The Guardian newspaper today printed a letter from over 100 British Jews, including yours truly, making it clear that in the midst of the ruling class’s celebrations of the establishment of their regional rottweiler, Israel, they would not be welcoming the 60th anniversary of the Nakba – the expulsion of the Palestinians from their homes and lands and the massacres that accompanied it. It is but a small contribution from Jewish anti-Zionists, but it makes it clear that not all Jews support the establishment of the Israeli state or its terrorist activities since then.
Two people who are reported to be as outraged as the Israeli Ambassador to London is Gilad Atzmon and his faithful bag carrier, Mary Rizzo. When asked for a comment on the letter Atzmon replied:
‘I really do not understand those who fight Zionism in the name of their secular Jewish identity. I have never understood them. By fighting Zionism in the name of their Jewish identity they approve Zionism. By declaring ‘not in my name’, one affirms the totality of that which one tries to oppose. By saying not in ‘my’ name, they label the rest of the Jewish people as criminally liable for Zionist crime…. Jews cannot criticise Zionism in the name of their ethnic belonging because such an act is in itself an approval of Zionism.’
In case anyone things I have made this up, then I suggest you go read the utterly crazy essay by Atzmon, 'NOT IN MY NAME’ – An analysis of Jewish righteousness’ in which all the above quotes appear.
Mary Rizzo when contacted replied that ‘once again we see the gatekeepers putting Jewish interests above those of the Palestinians.’ Her faithful Palestinian echo, Adib S. Kawar, when asked for a response said that he’d have to talk to Mary first before he could say anything.
Letter
In May, Jewish organisations will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. This is understandable in the context of centuries of persecution culminating in the Holocaust. Nevertheless, we are Jews who will not be celebrating. Surely it is now time to acknowledge the narrative of the other, the price paid by another people for European anti-semitism and Hitler's genocidal policies. As Edward Said emphasised, what the Holocaust is to the Jews, the Naqba is to the Palestinians.
In April 1948, the same month as the infamous massacre at Deir Yassin and the mortar attack on Palestinian civilians in Haifa's market square, Plan Dalet was put into operation. This authorised the destruction of Palestinian villages and the expulsion of the indigenous population outside the borders of the state. We will not be celebrating.
In July 1948, 70,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes in Lydda and Ramleh in the heat of the summer with no food or water. Hundreds died. It was known as the Death March. We will not be celebrating.
In all, 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. Some 400 villages were wiped off the map. That did not end the ethnic cleansing. Thousands of Palestinians (Israeli citizens) were expelled from the Galilee in 1956. Many thousands more when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Under international law and sanctioned by UN resolution 194, refugees from war have a right to return or compensation. Israel has never accepted that right. We will not be celebrating.
We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state founded on terrorism, massacres and the dispossession of another people from their land. We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state that even now engages in ethnic cleansing, that violates international law, that is inflicting a monstrous collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza and that continues to deny to Palestinians their human rights and national aspirations.
We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals in a peaceful Middle East.
Seymour Alexander , Ruth Appleton, Steve Arloff, Rica Bird , Jo Bird, Cllr Jonathan Bloch, Ilse Boas, Prof. Haim Bresheeth , Tanya Bronstein, Sheila Colman, Ruth Clark, Sylvia Cohen, Judith Cravitz, Mike Cushman, Angela Dale, Ivor Dembina, Dr. Linda Edmondson, Nancy Elan, Liz Elkind, Pia Feig, Colin Fine, Deborah Fink, Sylvia Finzi, Brian Fisher MBE , Frank Fisher, Bella Freud, Catherine Fried, Uri Fruchtmann, Stephen Fry, David Garfinkel, Carolyn Gelenter, Claire Glasman , Tony Greenstein, Heinz Grunewald, Michael Halpern, Abe Hayeem, Rosamine Hayeem, Anna Hellman, Amy Hordes, Joan Horrocks, Deborah Hyams, Selma James, Riva Joffe, Yael Oren Kahn, Michael Kalmanovitz, Paul Kaufman, Prof. Adah Kay, Yehudit Keshet, Prof. Eleonore Kofman, Rene Krayer, Stevie Krayer, Berry Kreel, Leah Levane, Les Levidow, Peter Levin, Louis Levy, Ros Levy, Prof. Yosefa Loshitzky, Catherine Lyons , Deborah Maccoby, Daniel Machover, Prof. Emeritus Moshe Machover, Miriam Margolyes OBE, Mike Marqusee, Laura Miller, Simon Natas, Hilda Meers, Martine Miel, Laura Miller, Arthur Neslen , Diana Neslen, Orna Neumann, Harold Pinter , Roland Rance, Frances Rivkin, Sheila Robin, Dr. Brian Robinson, Neil Rogall, Prof. Steven Rose, Mike Rosen , Prof. Jonathan Rosenhead, Leon Rosselson, Michael Sackin, Sabby Sagall, Ian Saville, Alexei Sayle, Anna Schuman, Sidney Schuman, Monika Schwartz, Amanda Sebestyen , Sam Semoff, Linda Shampan, Sybil Shine, Prof. Frances Stewart, Inbar Tamari, Ruth Tenne, Martin Toch, Tirza Waisel, Stanley Walinets, Martin White, Ruth Williams, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, Devra Wiseman, Gerry Wolff, Sherry Yanowitz
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ReplyDeleteYou can see the dilemma that pro-zionist antisemites such as atzmon-rizzo have -
ReplyDelete1- Boycott Zionism and the Israeli Government
2- Boycott the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign
Luckily for Palestinians, anti-racists don't have to deal with such obvious moral dilemmas as afflict the consciences of those who think Hitler's victims should have done more to make themselves popular with the Nazi Party hierarchy, and who still haven't recovered form David Irving losing his libel case in 1998.
