Stereotypes

If asked, many people would probably tell you that settlers in the West Bank are part of a messianic right wing movement committed to establish power in biblical Israel.  Americans who move to the settlements are often portrayed as gun-toting extremists.  This is the stereotype generally transmitted and reinforced by media.  But is it so black and white as we are informed?

According to an article that appeared in Ha'aretz on October 7, 2011, "The American settler you don't know" by Raphael Ahren, we may need to alter our perceptions.  The article concerns the findings of a University of Chicago history researcher, Sara Hirschhorn, in her doctoral dissertation, "American-born Immigrants and The Israeli Ultra-Nationalist Movement Since 1967."

Hirschhorn says that American Jews in the West Bank represent a very heterogeneous and dynamic movement.

"It doesn't necessarily fit into any preexisting categories. In addition to that, I believe that my findings bring the discussion out of this typical left/right discourse that we have developed when we talk about the settler movement. There is a very wide spectrum, which certainly runs the gamut of everything you can imagine."

Based on access to confidential records from the American consulate in Jerusalem, 45,000 settlers have American citizenship, or about 15 percent of the Israeli West Bank population, compared to 8.5 percent of all Israeli Jews, based on estimates of 500,000 Americans among Israel's 5.8 million Jews.

"Jewish-American immigrants [to the territories] were primarily young, single, and highly identified as Jewish or traditional but not necessarily Orthodox in their religious orientation," [...] They were primarily political liberals in the United States, voted for the Democratic Party and have been active in 1960s radicalism in the United States, participating in the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle against the Vietnam War. This perhaps does not necessarily correspond to the idea we might have in mind about who these people were before they came to Israel."

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is one example cited in the article, a native New Yorker who marched with Martin Luther King and considers himself a liberal. Hirschhorn said that many of these Americans see what they're doing in Israel as an extension of their radicalism in the United States, "in part as an expression of their own Jewish civil rights."

Hirschhorn's findings confirm the earlier research of sociologist Chaim Waxman, that an overwhelming majority of Americans viewed the role of the Messiah as "totally unrelated" to their immigration to Israel and their settling in the territories.  Rabbi Riskin confirmed this."I don't want to control people who don't want to be controlled by me," he once told a Gush Emunim leader, referring to the Arabs living in West Bank.

So the next time someone pursues the stereotype and demean settlers as a monolithic crowd, particularly with regard to Americans, a reminder is in order, that there is also a prominent and proud liberal tradition in the hearts and minds of the demeaned.  Of course, these demeaners might know this if they ventured from the echo chamber that allows a much wider, more nuanced story than a single narrative to explain the universe.

That Israel Must Disappear

So says the PLO Ambassador to Brazil, courtesy of Honest Reporting and Google Translate, in a story from Veja-Brazil, a popular Bazilian magazine.

"That Israel must disappear." And no one uttered a peep of protest! 

 Reinaldo Azevedo

Imagine if an Israeli diplomat from any spot said: "This Palestinian Authority must disappear ..." It would be a scandal. On Friday, in a speech to university students, Alzeben Ibrahim, Palestinian ambassador in Brazil, said in clear words: "That Israel should disappear."

[...]
 
So that did not weigh no doubt about what he was saying, made ​​it clear: "And is not the ambassador of Iran or President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad who is speaking." Soon, it became evident that he was not saying Israel must disappear from the West Bank.

[...]

Alzeben said: "Israel is preparing provocations for a new conflict.Doubt the origin of the next rocket leaving Palestine. " She stated that the counter-intelligence information according to which Israel is infiltrating agents into Gaza to fire missiles at their own territory, understand?

By saying that "that Israel must disappear," Alzeben throws the nature of the "fight", which many experts, including our own, refuse to admit.

Imagine that, Israelis will sneak in to Gaza and shoot rockets at their own people.  I must ask, facetiously, if anyone get lower than the Israelis?

And this is an ambassador on behalf of all Palestinians! 

Add to this the recent peace mongering by Abbas Zaki, member of the Fatah Central Committee, which aired on the Al-Jazeera network on September 23, 2011.

When we say that the settlement should be based upon these borders, President [Abbas] understands, we understand, and everybody knows that the greater goal cannot be accomplished in one go.

[...]

Who is nervous, upset, and angry now? Netanyahu, Lieberman, and Obama... All those scumbags.

[...]

If we say that we want to wipe Israel out... C'mon, it's too difficult. It's not [acceptable] policy to say so. Don't say these things to the world. Keep it to yourself.

I mean, why not! According to Deputy Rector of Al-Azhar University, Sheik Muhammad Ashur, on September 30, 2011, Jews are the offspring of pigs and apes.

