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- Why Palestine is different 7
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- Abulhawa declines to ‘balance out’ several Israelis in ‘Al Jazeera’ … 94
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- Two friends meet for 5 minutes in Jerusalem 54
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The War of Ideas in the Middle East
Great! I'll be in touch. Maybe we can catch a demonstration together.
Shmuel: I'll be in Rome on my honeymoon in late June. Will you be there?
Jonathan Cook. A moral giant.
Excellent news. Scott has a passion for justice in Israel/Palestine that can only make the site even better.
Avi: So, to be consistent, Jodi Rudoren should write "Netanyahu said, 'Elohim gave Moses this land thousands of years ago.'" How long would she get away with that?
A lesser, but still significant point. Rudoren's article about the al Dalu funeral leaves "Allah" untranslated, instead of changing the Arabic to "God." (In fact, "Allah" literally means "the God.") Using "Allah" is a long-standing element of Orientalist writing about the Middle East. If journalists who covered France or Spanish America used "Dieu" or "Dios" all the time, we might start to get the idea that people there are exotic, maybe not quite human in the way we are. If Jewish Israelis talk about God to Rudoren, will she leave it in the Hebrew?
Go right ahead and use it.
Mondoweiss contributors and others have noted that you can manipulate a timeline of events to place blame where it doesn't really belong.
In that spirit, imagine if the same reporting distortions had been at work on June 6, 1944:
"The Normandy region of France erupted today in violence when an Anglo-American invasion force landed, ending 4 years of peace in France and blistering the previously quiet French countryside with artillery and machine-gun fire. One French civilian trying to hide from the onslaught said, 'All we want to do is farm our land in peace.'
"German forces, stationed in France by agreement with the legitimate French government in Vichy, said they would mobilize to protect French civilians from the completely unprovoked Allied attack."
Excellent reports, Scott, which include the kind of revealing details that I didn't find in my New York Times this morning. But please be careful.
Jon: I already guessed you wouldn't be voting for him. My question is: Aren't you angry with him for jeopardizing your family's safety so he can win reelection?
Jon: I join with Cliff in hoping that you and your family stay safe. I have read your comments with interest over time, and it seems clear that you are not a hasbara robot, (some of whom I suspect are posting their bloodthirsty cries from the safety of the suburban United States).
So I have a question for you. It is not a trick. You probably and understandably see the people who are launching rockets in your direction as primarily responsible for your sleepless nights. But don't you also see that Benjamin Netanyahu is using you and your family as pawns in his re-election campaign? Isn't any of your anger directed toward him?
More companies than one might think are affected. The law covers companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges, so it also includes BP, BHP Billiton and many others that may seem "non-American" -- some 1100 in all.
Marc: Excellent questions, both. 1) I'm not sure of the answer, but I suspect political realities are the explanation. It was hard enough to pass legislation for oil and mining companies, without stirring up opposition from even more global businesses.
2) Big oil and the mining companies are good at disguising what are in fact "bribes." If they pay for the schooling of the president's family members, or hire his brother's security company to protect their installations, these may look like genuine payments.
The new law does not outlaw these payments; it simply requires the companies to make them public, with the unstated hope that social movements in both the countries affected and in the West will then apply public pressure. As I point out in the Nation article, the New York Times occasionally writes about corruption in Equatorial Guinea, somehow without even mentioning Exxon.
I'm sure we will soon be seeing photographs like these on the front pages of the New York Times and the Washington Post. (If not, why not? They are great photographs and they certainly have news value, don't they?)
Winneca: It looks like you have a busy few hours ahead of you, if you genuinely want to continue with "one of the most admirable human endeavors ever, the search for understanding.” Shmuel, seanmcbride, hostage and citizen have now all addressed your 8:26 a.m. post above, responding to both your (lack of) specifics on the settlement expansion issue, and your effort to change the conversation by accusing them of selectively searching for facts to follow what you call their "imperative to prove Israel’s evil."
We look forward to your thoughtful contributions on this "search for understanding."
Winneca: You changed the subject. Shmuel, Colin, Hostage and others calmly provided detailed information, with sources, rebutting your contentions on settlement growth. Instead of responding to them with facts of your own, you retreated into an emotional "argument" that accused them of avoiding "one of the most admirable human endeavors ever, the search for understanding." Why don't you drop the motherhood statements and try and answer Shmuel, Colin and Hostage, point by point?
Winneca: You present yourself as a calm voice of reason. So how are you going to respond to Shmuel's detailed rebuttal of your whitewash about the expansion of Israeli settlements/colonies?
Rebecca Vilkomerson. A moral giant.
Observing Shmuel in action against OlegR is like watching the Jamaican sprinters vs. some third-graders.
The photograph of the alleged bomber ought to end racial/religious profiling in security lines once and for all.
