"A Rabbi's Path to Palestinian Solidarity"
"Any discussion of Israel's political and military actions is likely to evoke emotional reactions among Jews that can split friendships and families."
SNIP
"Rabbi Brant Rosen, a congregational rabbi in Evanston, Illinois and co-chair of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council, takes on these volatile issues of Jewish faith, values and the traditional homeland narrative of Israel in a new book: "Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi's Path to Palestinian Solidarity."
Rosen's personal journey raises questions about Israel's current path that go to the heart of the incendiary debate about Israel's future as a Jewish state: whether it can change course and adopt values toward the Palestinians that reflect Jewish religious and cultural tradition, as well as whether a Jewish state can survive as a democracy without becoming a quasi-apartheid government. You can obtain"Wrestling in the Daylight" directly from Just World Books.
If you are Jewish, upon reading "Wrestling in the Daylight," you will feel that you have found a kindred spirit in Rabbi Rosen, or you will become angry. But hopefully, you will begin a dialogue . . ."
SNIP
"Looking back, I think my strong reaction to Cast Lead was the final straw of a process that I had been experiencing for some time - dating all the way back to Israel's first invasion of Lebanon in 1982. In the past, whenever Israel behaved in ways I felt were morally questionable, my concerns would be tempered by a defensive voice in the back of my head telling me: "Calm down. Don't overreact. It's complicated." I'm pretty sure I'm not the only liberal Zionist who's heard this voice. We're very good at rationalizing or dismissing actions by Israel that we would never dare to condone if it were any other country.
But in the case of Cast Lead, I just didn't hear the voice any more. I had already been openly expressing my opposition to Israel's crushing blockade of Gaza, and when I heard the first news of Israel's initial military onslaught - reports of Apache helicopters dropping literally tons of bombs on 1.5 million people living in a tiny strip of land with nowhere to run - I just couldn't rationalize it anymore. I knew in my heart that Israel's actions had nothing to do with security - this was oppression, pure and simple."
SNIP
"So in a way, you could say that Cast Lead was the end of one process for me and the beginning of another. Once I publicly broke ranks with liberal Zionism on this score, I felt emboldened to share my feelings about a variety of Zionism's sacred cows: I wrote openly about the ethnic cleansing that accompanied Israel's birth and was still continuing, . . ."
SNIP
"It's not just a potential risk; I think we're witnessing the cost of this apartheid process every day."
SNIP
"For me, the bottom line is this: the cornerstone value of my religious tradition commands me to stand in solidarity with all who are oppressed."
SNIP
" Israel has been pursuing a West Bank settlement policy - constructing more and more settlements while evicting and resettling more and more Palestinians - with utter impunity. Anyone witnessing the actual facts on the ground has to know that Israel's actions are making an utter mockery of the notion of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state. I think it's clear that what Israel calls a "Palestinian state" bears no resemblance to anything you or I would recognize as an actual state. I think "cantons" or "Bantustans" would be more accurate."
SNIP
" . . . I'm fairly disgusted by those in Israel or in the American Jewish establishment who regularly invoke the specter of "another Holocaust" at every turn. I believe these kinds of claims are historically inaccurate, politically cynical and frankly, downright dangerous."
SNIP
" But if Israel is becoming a pariah, that's due largely to its own actions."
SNIP
" . . . I'd say that, up until now, Israel has been doing a very good job of delegitimizing itself. Israel simply cannot consider itself to be "the only democracy in the Middle East" if it insists on implementing policies that put it on the road toward apartheid."
SNIP
"The Zionist idea, however, is a conscious rejection of this Diasporist model. Zionism sought to make the Jewish people "k'chol ha'goyim" - like all the other nations. But now that we've seen what Zionism has wrought, I think it's worth asking whether or not we've made something of a Faustian bargain by embracing political nationalism so thoroughly."
SNIP
"I am a congregational rabbi and the Jewish community is my home."
