2012, 2014 American Muslims for Palestine

AMERICAN MUSLIMS FOR PALESTINE

EMPOWERMENT through
EDUCATION and ACTION
Creeping Normalcy
a.k.a. Faithwashing
_____________________________________________________________________________
How Israel co-opts advocacy for Palestinian rights through interfaith cooperation
CREEPING NORMALCY
Creeping Normalcy is the process where a negative is adjusted so slowly and in such small increments that
it eventually because normal or accepted without any ill effects. In other words, it refers to slow trends
that arent easily detectable year by year, but accumulate over decades into extremely serious problems.
Perception is altered because the gradual [change] is constantly adjusted as being normal
1
The idea of creeping normalcy is not a new one. At times, it has been used to describe an ancient Chinese
torture treatment that imposed death upon prisoners one small cut at a time. This practice, which endured
until the early 20th century, was often called death by a thousand small cuts. Today, these terms usually
are applied to business, an economic downturn, or even the environmental movement, vis a vis global
warming.
The mythical boiling frog fable, which is often used in business motivational meetings, describes this
phenomenon with more color and fair. The myth says that a frog dropped into boiling water will immediately
jump out. But a frog who is put into a pot of cool water, whose temperature is increased slowly and in
increments, will remain until it boils to death.
2
Creeping normalcy is also used to refer to the slow moral
decline of a society.
The American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) uses this term to refer to a specifc strategy employed by Israel
and the American Zionist organizations, which support it to normalize the occupation of Palestine. This
handout will attempt to briefy identify and describe the major organizations responsible for implementing
this strategy in the United States, as well as exposing their tactics. The purpose of this short document is
to prompt discussion among our Muslim leadership and organizations in attempts to identify areas where
Creeping Normalcy may be impacting our work as well as to create a comprehensive strategy for dealing
with this phenomenon.
Israel admits it has an image problem and has created a new cabinet position to deal with this. Israel
also works closely with Zionist organizations in the United States to help craft and implement tactics to
neutralize the pro- Palestine narrative taking shape in public discourse.
In the fall of 2011, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu met behind closed doors with the elite
leadership of the Jewish Federations of North America to speak abou the Israel Action Network and Israel
Advocacy Initiative, for instance. These strategies will be discussed below.
Ministry of Information and Diaspora Affairs
Israel had a public relations disaster on its hands after its three-week assault on Gaza in 2008-09 that killed
more than 1,400 Palestinians. The world woke up and took notice. Though this was a terrible tragedy that
amounted to crimes against humanity, the global social justice movement exploded in response and there
were international cries to hold Israel accountable. Then came the killing of nine innocent activists aboard
the Mavi Marmara by Israeli commandos in international waters in May 2010. Global outcry focused on
holding Israel accountable for these crimes. Israel had a public relations disaster on its hands.
In response, Israel created a new cabinet position to combat the movement, especially in the United States.
This new cabinet position is called the Ministry of Information and Diaspora Affairs and it is charged with
coming up with ways to confront and silence any voice critiical of Israel in the US and elsewhere. The
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Creeping Normalcy a.k.a. Faithwashing
4
Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has said that it is working through front groups so the propaganda about
Israel can be disseminated without the fngerprints of the government being found on it.
3
Reut Report
The Reut Institute is an Israeli think tank that informs the government on policy issues. In 2010, it released
a huge report about the pro-Palestine movement and the growing boycott, divestment and sanctions
movement. The report initially called "attacks" and "sabotage" on the movement. The Reut Institute
removed that language after global outcry that it sounded like the report was calling potential criminal
activity. The report talks about the various ways Israel can combat the movement and one way is by
engaging those not active in the cause to divide communities to create a political firewall around those of
us who do advocate for international law and human rights.
According to the Reut paper, the aim is to drive a wedge between bona fde critics of specifc Israeli policies
and promoters of delegitimacy, thereby winning over the nonpartisan political center and creating a political
frewall around Israel,
4
according to an article in the Jewish Telegraph Agency.
Zionist organizations
The David Project
The David Project was formed about 10 years ago to combat Palestine solidarity work on Americas college
campuses. Until recently, the David Project followed a policy of aggressively attacking anyone forwarding
the Palestinian narrative. Their adherents would demonstrate outside pro- Palestine events, shout, yell and
otherwise disrupt public speaking, smear solidarity activists with the labels of anti-Semite and worse.
