While J Street is certainly evidence that Jewish elements of the Israel Lobby are not monolithic, it was more than a little disconcerting that J Street's first significant act since "coming of age" was to SUPPORT the shameful House Resolution condemning the Goldstone Report on Gaza, and implicitly Judge Goldstone himself. See: http://www.jstreet.org/blog/?p=702 "Even as the U.N. was about to consider the report, the House measure called it "irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy." And it urged the Obama Administration to "strongly and unequivocally oppose" any discussion of it at the UN. This reflexive attitude that Israel can …
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Imran
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The site states the official position of J Street as: "J Street supports passage of a resolution by the U.S. Congress calling for the United States to oppose and work actively to defeat one-sided and biased action in the United Nations when it comes to Israel and the Goldstone Report." Despite the equivocation quoted at length by rseliger from their site, J Street SUPPORTED this shameful resolution, and has rightfully earned the criticism it is receiving from the progressive community. Regarding such equivocation, I said: "J Street's support of the House Resolution, and its belief that Israel can or will MEANINGFULLY …
Posted to Jews on J Street
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J Street's equivocation on this fundamental issue of war crimes in Gaza has made it the subject of much criticism on the net, but the best one is an acticle entitled "J Street Opposes, Then [Sorta] Supports Congressional Attack on Goldstone." The quote that stands out is: "...when people began calling them [J Street] saying that it appeared J Street was calling for a 'No' vote on HR 867, the group released the following 'clarification:' J Street supports passage of a resolution by the U.S. Congress calling for the United States to oppose and work actively to defeat one-sided and biased …
Posted to Jews on J Street
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While Mr. Gordon has not yet responded to this writer regarding the firestorm generated by his "bold and public call" for BDS, a piece by Gideon Levy in Haaretz has done an excellent job of it. The quote that stands out is: "The height of ludicrousness was achieved by the President of Ben-Gurion University, Prof. Rivka Carmi. She was appalled by the article published by a member of her faculty, fearing it could affect the university's donations from American Jews. Here, then, is a new criterion for good citizenship and morality: the harm it wreaks to our schnorring. It's also a …
Posted to Should Neve Gordon Be Punished?
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I guess my problem with the so-called Zionist Left is how they can continue to espouse/defend Zionism and still claim to be progressive. Because to me, and many others on the left, it is "political" Zionism itself that was, and continues to be the problem. As stated by Ben Ehrenreich: "The problem is fundamental: Founding a modern state on a single ethnic or religious identity in a territory that is ethnically and religiously diverse leads inexorably either to politics of exclusion (think of the 139-square-mile prison camp that Gaza has become) or to wholesale ethnic cleansing. Put simply, the problem is …
Posted to Einstein and Israel
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Excellent article! Mr. Levy is a true progressive on the Israeli Left, courageously exposing and criticizing Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians, in stark contrast to others who engage in Zionist apologetics like espousing "balanced narratives," being "fair-minded," or seeing "complexities" in the Palestinian Nakba. Mr. Levy has recently also written an excellent piece defending Neve Gordon and his support for the BDS Campaign. Definitely worth a read. See: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1110514.html
Posted to Israel’s Gadfly
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"You feel like a child playing around with a magnifying glass, burning up ants." -- IDF Soldier WTF?!! How can anyone think like this, just 70 years removed from the Holocaust? The answer, it seems to me, is that the lack of accountablility for the horrendous crimes committed against the Palestinians all these years has created monsters out of such people. It has been unlimited US support and cover that has created and furthered this mindset, aided and abetted by those who, by word and deed, either cry for "balanced narratives" or oppose meaningful sanctions (like BDS) that might actually give …
Posted to Aiding and Abetting War Crimes
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The actions of the Obama Administration in pressuring Abbas to drop the Palestinian request for UN Security Council endorsement of the Goldstone Commission Report are simply disgraceful. History has demonstrated that covering for Israeli atrocities is not a receipe for encouraging good behavior, but instead will further contribute to the beastial mindset exhibited in the above-mentioned quote by an Israeli soldier. "A culture of impunity in the region has existed for too long," Goldstone told the UNHCR when presenting his report. "The lack of accountability for war crimes and possible war crimes against humanity has reached a crisis point." The Obama …
Posted to Aiding and Abetting War Crimes
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"Shame on the House of Representatives, and on the Democratic leadership of the House, for pushing through a resolution once again blindly taking the side of Israeli aggression. I'm referring to the vote on Tuesday, by a lopsided 344-to-36 margin, to condemn the Goldstone report on Gaza." This quote is from an excellent article by Matthew Rothschild in the Progressive entitled "House Shames Itself on Goldstone Report." For the full article, and the powerful statement of Rep. Dennis Kucinich denouncing the vote on the House Floor, See: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/04-13 And if you think that this was all AIPAC's doing, it should be …
Posted to Aiding and Abetting War Crimes
