Commenter Profile

Total number of comments: 45 (since 2012-06-24 23:56:30)

Goy who grew up around as a minority in a Jewish majority (believe it or not). Well versed in the I/P conflict from a tender age....

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  • Celebrating Israel's birthday, '2 luminary philosophers' to explore whether Zionism and liberalism are 'complementary identities'
    • Shegetz April 12, 2013 at 8:16 pm with 2 replies

      Is there no place on the web to be free of this form of disrespectful hasbara strawmanning?

      Nope, sure isn't. In fact, I'd venture to say that it's at the core of hasbara central. It's projection par excellence

      Israel is the only country in the world where I can read comments on the major news websites rejoicing over the deaths of busloads of children. I don't pretend to believe that you can't find people like this everywhere, but if so then all the other forums at least have the decency to moderate such pure spite.

      So, any time I need a reminder of how utterly vicious and cruel Israelis can be I just cruise on over to The Jerusalem Post. Also don't kid yourself that they don't moderate the posts there and you just caught a few bad ones. They moderate rather diligently there I believe, but their interest seems to be in curtailing other forms of speech that are somehow (?) less appropriate for their readers.

      It's very instructive to see what vanishes and what remains. Speaks volumes. Read too much though and your respect for humanity in general might decline as you discover new lows for the species.

      A shower, afterwards, may also be required.

  • Hiroshima epiphany
    • Shegetz April 8, 2013 at 12:05 pm

      I could, if I wanted to, find hundreds if not thousands of anti-Semitic statements here. My beloved friend, Phil, should either shut down all comments or preferably screen them for anti-Semitism, Islamohatred and other forms of bigotry.

      Oh my. Let's shut down all discussion of things that offend MJ Rosenberg! That's the ticket. Er...maybe not?

      Last I checked, the comments here were screened. Maybe they have thicker skin, a desire to actually discuss their ideas and feelings with people who hold opposite views and don't see the need to cry 'antisemitism' every time someone says something stupid, ignorant, or merely not in accordance with their worldview. Gosh, maybe this blog is attempting to educate people? Perish the thought!

      Anti-semites who use the Palestinian cause to hide behind hurt the Palestinian cause. The cause of Palestine is not anti-Semitic. Why let it be tainted by people who found the cause because they just don’t like Jews.

      A wild knee-jerk reaction if I've ever seen one. People like you cement the problem, not resolve it. You just cry anti-semitism and want to shut down the 'offending' dialogue rather than attempting to engage or educate. Instead, you label it like a disease and suggest it be cut out like a cancer and censored. It's a narcissistic approach in which you seek to please only yourself and keep things at your own comfort levels.

      Instead, you might find more insight and wisdom in finding out why they think what they do, why they might feel the way that they do and ... guess what? You might find out that they're not the only ones bearing a blind prejudice and making stupid assumptions about others. Imagine that!

      Then again, maybe not. But it'll sure be better than throwing around a ton of useless, judgmental rhetoric accusing others of being bigots and racists merely because you disagree with them. I shudder to think of what sort of milquetoast snoozefest of a dialogue would go on here if you were permitted to screen these comments.

    • Shegetz April 8, 2013 at 9:42 am with 2 replies

      It is also interesting to note that the anti-Semitism never seems to emanate from Muslims or Palestinians but from old-fashioned American Jew haters.

      Really, MJ? Not had enough coffee this morning or are you generally just a bit daft at the start of the week?

      Not only am I looking back at these comments here and not having a clue about what you're whining about, but I'm also wondering why you're falling back on such an old, tired and stupid knee-jerk reaction to something you've seen that you don't like.

      Grow up.

      If there's a comment here worthy to take someone to task for, do it. Quote them and engage them on it. Don't be an idiot by throwing around accusations of antisemitism then sitting there in a self-righteous huff - without even identifying what it is that's upset your oh-so-fine tuned sensitivities. This is why this label is losing any significance at all, because morons toss it around like it's describing the weather.

      I thought a bit better of you. Oh well. Maybe you'll wake up a bit and post something thought out and worthwhile. Hope springs eternal....

