Apparently Birthright enrollment closes tomorrow, the free trip to Israel for American Jews between 18 and 26. And in the University of Wisconsin newspaper, Steven Horn critiques the program. He went last summer and says, yes, he had a great time; Birthright made sure that "Israel will be associated with nothing but great memories spent with peers partaking in partying, drinking and debauchery — all of the stuff college students enjoy most." Didn’t stick. His account reinforces my sense that a lot of young people walk away from the attempted brainwashing shaking their heads. Horn:
First, the Zionist moving into Palestine is not taught by tour guides as a form of colonialism mirroring many other colonial movements throughout history, in which the colonizer displaced the indigenous population. Rather, the guides teach that Palestine was a “land without people for a people without land.” Second, the 1948 war through which the Zionists gained statehood is taught as a Moses-parting-the-Red Sea miracle by Birthright tour guides, when, in fact, roughly 750,000 Palestinians were forcefully evicted from their homes at the threat of Zionist guns.
…Taglit doesn’t teach anything relating to Israel and Zionism objectively and hopes that when you return home after the trip, you won’t fact check anything they taught you. Taglit wants you to go home and advocate for Israel, to return to Israel and, if they’re really lucky, you might even consider “Aliyah” — Hebrew for “to ascend” and better known as immigrating to Israel. Funny that the original indigenous population doesn’t have that right, but hey, that controversy won’t be discussed on the trip either.
So, by all means, go to Israel and enjoy the unquestionably unbelievable trip. But enter and exit with an open mind and realize that Birthright is a PR tool used by Zionists to promote their own biased political agendas and skewed worldview. Birthright should be the start of your exploration of the Israel/Palestine issue, not the end.
the 1948 war through which the Zionists gained statehood is taught as a Moses-parting-the-Red Sea miracle by Birthright tour guides…
The myth that “Israel was attacked by Arab armies intent on destroying it” is also prevalent. There was no Israel at the time, but that’s not important. Zionist militias outnumbered Arab militias by 8 to 1, but that’s not important either. What’s important is that against all odds, David was able to strike Goliath and win. That’s how a nation built on a lie, on a myth, becomes so arrogant and racist.
The massacres at dozens of Arab villages and towns are not important either. Do you really think that Deir Yassin was the one and only?
Zionist militias would enter a Palestinian village, roundup a group of 8 or 10 men, take them to the the village square and execute them. Then that militia would announce, “you have less than an hour to leave this village, if you won’t, your fate will be the same. Do not take any belongings with you.”
Women were ordered to leave their jewelry behind.
Safsaf, Al-Dawymeh, Al-Khalil (Hebron), Eilaboun, Balad al-Shaykh and many more were all villages and towns in which Zionist militias massacred men, women and children, and in Lydd, where militias massacred 426 Palestinian men, women, and children, 176 of whom were executed in the city’s main mosque where civilians sought refugee.
Source? I am not well read on details and I’d like some good sources as referrals
The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East
Benny Morris: The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem
This Gaza violence that emerges from lies, racism, debauchery, hypocracy, arrogance and birthright is actually between those people who believe in the ancient scriptures, and not… and the final settlement is not in these pages, nor in words…for our type of characters and mentality – it is in the battlefields where no one survives intact and victorious….
The Birthright Tours can only produce either of two; those who will believe them, and those that will not…Will all these well funded deligetimizing campaigns and ‘antifada’ worldwide, the Jews must continue this at all, they donot have any other options…it better to have additional believers than nothing at all…or everything will be ‘thrown to the dogs’…
The intensifying ‘Hate the Jews’ Campaign is good for everybody concerned it creates a wider gap between the pro and anti- Israel… The conflict becomes much more distinct and categorical…and there are no more middle grounds. This is better, ‘a good war is better than a bad peace’ (Gen. Douglas McArthur)
The truth is, how can a pro-Palestinian deal completely favorably with a person whose ‘heart’ believes ‘Jewish birthright’ based on the ancient scriptures?
To achieve total victory for the pro-Palestinians first -they they must completely teach complete ignorance over the Palestinian Issue, second -they must teach living and breathing with ‘irrationality’, third -they must train all people impulsive anger and blind hatred all over the world…
Stop trolling the blog, you ass.
There is no ‘Hate the Jews’ campaign.
And you, like Dick Witty, and all the rest of the Zios only look at this dissent as bad PR. You see nothing wrong with occupation, colonization, the wars, etc.
It’s all because you accept the uniqueness of the legitimacy of the Jewish State. That it somehow has more legitimacy or legitimacy at all, above every other State, past/present/future.
It’s only if someone accepts this racist/idiotic premise that, you’d in-turn begin to look at any kind of MEANINGFUL dissent (BDS) as a ‘Hate the Jews’ campaign.
Trust me, I don’t give a damn about your Jewishness. You’re just a thief and a liar to me.
What I find quite interesting is that the 1948 founding myths actually began back in 1948. The first claims of “we begged them to stay, but their leaders told them to flee” really were made contemporaneously with the Nakba, indicating that public relations must have been a high priority of the founding generation. Scenes like those described by Avi did not become well known in the western world for another 40 years or so. There are of course some other myths that were created later, like the Joan Peters nonsense and the one about Palestinians paying for the Mufti’s sins. But the idea of forcing Palestinians to flee, then blaming their flight on the victims, and on the five or seven (or eight, I ead today for the first time) invading armies was apparently all part of the same plan. Despite its obvious illogic, this myth had quite a successful run, and it has been thoroughly debunked, it still has staying power among the faithful.
