In Birmingham, England, anti-Muslim rioters/skirmishers, calling themselves the English Defence League, held aloft the Israeli flag as a symbol of their antagonism. Richard Silverstein writes:
it is important to understand how the racist nativists throughout Europe and the west see Israel. They see it as their bulwark against the hated dark Muslim hordes. Certainly, part of the reason is the anti-Muslim ideology espoused by members of the Israeli government and political right. It is due to the astonishing level of violence with which Israel has met resistance from Arab and Muslim groups and nations.
Photo is from the Mail Online.
It is an irony to see the Israeli flag held by skinheads at an anti-immigrant rally.
As it is an irony to see Palestinians flags held by skinheads at anti-Zionist rallies.
On the contrary, they are in like company.
V is correct. What they share is a core sense of injustice applied only to those in their situation/condition–and the partner, Fear.
I dunno how it is in Britain, but around here, if you see any young political radicals at Pro-Palestinian rallies, they are radical leftists.
All flags are threaded in irony, more or less, e.g., The Stars & Bars.
When did you last see Palestinians flags held by skinheads at anti-Zionist rallies Richard?
Again: Mr. Weiss, you will see your words parroted by David Duke and Pat Buchanan. You will see commenters in this comments section with an obvious antisemitic bent. This is besides the point. Argue the issues, fine. Argue the enemy of my enemy and you are besides the point.
Yeah yeah wondering, and everyone who quotes someone is supposed to make them complicit. Even Ben Gurion is antisemitic because he is quoted on neo-Nazi sites. Your arguments are completely ridiculous.
David Duke agrees with the rest of us that 2 + 2 = 4.
Thus, in the interest of not appearing “antisemitic,” it is advisable that we all abandon basic mathematics.
RE: “Argue the issues, fine. Argue the enemy of my enemy and you are besides the point.”
SEE: ” Neo-Nazis For Israel?”, by Max Blumenthal, 01/09/09
(EXCERPT) While much of the neo-Nazi fringe remains opposed to the existence of Israel, the whites-only British National Party recently declared its full-throated support for Israel’s attack on Gaza. The shelling of Gaza City by Israeli forces has brought joy to the heart of BNP head of legal affairs Lee Barnes: “This sort of ‘disinfecting’ process whereby Israel is required to sterilise areas of radical Islamist support … is what all nations have to do in order to eradicate Islamist cells who have managed to take over territory either within or on the edges of their borders,” Barnes wrote on his blog on January 4. He continued, “Get used to the casualties — for without them any nation so infected with Islamism will surrender, rot away into liberal apathy and then dies as it is taken over.”….
ENTIRE POST – link to huffingtonpost.com
RE: “English skinheads wave…. Israeli flag!!!!”
“Devout Muslim dies after savage beating by ‘race-hate’ gang”,
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER, 09/09/09
A devout Muslim pensioner attacked by a race-hate gang of schoolboys died yesterday.
Ekram Haque, 67, lost his fight for life a week after he was battered to the ground in front of his three-year-old granddaughter, Marian.
As revealed in yesterday’s Daily Mail, he suffered horrific head injuries in the assault outside a mosque in Tooting, South-West London, where he had just prayed.
As he and Marian waited for a lift, the gang ran up behind him and clubbed him around the head.
Two other worshippers chased the thugs away but Mr Haque – described by friends as a ‘gentle giant’ – had suffered horrific head injuries….
…Police are linking the assault on the retired care worker to a series of other attacks on elderly Asian people near the mosque…
….Police say they are treating the attack on Mr Haque as racially motivated….
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to dailymail.co.uk
RE: “English skinheads wave…. Israeli flag!!!!”
SEE ALSO: “Zionist Fanatics Practice Serial Vandalism in Paris”, By DIANA JOHNSTONE, 07/06/09
(EXCERPT) Thousands of books drenched in cooking oil – that is the latest exploit of the Zionist fanatics who regularly attack property and people in Paris and get away with it.
In the early afternoon of Friday, July 3, five men, mostly masked, stormed into the “Resistances” bookstore located in a quiet residential neighborhood of the 17th arrondissement in northwest Paris. To the startled women working in the shop, as well as two customers, they announcing that they were from the Jewish Defense League and began ripping books off shelves and tables, dousing them heavily with cooking oil, and then smashing four computers before leaving rapidly in a waiting vehicle….