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/12009-a-rabbis-path-to-palestinian-solidarity
How Can We End Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide Forever?
by Michael R. Burch, an editor and publisher of Holocaust
and Nakba poetry
"How does ethnic cleansing begin? Obviously, it begins with racism and tribalism: the prehistoric idea that "they" are different from "us" and are therefore simultaneously "inferior," "not to be trusted" and "dangerous." I call this the "chosen few sin-drome."
But racism alone is not sufficient for ethnic cleansing to occur because as long as people are protected by fair laws and courts, they cannot be stripped of their rights, freedom, land, homes, farms, businesses, jobs and property. So something else is required: the subversion of justice."
SNIP
The Holocaust did not begin with people being mass murdered. It began with people being found "guilty" by association with disfavored, disenfranchised groups, after which they were robbed of their rights, freedom, land, homes, farms, businesses, jobs and property. This left them unable to shelter or provide for themselves and their families. Thus, they became the destitute, homeless wards of a state that cared nothing about them. They were then exiled to walled ghettoes and concentration camps where at best they were subject to cramped quarters, malnourishment, disease and despair. At worst they were subjected to slave labor, torture, rape, medical experimentation and murder. As the number of people exiled grew into the millions, the cost of even minimal care became enormous, and the Nazis finally made the decision to install gas chambers and ovens in a diabolical "final solution." But it is important to understand that none of this could have ever happened if Germany had established and maintained fair, nonracist laws and courts.
The same is true for other Holocausts. American slavery and the Civil War could never have taken place if American laws and courts had not been subverted to allow white Americans to take advantage of black Americans. The Trail of Tears and the ethnic cleansing and genocide of millions of Native Americans could never have happened if American laws and courts had not been subverted to allow white Americans to take advantage of American Indians. South African apartheid could not have occurred if South Africa's laws and courts had not been subverted to allow whites to take advantage of blacks. The ongoing Nakba ("Catastrophe") of the Palestinian people could never have happened without Israel creating racist laws and courts expressly designed to allow Israeli Jews to continually steal land and water from Palestinians, while demolishing their homes and refusing to grant them permits to build new ones. This is a classic case of ethnic cleansing, as the maps below clearly illustrate. In 1946 Palestinians owned over 90% of the land of Israel/Palestine. By the year 2000, the Palestinians owned only a small fraction of the land, and yet they had not been compensated for the land they lost. How can it be "legal" for people of one race to steal the land of people of another race? This can only happen when laws and courts have been deliberately subverted to favor one race over another.
Ethnic cleansing in Palestine has been very similar to the ethnic cleansing of Native Americans, with the bulk of the land changing hands on a racial basis without the people losing their land being compensated for it. As a result, millions of completely innocent Palestinian women and children have suffered terribly, and many have died prematurely. To cause the premature death of an innocent person is murder. To cause the premature deaths of large numbers of innocent people is genocide. Since Israel continues to demolish the homes of Palestinians while denying them building permits, the "cantonization" of Occupied Palestine will continue, as more and more Palestinians are crowded onto less and less land. Israel already faces the same predicament as the Nazis: being forced to provide for millions of unwanted people who have become wards of a state that cares nothing about them.
SNIP
I hope you will consider this simple idea: that the way to end ethnic cleansing and genocide forever is to establish an international legal precedent. We need to prove, once and for all, that establishing fair, nonracist laws and courts is the path to a nonviolent, just peace.
Michael R. Burch is a poet who lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his lovely wife Beth, their handsome son Jeremy, and seven outrageously spoiled puppies. His poems, essays, articles, short stories and letters have appeared over 1,300 times in publications such as TIME, USA Today, The Hindu, Light Quarterly, The Lyric, Writer's Digest—The Year's Best Writing and Unlikely Stories. Mike Burch is also the editor of The HyperTexts, a columnist for the Nashville City Paper and (according to Google) a leading online editor and publisher of Holocaust, Hiroshima, Trail of Tears, Darfur, Haiti and Nakba poetry.
http://www.thehypertexts.com/Michael_R_Burch_Poet_Poetry_Picture_Bio.htm
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A graduate of Penn State he was also a big fan of the Denver Broncos. We always had a couple hundred dollars bet on the college football and the NFL every weekend. One Monday night after we'd finished dinner and settled our bets, we had a few beers and got into it about Israel and Palestine. An hour or so into it, he pulled out an ornately carved antique wooden box and produced a beautifully inked Arabic script written on lamb skin parchment. I oooed and aaahhed while he translated.
