Notice how moderate the pro-Gaza language was in the NYU students' demands. Nothing about divestment.
By demanding
investigation into war and genocide profiteers, providing aid to Gaza,
and offering scholarships to Palestinian students, we are demanding
that the University heed our own voices immediately. Through
these demands we are also stating our solidarity with the students who
have occupied their universities in the United Kingdom and elsewhere
demanding aid for war-torn Gaza.
And notice in the comments under that declaration, how controversial even this was, in the New York community, which is so heavily Jewish. And notice that the Kimmel Center the students occupied was endowed by Martin Kimmel, who seems to have been a Zionist. That's New York. Zionists are thick on the ground.
Zionism pervades the left, too. Blogger Kit Gallant on Huffpo is angry at the NYU lefties for daring to break up the beautiful coalition that gave us Barack Obama. It was so much fun when we were all together for Obama! Gallant says, then calls the occupiers "marginal" and warns them that their Palestinian agenda is going to make them no friends.
through their myopic, ineffective, and immature political platform and
by implying without a shred of evidence that they suspect the NYU
administration is investing in war and genocide profiteers, they have
demonstrated and therefore deepened a saddening intellectual and
strategic failure of my and their generation.
It's time to challenge the Obama coalition over this issue and let the people who support the Gaza slaughter find a different base. This is the Mark Green of Air America problem: Out of unexamined love for Israel, the left refuses to acknowledge the wedge issue in our ranks. Here it comes.
According to "Pig Weiss" Kimmell, who served in WW2 and made a success of his life should have been what, sent to a camp. Because he gave money to the Weizman institute. Perhaps NYU needs to become "judenrein"
Great points, Phil. The actual new coalition that Barack Obama needs to put together is liberals, libertarians, conservatives against Empire and Zionism, as well as their wars.
I wonder how long this country would have done nothing if, in the early 1960's, Soviet missiles in Cuba has been launched against southern Florida. If such a thing happened, Kennedy would have invaded Cuba. Do you think his response would have been "proportional"? If you lived in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, would you call for international investigations and war crimes trials against the US?
Or lets look at this another way. Suppose a Gazan missile hit an Israeli school and killed 50 or so young children and their teachers. What would an appropriately proportional Israeli response be? Wait until a Gazan school is in session and obliterate it? Would that satisfy the proportinalists among us?
Gaza has been launching missiles into southern Israel for years. For what purpose other than to provoke a retaliation. And calls for proportionality. Where were calls for proportionality during the 1948 war? During the 1967 war? During the 1974 war? Why is proportionality suddenly such a necessary constraint on belligerency? Is it proportional to demand an investigation of Israel and yet remain silent on demanding an investigation of Hamas?
Both the mainstream left and the mainstream right in this country understand what is going on and what is at stake in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. That is why there is such enduring unanimity on this issue.
@ steven stone
Etiology 101. The rockets are the symptom, the occupation, the root disease cause–this has been pointed out–read some old posts on this blog where it is discussed at length.
There is no occupation of gaza, therefore the missles are the disease. Soon enough, Israel will actually supply the cure, complete destruction of Hamas in Gaza.