Zionists Out of the Peace Movement

We learn via Henry Herskovitz of a monthly synagogue protest in Boulder, CO. Michael Rabb and other members of CU-Divest began protesting outside Congregation Bonai Shalom (CBS) in November. We would be happy to find a synagogue representing the Judaic mainstream that is not pro-Israel but it appears we'll have to keep looking.

You see, CBS celebrates Yom Ha'atzmaut, which marks a bitter milestone in the Nakba--the violent ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Jews in 1948. Yom Ha'atzmaut celebrates the declaration of "independence" by the Jewish state. This year, as Palestinians commemorated Nakba Day--which is illegal within the Jewish state--with protests, CBS was represented in Boulder's Yom Ha'Atzmaut celebration. CBS Rabbi Marc Soloway was there, along with "past and present IDF soldiers". On a day when Palestinians were brutalized, Jews in Boulder celebrated.

On the CBS web site, Rabbi Soloway makes clear his ethically bankrupt left/liberal Zionist stance: "Recently I was in the locker room of my gym in a conversation with someone who started talking in a very one-sided way about the brutality of the Israeli occupation, which had oppressed Palestinians for hundreds of years! I launched into a passionate, emotional lecture about Israel as the only democracy in the region and its right to self-determination and security and the world's media's bias towards the Palestinian side and what it feels like to be surrounded by people who want to destroy you!"

So, Michael and friends, we bid you godspeed. You have selected an appropriate place for your protests. As Elliott Abrams once observed: "Where is it possible to find a group of Jews who are committed to Israel, and whose children are likely to honor that commitment? The answer is, in a synagogue on the Sabbath."

Labels: anti-Zionism, Henry Herskovitz, Judaism, resistance

The anti-Zionist struggle must not encage itself in too simplistic a link between the Jewish Question with the Zionist Question-–a simplistic link that in fact craves to sever the deeper ontological connection that might persist between the two questions. Such a dominant, and far too quick, paradigm that by and large dominates the anti-Zionist struggle has been that Zionism's misuse of the Holocaust is somehow an aberration of Jewish thinking. Thus portrayed, Zionism can be successfully isolated and fought against by Jews as Jews.

It is this very denial of the existential link between the Jewish Question and the Zionist Question–a link that is suppressed by formulations such as "Jews Against Zionism" or, more broadly, by many attempts of "Jews" to become anti-Zionist--that needs to be questioned and destabilised.To be an anti-Zionist without due regard to that being and thinking that Zionism may so tragically continues, may well be to confuse symptom and cause, thus perpetuating that history that leaves the symptom–Zionism–intact. There is need to fathom the extent to which the slogan "Jews against Zionism" may be an oxymoron. Such an oxymoron may be at the heart of the denial, and protection bestowed upon the denial, of the oxymoronic nature of another notion, namely that of a "Jewish and democratic state".

Source: "The Silencing of Gilad Atzmon" by Oren Ben-Dor in CounterPunch, March 15-17, 2008.

Labels: anti-Zionism, holocaust, identity, Jews

I started exploring the links between Judaism and Zionism as early as April 2007, when I wrote "Judaism's Culture of Death". Today, I finished reading Jews Against Zionism: The American Council for Judaism, 1942-1948. The book demonstrates that the American Council for Judaism is an exception that proves the rule of overwhelming Jewish religious support for Zionism.

Author Thomas A. Kolsky writes that although there was Jewish opposition to Zionism from other quarters, "the longest, fiercest, and most persistent resistance to it in America came from Reform Jews" (28). He continues, "The only American Jewish organization ever formed to fight against Zionism was founded by Reform Jews" (29).

The organization in question is the American Council for Judaism (ACJ), which was belatedly founded in 1942, five years after the 1937 convention of the Reform movement's Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) whence The Guiding Principles of Reform Judaism were adopted. The principles stated inter alia:

In the rehabilitation of Palestine, the land hallowed by memories and hopes, we behold the promise of renewed life for many of our brethren. We affirm the obligation of all Jewry to aid in its upbuilding as a Jewish homeland by endeavoring to make it not only a haven of refuge for the oppressed but also a center of Jewish culture and spiritual life.

The precipitating event that led to the formation of the ACJ was the introduction and passage of a resolution on February 27th at the 1942 CCAR convention "favoring the creation in Palestine of a Jewish army" (42). The convention that year was presided over by "a staunch Zionist," Rabbi James G. Heller, who had proclaimed upon assuming the presidency of the CCAR "that Reform was no longer anti-Zionist."

In August 1942, 96 rabbis, including many who would later that year found the ACJ, issued a "Statement of Principles of Non-Zionist Rabbis." The document "recognized the importance of Palestine 'to the Jewish soul' and expressed support for the Jews in Palestine in their economic, cultural, and spiritual--but not nationalistic--endeavors" (54). The reaction by their foes was a resounding repudiation in the form of "Zionism: An Affirmation of Judaism". An early release of this document--which declared "Anti-Zionism ... is a departure from the Jewish religion"--listed as signatories the names of 757 rabbis, representing "the largest number of rabbis whose signatures are attached to a public pronouncement in all Jewish history". By the time the statement was released to the press on November 20, 1942, 818 rabbis had signed on.

As Kolsky shows, the Reform rabbis opposed to the Zionist hardliners in the CCAR were beset, at the very beginning, by internal divisions. One camp was primarily motivated by the Reform vision exemplified in the "Pittsburgh Platform" of 1885, which stated: "We consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community, and therefore expect neither a return to Palestine ... nor the restoration of any of the laws concerning the Jewish state." The other camp shared the vision of their brethren but they were more strongly animated by and prioritized their opposition to Zionism as detrimental to Jews. Although he cites some individual rabbis who opposed the injustice that Zionism represented for Arabs, I found no evidence that the ACJ ever strongly appealed to Jews or anyone else on those grounds.

The story of the ACJ is, of course, much more complicated than just internal division and visionary short-sightedness. Suffice it to say, though, the ACJ's story is one of failure. Kolsky writes: "Unlike the Zionists, who had skillfully penetrated most American Jewish institutions by the 1940s, the Council was unable either to penetrate or to influence significantly even a single important Jewish organization during its struggle against the Jewish state" (199).

Despite their best efforts, by November 1945, a Roper poll of American Jews "showed that 80.1 percent supported the Zionist goal of a Jewish state in Palestine and only 10.5 percent opposed it" (126). Also, despite having access to high-level, sympathetic State Department officials, the ACJ was unable to thwart US support for the UN's partition resolution in 1947 or US diplomatic recognition of Israel in 1948. As Kolsky notes, Zionists--David Niles and Clark Clifford--were inside the White House (172). On the matter of recognizing Israel, Kolsky writes, "President Truman was constantly reminded by Jewish spokesmen and Democratic party leaders that he needed Jewish votes and financial contributions in the approaching 1948 elections" (188).

After the establishment of Israel, the ACJ, writes Kolsky, "did not have an appreciable effect on American Jews" and "became no more than a marginal, isolated, unpopular and largely ignored gadfly, an irritating critic of Zionism of all shades and degrees" (194).

Labels: anti-Zionism, history, Judaism

Below is the analysis of Henry Herskovitz (with Michelle J. Kinnucan) of Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends to a recent op-ed by Rebecca Tumposky on the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN).

There are many problems with IJAN, which lead me to doubt the purposes of the group. I first question whether they are a Palestinian solidarity group or yet another group that seeks to shield and preserve Jewish power both in Palestine and in the U.S.

In this writer's opinion, Jews - if they are acting in a group that represents Jews in the peace movement - should first and foremost challenge what Akiva Eldar and J. J. Goldberg, among others, call the "Jewish lobby" - the powerful people and institutions (and their rank-and-file supporters) who dominate the US discourse and policy regarding Jews and Israel. Often, these are the very people behind the charge of "self-hating Jews" (and for non-Jews, "anti-Semites") about whom Rebecca Tumposky, national organizer with the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, complains. Yet, nowhere in her article does Ms. Tumposky show a disposition to directly do that.

