Total number of comments: 707 (since 2010-06-04 02:10:17)
I am a 44 year old carpenter living in Phila., PA. My interest in I/P began with msm news coverage of Sharon's provocative visit to the Al Aqsa Mosque. His grinning face told the whole story: He was there humiliate the Palestinians and to exert exclusive control over a Muslim holy site with lethal force. My interest grew through I/P related books and some activism in the Phla. area. I met Adam Horowitz during that time and I'm so pleased to see that he is dedicated and determined to continue to do this vital work.
"Wendy Greuel is a Steadfast Supporterof Israel..."
Wendy Greuel's "I love Israel" headliner boast is all about money, not votes. How many voters - Latino, labor, liberal or otherwise - will vote for her instead of Garcetti based on her allegiance to Israel? None? How many Jews will vote for her instead of Garcetti because she is a "steadfast" supporter of Israel? Certainly not all of them. Greuel's appeal is for money not votes. She understands that she could take a big haul from wealthy Zionists based on her absurd sales pitch: "make me your mayor because I promise to use the power of my office to secure the health and welfare of Jewish foreigners who live on the other side of world!"
Great article, David. Giving some of your time to a Dersh Watch is worthwhile as I'm sure his lies go virtually unchallenged elsewhere, particularly when he's preaching to the Zionist choir. Dershowitz's blind prejudice, as you've so clearly exposed it, provides a window into the larger current of paranoia among Zionists as a group/cult.
Citizens United is second only to 9/11 in being the best thing that's happened to Israel in this new century. While American public support for Israel is at long last crumbling, the super rich Zionists can still contribute as much as they please to keep Zionism on life support with no end in sight. Interestingly, team Obama at the IRS seems to have a bigger problem with Tea Party funding, which supports the views of an American constituency, than they do with rich Zionists whose only concern is with a foreign country.
The hypocrisy of all this has to run up against some hard realities for both Israel and the US before we see changes for the better. Another Arab oil embargo? Not likely.
Israelis rejected the Arab states proposals in 2002 and they'll reject their amended proposals in 2012. In 2002 there were some 212,722 settlers in the West Bank. Now the WB settler population exceeds 350,000. Israel's benefactors have only rewarded, never punished, Israelis for their colonial project. If Israel's benefactors don't provide them with a good reason to to give it up, they won't. That may happen some day but not in the near future, not while the peace prize winner is in office.
@Dan
Discussions about intelligence in football players often exposes popular American conceptions about race. It's hard to miss the commentators on ESPN and elsewhere, many of them former players themselves, exposing their prejudices and attitudes about racial stereotypes. White commentators ( i.e. Boomer Esiason, Steve Young) will frequently refer to "smart" white players and "athletic" black players. This is especially true with the quarterback position. The best white quarterbacks are "smart", "extermeley smart" or "field generals" while the best black quarterbacks are "running quarterbacks", "quick", "fast" etc. The praise they give to the best playermakers, white or black, almost always breaks along these lines. In keeping with this prejudice about intelligence/athleticism, black players and especially black quarterbacks are more often faulted for making "poor decisions" or even "stupid decisions". The "stupid decisions" judgement also comes into play when the character or morals of the black player in question is the topic of conversation based on his off the field conduct. White players who get into trouble off the field will more often get a "boys will be boys" pass, or if they are harshly judged for it the commentary will be brief, without as much piling on or repetition about "stupid decisions" Black commentators (i.e. Marshall Faulk, Michael Irvin) will mention more often the intelligence of the best black quarterbacks and are less judgemental about the character of players, both white and black, based on what they do on their off hours.
Racial prejudice on TV and radio "sports talk" is mild compared to what it use to be and I think it's getting better as time goes on. Sports talk is always interesting to me, partly because it's one of the few broacast forums in which race relations are being discussed every day, if indirectly for the most part.
@ marc b.
"managed to cock up every stage of the investigation, pre- and post- bomb blast) had a million-plus people under martial law while pursuing a teenaged suspect, on foot, apparently unarmed. no offense to analysts, but that’s the real story."
I agree and we shouldn't leave out Obama's stern assurances: "We Will Not Be Intimidated!" I laughed out loud when I watched him say this even while the split screen was showing clips of SWAT teams, soldiers, police dogs, helicopters, etc.. swarming over Boston in hot persuit of a (yikes!) fugitive teenager. Bostonians certainly were intimidated, more so by martial law than by Tsarnaev.
US lawmakers continue to howl with laughter at their bloodfeast in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Palestine... They swipe their crimson gobs with their starched white sleeves and their fat, little pink sausage fingers. The banquet gives them a tingling, erotic feeling in their loins. They're not equipped with any sort of moral compass. The human parts of them are missing.
This "why do they hat us?" conversation is long overdue. It may be happening at a painfully slow pace but it does seem to be happening.
"These gatherings are a rogues gallery of posers and criminals."
Obama shouldn't be thought of as a poser member of this rogues gallery but rather as one of its criminals. Guantanimo is still open for business complete with feeding tubes stuffed down the nostrils of the prisoners on hunger strike. Gitmo prisoners dying of starvation in US custody isn't something Obama will want to have remembered in the annals of his Presidential Library.