  • Zionists thrill that Obama will recognize ancient Jewish connection to 'homeland' (undoing his Cairo error)
    • Shegetz March 17, 2013 at 4:22 pm

      It's ambiguous on purpose. The Israelis almost never clearly commit to anything, their history, what their borders are, security policies, nuclear arms, their non-existent constitution, the labour laws....or whatnot.

      Everything has to be a moving target you see - as to keep the upper hand. They have to be able to alter their story in whatever manner suits them for the occasion.

      Keep everything you can ambiguous and selectively enforced. Welcome to Israel!

  • Schoolboy's campaign to besmirch an eminent professor smacks of totalitarian society
    • Shegetz March 17, 2013 at 1:33 pm

      Gotta love Thoughtcrime.

      However, even with Thoughtcrime in 1984 you had to hold the beliefs yourself. Now I guess it's an offense to even have it exist within a few degrees of separation of you. Even the faintest whiff of a connection will do you in.

      Well, hooray for progress then! We're making even Orwell seem unimaginative and lame :)

  • US Jews leave 'Gatekeepers' asking why we give money to Israel -- says Oren, outraged
  • Landmark 'NYT Magazine' cover story ennobles resistance in Nabi Saleh
    • Shegetz March 17, 2013 at 12:50 pm

      And remember, these are simple rural villagers-- but more sophisticated than any of us when it comes to means of pursuing freedom.

      They are closer to reality than we are, with our indulgences and distractions. They, being the oppressed, are becoming strong and aware in ways we never will be. The Israelis are unintentionally making them giants of both Will and Compassion as they deal with and bear their situation. Like all populations that have endured and suffered hardship they will come out at the end of this a strong and hardened people, full of purpose and self-knowledge.

      Sound familiar? It should. This was the story of the Jews not so long ago...and numerous other populations that have suffered similar, and worse, fates.

      In comparison, the rest of us who go unchallenged in our daily lives are weak and flabby and blind to many of the realities of life until they sneak up on us - or are dropped on our heads and it all comes crashing in at once.

  • Simon Moya-Smith relates the experience of settler colonialism on his native land
    • Shegetz March 16, 2013 at 9:16 am

      take the trip into the past to see the future

      You mean a small, arrogant, warmongering nation that lives by the sword shall die by it and have its population scattered across the globe, sidestepping extinction by a hairsbreadth?

      Yeah, I can see that.

      Perhaps if you were a better student of history, you'd not rush in so enthusiastically to repeat it.

    • Shegetz March 15, 2013 at 12:38 pm

      The Mercedes Benz ad with the dreamcatcher hanging from it-- a visible representation.

      Yes, an amazing visible representation of North American society in general.

      Asleep at the wheel.

  • Using secret travel ban, Israel prepares to deport activist Adam Shapiro preventing him from being at the birth of his first child
    • Shegetz March 6, 2013 at 1:08 pm with 5 replies

      This past year an American activist born to an Israeli father told Mondoweiss that despite never applying for citizenship, the Israeli Ministry of Interior told her she was already registered in the system. They said it was illegal for her to enter on a U.S. passport as the state already considered her an Israeli citizen.

      So this means that the children of all the Israeli born friends of mine are in their database too and considered citizens, with or without their consent, and counted as such.

      Very interesting indeed.

  • Dershowitz unveils new hasbara claim: IDF has lowest rape rate
    • Shegetz March 4, 2013 at 11:01 pm

      The 'hasbara' is older. Much older.

      I recall arguing with a friends' mother over a poster in their house with a picture of a tank inside the first floor of a wrecked house and the block letter caption:

      KNOW YOUR ENEMY - THE PLO

      She regaled me with tales of how utterly evil Arabs are because they hide their tanks inside houses with families living on the floor above so that they would be killed and could blame the Israelis for it. This was in 1978.

      I never believed a word of it then. Don't believe a word of it now.

  • More on SNL's fellate-a-donkey for Israel skit
    • Shegetz February 11, 2013 at 3:12 pm

      I'm not so sure that it's ever been 'fringe' to think of the lobby as being manipulative and working against the best interests of Americans, Israelis and Palestinians, but it certainly has been fringe to discuss it in public for the obvious reasons.

