Is Palestinian Solidarity an Occupied Zone?

By GILAD ATZMON

http://www.counterpunch.org/

Once involved with Palestinian Solidarity you have to accept that Jews are special and so is their suffering; Jews are like no other people, their Holocaust is like no other genocide and anti Semitism, is the most vile form of racism the world has ever known and so on and so forth.

But when it comes to the Palestinians, the exact opposite is the case. For some reason we are expected to believe that the Palestinians are not special at all -  they are just like everyone else. Palestinians have not been subject to a unique, racist, nationalist and expansionist Jewish nationalist movement, instead, we must all agree that, just like the Indians and the Africans, the Palestinian ordeal results from run-of-the-mill 19^th century colonialism – just more of the same old boring Apartheid.

So, Jews, Zionists and Israelis are exceptional, like no one else, while Palestinians are always somehow, ordinary, always part of some greater political narrative, always just like everyone else. Their suffering is never due to the particularity of Jewish nationalism, or Jewish racism, or even AIPAC dominating USA foreign policy no, the Palestinian is always a victim of a dull, banal dynamic – general, abstract and totally lacking in particularity.

This raises some serious questions.

Can you think of any other liberation or solidarity movement that prides itself in being boring, ordinary and dull? Can you think of any other solidarity movement that downgrades its subject into just one more meaningless exhibit in a museum of materialist historical happenings? I don’t think so! Did the black South Africans see themselves as being like everyone else? Did Martin Luther King believe his brothers and sisters to be inherently undistinguishable?

I don’t think so. So how come Palestinian solidarity has managed to sink so low that their spokespersons and supporters compete against each other to see who can best eliminate the uniqueness of the Palestinian struggle into just part of a general historical trend such as colonialism or Apartheid?

The answer is simple. Palestinian Solidarity is an occupied zone and, like all such occupied zones must dedicate itself to the fight against ‘anti Semitism’. Dutifully united against racism, fully engaged with LGBT issues in Palestine and in the movement itself, but for one reason or another, the movement is almost indifferent towards the fate of millions of Palestinians living in refugee camps and their Right of Return to their homeland.

But all this can change. Palestinians and their supporters could begin to see their cause for what it is, unique and distinctive. Nor need this be all that difficult.  After all, if Jewish nationalism is inherently exceptional as Zionists proclaim, is it not only natural that the victims of such a distinctive racist endeavor are at least, themselves, just as distinctive.

So far, Palestine solidarity has failed to liberate Palestine, but it has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams in creating a Palestine Solidarity Industry, and one largely funded by liberal Zionists. We have been very productive in schlepping activists around the world promoting ‘boycotts’ and ‘sanctions’ meanwhile Israel trade with Britain is booming  and Hummus Tzabar is clearly apparent in every British grocery store.

All those attempts to reduce Palestinian ordeal into a dated, dull, generalised materialist narrative should be exposed for what they are – an attempt to appease liberal Zionists. Palestinian suffering is actually unique in history at least as unique as the Zionist project.

Yesterday I came across this from South African minister Ronnie Kasrils. In a comment on Israeli Apartheid he said : “This is much worse than Apartheid..Israeli measures, the brutality, make apartheid look like a picnic. We never had Jets attacking our townships; we never had sieges that lasted months after months. We never had tanks destroying houses.”

Kasrils is dead right. It is much worse than Apartheid and far more sophisticated than colonialism. And why? Because what the Zionists did and are doing is neither Apartheid nor is it colonialism. Apartheid wanted to exploit the African, Israel wants the Palestinian gone. Colonialism is an exchange between a mother and a settler state. Israel never had a mother State, though it may well have had a few ‘surrogate mothers’.

Now is the time to look at the unique ordeal of the Palestinian people. Similarly, now is the time to look at the Zionist crime in the light of Jewish culture and identity politics.
Can the solidarity movement meet this challenge? Probably, but like Palestine, it must first, itself, be liberated.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Growing Spine!

 Nahida Exiled Palestinian

Another attempt to ostracise a devoted and dedicated activist,

 but this time it has failed.

Finally, some in the Solidarity Movement appear to be growing some spine! They refuse to apply the Talmudic method of “Disavowal”

Unlike PSC in UK, and instead of slandering, defaming and ostracizing an active founding member Greta Berlin, Free Gaza Movement defended her and declared their support .

This attempt by crypto-zionist stooges to character-assassinate effective activists by means of intimidation and defamation, presenting themselves as “racists-detectors“, “anti-Semite-filters” and “holocaust-deniers-inspectors“, only to push visionary-activists out of the Movement.

 Thus working as  Controlled Opposition, by framing the debate, blocking information and restricting the boundaries of  freedom of thought, disavowing those who cross their “red line”,  and promoting only those who follow their agenda.

We support justice in Palestine not demonizing each other

The Palestine Solidarity Movement: A Recipe for Kosher anti-Zionism

by Martin Iqbal
Thursday, June 14th, 2012    

British Palestine Solidarity outfit ‘Palestine Place’ provides a platform for anti-Syrian speakers, while ostracising and banning activists who choose to discuss topics designated as ‘no-go’ by Zionist ideology. This is symptomatic of a wider disease prevalent in the ‘Palestine Solidarity Movement’.
The Palestine Solidarity Movement, not only within the UK but across nations worldwide, is becoming increasingly fractured and impotent. The movement is characterised by swathes of different groups squabbling amongst themselves, and ostracising members⁽¹⁾ who cross certain red lines – red lines which have been drawn by Zionism.

‘Palestine Place’: Symptoms of a Wider Disease

During my own recent experiences at ‘Palestine Place’ in London, I was unfortunate enough to witness acute symptoms of the disease afflicting the Palestine Solidarity Movement. The disease is not unique to Palestine Place; it afflicts the wider Palestine Solidarity Movement and the liberal ‘left’ in the UK. Not only is the Palestine Solidarity Movement paralysed with fear of being branded with the anti-Semitism epithet, but it routinely falls prey to Zionist and imperialist deception, manipulation, and propaganda. The carnal fear of being branded an ‘anti-Semite’ prevents any level of open and honest discussion on anything pertaining to Israel and the Zionist project – especially its founding myths which must be openly discussed and debated in order for truth to see light.

