Jerome Slater writes of today's Times:
It's almost beginning to look like the Times has experienced an ephiphany. Not only is there increasingly skeptical coverage from its news reporters, including some who until now have been largely uncritical of Israel, but look at today's amazing Op-Ed page: three columns that are highly critical of Israel, including one by Rashid Khalidi! In fact, the online edition has an additional column by Roger Cohen, who writes: "I have never previously felt so despondent about Israel, so shamed by its actions...."
How should we feel about these developments at the Times? Should we rejoice that it's finally beginning to understand? Of course. Or should we be angry that it's taken this long for it to acknowledge the obvious and begin to undo the enormous damage that it has done until now. That too.
In any case, the Times--and most US critical commentary--is well short of attaining full enlightenment. Kristof and even Cohen repeat the by-now standard mantra, the essence of which is "Of course Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas rockets, but not by these methods." No, the proportionality issue aside, Israel has no such "right." An oppressor is not engaged in "self defense" when it uses force in order to annihilate resistance to its repression, and that holds true even if the form of resistance--attacks intended to kill civilians--is itself morally wrong.
The implicit assumption of the critics who focus only on the "proportionality" issue is that Israel has no choice but to use some kind of (proportional) force to end the Hamas attacks. But of course it has other choices--it can withdraw from Palestinian land, end the occupation and repression of the Palestinians, and offer all the Palestinians--including Hamas--the international consensus two-state solution. If Hamas continued attacking Israel even after such a settlement, then--and only then--would it have a true "right of self defense."
Pat Lang at Sic Semper Tyrannis blog offers this interesting insight about censorship in the US MSM:
"I have been told by insiders at several networks that a concerted and succesful effort was made over a long period to force the networks to stop interviewing me. Some of that was Bush Administration IO ops, but a lot was just straight Zionist muscle."
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2009/01/the-idf-ground/comments/page/3/#comments
This may explain why you haven't seen much of his dispassionate analysis on Newshour or CNN recently.
Re Gaza: only Al Jazeera has an inkling about what it is actually happening there: it is very bad.
Grozny on the Mediterranean.
Wikipedia Under Attack by Pro-Israel Groups
A pro-Israel pressure group is orchestrating a secret, long-term campaign to infiltrate the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia to rewrite Palestinian history, pass off crude propaganda as fact, and take over Wikipedia administrative structures to ensure these changes go either undetected or unchallenged.
“Uninvolved administrators”
The emphasis on secrecy is apparently not only to aid the undetected editing of articles, but also to facilitate CAMERA’s takeover of key administrator positions in Wikipedia. For Zeq a key goal is to have CAMERA operatives elected as administrators — senior editors who can override the decisions of others when controversies arise. When disputes arise about hotly contested topics, such as Israel and Palestine, often only an “uninvolved administrator” — one who is considered neutral because he or she has not edited or written articles on the topic — can arbitrate. Hence, Zeq advises in a 21 March email that “One or more of you who want to take this route should stay away from any Israel realted articles for one month until they interact in a positive way with 100 wikipedia editors who would be used later to vote you as an administrator.” Once these CAMERA operatives have successfully infiltrated as “neutral” editors, they could then exercise their privileges to assert their own political agenda. In addition, Zeq suggests making deliberately provocative edits to Palestine-related articles. He hopes that editors he assumes are Palestinian will delete these changes, and then CAMERA operatives could report them to administrators so they could be sanctioned and have their editing privileges suspended.
http://theinternetguy.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/wikipedia-under-attack-by-pro-israel-groups-distorting-palestinian-history/
READ THE EMAILS:
link to electronicintifada.net
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9474.shtml
I wouldn't read too much into this. More than a week into a horrific conflict, they give (relatively small) space to Khalidi, and it happens to be on the same day that Kristoff, a regular columnist, belatedly weighs in. What did their op-ed page look like every day before today? About the same, I'm guessing, as it will tomorrow, the next day, and the one after that. The paper was, is, and for a very long timr will be awash in Zionism, a few obligatory bows (for appearance's sake) to the opposition notwithstanding.
