Total number of comments: 3136 (since 2010-07-22 04:45:40)
a nominal Israel supporter until the '67 War when anti-Arab racism became so blatant that there was this Eureka moment that went something like "Damn, what a fool I've been". Ever since I've been a staunch pro-Palestinian anti-Zionist.
historic guilt, colonial responsibility and the U.S. "special relationship" with Israel
how to bring about justice for Palestine?
by ending this "special relationship"
too damn bad that some Jews feel alienated by ads calling Israel an apartheid state. sorry, but the label just happens to fit. if they're so upset they should do something about it - Israel's apartheid, that is. on the other hand the ad that suggests all Muslims are savages, hey, this is despicable stereotyping to the Nth degree and deserves condemnation.
what's next, the U.S. military claims that Ho Chi Minh loyalists staged the "napalm girl" incident in order to sour the American people on the Vietnam War?
Lots to read in the SJP publications, but managed "Liberation Now: The Struggle for Justice". Informative, well-written and inspiring.
Opposing apartheid Israel is no more anti-Jewish than opposing the formerly apartheid South Africa was anti-White.
Likewise, two years ago General David Petreaus, Vice-President Joe Biden, among others, admitted that Israel's intransigence vis-à-vis a peace accord with the Palestinians endangered U.S. troops in Iraq/Afghanistan.
while perpetrators of recent terrorist attacks have said that what motivated them was the violence of western nations against Muslims, just as often they've zeroed in Israel's occupation of Palestine as a significant motivator.
"opposing the unjust policies of the state of Israel cannot be equated with anti-Semitism" - Scotland Church & Society Council report on Israel/Palestine.
"Within the Jewish Community the anti-Zionist website Mondoweiss is viewed with a mixture of derision and contempt." - Jewish-American Zionist Ben Cohen
Bravo, Church of Scotland and Mondoweiss
how soon before the Zionist entity Israel (not its people) is delegitimized?
whereupon, how rapid and massive will the exodus of Israeli Jews be?
will the U.S. limit the number of visas available to Israeli Jews, as per its restrictions on entry permits (remember the fate of the St. Louis?) for European Jews during the time of the Third Reich?
will the collapse of Israel and subsequent exodus of Jews put a damper on the Christian Zionists' enthusiasm for End Times* and, if so, will they blame Jews for failing them? Remember, underlying Christian Zionist's embrace of Judaism are centuries old anti-Semitic beliefs.
*the existence of Israel is central to End Times & the return of the messiah
requiring tourists who wish to visit the west bank to obtain a military permit only accentuates the impotency of the Palestine authority. Were the PA truly in charge of its territory, wouldn't it be up to them to decide who does and doesn't need an entry permit? What if the Mexican military had to issue permits to all tourists (from wherever) who wished to visit the U.S.? What would that say about American sovereignty?
Twenty some years ago I visited Poland as well as Israel. For me the Polish experience was much more meaningful than the Israeli. Visiting the village (shtetl) Ulinow, near Lublin, where my paternal grandfather lived, seeing its central park with its statues of Christ and John Paul II, gave me an idea of what my paternal grandparents (who I never met) were up against. Kind villagers directed me to the Jewish cemetery, replete with a hundred or so tombstones. I was unable to identify the names of relatives. I tried to imagine what it must have been like, living there well over a century ago. Somehow I felt drawn to the land. It seemed real.
Contrariwise, in Israel I was a stranger. Yes, some things were familiar, stores, ice cream, lots of eateries for nashing, young people out having a good time, but so many of them carrying rifles, that had a chilling effect on me. Later, going by taxi to Gaza (it was possible then), seeing the crowded condition in the Jabalia & Beach refugee camps (the open sewage canals), subsequently returning to Jerusalem only to find out that I had just missed the killing of a Palestinian youth outside the Damascus Gate? Was I supposed to relate to that, to Israel, to the occupation? Why compared to Poland with its authenticity, the Zionist entity seemed contrived, artificial and terribly uninviting. For European Jews to suddenly appear*, clear out the natives and proclaim that they've arrived back home? Who are they fooling? Themselves?
*claiming they were there two millennia ago, whereas, DNA studies show that Ashkanazis descend from the Khazars.
One of Zionists' fears (there are many) is that a study of Jewish life in Eastern Europe will not be all pogroms and discrimination, that Jews contributed significantly to the societies there in which they lived, Poland* especially. Zionists believe that, except for the Holocaust, they must blot out all memory of the Jewish experience in Eastern Europe, lest such knowledge distract Jews from focusing upon Israel. Part of the Zionist gospel has to do with distinguishing the Israeli Jew (strong, courageous and patriotic) from their European predecessors (the weak, and cowardly wanderer), who went into the gas chambers with barely a whimper (as if, except for the Poles, other Europeans put up significant resistance). Juxtaposed against such passivity, Zionism offers images of the Masada and the heroic "new" Jew, and never mind the Warsaw uprising because it came too late. What's the difference between Israel's new Jew and Nazi Germany's new German. The former persecutes Palestinians, the latter persecuted Jews (also Poles & Gypsies).
