Monday, December 16, 2013
Why anti-Zionism is still anti-Semitic: reply to critics
If anti-Zionism wants to be an intellectually respectable position, it needs to directly address the charges against it by answering these questions:Israel Has the Right to Exist – Now the Left Must Defend It
1. Which other nations have lost their right to self-determine through their conduct, or are the Jews singularly evil? Alternatively, which other countries that should not have been created should also have their independence reversed?
2. With the horrors of persecution fresh in living memory, is it reasonable to expect Jews to exchange the sovereign equality they presently enjoy for permanent subordination to the very states that once persecuted them?
3. How will anti-Zionists fully guarantee Jews’ personal safety from anti-Semitic persecution after they revoke the right of Jews to be the ultimate guarantors of their own security?
It’s just not good enough to fall back on the old canard that Jews only equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism in order to to silence dissent. Far from it: I want to hear these people account for themselves. Anti-Zionists must answer these three questions head-on if they are to purge the stench of anti-Semitism that is so redolent in their ideology.
Israel is fighting for its right to exist with one hand tied behind its back. The left hand.Palestinian red line
Conservatives strongly support Israel. We have won that battle. Only on the extreme right wing, the lunatic fringe of fascists and skinheads, do we find Israel haters and Jew bashers on that side.
But it’s a different story on the left. One needn’t travel far from the center of conventional liberal opinion to find anti-Israel sentiment—even virulent anti-Israel sentiment—on the left.
Among otherwise sensible liberals, the question of an entire nation’s existence is an acceptable subject of polite conversation.
That state of affairs would be shocking if we weren’t so used to it. But, as a liberal, I will never get used to it, because it is a perversion of everything liberalism stands for.
Despite the image of untrustworthiness, Palestinians give great importance to the language used in the documents they are asked to sign. Yasser Arafat, generally viewed by most Israelis as an accomplished liar, refused to sign an agreement in 2000 that included a clause about an end to all demands. For him the conflict could end only by the eventual demise of Israel. Similarly, Abbas cannot bring himself to put his signature to a document which says that the Jews have returned to their homeland. We know that the perception of Jews being foreign invaders of Palestine is a fundamental widespread Palestinian attitude, which is instilled in the younger generations in the PA-run schools.The Alarming Rise of Campus Anti-Semitism
The 3D’s, coupled with physical intimidation, make up the toxic mix that confront Jewish students on too many U.S. campuses today. University presidents must take personal charge of campus-wide campaigns to push back. In addition to promptly disciplining those who engage in harassment of Jewish students, university administrators from the top down should work hard to foster “an environment of civility,” according to Kenneth L. Marcus, President and General Counsel of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights under Law and former Staff Director at the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Administrators should not take the politically safe route, he advises. Speaking out publicly against campus anti-Semitism is more effective “than taking a quieter approach” that sweeps the problem under the rug. They should explain, Marcus recommends, how anti-Semitic incidents on campus “resemble other ugly incidents which the administration has addressed with equal seriousness” and explain “the future and ongoing policies and practices which will prevent recurrences.” (h/t Bob Knot)Mohammad Hammad issues a personal statement. Hint: its not an apology
The vast majority of the organizations charged with protecting the safety of the Jewish community have condemned Mohammad's words. The vast majority of the organized Jewish community and the blogsphere also expressed their collective outrage. What Mohammad describes as a "smear campaign" against him, characterized by "selective quotations and other misrepresentation" was the unified gasp of revulsion at his words by those who genuinely feared for the safety of Jewish students on campus.Israel holds Lebanon responsible for soldier's shooting death
To Mohammad- in what context would this EVER be acceptable? (h/t Bob Knot)
Israel Defense Forces Master Sgt. Shlomi Cohen, 31, from the northern town of Afula, was killed Sunday night by Lebanese sniper fire while driving alone near the Israel-Lebanon border in an unarmored military vehicle.Soldier’s killer surrenders to Lebanese authorities
The Israel Defense Forces returned fire after the incident, hitting a Lebanese army position across the border, and troops converged on the area and canvassed it to ensure that the border had not been breached. Military spokeswoman Lt. Libby Weiss said Israeli forces identified "suspicious movement" along the border just after midnight, and shot two members of Lebanon's armed forces. She said the shooting occurred near where Cohen was killed. Weiss had no details on the condition of the Lebanese soldiers.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said an investigation into the incident was continuing and that "the IDF reserves the right to react at a time and place of its choosing. A grievance has been filed with the U.N."
The Lebanese serviceman who killed IDF Master Sgt. Shlomi Cohen in a cross-border attack on Sunday night turned himself in to authorities in Lebanon on Monday morning, Lebanese media reported.Lebanon Border Incidents Expose Poor Journalism
IDF officials were set to meet with UN personnel and Lebanese Army officers early Monday afternoon. Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Israel would request an explanation from the Lebanese army about whether the soldier acted on his own, without orders, and what the Lebanese army would do to prevent such incidents in the future.
Ya’alon took a combative tone on Monday morning when he blamed the Lebanese government and military for the attack, asserting that “Israel will not abide violations of its jurisdiction along any border, and certainly not the Lebanese border.”
