Progressive Pro-Israel
I don't normally answer other columnists/bloggers. Oh, sure, I've tilted with the twisted genius of George Will ("illegal domestic spying is against everything the constitution stands for - so Congress should make it legal real quick" Huh?) and the mind-numbingly self-congratulatory and idiotic Peter F. King ("so this poor kid soiled himself at the NFL Combine - here's his name. I shouldn't have listed the poor kid's name in the story? Well, here's his name again. And again. Done criticizing me? And again. And I stole a baseball from a kid at a ballpark").
And then there's Norm Solomon. Norm thinks this:
"Israel's treatment of Palestine has amounted to methodical human rights violations. Yet criticism of those policies results in accusations of anti-Jewish bigotry."
That's two memes that need to get un-memed in a hurry. Now, I'm normally a fan of old Norm. I get his columns through Alter.net on my Palm through AvantGo, so I haven't missed many in the past couple of years. When the Junta lines up its enemies to be shot, I hope to stand right next to him. No, scratch that. Maybe I can deplore it from this side of the Canadian border. Better.
But notwithstanding his picture on the website that looks like he just caught his grandma stepping out of the shower, he's usually quite good. Except in Israel.
Which brings me back to me original complaint with many progressives: why do you have to throw Israel under the bus with the Junta? Okay, most of the original neocons were Jewish and rabidly pro-Israel, and the current Bush-Rove-Cheney cabal is the same.
But is it really true that the friend of my enemy is my enemy?
Must progressives like Solomon bleed their heart dry for Palestinians? Since when did they deserve the compassion - especially when there are other, far worse things going on in the world. No, I don't say that to excuse anything that has been done wrongby Israel, but merely to ask about the priorities of those who expend so much energy condemning Israel. Why? Ever heard of Darfur? No? The Congo? Burma (yes, Myanmar)? Somalia? Ethiopia? No?
That, in part, answers the 'why do Israel critics get accused of anti-Semitism.' Because they choose to make Israel a bigger issue than real genocidal bad guys. The other reason is that real anti-Semites often criticize Israel. So criticizing Israel put you in company with anti-Semites. Sorry, that's just true. And yes, it does put the onus on the critic to differentiate themselves from the anti-Semitic critic, if they choose to do so.
So if I write that I agree with the immigration policies of Aryan Nation neo-Nazis, I can't boo-hoo if I'm asked whether I agree with the rest of their program. But I also have to ask myself: "why am I choosing to agree with them?"
And the statement: "Israel's treatment of Palestine has amounted to methodical human rights violations" is pure hyperbole. Methodical human rights violations? If that were so - and it certainly is not - where is the crying towel for the innocent dead Israelis? Okay, Israel BAD. Palestine GOOD? Really?
Because by making that statement, Solomon and his fellow travellers stake out their ground. Israeli children - Jewish children - are less important than Palestinian children. It's called taking sides.
But are there moral dimensions to that side-taking? Is it just heads and tails, equal choices? No. It's not. It's cops and robbers. It's firemen and arsonists.
Palestinians believe that Israel - Jews - should be eliminated. Their legitimate democratic representation is Hamas - a group that believe in the genocide of Israeli Jews and the theft of their land and possessions. Israel clearly believes in their own right to exist, and is just as clearly struggling to live in peace with its hostile neighbours.
Can that be doubted? I mean, whatever you think of bulldozing homes and controlling borders and firing rockets, the Israeli aim is to live in peace and the Palestinian aim is to kill them.
So when you accept that essential truth, the questions that remain are of degrees. What is Israel permitted to do to defend itself? What is out of bounds? Can Israel build a wall? Is it permitted to strike at terrorists?
But walls interfere with Palestinian trade and transportation. And strikes at terrorists sometimes (often?) harm innocents. Terrorists don't make their bases in desert camps, they make them among their sympathetic public. So do you give them their safe haven to preserve their supporters? Do you send in troops to arrest them - and see those troops killed - and kill bystanders?
Yesterday, a group of cowardly bloodthirsty murderers blew up a falafel stand in Tel Aviv. Nine dead, 60 wounded. Young people, old people - whoever. The legitimate elected government of the Palestinians says that was legitimate.
"Asked about the bombing, a Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said, "The resistance is a legal and natural reaction to the Israeli crimes, and the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves."
Legal and natural. The right to defend themselves. From 17-year olds eating falafels.
It's time to stop groping for 'moderates' that don't exist, and to stop condemning Israel for not having the good manners to lay down and die. These are the people that Israel must contend with in order to exist. What would you have them do?
I was a big supporter of the Oslo process that created the Palestinian Authority that Hamas now controls. In that long negotiation, Israel offered more than what was reasonable to achieve peace. But the Palestinians never wanted peace. Oslo was just another battle in their war. They turned back to bloodshed and atrocity on the eve of peace. Clearly, this is what they want. But it's not what Israel wants.
Is there any doubt that if Palestinians chose peace they could have it? Is there any doubt that if Israel laid down arms they'd be murdered immediately?
So for those progressives out there who listen to your anti-Bush heroes and rightly condemn the worst and most destructive administration in American history, don't compound the damage by opposing Israel only because Bush doesn't. Don't listen to the Solomon's who would have you weep for every drop of Palestinian blood and ask why Israelis don't just send them puppies and move away to Madagascar.