Several years ago, it attacked Palestinian professor Joseph Massad for his views in a flm called Columbia
Unbecoming, which asserted Massad was biased against Jewish students and steered them to classes
other than his. An independent university committee found no basis for the allegations of the flm.
The David Project is also involved in harmful Islamophobia and several years was one of the key instigators
behind a campaign to stop the construction of the Roxbury Mosque by the Islamic Society of Boston. Court
documents showed The David Project collaborated with Zionist Islamophobe Steven Emerson as well as the
State of Israel.
5
Today, however, The David Project has changed its tune. Instead of protesting pro-Palestine events,
which actually brings media attention to the issue, The David Project has written a new strategy paper that
encourages Israels supporters to forward a narrative of peace and co-existence, instead. After all, once
you build bridges with your neighbor, he or she is less likely to speak out about something that makes you
angry or uncomfortable.
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It can start as grabbing a cup of coffee with leaders representing other student groups and ultimately lead
to joint programs. Support for anti-Israel causes then becomes unthinkable. ~ David Bernstein, director,
The David Project
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This quote sums up perfectly how Creeping Normalcy works.
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Creeping Normalcy a.k.a. Faithwashing
There are Zionist organizations that are instrumental in forwarding Creeping Normalcy as part of their
strategic effort to help Israel maintain its occupation of the Palestinian people. They are the Jewish
Federations of North America, the Jewish Council on Public Affairs and their Jewish Community Resource
Councils, the David Project and the Hillel Foundation. These work together on carrying out strategic plans to
neutralize the Muslim community as well as other groups to stife any discourse about Palestine.
Jewish Federations of North America
The JFNA is an umbrella organization for about 157 federations throughout the country. The JFNA was
instrumental in supporting the creation of Israel and helping it to grow and prosper throughout the years.
It brings in about $3 billion per year from all its federations. This money is used in large part for charity
work. In 2010, the JFNA committed $6 million to the Israel Action Network, a project designed to shut down
Palestine solidarity work on college campuses.
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While other groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Zionist Organization of
America and J Street, focus primarily on infuencing the political arena, and others, such as the Israel
Project and CAMERA (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America), key in on the
media, the new network will aim to infuence civic leaders. Israels government has been advocating
for this, especially over the past six months or eight months, Silverman said.
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Jewish Council for Public Affairs
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs and its nationwide network of the Jewish Community Resource
Councils work to garner and strengthen support for the state of Israel. It works closely with the Jewish
Federations of North America and is the vehicle through which the Israel Advocacy Initiative and the Israel
Action Network are implemented.
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Hillel Foundation
According to Hillels website (www.hillel.org), the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish
campus organization in the world. The organization serves students at more than 550 colleges and
communities throughout North America and globally, including 30 communities in the former Soviet Union,
nine in Israel, and fve in South America. Since its origin in 1923, Hillel has played a critical role in ensuring
the future of our Jewish community by creating a welcoming environment for Jewish students on campus
and by fostering students ability to incorporate Jewish tradition into their lives. Hillel helps students expand
Jewish knowledge, hone leadership skills, bolster ties to Israel, and volunteer in social justice work.
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Some major Hillel initiatives include:
Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) - The ICC is a partnership of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family
Foundation and Hillel in cooperation with a network of over 30 organizations committed to promoting Israel
education and advocacy on college campuses. Members of ICC include the following Zionist organizations:
American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC); American- Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE);
American Jewish Committee (AJC); The American Jewish Congress; Anti-Defamation League (ADL); The
David Project; Fuel For Truth; Hillel The Foundation for Campus Life; The Jewish Federations of North
America; and Jewish National Fund (JNF).
Taglit-Birthright Israel - Supported by the Israeli government, Jewish Federations and philanthropists, this
partnership offers thousands of Jewish college students a free, frst-time trip to Israel with their peers. More
than 35,200 Jewish college students have experienced a frst visit through Hillel since 2000.
Campus Israel Fellows This initiative, in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel, places young
Israelis on campuses to serve as peer educators and foster support for Israel. This year, Israel Fellows at 19
Hillels can reach about 80,000 Jewish students.
Strategic plans that implement Creeping Normalcy
Israel Advocacy Initiative. A description from its website:
The IAI builds grassroots support for Israel. Launched jointly by the Jewish Federations of North America
(JFNA) and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), the IAI works with more than 150 communities
to enhance the capacity of Jewish Community Relations Councils and Federations to meet local Israel
advocacy challenges within a nationally coordinated and strategic framework.