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While it is certainly true that the Jewish elements of the Israel lobby are not monolithic, when it comes to conditioning US aid to dissuade Israel from taking actions contrary to US interests (like settlement activities in the Occupied Territories), it must be reiterated that the majority of these groups line up to support Israel unconditionally. As pointed out by Mearsheimer and Walt, “these divisions notwithstanding, the majority of organized groups in the American Jewish community – especially the largest and wealthiest among them – continue to favor steadfast support for Israel no matter what policies the Jewish state pursues...Even the …
Posted to The Israel Lobbies: Left, Right and Center
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The APN's 110th Congress Briefing Book states that its position is to "reject any calls to cut or condition regular annual U.S. assistance to Israel." Its past and current support for the existing policy regarding loan guarantees is simply a reflection of US and international law regarding the spending of money on illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories. It should be noted that even this loan guarantee suspension in 1991 under Bush Senior lasted just a few months. Like APN, the dovish Israel Policy Forum also does not advocate making American aid more conditional but rather focuses its efforts on persuading …
Posted to The Israel Lobbies: Left, Right and Center
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I encourage groups like APN and the Israel Policy Forum to continue to oppose settlement activity. But, as history has shown, its going to take more coordinated action. I agree with Naomi Klein, who said on this website, "I think those are wonderfully complementary strategies. This problem is going to take everything we've got. And that's why I'm so resistant to taking such powerful tactics as BDS off the table at such a crucial moment. The US government was hardly a world leader when it came to sanctions against South Africa. But when universities and municipalities joined the sanctions movement, it …
Posted to The Israel Lobbies: Left, Right and Center
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I would respectfully also like to respond to the issue of BDS being one-sided. The same argument was made by South Africa's apartheid supporters, who complained about the boycotts being one-sided against whites, and that these boycotts did nothing to stop ANC "terrorists" who obstructed "peace." This complaint is as unavailing now as it was then. The reason is straightforward. Like the ANC in the past, Hamas is a resistence movement whose sole (or main) reason for existence is the failure of a just resolution to the Palestinian Nakba. Like the ANC in the past, Hamas has a legitimate political wing, …
Posted to The Israel Lobbies: Left, Right and Center
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A thoughtful and courageous article by Neve Gordon, an Israeli citizen who supports a two-state solution, explaining the reasons for supporting BDS, and calling on others to do the same. Neve states: "So if the two-state solution is the way to stop the apartheid state, then how does one achieve this goal? I am convinced that outside pressure is the only answer. Over the last three decades, Jewish settlers in the occupied territories have dramatically increased their numbers. The myth of the united Jerusalem has led to the creation of an apartheid city where Palestinians aren't citizens and lack basic services. …
Posted to The Israel Lobbies: Left, Right and Center
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There's that word again, "balance." You're hearing it everywhere in the media these days, and it is dutifully repeated when forced to confront or address yet another Israeli atrocity. Even a book review addressing the systematic brutalization of the Palestinians must be "balanced" with at least "one" terrorist attack mentioned at the end, creating the false impression of equality in guilt. Israeli barbarism, particularly during their recent debacles in Lebanon and Gaza, has opened the eyes of many previously exposed to 50 years of unflinching media support for any and all Israeli positions, a period during which I might add, the …
Posted to ‘Kidnapped’ in Gaza
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Coordinated boycotts should be part of an overall stragegy to modify Israeli behavior and encourage them to seek a just settlement. It has been decades of unlimited aid and political cover provided by the US that has allowed Israel to avoid dealing with the Palestinians in a meaningful manner. Israel may choose to do as it pleases, but we in the US should not finance or encourage Israeli activities that do not enhance our interests in the region. While AIPAC may have a stranglehold on our elected officials, grass-roots boycotts are a way for the people to get involved directly and …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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Wow, where to begin with Miriam? "Arab/Muslim strategy?" Are you serious? Did you know that George Habash of the PFLP was a Christian? Did you know that the Vatican did not have full diplomatic relations with Israel until 1994 because of its mistreatment of Catholics, many of whom in their bad forture happened to be Palestinian Arabs? Your statement tell us more about your biases against Muslims and Arabs than anything you may claim to know about "strategies." As for the "indigeneous people" of the region, there are census records from the period that were kept by both the British and …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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I never claimed that the census used the term "Palestinian." My statement, if you read it carefully, says that that there were only about 24,000 Jews among a Palestinian population of 500,000. This total included Christians, Muslims, Jews and others. But at no point prior the Zionist-inspired immigration of the early part of the 20th Century did Jews constitute anything more than a tiny minority of the "indigenous population." Try to keep up. I am amazed that you are arguing this point, as even the most committed of Zionists admitted that there were going to be difficulties with creating a Jewish …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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And as for miriam's assesment of the Zionist Project being some sort of a "democratic" utopia for non-Jews in the Middle East, here is an article highlighting the dicotomy between being a "Jewish" state versus being a "democratic" one: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/16/israelandthepalestinians-israeli-elections-2009 (NOTE please delete extra space and - before "israeli-elections"). The Zionist Project was brain child of 19th and 20th century European Jews, deciding amongst themselves, to create a Jewish State in a land where the vast majority of its inhabitants were not Jewish. They did this without even consulting, much less securing the consent of such indigenous population. Everything that has …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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Shirah, Recognizing that Zionists created a Jewish State in a land where the vast majority of the people were not Jewish does not "turn into a debate on Israel's right to exist." It simply recognizes the injustice of the Zionist Project against such non-Jewish indigenous population, as well as identify the motives of those who resisted it in the past, and continue to resist it today. If we are going to find a just and meaningful solution to the problem, we must understand its causes. The Palestinian resistance did not spring up out of nowhere. It is the direct result of …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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Recognizing these realities, as opposed to "rights," seems to me to be a necessary prerequisite, rather than a disqualification from having a meaningful opinion about the merits of a boycott. As side note, I would note that these "rights" notably and voloubly seem to exist only on the Israeli side - when was the last time you heard that the Israelis must publicly declare and recognize Palestine's "right to exist" as a precondition to talks (and that Israeli security forces should take action against elected Knesset members who question such Palestinian right to exist)? Should those who deny such right to …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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Shirah, While I do not deny that Jews from all over the world were able to avail themselves of the fruits of the Zionist Project to escape brutal persecution, that in no way justifies or excuses what in my opinion is the "original sin" of Zionism: the forcible creation of a Jewish State in a land where the overwhelming majority of the indigenous population was not Jewish. It would have been the same if these Zionists had forcibly created a Jewish State in the US, Europe or Uganda against their wishes. A Jewish state should not have come about at the …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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Shirah, I am amazed that you would question AIPAC's stranglehold on US foreign policy. Nearly everyone on the "left" agrees that not only does AIPAC have such undue influence, but that it's advocacy of Neo-con/Likudite positions is a major impediment to a just and lasting peace, which harms rather than advances the long term interests of both the US and Israel. A brief perusal of progressive and anti-war websites will confirm this view. Even the formation of "J" Street reflects a knowledge of AIPAC's undue influence, and is an attempt by progessive Jews to counter it's Likudite policies. Your defense of …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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And as for Ken's characterization of "having gone back and forth a few times" with me in the past, here is a link to that discussion which occurred on this website, so that people can decide for themselves whether it proves that my "hatred of Israel trumps everything else." http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/discuss/4261/israel_gaza_and_the_left/ It can also be accessed by clicking on Ken's article on this website, entitled "Israel Gaza and the Left," and then clicking the "extended discussion" section at the bottom of the article.
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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Shirah, Not only are you not "reading me correctly" about Israel's "right to exist," but you are apparently not reading me at all. Here is my post, in full, directed to you just a few days ago. "Shirah, Recognizing that Zionists created a Jewish State in a land where the vast majority of the people were not Jewish does not "turn into a debate on Israel's right to exist." It simply recognizes the injustice of the Zionist Project against such non-Jewish indigenous population, as well as identify the motives of those who resisted it in the past, and continue to resist …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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Ken, I too believe in a two-state solution. However, it seems that just hearing the Palestinian narrative is simply too much for you to bear (i.e. your characterization of this narrative as "ideological absolutism, dogmatic, and fanaticism)." Me thinks thou protest too much - perhaps a subconscious admission of guilt for the sins of the Zionist Project? I wonder if you are equally vehement in correcting the Israeli narrative that has been, and continues to be repeated ad nauseum in the MSM. Accepting a two-state solution does not require my accepting the Israeli narrative of its "righteousness," nor does it require …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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The negative portrayal of the Palestinian rejection of the 1948 UN-dictated partition "agreement" is an oft-repeated Zionist myth. This myth, perhaps necessary for the peace of mind of well-intentioned Zionists, is simply not true and a weak attempt to obscure the very cause of the conflict. The Palestinian reality is that Israel was created by Europeans, guilty over the holocaust and other pogroms, on Palestinian land without their consent. It amazes me when Zionists talk about how "grateful" the Palestinians should have been to get what was "offered" by the UN in 1948. It's the equivalent of me deciding to take …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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CCI, I had not heard about the Hasbara Web Brigades. Simply fascinating. Here is a link to the Hasbara Handbook online. http://www.middle-east-info.org/take/wujshasbara.pdf This appears to be the source of many of the articles and posts of Zionists seen on the web, especially considering the stark similarities in the tactics, themes, and statements. Google "Hasbara Web Brigades" for more, especially the article in the Guardian by Richard Silverstein.
