Announcements

Open Letter to U of MN President Eric Kaler

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Update February 1, 2014: President Eric Kaler wrote a response to the open letter and mailed it to one of our members. His response is copied below the signatures.

 Update January 25, 2014: The letter is now closed for signatures. A hard copy was sent to Eric Kaler and it was posted in the Minnesota Daily (slightly edited from the version below). The signatures have been added to the letter. If you wanted to add your signature and didn’t get a chance, write a short note to Kaler with the reasons you support the ASA boycott.

University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler wrote a statement denouncing the American Studies Association’s vote to boycott Israeli academic institutions. The following letter to Kaler was written by members of the Minnesota Coalition for Palestinian Rights, of which Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign is an organizational member. The letter will be sent to Kaler during the week of January 7. If you would like to sign on to the letter, send an email to mn@breakthebonds.org with your name, affiliation, and any credentials to include in the signature.

 

 

Open Letter to Dr. Eric W. Kaler, President of the University of Minnesota

Dear Dr. Kaler,

The undersigned are individuals and organizations from Minnesota and beyond who are dismayed with your statement of December 27, 2013 opposing the American Studies Association resolution to boycott Israeli institutions.

Your statement quotes extensively from the statement put out by the Association of American Universities, making the unsubstantiated and inaccurate claim that such a boycott violates academic freedom. The AAU’s quote has no relevance to the ASA resolution or any of the written debate or conversations beginning in 2007 that led up to the overwhelming vote in favor of the boycott. These writings are available for anyone to study and we encourage you to read them in The Journal of Academic Freedom.

Contrary to your statement, the ASA resolution does not call for a boycott against any individual. The boycott is only against Israeli institutions.  The ASA’s resolution is a response to the call of the overwhelming majority of Palestinian civil society organizations, including trade unions, NGOs, and student groups.  It is carefully structured to focus on Israeli institutions that have been complicit and often active participants in Israel’s well-documented violations of international law and universal principles of human rights.

Colleges and universities have sought to be places where discussion and debate can freely take place. This is not the case in Israel, where institutions of higher education are complicit in the oppression of Palestinians, and the repression of their speech.  For example, Palestinian Israeli citizens who attend Israeli universities are not allowed to organize or demonstrate on campus, and the commemoration of the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1948 is illegal. Israeli universities are built on land that was expropriated from Palestinians and the research done in those institutions contributes to oppression of Palestinians.  Quoting from the ASA resolution: “…there is no effective or substantive academic freedom for Palestinian students and scholars under conditions of Israeli occupation, and Israeli institutions of higher learning are a party to Israeli state policies that violate human rights and negatively impact the working conditions of Palestinian scholars and students…”

Additionally, the ASA resolution does not single out any ethnic group for boycott. The resolution is not anti-Semitic or racist in any way; on the contrary, its statement says: “…American Studies Association is committed to the pursuit of social justice, to the struggle against all forms of racism, including anti-semitism, discrimination, and xenophobia…”

We believe that those who are genuinely concerned with academic freedom should deplore the lack of academic freedom that Palestinians experience due to Israeli institutional constraints on their movement. During the first Intifada, Palestinian schools in the West Bank and Gaza were closed, including kindergartens through colleges. Attending classes and even carrying textbooks were crimes punishable by prison sentences. Now Palestinian children and young adults face overwhelming difficulties in getting to classes because of the restrictions on their movements in the occupied territories. Two-hour waits at checkpoints to move from one part of the West Bank to another part of the West Bank (not even into Israeli territory) are common. Often Palestinians are not allowed to make the trip at all. The detrimental effect these checkpoints have on learning and advancing educationally, on academic freedom, cannot be overstated.

Because of Israel’s siege of Gaza, almost no students are allowed out of the territory to study, even those with scholarships to study at western schools and universities.  Palestinian students from Gaza are even routinely denied the right to study in the West Bank.  This affected one gifted student from Gaza who had been a high school exchange student in Wayzata during 2011-2012.  She received a Fulbright scholarship to study at Birzeit University in the West Bank, but the Israeli government has denied her a permit to travel. This is a clear violation of academic freedom.

