Your email is not valid
Recipient's email is not valid
Submit Close

Your email has been sent.

Click here to send another

thescroll_header thescroll_tagline thescroll_tagline_RSS
The Scroll

Stray Flotilla Tweet Raises Questions About OWS

Is the movement becoming explicitly pro-Palestinian?

By Marc Tracy|November 4, 2011 12:19 PM|39comments
Print Email
Occupy Wall Street on Halloween.(Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)

Last night, the following tweet went out from the Twitter feed of the independent affinity group that runs Occupy Wall Street’s Website (which is distinct from Occupy Wall Street itself): “We support and would like to express #solidarity to #FreedomWaves #Palestine #ows”—#FreedomWaves being the hashtag for the two Gaza-bound flotilla-like boats that, as of this writing, have already been boarded by Israeli soldiers, who will divert them to Ashdod, Israel. The tweet was quickly deleted, though not before it was acknowledged by the flotilla’s own feed: “We are thrilled to receive the support of #OccupyWallStreet Looks like only the 1% support the Israeli blockade of Gaza.” It was also picked up by the New York Times’ Lede blog.

Daniel Sieradski, the Jewish social media guru and activist with connections to Occupy Wall Street (among other things, he organized last month’s Kol Nidrei service across the street from Zuccotti Park), told me this morning that a single individual with access to the feed had made the tweet, and that then Sieradski and others “raised concerns to folks on the PR and media teams that there had been no consensus on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (opinions differ as to whether the topic is even germane), that it was not appropriate for this individual to make such a declaration on behalf of the movement, and that the ramifications would likely be severe.” He added, “Others in their affinity group concurred that it was inappropriate and the tweet was deleted.”

While it’s worth noting that the feed in question contains the disclaimer, “Opinions tweeted do not reflect the occupation as a whole,” this is not exactly going to be reassuring to those who worry about OWS’ direction, and already several right-wing blogs have seized on it as the damning evidence. (Let’s leave aside whether you support the blockade or not, the fact is that up until now the movement has strenuously avoided such stances; let’s also recall that in the past some flotilla activists have had ties to Hamas.) Meanwhile, for an outlet like Mondoweiss, which has equated OWS and the Palestinian struggle, this was like manna: “The Twitter-sphere flared up with expressions of praise and affirmation, proving that the 99 percent naturally link the struggle for the Occupation of Wall Street with the struggle against the Occupation of Palestine as two facets of a single universal liberation struggle.” (Cut to: Occupy Oakland’s Intifada Tent. Ugh.)

I think proving is a pretty strong verb choice there. And it is still thrillingly easy to argue that Occupy Wall Street is not anti-Semitic. At the same time—and in the absence of any ability for Occupy Wall Street to speak in one voice on this or any other issue—it is going to become more and more difficult to deny that there are pro-Palestinian, and if you like pro-Hamas, elements among the occupiers, at which point, for many people, the compelling economic message will be drowned out. As Sieradski (who, unlike the twitterer, made it clear that he was speaking only for himself) put it, “Once this movement becomes explicitly anti-Israel, you’ll have effectively alienated three times more people than you’ll attract.” To a single-issue place like Mondoweiss, that doesn’t matter. But one would hope that people on the left who care about several issues would see what the wise approach is.

Flotilla Controversy Within Occupy Wall Street Shows Palestine Continues To Be a Fault Line [Mondoweiss]
Earlier: Is Oakland Palestine?
More In:
  • Mike

    While Tracy says it thrillingly easy to prove OWS isn’t antisemitic, I see he doesn’t actually do it. There’s a reason of course…OWs is antisemitic. Look at the the hard-core. They all hate Israel and by extension Jews. Why so much effort by so few to hide reality?

  • http://facebook.com/fortwebsolutions Aviva

    Sieradski is his name…

  • http://mideastparalleluniverse.blogspot.com/ Bella Center

    The NYTimes Lede blog was very quick to post the tweet as though it represented the consensus opinion. Robert Mackey couldn’t understand why his citation may have been misleading.

