Bennet Wilcox
Overview
Wilcox isaffiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and has promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of November 2018, Wilcox had two LinkedIn profiles. Both of his LinkedIn profiles said that he worked as a Baltimore Community community organizer for Jews United for Justice and that he graduated from Columbia University (Columbia) in 2017, with a degree in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
While at Columbia, Wilcox was an active member of Barnard Columbia Socialists,
As of November 2018, Wilcox had two Facebook profiles, one under the name “Bennet Wilcox and the second under the name “Jonah Ben Avraham.” In August 2018.
Wilcox posted on Facebook that he “Started New Job at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation” as a “Youth educator.”
On September 16, 2017, Wilcox tweeted: "Ya know what, screw it. I'm a #shtetlJew, I'm an anti-Zionist commie, and I get no joy in life greater than scarfing down a M2M cheeseburger."
As of the same date, Wilcox used the name “Jonah Ben Avraham” on Twitter.
Promoting the Intifada
On May 9, 2018, Wilcox tweeted: “Intifada revolution is a mood.”Since the early 2000’s, the term “intifada” has carried the connotation of violence. “A mood” is a slang phrase used to express that something is relatable.
On April 2, 2018, Wilcox tweeted: “Halakhically speaking, f**k the IDF. @IDFSpokesperson #GreatReturnMarch #FreePalestine #LongLiveTheIntifada.”
On April 19, 2018, Wilcox tweeted: “First Barnard votes #yestodivest, then UMD [University of Maryland] SJP's Boycott Israel Fest outnumbered the actual fest. Palestine will be free #LongLiveTheIntifada.”
Support for Anti-Israel Agitators
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
During the meeting, Hill reportedly whitewashed Palestinian violence and accused Israel of “state violence and ethnic cleansing.” He also called for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea.”
In September 2018, during a U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) conference, Hill insinuated [00:31:01] that Israel poisons Palestinian water and seemingly approved [00:30:34] of violence against Israelis.
Wilcox retweeted a February 4, 2018 JVP tweet that said: “Israel’s military court has delayed Ahed Tamimi’s trial again. The world is watching this “trial” under occupation, where a 99% conviction rate occurs and occupiers judge and convict children. #FreeAhed.”
On October 22, 2017, Wilcox tweeted a photo from Issa Amro claiming “Israeli settlers are planning to attack @YASHebron center tonight” and wrote: “What an indictment of capitalism's 'justice.' Self-defense looks like videoing your pogromists so maybe they can be held accountable.”
Anti-Israel agitator Issa Amro is known for vandalism and attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians. Amro heads the Youth Against Settlements (YAS) movement, an anti-Israel organization based in Hebron that promotes anti-Semitism, rock-throwing and violence against Israelis.
Demonizing Israel
On May 15, 2018, Wilcox tweeted: “Fixing to find every Zionist tweet on the internet and reply "Racist." Every one.”On January 3, 2018, Wilcox tweeted: “No country has the right to decide they don't want Black people. When Israel sells itself as a safe place for Jewish refugees and then harasses, detains, and deports refugees of color (including Jews of color), that's racism plain and simple.”
On October 23, 2017, Wilcox tweeted: “Being a #JewishCommunityProfessional means knowing the establishment assholes CBS trots out to applaud the criminalization of ur boycott. Apartheid states aren't discriminated against-- they're resisted.”
On January 17, 2018, in response to a tweet from Brant Rosen, Wilcox tweeted: Would love to learn more about this resolution. Seems like really cool policy to emulate elsewhere, but how much is it open to interpretation/ how sure is it that Israeli apartheid will be considered a human rights violation?”
Wilcox’s tweet referred to a vote passed by the New Orleans City Council “to avoid contracting with or investing in companies that profit from abuses of human rights” after a year-long campaign led by the New Orleans Palestine Solidarity Committee (NOPSC).
On January 25, 2018, the New Orleans City Council rescinded the resolution “after belatedly realizing the resolution was part of an international movement to boycott Israel.”
On December 6, 2017, Wilcox tweeted: “Doc told me I should get medicated. Can someone tell me how to feel now?” Wilcox then tweeted: “Probably just angry because al-Quds (Jerusalem) is the capital of Palestine.”
Wilcox’s tweet came in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem./
On December 7, 2017, Wilcox tweeted: “Maintenance guy at work walked in today wearing a keffiyeh. #JerusalemIsTheCapitalOfPalestine.”
Anti-Israel Activism
On March 6, 2016, Wilcox was featured in a photo posted to the Barnard Columbia Socialists Facebook page, standing next to the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) mock apartheid wall.On May 14, 2018 Wilcox co-hosted an event called: “Baltimore to Palestine: Stand w/ Gaza & the 55 Protestors Killed.” The event description said: “the Israeli Defense Force has already massacred 55 protesters in the Great March of Return over the last 24 hours, and wounded 2,700.”
