December 29, 2010
In 1960, I co-founded a student magazine at Cornell University called Dialogue. I was a wannabe journalist, fixated on emulating the courageous media personalities of the times from Edward R. Murrow to a distinctive figure I came to admire at Presidential press conferences, a wire service reporter named Helen Thomas.
Read on.
38 comments:
Helen Thomas has done MAJOR U TURN in her views.
30 years ago she wrote - its immoral to defend someone who spews such venom as an anti semite
Helen Thomas is, and has always been a hero to me and this tribute to her brings some joy to my heart. Thanks Danny Schecter for writing what surely many intellectually honest people must feel about Helen. I miss her and it pains me to know that she has been treated so badly by our media. But our media, generally, has been a terrible disappointment (along with Obama) and the ignorance of "my fellow Americans" is the most discouraging of all.
Anonymous said...
Helen Thomas has done MAJOR U TURN in her views.
30 years ago she wrote - its immoral to defend someone who spews such venom as an anti semite.
...........................
Anonymous,
Are you not aware that Helen Thomas is a Semite?
"In a free society, we are supposed to know the truth," - "In a society where truth becomes treason, we are in big trouble." Unfortunately, most reporters are gutless, they only report what they are told to - and nothing else.
This is one of Danny Schecter's better pieces, well written and deeply felt. Coverage of Israel in the United States has been totalitarian in its automatic depiction of Israel as the victim and the Palestinians as the agressors. Fortunately this is slowly starting to fall apart. One day we will marvel at how thoroughly we were all so controlled and duped by the pro Israel forces in this country.
Bravo!! Thank you for saying what needed to be said about the injustice done to one of the most respectable journalists of our time.
I miss Helen Thomas. She has been one of my journalism models. Her firing for incautious phrasing says more about her corporate managers than about what she believes. In any case, reporters are entitled to personal opinions. The challenge is to keep those opinions separate from the work. Over the years, Thomas did that.
Your defense of Helen Thomas is, in a word, indefensible. She hates Israel, and despite her complaint that she is a Semite and couldn't be anti-semitic, she is a Jew hater as well. She never apologized for her original remarks in any meaningful way, and by her subsequent remarks (12/2/10) has made it clear that she meant what she said.
Whether hating Israel and/or Jews is grounds for firing a journalist is something I'll leave open for discussion. There are plenty of journalists who are open in their feelings one way or another about both subjects, and no one considers firing them from their jobs. You could hardly blame Wayne State University, however, for discontinuing the "Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity Award" in honor of someone who persists in making and defending comments such as "Congress, the White House and Hollywood, Wall Street are owned by Zionists. No question, in my opinion." Wayne State is not obligated to give a "diversity award" in honor of someone who publicly identifies themselves as a bigot.
She has made herself a pariah of sorts, by the way, not because she criticizes Israel. It is because she has made and defended remarks that most people consider to be blatantly anti-semitic.
"The US Media Hit on Helen Thomas" is an altogether dishonest piece of writing. It appears to have been published originally (or at least concurrently) in Aljazeera, where it is sure to find a sympathetic audience:
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2010/12/20101229124751864918.html
I don't blame the author for admiring her genuine accomplishments as a journalist over the years. But really, this article completely ignores or glosses over the fact that Helen Thomas is a Jew hater and has made and defended multiple public comments to that effect.
Samson
Samson, anti Israel does not equal anti Semite. I'm sure there are many Jews that oppose the Palestinian extermination.
You're dig on Al Jazeera exposed you. I know it's hard for conservatives to understand but liberals aren't scared of Arabic words.
cripto9t:
I'll stick by my assertions. Despite her disingenuous complaint that as a semite she could not be anti-semitic, she has already made plenty of comments that are unequivocally anti-semitic. Her comment about Congress, the White House Wall Street and Hollywood being controlled by "Zionists", already cited above, is one example.
The fact that I find Danny Schechter's article to be dishonest does not make me a conservative or you a liberal. The fact that it is published in Aljazeera merely tells you who its intended audience is.
