Powerful Jewish Interests Kept Me From The Presidency Of This Synagogue

By Kenneth Roth, former Director of Human Rights Watch

New York, January 26 – It’s happened again. Just weeks after America’s premier educational and research institution bowed to pro-Israel donors and rescinded its offer to me of a position, now my local house of worship has acted in similarly corrupt fashion – it has submitted to a group of Jews opposed to my candidacy to lead the synagogue for the next two years.

This phenomenon of Jews with money and a political agenda silencing critics of their pet Zionist project must end. Nothing in my history or campaign platform for the presidency of Temple Beit Khashoggi suggests that I would perform in a non-exemplary fashion in the position, just as, a few short weeks ago, I was blindsided by Harvard University’s decision to back away from its invitation to me, at the behest of those who perceive my criticism of Israel as disqualifying. Disqualifying! Simply because they count my tweets about Israel vs. those about every other country? Because they claim to detect anti-Israel bias in my token, infrequent criticism of Israel’s terrorist enemies that I wield as a shield against charges of tendentious reporting and analysis? They even go so far as to accuse me of fomenting antisemitism – what imbecile would associate criticism of Israel with antipathy for Jews, or think that violence against Jews in reaction to criticism of Israel has ever happened?

The same forces are at play at the synagogue, I fear. The board refused to accept my application, citing some obscure, little-invoked bylaw specifying that only members in good standing for at least two consecutive years may stand for the presidency. I only recently paid my membership, having only of late made more permanent living arrangements following my departure from Human Rights Watch. The monied agenda opposed to my activities and goals is behind it, as always, securing that provision in the bylaws long before I thought to run for the office. That is how underhanded and corrupt they are.

I cannot help but sense this is an intentional, vindictive campaign of harassment and persecution because of my staunch position over the years putting Palestinians’ predicament at the top of the international human rights agenda, relegating such issues as persecution of LGBT people in the Islamic world, or antisemitic violence unrelated to Israel, to the sidelines, or, when I did invoke them, it was either grudgingly or as a way to make the criticism really about Israel after all. We all know exactly what kind of powerful (((people))) would want to show their displeasure over that.

I will not be deterred. Let’s see how much influence they have against my campaign to join the board of the Nation of Islam.

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