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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Ken, I didn't know that it was making "common cause" with someone to say that I had not heard of the Hasbara Web Brigades. The themes and tactics contained in its Handbook are disturbingly similar to much of what I have read and responded to on this website and across the web. I am grateful to CCI for pointing out its existence to me. http://www.middle-east-info.org/take/wujshasbara.pdf
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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A thoughtful and courageous article by Neve Gordon, an Israeli citizen who supports a two-state solution, explaining the reasons for supporting BDS, and calling on others to support this common goal. Neve states: "So if the two-state solution is the way to stop the apartheid state, then how does one achieve this goal? I am convinced that outside pressure is the only answer. Over the last three decades, Jewish settlers in the occupied territories have dramatically increased their numbers. The myth of the united Jerusalem has led to the creation of an apartheid city where Palestinians aren't citizens and lack basic …
Posted to To Boycott Israel…or Not?
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First "shrill and hostile." Now "doctrinaire and rigid." I reply to oft-repeated Zionist myths and get this: "...the right of Jews to escape persecution and genocide is not less than that of 'natives.'" We took the land without your consent because we had no other choice? Is that it? Okay, but at least be intellectually honest enough to start with "we took the land without your consent," rather than repeating these Zionist myths about how grateful the Palestinians should have been with the 1948 dictated partition agreement, or how the nasty resistance to the Zionist project was why the land was …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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Jaguars3, Your repeating of Faux News' Israeli "talking points" rather than objective facts undermines your credibility. The Israelis have claimed that the Palestinians rejected a "generous offer" put forward by Barak in 2000, with Israel keeping only 5 percent of the West Bank. "The fact is that no such offers were ever made." See, Jimmy Carter, "Peace Not Apartheid," p. 152. What was offered was such a honeycombed tangle that "there was no possibility that any Palestinian leader could accept such terms and survive." p. 152. For example, there were 225,000 "settlers" in the West Bank and Gaza in the year …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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Jaguars3, So let me see if I've got this right. Let's not look at the details of the deal actually offered and judge for ourselves. Instead, let's rely on others' apportioning of blame, preferably only on those who found Arafat at fault (while ignoring those who blamed the Israelis and President Clinton -- like Clayton Swisher's rebuttal in YOUR OWN wikipedia citation above, which can be accurately summarized as "there was plenty of blame to go around," and as well as the article by Norman Finkelstein that pointed out that all the concessions had come from the Palestinians and NONE from …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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The negative portrayal of the Palestinian rejection of the UN dictated partition "agreement" is an oft-repeated myth. Like the earlier post about Arafat being at fault for rejecting a "grand bargain" in 2000, these Zionist myths, while necessary for peace of mind, are simply not true and conceal a horrible crime. The Palestinian reality is that Israel was created by Europeans, guilty over the holocaust, on Palestinian land without their consent; that despite the "people without a land, a land without a people" slogan, hundreds of thousand real people who had lived there for generations were expelled to create this "Jewish …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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Ken, You mistake criticism of the Zionist project with the demonizing of Jews. This is what I think most people who wrote posts found strange about your article. While the Right conflates the two regularly with the conscious intent to decieve, the Left mostly tries not to. No one doubts that refugees were able to avail themselves of the fruits of the Zionist project to escape brutal persecution, but that in no way changes its imperialist character or excuses the evils perpetrated in furtherance of it. The Zionist project was the brain-child of the 19th and early 20th century Zionists who …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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Ken, As for the details of the 2000 deal that I outlined in my post (from Jimmy Carter's Book with maps included in his book as well), and your summary dismissal of them as false, which parts exactly were false? The size, number or distribution of the settlements? The security zones surrounding them? The "life-arteries" or their size that connect them that cannot be crossed by Palestinians? The 100 or so military checkpoints completely surrounding Palestine blocking routes going into or between Palestinian communities, combined with an unaccountable number of other roads that are permanently closed with large concrete cubes and …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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rseliger, You are correct that Ottoman Palestine was a multi-religious "backwater" where people of all faiths resided. However, the Zionists changed all this by advocating the creation of a separate Jewish State and financing immigration, both legal and illegal, in furtherance of this goal. This understandably created fear amongst the indigenous Muslim and Christian Palestinian population. So let's be clear, this Zionist inspired immigration to Palestine was quite different from regular immigration. Implying that it was the same as Jewish immigration to the US or Europe, and that those who feared it and asked for restrictions were simply being xenophobic with …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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I have carefully re-read my posts to see if, in my passion to defend the Palestinians, I have insulted, demeaned or demonized Jews. After reviewing my posts many times over, I do not believe that I have crossed that line. While I have criticized the Zionist project with some fervor, I believe I have been quite clear that criticizing Zionism is NOT the same as the demonization of Jews. The conclusion of my posts was that if people are truly interested in finding a just solution, they must address the real problem, the unlawful land grab, which was the culmination of …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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rseliger, You state that "there would have been no land grab if not for the Palestinians' repeated resort to violence." Really? Do you dispute that it was an openly stated Zionist goal to create a separate Jewish State on land of the indigenous population without their consent? Do you dispute that the Zionists financed immigration, both legal and