      Once the illusion of the lobby's power is broken, it's all over boys and girls. Money and influence peddling only get you so far - when people turn against you and you start losing traction in public opinion all the gold and diamonds in the world won't save you, as South Africa noticed.

      The gatekeepers can still keep their gates shut, but now with all the myriad forms of recording technology ("oh noes, the cameras are our kryptonite!" - thanks Emad) and modern media communications we no longer need the gate. In fact, there's barely a wall for the gate to attach to anymore. So they can guard that gate all they like while the rest of us walk right past them on either side of their rusty contraptions.

      So, yes. Here we go. It's even going to be hastened by the arrogance and entitlement of the 'usual suspects' in the drama who will become more and more frenetic as the feedback from the real world no longer matches their self-deceptions. No-one is going to really believe they're losing traction until it's way, way too late. I'd even venture to say that we've crossed that line awhile ago and we'll see it all accelerate from here.

  • Friendly profile of Goldberg in 'Washingtonian' is a window on tribal power group
    • Shegetz February 4, 2013 at 10:28 am

      Or would you rather Mondo said that Zionists have something so powerful, so true, so moving to say, we can’t risk them saying it here? Thinki about it, Cliff, they come here, they say it, and they build up an archive of it, to boot Sounds like a win-win to me.

      Absolutely - "Sunlight is the best disinfectant."

      Because, as you say, let people be known for their words and deeds. If you don't let them act or speak, then how will you really know them?

      This place is a treasure trove of debate, rhetoric, and links to historical archives and articles.

      None of this would exist without the Mondoweiss staff, the Zionists, the Anti-Zionists and uh...Mooser. ;)

  • Only non-Jews can save Israel, Eldar says
    • Shegetz January 6, 2013 at 11:14 am

      How it will finally go down I don’t……but it’s going.

      "Not with a bang but a whimper."

      Israel is already bleeding to death in few different ways. The Jewish population being the main bleed but not the only big one. The focus on the problem everyone knows about, but doesn't like really discussing, helps create this 'depraved indifference' to the lives of non-Jews.

      After all, if your population was dropping like a stone and you kept being told over and over your very existence and 'self-determination' depended on having a Jewish majority because of all the awful things that were going to happen to you if it were otherwise - then big surprise that tribalism trumps common sense and it's all about 'us vs. them'. Non-Jews become not just bringers of Holocaust, pogrom, and U.N. resolutions, but just their existence itself is a on-going threat.

      However, it's a deadly balancing act that Israel isn't going to pull off. Be too prosperous and the birth rates drop. Keep everyone too poor and they get smart and emigrate to greener pastures and likely get assimilated.

      It's a corner they've painted themselves into and there's no way out that I can see. Nothing else matters if you don't have the population and Zionism can't do what the Christians would have done (in the old days anyway) - namely marched in and force-converted the local population in a baptized river at sword-point and declared the country devoted to Christ eternal.

      Judaism isn't built for converts, however. While other religions seek converts and proselytize, Jews don't. So after the awful birth and assimilation rates and nearly non-existent numbers of converts, what's left? Demographic projections that would turn a Zionist's hair white if looked at with some degree of honesty.

      Unless some Jewish 'birth miracle' occurs, or they start cloning people Israel will evaporate like smoke in time - that is if it doesn't burn itself out in sizable war or suddenly collapse from the rot of its own corruption. It's not a matter of 'if' but 'when and how' exactly, and none of the timelines for any of it are very long in the big scheme of things.

      Or am I missing something that the 'Eretz Israel Forever' folks know that I don't?

  • Rightwing Israeli group accuses human-rights orgs of 'emasculation' of soldiers
    • Shegetz December 13, 2012 at 8:20 pm

      If someone forces me to take, unknowingly or not, a long acting contraceptive that prevents me from having children how is this not sterilization for all practical purposes?

      As long as these people are in the power of the Israeli authorities, they will never procreate. Ever.

      Is this an exaggeration?

      One wonders who else is getting shots and for what.

  • Jimmy Carter: Israel has dropped the two-state solution for a 'Greater Israel'
    • Shegetz October 24, 2012 at 10:31 am

      Israel is a sovereign state- read and repeat until you get it.

      That's pretty hilarious!

