Scary article in the Telegraph about Spanish children's postcards to the Israeli ambassador saying things like, "Jews kill for money," "Leave the country to the Palestinians" and "Go somewhere where they will accept you." This is scary, and also a reminder of the extent to which Israeli policies, carried out in the name of Jews, are breeding hatred in Europe. Gaza was the poster child... Telegraph:
Joan Malonda, the head teacher of El Castell primary school in Almoines, confirmed that the hand-drawn cards had come from his pupils, the Guardian reports.
He denied the children were being indoctrinated.
"A lot of this work was done at home and reflects the atmosphere in their own social environment. They were simply asked to write a postcard on the subject.
"We try to teach the children to have a critical attitude, but we also want them to contrast their criticism against other points of view."
a reminder of the extent to which Israeli policies, carried out in the name of Jews, are breeding hatred in Europe.
Do you really think this is unintentional on the part of the Israeli right wing? They need enemies to justify their continual depiction of themselves (in the name of the Jewish people) as victims, particularly as the potential victims of a future genocide. They need this to “justify” their own crimes in the present. The greater the anti-Semitism problem is, the stronger their own position.
These are elementary school kids you lunatic. They don’t know what Zionism or or probably even what Jews are. To blame this on Israel or to say its part of a right wing conspiracy is utter lunacy. These kids are being taught to hate at a very young age. For Phillip Weiss to try to massage this story, of all stories, into and anti-Israel tirade or to try and blame Israel for some nutcase trying to brain-wash kids under ten years old is just nuts.
Yes, heaven forbid children being taught to question why a government kills children. Next thing you know they might question wars and killing in general and then where would this world be?
well i can see we disagree, don’t mix children and war!
Annie, so far all we have is the Israeli embassy’s characterization, both of the postcards and of their intent. The Israeli government has been known to conflate itself and all Jews and to call honest criticism “hate” so I’m not jumping on that bandwagon yet.
Excuse me if I think that its worth knowing more about what the intent of the postcard writing was and what the actual content of the cards were. And I think its entirely appropriate to encourage children to think on their own and ask important questions of those in authority. That isn’t “war”, its learning good citizenship.
don’t blame phil for the comment you are reacting to. the story is a reminder of the extent to which Israeli policies, carried out in the name of Jews, are breeding hatred in Europe. that sentiment aligns w/chas freeman’s post post also.
young children shouldn’t be learning about this conflict in schools unless it directly impacts their lives. the school system should step in and end this kind of ‘education’. leave war for the adults.
Unless, of course, you happen to be in an Israeli classroom. Than you are taught that “other” children are worthless, and dirty – unclean. I always find it amazing that Israeli children can have such ideological views, and yet we are taught the parents are in a malaise – it really strains the bonds of credulity.
FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES
Being called a lunatic by yonira is sort of like being called a liar by Bill Clinton, being called an adulterer by Tiger Woods, or being called a war criminal by Ehud Barak.
No kids are being taught to hate in any Israeli homes? And as to the theory that every publicized anti-semitic incident represents an opportunity to exploit, I suggest Finklestein’s analysis of that problem, for starters.
Israeli kids–teaching them hate in a practical manner–who needs postcards?
link to youtube.com
Israel needs to understand the concept of ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’.
I dont blame kids for writing ‘please dont kill children’ as I read in other web accounts of their postcards. I blame Israel for doing just that in Gaza, and refusing to take any responsibility for their actions and saying that it was necessary (per the military and rabbinical directive–read Didi Remez at Coteret) because the Gazans are Amalek.
Though this is probably just Zio-prop posing as anti-semitism, I don’t think anyone reading this blog (let alone the guy writing it) should pretend to be shocked/horrified when the real deal does appear.
If many Jews are unwilling to divorce themselves from their crazy Israeli cousins and instead passively accept Israel as some kind of long term Mediterranean investment, why should non-Jews draw any distinction between someone who is merely Jewish and the Zionist? In a world clouded by Israeli propaganda, how could they? There’s a moral obligation at play here, even Freeman hints at it in the close of his post, and most Jews are ignoring it.
This is part of blowback. The Telegraph article state Israel Angry over Anti-Semetic Postcards. Tough for them, someone doesn’t like them in the world. What a surprise.
This is scary, and also a reminder of the extent to which…..
Scary?
Scary is when people like professor Finkelstein receive death threats by phone, e-mail and graffiti from JDL types for their principled stance on international law and human rights. I would consider that to be scary.
Scary is when a Jewish family’s home is torched when the culprits see a menorah in the window.
So all it takes now to scare you is a postcard to the Israeli ambassador in Spain that reads “Jews kill for money”?
Some perspective…
I think I came off kind of rude in my comment.
I apologize.
Avi, your 7:18 post is correct. And everyone needs to read the text of the original postcards. I dont have a link. But I read them in English and Spanish; you can find them online.
What I find despicable is the use Israel is making of these postcards. Shame on them.
