-
-
- Video: Paterson, NJ raises the Palestinian flag over city hall … 2
- Princeton students ‘come out’ for Palestine to overcome shame attached … 3
- Jim from Newport Township, Illinois asks the wrong question 4
- There’s been a sea change in US opinion on the … 14
- Former AIPAC lobbyist assumes weighty mantle (and travel budget) of … 16
- Press Release: Isabel Kershner chosen to reveal future Israeli exonerations 5
- As Israel’s occupation drags on, boycotts are one way forward 1
- Both Massad, and ‘Open Zion’, ignore the experience of Middle … 12
-
- Israeli airport sorts passengers with ‘Jewish stickers’ and ‘Arab stickers’ 796
- ‘Newseum’ folds under pressure, will not include Gaza cameramen in … 314
- Two friends meet for 5 minutes in Jerusalem 230
- In photos: Gaza marches and rallies mark 65 years of … 149
- Washington Post’s racism map omits Israel 111
- Barbara Boxer’s visa bill for Israel comes under concerted attack 103
- Washington state bus-ad campaign dares to state: ‘Equal rights for … 100
- Guatemalan genocide got assist from US, Christian Right, and Israel 75
-
- International Criminal Court opens preliminary investigation into attack on Mavi … 96
- Barbara Boxer’s visa bill for Israel comes under concerted attack 84
- Abulhawa declines to ‘balance out’ several Israelis in ‘Al Jazeera’ … 74
- Washington Post’s racism map omits Israel 73
- Israeli airport sorts passengers with ‘Jewish stickers’ and ‘Arab stickers’ 69
- Uncompromising hope inspired by Ghassan Kanafani 63
- ‘Newseum’ folds under pressure, will not include Gaza cameramen in … 62
- Dershowitz should stop lying about Tutu’s record 56
-
- RT @ggreenwald: From AJ Editor RT @hash_said @WHarkavy It was a temporary glitch. It's back up., 8 hours ago
- RT @WHarkavy: .@Mondoweiss @ggreenwald Right now, at least, column and editor's note aren't on Al Jazeera site. Here's an alt link http://t…, 9 hours ago
- Jim from Newport Township, Illinois asks the wrong question http://t.co/dezeLR7gp1, 9 hours ago
- Princeton students ‘come out’ for Palestine to overcome shame attached to issue in U.S. http://t.co/LCs1vTVK44, 9 hours ago
- Video: Paterson, NJ raises the Palestinian flag over city hall for Palestinian-American Day http://t.co/jV4CaYbOnE, 9 hours ago
-
Recent Comments
click link to see last 100 comments- There’s been a sea change in US opinion on the conflict (14)
- W.Jones: Annie, If given a choice between the two, I think generally people would pick the Israeli...
- W.Jones: The biggest change I can see is in the radical left in America. Most often people I talk with from it are...
- American: This is interesting also…..that CNI has been asked to speak to Tea Party meetings. I don’t...
- Both Massad, and ‘Open Zion’, ignore the experience of Middle Eastern Jews (12)
- Inanna: What the article misses is the larger history of Jewish life in the Arab-Muslim world and some articulation...
- Former AIPAC lobbyist assumes weighty mantle (and travel budget) of US Special Envoy on anti-Semitism (16)
- RoHa: “Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the...
- Rusty Pipes: That’s from the EUMC’s “Working” Definition of Anti-Semitism, which was...
- New York City Council official urges Brooklyn College to hire ‘professor from Israel’ (22)
- RoHa: “A New York statute forbidding permanent certification as a public school teacher of any person who is...
- RoHa: “Who’s got the power in a relationship where you know your professor is ardently pro-Palestinian,...
- Abdul-Rahman: “Jewish students feel that professors are biased against Israel, the Jewish Week recently...
- Jim from Newport Township, Illinois asks the wrong question (4)
- irmep: Not to be too vulgar, but here in DC that is now called “Getting Diane Reemed.” WAMU hosts...
