An important message from Palestinian BDS National Committee, 26/7/19:
"Israel just committed its biggest crime of ethnic cleansing since 1967, [destroying] the homes of hundreds of Palestinian families in... Wadi Hummus in occupied East Jerusalem Another 116... homes are under imminent threat of demolition in Wadi Hummus. The magnitude of the crime is not only its sheer scale. Israel is only able to maintain this ongoing Nakba because governments, institutions and companies support its crimes. Volvo, Caterpillar and Hyundai Heavy Industries are involved... HP-branded corporations play key roles... Banks such as HSBC and financial institutions like AXA fund Israel's deadly military and security industry. It has been three years since the UN voted to establish a database of companies involved in Israel's illegal settlement enterprise in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The database remains unpublished due to political pressure from the US, Israel and some European states. It is more needed than ever today as an effective tool for seeking justice and accountability. Thousands of homeless and displaced Palestinians are waiting for remedies... Justice delayed is justice denied." (Justice delayed is justice denied)
Showing posts with label BDS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BDS. Show all posts
Monday, July 29, 2019
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Look Who's Got a Gong...
... in the Queen's Birthday Awards:
1 Order of Australia Companion in the General Division:
"Rachel Kohn, Mosman NSW. For distinguished service to the broadcast media, particularly radio, as a creator, producer and presenter, and to Jewish Studies."
Kohn, you may remember, ran a long-running series, The Spirit of Things, on the ABC's Radio National. Particularly memorable on that show was her platforming of Aaron Klein, author of a 2007 book with the following, excruciatingly grotesque, title: 'Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans - to a Jew!'
Then there was her 21/9/08 production, Ties that Bind: Jewish Australians and New Zealanders, for the ABC's Encounter program, in which she laments that "in Australia , there's little understanding... of that Jewish loyalty to Israel. Zionism is a term of opprobrium for so many Australian non-Jews," prompting her Rabbi interlocutor on the program to opine that "we're dealing with professional anti-Semites who who cloak their anti-Semitism by being unduly critical of Israel."
Just click on her label below and read the Klein interviews, and my 29/9/08 post The Lies that Blind.
2 Order of Australia Medal in the General Division:
"Robert Magid, NSW. For services to business and commerce, and to the Jewish community."
Now how coy is that description? Magid is the owner and publisher of that thoroughly Zionist rag, The Australian Jewish News.
Just click on his label below and read my 1/4/13 post Robert Magid's Guide for the Perplexed on his bizarre musing, The wrong of return, which appeared in The Australian Jewish News of 22/3/13. And, while you're at it, I suggest you also take in my 22/5/13 post 'When the Chips are Down': A Review on his lame anti-BDS satire, When the chips are down.
1 Order of Australia Companion in the General Division:
"Rachel Kohn, Mosman NSW. For distinguished service to the broadcast media, particularly radio, as a creator, producer and presenter, and to Jewish Studies."
Kohn, you may remember, ran a long-running series, The Spirit of Things, on the ABC's Radio National. Particularly memorable on that show was her platforming of Aaron Klein, author of a 2007 book with the following, excruciatingly grotesque, title: 'Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans - to a Jew!'
Then there was her 21/9/08 production, Ties that Bind: Jewish Australians and New Zealanders, for the ABC's Encounter program, in which she laments that "in Australia , there's little understanding... of that Jewish loyalty to Israel. Zionism is a term of opprobrium for so many Australian non-Jews," prompting her Rabbi interlocutor on the program to opine that "we're dealing with professional anti-Semites who who cloak their anti-Semitism by being unduly critical of Israel."
Just click on her label below and read the Klein interviews, and my 29/9/08 post The Lies that Blind.
2 Order of Australia Medal in the General Division:
"Robert Magid, NSW. For services to business and commerce, and to the Jewish community."
Now how coy is that description? Magid is the owner and publisher of that thoroughly Zionist rag, The Australian Jewish News.
Just click on his label below and read my 1/4/13 post Robert Magid's Guide for the Perplexed on his bizarre musing, The wrong of return, which appeared in The Australian Jewish News of 22/3/13. And, while you're at it, I suggest you also take in my 22/5/13 post 'When the Chips are Down': A Review on his lame anti-BDS satire, When the chips are down.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Albanese? Class Warrior?
Give me a break!
The Murdoch press is replete with straw men and women. Anyone who dares not toe its line is painted in the most lurid of colours. Labor leader-in-waiting, Anthony Albanese, is no exception to the rule - except that, at this stage at least, the Murdoch press has hopes of grooming him as another Bob Hawke, or Tony Blair, if you will.
But first, the straw man:
Albo vows to end class war ran the banner headline on page one of Thursday's issue of The Australian. (For the uninitiated, Albo, a purported left-winger, looks set to succeed the hapless Bill Shorten as leader of the federal Australian Labor Party.)
All talk here of 'class war' is, of course, ludicrous. Whether it's Shorten or Albanese at the helm, the ALP wouldn't know what class war was if it hit it in the face. Still, such propaganda tropes are standard fare, deployed by the Murdoch press against any public figure it chooses to mount a crusade against..
The Australian's Peter van Onselen, now a professor of politics at the University of Western Australia and Griffith University, dishes out the following Murdochratic advice/ directive:
"He may well be, having shown a willingness over the years to crab-walk away from causes considered too radical for a mainstream politician... But to do so in more than an superficial way... Albanese will need to prove that he truly believes in the economic structures that support people's aspirations... " ('Tory fighter' should follow Hawke)
Although I'm not party to Albanese's past record of rhetorical flourishes, I seriously doubt he's ever resorted to expressions the Big End of Town, Us & Them, neoliberalism, privatisation, and other expressions of the social and political reality that oppress us all on a daily basis. For example, has he said anything about the $33bn stock market surge which followed Morrison's election win?
For the record, Friday's Australian trotted out a photograph of Albanese with UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, taken last year. Front page, of course. Here's the opening paragraph:
"Labor's leader in waiting Anthony Albanese will be forced to jettison the hard-left policies he has espoused for more than three decades... Mr Albanese has become close to far-left British Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn... " (From left field: Albanese, Corbyn and co, Andrew Burrell/ Andrew Clennell)
Further on in the same piece, there's a reference to his "decades-long history as a spear-thrower for Labor's hard left."
In the same issue, former Zionist lobbyist (and, quite incidentally, MP for Melbourne Ports) Michael Danby, has an opinion piece, headed Let's see if feisty Albo's made of Hawke's right stuff, in which we find yet more blather about Albo/Hawke, as well as this wonderful example of the psychological phenomenon known as projection: "... a ratbag such as Jeremy Corbyn."
I am familiar, however, with Albanese's utterly lame and gutless statements over the years on the subject of Palestine/Israel, the infallible test of principle and courage in today's world. For example:
2009: "I don't support the boycott of Israel, I support engagement... dialogue and discussion." (Q & A)
2011: Albanese accused the then Greens-dominated Marrickville Council of "simplistic sloganeering" when they bravely dared to adopt a pro-BDS policy, and lamely opined that "the inner west of Sydney is... a place where neighbours live in harmony regardless of religion or race."
2016: Albanese expressed "concern" about foreign policy funding, and said China, Israel and Taiwan were among the biggest spenders of sponsored travel and donations in Australia.
2018: Albanese warned about "Israel's actions... damaging the country's reputation."
The Murdoch press is replete with straw men and women. Anyone who dares not toe its line is painted in the most lurid of colours. Labor leader-in-waiting, Anthony Albanese, is no exception to the rule - except that, at this stage at least, the Murdoch press has hopes of grooming him as another Bob Hawke, or Tony Blair, if you will.
But first, the straw man:
Albo vows to end class war ran the banner headline on page one of Thursday's issue of The Australian. (For the uninitiated, Albo, a purported left-winger, looks set to succeed the hapless Bill Shorten as leader of the federal Australian Labor Party.)
All talk here of 'class war' is, of course, ludicrous. Whether it's Shorten or Albanese at the helm, the ALP wouldn't know what class war was if it hit it in the face. Still, such propaganda tropes are standard fare, deployed by the Murdoch press against any public figure it chooses to mount a crusade against..
The Australian's Peter van Onselen, now a professor of politics at the University of Western Australia and Griffith University, dishes out the following Murdochratic advice/ directive:
"He may well be, having shown a willingness over the years to crab-walk away from causes considered too radical for a mainstream politician... But to do so in more than an superficial way... Albanese will need to prove that he truly believes in the economic structures that support people's aspirations... " ('Tory fighter' should follow Hawke)
Although I'm not party to Albanese's past record of rhetorical flourishes, I seriously doubt he's ever resorted to expressions the Big End of Town, Us & Them, neoliberalism, privatisation, and other expressions of the social and political reality that oppress us all on a daily basis. For example, has he said anything about the $33bn stock market surge which followed Morrison's election win?
For the record, Friday's Australian trotted out a photograph of Albanese with UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, taken last year. Front page, of course. Here's the opening paragraph:
"Labor's leader in waiting Anthony Albanese will be forced to jettison the hard-left policies he has espoused for more than three decades... Mr Albanese has become close to far-left British Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn... " (From left field: Albanese, Corbyn and co, Andrew Burrell/ Andrew Clennell)
Further on in the same piece, there's a reference to his "decades-long history as a spear-thrower for Labor's hard left."
In the same issue, former Zionist lobbyist (and, quite incidentally, MP for Melbourne Ports) Michael Danby, has an opinion piece, headed Let's see if feisty Albo's made of Hawke's right stuff, in which we find yet more blather about Albo/Hawke, as well as this wonderful example of the psychological phenomenon known as projection: "... a ratbag such as Jeremy Corbyn."
I am familiar, however, with Albanese's utterly lame and gutless statements over the years on the subject of Palestine/Israel, the infallible test of principle and courage in today's world. For example:
2009: "I don't support the boycott of Israel, I support engagement... dialogue and discussion." (Q & A)
2011: Albanese accused the then Greens-dominated Marrickville Council of "simplistic sloganeering" when they bravely dared to adopt a pro-BDS policy, and lamely opined that "the inner west of Sydney is... a place where neighbours live in harmony regardless of religion or race."
2016: Albanese expressed "concern" about foreign policy funding, and said China, Israel and Taiwan were among the biggest spenders of sponsored travel and donations in Australia.
2018: Albanese warned about "Israel's actions... damaging the country's reputation."
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Wankers Like These
What ever did the Palestinians do to deserve the attention of wankers like these?
