Showing posts with label ethnic cleansing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ethnic cleansing. Show all posts
September 01, 2014
Caller - does #Israel not have right to defend itself - Mike Malloy explodes [6mins]
The Mike Malloy Show - YouTube
August 12, 2014
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A little love to The McLoughlin Post
August 31, 2014
#Israel - WaPo whitewashes plan to steal 1000 acres of #Palestinian land - August 31 2014
by Diane V. McLoughlin
Comment posted at 8:43 PM, August 31st, 2014.
One has to wonder, exactly when will the WaPo editorial board quit giving solace to Israel's criminal regime and start telling it like it is? The title of this piece, 'Israel proposes taking more West Bank land for Jewish settlers' [William Booth and Ruth Eglash; Washington Post; August 31, 2014] soft-peddles the horror.
A more accurate title and lead would read something like this:
'In a stunning act of betrayal within mere days of a ceasefire agreement, in a move reminiscent of Fascism's darkest days, Israel's hard-right leadership proposes stealing a whopping 1,000 acres of Palestinian land to further displace the native population. The long-term aim is clearly meant to replace the indigenous Palestinian people with Jewish European squatters. This will only further cement the current apartheid system, frustrating the efforts of moderates on both sides working for human rights, security and peace'.
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Reading Room:
The Establishment
And how they get away with it
New: September 4 2014
By Owen Jones
'A biting critique of the British Establishment and a passionate plea for democracy from the author of the acclaimed "Chavs". Jones is a prominent political voice in the UK as a weekly columnist for the "Guardian" and having appeared on "Question Time" and "Newsnight".'
Comment posted at 8:43 PM, August 31st, 2014.
One has to wonder, exactly when will the WaPo editorial board quit giving solace to Israel's criminal regime and start telling it like it is? The title of this piece, 'Israel proposes taking more West Bank land for Jewish settlers' [William Booth and Ruth Eglash; Washington Post; August 31, 2014] soft-peddles the horror.
A more accurate title and lead would read something like this:
'In a stunning act of betrayal within mere days of a ceasefire agreement, in a move reminiscent of Fascism's darkest days, Israel's hard-right leadership proposes stealing a whopping 1,000 acres of Palestinian land to further displace the native population. The long-term aim is clearly meant to replace the indigenous Palestinian people with Jewish European squatters. This will only further cement the current apartheid system, frustrating the efforts of moderates on both sides working for human rights, security and peace'.
________________________________
Reading Room:
The Establishment
And how they get away with it
New: September 4 2014
By Owen Jones
'A biting critique of the British Establishment and a passionate plea for democracy from the author of the acclaimed "Chavs". Jones is a prominent political voice in the UK as a weekly columnist for the "Guardian" and having appeared on "Question Time" and "Newsnight".'
August 21, 2014
Response to Fatalist Gerald Caplan on Peace in #Israel - #Palestine - 21082014
by Diane McLoughlin, August 21, 2014
The best aspect of Gerry Caplan's analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict is his frank acknowledgement of the oppression and ethnic cleansing that Israel continues to perpetrate against the suffering Palestinian people. It is vitally important to share here that Israel's latest assault on Gaza is an act of genocide - not self-defense!
The worst aspect of Gerry Caplan's analysis is his sorrowful shrug that the situation in Israel-Palestine is intractable and that nothing can be done about it. While it may be a tough nut to crack, wherever there is oppression and injustice we should not back away from our moral and ethical duty to denounce it while encouraging healing and repair of relations between parties. It is a gentle irony that Mr. Caplan himself does not shy away from the ethical duty to speak, and it seems obvious that he cares.
So there is what-is on the one hand, while what-should-be stands separate and apart on the other. There is in an immense space in-between that is open to creative and determined and intelligent and dedicated and good people who set themselves to the challenge of changing the parameters of conflict. Such effort is not futile in the furtherance of justice, peace and global stability, even though you will almost certainly not know how your efforts assisted in tipping the scales.
Some of the ways to apply nonviolent pressure to help bring about peaceful change:
As with South African Apartheid, ways to encourage Israeli political direction to change include boycotting Israeli goods, divesting from one's investment portfolios of Israeli companies, and to demand ones' own countries sever political ties with Israel - Boycott, Divest, Sanctions - BDS for short.
Examples:
- BDSmovement.net - lots of resources at this website.
- The 'Long live Palestine boycott Israel' buycott app' was begun in April. Once Israel launched its latest military assault on Gaza beginning in July, the numbers of new buycott users exploded. [over 390,000 users and counting.]
The buycott campaign organizers explain that the boycott,
'will continue until Israel complies with the precepts of international law by
Let it be known to your government that you believe it would be the right thing to do to cut all military cooperative ties with Israel - no more donations of bullets, bombs, software or intelligence.
Render it illegal for private individuals to donate funds to Israeli institutions that further the aims of stealing Palestinian land.
Render it illegal for any company to collude with Israel to extract Palestinian-owned natural resources. In the mix is the recent discovery that Gaza owns a vast wealth of natural gas off-shore.
Render it illegal for citizens to serve in Israel's military.
Render it illegal, if it isn't already, for politicians to accept Israel-funded trips. By all means, politicians ought to travel to Israel to witness what's going on. But only if the investigation includes fact-finding in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza, meeting with Palestinian authorities, as well.
Mr. Caplan's argument is an important one, in that he may have helped to finally open political debate in Canada on Israel that for too long has been censored and suppressed.
Reponse to, 'No matter what leaders do, there won't be peace in the Middle East'; Gerald Caplan, African scholar, former NDP national director and regular panelist on CBC’s Power and Politics; The Globe and Mail; August 15, 2014.
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The best aspect of Gerry Caplan's analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict is his frank acknowledgement of the oppression and ethnic cleansing that Israel continues to perpetrate against the suffering Palestinian people. It is vitally important to share here that Israel's latest assault on Gaza is an act of genocide - not self-defense!
The worst aspect of Gerry Caplan's analysis is his sorrowful shrug that the situation in Israel-Palestine is intractable and that nothing can be done about it. While it may be a tough nut to crack, wherever there is oppression and injustice we should not back away from our moral and ethical duty to denounce it while encouraging healing and repair of relations between parties. It is a gentle irony that Mr. Caplan himself does not shy away from the ethical duty to speak, and it seems obvious that he cares.
So there is what-is on the one hand, while what-should-be stands separate and apart on the other. There is in an immense space in-between that is open to creative and determined and intelligent and dedicated and good people who set themselves to the challenge of changing the parameters of conflict. Such effort is not futile in the furtherance of justice, peace and global stability, even though you will almost certainly not know how your efforts assisted in tipping the scales.
Some of the ways to apply nonviolent pressure to help bring about peaceful change:
Boycott
As with South African Apartheid, ways to encourage Israeli political direction to change include boycotting Israeli goods, divesting from one's investment portfolios of Israeli companies, and to demand ones' own countries sever political ties with Israel - Boycott, Divest, Sanctions - BDS for short.
Examples:
- BDSmovement.net - lots of resources at this website.
- The 'Long live Palestine boycott Israel' buycott app' was begun in April. Once Israel launched its latest military assault on Gaza beginning in July, the numbers of new buycott users exploded. [over 390,000 users and counting.]
The buycott campaign organizers explain that the boycott,
'will continue until Israel complies with the precepts of international law by
1. Ending its occupation of Palestine and dismantling the Wall.
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality.
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.'
Cut military and intelligence ties
Let it be known to your government that you believe it would be the right thing to do to cut all military cooperative ties with Israel - no more donations of bullets, bombs, software or intelligence.
Ban public and private donations that further injustice
Render it illegal for private individuals to donate funds to Israeli institutions that further the aims of stealing Palestinian land.
Ban private business from profiting from oppression
Render it illegal for any company to collude with Israel to extract Palestinian-owned natural resources. In the mix is the recent discovery that Gaza owns a vast wealth of natural gas off-shore.