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AI helps more than 150 communities, large and small, from coast-to-coast, build a strong U.S.-Israel
relationship through: Interfaith and Intergroup Partnerships
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Israel Action Network. A description from its website:
The Israel Action Network (IAN) is a strategic initiative of the Jewish Federations of North America, in
partnership with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs to counter the assault on Israels legitimacy. The
IAN was created to educate, organize and mobilize the organized North American
Jewish community to develop strategic approaches to countering these assaults and develop innovative
efforts to change the conversation about Israel and achieving peace and security for two states for two
peoples. Our work is grounded in building strong relationships with people of faith, human rights advocates,
political and civic leaders, and friends and neighbors in our communities.
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This paper is just a very brief introduction into Creeping Normalcy and organizations that promote actual
systematic strategies. For a more in-depth look at Zionist organizations, who they are, how they are
organized, how they operate and how to push-back against their tactics, contact American Muslims for
Palestine at info@ampalestine.org or at 708.598.4267.
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Creeping Normalcy a.k.a. Faithwashing
Appendix I
An Interfaith Trojan Horse:
Faithwashing Apartheid and Occupation
JULY 1, 2014
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sana Saeed is a columnist with The Islamic Monthly
Sana Saeed, The Islamic Monthly
Interfaith work has the potential to create and sustain profound relationships across religions. But what
happens when interfaith work becomes a trojan horse?
In this piece I explore the Muslim Leadership Initiative, a program which sends American Muslims leaders to
Israel to study Judaism and Zionism and is funded by the Shalom Hartman Institute, a Zionist and anti-BDS
organization. Ive broken down the narrative into fve parts the actual critique and deconstruction of the
institute and program are towards the later part of the article.
The Background
Last week, Rabia Chaudry a National Security fellow at the Truman National Security Project and New
America Foundation - published a piece on TIME magazines website, entitled What an American Muslim
Learned From Zionists. In the article, Rabia reveals that two cohorts of young American Muslim leaders
-their identities kept hidden because of the risk over the past year have gone to Israel as part of an
interfaith program, called the Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI), organized by Duke Muslim Chaplain Imam
Abdullah Antepli and Trinity College Assistant Professor of Religion Homayra Ziad; it was funded by the
Jerusalem-based Shalom Hartman Institute (SHI).
Chaudrys piece was a follow up to a June 4th article written on her Patheos blog, which discussed the
diffculty she, personally, faced in making the decision to accept the invitation. This was not, however, the
frst time Chaudry had discussed the trip. On November 17th, 2013, Chaudry gave a talk on her frst of two
trips to Israel, through the Shalom Hartman Institute, at Silver Springs Muslim Community Center. In the
talk, she also mentioned that the participants reached out other Muslim American leaders and even shayukh
- who encouraged the trip. Up until last weeks TIME article, however, the institute behind the program had
been left unnamed and other participants in the program have yet to be revealed (save those who have
voiced their participation vis a vis social media).
The TIME article reduces the occupation to the displacement of dialogue and both sides (unsure if
Chaudry means Palestinians and Israelis or Muslims and Jews) being unwilling to speak outside their own
bubbles. Muslims, it essentially argues, misunderstand Zionism and thus misunderstand Jews and Israel.
Therefore, to have healthy and holistic interfaith dialogue back in the United States, American Muslims
must understand what Zionism means to Jews and what Israel means to Jews. At the midway point of
her piece, Chaudry even explains how it was only after she fnally met Palestinians, during her trip, that
she understood that the fear many Israeli Jews have [of ending the occupation] is not a fgment of [their]
imagination as the pressure cooker cannot hold indefnitely.

8
Chaudry followed up her article which elicited, albeit relatively isolated, an uproar of condemnation
from many Palestinian Americans on Twitter as well as voices of support from other groups elsewhere on
social media with another, responding to criticisms about the Shalom Hartman Institutes program and
the participation of Muslim American leaders. This blog post was, too, flled with deeply problematic and
logically unsound arguments (see: dont single Israel out, equivocating jihad and Zionism; claiming not to
speak for Palestinians while, actually, doing that with both words and actions).
Additionally, it even mentioned that it was key to enable Muslim leaders to use the language of Zionism to
remind Jews of the ethical and moral callings of their faith. Because Muslims have a responsibility to make
Judaism inseparable from Zionism and tell believing and non-believing Jews whats theologically up?