Samson
2011. As a rational human being using reason, I find the zionist idea of the land of Israel to be a laughable farce at best. Why not merge Israel and Palestine into one big country, everyone being equal regardless of what nonsensical myth they've been forced as children to ascribe to? Isn't it sad, the only 'friends' the israeli state manages to find nowadays, are the poisonous, rabid right-wing christians who would probably be hanging jews to lamposts given another context. It's time to end the nonsense. Current Israel is an apartheid state, deal with it.
There is so much dishonest in this treatment of the race hater Helen Thomas...I will try to answer one person, who had this to say:
"Samson, anti Israel does not equal anti Semite."
It often does. When people hold Israel to a different standard for the purpose of condemning it, that is indeed antisemitism. I challenge you to show me where you ever complained, say, about Sudan, where, over the last decades, the Islamic government has killed millions of non-Muslims in an open attempt to eradicate them. Yet you condemn Israel for things that go unnoticed in any other country. That does indeed make you an antisemite.
I'm sure there are many Jews that oppose the Palestinian extermination.
There is no Palestinian extermination. You know this perfectly well, yet again you spread your antisemitic lies. A million and a half Arabs live in Israel, where they enjoy a freer and more prosperous life than minorities do in virtually any Islamic country. Again, you attack Jews while you ignore things that are magnitudes worse which are committed by non-Jews.
"You're dig on Al Jazeera exposed you. I know it's hard for conservatives to understand but liberals aren't scared of Arabic words."
What, now someone who criticizes Al Jazeera has been revealed as a conservative? I trust we haven't reached the point where we are not allowed to criticize a press organization because it is owned by Muslims. And yes, I have read Al Jazeera for years. It is far more objective (at least in its English language website) than, say, Fox News, but it still has obvious biases in many of its stories.
My work (nothing to do with religion) took me to Israel a few years ago, where I was involved with Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. I spent time in the West Bank and the Palestinian Authority territory. I can assure you that the picture you present of life in Israel is a racist smear.
And by the way, perhaps Helen Thomas is now senile, but her repeated statements in the last year or so repeat much of the ugliest historical Jew baiting. Other than loss of mental capacity, there is no excuse for her having spread this kind of hatred.
Helen Thomas's opinions were widely known prior to that incident--at least in Washington. However as an independent columnist she's free to state her opinions. She makes no bones about being a "neutral" or "unbiased" reporter--she isn't a reporter any longer. When she was a reporter, she was the best.
She stated to someone during a visit to my WI town last year that she can now get up in the morning and decide whom she hates. She's an opinion columnist and entitled to her opinion.
Even if I disagree with her. I suggest we leave her alone and let the issue pass.
When I saw her she was physically frail, but hardly senile, rather, very vigorous mentally. BTW, she's Lebanese if anybody cares.
When I suggested that she was senile, I wasn't attacking her, I was making excuses for her.
She has now repeateldly retailed some of the most longstanding and hateful anti-Semitic canards. Her immense political knowledge extending over decades makes it impossible for me to believe that she doesn't know that what she said is totally false, and and that views like this were a primary element of the most barbaric crime of the twentieth century. Letting her off the hook by assuming she is senile, and just forgetting about her, is the most charitable thing anyone can do for her at this point.
I feel that Helen Thomas' firing was unjustified. She expressed her opinion thst many of us share.(the part about getting out of Palestine and let them have a free and independent state) That is not anti-semitic--that is truth. In order to stop the killing., Israel must treat the Palestinians with justice. You can't confiscate another's land just because you need it, and then pretend you are being discriminated against.
"She expressed her opinion thst many of us share"
What would that be? This:
"Nessenoff: So where should they go and what should they do?
Thomas: They should go home!
Nessenoff: Where’s their home?
Thomas: Poland. Germany.
I.e. that Israel is not the home of the Jews, and they should be forcibly sent to the two countries where they faced mass extermination only decades ago? Or that, of all the people in the world, only Jews have no right to live in the land of their origin because of their religion? Or maybe this is the part you agree with:
"Congress, the White House, and Hollywood, Wall Street, are owned by the Zionists."
