Roseanne Barr visits Samaria, lauds settlers
"The Jews living in Samaria are Israel's front line," says comedian/actress Roseanne Barr as she kicks off anti-BDS campaign.
Jan 25, 2019, 2:39 PM (GMT+2)
Yossi DaganRabbi Shmuel BoteachRoseanne Barr
Actress and comedian Roseanne Barr and Rabbi Shmuely Boteach visited Samaria Friday morning, planting trees and meeting with settlement leaders as the pair kick off a campaign to combat anti-Israel boycotts.
The visit to Samaria was organized by Rabbi Boteach's World Values Network as part of the group's new campaign against the BDS movement.
Barr, 66, met with Samaria Regional Council chief Yossi Dagan outside of the Israeli town of Peduel in Samaria, where she helped plant trees in honor of the recent Tu B'Shvat holiday earlier this week.
During her visit, Barr praised the local settlers, calling them Israel's "front line".
"You are pioneers. The people of Samaria are standing on the front line of the State of Israel."
Rabbi Boteach echoed Barr's sentiment, saying "The people who live here are heroes, they are pioneers who live here despite the difficulties, and thanks to them, the settlements have expanded and grown stronger."
Dagan thanked Barr for her efforts to combat the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS).
"It is so nice to meet someone like you, who is fighting unceasingly for the truth despite the price that you have paid for your bravery."
When Dagan explained that the BDS campaign, which seeks to isolate Israel diplomatically, economically, and culturally from the world to punish it for Israel's continued presence in Judea and Samaria, harms businesses which employ both Jews and Palestinian Arabs, Roseanne said efforts to boycott Israel are aimed at curtailing coexistence between Jews and Arabs.
"BDS is against coexistence, it's their enemy. They prefer war, and to collect money."
Born to Jewish parents in Salt Lake City, Utah, Barr's family was involved in the Mormon church, while still retaining its Jewish identity.
"Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning I was a Jew; Sunday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday afternoon we were Mormons," Barr wrote in her 1989 autobiography.
In recent years, Barr, a supporter of Israel, has become a vocal opponent of the BDS movement, and in April 2018, suggested she may immigrate to Israel.
"I want to move to Israel and run for prime minister. I do have that fantasy. If God calls me, I'll go," she said at the Jerusalem Post conference.
"I want to make aliyah, I do…I still have this fantasy of being an old Jewish lady living in the Jewish homeland... I want to buy a farm there and maybe bring my family," added Barr.
In December, Barr announced plans to speak at the Israeli Knesset, as part of the visit to Israel with Rabbi Boteach.
Best known for her eponymous sit-com show "Roseanne", Barr starred as the show's titular character for nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997.
Barr returned when the show was renewed for a tenth season in 2018, only to be fired after she mocked Obama aide Valerie Jarrett.
"Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj," Barr tweeted, referring to Jarrett.
Following her dismissal, "Roseanne" was rebooted as "The Conners", a spinoff show featuring most of the cast of "Roseanne", with Barr's character killed off.