*"History of the Jews in Poland", Wikipedia
how to reconcile the public's near total indifference to the U.S. military's slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Arabs/Muslims with the public outpouring of sentiment in response to the Boston Marathon bombing as well as to this week's natural catastrophe in Oklahoma? differences in msm media attention, or is it the denial inherent in my country right or wrong?
What, is Biden setting up Jews for recrimination, because there's liable to be a backlash at all this fawning over the contribution of individual Jews to science and culture. He's coming mighty close to applying the label ubermensch to all Jews, something the public could take note of, any time a Jew (Bernard Madoff?) falls off the pedestal of supposed greatness. Remember, ubermensch implies that there are untermensch, so for a people to rise from having been designated untermensch by the Nazis to essentially being called ubermensch by the vice-president of the U. S. of A, only emphasizes the fact that, beware, what goes up may come down.
the U.S. wouldn't investigate the Israeli strike on the U.S.S Liberty, so no surprise that it looks the other way when the Zionist entity blocks the UNESCO fact-finding mission from investigating assaults on Jerusalem's holy places.
quite a guy, your father. sorry for your loss
"We believe in the principle of academic freedom. We also believe in not supporting schools whose programs we, and our constituents find to be odious and wrong."
what ever happened to the spirit of "I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it?"
"a visiting professor from Israel who reflects a more sympathetic view to the continued peace and prosperous existence of the region's only democracy."
peaceful, as in perpetual war against the Palestinian nation?
apartheid = democracy?
what's next, fascism = justice?
Abbas, "one of the founding fathers of the victimizing concept of the Palestinians." What, do Israelis have a copyright on claiming to be victims, and could there be a better example of the pot calling the kettle black?
the jewish establishment consists of aipac and all the major jewish organizations that support Israel's occupation of Palestine.
using empire violence has to do with israel's hitching its wagon to empire-usa for the purpose of holding on to its stolen lands and for controlling the middle east.
the jewish establishment's striking a pose of innocence and redemption has to do with its playing the holocaust card whenever it's racist practices are exposed.
for all but people of conscience aren't empire, colonialism, capitalism & whiteness the outer layers of identity?
not so for the exploited? then how to explain the rise to power of the Palestine authority, a phenomenon of collaboration with the colonizer that's only too common among colonized people?
why believe that empire, colonialism, capitalism and whiteness are only the outer layers of human identity?
because if these were at the core of identity, how to explain the emergence in every society of people of conscience, sometimes many, sometimes few, depending, it seems, upon existing conditions and social climate? and don't such fluctuations in the numbers of people of conscience suggest that beneath the outer layers of human identity, there's an inner identity (conscience) that's waiting to be expressed?
if so, rather than getting tied up with probing the outer layers of identity in this or that group, wouldn't the cause of building a better world be best served by our finding ways to expand the numbers and reach of people of conscience?
without accomplishing this can we attain the goals we seek?
trying to decipher "If every identity crisis is tempted to align itself with unjust power, including the universalist left, where are identity resources to break this headlong fall into power's original sin".
first of all, what universalist left? if there were (or ever has been) such a left, wouldn't it always (without exception) have sided with the oppressed, never with the oppressor? Example, por favor (aside from jc)? based on an ideal, seems to me this would be a well rooted identity.
and what was power's original sin? was it the initial oppression of one or more individuals by some more powerful individual(s)?
How convenient, too, that at a time when there are so many reasons for the public to question our political/economic system (perpetual wars, a precarious economy, global warming, etc. etc.), lo & behold, a new scapegoat appears on the scene to take the pressure off the system. So much easier to blame someone other -yesterday the Jew, today the Muslim, tomorrow who knows who or what - rather than trying to figure out what's wrong with and what to do about the damn system. Scapegoating, the oppressive system's safety valve.
the concluding paragraphs of Joseph Massad's "The Last of the Semites" -
Israel's claim that its critics must be anti-Semitic pre-supposes that its critics believe its claim that it represents "The Jewish People". But it is Israel's claim that it represents and speaks for all Jews that are the most anti-Semitic claim of all.