illegal, in furtherance of such goal during the periods you mention? We must be honest that the Zionist inspired immigration of this period was quite different from normal immigration to other countries. To imply that Zionist immigration to Palestine was the same as …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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rseliger, Refugees do not normally openly declare that they intend to create a separate state in their place of refuge, with or without the consent of the indigenous population. This is what I meant when I said that "regular" Jewish refugee immigration to Europe or the US was not the same as its ideological immigration to Palestine. Nor was Palestinian resistance to such immigration simply a xenophobic one, with no possible legitimate motivation. You yourself admit that the admirable position of your family members was a minority position within the Zionist movement. But it is misleading to ignore the intention of …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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rseliger, Most people don't buy that Zionists "didn't decide" upon going for a separate state until the Biltmore Conference in 1942, especially given the very public statements made by Zionists about creating a "Jewish Homeland" since the early 1900's. And while the final declaration of a Jewish state may have proceeded in steps, there were quite practical reasons for doing so, not the least of which was that in the early 1900's, only a tiny minority of population was Jewish. Hence, we see the moral gymnastics engaged in by many Zionists at that time about the population "transfers" that would be …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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As I have repeatedly stated, the purpose of my posts was to respond to oft-repeated factual inaccuracies that harm the cause of peace by obscuring the real issue. Such inaccuracies can be called many things depending upon the motive of the maker. "Myth" seemed the most charitable. Myth: "A fiction or half-truth, especially one that forms part of an ideology." Imagine the paradigm-shift in the peace talks if just one Israeli government declared that they were sorry for imposing upon the Palestinians against their will during the Zionist project, but that they had no other choice, and that henceforth the discussions …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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While individual Zionists have occasionally demonstrated varying levels of remorse about the sins of their project, this has never translated into an offical Israeli posture at the "peace talks." These isolated statements hardly constitute a mea culpa, much less a paradigm-shift. I think nearly everyone agrees that Israeli conduct at these "talks" has been, at best unbecoming, and particularly so for being the ones who started this mess in the first place. As the excellent post by Nevada Ned above outlines, one Israeli government after another - Labor, Likud, or Kadima - has acted to stop a viable Palestinian state. And …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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Excellent article about the Israeli "left" in today's Guardian. As well as reaffirming the facts listed in the posts of Nevada Ned, Cleareyed and others, it states the following: The fact of the matter is that the Israeli Labour party has supported all the wars Israel has waged, and actually ran and instigated most of them. The two latest gory interventions, in Lebanon in 2006 and in Gaza this year, were both orchestrated by Labour ministers of defence, Amir Peretz and Barak. Paying lip service to the division of Palestine while planning and propagating territorial expansionism and land-grabbing has been the …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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Sorry, I must have mistyped the link to the article (gotta get new glasses). Correct link is: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/26/israel-labour-binyamin-netanyahu-ehud-barak While I do not deny that it is going to be difficult, it's time for Zionists to rethink Zionism. See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/16/israelandthepalestinians-israeli-elections-2009 Hmmm. It appears that an extra space and letter are added to the link no matter how I type it. I've tried to fix it to no avail. Disregard or delete extra space and letter in "ne etanyahu" and the same with extra space and the "-" following israelandthe palestinians.
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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While it has been some time since this article was posted and commented upon, the piece below by Slavoj Zizek simply begged notice. It is entitled: "Quiet Slicing of the West Bank Makes Abstract Prayers for Peace Obscene-Condemnation of 'illegal' settlements and violence only blurs the reality of what the Israeli state is sanctioning, day by day." The entire piece is a good read, but the quote that stands out is: "...When peace-loving Israeli liberals present their conflict with Palestinians in neutral, symmetrical terms - admitting that there are extremists on both sides who reject peace - one should ask a …
Posted to Israel, Gaza and the Left
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The best articulated argument I've seen for the need to prosecute Israeli war crimes, by a combat soldier who served in the IDF when it was first formed: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/02-9 A black flag indeed. Imran
Posted to Israel will protect its soldiers against any Gaza war crime accusations, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
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A remarkably thoughtful and courageous article about realities on the ground. This article is a refreshing change from the usual platitudes and cliches used by the mainstream US media to support the occupation, and just about any crime committed in furtherance of it. The Gaza blunder, just the latest of many (Israel's misadventure in Lebanon 2006 being the most recent), seems to be triggering a change, albeit slight, in our coverage of the Middle East crisis. See http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/14-7 It is worth reiterating that pressure from the US on Israel to find a just solution (rather than a dictated one), would actually …
Posted to Gaza in the Crosshairs
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Nevada Ned, Your observation about the people who surround Obama is absolutely correct. These appointments were viewed with more than a little apprehension by those who want Obama's "change" to encompass our Middle East policy as well. On the other hand, I can only view with hope Israel's decision to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza, on the DAY before Obama's innauguration. It appears Israel is concerned, at a minimum, that US cover to engage in such attrocities might not be as unwavering or as unconditional under an Obama administration. And while it is true that Congress remains, in your words "Israeli-Occupied" Territory, …
Posted to Gaza in the Crosshairs