Criticisms of the articles themselves aside, the majority of the social media criticism was directed towards
the existence of the program itself; the fact that Muslim American leaders would consider breaking, in effect,
BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) by being sponsored, supported and funded by a Zionist institution seemed
to knock the wind out of many. The inclusion of participants such as Wajahat Ali and Haroon Moghul two
well-respected and prolifc Muslim names in US media as opposed to the usual fringe- esque names we
may be used to, set off a scurry of alarms and a tide of confusion.
Whats going on?
Speaking to the Man Behind the Curtain
To those who know him Imam Abdullah Antepli, the visionary behind the Muslim Leadership Initiative, is
a beautiful man with a passion for interfaith dialogue. In February of this past year, his interfaith efforts
at Duke were featured in a Haaretz article chronicling the growing challenges of interfaith dialogue on US
campuses with the growth of student-led BDS movements. I had the opportunity to speak with Imam Antepli
last Thursday; like many others who had caught wind of the program and trip, I was livid, saddened and at
a loss for words to see what I and so many others felt was a normalization of Zionism and Israel within our
community through some of our most well regarded public leaders.
In our conversation, Imam Antepli stressed that the purpose of the program was to educate Muslim
American leaders those at the forefront of being in touch with young Muslims especially about Judaism
so as to better approach the question of Zionism and Israel that is otherwise made into the elephant in any
and all interfaith dialogue between Jews and Muslims. This was, he said, just a pilot run of the program;
he, along with the participants and the Hartman Institute were unsure of what exactly to expect from one
another and from the experience. Nevertheless, Imam Antepli trusted the Shalom Hartman Institute, which
he had visited for three years straight prior as a participant at the institutes multifaith, interdisciplinary
International Theological Conference (ITC). The program consisted of curriculum by the Hartman institute, of
which the majority was originally created for American Rabbis.
The institute, founded by American Progressive Orthodox Rabbi Dr. David Hartman, is dedicated to being
a center of transformative thinking and teaching that addresses the major challenges faced by the worlds
Jewry. Following a progressive Orthodox Judaism, the institute also promotes Jewish pluralism, both for
religious and secular

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Creeping Normalcy a.k.a. Faithwashing
Jews, and multi-faith conversation (e.g. ITC). In particular, it is also interested in looking at the relationship
that diaspora Jews have with Israel.
Because of Imam Anteplis own experience with the institute and belief in its principles and the sort of space it
has cultivated for itself within the American Jewish community as well, he felt that the institute would be best
suited to house the program. The line, for him, would be groups like the ADL and AIPAC.
He admitted, however, that there were shortcomings most glaringly (and a central criticism waged against
the program) the absence of Palestinian and Arab-Americans from the cohorts. Imam Antepli explained that
in the original cohorts, there were a few Arab-Americans poised to go on the trip, but due to logistics and
unforeseen events they had to leave, leading the cohorts consisting primarily of South Asians, a few Turks
and one Black American. When I asked him the selection process for the MLI participants, he emphasized
repeatedly that his goal was to have the proportional representations of members of the American Muslim
community present in the program. Thus, because there are more South Asian Muslims than Arab American
Muslims there would be more South Asian Muslims present in the program. Additionally, he continued, it was
of dire importance to him that the participants be half men and half women this was something he was
completely unwilling, he said, to compromise on. In addition to these representations, Imam Antepli stated
that he wished that there had been a more pluralistic Muslim representation, as all those who went on the trip
were representatives of the Sunni community.
The Imam also explained how he had plans for a JLI Jewish Leadership Initiative which would bring Israeli
Jewish leaders to the United States to speak with American Muslims and learn about Islam. This would be, of
course, a plan for the distant future as opposed to anything in the next near while.
When I pushed about the crossing of the BDS line by this program, the answers seemed to be less than
satisfactory. Imam Antepli did not deny the deplorable conditions of the Palestinian people or the disgusting
nature of segregated Israeli society; he minced no words in condemning the occupation and treatment of
Palestinians as well as the Israeli attitudes towards both. Yet on BDS, he provided anecdotes of how during
his conversations with Palestinians while they agreed with the importance and strength of BDS they also
believed in the importance of Muslims, from around the world, coming to see for themselves the occupation.