  • Chris R

    Are you kidding? The movement has been strongly anti-Semitic and pro-Palestinian since the beginning. Why is this a surprise, this isn’t the first time someone in the OWS leadership publically aligned the movement with the “Palestinian” cause.

  • Bill Pearlman

    Mondoweiss makes Hitler look like a reasonable guy. And in fact the commentators there are sorry that WW2 went the way it did.

  • Josh

    What I don’t understand is how Daniel Sieradski fails to understand how his own behavior contributed to this unfortunate position he now finds himself in.

    In the early days of occupy wall street sukkah, Daniel Sieradski invited and welcomed with open arms the anti zionist fanatic max blumenthal into the sukkah.

    Max Blumenthals latest article for the hizballah affiliated newspaper al akhbar specifically expressed sympathy for the pflp terror group that was responsible for the cold blooded massacre of puerto rican pilgrims to israel in the 1970′s lod airport massacre.

    Blumenthal has also previously collaborated with the anti zionist group, existence is resistance. Here is blumenthal with the head of EIR, harribic tubman aka nancy mansour leigh, harrasing participants at a JNF fundraiser in manhattan:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4GWbO_lBGg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

    Existence is resistance is responsible for keffiyah day at occupy wall street. Here is a video of one of the unhinged members of EIR at keffiyah day ranting about the yahood:

    http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2011/11/unhinged-anti-israel-nutcases-at.html

    If Daniel Sieradski was serious about keeping anti zionist activism out of ows, he never should have opened that pandoras box by inviting single issue anti zionist fanatics into the movement in the first place.

  • Dani ben Leb

    The Lede and Robert Mackey is an anti-Zionist haven. Mackey is switching to the new Guardian website soon. All of these guys are tweet buddies, Dana, OWS, Blumenthal, Mackey….you just need to connect the dots, or read their tweets. It’s all one big happy family.

  • guest

    Dan Sieradski is correct when he says that in this kind of radical-left crowd you’re always going to find some anti-Israel types. And he should know. Sieradski on Israel:

    “No, I’m not a Zionist. I’m a Jew. I’m not going to whitewash this despicable desecration of our inheritance and paint it as awesomely wonderful because of its scientific breakthroughs or its false appearance of democracy.
    The more venom you spew in my direction , the more I realize it’s true — that Zionists don’t really believe in Torah. Because Zionism is assur by the Torah. Zionism has nothing to do with Judaism. It is a Jewish nationalist movement. Judaism and Zionism are not one and the same…

    “As you inch this world ever closer towards apocalypse, just know that I would rather be on the side of G-d and justice than a member of your club. If you want to make me out to be a pariah — if you want to put me in cherem because I actually believe G-d when He says redemption comes “Not through arms nor through strength, but through My spirit” — go right ahead.

    “Toss me out on my ass if you must. But know that you are throwing aside one of the most devout, committed, whole-hearted, loving Jewish people in the world today. And not because I’m not a good Jew. But because I don’t support the infinitely corrupt and halakhically illegitimate state that will be the undoing of our people.”

    http://www.jewlicious.com/2006/09/the-orthodox-anarchist-who-couldnt-shoot-straight/

  • Jules

    I agree with that statement Zionism and Judaism are not one and the same. Never have been one and the same and never will.

  • Jews Kill

    Jews are a malignant occupying force in the USA as well as Israel. They use aggressive tribalism to their advantage, then scream “hate crime” when they are called to account for their outrageous behavior against others.

  • Jules

    Zionism only degrards the good name of Jews and Judaism.

  • Bill Pearlman

    stick it up your ass

  • halmason

    No Wonder ! Israel better grow up quick because once again you find yourselves Up Against a wall and Nobody is going to save you this time !!!!!!!BE NICE OR QUIT!

