The B’nai B’rith and . . . John Howard?

This morning I began drafting a blog entry on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), based on my personal knowledge, but when I Googled “B’nai B’rith”, the ADL’s parent organization, one path branched to another, and now I’m posting a piece which doesn’t even get to the ADL.

What I plan to do in the near future is publish a series of articles on activist pro-Israel organizations, their methods and their activities. The B’nai B’rith is a good place to begin because it is the oldest establishment I’ll mention and because it spawned the notorious and more publicized ADL in 1913.

The B’nai B’rith (Hebrew: בני ברית, "Sons of the Covenant") could probably have been accurately described as a Jewish service organization when it was founded in New York City in 1843.

Since the passing of the years when Jews were banned from most hotels and country clubs in the United States, had limited ability to enter many universities, and were subject to outspoken hostility, the situation has essentially reversed, and the B’nai B’rith no longer has any significant “antisemitism” to work on. Its most conspicuous role today is as a vociferous supporter of Israel, and “antisemitism” has come to mean primarily “criticism of Israel”.

Among other Zionist activities, together with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) the B’nai B’rith created in 2002 an initiative called “BBYO 4 Israel” (“B’nai B’rith Youth Organization for Israel”) to encourage support for Zionism among high school students.

(AIPAC is Israel’s main lobbying weapon used on the U.S. Congress.)

From a B’nai B’rith website (including the flag):

“B'nai B'rith International Opposes Further Unilateral Withdrawals in Israel

“The B'nai B'rith International Executive Committee adopted a resolution which rejects further Israeli territorial withdrawals in the absence of good faith bilateral negotiations. The resolution was adopted after careful consideration at a meeting in Boca Raton, Florida on February 18.”

“The B'nai B'rith World Center in Jerusalem is the hub of B'nai B'rith International's activities in Israel, serving as the key link between the organization's members in over 50 countries around the world and the State of Israel.”

So far this post has focused on evidence of the B’nai B’rith’s major role in supporting Israel. Now we’ll look at one of its propaganda methods.

B’nai B’rith shares certain tools with other organizations I’ll be writing about. The tool I happened upon today is the presentation of awards to individuals who give good service to the Jewish organizations – awards unvaryingly described as “prestigious”. Most Americans would be astonished by the number of Jewish awards in circulation, as well as by the names of some of the recipients.

In its own words, “B'nai B'rith International bestows various recognitions and awards, including its Presidential Gold Medal awarded every few years to honor the recipient's commitment to the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Recipients have included David Ben Gurion, John F. Kennedy, George H.W. Bush, and Golda Meir. In November 2005, the Gold Medal was given to former Austrian chancellor Franz Vranitzky, and in May 2006, it was awarded to Australian Prime Minister John Howard.”

The award to John Howard, being the most recent, is the one most actively mentioned on the Internet, which is timely for me because I was just discussing Howard’s devotion to Middle East wars (i.e. wars which support Israel’s aims) with some Australian friends.

From www.ajn.com.au (“Australian Jewish News”) May 2006:

‘PRIME Minister John Howard will be presented the prestigious B'nai B'rith international Presidential Gold Medal for his "outstanding" support of Israel and the Jewish people at a ceremony in Washington on Tuesday, May 16.

‘A spokesperson for the prime minister told the AJN that Howard was "deeply honoured" by the award, and that "Australia's consistent support for the State of Israel is based on principle and a profound respect for the courage and achievements of the Jewish people".

‘The PM stated: "The international Jewish community and the state of Israel have no closer friends than Australia and the United States."

‘Howard, who last visited Israel in 2000, is tipped to return to the Jewish State as early as July, following an invitation from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

‘Last year, Howard completed a rare trifecta by receiving awards from three organisations in recognition of his support for Jewish causes: Sydney's Jewish Communal Appeal, the AJC and the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce.’

Even the “Australian Jewish News” thought all that was a bit much, but went on to explain Howard’s services:

‘ONE can forgive a wee bit of cynicism concerning the Presidential Gold Medal that Prime Minister John Howard is due to receive . . . from B’nai B’rith. After all, this will mark the fourth such citation that Howard has received from the Jews in a little over a year.

‘Indeed, the frequency with which Howard is exalted by the Jewish community could give rise to one of two possible conclusions: either the stock of Jew-loving, Israel-supporting potential honourees on the world stage is stretched very thin, or Howard has truly stood out among world leaders as a champion of the Jews.

‘In fact, both conclusions are probably true. Sadly, there are indeed very few world figures, especially national leaders, one can count as truly understanding and steadfast supporters of Israel.

‘One should not underestimate the value of Howard’s international support, especially as it has manifested itself in Australia’s voting patterns at the United Nations. The addition of Australia to the isolated voting bloc – hitherto consisting of the United States and a few small Pacific nations – was a demoralising blow for enemies of Israel.’

I’ll conclude by quoting this source which takes a very different view from the AJN's.

This is excellent. It’s important. Please read it.


‘What did Howard do to deserve B'nai B'rith honour? And why isn't the “Sydney Morning Herald” telling its readers about it?

‘by: socialdemocracynow

‘John Howard is off to Washington, reported the Sydney Morning Herald last night. According to this story, the purpose of the trip was to further cultivate relations with U.S. President George Bush

'What the Herald didn't tell Australian readers, but what the Australian Jewish News had no problem informing Australian Jews, is that between his appointments with Bush, Howard will receive 'the prestigious B'nai B'rith international Presidential Gold Medal for his "outstanding" support of Israel and the Jewish people at a ceremony' in Washington.

‘I can't imagine why the Herald is ignoring this aspect of Howard's Washington trip. It's hardly a secret, given that it's already been reported by an Australian Jewish newspaper. Actually, I'm lying - I can imagine it only too well. Thanks to selective media reporting, it would come as a great surprise to most Australians to discover that Prime Minister Howard has performed 'outstanding' services to Israel. Presumably, what the Herald doesn't want the Australian public to realize - but what Australian Jews are allowed to know - is who Howard, along with Bush and Blair and the other most fervent supporters of the Iraq war - is really working for. As it's increasingly obvious that the Iraq war was essentially a war to advance Israeli interests, it's also increasingly obvious that Howard's support for that war - over and against the wishes of the Australian people - issues from Howard's Zionism. (Cynics would probably point out here that Jewish donors give something like twenty million dollars to Howard's Liberal party each year.) Howard has been notoriously inflexible on Iraq, despite the overwhelming opposition to the war from ordinary Australians, precisely because he's not working for Australians - he's working for Israel.’