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Total number of comments: 926 (since 2009-08-02 12:39:37)

Oscar

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  • an innocent in Israel
    • Oscar January 7, 2010 at 8:39 am

      Great post, as always, Phil. Mondo at its very best -- immediate, poignant, compelling and intelligent.

  • George Galloway interviewed on Viva Palestina, the blockade of Gaza and the US role
    • Oscar January 7, 2010 at 12:59 pm

      Citizen, you're right. It seems that the US is doing everything in its power to assist in the slow-motion genocide of the Palestinian people. The US Army Corp of Engineers appears to be supervising the construction of the steel Wall of Shame and if there is a legitimate military reason for sealing off the tunnels (arms smuggling), why didn't the US insist on Israel and Egypt suspending the siege first (for humanitarian reasons)?

      As the world opinion of Obama continues to deteriorate alongside America's credibility in the eyes of the Arab, Muslim and Islamic populations, it seems clear that the Obama administration is once again becoming "Israel's Lawyer" (David Miller's phrase for the Bush-era negotiating team between the Israelis and Palestinians.)

      The recent JPost interview with Michael Oren is eye-popping. The Israelis have come full circle from the handwringing that Obama is an "anti-Israel" president. Check out Oren's confidence that the US has recently backed Israel in every way:

      There have recently been reports that the US was making changes in some of the arms deals the Bush administration had brokered with Saudi Arabia and some of the Gulf states, to ease Israeli concerns that this would damage the qualitative edge.

      In addition, Oren said, the administration was "very good" on the Goldstone Commission report, "unequivocally condemning" it and "working to mitigate the impact of the report."

      Likewise, he said, the US was "very active, at many levels" in lobbying the EU against adopting a Swedish EU resolution that would have called for east Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state. US efforts there, he said, "brought about a real change."

      And in the same vein, he said, Obama came out clearly after meeting in the White House earlier this month with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and said broadly that "an improvement of Turkey's relations with Israel was an American interest. He said it publicly, and we were gratified by that.

      "This is the kind of stuff that doesn't make the press here, but there are many nuances to the relationship. It is not monochromatic. Because there is so much emphasis on the settlements, on east Jerusalem, you don't see the other things."

      Oren said he didn't believe that the US was planning to come out with a new diplomatic "plan" that it would then foist on the parties, as many in the EU and Russia are hoping for.

      [Source: link to jpost.com

      Israel has the full faith and credit of US foreign policy behind it. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine will accelerate once the Wall of Shame has closed off the last tunnel. Palestinians will die by the tens of thousands of disease and famine, and your US taxpayer dollars is funding the greatest humanitarian disaster of the 21st century.

      Bono is a hypocrite. The best he can do is muster a wish in a NYT op-ed that a Gandhi arises for the Palestinians. How about a Bono for the Palestinians, instead. Do something, rock star -- do something.

  • Palestine Vivra! The French Heroes of the Gaza Freedom March
  • Frank Gehry can't be found on controversial J'lem project's website
    • Oscar January 6, 2010 at 8:24 am with 6 replies

      WJ -- sometimes I agree with you, but this time, your post is way off-base. Whether Gehry changed his name from Goldberg is immaterial. The issue (and still and open inquiry) is whether the pressure compelled him to have the conscience to take his name off the project.

      I'm stunned that you would propose the Muslim community "move" an entire cemetary. Imagine the global press attention if the tables were turned and the remains of hundreds of Jews were to be moved to make room for a Muslim museum.

  • Report: Viva Palestina humanitarian convoy to Gaza stopped by 2,000 Egyptian riot police
    • Oscar January 6, 2010 at 2:35 pm

      Bravo to the great people of Viva Palestina who were so persistent in breaking the siege.

      When the violence broke out at the Gazan border between Egyptian riot police and the participants of Viva Palestina, leaving 50 people injured, the Irish foreign minister went out with an immediate statement. Can anyone imagine Hillary Clinton going out with a similar statement seeking to protect the American participants in Viva Palestina? No, Hillary is far more concerned with the progress of the steel "wall of death" being constructed to kill off any more vital supplies to Gaza.

      “I was concerned to hear that a number of Irish citizens had been caught up in disturbances which took place last night in El Arish, an Egyptian port near the border with Gaza, and that at least one of them had been injured in the incident. I have been speaking with the family of one of the Irish volunteers in question to assure them that we were doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the volunteers in El Arish.

      I have also spoken today with Ireland’s Ambassador to Egypt, Mr. Gerard Corr, and asked that he keep me personally informed of developments. The Irish Embassy in Cairo has been in contact with the volunteers on the ground and with the Egyptian authorities, and officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin have also been in touch with the Egyptian Embassy here.

      The Irish Embassy in Cairo has been liaising with the Egyptian Ministry for Foreign Affairs on a regular basis for more than a week to highlight the presence of Irish volunteers in the ‘Viva Palestina’ aid convoy and to request safe passage for them to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Embassy has remained in touch on a daily basis with the Irish volunteers since 24 December. We understand that there are 12 Irish people in the group.

      In light of last night’s disturbances, the Embassy in Cairo has contacted the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and expressed concern at reports that Irish citizens had been caught up in the violence. We have also expressed our concern to the Egyptian authorities for the welfare of the Irish citizens involved in the aid convoy.

      We will continue to monitor the situation closely and maintain close contact with the volunteers and the Egyptian Government.” .

      Source: link to isria.com

  • Apparently, Bono's never heard of Jamal Juma'
    • Oscar January 5, 2010 at 1:47 pm with 1 replies

      Chu -- absolutely right. It also struck me that Bono used the name "Gandhi" rather than "Mandela." Given Bono's devotion to South Africa and its apartheid, why wouldn't he have invoked a Mandela rather than a Gandhi? Maybe because he doesn't have the guts to call it "apartheid" -- or perhaps the NYT watered it down. In any event, we get it. Bono, I love your music, but despise your moral apartheid.