Outlawing Thoughtcrime in the Service of Zionism

During an open discussion at Palestine Place in June 2012, one attendee brought up the subject of Gilad Atzmon’s alleged anti-Semitism. The gentleman proceeded to misrepresent Atzmon’s words in order to paint him as a racist who merely seeks to attack Judaism.
During this discussion the subject of holocaust denial and holocaust revisionism came up. At no point was the holocaust denied by anybody present, however this writer did make the point that we must make a distinction between ‘revisionism’ and ‘denial’. All historical events must be open to investigation and questioning; the very concept of history is based on revisionism. What legitimate reason could we possibly have for shielding any historical event from examination? We are constantly reminded that we must learn from history lest it repeat itself (reminiscent of the ‘never again’ mantra), yet we are prevented from examining these very elements of history!
This particular discussion at Palestine Place continued for ten or fifteen minutes before the next scheduled discussion was due to begin. During this time, dedicated pro-Palestinian activist Ken O’Keefe came to Gilad Atzmon’s defence, drawing attention to Atzmon’s idea that Jewishness and Jewish culture must be part of our investigation of Israeli and Zionist ideology. Are Israel’s tanks, gunships and warplanes not adorned with the Jewish Star of David? Is ‘Israel’ not a self-professed Jewish State? The gentleman who had chosen to accuse Atzmon of anti-Semitism had misrepresented Atzmon’s views and launched into a baseless ad hominem attack.
Immediately before the next scheduled speaker, a spokesman for Palestine Place made an announcement to the following effect: some people have decided to air their views on the holocaust, we must remind you that at Palestine Place we do not tolerate anti-Semitism and we will not be discussing the holocaust any further.
It must be noted that this was after the same spokesperson had emphatically stated that day, that Palestine Place was not affiliated with any solidarity organisation (such as the UK Palestine Solidarity Campaign), purely to avoid the politicisation and control of discussion!
This relatively small incident demonstrates how the Palestine Solidarity Movement is not only subject to Zionist bullying, infiltration, and lobbying, but more importantly cultural indoctrination. We are instilled with a cardinal fear of discussing the holocaust outside of the officially accepted narrative – a ‘thoughtcrime’ in this democracy and beacon of free speech known as Great Britain.
The knee-jerk ‘we do not tolerate anti-Semitism‘ emotional reaction is sadly typical, and it is trotted out before one iota of thought has been given to the content and substance of the discussion.
It is incredibly sad and disheartening to see that the Palestine Solidarity Movement is utterly beholden to Zionism’s biggest rhetorical weapon: false charges of anti-Semitism coupled with a religious observance of and adherence to the dogma of ‘the holocaust’.
As activists and truth seekers, are we actually going to conflate historical revisionism (the practice of investigating and revising our understanding of history based on facts and free debate) with racism? This logic is completely lost on those who have an immediate emotional reaction to this question.

Palestine Place Bars Prominent Pro-Palestine Activist, Backs Foreign Insurrection in Syria

On June 13, 2012, Palestine Place hosted a talk on the subject of Syria. Several guests were invited to speak – all of whom were anti-Assad and pro-’revolution’. Without exception, all of the speakers represented the viewpoint of the corrupt Gulf dictatorships, the USA and Israel, who are jointly seeking the dissolution of all bastions of Arab resistance to Zionism and Western neocolonialism.
Shortly before the talk, I witnessed Ken O’Keefe being asked to leave the premises by organisers who cited a ‘group decision’ that had been made. Hypocritically, not one of the attendees to the talk was consulted about this decision – the decision was made by Palestine Place’s organisers and had no ‘grassroots’ input whatsoever.
After Ken had left the premises the talks continued and the speakers dictated their opinion to the almost exclusively young (18-23) and impressionable crowd. One after another the anti-Assad guests expounded their mythical idea that the ‘revolution’ in Syria was at all indigenous, as opposed to being a foreign-led insurrection, which is now a clearly established reality.
The speakers were Simon Assaf, UK-based Syrian activist Shiar Youssef, activist Dan Gorman, and ‘internet researcher and activist’ Miriyam Asfar.

Simon Assaf’s previous writings shed light on his ideological position. He is a commentator who claims to oppose western intervention in Libya and Syria, while breathlessly parroting the lies and propaganda that enable it. He saw the NATO-appointed NTC’s calls for a ‘no-fly zone’ over Libya as “genuine calls for help”,⁽²⁾ and he mindlessly repeats the long-discredited claims that Gaddafi bombarded civilian demonstrations from the air. He even claimed that the case for the intervention in Libya was “very powerful”.⁽³⁾
At Palestine Place, Assaf continued with his delusional and romantic narrative wherein he painted the foreign-led counter-revolution in Syria as an indigenous people’s and workers’ revolution. He smugly dismissed ‘al Qaeda’ involvement in Syria as paranoid conspiracy theory.
No reasonable person would debate the CIA’s use of what would become ‘al Qaeda’ in Afghanistan throughout the 1980s to achieve its strategic objectives. This is not the stuff of ‘conspiracy theory’, rather it is established historical fact.

Assaf chose to ignore the deeply sectarian, thuggish, and terroristic inclinations of the ‘revolutionaries’ in Syria. Even the mainstream press has been forced to admit⁽⁴⁾ that Abdelhakim Belhaj, former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), is providing fighters and assistance to the so-called Free Syrian Army.

The LIFG, still listed as a terrorist group by the US State Department,⁽⁵⁾ is a paradigmatic example of one of the CIA’s many proxy armies of brainwashed sectarian drones – commonly referred to collectively as ‘al Qaeda’.