It was the seven hundred year old Ottoman title to the family farm near Gesher. There were dozens of old black & white photos of his father and grandparents on the farm and even pictures of his family with the kibbutzniks of the Third Aliyah. My friend's anti-semitism wasn't reserved for the Israeli Jews living in Palestine, he also disdained the Palestinian Bedouins and Iraqi Arabs, because his family was caught between that conflict and after they fled for their lives, they lost their home and land and that broke his father's heart.
I don't think that anything short of a "Right of Return" will ever change his mind about Israel.
The most important part of this post, to me, is the map; and how it shows, graphically, how indeed, the Palestinian people are truly as You imply, Palestinians are indeed, the forgotten people. Your post points out that there are many complicit in this horror, the Nakba.
I'm a little surprised (and disappointed) that there is no mention of the united states, Britain or the United Nations.
The fact that deeds to land are routinely ignored by israel is abhorrent, and furthermore, the fact that america allows this to be perpetuated, equally horrible. The fact that that deed is SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS old only magnifies the horror.
The fact that there are thousands, millions of such deeds in existence is demonic in nature.
Strangely enough, You mention the kibbutz of Gezer, (Gecher???). My late brother was one of the founders of this kibbutz, a kibbutz strongly associated with the peace movement generally prevalent in kibbutzim, however Gezer was particularly militant in their insistence on equal rights, a fact I am proud of.
Modern kibbutzim bare scant resemblance to those of the past.
Those zionists, who write on this board, for the most part disdain any "Right of Return," and if they DO acknowledge such a right, it is accompanied by conditions. The occupier dictating conditions of return to rightful owners is a Faustian bargain, indeed.
Thank You JMac for being the first to comment. I have sometimes pulled posts due to perceived lack of interest by the OS community - this is NOT one of those cases. This post would've stayed regardless of response or not.
Thanks, again, JMac.
america learned well from the "mother country," England, and perpetuates mini and maxi holocausts to this day. israel is given free rein to carry on as it does, as Chomsky refers to america, by the "godfather.
Like You (the letters and emails I send have little effect) if more people would do like You and I do, boycott the perpetrators, the economic pain might make a difference. I even do my best to boycott companies that do business with israel.
For most of my teaching career, students who brought and bring Coca-Cola to class were allowed to store them in the refrigerator and drink whatever Japanese beverage they chose to.
Thank You so much for Your substantive comment, Snowden.
Due to having only one lifetime to live - and little enough of that one still remaining to me - I doubt that this topic will ever come to be one that I take a serious look into. Do not be disappointed about that, friend Mark. To each of us is given only so much that we can be concerned with. My limit has been exceeded already.
Best to you.......Sky
.
On those days that I don't post, You are one of the people I eagerly seek out.
Unfortunately with the Atari 800 working smoothly, and the search function disabled:
Clicking on a comment You previously made anywhere is more than the Atari can handle. Locating You via my favorites list is equally ineffective. I spent several hours the other day just trying to find a friend with whom I wanted to share some info - I still haven't succeeded.
Fortunately, You comment frequently enough for me to catch You in the stream and then follow Your trail.
I know well that it is difficult to keep up with subjects moving at warp speed, but we all must pick and choose those of most importance to us individually.
I, also, know that You and I have basically been on the same side of the fence for a long time - You WERE one of my earliest favorites, so let me just conclude by thanking You for taking the time to visit, my Friend..
I don't have any family, other than Yumiko, so in many ways, this blog is the testament to my life. The things I have to say, here, are little different than the thoughts I've held for forty years.