    • Oscar January 5, 2010 at 7:35 am with 3 replies

      Bono is, unfortunately, a hypocritical letdown. I saw him speak two years ago in Seattle, and he was passionate about his RED project, and was a devoutedly devoted humanist. But Bono, like so many other PEPers, is able to sleep at night as he remains silent about the worst humanitarian crisis of our lifetime. He mumbles a platitude in the NYT about hoping that Palestine will find its Gandhi -- without mentioning WHY they need a Gandhi (hint, Bono: it's called illegal occupation -- the same kind that was practiced in your beloved South Africa). Phil calls this Progressive Except Palestine. I call it moral apartheid.

  • Two-state solution needed, and fast-- for U.S. and Israel!
    • Oscar January 4, 2010 at 1:11 pm

      Julian, the numbers sometimes get confusing. If the number is not 750,000, then what is it? 75,000? 7,500? You tell me what number works for you. We know it's thousands right? We agree on that?

      Meanwhile, we have an ocean of ink and an Amazon rainforest of newsprint devoted to Gilad Shalit's captivity.

      I have great empathy for Shalit and I look forward to his release. Do you, as a Zionist, have the same empathy for the non-violent protesters and ordinary citizens who have been locked away in Israeli prisons without due process? Or are they all terrorists in your mindset?

  • Deconstructing Simon Wiesenthal
    • Oscar January 4, 2010 at 7:24 pm

      Earlier today, I questioned the relevance of this piece on Mondoweiss. Then Shmuel posted this snippet from the Wiesenthal website:

      You can be sure whether it’s this declaration of the EU on Jerusalem, or the infamous Goldstone Report, or anti-Semitism anywhere around the globe, the Simon Wiesenthal Center is on the frontlines standing up to the haters of Israel and the Jewish people.

      Okay, now I get it. The Wiesenthal Center trades on its falsified reputation (a la Bernie Madoff) to attack anyone who dares to question the conduct in East Jerusalem (the EU) or the war crimes committed in Operation Cast Lead (the "infamous" Goldstone Report). So Wiesenthal is fair game, because it's playing the Holocaust card in an intellectually dishonest way --

      -- So there should have been a pre-amble at the beginning of the post to put it in perspective.

    • Oscar January 4, 2010 at 7:16 pm

      Over time, I've come to realize that Mooser consistently posts the most entertaining replies on Mondoweiss. Other than those of R. Witty, but those are unintentionally entertaining. . .

    • Oscar January 4, 2010 at 1:01 pm

      Okay, then Adam or Phil needs to put an italicized explanation. Otherwise, it's important to maintain the integrity of the intellectual debate and the focus on the human rights situation.

    • Oscar January 4, 2010 at 12:47 pm with 2 replies

      I think I might agree with WJ. There needs to be more context as to why this is appropriate for a forum on the I/P situation. I make no judgment as to the veracity of the piece, just its relevance on Mondo.

  • Come see Mondoweiss in Chicago
  • Ma’ale Adumim: Annexation and the Architecture of Apartheid
    • Oscar January 4, 2010 at 1:27 pm with 1 replies

      Dr. Lozowick, I respectfully disagree. This website has had a lively exchange of ideas and debates for several years, and this is not an anti-Israel website. The most passionate posters on the Mondoweiss website believe that the Palestinians are victims, and that the occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal. They are outraged by Israel's unblinking support of the death of 1,400 citizens of Gaza in Operation Cast Lead, and appalled by the use of white phosphorus weapons on women and children. The participants on this website are exceptionally well-read and conversant on Middle East history, and have no tolerance for hasbara.

      The majority of participants on this site believe a religious-driven, Zionist movement to ethnically cleanse Palestinians (by destroying their homes, livelihood, dignity, and families) and drive them into the arms of Egypt and Jordan is an ongoing violation of the Geneva Convention. They believe that the Goldstone Report has some troubling findings that require further investigation.

      I disagree with your statement that Mondoweiss has no interest in understanding the Israeli perspective. I'd wager that 90% of the participants read either JPost.com and Haaretz.com on a daily basis, and a good percentage of those read both. I certainly do.

  • the reluctant radical
    • Oscar January 2, 2010 at 12:32 pm with 2 replies

      Very true. Couldn't agree with you more. Any time a Mondoweiss post starts getting 100+ comments, I'd wager that 25% of the content is flaming Richard Witty's postings. Not a productive ratio.

    • Oscar January 2, 2010 at 12:20 pm with 19 replies

      Aref, great line. Nevertheless, Witty's participation (and Julian, OhioJoes and Yonira, formerly Jake of Jerusalem, etc.) are critical, otherwise, Mondowiess just becomes an echo chamber, an amen choir, a Greek chorus. I think Chaos4700 put it best -- the opposing view is good nutrition, gives us a chance to build up intellectual stamina.

      We need to take a page from Olbermann. "The Worst in the World."

    • Oscar January 2, 2010 at 12:14 pm with 7 replies

      Richard, not calling for a "blacklist" and calling for the opposite of censorship. If you as a "humanist Zionist" are agreeing that a two-state solution is optimal, why wouldn't you want the MSM talking about it? Why wouldn't Rachel Maddow make it a centerpiece of her progressive telecast?

      By taking an informal poll of mondoweiss participants, wherein we gauge which reporters are doing an excellent job of reporting in I/P and which ones are not, doesn't this call attention to a significant deficiency in American journalism? And by the way, the NYT is not on the list of those who cover I/P in a fair and balanced manner. The NYT uses the precepts of journalistic integrity as a shield for exceptionally Israeli-centric reporting. It didn't used to be that way about 10 years ago (way back when I still had a daily subscription to the NYT and read it from cover to cover), but it certainly is now (and of course nowadays, I rarely read the Times because of the Judith Miller scandal, and if so, only as a Google News link).

      I don't agree with several of the criticisms that Mondoweiss posters have of you, Richard, but I do believe that you have a tendency to spew pontifications that are short on both substance and action. Most of the conscientious objecting you have done seems to have been several decades ago. Many times, your posts here are reminiscent of the so-called "peace process" -- emphasis on "process" and not so much on "peace."

    • Oscar January 2, 2010 at 10:10 am

      Actually, there was a lot of traction gained in mobilizing people to call the Egyptian embassies before the GFM. JFP is especially expert in mobilizing people through on-line petitions.

