Commenter Profile

Total number of comments: 378 (since 2009-10-12 15:20:58)

Bill in Maryland

concerned US citizen, physician, and secular Presbyterian

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  • CODEPINK calls for investigation into 'AIPAC loophole' for Israel junkets
    • Bill in Maryland August 15, 2011 at 6:56 pm

      Bravo Medea, Rae, Alli, Sasha, Tighe et al, you creative and courageous pink-clad warriors, you! Great idea!

  • It's apartheid, declares an investment banker/CFR member who's an 'ardent supporter of Israel'
    • Bill in Maryland August 13, 2011 at 10:24 am with 1 replies

      Fantastic. My hat is off to Stephen Robert and his courage and honesty. He may get "the Goldstone treatment" but in the process he is going to "go down swinging" and encourage many others over to the side of democracy and human rights: Jews and other Americans who have a heart and conscience.

  • Herman Cain, GOP pres'l candidate, says he would attack Iran over nukes, Israel
    • Bill in Maryland July 19, 2011 at 2:55 pm

      There was an interesting article today by Eli Clifton on who is funding the "The Foundation For Defense Of Democracies", a Washington think tank loudly beating the drums for war with Iran. The donors list reads like a Who's Who of neoconservatives and Israel-firsters from the US and Canada.

      Because unquestioning support of Israel is sacrosanct in Congress and the MSM, we can't openly debate the corrosive influence of such think tanks on US Foreign policy- yet another hidden cost of the Special Relationship.

  • An open letter to Israeli boycott activists
    • Bill in Maryland July 13, 2011 at 11:23 am

      Thank you David for enlisting the spirit of Jonathan Swift in the ongoing struggle, a deployment thankfully still legal under the Knesset's new law.

  • US women's stunning goal shatters prejudice
    • Bill in Maryland July 11, 2011 at 11:35 am with 3 replies

      longliveisrael, it's great you enjoy women's soccer, but really when you say: "you are contemptuous of your country because it is a capitalist society." you attack straw men, points that Phil was not even close to saying, but points you pretend he said so that you can then shoot them down.

      Essentially your post expresses the philosophy I remember so well from Spiro Agnew's so-called Silent Majority in the 1960's "America, love it or leave it" i.e. there is no room for criticism of America. Sadly it is very obvious that Israel currently clings to that sick mentality and grows more isolated and intolerant with every passing day.

  • Who’s behind the attacks on flotilla ships? Perhaps it was Israel’s very own underwater sabotage unit
  • Flotilla activists undergo nonviolence training (Israel fears mass nonviolent protest above all)
    • Bill in Maryland June 30, 2011 at 11:37 am

      Thank you triple-e for providing this metaphor for the history of Israel:

      4,000 determined Jews marching into a Palestinian village cannot be stopped also.

      Except that the Zionists started this "game" and may end up as the losers. And the Palestine Papers have shown that negotiations are completely and totally pointless in stopping the illegal land grab.

  • International solidarity & history in the making
    • Bill in Maryland June 29, 2011 at 2:46 pm

      Sorry eee that you were jealous of the thunderous applause given to the Swedish representative. To help you better understand, think of the message as a variation of the Golden Rule: "Do not ethnically cleanse others, as your tribe understands better than most the nightmare of genocide."

  • 'Politico' says Jewish Democratic donors may abandon Obama, though they like Dennis Ross
    • Bill in Maryland June 29, 2011 at 12:22 pm

      Obama has repeatedly signaled his weakness to the Lobby/ Netanyahu, caving on the settlements, etc., now he is stuck and must "dance to their tune". Sad, very sad. Just hope they don't now raise the ante by making him free Pollard or attack Iran to prove his bona fides.

  • We're just smarter, that's why
    • Bill in Maryland June 28, 2011 at 1:55 pm

      "Neckbolt" does not show up in my Dashboard dictionary, but does evoke Frankenstein's monster imagery, and I could imagine it being used such perhaps in a derogatory fashion (?).

  • Site news: Introducing Mondoweiss's new home
    • Bill in Maryland June 23, 2011 at 9:46 am

      Mazel tov to you both, and may your site, and the new dialog and striving for justice it promotes, continue to grow and thrive in its new home.

  • Job description
    • Bill in Maryland June 22, 2011 at 10:05 am

      Thanks Phil. There is just a huge societal blind spot when it comes to Israel. Of course Americans' alarm bells would go off if any top secular White House job was being reserved for someone "being Muslim and active in Islam" or "being Christian and active in Christianity".

  • Report from a police holding cell
    • Bill in Maryland June 19, 2011 at 3:42 pm

      Gideon, my brave, septuagenarian hero and brother! Keep teaching the rest of us how to stand tall, to speak truth to power and refuse to be cowed.

  • When the Obama administration seeks to establish its pro-Israel bona fides, it's no critics allowed
    • Bill in Maryland June 16, 2011 at 4:31 pm

      Thank you Josh for sharing this telling exchange. WINEP/ AIPAC et al are happy to engage the full attention of the USG executive and legislative branches and happy to have the US taxpayers underwrite their agenda, but just don't happen to want a real discussion or close examination of the noxious settler/ land-grabbing/ Jim Crow enterprise by the US citizenry!

      I hope the truth will out soon in the awareness of the American public.

  • A young American Jew describes being arrested for standing in opposition to the Jerusalem Day parade
    • Bill in Maryland June 10, 2011 at 5:50 pm

      Just heard your question, diss of AIPAC, plug for Mondoweiss, and mention of the illegal settlements on today's Diane Rehm show here starting at minute 48:08. Great work Kathleen, you inspire!