Ban citizens from enlisting in foreign militaries which enforce oppression
Render it illegal for citizens to serve in Israel's military.
Ban politicians from accepting gifts including trips
Render it illegal, if it isn't already, for politicians to accept Israel-funded trips. By all means, politicians ought to travel to Israel to witness what's going on. But only if the investigation includes fact-finding in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza, meeting with Palestinian authorities, as well.
Conclusion
Mr. Caplan's argument is an important one, in that he may have helped to finally open political debate in Canada on Israel that for too long has been censored and suppressed.
Reponse to, 'No matter what leaders do, there won't be peace in the Middle East'; Gerald Caplan, African scholar, former NDP national director and regular panelist on CBC’s Power and Politics; The Globe and Mail; August 15, 2014.
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August 05, 2014
The Coin of #Israel - by Diane V. McLoughlin - August 3 2014
by Diane V. McLoughlin, August 3, 2014
Journalist Sima Kadmon, of ynetnews.com, approvingly reports of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to pull back the military operation in Gaza. [''Netanyahu's Brave Decision'; August 3, 2014]
Operation Protective Edge, is Israel's third bombing campaign of Gaza in the short space of five years. The others are Operation Cast Lead [2008]; and Operation Pillar of Cloud [2012].
Gaza is a small, long, narrow strip of land that is walled in on three sides: The Mediterranean Sea, guarded by the Israeli navy; it borders Egypt on one short end; and Israel's high cement walls, armed guard towers and coil upon coil of barbed wire close off the rest - an impoverished, oppressed, walled ghetto.
The 1.8 million men, women and children living in Gaza, are refugees from Israel who were forced from their homeland from places like Sderot, Israel, in 1948. The refugees in many instances retain the keys to the doors of their rightful homes. And they have a right, morally as well as in law, to go home. Because they are of the 'wrong' ethnicity, Israel is doing everything in its power to prevent their return.
During 'Operation Cast Lead', Israel and Hamas each accused the other of committing war crimes. Findings were detailed in the United Nations' document the, Goldstone Report, produced after six independent, esteemed judges were tasked with conducting a fact-finding mission to investigate - including, note allegations typically made by Israel of Hamas, that the Israeli military had used Palestinians as human shields. Of Israel's well-oiled propaganda machine, volumes will no doubt be written.
Recall, too, that one of the six jurists, Richard Goldstone, felt the need to try to backpedal somewhat in his own opinion regarding who did what to whom in a Washington Post Op Ed, after the local South African Jewish community caused him to fear for the safety and well-being of his family.
Netanyahu is willing, according to Ms. Kadmon, to accept going back to what Israeli politicians like to call, 'quiet for quiet'; Israel maintaining the siege of Gaza, the people of Gaza refraining from resisting the siege or any other funny business like tunneling in Kentucky Fried Chicken or trying to export flowers or other farm produce to foreign markets, or get university-bound scholarship students off to school.
It is apropos to point out here that Palestinian political leaders are, as I write, in Cairo, Egypt, availing all parties of the opportunity to hammer out terms for a ceasefire along with the broad outlines of a peace agreement. Israel refused to attend.
It is an instructive exercise comparing what it is that Israel chooses to do, what Israel chooses not to do, and Israel's expressions of intent.
The hasbara (Israeli for propaganda) 'quiet for quiet' is genius in the psychology of deflecting concern.
It is not 'quiet' for the people of Gaza to be forced to continue under the crushing eight-year military blockade which has destroyed the local economy and has been compared as being worse than the Great Depression for the abject poverty and want.
It is a farce to propose that Israel will construct for itself a secure quiet by continuing to oppress the Palestinians in Gaza; the occupied West Bank; East Jerusalem; Israel; or the Palestinian refugees scattered in other countries denied the right to come home - we can dispense with that canard.
Pro-Israel people - and I have no doubt that they have big hearts and they are convinced that Israel is the underdog and that they are fighting Nazis, and that they are defending vulnerable Jewish lives - argue that Hamas is bent on Israel's destruction.
But the truth of the matter is that Hamas was voted to power as a reaction to discrimination, racism, and violence directed toward the Palestinian people for 65 years.
Palestinian leadership in the occupied West Bank have achieved nothing in their peaceful negotiations with Israel other than relentless efforts by settlers to take their land and drive them out.
Muslims do not hate Jews. Jews and Muslims have been neighbors living peacefully side by side with each other in Palestine for millennia before the events of 1948 when Zionist terrorists forced 750,000 Palestinians to run for their lives.
The Likud is the current political party in power in Israel. The Likud Charter explicitly claims ownership of all Palestinian land. Any discussion of who is responsible for what without forthright acknowledgement of this fly in the soup is not contributing to an honest discussion that might lead to constructive proposals. It will ultimately lead to a thin broth of no substance as far as any hope for peace is concerned.
Israel has, in this latest ethnic cleansing exercise in Gaza, bombed thousands of family homes; bombed six United Nations-run children's schools where newly homeless families were sheltered who were ordered to shelter in the UN schools by Israel after Israel bombed their homes.
Israel has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians depopulating a vast swath of Gaza estimated in geographic area to be approximately 44% of the entire Gaza Strip. In short, Israel has been forcing families out in the elements while destroying absolutely everything.
As of this writing, almost two million people have no drinking water due to Israel's deliberate targeting of the civilian infrastructure - a war crime. If humanitarian efforts are not able to respond with all haste, the scenario will elevate to status of crime against humanity.
In times of conflict, governments are not always forthcoming with the full truth. Israel is no exception.
That Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldier Hadar Goldin was ever kidnapped? This particular fiction was used to provide diplomatic cover when breaking the first ceasefire agreement within just a few short hours of its implementation.
While having freshly riled the citizenry over the missing soldier, Israel then continued massacreing people in Gaza. Hadar Goldin, via uncensored reports in the West, was more likely killed by his own under something called the Hannibal Directive, to prevent his capture by the enemy.
*The New York Times has disclosed that they complied with an IDF military censor directive to get clearance on their reporting of the Goldin incident.
Israel admitted, only after bombing another hospital, more family homes, snipers picking-off civilians ordered to move, an emergency appeal sent out that the medical authorities were overrun and bodies littered the streets - that Hadar Goldin was not kidnapped, after all.
It should be noted that soldiers are taken prisoner, they are not kidnapped, in conflict. This, too, is meant to mislead and arouse sympathy, inflame public opinion and suppress questions.
Goldin, a British citizen, was a willing party to waging war on a captive civilian population, shooting at people who are entitled under international law to shoot back in self-defense.
*A direct quote from the New York Times:
'International journalists must agree in writing to the censorship system in order to work in Israel.'
Israel's violence against Gaza is wanton. It is a country at imminent risk of degenerating into a racist, moral morass. [1]
Rising to the top politically, are those who, like Israeli Knesset Deputy Speaker Moshe Feiglin, openly avow genocide of the Palestinian people because they want more land for Jews.
In the streets below, armed Jewish gangs roam the streets at night seeking Arab-Israeli citizens to beat to a pulp. A slightly-built sixteen year-old, named, Mohammad abu Khdeir, was recently kidnapped, beaten with a tire iron, had gasoline forced down his throat and they burned him alive.
Supporters of this most recent atrocity in Gaza, with whole Palestinian neighborhoods being bombed out of existance, argue that Hamas kidnapped three Jewish teens and murdered them in the West Bank. First, they believe, wrongly, that this would ever justify such a massively violent response which is nonsense. Second, with speed of light acceptance that everything Israel tells them is Gospel Truth, that Hamas had anything to do with it. After Israel launched Operation Protective Edge, the quiet admission that, no, it appears it was not Hamas, passes by largely unnoticed.
