Haaretz, Oct 26, 2017
Imagine a natural disaster in Israel, after which city officials demand that victims sign a form swearing never to boycott Iceland before they can receive aid. In their distress, people who never dreamed of boycotting Iceland will sign anything. Now you have them hating that Nordic island nation.
That ridiculous scenario is exactly what unfolded in Dickinson, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey. Agreeing in writing not to boycott Israel was a precondition for receiving compensation. Dickinson’s 20,000 inhabitants, who had probably never heard of Israel and even more assuredly have never thought of boycotting it, are now new and ardent supporters of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. This is how “Hurricane Israel,” in the words of Mayor Julie Masters, was born.
Hungry for power and control, and working with unbridled enthusiasm, “friends” of Israel are trying to combat this movement any way they can. In fact, they are only augmenting its impact. Anyone wishing to understand how anti-Semitism is born and how the seeds of its violence are sown is invited to visit Dickinson. The obligation not to boycott Israel is the essence of everything anti-Semites claim: Jews control the money, power and influence, everywhere. One doesn’t need “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” we have Dickinson.