I've had Michael Burch's entry in my files for awhile, along with the maps, which few others seem to consider meaningful.
When I came across the piece by Rabbi Rosen, I immediately saw how the two became unitary, so I abridged both pieces, and this is the result.
I'd been critical of israel for a long time, but like You, Operation Cast Lead, followed shortly, thereafter by the brutal attacks on the Turkish aid brigade awakened a new militancy in me.
This militancy has led me to adopt the idea, which I expressed in a Kosh post, that israel has arrogated its right to the extent that I believe the time has come, where israel should be forcibly pushed back to minimally '67 borders, all settlements, checkpoints, and walls dismantled, and a U.N. (or NATO) peacekeeping force stationed at the new (old) borders to inforce israeli compliance.
Like You, Operation Cast Lead with the use of illegal white phosphorus, Palestinians used as human human shields, a rabbi urging that Palestinians be treated as if they were military personnel, dense inert metals, and much more was the last straw for me.
Final Score: ten israeli soldiers and three civilians dead; and according to B'tselem, one thousand three hundred and eighty-seven Palestinian casualties (not counting those who died in the aftermath of the three week bloodbath {most due to the destruction of infrastructure, which was deliberately targeted}).
A little disproportionate, I'd say. More like a massacre.
Not in my name.
Thanks for taking the time to come by, Alaska and providing me the lead-in to accentuate the true nature of Operation Cast Lead.
Incidentally tevye, above Your comment, as I suspected, was a sock puppet trying to get information about me for some unknown, likely malevolent, nefarious purpose.
Operation Cast Lead was to me the reason to cross that big pound and to open a few blogs in America, to find out how Americans thought about it, to protest (even when I felt first years a bit ashamed of expressing myself awkwardly, clumsily in English).
I was happy to learn that not everyone was a Bush or a Bushian.
It was frustrating to learn that the Democratic Party in this regard was as Bushian as you can be.
I have an official document here, a letter to the Palestinian National Authority, in which American Congress threatens Palestine if it asks for recognition as a state via membership of the UNO.
voting House: 407 - 6 (356 co-sponsors)
voting Senate: unanimously (89 co-sponsors)
It had the effrontery (or chutzpah?) to conclude with: The U.S. Congress has generously supported Palestinian efforts to build infrastructure and build the capacity of institutions in the past. However ... Current and future aid will be jeopardized ...
So, don't stop with blogging.
(because of that: R.)
Finding people like you made me happy, and brought a gleam of (real) hope.
Their support for israel is unconditional. In their eyes, israel can do no wrong. Imagine if You will, if a bunch of thugs forced down the door to Your home, confined You and the family to the living room, and blocked access to the kitchen, bathroom, and occupied all the hallways.
ANYTHING You wished to do, required the permission of the thugs. This is not a metaphorical point that is far from the situation as it currently exists. The jews aboard (as I mentioned, there are one or two exceptions who reap immediately to mind, who have moral limits) here would find an excuse to condone such vile behavior.
This is the first reason I've repeatedly blogged about the Palestinian issue with VERY limited support from the many jews here.
The second reason is that the site itself is a shambles, which is why I call it open sewer. The search function is disabled. I can't track or reach friends by using links or by browsing through my favorites list.
I don't think management cares in the slightest about us. My time is valuable to me - I am a lifelong activist and there are many things in that vein that trying to gyrate the hurdles of this site prevent me from doing.
It is only due to You and the names You see above that I, even, still bother. The site is wrecked beyond repair - some of the finest bloggers are gone forever - soon I hope to join them.
Thanks for Your kind words Eljekar - they sustain me.
I went back to find some of my Operation Cast Lead blogs but that war happened before my arrival at open salon so they are on another website (was I still at FDL then or had I left in protest of the public option vs. single payer fiasco over there?). I will look over there to explore.
