Do you ever get that left-out feeling?

Where is Israel’s flag at the YMCA?

Israel certainly does in so many international forums, ranging from regional groupings in FIFA (soccer to the colonials amongst us) where Israel is considered in Europe as opposed to the geographically correct Asia, to the UN where Israel is similarly excluded from its natural region and is instead part of “Western Europe and Others Group“.  Similarly Israel is part of TV’s Eurovision (although I’m not sure an Asiavision actually exists).

All these instances – and there are more – of Israel’s geographical revisionism – are due to one simple fact: the Arab states and their cohorts will not accept Israel’s presence in either physical or political terms.

These cases are all bad enough, but at least Israel does get a look-in, albeit in the wrong regional grouping. However in recent weeks Israel has been outrageously excluded from several important events.

In May, Israel was excluded from a NATO summit at the behest of Turkey. (From the Jewish Press)

While Pakistan has been invited to the NATO summit in Chicago next week, Israel has been left out, at the request of Turkey, according to Reuters.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has not yet responded to the invitation.

Israel, NATO’s most dependable Middle East ally in the war against terrorism, did not even an invitation to the summit, because, as a NATO officials stated, Israel does not partake in primary NATO missions.

Other reports suggest that Israel was not invited because NATO member Turkey’s objection.

This week we learn (Yisrael Hayom) that Israel has been left out of a similar global summit dealing with terrorism. One would think that if anyone knows anything about dealing successfully with terrorism, it’s Israel. And again, it’s our old “friends” Turkey who are the instigators.

Israel was excluded from the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), a group of 29 nations that met this week in Spain, following pressure from Turkey, the New York Post claimed this weekend. In a scathing editorial, the Post lambasted President Barack Obama and his administration for allowing Israel to be excluded from one of the administration’s “pet projects.”

“If there’s one nation on Earth that knows what it is to be a victim of terrorism — and how best to combat it — it’d be Israel. So you’d think. Unless you’re the Obama administration,” according to the editorial.

The editorial went on to emphasize that not only was Israel not invited to participate — due to Turkish opposition — it was completely ignored at the conference.

“Once again, Israel was excluded from one of Team Obama’s pet projects,” the editors of the Post charged, pointing out that “in remarks to the [GCTF], Undersecretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Maria Otero didn’t include Israel in a list of terror victims.”

And yesterday we come to the final insult added to the injuries above: The YMCA’s summer camp  in Jerusalem is refusing to fly the Israeli flag. Yes, that’s the flag of the country which hosts them. Yes, they explain it all away by saying they wish not to offend Arab parents. But offending Jewish parents is apparently OK.

A summer camp at the Jerusalem International YMCA has provoked outrage after organizers refused to include an Israeli flag with a collection of national flags from around the world currently adorning the building.

[...]

Parents of children currently attending the “Magical World Voyage” summer camps at the YMCA have voiced outrage over the absence of the Israeli flag from the collection of world flags decorating the building. Members of the YMCA sports facilities are also angered by the decision not to display the Israeli flag.

“The flag of Israel is a supremely important symbol, and suddenly our flag is not on display at the YMCA, which is supposed to bring Jews, Christians and Muslims together,” said a father of one of the campers. “Our camp includes Jews and Arabs. We were told by the management that the Israeli flag wasn’t hung to avoid offending the Arab children and parents. That is a very grave [decision].”

Jerusalem councilman Meir Turgeman, …. wrote, “it is a disgrace that there are those who are trying to distance themselves from their Israeli identity. Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel, and of everyone who lives here. The decision not to wave the flag was deliberate and systematic. In light of this decision, there is talk of revoking the YMCA’s city funding.”

Another city councilman, Yair Gabbai, also condemned the decision, telling Channel 1 news that “in no other country, would the YMCA organization allow itself to behave the way it behaves in Israel. It is unbelievably insolent to be a guest in a country, sit in its capital, and spit on its institutions.”

[...]

In a statement, Jerusalem International YMCA CEO Forsan Hussein said that “there was a misunderstanding. I understand that the issue is sensitive, but the fact that I avoided hanging an Israeli flag or a Palestinian flag doesn’t mean that we don’t recognize Israel’s existence. We wanted to give the children an international experience.”

Uh-huh. An “international experience” without the State of Israel. That seems to be the hallmark of the UN, NATO, the White House, and now YMCA.

http://anneinpt.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/do-you-ever-get-that-left-out-feeling/