Assaf, as well as the other speakers, reminded the audience that the ‘revolution’ started in Daraa, Syria, in March 2011. What they didn’t draw attention to was the fact that Daraa, like the majority of the hotspots in the Syrian unrest, is on Syria’s border. As a result of calls from short-sighted, hateful and poisonously sectarian-minded Sunni religious leaders (including our new ‘al Qaeda’ boogeyman Ayman al-Zawahiri), ‘jihadists’ in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq have flocked to Syria to fight against the Assad regime⁽⁶⁾ (Assad is an Alawi and non-sectarian leader who allows 18 different sects to live in harmony). These ‘jihadists’ include Abdelhakim Belhaj’s men, who were shipped to Turkey in order to allow them to infiltrate Syria’s borders⁽⁷⁾ from there. Further to this, the United States and Jordanian militaries began a joint military exercise known as Eager Lion in the summer of 2011.⁽⁸⁾ What is the significance of this, and why is the majority of the unrest in border regions?

The Houla Killings – Fruit of the ‘FSA’

Predictably, Assaf and the other speakers accused the Assad regime of committing brutal massacres against the Syrian people. The Houla massacre – an event which is held as the ‘trump card’ by the ‘opposition’ in Syria, is deserving of inspection here.

In the immediate aftermath of the Houla massacre, the Syrian ‘opposition’ and media outlets across the spectrum attempted to blame the killings on artillery attacks by the Syrian Army. When it became clear that most of the victims were killed at close range, many with stab wounds, the narrative became ‘pro-regime militia’. Now however, after the dust has settled, it is clear that pro-Assad elements had nothing to do with the Houla massacre, and in fact it was the so-called ‘Free Syrian Army’ and ‘opposition’ that is most likely responsible.

The Assad regime would have nothing to gain but everything to lose by perpetrating the Houla killings. These murders have played right into the hands of Syria’s enemies – those who seek regime change under the barrel of a ‘humanitarian’ gun. Initial reports from the opposition contradicted the physical manner in which the victims were killed. Three days after the event, Human Rights Watch joined the chorus blaming Assad and ‘pro-government forces’.⁽⁹⁾
However, the facts betray this speculation from the Syrian ‘opposition’ and so-called human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch.
Those killed were nearly exclusively families from the Alawi and Shia minorities in Sunni-majority Houla (while HRW and the ‘opposition’ try to suggest that the victims were Sunni). This included several dozen members of one extended family, which had converted from Sunni to Shia Islam. Also killed was the family of a Sunni member of parliament who was considered a government collaborator by the rebels.
Considering these points⁽¹⁰⁾ and the fact that the massacre occurred as three Syrian Army checkpoints were being attacked by armed gangs around the town, the idea that the Syrian Army was responsible for the Houla killings is asinine. It is now evident that the sectarian terrorists whom people such as Simon Assaf refer to as ‘revolutionaries’, were responsible for this heinous crime.
Another notable moment during Palestine Place’s decidedly anti-Syrian evening was when ‘activist’ Dan Gorman showed the audience a video of an opposition-produced puppet show which ridiculed Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez. During the few-minute sequence, the puppets of Bashar and Hafez joked about killing Syrians, and bemoaned the propaganda peddled by Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. The entire audience smugly nodded, laughed and clapped as this ‘Two Minutes Hate’ played out before them.
When UK-based Syrian activist Shiar Youssef took the stage, he forged another memorable moment. “This is just how we work in Syria“, he said. He was referring to how Syrian activists work, compared to the way in which the Palestine Place activists were sat around on the floor of the room, gazing at the speaker. I have to confess, this reminded me of when UK Foreign Secretary William Hague admitted that the UK government is training Syrian activists.⁽¹¹⁾

Conclusion: Solidarity Demands Intellectual Courage, not Servility & Herd Mentality

Palestine Place is, in every way, a microcosm of the international Palestine Solidarity Movement. Toothless, pseudo-enlightened know-it-alls who are intellectually servile, exclusivist, drowned in ego, and utterly impotent.
Ostensibly it has no individual leaders and is purely democratic, but this is meaningless since it religiously adheres to specific pre-defined boundaries of discussion. Freedom of speech and discussion exists only on paper; ‘thought criminals’ are barred and ostracised. It claims to present the opportunity for “radical change“. It ‘occupies’ a building with the full cooperation of the landowner (this writer confirmed this by speaking to activists on-site).
Frank Barat, a London-based human rights activist tells Mondoweiss about the ins and outs of Palestine Place. Barat, who this writer suspects plays a role in the Palestine Place project, promotes the organisation⁽¹²⁾ as a movement that will mean the West will “never be the same again“.

He also insists that Palestine Place is “open to everyone and belongs to everyone“, and that it is a “hub of creativity, discussions and possibility for radical change“.

Palestine Place completely betrays these ideals.

Discussion of historical events intimately linked to Palestine and the history of Zionism, has been stifled. Attendees are banned and ostracised for having a different opinion; discussion outside of the mainstream is prohibited at this ‘radical’ outfit – whether this concerns the attendees or the opinionated, one-sided speakers who are invited to talk.

Palestine Place’s official ‘Safe Spaces Policy’ bars holocaust revisionism⁽¹³⁾ (the act of enriching our understanding of history on an ongoing basis by examining and documenting the facts). I must reiterate: what legitimate reason could we possibly have for shielding any historical event from examination? What are they afraid of? What is there to hide? We are constantly reminded that we must learn from history lest it repeat itself (reminiscent of the ‘never again’ mantra), yet Palestine Place chooses to protect this aspect of history from scrutiny!

Interestingly, Palestine Place’s Safe Spaces Policy calls for (emphasis mine) “An end to the occupation and colonization of all Arab lands occupied since 1967“. Does the land ethnically cleansed and occupied in 1948 not count? Did Israel’s crimes start in 1967? Palestine Place attempts to normalise the Nakba here, accepting the legitimacy of the 1948 land thefts and only referring to the 1967 occupation.
The following passage from the same policy statement is simply staggering in its dishonesty, keeping in mind the practices of Palestine Place:

Palestine Place will not be dogmatic nor prescriptive about attitudes, opinions or beliefs that relate to the political debate around Palestine.