      Especially about a country that seems to persistently and consistently meddle in the affairs of other countries, assassinate whom it pleases, and tries tirelessly to get other countries to mess with those it has "issues" with so it doesn't even have to get its hands dirty.

      Somehow I doubt you, or anyone else in Israel takes the same stance about the sovereignty or sanctity of a country's 'internal affairs' when it comes to Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, Syria, et al.

      The list goes on and on, but your simple philosophy lays bare the truth about what you really want: One set of rules for you and one set for everyone else.

      ...and until now - that's worked - but it is rapidly crumbling presently, so best be prepared to be treated in the exact same manner you paved the way for all those other 'sovereign' countries to be sanctioned or invaded. Turnabout is a bitch, innit?

      You've made all this possible, and inevitable, in ways you'll probably never be able to admit to yourself. I'm sure you're going to love your turn being subjected to the very apparatus you constructed to stifle your opponents.

      Enjoy!

  • In front of global audience, Netanyahu draws his red line (on his ridiculous bomb cartoon)
    • Shegetz September 30, 2012 at 11:16 am

      Iran has one of the biggest natural oil deposits on this planet. They don’t need nuclear power, especially in an earthquake zone.

      Yawn.

      Canada has bigger oil reserves than Iran. It has nuclear power plants.

      Keep scraping the bottom of that barrel....

  • Liberal Zionists' vision of religious segregation puts them to the right of western neo-fascists -- Max Blumenthal
  • Stoking fear of 'genocide,' an academic pushes Israel to war
    • Shegetz September 29, 2012 at 3:42 pm with 1 replies

      German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the first world leader to recognize the connection between Iran’s uranium enrichment, its testing of long distance missiles, and the genocidal statements of its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A day after declaring that Israel “should be wiped off the map” on October 25, 2005, he incited students to scream “death to Israel,” at a government-sponsored conference called the “World without Zionism.”

      Really? This is what you're peddling? The people here might be fools, but only in that fools go where Angels fear to tread. You? I'm not sure if you're ignorant, lazy, or just plain dishonest.

      Why? Because you're using a baked quote. Ahmadinejad never said the above. Even Dan Meridor agrees he's misquoted here. Not only is Ahmadinejad quoting Khomeini for your lovely damning quote, but it's also not at all what Khomeini meant, let alone Ahmadinejad.

      You should know this already.

      But, Shimon Peres can say Iran 'can also be wiped off the map' in plain English and that doesn't count as a provocation or step towards 'Persian Genocide' does it?

      So you're either an idiot or a liar. I suspect from your behavior here that you're both. I suggest some remedial college courses on how to do basic research as you're pretty much an embarrassment of a so-called 'academic' as it stands.

      But please, go on. Keep pestering people here over stupid claims about copyright, libel and other fluffy nonsense that obviously in your world has more value than human dignity or life.

      Keep avoiding answering straightforward questions and keep mindlessly posting badly formatted, unreadable blocks of text that contain errors and falsehoods that any teen with Google can refute in about 15 seconds.

      It shows us the true character and make up of the cretins that push this kind of scurrilous nonsense. Like Geller's ads your each and every comment is solid gold.

  • Sheldon Adelson's daughter rams 'Democracy Now' crew as it questions her dad
    • Shegetz September 3, 2012 at 7:34 pm

      Oh, you're allowed to write it (them? There are lots of divine names in Hebrew and Arabic....) but to do so trivially is the issue. The word is supposed to not just be something for communication but also be the 'thing itself' in a sense, so you treat the Names like you'd treat the Divine - with a lot of respect and in proper holy context.

      For example, if you were to make a mistake or misspell one of the Names you're supposed to circle it then bury the page in sanctified ground. You don't destroy it or ever let harm come to it.

      That's why you don't use the whole or real Name casually in writing. How you treat the medium you write it on is very particular in Islam and Judaism.

  • Muppet prepares Israeli families for war with Iran
    • Shegetz August 28, 2012 at 11:38 am

      Mayhaps the green garbage can is the Israeli version of "Duck and Cover".

      "Iranian missiles incoming! Quick, everyone in the trash!"

      Muppets, however, aren't anything new. Just look at the Knesset.