- There’s been a sea change in US opinion on the conflict (14)
Our Writers
More WritersBlogroll
The War of Ideas in the Middle East
Israel's PR efforts have finally jumped the shark.
Just imagine what it must be like to be Palestinian--first to be told you don't even exist, and now that your dead children are not even dead!
In all the Asian countries I have visited or lived in, skin color is an obsession to an extent that you would be hard to find even among Western racists. Alabaster white is at the top of the scale and darker shades at the bottom. This is seen as normal, and hardly worthy of comment, even by those with darker skin tones, who have internalized those values and will quite openly tell you how ugly their skin color is and how beautiful white skin is. It should therefore be no surprise that the opinions of Africans or black people in general are not very positive, even if they have had zero actual dealings with them.
Oh Goodness, Annie, I meant this to be a reply to the comment byIL1948. I am sorry to make your work even harder.
Fair enough, let's start with these then, others can add to this if they wish:
IDF: State-backed terrorists
Settlers: Thieves
Israeli West Bank Wall: Apartheid Wall
Israeli treatment of Arab citizens: Separate but equal
Recent Israeli attacks on Syria: Naked, unprovoked aggression against neighboring state
This story is linked now on Reddit. The fourth most popular comment so far claims that Mondoweiss is a white supremacist site and 'the they are the sons of Stormfront'. A few comments down is this gem, "Mondoweiss is relatively known-- for their antisemitic and far left leanings. Not a particularly good source of journalistic integrity." It gets worse from there.
Shocking decision, what kind of journalists would attend such a program? I just wrote them, thanks for the address Seafroid.
Thanks Sumud. I couldn't get your link to work, but googled and found it here:
link to jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com
This brouhaha has brought out the full panoply of hasbara tactics and leads me to a question. Has anyone ever categorized them neatly somewhere? The tried and true ones I have seen used in this episode so far have been:
1. Pooh-poohing: Initially from a hasbara on another site: It's not a big deal, what's the fuss? Doesn't mean much (He was quick off the gun and probably hadn't received marching orders yet).
2. Lies: He didn't intend this as a boycott, the chips that keep him alive are from Israel, etc.
3. Whatabouttery: What about the plight of the disabled in Arab countries?
4. You need to hate them too: Arabs are so much worse than Israelis, Palestinian culture is uniquely evil, etc. This is the one I detest the most, this trying to get others to hate the people you hate.
Another fav I have seen elsewhere is 'Na-na, you did it too': You Americans didn't treat the Indians nicely so you have no right to talk.
If this has been done I would appreciate the link, and if not it is something that should be done.
How would Israel (or the US, or the UK, or the...) deal with an armed rebellion financed by foreign powers and featuring a large number of foreign fighters, some linked to Al Qaeda and other fundamentalists? I doubt brutal crackdown would begin to cover what you would see. Let's be honest here. Assad might not be an angel, but this is a war that was conceived far away from Syria, and kept going by outside forces. Faced with that, most countries would resort to any means necessary to defeat it.
I frequent a forum that has a hasbara who is always quick to post on any topic involving Israel aka Palestine. When this story broke he was quick to write words to the effect that it was no big deal, meanlingless, etc. Apparently those higher up the Zio-chain thought otherwise.
Simple rule in operation in the USA: If the other country is not Israel, any ties are fair game. If Israel, it's anti-semitic.
First a few drops, then a rivulet, followed by a stream, and some day a torrent that no dam can hold back. Congratulations Palestine!
Official word now is that they are brothers from Chechnya. So, those hoping they were white got their wish, but those hoping they were not Muslim probably didn't. In any case Chris Matthews is once again completely wrong, although he probably did get a nice shiver up his leg.
I am just so damn tired of Zionists telling me how Arabs/Palestinians/Muslims are evil and how I should fear/hate/dislike them. This brings to mind an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm from Season 8 that I recently watched. In a nutshell, the Palestinians patronizing a Palestinian chicken restaurant were characterized as possessing a deep and abiding hatred of Jews, to the point that they applaud en masse when Larry David prevents a Jewish friend wearing a kippah from entering the restaurant. That entire episode would be worthy of discussion here, if it has not already been so.
