A group that is usually mostly ignored in this ongoing conflict is the Christian Palestinians. Their marginalization in the product of framing of the Israeli Palestinian conflict as a 'anti-Jewish Islamic endeavor', thus blurring the reality that it is a territorial conflict in which the harmed parties are, and have always been, Christians as well as Muslims.
One of the Christian American Palestinians effective voices is that of Ray Hanania, and journalist, political cartoonist and a radio talk host of stature. I thought this cartoon summarizes the usual situation after a scenario like what the world witnessed in Gaza a couple of month ago, and the subsequent revelation about Israeli army behavior against civilians, as admitted by Israeli soldiers.
The denial came from the Israeli Military chief of staff, and was reviewed by the American Jewish journalist Richard Silverstein, who usually gets more than a fair share of insults from the pro-Israel chorus for his balanced presentation of the Israeli-Palestinian issues. As most of you know, the slanderous scream 'antisemites' does not stop if the 'accused' is Jewish. And many liberal Jews have suffered from that slanderous accusation, as well as the usual charge of being a self-hating Jews. But as you see below, it can get even worse.
The Israeli Newspaper Haaretz was the first to published the damning reports of the IDF morality problems in Gaza, and thus suffered from even a more grave slander: being an accomplice to blood libel against Israel.
This is a serious insult (and for those not familiar with the term, see here and here).
If you click on the article title, you can read it on Haaretz web site. It is worth reading. Also, take a look at Ray Hanania activities. He is a very funny Stand up comedian i addition to his many talents as a journalist, talk-show host, cartoonist and an activist for Justice for PalestinianCheck this video from on of acts in a Reform Synagogue.
I am hoping to talk about the activism of Christian Palestinians in this conflict, but that will have to wait for another posting.
Khaled
Excuse me Khaled. Can you please explain to me the reasoning behind the disbandment of the youth orchestra from Jenin? I thought the performance in front of Holocaust survivors in Israel showed the Palestinians' good side, it was reported in the NYTimes. Read this piece from the Palestine "Think" Tank: http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/03/29/shame-on-us/
ReplyDeleteI thought the youth orchestra showed maturity in the Palestinians. But the advocate from the link above thinks otherwise. It's like we talk in different languages.
Michael:
ReplyDeleteEven thought your comment has nothing to do with the post itself I was OK publishing it. The "Think" tank (your quotes, not mine) has the right to think anyway they want.
Arabs, Muslims, and Palestinians as much as Jews and all others have the right to have differing opinions within their own groups.
Some people may think that the youth orchestra was in essence good PR, and they have a point that I -- at least in part -- agree with.
Others feel that this is not the right time for this 'normalization' considering that Israel has killed few thousand of their own people in the last couple of months, is still occupying their land, and has just elected the most racist fascist government in the history of Israel. To a reasonable observer, opposing normalization is not totally devoid of reason.
In the end, the burden is not on the Palestinians to prove that they 'worthy' of a state; a state that was stolen from them together with 6 decades of their nation's history.
But again, I fail to see the relevance of all this to the original post. It is not as if I have never brought up irrational and even immoral behavior or attitudes of some Arabs and Muslims before, or that I deny that amongst Arabs and Muslim their are some who are racist, fanatic and just plain stupid.
Their existence does not make the immorality of the occupation any less palatable, or make the aggression and arrogance of Israel any less painful.
Khaled
Sorry, I guess I should have emailed it to you. I just wanted someone to explain to me the issue with the orchestra. I just wanted an "insiders" view on this.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the Palestinian authorities have the right to disband the orchestra, as part of Palestinian internal politics? It looks like a Stalin style (fascist) control over the artists.
Do you think that there should be any interaction and dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians even during the occupation? When I went to Israel with my class, we talked with a class in an Arab school. And the dialogue mostly went through me and the 3 other Israelis in the American class. Technically, they view all of Israel as occupied Palestine, so what's the difference.
I'm waiting for the day an Israeli orchestra can tour through Arab countries. Did an estimated 900,000 Jews not been expelled from Arab countries? It is a similar story to the Palestinians, just in greater number.
Plus, can you tell me more about this "state" that existed before Israel?
How old was this state?
What happened to the Palestinians seems to perpetuate more and more from their war against Israel and Jewish self-rule.
>> I just wanted someone to explain to me the issue with the orchestra. I just wanted an "insiders" view on this.
ReplyDelete--- Thanks of the vote of confidence\, but I am not an ‘insider’ on what happens anywhere else in the world. All I know is what you know and the rest of the world from media.