Wikipedia was already corrupted before this war started. Read closely its entry under "Hamas." It might have been (cleverly) written by a Zionist. I've already warned my students to use Wikipedia on I-P issues very skeptically.
Foreign reporters dub Israel 'military dictatorship'
[ABC'sS imon McGregor]Wood said the journalists were waiting at the border and straining to get a glimpse of the fighting. He said the IDF was "unprofessional" and perhaps trying to hide something. "These are the characteristics of a military dictatorship," he said.
When Israel prevents journalists from reporting it is aligning itself with countries such as Burma and Zimbabwe, Wood added.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3653154,00.html
Gasp. Foreign press wakes up to the fact that Israel is not so "enlightened" and "civilized" (racist terms) as it claims to be.
Roger Cohen "feels shamed"? What is shame for a propagandist?
He said the IDF was "unprofessional" and perhaps trying to hide something. "These are the characteristics of a military dictatorship," he said.
Maybe it's very professional?
blogger/The Politburo, you have to keep one thing in mind. Secrecy in combination with the feeling something is hidden creates rumor. The feeling may may make your defenses against un-checkable facts porous. You expect something to hide is going on,you are not meant to see. Now if many seize upon partly questionable infos–which theoretically you can float at the same time–this rumormill is more easy to shoot down and use to point at. If you do this well you create a general suspicion in the audience it doesn't go near anything outrageous anymore after.
The Israel government has unleashed its fully indoctrinated bloods and crips united, its juvenile sperm, on the isolated Palestinian
kids and mothers. The Hitler Jungen had nothing on these equally indoctrinated and conscripted kids. American love them! Give more, more, say our USA reps.
Uh? You mean, "You keep the media out so they don't see what you're really doing"?
Wikipedia: I had the impression yesterday that basic facts disappeared in this context. I've had this impression before. But the info was simply deleted and exchanged with a more general statement. Now of course it's easy to find the info on the net.
These efforts will ultimately only satisfy the gullible.
What are you saying, LeaNder? The rabid Zionists are throwing up a smoke cloud, filled with the idea of real propaganda based on rumors and slants abounding, so that by default and constant lies (& deep guilt barely conscious and miss-inscribed , they impress public opinion that they are the true carriers of truth
as to the events reported around by the day? The result, as Tny says, you keep the media out so they don't see what is really going on?
The Guardian says Obama is 'prepared to talk to Hamas.' But read the small print –
————
The incoming Obama administration is prepared to abandon President Bush's doctrine of isolating Hamas by establishing a channel to the Islamist organisation, sources close to the transition team say. The Guardian has spoken to three people with knowledge of the discussions in the Obama camp.
There is no talk of Obama approving direct diplomatic negotiations with Hamas early on in his administration, but he is being urged by advisers to initiate low-level or clandestine approaches, and there is growing recognition in Washington that the policy of ostracising Hamas is counter-productive.
A tested course would be to start contacts through Hamas and the US intelligence services – similar to the secret process through which the US engaged with the PLO in the 1970s. Israel did not become aware of the contacts until much later.
Richard Haass, a diplomat under both presidents Bush who was named by a number of news organisations this week as Obama's choice for Middle East envoy, supports low level contacts with Hamas provided there is a ceasefire in place and a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation emerges.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/08/barack-obama-gaza-hamas
————
What a load of hogwash, in several respects. First, if the contacts were going to be made 'secretly' through the CIA, why are three people in the know leaking the info? Israel is tipped off in advance, in case the purpose is to loose the Lobby's junkyard dogs on Congress to prevent it.
Note that CFR honcho Haass supports Hamas contacts 'provided a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation emerges' — which would basically involve the party that won the Palestinian election ceding power to the party that didn't. This is standard Israeli strategy of 'negotiating' with unacceptable conditions.