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Here is yet another article detailing the war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, as well as the total failure to accomplish any of its stated goals. See: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/20-7 The moral depravity of this Gaza seige seems to have finally shaken the conscience of even the US media. Imran
Posted to Gaza in the Crosshairs
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And finally, the Gaza debacle, from someone who served in the IDF when it was initially formed, http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/02-9 A black flag, indeed. Imran
Posted to Gaza in the Crosshairs
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Wolf: How many Muslims do you actually know in order to claim that Asmaa is not a "typical" Muslim. Or is your claim based on the sum total of watching news clips, which tend to favor the bomb-throwing fanatic, as opposed to the ordinary lives, hopes and dreams of over a BILLION people? There are certainly religious people (of all faiths) that use religion to justify their actions. When Christians were massacring Muslim civilians in Bosnia, or when the Catholic IRA was bombing Protestant Belfast, most people understood that it was inaccurate and inappropriate to blame Christianity or Christians for such …
Posted to Caricaturing Danish Muslims
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Wolf: Beastiality: The quality or condition of being an animal or like an animal. Conduct or an action marked by depravity or brutality. Looking at the most extreme interpretation of Islam (Saudi Wahhabism, which is universally accepted as a minority view) as somehow representative of all or most of Islam, is either bad logic or an intentional attempt to deceive (your Taliban example being another entity following such minority view). The sum total of all these persons (even assuming every individual in the countries above follows such view) is still a tiny fraction of all Muslims. And while Iran is certainly …
Posted to Caricaturing Danish Muslims
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Anyone who doubts the power of the hard-right Israeli lobby (whose tentacles reach deeply into BOTH parties) should witness what happened in Congress today. "Who Killed the Iran Provision?" "...We worked so hard to get one provision in a bill that says that President Bush must get Congressional approval before he launches an attack against Iran. And they killed it in secret -- within the Democratic caucus! The provision didn't say we could never attack Iran. Or that we would be taking that option off the table in negotiations. It said the president must get congressional approval. You know, like it …
Posted to For Israel's Sake
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Whattheheck: Last time I checked, Hezbollah wasn't in anybody's house but their own, in Lebanon, while Israel was conducting the systematic bombing that is the basis of the article. The "academic" got it right. The thing about "academics" is that they conduct these "mental" experiments properly (analogies actually have to be analogous), rather than spout populist cliches. Lay off the Faux News, its bad for you.
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Whattheheck: The problem with your analogy is that the guy threatening imminent harm is in your house, justifying your use of lethal force in self defense (in its actual legal meaning, rather than its Bush inspired Orwellian opposite). You know, as well as I, that the situation in the Middle East is NOT analogous. btw: The Katyushas were fired AFTER the Israelis began their systematic bombing of Lebanon. In fact, since Hezbollah chased Israel out of Lebanon in 2000, it had not fired a single rocket at Israel, much less at Israeli kids.
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Wolf: Ironically, that is exactly how Israel was created, but instead of the land dispute being 150 years old (like Texas), the Zionists terrorized both the British and the indigenous population on the basis of a 2000 year old dispute. Indeed, terrorists like Shamir, Begin, and other "founding fathers" would later become Prime Ministers. No wonder Israel fears terrorism; its very existence is living proof that terrorism works.
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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The Palestinian reality is that Israel was created by Europeans, guilty over the holocaust, on their land; that despite the "people without a land, a land without a people" slogan, hundreds of thousand real people, who had lived there for generations, were expelled, to create this "Jewish utopia" in 1948. The Palestinians suffered further losses by trusting neighboring Arab regimes to regain their land for them by force. Their tactical military errors notwithstanding, the land remains stolen against the wishes of the indigenous population. It amazes me when people talk about how "grateful" the Palestinians should have been to get what …
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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In order to find a solution, one must correctly analyze the problem. The purpose of my previous post was to place the Middle East paradigm in its correct context. I get tired of hearing how poor Israel is just "defending" herself, as if hordes are attacking for no reason whatsoever, without any discussion of the land grab which is the basis of the conflict. There are those in Israel who do not want to give up any land, for any reason, and envision a God-given mandate for a Greater Israel, of biblical proportions (no pun intended). There are Palestinians who do …
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Mitch: "..the Palestinians fled their land as much as had it stolen." Just listen to yourself. You sound like every ethnic cleanser in history, whitewashing the murder and expulsion of the indigenous population. For a brief summary of Israeli terrorism, by Israel's noble "founding fathers," that produced your Palestinian "fleeing," see: http://www.counterpunch.org/martin05132004.html Imran
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Mitch: While I applaud your newfound recognition that "both sides have engaged in terrorism," there is no moral equivalence between the violent taker of land and those from whom it is taken. Nor is there any equivalence between the side that uses its overwhelming military superiority to inflict tens of thousands of civilian casualties and the suicide bomber who kills a few dozen. It's the moral equivalence of heavily armed thieves complaining that the lightly or unarmed victim is fighting back. But, hey, "they're both using violence." Thank God you were not around when the French Resistance was fighting their guerilla …
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Mitch: What sane person would say "...the Jews fled Germany as much as were expelled?" That sort of ignores the Nazi pogroms that encouraged them to "flee," doesn't it? You wouldn't think twice about calling that person an anti-semite and a supporter of ethnic cleansing. The questionable contention that you lack "sloppy thinking, gullibility, self-righteousness, and/or bad grammar" does not absolve you of justifying ethnic cleansing with statements like “..the Palestinians fled their land as much as had it stolen.” Sorry, but the shoe seems to fit.