That Cast Lead slaughter of innocent Palestinians was carried out between Obama's election and inauguration. And it did more than foreshadow as Obama looked the other way that we had gotten a new president who HAD NO MORAL COMPASS. Of course now we have 4 years of one Exhibit A after another that we don't have a Prez or a Congress either with one and okay let's throw in the SCOTUS too again without said moral compass. As for the citizens ... so not the majority of them do either, tragically.
I did go back and dig out a blog I had done after the flotilla murders by Israeli military thugs when the Turkish aid ships bound for Gaza were bordered and humanitarian activists were assassinated including one Turkish American young man which was no biggie in the national corporate media of course. In fact our Congress worked hard to legally condemn any Americans who were not pro-Israel after yet another moral and violent outrageous act by the Israeli government. Here are some quotes by Ira Chernus from back then:
http://archive.truthout.org/us-stands-and-lies-with-israel60491
"There's a similar move brewing in Congress, this one aimed at discrediting the flotilla movement by keeping all its participants out of the US because they are "terrorists." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are circulating a bipartisan letter calling on Obama to put the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH) on the US "terrorist" list."
"At a press conference pushing this effort, Rep. Eliot Engel justified Israel's blockade of Gaza and its attacks on ships trying to break the blockade, using the familiar mantra: "The United States must stand with Israel as it seeks to carry out legitimate acts of self-defense." "Legitimate acts of self-defense" will surely be the conclusion of the Israeli probe, too."
snip
"The popular picture of Israel as a defenseless ghetto, packed with innocent, vulnerable Jews surrounding by raging anti-Semites, is the big lie that lets all the little falsehoods about Israeli policy flourish."
[snip]
"It also insures that little or no harm will befall the big lie with which all Israeli governments have justified their violence against Palestinians and the ensuing cover-ups. And it encourages the Israelis to count on the big lie to justify future violence against the many flotillas yet to come."
"The same big lie is part of the reason the U.S. government so often stands, and lies, with Israel - even when that policy obviously runs counter to U.S. interests and alienates the U.S. from the international community, as in the current case of the flotilla investigation. How big a part the lie plays is anyone's guess. There's no way to prove it. But it would be dangerous to underestimate it."
end of quote
Hillary Clinton said the settlements occupations were "unhelpful" and some considered that a brave statement of Hillary. That is as brave as the US gets, as it hands $3 billion a year over to Israel for its military budget? Do I need to add Hillary threw out her moral compass, too, if she ever had one. In terms of her pact with the Zionist governement she got in bed with them as NY senator.
I think the Israel/Palestine issue is at least one of the serious litmus tests, Mark, as to the real left and the neolibs who are too cool for school and morality. The realpolitik division between liberals of conscience and saboteurs of morality and integrity that posture to be progressive. Cronyism and tribalism ... loyalty and "truthiness" ... blocks peace for the world. But voices like the ones above come from real spiritual warriors.
Thanks for posting and adding your spirited and spiritual voice to the mix!
best, libby
http://my.firedoglake.com/libbyliberal/2009/01/29/us-congress-formally-declares-israeli-leaderships-gaza-massacre-justified-my-shock-and-awe/
"US Congress Formally declares Israeli Leadership’s Gaza Massacre Justified … My Shock and Awe" by libbyliberal
I appreciate the emphasis on how governments who do malignant things don’t represent the will of the peoples they serve so often.
I am grateful to have a website with electic views so I can explore my thoughts and feelings about the present Gaza crisis. I have read that there are more objections to the Israeli leadership’s behaviors among the Israeli citizens and US citizenry itself than my US Congress
I am confounded by the choices of Israel but even more by the US Congress, our political class, ignoring the grave judgments of Amnesty Intl, Intl Red Cross, UN, of crimes against humanity. Instead of being an honest broker for peace, the Congress declared Israel’s leadership’s choices 100% okay.
When the Gaza attacks began Rep. Howard Berman D. of Calif. insisted the Congress “formally” back the Israeli actions. Senators Reid and McConnell led the confirmation in the Senate. It passed in the Senate 100%, in the House, 435 supported it, 5 against, 20 voted present. What incredible agreement.