"Nothing titillates the Icelandic bondage and dominance-themed band Hatari more than a glaring contradiction... They have slammed Eurovision in Israel... as being 'built on a lie', calling it propaganda and a whitewash, yet they have agreed to represent their country in Tel Aviv this week, expressing genuine love for the competition's message of unity and diversity... With their deadpan humour, Hatari challenged the country's leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, to a traditional Icelandic trouser-grip wrestling match the day after the Eurovision finale, to be adjudicated by a 'neutral UN-sponsored referee'... 'Eurovision is, of course, a beautiful thing... based on ideas of peace and unity and this year it's held in a country that's marred by conflict,' says Tryggvi Haraldsson. 'Letting the narrative of the fluffy, peace-loving pop contest go on unchallenged in this context in our view is extremely political... To push back, Hatari's first port of call after landing was to drive to the largest city in the occupied West Bank. More than 200,000 Palestinians live in Hebron, but the presence of ultranationalist Israeli settlers around the main souk has in effect shut down local life in its centre as army checkpoints cut off the area. 'It's so absurd to be in this contest... and everyone is super polite; it's all about the music and everybody loves each other,' says Tryggvi Haraldsson at his hotel in Tel Aviv. 'And to be in that bubble a day after witnessing apartheid in action just an hour's drive away is the contradiction that we want to be aware of.'... Tryggvi Haraldsson says he supports any non-violent movement that campaigns for Palestinian rights, including BDS,'even though, obviously, and paradoxically, our approach is very different'." ('Hate will prevail' Icelandic BDSM band put Eurovision and Israel in a bind, Oliver Holmes, theguardian.com, 13/5/19)
"Nothing titillates the Icelandic bondage and dominance-themed band Hatari more than a glaring contradiction... They have slammed Eurovision in Israel... as being 'built on a lie', calling it propaganda and a whitewash, yet they have agreed to represent their country in Tel Aviv this week, expressing genuine love for the competition's message of unity and diversity... With their deadpan humour, Hatari challenged the country's leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, to a traditional Icelandic trouser-grip wrestling match the day after the Eurovision finale, to be adjudicated by a 'neutral UN-sponsored referee'... 'Eurovision is, of course, a beautiful thing... based on ideas of peace and unity and this year it's held in a country that's marred by conflict,' says Tryggvi Haraldsson. 'Letting the narrative of the fluffy, peace-loving pop contest go on unchallenged in this context in our view is extremely political... To push back, Hatari's first port of call after landing was to drive to the largest city in the occupied West Bank. More than 200,000 Palestinians live in Hebron, but the presence of ultranationalist Israeli settlers around the main souk has in effect shut down local life in its centre as army checkpoints cut off the area. 'It's so absurd to be in this contest... and everyone is super polite; it's all about the music and everybody loves each other,' says Tryggvi Haraldsson at his hotel in Tel Aviv. 'And to be in that bubble a day after witnessing apartheid in action just an hour's drive away is the contradiction that we want to be aware of.'... Tryggvi Haraldsson says he supports any non-violent movement that campaigns for Palestinian rights, including BDS,'even though, obviously, and paradoxically, our approach is very different'." ('Hate will prevail' Icelandic BDSM band put Eurovision and Israel in a bind, Oliver Holmes, theguardian.com, 13/5/19)
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Zero Gravitas
Before I proceed further with this post, let me nail my colours to the mast: one's position on Palestine is an infallible litmus test of one's moral and intellectual courage. If you willfully ignore the plight of Palestine, look the other way, self-censor, or otherwise hold your tongue on the subject when the need or opportunity comes to speak out, your worth and potential as a moral, thinking human being will be greatly diminished, and whatever you have to say on other matters of concern or importance will be wreathed in the rank odour of hypocrisy.
What follows is a transcript of how 'our' ABC 'handled' the news that Twitter had suspended some pro-BDS accounts at the behest of the Israeli government to enable the Eurovision Song Contest to be staged in Tel Aviv without controversy. Radio National Breakfast presenter, Fran Kelly, a self-proclaimed "activist" (Wikipedia), and rated by Crikey as "one of the most influential media players in the country" (Wikipedia), conducted an interview with an Australian academic on the matter. Now I must confess, as a listener to Radio National, to never having heard Kelly show any indication of knowledge of, or concern over, Israeli brutalities in Palestine, so the way in which she conducted the interview came as no great surprise to me.
More importantly, what possessed the ABC to choose, as an interlocutor on this important issue, an associate professor in international relations at Sydney University, Anika Gauja, whose Twitter profile reads thus: "A/Prof politics USyd. Political parties, members, representation. Ocean swimmer, Eurovision fanatic, Farnham tragic, knife collector & wine student"?
It's clear from this that someone on RN made a decision to dispense with the substance of the matter - blatant Israeli pressure to shield from legitimate criticism its exploitation of Eurovision to burnish its increasingly tarnished image - and opt instead for a "Eurovision fanatic" with no obvious knowledge of, or concern for, Israel's escalating oppression of the Palestinian people. Questions abound: Who made that decision, and why? Why wasn't a BDS spokesperson interviewed? Or at least involved in the interview? What does this choice tell us about the prevailing culture of the ABC, lambasted, hilariously, by the Murdoch press as a hotbed of leftism? What does it tell us about red lines, self-censorship, and fear of pressure from the Israel lobby?
OK, so finally here's the transcript - with my interpolations in square brackets. Read it and weep for the ABC; for what the hell is going on in our neoliberal, corporatised universities; and for our hapless students of international relations and who knows what else:
Fran Kelly: Within a matter of weeks Australia will again take to the stage in the Eurovision Song Contest that's being held in Israel this year. Kate Miller Heidke will perform the song Zero Gravity in Tel Aviv. But the lead up to the contest has been overshadowed by widespread calls for musicians to boycott the event over Israel's policies towards the Palestinians. The effort has been gaining traction with international artists and other public figures. But overnight Twitter announced it had suspended a small network of accounts after complaints from Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs that fake accounts were promoting the boycott. This highlights once again the politicised nature of the world's biggest music competition. Anika Gauja is Associate Professor in International Relations at the University of Sydney, and she happens to be a huge Eurovision fan. So who's behind the push for the boycott of Eurovision in Israel? (Calls for Eurovision boycott, Radio National, abc.net.au, 3/5/19)
[Call me old-fashioned and out of touch here, but is there a new breed of academic out there who combines serious scholarship and an obsession with one or another manifestation of mind-numbing trivia? I'm fascinated! Can anyone, perhaps, provide me with other examples?]
Anika Gauja: The movement called the BDS movement - Boycott Divestment & Sanctions - which has been around since the mid 2000s and, as you mentioned, they're trying to highlight what they would say is Israeli war crimes or atrocities against the Palestinians in Israel.
["What they would say... "??? What, only them? Not our recognised repository of international law, the UN? Oh look, here's a snippet from the recently released UN Independent Commission of Inquiry's report on the Gaza border protests: "The Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that during the Great March of Return, Israeli soldiers committed violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Some of those violations may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity...? "In Israel"? No, in the occupied Gaza Strip.]
FK: And they've got some high profile people aboard in this camp.
AG: Yeah, yeah. Brian Eno signing a letter and... international celebrities but the European Broadcasting Union which is the body responsible for staging the Eurovision has remained absolutely steadfast in its opposition to the boycott. It basically says that boycotting Eurovision is not a political event and its an event that's geared toward promoting diversity, togetherness, compromise, peace, harmony, so boycotting something like that is boycotting the values and ethos of Eurovision.
[You're kidding me? Do you have any idea how grotesquely irrelevant this Eurovision PR patter is to the manifest horrors being perpetrated by the Israelis in OCCUPIED Palestine?]
FK: And that position has got some high profile support too from people like Stephen Fry.
AG: Exactly.
FK: Well, the EBU, which produces Eurovision, goes against the spirit of the contest celebrating the [inaudible] unity. Last month over 100 public figures endorsed this boycott. We've got this counter thing. Has it made any difference to any of the countries taking part in Eurovision?
[Well, why not interview one?]
AG: No, it hasn't. I mean... there have been protests in Australia when Australia ran its song selection contest, and Madonna is going to perform at the grand final this year, which is quite an interesting and unique event for somebody outside of Europe. There've been calls for her to boycott, but none of the nations officially participating have withdrawn as a result of those calls.
[Seriously, who gives a fuck about Madonna?]
FK: And what do you make of this announcement overnight from Twitter that they've suspended a small network of accounts after complaints by Israel? Just more politicisation, isn't it?
AG: Yeah, absolutely. I think that in terms of Eurovision this is probably quite unprecedented. There's always controversy in the run up to the contest, but to have Twitter come in and and censor social media accounts is very interesting.
["Very interesting"??? A blatant violation of free speech at the behest of a Jewish supremacist apartheid state is merely "very interesting"?]
FK: What does past behaviour tell us? Would you expect to see protests... at the Eurovision Song contest outside and would you expect to see protests on stage... ?
AG: I think that the security this year because of the BDS campaign is going to be absolutely unprecedented, so I would be very very surprised if there are protests outside. Inside I think it's a different matter. We have seen in recent years protesters or pranksters being able to storm the stage... so it is possible for people to compromise security.
FK: What about the contestants themselves though?
AG: What's more common is you have a more subtle process that's built into a performance or a song... Occasionally a comment will be made... which can be interpreted as political but its a sort of subversive process.
FK: Am I right in saying it happens on the election weekend?
AG: Yeah, yeah, this is terrible for me cause my 2 passions conflict and this year I've chosen to go to Israel for the contest rather than hang around for a federal election...
[Gobsmacking!]
PS 6/5/19: Now this FFS: "Prolonged fighting could overshadow Eurovision and potentially deter international travellers from coming in for the festive event." (Israel and Gaza exchange rocket fire as death toll mounts after month-long fighting lull, 5/5/19, 1:31pm, abc.net.au)
What follows is a transcript of how 'our' ABC 'handled' the news that Twitter had suspended some pro-BDS accounts at the behest of the Israeli government to enable the Eurovision Song Contest to be staged in Tel Aviv without controversy. Radio National Breakfast presenter, Fran Kelly, a self-proclaimed "activist" (Wikipedia), and rated by Crikey as "one of the most influential media players in the country" (Wikipedia), conducted an interview with an Australian academic on the matter. Now I must confess, as a listener to Radio National, to never having heard Kelly show any indication of knowledge of, or concern over, Israeli brutalities in Palestine, so the way in which she conducted the interview came as no great surprise to me.
More importantly, what possessed the ABC to choose, as an interlocutor on this important issue, an associate professor in international relations at Sydney University, Anika Gauja, whose Twitter profile reads thus: "A/Prof politics USyd. Political parties, members, representation. Ocean swimmer, Eurovision fanatic, Farnham tragic, knife collector & wine student"?
It's clear from this that someone on RN made a decision to dispense with the substance of the matter - blatant Israeli pressure to shield from legitimate criticism its exploitation of Eurovision to burnish its increasingly tarnished image - and opt instead for a "Eurovision fanatic" with no obvious knowledge of, or concern for, Israel's escalating oppression of the Palestinian people. Questions abound: Who made that decision, and why? Why wasn't a BDS spokesperson interviewed? Or at least involved in the interview? What does this choice tell us about the prevailing culture of the ABC, lambasted, hilariously, by the Murdoch press as a hotbed of leftism? What does it tell us about red lines, self-censorship, and fear of pressure from the Israel lobby?
OK, so finally here's the transcript - with my interpolations in square brackets. Read it and weep for the ABC; for what the hell is going on in our neoliberal, corporatised universities; and for our hapless students of international relations and who knows what else:
Fran Kelly: Within a matter of weeks Australia will again take to the stage in the Eurovision Song Contest that's being held in Israel this year. Kate Miller Heidke will perform the song Zero Gravity in Tel Aviv. But the lead up to the contest has been overshadowed by widespread calls for musicians to boycott the event over Israel's policies towards the Palestinians. The effort has been gaining traction with international artists and other public figures. But overnight Twitter announced it had suspended a small network of accounts after complaints from Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs that fake accounts were promoting the boycott. This highlights once again the politicised nature of the world's biggest music competition. Anika Gauja is Associate Professor in International Relations at the University of Sydney, and she happens to be a huge Eurovision fan. So who's behind the push for the boycott of Eurovision in Israel? (Calls for Eurovision boycott, Radio National, abc.net.au, 3/5/19)
[Call me old-fashioned and out of touch here, but is there a new breed of academic out there who combines serious scholarship and an obsession with one or another manifestation of mind-numbing trivia? I'm fascinated! Can anyone, perhaps, provide me with other examples?]
Anika Gauja: The movement called the BDS movement - Boycott Divestment & Sanctions - which has been around since the mid 2000s and, as you mentioned, they're trying to highlight what they would say is Israeli war crimes or atrocities against the Palestinians in Israel.
["What they would say... "??? What, only them? Not our recognised repository of international law, the UN? Oh look, here's a snippet from the recently released UN Independent Commission of Inquiry's report on the Gaza border protests: "The Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that during the Great March of Return, Israeli soldiers committed violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Some of those violations may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity...? "In Israel"? No, in the occupied Gaza Strip.]
FK: And they've got some high profile people aboard in this camp.
AG: Yeah, yeah. Brian Eno signing a letter and... international celebrities but the European Broadcasting Union which is the body responsible for staging the Eurovision has remained absolutely steadfast in its opposition to the boycott. It basically says that boycotting Eurovision is not a political event and its an event that's geared toward promoting diversity, togetherness, compromise, peace, harmony, so boycotting something like that is boycotting the values and ethos of Eurovision.
