Letters to the Editor
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let me guess-
some american jews have discovered israel is oppressing palestinian arabs. better yet, they're going to press for 'a balanced approach.'
too late mate.
hamas and hezbullah have grown from the ashes of the american financed invasion of palestine. while europe and america heaved a sigh of relief- "that's the jewish problem solved," the people whose land and homes were taken at gunpoint haven't forgotten. while they live, the zionists must be militarist oppressors. any thing less will result in the extirpation of israel.
this seems unlikely now, but a black man is president of south africa and nelson mandela is respected around the world. the zionists, on the contrary, are despised, as the white government pf south africa was despised. so there is hope for a secular state of palestine, in spite of the american money that props up the zionists. the first president of that state will be from hamas. smart jews will work to make that happen peacefully.
btw: an incidental benefit will be that american tax money given israel will not be used to buy american politicians. won't that make a nice change!
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Please define "liberal" and "right-wing"
Talk about framing the debate. No nation in the world other than Israel is continuously fighting to maintain its very existence. Israel is engaged in an ongoing struggle against groups actively attempting (often with success) to kill its civilians. Kamiya's casual assumption that strong support for a nation under such circumstances constitutes a "right-wing" ideology seems, therefore, a bit disingenuous at best.
There is plenty of room for disagreement about Israeli policies. But how can one justify the breezy assumption (in a liberal publication) that support for a besieged liberal democracy, and outrage about the killing of its civilians, comprise a "right-wing" position?
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Actually Hamas was formed from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt
while Hezbollah was formed with Syrian and Iranian help, to establish a Shiite militant beachhead in perennially unstable Lebanon in the wake of their civil war and the rise of the political strength of the Druze and Maronite Christian political factions between 1975 and 1979 - the peak of the civil war there. See after Jordan threw out the PLO in 1970 they migrated to southern Lebanon and began to do what they always do - foment a war. But they were solidly in the pocket of the Soviets then and not considered either politically reliable nor sufficiently religious by the Shiite factions in Lebanon.
Hamas was orginally founded as a so called social welfare organization and flew under the radar for several years until the Oslo accords. Hamas decided it couldn't abide by Arafat's conciliation with Israel and took a different tack - suicide bus bombings between 1994 and 2000 that claimed the lives of about 900 Israelis.
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Great Job Gary
Gary, your articles are consistently the most interesting and broad-based this site has to offer. Congratulations again a fine job. I'm one Jew all for a new approach to the staleness of this decades long debate.
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From the Point of View of a Palestinian...
I remember my sense of shock many years ago at my first Jewish friend. He was a liberal and wonderful humanist. But when it came to Israel he was a complete hypocrite and nothing short of a racist in the worst sense of the word. Even when Israeli soldiers murdered Palestinian civilians including children he would always find reasons as to why the soldiers were justified. Over the years I met many more Jews who were Kind of like Natan Sharansky: strong defenders of democracy and human rights, except when it came to Palestinians. Eventually the position on Palestine became my litmus test for whether people were hyporcites or for real. Very few passed.
I hope this new Jewish Lobby is "for real" and is not just another way to soften the image of Israel while the ethnic cleansing of what remains of Palestine continues.
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I love you Jews!
Amen brothers, Amen! This is the kind of movement that does justice to your honorable and esteemed intellectual history. Now if you could just get Israel to return all the land it has stolen from the Arabs since 1967, then you would have my everlasting and dying respect.
peace not apartheid
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Mother Jones
http://www.motherjones.com/
not racist.
not warmongers.
not corporate shills.
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Careful what you brag about
I think it's great J Street is happening and will probably donate to them, but the following quote took me aback:
"The other thing is, even some of these people who take a really hard line on these issues, when you wave $2,000 checks in front of them, they might decide that they don't really feel the necessity to say this crazy stuff," Rosenberg said. "There's never been a downside to Palestine-bashing on the part of members of Congress. And now they're going to be identified. It can only be good."
I'm sorry, but that tone deaf statement makes it sound like J Street intends to bribe people change their positions. I realize that this is what lobbyists do all the time, but to be so blatant about it can't be good. Also, as a Jew I am particularly sensitive to antisemitic accusations of Jews using their money to corrupt politics, and this sort of statement just doesn't seem to help.
Maybe this is like a "Kinsley Gaffe" (where a politician tells the truth) but it seems to me, especially in the nascent stages of the organization, J Street should be very careful how it manages public perceptions.
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Too Late !
In 9125 Days The so called state of Israel will be fighting (terrorizing) for survival, in 18250 Days it'll be taking it last breath and in 36500 more it'll be one of history's mistakes that no longer exist, let's face it the Palestinians are doing a lot more fucking > Birthing than the Jews.
If i were a Jew i would be like all those "few" Smart White-Americans advancing minority rights now in preparation for the future of their grand children as a minority and before it is to late, J Street if it is "Genuine" is way too late, if i were a Jew i would join Hamas.
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"...I would join Hamas"
You still can I think. I don't believe they're that exclusive on that point. Though being (Sunni) Muslim & having a facility in Arabic certainly will give you a leg up. I think if you contact the American university in Cairo and are very very careful about it, because Egypt tends to disappear Muslim Brotherhood types, I bet you could find the right contacts.