  • Discussing life 'after zionism' in Israel/Palestine
  • We are 'unwilling for an Arab to date a girl from among our people': Israeli org uses Zion Square lynching to push racist agenda
    • Shegetz August 23, 2012 at 7:29 am

      The follow-up is just as much fun:

      Lynching victim's mother: I pity the attackers

      The really creepy comments are those that start out denouncing the attack, or wishing Jamal a speedy recovery ... then it's a sharp about-face a sentence or two later ... either into blaming the victim, blaming the 'arab-squatters' in general as the real inciters, or the most bizarre one:

      Reb_Yaakov

      I hope this boy makes a complete recovery.

      I am bothered by some of the language of this article. The title indicates that the boy is a lynching victim. "To lynch" means to put to death, so to call him a "lynching victim" is inappropriate.

      He was said to be "brutally" attacked. I think we can determine the nature of the attack on our own, so why is it necessary to use an animal pejorative to describe the attack? Do non-human animals generally attack out of hatred?

      The boy's father is described as a "kind-faced, blueeyed man." I would rather know what he is like than be given superficial information about his appearance. Are blue-eyed people nicer or kinder than brown-eyed people? Is that why it's important to note this? Perhaps that kind of mindset explains why Jesus was often depicted with a northern European appearance instead of the swarthy appearance that Jews of 2,000 years ago manifested. I just think that creating this kind of imagery is especially inappropriate for a news article.

    • Shegetz August 22, 2012 at 6:59 pm with 3 replies

      "will check the comments now"

      Hope you have a strong stomach and a bottle of codeine handy for the resulting headache. ;p

    • Shegetz August 22, 2012 at 6:31 pm with 8 replies

      Ah, your timing is perfect Annie. Thanks!

      While I find that incidents like the recent attack in Zion Square do indeed say something about what some people may believe is appropriate behaviour, I don't think it follows necessarily that such events speak much about the country or the culture as a whole.

      I find what tends to be more telling is the reaction of the general public and media, and what questions get asked or not asked.

      In this spirit, I headed over to The Jerusalem Post. Oh my. Here's the article they have up on this exact issue.

      Far-right group warns Arabs not to flirt with Jews
      link to jpost.com

      Read some of the comments. It's quite enlightening, well in a dark, scary, morbid sort of way....

  • Report: Israeli police officer witnessed Zion Square 'lynching' and chose not to intervene
    • Shegetz August 22, 2012 at 7:42 pm

      The only real Jewish State is the state of being Jewish.

      That place isn't so ugly and I'm happy to visit it from time to time and can heartily recommend it.

      The other place? I'll pass, even if they have Donkey Wi-fi technology. ;/

    • Shegetz August 22, 2012 at 6:52 pm with 2 replies

      I suspect that without an external 'existential threat' that the 'Real Jews' would turn on the 'Fake Jews' in about a nano-second.

      It already seems to happen with alarming regularity until something big enough occurs to distract everyone from hating each other and focus outwards again.

      But it never lasts for long.

  • Settler Marc Zell talks Jewish identity at the King David Hotel
    • Shegetz August 12, 2012 at 7:30 pm

      "...and drive the Jews into the sea.."

      I hear this phrase an awful lot, but I've never found a source for this.

      Did anyone actually ever threaten to do this?

    • Shegetz August 12, 2012 at 7:25 pm

      Sometimes you make *me* want to jump in front of a tank...

      ...and I wasn't in WW2. ;/

  • The world according to Sheldon Adelson
    • Shegetz August 9, 2012 at 9:27 am

      That's because you'd kicked the habit.

    • Shegetz August 8, 2012 at 9:51 am with 3 replies

      I thought the same exact thing on first seeing it. I actually had to go back and look at it again and still had the same reaction.

      "Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

  • Russia's foreign minister claims US justifies terrorism in Syria
    • Shegetz July 29, 2012 at 8:10 am

      Whoa, sorry for calling you a leftist! What an insult. What was I thinking?!

      Oh wait...I didn't. You can't read. You've suffered a 'total reading comprehension failure'. That would explain a lot about what you've written on this site and what you seem to believe.

