-
-
- Video: Medea Benjamin interrupts Obama speech on US drone … 6
- Glenn Greenwald on the Woolwich attack and blowback from the … 8
- Church of Scotland accepts controversial report on Israel/Palestine 1
- Half of Israel’s eligible youth don’t enlist– and ranks of … 4
- Chelsea Clinton’s multifaith initiative 7
- More on the ‘creepy’ al-Dura report 7
- Exile and the Prophetic: Does John Kerry have the keys … 6
- Wolf Blitzer looks for a religious state 9
-
- Israeli airport sorts passengers with ‘Jewish stickers’ and ‘Arab stickers’ 2240
- Washington state bus-ad campaign dares to state: ‘Equal rights for … 1716
- Two friends meet for 5 minutes in Jerusalem 1699
- Palestinian-American Raed Zidan plants flag on top of Everest, dedicates … 1359
- Christians denounce Israel’s manhandling of worshipers at Holy Sepulcher on … 952
- Barbara Boxer’s visa bill for Israel comes under concerted attack 809
- In photos: Gaza marches and rallies mark 65 years of … 442
- Washington Post’s racism map omits Israel 438
-
- International Criminal Court opens preliminary investigation into attack on Mavi … 96
- Kennedy’s insistence on right of return prompted Ben-Gurion to rewrite … 93
- Barbara Boxer’s visa bill for Israel comes under concerted attack 93
- Abulhawa declines to ‘balance out’ several Israelis in ‘Al Jazeera’ … 87
- Washington Post’s racism map omits Israel 73
- Uncompromising hope inspired by Ghassan Kanafani 63
- Dershowitz should stop lying about Tutu’s record 56
- Two friends meet for 5 minutes in Jerusalem 48
-
- RT @alexbkane: Obama says expanded surveillance raises "difficult questions" , but his Justice Dept. has stalled on an inquiry into NYPD sp…, 4 hours ago
- RT @samknight1: Flashback: Israel helped train Guatemalan dictator Rios Montt, recently convicted of genocide. https://t.co/oYsxDokunE, 5 hours ago
- RT @samknight1: Israel to train Chiapas police? Well. Say goodnight to the Zapatistas and probably a whole lot of indigenous groups http://…, 5 hours ago
- RT @RodrigoEBR: Medea Benjamin also told Obama "I love my country. I love the rule of law. Abide by the rule of law. You're a constitutiona…, 5 hours ago
- RT @allisonkilkenny: I've never seen this level of outrage from journos levelled at the president for, say, droning people in secret. But f…, 5 hours ago
-
Recent Comments
click link to see last 100 comments- Wolf Blitzer looks for a religious state (9)
- ToivoS: If she had been down on her knees pleading for help from baby Jebus, she probably would have lost her kid...
- Pamela Olson: Yup, fishing for his Okie soundbite. Guess what, dumbass? We’re not all the same. K? Even in my...
- Krauss: Touché.
- Glenn Greenwald on the Woolwich attack and blowback from the ‘war on terror’ (8)
- ActivistGal: That the occupation of Palestine is significant source of resentment against the West is nothing new or...
- libra: I’m glad that was a “pleasure” for you, annie.
- just: Glenn Greenwald is right on target, as usual. Thank goodness for him, and for Mondoweiss. Too bad this...
- ‘Al Jazeera’ reposts Massad piece, after censoring it (8)
- lysias: Glenn Greenwald posted a piece on this two days ago: Al Jazeera deletes its own controversial Op-Ed, then...
- Video: Medea Benjamin interrupts Obama speech on US drone policy (6)
- Taxi: Massive courage, Medea, wow what naked conviction! The strangled voice of truth in the house of lies –...
- Philip Munger: Medea rocks! Indefatigable.
- Chelsea Clinton’s multifaith initiative (7)
- Stephen Shenfield: Any room for atheists in the “multifaith dialogue”?
- Wolf Blitzer looks for a religious state (9)
Our Writers
More WritersBlogroll
The War of Ideas in the Middle East
Perhaps there was a more negative response to this piece on Palestinian Christians since Christian Zionists comprise a large part of the pro-Israeli lobbies in the US and noone wants them to start sympathising with Middle Eastern Christians?
The Arab world includes Christians too. How dare you forget them!
See, I can make specious and irrelevant accusations as well.
Yes, the judges love him. I think we all appreciate his talent but the fact that he is Palestinian doubles and triples my happiness for him. Inshallah he has a long and successful career and brings joy and honor to all Arabs and hope to all Palestinians.
Nancy Ajram won't shill for zionism and neither will Julia Boutros.
Annie, it's a beautiful song. The guy at the end is Ragheb Alama who is a Lebanese singer and songwriter. He wrote the song that Mohammed is singing and he said he sings it every day and at all his performances. It's a song that is close to his heart, it came to him in his sleep and he woke up with the lyric/melody in his mind. It's an extremely popular song, as you can tell from the audience reaction. Raghed loves his voice and interpretation. Ragheb says it's a technically difficult song and Mohammed masters it. Well, Ragheb basically tells Mohammed that as the composer of the song, he is going to gift to him the song to record in his own voice/interpretation and he would be honoured if Mohammed did so. (While the song is being sung, you'll notice that the camera cuts away to the judges and Ragheb is making a 'come' motion with both hands - that means that he wants more!)
