The Pro-Israel Cancel Culture Playbook

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The Pro-Israel Cancel Culture Playbook

A spate of examples will follow, but first, to summarize, here are what might be called the "rules of engagement" for the pro-Israel de-platformers.

The minute you hear about an event featuring a critique of Israel, employ the following formula:

1. Have a number of organizations at work.  [NOTE:  this refers to Canada, so all references are to Canadian organizations.  But, they have similar organizations wherever you live.] If the CIJA is squeamish, then get B'nai Brith Canada to do it. If they or the Simon Wiesenthal Center have qualms, then the imprudent and belligerent Jewish Defense League or Herut Canada can rush in.

2. No matter how distinguished and credible the speaker, try guilt-by-association, however tenuous. Did their uncle belong to a questionable organization? Did their cousin write something critical of Israel? Do they pay dues to a student union that supports Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)? Shut them down!

3. If the speakers are academics, go after their publications or insist their tenure be denied. If they are students, demand that their degrees be withheld. The Canadian Jewish News recently reported: "Rather than debating them about Israel, Manfred Gerstenfeld, the former chair of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs (JCPA), makes the case for professionally discrediting the enemies [sic] of Israel. 'Find plagiarism or a wrong footnote and make it public,' he said at a fundraising event for the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, in Montreal on Dec. 1 [2019]. 'Only about 10 per cent of academics are hard-core anti-Israel and the rest are not going to risk their careers. Academics are cowards.'"

4. Absent real evidence of antisemitism, a mere accusation will suffice.

5. Find out where the event is being held and who are the sponsors. Contact both the venue and the sponsors and tell them that the speaker or the event is antisemitic.

6. If you don't want to threaten violence yourself, suggest that there might be violence from some unknown quarter if the event proceeds.

7. Tell the host or sponsor that they too will be considered antisemitic if they continue involvement.

8. If any of the venues or sponsors accede to these demands, publicize it to shame the non-acceders.

9. If an event you don't like is cancelled or postponed, claim credit.

10. Even if the shut-down attempt is not completely successful, the cost and effort involved in resisting your attack will frighten the organizers and make others think twice about doing something similar in the future.

11. What I call the "cringe effect" is particularly useful with the media. When a critic of Israel appears, initiate an avalanche of disparaging letters, emails, and phone calls. Even if the preponderance of material in the particular media outlet has been pro-Israel, criticize the "lack of balance." If all else fails, demand "equal time" of equal prominence for an opposing view. That should scare the media outlet away from the topic. 

The Playbook in Action
There are - as you can imagine - many many examples, which can be best read in the full article, complete with pictures and tweets and many links.
Go here:  https://mondoweiss.net/2020/07/cancel-culture-and-the-israel-lobby/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-email-mailpoet

or here: https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/cancel-culture-and-the-pro-israel-lobby

or here:  https://socialistproject.ca/2020/07/real-masters-of-cancel-culture-proisrael-lobby/