Is this the moment when Mark Hetfield and HIAS officially joined the anti-Israel lobby?
Mark Hetfield had already hijacked HIAS and transformed it from a Jewish organization to a radical left-wing group concerned entirely with Muslim migration. Hetfield's HIAS had already attacked Israel and collaborated with the anti-Israel group, J Street.
But signing a statement in support of Linda Sarsour, an Islamic anti-Semitic activist who celebrated throwing stones at Jews, is Mark Hetfield's official coming out party. The immediate trigger for this was having Sarsour head a New School panel accusing Jews of exploiting anti-Semitism. That's quite a show for a woman who is quite comfortable with Louie Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.
Mark Hetfield joins a list of who's who in the anti-Israel lobby including Jeremy Ben Ami of J Street, a few activists from If Not Now, an anti-Israel hate group that specializes in harassing Jewish organizations, a bunch of Bend the Arc people, including Stosh Cotler, its Soros-partnering, Israel-protesting boss.
Sharon Brous of IKAR andAyelet Cohen of the New Israel Fund are on board. As is Eve Ensler, who is on the board of JVP, an anti-Israel hate group with links to a speaker who accused Jews of drinking blood.
Also there are Naomi Klein and Tony Kushner, who said, "I have a problem with the idea of a Jewish state. It would have been better if it never happened."
And finally there's Jennie Rosenn.
I've written about Jennie Rosenn in the past as the clear bridge between HIAS and the anti-Israel lobby.
Ms. Rosenn was one of the signatories to a letter calling for a "cautious approach" and "engagement" with Hamas. The letter was a disgraceful low point for the anti-Israel lobby that Rosenn is a part of. It would have maintained funding to a Hamas government. The letter was put out by Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, a radical anti-Israel group, whose founder has called for the destruction of Israel.
Previously, Mark Hetfield had avoided getting his hands dirty. Now he no longer seems to care.
HIAS is now part of the anti-Israel lobby. And should be treated that way. It's just another of the left's hate groups waging war on Jews and Israel.