
Why do organizations whose name includes "The People," usually have the fewest members? Probably for the same reasons that groups who brag most about their local "grassroots" origins are usually dominated by college students from faraway states.

CONSPIRACY
(May 25, 2005)
An old joke describes a Jewish train traveler in 1930s Germany who is flabbergasted when he sees his friend Moshe reading a Nazi newspaper. "Moshe, have you lost your mind?!" he cries out. "Why are you reading that hateful rag?"

CONFESSION
(June 1, 2005)
Well this is the last Somerville Middle East Justice essay written from Boston Street on Prospect Hill. Yes, I must fess up, I'm one of those: a long-time Somervillian (16 years) who is moving to the burbs. (The name of the town shall be withheld, except to say that I expect to be running into the Divestment Project's favorite, unassailable MIT linguistics professor at the post office this summer.)

MARRIAGE
(June 10, 2005)
History has always had a soft spot for the political couple: Anthony and Cleopatra, Bill and Hillary, and, of course, that odd-couple of American political consulting James Carville and Mary Matalin. Yet what is one to make of the oddest couple of all: Joachim Martillo (a.k.a. Juan Carlo Santos Martillo Ajami) and Karin Friedemann (a.k.a. Karin Maria Friedemann-Hussain, a.k.a. Maria Hussain).

RACHELS
(June 23, 2005)
"A combined fundrasing event for BostontoPalestine and the BootCAT campaign against Caterpillar will be held on Friday, May 27, at the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church," read the announcement. "The event will feature the premiere showing in Boston of the new film: 'Rachel Corrie - An American Conscience.'"

REPUTATION
(June 29, 2005)
Few outside of British academic circles had ever heard of the Association of University Teachers (AUT), a UK-based union of university level instructors and professionals, until earlier this year when the organization voted to boycott two Israeli universities on a series of trumped up charges.

SPEECH
(July 14, 2005)
Given how much the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) poses indignantly behind the first amendment, one wonders about what part of these 45 simple words these moral strutters don't understand?

PANTOGRAPH
(July 21, 2005)
The pantograph is a centuries old mechanical device used to create enlarged images. When an artist uses a pen attached to one end of the pantograph to draw a sketch or illustration, the device automatically draws a larger version of the same image on another piece of paper.

LINKS
(July 29, 2005)
Well it looks as though the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) Web site (www.divestmentproject.org) has gone through a substantial clean up recently. Gone without a trace are their original links to the bigoted race-rantings of Joachim Martillo (see Marriage) and the work of Israel Shamir (a Swedish right-winger who chooses to pose as an Israeli ultra-leftist - go figure).

PARODY
(August 5, 2005)
For those of you who can't figure out what the hell I'm talking about in this week's entry (or can't figure it out any better than previous articles), the following is a parody of an "Open Letter" someone from the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) blanketed cyberspace with recently.

RUTHLESSNESS
(August 12, 2005)
In previous essays, I have described the tactics of the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) as "ruthless." Yet what does this term mean, beyond highlighting the aggressive, "by-any-means-necessary" nature of this group's behavior?

RACISM
(August 19, 2005)
It's already been noted how the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) would be rendered speechless if the term "apartheid" was removed from their vocabulary. By the same token, if the word "racism" was edited from their communication (no doubt the word is already programmed into their word processors as a macro), the SC-SDP's resolutions, Web site and letters to the editor would consist of little more than blank pages.

CHARITY
(September 9, 2005)
For those of you fretting that the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) may not have the money required to fund their campaign; fear not! In addition to whatever other sources of income the group has, the organization has also been making use of at least $8000 from the Boston-based charity foundation The Haymarket People's Fund.

RULES
(September 26, 2005)
Lest you think that seeing divestment defeated is my only municipal passion, I also have another dream for the city of Somerville. More than anything in the world, I want American Pie, Don McLean's iconic 1972 hit, to become the city's official song.

MISSION CREEP
(September 29, 2005)
Not to keep dwelling on the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) Web site (see Links), but from experience with my own writing on the Internet, I've always felt that a person or organization's official site is often a window into their political soul.

4400
(September 30, 2005)
With divestment on November's ballot looking less and less likely, the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) has turned its attention towards mythmaking.