All the judges love him. Ahlam says that she's proud that there is an Arab idol called Mohammed Assaf. Hassan says that he is seeing the Arab Idol in front of him. All compliment his voice, his interpretation, his delivery.
I love how ynet refers to Zidan's family as having 'emigrated'. I'd like to know under what circumstances they 'emigrated'.
Just what is Massad lacking in restraint in? He and Said would agree on a lot of things. Don't mistake the 'niceness' of Said for restraint on the issue of justice for Palestine nor the more forceful language used by Massad as showing less restraint than Said. I don't know what this so-called agreement is among European-American activists but it's crap. I consistently deplore the motives and actions of the early Zionists, the middle Zionists and the later Zionists. The anti-racism stance of our movement springs from a matter of principle, not just policing anti-semitism for our political gain. As Remi Kanazi would say 'Did I hurt your feelings?" Well, like Remi, I don't want to hug it out. Either you're with our struggle or you're not. You can either join us on the way to liberation, justice and equality for everyone or hold on to your sense of privilege and see what history is going to do to that for you.
Exactly.
German Lefty, you don't debate with the thief who has stolen your home from you. While German Jews might be willing to talk about the Holocaust with Germans today who are all anti-Nazi and with a legacy of Germany making reparations etc to Jews and Israel, that is not the case with Israel and Palestine since the Nakba is ongoing, the displacement is ongoing and the injustice is ongoing. The better analogy would be a German Jew being asked to discuss the Holocaust while the Holocaust was happening. Thinking of it that way, maybe now you could see why a Palestinian would not want to debate how Israel deals with the Nakba within its own narrative. Nothing about what Palestinians are currently going through is normal or over and there is no reason to pretend like it actually is normal.
I must admit, I feel a bit depressed having to explain this to people who are my allies in this struggle.
Great to see Palestinians making the point that the right to return home is central and will not be given up.
Nope. He says the Zionism as colonial and criminal, not the Jewishness. You're the one conflating Zionism and Judaism and thus kinda proving Massad's point.
If I stole a country then I'd be zealously trying to guard it too. Never know when the rightful inhabitants might want it back.
Well said Taxi. I admit when I read this I just thought this person was an amateur and wasn't interested in engaging with her. But her response here, which side-stepped legitimate criticism about her misrepresentation of Kanafani as well as her avid self-promotion indicates that your (and Ellen's points) are very fair. I hope MW thinks again before republishing anything by her.
Translation - 'this is bad for Israel'.
link to youtube.com
Fairouz singing Al-Quds Zahrat al Mada'in - Jerusalem, Flower of Cities.
Until liberation and return.
In Lebanon, when Israeli items are found, they are still promptly removed. Not only are there laws enforcing the boycott but there are strong civil organisations that attempt to enforce goods and cultural boycotts. It's the cowardly GCC states who are desperate to normalise relations and always have been. That's what the 2002 plan was about and that's what this plan is about. That's why Israeli officials have long been welcome in Gulf Countries, why some Gulf countries have trade relations with Israel and why they go visit Israel. The land swaps are still DOA.
No Annie, please don't agree.
Allahu Akbar is said for a variety of reasons. You'll find in Arabic a variety of phrases that are used for different occasions, many invoking the name of God. In this context, it is said as a submission to the will of God and to comfort oneself and others when a terrible event occurs. I get really upset when non-Arabic speaker and those who don't understand Arab culture like biorabbi think that they can pass judgement on our language and culture.
I'm aware of the relationship. It doesn't mean sh*t. As can be seen when another Qatari lackey (ie Egypt) has been busy destroying the tunnels that are the lifeblood of Gaza right under Hamas' nose.
There's no fear that this will happen. It'll go the way of the 2002 Arab League Plan. But it's a way for the Arabs to make nice with the US and be nice little subservient allies who appear to want to do the right thing. And then the Arab unelected leaders will use it as an excuse to further normalise relations with Israel since there "appears" to be progress in the peace process. The Qatari Emir has already announced a visit there in November and he refuses to shut down the Israeli trade office in Qatar which basically functions as an Israeli embassy.
As for Palestinian agency - why is anyone under the impression that the Arab leaders or the US care any more about Palestinians than Israel does?
No surprise to me!
Not compensation Walid. Full return of all their homes, lands, furniture and furnishings, books, businesses, factories, bank accounts and so on. With interest, back payments for rent etc.
yeah, because Palestinians should be satisfied with western imposed good governance and not actually worry about freedom from oppression. Damn our pundits are stupid.
Yes, uh-oh is right. Hussein Ibish is not liked by his fellow Palestinians and Arabs. He's the quisling of the quisling PA. He spends more time schmoozing with zionists and raising money from oil monarchies (since Arab-Americans won't support him) than doing anything actually meaningful for Palestinians. No wonder bk likes him.
Yes, it's the difference between baladiyya and wataniyya in Arabic. Baladiyya is the connection to home and land, wataniyya is the connection to the nation or nationalism. I would argue that in the Levant, baladiyya is much stronger than wataniyya and always has been.
Oh Democracy, farewell. It was nice knowing you.
Well done Miko. I'd love to hear what you did in Gaza.
Adam, you're only a traitor if you accept their definitions and their redlines. They are the ones being anti-semitic by conflating their Judaism with Zionism.
ib3ad means to distance oneself rather than to turn your back which is dir da7r.