Faithwashing Apartheid and Occupation
It is hard to ignore the obvious; it is hard to ignore that despite whatever good intentions and explanations
there were and will be, a group of Muslim American leaders many in the very public eye and with a great
deal of social authority went to Jerusalem through a program, albeit organized by an Imam, funded and
supported by an institution that is unabashedly Zionist. That a group of Muslim American leaders traveled to
Israel to learn about what Zionism means to Jews to better understand Jewish connection to Israel and thus
bridges, interfaith, dialogue and other such nouns.
And yet nothing about this is, unfortunately, surprising.
One of the most common tactics of Zionist lobby groups and organizations has been sanitizing the occupation
and apartheid and displacing the actual cause and reason for the confict. Zionist groups have courted Black
college students and Latino

10
leaders (with pushback), for instance, in an attempt to, as independent journalist Rania Khalek describes
it, neutralize the brown electorate. She explains how in an attempt to thwart identifcation or solidarity
Latino, Asian and Black Americans may have with the Palestinian struggle there is a necessity to, quoting
former US Ambassador to the European Union Stuart Eizenstat, show how the confict ..is not a civil rights
issue. Its rather a very different confict in which violence is being used and Israels right to be a state is
questioned.
This is, in its essence, what washing the occupation and apartheid clean actually is: to sanitize the narrative
in which the oppressor becomes the oppressed or, at the very least, a relatable oppressor.
And this where what I will refer to as Faithwashing comes in. Faithwashing is about changing the cause of
the Israeli-Palestinian confict (or, rather, Israeli occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine) from a mid-
20th century Euro-American settler-colonialist project (that brought anti-semitism to the Muslim world) to a
non-existent centuries long enmity between Jews and Muslims.
Using religion to whitewash Israeli crimes and dilute the occupation is nothing new. Its relatively well known
that Christian (Evangelical and others) often travel to Israel to visit holy sites as well as pledge support
for the state of Israel although not really in the interest of the worlds Jewry. Whats not as well known is
that these trips are often, albeit not always, funded by Zionist groups interested in propping up support for
Zionism and Israeli policies.
Now it seems that the attention has been turned towards mainstream Muslim American leaders who are
anti-Islamophobia activists and well regarded within their communities. In the case of MLI it seems as
though good intentions have been turned into an opportunity for a liberal Zionist educational institution
Shalom Hartman Institute to further its anti-BDS agenda.
The decision by these community members and leaders to go to Israel vis a vis a Zionist, anti-BDS
institution is incredibly shameful and dangerous. Good intentions matter, but actions make the real
difference. The bottom line becomes that this program should not have happened and should not continue
as it undercuts the plight of Palestinians and normalizes Zionism a racist ideology and institution that is
antithetical to our own Islamic traditions of social justice within our communities.
BDS matters. Ignoring BDS is Ignoring Palestinians.
In 2005, Palestinian civil society released a statement making a call for the international community to
commit to the Boycotting, Divesting and Sanctioning of Israel (similar to the one issued against Apartheid
South Africa) until it complied with international law.
Part of supporting BDS, beyond divestment from corporations and groups that directly exploit the occupation
and Palestinians, is not enabling the very institutions that both directly and indirectly support the occupation,
the status quo; that support Zionism, a secular ideology that co-opted religious narratives for nationalist
aims, propagated by European colonial offcers who supported the export of the so-called Jewish problem.
When an individual, who claims to be committed to the Palestinian Cause, makes the decision to be
associated with and use the support of a Zionist organization however good the cause they are, without
any grey, breaking the BDS line and are normalizing Zionism. And there should be no mistake about what
Zionism is and what it isnt.
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The Shalom Hartman Institute is actively dedicated to and engaged in anti-BDS campaigns.
It is hard to imagine that not a single participant in the MLI checked out the Shalom Hartman Institutes
website before accepting the invitation to the program. It only takes a few minutes to discover some
alarming facts and associations facts and associations that point to an institute that is actively engaged in
fghting BDS on campuses and faithwashing the existing and emerging narratives on Israel.*
In 2010, SHI launched the Engaging Israel Project or, IEngage - a project which has partnered with AIPAC.
The goal of the project is to respond to growing feelings of disenchantment and disinterest toward Israel
among an ever-increasing number of Jews worldwide by creating a new narrative regarding the signifcance
of Israel for Jewish life. It does this by addressing core questions pertaining to the necessity and
signifcance of the Jewish national enterprise; how a Jewish state should exercise power; why a Jew who
lives outside of Israel should care about Israel; and what the State of Israel can offer the world.