…Two and a half years ago, on December 7, 2006, a similar attack squad threw teargas grenades into the bookstore as a crowd was gathering to listen to the late Israeli author Tanya Reinhart and her companion, the Israeli poet Aharon Shabtai. On that occasion, Shashahani had to be treated for effects from the teargas but material damage was slight. This time, the entire shop is a shambles, with countless ruined books, and damage runs to tens of thousands of euros, according to Shashahani.
But, he stresses, this is only one in “hundreds of violent actions” carried out by the French version of the banned US Jewish Defense League in recent years…
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to counterpunch.org
I’m sure that David Duke and Pat Buchanan also agree that the world isn’t flat Wondering Jew. Does that make us all white supremacists for agreeing?
Witty,
Where did you see skinheads at Palestinian rallies? SKinheads like only themselves and increeasingly israel. Kid yourself not.
Look around Saleema. Next time you go to a particularly vehement rally.
And while Saleema is looking around, Dicky Witty, you look around too at the groups
rabid Firsters are attracting, OK?
And while Saleema is looking around, Dicky Witty, you look around too at the groups
rabid Israel Firsters are attracting, OK?
Yes, Richard should know Saleema, because we all know he constantly goes to anti-Zionist, anti-apartheid, and BDS rallies….lol
V…, those rallies and protests are so kumbaya that it gets embarassing and cheesy quite often. I don’t know what Witty is talking about. And thanks for the laugh re Witty going to peace demonstrations, etc
That a given rally (or opinion or point of view, etc.) attracts some unsavory characters says nothing of the veracity or meaningfulness of said rally (or point of view, etc.)
Any relation to Mair Kahane’s Jewish Defense League?
WHY ZIONISTS AND SKINHEADS SHOULD HAVE JOINT RALLIES PART 1
WHY ZIONISTS AND SKINHEADS SHOULD HAVE JOINT RALLIES PART 2
They might have found new allies here, after all the murderous racist, apartheid, colonial aims of Israeli Zionists match perfectly with skinheads. Better strike while the iron is hot, here is some new support for them.
Come to think of it, I do recall some of those kids featured in a Max Blumenthal video chanting “white power”. I think this was either in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.
Bingo Queue, you heard and remember correctly!
In Europe, a worrying number Jews have gone into bed with the far-right. An equal number have recognised this trend and doing all they can to wake them up, but it doesn’t seem to be working.
The British National Party have denounced their anti-Semitic history and are actively courting the Jewish vote. It seems to be working despite the fact that the party is still full of anti-Semites.
What causes people to have historical amnesia?
Well, looking beyond the extremist fringes I get the impression that German, and possibly European, Jewish intellectuals nowadays tend to affiliate themselves with the political right, in contrast to American Jews. Several prominent members of the Central Council of the Jews in Germany have been members of the conservative CDU party, for example. It can be seen as a mutually beneficial relationship, seeing as how the CDU has traditionally lent nigh-unquestioning support to Israel.
This is just an impression, though. I don’t have concrete data to support it. If it were so, however, it is only logical that the more extreme followers of right-wing values (anti-immigration, anti-Islam, anti-socialist) would also align them with Israel.
If I may also offer a particularly cynical interpretation of why xenophobic German right-wingers such as the PRO KOELN party and bloggers like “Politically incorrect” have no problems with Jews, and wave Israeli flags in support of its perceived anti-Muslim war: Because xenophobic extremism has already done its work on the Jews.
The Jewish community of modern Germany is, compared to its pre-Holocaust size, still small. Its leaders have a certain amount of media clout, but in general, Jews keep a very low profile in business and everyday life.
If there were now ~4 million immigrated Jews in Germany, a sizeable minority of them orthodox or ultra-orthodox, building synagogues, following their strange customs, walking the streets with their alien looks – you would see the same xenophobes who are now pro-Israel and anti-Muslim be anti-semitic and pro-Palestinian.
I’ve been to three rallies on Israel/Palestine in the last 10 years. 1 was “kumbaya”. 1 was “seeringly aggressive” and contained skinheads, ranting Arabs, and ranting leftists.