[You're kidding me? Do you have any idea how grotesquely irrelevant this Eurovision PR patter is to the manifest horrors being perpetrated by the Israelis in OCCUPIED Palestine?]
FK: And that position has got some high profile support too from people like Stephen Fry.
AG: Exactly.
FK: Well, the EBU, which produces Eurovision, goes against the spirit of the contest celebrating the [inaudible] unity. Last month over 100 public figures endorsed this boycott. We've got this counter thing. Has it made any difference to any of the countries taking part in Eurovision?
[Well, why not interview one?]
AG: No, it hasn't. I mean... there have been protests in Australia when Australia ran its song selection contest, and Madonna is going to perform at the grand final this year, which is quite an interesting and unique event for somebody outside of Europe. There've been calls for her to boycott, but none of the nations officially participating have withdrawn as a result of those calls.
[Seriously, who gives a fuck about Madonna?]
FK: And what do you make of this announcement overnight from Twitter that they've suspended a small network of accounts after complaints by Israel? Just more politicisation, isn't it?
AG: Yeah, absolutely. I think that in terms of Eurovision this is probably quite unprecedented. There's always controversy in the run up to the contest, but to have Twitter come in and and censor social media accounts is very interesting.
["Very interesting"??? A blatant violation of free speech at the behest of a Jewish supremacist apartheid state is merely "very interesting"?]
FK: What does past behaviour tell us? Would you expect to see protests... at the Eurovision Song contest outside and would you expect to see protests on stage... ?
AG: I think that the security this year because of the BDS campaign is going to be absolutely unprecedented, so I would be very very surprised if there are protests outside. Inside I think it's a different matter. We have seen in recent years protesters or pranksters being able to storm the stage... so it is possible for people to compromise security.
FK: What about the contestants themselves though?
AG: What's more common is you have a more subtle process that's built into a performance or a song... Occasionally a comment will be made... which can be interpreted as political but its a sort of subversive process.
FK: Am I right in saying it happens on the election weekend?
AG: Yeah, yeah, this is terrible for me cause my 2 passions conflict and this year I've chosen to go to Israel for the contest rather than hang around for a federal election...
[Gobsmacking!]
PS 6/5/19: Now this FFS: "Prolonged fighting could overshadow Eurovision and potentially deter international travellers from coming in for the festive event." (Israel and Gaza exchange rocket fire as death toll mounts after month-long fighting lull, 5/5/19, 1:31pm, abc.net.au)
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Portrait of a Zionist Diva
In his book How I Stopped Being a Jew (2014), that formidable debunker of Zionist narratives and mythology, Israeli historian Shlomo Sand, writes that:
"We must recognize that the key axis of a secular Jewish identity lies nowadays in perpetuating the individual's relationship to the State of Israel and in securing the individual's total support for it. If, until the 1967 war, Israel occupied a relatively secondary place in the sensibility of Jewish descendants in the West, from that point onward, this little state - which had just given a display of its great strength, even appearing as quite a power - became a source of pride for a goodly number of Jewish descendants. As is well known, any power attracts a mass of followers and comes to constitute, to a lesser or greater degree, a locus of adulation and worship. The image of soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, svelte and spirited, perched on powerful armoured cars or leaning proudly against jet fighters, serves as an identity card for many new Jews throughout the world. The prestige that this gives has been used to the maximum by the Israeli state." (pp 93-4)
Sand could have been writing about Australian singer/songwriter Deborah Conway, just featured in the Sydney Morning Herald's GoodWeekend magazine:
"Carl Conway's family fled Russia to England after the pogroms around 1900. Deborah Conway's upbringing was not particularly religious - she doesn't believe in God - but the family had Shabbat dinner on Friday night and synagogue visits a few times a year. Over time, though, she has become increasingly passionate about her heritage. Conway and [husband Willy] Zygier ran the Shir Madness Melbourne Jewish musical Festival in 2015 and 2017 and both are avowed Zionists, believing in the development and protection of Israel as a Jewish state. Asked why her passion for Zionism has increased, she says 'I hate bullies and I feel like the world is bullying Israel.' The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement - which aims to end international support for Israel - is, says Conway, 'nothing short of horrendous anti-Semitism.' 'Look, there's no question there are contentious aspects of the Jewish state, but it's the only place in the world where Jews have a state'." (Love of a lifetime, Melissa Fyfe, 2/2/19)
To deconstruct this particularly egregious example of delusional identity politics: here we have a 'secular Jew', with no discernible connection to Palestine/Israel, who swears blind that the Israeli bully is really a victim - of "the world" no less - and maliciously smears as anti-Semites those who demand justice for the bully's Palestinian victims.
Reality couldn't be more twisted. But, to make matters worse, the feature's author, journalist Melissa Fyfe, apparently saw no need to raise an editorial eyebrow, or in any way challenge, Conway's appalling diatribe.
"We must recognize that the key axis of a secular Jewish identity lies nowadays in perpetuating the individual's relationship to the State of Israel and in securing the individual's total support for it. If, until the 1967 war, Israel occupied a relatively secondary place in the sensibility of Jewish descendants in the West, from that point onward, this little state - which had just given a display of its great strength, even appearing as quite a power - became a source of pride for a goodly number of Jewish descendants. As is well known, any power attracts a mass of followers and comes to constitute, to a lesser or greater degree, a locus of adulation and worship. The image of soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, svelte and spirited, perched on powerful armoured cars or leaning proudly against jet fighters, serves as an identity card for many new Jews throughout the world. The prestige that this gives has been used to the maximum by the Israeli state." (pp 93-4)
Sand could have been writing about Australian singer/songwriter Deborah Conway, just featured in the Sydney Morning Herald's GoodWeekend magazine:
"Carl Conway's family fled Russia to England after the pogroms around 1900. Deborah Conway's upbringing was not particularly religious - she doesn't believe in God - but the family had Shabbat dinner on Friday night and synagogue visits a few times a year. Over time, though, she has become increasingly passionate about her heritage. Conway and [husband Willy] Zygier ran the Shir Madness Melbourne Jewish musical Festival in 2015 and 2017 and both are avowed Zionists, believing in the development and protection of Israel as a Jewish state. Asked why her passion for Zionism has increased, she says 'I hate bullies and I feel like the world is bullying Israel.' The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement - which aims to end international support for Israel - is, says Conway, 'nothing short of horrendous anti-Semitism.' 'Look, there's no question there are contentious aspects of the Jewish state, but it's the only place in the world where Jews have a state'." (Love of a lifetime, Melissa Fyfe, 2/2/19)
To deconstruct this particularly egregious example of delusional identity politics: here we have a 'secular Jew', with no discernible connection to Palestine/Israel, who swears blind that the Israeli bully is really a victim - of "the world" no less - and maliciously smears as anti-Semites those who demand justice for the bully's Palestinian victims.
Reality couldn't be more twisted. But, to make matters worse, the feature's author, journalist Melissa Fyfe, apparently saw no need to raise an editorial eyebrow, or in any way challenge, Conway's appalling diatribe.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
The Zionisation of America 2
In addition to US state legislatures doing their bit to protect Israel from free speech, Congress has also been getting in on the act:
You will hopefully remember Greenwald's 2017 piece* on the AIPAC-inspired Israel Boycott Act (S. 720), "introduced by Democratic Sen. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, that would criminalize participation in any international boycott of Israel. After the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a statement vehemently condemning Cardin's bill as an attack on core free speech rights, one which 'would punish individuals for no reason other than their political beliefs,' numerous senators announced that they were re-considering their support." (School contractor in Texas denied work over pro-Israel loyalty oath)
Greenwald updates us here on Cardin's latest move:
"But now... a modified version of the bill is back and pending in the lame-duck session: 'Cardin is making a behind-the-scenes push to slip an anti-boycott law into a last-minute spending bill being finalized during the lame-duck session.' The ACLU has also condemned this latest bill because 'its intent and the intent of the underlying state laws it purports to uphold are contrary to the spirit and letter of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech and association.'... While that 'new version clarifies that people cannot face jail time for participating in a boycott,' the ACLU insists that it still leaves the door open for criminal financial penalties' for anyone found to be participating in or even advocating for a boycott of Israel." (ibid)
Watch this space...
[*For the gruesome details, see my 23/7/17 post First They Came for the Palestinians. See also my 10/7/18 post Ziofascist Legislation Creep in the US.]
You will hopefully remember Greenwald's 2017 piece* on the AIPAC-inspired Israel Boycott Act (S. 720), "introduced by Democratic Sen. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, that would criminalize participation in any international boycott of Israel. After the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a statement vehemently condemning Cardin's bill as an attack on core free speech rights, one which 'would punish individuals for no reason other than their political beliefs,' numerous senators announced that they were re-considering their support." (School contractor in Texas denied work over pro-Israel loyalty oath)
Greenwald updates us here on Cardin's latest move:
"But now... a modified version of the bill is back and pending in the lame-duck session: 'Cardin is making a behind-the-scenes push to slip an anti-boycott law into a last-minute spending bill being finalized during the lame-duck session.' The ACLU has also condemned this latest bill because 'its intent and the intent of the underlying state laws it purports to uphold are contrary to the spirit and letter of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech and association.'... While that 'new version clarifies that people cannot face jail time for participating in a boycott,' the ACLU insists that it still leaves the door open for criminal financial penalties' for anyone found to be participating in or even advocating for a boycott of Israel." (ibid)
Watch this space...
[*For the gruesome details, see my 23/7/17 post First They Came for the Palestinians. See also my 10/7/18 post Ziofascist Legislation Creep in the US.]
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
The Zionisation of America 1
From 'the world's greatest democracy', aka the 'Home of the brave' and 'Land of the free', further evidence of the rapid advance of that most insidious phenomenon, the Zionisation of America:
"A children's speech pathologist [Bahia Amawi] who has worked for the last nine years with developmentally disabled, autistic, and speech-impaired elementary school students in Austin, Texas, has been told that she can no longer work with the public school district, after she refused to sign an oath vowing that she 'does not' and 'will not' engage in a boycott of Israel or 'otherwise tak[e] any action that is intended to inflict economic harm' on that foreign nation. A lawsuit on her behalf was filed early Monday morning in a federal court... alleging a violation of her First Amendment right of free speech." (School contractor in Texas denied work over pro-Israel loyalty oath, Glenn Greenwald, theintercept.com, 17/12/18)
"The anti-BDS Israel oath was included in Amawi's contract papers due to an Israel-specific state law enacted on May 2, 2017, by the Texas State Legislature... The bill [authored by an evangelical Republican rep.] unanimously passed the lower House by a vote of 131-0, and then the Senate by a vote of 25-4." (ibid)
"At the time that Texas enacted the law barring contractors from supporting a boycott of Israel, it was the 17th state in the country to do so. As of now, 26 states have enacted such laws - including blue states run by Democrats such as New York, California, and New Jersey - while similar bills are pending in another 13 states." (ibid)
You won't, of course, have heard about this outrage from any branch of the Australian corporate media.
And don't dare think it can't happen here. Remember how the shit hit the fan when Sydney's Marrickville Council bravely adopted a pro-BDS position in 2011?
I'll leave you with Greenwald's assessment to ponder:
"Put simply, it is impossible to be a credible, effective, genuine advocate of free speech and free discourse without objecting to the organized, orchestrated, sustained onslaught of attacks on the free speech and free association rights undertaken specifically to protect the Israeli government from criticism and activism. Self-professed free speech defenders who only invoke that principle when their political allies are targeted are, by definition, charlatans and frauds. Genuine free speech advocates object to censorship even when, arguably especially when, the free speech rights of their political adversaries are assaulted."
