Howard Pflanzer
Overview
Howard Pflanzer has demonized Israel, engaged in anti-Israel activism and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.As of March 2023, Pflanzer’s LinkedIn page said he had been an adjunct associate professor of English at the Bronx Community College (BCC) of the City University of New York (CUNY) since August 2011.
Also as of March 2023, Pflanzer’s LinkedIn said he had been an “independent theatre artist, theatre workshop leader, writer and a consultant in developing an innovative theatre/math curriculum for college students,” since May 1989. His LinkedIn “About” section said he was “a playwright, director and poet.”
As of the same date, Pflanzer’s LinkedIn said he had also been an adjunct associate professor of communication and theatre at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) from September 2006 to December 2010.
As of March 2023, Pflanzer’s LinkedIn said he was located in New York, New York.
Demonizing Israel
On January 7, 2019, Pflanzer posted on Facebook: “We have the right to boycott the illegal and immoral occupation of Palestine.We have a right to condemn the continuing military aid to israel until the occupation is ended. Now is the time.” His post included a link to a BDS campaign by the anti-Israel organization CODEPINK.On May 17, 2018, during violent protests on the Israel-Gaza border, Pflanzer posted on Facebook: “Criminal [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, criminal Israeli soldiers supported by a criminal president in the US. Something needs to be done. Both leaders should be tried for genocide.”
Pflanzer’s post included a link to an article that accused Israel of a “massacre” of Palestinians and defended “their right of return,” in the context of the Palestinian’s violent protests on Israel’s borders.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Anti-Israel Activism
In July 2022, Pflanzer signed [p. 4] an anti-Israel statement titled: “Not In Our Name: Anti-Zionist Jewish Coalition at CUNY,” which referred to Israel as an “illegitimate settler colonial apartheid state.” It also claimed Israel was responsible for “ongoing ethnic cleansing.”The statement read [p. 1]: “Palestinian voices are at the core of our coalition and we stand to uphold their demands for global liberation, resistance by any means necessary, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, the return of all land prior to 1948, and ending the occupation.”
Among Palestinians and anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” can be a euphemism for nationalistic terror. It is often used to excuse or even glorify anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.
The statement also said [p. 1]: “We stand with the growing movement at CUNY for Palestinian freedom that includes CUNY4Palestine, Within Our Lifetime (with emphasis on Nerdeen Kiswani who faces multiple smear campaigns from homegrown Zionists within CUNY and outside of it with zero support from the CUNY administration), and all Palestinian solidarity groups within CUNY without question.”
Pflanzer signed an October 10, 2018 petition in defense of former Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) activist Lara Alqasem, that was called: “Israel must lift its bar on US student Lara Alqasem.”
In October 2018, Alqasem was detained at Ben Gurion airport after trying to enter Israel, because of her anti-Israel activism and, specifically, her support for the BDS movement. Alqasem was granted entry into Israel after appealing to the Israeli Supreme Court.
On April 24, 2018, Pflanzer shared on Facebook a petition he signed, called: “Stand with Natalie Portman & @SenSanders [Senator Bernie Sanders]: Speak Up for Human Rights in Gaza.”
The petition accused Israel of “occupation policies” and “the unjust and unnecessary suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza” as a result of the Israeli-Egyptian naval blockade.
The United Nations approved [pp. 39–41] the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza in 2011 as a security measure to stop Hamas from acquiring sophisticated rockets. Multiple flotillas have attempted to breach the blockade, with at least one flotilla initiating a violent confrontation with Israeli forces.
Israel commenced OPE in July 2014 to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.
The petition read: “...we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people against more than a century of Zionist colonialism, dispossession, ethnic cleaning, racism, apartheid and genocide…”
The petition continued: “we support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)...and the right of return for Palestinian refugees…”
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:https://www.facebook.com/howard.pflanzerLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-pflanzer-2741ba14/
Personal Website:http://www.howard-pflanzer.com/
