A ripping good yarn:
"[Israelis] know for a certainty that a Jewish nation has been in existence since Moses received the tablets of the law on Mount Sinai, and that they are its direct and exclusive descendants (except for the 10 tribes, who are yet to be located). They are convinced that this nation 'came out' of Egypt, conquered and settled 'the Land of Israel', which had been famously promised it by the deity; created the magnificent kingdom of David and Solomon, which then split into the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. They are also convinced that this nation was exiled, not once but twice, after its periods of glory - after the fall of the First Temple in the 6th century BCE, and again after the fall of the Second Temple, in 70 CE. Yet even before that second exile, this unique nation had created the Hebrew Hasmonean kingdom, which revolted against the wicked influence of Hellenization.
"They believe that these people - their 'nation', which must be the most ancient - wandered in exile for nearly 2,000 years and yet, despite this prolonged stay among the gentiles, managed to avoid integration with, or assimilation into, them. The nation scattered widely, its bitter wanderings taking it to Yemen, Morocco, Spain, Germany, Poland, and distant Russia, but it always managed to maintain close blood relations among the far-flung communities and to preserve its distinctiveness.
"Then, at the end of the 19th century, they contend, rare circumstances combined to wake the ancient people from its long slumber and to prepare it for rejuvenation and for the return to its ancient homeland. And so the nation began to return, joyfully, in vast numbers. Many Israelis still believe that, but for Hitler's horrible massacre, 'Eretz Israel' would soon have been filled with millions of Jews making 'aliyah' by their own free will, because they had dreamed of it for thousands of years.
"And while the wandering people needed a territory of its own, the empty, virgin land longed for a nation to come and make it bloom. Some uninvited guests had, it is true, settled in this homeland, but since 'the people kept faith with it throughout their 'Dispersion' for two millenia, the land belonged only to that people, and not to that handful without history who had merely stumbled upon it. Therefore the wars waged by the wandering nation in its conquest of the country were justified; the violent resistance of the local population was criminal; and it was only the (highly unbiblical) charity of the Jews that permitted these strangers to remain and dwell among and beside the nation, which had returned to its biblical language and its wondrous land." (The Invention of the Jewish People, Shlomo Sand, 2009,pp 16-17)
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Israel Studies Comes to China
From the Angry Arab:
"From my Saudi student source in China: 'I had a long and fruitful conversation with Prof. X that might be of interest to you regarding Zionist outreach efforts in China. (You can quote but please delete [his name as] they can really hurt him.) He was quite forthcoming since, he admitted, he was hoping for someone to come [from] outside the Israeli-Zionist circles and ask him what they are doing. He added that despite his affiliation with many Zionist groups here, he is pro-Palestinian. However, they still co-opt his name for their projects (as in the Project3500*) and other groups like SIGNAL.** He added that the Zionists have been active in buying scholars since the salaries of scholars in China is quite low, which also explains why there has been such a flowering of Israel studies programs across China (10 have opened over the last 2 years). Most institutions and universities resisted this initially, especially those staffed by the older generation of scholars but the new generation is cracking across the board. (Beijing University doesn't have one. He resisted opening an Israel studies program since he saw it for what it was but he suspects one will open as soon as he leaves.) A lot of the funding for these programs does not come from the Israeli government but from Zionist groups in the US such as AJC [American Jewish Committee]. An indigenous organization called SIGNAL, headed by a Yale alumni businesswoman*** is also doing a lot of work in China... The rationale behind these programs is to fight the so-called de-legitimisation campaign globally and influence Chinese and Indian elites. Zionist advocacy has another angle - working through Christian channels in China. Apparently, the Israeli Tourism Ministry is inviting the leaders of evangelical Christian communities to visit the Holy Land. Many of them end up being very supportive of Israel." (Israel & Chinese universities, angryarab.blogspot.com, 19/5/13)
Can a Max Brenner outlet be far behind?
