John, to say that ""both Palestinians and Israelis bare responsibility" for the killing of the 12-year old boy is simply to accept the Zionist propaganda that has long dominated the US media to an extent unequaled anywhere in the world including, ironically, Israel whose mainstream press carries stories on Israeli atrocities that no paper in the US would have the courage to print. Your statement assumes that Israelis have some right to maintain a settlement in Gaza, and that ist continued belligerent occupation of Palestinian lands is not something we should take a position on. Would you have said the same the same thing in defense of South African apartheid which had the same degree of legitimacy? I doubt it. It is something that even the international community, attested to by several UN resolutions, has long denied. Hezbollah did not exist until Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and only arose when the secular leadership failed to mount any resistance to Israeli occupation of the the southern part of that country and the brutal, racist treatment of its inhabitant which I personally witnessed. Although provided with arms by Syria and Iran it was and is an indigenous Lebanese resistance organization, made up primarily of Lebanese Shia who understandably resented and resisted Israel's occupation of their land. To think that either Syria or Iran can turn this resistance on and off at its will is to accept, again, the Zionist propaganda which dominates virtually every part of the US media spectrum. While one need not subscribe to their religion, is it any less legitimate than what one finds among Orthodox Israelis who support to the bloody hilt their country's outrages against their neighbors? Even before the existence of Hezbollah and Hamas in Israel (the latter, ironically instigated by the Israelis as a counterforce to the PLO), it was difficult to build a movement criticizing Israel and this was due to several factors which are considered taboo subjects among the left. One is the power of the Israeli lobby, which not only is represented in Washington by AIPAC and is known simply, with both fear and respect on Capitol Hill, as "the lobby," but is represented in every major city by the Jewish Community Relations Councils and other well-funded national Jewish organizations such as the ADL, the American Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Committee. One of their most successful tactics is to send low-level public officials. e.g., school board chairs, supervisors, city council persons, etc., on paid trips to Israel, inculcating them with pro-Israel propaganda, so by the time some of these folks seek higher office, such as Congress, they have already been to Israel and are safely in the Zionist camp. Also the pro-Israel lobby has a "take no prisoners" approach to politicians who have the temerity to criticize Israel or say kind words about the Palestinians. For those members of Congress such as Pete McCloskey, Charles Findley, Gus Savage, etc., it has represented a career-ending decision. As one un-named Congressman told the New Republic's Morton Kondracke during the time of the Palestinian intifada, that it's not out of love for Israel that members of Congress decline to speak against the yearly $3-4 billion dollar aid package to Israel, "but the fear that you'll wake u the next morning with your opponent having a $500,000 war chest to run against you." On the left, the movement, such as it is, has many Jewish participants, who while not supportive of Israel's actions, nevertheless, are fearful of doing anything that might provoke "anti-semitism," even if their silence ultimately means a death sentence to countless Palestinians or Lebanese. And they are supported in this fear by many non-Jews who are also hesitant to criticize the actions of American Jews in behalf of Israel for the same reason. To put it bluntly, as a Native American leader once told me, "The problem with the left is that there are too many liberal Zionists." I have written at length on this issue in an article entitled Occupied Territory" Congress, the Israel Lobby and Jewish Responsibility, for the City Lights Review "War after War: in 1992, which I would be happy to e-mail to anyone who requests it. I should add that between 1988 and 1995 I edited the Middle East Labor Bulletin during which time I published more articles translated from the Hebrew Press than any other national publication. In one of the issues, I devoted a special section to Israeli criticism of the US lobby that supposedly exists in its behalf. If people are interested in receiving those articles, please e-mail me as well. Short of that, I would suggest that people wanting to be informed on what is happening on the ground between Israel and the Palestinians and between Israel and the Lebanese go to www.independent.co.uk and read the columns of award-winning journalist Robert Fisk from Beirut or reports from the front by Phil Reeves. Somehow the situation seems less complicated to them as they are much closer to the scene. Jeff Blankfort > Date: Fri, 06 Oct 2000 11:09:00 -0700 > From: John Johnson <change@pacbell.net> > Subject: Re: [sixties-l] teeny tiny protests on Sproul Steps > SNIP > I think it will have hard to mount a campaign around Israel. There is a > basic link our culture has with Israel. The Palestinian movement can be > complicated to understand for many. Hezbola and similar groups seem > centered on a very pro Muslim agenda, which doesn't resonate here. > > The current situation as reported is also a bit confusing. Both claim > ownership of a hill, both with a long history. Its not even up to us to > decide whos rights there. > The actors in a sense seem to be equally liable. As the cameraman who took > the video of the 12 year old being shot said, "both Palestinians and > Israelis bare responsibility for that. > > It will take a longer more detailed campaign to clarify the issues. > > John Johnson > Change-Links Progressive Newspaper > change@pacbell.net > http://www.labridge.com/change-links/ > Subscribe to our list server. Email change-links-subscribe@egroups.com > (818) 982-1412 >
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