"... where were the inspections of the plant that contained so much ammonium nitrate it’s a wonder that the crater created was only 93 feet down and 10 feet deep?"
The plant was last inspected in 1985. But c'mon, Marc, we don't have time to split hairs over a giant ammonium nitrate bomb when our entire nation is trembling in fear of nineteen year olds armed with rice cookers.
Excellent article. Office holders understand that their post-public service "winnings" are dependent on what they do and say while in office. It shouldn't be surprising, then, that lawmakers and Presidents, even Generals! spend so much of their time courting those who will be able to afford their lecture circuit and deal making fees. Remember the audacity of Bill Clinton using his podium to ask for public assisstance for his Lewinsky affair legal fees? I guess he needed some cash to tide him over until he reached the greener pastures of private life. The Clintons are worth $80 M today.
It'll be interesting to follow Fayyad now that he's left public service. It won't be at all surprising to learn that he isn't the "decent, transparent, accountable" man that
Freideman tells us he is.
"Those killed on the Mavi Marmara were terrorists, aiding a group (Hamas) like those who committed the Boston atrocity."
"As our American friends were made all too aware once again last week..."
Zionists continue to play the 9/11 card again and again. The gift that keeps on giving.
I should have mentioned above that the flags of the world displayed on the Ben Franklin Parkway have the names of the countries they represent posted below them. It's not the flags but the names of the countries that are in alphabetical order :-)
Utah Valley University dismisses the Palestinian flag...hmmm. Contrast that with the way in which Israel's flag is prominently featured on Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The flags of the world are displayed in alphabetical order along both sides of the parkway which connects City Hall to the Philadelphia Art Museum. All the flags are in alphabetical order except one. The Israeli flag is out of order, prominently displayed as the first in a long line of flags so that those who are stopped at the traffic light will pause and see it first and foremost before going on green, speeding past the flags behind it. Needless to say, the Palestinian flag is also absent from the Ben Franklin Parkway.
Tell me I'm seeing things. Has anyone else familiar with Philadelphia noticed this? I have a hard time believing that this happened by accident.
Billionaire Zionists, the Israeli government, Israeli society, the WH and Congress have the time, money and weapons to maintain the status quo in I/P for a long time to come. The convergence of these powerful partners in crime, their collective mendacity, is indeed exceptional in the world. I hardly hardly think that a "tendency to exceptionalize Israeli crimes" is out of bounds.` Naming and shaming bigots, racists and fascists is nothing to be ashamed of even if the list is narrowly focused on a specific geography and a specific political injustice. A Palestinian justice movement to eradicate bigotry and fascism not just in I/P but everywhere in the world, based on a "barren fixation on international law", would be the very definition of "hopelessly abstract analytical idealism."
"Palestinians couldn’t be more wrong. The Christian hierarchy in the West has a self-interested investment in Jews. It’s about Christians and their credibility after the Holocaust."
The power of the Holocaust as its used by Israel's defenders is of a political nature, not religious. I doubt that most American Christians feel as though their credibility is undermined because of the Holocaust, as if they were in some way complicit or responsible for it as Christians. The Germans, among others, are understood to be responsible and their motives are understood to have an ethnic or racial basis, not religious. What ever the case may be, the strongest connection Christians have to Israel is based on their understanding of how Jews fit into "God's plan". This is what Christian Zionists believe, it's also what my mother believed and she was just a mild mannered, mainstream Presbyterian. She never mentioned feeling responsible for the Holocaust.
I'm glad you're back, Marc. I always enjoy your posts.
Terrorism in America is uniformly condemned when Muslim's are the perpetrators. They're condemned for their violent acts and for their religion. Their primary motives aren't discussed. Not so when Americans are responsible for domestic acts of terrorism. In the 90's I remember being in a bar where there was a news story on the TV about Mc Veigh and the Okla. City bombing which had taken place in the previous year or two. I made a comment about Mc Veigh to a stranger standing next to me, saying something about him being a "crazy nut". He replied, "He wasn't all wrong, you know." I don't think he was alone in his opinion. Likewise, there was sympathy for Eric Rudolph when he was a fugitive on the run for having bombed the Atlanta Olympics. At the time, some of his "fans" wore t-shirts that read, "Run Rudolph Run".
In the cases of both Mc Veigh and Rudolph there was some popular sympathy for their widely discussed motives by people who agreed with their views on Waco and abortion. However, more than 44 years after the first acts of violence were committed against American citizens on the part of Arabs and Muslims because of our support for Israel we have yet to see a truthful discussion of their motives. We're still being told explicity or by inference that "they hate us becuase we're free" and because they're Mulims. How many more lives will be lost to this insanity? How many more trillions of dollars will be flushd down the "national security"crapper in defense of this criminal farce?
Great insights, Phil. The prospects for peace and justice in I/P seem bleak at times but there is still confidence that a just resolution is possible. Contrast that confidence with the outlook on the horrors of our food industry, a component of the ecological crisis. Most of us are complicit in the accelorating destruction of our ecology and we all stand suffer the consequences. The trajectory of this ongoing, all encompassing crisis looks many times more bleak than the prospects for peace in I/P.