I think that what the Israeli interrogator was telling Faisal was quite profound. He was warning him to distance himself from political activity and just engage in cultural activity. But he was also telling him how Israelis treat Palestinians (and how the interrogator was treating him). Israelis have distanced themselves from Palestinians and they sing songs to them about the peace process, two states, non-violence etc. But it's all an act, a way that the Israelis distance themselves from the Palestinians and yet keep doing exactly what they want.
Entitled meaning Elisabeth sees herself as somehow able to pass this judgement on others. Great example of the white gaze.
As for your last paragraph, that's enough to make me feel quite murderous. We all have our own traditions and if other cultures think it's ok for them to look at us, pass judgement on us and feel superior about it, then they belong with Bernard Lewis and all the other idiots who for centuries have been looking at Arabs and the East through the Orientalist gaze. Does noone in this thread understand the incredible contribution that Edward Said made on this topic?
I disagree with your interpretation. If she wished to critique the shortcomings of the PA or Palestinian leaders, there's ample scope to do so without using as an example how Palestinians chose to bury Maysara. I would prefer that criticism of the PA not be couched in this type of Orientalist perspective. It's not too much to ask.
There are lots of things to criticise the PA for including being quislings. The way they choose to honor their dead, which is the same as many other countries choose to do is not.
@ gamal - why was this comment directed at me? I completely agree with you about the white gaze. I was just pointing out to Sumud the spirit in which your comment was intended (by my interpretation). Snark is not necessarily for comic effect.
Oh really.
Not only does it sound crude, it sounds judgemental and entitled. I'm so happy for you as an opponent of apartheid that the way South Africans mourned their dead was more in line with what you thought of as acceptable, or 'good public relations'. I'll pass this along to all the Arabs and know and tell them that we must change our funeral traditions so that our western friends will feel more comfortable and more able to sympathise with us. I'll explain to them that the way we mourn is 'wrong' and we should do it in a way that will garner us more sympathy. The implication being that we are unsympathetic to begin with. Would you like to add that we are violent and scary as well? I see you do. I suggest you back off the concern trolling and examine your extremely problematic views before you start passing judgement and giving advice on people that you have just objectified as an Other.
I think that was snark.
Allison, I think you need to question why you would even think to write an article like this. All countries have a military and all of them have traditions that include weaponry of some sort to honor their dead. Look at the ceremonies that involve American servicepersons when they come home, for example. Official funerals in many countries include salutes of cannons or weaponry - I'm sure you'll see all stuff out in force when Queen Elizabeth passes away. So why do you choose to make an issue of Palestinians honoring their dead like any other country would? Do Palestinians have a different standard of military nationalist chic that you wish to hold them to? See this article for the origin and usage of the 21 gun salute:
link to usmilitary.about.com
which indicates that it is the highest honor that a country can bestow.
This article is a great example of Orientalism. I suggest you go read the book. If you cannot comprehend the traditions with which a nation honors its dead, perhaps you shouldn't be reporting from there. This reminds me of the recent problems that the NYT's Jerusalem bureau chief had when she commented on how death was 'ho-hum' to Gazans. I'm shocked to be reading this at Mondoweiss.
Given this trajectory, what exactly is Silvers trying to do, hold back the tides?
More specifically trying to control the acceptable parameters of discussion and thought.
This!
Thank you, a wonderful piece.
Mabruk Rawan. Leave safely and return safely and enjoy yourself.
Hit ctrl-f, type in Islam and you'll find that the author mentioned Islam twice in the article. The context was Tunisia and the conflicts between the Islamist government and secular opponents. Now I have to think that even though you appear to be literate enough to type words using a keyboard, you either found great difficulty comprehending this article or did not read it at all.
Phil, I think you forget that Arabs are not 'us'. They're 'them'. So of course we can talk about 'them' without them being there. But there'd be hell to pay if someone talked about 'us' and we weren't there! After all, we are 'us'. This is like a bunch of men talking about the changing roles of women or a bunch of whites talking about black people.
I find the process of 'Othering' fascinating (among other things!). It'll be interesting to see if the Saban Center people will take this criticism on board or brush it off.
Thanks for this piece Annie. I've been an ardent anti-Assad person for decades. But the prospect of these Islamic goons taking over fills me with fear. I know many Syrians (and many of my cousins are married to Syrians) and I fear that the same thing that happened to Iraq will happen to them.
As for Sunni support for Assad, it's hard to measure. But certainly Assad could not survive without some measure of support from the Sunni community. There are clues though. The Sunday Times reported that of the 10,000 National Defense Militia personnel in the Homs area, 4000 were Sunnis. The NDF is a paramilitary force that apparently does the grunt work of keeping public order and safety. Many women are joining these militias too.
link to thesundaytimes.co.uk
While I would love to be rid of the entire Assad regime, I don't want an Islamic replacement and I don't want the continued deaths and suffering. I'd like the violence and everyone to stop shipping in weapons to end and a vote to happen so that Syrians can figure this out for themselves.
yonha, as a member of the group that is the oppressor, and one who benefits from the history of 1948 and 1967, it's not really your place to 'accept' the history if acceptance means that Palestinians cannot return to their homes and must settle for less than 22% of Palestine.