    • Oscar January 2, 2010 at 10:08 am with 1 replies

      Maybe we can come up with a Mondoweiss 100 -- the one hundred most dishonest/incompetent reporters on the Middle East, with a companion list of the 25 reporters who are the best at I/P (Amira Hass, Larry Derfner, CSM, Time's Tim McGurk, guardian.co.uk reporters, etc.).

  • Update from protests in Gaza and at the Erez checkpoint
  • Press release: Protesters are being brutalized in Tahrir Square right now - 500+ protesters violently forced into pens, others barricaded in their hotels
  • Cairo meets the movement, with tears and chaos and exaltation
  • Update from Cairo: Gaza Freedom March rejects Egyptian offer to allow only 100 protesters into Gaza
    • Oscar December 30, 2009 at 4:15 pm with 1 replies

      Update -- 100 people now in Gaza for the GFM. link to twitter.com

    • Oscar December 30, 2009 at 1:00 pm

      Citizen, check it out. I sent a protest email to the Egyptian embassy in DC. This is what I got back:

      We're sorry. There's a problem with the e-mail address(es) you're trying
      to send to.

      :
      child status 100...The e-mail message could not be delivered because the user's mailfolder is full.

      Dude, they're besieged with emails supporting the GFM.

    • Oscar December 30, 2009 at 11:59 am with 6 replies

      Hey, what's the email address of the Egyptian embassy in the US and the US embassy in Egypt? Let's continue to pressure the diplomats . . .

  • Egypt to allow 100 Gaza Freedom March participants into Gaza
    • Oscar December 30, 2009 at 10:09 am

      Actually, did anyone else notice that when yesterday's MSM headlines screamed that Al Queda "took credit" for the attempted bombing aboard the Detroit flight, it wasn't the CIA or Homeland Security that determined this . . . it was MEMRI!

      To take just one example, on December 28, “al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula” posted a statement on the jihadi website Shumukh Al-Islam. Translated by MEMRI, it claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day attack and promised more terrorism to come. The statement added: “We will continue in this path, Allah willing, until we reach our goal so that religion is all Allah’s.” Is that really so hard to understand?
      link to article.nationalreview.com

      How convenient that MEMRI is banging the war drums for another round of Clash of Civilizations. (link to memrijttm.org). As one commentator noted on December 3 before the attempted bombing:

      Anyway, as a sidenote, I should mention that Christopher Dickey is being a little dishonest in how he represents MEMRI as simply "translating politically-sensitive articles". MEMRI is obviously an Israeli front organization in their propaganda war, as other journalists have noted, which deliberately concentrates on translating articles that are inflammatory and present a false view of the Mideast but which, purely by coincidence, corresponds to the NeoCon view. (Note also that MEMRI doesn't bother translating the inflammatory stuff from the Israeli media.)

      link to iranaffairs.com

      Anyone care for a slice of Nigerian yellowcake?

    • Oscar December 30, 2009 at 9:56 am

      From the Times article Adam cited:

      One protester, Hedy Epstein, 85, a Holocaust survivor, arrived in Egypt from the United States on Saturday. She said she started a hunger strike on Monday.

      “My message is for the world governments to wake up and treat Israel like they treat any other country and not to be afraid to reprimand and criticize Israel for its violent policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians,” Ms. Epstein said. “I brought a suitcase full of things, pencils, pens, crayons, writing paper to take to children in Gaza — I can’t take that back home.”

      I wonder if this means the hasbara crew will call Hedy Epstein a self-hater?

  • Will the Gaza Freedom March have reverberations across the region?
    • Oscar December 29, 2009 at 10:56 pm with 1 replies

      Success. No question about it. It will demonstrate to the entire world the conspiracy to keep the Palestinians in the mud age following the US taxpayer funded white phosphorus/DIME cube bomb devastation of Operation Cast Lead.

  • Rep. Brian Baird to call for cutting US aid to Israel unless the blockade on Gaza is lifted
    • Oscar December 29, 2009 at 4:09 pm

      Citizen -- very true, but you can call his office. I have.

    • Oscar December 29, 2009 at 12:38 pm with 13 replies

      Richard, the headline by Adam says it all. "Rep. Brian Baird to call for cutting US aid to Israel unless the blockade on Gaza is lifted." You, as a self-described "Zionist humanist," should get the picture. People are dying. They're squatting in the rubble of their former homes. End the siege on the 1.5 million people of Palestine, and find another way to deal with Hamas outside of collective punishment and the Dahiya doctrine.

  • Gaza, a year later
  • As US power dwindles, Middle East politics will continue to shift
  • The shifting morality of Israeli hasbara
  • Gaza's children remember the first day of attacks a year ago
    • Oscar December 27, 2009 at 3:39 pm

      Have you seen this video on the Gaza Freedom March on YouTube? Man, some disturbing images. . .

      link to youtube.com

    • Oscar December 27, 2009 at 11:53 am

      Operation Cast Lead marked the initiation of a number new weaponry systems in the IDF

      A year has passed since Operation Cast Lead. This operation brought with it many achievements, mainly for the security of the State of Israel. In addition to the relative quiet in the southern regions of the country, Israel has also gained confidence in new weapons which were initiated during that operation one year ago. Operation Cast Lead was unprecedented in its use of weapons which were used there for the first time.

      The meaningful lessons learned can be summarized thus: the weapons which were used in this operation had the significant task of protecting the lives of the IDF forces and their functionality in a military battle and in the minimization of damage to innocent civilians. Initiation of new weapons was completed both carefully and efficiently, with precise and clear knowledge, and the weapons’ operational abilities were truly proven in real life battle conditions. Below is just a sample of the weapons initiated during Operation Cast Lead, which saved soldiers’ lives and minimized damage to innocent civilians.

    • Oscar December 27, 2009 at 11:48 am with 1 replies

      link to dover.idf.il

      On the 1 year anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, here's the IDF's new hasbara website, crowing about its military supremacy, the successes of the war, and drooling with lust over the new weaponry that was used "for the first time" on the civilian population.