      Thanks for clearing all that up! ;)

    • Shegetz July 28, 2012 at 11:35 am

      Enough cake for everyone! Huzzah!

      Shame I don't have much of an appetite.

    • Shegetz July 28, 2012 at 10:25 am with 5 replies

      That's an understatement.

      What really interesting is how his 'feces filled pound cake' of imperial apologetica is liberally sprinkled with the sort of saccharine-sweet humanist platitudes that someone might ascribe to a caricature of a 'lefty-progressive'.

      It's rather obvious he thinks he'll sound reasonable and caring by spouting off about 'universal values' and 'shared humanity' as a hook to his arguments - then he veers off rapidly into la-la land filled with the most startling hypocrisy.

      Maybe he's discovered how to freebase Ziocaine?

  • Exile and the Prophetic: Chief Last Night
    • Shegetz July 29, 2012 at 1:16 pm

      Excellent movie.

      For some reason they are convinced that everyone out there is as merciless as they happen to be.

      I'd hazard to say, that once you've been stripped of your empathy for others it becomes impossible to ascribe any motives to them that you do not hold yourself.

      How could it be otherwise?

      Once you've dehumanized other people, any people, you condemn yourself to endlessly staring at a distorted reflection in a dark mirror of your own creation.

  • One apartheid state, with liberty and justice for Jews only
    • Shegetz July 27, 2012 at 11:02 am

      Personally, I tend to see the whole 'killing other people' bit as rather immoral - guns, knives, fists, feet, bombs.....does it matter?

      In fact, I'll even go so far to say that 'suicide bombing' is at least one hell of a lot more gutsy than, let's say, dropping bombs on people with aircraft or killing them with remote control drones from halfway across the planet.

      Though the suicide bomber doesn't have to actually live with the consequences of their actions, at least they're putting their money where their mouth is.

    • Shegetz July 27, 2012 at 9:54 am

      Wow, thanks yishai. Very informative.

      Never thought about the West Bank as being the 'Final Frontier' for certain disaffected types. But that is the ugly nature of Colonialism, isn't it? Squat on a property that isn't yours and send waves and waves of 'pioneers', who are willing to take the risks and live in some (relative) hardship in order to escape religious/financial/emotional problems in their country of origin, against the locals.

      My old history teacher used to joke that in the in the pioneer times that the crazies, whackos, and malcontents would just keep plodding west to escape civilization and it's 'rules' - and that this kept occurring until they ran out of space to run west into...

      ...and they all accumulated on the west coast and gave us modern California.

  • Pollard 'never brought harm to the red white and blue/Only was concerned for the white and the blue'
    • Shegetz July 12, 2012 at 11:17 am

      They could always free Pollard and give him the 'Vanunu treatment'. It would probably make his current imprisonment seem like a 'Club Med' experience.

  • Woody Allen expresses typical American Jewish attitudes on Israel: Loves it but has never been there
    • Shegetz July 12, 2012 at 9:36 am with 2 replies

      Mamet is a crazy person. I saw an interview with him on Bill Maher's show about 5 years back and he did nothing but promote Zionism in the most frothing-at-the-mouth fashion. He droned on and on about how 'the tribe' needed to get to Israel because of 'all the exciting things going on' how 'it was an amazing time to be a Jew' and 'if you're not on board, then shut up and go away' then finally something to the effect that you're not a Zionist Jew, you're not a real Jew at all and you should just stop calling yourself one and cease getting in everyone else's way and being a bad example.

      Another happy conflation of Judaism and Zionism.

  • Finkelstein on 'cults and flunkies'
    • Shegetz July 12, 2012 at 10:32 am

      Judaism != Zionism.

      Zionism merely sprouts in the fertile soil of the fear a lot of the Jews I know were raised with. As an 8 year old I got to read the posters in my best friend's house - "KNOW YOUR ENEMY. THE PLO." Even so long ago, and at such a tender age, none of the propaganda rang true. Much of it was shrill and didn't make much sense.

      Not much has changed.

      As for the effect it had on my Jewish friends, well it was mixed. Some grew up and moved to Israel as 'converts', but at the same time some of my Israeli-born friends stayed here, somehow managed to get out of IDF service, and never returned to Israel. So its effects on my friends has been a mixed bag to be sure. Hardly an automatic 'Jewish = Zionist' or even 'Israeli = Zionist'. So best not to make assumptions.