‘We urge you to stop your hunger strike and choose life, because we are committed to tirelessly striving toward peace between the two peoples, who will live side by side forever in this country,’
Issawi understands that his dead body laid at the feet of Israeli fascists for all the world to see has much greater power than much of the longstanding rhetorical complaints, measured in millions of words, against Israeli policies. As such it seems unlikely that Issawi will join these writers in their important but as yet ineffectual critique of Israel.
jwp-
"There is something very repellent about an organisation which celebrates the impoverishment of a country and its people, as if it is an achievement."
Set apart from any strategic goals, I suspect there's an element of cruelty for its own sake at work here, for the peasure it brings to suporters of Israel.
ivri
"...in the midst of a "system collapse", in which they need all the help in the world from anybody"
Got that right. The Irish could sure use some US tax payer benefactors to provide them with $3,000,000,000 per year in foreign aid in addition to "loan guarantees" and tax deductible donations. That would sure help them through a rough patch. It would make their entire economy feasible. But why would we Americans want to entangle ourselves to that extent with a nation that's not our own?
Ratner clearly illustrates the need for more student solidarity action. University presidents, sheriffs, governors and any and all arms of the law that crack down on Palestine activists on behalf of their Zionist paymasters will only bring the Palestinian struggle into sharp focus for the greater American population. At stake is not only the cause of justice in I/P but also free speech rights here in the US which priviledged, antvantage seeking Zionists want to change in support of their sympathies for Israeli fascism. Even those Americans who aren't impressed with Palestinians or their cause
will see the abrogation of free speech rights as a bridge too far. These cases can't be brought to court fast enough. I'd relish the spectacle of Alan Dershowitz standing before the Supreme Court, and the American people, explaining how criticism of a foreign, demonstrably fascist country amounts to anti-semetism. Bring it on, Zionists!
"... public opinion is mostly irrelevant, and change is change of policy, the manipulation and application of state power."
This is an apt description of the Zionist's strategic MO to win support in the US.
___________(fill in blank) will require a lot more than wise and well-intentioned words. Instead, it would require the exercise of power.
This could apply to Obama's advocacy on all the policy issues: Accountability for the bankers who committed the biggest bank robbery in American history, health care, clean energy, I/P, etc... Obama's hard boiled opponents see him for what he is - a naif who who is way out of his depth in the realm of national and international realpolitik and who can easily be shoved around. Sadly, I'm reminded of Sarah Palin's critique, suggesting that his talents are more suited to community organizing than they are to leading the free world.
Villaraigosa's story points out (again) how empty Obama is when he speaks of peace and justice in I/P, or any other topic for that matter. Historians won't smile on the man except for being our first black President. He's a pathetic fraud.
The term "Philistine" has Latin (Philistinus) and Greek (Philistinoi) origins. It's not known what the ancient Philistines called themselves. In the Bible, Jews sometimes refered to Philistines as the Kaftor people. Kaftor isn't a word found in Hebrew, Greek or Latin so it's possible that this is what the ancient Philistines use to call themselves.
I read that "Philistine" is a greek word, meaning "sea people."
RoHa-
"Which is utterly crazy, since most of them were born and brought up in the USA, only have US citizenship..."
I was in Ireland 13 years ago and an Irish woman made this exact point in lamenting all the occasions in which American tourist strangers were eager to impress her that they were "Irish" as well. After she finished her speech I made a point of needling her, I said, "Well, you know, my people are Irish."
She smiled curtly and said, "Yeah, me too." Identity politics can be wierd and funny.
"...there was a time when my daughters could not expect to have the same opportunities in their own country as somebody else's daughters. What's true in the United States can be true here as well. We can make those changes, but we're going to have to be determined."
Obama speaks as if he is among those who are determined enough to"make those changes." Clearly he is not.
"Politically, given the strong bipartisan support for Israel in America, the easiest thing for me to do would be to put this issue aside -- just express unconditional support for whatever Israel decides to do -- that would be the easiest political path."
Here, Obama speaks as if he hasn't already chosen the path of least resistence and greatest reward - that being unconditional support for Israel.
"And let me say this as a politician -- I can promise you this, political leaders will never take risks if the people do not push them to take some risks. You must create the change that you want to see. (Applause.) Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things."
Ordinary people in America have at least a modest expectation that their elected leaders will lead and that leadership involves risk taking and making some tough choices. Where have we seen this from Obama on any issue?
Obama gives good speeches from time to time. What else has he done that we can point to and say, "Now that is progress!"
Thanks for revisiting the sad mess of the Iraq war, Phil. As you you said its most important relevence today is the looming war with Iran. Coming to terms with when and if that war will start is the only reason I can see that Obama travelled to Israel - apart from pleasing the Zionist big spenders who are the lifeblood of the DNC.
"... it was jarring to see Obama, the beneficiary of the U.S. civil rights movement, shake hands with the guardians of a state that imposes separate and unequal sets of rules based on ethnicity."