Interesting typo in this post. 'Nabka' means cry, which I'm sure the Palestinians did during and after the 'Nakba' which means catastrophe.
And if ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things, how come Obama has to be 'pushed' to do something? Isn't that we he was voted in for - because there were things he promised to do?
Years ago I was on a 16-hr flight with a lovely Jewish couple originally from Eastern Europe. They had kosher meals and wanted to talk about Judaism non-stop. They told me that the Jews who went to live in Europe and Africa, over time, just started to look like the non-Jews around them not due to inter-marriage or conversion but through proximity. Calling Dr. Mendel.
Look, Obama is living in a fairy land. The Israelis have drunk so much kool-aid they don't get that they are shooting themselves in the foot. And if he thinks that he doesn't have the political space, then he's shot himself in the foot from the outset. The Lobby is not so powerful that a president can't make political space if he wants to. As proof, I submit Obama getting Hagel through confirmation. Let's please give up this myth that Obama can't create new possibilities. The US would then have the support of the rest of the world. Obama can be an Eisenhower any time he wants.
Riiiiight. I'd find that a lot more believable if I didn't see evidence of your own tribalism and essentialism. You make vague and weasely accusations when your own comment history is replete with tribalism but you obviously can't see it.
You attempt to label is a total fail. You clearly misrepresent so many of us who work for human rights and equality rather than privilege for their own group/tribe. I guess you don't see just how paradoxical your position is - bashing your opponents for tribalism while your own lies glaringly exposed and naked. Stop projecting and start owning your bullshit.
yes it's Australian slang but never expected to see it on an American website!
No, they'll just pretend to do a few nice things for Palestinians and then it's back to business as usual. I wonder how long that will work though?
LOL @ 5. seafoid how do you know what budgie smugglers are?
Thanks for the link MRW.
I was living and working in Washington in the early 2000s, and I observed just how isolated I became (both socially and at work) for my anti-war stance. Chris Hedges and the people at Knight-Ridder were the beacons of sanity. I saw otherwise intelligent friends and co-workers, all of whom were the backbone of the bureaucratic class or congressional aides of DC, most of whom were Democrats and many of whom were highly knowledgeable and well-informed, unlike their political bosses drink the kool-aid. I has observed upon coming to America that there was a limited spectrum of acceptable thought (at least more limited than what I had been used to living in other countries, some of which were not democratic or not very) and after 9/11 that spectrum became even narrower. Several years later I heard a lot of 'My president lied to me' types of laments but lots of people who should have known better just fell into step. My area of expertise is the Middle East and I spent the 90s working on energy, oil, consulting for regional governments and corporations and then working at an international organisation on MENA. I followed the UNSCOM and UNMOVIC actions in Iraq on a daily basis. But that kind of knowledge on Iraq was discounted by those with an agenda to push and then the bureaucrats who lost their spine and their commitment not just to their professionalism but also to their ethics.
It makes me understand a lot better how different societies throughout history could maintain support and legitimacy for the most horrific regimes. Of which I include the Bush/Obama regimes. I experienced just how seductive it is to go along with the group to have everyone like you and be part of the gang. I didn't go along, but that's another story.
Yanno, I can't help but think that the insistence on and repetition of the term 'unbreakable alliance' in all its variations is really a cover for just how tenuous and breakable the bond really is. After all, when something really is strong, it's obvious and you don't go around vocalising it all the time. I think the repetition is a sign of insecurity and fragility rather than a tribute to any 'unbreakability'.
The only expectations I have of Obama are that he will always find the lowest common denominator. He's going to do his duty, pay the visit, not do anything substantive and not ever have to visit or think about this issue again. He's out-sourced Middle East policy to the political donors.
Good faith
No such thing on Israel's part. Look at every 'good' thing they have done for Palestinians and you can be sure that underneath, it in some way consolidates their control of the whole land and ensures less Palestinian connection to it.
Yes, apparently there's a nice way to oppose the occupation. Too bad those liberal zionists shove their liberalism aside when it comes to Israel since I'm pretty sure that occupation, theft, ethnic cleansing are not really liberal values.
When a Palestinian can write a similar article and be published, that'll be the next shift in the discourse.
RJL, my guess is that Palestinians want to live with Israeli Jews as much as Israeli Jews want to live with Palestinians.
And here you are again, going on and on about the dhimmi status that is no longer the case. Here's two things for you to learn - first, talk to some Mizrahi in Israel to find out why they are so unhappy with the Israeli state. Second, you might want to recognise that the Palestinians are the new dhimmi and it was Jews who did it to them. I know that you won't like me mentioning that since you like to win the Suffering Olympics but it's true. Israel is going to destroy itself with its own insecurities. We don't have to do anything.
She's only divisive because one group has chosen to brutalize another and the brutalizers receive financial and emotional support from all over the world, including the people you are pandering to Mr Pareles.
It seems to me that you also forget just how 'divisive' rap has been historically. You reference Public Enemy - I suggest you go listen to the lyrics again and come back to me with just how 'divisive' this is in comparison. You remember how to do compare and contrast from school, don't you?
AFP is claiming the dead man was a Hamas militant? How come Jpost didn't? Isn't that the usual story - all Palestinians who are killed by Israelis are militants. I love how they cite Palestinian security sources for the claim.