In other, less euphemistic words: IEngage is about saving Zionism and ensuring Israels support, as a
Jewish state, both at home and abroad.
One of IEngages faculty is McGill Professor of History, Gil Troy who has been at the forefront of
fghting BDS. In 2009, he and Dr. Mitchell Bard presented a position paper at the Working Group on
Delegitimization at the Global Forum against Anti-Semitism (seriously, click that link and read it). Tasked
with the responsibility to respond to the challenges that would arise from the growing BDS movement, they
emphasized that the fght against BDS was an educational one and outlined a three- pronged vision for
fghting BDS:
1. Israel Being a Cause to Celebrate
2. Humanize Israel
3. Driving a Wedge between Soft Critics and Hard Delegitimizers
The Hartman website even features an article highlighting Troys efforts to fght BDS on campus, in which
he said to have said the Shalom Hartman Institute iEngage Project has been working for four years to
shift the negative and doctrinaire conversation about Israel toward one that is constructive, thoughtful,
and educational. SHI president Rabbi Donniel Hartman is also quoted in the article in emphasizing how
the campaign against BDS must be a campaign of ideas. Elsewhere on the website, Rabbi Hartman also
discusses how BDS is repulsive and that it must be, once again, defeated through ideas, education and,
essentially, reclaiming Zionism amongst the world Jewry.
A key program of the IEngage project is the CLI: Christian Leadership Initiative, which preceded the
MuslimLeadership Initiative. The program, however, was not initiated by SHI but, rather, AJC the Global
Jewish Advocacy group that is also unabashedly and openly committed to fghting BDS. In May of this
past year, the AJC discussed on its website that in an attempt to thwart any American Christian movement
awayfrom supporting Israel it had established the CLI in a partnership with SHI.
CLI is a mirror program of the MLI beyond just sharing a name. In fact, the description of the MLI program
(co-directed by Yossi Klein HaLevi, who is a former follower of Meir Kahane and member of the JDL) on the
SHI websitemakes it abundantly clear that the purpose of the program is not to teach Muslim leaders about
Judaism (at least solely) but to educate them on Zionism and the centrality of Israel to the worlds Jewry.
The curriculum for the Muslim leaders was, in fact, entitled Encountering Israel: Independence, Peoplehood,
and Power.
Until Saturday, SHIs 2013 Annual Report included the MLI under the IEngage project. When I brought this
concern up with Imam Abdullah Antepli, he said that the MLI was not a part of the IEngage project and that
he would, immediately, speak with SHI staff to have it removed. And within less that twenty-four hours, it was.
Thank goodness for this screen shot.
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Creeping Normalcy a.k.a. Faithwashing
While Imam Antepli was adamant that MLI had nothing to do with the IEngage project, it is incredibly telling
that it is modeled after AJCs Christian Leadership Initiative and that SHI included it under its IEngage
project section in its 2013 annual report.
Is this a matter of thirteen months of miscommunication?
The program description in the annual report also reiterates contrary to the claims of those who
participated that the interfaith initiative is not a dialogue but rather to help Muslims to experience how
Jews understand Israel and themselves. And, perhaps most tellingly, also claims that it aims to change
attitudes in the North American Muslim community and in Muslim-Jewish discourse in communities and on
campuses across North America.
Emphasis added.
The Shalom Hartman Institutes interests lie not in fostering better Jewish-Christian- Muslim relations
for the sake of interfaith, but rather in fostering relationships with key leaders within these communities
specifcally in the United States who have access to the youth in their communities and can help
normalize Zionism, legitimize Israel and thus delegitimize BDS.
The Need to Reject The Zionist Narrative
There are more questions than answers.
One of the frst things that struck me about the program, after I learned that it was associated and funded
by the Shalom Hartman Institute, was that there actually isnt any reason for Muslim American leaders to
travel to Israel to study Judaism for the sake of interfaith. Was there really a dearth of resources in the
United States? Or are Rabbinical studies only possible in Israel? Just as Quranic studies would only be
possible in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, India, Jordan? Morocco has one of the most vibrant Jewish
communities in the world; why not go there, where interfaith between Muslims and Jews isnt obstructed
by apartheid walls and laws? Not only would it not cross the BDS line but it would also shift the focus from
Ashkenazi-centric Jewish narratives to Sephardic.
