Check out this gem from the New York Times’ fawning GQ-like profile of Israeli settler leader Dani Dayan:
[Dayan and his wife] built a showpiece home, where the sunken double-height living room is filled with a painting from Vietnam, a sculpture from Machu Picchu and a meditation bowl from Nepal. “This is from South Africa,” he said, pointing to a set of large wooden masks. “Post-apartheid South Africa. I refused to visit apartheid South Africa.”
Bulletins to Jodi Rudoren: 1) Did you read the Falk book I recommended to you that documents your employer’s sordid history of mis-reporting the facts and the law? Apparently not, as your article completely elides international law, just like your predecessors’ work. 2) In light of Dayan’s comments above, how could you not mention the international anti-Israeli-apartheid campaign, and the two former Israeli Prime Ministers’ claims — Barak‘s and Olmert‘s — that the West Bank is a de facto apartheid regime? 3) Why no Palestinian voices? What do Palestinians think of what Dayan and his colleagues are doing, stealing Palestinian land and all?
P.S. Dena Shunra has kindly summarized portions of a settler site’s Hebrew story referring to the same Times article. She writes:
In two words – they’re pleased.
More words: they’re pleased that he gets the prestigious “profile” spot
in the NYT. The quote they chose from the piece: “most effective,
pragmatic, man of the world.”The piece mentions that he didn’t hide his opinions from the Rudoren
(using the rather reductive term for report “katevet”), quotes Dayan’s
cousin, Israeli journalist Ilana Dayan (using a more respectful word for
her position, “itona’it”) and ends with the end-point of the piece.It also links to “sharp criticism on left-wing news sites in the U.S.”
(James North’s at Mondoweiss.net) and to the full original piece & a Hebrew translation therof.
Small but VERY IMPORTANT correction: I did not translate portions of the Hebrew report. I *summarized* it, in my own words – I did not convey their words, only a general sense of what they said.
As a professional translator, this distinction is crucial. Translation conveys the words of someone else, in another language – whereas a summary or “gisting” gets the gist of the meaning without translating every word or nuance.
This quote is key. It’s this delusional understanding that sustains support for Apartheid throughout the Jewish community.
It’s us. We just can’t be racists. Ever. It’s always them, the gentiles, the Others.
Even when the leader of an Apartheid colony says this, Rudoren takes his word for granted. And she probably believes him at some level, judging from her piece.
Matthew, Phil over at Huffington Post/ then Politico some story about U.S. congressional freshman drinking, swimming naked in Israel. Front page of Huff Po. That story makes front and center at Huff Po but nothing about continued illegal expansion of settlements. Huff Po has its standards ..you know. Critical issue
Matthew, Adam, Annie, Phil. On the Diane Rehm show they are discussing Hezbollah right now Monday 10:15. Folks you can call 1-800-433-8850, drshow@wamu.org. They have a facebook page also