A month before the three Jewish teens' murders, two Palestinian youths were shot and murdered by the IDF in cold blood [2], reported by CNN at the time. [2a] But you, and certainly Israeli citizens, most likely did not hear about that, either.
In the search for the three missing Jewish teens, Israel's occupying army tore the Palestinian West Bank apart. Blowing in doors of family homes in the middle of the night with explosives, destroying the furniture, stealing family possessions, scaring people, roughing up people, arresting hundreds without charge including many in Palestinian political leadership; wounding some; killing others.
It is in the vicinity of this juncture in the unfolding of events that the Hamas rockets from Gaza, rockets described as primitive and small began to sail over, after an extended period of calm in which, calm or no calm - there has been no difference in behavior from Israel - the constant is the crushing military blockade.
Evidence for the extent to which Israeli passions are inflamed - by the ruling right-wing, and in some cases by religious extremists - we might need look no further than at a clip of joyous young people who sing, on the top of their lungs as raucous youths might at a football championship, that there is no school in Gaza tomorrow, because there are no children left.
There are many other examples from which to choose, however, for the black mood and amorality of the current time, none of which bears little resemblance to anything to do with self-defense. Israel is a run-away train with conductors soused on dogma, and conceit, spouting KKK-type crap about cleansing the land of inferiors for Jews. [3]
On background, Israel deliberately transplanted 600,000 Zionist Jews on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank, in a deliberate effort to create demographic facts on the ground. Stealing Palestinian land has dramatically escalated in recent years.
Russian Jew Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's minister of Foreign Affairs, himself a squatter on Palestinian land, continues to espouse a 'population transfer'. [4]
Prime Minister Netahyahu was caught, surreptitiously, on-camera [2001] talking to settlers, wherein he boasts that he single-handedly scuttled the last formal round of peace talks, at Oslo.
An inclusive society constructed on a foundation of justice, equality and civil rights is the way forward toward security and peace. The Jews who suffered so, under Nazi Germany's version of hell on earth would have fought for such a golden reality; for such a clear morally true vision of sanity.
Netanyahu's camp - pushing for quiet occupation, apartheid, racism, ethnic cleansing and even genocide - might win; maybe they will win. But it will be a sorry day for progress, human rights and world peace if the Israel coin lands on its head.
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Statistics regarding destruction in Gaza from July 8, 2014 to August 3, 2014: 1,743 Palestinians killed [396 children; 230 women]; 9,100 injured [2,767 children; 1,814 women]; 10,080 houses targeted [1,556 totally destroyed; 8,424 partially]; 24 hospitals and medical clinics partially damaged; 167 schools targeted; 6 universities destroyed; 20 charities destroyed; 118 mosques shelled; total number of internally displaced [rendered homeless]: 450,000; 8 water pumping and sewage stations bombed - 700,000 people now without water. For a complete list, see, HERE and HERE
Statistics regarding Israel: 64 soldiers killed, 2 civilians and 1 non-citizen from Thailand killed; 1 serious, 21 moderately to lightly injured; one gas station hit; moderate damage to a few homes.
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Reading Room
[1] How Europe's Jews Lost Their Humanity in Gaza; Gilad Isaacs; August 1, 2014, +972 Magazine; [2] Letter from Ramallah; Ben Ehrenreich, The Los Angeles Review of Books, May 23, 2014;
[2a] Source: Israel suspends soldier after 2 Palestinians die in shooting; by Ivan Watson, Michael Schwartz and Kareem Khadder; CNN; May 29, 2014;
[3] Terrifying Tweets of pre-army Israeli teens (with images, tweets) by @davidsheen; July 10, 2014; 'Some of these calls for genocide were from young men, but a majority of them seemed to be authored by young women.'
[4] Plan to transfer Arab-Israelis to new Palestinian state seeks legal approval; Peter Beaumont; The Guardian; March 25, 2014;
July 30, 2014
Freedom for Palestine - #GazaNames Project [4mins]
83,500 views in just two days
Youtube channel: Jewish Voice for Peace
Published on Jul 28, 2014
Prominent Jews and Palestinians and others stand for Palestine in this heartbreaking video with Jonathan Demme, Gloria Steinem, Tony Kushner, Diana Buttu, Chuck D, Eve Ensler, Brian Eno, Roger Waters, Mira Nair, Wallace Shawn, Naomi Klein, Mira Nair, Raj Patel, Noura Erakat and many others. To learn more or take action, visit freedom4palestine.org. Project of JewishVoiceforPeace.org with assistance from IMEU.org (Institute of Middle East Understanding)
July 29, 2014
#Genocide of #Gaza - Letter by Spanish director Javier Bardem - July 25 2014
Reposted by Diane V. McLoughlin, July 29, 2014
Translation of the Open Letter by Spanish director, Javier Bardem, dated July 25, 2014, condemning the massacres in Gaza, which he rightly defines as a genocide. His letter was subsequently signed by 100 Spanish celebrities. As of today, there are over 42,000 Facebook shares.
Javier Bardem:
Translation of the Open Letter by Spanish director, Javier Bardem, dated July 25, 2014, condemning the massacres in Gaza, which he rightly defines as a genocide. His letter was subsequently signed by 100 Spanish celebrities. As of today, there are over 42,000 Facebook shares.
Javier Bardem:
As horror is occurring in Gaza there is NO room
for equidistance nor neutrality. It is a war of occupation
and extermination against a people without means,
confined to a minimum of land, without water and
where hospitals, ambulances and children are
targets and alleged terrorists. Hard to understand
and impossible to justify.
And the international community’s stance is
embarrassing, allowing such genocide to happen.
I do not understand this barbarism, the Jewish people’s
horrible history makes it even more cruelly
incomprehensible. Only geopolitical alliances,
that hypocrite mask of business making
- for instance arms trade - explain the shameful
position of the USA, the European Union and Spain.
I know that the same people as always will
delegitimize my personal right of opinion,
because of that I would like to make the
following clear to you:
Yes, my son was born in a Jewish hospital
because I have dear people around me who are
Jewish, and because being Jewish is not the same
as supporting this massacre, just as being
Hebrew is not the same as being a Zionist,
and being a Palestinian does not mean being an
Hamas terrorist. That would be as absurd as
saying that being German links you to Nazism.
Yes, I work in the U.S., where I have friends
and acquaintances who reject such interventions
and aggressive policies. “One cannot invoke
self defence while at the same time killing children”,
one of them said to me on the phone just yesterday.
And there are others with whom I discuss openly
about our clashing points of view.
Yes, I am a European and I feel ashamed of a
community that says it represents me with its silence and
non-existent shame.
Yes, I live in Spain, paying my taxes, and I do not
want my money to finance policies that support this
barbarism and arms trade with other countries
that are enriching themselves killing innocent children.
Yes, I am outraged, ashamed and hurt because
of all the injustice and killing of human beings.
Those children are our children. It is horror itself.
I hope there will be compassion within the hearts
of those who are killing and that the murderous
poison that only creates more hatred and violence
will disappear. That those Israelis and Palestinians
who only dream of peace and coexistence
some day will be able to share their solution.
I encourage you to read the following links:
~
July 25, 2014
Genocide of #Gaza - Fearful Implications for #Israel and Jews
Diane V. McLoughlin
July 24, 2014
Israel lobbies the world over to accept the definition of Israel as a Jewish collectivity. They push to categorize it as anti-Semitic to suggest that Israel is anything other than that - Jewish. Many countries have stern laws punishing people for saying anything anti-Semitic, rightly so. What it means, though, is that there are those who lobby to change laws so that they can push to have people put in jail and otherwise legally harassed for suggesting that Israel has anybody else living there in significant numbers other than Jews, sometimes referred to as the 'new anti-Semitism'. The problem with this is that there a lot of people who live in Israel who are, in fact, not Jews. They are Palestinians, native to the land, while many Jews are either European immigrants, or first or second generation descendants of same.