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Mitch: Pre-1948 History? Oh yes, the 19th and early 20th century Zionists who wanted to create a Jewish state in a land where the overwhelming majority of the people were not Jewish. How does one do that without finding a way to "displace" or "transfer" the natives? Are you truly not familiar with the verbal gymnastics some Zionists engaged in concerning the ethnic cleansing that would be necessary to bring about such a state? Does that sound like one who is simply "buying a house" in your neighborhood? Does that make the native who sees and hears the goals of Zionism …
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Mitch: I understand that these Zionist myths are essential for peace of mind. But they're not true, and conceal a horrible crime. Let's take them one at a time. Pre-1948 Land purchases. There were three periods of land acquisition by Zionists and Jews. While Jews in 1922 owned 3 percent of the land of Palestine, the additional land purchased by 1947 raised the total owned by the immigrant Jews to 7 percent of the whole area of the country. That's a long way from buying up the whole country. Pre-1948 population. Palestine in 1882 had a small, native, and migrant religious …
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Hezbollah is a powerful player in Lebanese politics. It's actions are in furtherance of Lebanese interests, such as the liberation of occupied Lebanese land (Sheba Farms) and the release Lebanese prisoners. So, suppose I have a land conflict with you. You buy your gun at Kmart, and I buy mine at Walmart. Am I now just a proxy for Walmart when I fight you for my land? (And you KNOW how evil Walmart is). Just goes to show how far this administration will go to ignore and obscure legitimate local grievances. The sad part is how many people actually buy into …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Decampe: Your post is the typical emotional retreat to well-rehearsed cliches when confronted with the facts. But even here, you've got it wrong. The missiles were launched at Israel AFTER the Israeli systemic bombing of Lebanon's population and infrastructure, a bombing that Israeli officials themselves admitted amounted to collective punishment of all of Lebanon, guilty or innocent, to get them to split with Hezbollah. So explain again how Israel has not behaved like a terrorist and how 1000 civilian deaths compare with less than 50 caused by Hezbollah. It should be noted that the overwhelming majority of Israeli casualties were heavily …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Decampe: Like the media, you imply that this conflict is only 5 weeks old, when Hezbollah captured the Israeli soldiers, the implication being that there could be no reason for Hezbollah's unprovoked "attack." However, the conflict is older than this, and your mention of Samir Kuntar and four others implies that you know this (left out of your discussion is that Israel agreed to their release as part of an exchange, and then reneged on it after getting their own people back. But more importantly, left out your discussion are the thousands of others kidnapped by Israel, held without charge for …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Geez, I check out for just a couple of days, and the postings have gravitated to civilizational confrontation! I thought this post was about how 3000 Shiite guerrillas held off the "mighty" Israeli Army, Navy and Air Force (Thermopylae-style). Normally, I would point out that this "civilizational" divide is a further diversion from the actual facts on the ground (Bush uses it to justify just about everything he does), but here goes. How come every time Israel (or Bush for that matter) kills someone, she is defending "the West" against Islam? What "West?" The Christian West? There are more Christian Arabs …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Excellent interview with British MP George Galloway about media bias against Hezbollah. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=730041565017127482&q=british+mp&hl=en
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Typical AIPAC response: rather than address the issues actually raised by the speaker, attack the speaker personally as an "anti-semite" or one who "despises Israel." Notice that there was NO discussion of what he actually said. Silencing or marginalizing critics of Israeli actions in this fashion will not help Israel find the right answers (much like Bush attacking his Iraq war opponents as traitors rather than listening to their criticism and formulating better policy). It will guarantee them an Israeli version of "stay the course."
