TEL AVIV, June 18, 2011 (WAFA) – The Israeli Peace Now movement and its US affiliate Americans for Peace Now Friday called on American talk show host, the ultra-conservative Glenn Beck, to stay home and not to come to the region.
Describing him as “shock jock,” Peace Now said that Beck, who claims to be a friend of Israel, is not a friend of Israel or of Jews.
Beck is planning to hold a series of internationally televised pro-Israel rallies, parts of which will be held in occupied East Jerusalem, in August. The event will be called Restoring Courage.
“The location he’s chosen shows that what he really wants to is foster conflict,” said a Peace Now release. “He’s decided to hold the event in East Jerusalem, just outside the Old City, one of the most politically sensitive locations in the world.”
“This proves that Beck is no friend of Israel, as he now claims to be. His planned rally could sow greater enmity between Israelis and Palestinians,” it said.
“Beck is no friend to Jews either,” it added. “He has compared Reform Judaism to ‘Radicalized Islam,’ repeatedly exploited the Holocaust to attack social justice activists, and consistently promoted conspiracy theories that point the finger at Jews.”
Peace Now said that even the Jewish conservative organization, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) had condemned Beck for actions that “distort and trivialize the Holocaust,” calling his words “offensive” and demonstrative of “bigoted ignorance.”
“Peace Now is mobilizing Israelis to tell Beck that he’s not welcome there,” said the release. It has launched a Facebook page, Glenn Beck Stay Home, calling on supporters to block Beck’s visit to the region in August. A counter-demonstration is also in the works for August.
“Glenn Beck can put a match to Jerusalem and then fly home to America. But it is the Israelis and Palestinians who will have to live with the consequences of Beck’s actions,” said Peace Now. It said it is working “to mitigate the potential damage that Beck can do by giving voice to Israelis who stand up for peace, for negotiations, and for compromise.”
“Today, we’re launching a petition to show that Americans are outraged by Beck’s Jerusalem gambit. We need to send a message to Beck -- and to those he is trying to recruit to support this scheme -- that we will not stand idly by as he exploits Israeli-Palestinian peace for his own purposes,” it said.
“We’ve had our fill of his polarizing rhetoric and we don’t want to see him exporting it to Israel.”
US Senator Joe Lieberman and Republican Party presidential hopeful Herman Cain have already endorsed Beck’s program, said Peace Now.
M.A.