"A children's speech pathologist [Bahia Amawi] who has worked for the last nine years with developmentally disabled, autistic, and speech-impaired elementary school students in Austin, Texas, has been told that she can no longer work with the public school district, after she refused to sign an oath vowing that she 'does not' and 'will not' engage in a boycott of Israel or 'otherwise tak[e] any action that is intended to inflict economic harm' on that foreign nation. A lawsuit on her behalf was filed early Monday morning in a federal court... alleging a violation of her First Amendment right of free speech." (School contractor in Texas denied work over pro-Israel loyalty oath, Glenn Greenwald, theintercept.com, 17/12/18)
"The anti-BDS Israel oath was included in Amawi's contract papers due to an Israel-specific state law enacted on May 2, 2017, by the Texas State Legislature... The bill [authored by an evangelical Republican rep.] unanimously passed the lower House by a vote of 131-0, and then the Senate by a vote of 25-4." (ibid)
"At the time that Texas enacted the law barring contractors from supporting a boycott of Israel, it was the 17th state in the country to do so. As of now, 26 states have enacted such laws - including blue states run by Democrats such as New York, California, and New Jersey - while similar bills are pending in another 13 states." (ibid)
You won't, of course, have heard about this outrage from any branch of the Australian corporate media.
And don't dare think it can't happen here. Remember how the shit hit the fan when Sydney's Marrickville Council bravely adopted a pro-BDS position in 2011?
I'll leave you with Greenwald's assessment to ponder:
"Put simply, it is impossible to be a credible, effective, genuine advocate of free speech and free discourse without objecting to the organized, orchestrated, sustained onslaught of attacks on the free speech and free association rights undertaken specifically to protect the Israeli government from criticism and activism. Self-professed free speech defenders who only invoke that principle when their political allies are targeted are, by definition, charlatans and frauds. Genuine free speech advocates object to censorship even when, arguably especially when, the free speech rights of their political adversaries are assaulted."
Monday, December 17, 2018
The Making of Morrison
Some gems from Scott Morrison's maiden speech, 14/2/08:
"Growing up in a Christian home, I made a commitment to my faith at an early age... "
Indoctrinated from birth...
"My personal faith in Jesus Christ is not a political agenda... "
OK...
"In recent times it has become fashionable to negatively stereotype those who profess their Christian faith in public life as 'extreme' and to suggest that faith has no place in the political debate of this country."
Contradicts himself...
"This presents a significant challenge for those of us... who seek to follow the example of... Desmond Tutu... [This leader] stood for the immutable truths and principles of the Christian faith."
My goodness, is this the same Archbishop Tutu who wrote "I have been to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and I have witnessed the racially segregated roads and housing that reminded me so much of the conditions we experienced in South Africa under the racist system of apartheid"? (Divesting from injustice, huffingtonpost.com, 25/5/11)
And who praised the work of UC Berkeley BDS activists "in support of divesting the university's money from companies that enable and profit from the injustice of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and violation of Palestinian human rights"? (ibid)
And who pointed out that "these students are doing the right thing... the moral thing... which is incumbent on them as humans who believe that all people have dignity and rights, and that all those being denied their dignity and rights deserve the solidarity of their fellow human beings"? (ibid)
Mr Morrison, you're no Desmond Tutu.
"Growing up in a Christian home, I made a commitment to my faith at an early age... "
Indoctrinated from birth...
"My personal faith in Jesus Christ is not a political agenda... "
OK...
"In recent times it has become fashionable to negatively stereotype those who profess their Christian faith in public life as 'extreme' and to suggest that faith has no place in the political debate of this country."
Contradicts himself...
"This presents a significant challenge for those of us... who seek to follow the example of... Desmond Tutu... [This leader] stood for the immutable truths and principles of the Christian faith."
My goodness, is this the same Archbishop Tutu who wrote "I have been to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and I have witnessed the racially segregated roads and housing that reminded me so much of the conditions we experienced in South Africa under the racist system of apartheid"? (Divesting from injustice, huffingtonpost.com, 25/5/11)
And who praised the work of UC Berkeley BDS activists "in support of divesting the university's money from companies that enable and profit from the injustice of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and violation of Palestinian human rights"? (ibid)
And who pointed out that "these students are doing the right thing... the moral thing... which is incumbent on them as humans who believe that all people have dignity and rights, and that all those being denied their dignity and rights deserve the solidarity of their fellow human beings"? (ibid)
Mr Morrison, you're no Desmond Tutu.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Gol & Giv's Chocolates
Guess who's footing the bill for unpaid Max Brenner employees?
"He [David Tozer] said it was likely payment to the employees, who are estimated to be owed a combined $5.8 million, will come from the government's General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme." (Max Brenner buyers plan Asia push, Sydney Morning Herald, 19/10/18)
That's right, the Australian taxpayer. Nice one, Max...
But wait, what's this?
"The sale of collapsed chocolate cafe chain Max Brenner to investment firm Tozer & Co will not go ahead, according to liquidator BDO." (Max Brenner sale fails at the 11th hour, Sydney Morning Herald, 20/10/18)
Poor, sad Max. He's lost his mojo.
Hey, I've got an idea!
Why can't the IDF's Golani and Givati Brigades, out of sheer gratitude at Max's many years of "sweetening their special moments," take 50% pay cuts for as long as it takes to get Max back on his feet and rebrand him? Something more in keeping with the muscular, head-kicking spirit of his country of origin? Something more Zionist in other words. And what could be more Zionist than the Golani and Givati brigades?
My humble suggestion:
Gol & Giv's Chocolates.
Slogan: We put fire in your belly... or maybe your head.
Palestinians especially catered for...
"He [David Tozer] said it was likely payment to the employees, who are estimated to be owed a combined $5.8 million, will come from the government's General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme." (Max Brenner buyers plan Asia push, Sydney Morning Herald, 19/10/18)
That's right, the Australian taxpayer. Nice one, Max...
But wait, what's this?
"The sale of collapsed chocolate cafe chain Max Brenner to investment firm Tozer & Co will not go ahead, according to liquidator BDO." (Max Brenner sale fails at the 11th hour, Sydney Morning Herald, 20/10/18)
Poor, sad Max. He's lost his mojo.
Hey, I've got an idea!
Why can't the IDF's Golani and Givati Brigades, out of sheer gratitude at Max's many years of "sweetening their special moments," take 50% pay cuts for as long as it takes to get Max back on his feet and rebrand him? Something more in keeping with the muscular, head-kicking spirit of his country of origin? Something more Zionist in other words. And what could be more Zionist than the Golani and Givati brigades?
My humble suggestion:
Gol & Giv's Chocolates.
Slogan: We put fire in your belly... or maybe your head.
Palestinians especially catered for...
Friday, October 5, 2018
Max Brenner Goes Bust
Here's some heartening news:
"Upmarket chocolate and cafe chain Max Brenner's Australian business has gone into voluntary administration, citing rising costs and sluggish retail trade." (Chocolate chain Max Brenner collapses, Patrick Hatch, Sydney Morning Herald, 3/10/18)
What the Herald, of course, neglects to mention is that Max Brenner is a subsidiary of Israel's Strauss Group, a donor of "care packages" to Israel's Golani and Givati brigade commandos to "sweeten their special moments." (See my 25/5/13 post Why Boycott Max Brenner.)
The snipers currently deployed to gun down unarmed Palestinian demonstrators on the Gaza border come from these brigades. Don't even ask about those "special moments."
"Upmarket chocolate and cafe chain Max Brenner's Australian business has gone into voluntary administration, citing rising costs and sluggish retail trade." (Chocolate chain Max Brenner collapses, Patrick Hatch, Sydney Morning Herald, 3/10/18)
What the Herald, of course, neglects to mention is that Max Brenner is a subsidiary of Israel's Strauss Group, a donor of "care packages" to Israel's Golani and Givati brigade commandos to "sweeten their special moments." (See my 25/5/13 post Why Boycott Max Brenner.)
The snipers currently deployed to gun down unarmed Palestinian demonstrators on the Gaza border come from these brigades. Don't even ask about those "special moments."
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Ziofascist Legislation Creep in the US
On 23/7/17, in my post First They Came for the Palestinians, I drew attention to Glenn Greenwald's ominous essay, US lawmakers seek to criminally outlaw support for boycott campaign against Israel, in which he warned that "the criminalization of political speech and activism against Israel has become one of the gravest threats to free speech in the West," and went on to analyse the circumstances around the introduction of a bipartisan, AIPAC-drafted, Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S. 720) into the US Senate, noting in particular its foreshadowing of maximum criminal penalties of $1 million and 20 years in prison for Americans supporting the international boycott of Israel.
So where are we now with this piece of Ziofascist legislation creep, almost one year on? Here's an update from theintercept.com's Alex Emmons, New house bill would empower Donald Trump to punish US companies that boycott Israel (29/6/18):
"The House Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously passed a measure on Thursday that would give the Trump administration power to decide how to punish US companies that engage in or promote boycotts of Israel - including through criminal penalties. The committee passed an amendment... from Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif, that largely replaced the text of... the Israel Anti-Boycott Act. When the original legislation was first introduced last year, it drew outrage from activists, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warned that by threatening to impose steep criminal penalties on boycott activists engaged with international bodies' boycotts, the bill was unconstitutional.
"After the uproar, the initial bill... lost momentum. But Royce's effort to move his version out of the Foreign Affairs Committee is part of a push to reinvigorate Capitol Hill's efforts to use statutory means to clamp down on the growing movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the Jewish state for human rights violations against the Palestinians. Pro-Palestinian activists said Royce's amendment, despite being an attempt to work around civil liberties concerns, could be the most dangerous version of the bill yet, because it delegates the lawmaking power to the Trump administration...
"Royce's amendment rewrites the bill to direct the administration to issue regulations that prohibit US companies from involvement with the BDS movement... The bill covers those companies that attempt to 'comply with, further, or support' UN or EU calls for a boycott of Israel... [It] requires them to be 'consistent with the enforcement practices' of the 1979 Export Administration Act - which allows for a range of civil and criminal penalties stopping out at a maximum of $1 million fine and 20 years in prison...
"According o the ACLU, 24 states have passed laws aimed at punishing the boycott movement, and more than 100 bills have been considered by state and local legislatures across the country."
Land of the free? You're kidding me!
So where are we now with this piece of Ziofascist legislation creep, almost one year on? Here's an update from theintercept.com's Alex Emmons, New house bill would empower Donald Trump to punish US companies that boycott Israel (29/6/18):
"The House Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously passed a measure on Thursday that would give the Trump administration power to decide how to punish US companies that engage in or promote boycotts of Israel - including through criminal penalties. The committee passed an amendment... from Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif, that largely replaced the text of... the Israel Anti-Boycott Act. When the original legislation was first introduced last year, it drew outrage from activists, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warned that by threatening to impose steep criminal penalties on boycott activists engaged with international bodies' boycotts, the bill was unconstitutional.
"After the uproar, the initial bill... lost momentum. But Royce's effort to move his version out of the Foreign Affairs Committee is part of a push to reinvigorate Capitol Hill's efforts to use statutory means to clamp down on the growing movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the Jewish state for human rights violations against the Palestinians. Pro-Palestinian activists said Royce's amendment, despite being an attempt to work around civil liberties concerns, could be the most dangerous version of the bill yet, because it delegates the lawmaking power to the Trump administration...
"Royce's amendment rewrites the bill to direct the administration to issue regulations that prohibit US companies from involvement with the BDS movement... The bill covers those companies that attempt to 'comply with, further, or support' UN or EU calls for a boycott of Israel... [It] requires them to be 'consistent with the enforcement practices' of the 1979 Export Administration Act - which allows for a range of civil and criminal penalties stopping out at a maximum of $1 million fine and 20 years in prison...
"According o the ACLU, 24 states have passed laws aimed at punishing the boycott movement, and more than 100 bills have been considered by state and local legislatures across the country."
Land of the free? You're kidding me!