>> Do you think the Palestinian authorities have the right to disband the orchestra, as part of Palestinian internal politics? --- I do not like the3 idea of disbanding by government order, but if you read one of the Haaretz articles on the topic you find the paper mentioning few interesting things that would qualify as ‘administrative mistakes’ at best, and ill-intentioned behavior at worst.. See this concluding statement.
“At last Wednesday's performance, most of the Holocaust survivors did not know the youths were Palestinians from the West Bank, a rare sight in Israel these days. And the youths had no idea they were performing for people who lived through Nazi genocide - or even what the Holocaust was.” --end of quote
>> It looks like a Stalin style (fascist) control over the artists.
--- So you think they committed ‘Stalin style’ fascist act of disbanding the group? You may want to review that statement and water it down a bit. Compared to administrative detentions, demolishing homes, harassing children daily on their way to school and building fences between farmers and their land and groves seems to rank higher on the ’Stalin-Fascist’ scale than disbanding the children’s orchestra (which is still not right in my mind from afar).
>> Do you think that there should be any interaction and dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians even during the occupation?
--- I think there should be, and there actually is.
>> Technically, they view all of Israel as occupied Palestine, so what's the difference.
--- Technically, Israel _is_ all built on occupied historic Palestine land. That piece of land was not ‘brought’ from Europe with the new-comers.
But as I me mentioned before, Israel is a de-facto state now despite the way it was started.
>> Did an estimated 900,000 Jews not been expelled from Arab countries?
--- I have done my homework reading on that. And your statements do not seem to be solidly founded, but you need to do your own homework since you are the one that raised that. Why don’t you right a well researched_ post on your blog on that topic, and I will be happy to share my finding and thoughts with you on your blog as comment.
I promise to mention it on my blog so you get more opinions from my side of the fence.
>> It is a similar story to the Palestinians, just in greater number.
--- I think you are putting the cart before the horse their. I see very minimal similarity there.
On another note, I am all for the right of return for all the Arab Jews once Israel offers the same to Palestinians. I would not even object to Arab Jews right of return without Palestinian return of they relinquish their Israeli citizenship and adopt their native Arab country homeland.
>> Plus, can you tell me more about this "state" that existed before Israel?
How old was this state?
--- Palestine and Palestinians formed more of a state than Jew have been for over 2000 years. The latest entity was a province in the Ottoman Empire, the same way Ohio is a states in the USA, or Ontario is a province in Canada.
Just because you do not have international borders or a seat in the UN (or League of Nations, etc), dose not make you not a non-state or a non-society.
>> What happened to the Palestinians seems to perpetuate more and more from their war against Israel and Jewish self-rule.
--- I am not sure what your point is. But it all started with dispossession, displacement and occupation. But that is obviously a matter of opinion.
About the Fascism point, those things you list are of matters of "security" concerning non-citizens. Fascism is "a political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism) ".
ReplyDeleteHow fascist can Israel be if it allows this ---
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1238423651844 ?
On the other hand, internal Palestinian politics won't even allow a youth orchestra that participated in an event which they see as a political threat.
Michael:
ReplyDeleteIf you are going to use a copy a dictionary definition, maybe you can use something more than WordWeb.
But since you are using a dictionary, here is Another dictionary definition, from Wiktionary.
>> Fascism:
A political regime, usually totalitarian, ideologically based on centralized government, government control of business, repression of criticism or opposition, a leader cult and "exalting the state and/or religion above individual rights" [quotes are mine]. Originally only applied (usually capitalized) to Benito Mussolini's Italy.
By vague analogy, any system of strong autocracy or oligarchy usually to the extent of bending and breaking the law, race-baiting and violence against largely unarmed populations.
------------------
Wether you apply the 'literal' definition or the commonly used 'vague analogy', you will find plenty of Israel's acts - past and present, in Gaza and elsewhere - that are befitting.
And if you think it is a proof of 'non-fascist state' to allow one person to express a rhetorical opinion, how about this:
Home demolitions rise in East Jerusalem, Four houses destroyed, 12 more scheduled to be demolished
http://www.imemc.org/article/58749
Regardless of your own definition of fascism, and whether 'security concerns' legitimizes fascism behavior, you persist in raising issues that are off topic, and that will be the last comment off topic. I would again encourage you to comment 'on topic' only here, and write about the 'off topic' policies and topics you want to talk about and defend on your blog, and then I will be commenting if I have something worthwhile expressing, and I will be 'on topic' only.
Okay Khaled. I wish to comment a little further about the fascism point but I won't do it here.
ReplyDelete