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Can Israel Survive As A 'Jewish' State?
(Jaffer Ali, Rense.com, 2-9-04)
Anybody who tries to understand the Middle East is met with a dual problem of not quite understanding any Palestinian narrative and often misunderstanding the analysis because one narrative has dominated the discourse so much that it has colored perceptions. The Israeli experience and narrative is much more familiar with readers. . . . I am not an anti-Semite, as many of those who oppose my view- point would like to paint me. What I am is a person who believes that principle and justice do not depend upon one's race, religion or ethnicity. . . . Nationality in the US is not dependent upon one's religion. Our country is a nation of its citizens, regardless of one's religion. America is not a "Christian nation", a "white nation", or "Anglo-Saxon nation" - but instead is a nation where Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hispanics, African- Americans, Irish-Americans, etc. all have constitutionally guaranteed rights. . . . These rights are not based upon any of the criteria of ethno-national or religious designations. Ethno-nationalism grew as a philosophy in the late 19th Century. Ideologies sprouted in the forms of "Fascism", "Apartheid" and the roots of race-based Nazism were found in German nationalism. Jewish nationalism, also called Zionism was also birthed in within this milieu. . . . How many readers actually know that modern Zionism as an ideology shares the same historical roots as fascism? From doing this many years, I know the answer is "few." I suggest that most Zionists themselves do not quite understand this fact either. Just as Nazism was initially a strange blend of liberal socialist ideas (The Nationalist Socialist Party. remember) with hard right-wing blood and soil nationalism, Zionism has a similarly strange mix. . . . Zionists, like Nazis, represent the full breadth of the political spectrum. The only thing that unites Zionists is their belief that the defining characteristic of Israel MUST be based upon some sort of demographic characteristic. German nationalism was also so dependent upon demographic traits. . . . In Nazi Germany, the result was ethnic cleansing of Jews BECAUSE they did not fit the racial profile of the new national ideology. Many Zionists inside Israel are calling for ethnic cleansing because Palestinians do not fit the racial definition that fits into a "Jewish" nation. A Jewish nation can survive only as long as there is a Jewish majority. . . . The first wave of ethnic cleansing occurred at the inception of Israel where more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly "relocated". Relocation is not new. The Nazis "relocated" Jews to maintain their demographic "purity." The underlying driving force that moved both Nazis and animated Zionist policies in 1948 was to create a nation with certain demographic parameters. . . . Everyone universally recognizes that Nazi Germany was inherently racist. The Nazi regime was a racist regime before they embarked upon a policy of liquidation. Germany and South Africa were innately racist BECAUSE of the way they defined themselves. The policies of racism stemmed from their ideology and self definition. . . . It is impossible to square the circle and maintain an innocuous, gentle system whereby one's national character is defined by religion, race, ethnicity or even gender for that matter. This was true with Apartheid and Nazi Germany and it is no less true with Israel. . . . This is why I am certain that Israel simply will not survive as a "Jewish" nation. . . . Liberal Zionism has tried to ignore the contradictions of racial, religious or ethnic definitions. But as the on-the- ground demographics change, meaning the Palestinian population increases as a percentage, the contradictions increase. . . . One choice is the road of Apartheid and the continued Nazification of Israel itself. These are indeed strong words. Israel is guilty of implementing policies of collective punishment, extra-judicial executions (without trials), legalized torture, the creation of Bantustans, the ghetto- ization of entire villages all point to the "Nazification" of Israel. . . . Israel will not survive as presently constituted. It is the last vestige of 19th century ethno-national ideology and there is no place for race-based privilege in the 21st century.

posted by LoZo 11:04 AM

 

Bloodthirsty Sharon Intensifies Zionist Version of the Holocaust
(GushShalom, April 18, 2004)
The assassination of Rantisi in Gaza is another act of lethal provocation. It might impress the 200 000 registered members of the Likud Party whose votes Sharon needs, but it endangers the Israeli people to who Sharon leaves a legacy of hatred and bloodshed which might last many years after his own career comes to an end. . . . With another prime minister, whithdrawal from the Gaza Strip and dismantling the settlements in it could have been an enormous goodwill gesture, opening a new page in the relations between the two peoples and giving momentum to a renewed peace process. . . . As enacted by Ariel Sharon, even if he would really go through with it, which is not at all to be taken for granted, it is just one more manifestation of the arrogance of power. . . . Today's unscrupled assassination is but the latest of the daily killings which accompany the hollow words about withdrawal. And Sharon also uses naked force on the diplomatic level. The Palestinians are not addressed, but with ultimatums and dictates. Sharon seems to be doing everything to convince the Palestinians that they have no options left other than suicidal forms of revenge, deepening the hatred and thus making sure that the giving up of territory will not bring about peace, condemning his people to an existence of suspicion and fear.