I hope you are right Annie, but seeing that we see events and discussions of the I-P issue without the participation of a single Palestinian it wouldn't surprise me.
Tyler? Is that just an Arabic name that happens to sound like our English Tyler, or was there a western Tyler somewhere in the family tree? Genuinely curious, not going anywhere with this question.
The Soviet Union supported a government promoting a secular society in Afghanistan. The US made sure that was destroyed. Iraq under Saddam was a secular society. The US made sure that it was destroyed. Libya was a secular society, the US did its level best to make sure that it was destroyed. And now the US is working on destroying Syria and its secular government. Anyone see a pattern here?
Israel and the USA need Turkey on board in order to pursue their designs on Syria and Iran, thus the apology.
The vastly disproportionate representation of any group is certainly worthy of comment and examination. Doubly so when substantial numbers of that same group seek to influence US foreign policy towards another nation.
Israeli needs Turkey on board for the Syria and Iran campaigns, so makes perfect sense. Not really an apology either. Very much akin to the "I am sorry if [what I did] bothered you" genre of faux apologies.
There must come a time when even the most die-hard Obama supporter must realize that he is the exact opposite of the man they thought they were voting for. Surely that moment must have arrived by now for anyone who had hoped that he would be some kind of game-changer in this arena. It's over, done, and time to forget about him playing anything other than a destructive role here. Anyone know where Elizabeth Warren stands on the I-P issue?
I find it absolutely mind boggling that people who deny Palestinians the right of return to a place they were expelled from within living memory can at the same time support the right of return for Jews whose ancestors may have lived there several thousand years ago!
There is not much that will make me vomit, but this is very close.
This would only come as a shock to those who get their news from CNN, Fox, or their local newspaper. That is to say, about 95% of the US.
The day that the US government denies native Americans rights available to other Americans based solely on their ethnicity is the day that I will see any equivalence of this story to the plight of the Palestinian people.
Has anyone painted the names of all the young people the Israelis have killed on that wall they built? If not, they should paint their name and picture on it. One caveat, keep the space for each image/name small, otherwise they might run out of space before too long.
Hophmi, can you provide us with any details on how he deserved to be shot? Did he throw a stone, or act in a furtive manner, or was this just one of those 'accidents'?
The difference between the two situations could not be greater. On the one hand you have North Korea making a nuclear threat and possibly having the means to deliver on it, and on the other you have Iran, which according to US security agencies does not even have a nuclear bomb program. And yet, by way of contrast, US authorities, while taking the NK issue seriously, are constantly downplaying the threat, while at the same time trying to scare us to death about the 'threat' posed by Iran.
This is one of those things you couldn't make up. If you saw it in a movie you would say it was too ridiculous. A country with nuclear weapons, a certifiably crazy leadership, and likely possessing the ability to deliver said weapons to North America actually threatens to do so, and the powers that be are all, "Nothing to see here, move along." At the same time, a country with no nuclear weapons, with no ability to deliver them to North America, and that has not threatened to do so, is being treated as if it is posed a mortal danger to world peace, and must be dealt with immediately by the US through war. All that at the prodding of a tiny, tiny, country thousands of miles away from the USA. Any Americans responsible for this sideshow distraction are in dereliction of their duty, and God help them if North Korea actually follows through in some way.
Oh, if only Obama would have the balls to tell the Israelis, "I've got a deal for you--Pollard for Vanunu. How 'bout them apples?".
See: Distinction without a difference.
Switzerland is not and never has been a medieval kingdom. Closer to the mark might be San Marino? Seafroid's point remains a good one.
'Doing something' about the Internet would be at the top of my list if I were a Zionist.
Every Palestinian from age 10 on up should have a video recording apparatus that is on 24/7, and videos like this should be uploaded for the world to see. I am aware that there are efforts like that underway. If anyone knows of one that accepts PayPal please let me know.
