Saturday, May 22, 2010

“If the line has not yet been crossed, where is the line?”

"An interesting article from Peter Beinart on the the New York Review of Books. Though he overestimate the power and presence of the liberal left in Israel right now, Beinart does hit the point regarding not only the carte blanche the Jewish establishment is giving Israel, but also on the dangerous effect this blind support has on the Israeli society.
"There is an epidemic of not watching among American Zionists today. A Red Cross study on malnutrition in the Gaza Strip, a bill in the Knesset to allow Jewish neighborhoods to bar entry to Israeli Arabs, an Israeli human rights report on settlers burning Palestinian olive groves, three more Palestinian teenagers shot—it’s unpleasant. Rationalizing and minimizing Palestinian suffering has become a kind of game. In a more recent report on how to foster Zionism among America’s young, [Republican pollster Frank] Luntz urges American Jewish groups to use the word “Arabs, not Palestinians,” since “the term ‘Palestinians’ evokes images of refugee camps, victims and oppression,” while “‘Arab’ says wealth, oil and Islam.”"

1 comment:

  1. thanks for this. Always been a fan of Peter Beinart. He is right.

    How to spread the word around the world? Almost no one in the world knows this stuff. :(

    I am pro Israeli. And I still get called the worst names imaginable for saying that Israel should treat Palestinians respectfully and heaven forbid . . . allow them to become Israeli citizens [one state solution] . . . or that maybe Israel should make a one time $50 billion payment to Palestine.

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