After publishing an op-ed from a settler comparing herself to Rosa Parks, Haaretz is back at it with one of its writers trying to explain why democracy and civil rights are too dangerous to implement in modern society (and this is the liberal Israeli newspaper). From the article "Overly democratic ways can prove deadly":
Holder, Rice and Obama, as well as Carter and Clinton, who were both governors of southern states before becoming president, have copied a simplistic notion of the civil rights struggle involving American blacks and implemented it in U.S. foreign and defense policy. Racist white mayors and state troopers harassing innocent black pedestrians and motorists? That’s exactly what Muslims on Flight 253 and Palestinians on Route 443 must be spared, even if the world blows up.
Ah, to return to the days of the pre-civil rights Southern US. Or better yet, Israel today.
Yonira? Better yet, this is the segregation I was talking about.
Do people ever stop and think that when they speak for segregation, it is they who become the other?
What will happen if Jews embrace segregationism all over as most Israelis have done? What will be their identity? How will the world relate to them?
1. spent several hours absorbing Avigail Abarbanel’s analysis of the sick psychology of ‘Jewish Israelis’ — link to avigailabarbanel.me.uk
Susan Rice was interviewed by Michael Abramowitz at the US Holocaust Museum, that place that is the embodiment, at America’s front door, of the perpetuation of trauma. The topic was genocide, and tho the event took place on Dec. 10, 2009, Gaza was not mentioned. Not once.
After 35 minutes spent describing and enumerating the horrors taking place in Darfur and Sudan — in response to Abramowitz’s demands for accountability on those scores, audience members were permitted to ask her three questions.
The first question? “Do Ahmadinejad’s threats to wipe Israel off the map amount to threats of genocide in violation of the UN Convention against Genocide?”
Rather than correcting the question’s false premise, Rice-the-enabler validated the claim that Iran posed an ‘existential threat’ to Jews; the Jewish Israelis at the US Holocaust Museum could thus ‘perpetuate their trauma’ and their victim identity, and achieve release of their psychic distress by plotting the hope of war on Iran.
Abarbanal’s words were made flesh.
Is it any surprise? This has nothing to do with Susan Rice. It has to do w/ deep institutional problems in our political system and our society.
You will NEVER ever get a President or relevant public official to speak honestly on I-P or to be critical of Zionism.
Never, ever.
I couldn’t help feeling some sympathy for Rice; it seemed to me she was being treated like the plantation darkie called on the carpet by the massa. It is tragic to see such a talented women being forced to toe the zionist line in order to rise to some position of influence in a country that owes her and her people (broadly) far more than it owes to Abramowitz.
I couldn’t help feeling some sympathy for Rice; it seemed to me she was being treated like the plantation servant called on the carpet by the master. It is tragic to see such a talented women being forced to toe the zionist line in order to rise to some position of influence in a country that owes her and her people (broadly) far more than it owes to Abramowitz.
I don’t have any sympathy. I think at this point, it should be painfully obvious that having a cushy job in the US government means you have to sell your morality and integrity off. Otherwise, keeping that job might actually take effort.
I am not a psychologist, but I am not convinced by the passage from personal psychological patterns to “group diagnoses”. Who experienced trauma? What kind of trauma? Who reacted, in what way, and by what process? I think that analyses more specific to group behaviour — including its intentional manipulation – would be far more to the point.
Abarbanal addresses all of your questions in a series of essays on her blog, linked in my comment, above.
Thanks, PG. I only read the specific essay you linked to. I’ll have to have a look at the rest.
“Abarbanal “
I wish my name could be a barbituate! Abarbanal 50mg.
Went back through Crooks and Liars post back to this past Monday. Not one post not one about the Gaza Freedom March. Not one.
I have always felt Crooks and Liars is Israeli occupied territory. Nothing not a whisper. And this is one of the alleged progressive blogs. Hogwash. As bad as the MSM when it comes to the I/P conflict. Silence on the Gaza Freedom March
I think Crooks and Liars is merely parochial. They don’t really focus on international issues, or at least they weren’t when I used to pay attention to them. It’s disappointing but I wouldn’t mistake apathy for nefarious intent.
