Sunday April 26, 2009, 2:38 am
Mistakenly, we continue to believe that being historical victims completely frees us of the need to develop solidarity with humanity and of the duty to consecrate the living, not only the dead.

From one Holocaust Day to the next, one registers a worrisome rise in Israeli racism. Between one compulsory mourning siren and another, the official Israel flatly denies other holocausts and sells arms to countries that use them against civilians. The official daily command to remember those murdered during the Second World War will not prevent the soldier at the checkpoint from then abusing those who aren't our citizens,. All the tours in Yad Vashem, even now that it is revamped and renovated, have evidently failed to have an impact on our society. We have apparently not learned that being children and relatives of victims does not justify our own injustices. Maybe it is too late for learning.

For too many years now we've been living within a false ethos of victimhood. In the name of those victims – those whose opinions were never sought – youths enshroud themselves in blue and white flags in Auschwitz and most of them immediately understand that a strong military is the key to our continued existence, but too few understand or question the benefit of such an army when our conscience is faltering.

For too many years we compelled the world to look at the horrors committed against the Jews. We made a visit to Yad Vashem obligatory for visiting dignitaries. We employed a sophisticated rhetoric that makes a connection between the Nazi and Iranian threats, between the Khmelnytsky-led pogroms and the Intifada, as though all these events – the actuality of which must never be underestimated – granted us a sweeping, almost automatic permit to mimic those nations we accuse of ignoring our victims; as though the Holocaust endowed us with exclusivity over suffering for all time.

As far as official Israel and most of its citizens are concerned, there are no other holocausts, and the arguments are always beautifully constructed: no regime in the history of humanity has made its aim to annihilate a whole people, nor has this ever been done with such monstrous efficiency. Therefore, when the Argentinean military regime wiped out tens of thousands of dissenters, official Israel said nothing; when villains in Cambodia slaughtered millions of their own people, this surely was no holocaust but an internal matter, and what's happening in Darfur is something between Muslims anyway, while Rwanda – there are no Israelis in Rwanda. So there's nothing to worry about. If they have an earthquake, we'll send over crews with blankets.

The Armenian holocaust was not as sophisticated as the Nazi assembly-line of death, hence it is not worthy of attention either, particularly since our relationship with Turkey is more important than our clear conscience. Regarding the Tibetans, we really have nothing to say; this Dalai Lama is nice enough – but our amazing trade with China is much more advantageous than a denunciation, however weak and polite, of what was clearly genocide and the ongoing dispossession of millions of their land.

In the name of the dead

We are victims, so we are allowed: this is the immoral defiant assertion uttered in the Israeli discourse between one Holocaust Day and the next. We are victims of Arabs wherever they may be, so we shall also apply dollops of disgust and fear to Arab citizens of Israel as well. Why not? Such a manoeuvre is worth 15 electoral seats and an honoured place at the Israel government's table.

We are victims, so when someone speaks of racism within, the horror is never real and is always placed in a totally foolish juxtaposition to the actions of the Nazis. No one remembers that those actions started with words. When no one is punished for calling an Ethiopian a "dirty nigger"; when soldiers can abuse Palestinians uninterrupted, knowing full well that their punishment will be, at worst, a rebuke; when a Jew massacres Arabs and his tombstone is consecrated with no one even contemplating removing the temple blockading his house. When the IDF showers Gazan civilians with molten lead, questions must not be asked in wartime and mistakes must not be admitted to. It is as if we are permitted to do so, because we were killed first.

On 9 May, sixty-four years will have passed since the Allies defeated the Nazis and freed the world. There were those who believed then that it was the last battle against murderous ideologies, but they were wrong. We continue to believe this mistake, and the even worse error, that our historical victimhood completely rids us of the need for human solidarity, of the duty to consecrate the living and not only the dead, and of the lesson that is as important as sovereignty and power: the duty to create a moral society that is sensitive to injustice.

