Home
Archive
Columnists
Video
Blogs
Discuss
About
Search
Donate
Advertise
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Register to Vote: Rock the Vote, powered by Working Assets Wireless
Advertisement
  • AlterNetYour turn

Support AlterNet
Do you value the information you're getting from AlterNet? Please show your support with a tax-deductible donation.


Feedback
Tell us how we're doing.

For American Jews, Dissent Against Israel Has Become Mainstream

By Tony Karon, Tomdispatch.com. Posted September 15, 2007.


The exceedingly narrow range of "correct opinion" on Israel for American Jews isn't holding together like it used to. Is a Jewish glasnost coming to America?

Share and save this post:
Digg iconDelicious iconReddit iconFark iconYahoo! iconNewsvine! iconFacebook iconNewsTrust icon

More stories by Tony Karon

Get AlterNet in
your mailbox!

 
Advertisement

First, a confession: It may tell me that I hate myself, but I can't help loving Masada2000, the website maintained by militant right-wing Zionist followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane. The reason I love it is its D.I.R.T. list -- that's "Dense anti-Israel Repugnant Traitors" (also published as the S.H.I.T. list of "Self-Hating and Israel-Threatening" Jews). And that's not because I get a bigger entry than -- staying in the Ks -- Henry Kissinger, Michael Kinsley, Naomi Klein, or Ted Koppel. The Kahanists are a pretty flaky lot, counting everyone from Woody Allen to present Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on their list of Jewish traitors. But the habit of branding Jewish dissidents -- those of us who reject the nationalist notion that as Jews, our fate is tied to that of Israel, or the idea that our people's historic suffering somehow exempts Israel from moral reproach for its abuses against others -- as "self-haters" is not unfamiliar to me.

In 1981, my father went, as a delegate of the B'nai B'rith Jewish service organization, to a meeting of the Cape Town chapter of the Jewish Board of Deputies, the governing body of South Africa's Jewish communal institutions. The topic of the meeting was "Anti-Semitism on Campus." My father was pretty shocked and deeply embarrassed when Exhibit A of this phenomenon turned out to be something I'd published in a student newspaper condemning an Israeli raid on Lebanon.

By then, I was an activist in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, which was consuming most of my energies. Having been an active left-Zionist in my teenage years, I had, however, retained an interest in the Middle East -- and, of course, we all knew that Israel was the South African white apartheid regime's most important ally, arming its security forces in defiance of a UN arms embargo. Even back then, the connection between the circumstances of black people under apartheid, and those of Palestinians under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, seemed obvious enough to me and to many other Jews in the South African liberation movement: Both were peoples harshly ruled over by a state that denied them the rights of citizenship.

Still, this was a first. I could recite the kiddush from memory, sing old kibbutznik anthems and curse in Yiddish. I had been called a "bloody Jew" many times, but never an anti-Semite or a self-hating Jew. What quickly became clear to me, though, was the purpose of that "self-hating" smear -- to marginalize Jews who dissent from Zionism, the nationalist ideology of Jewish statehood, in order to warn others off expressing similar views.

What I like about the S.H.I.T. list's approach to the job -- other than the "Dangerous Minds" theme music that plays as you read it -- is the way it embraces literally thousands of names, including many of my favorite Jews. Memo to the sages at Masada2000: If you're trying to paint dissenters as demented traitors, you really have to keep the numbers down. Instead, Masada2000's inadvertent message is: "Think critically about Israel and you'll join Woody Allen and a cast of thousands..."

A New Landscape of Jewish Dissent

The Kahanists are a fringe movement, but their self-defeating list may nonetheless be a metaphor for the coming crisis in more mainstream nationalist efforts to police Jewish identity. The Zionist establishment has had remarkable success over the past half-century in convincing others that Israel and its supporters speak for, and represent, "the Jews." The value to their cause of making Israel indistinguishable from Jews at large is that it becomes a lot easier to shield Israel from reproach. It suggests, in the most emphatic terms, that serious criticism of Israel amounts to criticism of Jews. More than a millennium of violent Christian persecution of Jews, culminating in the Holocaust, has made many in the West rightly sensitive towards any claims of anti-Semitism, a sensitivity many Zionists like to exploit to gain a carte blanche exemption from criticism for a state they claim to be the very personification of Jewishness.

So, despite Israel's ongoing dispossession and oppression of the Palestinians in the occupied territories, then-Harvard president Larry Summers evidently had no trouble saying, in 2002, that harsh criticisms of Israel are "anti-Semitic in their effect if not in their intent."

Robin Shepherd of the usually sensible British think-tank Chatham House has gone even further, arguing that comparing Israel with apartheid South Africa is "objective anti-Semitism."

Says Shepherd: "Of course one can criticize Israel, but there is a litmus test, and that is when the critics begin using constant key references to South Africa and the Nazis, using terms such as ‘bantustans.' None of these people, of course, will admit to being racist, but this kind of anti-Semitism is a much more sophisticated form of racism, and the kind of hate-filled rhetoric and imagery are on the same moral level as racism, so gross and distorted that they are defaming an entire people, since Israel is an essentially Jewish project."


Digg!

