Comments on: An optimistic Israeli

By: Israeli army strip-searches… an ultra-Orthodox battalion

Israeli army strip-searches… an ultra-Orthodox battalion — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:29:44 +0000

[...] week back Micha Kurz told me that American Jews are not aware of the real tension in Israel/Palestine, the looming war between [...]

By: Take me out of the colonists’ game

Take me out of the colonists’ game — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:01:13 +0000

[...] colonists "have the funding, the families, and the guns," says Micha Kurz of Grassroots Jerusalem. Evidently they even have Obama. And the Law of Return, too. What do we have? We have Americans of [...]

By: Tuyzentfloot

Tuyzentfloot — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:17:17 +0000

In fact their site could become a useful portal.

By: Tuyzentfloot

Tuyzentfloot — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:01:40 +0000

I tend to worry a bit over the value of the Israeli grassroots organizations but my first impression of Grassroots Jeruzalem is good. It’s not a ‘good zionist’ or ‘let’s try not to fight’ agenda . It also doesn’t seem to be stuck with the dilemma that Nomi Lalo of Machsom Watch describes in an article by Jonathan Cook.

How effective does she feel Machsom Watch is? Does it really help the Palestinians or merely add a veneer of legitimacy to the checkpoints by suggesting, like the humanitarian post, that Israel cares about its occupied subjects? It is, Nomi admits, a question that troubles her a great deal.

“It’s a dilemma. The Palestinians here used to have to queue under the sun without shelter or water. Now that we have got them a roof, maybe we have made the occupation look a little more humane, a little more acceptable. There are some women who argue we should only watch, and not interfere, even if we see Palestinians being abused or beaten.’

By: Tuyzentfloot

Tuyzentfloot — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:07:48 +0000

Amazing spin “A man said to him, “We have our boot on the Palestinians’ face. But how do we get our boot off their face, when they have a knife that they are going to kill us witI don’t think it’s spin Kathleen. It’s a core myth.

By: Tuyzentfloot

Tuyzentfloot — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:06:16 +0000

Mooser, you’re going to fast for me. Are you thinking of Shlomo Sand here? In any case, my ‘no choice’ joke is only dressed up as a joke. It’s the shooting and crying thing. That is, I’m focusing on the apologists rather than on the likudniks. Imagine a small modification to the Israeli flag, add a bullet top left and a tear bottom right. Now wouldn’t that be appropriate?

By: Mooser

Mooser — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:58:55 +0000

” It’s the national founding slogan of Israel: “No Choice”.

Along with martyrdom over conversion!

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:39:03 +0000

It is amazing that you described Kurz “He looks Israeli to me: compact and animated, rugged and unpretentious.” The interview that I watched with Kurz on Laura Flanders does demonstrate that he is “unpretentious”

But from the clips that you have shown on this website of Israeli in the streets and their feelings about Palestinians, Obama etc and from what friends of mine who have gone to spend time in Israel many times have shared that they have found many “pretentious” and racist Israeli’s. Kurz does not seem to be one of them

Amazing spin “A man said to him, “We have our boot on the Palestinians’ face. But how do we get our boot off their face, when they have a knife that they are going to kill us with?”

Israel has their boot on the Palestinians face, the knife at their backs and the guns in their faces’

Come on.

Hillary “they will build no new settlements, expropriate no lands, allow no new construction or approval”

Micha Kurz “the settlements are on a BUILDING FRENZY lately just because of the discussions going on, no matter what Hillary is saying”

———————————————————————-
Micha Kurz was an Israeli soldier during the second intifada, and when he left the military he co-founded Breaking the Silence, an organization that collects stories from members of the service (which is compulsory in Israel for young men and women) who served in the occupied territories. Breaking the Silence allows soldiers to confidentially speak out about the things they did and saw while in the military.

Kurz is now with Grassroots Jerusalem, where he helps bring together grassroots social justice activists from across Israel. Kurz notes that his Jewish upbringing is what caused him to question the way Israel conducts the occupation and to speak out against it, and he talks to Laura about what Americans can do to help bring peace in Israel and Palestine

link to lauraflanders.firedoglake.com

By: potsherd

potsherd — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:06:31 +0000

Talk about confirming my point!

By: Tuyzentfloot

Tuyzentfloot — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:57:26 +0000

“We have our boot on the Palestinians’ face. But how do we get our boot off their face, when they have a knife that they are going to kill us with?” I recognize that! It’s the national founding slogan of Israel: “No Choice”.