For too many years we told ourselves that we do all this in the name and memory of the dead. This was too easy a lie. Would the dead and the survivors have rejected a more moral stance towards the world and the Other among us? Does the annual siren exempt us of the need to care for the Holocaust survivors, which is surely a more difficult matter than state-sponsored mourning, but no less important? Is the only thing the State can promise its citizens, as a real lesson from the Holocaust, is limitless military power – but not the knowledge that power alone will not be enough on a real day of reckoning?

A few years ago in a CNN broadcast dedicated to one of the periodic holocausts in Africa, a Baptist American priest stood before the camera holding a dead baby's carrier. He said, "People ask where was God during Auschwitz and I want to know where was man." And I want to know that this man, the man who possesses sufficient compassion to see the horror of others and know they are just like him, that this man is still among us. Perhaps.

[Translated from Hebrew by Keren Rubinstein.]

Sunday April 26, 2009, 2:54 am
Just one of 7 excellent articles re Durban 2 , visit site for rest!

Sunday April 26, 2009, 3:44 am
salaam Pete-excellent article-shokran for sharing-may it open many eyes-and hearts...

Sunday April 26, 2009, 11:26 am
here we go again with ghost posts :(

Sunday April 26, 2009, 12:02 pm

The whole world can see the destruction except israel themselves and its all because they were back by someone like themselves...lol

Sunday April 26, 2009, 12:17 pm
Thanks Pete finally a end the occupation set of articles that doesn't make Israelis into monsters. They are a people who have had to fight for survival since before becoming a nation. During WW II most American's referred to the Japanese and Germans with nasty epithets. One naturally does not refer to someone you are trying to kill as the "Gentelperson from Germany or Japan". That is why when I see some of the quotes people post, that are specifically meant to dehumanize the person who made the quote and are completely out of any context, then I see a hateful motives.
Seeing articles like you posted makes me proud to be a Jew for we allow dissent. Right at the beginning of these articles is a disclaimer;
"I should have said it sooner: Having Cecilie Surasky's reports does not imply JPN's endorsement/agreement of every point she makes. We, the editors, don't always agree on everything among ourselves, and this applies to Cecilie, too."
I know that I would like to see an end to the occupation. Occupation is an evil endeavor and it eats at the best of us. How do we get there? Are we going to trust our lives to people who say there mission is to kill Jews? I don't think so. That's how we get to where we are today. I truly believe most Israeli's as well as diaspora Jews would love to see an end to occupation and peace. The problem is how to guarantee the peace because in 1966 it was 9 miles from "Trans-Jordan\Palestine" to the Mediterranean. Yelling Israel=Nazi's, Israel=Apartheid won't help the situation. Calm rational discussions with realistic understanding of everybody's desires and fears hopefully will end the ugly stalemate.

Sunday April 26, 2009, 12:23 pm
Troll alert !
Since when is being (repeatedly) *banned* by Care2 administrators called "technical errors"? :p
(Rhethorical question)

Sunday April 26, 2009, 1:52 pm


Freedom of speech, yes! for real members, who do not hide behind a bunch of fake profiles and names.

Sunday April 26, 2009, 7:52 pm
This is a great post and a very interesting read, Simon, and thank you David R for your candor. I'm very grateful for ALL that work toward a peaceful solution of this horror. Besides the actual nightmare of Palestine itself, what troubles me is the implied superiority of credibility given to Jewish voice for peace, JPN, or anyone Jewish for that matter. To me, (and of course this is only my opinion) this is a direct example of Zionism being equal to racism with a lot of passive help from people that mean well, but are in fact enabling the abuser. I only have to look at the most recent election results of the so-called "democracy" that is Israel to understand that the overwhelming majority don't want peace, they want conquest.

Sunday April 26, 2009, 8:16 pm
Welcome back Josh.It's really good to read your posts again.
I'm surprised you are wasting your time trying to have an intelligent debate with the usual haters and baiters. They have nothing positive to add to what they've already said ad nauseum so I'm not going to engage them.
Timco. just read the infantile rubbish you wrote above. I reckon even Bart Simpson would have been embarrassed by it. You got absolutely nothing right. Just made yourself look like a below average second grader.

