[ Saturday, January 29, 2005 ]
"Zionism Today Is The Real Enemy of the Jews and the Whole World"Victor Kattan, The Electronic Intifada, 26 January 2005
On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, 355 people cast a majority vote in favour of a motion that "Zionism today is the real enemy of the Jews" at a debate that took place on Tuesday 25 January at the Royal Geographical Society in London.
The debate was organized by intelligence2 (the London Forum for Live Debate) sponsored by the Evening Standard - a local London newspaper. It was chaired by Richard Lindley, a veteran television reporter for ITN and the BBC.
Speaking for the motion was Avi Shlaim, Professor of International Relations at Oxford University; Jacqueline Rose, Professor of English and Drama at Queen Mary, University of London; and Amira Hass, correspondent for Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper. Speaking against the motion was the Daily Mail columnist, Melanie Phillips; former Israeli Foreign Minister, Shlomo Ben Ami; and Raphael Israeli, Professor of Islamic, Middle Eastern and Chinese History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Avi Shlaim opened the debate in favour of the motion by saying:
"I have never questioned the legitimacy of the Zionist movement or of the state of Israel within its pre-1967 borders. What I reject, and reject totally, is the Zionist colonialist project beyond the 1967 borders. Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories inside the '67 borders is the root of all evil. This is the problem: occupation, occupation, occupation. Occupation distorted the natural course of mainstream Zionism. Zionism was above all, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, but it also stood for universal values like freedom, equality, socialism and peace. Post-1967 Zionism, however, both in its secular and religious varieties developed a territorial obsession: the obsession is to keep the whole of the land of Israel in the hands of the Jewish people."
Speaking against the motion, Melanie Phillips said:
"Ladies and gentleman, the Jewish people today currently face a war by terror and the latest phase in a hundred year attempt to ethnically cleanse them from their historic homeland, first in Palestine, then in Israel; the deligitimization of that homeland through systematic lies, libels, distortions and omissions; the farcical anti-Jewish hatred and prejudice emanating from the Muslim world; a Palestinian society which is indoctrinated in the cradle of religious hatred of Jews and incitement to murder them; assaults on Jews throughout Europe, the bombing of synagogues, the desecration of cemeteries; an upsurge in anti-Jewish hatred in Britain and the West You might think, ladies and gentlemen, that these are enemies enough, but according to Professor Shlaim and the rest of his panel, it is not enough. The real enemy of the Jews is not these people; the real enemy of the Jews is themselves through the creed of Zionism. We are being told that the responsibility for all this is Israel. It's Israel's fault. For two reasons: first, because the behaviour of Israel is malign and secondly because Zionism is inherently malign."
Next to speak was Rose who countered: "how can the creation of a Jewish nation on the back of the suffering, the humiliation of another people, not be dangerous for the Jews?" She then said, "And this was ethnic cleansing (referring to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people in 1948)." She continued, "I urge you to support us; if you do, you will be sending a message to all around the world that the Jewish people did not survive attempted genocide to become the brutal oppressors of another people. Enough, no more, there is a better ethic, and there can be a better, safer, future for the Jews."
Shlomo Ben Ami, speaking alongside Philips against the motion, said: "The Holocaust should not give the Jews and Israel any moral immunity from criticism. Nor is it proper for the Israelis to conveniently dismiss all, and every attack against the reproachable policies as anti-semitism. But it is likewise indecent that Israel should be singled out for discriminatory treatment in a way that leads eventually to its deligitimization as a state. The argument that Israel is a civilized nation and more should be expected of her, than of say the Arabs, is frankly not only a form of political racism, (this time against the Arabs) but also a self-fulfilling prophecy that encourages the Arabs to persist in their dictatorial and abusive practices."
An emotional Hass then spoke about Israel's discriminatory policies in the occupied Palestinian territories and the impact of curfews, separate road systems, settlements, checkpoints, and house demolitions - all aspects of Israel's 37 year military occupation. She said she could go on, and on, and on, and that "9 hours not even 9 minutes could suffice to describe what it is to be a Jewish master." So she said: "If you want, and if you feel, and if you like to be masters; if you think that being masters fits into your Jewish values, do vote against this motion."