      Zionism is more a social/cultural thing , and although this lovely ideological parasite may indeed be more commonly found attached to a Jewish host, don't think for one minute that goyim are immune. There are far too many cases to ignore the fact that just about anyone can become a Zionist and their mom doesn't have to be Jewish for it to happen. Just look around...

      In fact, I'm more of the mind that Zionism has little to do with Judaism at all when it comes right down to it. I think it has more to do with power and those to seek to wield and hold power over others. The trappings and people of Judaism are merely useful in this regard. It provides ideological cover and 'useful idiots' as foot soldiers.

      You only need to look at the disparities in Israel itself, especially amongst Jews, to see that although the Palestinians get the short end of the stick that there are a lot of Jews that are at that end of the rod as well and that only a small, concentrated part of the population enjoys any of the real wealth while the rest toil and live in poverty.

      Just goes to show that a lot of people don't mind being at the bottom, so long as they get to stand on someone else's face while they're doing it.

  • American citizens are detained in Hebron for wearing hijab on a 'Jewish street'
    • Shegetz July 9, 2012 at 1:31 pm

      "Shegetz, should Israel in your opinion be singled out by people who don’t happen to be Israelis?"

      The "Mind Your Own Business." argument? By this tortured logic only Israelis can have an opinion on Israeli issues. If this is the case then it follows that Israel and Israelis can't voice any opinions about the internal issues of any other countries, like Syria or Iran or Lebanon, because a country's internal issues are only for their citizens...right?

      See that happening anytime soon? This is not how life, or the world, works. We are all connected you see, giving rise to this thing called 'international diplomacy' which you seem to agree with as you go on to state:

      "Everyone on earth belongs to a shared humanity and has equal rights and potential."

      That's right: shared humanity. Shared. So everyone gets to have an opinion and a voice about matters that concern them and effect their lives. Thus, people have a right to have an opinion on Israeli policies and how their investments and goodwill in the country are being used.

      No one is denying Israeli rights or humanity with criticism of policy that denies such rights to others. The common reaction to it is all rather juvenile. Real adults don't mind discussing the issues. This whole 'don't single Israel out' is nothing but a tired deflection and you know it.

      If non-Israelis can be shameless cheerleaders for Israel, then it follows that non-Israelis should be just as free to energetically condemn them at the same volume should they choose to.

    • Shegetz July 9, 2012 at 10:07 am with 6 replies

      Israel certainly is singled out and should be. One criticizes their brothers more closely than strangers after all, and quite rightfully holds them to a higher standard.

      It's almost like Israel is acting like a teen, in that it so desperately seems to want approval and be part of the world 'family' on one hand, but say something even mildly critical about its lifestyle and watch out! "Oh, but my friends do it too.", "Mind your own business." and "But at least I'm not as bad as....".

      “If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”

      With this sort of hypersensitivity you can expect all sorts of distortions. You attract attention to things when you try to conceal them. The way people are treated when they are perceived to be publicly critical of Israel is abominable. How many in the West have been ostracized, lost their job, been slandered or threatened or suffered one iota for their criticism of Syria or Iran? Anyone at all? Is anyone even frightened in the slightest of doing so?

      On top of this, as you know, Syria dominates the news cycle right now - but they've been regularly singled out for years. Israel on the other hand seems to suffer bizarre news blackouts. I'd never have known about the protests last summer, for example, if I didn't have friends in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Nobody covered it in North America - at least not properly. It got a brief, late mention - if at all - in some media and got a very 'light touch' indeed. If you blinked you'd have missed it, and if you'd relied on their reporting you'd still not really know what the issues were about. Meanwhile, if someone sneezes in Damascus, Cairo, or Tehran we know all about it...

      However, you are to a greater extent correct. Israel is singled out in some ways and the language we use with her is different than that we use with the Arab countries around it. This is because the relationship is different and the expectations higher because our investment in her is greater. This is why BDS stands to be a very big problem for her as Israel is, despite claims of 'Jews can only count on Jews only', quite dependent and interconnected with the economies and culture of the West, and enthusiastically so.