Sunday April 26, 2009, 10:28 pm
Talking of haters Stan , how's your collection of hate vids growing?

As for Joshco , he thinks that as a 'victim' , he's allowed.....

David R; the occupation is the greatest recruitment tool for the likes of Hamas & Islamic Jihad.
Ending the occupation and genuinely working towards a Palestinian state would have the effect of marginalising those who wish to continue the violence against the wishes of the peaceful majority.

Sunday April 26, 2009, 11:01 pm
Sorry Pete.

Monday April 27, 2009, 2:41 am
The genocide that was done to Jews is no justification for the genocide that the "Jewish state" of "Israel" is doing to the Indigenous people of the Middle East.

Monday April 27, 2009, 5:45 am
isreal wants peace ? why doesnt is engage with the peoples choice then rather than continue with its self destructive policy of alienating Hammas. they want peace, but on their terms only.

Monday April 27, 2009, 6:14 am
Here's another of the 7 articles worth posting here-

Pt. III Israel a racist state? Usama Halabi and Alan Dershowitz

[Updated] Seumas Milne of the UK Guardian has one of the best analyses I've seen thus far of Durban and the hypocrisy and gamesmanship of the European countries.

He looks at the issue of calling Israel a racist state, which is considered verboten by the European diplomats, but entirely uncontroversial for most of the Arab the world.

In fact, some 700,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes to make room for the Jewish state, and while people in my family who have never set foot in the Middle East have the right to citizenship under Israel's Right of Return law, Palestinians who still have the keys to their homes can not go back.

The Israel Land Authority (ILA) holds nearly 94% of Israeli land in trust for Jews only [see video about JNF's Canada Park], and now Israel has a foreign minister who openly advocates for transfer of Arab Israelis and wants those left, I suppose, to take a loyalty oath. (And of course, the litany regarding racist history and institutions in my own country, the United States, is longer. Talking about it openly hardly means I want to destroy the United States. On the contrary, it means I want to make it live up to its promise.)

The issue of racism within Israel comes up in the conference in a dramatic way. At the Dershowitz/Voight panel on Palestinians as Nazis, Palestinian civil rights lawyer Zaha Hassan questions Natan Sharansky about the bombing of Gaza. Sharansky's response is too mild and Dershowitz steps in and starts demanding loudly that Zaha tell him just one international law that has been violated by Israel during the war on Gaza. Usama Halabi shouts out "proportionality" and suddenly the focus is on him. He says he is an Israeli citizen, but he has transgressed by trying to get a word in and suddenly Dershowitz is arguing with him. (Usama tells me that someone told him that later, Dershowitz told him to go back to Ahmedinejad. I'm going to review my tape on the plane.)

Halabi is an expert on the legal status of Arab Israelis: he is a lawyer, has written 7 books, and has served on the boards of Adalah, and Betselem. And like every other Palestinian here, he is forced to make his point in 60 seconds if he is lucky enough to get called on by a speaker. He has no official voice here, no place to make his presentation, no space to share his analysis.

I talk to Halabi in the hallway the next day:

Our lands are taken to this day, even those who go into the army. I am a Druze. So our land is being taken despite the fact that many people go into the army and serve. A false argument in Israel: if you don't give full obligations, you don't deserve full rights. This is totally false, because I know of many people who give everything and get nothing or almost nothing.

This distinguished professor said tell me about some international law. But when he said to this lady tell me about one international law that was violated by Israel, I just shouted "proportionality". Maybe both were acting wrongfully, but proportionality is THE issue. So what is that? And when I am an Israeli citizen, and you talk about facts. Show me facts and I'll show you facts. My facts show that there is total discrimination from affiliation. I can show you texts in some Israeli laws and many other texts from national institutions that are used against us.