  • Weiner's progressive defenders blind themselves to the rightwing views that may now ensure his survival
  • 'JTA' reports that as much as 2/3 of Democratic money comes from Jewish donors
    • Bill in Maryland June 8, 2011 at 10:00 am with 3 replies

      If Obama had just a little more courage, he could firmly and publicly stake out a J Street-type position (1967 lines with swaps, no to settlement expansion, 2SS, "Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace") and retain the majority of the American Jewish electorate. Yes he would lose some big Jewish donor money and some Jewish votes, but still achieve his billion dollar re-election funding goal, gain immense respect among American Jewish youth, non-Zionists, and his progressive base, and give cover to many politicians on the fence. He could drive that wedge much deeper with a little more backbone!

  • They steal Palestinian minerals on occupied land, and open live fire on protesters, and the west is silent
    • Bill in Maryland June 5, 2011 at 11:49 am

      Caterpillar shovels clearly shown in the second video from 5/31/11, in service of the illegal Israeli quarry, protected by the IDF, on Palestinian land. Go BDS and shine a bright light on Caterpillar, Motorola, Northrop Grumman, and their ilk profiting from the systematic dispossession of the Palestinians!

  • Check out this Palestinian company's documentary on the Gaza conflict, 'A story of a war'
    • Bill in Maryland May 30, 2011 at 1:23 pm with 1 replies

      Darn you annie; I was about to get some work done today for the busy week ahead, when I saw your post and started watching this documentary- I could not stop, it was so compelling, and so well produced. And the Israeli diplomat telling Dr. Mads Gilbert without shame regarding the 400 children killed during Cast Lead: "Who trained you Dr. Gilbert to tell a child from a terrorist?" Thanks so much for discovering this hidden jewel of a film.

  • The radicalization of antiwar congressman Walter Jones, R-S.C.
    • Bill in Maryland May 30, 2011 at 12:16 pm

      Rep. Walter Jones's intellectual honesty, political flexibility, and patriotism are an inspiration to us all. Is it too much to hope that such honesty, clear headedness, and realism could be brought to bear some day soon on the I/ P issue? (BTW love Wilson's language "his conscience, laminated to his guilt...")

  • Eliot Spitzer lectures Hanan Ashrawi that Israel has a right to the West Bank but Netanyahu 'wants nothing more' than to give it up
    • Bill in Maryland May 28, 2011 at 3:47 pm with 1 replies

      Thank you Annie. Enforcing the Zionist narrative regarding the historical record does seem to be Spitzer's primary goal in this "interview". Dr. Ashrawi's laughter as Spitzer begins his rant at 3:10 is the best response given the constraints of the format.

      The other day on Mondoweiss Yousef Munayyer did a great job shredding the myth of Israel's founding ("the Arabs started the war and David defeated Goliath") by offering contemporaneous NYT articles documenting the expulsion and ethnic cleansing going on in pre-1948 Palestine to which the Arab neighbors finally responded.

      The Six-Day War in 1967 clearly began with Israeli surprise air attacks on its Arab neighbors. It was during this war that the USS Liberty was deliberately attacked by Israel in international waters.

  • David Horowitz says Jews are 'the most persecuted people on the face of the earth'
    • Bill in Maryland May 28, 2011 at 11:04 am

      David Horowitz not a Zionist? Sorry but Zionism is as Zionism does. Mr. Horowitz seems to be adopting the Duck Soup defense: "Who are you gonna believe, me or your own two eyes?"

  • Obama's mild defiance at AIPAC cost him $10 million in Jewish donations
    • Bill in Maryland May 27, 2011 at 6:10 pm with 5 replies

      Thank you Jeffrey. Your point that The one thing that he could have done but lacked the guts to do is BEFORE the AIPAC convention, to have gone before the American people as GHW Bush did on 9/12/91 and tell them the truth about the US-Israel relationship and that securing a just resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict was essential for US security (and he could have even quoted Petraeus in driving that point home). is very well taken. Right on.

      What a missed historical opportunity this election cycle would have been to do raise consciousness of the I/P reality among the American people. The Republicans are floundering, Big Labor is fired up, people are afraid of losing Medicare- Obama is going to get re-elected almost no matter what. Obama should have clearly and firmly distanced himself from Netanyahu and settlers and taken his case to the American People. This cycle he does not need Israel Lobby money to get re-elected! His re-election is secure. So his pandering and genuflecting is totally unnecessary this time around, if only he would put his trust in the American electorate.

  • Col Desmond Travers captures NYC
  • Why did I disrupt?
    • Bill in Maryland May 27, 2011 at 8:59 am

      Thank you so much Rae for giving voice to this message: "No More Occupation! Stop Israeli War Crimes! Equal Rights for Palestinians!" Your courage, in the heart of a chamber hostile to the truth of these issues, is an inspiration to us all.

  • Alas, the battle over a Jewish state in the Middle East is an irrepressible conflict
    • Bill in Maryland May 25, 2011 at 1:23 pm with 1 replies

      Beautiful essay Phil. Thanks so much. I hope the non-violent approach of BDS and the distantiation of Israel by fair-minded American Jews have time enough to develop before the bloodier alternative scenarios play out.

  • We can only pray that Congress's supine conduct before a rightwing foreign leader will have political consequences
    • Bill in Maryland May 24, 2011 at 10:43 pm with 1 replies

      Very sad mhuizenga indeed that Eric Cantor is allowed to hold Joplin tornado recovery funds hostage to his political agenda which includes, besides permanent war and military presence in Afghani/Pakistan and Iraq, sacrosanct US taxpayer funding of the comfortable Jewish elite in Israel and the illegal settlements.

