At about this time every year, Texans and others mark the anniversary of the siege of the Alamo (Feb 23–March 6, 1836), sometimes referred to as the thirteen days of glory.
At about the same time, for the last several years, college campuses in the U.S. and elsewhere in the western world play host to something called Israeli Apartheid Week…a very long week, apparently running from March 7 to March 20: indeed, we could (and I will) refer to it as the fourteen days of vileness.
Information and analysis concerning the 14 days of vileness can be obtained from Phyllis Chesler, CAMERA, Judith Levy, and many other sources,
Hostility toward Israel has become a defining characteristic of the “progressive” Left, and the recent NPR case shows just how acceptable anti-Israel attitudes–even extremely strident ones–have become to the mainline liberal establishment. Especially when they don’t think anyone is listening.
There is a very high correlation, of course, between anti-Israel attitudes and anti-American attitudes. I would hazard a guess that of those people who spell “America” with a “K”, substantially all of them are also anti-Israel. Attitudes toward Israel are a litmus test of an individual’s orientation toward collaboration or resistance regarding the radical Islamist threat to western civilization, and indeed toward all civilization.
The objective of the fourteen days of vileness is to bring about a policy of “BDS”…boycott, divestment, and sanctions…directed against Israel. A substantial number of individuals and organizations, some of them “useful idiots” and some of them quite sinister, are involved in this effort. See the BDS sewer system from NGO Monitor.
One of the legends of the Alamo is that Colonel Travis drew a line on the ground with his sword, giving each man an opportunity to stay or to go depending on which side of the line he chose to stand. Support for Israel is also a line in the sand…the risks to the individual standing on the “Israel” side are of course not comparable to those faced by the garrison of the Alamo (although they are not totally trivial for those in certain industries such as media and academia). Standing up against the attitudes manifest in the 14 days of vileness is important not only for the survival of Israel, but for the survival of the entire civilized world.
The Jews have been expelled from 109 locations since AD 250. They do not make friends easily it seems.
What is happening in the middle east is certainly apartheid. Apartheid is “any system or practice that separates people according to race, caste, etc.”
This exactly what is happening between the Jews and the Palestinians.
The Jews would like the entire area for there own. They are willing to do what it takes to achieve this. Dragging their heels and sabotaging any incipient deals has been a feature of their strategy. Now it seems, as the middle east changes radically, that may not work out.
PenGun, thanks for providing a clear example of the kind of vileness I was referring to.
So let me get this straight, PenGun.
When Jews are expelled from other countries, it’s the Jews’ fault.
When Jews create their own country that they can’t be expelled from, it’s the Jews’ fault.
When Jews hold territory and are subjected to terrorist attacks, it’s the Jews’ fault.
When Jews release territory and are subjected to terrorist attacks, it’s the Jews’ fault.
When David wrote this above,
, I thought he was grossly overstating the case. But now you’ve gone and proven his point quite nicely. Well done.
‘Doh! David beat me to it!
Ah, yes – love the comparison. (DF – did you find the Riverwalk and the Alamo as we suggested? Walking up from the Hyatt lobby entrance onto the Plaza is the BEST way evah to see the Alamo for the first time…)
Sgt Mom…just zoned out Monday evening & couldn’t drag myself up early enough Tues AM to be confident in getting down & back again in time for flight. Found the road system around the airport to be extraordinarily confusing without benefit of GPS.
Hopefully next time!
PenGun, thanks for providing a clear example of the kind of vileness I was referring to.
Show me what is vile. I don’t see it.
I call a spade a spade.
So let me get this straight, PenGun.
When Jews are expelled from other countries, it’s the Jews’ fault.
–I imagine it would be a combination of causes. But yes.
When Jews create their own country that they can’t be expelled from, it’s the Jews’ fault.
–Well we can blame that on quite a few actors
When Jews hold territory and are subjected to terrorist attacks, it’s the Jews’ fault.
–If you take someone’s country then define their defense of what they had as terrorism. Yes.
When Jews release territory and are subjected to terrorist attacks, it’s the Jews’ fault.
–The 67 line is the border. It’s not theirs.
When David wrote this above,
Standing up against the attitudes manifest in the 14 days of vileness is important not only for the survival of Israel, but for the survival of the entire civilized world.
, I thought he was grossly overstating the case. But now you’ve gone and proven his point quite nicely. Well done.