[*"History is being rewritten to portray Israel as a colonial State built on the lands of the indigenous people, the Palestinian Arabs. This willful erasing of 3,500 years of Israel's history has not yet infected the 1.3 billion Chinese. Dry Bones Project: educating China about Israel's 3500 year history before 1948 through a series of free, online, digital Chinese-language graphic books written and drawn by Dry Bones cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen. Each work will tie the history of China to the history of Israel, emphasizing the concept of the Jews and the Chinese as two ancient civilizations which have survived centuries of attack by barbarian forces and foreign empires." (drybonesproject.com); **Sino-Israel Global Network & Academic Leadership (SIGNAL): "Enhancing China and Israel's relationship through high-level academic interchange. SIGNAL established the first Israel Studies Programs (ISPs) at universities in China. During 2011-2012, SIGNAL opened ISPs in cooperation with Sichuan International Studies University (SISU) in Chongqing, Henan University in Kaifeng, Shanghai International Studies University (SHISU) in Shanghai and Shihezi University in Shihezi, Xinjiang... SIGNAL sponsored Israel Studies research paper competitions expose an ever growing number of students to the modern Jewish State. For a full semester, under faculty-supervised research, the students focus on a range of topics including Israel's history, society, culture and politics." (en.sino-israel.org) ***Carice Witte]
"From my Saudi student source in China: 'I had a long and fruitful conversation with Prof. X that might be of interest to you regarding Zionist outreach efforts in China. (You can quote but please delete [his name as] they can really hurt him.) He was quite forthcoming since, he admitted, he was hoping for someone to come [from] outside the Israeli-Zionist circles and ask him what they are doing. He added that despite his affiliation with many Zionist groups here, he is pro-Palestinian. However, they still co-opt his name for their projects (as in the Project3500*) and other groups like SIGNAL.** He added that the Zionists have been active in buying scholars since the salaries of scholars in China is quite low, which also explains why there has been such a flowering of Israel studies programs across China (10 have opened over the last 2 years). Most institutions and universities resisted this initially, especially those staffed by the older generation of scholars but the new generation is cracking across the board. (Beijing University doesn't have one. He resisted opening an Israel studies program since he saw it for what it was but he suspects one will open as soon as he leaves.) A lot of the funding for these programs does not come from the Israeli government but from Zionist groups in the US such as AJC [American Jewish Committee]. An indigenous organization called SIGNAL, headed by a Yale alumni businesswoman*** is also doing a lot of work in China... The rationale behind these programs is to fight the so-called de-legitimisation campaign globally and influence Chinese and Indian elites. Zionist advocacy has another angle - working through Christian channels in China. Apparently, the Israeli Tourism Ministry is inviting the leaders of evangelical Christian communities to visit the Holy Land. Many of them end up being very supportive of Israel." (Israel & Chinese universities, angryarab.blogspot.com, 19/5/13)
Can a Max Brenner outlet be far behind?
[*"History is being rewritten to portray Israel as a colonial State built on the lands of the indigenous people, the Palestinian Arabs. This willful erasing of 3,500 years of Israel's history has not yet infected the 1.3 billion Chinese. Dry Bones Project: educating China about Israel's 3500 year history before 1948 through a series of free, online, digital Chinese-language graphic books written and drawn by Dry Bones cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen. Each work will tie the history of China to the history of Israel, emphasizing the concept of the Jews and the Chinese as two ancient civilizations which have survived centuries of attack by barbarian forces and foreign empires." (drybonesproject.com); **Sino-Israel Global Network & Academic Leadership (SIGNAL): "Enhancing China and Israel's relationship through high-level academic interchange. SIGNAL established the first Israel Studies Programs (ISPs) at universities in China. During 2011-2012, SIGNAL opened ISPs in cooperation with Sichuan International Studies University (SISU) in Chongqing, Henan University in Kaifeng, Shanghai International Studies University (SHISU) in Shanghai and Shihezi University in Shihezi, Xinjiang... SIGNAL sponsored Israel Studies research paper competitions expose an ever growing number of students to the modern Jewish State. For a full semester, under faculty-supervised research, the students focus on a range of topics including Israel's history, society, culture and politics." (en.sino-israel.org) ***Carice Witte]
Monday, May 20, 2013
Join the Dots...