Compare and contrast his reaction to being caught perpetrating what even a KKK member knows is an offensive stereotype with the butthurt that results when some ignorant Chinese kids or British royal dresses up as a German soldier for a costume party. Somehow that's different and worthy of unending scorn until the appropriate amends are made and educational programs put in place.
I am a bit surprised that the usual suspects have not shown up here yet to inform us that:
1. It was not a child, it was a man.
2. It was not just an ordinary man, it was someone about to place a bomb in a kindergarten.
3. Even though the above means it is not really a big deal, taking a photo is not right and we acted quickly to punish the offender.
4. The US treated the Indians far worse...
Ad nauseum
I think they could. They could dream up a character who held fast to his beliefs rather than deny them.
Even so, Hagel would possibly be an improvement, but puleeze everyone, remember the high hopes you had for Obama?
I understand that Lorne Michaels pulled this at the last minute, but made it available on the web. If that is correct, could his making it available immediately like that be a form of protest at being pressured to drop it? Just thinkin'.
BTW. Hulu only works in the US and a few other countries, and to get Hulu overseas involves a big hassle with some kind of workaround. For those of us overseas something on Youtube is best.
Good point. I wonder how much time the FBI spends trying to entrap disturbed and manipulable members of the Jewish community into planning acts again Arabs, Muslims, or Palestinians? My guess is pretty close to zero.
Haven't a clue what you are getting at with your reply. Can you try again please?
People in the not-too-distant future will look back on this era of subservience to Israeli interests slack-jawed in wonder, not believing how such a tiny country was able to control what on paper is the most powerful country on earth, and get it to do things that were inimical to its interests. Shame on Hagel, who could have taken a principled stand but instead rolled over like a whimpering dog.
The Hasbara will spin it as an aberration, and say that the fact that this is coming out is proof the system works. That will be followed by a less than gentle reminder that more than a few US states and some European countries practiced involuntary sterilization up until the 1980s, therefore making this not so much of a sin. The latter tactic is from the same play book they use when they bring up the dismal treatment of native Americans by the US to justify their treatment of Palestinians. There is nothing they cannot or will not spin. Think Saddam's spokesman in the closing days of the US invasion, the guy who was denying things that were happening right behind his shoulder on TV screens. As a true believer that didn't faze him, just as similar events won't faze the Hasbara.
Note too, that as short as this article is she managed to attach some kind of identity (leftist professor, teenage boy belonging to a community of Jews who believe in Jesus) for the two Jews who were wounded, but it's just "Two Palestinians" for the two people who were MURDERED. A lot more information is contained in that omission and the brevity of this piece.
How can Cohen write, "There is in history no right of return." Isn't the whole modern day basis of Israel founded upon the right of Jews to return to their promised land?? Does he really want to go there??
We can't bemoan or complain about a state of affairs unless we are prepared to completely and irrevocably alter our life to do something about it?? Seriously? I am 'wallowing in victimhood' because I point out an extreme case of bias but am not prepared to abandon my family to pursue a career as a movie mogul?
My apologies if you were being sarcastic, sometimes that doesn't come through well in written form.
The chance that my 'movie' would receive any kind of distribution in the US is close to zero. The people making movies know that, surely you do too?
Thanks Cliff. Just for the ducks of it I googled a subgenre of films dealing with a Jewish issue, namely "Holocaust Films", and up comes a Wikipedia page listing, what, 250+ different films dealing with the subject (50 documentaries during 2000-2010 alone, not to mention countless dramas, etc.). Now, of course there is nothing wrong in portraying that horrible part of our collective history, and not all of those are Hollywood films, but you can see the problem here when you google "Nakba films' and come up with something like four documentaries dealing with that, not a one of them a Hollywood production. When you stack the other list against that it is overwhelming, completely disproportionate, and telling.