Ahmed: Thanks for your enlightening report. Do you believe Shafiq actually got 48 percent of the vote? Who voted for him and why? (I understand that Copts are frightened by the Muslim Brotherhood, but they are at most 10 percent of the population.)
This excellent post by Adam reminds me once again why Mondoweiss is indispensable. Her tweet at the end is astonishing.
An excellent post. I also like Simon. Anyone who has ever lived in an authoritarian state knows how the good journalists have to play ball so they can continue to publish anything. Thanks to Scott Roth for showing us the price Simon paid.
"Bill" is a man of courage and integrity, with the rare quality of being able to challenge his own once deeply-held views. I look forward to Part 2. I also would like to see Bill tell his own story at some stage.
hophmi: What do you see as Beinart's "main arguments?"
Fred: Go back to Hasbara Central and warn them you are in over your head here. Shmuel, tree, and Woody have squashed your ignorant comments using only a little of the international law and Israel/Palestine history that they know. They insist on more informed debating partners.
Or are you actually merely trolling?
Hamishe_Sabz reveals one of the true faces of the pro-Israel argument -- naked racism.
A superb report by Matthew. The Times article was a joke; if I were still teaching journalism, I could use it as an example of bias.
Why were elected officials even called for their comments in the first place, (unless they belong to the coop)? Next step: start interviewing members of the New York Knicks for their views?
My dad was also in the Flying Tigers, the 14th Air Force, stationed in Kunming and Kweilin.
Both statements critical of Atzmon that Adam reproduces here are eloquent and completely persuasive.
The great MJ Rosenberg is right as usual -- this time about the silliness of "Jewish unity." Although Yonatan Shapira, the great Israeli air force pilot-turned courageous dissident, warns that the Jewish tradition for vigorous debate dies down in some quarters when Israel is the subject. "It used to be, '3 Jews, 4 opinions,' Yonatan says. "But when Israel comes up, now it is '100 Jews, 1 opinion.'"
Shmuel: Please elaborate why you don't use the word "goy." I understand it is at least mildly offensive, and I've upbraided Phil privately for using it, even in his joking way. What's more, I never hear anyone under about 70 using it, and there's no need to reintroduce it to a younger generation.
Don't forget Obelix, and the special potion to keep the village concealed from the Romans.
Pamela's presentation last night was excellent and well-attended. She was asked whether she ever felt any danger during her years in Palestine, where she identified herself as an American.
"Five times," she said. "Four times from the Israeli occupying forces. But only once from Palestinians -- from a taxi driver, who was driving like a maniac until I asked him to slow down."
A powerful requiem for Sheikh Emad. The Egyptian military/industrial ruling class, which still retains power, is coldly calculating in its use of snipers against the Tahrir Square demonstrators. The regime cannot open fire indiscriminately, because a massacre would promote an even bigger uprising. But it cannot allow the crowds to grow too large, or too noisy, even though the demonstrators are nonviolent. So they shoot 2 people here, 3 people there. Sheikh Emad, a moral giant, was one of the victims.
The United States gives the Egyptian military $1.3 billion of aid a year.
Shmuel: Hasbara Central really needs a better training course. Winnica has followed their long-familiar pattern: a new commenter shows up on Mondoweiss, full of wide-eyed, feigned innocence, followed within 48 to 72 hours by outrage at most of what they see here. Mondoweiss demands more sophisticated sparring partners!!
Avi: Thanks, as always, for your comment and for the link. I'm also optimistic, although Walid's fears expressed above are not entirely out of the question. So far, though, the old remnant regime has been behind the worst of the sectarian violence; as I wrote, it has not spontaneously arisen in either the Muslim or Christian communities.
Richard Witty said, 'Look how dimadok and I arrogantly discuss whether Lillian is "Jewish enough." Of course, I don't respond to the substance of her post. This is the height of rudeness.'
Richard Witty said, 'I continue to threadjack, instead of having "dialog" with Lillian Rosengarten.'
Richard Witty said, 'Notice how I've made a number of comments on this thread, but I have absolutely nothing at all to say in response to Lillian Rosengarten's eloquent post, even though I regularly whine that I want "dialog." Ms. Rosengarten was actually aboard one of the peace ships trying to break the blockade of Gaza, and actually witnessed Israeli violence against that moral giant, the former Israeli pilot Yonatan Shapira.
'I, Richard Witty, by contrast have not been in Israel for over 25 years, and I haven't witnessed anything.
'Lillian Rosengarten's first-hand testimony frightens my guilty conscience. That's why I divert and try to threadjack.'
Richard Witty said, 'More dishonest apologetics for Israel from me:
"I'm making another false comparison. If Mississippi state troopers had attacked one group of peaceful demonstrators, murdered 9 of them at the same time, then arrested all the others, destroyed their cameras and other evidence, and held them incommunicado for days, preventing them from talking to the eager world press, then I might have a valid comparison.'