      This fantasy keeps recurring: Obama takes the gloves off in his second term, consciously brings I/P to the attention of the American public, using his natural professorial style, his bully pulpit, and Ross Perot-type charts to calmly and systematically educate Americans about the humiliation, deprivation, violence, and racism that Israel dishes out daily to the Palestinians, and puts on our tab.

  • Taking on AIPAC
    • Bill in Maryland May 23, 2011 at 7:49 pm

      Hophmi and eee are sure investing a lot of time in this thread trying desperately to discredit an event they say is a waste of time. Doth they protest too much?

      Hophmi, referring to his friend the Recovering Zionist in the photo above: "I don’t think he’d ever glorify Hamas"
      This is because, you see, Israel would never, ever glorify violent thugs:

      Menachem Begin
      6th Prime Minister of Israel
      Choirboy

      Yitzhak Shamir
      7th Prime Minster of Israel
      Angel

      Ariel Sharon
      11th Prime Minister of Israel
      Boy Scout

  • Move Over AIPAC flashmob @ D.C. Union Station
    • Bill in Maryland May 23, 2011 at 7:13 am with 2 replies

      FYI, here are some photos of the Moveover AIPAC rally someone posted on Flickr.

    • Bill in Maryland May 22, 2011 at 11:42 pm with 2 replies

      Thanks Annie. I saw Phil there, so I hope he will devote a post to his impressions. The flashmob event at Union Station took place Friday, the day before the actual start of the Summit on Saturday. On Saturday, Walt and Mearsheimer were welcomed like rock stars and got a standing ovation after their keynote talks. One of them (I can't remember which one), referenced Phil and this blog in a comment that suggested he was a regular reader of Mondoweiss. After a combined lunch/ author salon that included Chas Freeman, Laila El-Haddad, Rich Forer, and Pamela Olson, there was a session on the need for a new foreign policy with Noura Erakat, Nadia Hijab, and Phyllis Bennis. These three women were very strong advocates for a new and fair US foreign policy in I/P, and I am very sure would blow away Alan Dershowitz, Dennis Ross, and Dore Gold in a tag team match to win hearts and minds of an impartial jury. After this there were various workshops. In the workshop on BDS, Dalit Baum made the point that Europe is way, way ahead of the US in the BDS movement. Anna Baltzer, in a later workshop, shared very useful points about speaking and convincing others regarding the realities of I/P and was obviously experienced in dealing with hostile audience responses on this topic.
      Today there was a march and rally and it looked to me like several hundred people on the anti-AIPAC side showed up. The crowd was psyched, there was music, dancing, great props like a pretend US Boat to Gaza filled with people who "floated" around in front of the convention center and an eight foot-tall Separation Wall on which people were invited to write graffiti and messages- Tighe Barry of Code Pink did a great job in getting these props, puppets, and signs organized. Patch Adams the "clown doctor" was there and marched along with the crowd. Many AIPAC attendees came face to face with the anti-AIPACers as they exited and entered the Convention Center. I only saw one arrest, as the DC Police for the most part kept their cool. Overall the coalition led by Code Pink deserved a lot of credit for a job very well done in my opinion.

  • The '48 discussion is replacing the '67 discussion
    • Bill in Maryland May 18, 2011 at 3:49 pm

      With the Israel Lobby in the States being Israel's only remaining lifeline, American public opinion about I/P becomes an extremely important commodity. That's why I think Jim Haygood is spot on, and is not being too idealistic, when he says:

      Relentlessly citing the civil rights theme will eventually pave the way to a single non-discriminatory state, in which all can share the resources and benefits. That was the way out for South Africa after partition failed there.

      Americans, for all our faults, do understand fairness and civil rights. The more clear-sighted younger generation of American Jews can even see the blatant inequities in I/P. So I say stay the course, keep hammering away on civil rights, self-determination and fairness, split American liberal opinion wide open on I/P, and break the Lobby.

    • Bill in Maryland May 18, 2011 at 11:13 am

      This is why the PA should think really twice about seeking UN General Assembly recognition of '67 Palestine in September. If the conversation is naturally trending back toward '48, let that conversation develop since that is the best context in which to discuss the Right of Return.

  • Liberal Tomasky's advice to Obama: do whatever AIPAC wants
    • Bill in Maryland May 17, 2011 at 5:39 pm

      hophmi at 5:18 pm:

      Again, you distort.... I see no policy recommendation here.

      Tomasky:
      1. call for the cancellation of the $450 million in aid for the PA
      2. take a hard line on UN vote for Palestinian statehood in September

  • Palestinians are driving the train of history now, Beinart acknowledges
    • Bill in Maryland May 16, 2011 at 11:25 am with 1 replies

      Thank you Phil. But again, like J Street, Beinart only tiptoes up to the edge and dares not look past the 2SS:

      The more America sticks by Netanyahu, the less relevant America will become. Other powers will begin taking matters into their own hands, and their strategies for achieving a two-state solution will have none of the tenderness of Dennis Ross.

      Such fear of imagining past the 2SS and refusal to take the Palestinian right of return seriously are what will make Beinart and J Street, well-intentioned as they might be, ultimately irrelevant.

  • Flotilla massacre all over again? Israel kills 8 Nakba demonstrators at borders
    • Bill in Maryland May 15, 2011 at 4:55 pm

      Thank you so much Ahmed. What a difference words make. The LA Times' words actually provide a human perspective to the events of 1948 that a reader might understand, while the NYT offers up an impressionistic slur of pan-Arab anti-Semitism.

