LINK If Americans want to understand Israel, they should think of 1950s Alabama, with an air force
"If you want to think of a better metaphor for Israel, don’t think of Spartan farmer-soldiers, not just because the Spartans didn’t farm and were pretty sucky soldiers (though they did excel at PR – we’re still suffering from it), but because a better metaphor would be 1950s Alabama, with an air force.
…
The basic premise of Israel, as understood by many Americans, is:
• It’s a Jewish country fighting for survival.
• The Jews here kick ass, unlike their pale, nerdy cousins from abroad.
• You don’t mess with the Zohan.
• It’s a secular, liberal country.
Wrong on all counts, but it does provide a shadow of reality. The average Israeli is xenophobic and racist (it’s a good argument of which derives from which) on a level which would make a Trump rally go pale. The racism comes from the form of Jewish Orthodoxy practiced in Israel, and yes – most Israelis are some shade of religious. Secular Jews here have belatedly understood they’re on their way to becoming an endangered species, which is why anti-secular rabbis are suddenly news. They’ve always been anti-secular, anti-women, anti-gay – but the comfortable world of the secular Jews have been shaken to the core by understanding this may be the last secular generation, so there is much whining and great gnashing of teeth."
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To the surviving people of Palestine,
I am truly so very sorry that you, your families, your neighbors, and your country suffer so as a brutal slaughter is waged across your land. I have tried to remain informed and active politically so that I could do whatever I can to help prevent my country from inflicting further such tragedies on others. As you might imagine, sometimes I too feel very helpless in this regard. You all have done much to remind me that sometimes courage can be as simple a thing as to just keep moving forward. And for that, you have my sincere respect, admiration, and gratitude. Please forgive us for not doing more to protect you.
To the dead, there is nothing I can say to lessen the pain. You are missed.
~ LanceThruster
WilliamCharles
Level 8
Aug 31, 2019
0
Shutting Down Free Speech in America: Government and Lobbyists Work Together to Destroy the First Amendment
"During the past several years, there has been increased pressure coming from some in the federal government aided and abetted powerful advocacy groups in the private sector to police social and alternative media. It is a multi-pronged attack on the First Amendment which has already limited the types of information that Americans have access to, thereby narrowing policy options to suit those in power
The process has been ostensibly driven by concerns over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, but it is really about who controls and limits the public’s right to know what is going on out of sight in Washington and New York City, where politics and money come together. If one is interested in the free flow of information and viewpoints that comes with the alternative media, it certainly does not look that way. Robert Parry described it as a deliberate process of “demonizing and silencing dissent that questions mainstream narratives.”"
Source:
WilliamCharles
Level 8
Aug 31, 2019
0
Looks like I accidentally wandered into a Reichsparteitag.
jerry99
Level 8
Aug 31, 2019
1
Certainly what a Palestinian might think in their everyday life. Israel is in many ways about "blood and soil."
You do realize the piece was written by an Israeli if I'm not mistaken, and posted on a political site originated by a Jewish journalist, no? It is quite common for those trying to defend Israeli brutality to smear those simply pointing it out.
I hope you expand on your comment, Jerry, and don't just do a hit and run post. I am very interested in your views having looked at your profile. This was my profile on the Mondoweiss page.
:----:
I grew up with the conventional wisdom believing that the Israelis were the "white hats" and that the Palestinians/Arabs/Muslims were the "black hats." After 9/11, I wanted to know more about the conflict in the ME. I came to the realization that the narrative was totally one-sided. I largely credit many outstanding Jewish voices (my close friend Bernie the Attorney for one) for opening my eyes. I see on a daily basis the efforts by Zionists and their stooges to dismiss truth-tellers in the most reprehensible manner, up to and including threats of violence.
Truth needs no army of thugs to establish it; only lies need enforcers.
~ LanceThruster
No, I'm no going to engage in debate as if this were a case of reasonable-people-might-disagree. I didn't read and don't care about the article, just the hateful comments posted here about some vast conspiracy of wealthy Jews pulling the strings of international politics. I've read about that type of prejudice before and will always point it out when it appears. I have a lot of disagreements with Netanyahu and the treatment of the Palestinians but that's now what's being discussed here, just the venomous ravings of people frightened of the Other. This sounds much like a Trump rally trying to scare people with the threat of an immigrant invasion, or of the Reichsparteitag.
I reject your characterization. Your failure/refusal to read the article is not surprising either. I'd be interested in specifics about what constitutes anti-Semitism in the comments, but then you've already stated that you won't engage at all.
How do I, as a US citizen, lobby against the money given to Israel to bankroll their oppression, and fight Congress in their unconstitutional attemps to outlaw free speech with their anti-BDS legislation without being smeared as anti-Semitic?
The question is of course rhetorical when you've decided to take your bat and ball and go home.
It's interesting you mention the hatefulness involved in the rhetoric of "immigrant invasion." Israel is all about maintaining control in the face of actual demographics. Their rejection of the right of return (a war crime btw) is all the proof you need of that. And the illegal colonizer militias (euphemistically referred to as "settlers" ) are indeed an "invasion."
i despise our canadian PM trudeau. of course, i despise the opposition leader & all the other weak-kneed political hacks as well.
in the news today a liberal candidate (with an arab name) was rejected for the oct. election campaign.
the Fcking spineless bastards are bought & owned by the wealthy jewish canadians who back israel regardless & despite all the atrocities.
callmedubious
Level 8
Aug 30, 2019
1
More like 1970s or 1980s South Africa!
davknight
Level 8
Aug 30, 2019
1
I find the comparison interesting, as it seems valid to think of it as the land of Bull Connor without the pushback.
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