Palestine Place is not an environment that encourages any level of independent or critical thought. Youngsters, keen to learn about the Palestinian cause (and the geopolitical landscape surrounding it – i.e. Syria) are being corralled into adopting a kosher ‘anti-Zionist’ viewpoint that will pose zero threat to Zionism.
Outspoken and dedicated pro-Palestinian voices are banned and ostracised. Guest speakers are invited who are exclusively representing a one-sided point of view. Discussion of Zionism’s founding myths are prevented. This supposed ‘solidarity’ outfit has demonstrably positioned itself into an anti-Palestinian standpoint, either wittingly or unwittingly.
The Palestine Solidarity Movement is terminally afraid of discussing subjects that are designated ‘no-go’ areas by Zionist ideology. The incessant false charges of ‘anti-Semitism’ is Zionism’s biggest ideological weapon – and we all know it – but our movement has no defence.
Only with real independent thought and intellectual courage will our movement proceed.
When we are held emotionally hostage by certain ideas, we must ask why.
We must never stop the pursuit of truth, regardless of the level of ‘herd mentality’ around us. We must take a step back and think objectively.
Exposing any and all deceptions which alter perceptions about Israel, anti-Semitism, and Palestine, is our place.

Notes

(1) ‘Granting No Quarter: A Call for the Disavowal of the Racism and Antisemitism of Gilad Atzmon’ – US Palestinian Community Network
(2) ‘Libya: at the crossroads’ by Simon Assaf
(3) ‘How Western Powers Blackmailed the Libyan Revolution’ by Simon Assaf
(4) ‘Leading Libyan Islamist met Free Syrian Army opposition group’ – The UK Telegraph
(5) ‘Foreign Terrorist Organizations’ – US Department of State
(6) ‘Jihadists Declare Holy War Against Assad Regime’ – Spiegel Online
(7) ‘Al-Qaeda Terrorists Airlifted From Libya to Aid Syrian Opposition’ by Paul Joseph Watson
(8) ‘US, 18 other nations, wrap up Eager Lion military exercise in Jordan’ – The Christian Science Monitor
(9) ‘Syria: UN Inquiry Should Investigate Houla Killings’ – Human Rights Watch
(10) ‘Leading German Daily: Houla Massacre Committed by Syrian Rebels’ – EmpireStrikesBlack.com
(11) ‘US fears fresh massacre in Syria’ – The UK Telegraph
(12) ‘‘Palestine Place’ comes to London, and the west will never be the same’ by Frank Barat
(13) ‘Safe Spaces Policy’ – Palestine Place
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Warning: Visiting Israel Is Dangerous

by Stephen Lendman

Don’t visit Gaza by sea. In May 2010, nine Mavi Marmara activists died trying. Anyone planning Gaza, West Bank, or East Jerusalem trips be warned.

Interdictions, beatings, arrests, interrogations, detentions, deportations, or even death may follow. Israel’s indeed dangerous.

Arrivals supporting Palestinian rights risk harshness. Don’t come wearing jerseys or bearing signs saying solidarity with Palestine. Don’t say you plan West Bank East Jerusalem, and/or Gaza visits. Worse is admitting you’ll help build schools, plant trees, or repair damaged wells.

Don’t suggest you plan protesting against illegal settlement construction. If asked, don’t tell. Any one or combination of these may result in close encounters with security forces leaving lasting impressions and realization that avoiding trouble requires staying mum.

On April 14, Danish activist Andreas Ias learned the hard way. Jordan Valley Brigade deputy commander Lt. Colonel Shalom Eisner rifle-butted him in the face. Hospitalization followed. His offense was peacefully participating in a Palestinian demonstration.

He and others were singing songs calling for Palestine’s liberation. The incident was videotaped. On April 16, Andreas said IDF claims about protester violence were “a complete lie….If I thought this would happen I would have protected myself. It came out of nowhere” for no reason. It was unprovoked.

Two female activists were also injured. Others were assaulted and shoved to the ground. Rarely do investigations and punishment follow similar incidents. Practically never for IDF officers, especially high-ranking ones.

Eisner was about to be promoted. He was transferred to a staff position. Israel said it’s for two years. Chief of Staff Benny Gantz wants the dust to settle and headlines to disappear. So does Netanyahu and other officials.

Eisner wants to lay low for a while. He’s not even apologetic. He said he “does not accept this as a moral failure in any way.” Why should he? It’s official Israeli policy.

He’ll be back but more circumspect not to get caught on videotape. His offense wasn’t assaulting Andreas. It was showing up on You Tube for the whole world to watch.

These type incidents are commonplace. Most occur out of sight and mind. Only aggrieved Palestinians and supporters know them. Headlines and videos don’t tell others.

Haaretz Reacts

On April 17, a Haaretz editorial headlined, “Israel’s leaders incite the public against peace activists,” saying:

Following the Eisner/Andreas incident, “the officer was widely criticized by the public – not for using excessive force, but for granting human rights groups a photo op serving their interests.”

Damage control required Gantz and other Israeli officials to say and do something. “Such reactions are necessary, but certainly not sufficient.”

Beating up on nonviolent peace activists can’t “be swept aside” with denunciations or transfers. Criminal offenses require punishment. They also demand policy changes. What’s almost daily routine must stop.

They don’t because Netanyahu, other officials, and top military officers call activists “anarchists,” “provocateurs,” and “terror supporters.” Palestinians are called worse. Doing so sanctions violence.

Haaretz said Netanyahu and other officials “should memorize the verdict Jerusalem Magistrate Judge Haim Li-Ran” rendered recently regarding Sheikh Jarrah solidarity activists in Jerusalem, saying:

“The right to demonstrate or express an opinion is deeply rooted in the foundations of democratic government….Thousands of human being have paid and are paying with their lives on this alter.”

Protesting is a human right. International law permits it. Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states:

“The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”

Article 22 affirms “the right to freedom of association with others….” In democratic societies, no restrictions are permitted “in the interests of national security or public safety….”

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

Article 20(1) says:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.”

Everyone has the right to do it without getting rifle-butted or otherwise brutalized.

On April 18, Haaretz writer Zvi Bar’el headlined, “World nations should issue a travel warning to Israel,” saying:

Eisner’s assault on Andreas “was spectacular.” Someone whose life was threatened might react that way. Doing it unprovoked was intolerable. It resembled a Serengeti “kill scene.” Eisner was predator, Andreas the prey.