I was excited about Obama the candidate in '08. I campaigned for him in Philly with voter registration drives. One young man I aproached had this to say:
"Are you registered to vote?" I asked.
He answered, "I don't vote for no slave masters."
"what about Obama?" I asked
He replied, "I don't care what color he is"
At the time I thought his cynicism was unfornate in the face of such an historic election. Now I think his view of the President was more accurate than mine.
No doubt the WH and the DNC see a pot of gold on the other side of Obama's visit.
Thank you Ben Ehrenreich! Perhaps the old grey lady is finally ready to take a stronger stand in light of the undeniable conditions of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation that you so vividly describe in your excellent reportage.
Congratulations, Pamela. I look forward to your visit to the Boulder Bookstore. Perhaps I'll see Kathleen there?
Simon Moya-Smith's critique is a familiar one to most Americans and I doubt if there are many who who would dispute his premise: Native Americans are victims. My question is what does he want?
Ben Rhodes:
"Israel, as it makes peace, is going to have to recognize the broader role of public opinion in peacemaking.”
A nod to the growing opposition to Zionism but of course Mr. Rhodes won't even whisper its name, neither will the peace prize winner.
The American "war on terror" is something else that will go the way of the "peace process". It won't end until there's a resolution to the I/P conflict. Americans will remain the subjects of scorn and ridicule in the Arab world and beyond, as well as being the targets of lethal violence committed by those who won't give up the cause until Americans give up on Zionism. I don't know if Obama understands this or not but its a truism that every person who has killed or is killed in the "war on terror" has done so in a fight either for or against Zionism. The ever increasing cost to Americans of supporting the Jewish state include not just blood and treasure but also the loss of morale that comes with the understanding that we are fighting a losing/lost war in defense of Israeli fascism. Sadly, there's no end in sight and we are indeed "looking at a dark future."
During his upcoming trip to I/P I don't see Obama delivering one of his inspired speeches or making any dramatic, symbolic gestures. If that were his plan he would have been laying the groundwork for such drama long ago. He's hoping to make the big donors to his campaign and to the DNC happy with a hit and run visit.
"Excellent points, all of them--but delivered to the wrong address. Netanyahu--and most Israelis, it must agonizingly be admitted--are impervious to such arguments. The much more important audience would be Congress and Obama."
Here's to hoping they do just that.
@Annie Robbins
"but this isn’t an example of his best thinking."
Exactly right. Beinart is smart enough to know that his Hamas/womens marathon critique in the face of American financed Israeli fascism is a cheap and frivolus argument.
Adam and Scott - thanks for this great rebuke to Beinart!
The determination of these Palestinians is inspiring. Obama should be treated to a wedding procession during his trip later this month. He might even witness the Israeli fascist response with the understanding that he is the IDF's fincancier.
@James Canning
Yes, I agree but I don't think Biden had any intention of criticizing Israel. I read Biden's commentary on deligimization to be a call to action, i.e. "Deligimization is happening, it's dangerous and we need to combat it." He said nothing that indicated to me that he was offering up that commentary as a criticism. However, the criticsm was there in a "hand writing on the wall" sort of way.
In his speech to the AIPAC conference Joe Biden mentioned the "frightening" trend towards deligitimizing Israel. He said it's the biggest challenge to Israel's supporters that he's seen in the 40 years he's been paying attention. Whether he intended it to be or not, this observation was the only serious and sober critique of Israel and its supporters that he offered to the AIPAC crowd. The rumblings of opposition to Zionism are now reaching the tired old ears of the old guard in DC.
@ EUR1069
"...so why would Obama further embarrass himself by pretending that is still viable?"
Obama has been embarrassed and humiliated over and over. He seems to be one of only a few who don't understand that.
“I rise today to begin to filibuster John Brennan’s nomination for the CIA,” Senator Paul began. “I will speak until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court."
Prophetic. Powerful people don't want to give up the powers they have, they're always trying to accumulate more power, and they're always in search of ways to exercise their power. The American people have acquiesed to the Patriot Act, Homeland Security, etc. with the idea that the powers contained in them will only be used against foreign terrorists. Not so. The longer these laws stay on the books the more entrenched they'll become and the more inevitable it will be that these laws will be come the unlawful law of the land in the US. It's easy to imagine that American citizens will ultimately become the primary targets of communications surveillance, unlawful arrest and imprisonment without charge, political persecution and summary execution by drones or some other means. And just as it was in Soviet Russia, all the neighbors will say, "They came for him in the middle of the night. He must have done something wrong."
Clearly, Israelis have good reason to celebrate 9-11. It's the best thing that's happened to Israel in this century. It's bought them more than a decade of ironclad American support because Israel's war on terror as well as ours are billed as one and the same. A war which has included our ongoing campaign in Afghanistan (longest in US history) to fight those who attacked us because we support Israel and the Iraq war because American kids need to fight and kill and die to make the world safe for Israel. - "the road to Jerusalem goes through Baghdad". Iran is on deck...