  • Kushner's 'It was a mistake' quote, and its context
    • Bill in Maryland May 10, 2011 at 4:04 pm

      No, I don't think Kushner was quoted out of context ("I think it was a mistake"), now that you provide the context.

      Kushner, even in his victory, such as this morning on Democracy Now, seems to be trying to back-peddle and unnecessarily apologetic about his views on I/P which, as quoted above in this post, seem quite sensible and well thought out.

  • The community of fear and the community of hope (Choose)
  • Palestinians are not 'human,' says CUNY trustee who rejected Kushner
  • Tail dangles job to dog
    • Bill in Maryland May 5, 2011 at 10:44 pm

      Thanks very much Thomson for your further thoughts, and for also highlighting the insights of MRW and American. As our host Phil has suggested in the past, freeing America and American Jews from the corrupting influence of Zionism will require a coalition of both Jews and non-Jews. The goyim you reference will need the courageous non-Zionist Jews to protect them from charges of anti-Semitism. The courageous non-Zionist Jews need clear-minded realists, leftists and paleo-conservatives to fight with them because, as you say, they are currently so few in number.

      As America's decline continues, and resources become even scarcer, at some point the cost of our being Israel's champion and defender must be openly debated. At that point the roots of the war in Iraq and our entire Middle East policy will be reconsidered. Fair-minded young American Jews will be ashamed of their parents' support of Zionism as they hear the debate. The effect on our society and body politic will be cataclysmic, maybe even eclipsing the turbulent 60's.

    • Bill in Maryland May 5, 2011 at 12:31 am with 7 replies

      Thomson Rutherford: a most ugly political ideology – Zionism! – captured the fidelity of the American Jewish community and gave it what became its most dominant organizing principle.
      Depressing, yes. However...

      Hope springs eternal dept: let us not forget that many young and morally courageous older American Jews are breaking free from Zionism and speaking out, risking ostracism by friends and family (Phil, Adam, Max Blumenthal, Amy Goodman, Glenn Greenwald, Jewish Voice for Peace/ Young, Jewish and Proud, etc.)

  • Success has a thousand morons
    • Bill in Maryland May 3, 2011 at 8:16 pm

      How poorly women treated. Right.
      News nugget below, take a guess, news from Tel Aviv or Nablus?

      Law enforcement officials shut down 27 brothels in metropolitan's old central bus depot, arrest 47 prostitutes.

  • Cokie's in Hadassah, Nelson's in the Haggadah (and Israel's in the West Bank)
    • Bill in Maryland May 1, 2011 at 8:22 pm

      Thank you so much Lydda Four Eight. Yes, now I can see what you are saying (I am sorry to be so late in replying but I have been in a conference all day). Please keep sharing your beautiful insights and writings.

    • Bill in Maryland April 30, 2011 at 7:59 pm with 7 replies

      Lydda Four Eight- Can you flesh out our point more please- you are being too understated I am afraid. Please elaborate more. Are your points as American lays them out? I have many fairly non-observant Jewish American friends who are fiercely loyal to/ protective of Israel beyond the point of rationality, and "PEP" to boot.

  • The three sacred words of US-Israeli rejectionism
    • Bill in Maryland April 29, 2011 at 10:11 pm with 1 replies

      Thank you Tim. Excellent teaching post, and a reminder of the power of language. You are obviously a connoisseur of fine propaganda, and have found some rare vintage at the IMFA website. BTW, are you this Tim Haughton? Hope to read more of your posts.

  • American journalists want to see the Arab spring happening everywhere but Palestine
  • 'Equal rights for Palestinians' billboard is deemed offensive in Seattle
    • Bill in Maryland April 29, 2011 at 8:06 pm with 1 replies

      Sorry, thetumta, I was all thumbs this morning with the html syntax for my intended links. Let me try again: here one can see for oneself the banned-in-Seattle billboard.

      Yes, Sand, thank you , your link was indeed the link I intended for the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle posting. You have convinced me, however, that their pervasive behind-the-scenes actions to stifle debate critical of Brand Israel speak much, much louder than words in a single post in which they pay lip service to the "right to free speech." Sorry for my gullibility.

    • Bill in Maryland April 29, 2011 at 1:10 pm with 2 replies

      Here one can see for oneself the banned-in-Seattle billboard. Even the strongly Zionist Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle is distancing itself from such heavy-handed censorship.

  • 9/11 and western prejudice fostered the Arab revolutions --Abdelkader Benali
    • Bill in Maryland April 28, 2011 at 5:24 pm with 1 replies

      Thank you Phil for this post, and anonymouscomments for your great comment:

      palestine seemed to be searching for the positive american ideals, while israel seemed to represent the darker american trends...

      With its blind support of all things-Israeli, America has truly lost its way!

  • Netanyahu's visit and its precedents
  • There is a concept in law-- that a person cannot control his or her own reputation
    • Bill in Maryland April 21, 2011 at 12:01 pm

      Ouch DBG, except that Mondoweiss is growing by leaps and bounds. Besides, do Richard Witty's or David Frum's sites have their own iPhone apps? Didn't think so!!

  • Glickism and Feithism
    • Bill in Maryland April 20, 2011 at 10:46 pm with 2 replies

      So ironic to hear her smearing the heros of Tahrir Square, criticizing Egyptian "women standing in front of the cameras" with their "perfect English accents" when this Chicago-born editor of the Jerusalem Post stands on Capitol Hill shilling for Netanyahu and the IDF, and uses the pronoun "we" to refer to Israel and the Republican US House of Representatives! Where lies this lady's loyalty do you suppose?