1) "The centrality of Israel in the workings of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) and other mainstream 'peak bodies', such as... the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBOD), is misplaced and a waste of time and limited community resources. Local issues, some of which include aged care, social welfare, education, abuse, alcohol/drugs and social entrepreneurship, deserve the attention of groups whose imprimatur is to support the community needs of Australian Jews." (Community begins at home, Manny Waks, The Australian Jewish News, 9/11/12) (See my 14/1/13 post Where's This All Going?)
2) "The Jewish National Fund (JNF) in NSW raised more than $8 million last year it was revealed at their annual general meeting last Tuesday night. President Alex Abulafia said it was a staggering amount of money and it shows the community is connecting with the organisation and its projects... He said that people seem to enjoy the fact that they can go to Israel and visit buildings, facilities, water reservoirs and sites that they have contributed to... Abulafia said that in a couple of years, he hopes JNF NSW can raise $10 million each year." (JNF NSW raises more than $8 mil, The AJN, 17/5/13)
3) "If you thought poverty wasn't a problem for the Jewish community, think again. A recent report from Monash University's Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation revealed 6500 Jews in Victoria (18.4% of the community) and 5000 in NSW (15.7%) are scraping by with a weekly income of between just $200 and $400." (The poverty precipice, Timna Jacks, The AJN, 17/5/13)
2) "The Jewish National Fund (JNF) in NSW raised more than $8 million last year it was revealed at their annual general meeting last Tuesday night. President Alex Abulafia said it was a staggering amount of money and it shows the community is connecting with the organisation and its projects... He said that people seem to enjoy the fact that they can go to Israel and visit buildings, facilities, water reservoirs and sites that they have contributed to... Abulafia said that in a couple of years, he hopes JNF NSW can raise $10 million each year." (JNF NSW raises more than $8 mil, The AJN, 17/5/13)
3) "If you thought poverty wasn't a problem for the Jewish community, think again. A recent report from Monash University's Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation revealed 6500 Jews in Victoria (18.4% of the community) and 5000 in NSW (15.7%) are scraping by with a weekly income of between just $200 and $400." (The poverty precipice, Timna Jacks, The AJN, 17/5/13)
Sunday, May 19, 2013
What Would Raoul Wallenberg Do?
If you'd heard that an Australian Coalition government had announced the establishment of a human rights award you'd start wondering what the... was going on, right? And if you'd also heard that a leading Israel lobbyist was to be one of its judging panel you'd fall off your perch in sheer disbelief, right?
Well, strange to tell, both have come to pass, and as far as I'm aware, no one in the ms media has yet reported on either strand of the story!
An annual NSW Human Rights Award was announced by NSW Premier Baruch O'Farrell in September last year to and Vic Alhadeff of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies has just been named as one of its 3 judges.
The Premier's 2012 press release informs us that "[t]he recipient of the award will become the NSW Human Rights Ambassador for 12 months, giving them an opportunity to promote human rights issues." It further informs us that the award will be presented to "an individual from Australia or internationally... and is being established in memory of Raoul Wallenberg, who single-handedly saved tens-of-thousands of lives during the Holocaust." (You may have heard that Wallenberg, to whom I shall be returning later, has just been awarded honorary Australian citizenship by the Prime Minister.)
Now call me a cynic but I can't help wondering whether O'Farrell's Human Rights Award has been designed as a riposte to the Sydney Peace Foundation's Sydney Peace Prize. Could it even be, I wonder, a belated act of revenge for the SPF's awarding of the Sydney Peace Prize to Palestinian activist Hanan Ashrawi back in 2003? This, you'll recall, was an occasion when the Israel lobby massively overreached itself, and suffered a highly embarrassing public backlash as a result. (See my 17/1/12 post Ashrawi Redux.)
All this, of course, is pure conjecture.
However, apart from the chutzpah of appointing an apologist for one of the world's most egregious human rights violators to the award's judging panel, what really interests me here is a certain 'what if?' scenario which I'll sum up with the question: What would Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who heroically risked his neck to rescue thousands of Hungarian Jews in 1944, only to later disappear into the Soviet Gulag, have done if he'd survived the war, gone on to become the 'UN Mediator in Palestine' in 1948, and faced the problem of what to do with hundreds of thousands of uprooted Palestinian refugees?
