Guest poster Sophia on the CNN "religious warriors" sham

Sophia wrote a great comment on the CNN miniseries this week that deserves its own post:

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I have watched all three segments, practically fell asleep during the third (on "Christian Warriors"; was very interested by the second, and was deeply disturbed by the first, which showed Jews as extremists, ugly, rich, and manipulative, not to mention violent, thieving, and bad.

On the other hand, we had uber WASPs Jimmy Carter, George HW Bush, James Baker, Charles Percy and John Mearscheimer - people deeply involved in big business and international politics - explaining how the sneaky, pushy, manipulative Joos run the US. The term "more powerful than Foggy Bottom" was actually used by Amanpour, as were these statements:

"6,000 miles away, in New York, defiance comes dressed in diamonds... God's Jewish Warriors in America...

"With a smile and a song, they ignore their government's policies."

This came packaged with references to "illegal" settlements and of course, Meir Kahane.

This cartoon was maybe a high point:


http://www.coxandforkum.com/arch...ves/ 000785.html

C & F seem interested to discover that they are presented as part of a Jewish conspiracy, go figure.

http://www.coxandforkum.com/arch...ves/ 001180.html

CNN did manage to scrounge up some hapless fools who had prepared a bomb, but fortunately were arrested by Israeli police before they could set it off. Their target was a Palestinian girl's school - an abominable thing to even contemplate. However rather than attributing this nauseating plot to Judaism it would have been more to the point to metnion the attack that didn't fail: the one that killed 26 Israeli schoolchildren at Ma'alot in 1974, and wounded 60 other people.

Baruch Goldman was prominently featured of course, along with a conspirator who had had designs on the Dome of the Rock, but fortunately was caught and imprisoned and has since renounced violence.

It is interesting to note that one can practically count all these "warriors" on one hand - was this mentioned? NO. There was no discussion of Judaism, no tender scene of a Jewish mother or wife with her family, as there were in both the Muslim and Christian segments.

Not mentioned at all was the REAL destruction of Jewish holy sites, nor the fact that following the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank & East Jerusalem in 1948, Jews were forbidden even to worship in Hebron or at the Kotel.

However, Sabra and Shatilla sneaked in; though Amanpour did mention that it was a Lebanese Christian job, merely invoking Sabra and Shatilla cast yet another pall on the Jewish people. For the fact of the matter is, we have always been collectively responsible even for things we didn't actually do. And I fear this program will merely incite more hatred and misunderstanding, rather than build a bridge as Amanpour stated she wanted to do in the case of the Islamic "warriors".

In contrast, even the most extreme Muslims were given a human face. Interesting aspects of Shia theocracy were investigated. There was no real investigation of Saudi Arabian extremism, however, though Qutb was mentioned, and his aversion to American materialism; of course Muslim Brotherhood was discussed but in the context of a "moderate", mainstream political party oppressed by the Egyptian government.

There was a Palestinian suicide terrorist prominently featured but even he was given a warmly human face: he had hoped to be an artist, and turned to terror after witnessing an Israeli raid that killed a young girl who died in his arms.

No such humanity was granted G*d's Jewish Warriors. No such context, no discussion of the fear and hardship confronting Israel and the Jewish people; even the security barrier was mocked - Amanpour did interview an Israeli lawyer who works for Palestinians affected by the barrier, as well as a Palestinian man who had to move when the Western Wall plaza was constructed. His sad plight was detailed at length and horrible bulldozers were prominently featured.

No. No humanity, no context, no history was granted G*d's Jewish Warriors.

And that is very great shame.