See more stories tagged with: israel, jewish opinion, tony karon

Tony Karon is a senior editor at TIME.com where he analyzes the Middle East and other international conflicts. South African-born and raised, yet a lifelong fan of Liverpool, he offers comment and analysis -- as well as a World Cup blog -- on his own web site Rootless Cosmopolitan. He also edits Global Beat, an annotated weekly digest of international conflict coverage.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »


Advertisement

 

Comments Turn comments off sitewide Give us feedback »
Comments closed.
The comments for this story have been closed. Thank you to everyone who participated.
View:
Thank You
Posted by: NoPCZone on Sep 15, 2007 1:48 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If a non-Jew opens their mouth in this country with criticism of Israeli policy they are bludgeoned from almost every corner with charges of being anti-semitic or worse. This simply has to stop, America can no longer afford to blindly back up the decisions and actions of the Israeli government.

Robert Fisk has rightly said that there will be no peace in the Middle East until JUSTICE for all parties is achieved. Just as Jewish people should be able to live in their historical homeland, so should the Palestinian people- without discrimination or limitation.

The Palestinian people who have been systemically robbed of their rightful property should have their day in an honest and just court, so that they may recover or be compensated fairly for what they have had taken from them without due process under the Israeli government. That day is long past due and Israel owes the repressed Palestinian people a formal apology and reparations.

The Jewish people in America who differ with the line from the Israeli government do so largely, I think, because they see the hurtful, harmful and dysfunctional effects of that policy, attitude and way of thinking. They are only reacting as any thinking and informed person could after a careful examination of the facts of the matter.

» RE: Thank You Posted by: remarquee
» RE: Thank You Posted by: FedUp
» RE: Thank You...ditto Posted by: psychochurch
Anti-Semiticism Recidivist
Posted by: Jbuuty on Sep 15, 2007 3:51 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The strategy of shutting down anyone who opposes any Israeli policy through strong-armed measures, including calling people anti-semitic, denying tenor as happened to Prof Finkelstein, and so forth, has the potential of bringing a true anti-semitic reaction. Generally, people will react to aggressiveness, especially in a relatively free society like the USA.

I don't find these tactics to be either correct, or wise. They seem somewhat short-sighted.

» RE: Did you say i.g. farben?? Posted by: Naturalboy
If the shoe fits wear it
Posted by: solrev on Sep 15, 2007 4:28 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
“It suggests, in the most emphatic terms, that serious criticism of Israel amounts to criticism of Jews.” Sounds like something right out of the Bush playbook.
“Moreover, it's an answer with which a growing number of Jews, who place the universal, ethical and social justice traditions of their faith above those of narrow tribalism, are willing to deal.”
“Israel's relevance to Judaism's survival depends first and foremost on its ability, as Burg points out, to deliver justice, not only to its citizens, but to those it has hurt.”
Blessed are the peacemakers of the Trinity. “They will come from the east and they will come from the west and the will come from the north and they will come from the south and they will sit down in the kingdom of God.” The space-time continuum that we call the dimension of the flush is right on schedule. Fear not the fundamentalists the source and the time of their deception is about to pass.

Just Another Scam
Posted by: calm on Sep 15, 2007 4:40 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The Jewish Folks can see the writing on the wall. They read blogs and commentaries just as we Gentiles do. They realize that the mistrust and dislike of Jewish Folks and Israeli policies is just as certain now as it was in Europe during the depression of the dirty 30's.

The population turned against the Rich Folks in Europe and began hanging them up from lamp posts. Within our history books it is described as a "Religious War", but in actual fact it was (or at least began) as Class Warfare. People simply resented bringing their family heirlooms to pawnshops in an attempt to get money to eat. They resented the fact that many pawnshops were owned by Jewish and Gypsy folks.

I believe that is why Israel asked and received a 10 year commitment from the U.S. last month ..... because they know full well that the American public will not stand for the parasitic nature of the Jewish State much longer. Especially during a downturn with the U.S. economy.

The ADL and AIPAC must of advised their media consultants to place this fantasy story into the media.

Every Bar Mitzvah has a Jewish person take an oath and where they swear that it will always be "Israel First and Foremost". Those Bush cabinet and government appointees who pushed and lied our way our way into Iraq are well known to Americans. The oath taken at their Bar Mitzvah is well understood now.

This little fairytale story here is just an attempt to lessen the mistrust that is quite noticeable within the Gentile population around the world.

The real test will be if American Jews refuse to finance the Jewish State, and not just complain or seek compassion.

The same people who scream at Christmas time to remove Christian artifacts from our public spaces are the same folks who send millions to Israel while Israel itself is claiming to be a "Jewish State". The duplicity does not go unnoticed.

Calm

» RE: Just Another Scam Posted by: reinaldok
» RE: Just Another Scam Posted by: calm
» RE: Just Another Scam Posted by: Joshua Holland
» RE: Just Another Scam Posted by: calm
» RE: Just Another Scam Posted by: eric555
» RE: Just Another Scam Posted by: cellorelio
» Eretz Yisrael Posted by: calm
This comment has been removed from the site due to non-compliance with AlterNet's community policies.
» Why I despise Calm. Posted by: yellow
» RE: Why I despise Calm. Posted by: calm
» RE: Why I despise Calm. Posted by: calm
» RE: Why I despise Calm. Posted by: TagsNOLA
» What a load of crap, yellow. Posted by: justaguy
» Propaganda by omission. Posted by: justaguy
» Another omission from you... Posted by: justaguy
Jewish Influence Within America
Posted by: calm on Sep 15, 2007 4:45 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It would be quite impossible for the Jewish Folks to have such influence within our culture without the Jewish Folks acting like a "gang" of sorts. They must give fellow Jews priority in every transaction or promotion within our society. It would be impossible to have this much success and chalk it all up to "Education" or just plain "Luck".

