viewpoint: ben cohen

BDS movement infiltrates the Virginia State Bar

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The Virginia State Bar (VSB) — which, it should be noted, is a state body working with the legal profession in Virginia — has been embroiled in a nasty political row over its apparent boycott of Israel. I say “apparent” because this hasn’t been the kind of run-of-the-mill boycott row one encounters on college campuses. Leading officials of the VSB are insisting that they are not boycotting Israel and that, moreover, they were not even aware of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement until this whole unfortunate business began.

Take it from me, this is a complicated story, so let’s begin with a chronology.

On Feb. 27, the VSB announced that it would be holding its 42nd Annual Midyear Legal Seminar, scheduled for November, in the refined surroundings of the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. Anti-Israel activists quickly learned of the planned trip to the Jewish state, and by March 23, a change.org petition was live demanding its cancellation.

Signed by exactly 39 of the VSB’s almost 50,000 members, the petition was careful to sound like a statement of concerned professionals. Unlike the unhinged screeds one en-counters on campus, it didn’t contain any references to Israeli “war crimes” or “apartheid,” nor did it even mention the BDS campaign. Without pointing out that Israel is a Jewish state—as is common among anti-Zionists—the petition grounded its demand for cancellation on the claim that Israel discriminates against those of Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab origin at its border entry points. Citing advice from the U.S. State Department and the American Consulate in Jerusalem, the petition concluded, “It is unacceptable that the Virginia State Bar has decided to hold a conference in a location that actively discriminates on the basis of racial, religious, and national origin grounds, and effectively prevents Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian members of the VSB from attending.”

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