It is perhaps worth mentioning that three originators of IJAN who live in southeast Michigan, including "Invincible," declined the invitation to stand vigil with us at our Global Vigil Day in 2007 or at any other time. They refused to expose and challenge Beth Israel Congregation--a local institutional bastion of open, unabashed Jewish support for Israel--when they had the opportunity. And yes, I'm the first to admit that standing in front of a synagogue is not the only way to challenge Jewish power, but at the same time ask where does IJAN directly challenge this power using another tactic?

In Tumposky's op-ed she says IJAN "seeks to challenge the violence and injustice of Israeli apartheid" but she and IJAN are US-based. So, where is her mention, let alone challenge, of the Jewish supremacism/power that allows Jews - less than two percent of the US population - to so effectively steer US policy and resources into underwriting Jewish apartheid in Palestine?

Right out of the box, she shows her hand - Tumposky's and IJAN's opposition to apartheid is rooted not in universalistic notions of justice and human rights but in Jewish chauvinism/exceptionalism. Thus, they appeal to Jews on the grounds of "our varied traditions of social justice." And Tumposky wants to make sure - absolutely certain - that fighting anti-Semitism is prioritized in any work on freeing Palestine from the genocide brought on by the Jewish state. Thus, she writes, "We challenge anti-Jewish prejudice while standing in solidarity with organizations that support Palestinian liberation and historic justice ..." In short, IJAN enters the Palestinian solidarity movement with an explicit agenda of highlighting, if not foregrounding, the concerns of Jews, the very people who enjoy Jewish privilege here and in Israel.

Her opposition to Zionism is carefully couched as a subset of opposing colonialism and imperialism, in general: "We share a commitment to participation in struggles against colonialism and imperialism. We therefore oppose Zionism ... IJAN, in fact, opposes all imperialist aggression". She refuses to take notice of the peculiar situation of Zionism - Jewish imperialism - in that Jews lacked a nation-state of their own and, thus, Zionists commandeered other countries, namely Britain and the US, to realize their goals.

Tumposky beats up one or two carefully placed straw men along the way: "We will say it again and again, despite accusations of being 'self-hating Jews': Zionism is not Judaism and the Jewish community." Just who is it that equates Zionism with "Judaism and the Jewish community"? And why is this point so essential for "anti-Zionists" like the IJAN folks? What would Tumposky say to the 757 rabbis - "the largest number of rabbis whose signatures are attached to a public pronouncement in all Jewish history" - who in 1942 stated that Zionism is an "Affirmation of Judaism" and "Anti-Zionism, not Zionism, is a departure from the Jewish religion"?

She also plays a Left Zionist game when she attempts to distinguish the 'types' of Zionism, claiming that "the Zionism we oppose is not a longstanding cultural or religious expression". She conveniently ignores the fact that when push came to shove, all the Zionists - Left, Right and Center - gave their blessings to destroying Palestine.

In the first chapter of his book Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, Norman Finkelstein challenged the myth that any of the Zionist tendencies (Labor, Religious, etc.) were ever benign. In short, the only thing about Zionism that really matters is that it "is a form of racism and racial discrimination," as the UN General Assembly correctly identified in 1975.

Tumposky's definition of Zionism is also problematic - "the 19th century ideology that led European Jews to work with imperialist powers to displace and ethnically cleanse the Palestinian people, which continues today." It is folly to imply that Jews were passive objects of that "ideology". Zionism was created, implemented, and popularized by Jews. Are readers supposed to believe that it was the imperialist powers that Jews only "worked with" that committed this crime? Isn't it more accurate to say that Jews led these imperialist powers by the nose - as they still do today - to have non-Jews die for the Jewish state?

When she writes "Israel and its U.S. lobby helped pushed us toward the Iraq war and are exerting similar pressure to attack Iran", readers need to be cognizant of what she omits - EVERY major constituent group of the organized Jewish community pressed for war on Iraq, and there's a list of at least two dozen Jewish individuals - in powerful government or media positions - who also pressed strongly for war.

Tumposky touts "Jewish visions of collective liberation and traditions of social justice", but doesn't give us any proof that this tradition ever existed, other than in the minds of Jews who want their image spit-shined, if not outright falsified. More than 300 years ago, Benedictus de Spinoza, who is often upheld as a great Jewish intellectual, observed that Jews had in fact nothing to commend themselves as superior to others, had acted in such a way as to "incur the hatred of all", and that this hatred was the glue that bound Jews together. Other than, perhaps, a few years during the Civil Rights struggle (and Benjamin Ginsberg casts doubt on even this), Jews collectively have acted in concert NOT for universal well-being, but for the benefit of Jews. IJAN does not seem to be an exception.

Distinguishing IJAN from AIPAC, J-Street and Tikkun, might make good reading, but doesn't let them off the hook. Once again, I'm reminded of Paul Eisen's words: "The crime against the Palestinian people is being committed by a Jewish state with Jewish soldiers using weapons displaying Jewish religious symbols, and with the full support and complicity of the overwhelming mass of organized Jews worldwide. But to name Jews as responsible for this crime seems impossible to do." It seems obvious to me that IJAN and similar organizations exist, in no small part, to prevent the naming of Jews as responsible for the Jewish-led genocide against the Palestinian people.

Labels: anti-Zionism, Benedict Spinoza, Henry Herskovitz, Israel, Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends, Norman G. Finkelstein

A friend sent me the video below of an inspiring French BDS action and invited me to "Imagine this happening in A^2." I replied:

It looks like that action was organized by mostly Muslims and 2nd or 3rd generation descendants of immigrants to France. I can't imagine the same demographic group in Ann Arbor doing an action like this because they would apparently rather do nothing or collaborate with Zionists like the SAFE kids do, with the apparent approval of their elders. There's plenty of L'Oréal products on the shelves of local stores and there's a whole chain of stores in SE Michigan that openly brags about selling products from Israel but the leaders of the local Arab community and their protégés would rather kiss the ass of a baby-killer like Albright. So, I can't imagine it happening in A2, not now at least.

The chain of stores I had in mind is Hiller's Markets and upon further investigation I find grounds for hope. Below is an excerpt from a 1999 Jewish Telegraphic Agency article.

Jim Hiller was in a jovial mood on a recent Sunday morning.

"I've got a herd of picketers outside two of my stores," the 56-year-old Detroit grocery-store owner said.

The picketers were protesting Hiller's decision to feature Israeli products in his six-store chain. Rather than back down, Hiller seemed to take pleasure in digging in in what has become an increasingly public demonstration of his support for Israel.

Concerned about the economic price Israel had been paying since the start of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000, Hiller began stocking Israeli produce, cheeses and canned goods in his store.

"You cannot imagine a person who would be less likely than me to do this," Hiller said while protesters handed out leaflets to shoppers. Until a few years ago, his main connection to Israel was what he calls a "perfunctory" annual gift to a local charity that supported the Jewish state.

Now he sells some 1,000 Israeli products to his mostly non-Jewish customers, and he's a hero in the Jewish community.

Jim Hiller decided to stock Israeli goods as a result of the fallout to Israel because of the Al-Aqsa Intifada and protests sprang up outside two of his stores. That's inspiring news to me.

But the protests, apparently, didn't last even though Jim Hiller hasn't changed his evil ways. According to a 2009 article in Grocery Headquarters Magazine: "Operating in Detroit's middle-class and wealthy northern and western suburbs, the seven-unit Hiller's is the go-to destination for that perfect roast, farm fresh produce, international groceries from Great Britain, Israel, ..." The article also says:

Hiller's employs a team of buyers specializing in British, Japanese, Israeli/kosher, Middle Eastern and Russian foods. ...

The buyers help Hiller better serve customers. For instance, a customer recently sent Hiller an e-mail requesting that the store carry Osem flour from Israel. "We will respond to her either by getting the product in if we think it is useful, or we'll tell her we'll be happy to order her a case and sell it to her at a 10% discount," Hiller says.

So, there it is--Hiller's is begging for an action like the one in the French video below. Who will organize it?



Addendum: I should be clear about one thing: The burden should not be on Arab and Muslim people in this country to fight and lead the struggle against the US-backing of the Jewish apartheid state of Israel but one understandably looks to them because most of the non-Arab, non-Muslim population in this country is so deeply brainwashed and indifferent, if not openly complicit, in Israel's and the US Empire's crimes.