What happens after that first lie is exposed, the lie that “Israel was attacked by Arab armies intent on destroying it?”
Next, will the analogous myth be questioned — Goliath never threatened David, he was offering peace terms; the Hebrews sent out the child David to distract Goliath while 500 armed Hebrews fell upon Goliath from his blind side…..
If that myth was not as the world had been led to believe, what other myths are also false? Is all of Torah hasbara? Pretty soon you end up with holocaust denial, and the necessity that Jews be protected from the truth by criminalizing it, as is done in Canada, Germany, Great Britain and the USA (see Public Law 108-332, The Global Antisemitism Review Act, link to thomas.loc.gov
If that myth is not
recall that Iran is “not to be trusted” when it claims it does NOT intend to weaponize nuclear energy because “it lied before” — it concealed development of nuclear enrichment for almost 20 years.
except, of course, that Iran did NOT actually ‘conceal’ its nuclear enrichment projects; rather, in 1983, after complying with disclosure requirements under the NPT, the USA refused to keep its part of the bargain, so Iran proceeded with develoopment without US approbation but WITH US knowledge. see link to edmaysproductions.net
Mahammed Sahimi, about 38 minutes)
“partying, drinking and debauchery ”
So there is something positive to “Birthright” after all.
Most adults the world over need their fairy tales; look at how they are so proud of the accident of birth that made them a member of an ethnic or racial group, or a natural born citizen of whatever country. Goes for many as to their religion too. Why would God favor or disfavor among humans? Carlin’s better than Maher on this; Carlin’s hatchet swings much wider. How does such unearned pride differ from being proud of your height, or beauty, or of being more susceptible to
some disease?
Did South African supporters subsidize trips to the Apartheid state?
No, they were amateurs.
When South African intelligence tried to buy some American newspapers it was actually a scandal in SA and contributed to the end of a P.W. Botha’s presidency.
Not only do Zionists subsidise travel for American kids; they even organise their own Zionist tours to dubious places. See this (including video) for just how ugly and overweight and aggressive such tourists can be:
Violent Zionists Tour Sheikh Jarrah
link to palsolidarity.org
Listen particularly to the guide’s statements.
They organize “Stone the Arabs” tours to Hebron, also.
Looks like the hasbara folks are going nuts on that columnist. One makes the inevitable point that anti-Semitism is rising.
Phil, here’s an investigative journalist question for you–find out when was the last time any organization claimed that anti-Semitism was *falling*. In my living memory it has *always* been increasing.
Anti-Semitism has been steadily rising since I was born. I guess they heard about me.
so “Mooser” is a semitic name! Who knew?
A very good study and detailed study on Israeli colonisation of Palestine has been posted at:
link to electronicintifada.net
It concerns the Jewish National Fund, set up at the very beginning of the Zionist movement, in 1901, the JNF was the chief agent for the colonisation of Palestine.
thanks, RP
“distorting history” includes omitting historical facts.
Jews had been present, prominent, populous, and prosperous in Baghdad for longer than Jews have been anywhere — from the time Nebuchadnezzer exiled Hebrew elites from Jerusalem in the late 6th century BC until 1950, when all but a very few Jews were “push-pulled” from their lives in Iraq in the aftermath of the establishment of a zionist Jewish state on Arab land, an act that roiled previously comfortable relations between Arabs and Jews throughout the Mideast.
I’ve often wondered why Herzl determined that Palestine had to the Jewish homeland; after all, Jews had been “present, populous, prosperous…” in Babylon for more than 1500 years. If Jews needed a place of refuge, surely Babylonian Jews would shelter their coreligionists in the place where they had achieved comfort and respect.
I’m forced to conclude that something else was motivating Herzl — or, if not Herzl, at least Rothschild. Herzl’s efforts to sell Palestine as a Jewish homeland flapped and flailed for over a decade, until Herzl caught the ear of the Rothschilds, and the Rothschilds sensed a major economic advantage in positioning Jews as dominating presence in Palestine, the “hinge” between the oil-rich former Silk Road Mideast, and the newly industrialized European states.
follow the money.
Good Gosh, Crazy Diety, are you implying, or inferring, that Israel put Jews in their time-honored European role, as the middlemen? The one that always worked out so well for us?
hmm
“Crazy Diety”
how did you find out about my “popcorn = dinner” habit? Mossad in my hot plate!
Can non-jews go on Birthright? I wanna get drunk, high and fuck some hot Israeli woman too, as Joe Sacco mentioned in his comic Palestine they have some of the hottest woman in Israel.
it is encouraging that the younger generation of American jews and also younger jews around the world seem to be much more progressive … I wish I could say this was organic and and/or cyclical and reflected an enlightenment and idealism along the lines of the Boomers in America in the 60s who wanted to explore peace and sexuality and breaking corformist social norms, etc (as well as get high a lot) … but I think what has happened is the veneer of lies and coercive propaganda israel has used for so long has all but evaporated under the relentless winds of evidence – like so much white phosphorus smoke in the air during the gaza massacre – the evidence has done its damage and it is something that can’t be ignored any longer … any young jew who wishes to promote the hasbara line and israeli talking points now knows that the world knows they are defending war crimes, racism, apartheid, torture, ethnic-cleansing and the like … Brand Israel can use every tactic they can think of to spin their way out of negative perception but it is a caused doomed to failure from its inception