Look at what's really going on and ask yourself: who is for peace and who is for war? Once you answer that - and answer honestly - the rest will finally make sense.
And then there's Norm Solomon. Norm thinks this:
"Israel's treatment of Palestine has amounted to methodical human rights violations. Yet criticism of those policies results in accusations of anti-Jewish bigotry."
That's two memes that need to get un-memed in a hurry. Now, I'm normally a fan of old Norm. I get his columns through Alter.net on my Palm through AvantGo, so I haven't missed many in the past couple of years. When the Junta lines up its enemies to be shot, I hope to stand right next to him. No, scratch that. Maybe I can deplore it from this side of the Canadian border. Better.
But notwithstanding his picture on the website that looks like he just caught his grandma stepping out of the shower, he's usually quite good. Except in Israel.
Which brings me back to me original complaint with many progressives: why do you have to throw Israel under the bus with the Junta? Okay, most of the original neocons were Jewish and rabidly pro-Israel, and the current Bush-Rove-Cheney cabal is the same.
But is it really true that the friend of my enemy is my enemy?
Must progressives like Solomon bleed their heart dry for Palestinians? Since when did they deserve the compassion - especially when there are other, far worse things going on in the world. No, I don't say that to excuse anything that has been done wrongby Israel, but merely to ask about the priorities of those who expend so much energy condemning Israel. Why? Ever heard of Darfur? No? The Congo? Burma (yes, Myanmar)? Somalia? Ethiopia? No?
That, in part, answers the 'why do Israel critics get accused of anti-Semitism.' Because they choose to make Israel a bigger issue than real genocidal bad guys. The other reason is that real anti-Semites often criticize Israel. So criticizing Israel put you in company with anti-Semites. Sorry, that's just true. And yes, it does put the onus on the critic to differentiate themselves from the anti-Semitic critic, if they choose to do so.
So if I write that I agree with the immigration policies of Aryan Nation neo-Nazis, I can't boo-hoo if I'm asked whether I agree with the rest of their program. But I also have to ask myself: "why am I choosing to agree with them?"
And the statement: "Israel's treatment of Palestine has amounted to methodical human rights violations" is pure hyperbole. Methodical human rights violations? If that were so - and it certainly is not - where is the crying towel for the innocent dead Israelis? Okay, Israel BAD. Palestine GOOD? Really?
Because by making that statement, Solomon and his fellow travellers stake out their ground. Israeli children - Jewish children - are less important than Palestinian children. It's called taking sides.
But are there moral dimensions to that side-taking? Is it just heads and tails, equal choices? No. It's not. It's cops and robbers. It's firemen and arsonists.
Palestinians believe that Israel - Jews - should be eliminated. Their legitimate democratic representation is Hamas - a group that believe in the genocide of Israeli Jews and the theft of their land and possessions. Israel clearly believes in their own right to exist, and is just as clearly struggling to live in peace with its hostile neighbours.
Can that be doubted? I mean, whatever you think of bulldozing homes and controlling borders and firing rockets, the Israeli aim is to live in peace and the Palestinian aim is to kill them.
So when you accept that essential truth, the questions that remain are of degrees. What is Israel permitted to do to defend itself? What is out of bounds? Can Israel build a wall? Is it permitted to strike at terrorists?
But walls interfere with Palestinian trade and transportation. And strikes at terrorists sometimes (often?) harm innocents. Terrorists don't make their bases in desert camps, they make them among their sympathetic public. So do you give them their safe haven to preserve their supporters? Do you send in troops to arrest them - and see those troops killed - and kill bystanders?
Yesterday, a group of cowardly bloodthirsty murderers blew up a falafel stand in Tel Aviv. Nine dead, 60 wounded. Young people, old people - whoever. The legitimate elected government of the Palestinians says that was legitimate.
"Asked about the bombing, a Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said, "The resistance is a legal and natural reaction to the Israeli crimes, and the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves."
Legal and natural. The right to defend themselves. From 17-year olds eating falafels.
It's time to stop groping for 'moderates' that don't exist, and to stop condemning Israel for not having the good manners to lay down and die. These are the people that Israel must contend with in order to exist. What would you have them do?
I was a big supporter of the Oslo process that created the Palestinian Authority that Hamas now controls. In that long negotiation, Israel offered more than what was reasonable to achieve peace. But the Palestinians never wanted peace. Oslo was just another battle in their war. They turned back to bloodshed and atrocity on the eve of peace. Clearly, this is what they want. But it's not what Israel wants.
Is there any doubt that if Palestinians chose peace they could have it? Is there any doubt that if Israel laid down arms they'd be murdered immediately?
So for those progressives out there who listen to your anti-Bush heroes and rightly condemn the worst and most destructive administration in American history, don't compound the damage by opposing Israel only because Bush doesn't. Don't listen to the Solomon's who would have you weep for every drop of Palestinian blood and ask why Israelis don't just send them puppies and move away to Madagascar.
Look at what's really going on and ask yourself: who is for peace and who is for war? Once you answer that - and answer honestly - the rest will finally make sense.
posted by fiduciary at 11:18 AM
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