Addendum II: In response to my remarks, the same friend who sent me the video has forwarded a 2005 article to me that purports to explain why Arab and Muslim Americans are so pathetic when it comes to the question of Palestine. Although I would disagree with some of the analysis, I think the author's main point is well-taken and although the author does not say so it also speaks to why non-Arab, non-Muslim Americans are so pathetic when it comes to almost any social justice issue other than Palestine (on Arabs/Muslims/Palestine they are deeply Zionized). Here's an excerpt from "American Muslims Not Like Those of France" by Ali Moossavi:

One reason is the simple fact that Muslim youth in America aren't ghetto youth; they lead middle class lives with the means to fulfill their middle class dreams. As a Lebanese friend remarked to me during a Palestine solidarity march in Dearborn four years ago after I jokingly suggested that these Arab youths start rioting, "That'll never happen; this is a middle-class community."

This is, of course, the American dream and it's exactly why our parents and we moved here in the first place. As the saying goes, however, it's a mixed blessing.

While we can afford nice houses and cars and give our kids a future, it also blinds to the reality that we are people of color, with foreign ways and funny names that will always doom us to some form of discrimination. With every election, with more funds gathered and the occasional politician bothering to show up and say a few words, we delude ourselves into thinking, "Our time is coming soon. We'll alter Washington's pro-Israel bent and assume our rightful place in the American mainstream."

All we did was help put Bush in the White House in 2000 and wasted our time with Kerry in 2004. Not only are we nowhere nearer to this goal, but we also have suffered setbacks – the Patriot Act, Iraq invasion, covert regime change, etc.

We lack the financial clout of the Jewish lobby and we lack the voting numbers of the Christian Right. The same corporations that sell weapons to Israel and the dictatorships, control Congress, the Pentagon and the White House also control Hollywood and the media, which continue to portray us as terrorists and morons, influencing American social and political attitudes.

Labels: anti-Zionism, BDS, University of Michigan, US politics

This is the second part of a two-part post on a quartet of Zionist letters to the editor that recently appeared in the Ann Arbor News. Read the first part here.

The last of the quartet of Zionist apologies is from new president of the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County, David S. Shtulman. Shtulman is a dual US-Israeli citizen, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) veteran, and, in all likelihood, a current IOF reservist. Just a few days into the Hanukkah Massacre, Shtulman proclaimed poor Israel to be "under attack."

In his letter (AAN 2/13/09), Shtulman writes:

It always strikes me as strange that 20 percent of Israel's citizens are Arab Muslims, while the Palestinians insist that every Jew must leave any territory that will become part of the Palestinian State, and yet it is Israel that is accused of apartheid. Or that Israel publicly advocates for a two-state solution ...

This is a classic case of psychological projection - a defensive psychological ploy to attribute to others one's own behaviors, impulses and traits. The 20 percent of Israeli citizens who are Arabs (not all of them Muslims) are the survivors, and their descendants, of the violent Jewish ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948 or Nakba. Before the Nakba, there were 650,000 Jews and 1.3 million Arab Palestinians in Palestine and Jews owned less than 6 percent of the land. By the end of 1948, Jewish forces had taken control of 78 percent of Palestine and expelled 84 percent of the Palestinians living on that land. As the founder of the Palestine Land Society, Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, wrote in 2006: "Today the Palestinian population is about 10 million (9.650). Two thirds are refugees, the largest ratio among any people in the world. If you add those displaced in 1967, fully three quarters of the Palestinians are deprived of the normal human right to live at home."

If Shtulman wants to convince any reasonable person that he favors the peaceful coexistence of Jews and Palestinians then he can start by publicly declaring his support for the return of the millions of Palestinian refugees to their homes. Every serious scholar of the history of the Jewish domination of Palestine knows that the status of Palestinian refugees has always been a primary obstacle to any political solution for the simple reason that Jews like Shtulman want Jewish demographic and political supremacy to be maintained and Palestinians naturally don't want to give up their homeland or their right to return to it. Shtulman will never support the Palestinian right of return because he wants an apartheid state like the one Jews have now--one where Jews are running the show and Palestinians are fourth-class citizens or, worse, stateless people living under the Israeli military occupation as in the West Bank and Gaza.

As for Shtulman's allegation that "the Palestinians insist that every Jew must leave any territory that will become part of the Palestinian State," it is more accurate to say that Israel insists that every part of Palestine inhabited by Jews remain under the control of the Jewish State. Undoubtedly, Shtulman's complaint here is that Palestinians do not want Jews to be allowed to stay on land they occupy illegally in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In this, Palestinians are in accord with international law. As the International Court of Justice opined in the "Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory":

As regards these settlements [i.e. the "Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territory (including East Jerusalem)"], the Court notes that Article 49, paragraph 6, of the Fourth Geneva Convention provides: "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." That provision prohibits not only deportations or forced transfers of population such as those carried out during the Second World War, but also any measures taken by an occupying Power in order to organize or encourage transfers of parts of its own population into the occupied territory.

In this respect, the information provided to the Court shows that, since 1977, Israel has conducted a policy and developed practices involving the establishment of Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, contrary to the terms of Article 49, paragraph 6, just cited.

The Security Council has thus taken the view that such policy and practices "have no legal validity". It has also called upon "Israel, as the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously" by the Fourth Geneva Convention and:

"to rescind its previous measures and to desist from taking any action which would result in changing the legal status and geographical nature and materially affecting the demographic composition of the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem and, in particular, not to transfer parts of its own civilian population into the occupied Arab territories" (resolution 446 (1979) of 22 March 1979).

The Council reaffirmed its position in resolutions 452 (1979) of 20 July 1979 and 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980. Indeed, in the latter case it described "Israel's policy and practices of settling parts of its population and new immigrants in [the occupied] territories" as a "flagrant violation" of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The Court concludes that the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (including East Jerusalem) have been established in breach of international law.

Let's see Shtulman come out in favor of granting dual Israeli citizenship, like Shtulman enjoys, to any Palestinian who wants it. Let Shtulman come out in support of the three goals of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign:

1. Ending [Israel's] occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

Don't hold your breath waiting for Shtulman to support any of these goals, folks.

In another case of dissembling and projection Shtulman complains "Hamas advocates publicly for the destruction of Israel." But, in his article "Likud has a Charter which does not recognize the right of Palestine to exist," Frank Barat writes:

... What was the official reason given by the Israel and the International community for not recognizing Hamas?

The reason they gave was that Hamas refused to recognize Israel and had a Charter calling for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Everyone (politicians and corporate media leaders) accepted this without asking a few important questions. Which Israel should Hamas recognize? Israel has not yet stated what its international borders are. Should Hamas recognize the Israel of 1948? The Israel of 1967? The Israel of 2009 with its apartheid wall, settlements (settlements building raised by 60 percent in 2008, the year of the Annapolis "Peace Process", according to a Peace Now report), second class Arab citizens and with East Jerusalem annexed?

Any astute observer could also have objected by reminding people that Hamas (through Haniyeh and Meshal) had said many times over that it was willing to accept Israel as a political entity on the 1967 borders. You do not have to look hard for this, it was stated in the Guardian, Washington Post, amongst others, meaning that Hamas was now in line with most of the international community, accepting a two-state solution.

The next Israeli prime minister will be Likud leader Netanyahu. Unlike Hamas, Likud is a party which has actually held the reins of a powerful, sovereign nation-state. As Barat writes:

... With Netanyahu and his right-wing party ready to take over, it is only fair to find out a bit more about them.

In the "Peace and Security" chapter of the Likud Party platform, a recent document (1999) it says initially that:

"Peace is a primary objective of the State of Israel. The Likud will strengthen the existing peace agreements with the Arab states and strive to achieve peace agreements with all of Israel's neighbors with the aim of reaching a comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict."

But then it says about settlements:

"The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are the realization of Zionist values. Settlement of the land is a clear expression of the unassailable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and constitutes an important asset in the defense of the vital interests of the State of Israel. The Likud will continue to strengthen and develop these communities and will prevent their uprooting."

Therefore annihilating the slightest chance of a two-state solution.

On Palestinian self-rule it says:

"The Government of Israel flatly rejects the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan river. The Palestinians can run their lives freely in the framework of self-rule, but not as an independent and sovereign state. Thus, for example, in matters of foreign affairs, security, immigration and ecology, their activity shall be limited in accordance with imperatives of Israel's existence, security and national needs"

Therefore annihilating any chance of seeing a Palestinian sovereign state.