  • Jules

    It is not a requisite requirement that one be a Zionist in order to be a good Jew,it is rather preferable from a human perspective that if one is to be a Jew of some good conscience that one strive to be the opposite of an ideological Zionist and in that endeavor strive to be a better and more complete and compassionate human being.

  • Mike

    I love it when the trolls prove the point about Jew hatred. Thanks schmucks.

  • eli

    Jules, Zionism is simply the national identification of Jews as a nation. Yes, it is not a requisite to be a good Jew – but the hatred of Zionism and Israel that you regularly show in comments is the opposite of being a good Jew – just as the hatred you express towards Israel and Zionism is the opposite of being a compassionate human.

  • A.

    @Mike <— Is the hero of the week. Too bad Tablet already gave out its Comment of the Week this week.

    @Josh Sieradski has been doing his best to keep #OWS free and welcoming to all Jews. He even specifically talked about how anti-Israel people on the left try their best to make Pro-Israel people feel unwelcome. He welcomed *all* Jews into his services – their views on Israel did not matter. I say this as a person who really detests most of what Blumenthal writes. This is a quote from a JTA article about the Kol Nidre service:

    "Sieradski, too, said there are some anti-Zionist ideologues involved in the Occupy Wall Street protests who believe that Israel is central to U.S. economic issues.

    They “think that the issue of the Israeli occupation is inseparable from the economic situation. They think that Israel is an outpost of American imperialism, including economic imperialism,” he said. “There is a tendency on the left to make Jews who identify with Israel uncomfortable. I hope we can overcome that. There are plenty people against the Israel occupation, but that’s not what this is about.”"

    http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/10/11/3089808/hundreds-occupy-wall-street-for-yom-kippur

    @Tablet I'm going to repeat my objection to linking to Mondoweiss. The place is a hate site. I hope that other readers again join me in my objections and that Tablet Magazine takes the time to do their homework on this despicable site. None of us need to be supporting a site on which is consistently spread the notion that Jews have too much power in the U.S., that Zionism is akin Nazism and so many other common antisemitic themes.

  • A.

    The comment of the week went to this comment:

    “I love it when the trolls prove the point about Jew hatred. Thanks schmucks.”

  • Jules

    Eli, you’re unerring nagging childish ability to equate due and justly deserved criticism with “hatred” is really your peculiar problem, but that is precisely because hatred is exactly that emotion with which you seethe and stew in to your own determined detriment the most.

  • Jules

    Zionism was a deeply delusional boy scout summer camp that I was sent abroad to when I was a boy, now I see it for the messy modern nightmare that it truly nakedly is. When you can see past your fantastic far reaching preadolescent fantasies, then perhaps I could be brought to care in what esteem you hold me in, be it high or low, as well as in what esteem you hold other Jews who do not hold to or subscribe to your militant ideas of what it means to be a Jew in the modern age.

  • Jules

    Shalom.

  • Bill Pearlman

    Who needs Hitler, and Arafat when your have Phil Weiss and his little gay sidekick Horowitz

  • http://eaazi.blogspot.com Joachim Martillo

    The Zionist leadership from the earliest formulations of Zionist ideology worked hard to mobilize Jewish wealth on behalf of Zionist goals, but mobilized Jewish wealth has its own goals to increase its own political power and control. Zionism quickly turned into a tool of the Jewish City of London and Jewish Wall Street. Occupy Wall Street must be anti-Zionism or it is nothing.

  • guest
  • guest

    Occupy Wall Street:

    “The flotilla actions are something that we have not had time to discuss or come to a cohesive policy on, but that does not mean that we do not fundamentally support it.”

    http://mondoweiss.net/2011/11/occupy-wall-street-responds-to-controversy-over-gaza-flotilla.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

  • guest

    The occupation of the Israeli Consulate in Boston was apparently sanctioned, and officially announced, by Occupy Boston.

    http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2011/11/proof-attempted-takeover-of-israeli.html

  • TheThinker1958

    “Once this movement becomes explicitly anti-Israel…”
    this comment can’t be serious since there is not evidence that this is going on. It looks more like an intent of misleading readers of this website than anything else.
    I don’t understand why this article was wrote. In the first paragraph it was mentioned that the tweet was deleted minutes after. That can only mean that there was a discussion and it was decided the tweet shouldn’t be there. Obviously somebody went beyond his limits.

