10,000 or so reservists?

According to Al Jazeera

I've never once questioned the right for people to criticize Israel. I've questioned those who claim no one's allowed to question Israel.

The sort of paranoid persecution-complex nonsense doesn't fly when the right wing noise machine trots it out about the "liberal mainstream media" and it's just as pathetic when our side does the same thing.

...

Only in Glenn's mind are all government officials "quarantined" by some secret conspiracy to control critical debate on Israel. Presumably by PNAC and AIPAC funding streams. Probably run through Bernie Madoff. And Joe Lieberman. And George Soros (oh wait). And David Geffen. And what are the Rothchilds up to these days?

Have you ever considered that people see those like Dershowitz, Foxman, AIPAC, Blitzer, and other fanatical voices quell all criticism of Israel at every level? On TV, in Congress, on the internet (where just about 99% of all comments that criticize Israel on major blogs get deleted).

Think about what happened to Norman Finkelstein.

Think about what happened to Jimmy Carter. A former President not even allowed to speak at his own party's convention and is treated like a pariah for criticizing a FOREIGN COUNTRY.

Think about what happened to Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer.

Think about how George Soros is demonized as a "self hating Jew" and "anti-semite" all the time.

Think about how we watch every one of our Presidential candidates trip over themselves pledging their allegiance and all America's resources to Israel whenever they are at AIPAC. This is a FOREIGN COUNTRY we're talking about.

Anyone who has tried to speak out has unleashed a mamouth smear campaign from the ADL, Alan Dershowitz, and other groups. They easily get a TV platform by Wolf Blitzer on CNN. I watched Wolf lead the smear campaign against Jimmy Carter.

Read this article on Abe Foxman and how he managed to intimidate the Polish consul general in New York into canceling a talk to be given by Tony Judt, a highly regarded professor of European history at New York University and a supporter of the “Israel lobby” view — which only confirmed Judt’s thesis. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/magazine/14foxman.t.html?_r=1

You continue to bring up this "canard" angle, but in reality most people, including myself, never knew that Zionists were accused of having this kind of influence over media and foreign policy in history. There's nothing I've ever read that even suggests that Hitler accused the German media or German foreign policy as being controlled by Zionists or Jews.

You're essentially saying "hey, you can't say that, because my tribe has been accused of that before." Well, first of all I'm not accusing Jewish individuals of anything. I'm accusing a very ideological subset within the Jewish community - Zionists - of making everything related to Israel their life-business.

If your tribe keeps getting accused of that, then perhaps there is a reason for it. Perhaps the Zionists do ultimately create anti-semitic feelings within every country they operate. Not saying that is the case, but is something to consider.

All most of us are doing is commenting on what's going on right here and now. It's clear as day, so don't tell us to stop believing our "lying" eyes.

Interesting article. When criticism of Israel gets past the usual Zionist censors - the Zionists quickly go back to the usual Holocaust/anti-semitism angle to provide Israel cover.

The message is: don't listen to any "legitimate sounding" criticism you hear of Israel, because it's likely just coming from anti-semites - and God knows they're everywhere, and then they list a few isolated incidents to try and make their case.

I bet ANY group in the world (of every religion, nationality, etc.) could pull together a list of bigoted stuff against their group that happened somewhere in the world over a given week to make a similar case.

Callup,

I'm ex mil but I have never had much time for Remembrance Sunday Parades. Even from the age of a kid I could smell that the memory of those who were dead and hence couldn't speak for themselves were to often being used by politicians and the like for their own nefarious reasons. Here in my country everybody is heartily sick and furious at Tony Blair getting us involved with the Iraq War. So the sight of that bugger with a poppy in his lapel a couple of years ago nearly sent this nation apoplectic with rage. I'm telling you this because these words that you wrote have finally caused a particular penny to drop.

"When criticism of Israel gets past the usual Zionist censors - the Zionists quickly go back to the usual Holocaust/anti-semitism angle to provide Israel cover"

There are no people more disrespectful of those who died in the concentration camps than those aggressive land grabbing bastards that run Israel today. If anyone besmirches their memory it is those themselves who dare accuse others of the crime that they themselves commit, and in spades.

Those European Jews that perished were killed by those who wished to use them for their own criminal political/military reasons. Now their ghosts are regularly exhumed to be used all over again by those who in fact have as little respect for them as did the Nazis. They treat the memory of their forbears with contempt.

Would it be too fanciful to believe that the majority of those Jews who died then if they were resurrected and saw what Israel had become and how Israel conducts itself using the memory of their tragedy as justification, would hold up banners reading -"NOT IN MY NAME"?

I think and hope not because there is no more wiser a man than a dead one.

omooex: "Its rather obvious that Friedman fears the idea of Palestinians having the right to vote in Israel, and assumes the reader should find it equally alarming--that is the obvious moral of his cautionary tale."

It's also rather obvious that Friedman understands the "very real impact of settlement building" - which you say he doesn't.

omooex: "The really disturbing thing is your need to make it seem like we agree. We don't, and it would be obvious to anyone reading your statements."

Again you misunderstand me. We agree on some things - more than you seem to understand - but we obviously do not agree on everything. For example I oppose Hamas, whom you evidently support. And I support a viable two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, while you evidently will not accept a two-state solution.

omooex: "You insist on defending one of the single most staunch supporters of the invasion of Iraq, and a man who once said of Palestinians, "I believe that as soon as Ahmed has a seat in the bus, he will limit his demands." That makes you either a racist, or someone too stupid to understand what he is proposing."

You continue to confuse my correcting your false statements with respect to Friedman with defending anything and everything he's ever said. Binary thinking is the hobgoblin of little minds.