On Jerusalem:

"Jerusalem is the eternal, united capital of the State of Israel and only of Israel. The government will flatly reject Palestinian proposals to divide Jerusalem, including the plan to divide the city presented to the Knesset by the Arab factions and supported by many members of Labor and Meretz."

Therefore annihilating any chance for future peace negotiations because east Jerusalem as capital of a future Palestinian state is non-negotiable for any Palestinian.

We have therefore established that the Likud party charter does not recognize Palestine and will not accept a sovereign Palestinian state. The soon-to-come non-recognition of Likud by the international community and an implemented blockade on Israel should therefore not come as a surprise for Israelis.

Where is Shtulman's outrage and concern that the ruling Likud Party is opposed to any realistic implementation of the much-hyped "two-state solution," which is, in any case, the very epitome of apartheid?

Finally, Shtulman asks: "Will boycotting the Batsheva Dance Company or UMS in general help the Palestinians?" Shtulman answers: "I don't see how." Of course he doesn't, but one doubts that Shtulman is so visually impaired when it comes to the protests and boycotts of the Russian Bolshoi Ballet, etc. over the matter of "Soviet Jewry" in the 1970s and 1980s.

In any case, Omar Barghouti has written on the subject of the efficacy of BDS. In response to critics of BDS, he says:

Boycott is counter-productive?

Is it? Who is to judge? A Call signed by more than 170 Palestinian political parties, unions, NGOs and networks, representing the entire spectrum of Palestinian civil society -- under occupation, in Israel, and in the diaspora – cannot be "counter-productive" unless Palestinians are not rational or intelligent enough to know or articulate what is in their best interest. This argument smacks of patronization and betrays a colonial attitude that we thought -- hoped! -- was extinct in liberal Europe.

Pragmatically speaking, the BDS process has proved over the past few years that it is among the most effective forms of civil, non-violent Palestinian resistance to Israeli colonial and apartheid regime. The sheer breadth and depth of support this Call has garnered among major trade unions, academic associations, church groups, and other grassroots organizations in South Africa, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, and even the US, among others, attest to the efficacy and enormous potential of this campaign in resisting Israeli injustice. For the first time in decades, many movements in Europe, for instance, that have supported peace with justice in Palestine through demonstrations, public appeals and -- mostly marginal -- media work, discovered a process that they can actively and effectively contribute to and that promises to bring about concrete results on the ground, as proved to be the case in the struggle against apartheid struggle in South Africa. Judging by results so far, and as our South African comrades have told us repeatedly, our BDS campaign is moving at a faster pace than theirs ever did.

So, while Shtulman and pals spread their lies and disinformation, human rights activists and other people of conscience will continue to work on BDS--the Bathseva Dance Company protest is only part of a growing campaign.

Labels: anti-Zionism, boycott, critical thinking, David Shtulman, holocaust, University of Michigan

This is the first part of a two-part post on a quartet of Zionist letters to the editor that recently appeared in the Ann Arbor News.

One of the complaints that opponents of the Palestinian boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel frequently make is: "Boycotts aren't effective." Ruth R. Gretzinger's "why bother?" response (Ann Arbor News 2/12/09) to Henry Herskovitz's letter (AAN 2/3/09) is a fine example of this class of fallacious reasoning. Herskovitz wrote in favor of boycotts against Israel, generally, and in favor of boycotting the Batsheva Dance Company (BDC), in particular. The giveaway, of course, is that Gretzinger does "bother" because her fear is precisely that boycotts against Israel will be effective.

So, with such an inauspicious start what is Gretzinger to do in the rest of her letter? Why, personally attack Herskovitz and then spread falsehoods, naturally. First, she accuses Herskovitz of being a "well-known rabble-rouser." In reality, Gretzinger has just paid Herskovitz a high compliment, for rousing the "rabble" from their Zionist-induced complicity, ignorance, indifference, and defeatism is precisely what Henry seeks to do.

As George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) says in It's a Wonderful Life to the villainous Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore), a slum-lord and the richest man in Bedford Falls: "Just remember, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community." And so it is that Gretzinger and her fellow Zionists want the "rabble" to remain asleep-- to keep quietly working and letting Washington DC send their tax money to Israel at the tune of $6.8 million per day and to keep sending their children to die on foreign battlefields for the sake of Israel.

Next up, Gretzinger tells her readers that BDC members "are dancers, not soldiers" when, in fact, some of the dancers are soldiers. In an October 2006, Dance Magazine interview BDC Director Ohad Naharin said: "It seems to me that in Israel more of the young dancers are likely to have had military experience than in the U.S. In Israel when people really want to dance, they will find a military service that will allow them to dance. We have two soldiers in our junior company." Naharin is himself an Israeli Occupation Forces veteran.

Then Gretzinger strikes up the "art, not politics" tune. David S. Bach (AAN 2/12/09) joins in with: "To suggest a boycott of this dance troupe for the political actions of their government is to suggest that the world should have boycotted all things American for the last eight years." In response, it will suffice to quote Rabbi Tovah Shalom's online comments to Bach's letter:

It would have been a good thing to "have boycotted all things American for the last eight years." In fact, it's not a bad idea now and some people are doing just that. The fact is that almost all Americans are, to varying degrees, responsible for the actions of the US government. An effective boycott campaign might have motivated Americans to prevent the illegal invasion of Iraq and it might help end the illegal ongoing occupation of that country, not to mention Afghanistan.

An effective boycott of the US might restrain Obama, who wants increase the number of US combat troops. In his first week in office he authorized illegal missile strikes on Pakistan--a sovereign nation and, ostensibly, a US ally, at that--that killed two dozen people.

As for the insipid claim that "Through the arts and through cultural exchange come understanding." Well, Hitler and Stalin would have loved that one. Only someone incredibly ignorant of history could make such a claim. Ever heard of the Reichskulturkammer, Triumph of the Will or Arno Breker? How about the Proletkult, Socialist Realism, Bulgakov, or Solzhenitsyn? Every modern, repressive regime has been keenly aware of the importance of culture and promoted some works and artists while suppressing others. And the approved art has never found a shortage of "little Eichmanns," to quote John Zerzan, and dupes to lap it up. The monstrous Jewish state is no different and, thus, we have the Batsheva Dance Company and its fans.

Attorney and former city council member Joan H. Lowenstein, Zionist shill and past president of the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County, weighs in (AAN 2/13/09) with some classic guilt-by-association. Curiously, she starts out with something that, while perhaps an overstatement, is demonstrably true. An unsourced quote she attributes to "Iranian cleric Hojjatoleslam Ali Maboudi" says: "The Zionists brought Obama to power to help America pass through its current challenges."

Zionists certainly did play a major role in getting Barack Obama elected. As Shmuel Rosner, Chief U.S. Correspondent for Ha'aretz wrote in a blog post entitled "Obama supports Israel. Period.":

It is no secret that Jewish money plays a big role in the Democratic Party. "They don't have the number [of voters], but have the means to get the voters," a prominent Democratic operative told me last week. That's why I told the told the NY Sun that "I don't think his real motive is to win votes. It's, of course, Jewish money."

Not coincidentally, after the major party nominees were selected, a spokesman for the most visible component of the Israel Lobby gloated: "AIPAC is pleased that both parties have selected four pro-Israel candidates."

After being elected, the "first Jewish president" wasted no time in appointing Rahm Israel Emanuel as his Chief of Staff, the highest-ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Emanuel once served the Israeli Occupation Forces as a civilian volunteer and as Ali Abunimah notes, "Emanuel is one of the most hard-line supporters of Israel in the Congress and has been for many years." No wonder Obama backed Israel's Hanukkah Massacre in late December and January that killed over 1,300 Palestinians and left over 5,300 injured.

In the rest of her letter, Lowenstein lumps Herzkovitz with Bishop Richard Williamson and Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem. As Lowenstein makes clear, these men have violated one or more of the nine commandments of the "Holocaust Religion" identified by Israeli journalist Shraga Elam. Though the offending Herskovitz quote is only: "Join the worldwide boycott against Israel."