Today Israel and the Western powers want to elevate anti-Semitism to an international principle around which they seek to establish full consensus. They insist that for there to be peace in the Middle East, Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims must become, like the West, anti-Semitic by espousing Zionism and recognizing Israel's anti-Semitic claims. Except for dictatorial Arab regimes and the Palestinian Authority and its cronies, on this the 65th anniversary of the anti-Semitic conquest of Palestine by the Zionists, known to Palestinians as the Nakba, the Palestinians and the few surviving anti-Zionist Jews continue to refuse to heed this international call and incitement to anti-Semitism. They affirm that they are, as the last of the Semites, the heirs of the pre-WWII Jewish and Palestinian struggles against anti-Semitism and its Zionist colonial manifestations. It is this resistance that stands in the way of a complete victory for European anti-Semitism in the Middle East and the world at large.
As far as the U.S. is concerned Americans aren't worth much if they happen to be in a country that's either hostile to or independent of the U.S, unless, that is, they're there for the purpose of subverting the government of such a country. Contrast, for example, the uproar from our State Department when Brian Gross (an American who received a 15 year prison sentence for crimes against the state) with the Department's almost complete disinterest in Israel's murder of Furkan Dogan. Had he been assassinated by soldiers in, say, Russia, there'd have been calls from Congress for the severance of diplomatic relations with that nation, but since the Zionist entity is purportedly America's best friend, barely a whisper of regret. Same story when American internationalists were killed in Nicaragua during the eighties by U.S. supported Contras in Nicaragua - "Hey, they knew what they were getting into", or words to that effect. I wonder if our government is thinking, "If only we could get rid of dissidents as easily here in America".
Thirty years ago Palestinians not only were speaking out but were in the forefront of their own liberation struggle. I know this because upon returning from Lebanon after the '82 U.S.-backed Israeli invasion, it was Palestinians who invited me to speak at their rallies. Of course that was before 9/11, and Islamophobia and anti-Arabism were yet to take hold. Then, in the mid-eighties came the infamous FBI seizure of the LA Eight, which definitely had a cooling effect on Palestinian activism. What remained of said activism was further diminished by the post-9/11 attack on civil liberties. So to attribute all or even most of the decline in Palestinian visibility in the struggle here in America to non-Palestinians seizing the microphone, seems to me to be historically incomplete. Sometimes when the going gets tough for oppressed people and they're unable or unwilling to step forward, it may help their cause for surrogates to enter the fray. Certainly that's the case now for the Guantanamo prisoners and, come to think of it, for the two million others incarcerated here in the USA.
Zionists claim that Israel speaks for all Jews.
That claim turns many Jews & non-Jews into closet pro-Palestinians, unwilling to speak out lest they be falsely labeled anti-Jewish and suffer the consequences, thereof.
Jews speaking for justice in Palestine & against Israel enable closet pro-Palestinians to come out.
The more people who come out, the more powerful the justice for Palestine movement.
The stronger said movement, the sooner justice for Palestine.
Same goes for self-identifying Christians, atheists (name it) who come out.
Yes, Palestinians should lead but right now they're the subject of an official inquisition, so they're not too eager to be in the spotlight. What will bring them out to the max is our taking on the inquisitors and demanding that the civil and human rights of Arab/Muslim-Americans be respected.
Racial supremacy that is manifest by dehumanization and demonization of the Palestinian is the essence of Zionism, just as racial supremacy expressed through the dehumanization and demonization of the Jew was the essence of Nazism.
"soldiers would come to the commander and say 'my cousin was killed in the war.' his commander heard that and instructed the troops to take a group of five to seven people aside and execute them."
shades of the infamous mass murder by german forces that took place in lidice, czechoslavakia on 6/10/42 in reprisal for the assassination of reich protector reinhard heydrich.
seems that only in fascist states do the youth rally around racist governments. everywhere else (with some exceptions, such as Venezuela*) the youth oppose racism.
*mainly its middle & upper class youth
How to resolve the tension between citizenship and being a state that offers refuge to Jewish people? By giving up on this outdated refuge nonsense, that's how. Instead, same as for everyone else, we Jews, should be engaged citizens of whatever nation we happen to live in, while at the same time participating in the struggle to make the world a safe & hospitable place for everyone.
spend a day or two in the west bank or in gaza and if that doesn't jump start the prophetic, nothing will.
exactly!
citizen,
thanks for the link to "Antisemitism: It's History and Causes by Bernard Lazare (1894)
I especially liked his concluding words - "It {antisemitism} will vanish for the reasons I have indicated; because the Jew is undergoing a process of change; because religious, political, social and economic conditions are likewise changing; but above all because antisemitism is one of the last, though long-lived, manifestations of that old spirit of reaction and narrow conservatism, which is vainly attempting to arrest the onward movement of the Revolution."
indeed, the revolution came a generation later, but I wonder if it measured up to his expectations?
the day of reckoning will come
then, just like in germany after its defeat
these young israelis will be saying, "i had no idea how badly palestinians had been treated."