Raphael Israeli was last to speak and, ending on a light note, told the following joke:
"When you look at the summary of all these things, we should simply adopt the good sense of a little boy, a Jewish boy, called Jacob Goldberg who went to a Catholic school right here in Europe. The Bishop came along one day to control the content of their studies and he said, 'My children, I have here a 100 Euro bill. I will give it to any kid who will answer my question properly.' The question was, 'Who was the greatest man in history?' One of the kids says 'Napoleon'; another says 'Alexander the Great' and so on and so forth. Of course they were not the right answers. And then this kid, Jacob, says, 'I know Bishop. I know the answer.' The Bishop says, 'Yes, what is it?' Jacob said, 'I think it is Jesus Christ'. And the Bishop was elated saying, 'of course have the bill, but how could you, Jacob Goldberg, say Jesus and not Moses?' And this kid with his good sense said, 'Moses is Moses and business is business.'"
Debate Results
At the end of the session, the vote was read out aloud by Lindley. The result came as a surprise and there were gasps of astonishment in the auditorium. In an online poll only 2.5% of respondents voted in favour of the motion (with 97.2% voting against). Those who actually attended the event were asked before they took their seats how they would vote. The result was evenly split with 30% of those questioned saying they would vote for the motion and 30% saying they would vote against - 40% of those questioned beforehand had not made up their mind. The final results were as follows:
Is Zionism today the real enemy of the Jews?
For: 49.7%
Against: 44.8%
Don't Know: 5.5%
I did not vote.
art [4:19 PM]
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[ Wednesday, January 26, 2005 ]
THE OPEN SOCIETY & ITS ENEMIES - THE STORY OF AUSCHWITZby Gilad Atzmon
Sixty years after liberation, Auschwitz has become an international political event. It is no coincidence, and I feel that we should spare a moment asking ourselves: why now, why Auschwitz?
Living in a scientific technological environment, it is natural for most commentators to judge any given narrative reflecting on its positive contents, i.e., the story it tells, the facts it picks up on and the message it conveys. When it comes to Auschwitz, it is always the terrifying numbers, Mengele and the selection, the clinical mass murder, the Gas Chambers, the trains, the famous Arbeit Macht Frei above the front gate, the death march just before liberation, etc. And yet, I would argue that it is at least as enlightening to expose that which the Auschwitz narrative is there to conceal. Every historical tale can operate as a smoke screen; narratives are very effective in encouraging collective blindness. Auschwitz and the Holocaust narrative, in this sense, are no different.
As it seems, without engaging ourselves with the many questions Concerning the validity of the widely accepted holocaust narrative, we can safely ask what the Auschwitz Narrative is there to serve. Who benefits from the Auschwitz account? We are entitled to ask why the official holocaust narrative is so widely promoted by different and opposing political institutions. Is it a result of a highly sophisticated orchestrated Jewish propaganda? I am not so sure anymore.
art [5:41 AM]
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[ Sunday, January 23, 2005 ]
Top American Jewish Zionist Banker Turned Israeli Sets Off SpatStanley Fischer, who is a Jewish Zionist and speaks reasonably good Hebrew, is making a significant financial sacrifice to make aliyah, the Hebrew term for immigration to Israel that literally means a rising up, or ascent.Straight FROM THE IHT
Politics enliven debate over choice of American economist
JERUSALEM Stanley Fischer, a widely respected American
economist and banker, has agreed to leave the United States
and a job as a vice chairman of Citigroup to become
governor of the Bank of Israel, taking Israeli citizenship
in the process.
Does that make Israelis proud? Do not be so sure. Fischer's
appointment, like everything here, has been caught up in
poitics. He has also been subject to some Israelis' deep
ambivalence about Israel's relationship to Jews abroad.
On one hand, Israel wants to be a light unto the nations
and attract the best and brightest Jews from around the
world - the Zionist dream of Theodor Herzl. Fischer, who is
a Zionist and speaks reasonably good Hebrew, is making a
significant financial sacrifice to make aliyah, the Hebrew
term for immigration to Israel that literally means a
rising up, or ascent.
On the other hand, some Israelis resent that the leader of
one of its most important institutions was recruited
abroad, someone who may have distinguished himself in a
much bigger pool but has not been through the army or the
other various trials of Israeli life.
Ari Shavit, a writer for the daily Haaretz, went so far as
to call Fischer's appointment morally unacceptable no
matter how fine an economist he was. "A person cannot shape
the destiny of a community of which he has not been a part
until now," Shavit wrote.
It is bad enough, Shavit wrote, that the largest private
bank in Israel is owned "by a cruise-ship heiress from
Florida," Shari Arison, chairwoman of Arison Holdings. "The
possibility that the government bank will now be handed
over to a guest governor from Manhattan is simply
intolerable."