That's good, thanks, and if you think hard enough you might be able to come up with a couple more. Bear in mind none of those deals with Palestinians, and you say they contain 'fair' depictions, which really is damning with faint praise isn't it? I bet if I asked you (or any other avid movie-goer) to come up with a list of Hollywood productions that portrayed Jews and/or Israel positively it would start with Exodus and continue on for several pages. This movie is just part of a long Hollywood tradition.
Serious question here. Can anyone list any Hollywood movies or TV features that featured a positive depiction of Arabs or Muslims in, say, the last 50 years? How about any movies or TV shows that were sympathetic to the Palestinian cause? If the list is too long perhaps you can save it to a web site and post the URL here :)
Jimmy: You hit the nail on the head. How do you reason or deal with people who base their claim to a land on ownership conferred by God several thousand years ago? You can't, using any rational or modern-day methods. Recently the Zionists let in several thousand tribal people from NE India who claim to be Jewish based on a dream a visiting Christian pastor had in the 1950s. So, people born in that area and whose ancestors have lived there for generations (Palestinians, who many Zionists claim do not even exist as a people) cannot even return for a visit, but people who have no provable connection either genetically or religiously can settle there permanently based on their allegedly being Jewish. Gotta keep the numbers up dontchaknow? You can't make this stuff up! It is an untenable situation for a number of reasons, and given that the hard-core Zionists have threatened to destroy the world if they don't get their way a happy ending is unlikely. It will unravel when the US stops bankrolling and running interference for them. When that will happen who knows? But it will happen one day.
That an easy one to answer, and at the root of the entire problem. Zionists believe that Jews were given title to the land by God a few thousand years ago. So, in their minds, Jewish = Inalienable right to live there. This mindset is impervious to any rational argument, and the reason why the Zionist experiment will end very badly for those on both sides.
Thanks for asking Hophmi. I think we 'won' the nomination of someone despite strong Zionist opposition. That is a first, so very important. Our prize, hopefully, will be a foreign policy that puts American interests first and foremost. A longshot, but it looks like we may be headed in the right direction.
P.S. So sorry your pick didn't make it.
This is good news. Al-Jazeera English does present in-depth features and cover subjects that the US media ignore or shy from. They also engage in real journalism, and anyone used to the 'soundbite's and one minute coverage offered by US network news will be delighted to see news figures allowed to speak in complete sentences, even entire paragraphs! Moreover, they do not deal exclusively in topics related to the middle-east, and offer wide coverage of events around the world, often in the form of documentaries and interviews.
Having said that, in the last year or so constraints (biases) in their coverage have become quite noticeable. I first noticed this with their Libya coverage, when they completely jumped on board the "Khaddafi is the most evil dictator in the world, he must go" line, which was coincidently in line with the viewpoint (instructions?) of their Qatari owners. Ditto for Syrian coverage, and I think they have also been remiss on Bahrain as well.
Contrary to the expectations of many who have not viewed the channel, Israeli figures and spokespersons are given ample time to offer their opinions, defend policy, and participate in debates. One would think that would delight the pro-Israel crowd, but given the fact that the Israeli spokespersons usually end looking like evil fools as they seek to justify acts that to non-Zionists appears to be completely beyond the pale and in violation of just about any standard of human behavior. For this reason alone you can see why opponents will not be very keen to have the network made more widely available to the US public.
Still not sure if this will come to pass, but if it does I pray to God that Hagel really is as pure as Caesar's wife because as I write this there are people who are going through his kindergarten records to find something, something, they can use to quash his nomination.
Great posters and backstory, thanks for sharing!
This line really galls me:
"I know I share similar views of many past and current American elected officials, as well as Israeli leaders"
As if sharing the views of elected officials of the very nation that employed him as a spy is some kind of endorsement! You really couldn't make this stuff up, it is that unbelievable. Future generations are going to look back on Israel's 'special' relationship with the USA and wonder how that was tolerated for so long.