Lowenstein helpfully instructs us that "It is not paranoid or alarmist to say that there is a resurgence of anti-Semitism - and of acceptance of anti-Semitism - in the world today" thereby suggesting that, yes, it is paranoid and alarmist. At times like these, the words of Dr. Norman G. Finkelstein are apt. In Beyond Chutzpah (p. 85) he writes:

Wrapping themselves in the mantle of The Holocaust, these Jewish elites pretend—and, in their own solipsistic universe, perhaps imagine themselves—to be victims, dismissing any and all criticism as manifestations of "anti-Semitism." And, from this lethal brew of formidable power, chauvinistic arrogance, feigned (or imagined) victimhood, and Holocaust-immunity to criticism has sprung a terrifying recklessness and ruthlessness on the part of American Jewish elites. Alongside Israel, they are the main fomenters of anti-Semitism in the world today.

In The Holocaust Industry, (p. 3) Finkelstein argues:

"The Holocaust" is an ideological representation of the Nazi holocaust. Like most ideologies, it bears a connection, if tenuous, with reality. The Holocaust is not an arbitrary but rather an internally coherent construct. Its central dogmas sustain significant political and class interests. Indeed, The Holocaust has proven to be an indispensable ideological weapon. Through its deployment, one of the world's most formidable military powers, with a horrendous human rights record, has cast itself as a "victim" state, and the most successful ethnic group in the United States has likewise acquired victim status. Considerable benefits accrue to this specious victimhood--in particular, immunity to criticism, however justified.

The second part of this two-part post will respond to the letter (AAN 2/13/09) of David Shtulman. Click here to read the second part of the post.

Labels: anti-Zionism, BDS, boycott, critical thinking, Henry Herskovitz, holocaust, Norman G. Finkelstein, Obama, University of Michigan

Reposted from Next Year in al-Quds.

Ann Arbor Protest Tomorrow and Sunday--No Dancing on Gaza's Graves

***PLEASE FORWARD***

Please join other people of conscience in Ann Arbor this Saturday and Sunday as we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and answer their collective call for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israel. Just a few weeks ago, the Israel rained down death and destruction upon the people of Gaza and now the Batsheva Dance Company, an Israeli government-sponsored group is coming to Ann Arbor, to dance on their graves.

As Ali Abunimah asked while the slaughter was still happening: "... what will happen after the demonstrations disperse and the anger dies down? Will we continue to let Palestinians in Gaza die in silence? Palestinians everywhere are asking for solidarity, real solidarity, in the form of sustained, determined political action. ... The global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement for Palestine provides the framework for this. Now is the time to channel our raw emotions into a long-term commitment to make sure we do not wake up to 'another Gaza' ever again."

7:30 PM Sharp, Saturday February 14, 2009
3:30 PM Sharp, Sunday, February 15, 2009
(performances start at 8 PM and 4 PM)
Power Center, 121 Fletcher (at Huron) UMich-Ann Arbor
(for map and directions click here)


Click here to download a PDF file of the most recent Ann Arbor Batsheva Dance Company protest leaflet.

This protest is sponsored by the Middle East Task Force with support from Home for Peace and Justice; MidEast JustPeace; Newaygo County People for Peace; Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends; Ann Arbor Coalition Against War; Palestine Office; Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice; the Rev. Naim Ateek, Director of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem; and the Israel/Palestine Action Group of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship.

Please Send an E-Letter
We only need seven (7) more people to send e-letters to reach our goal. If you haven't already done so, please send a Batsheva e-letter today. Click here: http://michiganpeacenetwork.org/eletters/index.php?eid=19

Labels: anti-Zionism, BDS, boycott, Palestine, University of Michigan

Reposted from Next Year in al-Quds.

Update: 6 Days to Go--No Dancing on Gaza's Graves

***PLEASE FORWARD***

In this update:
1. Protest reminder
2. E-letters at 80% of goal
3. New supporters
4. New Batsheva article on Palestine Think Tank
5. Photos from Pittsburgh protest

1. 08 Feb 2009 - Israel's apartheid Batsheva Dance Company comes to Ann Arbor next Saturday. This recital is part of an ongoing campaign to polish the image of Israel in the American consciousness and, thus, to help secure continued American financial, diplomatic, and military support of the Jewish state even in the aftermath of the recent Israeli massacre in Gaza. Please plan to come and nonviolently protest the Batsheva Dance Company on Saturday and Sunday. Let us answer the call of the Palestinian people for broad boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

Click here to download a PDF file of the most recent Ann Arbor Batsheva Dance Company protest leaflet. Click here or see below for protest details and more updates.


The Batsheva Dance Company:

• Israel's leading cultural ambassador
• Israeli government-funded
• Israeli soldier dancers
• No Arab dancers

NO DANCING ON GAZA'S GRAVES--PROTEST THE ISRAELI APARTHEID DANCE TROUPE COMING TO ANN ARBOR
7:30 PM Sharp, Saturday February 14, 2009
3:30 PM Sharp, Sunday, February 15, 2009
(performances start at 8 PM and 4 PM)
Power Center, 121 Fletcher (at Huron) UMich-Ann Arbor
(for map and directions click here)

This protest is sponsored by the Middle East Task Force with support from Home for Peace and Justice; MidEast JustPeace; Newaygo County People for Peace; Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends; Ann Arbor Coalition Against War; Palestine Office; Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice; the Rev. Naim Ateek, Director of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem; and the Israel/Palestine Action Group of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship.

2. The Middle East Task Force's e-letter has now reached 80% of its goal. If you haven't already done so, there's still time to sign the e-letter and you don't have to live in Michigan or Ann Arbor to take a stand against Israeli apartheid. Please sign today. Click here to sign the e-letter or see a list of those who have already signed. The purpose of the e-letter is to ask University Musical Society (UMS) Executive Director Ken Fischer and members of the UMS Board of Directors to honor the Palestinian people's boycott against Israel by canceling the Batsheva Dance Company performances and by ending all scheduling of Israeli performers.

3. Since the last update the Dearborn-based Palestine Office and the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice have stepped up to support the Batsheva boycott and protest. Other new supporters include the Rev. Naim Ateek, Director of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem and the Israel/Palestine Action Group of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship. Thanks to everyone for their support. It's not too late add your organization's name to the list of supporters.

4. Click here to read a February 2, 2009, action alert about the Batsheva Dance Company on Palestine Think Tank.

5. Click here to see two photos from the Pittsburgh Batsheva protest.

Labels: anti-Zionism, BDS, boycott, culture, University of Michigan

El siguiente artículo fue escrito por Emilio Silva y publicada en 22/01/09 en aporrea.org, un sitio web de Venezuela. Es publicado aqui en el interés de la libertad intelectual y su apariencia aqui no es una aprobación de las opiniones expresadas en él. El artículo ha sido ampliamente denunciado por esos lobos sionistas en piel de cordero como el Rabino Marvin Hier del Centro Simon Wiesenthal.

Sin ser palestino, cuando cualquier persona con sensibilidad (más particularmente en todo revolucionario) tiene conocimiento de las salvajadas de los judíos sionistas en un país que no es de ellos y que le arrebataron a sus verdaderos moradores, es algo que causa angustia, dolor, indignación y rabia realmente descomunales, lo suficiente para quien cree en la acción de la justicia y la voluntad de cambio sin incurrir en los excesos que critica de gentes que se creen por encima de las leyes humanas y naturales.

La sensatez y el deseo de triunfo obligan a canalizar positiva y constructivamente esa energía mental y sentimental del revolucionario en función de posibilitar hechos concretos para el logro eficaz de los objetivos. He allí la interrogante leninista: ¿Qué hacer?

Desde esta modesta trinchera de ideas, quien esto escribe cree que el contexto propio de una situación como la padecida por el pueblo de Palestina requiere de actos, actividades y propuestas de esencia profundamente radical y concientizadora para conmover y movilizar al pueblo venezolano.

1) A nivel nacional.

_. Videos-foros acerca de la verdadera situación sobre Palestina e israel. Hacerlos en todos los espacios, incluyendo barrios y caseríos, junto a un intenso debate de ideas.