Look at the influence and the positions of power they hold and yet they represent less then 3% of the American population.

I'd appreciate anyone who could detail to me how that is possible without some type of conspiracy or a "Gang" mentality being practiced amongst Jewish folks. And where concerted efforts to promote from within their own ranks or "Gang" has them maintain this influence within our society. Show me any other country where such a small minority has such huge influence. It just can't be chalked up as "Fluke".

Christian's represent 8% of the Israeli population, but none are members of parliament or of the cabinet.

As Jewish author and political science professor Benjamin Ginsberg has pointed out:

[I]Since the 1960s, Jews have come to wield considerable influence in American economic, cultural, intellectual and political life. Jews played a central role in American finance during the 1980s, and they were among the chief beneficiaries of that decade's corporate mergers and reorganizations. [/I]

[I]Today, though barely two percent of the nation's population is Jewish, close to half its billionaires are Jews. The chief executive officers of the three major television networks and the four largest film studios are Jews, as are the owners of the nation's largest newspaper chain and the most influential single newspaper, the New York Times ... The role and influence of Jews in American politics is equally marked ...[/I]

[I]Jews are only three percent of the nation's population and comprise eleven percent of what this study defines as the nation's elite. However, Jews constitute more than 25 percent of the elite journalists and publishers, more than 17 percent of the leaders of important voluntary and public interest organizations, and more than 15 percent of the top ranking civil servants.[/I]

Two well-known Jewish writers, Seymour Lipset and Earl Raab, pointed out in their 1995 book, Jews and the New American Scene:

[I]During the last three decades Jews [in the United States] have made up 50 percent of the top two hundred intellectuals ... 20 percent of professors at the leading universities ... 40 percent of partners in the leading law firms in New York and Washington ... 59 percent of the directors, writers, and producers of the 50 top-grossing motion pictures from 1965 to 1982, and 58 percent of directors, writers, and producers in two or more primetime television series.[/I]

One person who has carefully studied this subject is Jonathan J. Goldberg, now editor of the influential Jewish community weekly Forward. In his 1996 book, Jewish Power, he wrote:

[I]In a few key sectors of the media, notably among Hollywood studio executives, Jews are so numerically dominant that calling these businesses Jewish-controlled is little more than a statistical observation ...[/I]

[I]Hollywood at the end of the twentieth century is still an industry with a pronounced ethnic tinge. Virtually all the senior executives at the major studios are Jews. Writers, producers, and to a lesser degree directors are disproportionately Jewish — one recent study showed the figure as high as 59 percent among top-grossing films.[/I]

[I]The combined weight of so many Jews in one of America's most lucrative and important industries gives the Jews of Hollywood a great deal of political power. They are a major source of money for Democratic candidates.[/I]

» RE: Jewish support group Posted by: Mercurial Georgia
» RE: Jewish Influence Within America Posted by: civilized european
» Details? Posted by: justaguy
» Israel is NOT a democracy. Posted by: justaguy
» RE: Apartheid laws of Israel Posted by: Ydotheyhateus
» RE: more apartheid Laws of Israel Posted by: Ydotheyhateus
Thank you, brave author
Posted by: mnascimento on Sep 15, 2007 5:08 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
One does get the impression that American Jews are lockstep advocates for all Israeli policies, and that Israel, through the advocacy of American Jewish citizenry exert undue influence upon US foreign policy. Mainstream media through their efforts at slant and spin in Israel's favor, promote rather than diminish this impression.
There are, unfortunately, anti-semites. But calling everyone who questions the apparent excesses of violence and oppression perpetrated by the Israeli Government, anti-semites, only seems to add to the fomenting backlash. They are inadvertantly calling into question of the objectivity of Jews in this government, and in other spheres of influence. Joe Lieberman, is an example; is he a US senator or a foreign agent?
I sometimes read articles in Israeli newspapers to reassure myself that there are people in Israel who are humane, and who are appalled at what is happening to the Palestinians, as well as what happens to Jews.
I am releved that this author has the courage write and remind us critical thinking abounds, and hopefully will prevail.

Seeing Is Believing
Posted by: jim_altman on Sep 15, 2007 5:47 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I love Israel. I love the story of Israel. It would be the realization of a dream to live in a kibbutz for 6 months or a year, but only once the present insanity is ended. Like the author relates above, on my first trip to Israel I saw the Palestinian refugee camps and immediately related images from apartheid South Africa. I saw teenaged Israeli boys and girls walking about in public places with loaded automatic weapons and realized how so many minor conflicts can escalate so quickly into major violence. The humiliation of border crossing into and out from Jordan was worse than the entry into Communist East Berlin, and I was with a religious tour group composed primarily of white-haired ladies and gentlemen. How much worse is the experience for the "obviously" Palestinian? And, this was before the two Bush Crusades. On a second journey, I saw the contentious fruit groves of the Jordan Valley and realized some of the alterior motives of West Bank settlements. I've spoken with expatriated Palestinians in Amman and beleaguered shop owners in East Jerusalem. Much opinion is expressed by people with no real experience of the reality on the ground in Israel. More frustrating are the blinders some seem to wear who live there or know the place well. Like the audiences that frustrated the prophets, many just cannot see how unjust their actions are. Everyone else may be an "evil-doer, " but them. Ezekiel warned, "When all is desolate, then you will know." I pray that reality can be avoided.