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Erin Go Brath
"In spite then of non-Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews, [with the Balfour Declaration] world Jewry was at last within sight of home... No longer would the Jews remain a people without a land, in exile everywhere... Civilisation had at last acknowledged the great wrong, had proclaimed the word of salvation. It was for the Jews to approve themselves by action worthy of that confidence: to exercise practically and materially their historic 'right'. The soil tilled by their fathers had lain for long ages neglected: now, with the modern processes available to Jewish brains, Jewish capital and Jewish enterprise, the wilderness would rejoice and blossom like the rose. Even though the land could not yet absorb sixteen millions, nor even eight, enough could return, if not to form The Jewish State (which a few extremists publicly demanded), at least to prove that the enterprise was one that blessed him that gave as well as him that took by forming for England 'a little loyal Jewish Ulster' in a sea of potentially hostile Arabism." (Orientations, Ronald Storrs, 1937, pp 357-58. Storrs was Jerusalem's first British governor.)
***
Following in the footsteps of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), the Cork City Council, the Dublin City Council, Galway City Council has declared its solidarity with the people of Palestine and support for the BDS movement.
Here is Galway's most excellent motion:
1. Since its violent establishment in 1948 through the ethnic cleansing of more than half of the indigenous people of Palestine, the state of Israel has denied Palestinians their fundamental rights and has refused to comply with international law; noting also that Israel continues to illegally occupy and colonise Palestinian land, discriminates against Palestinian citizens of Israel, imposes an inhumane blockade and siege of Gaza and denies Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes, Galway City Council fully supports and endorses the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement for freedom, equality and justice and commits itself to discontinue all business contracts it has with Hewlett-Packard, both HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise for business and government services, as well as the HP spin-off DXC Technology as HP and DXC provide and operate much of the technology infrastructure that Israel uses to maintain its system of apartheid and settler colonialism over the Palestinian people. (Galway City Council adopts motion to boycott Israel, Micheal O Maoileoin, galwaydaily.com, 12/6/18)
Meanwhile, in the settler-colonial backwater known as Australia...
***
Following in the footsteps of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), the Cork City Council, the Dublin City Council, Galway City Council has declared its solidarity with the people of Palestine and support for the BDS movement.
Here is Galway's most excellent motion:
1. Since its violent establishment in 1948 through the ethnic cleansing of more than half of the indigenous people of Palestine, the state of Israel has denied Palestinians their fundamental rights and has refused to comply with international law; noting also that Israel continues to illegally occupy and colonise Palestinian land, discriminates against Palestinian citizens of Israel, imposes an inhumane blockade and siege of Gaza and denies Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes, Galway City Council fully supports and endorses the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement for freedom, equality and justice and commits itself to discontinue all business contracts it has with Hewlett-Packard, both HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise for business and government services, as well as the HP spin-off DXC Technology as HP and DXC provide and operate much of the technology infrastructure that Israel uses to maintain its system of apartheid and settler colonialism over the Palestinian people. (Galway City Council adopts motion to boycott Israel, Micheal O Maoileoin, galwaydaily.com, 12/6/18)
Meanwhile, in the settler-colonial backwater known as Australia...
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Challenging Chomsky on BDS
I spent some time recently listening to the 8/7/10 Alison Weir (of If Americans Knew & Council for the National Interest) interview with Noam Chomsky. On the subject of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), Chomsky argued again and again that boycotting Israel would be harmful to the Palestinians because it would enable hardliners to ask 'Why boycott Israel, but not the United States?' To which question there was, presumably, at least for Chomsky, no possible answer.
While we can of course acknowledge the misery meted out on a global basis by the United States, including its aiding and abetting of Israel, it seems to me that Chomsky is overlooking the particularly cruel and inhuman punishment - summed up in the term Israeli apartheid - being meted out to the Palestinians, and the fact that this has been ongoing since 1948 and has now reached crescendo proportions, a state of affairs requiring BDS on the grandest of scales.
I note too that Chomsky recently signed, with others, an open letter written by the Emergency Committee for Rojava, A Call to Defend Rojava (nybooks.com), a response to the Turkish invasion of Afrin - "one of three cantons in Rojava, also called the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria."
Reports the letter, "Many of those who fled Afrin are now sleeping in open fields or in tent cities, lacking the most elementary necessities. Those who remain have been subjected to the same kind of ethnic discrimination, looting and sexual violence that ISIS perpetrated against the Yazidis in Iraq."
Need I remind the Palestinian history literate among you that "tent cities," "ethnic discrimination," "looting" and "sexual violence" were all features of the Zionist usurpation of Arab Palestine in 1948-49, and that tent cities, now permanent, concrete-block refugee camps, ethnic discrimination, and looting, now in the form of land theft, are still basic features of Israel's modus operandi vis-a-vis the Palestinians?
And what btw does the Emergency Committee for Rojava (and by extension Chomsky) want the US government to do?
"Impose economic and political sanctions on Turkey's leadership; embargo sales and delivery of weapons from NATO countries to Turkey; insist upon Rojava's representation in Syrian peace negotiations;... "
If only those forms of BDS were applied to Israel...
But there's a final, 4th demand on the group's to-do list:
"... continue military support for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)."
In summary, Chomsky is happy to call for direct US intervention in Syria to protect the Kurds from Turkey, but baulks over the application of BDS to end decades of Israeli apartheid rule over the Palestinians.
While we can of course acknowledge the misery meted out on a global basis by the United States, including its aiding and abetting of Israel, it seems to me that Chomsky is overlooking the particularly cruel and inhuman punishment - summed up in the term Israeli apartheid - being meted out to the Palestinians, and the fact that this has been ongoing since 1948 and has now reached crescendo proportions, a state of affairs requiring BDS on the grandest of scales.
I note too that Chomsky recently signed, with others, an open letter written by the Emergency Committee for Rojava, A Call to Defend Rojava (nybooks.com), a response to the Turkish invasion of Afrin - "one of three cantons in Rojava, also called the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria."
Reports the letter, "Many of those who fled Afrin are now sleeping in open fields or in tent cities, lacking the most elementary necessities. Those who remain have been subjected to the same kind of ethnic discrimination, looting and sexual violence that ISIS perpetrated against the Yazidis in Iraq."
Need I remind the Palestinian history literate among you that "tent cities," "ethnic discrimination," "looting" and "sexual violence" were all features of the Zionist usurpation of Arab Palestine in 1948-49, and that tent cities, now permanent, concrete-block refugee camps, ethnic discrimination, and looting, now in the form of land theft, are still basic features of Israel's modus operandi vis-a-vis the Palestinians?
And what btw does the Emergency Committee for Rojava (and by extension Chomsky) want the US government to do?
"Impose economic and political sanctions on Turkey's leadership; embargo sales and delivery of weapons from NATO countries to Turkey; insist upon Rojava's representation in Syrian peace negotiations;... "
If only those forms of BDS were applied to Israel...
But there's a final, 4th demand on the group's to-do list:
"... continue military support for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)."
In summary, Chomsky is happy to call for direct US intervention in Syria to protect the Kurds from Turkey, but baulks over the application of BDS to end decades of Israeli apartheid rule over the Palestinians.
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Good Lorde!
NZ singer Lorde's 25/12 statement on why she's finally reversed her decision to perform in Israel:
"hey guys, so about this israel show - i've received an overwhelming number number of messages and letters and have had a lot of discussions with people holding many views, and i think the right decision at this time is to cancel the show. i pride myself on being an informed young citizen, and i had done a lot of reading and sought a lot of opinions before deciding to book a show in tel aviv, but i'm not too proud to admit i didn't make the right call on this one. tel aviv, it's been a dream of mine to visit this beautiful part of the world for many years, and i'm truly sorry to reverse my commitment to come play for you. i hope one day we can all dance."
While I'm glad Lorde has finally complied with requests to boycott apartheid Israel, I find myself profoundly irritated by her statement on many levels:
1) If, despite her claimed wide reading on the subject of Palestine/Israel, she'd decided to perform anyway, I seriously have to question a) her notion of wide reading (Wikipedia?) and/or the bona fides of whatever it is she claims to have read.
2) If visiting Tel Aviv is her idea of a "dream," I can only conclude that, at least for the most part, she's off with the pixies.
3) If she's really taken on board all of those "messages and letters/discussions" she's received, why does she feel the need to apologise to apartheid Israelis?
4) Why is there not a single reference in her statement to anything real she may have learned from all this?
And, of course, the question of questions:
5) Why, as a self-proclaimed "informed young citizen," did she even need to be told that apartheid Israel was no-no in the first place?
*...*
"hey guys, so about this israel show - i've received an overwhelming number number of messages and letters and have had a lot of discussions with people holding many views, and i think the right decision at this time is to cancel the show. i pride myself on being an informed young citizen, and i had done a lot of reading and sought a lot of opinions before deciding to book a show in tel aviv, but i'm not too proud to admit i didn't make the right call on this one. tel aviv, it's been a dream of mine to visit this beautiful part of the world for many years, and i'm truly sorry to reverse my commitment to come play for you. i hope one day we can all dance."
While I'm glad Lorde has finally complied with requests to boycott apartheid Israel, I find myself profoundly irritated by her statement on many levels:
1) If, despite her claimed wide reading on the subject of Palestine/Israel, she'd decided to perform anyway, I seriously have to question a) her notion of wide reading (Wikipedia?) and/or the bona fides of whatever it is she claims to have read.
2) If visiting Tel Aviv is her idea of a "dream," I can only conclude that, at least for the most part, she's off with the pixies.
3) If she's really taken on board all of those "messages and letters/discussions" she's received, why does she feel the need to apologise to apartheid Israelis?
4) Why is there not a single reference in her statement to anything real she may have learned from all this?
And, of course, the question of questions:
5) Why, as a self-proclaimed "informed young citizen," did she even need to be told that apartheid Israel was no-no in the first place?
*...*
Sunday, December 10, 2017
The Trump Declaration
A very comprehensive and insightful essay by Nada Elia on Trump's formal embrace of a Greater Israel. It hits just about every nail on the head:
"It is 'the morning after,' and the world, with few exceptions is denouncing Trump's declaration that the US recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. With those few exceptions, politicians globally are making vapid statements about the 'dangers' of that declaration, namely that it would lead to an escalation of violence, and jeopardize the 'peace process.' There seems to be little recognition of the relentless violence of Israeli settler-colonialism, and the complete violation of the Geneva convention and international law by both Israel and the US president.
"There is something to be said about Israel's deeply-seated need for 'recognition,' of its right to exist, its right to 'defend itself,' and its claim that Jerusalem is its capital city. That need betrays the (sometimes repressed) knowledge that Israel is a usurper, that Jews globally do not have a 'right' to become settlers, and that what Israel is 'defending' is an illegal occupation. Specifically, in the case of Jerusalem, the city is illegally annexed, with a clear system of apartheid privileging one socio-political ethnicity over the indigenous people. It is no wonder a president, Trump, who openly aligns himself with white supremacy as home, would naturally favour Jewish supremacy in historic Palestine. This is his 'Lord Balfour moment,' in which, in a gesture of imperial largesse, he presumes to hand over land that is not his, to another people. Britain's gambit did not work out so well 100 years ago, and neither will Trump's gesture. It may satisfy his own ignominious hubris, his ambition to conclude 'the deal of the century,' but it cannot bring about justice.
"And yet Trump's announcement does not jeopardize the peace process. This is because 'Oslo' was still-born, it just has not been buried yet. Rather, for the past 20 years, it has been on life-support, with no chance of survival. And there has been no 'peace' during the 'process,' only growing injustice, more disenfranchisement of the indigenous people, ongoing ethnic cleansing, and a genocidal siege on two million Palestinians in Gaza. This is the 'process' that led to two intifadas, and created the political context of global grassroots solidarity in the form of BDS.