3e: Why was Israel "in" the Sinai in 1956? Did they join an imperialist attack against Egypt with Britain and France?
Cui bono?
Richard Witty said, 'Palestinians and Arabs are not part of my understanding of "we."'
Richard Witty said, 'Donald: I'm not responding to Dan Crowther. I was objecting to this line of yours:
'I'm pointing out, as I do regularly, that although Mondoweiss may not have a military capability, the incendiary language here from "dissent" and "solidarity" is a key factor that promotes fear among Israelis, and prevents them from negotiating. Don't underestimate the power of Mondoweiss. I don't, which is why I'm here nearly 24 hours a day, ignoring my own blog for months now, countering Phil, Adam and the other threats to peace who appear here.'
Richard Witty said, 'Donald: You grossly underestimate the power of Mondoweiss. This website, which is dominated by "dissent" and "solidarity," is the single greatest factor that frightens Israelis and prevents them from negotiating with Palestinians. Why do you think I spend hours here, day and night, policing the site, and warning Phil and others that they jeopardize peace every time they make incendiary, hurtful statements like suggesting that Israeli settler/colonists are in the West Bank illegally? Why do you think I haven't had the time to post on my own Israel blog since last September? I'm standing here, with my thumb in the dike, nearing 12,000 comments, doing by far the most important thing I can.'
Richard Witty said, 'Another fake effort by me to engage in dialog (sic). I know most Mondoweiss visitors endorse BDS as a first step toward "affect[ing] a change in Israeli policy. (I should have written "effect[ing]", but I was in a hurry.)
'Now watch me squawk as I misrepresent BDS for the 11,000th time.'
Richard Witty said, 'Ouch, Donald. You noticed that I can write carefully and precisely when I have to; I am an accountant after all.
'Over the past couple of years, I've made more than 11,000 comments on Mondoweiss. I've done absolutely nothing to argue against settlement EXPANSION. So now thousands more settler/colonists have illegally gone into Occupied Palestine.
'We should just forget about them. The future is what counts.'
Richard Witty said, 'Notice how I insult MRE!
'The truth is: I, Richard Witty, am not who I say I am. I pretend to be "liberal," but I have a well-established double-standard that always defaults to Israel. I'm really no different than 3e.'
Richard Witty said, 'You won't see me within a country mile of this thread. If I had an ounce of the integrity of someone like Professor Jerry Slater, I would be over here denouncing the murder of this scientist, and the likely involvement of Israel. Instead, I'm elsewhere, continuing my usual quibbling about how the illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank deserve a hearing in a "color-blind court of law."
'This Iranian scientist never had the privilege of a trial; he was simply murdered.
'The truth is: his death doesn't upset me. I've already endorsed "attacking Iran lightly," and I go along with everything Israel wants -- while I lecture Phil Weiss and the legions of Mondoweiss readers that they have to "make the better argument."'
Richard Witty said, 'More hot air above from me. Here are facts: I've made 11,662 comments here on Mondoweiss, and I have the nerve to accuse the site of "censorship." I even used to promote my own site here regularly. I could post and comment to my heart's content over there, but I haven't put anything up since September 12, 2011. I guess no one was paying attention.
'My jealousy at the attention Phil, Adam and others get here just jumps off the page. That explains why I've grown increasingly nasty. No longer do I encourage visitors to "humanize the other."
'What's more, regular Mondoweiss visitors have noticed that I can become particularly condescending to women -- whether we are talking about annie robbins, Lillian Rosengarten, or, more recently, MRE. What's up with that?'
Richard Witty said, 'Another failed presumptuous effort by me to engage Phil in "dialog." I know he's running a website that has a worldwide and growing reach, but I expect him to drop everything and answer my silly comments.
'I'm still steaming over my failed effort to elbow my way into the Professor Jerry Slater threads.
'Meanwhile, I used to trumpet my own "liberal Zionist" blog. But I haven't found the time to post anything on my own site since last September.'
Richard Witty said, 'Another futile effort by me to provoke Professor Jerry Slater into a one-on-one dialogue. As though Professor Slater has the time to answer my silly questions.
'As a first step, I could take enough care with my posts to write them in English. After 11,000 plus comments, I still haven't learned the difference between "its" and "it's." Professor Slater surely knows that sloppy writing means sloppy thinking.
'Second, take a look at this question I pose to him:
'If I paused for half a second before I posted, I would realize that I'm grossly insulting Professor Slater. I'm suggesting that he and Phil Weiss -- established, articulate thinkers and writers -- are not as good at reading comprehension as I, Richard Witty, am.'
I think Phil is somewhat mistaken to use the analogy from Egypt. He is partly right, in that the 20 percent or so of Egyptians who are "liberals" are tending to vote for the more moderate Muslim Brothers vs. the more conservative Salafists in the second round of the parliamentary run-off elections. Egyptian liberals may not like the Brotherhood, but they are afraid of the Salafists.