Obviously, Typhoid Mary Rizzo and the Giladeo-centric Atzmonic One will be joining in solidarity with their fellow sisters and brothers in the Israeli Embassy in London and Rome, and also with the likes of the Ummah-hating desecrators of Islam at 'Harry's Place' blog to boycott the Palestinians.
Scratch a zionist and you'll find an antisemite underneath, and vice-versa - 'two cheeks of the same arse' really (like rizzo-atmon themselves).
all the best AZsaAS!
Hi, it's an interesting quote by Atzmon, but I'm a bit confused. Did he actually write that quote in response to the letter, or did he write it in a 2004 article?
ReplyDeleteI suppose he could have done both - referred people to the 2004 article when asked for a comment, but it's a bit unclear.
David L
I can't believe your deep obsession with us!
ReplyDeleteIt's absolutely pathological.
BTW, smearing Adib is really not necessary. If you care SOOOO much about what you and Joe claim to really care about, you might realise that a man who has been compiling the testimonies of Uprooted Palestinians his entire life and who dedicates his existence to the return of his people has MUCH better things to do than to communicate with you. He sent me the letter and I forwarded it to you. Since you acted as if you didn't get it, I posted it on your self-glorifying blog.
But, I must say this, at least Mark Elf had the dignity to say, I'm not signing something like this, as heavily flawed as it is.
I can't believe your deep obsession with us!
ReplyDeletepissonpalestine and its standard mis-representing the arguments of others.
Self-censorship is worse than censorship.
Exposing the exploitation of Palestinian suffering by antisemites isn't an obsession. It's what those in a soldiarity movement do, naturally, in order to help the victims it feels so concerned about.
I do understand, however, how someone so in love with themselves as you are, who promotes a petition which claims you have an 'outstanding personality', can mistake the selfless motives of others.
As for smearing Palestinians -
As you know pissonpalestine, it was yourself who knew nothing about the history and development of Palestinian nationalism and who, therefore, in order to distract attention away from your embarrassment decided, for no reason, to introduce someone nobody had ever heard of, and expect people to believe their comments!
All highly scientific and rational.
Not only using Palestinian suffering to peddle your antisemitism, pissonpalestine, but using them as human shields to hide your obvious lack of knowledge about Palestine history behind.
I don't 'smear' people, and neither do I exploit Palestinians in anyway, unlike 'pissonpalestine'.
If you care SOOOO much about what you and Joe claim to really care about...
- Unlike yourself, I care so much about Palestinians and their history that I take the time and effort to study up on these subjects and know what I'm talking about.
...at least Mark Elf had the dignity to say, I'm not signing something like this, as heavily flawed as it is.
-Yes, but he is obsessed with this blog as he put a link in his article to it and, in contrast to your obvious pro-zionist propaganda, here is what he did say -
It was mostly good and got the main points about why the existence of the State of Israel is nothing for decent people to be celebrating
- not quite what you have Mark Elf saying. In fact, almost the opposite.
Keep up the good work of boycotting the Palestinians, pissonpalestine!
..I'm not signing something like this, as heavily flawed as it is.
ReplyDelete- What a pity it was actually a petition to try and help Palestinians, rather than a petition about
two outstanding personalities
then the full might of pissingonpalestine's little antisemitic cyber-ghetto would have been behind it.
When its a choice between helping Palestinians or helping zionists,
ReplyDeletepissonpalestine will always choose to side with the zionists.
The antisemitic gatekeepers at pissonpalestine has taken upon itself the role of deciding who does and who doesn't get to help Palestinians.
I don't see any actual bona-fide Palestinian organisations endorsing 'pissingonpalestine' and its self-imposed role of who gets and doesn't get passed their pro-zionist blockade to help occupied Palestinians.
And I see 'pissonpalestine' is taking sides with a British Jewish blog run by Mark Elf, whom it has consistently accused of gatekeeping over a number of years. Indeed, not only that but is siding with this Jewish gatekeeper against none other than the late great Prof Edward Said!
Taking the side of a Jewish gatekeeper against a Palestinian!
Oh well, another day, another inconsistency from the piss-poor antisemite censors and gatekeepers at the dismal 'pissingonpalestine' neo-nazi sewer.