Ackerman says effort to hold IsraHell to int’l law is ‘anti-Semitism’

While many differences exist among Jewish parliamentarians, the concept of ahavat Yisrael– literally, “love of Israel” – is common to us all. It is for this  reason that 55 Jewish parliamentarians from 22 countries have assembled  in Jerusalem under the auspices of the World Jewish Congress….I  don’t believe that increasing attacks on Israel’s right to exist and  efforts to label its acts of self-defense “war-crimes” or even “crimes  against humanity” are actually rooted in a belief in international law,  or a principled evaluation of Israeli military operations.

What I believe is really driving most of these claims is a deep-seated and stubborn refusal to see Jews as a people. This  conceptual failure – whether rooted in anti-Semitism (which it is) or  ignorance (which it is) – leads to a refusal to accept Israel as a  Jewish state, or to accept that it, like every state, has a fundamental  right to self-defense.Only Israel, the one and only Jewish  state, is subjected to the humiliation of having its right to exist  routinely questioned, and the right of its people to be free from  violence openly rejected. Only Israel is the permanent whipping boy of  the United Nations.

So we are faced with a paradox: While the  anti-Semitism and discrimination Jews have historically faced (and in  some places rightfully continue to fear) are based on the view of Jews  as a people apart, the ongoing assault on Israel’s legitimacy is built  upon the idea that the Jews are not a separate people at all, and are  thus not entitled to self-determination…THE PALESTINIAN plan to take their case for statehood to the UN General  Assembly poses great danger for Israel. If this initiative were to  succeed– or worse, to slip out of control, – the results could be  devastating. Israel could be exposed to sanctions and pressures beyond  the wildest hopes of its worst enemies.But in addition to these external challenges, we face a more intimate  one that we share with the entire Jewish people. How do those of us who  are representatives from all over the world and every part of the  political spectrum come together to protect and advance our common  interests?