Without a doubt Wallenberg, "a man of moral courage and heroic example," as Prime Minister Gillard described him, would have stated categorically that:
"It is... undeniable that no settlement can be just and complete if recognition is not accorded to the right of the Arab refugee to return to the home from which he has been dislodged by the hazards and strategy of the armed conflict between Arabs and Jews in Palestine. The majority of these refugees have come from territory which... was to be included in the Jewish State. The exodus of Palestinian Arabs resulted from panic created by fighting in their communities, by rumours concerning real or alleged acts of terrorism, or expulsion. It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine, and, indeed, at least offer the threat of permanent replacement of the Arab refugees who have been rooted in the land for centuries." (Progress Report of the UN Mediator on Palestine, 16/9/48)
As a man of "moral courage and heroic example" he could hardly have done otherwise.
The quotation above came in fact from the pen the actual UN Mediator in Palestine in 1948, Count Folke Bernadotte, another Swede who had, as head of the Swedish Red Cross during the war, rescued thousands of European Jews and others from Nazi concentration camps. And like Wallenberg, Bernadotte too met a sticky end, gunned down in Jerusalem on September 17, 1948 by Stern Gang terrorists.
Now just imagine, if you will, Australia's Arab community trying to interest Gillard and/or her successor, Tony Abbott, in granting honorary citizenship to Count Folke Bernadotte. Hell would freeze over first, right?
Well, strange to tell, both have come to pass, and as far as I'm aware, no one in the ms media has yet reported on either strand of the story!
An annual NSW Human Rights Award was announced by NSW Premier Baruch O'Farrell in September last year to and Vic Alhadeff of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies has just been named as one of its 3 judges.
The Premier's 2012 press release informs us that "[t]he recipient of the award will become the NSW Human Rights Ambassador for 12 months, giving them an opportunity to promote human rights issues." It further informs us that the award will be presented to "an individual from Australia or internationally... and is being established in memory of Raoul Wallenberg, who single-handedly saved tens-of-thousands of lives during the Holocaust." (You may have heard that Wallenberg, to whom I shall be returning later, has just been awarded honorary Australian citizenship by the Prime Minister.)
Now call me a cynic but I can't help wondering whether O'Farrell's Human Rights Award has been designed as a riposte to the Sydney Peace Foundation's Sydney Peace Prize. Could it even be, I wonder, a belated act of revenge for the SPF's awarding of the Sydney Peace Prize to Palestinian activist Hanan Ashrawi back in 2003? This, you'll recall, was an occasion when the Israel lobby massively overreached itself, and suffered a highly embarrassing public backlash as a result. (See my 17/1/12 post Ashrawi Redux.)
All this, of course, is pure conjecture.
However, apart from the chutzpah of appointing an apologist for one of the world's most egregious human rights violators to the award's judging panel, what really interests me here is a certain 'what if?' scenario which I'll sum up with the question: What would Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who heroically risked his neck to rescue thousands of Hungarian Jews in 1944, only to later disappear into the Soviet Gulag, have done if he'd survived the war, gone on to become the 'UN Mediator in Palestine' in 1948, and faced the problem of what to do with hundreds of thousands of uprooted Palestinian refugees?
Without a doubt Wallenberg, "a man of moral courage and heroic example," as Prime Minister Gillard described him, would have stated categorically that:
"It is... undeniable that no settlement can be just and complete if recognition is not accorded to the right of the Arab refugee to return to the home from which he has been dislodged by the hazards and strategy of the armed conflict between Arabs and Jews in Palestine. The majority of these refugees have come from territory which... was to be included in the Jewish State. The exodus of Palestinian Arabs resulted from panic created by fighting in their communities, by rumours concerning real or alleged acts of terrorism, or expulsion. It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine, and, indeed, at least offer the threat of permanent replacement of the Arab refugees who have been rooted in the land for centuries." (Progress Report of the UN Mediator on Palestine, 16/9/48)
As a man of "moral courage and heroic example" he could hardly have done otherwise.