A final aspect is that talking to Hamas secretly isn't very brave at all. It's being done already through the Egyptian intelligence services, with U.S. spooks doubtless listening in at Fort Meade and Menwith Hill.
YAWN — Obama and his court Jews continue to underwhelm.
While some Haaretz articles have been critical of the war, has anyone noticed that their "Talkback"/Comments section has been heavily censored this go around?
I notice a distinct difference between what was allowed in their Comments section during the 2006 war in Lebanon–they allowed virtually anything critical–and what they are allowing now which is virtually nothing critical.
OT
I notice Michael Goldfarb is replaying an oldie-but-goodie on his Weekly Standard blog: MEMRI's portrayal of Hamas. Says Michael, "At one point about half way through you can even catch the message of extermination being translated into sign language."
link to weeklystandard.com
(I dedicate this link to Richard Witty, who has probably long ago worn out his own copy of this fine piece of Islamophobia.)
What are you saying, LeaNder? The rabid Zionists are throwing up a smoke cloud, filled with the idea of real propaganda based on rumors and slants abounding, so that by default and constant lies (& deep guilt barely conscious and miss-inscribed , they impress public opinion that they are the true carriers of truth
US citizen, if you don't understand my comment, you can be pleased I don't seem to be able to grasp yours.
But let me try anyway. For quite some time now I am interested in rumor. I don't know this one.
There are several types of rumor, but the one I am most interested in is rumor as a collective thought process to understand something that is for whatever reason shrouded in secrecy. This collective thought process is complex. Some things fitting and quite possibly close to the truth others simply crazy. You need only one thing to start it: secrecy.
I cut a longer message. I hope that helps.
Basically I am only looking at "un-professional" the other way round.
This is dedicated to our dear cockeyed optimist: Magnes Zionist: It's Daniel C. Kurtzer
I've found the Times to be informative generally.
Those that passively digest the times, either for belief or disbelief, are irresponsible.
If you discern that the times is less than informative, then read from other sources. There are many.
But, please actually hold a high standard, a skeptical and non-prejudical standard, to what you do read.
There are MANY international and national reports that describe that Israel's long and short term behavior relative to Hamas and Hezbollah shelling have been respectable.
The majority of states, their leaders that govern by earned election for fulfilling the responsibilities of state, compellingly respect Israel's obligation to defend its civilians.
That Slater would apply ONLY the political window to look at the war, is really his negligence.
There is more going on than solidarity with a preconceived either/or approach.
For those Jews that didn't and don't have the option (or choose not) to live in now relatively safe United States, Zionism does require self-defense.
Zionism does require self-defense.
We know, Rich. As did National Socialism.
The rest of the world doesn't see it as "defensive," but if it looks that way to the boy in the bubble…
Witty in desperation writes:
There are MANY international and national reports that describe that Israel's long and short term behavior relative to Hamas and Hezbollah shelling have been respectable.
There are also MANY reports issued by Zionists and Zionist funded outlets. So they have purchased positive coverage. Were you trying to tell us something new?
It is not self defense if one attacks first. Israel attacked first:
(1) European Jews, survivors of and refugees from Nazi mass-murder during the Second World War, ethnically cleanse hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in 1948, many of whom ended up settling as refugees in Gaza.
(2) Israel invades and occupies Gaza in 1967. Occupation, and its legal responsibilities, are defined in the Fourth Geneva Convention.
(3) Israel expels Palestinians from 25% of the land within Gaza, including the best 40% of arable land, and seizes control of most most water resources. Many Palestinians are thus internal displaced, AGAIN.
(4) Israel establishes colonies on ethnically cleansed portions of Gaza. This is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention agreement, to which Israeli is a signatory. Note that similar violations have occurred numerous time starting the day after Israel signed the accord, and continue to the present day.
(5) Israel implements political repression and population controls measures to prevent the rise of any form of Palestinian organization, i.e., any activity such as maintaining public health records that might evolve into an embryonic government. Israel monitors and controls the movement of every single person and commercial product into or out of Palestinian areas.