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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The Palestinian reality is that Israel was created by Europeans, guilty over the holocaust, on their land; that despite the "people without a land, a land without a people" slogan, hundreds of thousand real people, who had lived there for generations, were expelled, to create this "Jewish utopia" in 1948. The Palestinians suffered further losses by trusting neighboring Arab regimes to regain their land by force. The tactical and military errors notwithstanding, the land remains stolen against the wishes of the indigenous population. It amazes me when people talk about how "grateful" the Palestinians should have been to get what was …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Decampe: I did not deny the existence of Israel. In order to find a solution, one must correctly analyze the problem. The purpose of my previous post was to place the Middle East paradigm in its correct context. I get tired of hearing how poor Israel is just defending herself, as if hordes were attacking for no reason whatsoever, without any discussion of the land grab which is the basis of the conflict. There are those in Israel who do not want to give up any land for any reason, and envision a God-given mandate for a Greater Israel, of biblical …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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My best guess: Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, including East Jerusalem. Dismantling of ALL Israeli settlements in these areas. Release of ALL Palestinian prisoners. Reparations for: (1) the land Israel gets to keep, and (2) harm done to Palestinian civilians, both in Palestine and those driven out, and (3) destroyed homes, fields, crops and infrastructure. Palestinian state (with all sovereign powers) on West Bank and Gaza, a viable land corridor linking the two, with its capital East Jerusalem. Right of return for all Palestinians expelled since 1948. However, as mentioned earlier, there are imperialists in Israel that do not wish to …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Decampe: I accept that negotiation is the most beneficial way to resolve this. The problem is that both parties should want to negotiate. Therein lies the rub, so to speak. Both parties must perceive some gain from negotiation versus war: the party that can get everything it wants by force does not want, or need, negotiation. Israel has a monopoly on overwhelming force. It takes what it wants, and even when it "negotiates," it dictates rather than negotiates in good faith, using the rejection of such dictation as further excuse for more war. The Palestinians (or Hezbollah for that matter) do …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Decampe: I also share your analysis of the horrible consequences of anti-semitism. How many question, with the same vigor, the anti-muslim hatred currently in vogue? Many of the posts here are nothing but anti-muslim tirades rather than a discussion of issues (much like Bush analyses of the issues, with the proviso that I am not painting anyone here with the horrid/putrid Bush brush).
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Hijynx22: I don't recall saying that Hezbollah was "the big bad organization to which all powers are impotent." I believe that I very clearly pointed out the overwhelming military superiority Israel possessed over the 3000 militiamen of Hezbollah. In fact, it was this very mismatch that made for my Thermopylae analogy. Oh, and btw, what's with the "Jackass" and "Go IDF" thing? How old are you?
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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In a modern-day Thermopylae, Hezbollah's 3,000 fighters have astoundingly held off Israel's mighty military machine, the world's fourth strongest, for nearly four weeks. In the meantime, Israeli war crimes against Lebanese civilians and its infrastructure (Christian and Muslim) have united them as never before. The latest polling shows 87% of Lebanese population now backs Hezbollah. The war has backfired for Israel. US inaction/complicity in these war crimes will not soon be forgotten. In the longer term, the message will not be lost on anyone: that having a pro-American Arab government counts for nothing, and that Arab civilians count for less than …
Posted to Do you think that Israel is justified to wage war in Lebanon?
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Context is everything. Despite cursory appearances, this is hardly a battle between "freedom of speech" and "religious sensitivities." First of all, most of the European newspapers, who published and then re-published the cartoons, were a collection of right-wing outlets (Washington Times, Faux News types) who care only about the 'free speech' they agree with. It did not come as a surprise that the original newspaper that published the cartoons had previously REJECTED cartoons about Jesus for fear of offending 'its readers.' So much for their being courageous defenders of "free speech." Secondly, combined with the current international climate of hostility to, …
Posted to What was your first reaction to the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons?
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Let's put this holier than thou 'freedom of speech' canard to rest once and for all. If a newspaper published cartoons referring to African-Americans as the "n" word, or printed caricatures of the Jewish Holocaust, would they really be REPUBLISHED over and over again in the name of free speech? Of all the attacks on freedom of the press here and abroad, would these insulting cartoons be the battle "free speechers" would stand their ground on? Would these cartoons be embraced as warmly as have the Muhammad-bashing ones? Be honest. Free speech advocates around the world would do nothing of the …
Posted to What was your first reaction to the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons?
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It is misleading trying to defend these insulting cartoons by pointing to the "context of the killing of a Dutch filmmaker." The Europe/ Islam "context" much older than that. These events have not occured in a vacuum. As Salim Muwakkil points out on THIS website, the Islamic ire is not difficult to understand, really. When Louis Farrakhan allegedly called Judaism a "gutter religion" in 1984 he was denounced from pillar to post, and more than 20 years later he still catches flack for those reported remarks. Congress even got into the act, unanimously passing legislation condemning Farrakhan's words. The phrase "freedom …
Posted to What was your first reaction to the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons?
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Eliza: You bring up an excellent point about the "1984"-style inversion and re-righting of terms and concepts by the current administration. The inversion of the defense of "free-speech" in this cartoon context is similar to their inversion of the defense of "journalistic sources" in the Plame Affair. In both instances, these noble concepts have been twisted beyond recognition by those who have, in the past, vociferously opposed such concepts their entire lives (and will toss them again when it no longer suits them). Although I am disheartened by the number of people who do not see through these transparent charades, the …
Posted to What was your first reaction to the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons?
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Knocko: I'm not sure if you read the preceding posts regarding religious bigotry and incitement masquerading as free speech, but thank you for proving my point. Imran
Posted to What was your first reaction to the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons?
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