“When a country behaves as if it is a nature preserve where the species living in it feel they are in danger of extinction,” its policies go off the rails.

Tourists visiting actual nature preserves know restrictions they must observe. Israel calls itself civilized. In fact, it’s a “dangerous preserve and responsible nations should have issued a travel warning for this country long ago, or at least published a detailed guide of what is permitted or forbidden to do here.”

Forewarned is forearmed, perhaps not to come. Anyone visiting “Somalia, Afghanistan, Algeria, Chechnya or Sudan, or merely to go on a safari, knows what” to bring, wear, say, go, and not go.

Israel once welcomed visitors hospitably. “But when it grew fat and expanded its living space,” it decided who can come, who can’t, what’s permitted, what’s not, and what to expect from a nation mindless of international standards by enforcing its own.

“This is how Israel is turning itself into an enclave of nationalist fundamentalism in which the covenant between its citizens (the Jewish ones, of course) is not based on equality or shared values but on the ceaseless marking of its borders with the outside world.”

“This is an enclave which (feeds on alleged) threat(s)….” It thrives on them. It provides pretexts for challenging anyone for any reason or none at all. Those believing sovereign Palestine is justified and presents no threat pose “existential danger” enough to get “whacked in the face,” whether he’s Danish, Palestinian, Israeli, or any one else.

Come at your own risk. Human rights activists beware. Israel’s a jungle, a wild nature preserve. Step out of line and get eaten alive or at least see an M16 close up enough to know it’s dangerous without being fired.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.

posted by Steve Lendman @ 12:18 AM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Warning: Visiting Israel Is Dangerous

by Stephen Lendman

Don’t visit Gaza by sea. In May 2010, nine Mavi Marmara activists died trying. Anyone planning Gaza, West Bank, or East Jerusalem trips be warned.

Interdictions, beatings, arrests, interrogations, detentions, deportations, or even death may follow. Israel’s indeed dangerous.

Arrivals supporting Palestinian rights risk harshness. Don’t come wearing jerseys or bearing signs saying solidarity with Palestine. Don’t say you plan West Bank East Jerusalem, and/or Gaza visits. Worse is admitting you’ll help build schools, plant trees, or repair damaged wells.

Don’t suggest you plan protesting against illegal settlement construction. If asked, don’t tell. Any one or combination of these may result in close encounters with security forces leaving lasting impressions and realization that avoiding trouble requires staying mum.

On April 14, Danish activist Andreas Ias learned the hard way. Jordan Valley Brigade deputy commander Lt. Colonel Shalom Eisner rifle-butted him in the face. Hospitalization followed. His offense was peacefully participating in a Palestinian demonstration.

He and others were singing songs calling for Palestine’s liberation. The incident was videotaped. On April 16, Andreas said IDF claims about protester violence were “a complete lie….If I thought this would happen I would have protected myself. It came out of nowhere” for no reason. It was unprovoked.

Two female activists were also injured. Others were assaulted and shoved to the ground. Rarely do investigations and punishment follow similar incidents. Practically never for IDF officers, especially high-ranking ones.

Eisner was about to be promoted. He was transferred to a staff position. Israel said it’s for two years. Chief of Staff Benny Gantz wants the dust to settle and headlines to disappear. So does Netanyahu and other officials.

Eisner wants to lay low for a while. He’s not even apologetic. He said he “does not accept this as a moral failure in any way.” Why should he? It’s official Israeli policy.

He’ll be back but more circumspect not to get caught on videotape. His offense wasn’t assaulting Andreas. It was showing up on You Tube for the whole world to watch.

These type incidents are commonplace. Most occur out of sight and mind. Only aggrieved Palestinians and supporters know them. Headlines and videos don’t tell others.

Haaretz Reacts

On April 17, a Haaretz editorial headlined, “Israel’s leaders incite the public against peace activists,” saying:

Following the Eisner/Andreas incident, “the officer was widely criticized by the public – not for using excessive force, but for granting human rights groups a photo op serving their interests.”

Damage control required Gantz and other Israeli officials to say and do something. “Such reactions are necessary, but certainly not sufficient.”

Beating up on nonviolent peace activists can’t “be swept aside” with denunciations or transfers. Criminal offenses require punishment. They also demand policy changes. What’s almost daily routine must stop.

They don’t because Netanyahu, other officials, and top military officers call activists “anarchists,” “provocateurs,” and “terror supporters.” Palestinians are called worse. Doing so sanctions violence.

Haaretz said Netanyahu and other officials “should memorize the verdict Jerusalem Magistrate Judge Haim Li-Ran” rendered recently regarding Sheikh Jarrah solidarity activists in Jerusalem, saying:

“The right to demonstrate or express an opinion is deeply rooted in the foundations of democratic government….Thousands of human being have paid and are paying with their lives on this alter.”

Protesting is a human right. International law permits it. Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states:

“The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”

Article 22 affirms “the right to freedom of association with others….” In democratic societies, no restrictions are permitted “in the interests of national security or public safety….”

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

Article 20(1) says:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.”

Everyone has the right to do it without getting rifle-butted or otherwise brutalized.

On April 18, Haaretz writer Zvi Bar’el headlined, “World nations should issue a travel warning to Israel,” saying:

Eisner’s assault on Andreas “was spectacular.” Someone whose life was threatened might react that way. Doing it unprovoked was intolerable. It resembled a Serengeti “kill scene.” Eisner was predator, Andreas the prey.

“When a country behaves as if it is a nature preserve where the species living in it feel they are in danger of extinction,” its policies go off the rails.

Tourists visiting actual nature preserves know restrictions they must observe. Israel calls itself civilized. In fact, it’s a “dangerous preserve and responsible nations should have issued a travel warning for this country long ago, or at least published a detailed guide of what is permitted or forbidden to do here.”

Forewarned is forearmed, perhaps not to come. Anyone visiting “Somalia, Afghanistan, Algeria, Chechnya or Sudan, or merely to go on a safari, knows what” to bring, wear, say, go, and not go.

Israel once welcomed visitors hospitably. “But when it grew fat and expanded its living space,” it decided who can come, who can’t, what’s permitted, what’s not, and what to expect from a nation mindless of international standards by enforcing its own.