Thank you oh so much
Posted by: freedom38 on Sep 15, 2007 6:17 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Thank you for telling me that mu family isn't the only one out there that views Israel as a source of unnecessary conflict.

I wouldn't exactly say that I'm a "self-hating Jew"- I'm not even a Jew. According to orthodox tradition, my mother's mother was Jewish, therefore my mother's Jewish, therefore I'm Jewish. I like to go by my own definition: I'm an atheist with Jewish heritage.

I have friends who closely link themselves to Israel, some of whom are even living there, and I have friends who closely link themselves to Palestine, so much so that any "insult" to Palestine becomes a personal attack. The same could be said of some of my family's Jewish and Israeli friends. My mother is one of those who has spoken out about the similarities between the two warring groups- you won't hear her on any news channel, but I can guarantee that within our own circle she's been loud enough for them to hear he, and they don't like it.

We also have Israeli friends who agree about the unnecessary nature of the conflict.

This is one of those wars over religion that the world can and should do without- the War on Iraq is another one.

These people are so similar in so many ways- if the children of one side became friends with the children of the other side, they would see how stupid the conflict is.

In 50-100 years, Israel/Palestine will be underwater. It's just a piece of land that people are fighting over.

We should create two new states- one called Isreal and one called Palestine- that are exact replicas of Isreal/Palestine. Then we can relocate the people, ship over the Wailing Wall and any other important religious artifacts, and make sure that they have a democratic government.

All we have to do is wait for the next volcano.

It's a stupid solution- I agree. However, the conflict is even more stupid. As a third grader, I saw that wars between people were stupid- I wrote a play that showed how two sides of a conflict, if given the opportunity to get to learn about each other, would discover their similarities and be ashamed of themselves for having fought with each other.

Now, Israel and Palestine have a lot of full-grown people who should know better. If given the proper education about each other, they will.

Thank you again for pointing out that dissenters like me are not alone- nor should they be.

If the world had more dissenters, it would be a better place, for then we'd all be pointing out problems and suggesting solutions.

Traditional prejudices should be left out of the equation.

» RE: Thank you oh so much Posted by: Ydotheyhateus
Much-needed conversation
Posted by: Urstrly on Sep 15, 2007 6:25 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Let's hope Karon is correct that attempts to suppress criticism of any act taken by Israel are taken in desperation over fears that the United States will no longer give its blanket approval. We need a far more sophisticated approach to our policy there, and I'm always astounded when Americans who freely criticize our own government refuse to say a bad word about Israel's treatment of the Palistinians. That silence extends to many elected Democrats (and presidential candidates) as well as Republicans.

Karon doesn't mention the influence of the religious right on this crucial issue. As in South Africa where support for racial apartheid went hand in glove with uncritical support for Israel, many fundamentalist Christians are opposed to racial equality. Their support for Israel has the selfish motive of advancing what they believe are their chances to rule the roost in Heaven. The Jews are bit players in this scenario, but that hasn't stopped the Bush government and Israel's lobby from catering those whom Mark Crispin Miller calls christofascists.

All that aside, there is still genuine anti-Semitism in the US, and more than a little paranoia about the Jews, which I see in calm's post. One way to address all these issues is to support the right of authors like Carter and Walt and Chris Hedges to speak freely, whether or not we agree with every detail of their analysis. It's ironic that Zionism itself contributes to a movement toward American fascism.

Support for Israel remains in America's best interest
Posted by: robchapman on Sep 15, 2007 6:30 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The debate about US support for Israel is moving away from foreign policy matters and more and more toward domestic polarization.

US support for Israel is vital to their national well-being, there is no way that they can implement meaningful peace accords for the Palestineans without our military, diplomatic and financial backing.

US support for Israel provides us with a powerful and democratic ally in an unstable region. Good relations with Egypt, a key Arab country sprang from and are consanant with our relationship with Israel.

It is easy to say that we provide Israel with too much aid and that we are too uncritical of their bad actions, because both of these statements are true. But this does not justify the virulent anti-Israeli sentiments or the calls for a cut-off in aid that are frequently expressed on the American left.

In supporting Israel, I increasingly find myself alligned with right wing Christians and Jews with whom I disagree vehemently on most matters. This suupport for Israel seems grounded in religious reasons and the people seem incapable of thinking about Israel outside the biblical context.

The propensity of the conservatives to base their Israel policy on the Bible is, in my opinion, an abuse of religion. Nevertheless, as much as the religious sentiments complicate the discussion on Israel, the scurrilous left wing attacks on the integrity of the State of Israel are equally unfounded.

The security, prosperity and normalcy of the middle east begin with guarantees of normalcy, properity and security for the State of Israel.

Excellent, Lucid, Enlightening
Posted by: itzamirakul on Sep 15, 2007 6:34 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Thank you. You tied together so many truths.