Israel, the government, has cried “anti-semitic wolf” so many times that I for one would not trust their characterization of the postcards without reading them myself. I haven’t see the cards online, but I did see this segment from a Guardian article on the same subject:
“Some had very disturbing messages,” an embassy spokesman said. “They asked things such as: ‘Why do you kill children?’ or said that ‘money is not everything’ and that if someone should leave, it should be the Israelis ‘because it is not your land’.
“These are messages about a political situation that they do not understand. Most of these children probably do not even know where Israel or Palestine are.”
The postcards had gone beyond legitimate debate about Israeli policy and contained racist insults, he added.
“The connection between Jews and money is an old stereotype, and killing babies is also a stereotype that was used in Spain in the dark ages,” he added. “We thought it was part of the past, but obviously it is not.”
link to guardian.co.uk
So, apparently, asking a representative of the Israeli government why they kill children has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the IDF has killed thousands of Palestinian children over the years, including over 300 of them during the recent Israeli attack on Gaza. No, of course not. It really is just a further sign that non-Jews, especially Spanish ones, are all anti-semitic morons with centuries long memories.
On the surface this looks like Israel yet again doing most of the conflating between Israel and all Jews. Hey, you can’t ask us(the Israeli government) why we kill children, because that’s a Jewish stereotype, so we get a pass on every outrageous act we commit, and we even get a two-fer. We get to accuse you of anti-semitism for asking the question, and pass off our own cherished and well-worn stereotype of gentiles as hopeless and enduring anti-semites.
Awhile back, there was an article on the CounterPunch website which I regret not saving. It was by a Palestinian-American describing his battle to suppress feelings of anti-Semitism. He described how during their late-night raids, the IDF would announce themselves and burst in. What did they say? Police? No. Military? No. They would announce “Jews, Jews,” then burst in and intimidate/terrorize the defenseless people. “Jews, Jews” followed by terror. Tends to stick with you. Logical too. After all, anti-Semitism is the mothers milk of Zionism.
Keith,
How about all the signs the IDF left on the walls of Gaza extolling death to Arabs and Jewish (not Israeli, mind you) superiority, and the excrement they left in Gazan bedrooms. Complaining about this, by Israel’s current argument, would be considered anti-semitic.
Anti-Semitism is like a defense mechanism, built into the system. It’s a rally cry for Jews to unite, but it’s completely overused. Even the lefties like to use it. It crosses party lines and it something they can all agree on.
Watch the film defamation and you’ll see Foxman describe how they have power, but it’s a fine line of when to use that power and when not to.
Spanish children seem to be more patriotic than their government leaders. Last year, Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, paid his second visit to Tel aviv wthin one year. During the visit, he discussed with Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman, how to stop Tehran acquiring nuclear technology by agreeing with Bibi’s demand that UNSC must put new crippling sanctions against Islamic regime in Tehran.
Madrid-Tel Aviv: The anti-Muslim romance is back
link to rehmat1.wordpress.com
i think it is very very sad. i also think children, whenever possible, should be shielded from politics. unfortunately for palestinian children that is impossible.
Annie: i also think children, whenever possible, should be shielded from politics.
I disagree. There are all sorts of political messages out there – on TV, in social contexts with or without adults, and at school (and not just in “current events” class). The key is in adapting the messages to the child’s level of development, and in explaining and contextualising the things s/he comes across anyway. It is never too early to teach critical thinking (says the father of a 10-year-old).
Sorry to harp on the pond thing again (thanks MRW), but Palestine is a major issue in Europe. Kids hear about it and want to understand it. There is nothing wrong with discussing Palestine at school, and writing postcards is a great exercise – as long as the messages (including the issue of anti-Semitism) is discussed in class. The only problematic aspect I see here is in actually sending the cards to the Israeli ambassador.
Pond Alert, Shmuel. ;-)
In the 50s, kids in the US were urged to write to Khrushchev exhorting him to stop being communist, and save babies. Newspaper would print their missives and give them lots of PR for being good Americans.
It’s a long-standing principle here to teach kids to vocalize their complaints in an organized way. Go figure.
Thanks for the alert, MRW, but I was speaking pedagogically.
I know, Shmuel. Why do you object to their sending their missives to the Israeli Ambassador (or Netanyahu, for that matter)?
I have nothing against kids participating in protests (my daughter has been going to demonstrations since she was 3 months old), but that is not the same as making them the agents or focus of the protest action, which invariably involves some form of manipulation and exploitation.
The goal of this particular exercise (sending protest cards) would appear to have been defined, by the teacher, in advance, leaving little room for critical thought and elaboration of the issues it was bound to raise. That’s not the way to teach kids to think for themselves or to interpret the world around them.
Shmuel, then how do you teach them to activate their protest, to cause their complaint to be acted upon? Be that to the governmental agency in charge of food regulations, or the agency in charge of pollution, or the agency in charge of allowing gas-powered boats on a fragile lake ecosphere? Otherwise, their complaints are mere diary entries, or spelling and grammar exercises, and accomplish nothing, communicate zip.
I guess in this situation the question would be: what other issues did their teachers have them address? If nothing, then your point is well-taken. If they regularly write letters to other governmental agencies to affect change, then I’m all for it.