The third was internally contentious, with some rally organizers pushing an invited liberal rabbi (pro-peace) literally off the stage (3-feet off the ground, not a physical danger).
Maybe rallies have “changed” since that time.
The “seeringly offensive” one was at Hampshire College last year.
I’ll just take a wild guess, it was part of the divestment campaign? Did they compare Israel to South Africa? The horror…
“Did they compare Israel to South Africa? The horror… ”
Here’s a quote from a South African who emphatically stated as far back as 1961 that “The Jews took Israel from the Arabs after the Arabs had lived there for a thousand years. Israel like South Africa, is an apartheid state” (Rand Daily Mail, 23 Novemeber 1961). Those were not the words of Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Tutu or Ruth First, but were uttered by none other than the architect of apartheid itself, racist Prime Minister, Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd.
Little wonder Israel and South Africa were such close allies.
The love of the Israeli flag is common in European Nationalist & Fascist parties. Israel, with its ability to murder Arabs with impunity, is seen as a shining model for the future. Gianfranco Fini, the Italian ‘post-Fascist’ and close confidant of Berlusconi who was recently Deputy Prime Minister, said in 2008 that the burning of the Israeli flag was ‘much more serious’ that a brutal murder committed by Neo-Fascists – link to time.com
In Rome, the mayor is also spent his formative years in Fascist parties. He was elected with the support of the city’s Jews – link to us.ft.com
Soon after, the mayor instituted a purge of the city’s gypsies – link to independent.ie
One wonders what Pastor Niemöller would think.
The fact of the matter is that many Israel supporters have plunged head long into the war chant party of violence on the right, as Israel itself descends into the fascist milieu. Hence my taunt above at 1:57AM. It is a very alarming process, just as deep as the Zionist bedding down with Christian Fundamental extremism. Unfortunately this has been a pattern for many years, just like the symbiotic relationship with the USA as the worlds only superpower – no matter what course it takes, and cheering for the atrocities as well as “consulting” and supporting the process of empire.
It appears there is no moral compass when it come to Eretz Yisrael for the Zionist contingency, and this is the case with both the left and right of Jewish supporters for Israel – one plunging itself into violent extremism near the seat of power (the right), the other never able to find an argument that is effective (on purpose) for stopping the egregious process (the left, and afterwords crying and ringing their hands – Richard among others). So it is only quite natural that the process sinks to the lowest point of humanity amidst a skinhead-like fascist quagmire.
As an example, internally in Israel you have Avigdor Lieberman as the “Foreign Minister,” this is the face which Israel chooses to wear for the outside world, neither a surprise nor shocking considering this nations course (the external eventually begins to reflect the ugly internal). On his world-wind tour of Latin America and Africa who did he bring with him?
Certainly, at least as a matter of appearance he has not followed in the footsteps of lets say – Golda Meir who was more deceptive, but reflects this twisted fascist agenda in countries which are known for their puppet Western governments and oppression.
“Lieberman is planning to bring with him dozens of businessmen, most of them arms dealers, as well as security advisers and representatives of the military industries. But perhaps it would be better for the foreign minister to follow in Meir’s footsteps and put more agricultural advisers and medical and education experts in the center of its diplomatic stage, rather than arms dealers.”
This is what I have highlighted on my blog –
ISRAEL PERPETUATES THE RAPE OF AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA
While some wish to go after cultural aspects with BDS, I plan to go right for the jugular. Israel insists on selling its defense and “technological” expertise to budding and old dictatorships and those interested in oppressing portions of their populations with National Security States (see India). It packages its occupational oppression of the Palestinians, and its way to camouflage such through media deception to the waiting world. Using experimental weapons on the Palestinian population as a large guinea pig laboratory, as well as its oppressive “deterrent” operations for maximum exploitation.
So there is no mystery why Israel gets support by “like-minded” tyrants the world over, including the USA which was awash with Israeli “experts” during the thick of the Iraq war. Or those who wish to eavesdrop on their respective populations against domestic law (although in its advanced stages in the states, that is, because it had been going on so long, both houses and the Supreme Court put their stamp of approval on the indiscriminate spying).