Israel and the Bomb
Posted by: reinaldok on Sep 15, 2007 6:40 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It is now 62 years since the opening of the nuclear war era.
In spite of reading so many "explanations" as to why Truman and his cabal found it absolutely necessary to use the atomic bombs, I still cannot fathom, the utilization of nuclear weapons. That said - why then is it perfectly acceptable for Israel to possess huge stockpiles of agressive nuclear devices but it is totally unacceptable for Iran? Is this just another case of the basically racist attirudes of the USA and other world governments? I certainly don't believe that Iran should have WMD's. But that same situation must exist for the USA, all the other nuclear countries and of course Israel.
Is it just the we (the northamericans) think that the Iranis and of course the Iraqis are among the world's "little" people and that we belong to today's master race?

» RE: Israel and the Bomb Posted by: AlienSlave
IT'S ABOUT TIME
Posted by: VZEQICVA on Sep 15, 2007 6:49 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Someone has to point out the difference between a religious group and a nation. Most American Jews do not have Israeli ancestors. To fault a country for political reasons is not meant to insult the other group along with it. The article is excellent and it's good to see that this distinction is being made by the Jewish people themselves. It's long overdue. Thank you, ANNA

Always nice to see this topic discussed!
Posted by: thoughtcriminal on Sep 15, 2007 7:38 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We can easily dispense with the myth that Israel is the sole representative of Judaism in the world. My favorite example is the reopening of the Rykestrasse Synagogue in Germany (AP). The best response to genocide is to just show up again! So I'd say this to all American Jews - support the German Jewish movement, not the Zionist apartheid state of Israel.

Let's discuss the roots of Zionism, which were born in the racist and eugenic days of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Basically, the idea was the Europe would never accept the Jews, so they had to form a new country somewhere else where they'd be free of persecution. This is a common idea among various groups - another example is the Mormon state of Utah. Even black Americans sometimes had such notions - Marcus Garvey thought that white America would never accept black equality, and so called for a 'back to Africa' movement.

I think all such notions are deeply wrongheaded. The fact is that different peoples from different backgrounds can indeed live side by side in peace without resorting to civil war. The most hopeful example of this in the Middle East is Lebanon, where currently, despite serious efforts by the US, Israeli and Syrian actors to foment civil war, the country has refused to go along with it. Sure, there are tensions, but the rest of the Middle East should look to Lebanon as an example of how to get along with one another.

Having said all that, Israel is a failed state that needs serious reform. The walls need to come down, and there needs to be an end to this ridiculous notion of an Israeli state that surrounds Palestinian 'homelands'. Yes, that means that Jews might be in the minority - so what? Jews have been in the minority for thousands of years, and it hasn't stopped the religion and culture from flourishing and surviving despite harsh repression.

The police and army in Israel say that they have security, and that they're willing to sacrifice human rights and liberty in the name of security. As Ben Franklin said, those who take that stance deserve neither.

I think its high time that people in the United States take on Israeli human rights abuses the same way we took on South African human rights abuses: divestment from the country. We need to pressure pension funds and universities to withdraw their investments from Israel until the apartheid state is ended - and we also need to convince certain 'US liberals' that the calling for a two-state solution is the wrong approach - noone called for a 'white state' and a 'black state' in the case of South Africa, so why are people calling for a 'White Jewish State' and an "Arab Palestinian State' in the Middle East?

The geopolitical implications are more serious than in the case of South Africa, and the main issue here is Israel's arsenal of 400+ nuclear weapons, including thermonukes. A complete disclosure and discussion of the destabilizing role of a tiny state armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons in the most volatile region of the world is long overdue. Personally, I think Israel would be better off without its nuclear weapons - the notion that they are there to 'prevent another Holocaust' is paranoid nonsense - do the German Jews need nukes to protect themselves? Please.

A TOTAL PSYCHO...
Posted by: Roverton on Sep 15, 2007 9:04 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
... can grab ANY piece of land and say they lead it. We know that all too well now.

History is stuffed thick with the proof. It is not a hatred of the Israeli people, but certain individuals in power and their policies. Any nation that causes the suffering of humans should be in the light of day to be seen and understood.

Israel
Posted by: InsertNameHere on Sep 15, 2007 9:04 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Why should people continue to bother with such a troublesome little country? If Israel had no importance strategically, they would be left to rot, just like most of the poor brown people in Africa.

If Hitler had stayed within his own borders and conducted his acts of genocide, the rest of Europe, Britain and the US, wouldn't have lifted a finger and Hitler would have died peacefully in his sleep a few decades later. That's a damn fact and it's high time people started facing it. You disagree? Look at all of the brutal dictators the West has propped up and how many acts of genocide have been conveniently tossed aside.

If your country has no strategic importance or resources to extract, What use does the West have for you? Don't bore me with slogans about 'humanitarian intervention' and 'noble wars'. Every country has it's dirty secrets. Buried within the foundation of every nation is an act of genocide. For us North Americans, it's the near-destruction of a race of Natives.

I'm really glad Alternet is publishing this article
Posted by: janvdb on Sep 15, 2007 9:10 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'd like to see this, and other articles like it, get more press.

Let me say first, I'm 100% Gentile.

I love Jews. Broadly speaking, they are so much brighter, more intense, more gifted than others . . .