if possible the number of jews emigrating from israel should be closely monitored now. should there be a sharp uptick, that'll tell us that israeli confidence in the entity's survival is on the decline, and that the end of the struggle is nigh.
back in the early eighties i attended a dialogue on palestine/israel that was moderated by a disciple of est guru werner erhard. the attendees were a mix of jewish liberal zionists and anti-zionists along with a few palestinians. attendees mostly expressed what they felt the other side could do to improve the climate between zionists and palestinians. civility was expected of all participants. it was say what you want & then go on to the next person. nothing else. somehow, i guess, the interchange was supposed to lead to resolution. if not then, perhaps later. although i'd spoken out vociferously against zionism/israel, i left the meeting feeling that it had been a waste of time, as it was doubtful that anyone's beliefs had been changed even one iota, and that the underlying purpose of the endeavor had been to dissipate pent-up energy in a kind of controlled manner, such that the attendees feel good about themselves, even though nothing had been accomplished. despite this we were told that the show was to be performed at other sites, israel included.
weren't you around during the vietnam war? if so, what did you think the protests and marches were all about?
@ hophmi
should have said most non-zionist jews will keep their views to themselves. and the vitriol that anti-zionists face isn't so much from individual zionists, it's from zionist organizations and their lackeys in msm. as for your not seeing how "they could be intimidated by them", perhaps you haven't noticed what happened to norman finkelstein at loyola university.
the most important reason for presenting oneself as a jewish anti-zionist is to counter the zionist claim that israel speaks for all jews, a claim that not only paralyzes jews from speaking out against zionism/israel for fear of being called antisemitic, but non-jews also & for the same reason. my experience is that palestinians welcome anyone who participates in their liberation struggle, regardless of nationality, religion, sex, etc. as for israel being a colonial/settler enterprise, well? besides, whatever the ijzan's/jvp's credos, if their actions help the palestinian cause, isn't this what matters most?
rather than face zionist vitriol most anti-zionist jews will keep their views to themselves. consequently the only voices heard until recently are those of zionist jews. zionist institutions act as enforcers to intimidate and silence anti-zionists, especially jews, lest their views take hold, not only among the heretofore silent-on-the-subject-of-israel jews but among the general public, which is the reason that zionist organizations such as the ADL have a list of those they've dubbed "self-hating jews". except history will show who the real self-haters are.
dialogue & debate while palestinians are being slaughtered is equivalent to nero's fiddlying while rome burned.
too bad you didn't attend a rally by the jewish anti-zionist network, because, if you had, your conclusion might have been different. they're the group that garnered considerable media attention a couple years ago when some of its members chained themselves to the gates of the israeli consulates in los angeles and san francisco. goes to show that a generalization about five million people that's based on only a handful of them sure ain't worth much.
bravo, elisha and donna. as part of the justice for palestine movement we shall overcome.
considering how poorly our own indigenous nations fared in their dealings with the u.s. government, when it comes to land swaps palestinians should be wary of accepting advice from secretary of state kerry. otherwise they'll end up with mostly barren & isolated land, and even then should, say, precious metals be discovered on palestinian soil, expect israel to lay claim to it, regardless of any clauses in the land swap agreement which forbid such chicanery. worse yet, based on past performance, there's no reason to believe that the u.s. would oppose israel's violation of the original agreement.
shattered dream
that's what happens
when a land is stolen
cleansed of its natives
so that another people might have a home
yet never asking them
if we open the gates
will you come?
and if you do
will you stay?
and even if you do stay
will the world forever stand by?
scuttlebutt on the boston marathon bombing
those two boys
placing a bomb next to that child
body parts strewn everywhere
nothing could be worse
what were they thinking?
have they no values?
if they do, they're not like ours
we wouldn't do anything like that
and the innocents wiped out almost every day by u.s. drones?
that's different
collateral damage
unavoidable
remember?
war on terror
war on terror
war on terror
besides
they're less than human
yesterday president obama said he wouldn't allow guantanamo prisoners to die of starvation.
a humanitarian gesture, some will say.
nonsense, he's afraid what their martyrdom will do to america's image.
meanwhile he's approving drone strikes that have killed hundreds of civilians, a form of murder that the pentagon refers to as collateral damage.
"it can't be us" - this applies both to the zionist's denial of any responsibility for israel's being considered the world's most dangerous nation and george w. bush's denial of u.s. aggression against arab/islamic nations as the reason* "they hate us."
meanwhile, it's the intransigence of these two out of control aggressor nations that is a threat to all living beings.