Glenn Greenwald reported that polls on how US citizens feel about our appropriate degree of involvement was according to Univ. of Maryland 71% wanting US not to take sides in this conflict. A Rasmussen study in Jan, went 41-44% about support for Israel and a poll among Democrats showed 55% against to 31%. Clearly the political class is not representing its constituents.
The more I read about my country’s overt and covert meddling in the affairs of other countries the more I understand anger and distrust of us. And the profound callousness of Israel and US leaderships to the massive humanitarian horrors and the US providing ever more deadly weaponry.
A new US weapon was used, DIME “dense inert metal explosives,” Powerful blasts within small areas, crushes the whole limb not just parts, no longer knife-like cuts, but uses a nuclear-like fusion process
It has been reported we provided phosphorous which was illegally used in populated areas on civilians. Times of London reports it adheres to flesh, its flames continue for 5 to 10 minutes often penetrating to the bone.
For the air strikes, assaults that necessarily include civilians, 2300 air strikes total, 226 US supplied F-16s were used. And US smart bombs penetrating 3 feet of steel reinforced concrete.
The casualties for the Israelis: a number of damaged buildings, 13 dead, including 3 civiians and 3 soldiers from friendly fire. Yes, any number of deaths is tragic.
The latest statistics for the Gazans: 1400 dead, 5500 wounded, hundreds of children dead (over 400), 4-5000 homes destroyed, 20,000 homes damaged, 14% of all buildings, 50 UN facilities, 21 medical buildings, 1500 factories, $2 bn damage on land 25 miles long, 7.5 miles wide. Farms bombed out, or swamped with sewage. Traumatized children. 50,000 people malnourished. Destroyed mosques, a university, most govt buildings, courts, 25 schools, 20 ambulances, bridges, 10 electricity generating stations, sewage lines, 1500 factories, 100,000 Palestinians into refugeedom.
Despite the refusal to allow journalists in, there were horrifying anecdotal stories such as 40 people in UN shelter killed. Emaciated children found too weak to stand up, beside corpses of their parents. How can this kind of massacre be defended?
So, the country that brought us the Iraq War is asserting Israeli neocons’ devastation should be regarded as righteous. Minimizing the above described bloodbath. Have we learned nothing from our mistakes? Iraq?
And according to Article 2 of Geneva Convention on Genocide, 3 requirements of such a crime seem to fit this situation: 1) killing members of a group, 2) causing serious bodily and mental harm to members of a group, 3) deliberately inflicting on a group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.
I have heard of Hamas savagery in the past. Also, I know the chronic shooting of rockets by Hamas was a nightmare. But the blockade was provocative to say the least. I am not an apologist for Hamas. But to punish the Gazans for voting for Hamas against what sounds like a corrupt and weak Abbas regime is illegitimate. And our collusion is crazymaking and more of the same imperially exploitive and destructive path. Obama is a member of this groupthinking political class, enabled by corporate media.
Thanks if you waded through all this. I have started calling my Congress persons to protest, but it seems sadly futile.
I haven't ANY doubt that were You here, at that time, You would have bitten into these matters with the fierceness and precision, which You always bring to the table.
You are one hell of an outspoken person and does not let the consequences of the FACT that all that we say and write here is meticulously recorded and placed in a file with OUR names inscribed.
When I mentioned to Eljekar, that there are certain people who inspire me to continue, You were prime amongst those.
Your use of the words "thugs" is entirely appropriate, a s they may dress in suits, but they are NO different than the mafia or Yakusa. In fact, they are more devious.
Yeah, there was an election approaching, here in america, but more importantly, there was one looming in israel, too. Our "friend" bibi had to rally the israeli public to insure his election.
It's a game, as You know, Libby, replete with sports metaphors to cover the FACT that innocent civilians, women, babies, and men are dying for the benefit of participating in the "game."
And here in america, we worry about who's going to mow the lawn, what time tee-time is, and what's the latest in reality -TV.