“This is how Israel is turning itself into an enclave of nationalist fundamentalism in which the covenant between its citizens (the Jewish ones, of course) is not based on equality or shared values but on the ceaseless marking of its borders with the outside world.”

“This is an enclave which (feeds on alleged) threat(s)….” It thrives on them. It provides pretexts for challenging anyone for any reason or none at all. Those believing sovereign Palestine is justified and presents no threat pose “existential danger” enough to get “whacked in the face,” whether he’s Danish, Palestinian, Israeli, or any one else.

Come at your own risk. Human rights activists beware. Israel’s a jungle, a wild nature preserve. Step out of line and get eaten alive or at least see an M16 close up enough to know it’s dangerous without being fired.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.

posted by Steve Lendman @ 12:18 AM

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The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Dying2Live -Solidarity with Khader Adnan

Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 8:17AM Gilad Atzmon

Khader Adnan has been held under Israeli administrative detention without charge or trial since December 17, 2011. He has been on hunger strike since that day as well, becoming the longest hunger striking Palestinian prisoner in history.

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The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Gaza Boat Prisoner: I Write to you from Cell 9 of the Apartheid State of Israel

Source

A pro-Palestinian activist stands between Palestinian flags in front of the Greek parliament during a protest against the Israel’s naval blockade on the tiny Palestinian territory. (Photo: AFP – Louisa Gouliamaki)By: David Heap

Published Monday, November 7, 2011

Dear sisters and brothers, friends and loved ones,

I write to you from cell 9, block 59, Givon Prison, near Ramla in Occupied Palestine. Although I was tasered during the assault on the Tahrir, and bruised during forcible removal dockside (I am limping slightly as a result) I am basically ok. We are Ehab, Michael, Karen from Tahrir, as well as Karen, Kit (US) and Jihan, who we saw briefly this morning. We are most concerned about our Tahrir shipmate, Palestinian Majd Kayyal from Haifa, last seen by us at Ashdod being photographed and put in a police car.

Although Michael and I (among others) were transported in handcuffs and leg shackles, let me stress that we are neither criminals nor illegal immigrants but rather political prisoners of the apartheid state of Israel. Four from the Tahrir are imprisoned with 12 Irish comrades from the Saoirse, who have more experience with such issues. The four of us – Ehab and I (Canadian), Michael (Australian) and Hassan (British) – have joined the Irish in their political prisoner’s committee in order to press our collective demands:

■ association in the block – i.e. open cells

■ adequate writing and reading material

■ free communication with outside world – i.e. regular phone calls

■ information about shipmate women held at this same prison

We add one Tahrir-specific demand: that the Israeli state recognize the professional status of Democracy Now journalist Jihan Hafiz in accordance with her credentials from the US government. All political incarceration is unjust but let me stress that in duration and conditions, our situation pales in comparison to the plight of thousands of Palestinian political prisoners and to the open air prison of Gaza.

If you have energy to devote to solidarity actions in the coming days, please concentrate on them. We must get Tahrir back and hope Freedom Waves continues.

Free Majd Kayyal! Free all political prisoners! Free Gaza! Free Palestine!

Anishnabe-debuewin, restons humaine, stay human, in love and struggle.

David

David Heap was arrested while taking part in the Freedom Waves flotilla to break the siege on Gaza. He was on board the Tahrir. This letter was released by the lawyer who met with him Saturday.

Majd Kayyal was released from detention, but it appears that Heap and the other political prisoners weren’t told where he was taken.

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Hijacking of Freedom Waves aid ships “Violent and Dangerous”

Source
[ 07/11/2011 - 11:18 AM ]

A press release by Irish ship to Gaza on Sunday stated that contrary to Israeli claims, the hijacking of the two Freedom Waves ships was violent and put the lives of passengers and crews at risk. Water cannons and tasers were used during the takeover.

Irish Ship to Gaza National Coordinator Fintan Lane was able to make a phone call this afternoon from the Israeli prison in which he and 13 other Irish citizens are being held. He communicated the following to the Irish Ship to Gaza team in Dublin:

The takeover of the MV Saoirse was violent and dangerous. Despite very clear protests from the occupants of the two boats that they did not want to be taken to Israel, they were forcibly removed from the boats in a violent manner. The whole takeover took about three hours.


I was hosed down the stairs It began with Israeli forces hosing down the boats with high pressure hoses and pointing guns at the passengers through the windows. I was hosed down the stairs of the boat. Windows were smashed and the bridge of the boat nearly caught fire. The boats were corralled to such an extent that the two boats, the Saoirse and the Tahrir, collided with each other and were damaged, with most of the damage happening to the MV Saoirse. The boats nearly sank. The method used in the takeover was dangerous to human life. The Israeli forces initially wanted to leave the boats at sea, but the abductees demanded that they not be left to float at sea, for they would have been lost and possibly sunk. All belongings of the passengers and crew were taken from them and they still do not know if and what they will get back. The 14 Irish citizens remain in Givon prison.

The phone call was very rushed and ended abruptly with Fintan saying, “I have to go.”

Claudia Saba, spokesperson for Irish Ship to Gaza, who received the call from Lane, said:

“The account received from Fintan Lane flatly contradicts the Israeli narrative that Israel ‘took every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of the activists on board the vessels’. It is a small miracle that no one was seriously injured during this obviously very violent boarding of the Freedom Waves boats.”

Irish Ship to Gaza spokesperson Laurence Davis added:

“This account confirms our fear that the hijacking of the boats was very violent, and explains the time lag between the point at which we lost contact with the boats on Wednesday at 11:12 am (Irish time) and news of the passengers’ arrival at Ashdod not before 5pm.”

In an interview he gave to www.Omniatv.com, Greek captain of the Tahrir Giorgos Klontzas has confirmed the use of violence on him by Israeli soldiers during his interrogation.

The Canadian boat lawyers are today being denied access to the detainees by the prison authorities. We were informed by the Canadian land team: “They kicked the lawyers out at 5pm yesterday, after only three hours, and today they have not been responding to any calls (either on the main line or the cell number of one of the prison officials) to coordinate a visit or arrange phone contact with the detainees.”