Nothing really ‘progressive’ about C&L, their primary interest is in scoring points over the other side, that other side happens to be republicans (could be Denver Bronco fans, could be Ford fanboys) and for some reason filling the day with video clips demonstrating how “palin is stupid” and “limbaugh is fat” makes them feel superior to that other side.
Google – site:crooksandliars.com “goldstone report” and you’ll get six results, five of which are comments (though one is on a story about Gaza) and the other is a ‘blog roundup’ which is a link to someone else talking about it.
Google – site:dailykos.com intitle:goldstone and you’ll find 11 results, one of which is hasbara and another of which is a duplicate.
One thing such absence of recognition does is to identify the OT in the media. Maybe we should have a list somewhere to identify the ones who do write about it? Focus on the ones who are not OT?
The op ed piece by Amir Oren was poorly written and poorly argued. But unlike the Old South, the segregation of Highway 443 was/is purely for security purposes and has nothing to do with ideology. (It may still be wrong, but it is not ideologically based.) And unlike Mondoweiss which can afford a diversity of voices varying from extreme Israel bashing to moderate Israel bashing, Haaretz attempts to achieve a true diversity of voices. Israelis concerned with safety on the roads is not a problem that Haaretz can ignore. (The voice of Amir Oren is balanced by the voice of Gideon Levy, who has recently written in favor of the court decision.)
Security… for the illegal colonies of Israelis that were shipped into the occupied territories in direct violation of the Geneva Convention? So when Palestinians can live no where else but the war zone, they are human shields, but when Israelis move there deliberately — you know, knocking down homes and setting fire to orchards all the way, guess it makes those Zionists Jews feel like tough guys, being able to wage pogroms instead of suffering from them like their ancestors — that’s not human shields?
A violent Israeli settler has total freedom of movement through Palestinian land. Meanwhile, every single innocent Palestinian is kept off of those roads.
That is racism, plain and simple.
Is it just me, or is every goddamn word that is put down about Zionism ultimately poorly written and poory argued?
Since when does a thief “deserve security”? Imagine a guy breaking into your house and walling you into the fireplace for his security.
Do Israelis ever listen to their own arguments?
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Benjamin Franklin
They’re not giving up their liberty. Its other peoples’ liberties they cannot be bothered with. Everything done to “others” is kosher for the “Jewish” state.
Er, do you mean the problem of safety on Israeli Jew Only roads? I guess, if there
were Christian Only roads in the USA, there might be a safety issue also.
“Ah, to return to the days of the pre-civil rights Southern US. Or better yet, Israel today.”
This is repetition but to the point –
ISRAELI FUTURE
I take months long break from news about Palestine and come back to find the situation even worse. How depressing.
I’m really sorry, Saleema. I know it’s difficult but try not to lose heart, alright?
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Israelis and their supporters in the U.S. have a special warm place in their heart for discriminatory policies. Evidently, they accept that Israel’s policies are and should be such, and are seeking to vindicate Israel by getting everyone else to join in.
But this doesn’t make any sense. What is Oren suggesting? That the Nigerian would be bomber would have been put on a no-fly list if he weren’t Muslim? Any evidence for that? Or is he suggesting that Muslims en masse be prohibited from boarding planes, or from flying to the U.S.? Does he believe the suspect’s father would have been as eager to warn the CIA if he had perceived the U.S. to anti-Muslim?
And how are we supposed to know who’s a Muslim anyway? Should all countries mark a person’s ethnic background in their IDs — like Israel does?
CNN is showing a long news segment now, about Iranian protesters, interviewing them, etc; that channel has never done that about Israeli protesters, or Gaza protesters, etc.
Why would they? The war industry’s already making a buck off of Gaza. Why does its PR department need to spend any effort there when there’s war to made in Iran?
This reminds me of the young Arab Christian woman who thought there existed equality in Israel because she had landed a job with Israel’s Foreign Ministry. Until she tried to go on vacation to Spain. Then she was harassed and humiliated at the airport; her government ID card was disregarded, and she was labeled a “security risk.” Because she was an Arab.
She was given a clear message: even if we employ you, you’re not a full citizen; you’re part of a tolerated minority. Talk about Dhimmitude!