Such lovely eyes.

It is not mystery, nor is it proof of any "conspiracy" or "gang" that they comprise such a high percentage of our elite. They got where they are through merit. Higher-than-average inherited intelligence, a culture of good parenting, a clear pattern of valuing and excelling in school, a strong work ethic . . . these people are "in control" or "influential" or whatever they are because we have an open meritocracy where those who earn it, get it.

But I hate Israel.

I oppose the very idea of a "Jewish state" as a racist concept. I am one of those people who has said things like "Gaza is Auschwitz on the Mediterranean." I think that all Jewish art stolen by Hitler should be sold and the money used to compensate the Palestinians for the real estate the Jews stole in 1948. Or, better, both groups should be compensated on an equal basis. Both sets of claims are indistinguishable in merit.

I'm disgusted and alarmed by the steady stream of propoganda put out by extreme Zionist groups and I'm shocked by the atmosphere of intimidation which silences legitimate criticism of Israeli policies.

I hope that this vibrant people works out this problem. I hope it doesn't destroy their collective soul or bring down upon them another bloody experience.

It's dangerous to gain power over others. Even if gained fairly.

Jan VanDenBerg

Sorry, this comment has been removed from the system.
» It should make the top 10... Posted by: justaguy
Changing horses in the middle of the stream
Posted by: grn1 on Sep 15, 2007 9:26 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Zionism is a failure and so is Americas involvement in militarily aggressive behavior that has not given more rights or more power to people but has confiscated all moral obligation necessary to carry out its original intention. Many Zionist are confounded to the rise in ant-semite resonance but refuse to take responsibilty for actions promoting this behavior. It is exclusive, secretive, and destructive to zionist and jews more than anyone else. I do not speak against the Jewish people I fear for them, just as I fear for the Americans who have found themselves embroiled in the zionist neocon tragedy that has ruthlessly caused genocide throughout the middle-east. This would be where the definition of anti-semitism exists.

daniela
Posted by: Daniela on Sep 15, 2007 9:31 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
1. I'm not Jewish so please forgive me for commenting on this story, but this has been my experience. 2. I'm 78 years old now, grew up in Montana where there were very few Jewish people, but greatly admired many in public life and my favorite professor at the U of M. was Leslie Fiedler who wrote "The Last Jew in America". I became a singer and sang in opera and Broadway shows in L.A. and New York and in Temple for High Holidays in L.A. I was also in the show "Milk and Honey", about life in Israel viv-a vis the Arab-Israeli conflict, for three years (on Broadway, on tour and in stock). I learned a lot of Yiddish and loved the people and the spirit,
but, later, the treatment of the Palestinians began to weigh on my mind and the constant raising of money to send to Israel by the Zionists at events for which I was singing began to trouble me, as I listened to the speeches, so after one event at the Beverly Hilton in L.A. at which Debby Reynolds and I were performing I swore to myself that I would refuse to perform for any more Zionist fund-raisers. I still love and admire Jewish people, both orthodox and reform, and, yes, have many, many friends who are Jewish, but Zionism seems so fraught with pain for so many in the countries surrounding Israel that I question the worthiness, and the practicality of continuing, bull-headedly, this course. Is there no other way that Jewish Israelis can relate to their neighbors? Have they painted themselves into a corner from which there's no escape? I pray that another way will be found for this bright, energetic, sincere group of people to live in Israel or for them to be willing to leave for some south sea island or just to continue to integrate into other countries where they'll be well received. Please forgive me if I have misspoken or hurt anyone in any way by these comments.

Juliet
Posted by: juliet on Sep 15, 2007 9:35 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Excellent analysis. From Tony Karon's mouth to God's ear!

same old, same old
Posted by: skydog on Sep 15, 2007 10:22 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's the same, tired, old technique of the fascists: dare to criticize the status quo, and you're a traitor. Either march in lock step or be ostracized.

It's so same, so tired, and so old, it's surprising that it holds any sway at all, save with the crowd that would stoop (or should I say "stupe" as in "positively stupefying") to that level.

I'm not Jewish, but I'm a racist for putting Mexican-Americans' jobs before Mexicans' jobs. So I have an inkling.

I wouldn't dwell on it too much.

Thank you Alternet
Posted by: EJW on Sep 15, 2007 11:15 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Just when I want to give up on you, you do something right. Now lets hear about Dennis Kucinich. And Depleted Uranium.

911 and Iraq War Due to USA Support of Israel
Posted by: sofla100 on Sep 15, 2007 11:17 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The United States has paid a very heavy price for its support of Israel. Often overlooked by those who support her is the fact that a majority of the antipathy in the Arab world arises from this unequivocal support. 911 and bin Laden arose out of this support, support which has totaled hundreds of billions in military and economic aid over the decades. USA wars in Iraq and possibly next in Iran stem from this support. The Palestinian issue is a thorn that won't go away. With its unequivocal support, the USA ensures Israel has no motivation, since they always hold the upper-hand militarily, to resolve the crisis. Finally, the USA ends up in its support of Israel with only some of the most repressive governments in the Arab world as her ally. Egypt and Saudi Arabia being prime examples. Both countries governments effectively try to hide their alliances with the USA from their own peoples, for fear if the truth came out, their governments would fall. So, finally, what has the USA gained, Enemies that were never ours to begin with.

their is a Dark side in each of us.
Posted by: leedavis546@msn.com on Sep 15, 2007 11:33 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I read the previous Article, and I am reminded how Money, and power are so difficult for most of us to deal with. what happens, all to often when the tables are turned, and the Slave becomes the slave owner, the person who was once a slave, behaves much like the slave owner, That Person Hated so much.