My facts are on the ground, from discrimination I can show you texts of laws, 93.5 % of the lands in Israel are held for Jews only. I can show you, I have a chart, maybe tomorrow I will talk somewhere here I will find a venue and explain. And talk about laws and facts, not propaganda.

I'm sorry to say that he is accusing others of being anti-Semites. Arabs are Semites. If you are really human rights, as he said, activists, you do not distinguish between you and others. He was acting the same as those who he was accusing. It is shameful.

The Palestinian delegation made a big sacrifice for this conference. They omitted every single reference to our case, because other countries were opposed to that. There's no language accusing anybody of anything. So me, I don't understood what's going on.

This is a conference against racism, but we think some of it was used to do something wrong, like this.

The whole [Dershowitz/Voight] gathering was not to have asked for sympathy for Jews who suffered in 1945…but to attack others using this. This is a misuse of Shoah, which I don't want to deny. Not the Shoah itself. Nobody is denying Shoah/Holocaust. It is the misuses of this very tragic event that I am opposed to

I didnt hear that- he called me Ahmedinejad, he told me to go back to my people. He called me Ahmedeinajed. This is shameful.

Yesterday, Mr Cotler is right wing. I just wanted to ask him if he had heard something else, but they did not take questions.

Then Halabi shares something fantasticly awful about Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's new foreign minister:

I have 2 masters. I went to Hebrew University. Since 1977 Lieberman was a selector [bouncer] at the door of the nightclub at the dorms where I lived. And he would do everything not to have us [Arab Israelis] enter. I saw it in my own eyes. It's a fact. This guy has not changed. He's trying to say he wants to transfer us. Not me, he won't transfer me. Because I don't live in that area. If I talked about transfering you and your family out of Israel, you'd call me an antisemite.

He wouldn't let Arabs in…he stood at the door of that club, now he's standing at the door of the country as foreign minister.

Monday April 27, 2009, 7:28 am
Josh, welcome back. We, the non-haters missed you. You were wrongly deleted, and I hope the haters can't gang up on anyone again like they did to you, and allowed to get away with that. That is not democracy. That was totally Racial and an attack on your religion, which you have a right to, to your own religion. If the haters don't like your religion, woe to them.

But what this whole thing boils down to is how does each and every one here or anywhere else want to be living in the next 10-20 years. Do you want to live free? Or do you want to live under a terrorist organization who believes you have no rights? I want my freedom. The terrorists support the filthy treatment, stoning, beheading, rape and murder of women. Is that really the way you want your life to be?

Monday April 27, 2009, 8:19 am
Thanks again Pete for your showing the strength of dissent and divergent views that are debated, printed and publicly discussed in a vibrant democracy, with flaws, that is Israel. Remember the quote"I may not agree with what you have to say but I will defend to the death your right to say it". I think the second one you printed is a little like sour grapes from his college days, (when he was a bouncer), rather than a well thought out argument but everyone is entitled to a bad day. Unfortunately people under Hamas or even Fatah don't get the same rights, they get knee capped and jailed.

Again let's not forget the disclaimer;
I should have said it sooner: Having Cecilie Surasky's reports does not imply JPN's endorsement/agreement of every point she makes. We, the editors, don't always agree on everything among ourselves, and this applies to Cecilie, too.

Racheli.

Monday April 27, 2009, 9:19 am
Forgot to finish my previous posting:

God blessed Israel.

Monday April 27, 2009, 9:52 am
Naw, that's your forte'.

Monday April 27, 2009, 10:03 am
Anyone keeping score here? I just went over "all of the posts" and quickly checked the number of posts v the number of related to the topic v number posts that are personal attacks and completely unrelated to the article.

All of you stop, please. Can't both sides agree to that? You wonder why there is no peace?

Monday April 27, 2009, 12:12 pm
Genocide does not justify more genocide.~

Monday April 27, 2009, 1:25 pm
Joshco; ''Israel is a Jewish country, and as other national countries it has a right to accept all Jews, as much as Germany accepts all Germans, Greece all Greeks, etc''

The problem being that in order to become a 'Jewish country' hundreds of thousands of the indigenous population had to be ethnically cleansed , a crime against humanity zionists still seem to have difficulty acknowledging & compounded by Israels illegal refusal to allow the return home of those ethnically cleansed, and excused by the Jewish suffering at the hands of Europeans during the Holocaust.