The undersigned believe that your statement does not advance the cause of academic freedom, but will actually have the effect of repressing debate and discussion on campus. We support free speech and the freedom to act in constitutionally protected ways to express political beliefs. We support the American Studies Association’s resolution to boycott Israeli institutions until Israel complies with international law. We encourage you to allow a free debate at the University of Minnesota on academic and cultural boycotts and thus demonstrate that the University of Minnesota is an institution which supports open discussion and academic freedom.

 

Signatories of open letter to President Kaler

Individuals:

  1. Dorothy Diehl, Associate Professor, St. Mary’s University of MN
  2. Lisa Albrecht, Ph.D., Associate Professor, & Morse-MN Alumni Association, Distinguished Professor of Teaching, & Founder, Social Justice Undergraduate Minor, School of Social Work, College of Education & Human Development, University of Minnesota (& a Jew who supports the Break the Bonds Campaign)
  3. Dr. David N. Pellow, Professor, University of MN
  4. Roderick Ferguson, Ph. D., Departments of American Studies, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies, and African American and African Studies, University of MN
  5. Lucia Wilkes Smith, BS, College of Education, University of MN, 1967, MA, Department of American Studies, University of MN, MFA, Writing, Hamline University, 2001, member of ASA
  6. Carol Brunholzl, Alumna, U of MN, 1952
  7. Jill Manskey, Graduate student, U of MN
  8. Ashraf Ashkar, Staff, University of MN, Morris
  9. Yusuf Abul-Hajj, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, UM
  10. Matthew Boynton, Graduate Student, American Studies
  11. Vincent Stravino, M.D., Alumnus of U of MN, 1970, Grandparent of potential student in MN, class of 2019.
  12. Sylvia Schwarz, B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of MN, 1984, M.S. Civil Engineering, University of MN,  1991, member of Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign (MN BBC), member of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)
  13. Anonymous, alumnus University of MN, 2013
  14. Amber Michel, current graduate student, Master of Liberal Studies, University of MN
  15. D.J. Sholtz, UM Alumna (Ph.D.), Professor Emerita, MN State University System
  16. Mary Beaudoin, U of MN, College of Liberal Arts, Class of 1971
  17. Dominique Najjar, U of MN alumnus, 1977
  18. Pamela Nice, Ph. D., U of MN, 1984, Steering Committee member of Jewish Voice for Peace, DC-Metro
  19. Raphi Rechitsky, Department of Sociology, U of MN
  20. Jigna Desai, Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, U of MN
  21. Jordan S. Kushner, Attorney, U of MN, School of Law, 1991.
  22. Mary Everson Engen, MA, Communication Disorders, U of MN, 1971.
  23. Emily Lindell, Past student of U of MN and current staff member
  24. Robert Kosuth, Ph. D U of MN, former Director of Office of International Programs, U of Wisconsin, Superior
  25. Juliana Hu Pegues, Postdoctoral Fellow, Macalester College, Ph.D. in American Studies, University of Minnesota, Member of American Studies Association, Association for Asian American Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies Association.
  26. Sandy Clark, Graduate degree in English, University of MN
  27. SooJin Pate, UMN alumni (graduate class of 2010), Visiting Assistant Professor in American Studies, Macalester College
  28. Calvin Miner, U of M Duluth, student in the School of Engineering