  • Obama aide calls Israel her 'homeland' and a 'healthy democracy'
  • 'Newsweek' columnist endorses Goldstone Report
    • Oscar December 25, 2009 at 11:56 am

      Julian: R.W.Johnson does a masterful job in revealing who Goldstone really is. Just a small man, a self promoter, looking to get ahead.

      So, Israel committed no war crimes in Operation Cast Lead? The use of white phosphorus on a civilian population was completely permissible? There were no war crimes committed because the Goldstone report was "imbalanced?"

      The problem is that hasbara is a losing proposition as a cover-up to the most egregious crimes committed against humanity of our time. Had the tables been turned and an Arab nation committed similar war crimes against Israeli children, would you be able to be as intellectually dishonest as you are here? NFW, Julian. NFW.

    • Oscar December 25, 2009 at 11:43 am with 1 replies

      From the 4 ways to win any hasbara argument, Witty uses #1 and #3 . . . "We rock" and "they suck."

  • I know we're disappointed in Obama. But
  • If this street gets cleaned then the terrorists win
    • Oscar December 24, 2009 at 10:13 am with 1 replies

      Very weird. Americans Against Hate are promotion a one piece "No Jihad in My Backyard" piece of clothing with the following description:

      Panty-minimalists love our casual thong that covers sweet spots without covering your assets; putting an end to panty-lines. This under-goodie is "outta sight" in low-rise pants. Toss these message panties onstage at your favorite rock star or share a surprise message with someone special ... later.

  • eyes wide shut
    • Oscar December 24, 2009 at 9:15 am

      Chaos, I don't want to step in the middle of the skirmish with yonira, but whoa . . . the photo essay from Finkelstein's website is astounding. I think that's precisely the imagery that got Professor Robinson at UC Irvine in trouble with Abe Foxman and the ADL . . .

    • Oscar December 23, 2009 at 5:20 pm with 1 replies

      Thanks for this, D-3870. . . When it comes to I/P, the MSM is all about disinformation -- even my beloved WSJ is manipulating me on a daily basis.

      The Who once famously said, "We Won't Get Fooled Again," and yet, even after Michael Ledeen's yellowcake forgery, Judith Miller's falsified reports on weapons of mass destruction, the drumbeat that led America into disasterous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we're still suckers for the upcoming third front in Iran.

      Our once great nation is saddled with trillions of dollars in debt and it costs a million dollars per soldier per year for our misadventure in Afghanistan. We learned nothing from the Soviets' own disastrous attempt to control Afghanistan (as if "Charlie Wilson's War" is a cute, lighthearted romp by a lone elected official to screw over the commies for having the audacity to invade Afghanistan -- deja vu, mothereffer).

      Now we're deluged with a drumbeat of Iran's bad faith:

      1) Iran seeks nuclear triggers:
      link to foxnews.com

      2) Iran expecting a shipment of high-tech weaponry from North Korea to arm Hamas and Hezbollah:
      link to nytimes.com

      The Office of Special Plans is reopened for new business . . . and expect more American blood and treasure to be squandered, as Russia and China quietly supplant us as world superpowers.

      (The Guardian), frigates jammed with weapons for Hamas

    • Oscar December 23, 2009 at 1:56 pm with 2 replies

      This is all the IHT and NYT has to say one year after Operation Cast Lead? A single photo of the Samouni family? I'm rooting for the Wall Street Journal's upcoming New York City edition to pound the arrogant grey lady to 4th place paper status, and as a consequence to have the Times fall into internet-only status. (Not that the Journal is any better in its M/E reporting . . . )

  • Q: Would a leading US newspaper dare to attack the 'reign of Jewish supremacy'? A: No
    • Oscar December 23, 2009 at 9:05 am

      Reading the Guardian article, it appears Citizen is spot-on. Sorry, Julian, but despite the big huzzah the Israeli press is giving for Carter's Al Het for causing Israel to feel some anti-apartheid heat, it appears it's about as heartfelt as Netanyahu's declaration of support for the two-state solution.

  • Maybe intermarriage is good for the Jews
  • Inglorious JTS
    • Oscar December 18, 2009 at 10:17 pm

      No, she said it as a satire/parody on HBO well before she started principal photography on "The Reader." After she actually won the Oscar, there was considerable cynical blather in the press about her "prophecy" on how to win an Academy Award (hint: Holocaust movie!).

      Still, it wasn't the right Holocaust movie according to some critics:
      link to slate.com

    • Oscar December 18, 2009 at 4:41 pm with 2 replies

      Meanwhile, the self-congratulatory world of Hollywood has gone ga-ga over "Inglourious Basterds." link to google.com

      As Kate Winslet once prophetically said:

      When Ricky Gervais' character commends the actress for doing a Holocaust movie, she tells him it has nothing to do with spreading the message.

      "I don't think we need another film about the Holocaust, do we?" her character version of herself says. "It's like, how many have there been? We get it. It was grim. Move on. No, I'm doing it because I've noticed that if you do a film about the Holocaust, [you're] guaranteed an Oscar. I've been nominated four times—never won. The whole world is going, 'Why hasn't Winslet won one?' That's it. That's why I'm doing it. Schindler's bloody List. The Pianist. Oscars coming out of their ass!"

      Link: link to eonline.com

      Hey, Quentin Tarantino must've read Kate's quote, saw her Oscar, and said to Harvey Weinstein, "I'm gonna git Medieval" on the Nazis . . .

    • Oscar December 18, 2009 at 4:25 pm

      BTW – I’m not directing this anger toward [Chaos 4700]. I’m directing toward the author of this site because he provides the content. He has been to Gaza. He has been up close to the Palestinian experience, as much as his outsider-fetish has allowed him to be at least, and has yet to display any catharsis of that experience. He is still talking about antisemitic blah blah as if it fucking mattes now, after Iraq. After Afghanistan. After Palestine and after Gaza.

      Cliff, man, are we subscribers to the same site?? Phil has lost revenue opportunities and has had a significant impact on his career as a result of his courageous stance on this situation. He and Anna Baltzer are thought-leaders on this movement. Phil is attacked by JTA because he dares to speak to power on the (not-so) soft bias at the New York Times.