I say to all my brothers and sisters: Jihad has become an individual duty incumbent upon each and every one of us, because our enemies have grown arrogant and have persisted in their great tyranny. In an even uglier display, they publicly declare their support and defense of injustice, even though they boast that they denounce any injustice and that they are the ones who legislate human rights.

But the rights of what human are they defending and supporting? They support the unjust oppressors, the offspring of pigs and apes.

And one wonders why Israelis and Jews are wary about Arab and Palestinian intentions?

However, among the "humanitarians" of the Western anti-Zionist elite, who constantly tell us how they support peace and justice, no one uttered a peep of protest!

(Tip to EoZ)

The Palestinian Cause and Antisemitism

The issue arises whether antisemitism has infiltrated into pro-Palestinian politics.  The argument now heard is that to fight antisemitism is “anti-Palestinian.”  Little has been done to challenge the argument.  As a result, an impression grows that pro-Palestinian activism promotes antisemitism.

Of course, criticism of Israel and its policies does not constitute antisemitism.  It must also be acknowledged that some Western anti-Zionists genuinely speak out at the defamation of Jews.  Some understand that support for the Palestinian cause will surely diminish if it becomes identified with genocidal racism.  Historically, explicit and undisguised antisemitism was generally opposed in their circles, but there are increasing examples of change.  This is especially the situation in Europe, and increasingly in the USA among the Western anti-Zionist elites, for lack of a better term.  (Suggestions welcome!)

One clear indicator of tolerance of antisemitism within pro-Palestinian politics regards Hamas, whose founding Covenant spews Jew hatred and whose officials repeatedly make genocidal threats.  To support Hamas’s political agenda against Israel, pro-Palestinian activists deny antisemitism, do not openly and vociferously call for Hamas to change, and even paint Hamas’s critics as racists and “Islamophobes.”  In my own experience, it matters little about the substance offered to illustrate behavior, of which I believe many are truly ignorant, but more to do with the ideology and "solidarity." 

The most cynical pro-Palestinian activists are not afraid to associate their cause with antisemitism.  Rather than harm the cause, they believe tapping into age-old notions of scheming, controlling, corrupting Jews helps to attract passionate supporters.  Objecting to antisemitism is presented as a Jewish trick and part of a conspiracy against Palestinians.  Look at virtually any comment thread at Mondoweiss or Comment is Free.

In any case, antisemitism dressed as a “pro-Palestinian” politics is growing and effectively unchallenged.  It has become mainstream.  To quote Atzmon: “The Tide Has Changed.“  Atzmon is supported by Mearsheimer and Falk, and there are so many other instances.

Over at CiF Watch, a post today reveals some of these "tide changers" who apparently signed a letter publicized by the Guardian.  Signed by dozens of anti-Israel activists, it argues that the EU not allow Israel to host an under-21 European soccer tournament and, more broadly, should exclude the Jewish state from the community of nations.

The letter is signed, among others, by:

Ken Loach, a film maker who’s accused Israel of adopting a policy of Nazi-like ”racial purity”,

Miriam Margolyes: A UK actress who has argued that Israel’s behavior causes antisemitism and makes her ashamed to be a Jew.

Nurit Peled: An Israeli academic who is opposed to Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, characterizes Zionism as inherently racist, and has justified suicide bombing as “the direct consequence of the oppression, slavery, humiliation and state of siege imposed on the Palestinians.”

John Pilger: An Australian journalist who routinely compares Israel to Nazi Germany, and even once even participated in a cross-border terrorist raid by members of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Jean Ziegler: Vice-president, advisory committee of the UN human rights council, who has promoted the work of Holocaust Denier Roger Garaudy, has referred to Israel’s leaders as “state terrorists”, and has depicted Israel in Nazi terms.

Apparently, these "moral voices" have declared Israel has no right to be treated as a member of the community of nations and should be completely isolated by the international community.  Wonder if the same can be said for some of the world’s worst human rights abusers, including China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Burma, and North Korea?

Back to the main point.  When advocates routinely conflate opposition to antisemitism with hatred of Palestinians, and neglect promotion of antisemitism and anti-Semites within their midst, then the connection between pro-Palestinian activism and antisemitism is reinforced and the question raised is the Palestinian cause now essentially antisemitic?

Robert L. Bernstein on Human Rights and Why Words Matter

Robert L. Bernstein is the former president and chairman of Random House and founding chairman emeritus of Human Rights Watch.