–Thank you.
Show me what is vile. I don’t see it.
Neither did the Germans 1938 to 1945.
PenGun, I had understood Apartheid to only applied to those systems which internally divided people. Since the Palestinians have their own governments and autonomous regions I would view them as external to the Israeli state. I do not believe there is any internal system that disenfranchises the non-Jewish citizens of Israel. If the Israeli treatment of non-citizen Palestinians is Apartheid then the treatment of foreign nationals by almost every nations would have to be qualified as Apartheid as well.
Neither did the Germans 1938 to 1945.
What I said was is that the Israelis practice apartheid. What has that to do with the holocaust?
“PenGun, I had understood Apartheid to only applied to those systems which internally divided people. Since the Palestinians have their own governments and autonomous regions I would view them as external to the Israeli state. I do not believe there is any internal system that disenfranchises the non-Jewish citizens of Israel. If the Israeli treatment of non-citizen Palestinians is Apartheid then the treatment of foreign nationals by almost every nations would have to be qualified as Apartheid as well.”
http://feelsliketime.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/weasel-8948.jpg
What I said was is that the Israelis practice apartheid. What has that to do with the holocaust?
The Jews have been expelled from 109 locations since AD 250. They do not make friends easily it seems.
Pen Gun in Europe cir. 1250: Jews don’t drink from the well. They don’t seem to get plague. Therefore,Jews must have poisoned the well.
Pen Gun now: Palestinians blow up pizza parlors, bars and buses. Jews must ask for it.
Pen Gun at any time: A Jewish woman gets raped. She must have wanted it.
Here’s the NYT story which reported the NPR incident. Notice the complete absence of the words “Israel”, “Zionist”, and “Jews.” (Although there *is* a link to the video.) It seems clear to me that NYT is trying to downplay the inflammatory nature of what the NPR executives did.
Anyone who gets their news exclusively from the dinosaur media is deliberately choosing to be ill-informed and mis-informed.
I don’t think Fox TV mentioned the Israel/Jewish angle.
The first third of Hannah Arendt’s “The Origins of Totalitarianism” discusses anti-Semitism as one of the defining characteristics of the totalitarian impulse. Contemporary Leftists, such as PenGun, provide excellent examples of how that works in practice.
(Note to PenGun: You revealed your adherence to Leftist principles, independently of your anti-Semitism, in the second sentence of your first post. To paraphrase John Keegan, words have meaning, and when you use them you must be able to tell a story based on that meaning. If you can’t do so, you aren’t mistaken, you are lying. You, on the other hand, provided us with a story, then attached an ugly word to it in the attempt to vilify Jews in general and Israel in particular. Let me point out that inverting the order in Sir John’s observation still results in a lie.)
PenGun – Regarding expulsions, it’s educational to compare and contrast between views on the expulsion of jews and the expulsion of gypsies. If you would please share how you feel about expulsions of gypsies, I think it would be quite enlightening.
An interesting response PenGun. Did I win a Guideposts subscription or are you asking me to catch you in a coat and smack you with the hammer?
Do you think that treatment of Palestinians in Jordan constitutes Apartheid, as well? I think the situation there has much greater similarities to the South African Apartheid than the situation in Israel does.
PenGun Says:
March 10th, 2011 at 4:03 am
Neither did the Germans 1938 to 1945.
What I said was is that the Israelis practice apartheid. What has that to do with the holocaust?
Once again, I am tempted to believe this is all a parody. The Germans were convinced, or at least did not object, when Jews, many of whom had become secular and many had served in the German Army in WWI, were isolated as “the other,” vilified and ultimately massacred.
Now, we have a campaign to isolate Jews in Israel or who support the nation of Israel, much as I might support Ireland although I have no connection to it besides ancestry. Why is that happening ? Are Arabs being persecuted in Israel ? Quite a number serve in the Knesset and are freely elected. Some of the Arab Israeli citizens are quite vocal in opposition to Israeli policy.
The occupation of the West Bank and Gaza were the consequence of the 1967 war. If you know any history (A separate question but relevant), you know that, not only did Israel not start that war, but Egypt ordered the UN monitors in the Sinai to leave as Nasser planned to invade.
A peace treaty was offered to the Palestinians in 2000 that was quite favorable to them, at the expense of Israel, by Bill Clinton. Dennis Ross, the US negotiator, has written extensively about just how favorable it was and how there were world investors with millions to invest just waiting for it to be signed to begin the process of building a new state. What happened ?