If you can't fathom out the link between the article titled 'As Victims We're Allowed ' and the pic of the Israeli tank v Palestinian boy then you sure are one dumbass troll. (almost as dumb as anyone who thinks BT'selem is a hate group.... )

LMFAO!!!!

Monday April 27, 2009, 2:11 pm
;-)

Monday April 27, 2009, 6:57 pm
"iran want "isreal wiped off the map"
You are misinformed.
As I have requested when others state that, show me the quote. Take your time It's ok, I'm patient.

Monday April 27, 2009, 6:58 pm
Joshco appears to have changed his name.

Monday April 27, 2009, 8:11 pm
I have heard the claim but as yet have not seen the quote you speak of and is always misquoted. What I have read is the actual statement. As for the rest of your jibberish..........BLAH,BLAH,BLAH

Monday April 27, 2009, 11:04 pm
Squirrel. Here's an article from an Iranian source. What conclusions would you come to?


http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles_2001/dec_2001/rafsanjani_nuke_threats_141201.htm

Monday April 27, 2009, 11:31 pm
A source owned by Iranian exiles based in Paris couldn't possibly be guilty of disseminating Neocon propaganda , or could it?
Why dontcha just stick to MEMRI for your neocon fix?

Tuesday April 28, 2009, 11:20 am
Judging by your previous dumbass comments you evidently believe everything the neocons tell you.
Here's some news for ya- Saddam didn't have any WMD.

Tuesday April 28, 2009, 2:13 pm
Israelis jailed for Hebron murder:

Two former Israeli border policemen are given prison terms for throwing a Palestinian to his death from a speeding jeep.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8022671.stm

Tuesday April 28, 2009, 10:28 pm
Stan, thank you for the reply. The website you have referred me to is actually from France and is closed down.
"Monday, January 5, 2009
THIS SITE IS CLOSED"
As I really do appreciate your effort, I would only ask for perhaps a more credible source. If it is not a recognizable news source, an "about Us" page can be very helpful. I apologize and I'm not trying to nit-pick, I really want to get to the truth and I thank you for an honest effort.

The statement "wiping Israel off the map" is usually associated with a misquote of Ahmadinejad and though repeated over and over is no more accurate now then the original misquote.

Wednesday April 29, 2009, 12:36 am
Squirrel. I hadn't realised that site had closed down though I feel the article is still relevant. I'll try to find another source and appreciate your patience and courtesy.
That's more than can be said about the disgusting post to Josh from Pete M.
I cannot understand why Care 2 tolerates this kind of disgusting filth and personal vilification.

Wednesday April 29, 2009, 1:49 am
Mebbe you should look at some of your links to hate vids before getting all indignant about 'disgusting filth'.

Wednesday April 29, 2009, 2:17 am
This is what happens when you feed the Trolls :)

Give them one ounce of attention and they are all over the place, causing disruption with their rambling and pathetic little attacks.

"Israel should trust only you, Hamas, Hezbolla and other no less reputable sources, right?"

And we "should trust only" a Past Member aka Technical Error aka Josh and half a dozen other names?
Now that's a reputable source.

Stan, what personal vilification? Nothing can be personal when you reply to a multiple personality past member. On the contrary, have a look at your insulting words to Tim. That was personal disrespect, totally uncalled for, and it makes you lose any credibility even though you post good comments at times (in unrelated topics).
And when you are attacked on a thread - like Pete here- you too defend yourself; so why do you deny Pete that right? At least he does it with humour.

As for the local Islamists, give me a break, "Josh". You make it sound like there's a group of dangerous extremists here. Where are they? where are the Islamists? What I see is people fighting for HUMAN RIGHTS.

And your insinuations are disrespectful to the Care2 team.