"And still politicians continue to prop up this cadaver. The European Union, for example, holds on to the chimera of a two-state solution, and 'negotiations' that will determine the fate of Jerusalem. 'There is a UN resolution on this issue and the issue of Jerusalem must be raised in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians,' the EU ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, said as he announced that the EU will not be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
"Trump's decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has finally unplugged the useless apparatus. Whether the US embassy is moved or not - and that is yet to be determined, and cannot possibly be accomplished in under two to three years - what Trump has achieved is the formal recognition that the US has never been a fair mediator, a 'neutral broker,' but rather that it has always supported Israeli settler-colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid. Democrats have been more hypocritical about it, consistently increasing their financial aid to Israel even as they criticized the settlements as an obstacle to peace. Trump lacks any and all diplomacy, and if there is anything he is good at, it is his unabashed embrace of various oppressive systems. His national base is white supremacists, his global base is Zionism, another form of ethnic supremacy.
"The mask has come off. Both in the US as well as in Israel, which is open about its desire to keep on expanding. 'From the river to the sea' is not only the Palestinian dream of liberation, since all of historic Palestine is liberated, it is also the Zionist vision of Greater Israel, which the settlers have been slowly but surely making a reality, with the 'facts on the ground.'
"If any pain is felt today,and in the coming weeks, it is the pain that comes from removing a band-aid that has long covered up a festering wound. The wound will certainly heal better now. And the rage is an expression of the people's recognition that there seems to be no end to imperial hubris in sight. Yet now is not the time to glorify the 'sumoud narrative,' the pain, the rage, the outrage are too raw. Palestinians, especially in Jerusalem, will pay a very high price for for Trump's declaration. Yet we persist, because we must.
One of the earliest Zionist visionaries, Vladimir Jabotinsky, remains relevant today. In his 1923 treatise, The Iron Wall, where he laid out his vision for settler colonialism, he explains, with impressive foresight: 'It may be that some individual Arabs take bribes. But that does not mean that the Arab people of Palestine as a whole will sell that fervent patriotism that they guard so jealously, and which even the Papuans will never sell. Every native population in the world resists colonists as long as it has the slightest hope of being able to rid itself of the danger of being colonized. That is what the Arabs in Palestine are doing, and what they will persist in doing as long as there remains a solitary spark of hope that they will be able to prevent the transformation of 'Palestine' into the 'Land of Israel.'
"No, Trump's declaration has made clear that, just as with South Africa last century, the US government is on the wrong side of history today. And just as with apartheid South Africa, the people of the land, along with the global community, will determine the outcome. Apartheid, or one democratic state?
"Even in the searing pain of 'the morning after,' as we look around and see a clearly-demarcated strategy of resistance, and take in the multiple expressions of global solidarity with the Palestinian people, we know we will overcome, someday." (Trump's 'Lord Balfour moment' is formal recognition the US was never an honest broker, mondoweiss.net, 7/12/17)
"It is 'the morning after,' and the world, with few exceptions is denouncing Trump's declaration that the US recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. With those few exceptions, politicians globally are making vapid statements about the 'dangers' of that declaration, namely that it would lead to an escalation of violence, and jeopardize the 'peace process.' There seems to be little recognition of the relentless violence of Israeli settler-colonialism, and the complete violation of the Geneva convention and international law by both Israel and the US president.
"There is something to be said about Israel's deeply-seated need for 'recognition,' of its right to exist, its right to 'defend itself,' and its claim that Jerusalem is its capital city. That need betrays the (sometimes repressed) knowledge that Israel is a usurper, that Jews globally do not have a 'right' to become settlers, and that what Israel is 'defending' is an illegal occupation. Specifically, in the case of Jerusalem, the city is illegally annexed, with a clear system of apartheid privileging one socio-political ethnicity over the indigenous people. It is no wonder a president, Trump, who openly aligns himself with white supremacy as home, would naturally favour Jewish supremacy in historic Palestine. This is his 'Lord Balfour moment,' in which, in a gesture of imperial largesse, he presumes to hand over land that is not his, to another people. Britain's gambit did not work out so well 100 years ago, and neither will Trump's gesture. It may satisfy his own ignominious hubris, his ambition to conclude 'the deal of the century,' but it cannot bring about justice.
"And yet Trump's announcement does not jeopardize the peace process. This is because 'Oslo' was still-born, it just has not been buried yet. Rather, for the past 20 years, it has been on life-support, with no chance of survival. And there has been no 'peace' during the 'process,' only growing injustice, more disenfranchisement of the indigenous people, ongoing ethnic cleansing, and a genocidal siege on two million Palestinians in Gaza. This is the 'process' that led to two intifadas, and created the political context of global grassroots solidarity in the form of BDS.
"And still politicians continue to prop up this cadaver. The European Union, for example, holds on to the chimera of a two-state solution, and 'negotiations' that will determine the fate of Jerusalem. 'There is a UN resolution on this issue and the issue of Jerusalem must be raised in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians,' the EU ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, said as he announced that the EU will not be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
"Trump's decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has finally unplugged the useless apparatus. Whether the US embassy is moved or not - and that is yet to be determined, and cannot possibly be accomplished in under two to three years - what Trump has achieved is the formal recognition that the US has never been a fair mediator, a 'neutral broker,' but rather that it has always supported Israeli settler-colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid. Democrats have been more hypocritical about it, consistently increasing their financial aid to Israel even as they criticized the settlements as an obstacle to peace. Trump lacks any and all diplomacy, and if there is anything he is good at, it is his unabashed embrace of various oppressive systems. His national base is white supremacists, his global base is Zionism, another form of ethnic supremacy.
"The mask has come off. Both in the US as well as in Israel, which is open about its desire to keep on expanding. 'From the river to the sea' is not only the Palestinian dream of liberation, since all of historic Palestine is liberated, it is also the Zionist vision of Greater Israel, which the settlers have been slowly but surely making a reality, with the 'facts on the ground.'
"If any pain is felt today,and in the coming weeks, it is the pain that comes from removing a band-aid that has long covered up a festering wound. The wound will certainly heal better now. And the rage is an expression of the people's recognition that there seems to be no end to imperial hubris in sight. Yet now is not the time to glorify the 'sumoud narrative,' the pain, the rage, the outrage are too raw. Palestinians, especially in Jerusalem, will pay a very high price for for Trump's declaration. Yet we persist, because we must.
One of the earliest Zionist visionaries, Vladimir Jabotinsky, remains relevant today. In his 1923 treatise, The Iron Wall, where he laid out his vision for settler colonialism, he explains, with impressive foresight: 'It may be that some individual Arabs take bribes. But that does not mean that the Arab people of Palestine as a whole will sell that fervent patriotism that they guard so jealously, and which even the Papuans will never sell. Every native population in the world resists colonists as long as it has the slightest hope of being able to rid itself of the danger of being colonized. That is what the Arabs in Palestine are doing, and what they will persist in doing as long as there remains a solitary spark of hope that they will be able to prevent the transformation of 'Palestine' into the 'Land of Israel.'
"No, Trump's declaration has made clear that, just as with South Africa last century, the US government is on the wrong side of history today. And just as with apartheid South Africa, the people of the land, along with the global community, will determine the outcome. Apartheid, or one democratic state?
"Even in the searing pain of 'the morning after,' as we look around and see a clearly-demarcated strategy of resistance, and take in the multiple expressions of global solidarity with the Palestinian people, we know we will overcome, someday." (Trump's 'Lord Balfour moment' is formal recognition the US was never an honest broker, mondoweiss.net, 7/12/17)
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Bad Seed
"Roger Waters and Brian Eno have hit back at Australian-born musician Nick Cave after he accused the rock icons of trying to 'bully' and 'censor' him, and other musicians, over his Israel tour [...] At the end of the day, [said Cave] there are two reasons why I am here [in Israel]. One is that I love Israel and I love Israeli people, and two is to make a principled stand against anyone who who wants to censor and silence musicians'." (Israel boycott stinks, says Cave as critics rage, Rob Moran, Sydney Morning Herald, 22/11/17)
Memo to Nick Cave:
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: anyone - ANYONE - in 2017 who still doesn't get that the Zionist project in Israel is, and always was, a monstrous violation of the rights of another people, and acts accordingly, cannot possibly have anything of value to contribute to people or planet.
Memo to Nick Cave:
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: anyone - ANYONE - in 2017 who still doesn't get that the Zionist project in Israel is, and always was, a monstrous violation of the rights of another people, and acts accordingly, cannot possibly have anything of value to contribute to people or planet.
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Theresa May's 2 November Speech: Worse than the Balfour Declaration
Forget Sexminster, however diverting; the moral bankruptcy of UK Prime Minister Theresa May's government is nowhere on better display than in her appalling speech to guests attending a dinner in London on November 2, 2017 to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.
That most "discreditable document," to borrow the words of J.M.N. Jeffries, "unlawful in issue, arbitrary in purpose, and deceitful in wording," was at least issued without the benefit of hindsight. However, despite 100 years of escalating genocide for the Palestinians, May's speech indicates that she has learnt ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about her country's starring role in this, the greatest of Britain's colonial crimes. As she makes abundantly clear in her speech, she is in fact "proud" of Britain's part in the creation of the State of Israel. ('Proud' is trotted out 3 times; 'with pride' twice.)
100 years of hindsight. 100 years in which to pause, reflect, learn, acknowledge, apologise and atone, and still she refuses to own the problem which Balfour, Lloyd George, Weizmann and the rest of the Anglo-Zionist cabal of 1917 bequeathed to the world.
May has thus delivered, if anything, a worse-than-the-Balfour-Declaration-speech, and, what's more, at an event heavy with symbolism, delivered it before the current incarnations of Lords Rothschild and Balfour.
Even worse, she's delivered it before a smiling, smirking Benjamin Netanyahu, the current incarnation of the arch-Zionist terrorist Menachem Begin, whose Irgun operatives blew up the seat of British Mandate Palestine's government, the King David Hotel, in 1946, with the loss of 91 British, Jewish and Arab lives. Netanyahu, moreover, is hell-bent, in sync with Irgun ideology, on realising the nightmare vision of an Arabrein Greater Israel, extending far beyond the Balfour Declaration's "national home for the Jewish people... in Palestine."
It's all here: Balfour's alleged "vision of peaceful co-existence," "leadership," and supposed regard for Palestinian "sensitivities" (I kid you not!); Israel's mythical "vulnerability" and "democracy"; the smearing of BDS and anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism; the hollow intoning of the two-state mantra; the faux balancing of illegal Israeli settlements with an alleged "Palestinian incitement"; falsified history; the invocation of Zionism's fictional "2,000-year dream" - with no mention whatever of the Palestinians' all-too-real, 100-year nightmare - and more.
Since PM May's truly shameful address constitutes nothing less than a re-affirmation of the Balfour Declaration, delivered in spite of the kind of hindsight unavailable to Balfour, it should be read in full, rather than in the form of mere media sound-bites. Here, therefore, is the official transcript (PM speech at Balfour Centenary Dinner - GOV.UK). The headings, interpolated comments, and highlightings are, of course, mine:
Lord Rothschild, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Chief Rabbi, distinguished guests, Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so pleased to be here with you tonight - and to be with you Lord Balfour on this special evening - as we mark the centenary of the letter written by your great-Uncle: which I believe to be one of the most significant letters in history.
A letter which gave birth to a most extraordinary country. And a letter which finally opened the door to helping make a Jewish Homeland a reality. It was a letter that is all the more remarkable when you consider its length, its context and its sensitivity.
First, it was exceptionally concise - just 67 words and one single sentence. In my experience such brevity is not typically a feature of letters from the Foreign Office!
Second, we should consider the context in which this letter was written. Let us cast our minds back to the time of 1917. In an era of competing imperial powers and with Britain still embroiled in the midst of the First World War, the idea of establishing a homeland for the Jewish people would have seemed a distant dream for many; and been fiercely opposed by others. Yet it was at this very moment that Lord Balfour had the vision and the leadership to make this profound statement about restoring a persecuted people to a safe and secure homeland.
[The Balfour Declaration says not a word about Jewish persecution, safety, or security, only the establishment of "a national home." The Zionist drafters of the declaration originally wanted "the National Home of the Jewish people" "reconstituted." They were not humanitarians, but nationalists, who wished to re-create an ancient tribal Israel, more mythology than history.]