We also have reports that at least one of the Canadian boat participants was electrically tased and beaten. Canadian David Heap is now limping as a result.

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IOA deports 17 foreign solidarity activists

[ 13/10/2011 - 10:20 AM ]

RAMALLAH, (PIC)– The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) deported 17 European solidarity activists from the West Bank after two days of detention for participating in pro Palestinian rallies.

Sources in the solidarity campaign with detained Palestinian leader Ahmed Saadat said that the activists were detained on Sunday night while demonstrating in front of the Nafha jail in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners, including Saadat, who are on hunger strike.

They said that the activists were held and interrogated at a police station on the charge of supporting a “hostile Palestinian organization”.

The sources noted that the activists were banned from contacting anyone until they were taken two days later in military vehicles to the Ben Gurion airport where they were deported.

The campaign managers charged the IOA with trying to restrict foreign participation in Palestinian solidarity rallies, adding that they would continue, nevertheless, in supporting Palestinian just struggle against occupation.

• Aruri: Deal includes all prisoners demands, no more isolation
• Sour ces: 450 captives will be released on Tuesday
• Dweik and Islamic MPs organise sit-in to support captives
• Occupation extends detention of MP Hatem Qafisha

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T. GREENSTEIN: OBSESSIONS & DARK CRIMINAL PAST

Posted on04 August 2011.

NOVANEWS‘

People like you, Mr. Greenstein, should be put in preventive custody!’

Dr: Gabi Weber

This is an long exchange e-mail between Gilad Atzmon and Tony Greenstein before you read it I copied an e-mail sent by Dr Gabi Weber her e-mail shed the light on the Greenstein true nature it is for you to judge not for us.

Subject: Re: Stop bothering!!!!

Hello Mr. Greenstein,
as physician, working with all kinds of patients for years now, I am used to many different symptoms, diseases, psychological disorders and so on. Fortunately until now I never before was involved in dirty games and tricks as I am experiencing in the emails you are sending for days now. Even the mentally sickest of my patients I ever had, was not as sick as you are!
And to say it clear – KEEP ME OUT OF YOUR MAD INTRIGUES!
My time is too precious to deal with people who are obviously full of hatred, only aiming at destroying other people´s lifes.
Really, I have pity for you. What kind of life must this be, to spend years over years by trying to demolish the career of a person and to see that all the efforts are leading to nothing? On the contrary, the person you try to destroy is getting more and more popular and successful. What a shame for you!

Your behaviour proves exactly, what is happening in the so-called Palestinian Solidarity Movement. We are infiltrated with dirty Hasbara, this is very clear.

Perhaps you should try to find something beautiful for your life? You could try to use your talents, which you certainly have but that you bury under tons of hate and negative energy. Imagine if you simply tried to take all this energy you need for the attempts to destroy Gilad Atzmon and did something positive with it. Perhaps we already would have a Palestinian State?????
As I told you in my last email, I am very attentive in what is happening around my Freiburg conference. In case I get any information of your ongoing attempt to bother my speakers I will start publicizing everything.
Best wishes

Dr. Gabi Weber

—————————————

Atzmon vs Greenstein

From: Gilad Atzmon

To: tony greenstein

Sent: Wed, 3 August, 2011 10:06:08

Subject: Re: Conference on Historical Revisionism

TG: Yes of course you can have competing narratives. One which says there was a holocaust but there are many things we will never fully understand about it or one which says there was no such thing or ‘only’ a few hundred thousand Jews died of typhus. I suspect I know which one you subscribe to.

GA: I actually do not have any interest in issues to do with numbers , pornography of death or Holocaust necrophilia, I am after the meaning of the shoa, and as you may know, meanings are in flux.

TG: Yes I know that issues of truthfulness are more complicated than the 3 bears but the principle remains the same. Is the holocaust, the decimation of 10m Africans in the Congo, the slave trade etc. just a narrative or is it firmly grounded factually? Otherwise we just get into word games.

GA: You obviously do not understand what the word narrative stands for. There is no contradiction between the notion of the narrative and factuality. The narrative is manner in which facts are picked and set into a tale.

TG: I am fully aware of what the conditional ‘if’ means. To be precise it means you cast doubt on something,

GA: Nonsense, you are simply not familiar with hypothetical manner of speech. You are under developed for you age. It is not a crime but nothing to be proud of.

TG: So when you say ‘if Auschwitz was a death camp’ or some such you are casting doubt on that fact.

GA: Try to concentrate-there is a contradiction between the H narrative and the ‘death march’ one . If the Nazis wanted the Jews out, why did they schlepped them back?

Please come with an answer? Also, please enlighten me and suggest how to pronounce the paradox above without using the word ‘if’.

TG: When you say ‘ if 2+2=4 then 2+1+1=4′ then that certainly casts doubt on whether 2+2=4 otherwise you would just come out and say 2+2=4 therefore 2+1+1 also = 4

GA: No Tony, this is called implication. A conditional manner of speech. the 2 statments have different meanings. I guess that you have to learn deductive logic so you realise that ‘if -then’ is a pretty basic formula of argumetation known as P->Q

TG: I am aware of the purpose of the IF statement, having done Mathematics at degree level.

GA: Tony, don’t bulshit me with your phantasmic degrees. Along the many press clips about your vast criminal record (shoplifting, credit card theft, vandalism and so on) I came across one clip that says that you were kicked out from university for being a vandal. Knowing you as a compulsive liar, I suggest that we stay at argument level. Please don’t wave the qualifications you do not have. Also if you would have a degree in math, you would know what the world ‘if’ stand for and how is it used.

TG: So when, to use your example, one says ‘If X then Y’ then of course there is a question mark over whether X exists in the form posited.

You give the example of ‘If the sun is larger than earth and the earth is larger than the moon then the sun is larger than the moon.’

No of course you are not doubting the existence of the sun but you are questioning whether it is larger than the earth. That is the logical statement in question and that is the context.

GA: Again you are not familiar with hypothetical manner of speech. We call it a logical deductive move, it doesn’t involve doubt.