This is classic, unrepentant antisemitism. Helen Thomas is as much of an antisemite as Hitler or Goebbels; and if you agree with her, so are you.
Mr "Green Eagles" seems 'confused' between the government of Israel and the Jewish people, when he conflates the two by stating "When people hold Israel to a different standard for the purpose of condemning it, that is indeed antisemitism." ISRAEL is a country (he might have noticed that when purportedly visited there?) which is a political entity. ANTI-SEMITISM is “prejudice against or hostility towards Jews, often rooted in hatred of their ethnic background, culture, and/or religion” (see Wikipedia). Plenty of people throughout the world -including many Jews inside and outside of Israel - disagree with some of the Israeli government’s heavy handed tactics*. We in the US have a bigger moral stake since we supply billions of dollars worth of arms to them every year. Unlike his attempted distractionary 'Sudan' example, this makes us an enabler and partially responsible. Also, plenty of people/organizations are/do condemn the horrors in Sudan or Guatemala or numerous other places, so even beyond the poor attempt at distraction, it's incorrect.
This is an old ploy - to call ANY critic of Israel's actions an "anti-semite" in order to try to conjure up associations of Nazis and concentration camps from three generations ago, to distract attention from present day Israelis using modern weaponry (some supplied by the US) to attack Palestinian refugee camps, Lebanese, Turkish relief flotillas, stone-throwing children, etc.
(* Ref: www.commondreams.org/views06/0725-35.htm
or original.antiwar.com/hacohen/2009/02/17/abe-foxmans-anti-semitic-pandemic-2/ or www.zcommunications.org/the-delusions-of-the-peace-process-by-richard-falk etc)
Anon expresses the typical left wing antisemitism- a survival from the days of the thirties and forties when some misguided left wingers in this country felt it necessary to stand with the Soviet Union, even when it was clearly wrong.
Now, as to the bogus issue of American aid to Israel: the U.S. gives nearly equal aid to Egypt, whose government has killed tens of thousands of Islamists in the last few decades. Show me where you have ever condemned that. The U.S. also provides aid to Pakistan, whose record of abuse of minorities is magnitudes beyond Israel's. We ally ourselves closely with the Saudi monarchy, the number one source of Islamic hatred in the world. When have you ever complained about that?
I have tried to have a conversation on many occasions with left wingers who have this remarkable blindness. You are so quick to display your indifference to the millions murdered in the Sudan in the name of Islam, yet you have decided that your expenditure of ten dollars or so a year entitles you to savage Israel for wrongs which are minuscule compared to those committed routinelty against non Muslims in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and other Muslim countries. And yes, holding only the Jews up for such condemnation IS antisemitism, whether you will admit it or not.
By the way, do you have any outrage to spare for the ten thousand missiles and mortar shells shot into Israel by Hamas, an organization dedicated to eradicating Jews from the earth? I would be interested in what you have to say about them; or are they just freedom fighters in your mind too?
Green Eagle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_National_Congress) was the African National Congress a terrorist group at the time? Sure it was. Go tell it to Mandela. I'm pretty sure the israeli colonists who get shot at are just innocent bystanders, their frail shoulders humped in disbelief, wondering why oh why the palestinians dare rise agains't the occupation. After all, they get some water, when the israeli swimming pool is full, the israeli plants are watered and the israeli greenhouse's needs have been fulfilled. They can get jobs(the below minimum wage kind) in Israel when they manage to get through the 5-7 hours checkpoints. Sometimes the IDF even recognize mistakes when they kill children while aiming for another target. Israel is an aparteid state, deal with it.
An intelligent discussion on Israel-related topics is virtually impossible in the imperial homeland (USA).
For example, an anonymous poster here has repeatedly attempted to hijack the discussion with diversions and ad hom. smears.
Israel is a part of the US Empire. Israel is only doing what its mentor and enabler, the USA does.
There is good reason why the overwhelming majority of the world believes the USA and Israel to be the biggest threats to peace.