  29. TINEKE RITMEESTER, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of Minnesota-Duluth
  30. Vern Simula, UMD Professor Emeritus
  31. Penny Cragun, Director at the University of MN, Duluth
  32. Karisa Butler-Wall, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of American Studies, University of Minnesota
  33. Yusuf Towns, IV, University of MN Alumna, English Lecturer, Al Iman University, Saudi Arabia
  34. Anya Achtenberg, University of MN Alumna, Educator and Writer
  35. Mariam El Khatib, student, University of MN, Minneapolis
  36. Esther Ouray, Minneapolis, MN
  37. Bill McGrath, Northfield, MN
  38. Jeanette Hartley, Northfield, MN
  39. Newland F. Smith, 3rd, Librarian Emeritus, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL
  40. Dr. Peter Rachleff, Professor of History, Macalester College
  41. Allison K. Smith, Northfield, MN
  42. Isra Salem
  43. David Nir, Israeli academic
  44. Ronnie Barkan, Boycott from Within, Tel Aviv
  45. Renen Raz, Boycott from Within, One Democratic State in Palestine
  46. Heidi Uppgaard, Minneapolis, MN
  47. Fadia Abulhajj, Bloomington, MN
  48. Darlene Coffman, Rochester, MN
  49. Elizabeth G. Burr, Ph. D., Community Faculty, Metropolitan University, member of American Academy of Religion (AAR), co-author of Understanding World Religions: A Road Map for Justice and Peace, Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, 2nd edition, 2014.
  50. Jonathan E. Hill, Professor Emeritus of English, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
  51. Stefanie Levi, Socialist Action
  52. Fr. David Whitten Smith, STD; SSL, Emeritus Professor of Theology; Justice and Peace Studies University of St. Thomas
  53. Phil Benson, Attorney, MN
  54. Melissa Favero, Elementary School Teacher, member of Temple Israel
  55. Dorothy Naor, Herzliah, Israel
  56. Josina Manu, Minneapolis, MN
  57. Cathy Sultan
  58. Laura Stone-Jeraj, Attorney-at-Law, St. Paul, MN
  59. Ray Tricomo
  60. Daniel Craig Jensen, Eden Prairie, MN
  61. Linda L. Houghton, Washington D.C., member of Jewish Voice for Peace and US Campaign to End the Occupation
  62. Coleen Rowley, Apple Valley
  63. Hussein S. Khatib, National American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) Board Member
  64. Cindy O’Neill-Kiley, Rochester, MN
  65. Barbara Powell, Rochester, MN
  66. Richard Van Dellen MD, Rochester, MN
  67. Augusta Braga, Rochester, MN
  68. Joe and Elaine Mayer, Rochester, MN
  69. Jean Chovan, Rochester, MN
  70. David A. Bakken, Rochester, MN
  71. Ruthann Yaeger, Rochester, MN
  72. Robert K. Johnson, Harmony, MN
  73. Joy Johnson, Harmony, MN
  74. Rev. Dale Stuepfert, President of the Board of Middle East Peace Now (MEPN), Minneapolis, MN
  75. Will Doolittle and Misa Joo, Eugene, OR
  76. Susanne Waldorf, Ph. D. student, Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Social Justice Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)/University of Toronto
  77. Melly Ailabouni
  78. Margaret Sarfehjooy, Minneapolis
  79. Lex Horan
  80. Sanna Nimtz Towns, Ph. D., Past Fulbright Scholar, Slovakia and Qatar
  81. Mackie Joseph Venet Blanton, Ph. D.
  82. Georgette Iuop, Ph. D., Professor of Linguistics, Emerita, University of New Orleans
  83. David Reisenweber, Retired Social Studies Teacher, Farmer, Duluth, MN
  84. Ellen Klemme, Teacher, St. Paul
  85. Shea Peeples, Minneapolis
  86. Karl Habeck, Library Clerk, Sherman & Ruth Weiss Community Library, Hayward, WI
  87. Elisabeth Geschiere, Minneapolis