Clearly, Israelis have good reason to celebrate 9-11.
@kalithea
Rand Paul mistakes poverty for vice and wealth for virtue. That's why I would never vote for him no matter what he believes about Israel.
Pollard, the man, doesn't mean anything to Isreal. The Israelis want him released purely as a demonstration of power over US.
How did "loyaly" make it past the editors of the print edition? They're really tipping their hand. Pure hubris.
"AIPAC relishes going to war with a U.S. President because it is a show of macho power and helps fundraising efforts."
Not to mention sending American kids to war for Israel with American taxpayers footing the bill.
Love it! Way to go young lady. You don't need their blood money.
I understand what you mean, Annie. However, my complaint is that he opens the article with this paragraph and while putting "designated" in quotes may well mean that he ain't buing it there are readers won't pick up on Mackey's cynicsm, if that's what it is, and will instead take the Israeli transportation ministry's claims at face value. If Mackey meant to feature Israel's rationale as a lame excuse why not present it as such at the end of the article and only after leading with the obvious injustice of separate and unequal bus service?
According to NYT Robert Mackey, the separate bus lines are meant to be a benefit to Palestinians - at least that's what he intimates in the opening paragraph of his article on the subject:
"Israel’s transportation ministry introduced Monday what it billed as improved service for nearly 30,000 Palestinians who live under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank and commute to work daily in Israel: two new bus lines “designated” for their use."
Zionists should flee to the hugging arms and loving bosom of the Republican party. They can join the rest of the wackos and provide even more proof that America's Republican party is a dumping ground for extremists. It's a natural fit.
Where's that picture of Pam in her bikini? Deee-licious!
I'd be curious to know if AIPAC donor/members in some way enjoy a tax break for their AIPAC contributions just as JNF contributors get a tax break on their giving.
@ Annie Robbins
" a thank you for moderating these would be appreciated once and a while tho."
Thanks to the moderators and the hard working Mondo crew! You're a sesame seed in AIPAC's teeth. Soon you'll be a thorn in their ass.
Great reporting, Adam. Cohen's tired, old arguments are wheezing and gasping for breath.
It makes me sick to think of the boot licking performance Obama will put on next month in support of Israeli fascists such as the settler in the video. MLK would have wept.
Obama's visit has nothing to do with peace talks and everything to do with a show of reciprocity to the big spenders who financed his recent campaign: Haim Saban, David Cohen, etc... I have no doubt that before they handed over the campaign cash they made it very clear that the Israelis needed a reassuring hug from him and that he needed to travel to Israel to give them that hug. The Israel firsters are getting what they paid for.
Tortured to death. A perfect backdrop for the peace prize winner's "eternal victim" homage to the Jewish state. He'll smile, kiss the ring, lay a wreath at the Holocaust memorial and otherwise give his blessing to the fascists. He'll be leaving the country just as sequestration and government shutdown go into effect. Lights out at the WH. Nobody home. A perfect metaphor for the sad, corrupt state of American leadership.
Great report, Alex. The attack on the USS Liberty and the subsequent US coverup is all the proof Israelis need that they can murder Americans with impunity and without any risk of disrupting the flow of gravy train from American taxpayers.
"You cannot come to an area that exhibits signs of apartheid and ignore them. That would simply be an unethical visit. You yourself know full well that Israel is standing at the apartheid cliff. If you don't deal with this topic during your visit, the responsibility will at the end of the process also lie with you."
Brilliant!
Obama is a living symbol of triumph over oppression. Yet he seems perfectly at ease with Israeli fascism and the gulf between his enthusiasm for the "war on terror" and his peace prize trophy.
Where's the track record to support the notion of Obama as "chess master" or "judo master"? Obama has nothing up his sleeve, no secret grand strategy wrt to Hagel or US/Israel relations or the Israel lobby. His detached nonchalance is what it is and it's who he is.
Not surprising that Israelis chose the flag that features the colonial stripes aspect of our American flag rather than the 50 stars representing the interdependence and equality of disparate and unique states. Instead we get just the one star of the Israeli flag. One colonial nation under the command of a single Israeli star. Depressing symbolism.
Obama wouldn't have any trouble getting public support for a "surgical strike" against Iran's nuclear sites. It seems the only real oppisition he has is from the people in the military who understand that bombing Iran's nuclear sites could easily lead to a wider war. Obama gives me the impression that he's opposed to military aggression against Iran but he's shown us in the past that his convictions have as much foundation as a plastic sack in the wind.
Prohibiting Jews from reporting on Israel sets a dangerous precedent and its not neccessary. What's needed above all else in the I/P debate is a vigorous challenge to the legitimacy of Zionisim. This discussion will change everything. Getting this disucssion past the gate keepers in the MSM is a big challenge, but barring Jews from covering I/P isn't the answer.