Thanks, Tony
Posted by: dayenta on Sep 15, 2007 12:55 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Tony, you are brave and this is an excellent article.
l'Shalom,
dayenta

» RE: Thanks, Tony Posted by: Paxmana1
My friend's son went to a private JEWISH school in high school. Here's the shocker.
Posted by: maxpayne on Sep 15, 2007 1:54 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
When he asked his high school history teacher, herself a jew, about teaching the history of Saudi Arabia and the US relationship, the history teacher gave a pathetic response:

"The school has the right to decide what to teach in the school curriculm. There are some portions of world history which will take too long to teach."

He asked the teacher about cutting down on changing current events assignments to research on history in the middle east and here's the teacher's pathetic response:

"If you don't like what we're doing then why not take another class. And if you ask another question against our curriculm, I will have to send you to the principle on disruption charges."

You know, maybe the kid has a very good point. The Jews both at home and in Israel are NEVER given the real history. As a result, they grow up with prejudicial thinking unless they get education outside the school system be it high school or college.

A Little Perspective here
Posted by: SatanicJamboree on Sep 15, 2007 2:15 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It is the ideology of tyrants and criminals that equates the state of Israel with Judaism. As long as this attitude reigns, peace in the M.E. is impossible for so many reasons that should be obvious by now.

However, I would still maintain that Israel is being singled out. I do not believe this is always because it is self identified as a "Jewish state"--the reasons are more involved than that. And Palestinian Arabs have suffered greatly and needlessly at the hands of the Israeli government. But, please, a moment of clarity here! Consider Israel's worst crimes in the light of the misdeeds of ANY modern industrial state and--in my estimation--they pale in comparison. There is the oft referred to Nazi holocaust--which was responsible for the slaughter of millions of gays, communists, gypsies, slavs, as well as 6 million Jews--but what about the estimated 15 million native Americans; the utter rape, genocide and destruction of African nations and cultures in the last generation of the 19th century; the shameful acts in China and India for centuries, but especially the end of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries; blatant, immoral acts of aggression right up to the present day--including what's happening in Iraq right now!

The list goes on and on--and the question remains: why should we expect Israel to act any differently than any other modern state--can you imagine if the U.S. or any European nation, Japan, probably China, etc. was surrounded by nations with leaders who had often and publically called for its complete destruction? Well I can--and Israel's foreign policy would look mild and reasonable in comparison.

This is NOT a justification--in fact I join everyone here in condemning the atrocious acts of Israel against the palestinians in particular, just as I would (and do!) condemn the atrocious acts of any other modern state. My point is that it's time to consider that it's not this or that state (Israel, etc.) but the modern state per se that needs drastic reform. Israel is nothing but an extension of the modern western state thrust into a place where it did not belong. Jews could have had a homeland that did NOT copy this sociopolitical form. But let's face it, neither the U.S. nor the tattered post-war remnants of Europe would have tolerated that. The U.S. (and eventually the British, et. al.) backed the most extreme--and definitely pro-West/anti-Arab-- elements of the Zionist movement with the purpose of gaining a "foothold" in the most strategically important place in the world.

I once heard a prominent republican Congressman actually say: "An attack on Israel is an attack on America"...kind of demonstrates what I'm talking about...don't you think?

» RE: A Little Perspective here Posted by: Naturalboy
"Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself"!
Posted by: Naturalboy on Sep 15, 2007 3:01 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
And as descendant of that strange mulatto sect of a long deceased and utterly irrelevant isrealite 'faith', I say disband the notion of zionism, and let the long-dead and pointless elitist, separatist, arrogant 'chosen' go the way of the prior ancient 'chosens' such as the ancient Egyptians, Sumerians, ancient Romans and whoever else from that region and era who thought so highly of themselves that they deserved a religious state at the expense of everyone else.

Get thee back in the closet if thee so choose to be the arrogant, separatist, ruthless, rascist, mass-murdering, hyper-militarized tribe they insist on trying to be.

Jews are people too, which means, Get off the high horse and blend. There is NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT JEWS, yet they still claim some sort of special genetic predisposition to godliness.

Having been descendants of jews, and recognizing the criminal farce that "zionism" turned out to be does NOT mean one is self-hating, any more than germans who hated Nazis hated their ethnicity. Israeli militants, like all militants, are a bunch of brain-dead, racist, macho, murdering robocops, and need to be publically punished for their crimes. The horrors of the holocaust are no excuse for doing war-crimes unto others!

To quote George Carlin on the Ten Commandments: "Keep thy religion to thyself". Either zionites need to buy every scrap of their ridiculous blood-soaked uninhabitable desert at fair market value, or buy something else, but they need to stop bothering the world with their selfish medieval atrocities day after day, year after year.

Heed the words of the great Ralph Shoenman, and if indeed it is shown that Isrealis had ANYTHING to do with 911, basically they are already toast.

Remember Rachel Corrie!