(6) Israel withdraws colonies in 2005 after continued armed Palestinian resistance convinces the Israeli government that their resources would be better spent in colonizing the West Bank.
(7) Israel continues the occupation of Gaza by maintaining complete control of all borders, including its seaward border onto international waters, with arbitrary regulation of the movement of people and goods.
(8) Israel makes public agreements to assist the peaceful economic development of Gaza, not with contributions of its own resources, but merely by allowing Gazan farmers to trade in the Israeli market, their access to other markets being restricted, especially to international markets via their own ports through their own waters.
(9) Israel arbitrarily violates these agreements, and leaves an entire season of Palestinian produce to rot at Israeli border crossings, they not being permitted to move them out any other way. I saw that coming a mile away. I'm sure the Palestinians did too, but they had no choice but to plant, harvest, and hope Israel would abstain from chain-yanking writ large and, for the first time, keep to an agreement. Psyche!
(10) Hamas and other Palestinian resistance organizations continue to fight the horrible oppression of their people in the only way they have: by firing home-made rockets 5-15km into Israeli territory. These rockets cause little damage and few injuries and fatalities, but serve admirably in reminding Israelis of the injustices they are committing in Gaza. I suspect that the constant reminders of guilt are as important a reason for Israeli anger as the death and destruction.
(11) Israel intensifies its already stringent control over Gazan borders with the imposition of a starvation blockade in January 2006.
(12)Hamas and Israel agree to a ceasefire that begins 19 June 2008. Planning for the current attack on Gaza begins at the same time. Hamas agrees to stop rocket fire and Israel agrees to lift the starvation blockade.
(13)Israel violates the ceasefire agreement numerous times, including a complete failure to lift its blockade. The most egregious violation occurs on 4 November 2008 when Israel kills Hamas personnel in a cross-border raid into Gaza.
(14)Hamas responds in kind, resuming rocket attacks.
(15)Israel begins terror bombardment of Gaza, targeting civilian infrastructure (AGAIN), and kills many civilians. The Hamas response to Israeli ceasefire violations allow Israel to claim that they are acting in self-defense. Mainstream media coverage of Israeli ceasefire violations in the United States is non-existent, allowing Zionist political and media operatives to effectively sell the Israeli 'story', which conveniently leaves out the context of the current fighting because it would properly portray Israel as the aggressor.
The original Jewish conquest of Palestine is completely understandable because of the Holocaust. The continued oppression, murder, and torture of Arabs along the entire periphery of Israel is not. It's time to end it, or at least EVERY aspect of my nation's involvement, including government toleration of illegal private support of criminal activity, e.g. colonization and occupation.
Readers, take no one's word for anything, including mine. My brief survey of the chronology undoubtedly leaves out many important details, and is intended only as a starting point. Look for yourself. It is cowardice to knowingly allow yourself to be played for a fool or a sucker. And for those of you who are also American, be sure that the attacks on September 11 and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, which have contributed greatly to our current economic collapse, are a direct consequence (blowback) of our involuntary support of Zionist refusal to make good-faith peace in the Middle East. Lobby operatives, e.g. Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, Madeleine Albright, and very, very many others, bear a large portion of the responsibility for the disaster we find ourselves in. Again, I insist that no one be fool enough to take my, or anyone else's, word for anything, look for yourselves. I am confident that you will not like what you find.
http://www.counterpunch.org/
However, the main reason for the silence is surely not guilt precisely because it is so artificial, but rather fear. Fear of "what will they think", fear of slander and even of being taken to court for "anti-Semitism". If you are not convinced, take a journalist, a politician or a publisher to some spot where nobody is listening and there is no hidden camera or microphone, and ask whether he or she says in public all he or she thinks of Israel in private. And if not, why? Fear of hurting the interests of capitalism? Fear of weakening American imperialism? Fear of interrupting oil deliveries? Or, on the contrary, fear of Zionist organizations and their relentless campaigns?