  • Figure of 66,000 civilian deaths in Iraq is 'far too low'
    • Bill in Maryland April 20, 2011 at 10:41 am with 1 replies

      Thank you Phil. Scott is right: the false conflation of US and Israeli interests is a top neoconservative/ Israel Lobby goal.
      Per the Dersh:

      Whenever efforts are made to put Israel's actions in a comparative context with other democracies, demonizers of Israel, who always impose a double standard on the Jewish state, respond by arguing "we're talking about Israel now; don't change the subject by talking about other democracies." ..... You can't just talk about Jews, or about the Jewish state when making accusations of war crimes or violation of international law. Comparison is everything, especially since international humanitarian law is expressly based on how democratic nations customarily behave in comparable situations.

      1. We don't waste US diplomatic capital defending the human rights record of Chechnya or Rwanda in the UN Security Council as we do defending Israel's abysmal record
      2. Chechnya or Rwanda don't have the US Congress in their pocket, as the Lobby does, corrupting our foreign and domestic policies even to the detriment of our own national self-interest
      3. As we contemplate further weakening our Medicare/ Social Security safety net, it is Israel's $3B annual subsidy which is considered untouchable, not support of Chechnya or Rwanda
      4. As VP Biden and Gen. Petraeus have pointed out in 2010, our lopsided favoritism toward Israel and cowardly sellout of the Palestinians (not defense of Chechnya or Rwanda) only helps to energize and recruit those killing US troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere

  • Goldstone's daughter was 'furious' with him, Times reports
    • Bill in Maryland April 19, 2011 at 8:55 pm

      No reason given in the NYT story Walid. We get some insight into Nicole Goldstone (the Canadian daughter) and her passion in a Haaretz story from 2009 however:

      Nicole Goldstone, who currently lives in Canada with her family, spoke of her great love for Israel. "Every time I dream of returning to the country or that my son will one day immigrate there," she told Army Radio. "Israel is more important to me than anything. I'm not there at the moment, but my heart is always there."

  • Report: Israel used white phosphorus in latest Gaza attacks
    • Bill in Maryland April 19, 2011 at 9:28 am

      Thank you Seafoid. From the Haaretz article you cite:

      "Egyptian Finance Minister Samir Radwan, for example, referring to the possibility of Israeli investments in Egypt, said Egypt did not need investments from "the enemy."

      This statement angered Israel, especially in view of Egyptian requests in the past months for help in investments or in receiving more aid from the U.S. Congress."

      Because, of course, no other country has the right to request aid from the U.S. Congress without first getting the green light from Israel!

  • 'Move over AIPAC' conference to honor Helen Thomas
    • Bill in Maryland April 17, 2011 at 1:30 pm

      Thanks Phil. Yes, rather courageous of the organizers. It seems like they are willing to publicly take on the the Lobby's no. 1 smear tactic, viz. shutting down discussion with charges of "anti-semitism", head on, even at the risk of having their conference so-labelled.

      If the organizers are well prepared (and with both Walt and Mearsheimer appearing there, it appears they are), it could be very helpful to have a public airing of this dirty tactic.

  • Senate letter calls Goldstone Report a 'libel' of Israel
    • Bill in Maryland April 11, 2011 at 10:11 pm with 1 replies

      As is often pointed out, the Lobby transcends party.

      Dem Sen. Gillibrand, like Sen. Clinton before her, is obviously currying favor with Israel-first voters and donors in the NYC area. Repuglican Sen. Risch on the other hand is stroking the Christian fundamentalist crowd, such as these Idahoan Christians United for Israel visiting his office.

  • Teaching the Nakba at Harvard
    • Bill in Maryland April 9, 2011 at 2:19 pm with 1 replies

      Thanks so much Phil for sharing this vignette, and pabelmont's "You rock" comment is spot on. This sense of passing time and generational turnover expressed by the wife was also reflected last month in Ali Abunimah's address to the JVP meeting in Phila., in which he tried to instill the membership with a sense of urgency, so that Palestinians who still remember the Nakba can begin to see justice restored.

      BTW you mention from time to time "The Goldstone Report"-related speaking engagements by you and your co-editors, but it is always after-the-fact. Is it possible to post a link listing upcoming book events? Thanks.

  • The documented record still stands: Israel intentionally targets civilians and civilian infrastructure
    • Bill in Maryland April 3, 2011 at 5:14 pm

      Thank you annie.
      BTW to follow up on a different thread, here are the three (3) co-authors with Goldstone who should now publicly weigh in on the views expressed in Goldstone's WaPo op-ed:

      Professor Christine Chinkin
      Professor of International Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science (who was a member of the high-level fact-finding mission to Beit Hanoun in 2008)

      Ms. Hina Jilani
      Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
      Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders
      Member of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur (2004)

      Colonel Desmond Travers
      Former Officer in Ireland’s Defence Forces
      Member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for International Criminal Investigations.

    • Bill in Maryland April 3, 2011 at 2:42 pm with 6 replies

      Biorabbi at 1:29 PM: "Antisemitic fall back position distinguishing Zionism from Judaism crumbles easily under pressure."

      Why is it antisemitic to distinguish Zionism from Judaism?

      The former is a deeply misguided concept that has led to a Jewish-supremacist state with an ill-defined Eastern border calculated to guarantee a Jewish majority while gobbling up land belonging to disenfranchised non-Jews. The latter is a beautiful and honored religion. To see that difference is antisemitic?