The tempest is partly about politics and economic policy.
Fischer, who declined an interview for this article, was
chosen at the last minute in a deal between Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon and his finance minister and rival within the
Likud Party, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has been pushing the economy away from its
socialist roots, confronting unions and government
ministries, and trying to revise the tax system.
Fischer, who has many years of experience at the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund, is considered an
advocate of opening markets and fostering economic
competition. He is perhaps best known for guiding the fund
during the Asian and Russian financial collapses in 1997
and 1998.
"Fischer has a very liberal, capitalist and nonsocialist
agenda," said Omer Moav, a senior fellow at the Shalem
Center and a senior lecturer in economics at Hebrew
University."He believes in markets, small government and that people
should work for their living. That's why Netanyahu brought
him in," he added.
So those who dislike Netanyahu and his policies, which
includes a significant part of the political center and the
left in Israel, do not much like the fact of Fischer,
either, who despite his personal politics - he has been a
supporter of the dovish Peace Now movement - will bring
further international standing and credibility to one side
of a domestic policy battle. To shoot at Fischer, then, is
to shoot at Netanyahu.
Of course there are those, including journalists of various
stripes, who were pushing their own choices and found
reasons to criticize an outside choice.
For Shlomo Avineri, an internationally renowned political
philosopher and former Foreign Ministry official, the fuss
is reflective of a deeper Israeli ambivalence toward
successful Jews in the rest of the world, who are a source
of both pride and resentment.
"Israel wants aliyah, immigration, and we always ask why
don't thousands of American academics come here," Avineri
said. "But on the other hand, they will take our jobs. In
general, Israel hasn't attracted a lot of top-drawer
immigrants. We've been the country of refuge, which takes
in the poor or the downtrodden, from North Africa or Iraq
or the Soviet Union, and gives them room in our house.
"And then suddenly someone comes to rule the natives, and
the relationship is reversed," he said. "Israelis are not
used to this."
Avinoam Bar-Yosef, who directs the Jewish People Policy
Planning Institute, which studies the Diaspora, said:
"Israel's main asset is the Jewish brain and the support of
the Jewish world. To our sorrow, the majority of Jews in
the world don't live here, and at the top of our agenda is
to attract the best and brightest to join us."
Imagine, he said, if Steven Spielberg came to Israel, or
Henry Kissinger. "It would be like living in the days of
the Messiah," he said.
Some of the complaints about Fischer stem from professional
frustration and others come from people with financial
interests, who may find it harder to call a prominent
stranger to lobby him.
"And of course others say to live in Israel is a burden,"
Bar-Yosef said. "You pay a price to live here. You go
through the army. And you don't need to bring stars from
outside who haven't been through the same experience."
Somehow, he said, Israel understands the need for imports
in sports. Israeli basketball, for instance, would not be
the same without them, and Israel's Olympic team has been
greatly strengthened by immigrants from the former Soviet
Union.
art [7:15 PM]
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[ Friday, January 21, 2005 ]
WHO IS THE MOST HATED MAN ON THE PLANET TODAY?
art [1:21 AM]
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[ Wednesday, January 19, 2005 ]
A DIFFERENT SERCH ENGINEMUSESEEK
art [1:51 AM]
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SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL MCNAMARA
FOG OF WAR
art [1:40 AM]
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[ Tuesday, January 18, 2005 ]
Big News:
"Google Scholar" is Born
The world of online "scholarly" research is changing today as Google introduces Google Scholar. This specialized new interface -- which will NOT be linked from Google's main search page -- will allow users to search a treasure chest of "scholarly material."
art [11:22 PM]
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[ Monday, January 17, 2005 ]
Source:
CosmicPenguin.com88 Websites With Evidence Of U.S. Government Complicity In 9/11
art [3:13 AM]
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[ Friday, January 07, 2005 ]
ASIAN TSUNAMI SATELLITE VIDEO VICTIMS PICTURES
NONE OF THESE PEOPLE SURVIVED THE TSUNAMI
art [5:47 AM]
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State Dept. Briefing on
Global Anti-Semitism1/5/2005: WASHINGTON, DC: 45 min. Scroll down the page.
A MUST SEE! CLEAR PROOF THE US STATE DEPARTMENT IS PROZIONIST.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Ambassador Michael Kozak, and the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, Ambassador Edward O'Donnell, brief the press on the Global Anti-Semitism Report.
art [1:47 AM]
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