What's different here is that Ron Paul is raising vital issues of war and peace that all the other candidates from both parties are ignoring. I personally do not think Israel or the United States will attack Iran, but even if the odds in favor are only, say 20 per cent, the prospect is such a calamity that Paul must continue to be heard this entire election season.
The fact that he is attracting military veterans to his cause is also promising. Once the other spineless candidates from both parties see that you can be antiwar without being labelled weak, they may start to shift.
If I do contribute to Paul's campaign, I will not do so because I agree with most of his policies, or because I want him to win. I want him to keep speaking out against an attack on Iran that would be a disaster for everyone.
I agree with Phil's analysis. Ron Paul is not going to be president. I don't want Ron Paul to be president. I do want Ron Paul to continue to raise issues no other candidate will touch.
What has particularly impressed me recently is that reports from Iowa say many military veterans turn out at Ron Paul rallies, and are among his volunteers. Our country sent these people into war zones for multiple tours and now we are forgetting about them -- or worse, considering sending them into another conflict with Iran.
At the very least, Ron Paul's campaign continues to question this evil and dangerous warmongering. I'm considering sending him a campaign contribution.
Richard Witty said, 'Another threadjacking by me.'
Waleed: Only on Mondoweiss would an articulate young multilingual person like yourself who is living under a violent siege that is a violation of international law have to reassure a prosperous (barely) unilingual American who is living far from any war zone -- who has not in fact visited Israel since 1986, but who claims to know everything about it.
Koshiro is right. Waleed, a Palestinian in Gaza, knows more about Shakespeare than the American English-speaker Richard Witty. One theory is that Shakespeare took a stock character of the time, the financially rapacious Jew, and through his genius gave him a human dimension. If the play were simply anti-Semitic it would not continue to be performed.'
Richard Witty said, 'Let's review the facts, to underscore my arrogance and insensitivity. Waleed files a post from inside blockaded Gaza, on the third anniversary of a murderous attack that killed 1400 people, including 300 children, many of whom he probably knew. Instead of reading his post and giving it a little thought, I jump in at the top of the thread and whine that he called "me" an enemy. I disrespected him so much that I didn't notice his post never used the word "Jews," and wasn't even directed at "me".
'I've never apologized for misreading and insulting him. Instead, I now accuse him, Waleed, of not "coming back to clarify."
'My callousness has never been more on display. Waleed lives in a society under siege, where Israeli drones and warplays patrol the skies. He may not even have an internet connection at home, having to go out to an internet cafe, where the connections are not as reliable as in my comfortable home up here in western Massachusetts.
'I don't care. What matters is that he, Waleed, should reassure me, Richard Witty, that he is not my enemy.'
Richad Witty said, 'I'm more concerned with getting Professor Jerry Slater to respond to my bizarre meanderings than I am to listen to Waleed's original post. Waleed gave us a view from inside Gaza -- one we do see on Mondoweiss, but we will never see in the mainstream media -- and I jumped in at the top of the thread to distort his message and to whine.'
Waleed: Thanks for your humane response to Richard Witty's insensitive foolishness. No one here at Mondoweiss takes Richard seriously. Please keep on, and keep writing and carrying the message about life in Gaza.
Thanks, Refaat, for telling the truth:
You could not be more clear.
Richard Witty said, 'Here I go, threadjacking again. Waleed al-Meadana has given us a passionate, powerful depiction of life under the violent Israeli siege, and all I can do is quibble over a single word.
'What's more, my comment is thoroughly dishonest:
'Nowhere in Waleed's post does he mention the word "Jews." Once again, I'm playing the same old game of trying to conflate "Israel" -- which blockades his homeland, and regularly invades it -- with "Jews." I'm trying to slyly suggest that Waleed's anger is motivated by old-fashioned anti-Semitism, instead of the fact that he lives with the Israeli siege and violence.'
Walid: In other words, as Mondoweiss grows and becomes more effective, the quality of the puppetmasters behind the 3e screen name improves.
3e: This statement of yours is funny:
Your profile reveals you have made 4486 comments since 1/28/10. Unless there are more than 1 of you, that doesn't sound like "occasionally."
3e: Your approach is contradictory.
a) You constantly tell us that Israel is impregnable, BDS is a total failure, that we are powerless and insignificant.
b) Yet you spend hours here, nearly every day.
Aren't you wasting your time? I don't go over to the Flat Earth Society website and try and correct them.
3e: What's more, if BDS is so ineffectual, why has Israel criminalized even speaking out for it? The superb young Israeli journalists at the outstanding website +972 are under orders to express no support for BDS.
3e: If BDS is such a failure, why do you and others spend hours, days and weeks on Mondoweiss fighting it?