Time to Boycott Alice Walker

Time to Boycott Alice Walker By Sherwin Pomerantz Today’s papers in Israel carry a story about Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker’s refusal to allow Yediot Books in Israel to publish a Hebrew version of The Color Purple. Why? Read it for yourself. “It isn’t possible for me to permit this at this time for the following reason: As you may know, last fall in South Africa the Russell Tribunal on Palestine met and determined that Israel is guilty of apartheid and persecution of the Palestinian people, both inside Israel and also in the Occupied Territories. The testimony we heard, both from Israelis and Palestinians (I was a jurist) was devastating. I grew up under American apartheid and this was far worse. Indeed, many South Africans who attended, including [Bishop] Desmond Tutu, felt the Israeli version of these crimes is worse even than what they suffered under their white supremacist regimes that dominated South Africa for so long.” She then added “It is my hope that the non-violent BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement, of which I am a part, will have enough of an impact on Israeli civilian society to change the situation.” You would think that a prize winning author who has benefitted from the best that America has to offer regarding education and opportunities for professional growth would be able to internalize a few basic facts, to wit. • That apartheid is an official government policy of segregation based on race, similar to what existed in the United States during the earlier years of Walker’s life and certainly existed in South Africa as well before the elimination of such restrictive laws there. • That contrary to the opinions of the supporters of the BDS movement, Israeli Arabs are not excluded from voting, from serving in parliament, from using the same public facilities as Israeli Jews, or any other activity under which they would be excluded if this were, indeed, an apartheid state. • That the Russell Tribunal in South Africa (http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/), by its own admission and the comments of non-biased observers, has as its only purpose to support the right of self-determination of Palestinian Arabs by casting Israel in a negative light. • That Bishop Desmond Tutu, in spite of his having been awarded the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize (or perhaps because of it? Quite amazing what happens to people after they receive this award.) has become an unabashed critic of Israel’s actions and even existence and is certainly not a person whose opinions on this issue can be cited for any justification other than to portray Israel in a negative light. And, of course, the list goes on. Historically, Walker was married to a Jewish man when the 1967 war broke out, felt at that time that while Israel had a right to defend itself but it had no right to hold on to the lands it captured during that period. Building on that she ultimately decided to participate in “Freedom Flotilla I” as well, the sequel to the earlier flotilla which sailed from Turkey and which included the now-famous Mavi Marmara. Of course, her ire is not reserved just for Israel. In an interview in Foreign Policy magazine last year she said “I think Israel is the greatest terrorist organization in that part of the world. And I think, in general, the United States and Israel are great terrorist organizations themselves….. (The US) has terrorized people around the globe for a very long time.” Well, quite frankly, if she is so hot to support boycotts as a means of acting on her convictions, to which she has a right even if we disagree, we also have the same rights. I’m not sure how many more books Alice Walker will be writing in the future, but two can play this game. I, for one, would never again by a book by Alice Walker nor spend any serious time reading her material. Someone who can create a position by blindly taking facts and conveniently twisting them for her own purposes, does not need my support nor does she deserve it. We should do nothing less.