Third, this was a letter that remains very sensitive for many people today - but it was not ignorant of those sensitivities. Indeed, Balfour wrote explicitly that: "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, of the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."
[Balfour was so "sensitive" that he dismissed 90% of Palestine's population as "existing non-Jewish communities," and, in a 1919 memorandum, cold-bloodedly declared that "Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land."]
Thrice Proud
So when some people suggest we should apologise for this letter, I say absolutely not. We are proud of our pioneering role in the creation of the State of Israel. We are proud to stand here today together with Prime Minister Netanyahu and declare our support for Israel. And we are proud of the relationship we have built with Israel. And as we mark one hundred years since Balfour, we look forward to taking that relationship even further.
As Prime Minister Netanyahu and I discussed in Downing Street earlier today, we want to deepen our links in areas where Israel is leading the world - in areas like agriculture, health, silence, technology and innovation. Israel is the true start-up nation and we are proud to be your partner.
Tears... for Israel
We also remain absolutely committed to Israel's security. For it is only when you witness Israel's vulnerability that you truly understand the constant danger Israelis face - as I saw on my visit in 2014, when the bodies of the murdered teenagers Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah were discovered. So I am clear that we will always support Israel's right to defend itself. And in a world where Britain and Israel increasingly face the same shared challenges and threats, I am just as clear that our security services will continue to deepen their already excellent co-operation to keep all our people safe.
A Great Deal of Pride in All We Have Achieved
So I believe we should gather here tonight with a great deal of pride in all that we have achieved - and all that Israel stands for as a symbol of openness, as a thriving democracy; and a beacon to the world in upholding the rights of women and members of the LGBT community.
But marking this centenary is not just about what has been achieved. We must recognise how difficult at times the journey has been - from the Jews forced out of their homes in Arab countries in 1948 to the suffering of Palestinians affected and dislodged by Israel's birth - both completely contrary to the intention of Balfour to safeguard all of these communities.
[Jews were not forced out of their homes in Arab countries in 1948. This was instead the fate of Palestinians at the hands of Zionist terror gangs in that year . Notice how May, a true Balfourian, euphemistically refers to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 1948 as "affected and dislodged by Israel's birth," as though it were somehow a natural process. As for Arab Jews, they were deliberately uprooted by Zionist agents in the 1950s and brought to Israel so that they could occupy the stolen homes and lands (euphemistically dubbed 'absentees' property') of ethnically cleansed Palestinians.]
Lip Service
And we must, I believe, seize this opportunity to renew our resolve on what is still to be achieved. For sadly, Balfour remains unfinished business - as his fundamental vision of peaceful co-existence has not yet been fulfilled. And I believe it demands of us today a renewed resolve to support a lasting peace that is in the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians - and in the interests of us all. So I am delighted to see US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross here with us this evening and, Wilbur, you can be assured of the full-hearted support of the United Kingdom for the efforts that the Trump administration is making to bring the parties together to reach that peace deal. A peace deal that must be based on a two-state solution, with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian State. And let us be honest with each other: there will need to be compromises from each side if we are to have a realistic chance of achieving this goal - including an end to the building of new settlements and an end to Palestinian incitement too.
BDS=Anti-Semitism
But as we work together towards Balfour's vision of a peaceful co-existence we must be equally clear that there can never be any excuse for boycotts, divestment or sanctions: they are unacceptable and this government will have no truck with those who subscribe to them. Neither can there ever be any excuse for anti-Semitism in any form. Just as there is no excuse for hatred against Muslims, Christians, or anyone based on the peaceful religions they choose to follow, the place of their birth, or the colour of their skin. And yes, this means recognising that there is today a new and pernicious form of anti-Semitism which uses criticisms of the actions of the Israeli government as a despicable justification for questioning the very right of Israel to exist. This is abhorrent and we will not stand for it. That is why the United Kingdom has been at the forefront of an international effort to create a new definition of anti-Semitism which explicitly calls out this inexcusable attempt to justify hatred. So let me be clear. Criticising the actions of Israel is never - and can never be - an excuse for questioning Israel's right to exist, any more than criticising the actions of Britain could be an excuse for questioning our right to exist. And criticising the government of Israel is never - and can never be - an excuse for hatred against the Jewish people - any more than criticising the British government would be an excuse for hatred against the British people. Put simply, there can be no excuses for any kind of hatred towards the Jewish people. There never has been - and there never will be.
All Holocaust, No Nakba
And let me say this too. We will never forget where that hatred and prejudice can lead. That is why it is right that the United Kingdom will have a permanent and fitting National Memorial to the Holocaust standing next to Parliament together with a learning centre that will teach the lessons of the Holocaust for society today and act as a voice against hatred in the modern world. And I am delighted that just last week, the cross-party United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial Foundation announced that Sir David Adjaye, Ron Arad and the landscape architects Gustafson Porter and Bowman have won the international design competition for the memorial and learning centre with their evocative concept design for this new national landmark at the heart of our democracy.
The Spirit of Balfour Lives On
In saying all of this I do not underestimate the scale of the challenges we face together. The challenge of fighting hatred in all its forms. The challenge of bringing people together. The challenge of fulfilling Balfour's vision of peaceful co-existence. But neither do I underestimate the scale of the prize that is at stake. I saw a glimpse of that prize just last Saturday when I attended a charity concert with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra on London's South Bank - an orchestra that brings together young Israeli and Palestinian musicians as well as those from several other Arab countries to promote co-existence and intercultural dialogue. They were performing together raising money for the Jacqueline du Pre Tribute Fund which helps fund MS research. And through their shared love of music they escaped the divides of their history to come together for a united cause. In their actions, and in many others like it, the spirit of Balfour lives on. So let us tonight be inspired by that spirit. Let us recognise the contribution of Balfour in fulfilling what was once little more than a two-thousand year old dream for a persecuted people. Let us take inspiration from the vision he showed as we work together for that future where Arabs and Jews can live in peaceful co-existence. And as we look to that future, let us mark with pride what has been achieved with the creation of the State of Israel and - in Balfour's words - "a national home for the Jewish people."
That most "discreditable document," to borrow the words of J.M.N. Jeffries, "unlawful in issue, arbitrary in purpose, and deceitful in wording," was at least issued without the benefit of hindsight. However, despite 100 years of escalating genocide for the Palestinians, May's speech indicates that she has learnt ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about her country's starring role in this, the greatest of Britain's colonial crimes. As she makes abundantly clear in her speech, she is in fact "proud" of Britain's part in the creation of the State of Israel. ('Proud' is trotted out 3 times; 'with pride' twice.)
100 years of hindsight. 100 years in which to pause, reflect, learn, acknowledge, apologise and atone, and still she refuses to own the problem which Balfour, Lloyd George, Weizmann and the rest of the Anglo-Zionist cabal of 1917 bequeathed to the world.
May has thus delivered, if anything, a worse-than-the-Balfour-Declaration-speech, and, what's more, at an event heavy with symbolism, delivered it before the current incarnations of Lords Rothschild and Balfour.
Even worse, she's delivered it before a smiling, smirking Benjamin Netanyahu, the current incarnation of the arch-Zionist terrorist Menachem Begin, whose Irgun operatives blew up the seat of British Mandate Palestine's government, the King David Hotel, in 1946, with the loss of 91 British, Jewish and Arab lives. Netanyahu, moreover, is hell-bent, in sync with Irgun ideology, on realising the nightmare vision of an Arabrein Greater Israel, extending far beyond the Balfour Declaration's "national home for the Jewish people... in Palestine."
It's all here: Balfour's alleged "vision of peaceful co-existence," "leadership," and supposed regard for Palestinian "sensitivities" (I kid you not!); Israel's mythical "vulnerability" and "democracy"; the smearing of BDS and anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism; the hollow intoning of the two-state mantra; the faux balancing of illegal Israeli settlements with an alleged "Palestinian incitement"; falsified history; the invocation of Zionism's fictional "2,000-year dream" - with no mention whatever of the Palestinians' all-too-real, 100-year nightmare - and more.
Since PM May's truly shameful address constitutes nothing less than a re-affirmation of the Balfour Declaration, delivered in spite of the kind of hindsight unavailable to Balfour, it should be read in full, rather than in the form of mere media sound-bites. Here, therefore, is the official transcript (PM speech at Balfour Centenary Dinner - GOV.UK). The headings, interpolated comments, and highlightings are, of course, mine:
Lord Rothschild, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Chief Rabbi, distinguished guests, Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so pleased to be here with you tonight - and to be with you Lord Balfour on this special evening - as we mark the centenary of the letter written by your great-Uncle: which I believe to be one of the most significant letters in history.
A letter which gave birth to a most extraordinary country. And a letter which finally opened the door to helping make a Jewish Homeland a reality. It was a letter that is all the more remarkable when you consider its length, its context and its sensitivity.
First, it was exceptionally concise - just 67 words and one single sentence. In my experience such brevity is not typically a feature of letters from the Foreign Office!
Second, we should consider the context in which this letter was written. Let us cast our minds back to the time of 1917. In an era of competing imperial powers and with Britain still embroiled in the midst of the First World War, the idea of establishing a homeland for the Jewish people would have seemed a distant dream for many; and been fiercely opposed by others. Yet it was at this very moment that Lord Balfour had the vision and the leadership to make this profound statement about restoring a persecuted people to a safe and secure homeland.
[The Balfour Declaration says not a word about Jewish persecution, safety, or security, only the establishment of "a national home." The Zionist drafters of the declaration originally wanted "the National Home of the Jewish people" "reconstituted." They were not humanitarians, but nationalists, who wished to re-create an ancient tribal Israel, more mythology than history.]
Third, this was a letter that remains very sensitive for many people today - but it was not ignorant of those sensitivities. Indeed, Balfour wrote explicitly that: "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, of the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."
[Balfour was so "sensitive" that he dismissed 90% of Palestine's population as "existing non-Jewish communities," and, in a 1919 memorandum, cold-bloodedly declared that "Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land."]
Thrice Proud
So when some people suggest we should apologise for this letter, I say absolutely not. We are proud of our pioneering role in the creation of the State of Israel. We are proud to stand here today together with Prime Minister Netanyahu and declare our support for Israel. And we are proud of the relationship we have built with Israel. And as we mark one hundred years since Balfour, we look forward to taking that relationship even further.
As Prime Minister Netanyahu and I discussed in Downing Street earlier today, we want to deepen our links in areas where Israel is leading the world - in areas like agriculture, health, silence, technology and innovation. Israel is the true start-up nation and we are proud to be your partner.
Tears... for Israel
We also remain absolutely committed to Israel's security. For it is only when you witness Israel's vulnerability that you truly understand the constant danger Israelis face - as I saw on my visit in 2014, when the bodies of the murdered teenagers Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah were discovered. So I am clear that we will always support Israel's right to defend itself. And in a world where Britain and Israel increasingly face the same shared challenges and threats, I am just as clear that our security services will continue to deepen their already excellent co-operation to keep all our people safe.
A Great Deal of Pride in All We Have Achieved
So I believe we should gather here tonight with a great deal of pride in all that we have achieved - and all that Israel stands for as a symbol of openness, as a thriving democracy; and a beacon to the world in upholding the rights of women and members of the LGBT community.
But marking this centenary is not just about what has been achieved. We must recognise how difficult at times the journey has been - from the Jews forced out of their homes in Arab countries in 1948 to the suffering of Palestinians affected and dislodged by Israel's birth - both completely contrary to the intention of Balfour to safeguard all of these communities.
[Jews were not forced out of their homes in Arab countries in 1948. This was instead the fate of Palestinians at the hands of Zionist terror gangs in that year . Notice how May, a true Balfourian, euphemistically refers to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 1948 as "affected and dislodged by Israel's birth," as though it were somehow a natural process. As for Arab Jews, they were deliberately uprooted by Zionist agents in the 1950s and brought to Israel so that they could occupy the stolen homes and lands (euphemistically dubbed 'absentees' property') of ethnically cleansed Palestinians.]
