Israel’s Racist Lobby By Wole Olaoye “Niggers go home!” they chanted, waving black ISIS-style flags. You would think they represented an arm of the terrorist group, but, no — these were full-blooded Israelis on the streets of Tel-Aviv, children of Father Abraham spewing forth hate against fellow human beings. “Sudanese to Sudan! Eritreans to Eritrea! Niggers go home!” Old men and women led their children and grandchildren in what they described as an anti-African rally to protest the influx of refugees from troubled Eritrea and Ethiopia. Chanting racial slurs, they denounced the recent court ruling directing the closure within three months of “Holot” detention facility where asylum seekers are usually locked up. In a landmark judgement, Justice Fogelman had viewed the unfortunate situation of the refugees with sympathy, stating that imprisonment inherently infringed on the right to human dignity. “Every person, by virtue of being a person, has a right to human dignity … and infiltrators are people”, said the judge. “And if that needs explanation, let’s say it explicitly: infiltrators do not lose one ounce of their right to human dignity just because they reached the country in this way or another” That was what brought out the latent hate that many among the Israeli population had been bottling up against black people for so long. No matter how one looks at the matter, that shameful anti-African rally has cost Israel millions of sympathisers and well-wishers all over the black world. In the video clip I saw, (addictinginfo.org/2014/10/07/video-israelis-chant-nggers-go-home-carrying-isis-style-flags-at-anti-african-rally/), hundreds of the Jewish protesters were openly insulting black passers-by. Some asylum seekers thought out a creative way of pouring oil over troubled waters. They approached the protesters with bouquets of roses. The gesture had the opposite effect.The protesters rained invectives and curses on the refugees: “Curse your name, you garbage.” “May you get AIDS, you whore, daughter of a whore.” “May you be raped, you maniac!” “You’ll get raped and get AIDS!” “I spit on you, you garbage!” “May you be raped, you whore!” “F**k you, motherf****r! Piece of shit!” What the show of shame proved was that the greatest lesson man has learnt from history is that he has learnt nothing. For a people whose ancestors were stateless on and off, and whose country was founded only in 1948, one would have thought that the Israelis, more than any other nationality, would be instinctively sympathetic to people who are forced by circumstances to live in exile. The bulk of the refugees in Israel are Ethiopians, Eritreans and Sudanese. The whole world knows what those refugees are running from. To debase them the way those chanting Israelis did is totally inhuman and unacceptable. There are indications that the protesters have the tacit support of the establishment. For example, Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar was quoted as saying, “Anyone who enters Israel illegally has to be jailed. How can we deal with infiltration without that tool?” If African tourists and Christian pilgrims who visit Israel annually on leisure or religious devotion are welcome because of the millions of dollars they spend in Israel, why would that same country denigrate less fortunate Africans as “niggers” in the year of our Lord 2014? The only redeeming feature in Israel right now is the determination of some pro-migrant NGOs to man the corner of the refugees. I guess we should thank God for little mercies! All countries of the world have their own peculiar demons. One demon that Israel must exorcise in her own interest is racism. Otherwise, when the chips are down and she sounds her bugle (“To thy tents, O Israel!”), she will discover that she who stands alone is both in front and behind. Am I communicating? Saving Bash Ali from Himself Former WBF cruiserweight champion Bashiru Lawrence Ali, alias Bash Ali, ought to be saved from himself before it is too late. It may be uncharitable to say that his current desperation for money (which has landed him in court for disturbing public peace) is as a result of wasted opportunities and profligacy, but what is one to make of his tantrums? Bash says he wants to enter the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest heavyweight champion in boxing history. Somehow he thinks that this private dream ought to be funded from our public till. In a country where young and promising boxers who may yet do Nigeria proud are crying for sponsorship, Ali cannot be our priority. At 58, he has his sporting life well behind him. But he is a desperate man. Within the last couple of years, he has staked out the headquarters of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP; he has also written or otherwise contacted the following: former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Col. Muamar Gaddafi, Chief Tony Anenih, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Senate President David Mark, Secretary to Government of the Federation Pius Anyim, the former Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the Sultan of Sokoto, Ambassador Godknows Igali, HRM King A.J Turner and former Bayelsa State Governor DSP Alamieyeseigha, among others. His latest claim is that President Goodluck Jonathan had instructed NEXIM Bank to underwrite his proposed “fight of the ages” to the tune of N150 million. So, he has taken it upon himself to enforce the presidential directive by encamping at the premises of the bank and disturbing its operations. When all appeals to reason failed, the bank dragged him to court last week. We respectfully look forward to the court’s adjudication. Whoever loves this ex-boxer should counsel him that blackmail and a resort to Jankara tactics cannot do him any good. (By the way, is this the same Bashiru Ali who, as a young lad, sensationally challenged Power Mike to a wrestling contest in the late 70s to get media attention? LOL!) If I had money to spare for boxing sponsorship, it will be spent on a young promising talent, not on a man in retirement. At the onset of his tantrums, it all looked amusing as it looked like a novel way of putting bread on the table by a boxer in the winter of his sporting life. But it is all too ridiculous for words now. Resorting to ‘Areaboy-ism’ to force a corporate organisation to part with money? Pray, who is going to save Bash from bashing himself into jail? ###
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 06:51:33 +0000
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