The Apartheid wall, theft of land, killing of journalists, the imprisonment of Gaza in the world's largest concentration camp is so morally outrageous, not to mention illegal, any attempt to defend it exposes a deep-seated racism, imperialism not to mention lies and hypocrisy.
The irony is that those who go around calling folks "self-hating Jews" and Anti-Semites" expose their hypocrisy and racism.
Hijacking an intelligent discussion by ad hom. smears and diversions is not only childish, it exposes the "they doth protest too much" character. A pathetic attempt to make excuses for crimes against humanity.
Using the Holocaust/Shoah as an excuse to commit mass crimes is in itself an abomination. The ultimate act of Anti-Semitism. Just see what Norman Finkelstein says and writes about this.
No matter, nothing will change in Israel policy until the Empire falls.
Anonymous, I can see why you remain nameless, as race haters so often do. In time-honored fashion, you tell so many lies, that no one can answer them all. Here are a few comments I have to make on your garbage:
"Israel is a part of the US Empire. Israel is only doing what its mentor and enabler, the USA does."
Try living in Israel, and seeing what Israelis think about that. They do what they believe is in their own interest, and the vast majority of them do not give a damn about what Americans think. And although you are apparently ignorant of this fact, European Jews are a minority in Israel and vote very strongly liberal. It is Jews who were forced out of Arab countries after 1948 who give majorities to the right, based on their recent ancestors' experiences of life in Islamic states. I need hardly add that, when Helen Thomas stated repeatedly that all Israeli Jews should go to Germany and Poland, she was fully aware that half of them were expelled from their homes in Muslim dominated countries, and had nothing to do with Europe.
"the imprisonment of Gaza in the world's largest concentration camp is so morally outrageous, not to mention illegal"
For your information, as your views are based on monumental ignorance, Gaza was part of Egypt until the 1967 war, but when Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt, the Egyptian government refused to take Gaza back, because it had long been a source of the same vicious antagonism toward Egypt as it is today toward Israel. Gaza shares a border with Egypt, and all that their fellow Muslims would have to do to end the suffering there is to open that border and allow free travel between Gaza and Egypt (exactly what is demanded of Israel) or finally reincorporate Gaza into their country. This could be done tomorrow, yet no one like you ever holds Egypt responsible in any way for the plight of the people living in Gaza. It is inconsistencies like this which give substance to the notion that attacks on Israel are often thinly veiled antisemitism.
"The Apartheid wall"
I hate to harp on this subject, but people like you have so much more outrage about Israel's having built a wall than they do about the millions of non-Muslims murdered in genocidal religious wars by the Islamic government of Sudan. Until you show some proportion in your hatred, rational people are going to continue to see deep antisemitism in your attacks on Israel.
"Using the Holocaust/Shoah as an excuse to commit mass crimes is in itself an abomination. The ultimate act of Anti-Semitism."
You are really a disgusting racist. The ultimate act of antisemitism was the holocaust itself, and to suggest that a supposed misuse of its memory is worse than the murder of millions is a clear sign of deep moral degeneracy. One of the most common forms of antisemitism in the last fifty years has been to claim that the Jews are just like their near destroyers. You willingly participate in this nauseating lie.
And just to finish this point, I have never heard an Israeli justify their presence there by citing the holocaust. Israel is the homeland of the Jews. They were kept out for fifteen hundred years by Islamic religious aggression, but now they are back. Any denial of their right to be there is just further racism.
Thank you for proving my point Green Eagle.
Well Done!
A quick list of authors and references to check out regarding this issue, since one cannot have an intellignet discourse here:
Edward Said
Ali Abunimah
Shlomo Sand
Neve Gordon
Ilan Pappe
Norman Finkelstein
Joel Kovel
Noam Chomsky
et al.....
Jonny,
You provided not one shred of argument or fact concerning what I have said, yet you accuse me of being some sort of monster.
I provided a number of facts which you refuse to address in an honest manner, because you would rather hang on to your hateful delusions, like some ignorant teabagger.