*besides ranking number two on the most dangerous nation list
firstly they don't hate us, they hate the things our government has done to them in our names
things like warring on innocent people
lots of them
simply because it could
things like using drones to assassinate designated demons
& damn the "collateral" damage
such as loved ones blown to kingdom come
their blood & guts strewn everywhere
so considering how we reacted to last week's boston marathon bombing
the sorrow, the anger, the hate
why do they hate america?
cause they're just like us
except in the texas plant explosion there's hardly any mention of who done it, since that would strike too close to home, might cost jobs & who knows what else? so instead there's talk of god telling us something & other supernatural causes.
It's as if there's an unwritten protocal that follows every manmade disaster, be it a bombing, schoolyard shooting or factory explosion.
always there's a sort of coming together with shows of solidarity in mourning the losses, such as last week's "we are all bostonian" rallies in various communities, sometimes with the attendees chanting the requisite "USA, USA, USA"
at the same time there's the who dunnit? when the culprit(s) are identified, such as in this boston marathon bombing), msm (& now the internet) force feed a seemingly insatiable public with stories (whether real or made up doesn't matter) about them, and in so doing demonize them.
said demonization (with its subsequent trials & punishments) somehow enables closure, at least in the minds of most americans - "look, they did it, so i'm in the clear and so is my country."
soon the thought of that latest catastrophe is but a dim memory.
until the next one occurs & then once again the process is set in motion.
and thus it is that the underlying causes of these catastrophes are never pursued.
which explains why they keep recurring.
after israel's delegitimization won't it be up to palestinians to decide whether or not the jewish colonizers can remain in palestine as well as what would be expected of those who choose to stay? that's what happened in mozambique almost a half century ago; after the liberation war was won there the 300,000 portuguese settlers were told that they'd have to choose between becoming mozambicans or returning to portugal, one or the other but not both. as it turned out well over 90% opted to return to portugal. shouldn't be a problem for many israelis since a significant percentage of them carry 2nd passports & could take the next flight out. those without a 2nd passport would have to arrange to emigrate elsewhere. pressure could be put on nations that had unconditionally supported the zionist entity (particularly the u.s., great britain, germany, canada & france) to take in israelis who had nowhere else to go. this sure would test whether their oft professed concern for jews was real or not.
bds, which palestinian society has called for, is the nonviolent movement that can force israel to rethink its doomsday strategy, but not until the squeeze on israel tightens will it consider one person, one vote.
secretary rice's having to defend israel's security and legitimacy every day at the united nations means that we find ways to educate the public to the fact that our government's unconditional support for the zionist entity is "why they hate us" (thereby turning the public against israel) and delegitimization is sure to follow.
only jews who support israel are called zionists.
not all of the world's problems are caused by zionist jews who support israel, only those that derive from the palestine-israel conflict and its spillover into other regions of the arab/islamic world.
black south africans consider israel to be an apartheid entity and who knows better than them what apartheid is all about?
with the delegitimization of israel what could be?
peace on earth and goodwill to all living beings, that's what.
otherwise?
the abyss
"Germany, Finland, Russia & Italy have similar laws to encourage ethnic kith & kin to resettle in their homeland." Except there's a difference between someone of, say, Russian descent accepting an invitation to return to Russia and someone of Jewish descent colonizing Palestine and cleansing it of its indigenous people, all the while saying, "hey, we ain't doin nothin bad cause, look here, it's a land without a people and we're a people without a land."
not that being jewish requires us to have a special interest in this particular issue, but that it's in our interest to do so lest we all end up having to take the rap for the foul play of jewish colonizers and their supporters. besides, it just happens to be the right thing to do.
denouncing the law of return isn't enough. the entire zionist project must be denounced, condemned & rejected. anything less amounts to supporting a colonial enterprise, one that insists it's acting on behalf of jews everywhere. worse yet, for a jew to look the other way while israel carries out its ethnic cleansing brings to mind the "i had no idea this was happening" uttered by some germans after ww ii. for what's being done in our names, the path to redemption? that's easy, it's supporting justice for palestine.
Twenty some years ago on a visit to Poland I met Dr. Marek Edelman. It was at a Jewish museum next to where the main synogogue in Warsaw had been before it was leveled by the Nazi invaders. I don't remember much of our conversation but he impressed me with his determination to remain in Poland, rather than immigrate elsewhere. Having fought the battle of the Warsaw Ghetto and survived, it seemed to me that he felt it an honor to be among the last of the Polish Jews.
if what it takes to bring justice to palestine requires the destruction of israel (the entity, not its people), so be it.
stealing another people's land is an act of violence.
yes!
think of willy brandt, adam
for opposing nazi germany
wasn't he looked upon as a traitor by that nation & its supporters
forced into exile
yet history vindicated him
because after ww ii he returned to germany and went on to become chancellor
not that you aim for such heights
sure the enmity of friends hurts
but what's the alternative?
