Gabriel Camacho sent the following letter to the Jerusalem Post. Camacho is a regional organizer with the American Friends Service Committee in Cambridge, MA.
Dear Editors,
I found the article "Texas gov. compares Gaza to Mexico" by Abe Selig on August 13, 2009 regarding Texas Governor Rick Perry’s recent visit to Israel filled with tragic ironies and historical misgivings.
Governor Perry started with a misguided comparison between Masada and the Alamo. Masada was an example of a people defending themselves from a world power, the Roman Empire. The Alamo was an example of a battle for the nascent empire, that of the antebellum United States.
In 1848 Mexico ceded over 50% of its national territory, including Tejas, to the U.S. in the treaty that ended the U.S./Mexico War. Palestine lost 77% of its territory in the Al Nakba of 1948. Both historical tragedies were preceded by aggressive colonialist settlement activity. Both were justified by ideologies that “ordained” the settler population as superior to that of the native inhabitants. Both Manifest Destiny and Zionism ultimately justified ethnic cleansing by the settlers.
Governor Perry proceeds to make a case that Israel and the U.S. face similar border security problems. Perhaps the most compelling similarity between the two borders is that Elbit Systems, the largest private Israeli military contractor, has been awarded a U.S government contract to install high tech monitors along the newly expanded wall between Mexico and the U.S. Elbit Systems is also the same company that has built the Apartheid Wall well within the West Bank.
Finally as a Mexican American, subject to racial profiling in my own country, I am humbled and honored to be compared to the heroic people of Gaza and Palestinians who are truly fighting for freedom and liberty.
Sincerely,
Gabriel Camacho
“And the first goal of this trip was to further some of the economic development that already exists between Texas and Israel, and to recruit some of the Israeli businesses we visited here to expand and come to Texas.”
“The Liberal Defense of Murder”, by Richard Seymour discusses the ramifications of such attitudes.
As an average American, I reject comparisons to Israel because I know that the comparisons are, at heart, only a way to keep Israel’s interests tied to American interests. If anything, I relate more to Palestinians who are victims of Zionist/Jewish corruption, demographic schemes and aggression.
RE: “Rick Perry compares the US and Israel…”
SEE ALSO: “Texas Governor Rick Perry Promotes Theocracy”, Progressive Puppy, 08/09/09
(EXCERPT) …From The Guv’s self-righteous lips: “Faith is both a private thing and a very public thing for me – private in the sense that every morning I get up and read a little Scripture. You’ll appreciate that I get a daily Scripture lesson off the Internet… The Scripture talks about praying incessantly. It’s not out of the ordinary for me to have a word of prayer in the midst of a meeting.” (”‘Scuse me, sir, did you hear what we just said about the teen pregnancy rate in Texas?” “Shhh. Quiet. The governor is worshipping God.”)…
ENTIRE POST – link to progressivepuppy.com
RE: “Perry also recalled the Texas-Israel Exchange, a body that supports the trade of agricultural know-how between Texan and Israeli scientists…”
SEE: “Pastor Strangelove” by Sarah Posner @ “American Prospect”, 05/21/06
EXCERPT)…Besides his million-dollar compensation package, Hagee has a portfolio of other ventures, including a cattle ranch in south Texas that may have religious significance. Many evangelicals believe that the arrival of a “perfect red heifer” will signal the end times. In the Old Testament, burning a red heifer and sprinkling its ashes is described as a purification ritual for priests entering the temple. Ultra-orthodox Jews believe that the birth of a modern perfect red heifer will herald the arrival of the messiah, leading to a confrontation with Muslims over the Temple Mount, where Jews believe the Temple will be rebuilt. Some evangelicals likewise regard the red heifer as a harbinger of the ultimate showdown at the Temple Mount, which they believe will be the site of the Second Coming. And they believe that time is near.
To many other observers, the advent of the red heifer threatens to provoke a violent struggle for control of the Temple Mount, with worldwide repercussions. In the late 1990s, a group of unidentified Texas ranchers reportedly bred a perfect red heifer, which generated excitement in evangelical circles until the animal sprouted some black hairs.
Six years ago, the John C. Hagee Royalty Trust paid more than $5.5 million for a 7,600-acre ranch in Brackettville, Texas, where cattle are raised in a venture with the Texas Israel Agricultural Research Foundation, a nonprofit outfit operated by the pastor…Earl said that Hagee wants to share information to improve the production of livestock, particularly cattle, with an Israeli research project, but otherwise claimed to be unsure of the particulars. Dr. Scott Farhart, an obstetrician and trustee of the John C. Hagee Royalty Trust (and an elder at Hagee’s church), did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the director of the ranch…
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to prospect.org
RE: “Rick Perry compares the US and Israel…”
RELATED: “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Charlie”, by Eric Kleefeld, 08/21/09
(EXCERPT) Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) is really taking his appeals to the state’s religious right to a new level, in his campaign for Senate.
Town Hall reports that Crist was speaking to a group of real estate agents, and credited prayer notes in the Western Wall in Jerusalem with preventing his state from being hit by hurricanes during his time as governor.
Crist told of how he visited the Wall in 2007, and placed a note saying: “Dear God, please protect our Florida from storms and other difficulties. Charlie.”…
SOURCE – link to tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com
Masada was the last stand of a bunch of suicidal terrorists combating a foreign occupation. The Zealots and Sicarii were the al-Qaeda of their day.
I often wish that the Palestinians could go visit the place for inspiration.
Of course Gov. Rick Perry mixes up his analogies. What else would you expect from a man who has more executions than any other governor in U.S. history – including his predecessor former Texas Governor George W. Bush? “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”
link to protest200executions.com
“Protest the 200th Execution Under Texas Governor Rick Perry
To see pictures and videos from the 200th execution protests, click here link to abolishtexasdeathpenalty.ning.com .
On June 2, 2009, the 200th execution under Texas Governor Rick Perry was carried out. There were protests in the U.S., Canada and Europe (see the list at left). Since he became governor of Texas in December 2000, Perry has allowed more executions to proceed than any other governor in U.S. history.
The Texas anti-death penalty community asked people around the world to focus their attention on Texas and join us in protesting the 200th execution carried out under Rick Perry. Altogether, Texas has executed 439 people since 1982, including 152 under former Texas Governor George W. Bush.”
Pingback: Twitted by PalestineToday