Does the CPACS boycott of Israel pass the 'racism' test?

These bizarre accusations employ textbook antisemitic stereotypes. They are informed by a long history, deeply embedded in the Western psyche, of accusing Jews of wielding mysterious power then driving them out of civilised society.

Jews throughout 14th Century Europe suffered horrible reprisals for their supposed role in causing Bubonic Plague. In 15th Century Spain, Jews were expelled for allegedly conspiring to de-Christianising society. Most recently, the economic woes suffered by 1930s Germany were blamed on a conspiracy of Jewish bankers and the Jewish-controlled media. This led to institutionalised boycotts of Jewish businesses, then ghettoisation, then death camps.

It is important to stress that CPACS is not at all on the same level as the Nazis or the Spanish Inquisition. These analogies merely illustrate the age-old anti-Jewish imagery employed by the BDS movement in general and CPACS in particular in order to justify singling-out the Jewish State. This is a hallmark of racial prejudice – unconscious or otherwise.

To recap: would CPACS treat Israelis the same way if they were not Jews? Apparently not. Is its policy based on racial stereotypes not merit? It at least appears informed by racial tropes. Of course, CPACS is more sophisticated than the chest-thumping skinheads that the word "antisemite" usually brings to mind. However, examination of the BDS movement tends to remove a cloak of human rights rhetoric and reveal the racial prejudice lurking beneath. Looking closely at its affiliation to BDS, as well as to its own conduct, CPACS apparently does not buck this trend.