      There has been a seismic shift in the intellectual debate -- Phil and Adam have been significant participants in the tipping point. Your frustration is my frustration, but it's misdirected. Mondoweiss is not the problem -- your congressman is the problem. Do something about that -- if you or any of us can.

    • Oscar December 18, 2009 at 4:13 pm

      K-4 -- agree completely. Cliff, you're way off the reservation here. This ad hominem attack on Phil reminds me of how Goldstone is being pilloried for his candor and honesty. You're barking up the wrong tree -- go to JTA and take on Jeff Goldberg, not Phil and Adam.

  • 'Concord Monitor' publishes letter attacking 'monstrous' Jewish displays in the era of Madoff and Occupation
    • Oscar December 18, 2009 at 4:57 pm

      Although candidly, if the ACLU is spending time and resources on abolishing Christmas icons from public spaces, it should also be vigilant on menorahs. Me, I in favor of all celebratory symbols being in prominent display in public.

    • Oscar December 18, 2009 at 4:55 pm

      Shafiq -- I've since learned that the purpose of publishing the letter was to spark public outrage against the writer (which he duly earned -- mission accomplished).

      Now, my problem is that the newspaper is selective in publishing the words of racist idiots. Apparently, the paper wouldn't publish an anti-Islamic letter writer the same way. In other words, the editor intentionally published this idiot's letter to demonstrate that anti-Semitism is rampant, particularly in the context of equating Madoff with the shocking human rights abuses of the IDF in Palestine. . . an egregious, intellectually dishonest exercise.

    • Oscar December 18, 2009 at 2:24 pm

      It appears there's more to the story than meets the eye.
      link to concordmonitor.com

      From the editor in response to angry readers:

      [Over the years] Caldwell's views have not moderated. His letters to the editor appear in my mail frequently. Many never make it into print, but some do. In recent months, he has written disparagingly about gay soldiers and African refugees and in support of accused Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk. In 2008 he described a "worldwide Jewish plan of cultural engineering." His letter in Wednesday's newspaper, in which he called the Hanukkah menorah outside the State House a "Jewish monstrosity," drew a quick and angry response from readers.

      Many people rightly called Caldwell out for his bigotry. Several readers - in letters and phone calls - also questioned why the Monitor would even publish such a letter. Two vowed to cancel their subscriptions.

      Our philosophy on letters to the editor is simple: We print all we can. The premise is that an open forum must allow for the expression of all views. It's easy to defend the publication of a mainstream opinion; the real test of free speech is defending the expression of unpopular, sometimes vile, views.

      Wow, if only the rest of the mainstream media had the same perspective regarding its coverage of the Palestinian apartheid.

    • Oscar December 18, 2009 at 2:18 pm

      It's very despairing to see that a newspaper saw fit to print this letter. I agree with Phil that it hurts the I/P cause -- it even links Madoff with the Palestinian occupation -- and gives ammunition to far-right Zionists that anti-semitism is the primary driver of criticism of Israel's apartheid practices. Despicable letter, and even worse is the publication that printed it.

  • Schakowsky's burqa moment gives me apprehension about my trip to Middle East
  • EU's foreign minister says E. Jerusalem is occupied territory
    • Oscar December 18, 2009 at 8:41 am with 1 replies

      1. AHAVA cosmeceutical company
      2. Galil textile industries
      3. Dorot Garlic and Herbs seasoning products, all based in Israel.
      4. Motorola telecommunications company
      5. Intel Corporation
      6. Estee Lauder cosmetics and skin care companies
      7. Sabra companies
      8. Sara Lee (!!)
      9. L'Oreal
      10. Victoria's Secret

  • Some boycotts are kosher
    • Oscar December 15, 2009 at 7:53 am

      Weird that we continue to fund the "Jewish state" with $3 billion in tax dollars. Isn't there an argument that if Israel insists on being called the Jewish state, we have to cut off funding? What about separation of church and state, huh? Where's the ACLU when you need them . . . oh, wait . . . er, never mind! They're too busy trying to destroy Christmas in the US.

  • Livni cancels UK appearance fearing arrest warrant for war crimes
    • Oscar December 15, 2009 at 10:58 am with 1 replies

      The term "peace process" is hasbaric. What is a "process"? A process is bureaucracy, red tape, subterfuge. Does Britain really desire to play a role in the "process" or is it Obama's quagmire, with Hillary Clinton working behind the scene to sabotage the "process" and appease powerful Zionist fundraisers who will fuel her presidential aspirations? A river of gold . . .

  • Obama 'drives peace process into ditch'
    • Oscar December 15, 2009 at 7:58 am

      Potsherd, I've been traveling for the last two weeks and I'm not familiar with this story. can you provide details/link?

  • I'm accused of anti-semitism
    • Oscar December 8, 2009 at 7:49 pm with 3 replies

      Oh, boy. Now JTA is coming after Phil and Mondoweiss over the Twitters with Lisa Goldman. link to blogs.jta.org

      Everyone sign in at the JTA website and make an appropriate comment to Ron Kampeas' histrionic screed --

    • Oscar December 8, 2009 at 2:35 pm with 5 replies

      David, the point is that the NY Times narrative always comes from the perspective of Israelis, even when discussing Palestinian-centric issues. The fact that you have Israeli journalists covering a sensitive situation such as I/P calls for even-handedness, no? Isn't there at least the appearance of a lack of objectivity on the part of the Times?

  • Al Jazeera show on Jerusalem shows the future of the Israel/Palestine debate
    • Oscar December 8, 2009 at 5:52 pm

      Wow, nicschlagman, that is a beautiful description. Wish there was a camera, that would show you in your peaceful home, with the sun setting behind the hills, and you, sighing with satisfaction as you sip a glass of wine in celebration of another wonderful day. . .

