Commenter Profile

Total number of comments: 1 (since 2010-03-06 17:04:43)

simsim

Showing comments 1 - 1
Page:

  • The David Project swarms an apartheid-week event, and pathos prevails over logos
    • simsim March 6, 2010 at 6:26 pm with 1 replies

      QADIR, I was also in attendance at this event and to be honest I disagree with alot of the points you mention. I actually feel that this entire review, in addition to a list of inaccuracies and exaggerations, is a rather immature reaction to an event that you, had you been an organizer, would have taken advantage of to do something entirely different. Yes, you as an activist are being stuck-up and self-righteous. Your review is unnecessarily negative and harsh. In fact, how does this help Palestine activists at all? I thought the event was quite successful.

      While there was alot of tension in the room, I didn't notice any hissing, and interjenctions were not a big deal as they did not disrupt the speakers and the comments had no substance anyway. While I agree that Gilad Isaacs performed wonderfully, during q&a, while the microphone was in front of him, he spoke as much as he wanted to. No one denied him time when speaking during q&a whatsoever. You are basically saying that all questions should have been directed at Gilad. You are basically saying he was your favorite speaker. Which is fine. But the panel consisted of three, so get over it. You fail to give any credit to Nada Khader, which is frankly just stupid of you. As for bringing the conduct of the US in terms of its Middle Eastern wars into the event, that would have been entirely unrelated to the subject matter. No one likes the US's foreign policy and we all know that, but Israeli Apartheid Week is exclusively about Israel's behavior, not the US. As for dialogue question, I think Nada handled that quite well. I also think you must have been sleeping or otherwise playing with your phone during her presentation. I actually have to say honestly that I think you are being obnoxious and arrogant. You would have handled these people's questions quite differently, and the entire point of your post is to assert that you're the greatest activist around and we all should learn from you.

      The David Project did not win. They showed up dramatically late and wearing t-shirts by coincidence actually. There was a Zionist event of buying Israeli goods that evening at 6:30 at Trader Joe's, where the t-shirts were given out for free. So it was a convenience for them to show up at an Israeli Apartheid Week right after and attempt to agitate. But the Zionists did not succeed in disrupting. They asked some challenging questions, but I feel that the speakers handled themselves quite well, without needed to regurgitate facts and figures. There is humanity in the midst of this conflict, and considering the title of the panel "The Indigenous Struggle," the emphasis is on human suffering. It was not, to your dismay, a legal analysis. The other side was not overwhelmed with facts. I think the success is that they had to sit and listen to it all, in terms of very understandable and powerful language, not bombarded or bored or confused. If people want facts, the internet is a great tool for anyone. But the David Project and all their buddies had to sit through this, like it or not, and many were not given the chance to upset the speakers. The q&a was brief enough to leave at least 20 people with their hands still raised. I think you are underestimated this entire event and its message. This post is completely pointless, serving only to put down the NYU Palestine activists, and I think Mondoweiss should remove it.

      And FYI, the Native American woman's name is Melissa Franklin.

Showing comments 1 - 1
Page:

Comments are closed.