The quotation above came in fact from the pen the actual UN Mediator in Palestine in 1948, Count Folke Bernadotte, another Swede who had, as head of the Swedish Red Cross during the war, rescued thousands of European Jews and others from Nazi concentration camps. And like Wallenberg, Bernadotte too met a sticky end, gunned down in Jerusalem on September 17, 1948 by Stern Gang terrorists.
Now just imagine, if you will, Australia's Arab community trying to interest Gillard and/or her successor, Tony Abbott, in granting honorary citizenship to Count Folke Bernadotte. Hell would freeze over first, right?
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Who Am I to Demur?
Chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and NSW Human Rights Award judging panelist, Vic Alhadeff (said panel having just been chosen by no less a luminary than NSW Premier Baruch O'Farrell*) had an opinion piece in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald.
Now in case you missed it, here are the opening lines:
"I'm a Seinfeld aficionado. I've watched every episode a ridiculous number of times, yet still find the humour brilliant. But then there's 'The Soup Nazi' - an episode about a surly delicatessen owner who refuses to serve customers who flout his excessive rules of decorum. It's witty and well scripted, but it commits a cardinal offence: it trivialises the meaning of what a Nazi is, and in doing so degrades the language associated with those who devised, planned and perpetrated the most grotesque genocide in history." (Don't call me a Nazi-Nazi: trivialising a word sends the wrong message about a genocidal regime, 17/5/13)
Got the idea?
Of course, Alhadeff has no such problem with the trivialisation of the word 'anti-Semitic', which once meant simply 'hatred of Jews as Jews', but is now routinely deployed by Zionist propagandists to blunt and deflect perfectly justified criticism of apartheid Israel and its ruling Zionist ideology. Nor, for that matter, did he have any problem, as far as we know, with the BDS movement being smeared as quasi-Nazi during the BDS 'debate' in the NSW Legislative Council in September 2011, despite being present in the visitors gallery throughout. (See my Witches Brew series from 17/9/11 to 17/12/11.)
Be that as it may, I was later reminded of Alhadeff's opinion piece when reading a review by Jordan Mainzer of the new Israeli film The Gatekeepers, which features the reflections of 6 former heads of Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet.
In his review, Mainzer quoted Avraham Shalom, head of the Shin Bet from 1981-1986, saying that "the Israeli occupation of Palestine is a 'brutal force, similar to the Germans in World War II'." (Is occupation sustainable? Thoughts on Dror Moreh's 'The Gatekeepers', huffingtonpost.com, 25/3/13)
My first reaction was: Sort of leaves Seinfeld's 'Soup Nazi' in the shade, doesn't it?
But then, on further reflection, I began to have doubts. After all, I thought, what would a former head of Shin Bet know about the Israeli occupation of Palestine? I mean, if the Sydney Morning Herald's opinion editor, in his/her infinite wisdom, thinks that Alhadeff on Nazis is good enough for its readership, and if Baruch O'Farrell, in his infinite wisdom, thinks Alhadeff's the right man to size up contenders for a prestigious human rights award, who am I to demur?
[*See my 9/5/13 post Barry to Baruch in 60 Seconds.]
Now in case you missed it, here are the opening lines:
"I'm a Seinfeld aficionado. I've watched every episode a ridiculous number of times, yet still find the humour brilliant. But then there's 'The Soup Nazi' - an episode about a surly delicatessen owner who refuses to serve customers who flout his excessive rules of decorum. It's witty and well scripted, but it commits a cardinal offence: it trivialises the meaning of what a Nazi is, and in doing so degrades the language associated with those who devised, planned and perpetrated the most grotesque genocide in history." (Don't call me a Nazi-Nazi: trivialising a word sends the wrong message about a genocidal regime, 17/5/13)
Got the idea?
