Is BDS really Anti-Semitic?

I hear a lot of people who claim that the BDS movement against Israel is Anti-Semitic {read Anti-Jew}.

Their reasons:

1. There are a lot of bad / worse actors on the world stage - boycott them.

Although how do you boycott Boko Haram or Isis? Do they have academics or products?

And with larger countries with wider issues, governments handle situations with the UN, sanctions, bombings, and other tools.

2. The people behind the BDS movement are pro-Palestinian Muslims.

I'm not sure who else would be behind the BDS movement. Israel is occupying the Palestinians - so it makes sense for them to fight back. The Israelis complain that the Palestinians pursue violence, the BDS movement is a non-violent Palestinian protest.

3. There are local causes people can protest - like the modern day slavery of the American prison system.

Amazingly though, there is no shortage of protests, political movements, and boycotts going on within America - everything from the app buypartisan.com to the Ferguson protests. People can walk and chew gum at the same time - they can integrate numerous social protest causes within their life - participating in BDS doesn't mean Israel v Palestine is your sole issue.

And yet, just as people can have more than one social issue in mind in their lives at any time - they can also have many reasons - both reasonable and less so. I don't think there is any doubt that the specific protests of the BDS movement contain a virulent anti-Jewish streak:

• Much of the language involved delegitimizes Israel's existence - protesting for peace through the total destruction of Israel and genocide of Jews (again). 

• The academic boycott - stifling the free flow of information and speech is a form I am always against and find particularly abhorrent.

• The followers who are not directly connected to the Palestinian movement; college students, university administrations - these are groups of people who deal in extremes and do present a specific focus and language against Israel that they do not levy in other causes - an attitude of 'who do these Jews think they are?' Reminds me of how Republicans try to degrade President Obama using language like, lefty, communist, tyrant, king - when they mean black.

Is BDS itself Anti-Jew? No, BDS is an idea - and while not an illegitimate concept, may of the people involved, and the followers are clearly anti-Jewish. So before you join in on piling on Israel - answer honestly, why is this your cause?

Why Jews are Hated and why Turkey gets away with it

To be the master you must kill the master.

1st. We carry a label. Right from the start we are in a category, regardless of what a non-jew knows or doesn't know about jews, we have a label. Having a label is fine when you're a majority, but when you're a minority most people you meet regard you as different. And different always carries a level of cognitive dissonance, aka: a freak out factor.

2nd: many jews are obviously different, whether through their dress or food requirements or just not working on saturdays; increasing the fear factor.

3rd: wht is the place as the jew. How can we exist when the other religions are so much more populated and came after the jews... we should have died off and be studied by academics. Our existence is an affront to their world understanding.

4th: we came first. (not with everyone, but with the people who don't like us. The Chinese for example, are fine with Jews. Which is a case in point.) Can Christians and Muslims take their rightful place as leaders of the world as long as old man jew is still around? It'd be like a CEO living at home with his mom.

5th: we just won't die.

I meet a lot of people from Russia and France and South America who tell me they left because of Anti-Semitism. I can't relate. I grew up in the U.S. I simply don't have that type of exposure to Anti-Semitism that they've had.

So maybe it's the American in me who thinks 'if they come with a knife, you come with a gun, they send one of yours to the hospital you send one of theirs to the morgue.' I hear an awful lot of Jews saying Thank God we have Israel or we could easily be wiped out. But I don't see Israel walking the walk. I know Israel is busy with all sorts of conflicts, but Jesus Christ guys, don't be such pussies.

Turkey is talking some serious smack and the best we can do is wring our hands and bitch and moan. What's the definition of insanity? Why doesn't Israel stand up for herself. Not with the same lame boring arguments that know one cares about unless you're the one making the argument, but with righteous zeal. Israel should be louder. Stand up fer christ's sake. Raise the roof.

This is what happens when you're busy making Nobel prize winners. You get a nation of geeks who get picked on.

Its ok, when we grow up we get all the hot chicks.