caving-in?
then how would you feel about yourself?
righteous pro-palestinian radicals have a better chance of success than righteous anti-animal butchery radicals, because, for one thing, palestinians can speak for themselves, whereas, cattle et al, well, they just can't.
you of one religion who stereotype people of another religion
when the screw turns
and yours is the religion being attacked
when you cry foul
will anyone care?
so for arab- and muslim-americans
at the request of the israeli government
special travel restrictions
what's next, senator boxer?
concentration camps?
again at the request of the israelis
no matter where
invariably
the wrath of the occupier
damn you
native child
my land now
bow down
or die
having witnessed the idf's nocturnal home invasion
faisal wonders what his 4 year old nephew will think
become
whether he'll leave the danger
the occupier's wish
or, for love of his people
sing to it one thousand songs
show a deep respect for human beings?
but ben & jerry, you've left out palestinians
is this because you consider them to be subhuman?
so does israel
coincidence?
or not?
does the idf still smash the bones of teenagers who throw rocks at them?
would the idf do anything as cruel as that?
you betcha!
saw it myself
when?
during the 1st intifada
where?
the unrwa clinic in gaza's jabalia refugee camp
who & what?
a palestinian teenager on his return visit to the clinic. x-rays of his hands revealed that his carpal bones had been smashed into small pebbles, supposedly for throwing rocks at idf soldiers
don't know about now, but back then it was accepted idf policy
"if they're concerned about the jewish community, jewish americans should not support israel."
seems the suicidal tendency of jewish israelis extends to their jewish supporters in america.
only justice for palestine can prevent this death wish from being realized.
be sensitive to the feelings of the occupier?
ending the occupation, that's being sensitive to the occupier
how?
the opportunity of living in a just society
& what about israelis who prefer that israel stay the course?
they can make use of their second passport
those who don't have a second passport?
adjust to the new reality
in deir yassin jewish fighters lined up palestinians against a wall and shot them dead
just like the nazis lined up jews against a wall in the polish village of ulinow and shot them dead
twenty years ago on a visit to ulinow, the birthplace of my grandfather, i saw the bullet holes
nice going, israeli jews
you have become that which you escaped from
since perpetuating the violent domination & removal of the palestinian people from their homeland
like what the european settler colonials did to native americans
examples, each, of ongoing genocide
the former, for over a century
the latter, for more than 500 years
& given, former tribal presidents & chairpersons are going to be put on trial for colluding with the occupiers -
members of the jury, on the charge of colluding with the former occupiers in their attempt to erase palestine from the map
how do you find the defendents?
guilty as charged, your honor
so a belief in the zionist project or an attachment to israel is not intrinsically a part of jewishness
antizionism, therefore?
not antisemitic
the exhibition explains well why there is a need to attack iran?
why, so that iran will have the opportunity to build a memorial to the hundreds of thousands of iranians evaporated into the atmosphere and otherwise murdered by israeli nukes?
well said, iain banks
not to worry about the pain caused by bds, because when compared to israel's siege of gaza, which merits a 10 on the severity scale of collective punishment, bds barely scores.
and although the cultural boycott may seem relatively insignificant, i doubt south africans will agree, being that the international rugby association's boycott of that nation's rugby team was instrumental in bringing down its apartheid government.
seems south africans could endure the enmity of the world, but mess with their beloved game of rugby, that's beyond the pale.
so long overdue, intifada iii, where art thou?
oh those delusory secular years?
meanwhile, pie-in-the-sky?
reality?
so liberal america is a dangerous threat to israel's number one asset, its relations with the u.s?
& said "danger" may be just around the corner?
justice for palestine?
right on time
when the going gets tough those israelis with more than one passport will be booking seats on the next flight to some other country. what's more israelis may give lip service to holding out (a la the masada) but the conniptions that they go through at even one casualty suggests they'd do otherwise. remember how fast the french colons fled algeria a half century ago? also the portuguese in mozambique? and they'd been there for three centuries.
those of one faith who stereotype people of another faith
when the screw turns
and yours is the faith being stigmatized
when you cry foul
will anyone care?
question - why is democracy in israel so important to you?
answer. - it ain't but justice for palestine is.
question - do you believe that israel is, or could be a democracy?
answer - only if it returns palestine to the palestinians
question - do american jews have a role in shaping israeli democracy?
answer - israel is a foreign entity, so, same as for all americans, where american jews have a role is in opposing any u.s. foreign policies (such as our government's unconditional support of israel) that puts america as well as ourselves at risk.