Of course, Alhadeff has no such problem with the trivialisation of the word 'anti-Semitic', which once meant simply 'hatred of Jews as Jews', but is now routinely deployed by Zionist propagandists to blunt and deflect perfectly justified criticism of apartheid Israel and its ruling Zionist ideology. Nor, for that matter, did he have any problem, as far as we know, with the BDS movement being smeared as quasi-Nazi during the BDS 'debate' in the NSW Legislative Council in September 2011, despite being present in the visitors gallery throughout. (See my Witches Brew series from 17/9/11 to 17/12/11.)
Be that as it may, I was later reminded of Alhadeff's opinion piece when reading a review by Jordan Mainzer of the new Israeli film The Gatekeepers, which features the reflections of 6 former heads of Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet.
In his review, Mainzer quoted Avraham Shalom, head of the Shin Bet from 1981-1986, saying that "the Israeli occupation of Palestine is a 'brutal force, similar to the Germans in World War II'." (Is occupation sustainable? Thoughts on Dror Moreh's 'The Gatekeepers', huffingtonpost.com, 25/3/13)
My first reaction was: Sort of leaves Seinfeld's 'Soup Nazi' in the shade, doesn't it?
But then, on further reflection, I began to have doubts. After all, I thought, what would a former head of Shin Bet know about the Israeli occupation of Palestine? I mean, if the Sydney Morning Herald's opinion editor, in his/her infinite wisdom, thinks that Alhadeff on Nazis is good enough for its readership, and if Baruch O'Farrell, in his infinite wisdom, thinks Alhadeff's the right man to size up contenders for a prestigious human rights award, who am I to demur?
[*See my 9/5/13 post Barry to Baruch in 60 Seconds.]
Friday, May 17, 2013
The Tel Aviv Declaration on Combating Criticism of Israel
My o my, Gillard's really started something here. Have you ever seen a more blatant display of political one-upmanship than this:
"More than 40 members of the federal opposition banded together yesterday to sign the London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism after they were incensed by comments from the head of the Sydney Peace Foundation, Stuart Rees, attacking the document. The Australian yesterday reported Professor Rees had lashed Julia Gillard for signing the declaration, calling the gesture 'childish, thoughtless but easily populist'... She was joined last week by opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne... To counter [Professor Rees'] comments, Victorian Liberal Josh Frydenberg arranged for a group of colleagues to gather in is office immediately to sign the declaration. Close to 30 Coalition members from all states and factions joined him, ranging from veteran parliamentarians such as Philip Ruddock and Judi Moylan to newcomers such as Wyatt Roy, Scott Bucholz and George Christensen. Opposition leader Tony Abbott and frontbenchers Bruce Billson, Peter Dutton, Greg Hunt, Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull and Sharman Stone also signed. As news spread, a steady stream of MPs beat a path to Mr Frydenberg's office to add their names, taking the total to 49.... Yesterday's events mean that close to a quarter of the global parliamentarians to sign the declaration are Australian. NSW Liberal senator Marise Payne is expected to repeat the process for members of the upper house today." (MPs unite to sign anti-Semitism pact, Christian Kerr, The Australian, 15/5/13)
Now in case you're inclined to applaud Frydenberg and Co. for endorsing what appears on the surface to be merely an anti-racist initiative, ask yourself just how many of those who beat a path to Frydenberg's office actually sat down and read the 'fine print', or if they did, how many fully comprehended what they were signing on to - essentially a commitment to defend Israel and all its works based on the illegitimate conflation of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. (See my 28/4/13 post The Latest Prime Ministerial Kowtow).
To cite but one sentence from the declaration's preamble: "We are alarmed at the resurrection of the old language of prejudice and its modern manifestations - in rhetoric and political action - against Jews, Jewish belief and practice and the state of Israel." (my italics)
Not, of course, that any of this lot, even if they were aware of what they were doing, would bat an eyelid at such a conflation. Or, for that matter, having taken this first step, at going on to support legislation criminalising expressions of anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism.
Now I introduced this post by saying that Gillard had started something here. But in fact the buck didn't start with her. If you've read my earlier post on the declaration, you'll see that she's just another link in a chain of useful fools stretching back to the Steering Committee of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism, the outfit sponsoring the declaration. And at the head of the committee you'll find none other than former Minister for Public Diplomacy & Diaspora, now Speaker of the Knesset, Yuli Edelstein, a member of Israel's ruling Likud Party.
