Swedish youth politician defends anti-Zionist chant
2019/05/07 2 Comments
One can only wonder at the sophistry involved. Just because something has been sung for ages doesn’t mean one should continue signing it:
“You can’t take anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism and stick an equal sign between them,” Electra Ververidis, the new chair of the local district of the Social Democrat youth wing SSU, told Sweden’s state broadcaster SVT.“This song has been sung within the labour movement for ages past. It is about taking a political position against the occupation of the Palestine, and is not about being against Israel or the Jewish people.”The performance of the chant-like song, which is repeats the words ‘Long Live Palestine, Crush Zionism” was condemned on Wednesday by Svante Weyler, Chair of the Swedish Committee against Anti-Semitism.“The idea that you want to abolish the state of Israel is an antisemitic idea,” he told SVT.Ververidis’s defence of the song reversed a rapid apology given earlier in the week by the youth movement’s national chair Philip Botström.“I understand and take seriously all the criticism against our local unit in Malmö,” he wrote on Twitter after a recording of the song being sung was circulated on Wednesday.“There should be no doubt over where SSU stands on this question. We distance ourselves from all forms of antisemitism.”He asserted that the youth movement would not sing the song in future.But Ververidis said no such decision had been taken, explaining that SSU’s Malmö branch had yet to discuss whether singing the song would be appropriate during future demonstrations. “We have not yet had time to consider that,” she said.She criticised Botström’s condemnation of the song.“It is very unfortunate that Philip Botström is now mixing up apples and pears. This chant has been sung for ages and is about criticism of Israel’s occupation policies and nothing else. This is something Botström himself well knows.”
About Andrew
Multicultural Meanderings 
What form should a critique of Israel’s occupation and its dismissal of UN resolutions take?
I would make a distinction between actions specific to the occupation of the West Bank and annexation of any part of the territories and with respect to pre-1967 borders Israel. The problem with the chant is the implication that its creation is legitimate (a position one can have) and thus that a two-state solution is not a legitimate political solution, meaning its replacement presumably by a one Arab state solution, which is no more viable than a one Jewish state solution.
BDS against companies or organizations in the occupied territories clearly is a valid approach. More generalized sanctions, targeted at specific sectors or not, are another option (as in the case of South Africa), are unlikely, although should the Netanyahu government implement further annexation of territory, the case for expanded sanctions will strengthen.
Standard diplomatic condemnation etc are, as we have seen, less effective, particularly in the current context where some government’s are enabling and encouraging the worst tendencies of the Netanyahu government (i.e., USA and others).
No easy answers.