The left has a real problem with antisemitism. Many on the left would rather align themselves with Arafat, who was nothing but a criminal dictator who stole billions from the Palestinian people, or with Hamas, which is a vicious hate factory, than with Jews, and they fantasize that these fascists and religious maniacs are freedom fighters, to give themselves an opportunity to justify their own hatred of Jews.
I no more expect you to acknowledge the truth about this than I expect the vicious idiots who still talk about the "war of northern aggression" to confront their own racism; however someone needs to speak the truth if it is not to be forgotten altogether.
This thread, which began with a discussion about Helen Thomas (and Danny Schechter's article about her) has quickly degenerated into yet another Israel bashing and Jew hatred fest. Just to get back on topic for a moment, let me remind you that a) Danny Schechter's Aljazeera article is a dishonest piece of journalism that grossly misrepresents Helen Thomas and b) Helen Thomas actually is an Israel hater and an anti-semite as well.
The fact that she is an anti-semite should not be a problem for many of the posters on this thread, considering that they find common cause with her both about Jews and Israel. As I have indicated previously, I do not necessarily believe that such individuals should be fired for those beliefs, but let's at least be honest about them. Wayne State terminated the "diversity" award given in her name not because she has issues with the state of Israel or because she is somehow being treated unfairly, but because she is a self-declared Jew hating bigot. To imply that she is being persecuted by the "Zionist-controlled" media is not true, dishonest and bigoted in and of itself.
As for the rest of comments made about Israel and the Jews on this thread, I won't repeat statements already made by Green Eagle, who has got it exactly right, but I will amplify a bit about two points raised so far. First, there is no "Palestinian extermination" by Israel or anyone else. At the end of World War II, enough Jews had been murdered that the world's Jewish population had decreased by roughly one third. That qualifies as attempted extermination or genocide. In the years since then, millions have died in Cambodia, Sudan and elsewhere in racially, ethnically or politically motivated violence. In some cases these also represented attempts at extermination. Since 1948, the number of individuals identified as Palestinians has increased several fold. You can call this whatever you want, but "extermination" does not come to mind. It really is libelous to claim that Israel is "exterminating" the Palestinians or committing genocide, but go right ahead if you must.
Samson
Second, Israel is not an "apartheid" state. For individuals like Danny Schechter who are familiar with the actual apartheid state of South Africa and identify strongly with the struggle for liberation there, this must seem like a tempting way to express his anti-Zionism. But the facts do not fit. Arabs citizens of Israel have full civil and political rights, and in general experience greater freedom than they do in most if not all Arab countries. This is particularly true for gay people, women, journalists and others who depend on a free society to live and work. Separation between Israel and the territories developed because of terrorism directed at Israel. You may not like checkpoints and walls, but the fact is that terrorism has decreased dramatically because of them. Let us not forget that Gaza is now run by Hamas which is committed to the destruction of Israel by any means available. Now, of course, if you feel that Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people has no right to exist, then you will say that "terrorism" is a good thing and Hamas is just a national liberation organization. But we will just have to disagree about that.
Finally, here's a suggestion if you would really like to see "apartheid" come to an end in the middle east. How about if all of the Palestinians forced to live in refugee camps throughout the Arab world were allowed the choice to become full citizens of the countries they were born in? That's right, Jordan, Lebanon, etc., are the real "apartheid" states. They deny basic civil and political rights to the Palestinians within their borders, holding them hostage until the day that the Jews can be driven from Israel. I can see that some of those posting on this thread are hoping that day comes soon, but don't hold your breath.
Samson
Nice try, but I won't even bother to argue with your mythological and nonsensical "arguments". Let's consult the literature:
Ask Norman Finkelstein what happens when you criticize Israel and/or US imperial policy. Just like Helen Thomas or anyone else who speaks out against US or Israeli crimes.
Read up on some Shlomo Sand and Ilan Pappe (Israeli scholars and authors) as well as the others I mentioned previoulsy.
The resident ultra right-wing Likudnik Hasbarists don't want us to know about folks like that.
BTW, can I buy stock in the Megaphone desktop tool you all use? It appears to work quite well for you.
JonnyJames said...