You're not the only one whose posts disappear, so at least please stop whining. (One of my posts disappeared in this thread, can't see it, but I didn't make an issue of it. I know it was posted because you replied to it. Thanks :)

I personally don't mind pro-Israel posting here! On the contrary I find their/your posts very enlightening. People need to know how you think, how you react, what your goals are... and in general they need to understand how it is possible that anyone can support a State which has caused so much destruction, and planning to cause even more.

So have a blast :)

What is a waste of time is Trolls who have no better argument than calling a troll anyone who objects to their constant disruptions. Sounds really childish but then what do you expect, trolls will be trolls. At least it makes you so predictable.

And it doesn't change the content of the news articles posted :)

(oops, I guess I've been feeding trolls... Sorry... I 'd better try to ignore them again).

Wednesday April 29, 2009, 2:40 am
Brigitte you seem to have some kind of OCD with trolls.
If you are happy with the post below that speaks volumes about you. You were probably just as happy with the disgusting post from Tim which Care 2 had the good sense to delete.

Tuesday April 28, 2009, 10:46 pm
Joshco; Chickens bringing gold eggs are welcome on Care2. Frogs bringing dog turds are not

Wednesday April 29, 2009, 5:16 am
OCD? :) Not at all. I just know one when I see one :P

Thanks for the constructive post, Stan. Your points are so interesting. You have so much to offer. You really know how to stay focused on a topic. Well, not really, but your position is a fine example illustrating the topic, so, thanks again!

Wednesday April 29, 2009, 1:49 pm
Face to Face with History

By Martin Jacques

April 29, 2009 "New Statesman" -- -I can think of only one international body that can lay claim to a semblance of democracy: the United Nations. All the other organisations that regard themselves as global – the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation – are creations of the west and their power structures reflect that fact. This is the reason why the United States has always had a troubled relationship with the UN; it is the one organisation where it is not assured of getting its own way. On the contrary, it often finds itself hugely outnumbered, resolutions on the Middle East and Israel being a classic trigger. That, rather than being strapped for cash, is why the US has always been so reluctant to pay its dues. So, it was no surprise to find the US boycotting this year’s UN World Conference against Racism in Geneva, or that it walked out of the first such meeting in Durban in 2001. America is invariably on the defensive on such occasions.

Of course, western countries are bound to be on the back foot at any conference or gathering on racism. It is not that racism is an exclusively white phenomenon; every race is capable of and engages in racism. It is wishful thinking to believe that it is a solely Caucasian affliction: Rwanda, the civil war in Sri Lanka, Han Chinese attitudes towards Tibetans and Uighurs, or the prejudice shown by host populations virtually everywhere towards migrants, are just a few examples.

Racism, alas, is universal, but its impact has varied greatly, depending on the power of the particular people acting upon their prejudices. That is why white culpability has been far greater in the modern world than that of any other race. Slavery, colonialism and the less blatant forms of discrimination that have been associated with US hegemony – on display in American behaviour towards the people of Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay – have been inextricably intertwined with racism. Indeed, colonialism and slavery would have been inconceivable without racism, it being their rationale and justification.

Any UN conference on racism is therefore bound to be an extremely uncomfortable experience for western nations, especially the US. It is an occasion when the developed, former colonial world meets the developing, generally colonised world. The former much prefer to treat their colonial history with amnesia (which has become Britain’s default mode in relation to its past), but the UN gathering is an instance where that is not possible. The old imperial powers come face to face with the past, as the argument at Durban over reparations for those countries that suffered from colonialism and slavery well illustrates. The flashpoint at this conference – and, indeed, the previous one – has been Israel and its attitude towards the Palestinians. Given that Israel has been central to US foreign policy in a region that has been its greatest priority, it was entirely predictable that the Americans would seek to prevent criticism of either themselves or the Israelis.

