Comments on: Huwaida Arraf on non-violence (and Finkelstein too)

By: Citizen

Citizen — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:56:59 +0000

You ignore that Public Opinion has been indoctrinated by the hasbara side for decades. You treat the slow trend towards looking at both sides as if has not been for way too long a case of the Israeli Goliath fighting the tiny Palestinian David. Everything you say assumes the arena has been between two equal forces, as if Phil's POV has been the media standard and not the reverse. The White Rose didn't start by calling for equal time on Goebbels's radio station. Now, why was that?

By: AnaSanchez

AnaSanchez — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:46:25 +0000

Although "love thy neighbor" has its origins in the Torah, we know that the Talmud explicitly states that for a Jew, his neighbor is another Jew. We also know that religious Jews look to the Talmud, not the Torah, for guidance in their day-to-day lives. So your statement is misleading in that it infers that Judaism, especially of the Orthodox flavor, is a universal religion. Of the 3 great religions, the first to espouse the universal brotherhood of man was the one founded by Jesus, but it was the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21) who forced the issue. If you look to the teachings of Jesus for guidance, then you have to acknowledge that although he advocated non-violence and love, Jesus did not wish for his followers to be sitting on the fence in the midst of injustice.

By: lovelyisraelis

lovelyisraelis — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:05:09 +0000

Glen I absolutely agree. What a national treasure and inspiration Huwaida Araff is to all people of conscience. And how truly shameful it is that no mainstream source has shown the little bit of courage and integrity required to present a profile of this remarkable woman. NY Times Magazine, that means YOU.

By: Glenn Condell

Glenn Condell — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:36:11 +0000

'and resonates with the images of those brave friends of Palestine facing guns to sail to Gaza.' It's not the first time Ms Arraf has faced Israeli guns to protect Palestinians: " target="_blank">http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2... The fact that no-one has ever heard of this heroic woman is telling on it's own - bravery like hers in a Jew would have had her name embedded in our consciousness. I see people are still grappling with Richard Witty's careful casuistry. Another few years Richard and they'll give you a gold watch. A thousand Richard Wittys are not worth Huwaida Arraf's fingernail. Sorry, channelling rabbis again.

By: lovelyisraelis

lovelyisraelis — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 23:26:02 +0000

"And your writing style is abominable. In your case I think it's for the reasons Orwell outlined when he condemned most political speech–your actual position is biased, so you avoid straightforward speech, you dodge issues, and you talk as though you are Gandhi amidst a bunch of people who just aren't up to your spiritual level. "Agitation agitates, NOT settles." Witty is always writing these Jack Handy-like comments, complete with CAPITAL letters to emphasize his PROFOUND THOUGHTS, for the STUPID people who might OTHERWISE miss his insights." One more post like that, Donald, and I'll have to retire. Funny, perceptive, accurate. Witty can't say things in s straightforward way because in any straightforward, honest recounting of basic facts, the Israelis come off as murderous thugs. Witty is a kind of bipedal smoke bomb. (At least i think he's bipedal.)

By: Richard Witty

Richard Witty — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:42:10 +0000

Actually, if you've read my posts consistently, you'd note that I consider many of the underlying theses of dissent as valid, and articulate them clearly and publicly. I regard the response of angry and propagandistic radical dissent though as an invalid and amateurish distortion. Borne of prejudice and failure to understand and respect the reasoning of Israeli and Israeis, even as you differ.

By: Donald

Donald — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:50:38 +0000

You don't practice what you preach. Someone interested in peaceful reconciliation would fully acknowledge the criticisms of Israel as valid and do so in a way that was obviously sincere, and then gently point out whatever flaws exist in the pro-Palestinian position taken by people here. What you do is jump into every post about Israel's crimes and try to change the subject, because this is really about your own prejudices, not about justice. That's why you are happy to talk about Palestinian terrorism. If you had any sense you'd see this yourself–that your approach to the issue actually makes "love thy neighbor" seem like the self-serving rhetoric of a dishonest partisan. And your writing style is abominable. In your case I think it's for the reasons Orwell outlined when he condemned most political speech–your actual position is biased, so you avoid straightforward speech, you dodge issues, and you talk as though you are Gandhi amidst a bunch of people who just aren't up to your spiritual level. "Agitation agitates, NOT settles." Witty is always writing these Jack Handy-like comments, complete with CAPITAL letters to emphasize his PROFOUND THOUGHTS, for the STUPID people who might OTHERWISE miss his insights.

By: Richard Witty

Richard Witty — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:08:45 +0000

They both have power in the response->response->response cycle. To ignore that is to fundamentally distort. And, the remedy for the injustices is peace. Agitation agitates, NOT settles.

By: lovelyisraelis

lovelyisraelis — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:38:59 +0000

Yes. True gobbledygook.

By: Citizen

Citizen — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:13:07 +0000

As usual Witty's remarks ignore totally who has had the power for decades, scores of years–He's like a late 18th Century US colonial loyalists who speaks as if the colonials had the same power as the host Britain ruling the waves. IF there was a close balance of power his humane and superficially rational rhetoric would be persuasive to moral and reasonable people. Love thy neighbor as thyself? Witty would love Hitler if he thought it would maintain "Jewish continuity." He's a hard core Zionist. Nothing American about Witty at all.