Why would they attempt this? In part, through fear. More than once in human history, Jews have been a minority in one country or another in Europe where they suffered horrendous religious persecution, expelled from their homes; tortured; murdered. After the Nazis under Germany's Hitler massacred millions of Jews during the mid-twentieth century in Europe, the Jews of the world today are traumatized still. Many fear the only place they can be safe is in a country of their own. I don't think this is true. It's possible that at no time in Jewish history have Jews been more accepted, woven into and rendering complete the fabric of the societies in which they dwell.
The implications of this power struggle, both within Israel and without to establish as fact that Israel is Jewish, are ominous. Genocide of the Palestinian people on the one hand, and a dire new form of anti-Semitism arising in the world in aghast reaction to any such attempt to ethnically cleanse Palestine of the Palestinian people.
If we care about human rights, if we care about Jews, Palestinians, justice, civil rights and international law, then we have a moral duty to try to avert genocide of the Palestinian people while stamping out embers of anti-Semitism - at once, and at the same time.
Over twenty percent of the citizens of Israel-proper are Palestinian. That statistic does not take into account the millions of Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank, the Palestinians enduring a seven year military blockade in Gaza, or the refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and beyond.
There is a disturbing thread of racism warping the fabric of Israeli society. Evidence for this can be seen in the following article by Moshe Feiglin, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset (Israel's parliament):
'My Outline for a Solution for Gaza: by Moshe Feiglin'; Manhigut Yehudit; jewishjournal.org, July 15, 2014.
MK Feiglin alarmingly chooses the term 'solution' for his proposals regarding the Palestinians in Gaza, the very term Germany's Nazis used in discussing proposals to dispose of a so-called Jewish 'problem'; sipping champagne, sampling delicacies at table, Nazi elites casually tossed around methods and means that would most efficiently exterminate the entire population of the European continent's Jews [and Roma; political opponents and critics; journalists; homosexuals; Jehovah's Witnesses; and the physically and mentally handicapped, as well.]
There are many Jews who devote themselves to making Israel (and indeed the world) a better place. Thousands protest the bombing of Gaza and the occupation of the Palestinians in the West Bank. It's a moving experience to witness Muslims, Jews, Palestinians, Christians and peace advocates at protests in support of justice and human rights for everybody. They make me happy and full of hope for the human race.
Protest against Israel's assault on Gaza
Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada's capital
July 14, 2014
Photo by Emily McLoughlin-Coleman
We have to learn to accept as given at this (hopefully mid, possibly late) juncture in human history, that individuals with no natural human feeling toward their fellows rise to the top of political power structures sometimes, even though they are emphatically and confoundedly not the cream.
One element in human society that aids their rise to power is, as previously asserted, fear. Other pitfalls are religious chauvinism; convictions of superiority of one's culture or way of life; intolerance; and an unwillingness to permit others to live and believe as they wish. These risks and pitfalls are part of the human condition. These weaknesses of human nature do not discriminate with regard to which human society they may choose to befall next.
God, if he exists, did not make all flowers one color, shape, size and height. They do not flower all at once. They produce many different kinds of fruit. The evidence supports the idea that God, or creation, loves variety in a glorious profusion so much so that creation is not static, but is on the contrary ever evolving and changing. The scientific fact of the matter is that variety in life is a fundamental requirement in the survival of all that lives.
Men such as Mr. Feiglin appear to be blind to any such notions. What he writes, what he wants is clear: Gaza Palestinians - 'A' - separated from the land - 'B'. By international norms of law, his ideas meet the definition of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. [Comments in square brackets are mine.]
Below are excerpts from Moshe Feiglin's manifesto:
'1. Ultimatum – One warning from the Prime Minister of Israel to the enemy population, in which he announces that Israel is about to attack military targets in their area and urges those who are not involved and do not wish to be harmed to leave immediately. Sinai [a desert] is not far from Gaza and they can leave . This will be the limit of Israel’s humanitarian efforts...;
2. Attack - [Feiglin stipulates he would provide no consideration for civilians being used as human shields, but he places the words in parentheses like so: 'human shields' - so apparently, what he really means is no effort should be expended to protect Gaza civilians trapped in the conflict. The indiscriminate bombing of civilian homes, hospitals and schools, etc., by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), would bear this out as a widely-held view];
'3. Siege - '...a total siege on Gaza. Nothing will enter the Strip. Israel, however, will allow exit from Gaza. (Civilians may go to Sinai [again, this proposal that 1.8 million people should depart from home and be cast out into a desert], fighters may surrender to IDF forces).'
...'6. Elimination - 'thoroughly eliminate all armed enemies from Gaza. The enemy population that is innocent of wrong-doing and separated itself from the armed terrorists will be treated in accordance with international law and will be allowed to leave. Israel will generously aid those who wish to leave.
'7. Sovereignty – Gaza is part of our Land and we will remain there forever. Liberation of parts of our land forever is the only thing that justifies endangering our soldiers in battle to capture land. Subsequent to the elimination of terror from Gaza, it will become part of sovereign Israel and will be populated by Jews. This will also serve to ease the housing crisis in Israel....[blah, blah, blah, a fig leaf is tacked on about offering the few Palestinians who are left citizenship on a case by case basis some long, distant and hazy point down the road, after the successful ethnic cleansing of the rest of them. Tokens, if you will.]
We all have moral choices to make and our choices affect our associations by either enriching or diminishing what potential for happiness we can attain. When population groups in any country garner superior government favor and exercise license to discriminate against others they diminish their own prospects for happiness.
We each have greater prospects for happiness if we all enjoy equality before the law.
The Feiglins of the world are disturbers of the peace. They diminish our prospects for happy coexistence. To propose that two million people ought to abandon their homes so other people can move in is criminal, beneath contempt, a proposal of a form of genocide which attempts to eliminate a people from a region.
Those attempting to squelch discussion regarding Israel's perilous political path with scurrilous accusations of a 'new anti-Semitism', are misguided, at best. The world is at its brightest point for putting anti-Semitism in the past and leaving it there for good. With tact and resolve we must work together to bring justice and peace for all the people of Palestine.
July 24, 2014
Israel lobbies the world over to accept the definition of Israel as a Jewish collectivity. They push to categorize it as anti-Semitic to suggest that Israel is anything other than that - Jewish. Many countries have stern laws punishing people for saying anything anti-Semitic, rightly so. What it means, though, is that there are those who lobby to change laws so that they can push to have people put in jail and otherwise legally harassed for suggesting that Israel has anybody else living there in significant numbers other than Jews, sometimes referred to as the 'new anti-Semitism'. The problem with this is that there a lot of people who live in Israel who are, in fact, not Jews. They are Palestinians, native to the land, while many Jews are either European immigrants, or first or second generation descendants of same.
Why would they attempt this? In part, through fear. More than once in human history, Jews have been a minority in one country or another in Europe where they suffered horrendous religious persecution, expelled from their homes; tortured; murdered. After the Nazis under Germany's Hitler massacred millions of Jews during the mid-twentieth century in Europe, the Jews of the world today are traumatized still. Many fear the only place they can be safe is in a country of their own. I don't think this is true. It's possible that at no time in Jewish history have Jews been more accepted, woven into and rendering complete the fabric of the societies in which they dwell.
The implications of this power struggle, both within Israel and without to establish as fact that Israel is Jewish, are ominous. Genocide of the Palestinian people on the one hand, and a dire new form of anti-Semitism arising in the world in aghast reaction to any such attempt to ethnically cleanse Palestine of the Palestinian people.
If we care about human rights, if we care about Jews, Palestinians, justice, civil rights and international law, then we have a moral duty to try to avert genocide of the Palestinian people while stamping out embers of anti-Semitism - at once, and at the same time.
Over twenty percent of the citizens of Israel-proper are Palestinian. That statistic does not take into account the millions of Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank, the Palestinians enduring a seven year military blockade in Gaza, or the refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and beyond.