In fact, the Israelis offer a sad example of the intractable and ubiquitous nature of racism. After the horrific suffering of the Jews during the Holocaust, the west sought to salve its conscience by taking land from the Palestinians, in an area that had been colonised by the European powers, and using it to help establish the Zionist state of Israel. The latter has, unfortunately, always borne many of the characteristics of a transplant, and was bitterly resented by those whose land was stolen. At the same time, Israel identified itself with the west, to which it looked for sustenance and protection, never seeking to establish a modus vivendi with its neighbours. This attitude was reciprocated.

And so, history has frozen in the Middle East, the paralysis taking the form of a state of war that has lasted longer than a half-century. The way many Arabs in Israel are treated as second-class citizens, and the brutality and cruelty shown during the Israeli assault on Gaza early this year, are eloquent testimony to the racism endemic in Israel. It is ironic that a people who suffered from racism on such an enormous scale should themselves display the same kind of attitude towards the Palestinians and their neighbours. It suggests that people do not necessarily learn from their history; and that those who have suffered so grievously may themselves even be particularly vulnerable to the same way of thinking as a result of their experiences.

There was little, if any, chance of these issues being explored in a useful way at the conference: they are too fraught. But that is not a reason to boycott or walk out. On the contrary, there is an absolute need for a serious global forum on racism. If it is difficult to talk about the phenomenon at home, it is far more difficult to do so at an international level. As a result, the incidence of racism – and its impact and effects – are hugely underestimated both domestically and internationally.

No people like to admit to their own racism; the response is invariably one of denial. This makes the UN conferences on racism – and there have only been two this decade – important and worthwhile events. They represent an acknowledgement that it is a global problem. They offer a forum where such issues can be aired, however sensitive they may be. They oblige the west to face up to its history and engage in a discussion with those whom it has discriminated against.

In this way, they might even assume some of the characteristics of a global truth and reconciliation commission. But that would require western countries to participate rather than boycott, and engage in a full-hearted manner, rather than walk out when words are being spoken that they would rather not hear.

Martin Jacques writes fortnightly in the New Statesman

http://www.care2.com/news/member/130107083/1127256

Thursday April 30, 2009, 3:32 am
I see Stan flagged my response to Joshco re 'dog t---s' . Wonder what he's got to say about this-

That ''Sh**Ty Little Country"
http://www.care2.com/news/member/130107083/1104333 ;-)

And finally-

"Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them. There is almost no kind of outrage-----torture, imprisonment without trial, assassination, the bombing of civilians-----which does not change its moral color when it is committed by 'our' side. The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them." -----George Orwell

with a tip of the hat to Brigitte!

Thursday April 30, 2009, 1:46 pm
Here's another one :)

"If we'd been born where they were born and taught what they were taught, we would believe what they believe."

A sign inside a church in Northern Ireland, explaining the origin of intolerance and hate

Tuesday June 9, 2009, 2:37 pm
Ha'Aretz Columnist on Partisan & Socialist Nazi-Camp-Survivor Mom's Bergen-Belsen Diary: Stop Merchandising the Holocaust


"All my worlds were destroyed": Jewish world & the diaspora (she wanted diaspora life; wasn't a Zionist). 2nd destroyed world: socialism. Living thru Israeli oppression of Palestinians another. Then destruction/decomposition of beloved Yugoslavia...

AMIRA HASS: I think it’s very important to remember the fight of the world against this industry of murder and the philosophy of the super race or the superman or the—


AMY GOODMAN: Aryan.


AMIRA HASS: —the master, the master, the master that Hitler Germany tried to impose over the entire world.


AMY GOODMAN: The master race.


AMIRA HASS: Yeah, master race, yes. It’s very important. It’s sixty—it’s more than sixty years. It looks like the past, the distant past, but it is not.


But the problem is that it has been used as if it is the only—that the only victims were the Jews, that the only target were the Jews, and that it’s the first time in human history that you have such racist philosophy trying to impose itself over the entire world. The problem is when you start to make competition of victimhood. “Oh, we are more victims than you. That’s why we are forgiven about everything.” This is the problem.

.....