Antonia Zerbisias, columnist for the Toronto Star on this amazing moment. Notice the remarkable sympathy for the Palestinian condition. Paradigm shift, in the media:
[I]s it not part of the city’s [Tel Aviv's] very recent history that most of its Arab residents were driven out, "literally pushed into the sea," as Israeli historian Ilan Pappe has written? How does one deny this sorry record?
Even today, the expulsions continue. Most of the few thousand Palestinians who remain in Tel Aviv are fighting government eviction orders, all from their long-ago nationalized property, to make way for condo developments for wealthy Israeli and diaspora Jews.
But, if any City to City films mention any of these facts, let alone dwell on them, I can’t find them listed in the TIFF program guide.
[John] Greyson’s letter has been endorsed by hundreds of filmmakers, authors, artists and academics, many of them Jewish and some even from Israel. These latter signatories have been accused of selling out their people, and more.
They also stand charged with stifling debate, and of attacking freedom of expression.
Which is pretty Orwellian, considering that their speaking out has blown the debate wide open.
There’s a lot to discuss, starting with why Toronto is the reported test market area for the campaign to improve Israel’s "brand," one that has suffered horribly – especially since its invasion of Gaza last winter.
Richard Witty does not know what you are talking about. He lives in the USA, in a
heavily Goy Cop protected and essentially gated and American Jewish protected community. In the larger USA policy context, he is protected by US grunts, you know them, goy trailor park trash and those poor goys who’s poor parents cannot afford
to pay for their childrenss’ even undergraduate college?
Were you picked on as a child?
Witty,
You are a proven liar. You are a farce. I wish you would go away. You are conniving and when you write, I am reminded of the word machavellian.
I suggest a boycott of Witty. I have been doing pretty good ignorning him with few exceptions. Let’s starve him by not replying to him and one day he will stop coming around.
This is anti-semitic, frankly, and you should stop writing this crap. I get angry with Richard, and criticize him all the time, but he’s said nothing that would justify this–it’s just an insult based on his ethnicity, nothing else.
And I shouldn’t be the only one pointing this out. What is so hard to figure out here?
Richard says things many of us find infuriating–fine, criticize him for it. I do. But there’s no excuse for diving into this antisemitic cesspool. People get way too tribal in their thinking on this issue–just because we may not like Richard’s POV is no reason to accept any and every attack that is made on him.
Some of what Witty posts in here is just excruciatingly denialist, re-posting unpleasant Hasbara. But some of it goes a lot further and threatens or celebrates atrocities.
I take it that the charge of antisemitism is now generally agreed to have no meaning other than being code for someone critical of Israel. Otherwise, it would apply to Witty, since he’s the person mostly determinedly linking Jews to war-crimes.
“I take it that the charge of antisemitism is now generally agreed to have no meaning other than being code for someone critical of Israel. ”
Well, no. That’s the meaning of the charge in a great many cases and it has cheapened the term and been used over and over again to suppress criticism of Israel, but there is still such a thing as racism against Jews.
Some African dictator might scream “racism” when his own crimes are criticized, but that doesn’t mean there’s no such thing as racism.
Without Richard Witty and a few others, we’d be talking to ourselves. It’s important to hear the other side, if only to understand where they’re coming from.
If it’s pure propaganda, then it’s important so as to understand the tactics they use.
If it’s a legitimate love of Israel due to a lifetime spent steeped in the culture and education and religion, then it’s important to understand what drives the underlying thoughts and feelings.
It’s frustrating as hell, and it often seems like talking to a wall. I guess at some point people will just say “Listen, I get what you’re saying and all, but I’ve learned all I can learn from Richard Witty and his ilk. Enough is enough already.”
I don’t know what the answer is. It’s hard to just ignore someone if they are posting things on a public forum that you vehemently disagree with, especially if they are posted as facts that you know to be untrue. If you keep ignoring them, then they end up having the last word, which is often the intent. Frustrating.
Saleema,
When Citizen invokes his “goy cop” slander, and your response to me is “Witty, you are a proven liar”, you destroy your word.
“facts you know to be untrue”.
Lame.
…and now you’ve turned this into a discussion that has absolutely nothing to do with Toronto. Why is this not surprising? Granted, Citizen is the one who started this off topic — with a pretty nasty post, I’ll agree — but now you’re just beating a dead horse. Use the “Report Abuse” button, then get back on topic, please.
I know where Phil stands. I know what Mooser thinks of the issues dealt with on this blog. I know where the racists stand that come to this site, some of them steeped in the school of hasbara. Does anyone know what the hell Witty is talking about most of the time?
There was a time when I actually liked Witty. But the more I stayed on this site, I realized what a fake he is. I have a Jewish friend who is pretty pro-zIonist. But I can still disagreee with him, get into verbal fights with him, even manage to have a civil discourse most of the time. And still keep our friendship intact. Its not wittys viewpoints, its his underhanded way of going about and questioning Phil’s journalistic integrity, and his sleazy attempts at questioning any positive development about anything, and then watch him turn around a month later and advocate for the same position which he previously attacked.
Witty is like Dershowitz. I can’t stand them both.
Dan Kelly, you do have a valid points.
What does goy mean? And why is that anti-semitic? For all the accusations that. >uslims get for being anti-semitic, most of us are pretty clueless as to some of the words that are used, etc
My mom always told us to pick up pennies or change if its on the ground because it has Gods name on it. I spotted a penny outside our office building and picked it up and put it in my purse. My friend was watching me with amusement. He said when he was little (he’s not my generation) the kids used to throw pennies at the Jewish kids. It was a very humiliating experience for him.