Beinart is just showing himself to be a part of the establishment in this country, recycling the same colonial 'feminist' themes as other colonial feminists from the US about Iraq and Afghanistan.
It's not that Hamas isn't wrong it what it's doing, it is. But unless Beinart is also willing to see the way that women's rights are violated in Israel (and indeed the US and very other country in the world) then I'd like to be spared from his intellectually lazy and morally bankrupt 'concern'. If he had any concern for Palestinian women in Gaza, he's make sure they had enough food and shelter, that they and their children could receive education and health care, that they had opportunities for work and travel, etc, all things that are either fully or partially denied by Israel's treatment of Gazans.
Thanks maggielorraine, well said.
AIPAC isn't tacking left. It's opening up the umbrella to capture more of the tribe within the umbrella and paying lip-service to the pieties that have kept the peace process going strong without end for 2 decades - two-states, security, peace blah blah blah but they'll just keep doing what they're doing now. Kinda like Israel really.
Obviously there were too many instances of “Palestinians” abusing family reunification in the past to cause security problems
I'm wondering why the Palestinians didn't use this as a reason for not letting Jews enter Palestine before 1948.
Spare me the dhimmi bullshit goldmarx. I'm an Arab Christian, so I know all about the dhimmi status - it wasn't something that was exclusive to Jews. And they got rid of it in the 1840s. But I love how the only people who bring up the dhimmi stuff is usually right-wing Jews who like to pretend that they are victims. As for that 1929 in Hebron, don't forget to mention the context that it occurred in and the fact that many Jews were saved by their non-Jewish neighbours. Using your fears as a justification to continue to oppress and brutalize is a stupid thing to do. Because you will just create the situation that you fear by your actions. You have a choice, you either live in equality with Palestinians or your continue brutalizing them. Because unless you kill or 'transfer' them, they're not going away.
It wasn't promised to the Jews of the 'Turkic Empire' It was promised to English and European Jews. By people who had no business promising someone else's land. Remember that 'the bride is beautiful but she belongs to another man'.
Why wouldn't it survive? It's because you think that after decades of treating Palestinians like they're second-class and worse, you think they will treat you the same way. That's just your guilty conscience speaking, and you are just projecting that onto Palestinians.
I hope that this outcome puts paid to the notion of an all-powerful Israeli lobby. Schumer showed that he might be Israeli's 'guardian' but he guards his self-interest more highly. The lobby has gotten complacent with its years of dominance over US policy on the Middle East but they've not only over-reached, they've become lazy, thinking that they only have to speak to garner obedience. All it takes is someone with a bit of a brain and ability to play politics (which is essentially knowing what your opponent's price is and being willing to buy him off) to out-manoeuvre them. And, Obama's got a brain and he knows how to play politics.
Where are the brave new PA security forces trained by US General Dayton? Why aren't they protecting Palestinians from the IOF? Quislings.
You choose to put this comment in a diary about how a Jew massacring Muslims in a Mosque resulted in the closing of the main commercial street in the city. That's not just chutzpah, it's not just incredibly wrong, that's an irony deficiency.
No they don't.
Palestinians rights were unlawfully taken away from them. The state that unlawfully took those rights away does not have the right to do so. I know there is no perfect justice - but there is no justice at all without the right to return.
@gamal, there's no perfect justice. I would settle for all Palestinians being able to return and live in Palestine and recover all their properties and receive compensation for their suffering. The Jews who want to stay and live can do so, the ones who want to leave - Allah lay riddun.
You're right that there is no obligation to accept the partition. But to kick out the Israelis who live there now would also be unjust. If they wish to leave because they can't accept not living in ethnoreligious privilege that's their choice. But BDS is not about kicking them out but living in equality.
@ Piotr - states don't trump human rights.
Epic fail. The other side of the Israeli push to keep all the land is the Arab push to kick Israel out of the land. The Arab push is not Barghouti's position. It's the same lies from the usual zionists, who do no understand the meaning of 'liberal' nor what an oxymoron liberal zionism is.
Hey, everything you do is greatly appreciated Annie. Keep up the excellent work.
Personally, I think those students are quite eloquent for Arabs.
ok, that got a lmao out of me.
They're Quislings. They're doing what Quislings do.
Is 'sharing' the hasbara for theft and ethnic cleansing?
One of my facebook friends alerted me to this. You can see all the photos on Dorit Dotan's facebook page.
Maybe third time is the charm? Avi_G I've got 2 comments that are several days old that are still in moderation for some reason that express my appreciation for your efforts.
Hey Avi_G if my comment from over a day ago ever gets out of moderation, I expressed my appreciation for your efforts.
Much appreciated Avi.
I also appreciate the context you provide in terms of where the participants fit in on the Israeli spectrum.
I think that we've heard many of these same views many times over the past 2 decades and it makes me feel dispirited because even though moving from "There are not Palestinians" to signing an agreement with Palestinians is a step forward, my guess is that there has not been any movement from the latter position in the last 2 decades.
But I guess ending it all with a song makes everything alright.
Resuscitation of cardiac arrest can result in broken ribs.
Yes that is true. But the problem is that you don't place your hands on the second or third rib to resuscitate someone. In a male for example you are taught to place your heel of your palm in the center of the chest between the nipples. That's at the 6-7th rib. It's highly unlikely you would break the 2nd rib. And I'm assuming that police and military personnel, like in many other countries, are required to do regular refresher courses in first aid so they would know what to do.