There is a disturbing thread of racism warping the fabric of Israeli society. Evidence for this can be seen in the following article by Moshe Feiglin, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset (Israel's parliament):
'My Outline for a Solution for Gaza: by Moshe Feiglin'; Manhigut Yehudit; jewishjournal.org, July 15, 2014.
MK Feiglin alarmingly chooses the term 'solution' for his proposals regarding the Palestinians in Gaza, the very term Germany's Nazis used in discussing proposals to dispose of a so-called Jewish 'problem'; sipping champagne, sampling delicacies at table, Nazi elites casually tossed around methods and means that would most efficiently exterminate the entire population of the European continent's Jews [and Roma; political opponents and critics; journalists; homosexuals; Jehovah's Witnesses; and the physically and mentally handicapped, as well.]
There are many Jews who devote themselves to making Israel (and indeed the world) a better place. Thousands protest the bombing of Gaza and the occupation of the Palestinians in the West Bank. It's a moving experience to witness Muslims, Jews, Palestinians, Christians and peace advocates at protests in support of justice and human rights for everybody. They make me happy and full of hope for the human race.
Protest against Israel's assault on Gaza
Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada's capital
July 14, 2014
Photo by Emily McLoughlin-Coleman
We have to learn to accept as given at this (hopefully mid, possibly late) juncture in human history, that individuals with no natural human feeling toward their fellows rise to the top of political power structures sometimes, even though they are emphatically and confoundedly not the cream.
One element in human society that aids their rise to power is, as previously asserted, fear. Other pitfalls are religious chauvinism; convictions of superiority of one's culture or way of life; intolerance; and an unwillingness to permit others to live and believe as they wish. These risks and pitfalls are part of the human condition. These weaknesses of human nature do not discriminate with regard to which human society they may choose to befall next.
God, if he exists, did not make all flowers one color, shape, size and height. They do not flower all at once. They produce many different kinds of fruit. The evidence supports the idea that God, or creation, loves variety in a glorious profusion so much so that creation is not static, but is on the contrary ever evolving and changing. The scientific fact of the matter is that variety in life is a fundamental requirement in the survival of all that lives.
Men such as Mr. Feiglin appear to be blind to any such notions. What he writes, what he wants is clear: Gaza Palestinians - 'A' - separated from the land - 'B'. By international norms of law, his ideas meet the definition of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. [Comments in square brackets are mine.]
Below are excerpts from Moshe Feiglin's manifesto:
'1. Ultimatum – One warning from the Prime Minister of Israel to the enemy population, in which he announces that Israel is about to attack military targets in their area and urges those who are not involved and do not wish to be harmed to leave immediately. Sinai [a desert] is not far from Gaza and they can leave . This will be the limit of Israel’s humanitarian efforts...;
2. Attack - [Feiglin stipulates he would provide no consideration for civilians being used as human shields, but he places the words in parentheses like so: 'human shields' - so apparently, what he really means is no effort should be expended to protect Gaza civilians trapped in the conflict. The indiscriminate bombing of civilian homes, hospitals and schools, etc., by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), would bear this out as a widely-held view];
'3. Siege - '...a total siege on Gaza. Nothing will enter the Strip. Israel, however, will allow exit from Gaza. (Civilians may go to Sinai [again, this proposal that 1.8 million people should depart from home and be cast out into a desert], fighters may surrender to IDF forces).'
...'6. Elimination - 'thoroughly eliminate all armed enemies from Gaza. The enemy population that is innocent of wrong-doing and separated itself from the armed terrorists will be treated in accordance with international law and will be allowed to leave. Israel will generously aid those who wish to leave.
'7. Sovereignty – Gaza is part of our Land and we will remain there forever. Liberation of parts of our land forever is the only thing that justifies endangering our soldiers in battle to capture land. Subsequent to the elimination of terror from Gaza, it will become part of sovereign Israel and will be populated by Jews. This will also serve to ease the housing crisis in Israel....[blah, blah, blah, a fig leaf is tacked on about offering the few Palestinians who are left citizenship on a case by case basis some long, distant and hazy point down the road, after the successful ethnic cleansing of the rest of them. Tokens, if you will.]
We all have moral choices to make and our choices affect our associations by either enriching or diminishing what potential for happiness we can attain. When population groups in any country garner superior government favor and exercise license to discriminate against others they diminish their own prospects for happiness.
We each have greater prospects for happiness if we all enjoy equality before the law.
The Feiglins of the world are disturbers of the peace. They diminish our prospects for happy coexistence. To propose that two million people ought to abandon their homes so other people can move in is criminal, beneath contempt, a proposal of a form of genocide which attempts to eliminate a people from a region.
Those attempting to squelch discussion regarding Israel's perilous political path with scurrilous accusations of a 'new anti-Semitism', are misguided, at best. The world is at its brightest point for putting anti-Semitism in the past and leaving it there for good. With tact and resolve we must work together to bring justice and peace for all the people of Palestine.
July 21, 2014
#Israel - sniper killing civilian searching for survivors in #Gaza [20-07-14 3mins]
Youtube channel: ISM Palestine
Published on Jul 21, 2014
20/7/14: International and Palestinian volunteers
accompanied Civil Defense and other rescue
crews, as well as family members, into Shujaya, in
an attempt to locate survivors of overnight and
ongoing shelling by the Israeli army. A young
Palestinian man, in a green t-shirt, who hoped to
reach his family's home, was shot by an Israeli
soldier while crossing an alley between buildings.
Two additional rounds struck him as he lay injured
on the ground.
July 01, 2014
November 28, 2011
Take Action - Tell the JNF Not to Evict Palestinians from East Jerusalem - Rabbis for Human Rights
From Rabbis for Human Rights, November 28, 2011:
'Himnuta, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Jewish National Fund in Israel (KKL-JNF), planned to evict the Sumarin family from their home in Silwan, a neighborhood of East Jerusalem on November 28. The Sumarins, a family of twelve, including five children, a pregnant mother, and a grandfather on dialysis, have lived in their home for more than forty years.
'Due to public outcry, led by Rabbis for Human Rights-North America (RHR-NA), Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) in Israel, and our supporters, the Jewish National Fund announced on November 24 it was delaying the eviction of the Sumarin family.
Now we must redouble our efforts to convince the Jewish National Fund to cancel the eviction permanently.'
Take Action
And, here is a copy of the customizable form letter which I edited to suit myself:
'I was very pleased to hear that, thanks to JNF intervention, on November 24 the eviction order against the Sumarin family has been delayed and that on November 28 the Jerusalem court legally froze the eviction.
'I implore you now to help guarantee that the Sumarin family can remain in their home without threat of eviction, for good.
'This eviction is a violation of both Jewish and human rights law.
'An agnostic wonders: In Jerusalem, of all places, are the cries for justice, mercy and righteousness to fall on deaf ears?'
Sincerely yours,
Diane V. McLoughlin
'Himnuta, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Jewish National Fund in Israel (KKL-JNF), planned to evict the Sumarin family from their home in Silwan, a neighborhood of East Jerusalem on November 28. The Sumarins, a family of twelve, including five children, a pregnant mother, and a grandfather on dialysis, have lived in their home for more than forty years.
'Due to public outcry, led by Rabbis for Human Rights-North America (RHR-NA), Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) in Israel, and our supporters, the Jewish National Fund announced on November 24 it was delaying the eviction of the Sumarin family.
Now we must redouble our efforts to convince the Jewish National Fund to cancel the eviction permanently.'
Take Action
And, here is a copy of the customizable form letter which I edited to suit myself:
'I was very pleased to hear that, thanks to JNF intervention, on November 24 the eviction order against the Sumarin family has been delayed and that on November 28 the Jerusalem court legally froze the eviction.
'I implore you now to help guarantee that the Sumarin family can remain in their home without threat of eviction, for good.
'This eviction is a violation of both Jewish and human rights law.