      CUT TO: Occupied Palestine, 20 miles away. A montage of scenes of unimaginable brutality . . . White phosphorus bombs incinerating screaming Palestinian children . . . IDF soldiers shooting an elderly Palestinian woman to death because she doesn't understand their commands in Hebrew . . . a gang of violent settlers beating up a Palestinian farmer, uprooting his olive trees and setting his farm aflame as IDF soldiers look on idly . . . a 6-year-old girl with a heart condition, quietly slipping away to death, as her bereaved family is held up at an IDF checkpoint for five hours en route to the hospital . . . a modified Caterpillar bulldozer destroying the home of a Palestinian family who has lived on the land for three generations because "they don't have a valid building permit" . . . the peaceful American protester who is seriously injured when a high-velocity tear gas canister is intentionally aimed at his head by a 19-year-old IDF soldier, crushing his skull . . . a middle-of-the-night raid by IDF soldiers who burst into a Palestinian home and abduct a 13-year-old boy from his bed, taking him to a prison without charging him, where he'll languish for 16 months . . .

      CUT BACK TO: nicschlagman, watching the sun peacefully slip behind the hills of his home, as he finishes the glass of fine Israeli wine with a sense of self-satisfaction. He sighs, turns to the camera and says: "i feel lucky to live here, i often think if my family back the generations are watching they would be smiling."

    • Oscar December 8, 2009 at 10:59 am

      I still don't understand how so many participants at Mondo still believe Israel can be trusted to be in charge of a single-state solution.

      All the Arabic street signs are being changed to Hebrew, East Jerusalem residents are having their citizenships revoked arbitrarily, no building permits are allowed for non-Jews, the settlers are murderous thugs, the 20% Arab-Israeli population is being discriminated against and marginalized, and the rhetoric from the Knesset is of monolithic Semitic-superiority.

      In a one-state solution, Greater Israel will always seek to push out the indigenous population, and will do it through institutionalized discrimination and apartheid, which will have been unwittingly enabled by US tapayers.

    • Oscar December 8, 2009 at 9:29 am with 1 replies

      You'll only see this on al-Jazeera. Not on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC. It is interesting to see the EU rise up on this issue and make bold statements that American politicans are unable to make without genuflecting with the required AIPAC-authored lines "unshakable bond" and "we support Israel's right to defend itself."

      Hillary Clinton knows where her bread is buttered. She's got a not-so-secret plan to run for the Democratic nomination in a few years as the buyer's remorse on the Obama presidency fully sets in. That's why she was lobbying the Quartet and Russia to issue a statement in support of Netanyahu's "freeze" while also calling Israel a Jewish state and suggesting that "facts on the ground" will trump the '67 borders. Russia had to turn thumbs down on this ridiculous proclamation.

      Kudos to the EU for standing up on this issue. For once, I disagree with Ali -- words are important. If the EU endorses a division of Jerusalem, and Israel disregards it, the matter simply creates global headlines for BDS. Any publicity is good publicity. (It also outs the US as a puppet of the Likudniks.)

  • HRW: Detained BDS campaigner Mohammad Othman 'is being punished for his peaceful advocacy'
  • South Africa never had it so good department
  • 'Times' holds up Israel as 'model'
    • Oscar December 4, 2009 at 5:39 pm

      Julian, dude, where have you been? You've been missed on Mondoweiss. We've had to make do with yonira while you've been away.

      Israel's "incredible success" is not possible without the tax dollars paid by me, Chaos and Phil. We contribute $15 billion in taxpayer funds per year to the Israeli economy and we've rolled the country up into the Military Industrial Complex, so your economy is in better shape than ours!

      Also, the USA makes certain that the IRS doesn't tax pseudo charities like the Hebron Fund, Moskowitz settlement monies, ADL, Lev Leviev and dozens of others that would surely be subject to massive tax audits if they were . . . Muslim charities!

      "Bitter about Israel's success"? No, Julian . . . we're bitter about the one-year anniversary of the greatest crime against humanity of our time. Operation Cast Lead.

    • Oscar December 4, 2009 at 5:29 pm

      potsherd,

      LOL! Intel moves its plant to Israel to appease the global Zionist regime, and here's the thanks they get for keeping the door open on Saturdays, as they would in the USA.

      link to reuters.com

  • Netanyahu tells colonists, In 9 months we start building afresh!
  • The contradictions of progressive Zionism
    • Oscar December 3, 2009 at 12:37 am with 1 replies

      I must clarify my position. . .

      The NY Times does not represent what I refer to as the educated elite. That's why they're bleeding subscribers. The Times is constantly failing in its responsibility as "the newspaper of record" and following Jayson Blair and Judith Miller, it has zero credibility with people as well-informed as those who inhabit the Mondoweiss site. (Add to this, Tom Friedman's smarmy column claiming that Americans have been trying to help Muslims for 20 years, or any Ethan Bronner front-page story on I/P and you get a sense of why I haven't paid for a copy of the NY Times in the last four years.)

      The credibility of the MSM has been in decline since its stupendous failings with "Nigerian yellowcake," "weapons of mass destruction," and "they hate us because of our freedoms." Anyone on this site who believes the American mainstream press is a source of truth on the I/P situation, please chime in. Phil made an excellent point a few months ago that many American journalists are trust fund brats who don't have to worry about next month's mortgage, and who are free to sign up as scribes for the pro-Zionist position. The other journalists who do worry about the monthly mortgage are too scared to write truth about Israeli transgressions, lest they be ostracized from the profession.

      On the "flyover states" comment, I apologize. I've always despised the Hollywood elites who coined this term ("flyover states" being the necessary four-hour annoyance that must be endured to live a privileged, bicoastal LA-NY lifestyle). The Hollywood types are all too happy to hoover up money from the heartland, while depicting its citizenry as rubes, philistines and racists (how ironic). What I meant was that prominent voices in our great nation are being suppressed while our tax dollars are being extracted to perpetuate an apartheid that goes against every moral fiber of our existence. Free speech? We have the most suppressed speech in the civilized world! Hate speech, anti-semitism -- Dershowitz and Foxman stand ready to club you into submission and destroy you if you make a single criticism against Israel's conduct in Operation Kill Kids.

      Meanwhile, most of our countrymen are fully doped up on the MSM stories about Tiger Woods banging some cocktail waitress to care about our Middle East issues. On Google News right now, there's 39,500 stories about Tiger's infidelities versus 3,500 on Israel/Palestine.

