Einstein, He Ain't

Did you know that if you stand close enough to Tony Bliar you can actually hear the ocean?

"Let me tell you why I am a passionate believer in Israel. This is a democracy. Its parliament is vibrant. Its politics are, well, not notably restrained, let's say. Its press is free. Its people have rights and they are enforced." (The case against delegitimisation: Tony Blair's Herzliya Speech, The Australian Jewish News, 3/9/10)

Did you know that he's out of his depth - in a puddle?

"Look around the world at what we admire about the Jewish people: their contribution to art, culture, literature, music, business and philanthropy. It's a spirit that is identifiable, open and rather wonderful. Whatever bigotry is, it is the opposite of it. It is a free spirit. On holiday I read the new biography of Albert Einstein. Having in early life taken not much interest in the issue, he became an ardent supporter of Israel. But look at the character of the Israel he supported: like Einstein himself - a free thinker, a rebellious thinker even, but one supremely attuned to the future. That is the Israel people like me support." (ibid)

Two matters arising: a) What Bliar (& consort) really get up to on their hols; and b) Einstein's alleged ardent support for Israel.

a) "The ceremony took place at dusk. Mr Blair and his wife, wearing bathing costumes, were led to the Temazcal, a brick-coloured pyramid on the south end of the beach... Mr Aguilar told the Blairs to bow and pray to the 4 winds as Mayan prayers were read out. Each side of the building is decorated with Mayan religious symbols: the sun and baby lizards representing spring and childhood; a bird to signify adolescence, summer and freedom; a crab to represent maturity and autumn; and a serpent - the most sacred in the Mayan Indian culture - to symbolise winter and transformation... Within the Temazcal, a type of ancient Mayan steam bath, herb-infused water was thrown over heated lava rocks, to create a cleansing sweat and balance the Blairs' 'energy flow'. Mr Aguilar chanted Mayan songs, told the Blairs to imagine that they could see animals in the steam and explained what such visions meant. They were told the Temazcal was like the womb and those participating in the ritual must confront their hopes and fears before 'rebirth' and venturing outside. The Blairs were offered watermelon and papaya, then told to smear what they did not eat over each other's bodies along with mud from the Mayan jungle outside. The prime minister, on holiday just a month before the September 11 attacks, is understood to have made a wish for world peace. Before leaving, the Blairs were told to scream out loud to signify the pain of rebirth. They then walked hand in hand down the beach to swim in the sea." (From New Age Cherie stops Blair being a stick in the mud, Tom Baldwin, The Times, 15/9/01 - quoted in How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World: A Short history of Modern Delusions, Francis Wheen, 2004, pp 130-131)

b) Einstein's testimony before Judge 'Texas Joe' Hutcheson, chairman of the 1946 Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry into Jewish immigration into Palestine:

JH: It has been told to our committee by the Zionists that the passionate heart of every Jew will never be satisfied until they have a Jewish state in Palestine. It is contended... that they must have a majority over the Arabs. It has been told to us by the Arab representatives that the Arabs are not going to permit such condition as that, [that] they will not permit having themselves converted from a majority to a minority.

Dr Einstein: Yes.

JH: I have asked these various persons if it is essential to the right or the privilege of the Jews to go to Palestine, if it is essential to real Zionism that a setup be fixed so that the Jews have a Jewish state and a Jewish majority without regard to the Arab view. Do you share that point of view, or do you think the matter can be handled on any other basis?

Dr Einstein: Yes, absolutely. The state idea is not according to my heart. I cannot understand why it is needed. It is connected with many difficulties and narrow-mindedness. I believe it is bad.

Ardent supporter of Israel, he wasn't.