Tell it, Annie
The land theft started in 1947. There's nothing different to what is happening now in the West Bank to what happened within the Green Line prior to 1967. It's disturbing to hear the subtext of Israeli innocence as if the bad stuff only started after 1967.
It's an incredible shot. It makes you feel like you are present there in the immediacy of the emotion and yet has an ethereal, almost transcendent atmosphere that unites us with them in their grief.
C'mon Brooklyn: Justice or "Balance"?
If she visited Israel she visited Palestine.
There are millions who have not forgotten where they come from.
Thanks Harry, that's great. Please let us know what happens. Might even be worth a front page article in my view.
I love the woman at the end with the white hair who says: "I have a list". She has a list of all the children killed. And she's the one getting thrown out. Maybe the Capitol Police should be throwing Brennan out.
I love how there are people deluded enough to think that the possibility for 2 states is still possible after 20 years of talks that have gone nowhere except to ensure far less likelihood of a Palestinian state.
What's even more amusing is that they are using the power of the threat of being shunned by the tribe to influence the outcome of an supposedly academic study. Chalk up another win for academic freedom!
Thanks Avi_G those are good points. As far as I know, the PA's textbooks are vetted by Israeli authorities so I'm not sure why half a million dollars needs to be spent on a study to show that there's not vilification of Jews/Israelis in those texts.
I wonder how we reconcile the finding of this study on Israeli textbooks (according to Derfner) with that of Nurit Peled-Elhanan's findings on how Israeli textbooks treat Arabs/Palestinians?
Avi_G I'm not sure about Phil but I would love to read what Leibowitz and Barghouthi had to say.
Yet sodastream in Israel tries to pass itself off as being very concerned for the dignity of its workers Palestinian workers in the Israeli press:
link to al-monitor.com
Makes you wonder why they pay them below minimum wage, fire those who agitate for better pay and conditions and base their factory at a site from lands stolen from surrounding villages as well as on private Palestinian land.
According to Who Profits?, the Israeli group, Sodastream pays Arabs below minimum wages, gives them bad working conditions as well as conditions their employment on security checks (whose criteria includes any type of employment 'problem' like asking for higher wages) and keeps their workers in a state of uncertainty about their future employment to ensure that they behave.
Not only that but Mishor Edumim is built on lands confiscated from surrounding Palestinian villages and private Palestinian lands. The BDS movement began with a call by Palestinian society, which includes labor unions who know that they are being exploited by Israeli firms. I guess Palestinians are prepared to suffer in the short-term in order to struggle for their rights.
What's wrong with drinking water without bubbles?
This may be a case of Obama and Hagel kneeling down before rising up but it's still incredibly embarrassing and cringeworthy to watch Hagel backtrack.
You might want to check your prejudices at the door here Mike. I don't give any credence to your crap about Israeli/Arab superiority/inferiority, since the essentialism that you traffic in is merely another form of racism.
I find Farsi so frustrating in that I can read the words but not understand the meaning (except that both Arabic and Farsi seem to have the same word - aman - for safe/secure).
I think you're right that it does little to imply that Obama is a Muslim. It's using religious imagery to put forward a political message - that the US is an enemy to Iran. Anyone with knowledge of the Middle East and its rich history would understand the importance of Imam Hussein and his death to Shia Muslims. But I'm resigned to seeing the meaning of this mangled in western interpretation. The 'birther' issue is not the perspective that we should be seeing this through since that is really a domestic right-wing nutjob issue that's not really relevant to the current relationship between Iran and the US.
My take is that when the prophet Muhammad gets pilloried in the press, it's freedom of speech but when the Israeli PM gets pilloried in the press it's anti-semitism. The problem for the hypocrites is that a good case can be made to criticise Netanyahu based upon his policies, which kill Palestinians and steal their land. This is an entirely rational hatred of Netanyahu's policies and I hope the Sunday Times stands by its cartoonist.
How much more do the Abu Rahme family have to suffer until they have justice?
You mean there's an international body that's not just going to target Africans? If anything actually comes of this it'll be a real threat to my cynicism.
Edited to add: really enjoying your stuff lately Alex.
Sometimes you gotta go with what the other kids want Susan. It's called democracy.
Woody, it's a real fear when your forbears made the Palestinians pay with their lives. Lapid knows what was done to the Palestinians and fears the retribution of zionism's victims. He, like all zionists, are governed by fear of the original sin of the creation of the state of Israel.
Thanks for that link Hostage.
I can personally refute some of the falsities uttered in this debate. For example, I know dozens of men and women of my father's and grandfather's generation from Lebanon and Jordan who went to Palestine (many before WW1) and returned to their homes (in part because of the strife in Palestine under the mandate).
Good to know that pro-zionist debate was just as fact-based then as it is now.
Just want to make the point (yet again) that minimizing the Palestinian presence and maximising the land for Jews only has actually been a goal since 1947 and earlier, not something that just appeared in 1967. We need to keep remembering 1948 Palestinians, not only 1967.
And there you have it. The delusion so many Israelis and Jews suffer from. Filled with essentialist claptrap and blanking out the destruction of another nation, expulsion of its people and theft of its land. If that's intellectual and moral virtue, then it's really a Brave New World.