posted by LoZo 4:02 PM

 

Israel bans Palestinians aged over 35 from leaving Gaza
(China View, April 16, 2004)
The Israeli security forces decided on Friday to prevent Palestinians aged 16-35 from leaving the Gaza Strip for abroad. . . . A Palestinian public security spokesman said that the Israeli decision to prevent the Palestinians from traveling abroad "would harden the daily life of the residents and would affect students who study abroad." . . . Israel has been imposing a strict closure on the Gaza Strip and prevents Palestinians from leaving the densely populated Gaza Stripfor Israel or the West Bank. . . . The Palestinians aged between 16 and 35, who represent about 80 percent of the overpopulated Gaza Strip community, would be also prevented from leaving the Gaza Strip through the Rafah terminal, the only exit on the borders between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which is controlled by Israel.

posted by LoZo 12:01 PM

 

Arabs Outraged at Bush's Stance on Israel
(Christian Science Monitor, April 16, 2004)
By signaling a major shift aligning US policy with Israel on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, President Bush may have turned Arab and Muslim sentiment further against the US as he seeks the region's help in Iraq. . . . One thing is clear: By endorsing three aspects of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral approach to dealing with the Palestinians - Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, permanent retention of some Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and an end to the "right of return" of millions of Palestinian refugees to homes and lands they held in Israel before 1948 - Mr. Bush has upended two decades of US policy. . . . "With Arabs and Muslims already so suspicious of the US and with the situation in Iraq reaching a critical point, this change could not have come at a worse time," says Fawaz Gerges, a Middle East expert at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. "This is a flat rejection of the standpoints of moderate Arabs and as such plays into the hands of the radicals and extremists." . . . The question of why the shift was made this week turned many analysts to the political realities Bush and Sharon face: Bush an election in November, and Sharon a crucial vote in May by his Likud Party on his disengagement plan. American endorsement of so many of Sharon's goals will certainly boost the prime minister. . . . At the same time, the Bush administration's closer embrace of Israel is seen helping the president with Jewish voters, who traditionally have stuck with Democrats. Some political analysts think it could be enough to tilt the vote in such states as Florida or Pennsylvania. . . . But analysts like Mr. Gerges say what may be good politics does not make for good strategic policy for a region the administration has placed at the top of its priority list. "What we're seeing is an approach that is motivated by short-term political goals rather than by a long-range, strategic vision," he says. . . . "Does [Bush] own the Palestinians and the rights of the Palestinians that he can give them away?" asks Khaled Maadi, an unemployed catering supplier in Bidu, an Arab town that has been the site of anti-Israeli protests. . . . Most Palestinians say they expect to quickly become the losers from the unprecedented US endorsement of Israeli annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank. "Israel now thinks it has a green light for more killing, more checkpoints, more land theft, and more settlement building," says Sai'd Yakin, a Bidu resident and activist in the Fatah movement. . . . Meanwhile, Yasser Arafat vows that "the Palestinian people will not give up seeking their freedom and independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital, whether they [Bush and Sharon] like it or not."

posted by LoZo 2:28 PM

 

Jordan warns Israel against harming Arafat
(Daily Times, April 4, 2004)
Jordan said on Saturday any Israeli attempt to harm Palestinian President Yasser Arafat would be a crime with unpredictable consequences. . . . "Killing President Yasser Arafat would be an escalation with hard to predict consequences," government spokeswoman Asma Khader told Reuters. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made his most explicit threat yet against Arafat in newspaper interviews on Friday, calling him a poor insurance risk. . . . Khader said of Israel's assassinations of Palestinian militant leaders: "We condemn these actions that are against all laws and we warn against any attempt to target President Arafat." She said killing Arafat would harm the peace process in the region and would be "a new deliberate crime". More than half of pro-Western Jordan's population is of Palestinian origin.

posted by LoZo 5:04 PM