_. Ofensiva mediática en prensa, radio, televisión e internet acerca del terrorismo perpetrado en Palestina por los judíos sionistas y sus aliados eurogringos desde 1.918 hasta la actualidad. Para asegurar el éxito de esa ofensiva, aparte de reactivar (o desengavetar del sueño burocratista) el convenio entre Telesur y Al Jazeera, hay que despedir a patadas a aquellos funcionarios saboteadores o negligentes que sólo sirven de latre a la política comunicacional del Estado, así como estimular a los medios alternativos y comunitarios. ¿Para qué ha servido CONATEL (donde supuestamente trabajan dos ciudadanos judíos en instancias claves) si hasta ahora sigue engavetado el procedimiento contra Globovisión por las declaraciones magnicidas de Rafael Poleo, además de no haber ni un solo preso civil por el intento de magnicidio y golpe de estado denunciado por Mario Silva entre Septiembre y Octubre de 2.008?

_. Denunciar públicamente con nombre y apellido a los integrantes de grupos judíos de poder con presencia en Venezuela, indicando las empresas de su propiedad para boicotearlas. Por ejemplo, no asistir más al Centro Comercial Sambil de Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia, etc., propiedad de la familia del choro sionista Salomón Cohen, quien se sigue enriqueciendo todavía desde la Cuarta República con la complicidad de funcionarios corruptos enquistados en el aparato de Estado. En consecuencia, es un imbécil quien esté a favor de la apertura del Sambil de La Candelaria como centro comercial, y más descerebrado todavía quien desee una construcción de esa naturaleza en lugares como Catia.

_. Al respecto, como a gentes tan capitalistas como estos hebreos sionistas les duelen más el bolsillo que cualquier otra cosa (incluyendo Jehová), es inapropiado comprarles sus productos y acudir a sus locales comerciales, como también a aquellos negocios, supermercados, restaurantes, etc., que tengan vinculaciones con ellos o sean de su propiedad (como Locatel y la marca láctea Carabobo), o donde vendan sus alimentos Kosher, como Unicasa y Central Madeirense.

_. Incluir dentro del boicot a las empresas transnacionales vinculadas al régimen sionista de Israel. Por ejemplo, Citröen, Nestlé, McDonald’s (o McMierda), Adidas, Nike, Zara, Revlon, General Electric, Coca Cola, Walt Disney Pictures, IBM, etc.

_. Cuestionar la existencia en Venezuela de instituciones educativas solo-para-judíos, como si ellos fueran clase aparte de nuestra población, menos si no es posible la existencia de un Estado dentro del Estado.

_. Concentraciones públicas masivas y periódicas no solo frente a la embajada de israel, sino también a las sedes de las organizaciones judías ubicadas en los espacios de las urbanizaciones Sebucán y Los Chorros del Municipio Sucre del Estado Miranda, y la Urbanización San Bernardino de Caracas. Es bueno recordar la existencia de la Sinagoga ubicada en el sector caraqueño de Maripérez. Las concentraciones se pueden replicar frente a las sedes de Globovisión, El Universal, Unión Radio, las universidades privadas y autónomas, etc., o sea, frente a cualquier espacio donde se defiendan y promuevan los intereses sionistas.

_. Detectar y vigilar, por parte de los cuerpos de inteligencia de Estado y la Contraloría Social del pueblo organizado, a los agentes encubiertos del Mossad y a todas las ONG y demás grupos de la autodenominada sociedad civil (incluyendo a los estudiantes escuálidos de las universidades privadas y autónomas) que han recibido asesoría y financiamiento desde el estado artificial de israel, sobre todo cuando están haciendo labores de penetración ideológica en barrios como los ubicados en la Parroquia Petare del Municipio Sucre. Importante es tomar en cuenta que Enrique Capriles Radonsky es ciudadano israelí. A propósito, recordemos la afrenta que los estudiantes burguesitos le hicieron al pueblo de Petare el Jueves 15-1-2.009 cuando impunemente hicieron actos politiqueros golpistas cerca de la estación del metro, sin que nadie les diera unos fuertes correazos y los mandara derechito paras sus cómodas quintas y apartamentos. ¡Nos quitaron los espacios políticos de las instituciones de gobierno local, y ahora dejamos que nos quiten los espacios políticos de las calles, que son del pueblo y no de la burguesía!

_. Depurar a las instituciones gubernamentales de aquellos funcionarios escuálidos con o sin boína roja que actúan a favor de los intereses de los grupos sionistas ubicados en nuestro país.

_. Emplazar públicamente a todo judío que se encuentre en cualquier calle, centro comercial, plaza, etc., a que tome posición vociferándole consignas a favor de Palestina y en contra del estado-aborto de israel. No es un gesto inmaduro de agresión psicológica, sino un acto de cuestionamiento contra la indiferencia, complicidad, simpatía o apoyo que esas personas sientan hacia ese estado-monstruo de Israel.

_. Invitar a los judíos antisionistas que habiten en Venezuela a manifestar públicamente su posición de deslinde contra los crímenes de guerra del Sionismo y la imposición de israel como estado artificial existente sobre Palestina.

_. Instalación y difusión mediática de centros de acopio para la recepción de donaciones destinadas a ayudar al pueblo palestino, así como se hizo para ayudar a los pueblos cubano y haitiano cuando sufrieron el impacto de los huracanes del año 2.008.

_. Nacionalización de las empresas y confiscación de los bienes de los judíos sionistas que apoyen los desmanes del estado nazifascista de israel, y donación inmediata de dichos bienes a los palestinos víctimas del actual holocausto. Si existen impedimentos legales para tal propósito, será necesario modificar las leyes que vayan contra un hecho de justicia. En una sociedad deformada, no todo lo legal es justo ni todo lo justo es legal, hecho incompatible con una Sociedad Socialista.

_. Enjuiciar a los judíos sionistas involucrados en el golpe de estado del Jueves 11 de Abril de 2.002 y en el saboteo empresarial y petrolero de diciembre de 2.002 y febrero de 2.003, como la bruja Pinchas Brenner y otros judíos de su calaña que aún se ocultan discretamente tras bastidores. Idem con Abraham Levi Benshimol por las mismas razones, además de su oficio de palangrista (¡La tuya, por si acaso!).

2) A nivel internacional.

_. Envío de todo tipo de ayuda a los palestinos, incluso suficiente armamento básico y sofisticado para su defensa de las huestes sionistas.

_. Movilizar todas las instancias mundiales para condenar, aislar y sancionar en todos los aspectos posibles, de manera contundente y firme, al estado genocida de israel, incluyendo el embargo de sus propiedades y cuentas bancarias en el exterior.

_. Propiciar el destacado trabajo de los hackers informáticos contra las páginas de internet elaboradas por los sionistas y aquellos gobiernos e instituciones con vínculos favorables a israel.

_. Realización de un concierto internacional por la paz en Palestina y contra la invasión israelí en ese país. A dicho concierto únicamente deben ir artistas y grupos musicales que sean revolucionarios. ¡Nada de nada con Shakira, Juanes, Maná, Miguel Bosé y demás faranduleros escuálidos! El concierto se puede efectuar en Caracas, o en Maracaibo para latirle en la cueva a la oposición atrincherada en el Estado Zulia.

_. Organización de una conferencia internacional sobre la aparición del estado teocrático nazifascista de israel en su condición de colonia genocida eurogringa, y otra acerca de los mitos y verdades del supuesto holocausto u holocuento judío (una verdadera industria de la lástima chantajista y el sentimentalismo de baja estofa) aplicado por los nazis alemanes, el cual posee un carácter fuertemente dudoso, tergiversador y cuestionable, hasta el punto de considerarse que sí hubo asesinatos de judíos pero sin caer en una matanza masiva y planificada como la que las hordas sionistas hacen ahora en Palestina. Ambas conferencias se efectuarían en Caracas, con amplia cobertura mediática y duración de varios días.

_. Combatir la criminalización mediática de las justas luchas heroicas de grupos como Hamas y Hezbollah, así como la chocante y cínica victimización mediática del estado segregacionista de israel, y frente a la venenosa e invisible manipulación aquí referida, no reducir todo el conflicto únicamente a la Franja de Gaza, cuándo es una porción de una totalidad más grande como lo es Palestina. No olvidemos que Gaza es parte de Palestina, pero Palestina no incluye solamente a Gaza. Es también Cisjordania y el resto de territorio ilegal y violentamente usurpado a los palestinos y ocupados por los invasores judíos sionistas.