What utter bullshit. Jews came to steal Palestinian land and kick out Palestinians and that equates to not being psychologically ready to accept the State of Israel? Tell you what, I'll come and kick you out of your home, drive you out of your country and not let you return in your lifetime. Now tell me how psychologically ready you are for that.
'Maya' means 'illusion' Sanskrit and is a key concept in eastern religions. In very simple terms it's the idea that we do not perceive the world as it 'really' is but rather as our own projection of it. (The Buddhist concept of 'dependent origination' has some similarity to it). Maya is something to be transcended, a veil that should be seen through to achieve enlightenment. So, understanding the name of the protagonist in that sense maybe the screenwriter was trying to say something about the protagonist's perspective? Haven't seen the film so I'm not sure and I could just be reading too much into it.
I'm afraid that even though you might think so, the US, Europe and Israel do not constitute the 'world' as in 'worldwide'.
@seanmcbride: I don't think it's so much a 'worldwide Jewish establishment' since the idea of political zionism was founded by one man who went on to find like minds in Europe. The fact that they could be so successful in establishing a state was precisely due to the mutually-held racism of the European imperialists and the zionists themselves. The former wanted to get rid of a problem in their own countries and create a strategic ally in an important part of the world (just who tried to take the Suez in 1956?)and the latter were more than happy to help them and pay forward the racism they experienced in Europe upon Palestinians and non-European Jews.
So not really a 'worldwide Jewish establishment' is it?
Agree Betsy. I see this as sectarianism rather than tribalism.
I think his Arabic name would be Shahir ibn al Adel. Note I'm being ironic.
E1 belongs to the Erekat family, as does Maale Adumim. It was stolen by the Israeli govt and the Israelis who settled there. But it still belongs to them, despite the theft. Thieves don't get to keep their ill-gotten gains and one day soon, the rightful owners will return to their lands.
link to jadaliyya.com
What is the reason for publishing this article here? I must admit that this is the side of Mondoweiss I find distasteful - all this sectarian focus. You guys are much better when you come from a place of human rights rather than all this stupid sectarian rubbish, whether it's Jewish or Muslim.
I think you misunderstood my comment sardelapasti. The response to Eldar, who wants to throw up his hands and have non-Jews save Zionism since Jews can't do it, is for Jews and all of us to say that saving an apartheid state is not something we want to do and affirm the right to return of Palestinians as a part of ending that apartheid. Is that clearer?
My thanks to you Adam and to all those who signed. This is the answer to Akiva Eldar - there are Jews who know how to save all of us.
So Eldar thinks that the past history of Labor and Kadima will somehow inspire Palestinian support? What planet is he living on? Labor and Kadima will take those votes (thank you very much) and do absolutely nothing for Palestinians or peace. Not just that, but as Don points out above, the antipathy against Palestinians that seeps through his own writing will repel any Palestinian from wanting to support the Israeli 'left'. Eldar and his comrades would be far better off coming to grips with their responsibility in creating this problem and come up with ways to change in their own society rather than throwing up their hands and look for a deus ex machina to solve all their problems - save them from supporting an apartheid state and save them from living in equality with Palestinians.
@Abebird: You just gave us the 101 class in how Zionists make up shit. It reminds me of the two old Eastern European Jews I set next to on a long flight from Athens to Singapore: they swore up and down that the reason that Jews in Europe had lighter coloring etc was because over time they became just like the people around them without intermarrying. I think that genetics has had something to say against that for nearly a couple centuries now.
Keffiyeh and kipa are 2 very different things - they're not the same just because they are worn on the head. The kipa is actually more equivalent to the cap that devout Muslim men wear on their head. The keffiyeh has not had religious significance.
As for the rest of your garbage, Avi_G and Shmuel have set it right. For your own edification, you might want to find out just how much modern Hebrew owes to Arabic. But the point I was trying to make is that you don't get to take Iraqi, Yemeni, Egyptian, Syrian, Moroccan, Tunisian etc culture and call it Israeli. We Arabs are not monolithic nor are we amenable to having the latest in the colonial/crusader waves steal our stuff. Either you become part of the Levant or we will spit you out, in time. Enjoy Palestine while you can.
So Mizrahi Jews wanna take parts of their Arab heritage and redefine it as Israeli? I'll respond with my favorite Arab word, which any Arabic speaker should be able to understand: Toz!
Mizrahi Jews rejected their Arabness in favor of their Jewishness. They don't have the right to take what is Arab and then call it Jewish or Israeli. Like the keffiyeh, it's Arab and it's gonna stay Arab (with thanks to Shadia Mansour). Whether Israelis are stealing Palestinian/Levantine culture or trying to define Arab cuisine as Israeli, it's all theft.
General idea about what? A gay priest with breast fetish, dancing in ancient alleys who is a communist and can't get into a church?
For some languages, google translate is not your friend.
OlegR
It's racism 101:
link to un.org
Thanks Donald. The bit I loved in the article was:
By watching a few videos, this guy has diagnosed the mental illness of these people and singlehandedly contradicted years of research by other academics and researchers who happen to be experts in the field and with little substantiation except his own eyeballs and eardrums. That's just epic fail.