'An agnostic wonders: In Jerusalem, of all places, are the cries for justice, mercy and righteousness to fall on deaf ears?'
Sincerely yours,
Diane V. McLoughlin
November 02, 2011
July 16, 2011
Youtube feature film - The Zionist Story
Film notes - The Zionist Story, an independent film by Ronen Berelovich, is the story of ethnic cleansing, colonialism and apartheid to produce a demographically Jewish State.
Ronen successfully combines archival footage with commentary from himself and others such as Ilan Pappe, Terry Boullata, Alan Hart and Jeff Halper.
"I have recently finished an independent documentary, The Zionist Story, in which I aim to present not just the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but also the core reason for it: the Zionist ideology, its goals (past and present) and its firm grip not only on Israeli society, but also, increasingly, on the perception of Middle East issues in Western democracies.
These concepts have already been demonstrated in the excellent 'Occupation 101′ documentary made by Abdallah Omeish and Sufyan Omeish, but in my documentary I approach the subject from the perspective of an Israeli, ex-reserve soldier and someone who has spent his entire life in the shadow of Zionism.
I hope you can find a moment to watch The Zionist Story and, if you like it, please feel free to share it with others. (As both the documentary and the archived footage used are for educational purposes only, the film can be freely distributed).
June 15, 2011
Background to An Open Letter on Israel, Free Speech and Human Rights
June 14, 2011
by Diane V. McLoughlin
Toronto City Councillor Sheila Grimes has clarified that the legality of the term
'Israeli Apartheid' is not going to be voted on either as a matter of
principle, or policy, by Council.
As the Councillor at the same time wondered about it, I thought I might try to
briefly explain why individuals such as myself felt concerned enough to write.
Toronto City Council presides over one of the largest cosmopolitan cities in
Canada. Council felt compelled to look into whether or not the term 'Israeli
Apartheid' was legal, or, conversely, illegal hate speech. This is symptomatic
of something taking place on a larger canvass. There is tremendous
pressure being brought to bear on elected officials to intimidate them into silent
acquiescence.
An example of this recently transpired in the Ontario Legislature.
Certain provincial members of Parliament singled out a university student,
Jennifer Peto, who is Jewish, to denounce her graduate thesis:
'The Victimhood of the Powerful: White Jews, Zionism and the Racism of
Hegemonic Holocaust Education' .
Her thesis was denounced for the public record - as "shockingly anti-Semitic";
"disgusting"; "hateful". The National Post and others waded in, as well.
I've read her thesis and wrote about it. While I can see how it would be
shocking to some - novel ways of looking at things can be - anti-Semitic,
disgusting or hateful, it isn't. In fact, what Ms. Peto actually advocates for is
decency, at not inconsiderable personal risk to herself.
Our ability to steer the ship of state clear of rocky shoals - erosion of civil
liberties; the imposition of ideas antithetical to Canadian values; the support
for, or unnecessary engagement in, immoral war - are always to be guarded
against in societies that wish to remain democratic and free.
In November 2010, I wrote the essay entitled, 'Hate Speech Laws to Shield
Israel From Accountability?', regarding an international conference that took
place the same month in Ottawa which was funded to the tune of half a million
Canadian tax dollars.
One hundred parliamentarians from 45 countries were invited to attend.
Enquiries regarding the conference were shunted to a public relations firm that
touted itself as, 'help[ing to] influence public policy...and...fundamentally
change public attitudes...'.
For a year prior leading up to the conference, a small group of federal
members of Parliament took it upon themselves to study something they called
'the new anti-Semitism.' The CPCCA was an ad hoc committee that was not
appointed by Parliament. They appointed themselves. Groups such as
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East were excluded from
presenting to the committee. Members of the Bloc party had the integrity to
resign in protest.
A central aim of the committee, as well as the conference, was to promote
outlawing criticism of Israel as a 'Jewish collectivity' as spelled out in the
London Declaration.
If this is so, if we are to view it as illegal to suggest that Israel is anything other
than a Jewish collectivity, how then are we to view the million-plus in
Israel-proper who are Palestinian-Israeli citizens?
Well, for one, Avigdor Lieberman, a Russian-Israeli immigrant now Israel's
minister of foreign affairs, not so long ago thought that a 'transfer' of
Israel's Palestinian-Israeli citizens would be a good demographic move to
preserve superior Jewish numbers in the state: ethnic cleansing.
In the West Bank, ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people in favour of Jews
overtaking and 'settling' their space is an ongoing, brutal, affair aided, in no
small measure, by generous donations collected in Canada and elsewhere. As
the occupation is illegal under international law, obviously all such donations
should be outlawed forthwith.
Twenty percent of Israel's citizens are Palestinian. Include the illegal
military-besieged 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the millions of
Palestinians languishing under illegal military occupation in the West Bank, and
the millions of Palestinian refugees that Israel illegally prevents from returning
to their homes - the rather surprising fact of the matter is that the numbers of
Palestinians and Israeli-Jews are pretty much the same, or at least closer than
we think.
Taking it from another angle, the hypocrisy is more obvious if we were to
imagine how we would feel if the American Deep South were to adamantly
assert that it was to be respected as a 'democratic white collective' -
threatening legal sanctions for daring to suggest otherwise. (Or, more close to
home, how we would feel if legislation were passed making it illegal to suggest
that Canada was anything other than Anglo-Saxon.)
It is a matter of fighting oppression. It is a matter of fighting racism and
injustice. It is a matter, now, of fighting for the democratic fundamental right
of free speech here in Canada. It is one of the most fundamental issues of
justice in our time.
So, this is why I wrote to the Honourable members of Toronto City Council.
The attempt to outlaw the words 'Israeli Apartheid', or to outlaw the
suggestion that Israel is anything other than a democratic 'Jewish collectivity', is
part of an on-going struggle for justice. Declarations such as the Ottawa Protocol
are endeavours meant to permit the legal harassment of anyone who
would dare to say so. I believe that the bitter irony of it is that instruments
such as the Ottawa Protocol may well inhibit, rather than promote, prospects
for peace. As elected representatives, I wrote because I thought you should
know.
For your interest, the other letter I wrote today was addressed to the leaders of
Canada's federal political parties to share my view that Canada should not be
involved in any way, shape or form with the military assault on Libya, the real
aim of which is western corporate control over African wealth.
I am, most sincerely and respectfully yours,
Diane V. McLoughlin
by Diane V. McLoughlin
Toronto City Councillor Sheila Grimes has clarified that the legality of the term
'Israeli Apartheid' is not going to be voted on either as a matter of
principle, or policy, by Council.
As the Councillor at the same time wondered about it, I thought I might try to
briefly explain why individuals such as myself felt concerned enough to write.
Toronto City Council presides over one of the largest cosmopolitan cities in
Canada. Council felt compelled to look into whether or not the term 'Israeli
Apartheid' was legal, or, conversely, illegal hate speech. This is symptomatic
of something taking place on a larger canvass. There is tremendous
pressure being brought to bear on elected officials to intimidate them into silent
acquiescence.
An example of this recently transpired in the Ontario Legislature.
Certain provincial members of Parliament singled out a university student,
Jennifer Peto, who is Jewish, to denounce her graduate thesis:
'The Victimhood of the Powerful: White Jews, Zionism and the Racism of
Hegemonic Holocaust Education' .
Her thesis was denounced for the public record - as "shockingly anti-Semitic";
"disgusting"; "hateful". The National Post and others waded in, as well.
I've read her thesis and wrote about it. While I can see how it would be
shocking to some - novel ways of looking at things can be - anti-Semitic,
disgusting or hateful, it isn't. In fact, what Ms. Peto actually advocates for is
decency, at not inconsiderable personal risk to herself.
Our ability to steer the ship of state clear of rocky shoals - erosion of civil
liberties; the imposition of ideas antithetical to Canadian values; the support
for, or unnecessary engagement in, immoral war - are always to be guarded
against in societies that wish to remain democratic and free.