  • Bill Pearlman

    And that sniveling little shit Martillo

  • A.

    @guest If the march to the Israeli consulate was sanctioned by #OccupyBoston, why was it just a tiny group? Why was the Israeli consulate event not tweeted by the main @OccupyBoston account? Looks more like a backlash by some ardent people to the tweet deletion by @OccupyWallSt the day before. Anti-Israel people are going to try to insert themselves into this protest in any way they can and at every opportunity possible. Like Sieradski said in the JTA quoted above, they will do their best to make Pro-Israel people too uncomfortable to be there.

    On Twitter, there was conversation after the tweet deletion about how if anti-Israel people want their voices to be heard at the Occupy protests, the only way to do so would be to show up there. Then the next day, the march and protest at the Israeli Consulate happened. You do the math.

  • guest

    @A. Occupy Boston announced the march on its daily calendar.

  • guest

    Favorite chant form the “occupation” of the Israeli consulate:

    “Disarm the police, from Israel to Greece”

  • guest

    From the calendar Occupyboston.org

    EMERGENCY MARCH in solidarity with Gaza flotilla
    WhenFri, November 4, 4:30pm – 6:00pm
    Wheresolidarity with Gaza flotilla (map)
    DescriptionEMERGENCY MARCH IN SOLIDARITY WITH WAVES FOR FREEDOM GAZA FLOTILLA. ISRAELI FORCES HAVE BOARDED TWO VESSELS CARRYING MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO GAZA. THEY HAVE CALLED FOR A SHOW OF SOLIDARITY AT YOUR LOCAL ISRAELI CONSULATE. MEET AT 4:30PM IN DEWEY SQUARE FOR MARCH. News report on flotilla–http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/2/exclusive_gaza_bound_freedom_waves_flotilla Please come out to Dewey and see below for other actions to support the flotilla: We have received word from the two ships en route to Gaza, the Saoirse and the Tahrir, that Israeli warships are approaching both ship. The Tahrir has received radio contact from the Israeli authorities, asking about their final destination. They replied, ‘the conscience of humanity’. When asked again, they said ‘The betterment of mankind’. Boarding and commandeering are imminent. On board the Tahrir is one American, Kit Kittredge. The boats are presently 48 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza. The first flotilla to break the siege was intercepted about 35 nautical miles off shore. [1] Now is the time to act. Call the State Department and the White House and tell them to press the Israeli

  • http://danielsieradski.com Daniel Sieradski

    A response to the blog post quoted anonymously above:
    http://mobius1ski.tumblr.com/post/12493479789/zionism-where-im-holding

    As per my relationship to Max Blumenthal, though Max and I may strongly disagree over any number of issues, I refuse to engage in McCarthyite tactics of vilifying, demonizing and excluding Jews from the Jewish community because we differ over Israel.

    Zionists, non-Zionists, post-Zionists and anti-Zionists are all equally welcome in my Jewish big tent.

  • David

    Those who seek to discredit the progressive movement with accusations of antisemitism do no service to the Jewish community in Israel or in the US. While the right-wing may be ‘pro-israel’ for the time being, they have also been clear about where this enthusiasm comes from – millenial christianity which believes we basically all have to die before they ascend to heaven. And I ask, who is the antisemite here?