  • Israeli prof says Israel is committing suicide like Germany-- and lobby 'coerced' Obama to go along
    • Bill in Maryland March 28, 2011 at 10:06 pm with 1 replies

      Excellent insight from Prof. Shoked. The part about "lead[ing] our youth on expeditions to the killing furnaces of Poland" was well illustrated in Yoav Shamir's film "Defamation" which also showed how touring Israeli high school students were advised not to talk to non-Jews while visiting in Poland since, the students were told, they all hated Jews.

  • This website is 5 years old
    • Bill in Maryland March 28, 2011 at 12:28 am

      Thank you so much Phil, and Adam and everyone in the Mondoweiss community. I learn so much here, it is so pleasurable to read, and it is a great comfort to know that this site is guided by the same moral compass that led us away from racism and Jim Crow in the past. Thanks for helping us believe we can do it again!

  • Jon Stewart strikes again
  • Rightwing Israeli mutilates image of J Street leader
  • On CNN, Remnick sounds dire warning
    • Bill in Maryland March 18, 2011 at 11:19 am with 1 replies

      Yet by including the caveats "Iran may be challenge number one" and "each side has to make painful concessions" he is still genuflecting before the Lobby and signaling he's not willing to confront them head on about the Occupation.

  • Jewish orgs excommunicated 'JVP' for heckling Bibi and refusing to swear by 'Jewish, democratic state'
    • Bill in Maryland March 16, 2011 at 5:54 pm

      Thank you eee. I guess the future of Judaism will be decided, not by you or me, but by young Jews worldwide, where they worship, who they identify with, and where they offer their money.

      If there is a growing rift in Judaism (and in the thinking of American liberals in general) support for apartheid Israel will falter. The curtain is falling and the ugliness of the Occupation will be right out there for all to see. I celebrate this as an American, because it will finally free my country from having to defend Zionism, an albatross that has perverted our foreign policy for decades. Good luck to you in sustaining Jewish-supremacist Israel without the backing of the US.

    • Bill in Maryland March 16, 2011 at 5:10 pm

      Don't be bitter, eee. As you say [we] "are seeing the beginning of a rift in Judaism." and that is cause for celebration. A tug-of-war to reclaim the soul of Judaism, with Remnick, Beinart and J Street safely near the center but pulling against Zionism, with JVP way on their left anchoring the rope and doing all the heavy pulling on their side. In the bleachers we have the youth of Tahrir Square cheering them on.

      Pulling the other way for Zionism, we have Abe Foxman and Alan Dershowitz popping ibuprofen as they pull, with Bibi and the racist Settlers anchoring their team. Guess which side History is pulling for?

  • JVP's meeting in Philadelphia-- a movement finds its moment
    • Bill in Maryland March 14, 2011 at 2:22 pm with 1 replies

      Thank you Kathleen. I also hope that Code Pink will help organize a response to this certain-to-be spiritually uplifting event, coming up in July in DC:

      Christians United for Israel Washington Summit

    • Bill in Maryland March 14, 2011 at 2:08 pm with 3 replies

      Thank you Phil for another great post. I was able to be at the JVP meeting on Saturday, and also felt the very positive, uplifting spirit that you describe.

      Two comments to add:
      1. in small BDS-focussed sessions on Saturday, in which the members met in small groups of 4 to 6 amongst ourselves, I was very touched hearing several people in our small group (some near tears) describe lifelong friendships lost, the estrangement of close college friends, and exclusion from extended family functions, all because the member expressed criticism of Israel and the Zionist vision. As a Christian I developed a new appreciation for the personal courage such individuals must draw on to try and live inside the Jewish community.

      2. Ali Abunimah gave a dynamite talk on Saturday, and at the end of it, he counseled the JVP not to be timid at this critical, historical juncture. He also advised the membership to imagine a timeline for change sooner, rather than later. Don't imagine a timeline receding off toward some distant horizon, instead he asked us, doesn't the first generation of the Nakba deserve to see their rights finally addressed during their lifetime?

  • Abdeen Jabara to lead Goldstone discussion in NY tom'w night
    • Bill in Maryland March 10, 2011 at 8:19 am

      Thank you Citizen. When trying to go to the Mondoweiss site yesterday, on multiple attempts I got a blocking warning about possible malware from a Google-linked site (even though I did not go to Mondo via Google). Today (3/10) all seems back to normal. The thought that someone was maliciously trying to block access to this site did cross my mind. I was not smart enough to grab a screenshot at the time.

  • Inspired by Egypt, young Palestinians lead movement to end division
    • Bill in Maryland March 5, 2011 at 5:59 pm

      This youth-led effort to overcome the Hamas-Fatah division seems like a very encouraging development. This trend is also mentioned in Joel Greenberg's article today in the Washington Post:

      "Still, the demands for change sweeping the region have led groups of young Palestinians, many brought together through Facebook groups, to mount a campaign to end the Hamas-Fatah split - in effect indicting leaders of both sides for the persistent fissure.

      Hazem Abu Helal, 27, one of the youth organizers, said the aim, outlined in a manifesto published last week, was not to bring down the Palestinian leadership but to reform it and promote greater democracy. The Hamas-Fatah rift, he said, had brought increased stifling of dissent, with both governing factions cracking down on opponents and shutting institutions identified with their rivals."

  • Truth in advertising
    • Bill in Maryland March 3, 2011 at 12:47 pm with 1 replies

      From the online Yiddish dictionary:

      Shondah: (rhymes with Honda) a shame, a pity. A "shonda for the goyim" means to do something shameful, publicly witnessed by non-Jews, thus bringing shame upon Jews in general (because, the theory goes, we are all held accountable for the worst deeds of the worst of us.) Also, "Such a smart girl like that. It's a shonda she's such a meiskeit (physically unattractive person)."