We are irretrievably lost in the noise the mainstream media proceeds to distract as for the realities of life.
You mention THREE BILLION dollars. Why would we send them them three billion dollars when they can afford to export FIVE billion dollars of arms exports, much of which goes to the worst dictatorships and despots the world has ever known.
You give me more strength and hope to continue posting than You realize, Libby.
I canNOT thank You enough.
There is no limit to the barbarous treatment israel feels ENTITLED to wreak.
Once again, the amount You bring to the table enhances ALL my posts incalculably. I am beholden to You, both for inspiration and information.
Re the Gazan massacre, a certain fog rolls in with the passage of time, the memory hole for all of us, especially with so many fresh hells. Gore Vidal called us the United States of Amnesia.
The reason I dug back two websites ago is that I wanted to regather the EXACT statistics on how many deaths and woundings happened with the Gaza slaughter and the ratio was so surreal between Israelis and Gazans. Not a war but a massacre and I remember there was cruel weaponry. But when I read my old blog, the statistics that were at the tip of my tongue for a while, stun me once again. And the description of the white phosphorous and the DIME -- Dense Insert Metal Explosives -- weaponry that instantly pulverizes bones, they, too had faded from memory and I need to resurface them for myself and others to stay awake to an example of such SUPER PROFOUND war criminality that thanks to Prez, media and Congress pretend it never happened and not even that but that the victims were the persecutors. Orwellian for sure.
God, Mark, there is so much of it happening, with more to come with Syria and the will to go on to Iran.
What a morally sick governance we have as does Israel. And the national media's betrayal to psychopathic corporate interests makes it all the more challenging to get and keep the truth out there.
That blog of mine started out as a comment on the Guardian I made. I was zapped, some comments, from the Guardian which discouraged me from visiting. I mentioned Gaza in a comment once and got zapped. I wasn't even being very provocative imho. And then I went to Huntington Post and commenting on something again mentioned Gaza and was zapped. I thought there was a tech prob and I tried to post the comment again. it happened again. One more time. Zapped. then I posted a comment not mentioning Gaza. Published.
I am glad Greenwald is at the Guardian now. Michael Tomasky was such an apologist for Obama I went to his column just to counterpoint the Obama propaganda he was slinging (under diff screen name) for international readers some of who were drinking the kool-aid. Even thought Obama was really a socialist. If only he were!
So much for progressive media. I tiptoed away from Huffpo, too. Talk about the third rail!
I don't know if things are more tolerant at both places today. I am glad to be able to post this on open salon.
Re the space thing. I am so verbose sometimes. Also, most people put in links but I am so maybe codependent I want to nudge even harder people to read something so I deliver it on the thread itself. Maybe less mature of me. :-)
best, libby
Please forgive me short response, as I have to go now. The ONLY reason to ask for forgiveness is if You are like fRANK. who NEVER has anything to add to the discourse.
Your comments, short or long are ALWAYS pertinent and add to the discourse. Please feel free to limit Your comments or, preferably NOT limit them, as Your thoughts ALWAYS add value to my post.
I wish i could.
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In my mind, what's happening in Israel isn't about religion or race or who got their first. It's about persuading people who should know better to surrender their rights to a totalitarian government.
It's good to see that American Jews are finally waking up to what's really going on.
"Excellent expose of Israeli racism, genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine. My impression of the type of Judaism preached in Israeli is that it's the extremely conservative, fundamentalist kind. The same kind of black and white, good and evil religious beliefs that are used to inflame fundamentalist Christians and Arabs. This type of belief system is ideal for building a conservative pseudo-populism, in which low income people are persuaded to support fascist governments which convince them they need protection from the evil "others" who threaten them."
I have nothing to add to this pithy comment, but I do about this:
"It's good to see that American Jews are finally waking up to what's really going on."
If we presume that the jinos (jews in name only), here are a microcosm, which I do of american jewry, it is only VERY few who are waking up or are willing to question the genocide, which proceeds apace.
Thanks, again for the visit.