Hagel could have offered plenty of reasonable counter arguments to Schumer's criticisms. He could have suggested that the injustice of the ongoing subjugation and destruction of Palestinian society is not and will never be justified by Jewish suffering in the past. He could have pointed to what US support for Israel has cost Americans, directly or indirectly (how many Iraq and Afghan war vets have committed suicide this month?). Instead, he chose to sit in his chair and cry. I wonder if the pain and suffering Hagel actually witnessed in Vietnam rendered a similar kind of submission and misty eyed surrender that he showed in Chuck Schumer's office based on Schumer's description of the history of the oppression of Jews in Russia?
...not to mention that the GoI has a powerful motive to stage an assassination attempt in the West Bank made to look like the work of a Palestinian. Shots fired in the air would be all it would take to capture on camera the spectacle of the Secret Service shoving Obama in a armored car and high tailing it out of Ramallah. Such a spectacle would buy the Israelis another decade of American sympathy.
Kathleen,
I'm also going to the 5 Broken Cameras screening tonight at CU. I recently moved to Boulder and I'd enjoy meeting you at the screening. My name is Bob Nesbit. Look for me in a silver-grey coat. I'd love to hear about I/P activism opportunities in Boulder/Denver area.
I'd be curious to know if this was a case of profiling according to standard procedures or if it was the result of someone like Pam Geller "tipping off" LAX authorities to be on the look out for an Arab masquerading as an Oscar nominee. Maybe Michael Moore could include the answer to this question, among many others, in his next movie about the Israel Lobby :-) Plenty of muckraking to do on that subject, Mr. Moore. You'll be hip deep in the bilge before your first interview is over.
Barak and his pals howl with laughter at American taxpayers who dole out billions in cash and arms only to find that the contempt of the world and a murderous hatred of Americans are all we receive in return.
Excellent critique, Susan, thanks. It seems that the movie-maker sees himself as a detached researcher/documentarian and not as a participant in the narrative of I/P and as an Israeli beneficiary of the destruction and subjugation of Palestinian society.
For all the promise Hagel showed in his comments about American independence from Israel, his abysmal performance at the hearings showed that he's just another politician who's willing to eat his words and say anything to get the job. The Chuck Hagel that emerged from the hearings was a diminished, humiliated man. He's not someone I'd vote for unless, like Obama, he was the only alternative to a Republican looney kook like Romney.
"The spectacle of the Jewish state behind walls is a melancholy sight. . . "
Indeed. In designing the wall to keep Palestinians out, among other things, the wall has also had the powerful symbolic effect of walling in the Jewish state. This symbolism isn't lost an a watching world. Warsaw comes to mind except in this case it's Israeli Jews who have built their own wall around a ghetto-state where they're living a life of make believe in places like the "metropolitan miracle on the coast."
If they look like fascists, talk like fascists, act like fascists...
The Zionists, with their McCarthyite tactics, are demonstrating some of the ancillary benefits of the BDS campaign. The speeches by Butler and Barghouti could have been delivered quietly enough and gone unnoticed by those who were not in the auditorium to hear them speak. But the Zionists had to make a federal case out of it and they still won't shut up. The should have listened to Bloomburg: "Just shut up and this will go away." But thy just can't help themselves. Good. Keep talking, Ziozs, keep talking.
@ToivoS
Obama's trip has to be a show of gratitude to the big dollar Zionist donors for financing his campaign and padding the DNC coffers. He needs to show them that he remembers who he's working for and that the DNC still needs their fat checks.
Jews have a lot to be proud of and I don't see the problem with expressing that point of view as it is one that I share. Jews in America have made our country a better place than it would otherwise be and I'm happy to call them my fellow countrymen. They've certainly raised the bar in American intellectual life. The passionate investment American Jews have made in intellectual/educational acheivement is part of what's at stake with the Zionist enterprise. Zionism demands of its supporters a demeaning level of bigotry and stupidity that I think many Jews will ultimately reject because it will cost them too much self respect in so far as that self respect is seated in a Jewish tradition of intellectual persuits, and a willingness to recognize facts for being facts. This is part of what I understand Phil to mean when he says he's outraged/disgusted/angry about Jewish support for Zionism. He expects better things from his people. I don't see anything wrong with that.
Good for you, Phil. It seems like she had never before heard such blunt, smash the idols commentary on Israel before. It wont be the last time, either. She, and others like her, will be hearing more about it in the months and years to come and she'll remember where she heard it first.
Huckabee lecturing Schumer and Levin on what it means to have Jewish credibility...
LOL!
Hats off to Bloomberg. He shows that even "violently" passionate Zionists can have limits to what abuses they're willing to tolerate in the name of Israel. However, I disagree with his opinion that Zionists should "just shut up." That may be good advice, but its not fair advice. Zionists have a right to showcase their bigotry and intimidation tactics and I hope they continue to do so.
To the toughs at Brooklyn College - Bravo! You're an inspiration to other college administrations and activists around the country who are or will be facing Zionist wrath and retribution for hosting discussions about BDS and human rights for Palestinians. Contrast Karen Gould's showing of pride and self respect in standing up for academic freedom with Hagel's wipped dog routine of whinging and whimpering before the Senate panel. Gould will rest easy at night with a smile of vindication on her face. Hagel, meanwhile, went into the hearings with a reputation as a straight talking war vet. He left as a coward and a liar. If he isn't sobbing himself to sleep at night he should be.
