Kasim Hafeez grew up in Britain, the child of Pakistani immigrants, where he was immersed from a young age in anti-Semitism, and Israel was commonly demonized.
He made the journey from radical Islam to his current position as outreach co-ordinator for Christians United for Israel. In that capacity, he argues the case for the Jewish state before many hostile audiences on campus. He has defended Israel against the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, and from his perspective, “Israel is not just a Jewish issue. It’s a human rights issue about freedom, democracy and doing what’s right.”
Hafeez was part of a Sept. 9 panel discussing anti-Israel rhetoric and anti-Semitism on North American university campuses, at an event sponsored by StandWithUs Canada, a non-profit pro-Israel education and advocacy group, at Wychwood Barns in Toronto.
The evening included the airing of a film, Crossing the Line 2, a documentary that looked at heated anti-Israel and anti-Semitic agitation on campus. The film highlighted troubling episodes from mostly American campuses in which anti-Israel advocacy has morphed into anti-Semitism, where opponents of the prevailing anti-Israel narrative have been bullied at public events and where Jewish students face a hostile atmosphere.
Fellow panelist Abe Haak agreed with Hafeez that the potential implications of the BDS movement far exceed its impact on the State of Israel.
In fact, said Haak, a lecturer at New York University, the BDS movement will likely have little impact on Israel itself. The country has faced and overcome far greater challenges. But French Jews are terrified. British Jews are scared. Swedish Jews can’t walk safely in some city streets. And if Jews in North America ignore the problem, they may well be next, he warned.
For advocates of BDS, “the stated objective is Israel, but you are the real target,” he said, adding it may not affect the current generation of Jews, but it will affect their children and grandchildren.
“This is a war,” he continued. “They’re out for blood, and we must defeat them, very much like the Israel Defence Forces does in the field.”
Joining Hafeez and Haak as panelists were Asaf Romirowksy, executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, and Zina Rakhamilova, StandWithUs Canada’s campus co-ordinator. They were introduced by MC Barbara Kay, a National Post columnist. Meryle Kates, executive director of StandWithUs Canada, hosted the event.
Romirowsky said pro-Israel groups need to create a simple Zionist narrative, a sort of “elevator speech” that can be presented succinctly and makes the case for Israel. He suggested one that stresses the ancient Jewish connection to the land.
Rakhamilova said she has travelled the country to equip students with the tools necessary to address anti-Israel rhetoric on campus. StandWithUs has helped defeat divestment proposals on some campuses, and it employs social media to spread a “positive, pro-Israel message.”
Haak, who was born in Jordan to Palestinian parents, said he has, over the course of 37 years, moved from enmity with Israel toward admiration. He said he regularly addresses campus audiences, which he described as the new battlefield.
The BDS movement “is organized. I never thought that Arabs would out-organize Jews,” he quipped, adding it relies on a “semi-professional international organization” that provides media kits and even legal help. It has infiltrated various organizations “before we even woke up.”
What’s most remarkable is its ability to create coalitions of unlikely partners, including gay and lesbian groups, Communists and Islamic fundamentalists.
“You have to move out of the shtetl,” he told the audience. “This is not only a Jewish issue… It’s a world issue.”
Haak advised Jews to build their own coalitions and make the case for Israel when they meet friends and colleagues.
But while he discusses the issues with a variety of people, he doesn’t speak to Palestinian and Muslim audiences. “I don’t think bridge-building is possible now,” he said.
Hafeez, however, said, “I enjoy speaking to hostile crowds. We’re not there to spread hatred, like the other side. We’re not anti-anything. At the end of the day, truth and justice are on my side.”
