From Bruce Lindner -- Several friends have messaged me asking why Im not posting about the Palestine/Israel conflict anymore. The short answer, is that Im sick to goddamn death of the whole thing and how folks turn an otherwise innocuous thread into a bulletin board of misinformation and claptrap. So Im going to make two statements, then Im going to STFU. Lest anyone misunderstand where Im coming from, this isnt open for debate – at least not from me. These are my own personal observations, and I wont be goaded into further explaining them. That ship has sailed. 1) Ive been opposed to the occupation since I was a teenager. Having lived in Israel when I was a kid, I remember it fondly with its pre Six Day War borders, and how different things were when I returned a decade later. Once the settlement program began in the late 70s, that sealed it for me. I knew then that the Israelis had no intention of ever returning the West Bank. One of the people who follows my rants is the father of a girlfriend I had 44 years ago in Israel. Hes well into his 90s and I love him and his whole family dearly. Theyre survivors of the Holocaust themselves, so the state of Israel is everything to them. I know that my views probably cause them pain, but I cant deny what Im seeing. How is the demolition of entire neighborhoods in Gaza defending Israel? With a casualty ratio (of civilians) presently at 3:1,400, its more like shooting fish in a barrel. The people of Gaza have nowhere to hide, and the lopsided body count looks more and more like a slaughter every day. And it doesnt help when certain idiots (Im looking at you Jon Voight) accuse anyone who criticizes Israels heavy-handedness of being an anti-Semite. Wrong. *Im* Jewish myself, and nobodys been as critical of this shameful war than I have. So go ahead and call me an anti-Semite Mr. Voight. Or Noam Chomsky for that matter, who holds similar views. For me personally, the most troubling statistic Ive seen this past week isnt how many Palestinians have been killed. Its this: 91%. Thats the approval rating amongst Israelis for the way Netanyahus conducting this war. 9 out of 10 Israelis think its just swell. I do not. Destroy the tunnels if you can, Im fine with that. Wipe out Hamas too if need be, that would benefit the Palestinians as well as the Israelis. But there can be NO justification for 500 Palestinian civilians killed for every 1 Israeli. So WAKE UP! None of whats transpired over the past month has been in the defense of Israel, nor has it made them any friends. Its shameful beyond words, and that lie has been exposed. 2) Having said that, anti-Semitism IS on the rise, due in no small part to the policies of the current right-wing Israeli government. When I see someone post; Im no anti-Semite, but... and then they launch into a tirade where they conflate Zionism with Judaism, and go off on a tangent about who the Jews really are, then yes, you ARE an anti-Semite. Who do you think youre fooling? And it would help if you actually knew what Zionism is... or what it once was before the Likudists allowed it to be turned it into an epithet by hate-filled people in search of just the right euphemism. Its no different than when someone says; Im not a racist, but, and then they denigrate Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama as being representative of some of the bad blacks. Yes, you most certainly ARE a racist. And a liar too. Ive had my fill of all the memes, graphics and maps supposedly telling the story of the problems in the Middle East in one tidy little image, 90% of which are pure propaganda. Ive been known to make propaganda graphics myself, but theyve always been tongue-in-cheek or humorous; never designed to mislead someone. Much of whats circulating today is absolute crap which nobody bothers to fact-check, and BOTH sides are equally guilty of propagating it. Is it any wonder this has become such an incendiary issue? So thats it. Im disgusted with the hyperbolic posts, the hatred, the misinformed rants based on Israeli and Palestinian talking points and the fact that opinions are now so polarized, that the TRUTH is below the horizon from where most folks are now comfortably entrenched. These are my views, and if they offend you, I cordially invite you to unfriend and block me. I wouldnt want for anything to come between you and what youve chosen to accept as the truth based on what you read on Facebook. Lets talk about the weather for a change. -------------------------------------------------------------- I particularly agree on his assessment of Israel before Likud came to power in the late 70s and began the West Bank settlements. The notion that any criticism of Israel constitutes anti-Semitism is one that comes ONLY from Israeli propaganda and its American wing -- AIPAC. Excellent comment. I understand why he wants to look away. But we CANNOT -- as moral and ethical human beings -- just look away.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 21:56:48 +0000
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