Organizations:

  1. Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign
  2. Minnesota Coalition for Palestinian Rights
  3. Anti-War Committee
  4. Middle East Peace Now
  5. Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) – Middle East Committee
  6. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), University of Minnesota
  7. National Lawyers Guild – Minnesota Chapter
  8. Twin Ports Break the Bonds

 

Response from Eric Kaler:

January 30, 2014

To the signatories of the open letter regarding the American Studies Association’s (ASA) boycott:

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with me. I agree with you that the ASA’s action appears to limit only the association’s professional activities and not the scholarly activities of individual faculty members. However, it is the fact of the boycott itself that undermines academic freedom. As articulated in the statement issued by the AAU:

Efforts to address political issues, or to address restrictions on academic freedom, should not themselves infringe upon academic freedom. Restrictions imposed on the ability of scholars of any particular country to work with their fellow academics in other countries, participate in meetings and organizations, or otherwise carry out their scholarly activities violate academic freedom.

     We have just a few bedrock tenets at the University of Minnesota, and one of them is academic freedom. Civil debate is appropriate, necessary, and welcome. Your ability to express to me your disagreement with my stance on the ASA’s resolution is a testament to the reality that academic freedom is alive and well here, and I encourage you to continue to exercise your right to share and defend your ideas and opinions through respectful discussion.

Thank you for your dedication to the University of Minnesota.

Sincerely,

Eric W. Kaler

President

 

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Announcements, Events

Boycott SodaStream


     The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and the Interfaith Coalition Campaign to Boycott SodaStream have collected over 10,000 signatures through an online petition asking retailers to stop selling SodaStream products.

     If you haven’t already signed the petition, here is the link.  http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=12341

On Tuesday, December 3, we will be delivering those 10,000 signatures to Target in person.

Meet at the Target Store at 900 Nicollet Mall at 4:30 pm. We will be going from there one block to Target’s Headquarters at 1000 Nicollet Mall.

RSVP on facebook

     And if you haven’t already seen it, check out this great video by Jewish Voice for Peace – DC
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Featured, Past Events

Colonialism From Two Perspectives: Native American and Palestinian Commonalities

Disappearing Indigenous LandCOLONIALISM FROM TWO PERSPECTIVES:

Native American & Palestinian Commonalities

SATURDAY, NOV. 23, NOON to 2pm at the SUPERIOR PUBLIC LIBRARY

PANEL SPEAKERS:

-Reyna Crow of Idle No More and the Northwoods Wolf Alliance

-Karen Redleaf of MN Advocates for Peace & Justice in the Middle East

You’re invited to presentation on colonization as experienced by both Native Americans and Palestinians.  Both peoples have been victims of ethnic cleaning, colonization and settler colonialism. Tragically, both peoples are far too familiar with war, death, occupation and bogus peace processes and negotiations that have only resulted in the loss of more of their land.  Come learn and discuss the ongoing injustices perpetuated against Native & Palestinian peoples, and what you can do to help the struggle for justice.  This event is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Twin Ports Break the Bonds Campaign www.twinportsbbc.blogspot.com

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Events, Featured

Josh Ruebner discusses his book Shattered Hopes

Josh Ruebner flyerJosh Ruebner, National Advocacy Director of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, will be in the Twin Cities to discuss his book Shattered Hopes: Obama’s Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace. The book describes the failures of the Obama administration to bring peace to the Middle East.

Phyllis Bennis, director of New Internationalism Project, Institute for Policy Studies, has written: “…this book provides a welcome clarity that cuts through years of stale disinformation.” Bill Fletcher, Jr., writer/activist and past president of the Trans AfricaForum wrote “Josh Ruebner has offered a badly needed contribution to a discussion that is all too often suppressed in the mainstream media.”

Read more at www.shattered-hopes.com.

The event is sponsored by Friends for a Nonviolent World, Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign, and Middle East Peace Now. It is endorsed by Jewish Voice for Peace Minnesota, Minnesota Coalition for Palestinian Rights, and Women Against Military Madness – Middle East Committee.

 

Mr. Ruebner will be speaking and signing copies of his book at Christ the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 5440 Penn Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55419 at 7:00 pm November 20, 2013.

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Events

Fast Times in Palestine Author Pamela Olson Draws Large Crowd in Rochester

Fast Times in Palestine author Pamela Olson Draws Large Crowd in Rochester

By Darlene Coffman

fasttimes3

 

 

On October 29, 2013 in the Fireside Room of a church in downtown Rochester, the MNBBC Rochester Chapter and the SE MN Alliance of Peacemakers (SEMNAP) hosted author Pamela Olson in a presentation based on her memoir:  Fast Times in Palestine:  An Affair with a Homeless Homeland.   She had spoken earlier in the day to a receptive audience of 80 high school students and their instructors at a private high school.  For a city the size of Rochester (110,000) an audience of over 60 people attending the evening event may not sound impressive, but at past events on Palestine, half that number was considered a satisfactory turnout.

