Agudath Israel Responds to Ben & Jerry's Decision to Boycott Yehudah, Shomron and East Jerusalem and Urges States to Apply Anti-BDS Laws
by Agudath Israel
The recent announcement by the Ben & Jerry's ice cream company that it would no longer sell its products in Yehudah, Shomron or East Jerusalem has brought the issue of BDS once again to the forefront of public discourse.
Agudath Israel is on longstanding record opposing BDS as a form of antisemitism. Agudah has advocated for anti-BDS laws across the United States, and has defended their constitutionality in courts of law.
This case illustrates why economic boycott against Israel is so objectionable, and why it is so important to stand firm against BDS. We urge all states that have anti-BDS laws to apply those laws as appropriate in this case. And we urge all states that have not as yet enacted anti-BDS laws to use this case as impetus to pass such legislation.
Antisemitism is a Unique Hatred and Evil: Agudath Israel Statement on Comments from Yair Lapid
by Agudath Israel
There has been much discussion of Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid's speech before the 7th Global Forum on Combating Antisemitism on July 14, in which he offered a new definition of antisemitism.
It is certainly true that slave traders who threw human beings into the ocean, and African tribes who slaughtered other tribes and Muslims who kill other Muslims are evildoers.
And that those who have hated and attacked and killed Jews over the centuries were and are evildoers too.
But to wrap all deranged murderers and haters into one neat package does a grave disservice to the most ancient, multifaceted and tenacious hatred, one that persists even into lives of Jews around the globe today. It does a grave disservice to history.
To note that antisemitism is unique and uniquely senseless and ugly is not to claim some sort of special treatment for Jews or to assert some Jewish racial superiority. It is simply to respect a historical, and lamentable fact.