on the other hand nixon got away with the switch from riding the generallisimo's
to riding mao tse tung's pony without causing much commotion back home, so why would america's going from total support for the zionist entity to, say, a position of neutrality on the i/p conflict turn out any different? except nixon's switcheroo, as far as the public knew, seemingly was out of the blue. also he did it without there having been significant public pressure on him to make that switch, whereas, moving obama, as he's repeatedly said, is going to take a groundswell of popular support, such that, our nation never before has seen. are we up to it?
justice for palestine? right on time
whether it's mostly the israel lobby, empire or a convergence of interests, isn't this lobby the justice for palestine movement's primary target? after all we're dealing here with very outspoken & public people, whereas, re empire, much less so. however, once the lobby is out of the way, there will be an abundance of 0.1%ers who were complicit in israel-firstness so as to tie the ruling elite to the harm to america that our government's unconditional support of israel has wrought. kind of like down goes the lobby, with the ruling elite soon to follow.
"A President with a backbone could change that, however."
just as the apparent control that the "china lobby" had over u.s. policy towards china quickly dissipated after president richard nixon recognized the government of the people's republic of china as the legitimate ruler of mainland china (thereby downsizing generalissimo chiang kai shek's domain to that of tiny taiwan)
then for the total isolation of israel?
on the issue of israel/palestine america must stand down
how?
those of us supporting justice for palestine reach out to & awaken the public
first order of business?
to loosen the hold that the israel lobby has on everything pertaining to i/p
focusing on what?
where it's most vulnerable
the lobby's israel firstness
the measure of our success?
justice for palestine
right on time
yes!
the palestine authority is to the slow genocide of palestinians as kapos were to the extermination of european jews
young jews raising money for the idf are like whose daughter?
michael cieply's, perhaps
not mine
nor like anyone else's daughter in my large & close-knit family
& very likely not like the daughters of those who felt brutalized by the images eminating from gaza during the idf's latest invasion of gaza -
"it was as if i was there"
"oh how it hurt" -
being able to feel the palestinian's pain
makes one a palestinian?
only if one does something about it
for anyone who feels intimidated by the israel firster onslought upon freedom of speech
stand fast
the storm will pass
the dividend on one's standing fast?
justice for palestine en route to a just & peaceful world
+ knowing that one helped make it happen
"real jews"
like "real germans" during the nazi era?
colonizers use whatever means are available to rid the lands they conquer of its native people
in the 19th century to clear land for settlers the u.s. army slaughtered buffaloes in the plains indian wars
the buffalo being the indian's lifeline
to clear the west bank of its native palestinians the settlers poison the villager's water resources with sewage & garbage
potable water being the palestinian's lifeline
see how much colonialism has changed?
corr.
...attack on iran...
the israel lobby knows where it's most vulnerable
that's why it goes beserk any time its patriotism is questioned
except when there's a serious challenge they lie low
as during the reign of president george the elder
who took on the zionist entity for its refusal to suspend construction in its west bank settlements
so when it's only a matter of going after israel firsters again
what's holding us back?
there is a way to bring down these israel loving congresspersons
how?
exposing them for the traitors they are
many americans already sense this
some even know it
getting the word out to everyone else?
no problema
once the issue of israel firster treachery gets the attention it deserves
justice for palestine
right on time
i agree that an attack on israel that misfires (pun not intended) would do it, but believe that by hammering away at israel firster treason we can reach the public without the loss of lives that war entails.
for all living beings
destiny
ours for the taking
how?
justice for the palestinian people
with this the present belongs to all of us
as equals
& since those who control the present control the past
with those who control the past controlling the future
for all time to come
all those aboard?
israel firsters can't distinguish between their country & their people
so they end up hurting both
their country because there's a lot of daylight between the interests of israel & the interests of the u.s. of a.
their people because by insisting that israel speaks for all jews
beware the backlash
once the public realizes that our nation's unconditional support of the zionist entity is why the arab/islamic world hates america
& the world without israel?
more just & peaceful
for jews?
for all living beings
love of israel
& never mind it's very existence is a crime against humanity
impossible
but didn't nazi germany bring out similar feelings in its followers
intoxicated as they were by the vision of a jew-free homeland
& who doesn't know how that one turned out
yet today there's this zionist entity israel whose devotees are hooked on cleansing it of its native people, the palestinians
history repeating itself?
same ending?
justice for the palestinian people?
right on time
plenty of chinese expat public criticism of communist china prior to 1979 when the u.s. government finally recognized the people's republic of china as the legitimate government of mainland china, rather than the republic of china (taiwan). indeed, for many years madam chiang kai-shek (wife of chiang kai-shek, president of the republic of china) was revered in america as much or even more than israel's b. netanyahu is today. and with the delegitimization of israel (the entity, not its people), expect netanyahu's importance to be reduced to little more than "what was the name of the last president of israel", on an updated version of trivial pursuit.
what to do about their battered dream?