With all due respect to those still believing that Obama will nominate and fully support Hagel, let me humbly suggest that doing so brings to mind the Internet definition of insanity, namely "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."There is nothing, nada, zip in Obama's history or behavior that suggests he would make what amounts to a radical move in American politics, or in any way offend AIPAC.
P.S. I would so love to be wrong about this.
I find it telling that so much of the pro-Zionist effort is dedicated to persuading people that the 'enemies' of Zionism (Palestinians, Arabs, Islam, etc.) are a species apart and deserving of our fear and hate. When your prime goal is persuading people to hate entire categories of other people it is probably a good time to take a look in the mirror and rethink what you are doing.
Seriously folks, where is this idea that Obama will pick Hagel coming from? Ask yourselves, is there anything in the President's record that suggests he would pick someone with anything other than a near perfect approval rating from AIPAC? Wishful thinking, but it will NEVER happen. How many campaign promises does he have to break, how many times do you have to get burned, before you realize that when push comes to shove Obama is not going to rock any boats, especially when it comes to the Middle East.
The line beginning with "As Jews" should follow the Mandela quote, as per the ad. I was left wondering how I didn't know Mandela was Jewish!
You were there? You have seen the full tapes? You spoke to the witnesses? You have no knowledge of the myriad times Israeli authorities have been caught lying? I am going to go out on a limb by guessing the answers to the above questions are No, No, No, and No. Go back and consult the Hasbara playbook again, surely they have suggestions that will improve your next effort.
If powerful Israeli interests in the US think that Hagel has record that is "...unique in its animus towards Israel”, how in the world can anyone think that Obama would dare nominate him? Is there anything in President Obama's record indicating he would do something like that?
Several people have commented here about the different treatment meted out to Israelis and Palestinians by Israeli authorities. This difference was very starkly in evidence recently:
November 20: “Israeli man with ax attacks US embassy in Tel Aviv” Several warning shots were fired, and although a security guard was injured the attacker was arrested unharmed by police.
December 3: “Palestinian ‘with axe’ killed by Israeli forces in West Bank” This man was followed by security for looking suspicious, and then chased until the vehicles collided. He then allegedly came at the Israelis wielding an ax and was shot dead.
In case anyone missed it:
Case 1: Israeli attacks an embassy wielding an ax–warning shots fired, captured unharmed.
Case 2: Palestinian chased and rammed because he looks suspicious, then allegedly approached soldiers carrying an ax–shot dead, no warning shots.
I would not be so quick to accept the Israeli story that he had a plastic gun. It is entirely in the realm of possibility that it was planted, if it indeed even existed. The Israelis don't have a stellar track record, everything they say should be looked at very sceptically.
Imagine the tsunami of revulsion if he had written of another 'friend' this way:
And he thought the only way Nazi Germany could survive is, well he once told me, by killing all the Jews. I thought that may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but despite that, it didn’t affect my friendship, my admiration, indeed my love for him.
The mask is slowly slipping off Israel, and at this rate it will not be long before it has entirely slipped off. Important mainstream Israelis as far back as the 1960s (Golda Meir) and more recently military historian Martin van Creveld have threatened that Israel will take the entire world down with it before they go down. With their stockpile of nukes and nuclear missile enabled submarines they are entirely able to do just that. A nation making that threat is the very definition of a terrorist state, without even taking into consideration all the myriad acts of terrorism they have deployed against the Palestinians and others since the foundation of their state.
Something like a 100:1 kill ratio (Israel vs Gazans) with Cast Lead, but the Palestinians are 'Producers of Death'. You can't make this stuff up!
Vanadalism is not a crime in any jurisdiction, full stop. People are free to vanadalize to their heart's content. Having said that, I don't think I have ever met a vanadal, even in high school.
It fills me with rage to think that my government (US) bankrolls and runs interference for this kind of behavior, and worse. Imagine the humiliation, a boy on a horse telling a grown man to get out because he is Arab, and ordering around soldiers as if he was their general. The sense of entitlement, the chutzpah, it's world-class.