Normally we psycho-pathologize white violence by claiming that its the product of mental illness but essentialize Palestinian/Arab/Muslim violence by claiming there is something inherent/essential in Palestinian-ness/Arab-ness and Islam that is inherently violent (and thus being blind to the fact that Palestinians face injustice and oppression that lead some to engage in violent resistance against it). But this author has managed to synthesize the psycho-pathology argument with the essentialist argument re: Palestinian violence, implying Palestinians are both inherently violent and mentally ill. Apparently, as a Palestinian, you have to be mentally ill to believe that you are being victimised, that you have grievances, that you are terribly mistreated and want to resist your mistreatment. Do you hear that Palestinians? It's all in your brain. What a grade A wanker.
Against the notion of AIPAC power you have Senate collegiality, which demands that colleagues and former colleagues be treated deferentially and respectfully. Not only that, the Democrats would have a hard time opposing their President’s pick and the Republicans would have a hard time opposing a fellow Republican. Furthermore, Hagel’s defence/foreign policy views resonate with the non-insane wing of the Republican faithful and lot so Independents and Democrats. Put that against a background of war exhaustion on the part of the US population and military, the behavior the President has been subjected to by Netanyahu and growing American anger at Israeli ingratitude and I’m thinking that if Obama nominates Hagel, it could well be genius.
Of course the settlements aren't a problems if you're Jewish. But have you ever considered the possibility that they might be if you are Palestinian? Stay inside the circle jerk, Mayhem.
Look you're absolutely right Mayhem. You occupy people, you treat them real nice and they're just so ungrateful that they become criminals. It's just verkakte how you just can't have a bit of peace and quiet after the ethnic cleansing, theft and occupation!
Exactly lysias. Against the notion of AIPAC power you have Senate collegiality, which demands that colleagues and former colleagues be treated deferentially and respectfully. Not only that, the Democrats would have a hard time opposing their President's pick and the Republicans would have a hard time opposing a fellow Republican. Furthermore, Hagel's defence/foreign policy views resonate with the non-insane wing of the Republican faithful and lot so Independents and Democrats. Put that against a background of war exhaustion on the part of the US population and military, the behavior the President has been subjected to by Netanyahu and growing American anger at Israeli ingratitude and I'm thinking that if Obama nominates Hagel, it could well be genius.
Thank you Jennifer. An incredible story. I wonder where Muhammad and Khaled are today?
The situation of Tibetans if far more like that of Israeli Palestinians than occupied Palestinians since China has taken over Tibet, annexed it, moved non-Tibetans in and done a pretty good job of destroying local culture and architecture and environment and using violence to crush resistance. But at least they have citizenship just like '48 Palestinians so it's all good, right?
Israel controls the air, sea, entry and exit of goods and people, the population registry, spies on Gaza 24/7 using CCTV and maintains a buffer zone inside Gaza, shooting at Gazans who violate that zone. You are just using stupid hasbara to score a cheap point, ignoring the reality of what is going on. Hamas or the PA can display their relatively puny military resources and have a few marches and put uniforms on resistance fighters but none of that denies the actual control that Israel exerts. What Hamas and the PA do are shows of defiance. Don't confuse that for Gaza being free from occupation. I'm disgusted with hasbrats who think that they can push a partial view of reality and think that anyone outside their circle jerk will be convinced by their shit.
More correctly, Christians, Muslims and Jews are religions that descended from Semites, of whom the Arabs are one of the largest tribes.
Oh that's crap. Lots of white South Africans left both before and after apartheid. Many of them had histories going far further back than the 100 years or less that the vast majority of Israeli Jews. It doesn't make someone anti-white to ask a white South African if there were going to leave any more than asking a Jew if they are going to leave. In both cases, you have a people who set up a system that privileges them and did not necessarily want to stay when their privileges were gone. While I have a lot of empathy and compassion for Gurvitz, he would still be safe with his loved ones in that country in a state of equality rather than occupation. The fucked up thing here is not Phil's question, it's the normalisation of the theft of Palestinian lands and the expectation that thieves get to keep their ill-gotten gains.
This was one of the things that US General Dayton warned Israel about while he was there arming and training the Palestinian security forces. Dayton warned the Israelis that these men were expecting to be part of the institutional structure of the Palestinian state and that at some point, they would start pushing back against Israel if they didn't get their state. Add that as another element in the civil war mix that Gurvitz was talking about.
Poor deluded J Street. They think Netanyahu is the problem. They don't see he's standing on a edifice that was decades in the making.
So when you can point me to a statement by Phil that he supports Islamic nationalism, then your accusation of intellectual inconsistency will hold. Otherwise, I don't know where you got the idea that Phil or anyone else here supports sectarianism of any kind, whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist or whatever.
With the exception of halting all expansion of illegal settlements and illegal housing in E Jerusalem.
You forget that in their minds, East Jerusalem and the choicest bits of West Bank real estate, resources and aquifers are part of Israel.
Nor for a 'symbolic' right of return.
And unicorns.
And Aisha means life in Arabic.
@chinese box: there's a really easy strategy to ensure that the Iron Dome becomes ineffective. Hamas, Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah can set of hundreds of rockets without a warhead into Israeli and watch as the Dome starts to work. I guess they can also send in some rockets with read warheads too and the Dome won't know which is which. Now if someone like me with not military background can this up, I'm sure the people at your local resistance strategy meeting can think up even better ways to deal with anti-missile technology.
According to Mark Regev, he's not a 'foreign journalist'.