Does it make sense for American Muslim leaders to work with an institution where, by the participants
own admittance, the instructors claimed they had never interacted with Muslims despite living in a country
where the majority within a decade or so will be Muslim? Does it make sense to speak of bringing Israeli
Jewish leaders to the US to learn about Islam when their neighbours are, in fact, Muslim?
And are we now accepting, after years of rejecting, the equivalence of Judaism and Zionism? Are we
actually sidelining anti-Zionist Jewish voices that reject the modern state of Israel as an integral part of
Judaism, of their Jewishness (secular or religious)? Where do we get the authority to do that?
Palestine is central to the hearts of Muslims all around the world, but that does not mean we try to re-write
the narrative of the occupation on our own terms. There is a real need for interfaith understanding and
work between Jews and Muslims and if Israel is a part of that work, then so be it. But we must not, in the
process, allow ourselves, our communities and our leaders to be on the wrong sides of history and justice
by normalizing and accepting what was and remains unjust.
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Right now is a critical moment for our communities to have an actual conversation not a
shouting match. There are concerted efforts to drive wedges between members of communities
that may and do stand up against Zionism and the oppression of Palestinians. I earnestly hope we
do not allow those efforts to succeed and I encourage others to write responses and engage on
this topic. Lets keep the conversation going.
*An important note: the Chair of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America is Angelica Berrie, who
is the president of the Russell Berrie Foundation. In a 2011 report for ThinkProgress entitled Fear Inc.,
MLI participant Wajahat Ali revealed a network of organizations creating and feeding the Islamophobia
industry in the United States. Amongst the foundations mentioned, the Russell Berrie Foundation was,
too, included. According to the report, the foundation contributed $3,109,016 between 2001 and 2009
to organizations engaging in anti-Muslim work. Some of the anti-Muslim groups who received funding
included Counterterrorism & Security Education and Research Foundation, receiving $2,736,000; the
Investigative Project on Terrorism ($100,000); and the Middle East Forum ($273,016.22).

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Creeping Normalcy a.k.a. Faithwashing
Creeping Normalcy footnotes
1. The Top Reasons Societies Collapse, May 6, 2006, from the website Survival Acres:
Sustainable Living and Common Sense. http://survivalacres.com/wordpress/?p=216
2. Reacing the boiling point, by Cindy Gomez, from the website High Plains Reader.
http://hpr1.com/opinion/article/reaching the boiling_point
3. Foreign Ministry to use Front Groups for PR in Europe
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/foreign-ministry-to-use-front-groups-for-pr-efforts- in-
europe-1.293106
4. As Israels image sinks, whither Israeli PR? by Leslie Susser, The Jewish Telegraph Agency,
July 6 2010
5. Why is terror expert attacking US solidarity groups? by Kristin Szremski, Electronic Intifada,
January 2012.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/why-terror- expert-attacking-us-solidarity-groups/10779
6. Hard-Nosed Campus Group Softens Tactics: David Project Focuses on Selling Israel, Not
Trashing Enemies, by Naomi Zeveloff, The Jewish Daily Forward , Feb. 24, 2012. www.forward.
com/articles/151479/hard-nosed-campus-group-softens- tactics/?p=all#ixzz1rHkcF4tJ
7. Op-Ed: Kick the reaction addiction on campus, by David Bernstein, The Jewish Telegraph
Agency, Feb. 9, 2012.
http://www.jta.org/news/article- print/2012/02/09/3091601/op-ed-kick-the-reaction-addiction-on-
campus?TB_iframe=true&width=750&height=500
8. Federations, JCPA teaming to fght delegitimization of Israel. By Jacob Berkman, The Jewish
Telegraph Agency, Oct. 25, 2010.
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/10/24/2741418/jfna-and-jcpa-create-6-million- network-to-fght-
delegitimization-of-israel
9. ibid
10. Jewish Council for Public Affairs
http://engage.jewishpublicaffairs.org/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_ite m_KEY=4147
11. Israel Advocacy Initiative website
http://engage.jewishpublicaffairs.org/content.jsp?content_KEY=945
12. Ibid
13. Israel Action Network.
http://israelactionnetwork.org/about
P. 888.404.4AMP (4267)
E. info@ampalestine.org
American Muslims for Palestine
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AMERICAN MUSLIMS FOR PALESTINE