Et Tu Jewish Council for Public Affairs?

Shortly after Noon on July 2, 2014, the Washington, DC-based Jewish Council for Public Affairs (Jewish Council or JCPA in the US) put out a statement with the headline, “JCPA Mourns Palestinian Teenager, Calls for an End to Violence”.  The Jewish Council proclaims itself  as “Voice of Jewish America”.  It numbers among constituent members major American Jewish organizations such as the ADL, American Jewish Committee, Hadassah, Jewish War Veterans and many of the local Jewish Community Relations Councils (JCRCs) of Federations.  The JCRC’s have been in the forefront of promoting outreach to non-Jewish communities, in all too many instances, engaging in Jewish Muslim dialogues that have backfired.  Se our January 2011 NER article, “Dialogue with Radical Muslims is Dangerous for American Jews”.

Mohammed Khedair

The late 17-year old Mohammed Abu Khedair.

The JCPA news release drew attention to the discovery of the burned remains of 16 year old Mohammed Abu Khedair in a Jerusalem forest.   CNN reported, that Khedair “was heading from his home to a mosque in the middle-class neighborhood of Shoafat for prayers around 4 a.m. when three men forced him into a car and drove off, according to his father Hussain Abu Khedair. His burned remains were found an hour later.”   Who were the three men who abducted  and murdered Mohammed Abu Khedair is the subject of investigations by Israel’s national Police.  Moreover, why was the Jewish Council compelled to issue this statement within less than 12 hours after news broke and without any investigation by Israeli National Police?

According to CNN, “The Palestinian state news agency WAFA blamed the kidnapping and killing on “settlers,” saying Abu Khedair’s body “was charred and bore signs of violence”. The announcement of the younger Khedair’s kidnapping and murder set off riots by Palestinians in the elite section of Shoafat and throughout East Jerusalem.  Israeli riot police were engaged in pitched battles with rock throwing Palestinians throughout Wednesday, July 2nd.   PA President Abbas demanded that Israeli PM Netanyahu condemn the Palestinian teenager’s kidnapping and death, which Netanyahu had already done. There were calls of “Death to Arabs” by protesters in Jerusalem seeking revenge for the murders of three Jewish yeshiva students whose bodies were discovered buried under rocks in a field north of Hebron not far from the site of their original abduction while hitchhiking home on June 12, 2014.

Rachelle Frankel 7-2-14

Rachelle Frenkel crying over the body of her son Naftali at his funeral Tuesday. photo credit: Flash90)

Tuesday, July 1st, the remains of the three Jewish teenagers, each draped in the blue and white flag of Israel were buried side by side with tens of thousands of mourners attending their funeral and interment at a cemetery in Modiin.  PM Netanyahu, President Peres and  Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon eulogized the victims endeavoring to  comfort the grieving families of  Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship.

President Obama in his statement on June 30, 2014 condemned the senseless act of terrorism that took the three teens, while “urging all parties to exercise restraint to prevent further destabilizing the situation”.  That admonition was directed at both Israel and the PA urging them to restrain from possible reprisals, especially extra judicial violence.

In a call to US Secretary of State Kerry on Wednesday, July 2nd, Netanyahu was reported by State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki to have said: “that he had asked for an investigation to find out who was responsible for the despicable murder as soon as possible, that anyone who takes a life will be punished severely.”

The Khedair family was reported by Ha’aretz to have “angrily denied the rumors that their son’s death was some sort of “family honor” killing or connected to an inter-family feud.

“Our family is not involved in any disputes and he was a good boy,” said Mahmoud, a cousin of the dead teen. “This is not a family problem. This was a kidnapping and everyone has to know that.” Young Khedair was characterized by his mother as always “kind” in a CNN interview. He would have graduated high if he had not been murdered.  She said he was always on his computer working with Facebook.  Perhaps his Facebook page might provide some clues of the range of his interests. His murder comes just after the start of the Muslim religious period of Ramadan when Islamic religious fervor is at a peak of intensity.

Lori Lowenthal Marcus, US correspondent for The Jewish Press, questioned the unseemly haste of issuing a statement extending condolences to the Khaider family on the murder of their son Mohammed  drawing attention  to the possible that might have been a revenge reprisal for the murders of the three Jewish teens,“Voice of American Jewry: Israel accused in Arab Teen’s Death”.

 JCPA President Rabbi Steven Gutow noted in the statement that, “the circumstances of his death remain uncertain,” the same sentence then takes a sharp turn and places the blame squarely on Israel: “it appears that Mohammed was not a party to nor instigator of the tragic events of recent days and weeks. But he now has paid the ultimate price regardless.”

So although no one yet knows for certain how the teenager died or who was responsible, the JCPA publicly drew a target on the back of the Jewish State. Not content to simply act as judge and jury, the JCPA proceeded to send out the statement to its members across the country, inviting everyone to embrace its judgment – that Israel or individual Israelis are responsible for the Abu Khaider’s murder, and pronouncing the murder a revenge attack.

South Florida Jewish activist, Alan Bergstein, commented, in a forwarded email of the Jewish Press report:

Rabbi Steve Gutow, who founded the political, National Jewish Democratic Council, a rubber stamp outfit for the Democrat Party.  Ditto, the JCPA. Their annual “plenums” reek of Palestinian spokespeople and J Street propagandists to divide the American Jewish community and weaken our links to Israel. It behooves some of their organizational members to come out and denounce the JCPA’s outrageous statement.

Lowenthal questioned why the Jewish Council made this rush to judgment:

The JCPA rushed to put out a public statement less than 24 hours after the death was discovered. And in that statement the JCPA presented itself as judge, jury and sound system with a verdict of guilt for Israel.

Why the rush? It took the JCPA 3 days to condemn the kidnapping of the three Israeli teenagers. Perhaps that was due to an abundance of caution – one would not want to falsely accuse anyone. If so, why the different standard here?

Perhaps the JCPA’s goal was to present themselves as the “good Jews,” the ones who not only condemn the murder of an Arab but who rush blindly forward with its finger pointed at the “bad Jews,” the Israeli Jews, the ugly, violent Israeli Jews who would do such a thing, and to heck with truth and facts and evidence.

Because if the goal was to help to reduce violence, to help shepherd the masses poised to strike back to a path towards calm, the JCPA statement will only achieve the opposite. The statement will fuel the fire of hatred by anti-Semites who readily believe Israelis should be punished for Mohammad’s death, whether or not Israelis are guilty. And look, here’s an official Jewish coalition, officially blaming Israel! It will also inflame anger towards those whom JCPA claims to represent by supporters of Israel who believe that the Jewish State is entitled to the presumption of innocence at least until strong evidence is produced pointing in the opposite direction.

Et Tu, Jewish Council  of Public Affairs?

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on The New English Review. The featured image is of Palestinians hurling stones during clashes with Israeli police in Shoafat, an Arab suburb of Jerusalem July 2, 2014. Photo by Reuters.