  • Palestinians face ‘price tag’ revenge from furious settlers
    • Bill in Maryland March 1, 2011 at 2:12 pm

      Some background on the settlers' "price tag" policy, from the topmost Ma'an News article:
      " Hardline settlers have routinely attacked Palestinians after the Israeli government has carried out demolitions on outposts, calling this their "price tag" policy.
      Under the policy, settlers "exact a price" for each evacuation of outposts by harming Palestinians. In the past, the "price tag" has included arson, shootings, beatings, burning fields, uprooting trees and poisoning water wells belonging to Palestinians. "

  • Neocon fantasy: Palestine has nothing to do with Arab uprisings
    • Bill in Maryland February 22, 2011 at 10:21 pm with 1 replies

      Thank you Alex.
      If the neocons don't get it, Chris Matthews does. He just needs to come out of the closet. Listen to his Let Me Finish segment tonight, and tell me he doesn't get it:

      "Let me finish tonight with some handy American rules for overseas revolution.
      >>>Rule 1. Always side with nationalism. Always, always back the people fighting against oppression by another country….However, in 1957, Senator Jack Kennedy spoke out on behalf of the Algerians fighting the French. It was a daring move that singled him out, and our country out, on the right side….

      >>> Rule 2. Always take the side of expanded popular rule. We backed Batista’s dictatorial rule in Cuba and paid for it when Fidel Castro espoused his loyalty to the Soviet Union…..This month we rooted for the people in Tahrir Square in Egypt, and that will hold us in good stead as the new government emerges. So there is a way to do it: back the people, oppose colonialism, support popular rule."

  • Liberals say now is time to get two-state solution
    • Bill in Maryland February 14, 2011 at 2:39 pm

      Hertzberg: "if Obama does not act on Palestine...", and
      Siegman: "The administration’s best chance of restoring some of its lost credibility..."

      Sorry, but burnt and humiliated by Netanyahu on more than one occasion, why should Obama do anything other than wait and let the world now see, with its new post-Tahrir visual acuity, Israel as the sham democracy that it is? Desperately opposed to Arab self-determination and human rights, and completely dependent on maintaining local autocracies (themselves now on life-support), let Israel stew in its own juices!

  • Revolutionary thought
    • Bill in Maryland February 11, 2011 at 9:16 am

      "Israelis did not come to the Middle East seeking wealth. "
      Just territory.

      "They did not annex the occupied territories."
      Really? What is the eastern boundary of "Israel"?

  • J Street says it invited boycott advocate to its conference so as to pillory her
    • Bill in Maryland February 10, 2011 at 10:20 am

      At their Oct. 2009 meeting, they allowed a "bloggers panel" to speak, albeit sotto voce, that included Phil and Max Blumenthal among others. I hope Ben Ami will offer that kind of event again.

  • Mike Huckabee’s ill informed and dangerous views on Israel/Palestine may end up in the White House
    • Bill in Maryland February 7, 2011 at 4:28 pm with 7 replies

      Thank you Wayne. Pat Buchanan famously called the US Congress "Israeli-occupied territory", but if Huckabee is elected US President, the settlers will clearly have one of their own in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

  • The bogus conflict between American interests and values
  • The Egyptian revolution is coming– to the U.S.A.
  • Irish republican bent-knee episode of 1922 suggests that P.A.'s weakness could have virulent consequences
    • Bill in Maryland January 25, 2011 at 6:33 pm

      Thanks very much Ed for sharing this historical parallel.
      I believe the events you highlight were at the dramatic heart of the movie The Wind That Shakes the Barley. That 2006 movie is strongly recommended for its unflinching view of what military occupation means (with Celts and not Palestinian Arabs as the occupied).

  • Skeptical 'Washington Post' report on teargassing death is written by reporter said to have served in Israeli army
    • Bill in Maryland January 6, 2011 at 10:43 pm with 1 replies

      Thanks Phil. Also interesting in the Greenberg story you link to in the Post is their choice of accompanying photo, which shows Palestinian protestors hurling tear gas canisters back at the soldiers in Bil'in. The photo serves simultaneously to minimize the dangers of the tear gas ("look, the protestors easily just toss the stuff back"), and exaggerate and distort the contribution of protestor "violence" in Bil'in.

  • Bil'in Popular Committee produces 4 eyewitnesses to Jawaher Abu Rahmah's teargassing
  • Thank you
    • Bill in Maryland December 26, 2010 at 9:26 am

      Congratulations Phil and Adam, menschen indeed, and thanks for the very important work that you do.

  • Pssstt! Use pro-Israel website to support Seattle bus ads!
    • Bill in Maryland December 22, 2010 at 1:51 pm

      Done. Thanks Henry for the inspiration. To speculate on seafoid's question, I'll bet many of Seattle's liberal Jews would be unpleasantly surprised at their gullibility if they saw the Occupation close up, saw how reflexive support of Israel is playing out, and realized how easily manipulated they can be by institutions such as the Jewish Federation.

  • 'It is ethnic cleansing'
    • Bill in Maryland December 15, 2010 at 11:34 am with 2 replies

      Thanks Phil for highlighting this testimony from this highly credible Palestinian educator. The other videos included in Kanwisher's Huffpo posting are well worth watching as well.