In November 2010, I wrote the essay entitled, 'Hate Speech Laws to Shield
Israel From Accountability?', regarding an international conference that took
place the same month in Ottawa which was funded to the tune of half a million
Canadian tax dollars.
One hundred parliamentarians from 45 countries were invited to attend.
Enquiries regarding the conference were shunted to a public relations firm that
touted itself as, 'help[ing to] influence public policy...and...fundamentally
change public attitudes...'.
For a year prior leading up to the conference, a small group of federal
members of Parliament took it upon themselves to study something they called
'the new anti-Semitism.' The CPCCA was an ad hoc committee that was not
appointed by Parliament. They appointed themselves. Groups such as
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East were excluded from
presenting to the committee. Members of the Bloc party had the integrity to
resign in protest.
A central aim of the committee, as well as the conference, was to promote
outlawing criticism of Israel as a 'Jewish collectivity' as spelled out in the
London Declaration.
If this is so, if we are to view it as illegal to suggest that Israel is anything other
than a Jewish collectivity, how then are we to view the million-plus in
Israel-proper who are Palestinian-Israeli citizens?
Well, for one, Avigdor Lieberman, a Russian-Israeli immigrant now Israel's
minister of foreign affairs, not so long ago thought that a 'transfer' of
Israel's Palestinian-Israeli citizens would be a good demographic move to
preserve superior Jewish numbers in the state: ethnic cleansing.
In the West Bank, ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people in favour of Jews
overtaking and 'settling' their space is an ongoing, brutal, affair aided, in no
small measure, by generous donations collected in Canada and elsewhere. As
the occupation is illegal under international law, obviously all such donations
should be outlawed forthwith.
Twenty percent of Israel's citizens are Palestinian. Include the illegal
military-besieged 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the millions of
Palestinians languishing under illegal military occupation in the West Bank, and
the millions of Palestinian refugees that Israel illegally prevents from returning
to their homes - the rather surprising fact of the matter is that the numbers of
Palestinians and Israeli-Jews are pretty much the same, or at least closer than
we think.
Taking it from another angle, the hypocrisy is more obvious if we were to
imagine how we would feel if the American Deep South were to adamantly
assert that it was to be respected as a 'democratic white collective' -
threatening legal sanctions for daring to suggest otherwise. (Or, more close to
home, how we would feel if legislation were passed making it illegal to suggest
that Canada was anything other than Anglo-Saxon.)
It is a matter of fighting oppression. It is a matter of fighting racism and
injustice. It is a matter, now, of fighting for the democratic fundamental right
of free speech here in Canada. It is one of the most fundamental issues of
justice in our time.
So, this is why I wrote to the Honourable members of Toronto City Council.
The attempt to outlaw the words 'Israeli Apartheid', or to outlaw the
suggestion that Israel is anything other than a democratic 'Jewish collectivity', is
part of an on-going struggle for justice. Declarations such as the Ottawa Protocol
are endeavours meant to permit the legal harassment of anyone who
would dare to say so. I believe that the bitter irony of it is that instruments
such as the Ottawa Protocol may well inhibit, rather than promote, prospects
for peace. As elected representatives, I wrote because I thought you should
know.
For your interest, the other letter I wrote today was addressed to the leaders of
Canada's federal political parties to share my view that Canada should not be
involved in any way, shape or form with the military assault on Libya, the real
aim of which is western corporate control over African wealth.
I am, most sincerely and respectfully yours,
Diane V. McLoughlin
June 09, 2011
An Open Letter to Toronto City Council on Israel, Free Speech and Human Rights
June 9, 2011
To: Members of Toronto City Council
CC'd: Leaders of Canada's federal political parties
From: Diane V. McLoughlin, writer, peace activist
main website: mcloughlinpost.com
Re: Respecting City Manager's findings on whether the words 'Israeli Apartheid'
violate laws regarding hate speech.
Dear Councillors,
On June 14, please vote to accept the Executive Council’s
determination regarding the legality of the term 'Israeli Apartheid'.
Upholding the fundamental right to free speech is important in
any democratic society that wishes to remain so. [1]
The Manager's report concludes that the term 'Israeli Apartheid'
does not violate Toronto's Anti-Discrimination Policy,
Ontario's Human Rights Code,
or Canada's Criminal Code regarding hate speech.
Apartheid - 'apart' - that is how Palestinians are treated;
they are second-class citizens within Israel. Palestinians have
no rights in Gaza or the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The extreme right wing-dominated Israeli legislature - the Knesset -
for example, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
has recently approved a law giving communities in Israel
the right to reject prospective residents deemed 'unsuitable'.
In the American Deep South, that
was once otherwise known as Black.
In Israel, it's indigenous Arab-Israeli citizens.
Different yardsticks are used for everything from garbage pickup,
dollars per student on education, medical care funds
for the sick, to who will get that public service job -
it depends upon whether a citizen is Jewish-Israeli or Palestinian-Israeli.
Supporters argue that Israel is 'the only democracy in the Middle East' -
this would certainly be something to crow about, if true. Is it?
'A 2002 report from the Human Rights Association of Nazareth
documented nine cases of Arab Knesset Members being assaulted
by security services over the preceding two years, seven of whom
were hospitalised.' [1a]
I guess it depends on what one's definition of democracy is, or for whom.
The illegal military siege of Gaza, and the illegal occupation of the West Bank
have their own horrendous tales of suffering to tell. In the West Bank,
Palestinian children have stones thrown at them by grown adult settlers
screaming racist obscenities while trying to go to school, or they are
frustrated by Israel's occupying army just trying to get from point A to
point B. Olive orchards are burned or torn up. Farmers are attacked
or shot at. Mosques are burned. Children's schools are sprayed with graffiti
such as 'death to Arabs'.
Suffice to say that democratic societies should consider with care
whether or not it is prudent or wise to outlaw criticism of a State.
If for no other reason, I would propose that if we outlaw criticism of one State,
in this case the State of Israel through the banning of such descriptions
as Israeli Apartheid, without a doubt other countries will be swiftly
lining up demanding the same shield when they are abrogating citizens'
human and civil rights.
The push to outlaw criticism of Israel is being driven by
pro-occupation supporters at the highest levels.
Some fear that after the Holocaust, there is no other
place for Jews to be safe but in a state of their own carved
from Palestinian territory.
But the subjugation of the Palestinians, the oppression,
displacement or ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people
could in no way cause Jewish people to be more secure.
Peace or security could not possibly be established this way.
What happens in Israel, what future is determined for the long-suffering
Palestinian people, is one of the most important issues of our time.
In sometimes surprising ways, this issue affects us all. While it is still legal
for anyone to do so, I thought I would share my view on the matter.
Most sincerely and respectfully yours,
Diane V. McLoughlin
-------------------------------
Notes
[1] For more, see, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME): http://www.cjpme.org/ItemCollectionPage.aspx?ICID=67#TorontoCouncillors ;
[1a] Article: 'Can equality exist in the Jewish state?';
Kieron Monks; June 4, 2011; Al Jazeera;
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/06/2011648192849821.html ;
To: Members of Toronto City Council
CC'd: Leaders of Canada's federal political parties
From: Diane V. McLoughlin, writer, peace activist
main website: mcloughlinpost.com
Re: Respecting City Manager's findings on whether the words 'Israeli Apartheid'
violate laws regarding hate speech.
Dear Councillors,
On June 14, please vote to accept the Executive Council’s
determination regarding the legality of the term 'Israeli Apartheid'.
Upholding the fundamental right to free speech is important in
any democratic society that wishes to remain so. [1]
The Manager's report concludes that the term 'Israeli Apartheid'
does not violate Toronto's Anti-Discrimination Policy,
Ontario's Human Rights Code,
or Canada's Criminal Code regarding hate speech.
