Different Messages for Different Audiences

The admonition by the leader of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to his young anti-Israel allies that “the language there [in “Palestine”] doesn’t work here” is another reminder of the doublespeak that has long characterized the organized anti-Israel crowd (“The True Face of the Anti-Israel Movement,” Review & Outlook, Dec. 9). Once one pierces the superficial veil of anti-Israel rhetoric, the antisemitism and glorification of terrorism that is often revealed is far more useful for understanding the intractability of the conflict.

Surely CAIR said all the right things to the White House when it was listed as a partner for “educating about protecting houses of worship” in the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. Had the White House bothered to investigate, it would have found CAIR standing behind its San Francisco executive director, Zahra Billoo, after she told a crowd, “We need to pay attention to the Zionist synagogues,” since they and other mainstream U.S. Jewish institutions “are not your friends” and must be opposed. A little effort would have gone a long way for the administration toward avoiding embarrassment and not elevating those who see Jews as their enemies.