      Meanwhile I look forward to hearing more sophistry from eee that justifies the beating up of Ramallan males rounded up in the middle of the night in the bus depot and beatings of random Palestinians plucked off the street to "break their bones" that Ajlouny describes, and why she is wrong that it represents ethnic cleansing by Israeli colonists.

  • Today in Bil'in
    • Bill in Maryland December 10, 2010 at 1:07 pm

      Thank you Hamde for your photos, and your excellent steadfast coverage of this important weekly event. After reading about this for months on Mondoweiss, I finally got there for my first time today with the internationals, and saw a German activist get arrested and later released. Seeing what really transpires (IDF with plexiglass shields pre-deployed on the road on the PALESTINIAN side of the fence, launching dozens of tear gas rounds all around, early on, just to prevent the main body of peaceful activists from getting down the PALESTINIAN road, versus a few impatient Palestinian teens throwing stones in frustration and anger at the end) makes clear that the IDF justification for the arrest of Abdullah Abu Rahmeh is totally cynical and false. I am so glad at least some European leaders have the courage to stand up for him.

  • Inside the bubble
  • Brooklyn church crowd goes with the idealists on BDS
    • Bill in Maryland November 12, 2010 at 10:36 pm

      Thanks Seafoid. Got it.

      J Street wants to keep everyone playing the same game with the same (corrupt) referees, and then they get a pat on the head by AIPAC. Meanwhile YoungJewishProud/JVP bloodies AIPACS nose. And BDS is a total game changer.

    • Bill in Maryland November 12, 2010 at 12:20 pm with 2 replies

      Thank you Rob for your excellent reporting. J Street seems to offer only a slick veneer for maintaining the status quo, while BDS holds the promise of (finally) moving the ball forward. Besides, YoungJewishProud/JVP just pushed J street off the stage in New Orleans.

      Seafoid, what the heck does "bukra fi mishmish" mean?

  • We would not have had to interrupt Netanyahu if the world listened to Palestinian voices
    • Bill in Maryland November 11, 2010 at 1:52 pm with 2 replies

      Thank you so much Emily for your essay, and for your leadership.

      With all due respect to J Street, why are they relevant now, in light of the advent of YoungJewishProud/JVP? To analogize like it's 1968: J Street: Hubert Humphrey -as- YoungJewishProud/JVP: Eugene McCarthy.

  • Israeli expo in NYC markets penthouses in settlements
    • Bill in Maryland June 23, 2010 at 6:33 pm

      lareineblanche June 23, 2010 at 5:48 pm:
      Very good propaganda. I like the “Irish” music background, giving it an “ethnic” flavor.
      I agree lareinblanche. The same music was used to stir the blood in the soundtrack of "Last of the Mohicans" with Daniel Day-Lewis. Tragic clash of cultures redux.

  • Which side are you on? Which side were you on?
    • Bill in Maryland May 19, 2010 at 5:49 pm

      Thanks very much Phil for posting this vivid juxtaposition.

      What is striking about the young settlers in Sheikh Jarrah is their glee, their sense of impunity, their apparent feeling (like the famous psychology experiments from the 60's in which shocks delivered to subjects were rapidly ramped up when the inflictor was shielded by anonymity) that they will never be held to personal account for the pain they are causing.

  • Student protests force Israeli hasbara retreat
    • Bill in Maryland May 8, 2010 at 3:22 pm

      Thanks for the encouragement Julian to keep doing it.

      Only in your rich fantasy life does Israel look like the victim here, when the context is highly polished propaganda (offered by Israel's version of Orwell's "Ministry of Truth") up against the unvarnished facts-on-the-ground highlighted by the justice-minded and conscientious students of Manchester.

  • Silverstein knocks J Street
  • Nuke that simile
    • Bill in Maryland April 29, 2010 at 10:57 pm

      "Mr. Ahmadinejad’s plans for a nuclear arsenal are a threat to the security of the United States"

      Fiddlesticks, TV Watch. We lived for decades with a Soviet Union armed to the teeth with advanced nuclear weapons. Sounds like the usual tomfoolery, conflating Israel's concerns with its regional rival Iran with the US's vital national security interests.

  • Brandeis students prepare to protest Michael Oren commencement speech
    • Bill in Maryland April 23, 2010 at 10:36 pm

      Thank you Jonathan for posting this and for your courageous work as an undergraduate at Brandeis. While, decades from now, you will be able to look back with pride on your actions at this critical time, many of your classmates who take comfort now siding with the likes of Dore Gold and Michael Oren will be ashamed for supporting the injustice in I/P.

  • Israel is debated at California Democratic convention, Harman walks out in huff
    • Bill in Maryland April 19, 2010 at 9:26 pm with 2 replies

      Richard-
      Instead of lamenting the "the dissolution" of a currently important ally [so you say] of the US, why not celebrate the potential "further democratization and transformation" of the same? And why is an "external" solution so bad, when leaving Israel to its druthers has produced nothing for the Palestinians for so many decades? Two Semitic peoples, united in democracy with universal human rights, from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River: what's not to like?

    • Bill in Maryland April 19, 2010 at 4:04 pm

      Great news from the Left Coast.
      Small wonder this concept got a standing ovation from Californians:

      a democratic state from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River

      Marketing gold: short, sweet, simple to understand.

  • The scene from Berkeley
    • Bill in Maryland April 16, 2010 at 7:59 pm with 10 replies

      Richard- Adam already posted the (tired and familiar) talking points of the anti-divestment contingent yesterday, points reportedly closely adhered to by the speakers:

    • Bill in Maryland April 16, 2010 at 5:33 pm

      Thank you Adam for sharing those inspiring clips of the students' heartfelt comments.

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