In May 2018, violent riots, instigated by Hamas on the Israeli-Gaza border, saw thousands of rioters attempting numerous breaches of Israel’s border fence, with participants declaring their intention to harm Jews across the border under the pretext of “peaceful resistance.”
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during a May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
Wilcox indicated on Facebook that he “went” to a May 30, 2018 event, titled: “Palestine - Why does the US Support the Massacres?” hosted by DC Socialists.
The event description claimed: “Palestinians have been engaging in nonviolent protest against the Israeli occupation and blockade of Gaza. Israel's response has been to indiscriminately gas, shoot down and snipe protesters, women, children, medics and journalists.
The event description also spread a blood libel that Israel killed an 8-month-old baby, Layla al-Ghandour, by “drone-gassing the crowd” with tear gas. On May 24, 2018, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry removed al-Ghandour’s name from a list of people killed by Israeli troops while it conducted further investigation into the cause of the baby’s death.
In June 2018, al-Ghandour’s cousin reportedly admitted that Hamas paid the family to claim the baby was killed by Israeli tear gas, rather than a fatal blood condition that runs in the family.
Wilcox was featured in a Facebook photo from a May 19, 2018 event called: “Stop the killing! A day of mourning and resistance for Gaza” hosted by Baltimore JVP.
The event was described as “an action to publically honor the 116 Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli military in the past weeks fighting for the right to return to their homes… As we mourn, we demand that our city and state government withdraws from all partnerships with the Israeli government.”
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
BDS Activism
On November 2, 2018, Wilcox tweeted: “Offering a bottle of kosher (for BDS) wine to whoever recruits Comrade Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.”On December 14, 2017, Wilcox tweeted a video showing an angry Spongebob Squarepants cartoon character, with the caption: “@jeremycorbyn re: cowardice on BDS.” The previous day, The Guardian quoted Corbyn’s spokesperson, who said: “Jeremy is not in favour of a comprehensive or blanket boycott...He doesn’t support BDS.”
On August 18, 2018, Wilcox tweeted to musician Lana Del Rey, who had been scheduled to play a concert in israel: “#LanaDontGo perform in an apartheid state! @LanaDelRey”
Wilcox indicated on Facebook that he “went” to a May 2, 2018 event called: “Teach-in on BDS” hosted by UMD Socialists and UMD SJP.
The event description invited participants to “a teach-in, hosted by the UMD Socialists and SJP, to learn more about the situation and the global movement for Palestinian liberation.”
Wilcox indicated that he “went” to a Nov 29, 2017 event called “No Apartheid: Palestine and the Case for Divestment” hosted by UMD Socialists.
The event description said that “gross human rights violations” are “approved and funded by the US government” and promised to feature “a discussion of how we can combat this US-funded oppression, centering around the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.”
JVP
JVP was founded in Berkeley, California in 1996, as an activist group with an emphasis on the “Jewish tradition” of peace, social justice and human rights. The organization is currently led by Rebecca Vilkomerson and its board members include Israel critics Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky and Tony Kushner.
JVP, which generally employs civil disobedience tactics to disrupt pro-Israel speakers and events, consists of American Jews and non-Jewish “allies” highly critical of Israeli policies. A staunch supporter of the BDS movement, JVP claims to aim its campaigns at companies that either support the Israeli military (Hewlett-Packard) or are active in the West Bank (SodaStream).
Although several Jewish groups critical of Israeli policies, like J Street and Partners for a Progressive Israel, make efforts to operate within the mainstream American Jewish community, JVP functions outside. The group is often criticized for serving as a tokenized Jewish voice for the pro-Palestinian camp and is widely regarded as the BDS movement’s “Jewish wing.”
JVP denies the notion of “Jewish peoplehood” and has even gone so far as to refer to its own Ashkenazi (Jews who spent the Diaspora in European countries) leadership as “white supremacy inside of JVP.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused JVP of being “the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States,” and said the group “exploits Jewish culture and rituals to reassure its own supporters that opposition to Israel not only does not contradict, but is actually consistent with, Jewish value.”
The ADL also claimed that “JVP consistently co-sponsors rallies to oppose Israeli military policy that are marked by signs and slogans comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, demonizing Jews and voicing support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.”
According to the ADL website, JVP “uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide it with a greater degree of legitimacy and credibility.”
BDS
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.
One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”
Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”
In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”
The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.
BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.
The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.
Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.
BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: www.facebook.com/100021542235791www.facebook.com/100000125221529
Twitter:https://twitter.com/thatrednjb
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennet-wilcox-2b3a44159/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennet-wilcox-b7a143127/
Photos & Screenshots