Let us look at the following obvious example

If X=Y and Z=Y then X=Z

The above suggest an implication rather than a doubt. Also do you really think that when I say 2+2=4 I cast a doubt?

I must admit that this is the first time I run a philosophical debate with a moron. It is an amazing experience. I sometime under estimate your stupidity.

TG: So when you say. If, for instance, the Nazis wanted the Jews out of their Reich (Judenrein – free of Jews), or even dead, as the Zionist narrative insists, how come they marched hundreds of thousands of them back into the Reich at the end of the war?’

You are doubting the Nazis wanted the Jews out of the Reich, because after all, according to your logic, if they wanted them out why did they march them back in?

GA: I suggest that the two narrative cannot live together within the same historical setting unless an explanation is provided. I ve the explanation… but what is your explanation tony?

TG: Likewise if you say. ’If the Nazis ran a death factory in Auschwitz-Birkenau, why would the Jewish prisoners join them at the end of the war?’

The clear implication is that Auschwitz-Birkenau is not a death factory, otherwise why would Jewish prisoners join them at the end of the war? The Stockholm Syndrome?

GA: No this suggests a discrepancy at the heart of the discourse. If Jews were aware of Nazi homicidal inclinations, how come they joined them at the end of the war as Holocaust scholar Israel Gutman suggests? Again please explain it to me , you may also argue that Gutman is a liar or idiot. I don’t really care… but just try to come up with something..

TG: And you confirm this interpretation by asking for ‘some conclusive historical evidence.’ Nothing metaphysical mind you!

GA: You still do not understand what metaphysics stands for. There is no contradiction between evidence and metaphysics.

TG: ‘We should ask for some conclusive historical evidence and arguments rather than follow a religious narrative…’

I am not a member of any synagogue, left or right. You really can’t help the anti-Semitic stuff. It’s second nature I’m afraid.

GA: You are not just a member, you are a failure Rabbi, with an extremely small congregation of people who must be just slightly more limited than yourself..

TG: Likewise the fact of the holocaust is neither a narrative nor religion. A religion means it is unquestioning.

GA: As far as I can see, you invest a lot of energy trying to stop others and myself, in particular, from questioning H and other Jewish narratives. So it is a religion and you are a leading cantor (as well as a Rabbi). You cry for heaven day and night, praying for Gilad to be stopped.

TG: There are many questions concerning the holocaust in the widest sense but you ask none of them and instead stick to the agenda of neo-Nazis and revisionists of doubting whether it happened.

GA: Tony, trying to label me won’t solve your problem. And why do you stop with neo Nazi? What about pedophilia? For the record, I am not associated with any group or school of thought. I advocate freedom of speech. And I indeed support any form of revisionism. I am not afraid of thoughts or ideas, I am far more concerned with tribal morbidity as performed by you and your ilk. And as you know, I am very good in exposing it. You will find out very soon soon that my take on the subject is endorsed by the biggest scholars in the Pls discourse.

TG: This is dump stupidity or malevolence or both. There are all sorts of questions. I mentioned Daniel Goldhagen. He raises many issues, all of them reactionary, about the knowledge of ordinary Germans, their indifference etc. There is considerable research in this area. Comparative history is helpful, but you are stuck with the basics because you can’t get it into your head that there is no doubt about the mass exterminations of the Nazis.

GA: So if I understand you correctly, you now plan to tell us what we are allowed to ask… how progressive of you.

TG: There is too much evidence. Did Rauf ever deny he was involved in the development of the gas trucks? Was the ‘euthenasia’ denied? Grow up and start dealing with the things that researchers, some of whom are not Zionists, are doing.

GA: Tony, all of that, has nothing to do with my body of work or research. I argue that history is the art of revising the past. You are against it, Judaism is against it. You operate politically as a Jew, is it a coincidence? I don’t think so! You are simply a Zionist amd a rabid one.

TG: In the conflict between anti-Zionists like Vrba and the collaborationist Zionists you not only have nothing to say but you appear to justify the role of the Zionists.

GA: I am familiar with Vrba report, but the reaction to the report is also very interesting. However, I m not interested in the imaginary debate between Zionists and the so called ‘anti’ Zionists. I am much more interested in the exposure of this debate as a spin of fake pluralism.

TG: Your whole framework, Jew=Zionist, left Jew = more Zionist is crude and counterproductive.

GA: Please be precise. I do not talk about Jews. I say that everyone who identify politically as a Jew is a Zionist. You, for instance operate politically as a Jew and you are indeed a rabid Zionist. Interestingly enough you act like ADL and Hasbara. Only one difference is noticeable, unlike ADL, you are pretty clumsy and astonishingly lame. I guess your operators will have to send someone slightly more sophisticated and soon. It is a shame, because by now, it is almost fun dealing with you.

GILAD ATZMON NEW BOOK

It is a scholarly and truly monumental work, deeply profound and, of course, controversial. (Alan Hart, British Journalist and covert diplomat in Middle East, ITN’s News at 10, BBC’s Panorama) A seriously funny writer and the wittiest musician since Ronnie Scott. We’re lucky Gilad Atzmon is around. (Robert Wyatt, musician and founding member of Soft Machine)

An investigation of Jewish identity politics and Jewish contemporary ideology using both popular culture and scholarly texts. Jewish identity is tied up with some of the most difficult and contentious issues of today. The purpose in this book is to open many of these issues up for discussion.

Since Israel defines itself openly as the ‘Jewish State’, we should ask what the notions of ’Judaism’, ‘Jewishness’, ‘Jewish culture’ and ‘Jewish ideology’ stand for. Gilad examines the tribal aspects embedded in Jewish secular discourse, both Zionist and anti Zionist; the ‘holocaust religion’; the meaning of ‘history’ and ‘time’ within the Jewish political discourse; the anti-Gentile ideologies entangled within different forms of secular Jewish political discourse and even within the Jewish left.

He questions what it is that leads Diaspora Jews to identify themselves with Israel and affiliate with its politics. The devastating state of our world affairs raises an immediate demand for a conceptual shift in our intellectual and philosophical attitude towards politics, identity politics and history.

* See: www.Amazon.com

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