I can’t shake the feeling that PenGun is just joking. Nobody is that stupid.
Hateful ? Possible.
“(Note to PenGun: You revealed your adherence to Leftist principles, independently of your anti-Semitism, in the second sentence of your first post. To paraphrase John Keegan, words have meaning, and when you use them you must be able to tell a story based on that meaning. If you can’t do so, you aren’t mistaken, you are lying. You, on the other hand, provided us with a story, then attached an ugly word to it in the attempt to vilify Jews in general and Israel in particular. Let me point out that inverting the order in Sir John’s observation still results in a lie.)”
The second sentence of my first post is simply the definition of apartheid lifted from dictionary.com.
Agreed. I regret feeding the troll. When will I ever learn?
“An interesting response PenGun. Did I win a Guideposts subscription or are you asking me to catch you in a coat and smack you with the hammer?
Do you think that treatment of Palestinians in Jordan constitutes Apartheid, as well? I think the situation there has much greater similarities to the South African Apartheid than the situation in Israel does.”
A lot of the middle east has populations that are discriminated against. Israel is certainly not alone. A big part of the present uprisings are the result of this, and of course, entrenched power wielders.
I don’t hate anyone. Still to reply to your ‘hammer’ comment I can only quote Jack Abramoff ” I work out every fucking day.”
I had to google Guideposts and the quote, I don’t watch TV. ;)
“PenGun – Regarding expulsions, it’s educational to compare and contrast between views on the expulsion of jews and the expulsion of gypsies. If you would please share how you feel about expulsions of gypsies, I think it would be quite enlightening.”
It’s obvious that if you have managed to get your group expelled from an area where you are a minority you have upset the majority.
Why they are upset depends on the specifics of the situation.
The Romani people who some regard as the true gypsies are probably from northern India originally. They are spread wide and keep to themselves and continue their tradition of itinerant tinkers.
It’s interesting that Hitler tried to wipe them out along with the Jews.
Now to the meat, although I am a vegetarian. I don’t hate anyone. The human race is my race and I wish the best for all of it. Why this is hard to understand is because it’s very rare as far as I can tell.
The universe is one thing. It’s unity is what is important and trying to divide the inhabitants as to race, creed, colour and point of view is wrong. Not morally wrong but fundamentally wrong. It’s not correct.
There is only one thing happening.
PenGun the image you liked was from this post http://feelsliketime.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/the-weasel-the-giveaway-winner/
Are you saying you disprove of existence of Nations? I can see that as a position logically consistent with the view that a two state solution is apartheid.
I personally think the integration of the West Bank and those currently living in that area into Israel would be better solution than turning the West Bank into a small landlocked nation surrounded by hostile nations. I think Gaza could function fairly well as an independent state and given its large population and sea access. I also think that those “refugees” born within other countries should be granted citizenship in those countries.
I view the withholding of citizenship as the greatest abuse in this situation. I do not think that the return of land or property on the basis generational claims is realistic or practical. Nor do I think that Israel has any moral imperative to return lands it conquered in war.
A relevant article from The Telegraph, here:
“The creation of a democratic and prosperous homeland for the Jews has always stuck in the throat of those on the Left who like their prejudices raw. How could a people that have faced arguably far greater and longer-lasting prejudice than any other on earth, have been so successful? The rowdy, cantankerous democracy that is Israel – with its emphasis on faith, hard work, family values, equal rights and the cherishing of education – stands as a perpetual reproach to all the tropes about oppressed people being powerless to shape their destiny.
Israel’s opponents have adapted their critiques of empire and colonialism to include the Jewish state. The London School of Economics, for example, offers courses on Israeli colonialism. London acts as home-in-exile to the brains of the Muslim Brotherhood, who can go about their business of sponsoring the deadly work of Hamas unmolested, and now work on activating their networks in Egypt and Tunisia ahead of elections that will give them a hold on power. A recent paper by the Israeli academic Ehud Rosen, detailing Britain’s place as the engine room of the global campaign to deny Israel’s right to exist, should be required reading for ministers.”
Now to the meat, although I am a vegetarian. I don’t hate anyone.
ahahaha. how well this corresponds with our conversation @ James’s post about “cruelty to animals”