Lip Service
And we must, I believe, seize this opportunity to renew our resolve on what is still to be achieved. For sadly, Balfour remains unfinished business - as his fundamental vision of peaceful co-existence has not yet been fulfilled. And I believe it demands of us today a renewed resolve to support a lasting peace that is in the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians - and in the interests of us all. So I am delighted to see US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross here with us this evening and, Wilbur, you can be assured of the full-hearted support of the United Kingdom for the efforts that the Trump administration is making to bring the parties together to reach that peace deal. A peace deal that must be based on a two-state solution, with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian State. And let us be honest with each other: there will need to be compromises from each side if we are to have a realistic chance of achieving this goal - including an end to the building of new settlements and an end to Palestinian incitement too.
BDS=Anti-Semitism
But as we work together towards Balfour's vision of a peaceful co-existence we must be equally clear that there can never be any excuse for boycotts, divestment or sanctions: they are unacceptable and this government will have no truck with those who subscribe to them. Neither can there ever be any excuse for anti-Semitism in any form. Just as there is no excuse for hatred against Muslims, Christians, or anyone based on the peaceful religions they choose to follow, the place of their birth, or the colour of their skin. And yes, this means recognising that there is today a new and pernicious form of anti-Semitism which uses criticisms of the actions of the Israeli government as a despicable justification for questioning the very right of Israel to exist. This is abhorrent and we will not stand for it. That is why the United Kingdom has been at the forefront of an international effort to create a new definition of anti-Semitism which explicitly calls out this inexcusable attempt to justify hatred. So let me be clear. Criticising the actions of Israel is never - and can never be - an excuse for questioning Israel's right to exist, any more than criticising the actions of Britain could be an excuse for questioning our right to exist. And criticising the government of Israel is never - and can never be - an excuse for hatred against the Jewish people - any more than criticising the British government would be an excuse for hatred against the British people. Put simply, there can be no excuses for any kind of hatred towards the Jewish people. There never has been - and there never will be.
All Holocaust, No Nakba
And let me say this too. We will never forget where that hatred and prejudice can lead. That is why it is right that the United Kingdom will have a permanent and fitting National Memorial to the Holocaust standing next to Parliament together with a learning centre that will teach the lessons of the Holocaust for society today and act as a voice against hatred in the modern world. And I am delighted that just last week, the cross-party United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial Foundation announced that Sir David Adjaye, Ron Arad and the landscape architects Gustafson Porter and Bowman have won the international design competition for the memorial and learning centre with their evocative concept design for this new national landmark at the heart of our democracy.
The Spirit of Balfour Lives On
In saying all of this I do not underestimate the scale of the challenges we face together. The challenge of fighting hatred in all its forms. The challenge of bringing people together. The challenge of fulfilling Balfour's vision of peaceful co-existence. But neither do I underestimate the scale of the prize that is at stake. I saw a glimpse of that prize just last Saturday when I attended a charity concert with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra on London's South Bank - an orchestra that brings together young Israeli and Palestinian musicians as well as those from several other Arab countries to promote co-existence and intercultural dialogue. They were performing together raising money for the Jacqueline du Pre Tribute Fund which helps fund MS research. And through their shared love of music they escaped the divides of their history to come together for a united cause. In their actions, and in many others like it, the spirit of Balfour lives on. So let us tonight be inspired by that spirit. Let us recognise the contribution of Balfour in fulfilling what was once little more than a two-thousand year old dream for a persecuted people. Let us take inspiration from the vision he showed as we work together for that future where Arabs and Jews can live in peaceful co-existence. And as we look to that future, let us mark with pride what has been achieved with the creation of the State of Israel and - in Balfour's words - "a national home for the Jewish people."
Thursday, September 14, 2017
The Way Forward
"The human rights and Palestine solidarity organization, BDS South Africa, welcomes the calling-off of the Africa-Israel Summit which was meant to take place in Togo next month. The decision comes following several boycott threats. This is welcomed as good news by human rights organisations and the global BDS movement which has called for the isolation of Israel over its human rights abuses and violations of international law... Last month it was reported that several countries, including South Africa, were planning to boycott the summit. South African Ambassador Sean Benfeldt explained that South Africa will not take part because the summit was viewed as a step by Israel to normalize relations between Africa and an 'occupation state.' In addition, the head of International Relations for South Africa's governing ANC party, Minister Edna Molewa, is quoted as saying on the issue: 'We cannot turn a blind eye to Israeli efforts to galvanise support from Africa and elsewhere, with a view to undermining the Palestinian cause.' BDS South Africa welcomes the decision and commends South Africa and other African states who were to boycott the summit. However, our governments must continue to resist all Israeli attempts to influence, corrupt or weaken our solidarity with the Palestinians - including attempts, in contradiction to our policies, by some within our own Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). The Palestinians were a people that supported us during the darkest days of Apartheid, while Isreal, we painfully remember, was supplying arms to the Apartheid government." (BDS South Africa Press Statement: Israel-Africa Summit called off following boycott threats, 11/9/17)
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Four Corners' Hatchet Job on Lee Rhiannon
It is always worth keeping in mind that, despite the lurid fantasies of the right-wing nut jobs at News Corpse to the effect that the ABC is a bastion of leftist radicalism, the state broadcaster is in fact merely the propaganda arm of the Australian establishment.
Last night's Four Corners program, Inside the Greens: A Party in Turmoil, which featured former Greens leader Bob Brown and others attacking NSW Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, was a case in point.
Cast your mind back to 2010-2011, when Sydney's Marrickville Council, dominated at the time by The Greens, bravely took a stand for Palestine by adopting a pro-BDS policy against the purchase of Israeli products, and when its Greens Mayor, Fiona Byrne only narrowly failed to snatch the NSW state seat of Marrickville from Labor for her party at the 2011 state election.
Many of Rhiannon's detractors on Four Corners have form going back to that time. Here's a reminder:
Sally Neighbour, the current executive producer of Four Corners, used to write for Murdoch's Australian, and earlier took The Greens to task (Divided we fall) in Morry Schwartz's The Monthly. (See my 3/2/12 post Get Rhiannon! 2)
Richard Di Natale, the current federal leader of the party, once cluelessly agreed to the proposition that the Palestinians should "recognise Israel's existence as a Jewish state," before later backtracking when apprised of the implications of what he'd said. (See my 23/5/15 post Richard Di Natale Reclassified.)
Bob Brown, the party's founder, has attacked the NSW Greens in the Murdoch press, claiming NSW Greens' support for BDS was "against his advice" and urging the branch to stick to "bread-and-butter issues." (See Bob Brown & A Failure of Courage, 1/4/11)
Ian Cohen, a former NSW Greens MLC, has condemned his party's support for BDS as "old style" and expressed concern about "Jewish community outrage." (See my 31/3/11 post Kahane Down Under?)
Christine Milne, Di Natale's predecessor, has spoken out against BDS, travelled to Israel (although whether or not at her own expense we do not know), and once spoke in favour of regime change in Libya. (See Some Questions for Christine Milne (21/4/12), Has Christine Milne Been Rambammed? (11/7/14), A Gripe About The Greens (24/3/11))
Jeremy Buckingham, a NSW Greens MLC, joined the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel and signed the so-called London Declaration on Combatting Antisemitism. (See my 27/5/13 post Et tu, Jeremy?)
The issue of the NSW Greens' support for Palestine emerged only obliquely in the program. Presenter Louise Milligan's bias against that support, however, was clear at this point:
Milligan: While her leader is travelling the country, trying to hold his party together, Lee Rhiannon has flown to the Middle East and is crossing into Palestine.
Rhiannon: When you see it like that you can see why they call it an apartheid wall. What you see when you arrive in this country is apartheid. From the West Bank to Gaza, people are treated as second class citizens. Their human rights are ignored or abused.
Milligan: And she's still lobbing political grenades at her party: reviving a campaign to boycott Israeli businesses in Australia which has seen a backlash against the Greens in the past.
Rhiannon: There is a value in this campaign, and it's a reminder of why people like ourselves in Australia and around the world... it's time to reassess this form of struggle, because there are very clear examples of the value it brings to solidarity and the results it can achieve.
Milligan: Her leader disagrees.
Di Natale: It's not something that the Australian Greens have ever supported. It's not something that I support.
Milligan: It's these sorts of clashes with the federal party that have prompted the Greens elders to tell Four Corners it's time for Senator Lee Rhiannon to go.
Brown: Oh, well, you know, I've been living with Lee for 30 years, but it's the end of Lee's reign. The end is nigh, and I look toward the future.
Last night's Four Corners program, Inside the Greens: A Party in Turmoil, which featured former Greens leader Bob Brown and others attacking NSW Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, was a case in point.
Cast your mind back to 2010-2011, when Sydney's Marrickville Council, dominated at the time by The Greens, bravely took a stand for Palestine by adopting a pro-BDS policy against the purchase of Israeli products, and when its Greens Mayor, Fiona Byrne only narrowly failed to snatch the NSW state seat of Marrickville from Labor for her party at the 2011 state election.
Many of Rhiannon's detractors on Four Corners have form going back to that time. Here's a reminder:
Sally Neighbour, the current executive producer of Four Corners, used to write for Murdoch's Australian, and earlier took The Greens to task (Divided we fall) in Morry Schwartz's The Monthly. (See my 3/2/12 post Get Rhiannon! 2)
Richard Di Natale, the current federal leader of the party, once cluelessly agreed to the proposition that the Palestinians should "recognise Israel's existence as a Jewish state," before later backtracking when apprised of the implications of what he'd said. (See my 23/5/15 post Richard Di Natale Reclassified.)
Bob Brown, the party's founder, has attacked the NSW Greens in the Murdoch press, claiming NSW Greens' support for BDS was "against his advice" and urging the branch to stick to "bread-and-butter issues." (See Bob Brown & A Failure of Courage, 1/4/11)
Ian Cohen, a former NSW Greens MLC, has condemned his party's support for BDS as "old style" and expressed concern about "Jewish community outrage." (See my 31/3/11 post Kahane Down Under?)
Christine Milne, Di Natale's predecessor, has spoken out against BDS, travelled to Israel (although whether or not at her own expense we do not know), and once spoke in favour of regime change in Libya. (See Some Questions for Christine Milne (21/4/12), Has Christine Milne Been Rambammed? (11/7/14), A Gripe About The Greens (24/3/11))
Jeremy Buckingham, a NSW Greens MLC, joined the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel and signed the so-called London Declaration on Combatting Antisemitism. (See my 27/5/13 post Et tu, Jeremy?)
The issue of the NSW Greens' support for Palestine emerged only obliquely in the program. Presenter Louise Milligan's bias against that support, however, was clear at this point:
Milligan: While her leader is travelling the country, trying to hold his party together, Lee Rhiannon has flown to the Middle East and is crossing into Palestine.
Rhiannon: When you see it like that you can see why they call it an apartheid wall. What you see when you arrive in this country is apartheid. From the West Bank to Gaza, people are treated as second class citizens. Their human rights are ignored or abused.
Milligan: And she's still lobbing political grenades at her party: reviving a campaign to boycott Israeli businesses in Australia which has seen a backlash against the Greens in the past.
Rhiannon: There is a value in this campaign, and it's a reminder of why people like ourselves in Australia and around the world... it's time to reassess this form of struggle, because there are very clear examples of the value it brings to solidarity and the results it can achieve.
Milligan: Her leader disagrees.
Di Natale: It's not something that the Australian Greens have ever supported. It's not something that I support.
Milligan: It's these sorts of clashes with the federal party that have prompted the Greens elders to tell Four Corners it's time for Senator Lee Rhiannon to go.
Brown: Oh, well, you know, I've been living with Lee for 30 years, but it's the end of Lee's reign. The end is nigh, and I look toward the future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)