_. Aplicar los puntos anteriores para los casos de Afganistán, Irak, Colombia y el Congo, países donde el imperialismo eurogringo y el Sionismo tienen sus manos metidas.

_. Toda esta ofensiva política, diplomática y comunicacional debe ir acompañada de todas las gestiones necesarias para la liberación del camarada Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, alias “Carlos” (el sobrenombre de “El Chacal” es una ofensa impuesta por las empresas privadas de comunicación), quien está prisionero en las cárceles de Francia por obra y gracia del Sionismo y el imperialismo, debido a que hasta ahora es el único revolucionario venezolano públicamente conocido que ha ido a combatir a favor de la causa palestina desde los años 60 del siglo pasado. ¡Honor y gloria al camarada Carlos!

_. En ese orden de ideas, denunciar la represión interna existente dentro del estado dictatorial de israel contra aquellos judíos opuestos a los abusos contra Palestina. Esa represión ha llegado hasta el punto de estar encarcelados numerosos jóvenes judíos por no querer enrolarse en la soldadesca sionista. Con el fin de apoyar la campaña de liberación de esos jóvenes, en la página virtual www.december18th.org existe un enlace para tal efecto.

_. Retorno a su país de los palestinos exiliados y refugiados en otros países. Aquí sí vale hablar de la diáspora palestina, no de la supuesta diáspora judía pues no se puede plantear ese concepto de dispersión en torno a una religión que cualquier persona puede adoptar en cualquier parte del mundo.

_. Destrucción de la versión ampliada del Muro de Berlín que rodea a la Franja de Gaza y otros territorios de Palestina.

_. Devolución inmediata, por parte de la entidad sionista, de todos los territorios usurpados a los países vecinos a Palestina.

_. Anular los acuerdos internacionales que favorezcan al estado artificial de israel, como el Tratado de Libre Comercio que tiene con el MERCOSUR.

_. Incentivar la concientización de los sectores alienados de la población israelí, y apoyar su insurrección contra el régimen nazifascista de israel.

_. Liberación incondicional e impostergable de los valientes combatientes palestinos prisioneros de los chacales sionistas en cárceles y campos de torturas.

_. Compensación material, financiera y moral a todas las víctimas palestinas, libanesas, sirias, etc., a ser cumplida con los recursos del estado de israel, o en última instancia con los bienes mal habidos de judíos sionistas beneficiarios de las propiedades que eran de originalmente de los palestinos y sus descendientes.

_. Reconstrucción (con colaboración internacional) de todas las aldeas y ciudades palestinas, junto a la devolución total de las aldeas y ciudades antes pobladas por los palestinos pero que ahora se hayan ocupadas ilegalmente por ciudadanos israelíes. Igualmente, entregar a los palestinos todos aquellos asentamientos judíos, que aparecieron luego de la creación del estado forajido de israel, en zonas despobladas con anterioridad. En pocas Palabras, es el reintegro total de la nación palestina sin caer en la trampoa política que representa la muy cuestionable Resolución 181 de la ONU (irrespetada por el Sionismo), donde absurdamente se establece la creación de dos estados en el mismo territorio palestino. ¡Un solo territorio palestino, un solo estado palestino!

_. Avalar la disolución del estado artificial de israel (un anacronismo medieval de inspiración religiosa) luego de haber cumplido con los debidos actos de compensación, reconstrucción y devolución de los puntos anteriores. Esa disolución no implica expulsar a todos los judíos del territorio palestino, sino más bien retomando de otra forma lo que propone el camarada Eduardo Rothe, que es la conformación de una asamblea constituyente donde participen judíos antisionistas y palestinos de religión judía, cristiana y musulmana, donde se consagre la tolerancia religiosa y la construcción de una sociedad socialista pluricultural y multiétnica, a ser ejemplo de los demás pueblos asiáticos. El territorio donde existirá ese nuevo estado se seguirá denominando Palestina, y el estado de israel será solo un mal recuerdo de épocas atrasadas. Los judíos sionistas tendrán que aceptar estas condiciones o deberán emigrar a otro sitio, como Estados Unidos y Europa, de donde originalmente provienen muchos de ellos y sus ancestros.

_. Enjuiciamiento sumario sin contemplaciones de los políticos y militares judíos sionistas (de todos los rangos, incluyendo soldados) responsables del actual holocausto palestino y de crímenes anteriores cometidos en Palestina y otros países, así como llevar a los tribunales a los colonos judíos de derecha que hayan sido autores y cómplices de esas y otras barbaridades. Dentro de esos procesos judiciales, incluir a integrantes de grupos terroristas como Hagana, Irgun y Stern que aún estén vivos, y efectuar juicios póstumos a criminales fallecidos como Golda Meier, David Ben Gurion, Menaghen Begin, Ariel Sharon, etc.

_. Búsqueda y enjuiciamiento de los mercenarios israelíes que han entrenado a las bandas paramilitares causantes de sufrimientos a los pueblos de Colombia y Centroamérica. Un digno representante de esa ilustre estirpe es el psicópata Yair Klein (o como se llame), coronel retirado del ejército israelí.

_. Actuar contundentemente contra Estados Unidos y los países europeos que se opongan o saboteen la aplicación de todos los puntos aquí expuestos.

Seguir con esta sucesión de planteamientos va para largo por la enormidad de las aberraciones sionistas, confrontada con la colosal capacidad de amor, imaginación, inteligencia y justicia que los revolucionarios estamos obligados a desarrollar y estimular entre nosotros mismos y el resto de la humanidad para que otro mundo mejor sea posible.

Dejo hasta aquí estas humildes aportaciones para que otros las enriquezcan y mejoren, pero más importante aún, luchar porque sea realidad concreta a favor del hermano pueblo de Palestina.

¡Por la liberación del revolucionario venezolano-palestino Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (mal llamado “El Chacal” por los pitiyanquis), prisionero en las mazmorras francesas! ¡Palestinos somos todos!

Emilio Silva: Trabajador Académico de la UBV, miembro del Colectivo Docente UBV

Correo Electrónico: silvachapellin@yahoo.es

Labels: anti-Zionism, Español, free speech, Israel

Reposted from Next Year in al-Quds:

Four Cities Now to Protest Batsheva Dance Company

Labels: anti-Zionism, BDS, boycott, resistance, University of Michigan

Reposted from Next Year in al-Quds:

Send UMS an E-Letter--Boycott the Israeli Apartheid Dance Troupe

***PLEASE FORWARD***

No Dancing on Gaza's Graves--Boycott the Batsheva Dance Troupe

Please ask Executive Director Ken Fischer and members of the Board of Directors of the University Musical Society (UMS) of Ann Arbor, Michigan to honor the Palestinian people's boycott against Israel by canceling the Batsheva Dance Company performances scheduled for February14-15, 2009, and by endings all scheduling of Israeli performers until such time as the boycott against Israel is ended by the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee.

The Batsheva Dance Company is funded by the Israeli government, it has no Arab performers, and is "proud to be considered Israel's leading ambassador." Ohad Naharin, the dance company's director, is an Israeli army veteran and current Israeli soldiers/reservists also belong to the company.

To send an e-letter to Ken Fischer and UMS Board members asking them to cancel the upcoming performance go to http://michiganpeacenetwork.org/eletters/.

Please plan to join us outside to nonviolently protest the performances unless the UMS cancels them. The protest is sponsored by the Middle East Task Force with support from Michigan Peace Team, Home for Peace and Justice, MidEast JustPeace, and Newaygo County People for Peace.

Labels: anti-Zionism, BDS, culture, resistance, University of Michigan

The text below is from a report by the Syrian state news agency and my comments appear in italics:

American human rights activist Anna Baltzer, who participated in the march [in Damascus], described what is going on in Gaza as "insane…there are no words that can describe the situation there…I was very much affected by what I saw on TV screens."

PM: Really? I can think of some words to describe the situation: war crimes, slaughter, massacre, atrocities, genocide.

She added that she published a book titled "Witness in Palestine" documenting her diaries of the Israeli human rights abuses committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people, and calling on her country to change its policies in the Middle East and pressure Israel to change its hostile behavior.

PM: How nice to work in a plug for the book and how perfectly quaint to argue for the US to "pressure Israel". Why not go for the whole enchilada--a full cutoff of US diplomatic recognition and support and of US military and financial assistance? As Ben-Gurion observed, it's not a dream if you make it real.