zionists can always dwell on what went wrong
very profound
debating a zionist on the subject of bds?
besides being a painful exercise in futility
nothing to be gained
talk alone?
cheap
when lives are at stake?
lethal
so when the survival of a people is what's on the line?
genocidal
yes, a bit too much, one's ancestors being liberated only after every egyptian family's first born gets slain (the first recorded mass slaughter?), and never mind that the story's a faery tale, cause myths seem to have lives of their own. what to do about it? talk about it or let it go, hoping that the children at the family seder won't pick up on it? i've done both.
why, on passover, the festival of freedom, must the jew support justice for the palestinian people?
because their homeland, palestine, is now occupied by jewish settlers, and since occupying someone else's land is a form of enslavement, based on the lessons we learned from our own experience as slaves in egypt, we know that the right thing to do is to always side with the slave, never with the slavemaster.
even when the slavemaster is a jew?
especially then.
why especially?
because a people who profess to a religion that celebrates their own liberation from slavery, while at the same time they're putting chains on another people, make a mockery not only of themselves but of their religion.
anything else?
that none of us will be free until the last chain is broken.
in apartheid israel as in aparteid south africa -
isolate & turn it into a pariah state, oh yes!
isolate & turn it into a pariah state, oh yes!
isolate & turn it into a pariah state, oh yes!
generalizing about a group, be it racial, ethnic or religious, is the sine qua non of the racist. in nazi germany, for example, jews were defined (without exception) as separate from germans. here in america the racial supremacist considers all blacks inferior to whites. based on the consequences of such generalizations, they're not only absurd (am i the only jewish-american on mw who's called for delegitimization of the zionist entity, not to mention the polls indicating that there is growing disillusionment for israel among jewish-americans) but dangerous (google nazi germany & slavery in america), which is why, when i hear someone stereotyping a particular group, immediately a red flag appears in my mind which tells me that person is a racist.
it's not whether obama gets it
but whether he does anything about it
if he does he's doing his job
if he doesn't he's a fraud & a weakling
for which, alas, there's already ample evidence
"we never gave up our vision"
not ours, his
together with the occupiers'
justice for palestine
ours
israeli government wants to relieve international diplomatic pressure?
how?
end its occupation of palestine, that's how
with msm focused on israel/palestine, could this new village mark the beginning of intifada iii?
what's driving this jewish soldier in his hatred for palestinians?
perhaps the opportunity to kill or main someone
yet be able brag about it
like that teenager & friends who gang-raped an unconscious 15 year old girl last august
one of whom just a few days ago -
members of the jury
on the charge of rape
your verdict?
guilty as charged
to the tune of circa 15 years in the state pen
therefore?
it's ok to kill an arab as long as one doesn't brag about it?
rather, that whether soldier or civilian, kill someone, pay the appropriate penalty
in the 19th century it was the only good injun is a dead injun
in the last century it was solving the jewish question
today it's there's nothing better than a dead arab
the more things change the more they stay the same?
justice for palestine?
whereupon?
for one & all?
the just & peaceful world?
on the eve of passover, 2013
comparing the status of a jew living in egypt during the time of the pharoahs
with the status of a jew living in occupied palestine today
way back then in egypt?
the status of a lowly slave
in occupied palestine today?
the status of a high and mighty slaveowner
redemption for said slaveowner?
justice for palestine
what's more,
given, that, rachel was born an angel
that she lived a life of selflessness
that the word of her being martyred spread far and wide
woke people up
about the need to change the world
& so effective was she
that in the pantheon of humanist deities?
at the entrance?
stands a statue of rachel corrie?
blessed goddess of the just & peaceful world?
rachel corrie
an angel by birth
peace activist by choice
at age 23 martyred for pursuing her calling
justice for palestine
that there be no war no more
never again
instead the just & peaceful world
which, seemingly miraculously
is the where we're headed
bless you, rachel corrie
of, for & by the people?
some sort of joke?
how do they get away with it?
deep down most everyone knows?
something about not wanting to rock the boat?
but if only everyone were to just say no?
smooth sailing ahead?
on yet another people?
syrians this time?
u. s. of a. to use drones?
is there anyone left who still believes that america isn't into empire?
oh but it's never (better, hardly ever) been into colonies, settlements & such?
why would it?
drones more than suffice?
with the you are i, i am you, we are one?
spirit of change?
that very moment?
building a just & peaceful world?
what was it like?
like a dream come true?
at this moment in history
with the whole wide world
in our hands
hold on everyone
& never let go
pending?
age of love?
justice for palestine?
hallelujah, amen?
the zionist entity israel
in acting out its conceptualizing fantasy
that there exists a land without a people for a people without a land
will it exit the same way the third reich did?
here one day, gone the next