    • Oscar December 2, 2009 at 9:28 pm with 3 replies

      I don't think J Street should be the be-all and end-all. If it's meant to be a lightning rod to distract people of conscience, an AIPAC-lite in sheep's clothing, it's another stupid idea. It calls attention to the I/P situation, creates a dialogue, and urges people to rethink their convictions.

      Progressives will bolt J Street in droves if it starts to tow the AIPAC line, more than that of Jews for Peace.

    • Oscar December 2, 2009 at 9:24 pm with 4 replies

      This is the new hasbara . . . an extention of the myth that it was a "defensive action" on the part of Israel.

      The suggestion is that by killing women and children in Gaza and setting the civilization back to the stone age, Israel has won peace from the humbled Hamas terrorist faction. In other words, Operation Cast Lead was mission accomplished!

      Israelis always think that collectively, they're the smartest people on the planet, and hasbara is an "explanation" to the dim-witted goyim of its "measured" actions. Look, goyim, the IDF is "the most moral army on earth," Hamas used women and children as "human shields," the IDF took "every precaution to warn citizens" by dropping leaflets and sending text messages to its victims in advance . . . yada, yada, yada.

      The intellectual dishonesty will be Israel's undoing. A microcosm of this was the Fletcher v. Barghouti debate. George Fletcher flopped around pathetically, with no way to rebut the decimation of Gaza. He had to resort to namecalling, bluster, hasbara and dishonesty to counteract the cold hard truth.

      The educated elite in this country are seething with anger. Not those in the fly-over states -- they're clueless thanks to the MSM. But Phil and Adam are right . . . there is a sea-change going on. Soon it will be a tidal wave.

    • Oscar December 2, 2009 at 1:39 pm with 22 replies

      Zionists don't know what's best for them . . . otherwise, there never would have been an Operation Cast Lead in the three weeks prior to Obama's inauguration. The arrogance of impunity was such that there was a belief that US-taxpayer-fueled war crimes against women and children could be covered up with full-throttle hasbara.

      There is a suppressed majority in this country that recognizes Israel as a rogue nation. You can see it in the comments column of any hasbaric-heavy op-ed in Fred Hiatt's Washington Post or a Krauthammer screed. Ten-to-one that we have to stop supporting Israel. Also, the rare times the topic comes up before a studio audience on TV or before a live audience in a campus setting, there's always jeers for the Zionist saying the IDF is the most moral army in the world, and spirited applause for the other side. The internet is empowering the masses.

  • Dershowitz likened Gaza to Warsaw ghetto
    • Oscar December 3, 2009 at 4:23 pm

      This is why the Dersh is the most intellectually dishonest, smashmouth-mouthpiece for the Zionist apartheid project. From the Yale Daily News:

      Dershowitz frequently called for “hard, critical questions” but reacted to student criticism with aggression, mockery and minimization. When a Palestinian citizen of Israel raised her family history of land confiscation and systematic discrimination, questioning the democratic nature of a state legally discriminating against its non-Jewish citizens, he leaned in from the stage and cut her off, demanding she “get over it.”

      Putting aside the fact that a people cannot develop, rebuild or “get over it” when still legally treated as second-class citizens, Dershowitz undermined his own call for open debate and callously dismissed a student’s history of suffering. The crowd gasped when the student asked if this logic suggests Jews get over the Holocaust, but applauded when Dershowitz stated they have. Perhaps Dershowitz would also suggest that Palestinians receive reparations from Israel, as Jews did from Germany.

  • Gaza Freedom March likened to Spanish civil war
    • Oscar December 1, 2009 at 4:26 pm

      Instead, in this country, the Zionists would get our government to pull your public airwave licenses and privileges IF you covered the Freedom March.

  • 'Never depend on the kindness of gentiles'
    • Oscar December 1, 2009 at 1:58 pm with 9 replies

      ‘Never depend on the kindness of gentiles’

      . . . said the Israeli as he unabashedly took $3 billion in goyim-funded tax dollars to ethnically cleanse Palestine. . .

  • Bromwich on Bronner's shocking euphemism
    • Oscar December 1, 2009 at 12:54 pm

      C'mon, Richard, that was NPR's excuse for the shocking story Sheera Frenkel reported about gangs of gun-toting Israeli vigilantes harrassing Palestinian boys who are seen with Jewish girls. They were just reporting the story! From link to npr.org

      "The point of the story was to shed light on a group of self-styled vigilantes who were both racists and sexists and who were trying to prevent normal youthful fraternization that crossed racial lines," said [NPR] foreign editor Loren Jenkins. "The story wasn't racist but it depicted racists -- the settler vigilante groups -- and their racist actions in hunting down bi-racial couples."

      Since Bronner blithely quotes the IDF officer without comment of his own, it appears that the vernicular is acceptable to him as a metaphor for the night-time raids. And Bronner's legitimizing the phrase through its publication in (what once was) "the newspaper of record."

      Surely you would agree had the paragraph following the quotation had the Palestinian perspective on "cutting the grass," it would be at least a bit more balanced? On September 22, Mohammad Othman was arrested by IDF soldiers on the Allenby Bridge Crossing, and is being held in an Israeli prison without being charged with a crime. A perfect example of "cut grass."

      Do you, as a Zionist, support this form of "cutting the grass?" link to youtube.com

  • Israel continues to block Gaza woman's studies on bureaucratic/despotic grounds
    • Oscar December 1, 2009 at 3:47 pm

      Boo-yah, Chaos!

    • Oscar December 1, 2009 at 3:46 pm with 1 replies

      Nothing funny about it, yonira. It's another form of collective punishment routinely practiced by the IDF. From the above-referenced NYT article in May 2008:

      “We are fighting the regime in Gaza that does its utmost to kill our citizens and destroy our schools and our colleges,” said Yuval Steinitz, a lawmaker from the opposition Likud Party. “So I don’t think we should allow students from Gaza to go anywhere. Gaza is under siege, and rightly so, and it is up to the Gazans to change the regime or its behavior.”

      Riiiiiiight. Today's Palestinian graduate student is tomorrow's terrorist. Hey, there we go again with our "shared values!"