Ms. Baltzer said that many Americans reject Israeli exercises against the Palestinians, adding that also many other Americans don't know what is really taking place on spot.

PM: What purpose and whose interests are served by telling Arabs that "many Americans reject Israeli exercises ..." when the vast majority of Americans passively or actively support Israel? Wouldn't it would be better if Ms. Baltzer had lent her support to growing calls to boycott Israel and the United States rather than make excuses for Americans?

Labels: anti-Zionism, Palestine

Who knew Tovah Shalom was a rabbi? She even calls the Jewish slaughter in Gaza a Hanukkah Massacre. Oy!

Labels: anti-Zionism, Israel, Palestine

Those dear hearts at Chabad House have provided a service to us all--an opportunity to write to an IDF soldier. Here's the message that "Tovah Shalom" sent recently:

Dear Soldier: Please stop your complicity in the war crimes of the Jewish apartheid state. Refuse to fight. Go home and work for justice, democracy, and equality in all of Palestine for everyone including the Palestinian refugees from 1948, only when that is achieved can there be peace. Stop believing the lies of your leaders and rabbis. Tovah Shalom

Here's the message she got back:

From	"Chabad.org"
Date	01/15/2009, 09:52:31 AM
Subject	Thank You For Showing Your Solidarity!
	Dear Tovah Shalom, Thank you so much for submitting an encouraging letter along with a personal picture to be submitted to an IDF soldier/Israeli citizen living under the threat of rocket attacks. The delight of the soldiers/Israelis receiving these letters is really something to behold. Their hearts are warmed by the knowledge that so many people really care so deeply about their plight. Jewish unity is the greatest conduit for G-d’s blessings. Seeing the amazing outpouring of love and care increases our faith and confidence that G-d will protect the citizens of the Holy Land, and we will soon see the fulfillment of the promise (Leviticus 26:5-6): “You will live in security in your land, and I will grant peace in the Land.” www.chabad.org If you have any questions or inquiries, please contact us at: http://www.chabad.org/tools/feedback.htm P.S. Click below to see continuing coverage of the Gaza War: news, commentary, first-person reports and more: http://www.chabad.org/gazawar

Click here to send your own message to an IDF soldier.

Labels: anti-Zionism, Chabad, Israel

Poor old Joel Finkel of the Chicago chapter of the openly Zionist organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), was reduced, once again, to sputtering nonsense by a fellow Jew who speaks the truth about Jews and Palestine.

Back in 2005, when Chicago JVP was still called Not In My Name, Finkel had a conniption over Paul Eisen's essay "Jewish Power." Finkel was so mentally impaired by that bout with the truth that, among other things, he was apparently rendered incapable of understanding that "a single state 'between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, one country with equal citizenship for all' " is fully compatible with Palestinian "national aspirations." Palestinians--not including millions of refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and elsewhere--already comprise a demographic majority 'between the river and the sea' and it is Jewish opposition to equality and democracy that comprises the primary obstacle to the realization of Palestinian national aspirations.

Recently, Finkel was set to frothing over the 12-27-08 vigil report from Henry Herskovitz of Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends. On January 3rd on the Chicago JVP e-mail list Finkel writes:

Henry is a reactionary fool. As a critic of the vigils outside the synagogue during Sabbath services, I never claimed that these desecrated the Sabbath. The issue is that the message that is given to the public is that Jews--­religious Jews­--are guilty of the crimes of the Israeli government. This message is false and incites anti-Jewish sentiment, which is exactly what it is designed to do.

In fact "Jews-religious Jews" are guilty of Israeli government crimes especially those Jews in the Israeli government but also those who freely lend their support to the Jewish apartheid state. According to a poll conducted by an Israeli organization, 95% of Israeli Jews support the Hanukkah Massacre in Gaza and you can bet that includes a lot of religious Jews and reflects the attitude of, probably, millions of American Jews.

The synagogue that JWPF holds vigil in front of has publicly declared itself in support of Israel. In 2006, as Israel devastated Lebanon, killing hundreds and wounding thousands, Beth Israel waved the flag (Israeli, that is) and prayed "for those who defend Israel and for the three kidnapped soldiers." Beth Israel attendees have assaulted JWPF members because of their criticism of Israel. Like Finkel, Beth Israel spreads lies about the vigils. They send their children to Israel and pose them with armed Israeli soldiers. And Rabbi Dobrusin has offered a halachic justification of torture from the bima. Yet, to Finkel, none of this justifies public protest.

Are all Jews guilty of Israel's crimes? Of course not, and JWPF has never claimed otherwise. The blanket guilt is the phantom of Finkel's fevered imagination.

Finkel continues:

Secondly, Henry believes that anyone who, in any way, speaks of solidarity with Israelis is necessarily a Zionist. This is a right-wing view that betrays a deep-seated loathing for international solidarity. It is a view that is as reactionary as Zionism itself. It is of little wonder that Henry’s group is widely despised within the Palestinian community in the Detroit area.

The question I've heard Henry ask again and again is "Do you support Israel's claimed right to exist as a Jewish state?" That is Henry's test: Do you support an outlaw, exclusivist apartheid regime? I remember the American movement in support of the struggle against South African apartheid and the internationalist position is the same now as it was then--solidarity with the oppressed, not with the oppressor class. In the 1980s people of conscience supported the Azanian/Black South African people and today's internationalists stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Henry is a living example of such solidarity, which is why he has hosted visiting Palestinians (and anti-Zionist Jewish Israelis) in his home.

As for "Henry's group" being despised, sure, some Palestinians probably despise JWPF because it shows them up as compromised defeatists. But when opponents of the vigils waged public campaigns against JWPF they couldn't find a single Palestinian, other Arab, or Muslim individual or group to publicly oppose the vigils. And four months ago when the Arab American News profiled JWPF none of Finkel's imagined "Palestinian community" members had anything to say against them.

Finkel writes:

As for me, I was proud to carry a sign, which read "Solidarity with the families of Gaza and Sderot," at our demonstrations in Chicago. A Palestinian man, who had spent 20 months in Israeli prisons before being deported, asked if he could help me carry the sign. The only people who objected were the right-wing Hamas supporters, who surrounded us and tried to intimidate us with chants of "God is Great," "Long live Hamas," "Long live Hezbollah," and "Down with Israel." But, as we expected, the overwhelming Palestinian response was to thank us for being there.

It was undoubtedly people like Finkel whom Emerson had in mind when he wrote: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." Finkel is proud to equate the situation of Gazans with that of the colonizers in Sderot as if that grotesquerie made sense anywhere but in the racism-addled minds of Finkel and his ilk or to a few broken, desperate Palestinians abasing themselves for crumbs fallen from the master's table. Of course, as an Arab friend points out, it is possible that Finkel has also exploited and distorted, for his own political agenda, simple expressions of kindness and generosity, the type for which Palestinians are renowned. That is, Finkel has solipsistically spun a charitable indulgence of his absurd comparison into a ringing endorsement of it.

As in an earlier paragraph, Finkel invokes "right-wing" as a sort of bogeyman. I mean, who else would say "God is great," uphold Hamas and Hizbullah, or worst of all say, "Down with Israel"? No, poor old Joel Finkel has drunk so much Trotskyist-Zionist kool-aid that the can't even imagine that progressives might express solidarity with such popular (and in the case of Hamas, democratically elected) indigenous liberation movements as Hamas and Hizbullah, let alone denounce the blessed Jewish state. It is a measure of the decrepitude of the American Left that, when it comes to Hamas and Hizbullah, they are mostly on the same side as the US government.

Finkel closes as follows:

In the end, Henry’s little group, which has successfully isolated itself from the Peace and Justice movement, will not even be a footnote in history. And that is just fine with me.

/Joel Finkel

Jewish Voice for Peace – Chicago
American Jews for a Just Peace

It's clear that Finkel is whistling past the graveyard here. His deepest fear is that Israel is headed for the garbage heap of history and that JWPF is playing a small but significant role in hastening that inevitable conclusion and exposing Jewish complicity in the crimes of Zion.

Labels: anti-Zionism, Henry Herskovitz, Jewish supremacism, Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends, Zionism