If honesty means anything these days - I'm a little old-fashioned here - the so-called London Declaration on Combating Ant-Semitism would more correctly be called the Tel Aviv Declaration on Combating Anti-Zionism, or more broadly, the Tel Aviv Declaration on Combating Criticism of Israel.
The irony here, of course, is that the declaration is actually bad news for anyone genuinely concerned about combating anti-Semitism, as a former Jewish member of the Zionist cult has pointed out:
"Whenever I was asked to speak on contemporary antisemitism, I took the opportunity to explain the Israel-antisemitism connection. A panel discussion organised by the Faculty for Israel-Palestine Peace at Birkbeck on 14 May [2007] focused on how the politicisation of discussion about antisemitism, through the labelling of forms of criticism of Israel as antisemitic, was hampering free and open consideration of Jew-hatred. I outlined how Israeli governments had successfully sought to control efforts to define and combat antisemitism at the international level. Increasing acceptance of the so-called 'Working Definition' of antisemitism of the European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia had helped Israel in this regard. It had led to a situation where 'We cannot discuss Israel-Palestine without getting entangled in arguments about what critique of Israel is antisemitic; and we cannot discuss contemporary antisemitism without getting entangled in arguments about Israel-Palestine'." (The Making & Unmaking of a Zionist: A Personal & Political Journey, Antony Lerman, 2012, pp 176-177)
"More than 40 members of the federal opposition banded together yesterday to sign the London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism after they were incensed by comments from the head of the Sydney Peace Foundation, Stuart Rees, attacking the document. The Australian yesterday reported Professor Rees had lashed Julia Gillard for signing the declaration, calling the gesture 'childish, thoughtless but easily populist'... She was joined last week by opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne... To counter [Professor Rees'] comments, Victorian Liberal Josh Frydenberg arranged for a group of colleagues to gather in is office immediately to sign the declaration. Close to 30 Coalition members from all states and factions joined him, ranging from veteran parliamentarians such as Philip Ruddock and Judi Moylan to newcomers such as Wyatt Roy, Scott Bucholz and George Christensen. Opposition leader Tony Abbott and frontbenchers Bruce Billson, Peter Dutton, Greg Hunt, Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull and Sharman Stone also signed. As news spread, a steady stream of MPs beat a path to Mr Frydenberg's office to add their names, taking the total to 49.... Yesterday's events mean that close to a quarter of the global parliamentarians to sign the declaration are Australian. NSW Liberal senator Marise Payne is expected to repeat the process for members of the upper house today." (MPs unite to sign anti-Semitism pact, Christian Kerr, The Australian, 15/5/13)
Now in case you're inclined to applaud Frydenberg and Co. for endorsing what appears on the surface to be merely an anti-racist initiative, ask yourself just how many of those who beat a path to Frydenberg's office actually sat down and read the 'fine print', or if they did, how many fully comprehended what they were signing on to - essentially a commitment to defend Israel and all its works based on the illegitimate conflation of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. (See my 28/4/13 post The Latest Prime Ministerial Kowtow).
To cite but one sentence from the declaration's preamble: "We are alarmed at the resurrection of the old language of prejudice and its modern manifestations - in rhetoric and political action - against Jews, Jewish belief and practice and the state of Israel." (my italics)
Not, of course, that any of this lot, even if they were aware of what they were doing, would bat an eyelid at such a conflation. Or, for that matter, having taken this first step, at going on to support legislation criminalising expressions of anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism.
Now I introduced this post by saying that Gillard had started something here. But in fact the buck didn't start with her. If you've read my earlier post on the declaration, you'll see that she's just another link in a chain of useful fools stretching back to the Steering Committee of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism, the outfit sponsoring the declaration. And at the head of the committee you'll find none other than former Minister for Public Diplomacy & Diaspora, now Speaker of the Knesset, Yuli Edelstein, a member of Israel's ruling Likud Party.
If honesty means anything these days - I'm a little old-fashioned here - the so-called London Declaration on Combating Ant-Semitism would more correctly be called the Tel Aviv Declaration on Combating Anti-Zionism, or more broadly, the Tel Aviv Declaration on Combating Criticism of Israel.