  • sharon

    Jews have always been at the forefront of progressive movements in the United States-unions, anti-war, womans movements and civil rights.
    Instead of honoring the philosphical motivations of these people (much of which is garnered from their Judaism)a small but vocal part of the left has anti-semitic and anti-Israel leanings.
    But let us not forget that the right wing militias and tea partiers also share these beliefs-but they pander to the religious right who fund many of these organizations. And the religious right is only waiting for the “rapture”. And wait until we Jews try to get into “heaven”-they will be barring us from the “pearly gates”.
    What I am trying to say, is lets not let the right wing benefit from the few in OWS that are anti-semitic. Time will tell what direction this organization takes-its still early times.

  • Josh

    @Daniel Sieradski – the problem is that you are being fundamentally dishonest since you have absolutely no problem viciously attacking those on the Jewish right such as the RJC yet you dont level the same criticism against anti zionist fanatics whose sole purpose is to villify and demonize not the occupation but the very idea of israel itself.

    Hiding behind”the big tent” will not work since if you truly believed that, you would have publicly and unequivocally told max blumenthal to do something with his life other than viciously attack other jews and condemn virtually the entire american jewish establishment in the most vicious of terms, calling any Jew who disagrees with his anti zionism a “zionist terrorist”

    It says alot about your character that have you no problem saying this loudly and PUBLICLY to the right wing but then talk about a big kumbaya tent when faced with pflp supporters whose entire goal is to cause the destruction of israel. Funny that al awda specifically mentioned max blumenthal in their nazi like objection to even letting an israeli speak at ows and EIR was promoted by max blumenthal as well. You are used to grant those people legitimacy and then mercilessly attacked by them without a second thought.

    This isn’t about ‘disagreeing over israel.’ It’s about legitimizing the very demonization that you claim to be against. Disagreements over israel are no problem. Legitimizing Someone who claims that anyone to the right of noam chomsky is a zionist terrorist who deserves to be picketed and demonized is a problem because it contributes to the very mccarthy like tactics you claim to oppose.

    Jewish organizations would be wise to take note of who you associate with and”welcome” into your tent.

  • Josh

    @Daniel Sieradski – apologies for the last comment since I’ve read your interview where you spoke eloquently against the alienation of israel supporters at ows.

    I still would think it would be courageous to tell your “associates” in your big tent publicly to keep their disagreements with other Jews civil and not resort to demonization at the time that they frequently do so.

  • Melinda

    “Once this movement becomes explicitly anti-Israel, you’ll have effectively alienated three times more people than you’ll attract.”

    I agree with this 100%. I have been down to OWS quite a number times, marched with them, and supported them with donations of needed items. I also have joined some of the Occupy Judaism events there.

    I have spent A LOT of time defending OWS from the accusations of being anti-semitic or anti-zionist. But I don’t think I can defend this latest event anymore. True, OWS deleted the tweet in question, but I read that since then another occupy location came out in solidarity with the flotilla via twitter.

    Unfortunately, OWS has now started slipping down a slippery slope. Nothing less than a clear and strong response can get it back on track, if at all. I am very sad this happened because I used to realy believe in the OWS movement.

    I have been coming to Zuccotti and have been supporting OWS to fight the 1%, not Israel. I have very mixed feelings now and wonder if I should continue supporting OWS.

    I totally agree with Daniel Sieradski , that these recent events will alienate three times more people than it will attract. OWS made a VERY BIG mistake, I am sorry to say.

  • http://freddiefcalho.xanga.com/754958429/jengaloans/ Chang Chikko

    While I agree with the points in Stray Flotilla Tweet Raises Questions About OWS – by Marc Tracy – Tablet Magazine – A New Read on Jewish Life , I think the positive sentiment around at the moment is a result of a politically engineered set of circumstances. The demand for consumer credit is still weak and there is no improvement in the housing market. The developed nations are surviving on their governments ability to just borrow and spend into their countries which is difficult to maintain. Regards, Chang Chikko.

Thank You!

Thank you for subscribing to the Tablet Magazine Daily Digest.
Please tell us about you.

Stray Flotilla Tweet Raises Questions About OWS

Is the movement becoming explicitly pro-Palestinian?