Annie,
Thanks for the dkos link. Wow! A real fight over I/P going on over there. The explosive resignation/farewell letter from the person you describe as dkos I/P 'gatekeeper' is a priceless piece of work.
The only reason I can think of for the Peace Prize Winner/Merchant of Death's visit to the West Bank is so that he can tell Abu Mazen to his face that seeking observer state status for Palestine is "counterproductive".
Netanyahu will encourage his fellow Knessett members to be on their best behavior (no booing) for Obama's visit since he will no doubt be submitting his list of requests/demands for additional cash and arms from American tax payers. The Peace Prize Winner will also be bringing his glad tidings and kiss of death to Abu Mazen in the West Bank. What a cruel joke! In addition to having his picture taken with yet another POTUS who is finacing the ongoing destruction of the Palestinian nation, Abu Mazen will be offering up his visage as a Palestinian stamp of approval for the visit of a President that will entail an even more extreme security detail of Israeli soldiers who will make the already torturous routines of Palestinian travel and commerce that much more difficult.
Asking questions about dark and disturbing tactics of war is important. I also think its important to ask questions about our war stategy.
Ask Brennan to explain why we're are at war with Islamic extremists. Ask him if our war with Islamic extremists is part of a "clash of civilizations". Ask him to explain the motives of those who wish to do harm to Americans. Ask him if their motives have a connection to our 60+ year history of supporting Israel. Ask him if its possible to "win" the war with Islamic extremists if the US policies that motivate them remain unchanged. We were never given truthful answers to these questions and I suspect we'll be at war with Islamic extremists, already the longest running war in American history, until we start to answer the question, "why do they hate us?" in a more truthful manner.
Thanks for the essay, Phil. Well said.
"...he appears to have been a more hesitant and recessive figure in U.S. dealings with Israel."
Also could read: Obama appears to be a hesitant and recessive figure in U.S dealings with...EVERYTHING. The sad mess of Hagel's performance had Obama's stamp all over it too.
I see Obama's stamp all over this transcript and I think it's a mistake to think that Hegel had to wait for the hearing to be put to the coals. Obama:
"Chuck, if you want the job, say this: I'm sorry...I didn't mean it... I misspoke...I don't
recall...I love Israel... If you go rogue on us and stand by what you've said in the past, they'll flog you in the hearings, they'll flog you in the media and we won't defend you. period."
Chuck Hegel is responsible for what emerges from Chuck Hegel's mouth. But he got no support, not even I suspect, from the man who appointed him.
Does Hagel's sad sack performance mean that Zionists will get their American war on Iran? I heard no hint from him that he'll stand in the way.
@yonah friedman
"Israel, as in Bibi, has decided not to fight Hagel."
Wow. The presumption in this statement is breathtaking. Perhaps yonah could explain the circumstances in which it would be appropriate for Netayahu, the leader of a small, desert country in the ME, to decide it was his priveledge to weigh in on who the President of the United States should or should not be appointing to Secretary of Defense.
@yonah friedman
"The Israel lobby, as in, the mainstream of the lobby, is not battling to stop Hagel."
Good point, yonah. But isn't it true that the "mainstream of the lobby", or the mainstream of Jewish opinion for that matter, isn't really what's driving the Israel First agenda. Super rich Jewish donors (Saban, Adelson, Bronfman, etc...) get what they pay for - a compliant Congress and White House. Both the rank and file of Israel Lobby emplyees and Jewish voters (who voted 70% for Obama) simply don't count for much in this equation. Sometimes this issue gets confused as we see the media conflate "Jewish voters" and "Jewish support" with Jewish money when it is ladled out by the tens of millions by a handful of Jewish billionaires.
“Liberal Zionist gravitation toward Lapid shows that the movement is by definition more about being anti-Netanyahu than anti-occupation or pro-liberation or anything else”
Exactly right. The liberal Zionists wring their hands over Netayahu being the face of Israel in the US. He's obnoxious, insulting and contemptuous of our President, our Congress and our elections. Liberal Zionists are worried that he's damaging Israel's image in the US and that Israel's American tax-payer benefactors will sour on Israel based on their bad opinion of Netanyahu. I'd say that's a legitimate concern. It shouldn't be underestimated how damaging an obnoxious, insulting figurehead can be to the reputation of an entire nation ( George W. Bush, anyone?). Fortunately, it looks like Netayahu will remain in his post as Israel's primary spokesman. In persuing the ultimate goal of justice and peace, Netanyahu is much more sevicable than a sagacious snake in the grass like Shimon Peres.
@Cohen
"Obama's toughness has trumped the naysayers again and again. Why should it not be the same in the Middle East? This President, Ladies and Gentlemen, is a tough realist."
LOL! And Cohen accuses one-state supporters of being "pie-in-the-sky...blathering" dreamers. Great catch, Phil. Let's see how Cohen's "tough realist" President handles the newly minted, balls out fascists in the Knessett.
@seanmcbride
"...they can’t break free from the bonds of their intensive cultural conditioning, much of which is the product of the unholy fusion of Judaism with Zionism."