I write this as someone taught at age 11 to get the city to install street lights on a dangerous corner near the school. We spent a year writing letters to the Mayor to get one installed. And it took that long, including taking our letters to the local newspaper once we realized our letters were being ignored. We ultimately enjoyed being shit-kickers, which has never left me. ;-)
School is not the best place to teach kids to activate protest, and having them write simplistic messages on postcards doesn’t teach them very much at all. Certainly in elementary school, teaching kids to think is far more important than teaching them how to act upon their convictions – all the more so in cases like I/P that require a certain amount of depth. In this case, the action the kids were encouraged to take would appear to have been premature – not necessarily a good educational message.
At home, we teach our daughter to apply her convictions, by the example we set, and by involving her in our actions as a secondary participant. She’s too young to write protest letters on issues she does not yet understand – and considering her background, she knows a hell of a lot more about I/P than most European kids her age.
Street lights on a dangerous corner are a pretty easy concept for an 11-yr.-old to grasp – on a practical as well as an emotional level. The convictions were obviously your own, and the shit-kicking lesson a valuable one. I doubt this was the case for the Spanish 9-yr.-olds we’re talking about.
Oh, and BTW, Shmuel. They also sent their letters to the Russian Ambassador in DC.
I attended a Gaza protest demo in Trafalgar Square last year. The first speaker was a young man of about 11, very articulate – it didn’t seem inappropriate at the time, since children were so prominent among the victims of Gaza.
Still, I share some of annie’s sentiments, at least about involving children as activists in political campaigns. Maybe there’s a dilemma – either you exercise careful control of what they say, which may seem manipulative, or you let them loose, in which case they may say things that they may not quite understand and that you’d regret.
I don’t think children should be shielded from politics, nor religous controversy. They grow into the masses of ignorant polite family gatherings where as adults they still don’t discuss such things. Easy takings for politicians with agendas that actually hurt these people. I guess ignorance is bliss–like somebody who’s pocket was picked and doesn’t realize it until he or she really suddenly need some cash.
If they can learn about the Holocaust, would it be appropriate for them to learn about the Nakba at the same time?
Two things. If this is the level of problematic conflation happening in schools in Spain, then we should not be surprised when Palestinian kids and their unsophisticated parents call their Israeli oppressors “the Jews”. Second, if Israeli kids were to send postcards to a Palestinian (or any Muslim/Arab) diplomat, then we are bound to see the same or perhaps worse results. Israelis’ anti-muslim-ism, their anti-Palestinianism, are just as bad as any antisemitism.
Hm. Look at the Telegraph piece Phil links to.
In the opening paragraph, the writer says “Rafi Shotz, Israel’s ambassador to Spain, received dozens of postcards from elementary school students bearing statements including ‘Jews kill for money,’ [...]“.
But in the third paragraph, where the phrases are actually contributed to someone, even he/she is not named explicitly, the wording is much less fierce:
“‘Some had very disturbing messages,’ an embassy spokesman said. ‘They asked things such as: ‘Why do you kill children?’ or said that ‘money is not everything’ and that if someone should leave, it should be the Israelis ‘because it is not your land’.'”
No mention of “Jews”, just concerned thoughts. Could it be that the hateful phrases like “Jews kill for money” are placed by pro-Israel sources, with no basis in truth, to render the actual, legitimate criticism invalid?
America should take in all the world’s Jews. that way they will be safe from antisemitism, right Weiss??
Because some non-Jews hate all Jews simply because they are Jews, the powerful and superpower-backed state of Israel should get a blank check to do whatever it wants
to any people it wants and the world has no right to be critical of its actions, ever–right Einstein says?
Well, Einstein, considering the size of Israel and the heat, they could tuck all the Jews in Israel into the area from las Vegas to the CA border and from Vegas to half way to Reno. Done. And considering that Vegas is basically Mormon and Jewish, it should work.
good i am sure Jews will be happy establishing their homeland right next to Vegas!
we could build a new Jerusalem. right by the Hard Rock
problem solved MRW! finally
I agree citizen Jews should not have the right to protect themselves or their country, they should relegate themselves to the graciousness and generousity of a Gentile Host country and not attempt self determination.
Einstein, “they should relegate themselves to the graciousness and generousity of a Gentile Host country and not attempt self determination.” Didn’t they relegate themselves to do just that in Palestine?
This is my point. The Palestine Government was not in favor of donating land for Jews. the problem was that the independent state of Palestine did not accept the Jewish immigrants. So the powerful Jews conquered the small independant government and ousted their Palestinian King (it was a King who ruled Palestine prior to Israel’s occupation, correct?). Think of how sad it was when the vicious Jews ransacked the Palestinian central bank and made off with all of the Palestinians’ currency reserves (what was the name of their currency? i always forget)
My heart truly goes out to the palestinians i would like to also restore their country to its former glory as the most independant and free country in the middle east.
So you see if a people like the US who tolerate Jews can be kind enough to provide the Jews with a piece of land (Vegas sounds nice) then Jews can all just live there. They can build new holy places and stuff, whats the big deal?
Yonira is right on this.
For Phil to be motivated to include “balance” to include the anti-semitic flavor of “criticism of Israeli policies” is a bit off center.
“Blowback”.
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