Why the larger turnout?  As one of the organizers said, “There seemed to be such positive vibes in the air–I could feel it even before the program started.”  Had people come because they had checked out the author’s website where they found excerpts from her memoir and saw the awards and reviews her book had received?  We included her website on all communications, including the ad in the newspaper that one of the committee paid for; otherwise, there had been no other media coverage even though both the newspaper and local TV stations had been notified.   Quite a few people arrived with other friends or family.  On their evaluations many indicated they came because they had been invited by a friend.   Had the friend seen one of the 60 flyers that one member had delivered to houses of worship and business establishments, or had the friend received one of the 100 flyers that another member distributed in his neighborhood?    A group of women from the local Mosque seemed pleased and grateful for the program; one woman wished it had been presented in the public high schools.  One couple had been to Palestine in recent years and another was leaving soon on a trip there.

Whatever their reason for coming, they received Pamela Olson’s best effort at providing  a “sophisticated understanding of the Israel/Palestine conflict in a way that [was] enjoyable and accessible to all.”  She related her experiences and observations gathered over a two and one-half year period in the West Bank where she shared in the everyday life of Palestinians living under the Occupation—but not defined by it.   Her pictures and descriptions of the Israeli government’s system of cruelty (especially in Gaza) should shock and enrage any audience, but Ms Olson wants us to know that such oppression has not squeezed the life force out of the Palestinians.   In spite of all the check points and fences, and the incidents of violence, terror, and murder, the rhythm of life in the West Bank somehow goes on with its hospitality, special foods, harvests, celebrations, and enjoyment of the moment.

From the point of view of the organizers, the event reinforced the importance of the BDS movement and the MNBBC focus of it.   We would like to think that the larger turnout is evidence of a growing consciousness of the “facts on the ground” in Palestine, and a growing intolerance of them.   On one point we can be certain:  we owe gratitude to the Palestinians (and the Israelis who companion them) whose nonviolent resistance and remarkable resilience model for us:  to exist is to resist.

Note:   Pamela Olson is currently working on a sequel to her memoir;   Palestine, D.C.

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Events, Featured

Fast Times in Palestine Author Comes to Rochester

FAST TIMES IN PALESTINE

A Book Talk with Pamela J. Olson

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2013 at 7:00 pm

ZUMBRO LUTHERAN CHURCH – FIRESIDE ROOM

624 3rd Ave. SW

ROCHESTER, MN

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

 Pamela Olson will discuss her book Fast Times in Palestine, a memoir set in the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  The book is an account of Olson’s experience stumbling into the West Bank on a post-college backpacking trip, becoming a journalist, and serving as the foreign press coordinator for a Palestinian presidential candidate.

Little by little, the book reveals the realities of life under occupation –social, political, geographical, and psychological—in a narrative full of beauty, suspense, cruelty, star-crossed love, and dark humor.

I have read much of the writing of this conflict, and no other book has conveyed such an authentic, penetrating, and enchanting sense of the Palestinian people and their long struggle for rights and security. — Richard Falk, UN special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories

Brimming with tension and tragedy, but also with the humor, warmth, everyday foibles, and irrepressible hopes of a people determined to live free. —Tony Karon, Time

Sponsored by SouthEast Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers (SEMNAP) and Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign (MN BBC)

Questions?  Darlene Coffman at 507-250-0902.

Pamela Olson’s website: http://pamolson.org

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Articles, Featured, Resources

Twenty Years of Failure

Twenty Years of Failure: MN BBC Report Documents MN State Board of Investment’s Neglect of Human Rights

On September 11, 2013, members of MN BBC personally delivered a comprehensive report to Governor Mark Dayton at the quarterly State Board of Investment meeting documenting the SBI’s twenty year failure to follow its own international human rights investment guidelines. MN BBC prepared the report following a two year examination of internal SBI documents. Those documents revealed that the SBI’s human rights guidelines, adopted in 1992 by a task force led by then State Auditor Dayton following pressure from Minnesota’s two largest labor unions, have failed to prevent the SBI from investing in countries, like Israel, that are documented human rights violators. According to the the report, the guidelines have received little more than lip service from the SBI’s investment managers, exposing the State of Minnesota to accusations of financial complicity in international human rights violations. The report concludes with recommendations that would immediately bring the SBI into compliance, if adopted. Click MNBBC-White Paper to see the full report.