“Why did they throw pennies?” I asked. And he said kind of annoyed “because they were anti-semitic”
I ended our conversation with an “oh!” Went home and googled “throw pennies at jews” and came up with a bunch of stuff and I understood.
Last time I googled “what’s philosemitisim” and ran across quite a clearly racist website.
My computers down and I’ve been surefing the net with my phone, which isn’t that fun and juat frustrating to navigate. Id appreciate it if someone can give me a quick overview og the words goy and gentile and why do ppl find its use offensive.
Witty, you said that Citizen attacked you and that my response to you wasn’t appropriate. But how many times have you ever come to anyone else defense when rabbis >uslim hatters or arab haters come on here and attack us? You never chastise those that love Israel blindly.
Its also frustrating typing posts from my phone. I see some mistakes. I hope ppl will understand what I meant
Your comments are easy to understand, Saleema.
There are FEW pro-Zionists here.
And, at times that the pro-Zionists extended to hatred or real falsehood, I stated ONCE to them directly that they were innaccurate. That is enough for me.
Consider an encounter with “Edwin” a few days ago, in which on the basis of a single comment from me, he assumed that I was an Israel-hater and levied into me with three demeaning comments.
Your standard is wierd Saleema. Haters will pass from the earth. In intellectual discourse, if compassion is the basis of progressive politics, then hateful approaches will be rejected.
I am committed to mutual humanization. Where Israel or Jews are demeaned I defend (especially relative to mobbing, malevolent movement momentum, 3m’s). In cases where Muslims are harrassed, and there is something that I can do (even to talk someone down), you’ll see me.
In speaking of Citizen’s comments, and your ganging in support, I am criticizing your morality, your commitment to humanism, your commitment to uncensored discussion of content.
Witty,
You speak of morality? Huh! Everyone here knows your commitment to humanism which doesn’t extend far from your sense of what’s good for the jews is always right and everyone else is just fodder. That pretty well sums it up. So what if you say it in a much “nicer” way? The end result of your calls for “mutual humanization” leaves the Palestinians at the short end of the stick.
If condemning your rabbid zionist co-religionists once suffices then the same apllies to everyone else. Mopst ppl on here do not condone hatred for the ;ews and have said so. Yet, again and again you like to take people to task for any anti-semitic comment, real or imagined and want us to condemnit.
“real falsehood”
lame
Goy is very effectively used in the Protocols, which mirror the extreme rights point of view projected on the Jews. “Goy” is the term the “supposed Jewish conspirators” use to talk about everybody non-Jewish.
Read the Protocols and you’ll understand that it essentially mirrors the Machiavellian tradition, which isn’t Jewish.
Personally I would never use it, as citizen does. Compared to the neutral term non-Jew, which it basically stands for, it surely mirrors the above tradition.
My two pennies on the issue.
Saleema, I used the wrong reply interface (no button really) for my response to your question about the term goy, see below. My two pennies only.
No, I didn’t it seems. Now I am gone again.
Saleema, “goy” or “goyim” is a contemptuous term Jews use to refer to anyone who is not Jewish. A male goyim is a “shagitz” and a female goyim is “shiksa.” If someone has a contempt for someone who is Jewish, that would be “anti-Semitic.” I’ve always wondered why there’s not an equivalent term for a Jew being bigoted toward Gentiles, being . . . well, “anti-Goyim.” Which doesn’t work very well.
Saleema – Others have answered your question pretty well. I will just add an etymological note. The word “goy” is not offensive in and of itself, as it simply means “nation” (gens/gentile) in Hebrew, and is even used in the Bible in reference to the Israelites. In usage, it can be mildly to extremely offensive, depending on context, tone, etc. It is a word I would never use, even in Hebrew, where I would use the equivalent of “non-Jew”.
“Sheigitz” (fem. “shikse”) comes from the Hebrew “sheketz” – abomination, by way of Yiddish. The etymology, as you can see, is highly offensive, but again, in usage (mostly by people unaware of the etymology) it can be mildly to extremely offensive. When I was a child, my father would sometimes call me a “sheigitz” (jokingly and lovingly) if my kippah had fallen off my head, or I had eaten something without first reciting the correct blessing. It is also a word I would not use.
By the way, I had pennies thrown at me as a child. It is indeed humiliating.
I disagree with Richard virtually all of the time, yet I’m opposed to preventing him from posting his perspective.
Without Wittycisms, Mondo would become nothing more than an echo chamber, an amen chorus. The reason some of these posts go to 100-plus comments is because Witty posts something about boycotts of Israel are offensive, and 20 regulars from the site respond with calling out israel on its apartheid of Palestine.
I do agree, however, that many of Richard’s postings are devoid of any nutritional value.
I’m not so sure about the echo chamber, Oscar. A lot of good discussions develop here without any contribution from Witty. I think there is plenty to talk about, without venturing into Hasbaraland. Zionist POVs sure, but that is not the same as propaganda (Phil and Adam said “War of Ideas” – not “War of Propaganda”). By propaganda I mean saying anything – and the opposite if necessary – to reach a foregone conclusion or predetermined goal. The really long threads are often hard to follow, and include so much irrelevant garbage (one of Witty’s favourite tactics) and repetition (another one of his favourite tactics) that I think they actually detract from the site’s interest and usefulness.
I sometimes associate my deep distaste for certain actions of the Israeli government or individual Israelis with anyone who supports the situation in general. I have Israeli friends who are equally dismayed by the conduct of their homeland and I am with mine. I need to keep my emotions in synch with my mind.
I meant to say: their homeland as I am with mine. I need to keep my emotions in synch with my “better” mind.