    • Oscar December 1, 2009 at 1:08 pm with 5 replies

      Yes, potsherd, but the most important thing is to prevent this generation of Palestinians from having acccess to higher education, and providing eyewitness accounts of their experiences under genocidal apartheid. link to nytimes.com

  • Jeffrey Goldberg says Israel's partial freeze on colonization outside J'lem is 'unprecedented'
    • Oscar December 1, 2009 at 4:41 pm

      I'll believe it only once it gets through the labyrinthian process and isn't watered down to the point where the EU actually regards it as Israel's eternal and undivided capital.

  • Omar Barghouti and George Fletcher debate BDS
    • Oscar November 30, 2009 at 6:53 pm

      Hey, Yonira, isn't that just about the same proportion as deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians to IDF soldiers? About 1000 to 1.

    • Oscar November 30, 2009 at 6:51 pm

      This was not a good night for Professor Fletcher. He was flailing like a high school sophomore who failed to prepare for the debate. Yes, it was grating to hear the condescension in Fletcher's tone, his intellectually dishonest shambling with phrases such as, "I don't even know what Barghouti is talking about!"

      But the audience wasn't buying it. When he started in with the hasbaric, "The IDF is the most moral army in the world -- for the first time in history they warned citizens to get out of harm's way [before decimating their homes with white phosphorus and US taxpayer funded smart bombs]," the audience started booing.

      When Omar made his points about the effectiveness of BDS as a gamechanger in the impunity of a colonial occupier, the audience started to applaud him, and he gestured for them to not do so. Class act.

      I would love to see a smackdown between Omar and The Dersh! Bring it on.

    • Oscar November 30, 2009 at 5:42 pm

      Wow. Mind-boggling.

    • Oscar November 30, 2009 at 2:38 pm

      I was surprised that George Fletcher -- a gifted law professor at Columbia -- was caught so flat-footed by Omar Barghouti. Omar was elegant, precise, articulate -- drew all the applause. Fletcher was visibly flustered, holding his face in his hands, unable to counteract the facts.

      It's not really a fair fight. Hasbara can't work in a setting like this, and that's why you don't see debates on the topic that often. We're coming up on a year after Operation Cast Lead and it's quite apparent Israel is committed to force Palestinians to live in the rubble of their own homes rather than allow any building materials into the region.

      The "blue baby syndrome" was a shocker. I hadn't heard that before.

    • Oscar November 30, 2009 at 2:33 pm with 4 replies

      America 1st, name your source for that contention.

  • Report from Goucher: the campus as microcosm of the conflict
    • Oscar November 30, 2009 at 8:40 pm with 1 replies

      Uh oh. Great ready for a fresh onslaught of IDF-funded hasbara (i.e., funded by American taxpayers, that is).

      The Israel Defense Forces Spokesman's Office is to begin drafting computer experts with an eye toward establishing an Internet and new media department unit, Army Spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu said Monday.

      link to haaretz.com

  • Columbia Sportswear markets to the active settler on the go
    • Oscar November 30, 2009 at 5:39 pm with 1 replies

      John, thanks for this. Here's my letter:

      link to mondoweiss.net

      It was brought to my attention by a pro-peace Boycott-Divestiture-Sanctions group that your merchandise is being touted as "good for [illegal] outposts" in Israel. As you may know, there is an illegal apartheid situation happening in Palestine that has a direct and adverse impact on the US' foreign policy in the Middle East.

      Hampshire College is leading an international boycott of manufacturers that are contributing to the apartheid and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. It appears as if your company is cheering on illegal activity in the Middle East.

      I'm sending this to the Hampshire College crew as well. Spread the word.

  • Smashing, punching, writing-- it's the amazing Friedman
  • Another California newspaper targeted by Israel lobby because of heretical statements
    • Oscar November 29, 2009 at 6:35 pm

      That was wrong. Apologies.

    • Oscar November 29, 2009 at 6:34 pm

      Man, it's like dealing with a retarded relative that refuses to take its medication.

    • Oscar November 29, 2009 at 6:32 pm

      Right. They hate us for our freedoms. So we're supposed to hate them for hating our freedoms, is that the premise? Clash of civilizations. Brought to you by the Office of Special Plans.

    • Oscar November 29, 2009 at 2:07 pm with 2 replies

      Dickerson, dude, this is another example of "cutting the grass" in America. Bully every paper that dares to discuss the I/P conflict with a tilt toward the Palestinians.

      Just wait until Foxy Abe Foxman manages to push through new "hate speech" legislation that will make everyone on the Mondoweiss website criminally liable. Coming soon to an AIPAC-controlled Congressman near you.

  • Israeli annexation of Old City has led to bigoted spitting (and the AJC knows about it)
  • UK diplomat questions Iraq-war-supporting Jewish historians being on Iraq-war panel
    • Oscar November 29, 2009 at 3:20 pm

      Wow, amazing stuff. Jeff, I'd like to brush up on the role of Israel in Iran-Contra (other than Elliot Abrams obvious part). Can you recommend the best web references for this nexus?

  • NYT protects its readers from a small newspaper's criticisms of Israel
    • Oscar November 28, 2009 at 12:20 pm with 31 replies

      Interestingly enough, the Times article skipped any reference to its own vicitimization in 2002 of an organized boycott. Maybe because the NYT is now indoctrinated as a house organ of AIPAC and doesn't want to rock the boat.

      I posted this last night, so at the risk of redundancy, here it is:
      link to nytimes.com

      I thought it was disturbing that the Times article published nasty personal attacks from Gertz.

      On his Web site and in a written report he has assembled, Mr. Gertz has called Ms. O’Malley “brutish,” “a second-rate intellect” and “ungifted” and suggested she may have learned what he calls anti-Semitic views while growing up in a largely non-Jewish community in Pasadena, Calif.

      “It never occurred to me, frankly, till somebody submitted the research to us about her background, to begin to ask the question of, well, ‘Maybe she learned this stuff on her daddy’s knee,’ ” Mr. Gertz said.

      Feeling the hate in Berkeley! Where did Mr. Gertz learn so much hate? On his daddy's knee?

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