Sean,
The "intensive cultural conditioning" of American Zionists also includes intensive conditioning in American democratic values. As the Zionist enterprise sinks further into fascism, and the facts become more difficult to deny, I can easily see liberal Zionists in a stampede towards liberal democracy. They won't want to be associated with Israeli fascism any more than they would with American fascism given the history of anti semitism in places where fascism has emerged.
Phil, seriously, don't write a book - not yet. Your role as a groundbreaking journalist is much more important right now. Sites like Mondoweiss and Electronic Intifada are the best, most honest sources of current reportage on I/P. You'll have plenty of time to write a book when the tide turns.
"I am actually hopeful. I believe that many liberal Zionists are going to get off the sinking ship. I think the ranks of Israeli critics will be swelled by former liberal Zionists, even ones of religious commitment, that their liberalism will win out and make the movement for Palestinian freedom stronger."
I agree, Phil. I imagine that that many of Israel's most ardent critics were once unquestioning, liberal Zionists. Sooner or later their ranks will include former Zionists who will replace the Roger Cohens and Tom Freidmans of the world. Peter Beinart is perhaps someone who will ultimately turn away from Zionism and the "Jewish fascist" tag.
St. Louis BDS! Don't flinch, don't fail, hit the line hard!
@Donald
"Eldar strikes me as an ordinary human being who grew up in a society that (like many in the past and present) is based to a large extent on injustice, where one is taught to rationalize it in various ways."
A good point, Donald. However, the fact remains that Eldar has kept his "material" evidence under lock and key for four years because he doesn't have the stomach to deal with it. If that's the case, and he's truly interested in communicating Israel's guilt as he indicated in the interview, then why didn't he put that material in the hands of someone who could handle the job of delivering the message it contained to a wider world? As it is, if what he's saying is true about the content of those envelopes, then he has succeeded only in exposing himself as someone who has hidden evidence of serious war crimes. As such he has also, no doubt, become a person of interest to the IDF. Given the sentiments he expressed in his interview what do you think the chances are that he is still in possession of that "shocking material"?
He complains about being paralized in the face of savage injustice:
"I, too, understand my limits."
Am I supposed to be sympathetic? What I believe is in his heart or what I believe about where he is on his journey towards seeing Israel in a different light is here nor there. The fact is that when he had his chance he kept his mouth shut. His shoulda coulda woulda confessional after the fact comes up way short.
Shlomi Eldar is yet another atheist who wants credit for being a believer - just in case. He wants us to believe that his "feelings" for the Palestinian civilians who were blown to bits and shot to pieces are proof enough that his humanity is intact even while he keeps his proof of Israel's war crimes locked away. He's not interested in protecting the innocent, he's interested is in protecting Israel - like so many others.
I sent NPR's ombudsman a letter:
Dear Ombudsman,
I noticed that an NPR host will be facilitating a "national converation" about the state of US- Israeli relations at the Wilson Center on 30 January, 2013. How is it that NPR can be lending its endorsment to a so called "national conversation" when in fact it is a strictly circumscribed Zionist conversation. Those who oppose Zionism are obviously not welcome and it goes without saying that Palestinian Americans need not apply. Would an NPR fascilitator participate in a "national conversation" about race in America with a panel of speakers that included only white men? I can only imagine that by endorsing this event you hope to collect some big donations during your pledge drive. It's because of NPR's continuing, unabashed defense of Zionism, and its inherant racism, that I won't be making a contribution to NPR this year. I'll be urging my friends and family to do the same.
Mr. Cohen conveniently neglects to mention that one of the founding principles of Zionism and the Jewish State is the Jewish "right of return". No doubt he understands that it's his birthright to "return" to Israel even while Palestinian refugees, some of whom are being evicted even as I write this sentence, have no such rights according to Cohen and his Zionist pals. I snort with disgust at Cohen's willfull ingnorace and deliberate obfuscations. What a travesty that otherwise intelligent men and women like Cohen choose to be ingnorant. Their Zionist mentatlity requires willfull ignorance and this becomes more and more obvious to a growing number of Americans who are beginning to see Israel for what it is.
No doubt Daily Show producers set the agenda as per what was discussed between Stewart and Waters. Speaking in "code" about I/P is preaching to the choir.
Great piece Phil. In accepting Wallace's apology, Lewis recognized the importance of not humiliating a humbled man. Likewise, Mandela provides another great example. When he was released from prison and met with De Klerk for the first time he didn't bring a list of accusations and demands as De Klerk had expected. In his first words to De Klerk he asked, "What are your fears?" De Klerk was speechless and humbled by the question.
Important lessons for those who will live to see Zionism abolished.
NYT is reporting that Hagel will report to Schumer on bended knee seeking support for for his nomination. Stakes are high for Schumer too as breaking with Obama over Hagel's nomination will put his priorities, and those of the Israel Firsters, in a bright spotlight. Hagel should tell Schumer where to go and challenge him to make a bigger public spectacle out of the the demands that a foreign country is making of our would be US Secretary of Defense.