Comments on: I felt alone till I heard about the Jewish boat to Gaza

By: lohdennis

lohdennis — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:55:21 +0000

The ones who were active are generally secular left Jews. These are the equivalent to the many who were very left in Europe prior to 1940′s. The number of Jewish people involved in these movements are very small compared to the vast, vast majority of others. Read some history of Asia, particularly that of the British Empire and the role whites played (including Jews). On the side of oppressed? (Perhaps you might want to read the history of the Sasoon family and their role in opium trade). Sorry, no better no worse than anyone else. Remember that the world is a very large place. America is not the whole world. American Jews are not all Jews of the world.

By: lobewyper

lobewyper — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:21:14 +0000

“As for yours about the anti-Semitic label being ineffective, it sure was against Jimmy Carter, since it made him reverse himself on his negative opinions about Israel in his book, ‘Peace, not Apartheid’.”

I don’t know that Carter actually reversed himself, though he apologized and asked forgiveness from the Jewish communitiy if his remarks had encouraged “stigmatizing” of Israel. The media reports usually mention that this apology came several weeks after a grandson ran for office–implying Carter’s apology was not genuine. However, your point is valid: the use of false anti-Semitic charges to intimidate potential critics and build sympathy for Israel continues…

By: Gaius Baltar

Gaius Baltar — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:14:18 +0000

The flotilla should have no one but Jews on it. This will present Israel with the dilemma of attacking Jews or letting the ships get through to Gaza. Either outcome is a PR debacle for Israel.

By having only Jews on the ships, Israel will be unable to claim the ships carry terrorists. The ships should all be registered in the US (if legally feasible) and fly Old Glory–the biggest ones they can find, like the kind car dealers use. This will put Israel in the position of attacking US ships. The lead ship should be named the “St. Louis.” This symbolism is obvious, as the St. Louis was the ship that tried to land Jews in Palestine, but was shunned everywhere. Finally, all the ships should be packed with video recorders, and the data uplinked in real time to a satellite or other remote center to prevent Israel from being able to hide its actions from the public by seizing the cameras.

By: yourstruly

yourstruly — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 06:50:04 +0000

As for yours about the anti-Semitic label being ineffective, it sure was against Jimmy Carter, since it made him reverse himself on his negative opinions about Israel in his book, “Peace, not Apartheid”. The Zionists use of the pejorative self-hating Jew has also been effective in toning down Jewish anti-Zionists, but less so than previously, probably because the similarities between Gaza and the Warsaw Getto are becoming more apparent each day. And not sure whether you can accept this, but for reasons that have to do with how easy it is for Zionists to scare off non-Jews from supporting the Palestinian cause (by labeling them anti-Semites), the presence of Jews in the anti-Zionist struggle provides reassurance to non-Jews that it’s ok for them to come out of the closet. Something that’s certainly important to the justice for Palestine struggle since, according to the March 26 Zogby International Poll, only 21 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion about Palestinians.

By: yourstruly

yourstruly — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 06:01:43 +0000

“…the vast majority of people in the world who are critical about Isrsaeli policy give very little increased weight to Jewish paricip;ation”? That’s certainly not my experience, having been in West Beirut during the ’82 siege as well as in the West Bank during the First Intifada. In both places Palestinians indicated that the presence of Jews alongside them was indeed important. Not more important than the presence of non-Jews but still important. As for the exchange of 7900 Palestinians for one IDF soldier, that’s a Zionist (ie racist), not a Jewish position. Once again some but not all Jews are Zionists , and the number of anti-Zionist Jews is increasing. Go to any anti-Zionist rally and see for yhourself.

By: yourstruly

yourstruly — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 05:42:54 +0000

Don’t know how you formed these opinions but, if you were around in the first half of the last century,, didn’t you notice the strong Jewish presence in the labor struggle of the thirties, the civil rights struggle of the sixties and the anti-Vietnam war movement of the sixties-seventies? Were you on anolther planet? Yes, the Jewish presence in the anti-Zionist movement has a long ways to go before it reaches the size that is was in those earlier struggles, but check out the BDS movement and you may be surp;rised at what you find. And before you give up on good Catholics, check out Spain & Latin America. Seems you’re into stereotyping. Why? For convenience or are you a bigot?

By: lohdennis

lohdennis — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 04:31:45 +0000

If as you say there is a strong Jewish heritage of siding with the oppressed, I find very little of this in reality. Yes, there are a few who can see the injustices done to the Palestinians. But, where are the vast, vast majority of these people with strong heritage to side with the oppressed–millions and millions of them just in US alone. Are you sure, you are not sticking to the “ideal” heritage just like the “good” Catholics, who in reality are hardly in existence? Sorry, the people who have been oppressed would disagree with you.

By: lohdennis

lohdennis — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 04:12:10 +0000

Well, as I pointed out in my original commentary, the putative advantage of Jewish participation in pro-Palestinian activities or anti-Israel activities is that they are relatively protected from the accusation of anti-Semitism. This argument is increasingly unimportant as the Zionists started labeling people like Jimmy Carter as anti-Semitic, which did not hold water. As Adam Shapiro commented back in February in Brooklyn, the anti-Israel being synonymous with anti-Semitic no longer sticks and is not taken seriously unless one is a politician or a celebrity.
My opinion is that the vast majority of people in the world who are critical about Israeli policy gives very little increased weight to Jewish participation. Perhaps the American media does because it makes a more photogenic cover. It’s the syndrome that Roger Cohen pointed out in an op-ed about a week ago in NYT. As I have written elsewhere it’s the same syndrome as one Gilad Shalit equals 7,900 Palestinian political prisoners. It’s the same reason why I know Hedy Epstein and Emily Heneshowitz’s names while I barely can remember anyone else’s. Of course, it’s a lot harder to remember an Arabic or a Turkish name but as Orwell wrote: All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.

By: yourstruly

yourstruly — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:22:20 +0000

What could be more Jewish than Lillian Rosengarten, a former infant refugee from Nazi Germany, taking off for Gaza in a Jewish boat that’s intent is to break the IDF siege. This effort, of course, has to do with the Jewish heritage of always siding with the oppressed, never with the oppressor, even (make that especially) when the oppressor is a co-religionist. And along rhe way it shatters a few myths, such as Jews always stick together, all Jews support Zionist Israel, and Jews don’t care about anybody except themselves. Next we’ll see anti-Zionist Jews take the lead in bringing justice to Palestine. Which raises the question what sort of Jews are Jewish-Zionists? The answer is they’re a 19th century racist offshoot whose only relationship to other Jews is a heritage of assorted dubious fairy tales of unknown authorship, put together in Mesopotamia 2500 years or so ago. And since, today, most Jews are either secular (not concerned in religious matters such said fairy tales) or unaffiliated with any religious sect, next, look for Jewish anti-Zionists to assert themselves as never before. Better yet, with former victims of Nazi Germany such as Lillian Rosengarten in the forefront, when Zionists hurl charges of self-hating Jew at Jews who support justice for Palestine, aside from Christian Zionists, who’s going to pay attention to them? What’s more, the rise of Jewish anti-Zionism will allow non-Jewish anti-Zionists to come out of the closet. Why? Because when someone like ADC President Abraham Foxman claims that non-Jews who side with the Palestinians are anti-Semitic, their response will be “How can we be anti-Semitic when most Jews are with us?”

By: lobewyper

lobewyper — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:41:42 +0000

I also believe that Jewish criticism of militant Zionism encourages non-Jews to protest injustice because it helps to protect them against charges of anti-Semitism.