Apartheid - 'apart' - that is how Palestinians are treated;
they are second-class citizens within Israel. Palestinians have
no rights in Gaza or the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The extreme right wing-dominated Israeli legislature - the Knesset -
for example, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
has recently approved a law giving communities in Israel
the right to reject prospective residents deemed 'unsuitable'.
In the American Deep South, that
was once otherwise known as Black.
In Israel, it's indigenous Arab-Israeli citizens.
Different yardsticks are used for everything from garbage pickup,
dollars per student on education, medical care funds
for the sick, to who will get that public service job -
it depends upon whether a citizen is Jewish-Israeli or Palestinian-Israeli.
Supporters argue that Israel is 'the only democracy in the Middle East' -
this would certainly be something to crow about, if true. Is it?
'A 2002 report from the Human Rights Association of Nazareth
documented nine cases of Arab Knesset Members being assaulted
by security services over the preceding two years, seven of whom
were hospitalised.' [1a]
I guess it depends on what one's definition of democracy is, or for whom.
The illegal military siege of Gaza, and the illegal occupation of the West Bank
have their own horrendous tales of suffering to tell. In the West Bank,
Palestinian children have stones thrown at them by grown adult settlers
screaming racist obscenities while trying to go to school, or they are
frustrated by Israel's occupying army just trying to get from point A to
point B. Olive orchards are burned or torn up. Farmers are attacked
or shot at. Mosques are burned. Children's schools are sprayed with graffiti
such as 'death to Arabs'.
Suffice to say that democratic societies should consider with care
whether or not it is prudent or wise to outlaw criticism of a State.
If for no other reason, I would propose that if we outlaw criticism of one State,
in this case the State of Israel through the banning of such descriptions
as Israeli Apartheid, without a doubt other countries will be swiftly
lining up demanding the same shield when they are abrogating citizens'
human and civil rights.
The push to outlaw criticism of Israel is being driven by
pro-occupation supporters at the highest levels.
Some fear that after the Holocaust, there is no other
place for Jews to be safe but in a state of their own carved
from Palestinian territory.
But the subjugation of the Palestinians, the oppression,
displacement or ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people
could in no way cause Jewish people to be more secure.
Peace or security could not possibly be established this way.
What happens in Israel, what future is determined for the long-suffering
Palestinian people, is one of the most important issues of our time.
In sometimes surprising ways, this issue affects us all. While it is still legal
for anyone to do so, I thought I would share my view on the matter.
Most sincerely and respectfully yours,
Diane V. McLoughlin
-------------------------------
Notes
[1] For more, see, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME): http://www.cjpme.org/ItemCollectionPage.aspx?ICID=67#TorontoCouncillors ;
[1a] Article: 'Can equality exist in the Jewish state?';
Kieron Monks; June 4, 2011; Al Jazeera;
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/06/2011648192849821.html ;
May 31, 2011
Bachmann in my bubble?! Nooo
May 31, 2011, by Diane V. McLoughlin
main website: http://www.mcloughlinpost.com/
In his new book, 'The Filter Bubble', Eli Pariser lays it out that the internet has undergone
profound change. It filters what we see based on computerized assumptions modelled on our
browsing history. He worries that each of us may become stuck in little information bubbles
because it is impossible to know what is being excluded.
One of my favorite examples Pariser gives is Facebook. Facebook filters out FB friends' activity
if we interact with them less often than with other peeps. This frustratingly cements the loop -
you never wind up getting to share cross-posts at all. Thus, the range of ideas and interests we
are exposed to that our friends are talking about is restricted by outside forces beyond our
control. (This drives me and my other politically-aware friends nuts, frankly.)
Filtering impedes what the internet, at its best, is all about - the free flow and exchange of ideas
and information. In a recent speech, Eli also demonstrated that search engines return different
results for different people even if they are searching the exact same things. This is a deeply
worrying trend. It holds the potential to interfere with the democratic process. We cannot
consider ideas and opinions that we are rarely, if ever, exposed to. And it is difficult to see how
new ideas could surface that might benefit society, as argued so elegantly here:
'If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one
person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more
justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power,
would be justified in silencing mankind...the peculiar evil of
silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race;
posterity as well as the existing generation...'
- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873): 'On Liberty: Chapter Two - Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion'
What happens now when the odd-man-out is right? Are we more likely to continue blissfully
unaware toward some collective abyss because we were prevented by internet filters from
considering what he or she had to say?
So that covers filtering of social networks and search engines. But, as is so usually the case with
coincidence, within days of having viewed the clip of Mr. Pariser's talk, somebody e-mailed me
wondering what the deal was with the Google ad on the top of my home page. My puzzled friend
included for helpful measure a screen shot of what he saw. And what he saw was not what I
ever saw. What he saw was different.
My site is dedicated to writing about things such as resource wars and political corruption;
American Empire and erosion of civil rights; human rights; and last but certainly not least, the
oppression and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people by the apartheid State of Israel.
Definition of apartheid is a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.
Some insist on Israel being exclusively the national home of the world's Jewish people, when
almost 25% of the citizens of Israel proper are Palestinian. That figure doesn't include millions of
Palestinians either languishing under military siege in Gaza or occupation in the West Bank. Nor
does it take into account the Palestinian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.
When I look at my home page, typically I will see in the Google-generated ad box at the top an
ad about BDS - boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel - a peaceful form of protest until that
state decides to abide by international law and stops discriminating against, and oppressing, the
Palestinian people. It worked in South Africa to end apartheid there. There is no reason why it
could not help bring about peaceful change in Israel-Palestine.
(Text continues after the jump, below.)
I always assumed that the BDS ad above was just that - an ad about BDS. But I googled it just
now and in fact it is a site dedicated to attacking the BDS movement as, 'blacklisting, demonizing, slandering' Israel - putting what appears to be a lot of time and effort into discrediting a movement it labels a failure. .
Getting back to the point at hand, what my vexed friend Joe saw at the top of my page was a
different ad paid for by a group calling itself, 'Bachmann For Congress'. The ad attacks
President Barack Obama's recent affirmation of America's long-standing policy (which remains
in place, on paper): that Israel should withdraw to pre-1967 borders, end the occupation, and
make peace with the Palestinian people. As can be seen from the screen shot below, the ad
categorizes Obama's position as a betrayal of Israel.
There may be some unintended truth in rejecting 1967 borders. The fact of the matter is that
the peace process itself has been betrayed. The two-state solution may be moot through
decades of foot-dragging, during which hundreds of thousands of violent religious Jewish
extremists - backed by the Israeli military - moved in and squatted on Palestinian property.
Because this is so, the chorus is growing louder for one secular, bi-national democratic state of
all Israel's citizens.
For the record I am no fan of Michele Bachmann, who, last election cycle, insinuated that
left-leaning members of Congress might be, quote: "anti-American". I have to say that few
things can be counted as being less American than that. Honestly. Such tactics are used to
intimidate voters - that they themselves might be labeled with the worst accusation imaginable
should they do the most revolutionary thing possible - that is, to think for themselves. To that,
I can only say - la, la, la, look at me, thinking!
More soberly, thinking is what the founders of America did a great deal of, and though they
themselves pointed out that they did not get everything right off the bat (they didn't abolish
slavery, e.g.), what we can say by their example is that thinking and questioning the status quo
is as American as apple pie.
So this is by way of explaining what some of these ads have been doing on my site and how
they got there. Ads randomly trawled for content were displayed at different times for different
visitors, presumably depending on each person's browsing history.
Meanwhile, do a search for something on the web and there is less likelihood that a full range of
results will appear, because systems 'know' what you would be interested in from tracking your
internet movements. When does this tayloring cross the line into manipulation - letting you
know some things, preventing you from knowing others? I can't say if this poses a threat to
liberty (not to mention privacy) - but it doesn't smell too good.
Michele Bachmann invading my bubble? That just plain stinks.
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