He is is presently chairman of the group Advancing Human Rights, an NGO to promote values of the Universal Declaration with a primary focus on unfree states that, unlike open societies, have small means to correct human rights abuses—a free press, active and independent NGOs, vigilant courts and legislatures.

AHR also examines current procedures for an improved understanding of the interplay between war and human rights and the treatment of international humanitarian law by human rights groups.  This is an areas where controversy exists concerning the methodology of "expert" analysis.

Bernstein wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post on September 27, entitled: "Why do human rights groups ignore Palestinians’ war of words?"  He begins:

Two dominant forces have defined Arab nations in modern times: autocratic leadership that has denied basic freedoms to its own people, and a deeply ingrained and institutionalized anti-Semitism, centered on a hatred of Israel. Freedom is a growing possibility in light of the Arab Spring, but for this freedom to lead to peace, progress must be made in ending hate speech and incitement to genocide. This is particularly true in Gaza, the West Bank, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran.

He believes a vote to add to the United Nations a new member state that calls for the elimination of its neighbor and glorifies terrorism will make peace harder to achieve, not easier. He cites Hamas’s blatant calls for genocide and deceptions of the Palestinian Authority, even when engaged in peace talks, such as Abbas's said flatly last October that “we refuse to recognize a Jewish state.”

He calls out human rights groups as "unwitting accomplices" and that "almost every mainstream human rights group has ignored hate speech and incitement to genocide, not only against Israel but against all Jews." 

Human Rights Watch, which I founded 33 years ago, continues to attack many of Israel’s defensive measures during war, yet it says nothing about hate speech and incitement to genocide. To cite just one example, the speaker of the Hamas parliament, Ahmad Bahr, called in April 2007 for the murder of Jews, “down to the very last one.” Imagine what leading human rights groups would say if this same speech and incitement were coming from Israel, aimed at the Palestinians.

He also faults human rights groups for choosing to focus primarily on Israel and discounting Israeli actions to protect civilians on both sides, steps approved by military experts, while "whitewashing Hamas’s desire to eliminate a whole country as just bluster and meaningless words." 

One would think that, of all organizations in the world, human rights groups would particularly believe that words matter. Words inform intent and influence action. Words and actions need to be taken seriously, especially when they are sponsored by governments.

To Bernstein and others, including myself, the real obstacle to long-term peace are words of hate and incitement to genocide effectively spread to Arabs, such as in Saudi textbooks, distributed in the Arab world and beyond, that label Jews “monkeys and pigs,” fomenting discord, radicalism and violence.

He concludes: 

The absence of criticism by the United Nations and human rights groups is more than just a lack of judgment and fairness. It is proof that the Arab Spring has yet to thaw the old thinking that has stymied progress toward peace for far too long. [...] Human rights groups should be leading this battle — not ignoring it.

This is what astounds me about so many in the human rights community, the clamor against one side and the virtual silence with regard to the other, as if the Universal Declaration is anything but universal in application, and must accede to cultural relativism.  This may also be attributable to a double standard, what Gerstenfeld calls "humanitarian racism."  More on that in a later post.  No matter the cause, there is no justification as I see it, nor any right to lecture others about what is dignity and tolerance.

As a postscript, Bernstein gave an incredible speech in Omaha about a year ago, the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Lecture on Human Rights University of Nebraska at Omaha.  Entitled, “Human Rights in the Middle East,” it begins: 

You may wonder why a man just shy of his 88th birthday would get up at 5 in the morning to fly to Omaha to give a speech. Frankly, since accepting this kind offer, I’ve wondered myself. Here’s why. Having devoted much of my life to trying to make the Universal Declaration of Human Rights come alive in many places in the world, I have become alarmed at how some human rights organizations, including the one I founded, are reporting on human rights in the Middle East.

I highly commend the entire speech for anyone who cares about human rights, the Universal Declaration, and humanitarian law.

Between the Desert and the Sea

Saw the video below at Elder of Ziyon (EoZ), one of the best sites out there.

Besides being laughable, this perfectly illustrates elitist leftists with nothing better to do than show how clueless they are to the issues, safe and far from the front lines.  These particular folks may be from Australia, but are no less representative of many across Europe and the USA.

As I and others have have said, there are finite resources available to help the suffering, and this is what these people choose not only as an issue, but an obsession.



Also courtesy of EoZ and his friends at Google Translate, we learn that, according to a Palestine Times story, Hamas has committed:

• 4303 terror attacks
• 61 suicide attacks
• 24 attempts to capture Israelis
• 423 bombings
• 90 sniper attacks
• 146 ambushes

Not to mention the rockets!

I suspect our friends above cannot conceptualize in their minds, let alone their songs.