…
Funny. Last I read Zionism was predicated for Jews NOT TO go to the safety of the US and instead head to Palestine. Problem created.
Zionism needs an Iron Wall. This is Jabontinsky's revelation 80 years on.
Where is the disaster?
Hamas is being smashed.
The leaders are beneficially assassinated.
Anybody can feel sorry for the students of Sayyid Qtab and Dr. Shari'ati?
Narrowminded Islamic ideologues like the Russian Stalinists!
I am empathizing with the civilians. Equally with Palestinians and Israelis.
All support for Hamas extends the misery of the good and decent Palestinians and Israelis.
The Palestinian refugees are ready to settle outside of Israel, in Gaza and the West Bank, or in third countries Jordan, Syria.
Israel absorbed millions of refugees from 100+ countries.
The Anti-zionist voices give the Palestinian refugees false hopes.
Let us stop the fake propaganda.
Can we expect better from Obama than endorsing HAMAS after they were dead?
They can absord millions of refugees from 100+ countries and yet they can't take in Palestinians. Hooray for Zionism. Is it any wonder that some make the connection that Zionism is racism? (The truth is too complex for this space.)
And all this talk about "self-defense" is bunk. If this was 2007 and rockets were being fired (which is was) there would not have been an operation like this (which there wasn't, just the tightened blockade). The outgoing Bushie and the incoming Obama, along with Feb 10 was two dates that Barak kept in mind (according to Indyk). This is a push by Israelis to redraw the stance between themselves and Hamas. It was seen as the last true blank cheque (we don't know about Obama) for Israel to retool the reality to their liking.
Self-defense indeed.
Colin,
Thanks for the time line. I was wondering if you would give me permission to use an edited version of it in an editorial submission.
I look forward to your reply.
PM
The suspicion of the effects of Zionism is spreading to a broader section of society at large. Witness this rather extremely-named group in the widely used Facebook social network: link to facebook.com
Facebook has mostly appealed to young, college-educated adults, but is catching fire with older, educated adults as well.
The suspicion of the effects of Zionism is spreading to a broader section of society at large. Witness this rather extremely-named group in the widely used Facebook social network: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=44008867444&ref=nf. Facebook has mostly appealed to young, college-educated adults, but is catching fire with older, educated adults as well.
And still Zionists, human beings, deserve safety and acceptance.
Its reasonable to object to policies. Its inhumane to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Unless you have a more practical proposal than the two-state solution, that you can map out clearly in a way that engenders actual trust, then two-state solution should be your enthusiastic goal.
So advocate for the Arab League proposal. It would be in everybody's best interest if that were accepted by Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the entire Muslim world.
Colin – Linked your comments with attribution at DKos
Excellent job!
And still Zionists, human beings, deserve safety and acceptance.
Now you're really doin' the Hasbara Hoolah, Rich. You go! Wiggle that thang!
No one here is calling for pogroms. Don't know if you picked up on that. Despite the revulsion at what Israel is doing, no one wants to massacre Zionists and leave their babies for dead.
Guess that was your imagination (again).
When we (the human race) finally get rid of the ethnic nationalism, the Zionism, or however you'd like to term the colonial mechanism that's taken First World wealth and dispossessed over a million people for 60 years–sorry, for infinity… Then there will be room for constructing something else.
Don't you look forward to it?
Pogroms (which do occur, and are threatened, even if you only rant), are not the only form of harrassment.
Shelling civilians is NOT endearing, nor enhancing of confidence.
Pogroms (which do occur, and are threatened, even if you only rant), are not the only form of harrassment.
Shelling civilians is NOT endearing, nor enhancing of confidence.
Richard, if you simply equate the problems in Israel, which obviously have material sources, and can't be really compared to other historical events of prosecution or riots, you open a dangerous road. Joachim Martillo shows you, what that looks like.
Sure Paul, go ahead.
Pogroms (which do occur,
True, Rich. I hear there's one going on Hebron as we speak.
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Excuse me. In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office.
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