Philip Weiss on September 4, 2012
The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short
of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli
crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about
propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012.
The Breaking the Silence comments are interesting and strong though personally
I’d rather the defence of Zionism wasn’t in there. Regardless, it’s an
important organisation and challenges the concept, still laughably used by Israel
defenders, that the IDF is the “most moral army in the world.”
I thought this would be the end of the story but then this
week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant
names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish
community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in
Australia because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of
bigotry and fear.
It’s no wonder many people, including me in a new book After Zionism,
now campaign for a wholesome challenge to the Zionist and Jewish communities.
If even listening to different points of view from Israel is too much for
supposedly sensitive Jewish ears, believing that reform of Israel and the
Diaspora is possible, and the occupation ended, is dangerously delusional
thinking. Zionism itself is the problem here:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01}
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01}
Tomorrow night Hashy are hosting an event where the
audience will hear from two speakers, one of the speakers is Micha
Kurz, who is the co-founder of a NGO in Israel called ‘Breaking the
Silence’. Hearing this came at quite a shock to me and I want to
highly encourage anyone thinking of going to read this email before
you go and show your support. ‘Breaking the Silence’ are highly
criticised for being an anti-Zionist and anti-Israel organisation,
and are also criticised for being left wing extremists. Taken from
their website we can see that their mission statement is to “expose
the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied
Territories”, which is not necessarily the issue at hand, but
rather the issue lies in their approach, way that they attempt to
do this, and what it creates in peoples understanding and beliefs
about Israel, Zionism and the IDF.
The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short
of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli
crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about
propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012.
The Breaking the Silence comments are interesting and strong though personally
I’d rather the defence of Zionism wasn’t in there. Regardless, it’s an
important organisation and challenges the concept, still laughably used by
Israel defenders, that the IDF is the “most moral army in the world.”
I thought this would be the end of the story but then this
week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant
names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish
community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in Australia
because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of bigotry and
fear.
It’s no wonder many people, including me in a new book After Zionism,
now campaign for a wholesome challenge to the Zionist and Jewish communities.
If even listening to different points of view from Israel is too much for
supposedly sensitive Jewish ears, believing that reform of Israel and the
Diaspora is possible, and the occupation ended, is dangerously delusional
thinking. Zionism itself is the problem here:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01}
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01}
Tomorrow night Hashy are hosting an event where the
audience will hear from two speakers, one of the speakers is Micha
Kurz, who is the co-founder of a NGO in Israel called ‘Breaking the
Silence’. Hearing this came at quite a shock to me and I want to
highly encourage anyone thinking of going to read this email before
you go and show your support. ‘Breaking the Silence’ are highly
criticised for being an anti-Zionist and anti-Israel organisation,
and are also criticised for being left wing extremists. Taken from
their website we can see that their mission statement is to “expose
the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied
Territories”, which is not necessarily the issue at hand, but
rather the issue lies in their approach, way that they attempt to
do this, and what it creates in peoples understanding and beliefs
about Israel, Zionism and the IDF.
The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short
of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli
crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about
propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012.
The Breaking the Silence comments are interesting and strong though personally
I’d rather the defence of Zionism wasn’t in there. Regardless, it’s an important
organisation and challenges the concept, still laughably used by Israel
defenders, that the IDF is the “most moral army in the world.”
I thought this would be the end of the story but then this
week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant
names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish
community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in
Australia because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of bigotry
and fear.
It’s no wonder many people, including me in a new book After Zionism,
now campaign for a wholesome challenge to the Zionist and Jewish communities.
If even listening to different points of view from Israel is too much for
supposedly sensitive Jewish ears, believing that reform of Israel and the
Diaspora is possible, and the occupation ended, is dangerously delusional
thinking. Zionism itself is the problem here:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01}
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01}
Tomorrow night Hashy are hosting an event where the
audience will hear from two speakers, one of the speakers is Micha
Kurz, who is the co-founder of a NGO in Israel called ‘Breaking the
Silence’. Hearing this came at quite a shock to me and I want to
highly encourage anyone thinking of going to read this email before
you go and show your support. ‘Breaking the Silence’ are highly
criticised for being an anti-Zionist and anti-Israel organisation,
and are also criticised for being left wing extremists. Taken from
their website we can see that their mission statement is to “expose
the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied
Territories”, which is not necessarily the issue at hand, but
rather the issue lies in their approach, way that they attempt to
do this, and what it creates in peoples understanding and beliefs
about Israel, Zionism and the IDF.
The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short
of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli
crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about
propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012.
The Breaking the Silence comments are interesting and strong though personally
I’d rather the defence of Zionism wasn’t in there. Regardless, it’s an
important organisation and challenges the concept, still laughably used by
Israel defenders, that the IDF is the “most moral army in the world.”