 

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Events

Show your support at the September SBI Meeting!

Help us increase the public pressure on the State Board of Investment!

Room 123, State Capitol (75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, St Paul)

9:00 am – 10 am September 11 (But arrive early to get a seat & sign!)

Join us for the public meeting of the State Board of Investments (SBI) at the State Capital. Show your support of divestment from Israel Bonds by wearing your Minnesota Break the Bonds t-shirt, or grab a protest sign from us. We will be waiting outside the meeting room at 8:30 with signs for you. Please be on time to not disrupt this meeting.

In addition, we will be distributing our just-released White Paper to the SBI board members, entitled “Twenty Years of Failure- A Report on the MN State Board of Investment’s Neglect of Human Right.” Pick up your copy. We need you there. It is important we make a strong show of public support. Please share this important event with friends and allies.

For more information or to arrange carpool email: mn@breakthebonds.com

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Articles, Featured

MN BBC Featured in Front Page New York Times Article

I.R.S. Scrutiny Went Beyond the Political

By Published: July 4, 2013

WASHINGTON — In 2010, a tiny Palestinian-rights group called Minnesota Break the Bonds applied to the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status. Two years and a lot of prodding later, the I.R.S. sent the group’s leaders a series of questions and requests almost identical to the ones it was sending to Tea Party groups at the time.

What are “the qualifications and experience” of Break the Bonds instructors? Does the group “present a sufficiently full and fair explanation of the relevant facts” about the West Bank and Gaza? Provide copies of pamphlets, brochures or other literature distributed at group events? Reveal all fees collected and “any voluntary contributions” made at group functions? Provide a template of petitions, postcards and any other material used to influence legislation, and a detailed accounting of the time and money spent to influence state legislators?

The controversy that erupted in May has focused on an ideological question: Were conservative groups singled out for special treatment based on their politics, or did the I.R.S. equally target liberal groups? But a closer look at the I.R.S. operation suggests that the problem was less about ideology and more about how a process instructing reviewers to “be on the lookout” for selected terms was applied to any group that mentioned certain words in its application.

Organizations approached by The New York Times based on specific “lookout list” warnings, like advocates for people in “occupied territories” and “open source software developers,” told similar stories of long waits, intrusive inquiries and bureaucratic hassles that pointed to no particular bias but rather to a process that became too rigid and too broad. The lists often did point to legitimate issues: partisan political campaign organizations seeking tax-exempt status, or commercial businesses hoping to cloak themselves as nonprofit groups. But even I.R.S. officials say lookout list warnings were often pursued in a ham-handed or overly rigid way.

Last month, the acting I.R.S. commissioner, Daniel I. Werfel, formally ordered an end to such lists after discovering that they were still in use after the controversy flared up.

Sylvia Schwarz, a co-director of the Break the Bonds group, shrugged at the treatment meted out by the I.R.S. She was used to rough scrutiny in a country that tilts against the Palestinians, she said. But the same questions, asked of conservative organizations, led to the dismissals of top I.R.S. officials, prompting criminal and Congressional investigations, scarring the reputation of the nation’s tax collection agency and eliciting charges that the White House had used the agency to pursue its political opponents.

Two months of investigation by Congress and the I.R.S. has produced new documents that have clouded much of the controversy’s narrative. In the more complicated picture now emerging, many organizations other than conservative groups were singled out: “progressive” organizations, medical marijuana purveyors, organizations formed to carry out President Obama’s health care law, and open source software developers who create software tools for computer code writers and distribute them free of charge.

“As soon as you say the words ‘open source,’ like other organizations that use ‘Tea Party’ or ‘Occupy,’ it gets you red-flagged,” said Luis Villa, a lawyer and a member of the board of directors of the Open Source Initiative. The I.R.S. feared that such groups were really moneymaking enterprises.