"A quick list of authors and references to check out regarding this issue, since one cannot have an intelligent discourse here:
Edward Said
Ali Abunimah
Shlomo Sand
Neve Gordon
Ilan Pappe
Norman Finkelstein
Joel Kovel
Noam Chomsky
et al....."
Really, you are just a disgusting Jew hater as suggested by Green Eagle. I doubt that I have offended you by identifying your bigotry by name. Name dropping a few Palestinian and self-hating Jewish and Israeli writers ("the literature") as proof that you have all the answers is pathetic, to put it mildly. Calling anyone who defends Israel or the Jewish people "ultra right-wing Likudnik Hasbarists" is amusing if rather dim-witted of you, but I can see that it is consistent with your distorted black and white view of the world.
Again, sorry to disappoint you, but Israel is not going to be "erased from the pages of time" or whatever the latest Iranian threat suggests any time soon. Nor are the Jews going back to "Poland, Germany and America and everywhere else" any time soon. Except to visit, of course.
"Israel is the homeland of the Jews. They were kept out for fifteen hundred years by Islamic religious aggression, but now they are back. Any denial of their right to be there is just further racism."
Whatever. If you can't read the sad irony of your statement, there is no point in further arguing. Israel is an apartheid state, deal with it. You have the right to be proud of it, you can call everyone and their mothers racists/anti semites whenever they question the wisdom of using 21th century military technology to bring back the world map to its bronze age state, it doesn't change the fact, Israel is an apartheid state.
Green Eagle said:
"Israel is the homeland of the Jews. They were kept out for fifteen hundred years by Islamic religious aggression, but now they are back. Any denial of their right to be there is just further racism."
I say:
Was, is, and will be, despite whatever Jew haters such as yourself say or do.
Your response:
"Whatever. If you can't read the sad irony of your statement, there is no point in further arguing. Israel is an apartheid state, deal with it..."
As I've indicated above, Israel is not an apartheid state. Deal with that. Now, if you really want to visit an "apartheid" state, try Saudi Arabia. It's a place where women aren't even allowed to drive a car and homosexuality is illegal and potentially punishable by death. Non-Muslims cannot enter Mecca or Medina, ever. Jewish, Christian and other non-Muslim religious services are prohibited from being held on Saudi Arabian soil, and of course, it would be illegal to try and build a church or synagogue. Best of all, from your point of view, there is not a single Jewish person known to be living there.
Sounds like your kind of place. Enjoy!
I hope Mr Green Eagle is making some good money as a hasbarat* - - care to tell us how much you made this time GE? I hope you got a significant chunk of the $150K Israel allocated in July 2009 alone.
All: As the attached article notes, these people are NOT interested in any kind of reasoned discourse, they just wish to be "intellectual stink-bombs", sully the atmosphere, and throw the epithet "anti-Semite" around until it's so widely applied it means nothing.
(* http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/zionist-trolls-who-infect-the-internet/ )
Anon:
For your information
Amount I have earned defending the truth about Israel: $0
Effort that any of you in this thread have made to answer my facts with anything else than personal abuse: 0
Amount of time that any of you has spent in Israel or the West Bank (I am guessing): 0
Just so you have an idea of who I am, I worked for some months in Israel a few years ago. I was a production designer on a film, and was not there for any religious reason whatsoever. I worked with Israeli Jews, Christians and Muslims, with Palestinians and with Bedouins (although being the movie business, you won't be surprised to hear that there were more Jews than anyone else, and they were all liberals). I never had trouble with anyone except a couple of lunatic ultra-Orthodox Jews who harassed our shooting company until we paid them off, at which point they went away happy. I believe the Netyanyahu government is little better than a pack of teabaggers, and I support a Palestinian capitol in East Jerusalem, where I have spent a fair amount of time. I have been to places like Tulkarm in the West Bank, Silwan and Ramla in Israel proper, which are traditionally considered to be very hostile environments; I was never subjected to any unpleasantness from anyone. By the way, if you are ever in Ramla, I heartily recommend the somewhat strangely named Detroit Restaurant. It has some of the best Arab food I've ever had, and we went back there every day for lunch when we were shooting there.