I thought this would be the end of the story but then this
week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant
names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish
community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in
Australia because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of
bigotry and fear.
It’s no wonder many people, including me in a new book After Zionism,
now campaign for a wholesome challenge to the Zionist and Jewish communities.
If even listening to different points of view from Israel is too much for
supposedly sensitive Jewish ears, believing that reform of Israel and the Diaspora
is possible, and the occupation ended, is dangerously delusional thinking.
Zionism itself is the problem here:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01}
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01}
Tomorrow night Hashy are hosting an event where the
audience will hear from two speakers, one of the speakers is Micha
Kurz, who is the co-founder of a NGO in Israel called ‘Breaking the
Silence’. Hearing this came at quite a shock to me and I want to
highly encourage anyone thinking of going to read this email before
you go and show your support. ‘Breaking the Silence’ are highly
criticised for being an anti-Zionist and anti-Israel organisation,
and are also criticised for being left wing extremists. Taken from
their website we can see that their mission statement is to “expose
the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied
Territories”, which is not necessarily the issue at hand, but
rather the issue lies in their approach, way that they attempt to
do this, and what it creates in peoples understanding and beliefs
about Israel, Zionism and the IDF.
The responses by the Jewish establishment are nothing short
of meaningless intolerance. And paranoia. Increasingly the reality of Israeli
crimes are entering the mainstream and all they can do is bleat about
propaganda and Israeli morality. Fewer and fewer people believe this in 2012.
The Breaking the Silence comments are interesting and strong though personally I’d
rather the defence of Zionism wasn’t in there. Regardless, it’s an important
organisation and challenges the concept, still laughably used by Israel
defenders, that the IDF is the “most moral army in the world.”
I thought this would be the end of the story but then this
week I received an email (I’ve published it all below, removing any relevant
names) that reveals attempts by the supposedly more liberal wing of the Jewish
community to encourage people not to attend Israel/Palestine related talks in Australia
because their minds must be corrupted. Or something. It reeks of bigotry and
fear.
It’s no wonder many people, including me in a new book After Zionism,
now campaign for a wholesome challenge to the Zionist and Jewish communities.
If even listening to different points of view from Israel is too much for
supposedly sensitive Jewish ears, believing that reform of Israel and the
Diaspora is possible, and the occupation ended, is dangerously delusional
thinking. Zionism itself is the problem here:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01}
From: Daniel Crook
Date: Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Subject: [melbogs] Please Read {01}
Tomorrow night Hashy are hosting an event where the
audience will hear from two speakers, one of the speakers is Micha
Kurz, who is the co-founder of a NGO in Israel called ‘Breaking the
Silence’. Hearing this came at quite a shock to me and I want to
highly encourage anyone thinking of going to read this email before
you go and show your support. ‘Breaking the Silence’ are highly
criticised for being an anti-Zionist and anti-Israel organisation,
and are also criticised for being left wing extremists. Taken from
their website we can see that their mission statement is to “expose
the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied
Territories”, which is not necessarily the issue at hand, but
rather the issue lies in their approach, way that they attempt to
do this, and what it creates in peoples understanding and beliefs
about Israel, Zionism and the IDF.
Fresh news about the Diaspora Jewish community’s refusal to
hear about atrocities committed by Israel, let alone act on them, even as the
wider community seems to be opening its eyes.
Last week the Israeli soldiers’ group Breaking
the Silence released a staggering report on the abuse,
dehumanization, and shootings of Palestinian children by the Israeli army.
The report demonstrates that Israeli soldiers cross moral red lines without
concern because they know they will never be punished for destroying
Palestinians’ human rights.
Sadly, the report has gotten scarcely any attention in the
US media. But it has been covered in Europe and Australia. Two leading
Australian papers published a big story on the report: The
Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.
Antony Loewenstein has
a post up on the matter, chronicling the angry response by Jewish
groups to the news:
The
Australian Jewish News was outraged, providing a space
for Zionist spokespeople to damn all the allegations:
“Another Israel-bashing headline”, “a flagrantly
one-sided piece” and “threadbare and unsubstantiated allegations”…
A statement was
released by Danny Lamm, President of the Executive Council of
Australian Jewry:
“How sad it is that once-great broadsheets like the Sydney
Morning Herald and The Age have been reduced to featuring crude propaganda
on their front page.
Loewenstein notes that the bash was then joined by the head
of the Israel lobby in Australia, Colin Rubenstein, and a Jewish Labor MP
named Michael Danby, who
sought to leverage financial pressure on the newspapers:
Michael Danby told J-Wire: “I felt The Age coverage was
worse than the Sydney Morning Herald’s as their headline was more biased
and the graphics used were larger and more emotive.”
- See more at:
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/09/australian-papers-cover-atrocities-documented-by-israeli-soldiers-group-but-aussie-jewish-orgs-blindly-deny-the-reports#sthash.YpgyxOlD.dpuf
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