JUDGEMENT
(October 3, 2005)
The fair amount of the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project's (SC-SDP's) case that their failure was the result of great injustice done on their popular movement is based on accusation of unfairness by Justice Julian Houston at the SDP vs. Somerville trial last week in Cambridge District Court.

JACKHAMMER
(October 6, 2005)
A previous essay discussed the closing moves of my favorite professional wre stler, Bill Goldberg. These included the Spear (a high-velocity head butt) followed by the Jackhammer (dropping an inverted foe head-first to the ring mat). This Monday, Somerville was treated to something unique in wrestl ing: the first self-inflicted Jackhammer delivered by the So-Called Somerville Divestment Project (SC-SDP) on it self.

Essays from the 2004 Divestment Debate

MONEY (November 22, 2004)
Those responsible for asking Somerville to divest in Israel have worked very hard to portray divestment as an issue of even-handedness. Somerville does not invest in the Palestinian side of the dispute, so why should it invest in Israel. Fair is fair, after all.

APARTHEID (November 23, 2004)
One suspects that if the word "apartheid" were eliminated from the vocabulary of Israel's critics, they would be rendered nearly speechless.

VIOLENCE (November 24, 2004)
In addition to their skill in getting communities to consider resolutions without the input of the public, Israel's detractors have another specialty: making emotional, heart-rending presentations of Palestinian suffering, complete with passion, photos and tales of violence inflicted upon the innocent.

THANKS (November 25, 2004)
Given the acrimony of the Somerville divestment debate, it's worth noting a few things to be thankful for on this holiday dedicated to thanks and appreciation.

VOICES (November 26, 2004)
The Somerville Divestment Project has recently informed we Somervillians that it takes the voices of Israelis very seriously indeed by posting quotations in favor of divestiture from "Israeli citizen and former tank gunner" Shamai K. Leibowitz on the front page of its Web site.

COMPROMISE (Part I) (November 29, 2004)
By now, many Somerville citizens I have spoken to, including several aldermen, seem to understand that the Middle East conflict is not the one-sided, black-and-white, immorality tale that the divestiture resolution or its sponsors wanted us all to believe.

COMPROMISE (Part II) (November 30, 2004)
Someone recently inquired if Somerville would be better off by balancing the current Israel divestiture resolution with another article critiquing the Arab states and Palestinians who represent the other half of the conflict. In order to allow Somerville residents to see what such a resolution would look like, I have prepared a modest draft for consideration.

POWER (December 1, 2004)
Does anyone ever wonder why the Palestinians, alone among peoples without a state, have their own seat at the UN (an organization that spends almost a quarter of its time fighting on their behalf)?

PROPAGANDA (December 2, 2004)
A fellow named Rich Cowan wrote a couple of articles a few years back on "Confronting Right Wing Actions and Arguments." Part of the work he posted to the Internet referenced "seven hallmark tricks of the manipulative propagandist" originally described by The Institute for Propaganda Analysis, a now-defunct organization created to help counter right-wing propaganda in the 1930s.

RESPONSIBILITY (December 3, 2004)
It's hard not to notice that, despite the troubles in the Middle East, the towns of Methuen, Springfield and Ipswich do not find their citizens at each other's throats over the Arab-Israeli conflict. Nor are aldermen or town meeting members in Medford, Winchester or Malden sorting through hundreds of e-mails a day, trying to rapidly learn enough to officially come down on one side or the other.

LEADERSHIP (December 6, 2004)
Loose Change. That's the term fringe political movements use to describe people who join their organizations or show up to their events, not because such people believe in what the group stands for, but because such people want to be doing something, anything, to demonstrate they care about an issue.

THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY (December 7, 2004)
A close friend, whose opinion I respect on all matters, is having trouble figuring out my devotion to seeing the divestiture motion defeated this week.

SINCERITY (December 9, 2004)
Sincerity is highly overrated, or more accurately, sincerity is often ascribed to those who do not deserve it.

GRATITUDE (December 10, 2004)
Last night, Somerville got to see democracy work. Putting aside how divestment was first introduced into town debate, once it got there our alderman chose to give it a fair hearing, listened to the voices of the public, and then made the right decision to vote it down. While this decision was primarily motivated by what was in the best interest of our city (as it should be), by avoiding becoming a partisan in the anti-Israel propaganda war, they also acted in the best interest of all parties in the Middle East.

© 2006, Jon Haber