Why Are You Protesting Against Israel?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmerYYdJDv0&feature=player_embedded
I left a list of references and the racist imperialist right-wing Hasbarist propaganda artists call me a JewHater; Self-Hating Jews, anti-Semite blah blah.
That's what it alwasy boils down to self-hating Jews and anti-Semites, how boring and pathetic.
Can't you guys think up some more sophisticated propaganda?
Like Bill O'Reilly calling all 'merkans terrorist supporters and traitors for criticizing war crimes. Hail the Empire! Hail Caesar!
When fascism comes to 'merka, hell it is already here.
I guess I am an anti-American, anti-Semite, Self-hating Jew, Jewhater, Commie Pinko traitor. My they doth protest just a bit too much. Too bad all the hysterics can't hide the facts.
Mr. Jonny:
When you said: "I left a list of references and the racist imperialist right-wing Hasbarist propaganda artists call me a JewHater; Self-Hating Jews, anti-Semite blah blah."
I am assuming you were referring to me, as you previously used this bizarre term (which I never heard before) to refer to me.
I did call you an antisemite, which you clearly are. I did not call you a self-hating Jew. I don't have a clue whether you are Jewish, and I am interested in dealing with issues (something which you have steadfastly avoided,) not personal attacks.
As for your list of names, I am interested in facts, not a meaningless bunch of people who allegedly agree with you, many of whom are either well known as grossly partisan, or as in the case of Chomsky, are known to me personally as unrepentant liars.
How about trying to focus on one issue- the fact that Hamas is openly committed not only to the destruction of Israel, but to the extermination of all Jews worldwide. How is an organization like that supposed to be a legitimate negotiating partner for Israel? And how can a group with such values be an ally of any truly progressive person?
Are you a Jewish Zionist Fascist or a right-wing Zionist Christo-Fascist that Chris Hedges writes about?
I never told you my background, yet you make all sorts of assumptions.
I called you a right-wing racist imperialist based on the policies you support.
Of course to right-wing war criminal cheerleaders like you and the Fox News/CNN crowd I am a Commie Pinko anti-Semite, Self-Hating Jew traitor.
How pathetically intellectually lazy of you.
Can't you far-right nutcases think up any better propaganda?
Nicely, dispassionately articulated, with context and perspective. Well done, Dissector.
One thing which needs to be explained to those who do not subscribe to a Mystic religion is the often emphasized notion that the Jews are "God's Chosen People", which would make everyone else a bunch of N------. N'est pas. Think about this and perhaps get a clarification when speaking with a "believer", Christian or Jew. Behaving like the Old Testament people in a civilized society would get one promptly arrested. The Bill of Rights is a direct response to the thirteen centuries of the human rights abuses of the Church of Rome, a church of unnatural men with their eunuchs and torture chambers in the bottom of each cathedral. Jewish represent 1.4 percent of the U.S. population but 14 % of the U.S. Congress. Yes, in media, law, Hollywood and publishing, the Jewish people are overrepresented, but they feel a need to take care of the Goyum, and the world, as a calling from Jehovah. Freedom of speech does NOT exist as far as the Christians and Jews believe. As a footnote I might add that most of the "Jews" of Poland and Germany goes, they were drifters from Karazaria and never had an ancestor which lived in the "Holy Land" for even a day. Check THAT out.
I posted a reply to Gary DuTeau's comment which you apparently refused to print. I'll leave the rest of it aside and see if you will print this:
Mr. DuTeau says:
"As a footnote I might add that most of the "Jews" of Poland and Germany goes, they were drifters from Karazaria and never had an ancestor which lived in the "Holy Land" for even a day. Check THAT out."
Are your readers familiar with that notion? I am. It is an element of something called single seed Christian identity- a doctrine found virtually exclusively among white Aryan supremacists in the United States. It formed an essential part of the beliefs of William Butler, and many Klan leaders.
I wonder if those of you who were able to find in themselves such ire toward Israel could manage to muster up some similar degree of distaste for the neo-Nazi who came on your blog to join with you.
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