The irony here, of course, is that the declaration is actually bad news for anyone genuinely concerned about combating anti-Semitism, as a former Jewish member of the Zionist cult has pointed out:
"Whenever I was asked to speak on contemporary antisemitism, I took the opportunity to explain the Israel-antisemitism connection. A panel discussion organised by the Faculty for Israel-Palestine Peace at Birkbeck on 14 May [2007] focused on how the politicisation of discussion about antisemitism, through the labelling of forms of criticism of Israel as antisemitic, was hampering free and open consideration of Jew-hatred. I outlined how Israeli governments had successfully sought to control efforts to define and combat antisemitism at the international level. Increasing acceptance of the so-called 'Working Definition' of antisemitism of the European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia had helped Israel in this regard. It had led to a situation where 'We cannot discuss Israel-Palestine without getting entangled in arguments about what critique of Israel is antisemitic; and we cannot discuss contemporary antisemitism without getting entangled in arguments about Israel-Palestine'." (The Making & Unmaking of a Zionist: A Personal & Political Journey, Antony Lerman, 2012, pp 176-177)
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Why Pick on Israel?
The question on every Zionist lip:
"Why does Israel consistently attract the ire of the international community ('Reality ignored in rush to judgment on 'apartheid' Israel', 14/5)?" asks prolific letter writer and Israeluvvie Joel Feren, of Elwood, Victoria.
"Israel is indeed different to its neighbours - it is democratic and a champion of rights. It is senseless that Israel is labelled a demonic superpower of the Middle East while the despotic Syrian government massacres more than 80,000 civilians, Saudi Arabia subjugates women, Iran remains under police tyranny, Egyptian Coptics [sic] face persecution and thousands of Palestinian refugees are left to languish in refugee camps in Jordan." (The Australian, 15/5/13)
Er, Joel, I think that last one could be described as the sleeper carriage in your train of thought, mate.
Thousands of Palestinians languishing in refugee camps in Jordan. Ever ask yourself what they're doing there in the first place?
Does the word refugee ring any bells? Suggestive perhaps of a flight from something? Something dire?
The word Palestinian? Hm?
Doesn't work for you?
OK, let's try a multiple choice question.
Did Palestinian refugees in Jordan:
a) drop from the sky?
b) spontaneously - no one knows why - decamp from Palestine and move to Jordan?
c) flee at the point of Zionist bayonets and worse, either in 1948 or 1967, and remain there because Israel won't let them return?
d) witlessly fall victim to the old Israeli 'Jordan is Palestine' propaganda line and relocate to Jordan?
"Why does Israel consistently attract the ire of the international community ('Reality ignored in rush to judgment on 'apartheid' Israel', 14/5)?" asks prolific letter writer and Israeluvvie Joel Feren, of Elwood, Victoria.
"Israel is indeed different to its neighbours - it is democratic and a champion of rights. It is senseless that Israel is labelled a demonic superpower of the Middle East while the despotic Syrian government massacres more than 80,000 civilians, Saudi Arabia subjugates women, Iran remains under police tyranny, Egyptian Coptics [sic] face persecution and thousands of Palestinian refugees are left to languish in refugee camps in Jordan." (The Australian, 15/5/13)
Er, Joel, I think that last one could be described as the sleeper carriage in your train of thought, mate.
Thousands of Palestinians languishing in refugee camps in Jordan. Ever ask yourself what they're doing there in the first place?
Does the word refugee ring any bells? Suggestive perhaps of a flight from something? Something dire?
The word Palestinian? Hm?
Doesn't work for you?
OK, let's try a multiple choice question.
Did Palestinian refugees in Jordan:
a) drop from the sky?
b) spontaneously - no one knows why - decamp from Palestine and move to Jordan?
c) flee at the point of Zionist bayonets and worse, either in 1948 or 1967, and remain there because Israel won't let them return?
d) witlessly fall victim to the old Israeli 'Jordan is Palestine' propaganda line and relocate to Jordan?
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