Warning: This article deals with highly offensive anti-Semitic subject matter, including the b-word.
The exact words spoken by Secretary of State John Kerry on February 2 at an international security conference in Munich: “The risks are very high for Israel. People are talking about b*yc*tt. That will intensify in the case of failure. We all have a strong interest in this conflict resolution.”
That’s right. The above lines are not a typo or a mistranslation. The Secretary of State of the United States of America (a country that is supposedly a “staunch supporter of Israel”) actually used the b-word.
Response was swift from Israel’s Economy Minister and leader of The Jewish Home political party, Naftali Bennett: "We expect our friends around the world to stand beside us, against antisemitic b*yc*tt efforts targeting Israel, and not for them to be their amplifier."
In an attempt to spin John Kerry’s offensive remarks, state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki offered the following explanation: "His only reference to a b*yc*tt was a description of actions undertaken by others that he has always opposed."
That’s it Ms. Psaki, dig your boss an even deeper hole! You not only repeated the b-word, but actually justified its use in polite company.
It is true, of course, that people like South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu are even more blatantly racist by actively supporting movements that encourage people not to buy Israeli goods. People like him practically punctuate their sentences with the vulgar b-word, claiming to be supporting the Palestinian struggle against an unjust occupation.
Mr. Kerry knows full well that even mentioning the b-word is highly offensive, even if he opposes the tactic the word refers to, and even if the country he represents provides Israel with more than $3 billion in aid each year, including some of the most advanced military technology. And yet he persists in his racism. It’s almost as if he believes that freedom of speech entitles him to engage in the racist behavior of mentioning that some people oppose Israeli policies by advocating a cultural, academic and economic b*yc*tt!
David Bernans is a Québec-based writer and translator. He is the author of Collateral Murder. Follow him on twitter @dbernans.
* Note from the author: This article is satire. “Boycott” is not a bad word, but a non-violent tool used by mass movements to fight injustice. The only reason the word is drawing criticism from Israeli government representatives is that the BDS movement is starting to have an impact. There is no shortage of real anti-Semitic bad words (they will not be repeated here) and anti-Semitism remains a real scourge that must be fought energetically. It is no laughing matter. Labelling criticism of the Israeli government “anti-Semitism” makes the fight against real anti-Semitism all the more difficult.