While the full details of the incident are still unfolding, some of the reporting leaves a lot to be desired.BBC’s Knell ignores Israeli aid to flooded Gaza Strip
The Independent stated:
It is not clear what the target of the shooting was although local media reports speculated that Israeli troops had crossed the border.What exactly were the “local media reports?” They certainly weren’t Israeli as none of these were reporting anything other than an unprovoked attack from the Lebanese side.
So it seems that the journalist did not want to admit that his “local media reports” were probably taken directly from a terrorist organization’s propaganda outfit rather than a credible news source.
Knell makes no attempt to inform viewers why “border restrictions” are necessary, scrupulously avoiding any mention of the important context of terrorism. She also neglects to inform audiences of the reasons behind Gaza’s electricity crisis: once again it is presented it in vague terms which do nothing to explain the dispute between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority which brought about the crisis.Jordanian stability, Israel, and the Dead Sea water deal
Both the above reports were produced late on Saturday night – December 14th. That fact is relevant because over twenty-four hours beforehand, Israel began facilitating the supply of water pumps and fuel to help ease the situation in the Gaza Strip.
Jordan’s public debt is equivalent to around 76 percent of GDP, according to a 2012 estimate by the CIA World Factbook. It puts the official unemployment for 2012 at around 13%, though an unofficial rate is approximately 30%.Dershowitz: Ignore International Law
Israeli opponents of the deal “fail to see this agreement for what it is – a camouflaged aid agreement to Jordan, in exchange for the very significant benefits which Israel gets from this country,” Sowell said.
“Jordan is a socioeconomic shock-absorber for the Palestinian territories. Jordan would have gone insolvent and imploded some time ago were it not for massive amounts of aid,” he said. “If Jordan implodes, the West Bank implodes. But Israel can’t just give Jordan money directly or open projects here, for obvious reasons.”
International law is “a construct in the mind of a bunch of left wing academics,” he said, in a lecture at the Institute of National Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv last week “There is no basis for international law in any reality. It's not based on legislation. Much of it is not based on treaty. It is the ultimate exercise in elitist nondemocracy.”Iran Foreign Minister says nuclear talks will continue despite pullout from implementation meeting
Iran does not believe that its nuclear weapons program is in danger of being attacked, he estimated. It wrongly believes, he said, that Israel will not attack it unless the US gives it a green light.
Iran's foreign minister said Sunday his country will continue nuclear negotiations with world powers, even after pulling out of expert-level talks to protest the U.S. targeting companies it says evaded current sanctions.Plundered Syrian Torah scrolls said held by Al-Qaeda-linked rebels
Writing on Facebook, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blamed "improper actions" by the U.S. for Iran pulling out Friday. Technical experts from six world powers and Iran -- which negotiated a deal in November to freeze Iran's nuclear activity for six months in return for no new sanctions -- had been meeting in Geneva to discuss implementing the arrangement.
Torah scrolls and other Judaica plundered from an ancient Damascus synagogue are being held by an Islamist group inside Syria, which is demanding the release of prisoners captured by the Assad regime in return for the items, The Times of Israel has learned.Three more injured Syrians treated at Nahariya hospital
Reports on the destruction and looting of the millennia-old Jobar synagogue in Damascus emerged as early as March, but those responsible for the theft have never been clearly identified, as government and opposition forces traded accusations.
Three Syrians injured in the brutal civil war raging between troops loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebel forces were brought to Western Galilee hospital in Nahariya in northern Israel Sunday.Syrian refugees in Lebanon face bitter winter
Their injuries were moderate to serious, according to Israel Radio. It remains unclear who they are or how they were injured.
Some one-third of Syria’s pre-war population of 23 million has been displaced, with 2.3 million now refugees, mostly in neighboring countries.France Pessimistic About Syria Peace Talks
“This is the biggest winterization effort that the UN and partners have ever done in the world,” said Roberta Russo of the UN’s refugee agency. “But still, the scale of the crisis and the number of people coming is so much,” she said.
Some 1.4 million Syrians live in Lebanon, including 842,500 officially registered with UN, charities who are rushing to distribute aid to the most vulnerable — around half a million people.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Saturday that the moderate opposition to the Syrian regime was in "serious difficulty" and that long-delayed peace talks aimed at ending the crisis were in trouble.Why Is Saudi Arabia Buying 15,000 U.S. Anti-Tank Missiles for a War It Will Never Fight?
"On Syria, I'm unfortunately rather pessimistic," Fabius said, according to the AFP news agency.
"The moderate opposition that we support is in serious difficulty," he said, voicing "doubts" over the prospects of peace talks known as "Geneva 2" that mediators have been trying to organize to negotiate an end to the conflict.
No one is expecting a tank invasion of Saudi Arabia anytime soon, but the kingdom just put in a huge order for U.S.-made anti-tank missiles that has Saudi-watchers scratching their heads and wondering whether the deal is related to Riyadh's support for the Syrian rebels.
The proposed weapons deal, which the Pentagon notified Congress of in early December, would provide Riyadh with more than 15,000 Raytheon anti-tank missiles at a cost of over $1 billion. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Military Balance report, Saudi Arabia's total stockpile this year amounted to slightly more than 4,000 anti-tank missiles. In the past decade, the Pentagon has notified Congress of only one other sale of anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia -- a 2009 deal that shipped roughly 5,000 missiles to the kingdom.
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