There seems to be an element of theatre to this skinhead Israeli flag waving, as in: “You elites open up the borders to Muslim immigration to drive down wages and displace the vestiges of Christian civilization as a means to your own ends, and then call us racists for objecting — even as you finance and endorse to the hilt Israel’s quasi-fascist, anti-Muslim ethnic cleansing of Palestine.”
Until the mainstream Left scours itself of Zionism (and it won’t, because it can’t due to the fact that it is so deeply reliant upon organized Jewry, and the vast majority of organized Jewry is Zionist to one extent or another), taunts like this are going to become ever more frequent and violent. And these kinds of taunts will/are already emerging from Muslim quarters, too, but with the flavor of: “You elites call yourselves anti-racist even as you finance and endorse to the hilt quasi fascist Israel…”)
The fact is, there’s a yin and yang between the conceited entitlement-mentality gentile elite of both the mainstream Left and Right, and the culturally elitist entitlement mentality of organized Jewry, that lies at the root of these troubles. They all seem to think alike — that they’re gifted, fated and entitled to pull the strings from on high, and the rest of us peons below should accept on faith their good intentions, and that their wealthy and coddled existences are not the result of their own greed and averace, but rather merely incidental to their sheer goodness and choseness.
Just as a matter of reference for you Chis, most of what you say is very insightful. However, when you say -
“…the vast majority of organized Jewry is Zionist to one extent or another…”
Actually when it comes to those in power it is a very small minority that wield a lot of influence, and that is partially due to a system whose chief aim is to curry elites (it is always exploited by the rich and powerful). What this small cadre wants you to believe is that “the vast majority of organized Jewry is Zionist,” and by embracing it you just further their agenda. Think about it
We’d first have to define “organized Jewry,” but I certainly think it’s safe to say that Chris is right, the vast majority of organzized Jewry is Zionist to one extent or another.
Even completely unorganized “Jewry” (should we be using that word? I’m reminded of that episode of Seinfeld) is in some regard Zionist, in that they somehow still identify with the mention of Israel. This is true of even many completely assimilated, non-practicing Jews.
And when I say “identify,” I don’t mean in the way that I, as an American with Irish/Hunagarian roots, raised Catholic, would identify with the mention of Ireland, or Hungary, or the Vatican. I mean that it’s like Israel is a part of their humanity, in a way. It’s fascinating.
I was thinking yesterday that organization and establishment of institutional leadership, by any kind of minority, for intercession with whatever powers-that-be is a general and natural response for any minority perceiving itself under threat. Your comment made me wonder if it could it not be that because Jews have been under threat so long, and Jewish institutions interceding on their behalf for so long, that a kind of automatic deference to institutional leadership has become a cultural norm among them.
Perhaps because this leadership failed to protect them during the Holocaust, as a natural survival response the deference increased such that hitherto extraordinary social, political, economic, and physical acts of aggressions became acceptable to, or at least did not elicit warranted scrutiny from, those who leadership claimed to represent. Perhaps the deference is receding in America because Jews are accepted here, and institutional leadership, e.g. AIPAC, has not circumscribed its behavior to accommodate the new reality.
…as a natural survival response the deference increased such that hitherto extraordinary social, political, economic, and physical acts of aggressions became acceptable to, or at least did not elicit warranted scrutiny from, those who leadership claimed to represent.”
I think there is a lot of truth to that, Colin.
I am not a bit surprise. The racists always stay together – whether Nazis, Zionists, KKK, Skinheads or Indian BJP. Futhermore, they’re all known for their self-denial and short mempry. For example, it was British Christians who expelled the Jewish communities and did not allow them to return for nearly 350 years – the same thing Zionist Jews are doing to the native Palestinia Muslims and Christians.
Now, British has ZOG and its Bank is owned by Rothschild family – which its ruling Windsors have Jewish blood line through intermarriages.
Most Europeans cannot forget the humiliation they received from the Turks. In many East European countries – mothers still scare their children by saying: “Turks are coming, Turks are coing…”
THE DOMINANT CHRISTIAN PALESTINIAN VIEW
The annual Al-Quds day (yesterday or the day before?) in London was targeted by the EDL (English Defence League) shouting guess what? Pro-Israel slogans