The BDS Pound of Flesh

Several years ago, after I spoke at an AIPAC conference about Israel, Zionism, and the slow rise (at the time) of anti-Zionism in the West, a couple of concerned parents approached me. "Look," they said, "we're here, inside the conference, we get what you're talking about. But our kids, who are the ones who should be hearing it, are outside, protesting with IfNotNow." It was the first time I'd heard of the group, which calls itself "a movement of Jews to end Israel's occupation and transform the American Jewish community," but I saw nothing special in its apparent appeal to young people. I assumed it was just the way of the world for kids to rebel against their parents, reflecting changing values and circumstances. I understood that these kids grew up in a world in which the notion of a threat to Jewish life appeared distant, even ridiculous.