» Continued Posted by: eric555
Using the "Holocaust" for Leverage
Posted by: sofla100 on Sep 15, 2007 3:26 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A big problem with Israel is the extent to which the Holocaust has become the defining event of "the Jewish state," and how some Zionists want to define Judaism exclusively this way. When you use a tragedy, such as the Holocaust, to define your existence, then you move next to the "never again" way of thinking. But, this "never again" way of thinking just invites more calamity. Israel today sees no problem invading neighboors like Lebanon, no problem with millions of Palestinians living in squalor, no problem having hundreds of nuclear weapons stored and ready for use. It is always for Israelis that we must be ready for "never again." And, we live in "a sea of hostile neighboors" is the justification for being a militarized state. This "never again" approach is also trumped continuously on American Jews and the US Congress as leverage for more and more money, more and more military aid. The problem, Israelis must finally realize is that the Palestinians are not the Germans of 1940 who butchered them. Furthermore, the Holocaust was bad, but others have suffered as well. Stalin butchered perhaps 20 million in the Russian Empire of the time and starved a good 4 million plus in the Ukraine. The American Indians were butchered to the tune of millions. Look at Rwanda and Cambodia. But, I don't see them all setting up secular states and collectively bullying their neighboors (like Israel). So, their comes a point where it is time to move on, quite the guilt complex, and let history be history. Judaism, like other relgions, has many nice customs and traditions it can focus on. Just focusing on tragedy and trauma of a half century ago has created and turned Israel into a sick state based on paranoia, and continued tragedy visited on her neighboors.

mick3
Posted by: mick3 on Sep 15, 2007 4:17 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's about time American Jews, who are usually so idealistic and ready to defend others' rights, turned on the butchers of Israel, no better than the Nazi's who unwittingly gave the push needed to carve Israel out of Palestinian land. Okay, so there's a religious angle. What a crock! All religion is mythology; the current ones are merely modern mythology. And for that, people maim, kill, torture, deprive of basic human rights and all the rest of it. Good old religion! Keeping the population down the hard way.

On the subject of Israel's Thousand Year Reich
Posted by: Mercurial Georgia on Sep 15, 2007 4:34 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I seem to recall that Albert Einstein, a cultural Jew, voiced worries about the politicalizing of the Jewish identity, though he at the time supported Israel too?

Israel has appointed itself as the decider over what 'real jews' are, and what 'real jews' ought to believe and support.

China, a neighbour of Middle East, and Europe, had people other than Hans and other Chinese tribes living there for ages. We had, the Kaifeng Jews. So the Kaifeng Jews did marry with the Han Chinese, and at one point, became one with the local Muslim community...but they are still identify as Jews(-Chinese).

Israel disagrees, and don't consider the Kaifeng Jews, 'real Jews'. I don't know if it was the Muslim part, the not as strictly religious part, or the not-quite-white anymore part. Edward Greenspan, a Canadian lawyer whose biography I read for English class, has a wife who is a black Jew, and he too, observed the unfortunate existent of racism among some white Jews. South Park noted this too, in their episode about Jew scouts.

Israel is racist, how can it not be racist, that a "right of return" is offered and advertised to anyone who is Jewish, who had never been to Israel, but not to Arabs who used to live there?. ...and does anyone remember Heinreich Himmler's preoccupation with returning those of Aryan blood to Germany?

At one point in recent time, there were more Jewish immigration to Germany, than Israel, at which point, Israel spoke up to Germany, and Germany tightened their immigration policies, which now includes a must-speak-German requirement.


- MG

Israel and Anti-Semiticism / Jewish homeland
Posted by: Mercurial Georgia on Sep 15, 2007 5:41 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We are humans, at hearts we can be senseless, tribal in our feelings in accepting the ease of generalization because it is easier than to judge everything case by case. We are also people now, and therefore, we should try.

Israel, as it started, and as it is now, is bad for the Middle East, bad for the Arabs, and bad for the Jews. Israel is bad for the Jews it lured into its conflicted land, and Israel is bad for the Jews. The political government of Israel had sought to make itself identified as one with the Jewish people, but in doing so, it reflect its bad deeds onto those who are Jewish.

I believe, that Jews, and non-Jews, must resist the definition of Jews as pushed by Israel. I resent what Israel does to Middle East, but I also, RESIST recognizing what Israel does, as the actions of The Jewish People, for it is not. The Israeli government is Jewish...in descend, and its policies seeks to favours those it identify as Jewish, but it is not the defining face of The Jewish People.

I detest the Patriarchy, and while all men are privileged by it (whether they intend to or not), I won't hate a man simply for being male. I detest Israel, and while its Jewish citizens are privileged within its borders (however they are also harmed though to lesser extent), I won't hate someone for simply being Jewish, there is no fault in that.

If a Jew were to support the oppression of natives necessary to make dominant living space* for Jews of the world, that person in question, should be condemned as a militant, for his/her callous disregard for human rights. Not for being a Jew.

That some Jews are using the tragic past of their people, as justification for passing on the abuse, is still no excuse for actual Anti-Semitism at all. It is not just to condemn someone for simply being what they are, instead of for what they do.

*living space; everyone is entitled a living space to exist, everyone is entitled to keep their home. Therefore, no one is entitled to /make/ a living space by driving out the natives. I'm look