According to the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, the I.R.S. received 199,689 applications for tax-exempt status between 2010 and 2012. In 2012 alone, the agency received 73,319, of which about 22,000 were not approved in the initial review process. The inspector general looked at 296 applications flagged as potentially being from political groups. That means most of the applications pulled aside for further scrutiny in those years had nothing to do with politics, conservative or liberal, just as most of the red flags thrown up by the I.R.S.’s lookout lists were not overtly political.

Chi Eta Phi Sorority, a mainly African-American nurses’ society that advertises its mission as “social change,” applied for 501(c)(3) charitable status on June 24, 2011, days before the I.R.S. tightened its scrutiny of tax exemption applications. The organization fell under a “group rulings” flag in one of the lookout lists. Two years and 73 questions later, Chi Eta Phi is still waiting for the I.R.S.’s Cincinnati office, which handles the tax exemption applications, to respond.

Among the requests for more information: Describe in detail any legislative activities, with percentage of time and money devoted. Explain the following programs: sisterhood/brotherhood, networking, collaboration with other organizations, loving and caring, and commitment and service.

As for “occupied territory” advocacy groups like Ms. Schwarz’s, an I.R.S. “be on the lookout” list warned screeners that “applications may be inflammatory, advocate a one-sided point of view, and promotional materials may signify propaganda.”

Some Congressional Democrats say the new details show that the initial reaction to the I.R.S. findings was skewed.

“We replaced the leadership of the I.R.S. over this. We have subpoenas out. We are deposing employees. And we have damaged the president,” said Representative Gerald E. Connolly, Democrat of Virginia and a member of the House committee that initiated the I.R.S. inquiry. “It turns out this has been a gross distortion of reality.”

Even with the narrative muddied, most Republicans see no reason to back off. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last week voted along party lines that an I.R.S. official, Lois Lerner, had waived her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination by offering a brief statement as she invoked the amendment when she appeared before the committee in May. The vote paves the way for the committee to bring Ms. Lerner back for more questioning.

Republican investigators say conservative groups singled out by the I.R.S. have received far rougher treatment than liberal groups.

Yet some Republicans have tempered their statements on the controversy.

“We haven’t proved political motivation,” said Representative Charles Boustany Jr., a Louisiana Republican who, as the chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, is leading one inquiry.

Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, said that in retrospect, suggestions that Mr. Obama had orchestrated an I.R.S. attack on his political enemies were unwarranted.

“Presidents have always been very careful about maintaining the appearance of keeping hands off the I.R.S.,” he said. “I don’t have any reason to believe there wasn’t targeting of conservatives, but it might well have been a lot more than that as well.”

Groups that produce and disseminate open source software — which is distributed at no cost to anyone for further software development — may have had it the roughest. A recent I.R.S. “be on the lookout” list warned screeners that such software groups “are usually the for-profit business or for-profit support technicians of the software.”

“If you see a case, elevate it to your manager,” the list orders.

That entreaty has proved to be the kiss of death, said Mr. Villa, of the Open Source Initiative. One group seeking a tax exemption was making software as a tool for political dissent abroad — with the blessing of the United States government. Another was making software, free, for struggling musicians seeking to distribute their work on the Internet. They were both rejected, unlike most of the political groups, which have secured their tax exemptions.

“None of the groups have been able to find the magic words to get over the hurdle,” Mr. Villa said.

Jesse von Doom, whose group CASH Music seeks to help musicians on the Internet, applied for 501(c)(3) status in February 2009. Finally, in June 2012, his application was rejected in a 13-page letter signed by Ms. Lerner, the I.R.S.’s director of tax-exempt organizations, who has been put on administrative leave.

Democrats are now aiming their anger at J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, whose audit in May helped make the controversy public. That audit focused on the targeting of groups that had “Tea Party,” “patriot” or “9/12” in their names.

Democrats say that they examined the 298 applications reviewed by the inspector general, and that some of them were from liberal groups. But Mr. George’s audit did not mention them.

Mr. George’s staff said he reviewed all the applications that the I.R.S. identified as potentially involving political groups, not just those from Tea Party groups. But the inspector concluded that only conservative groups got the extra scrutiny.

“When you serve in this capacity, you have to make determinations that, on occasions, upset people,” Mr. George said in a statement. “This obviously is one of those occasions.”

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Divest for Justice in Palestine!