      So as more and more stories of how Christians and Palestinians are treated leak into the mainstream, expect even greater scrutiny - though I think it'll be when the internal strife within the Jewry in Israel, barely kept in check by the pressures of external 'existential threats', are hitting the news here that will really be the beginning of the end. This is already happening to a limited degree, though usually with stories focused on frictions with the settlement movement. However, with the violent arrests and police harassment, that was so notably absent last year, starting already I'm not sure that will last long.

      It will be an interesting summer, I think.

    • Shegetz July 8, 2012 at 1:39 pm with 11 replies

      "And how is Dr. Assad treating the Palestinians? Is he shelling their camps, is the lion of the zionist resistance murdering them this very day, is he hunting them?"

      Sane people have compassion for the plight of other human beings. All other human beings.

      It's called empathy.

      To most of us, it doesn't matter if you're Jewish, Black, Pink, Hindi, Right-wing, Lefty or whatnot. Most of us actually care about other people, even if we disagree.

      As for Assad and his cronies, they'll get theirs it seems. However, if you really want equality in this and want Israel to be treated like Syria and endure overflights of hostile aircraft, the non-stop media condemnation, the bombing of suspected nuclear sites and the assassinations of key personnel - I say just sit back and give it some time.

      That and much more is coming Israel's way soon enough.

      What I don't think you get, and likely never will, is that many of the people on this site desperately want Israel to survive this. It's not 'Israel bashing' for its own sake. They don't want to see the same crushing sanctions and isolation that has been brought to bear on Iran focused on Israel. But, if nothing changes in the next 5 years or so that's exactly what you're going to be up against - slowly but surely.

      So I'd suggest you learn to read and listen better, and talk less.

      I just read a highly critical piece of Bibi, stating that the whole Iran affair is an exercise in distraction - that while Bibi condemns the Iranians it provides cover for expansion of the illegal settlements.

      What was shocking about it was that it was an editorial in a local paper in a small town full of seniors and middle-aged white people. These aren't 'fringe' or 'rebel youth' folk running looking for a cause to champion. These are the people who vote for the people who currently give the Israelis a pass on their bad behavior.

      So enjoy the largess while you can. Israel's ride is on our dime, remember. When it all comes to a terrible end because nobody wants to be associated with them and their actions anymore, don't come crying that you've been betrayed or that nobody warned you.

      This turnabout and more can happen with a terrible swiftness and it will just mean more pain and suffering for everyone involved if it does.

  • Our intervention in Iran in '53 paved the way for political Islam's rise
    • Shegetz June 27, 2012 at 2:55 pm

      The pattern seems to be to install and/or prop up a secular right-wing dictator who then, with the blessing of the US, starts a program of repression towards anyone or anything 'leftist' or 'socialist' in the country. Basically, they wipe out any viable opposition to their rule.

      This tidily served as a way to 'fight communism' (keeping the ideologues happy) and create a nice, friendly, stable environment for Western corporations to 'invest' in. The Religious bloc, on the other hand, while just as a much of a danger to the dictator, is far more resilient and difficult to counter for cultural reasons. So they tend to be tolerated, more or less, and in the case of Egypt were used for decades as a 'boogeyman' to help extort more money from the US defense establishment.

      However, when that 'strong man' (or his carbon copy replacement) finally dies or is ousted the only organized opposition that tends to be left to fill the vacuum, is this exact Religious bloc. With the 'left' and 'center' long gone, no one else has the organization or money, quite frankly, to make much of a showing.

      Then the West sits back and makes fun of them for being so politically 'naive' and 'disorganized' and laments their 'barbarism' and offers 'help' while somehow magically being able to ignore their own political shortcomings, democratic failings and the religious fanatics that guide their own policies.

      Fanatics that aren't trying to get their hands on nuclear weapons - but only because they already have them.

    • Shegetz June 27, 2012 at 12:57 pm

      An excellent backgrounder on Iran's revolutions, and many other salient points on 'our' interference in Middle Eastern politics and culture, would be Robert Fisk's "The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East".

      link to en.wikipedia.org

      It's a hefty tome, but worth the read.

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