In an article for the Jewish Journal, David Suissa takes on the impotent response of pro-Israel groups to the threat of the BDS movement targeting Israel and other assorted anti-Israel movements on college campuses. Suissa notes that there are three possible responses to someone punching you in the face: punching them back, complaining to authorities, and driving them crazy. He then states bluntly, "Unfortunately, pro-Israel groups on U.S. campuses are very good at complaining, but very bad at punching back or driving our enemies crazy."
He continues, "And let’s not mince words — the BDS movement is an enemy movement. Groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) have no interest in promoting peace between Israel and Palestinians. What they want to do is punch Israel in the face. Forget anti-Semitism — it’s bad enough that these groups are single-mindedly focused on crushing Israel any way they can."
Suissa notes that pro-Israel groups are choosing to complain, rather than the other options.
He points out that the Jewish groups attack their own for a different response, pointing out, "When one Jew — David Horowitz of the Freedom Center — tried punching back recently at UCLA, he got attacked by…other Jews. 'We don’t fight like that!' was their message. 'We don’t stoop to their level!'” Suissa explains, "Horowitz fought back with a nasty poster campaign that ridiculed the word 'Justice' in the name Students for Justice in Palestine. By showing the horror of what a Palestinian group like Hamas can do to other Palestinians, he was basically saying: Now THIS is an injustice against Palestinians worth fighting. He was exposing SJP’s hypocrisy. Whether you agreed with the posters or not, they were a punch in the face."
After admitting that he understands the desire of some Jews to abandon confrontation, Suissa says candidly, "The problem, of course, is that we're dealing with an enemy that has no interest in those things. The BDS movement attacks Israel with bare knuckles, while Jews often fight back with complaint letters."
He adds, "But if we insist on not punching back, then we should at least fight back with option 3: Drive our enemies crazy. How do we do that? By turning the image of Israel upside down: Not only is Israel not worthy of a boycott, it’s actually the #1 solution to the problems the Middle East. This is not just a clever strategy, it’s also true: If every country in the Middle East offered the same human rights and civil rights as Israel does, the whole region would be a lot better off. No one can argue with that."
He concludes, "The key to communication is to start with accepted truths. These are the two big truths of the Middle East that work to Israel’s advantage: One, the region is a chaotic, violent mess that tramples on human rights, and two, no country in the region offers more rights and freedoms and economic opportunities than Israel. I don’t have to draw a blueprint. Pro-Israel groups are smart enough to put that together. What they need is to change their messaging. Position Israel as a key resource to help transform the Middle East and you will drive the BDS people crazy. That’s not fighting — that’s winning."