Since Israel’s May 31 attack on the Mavi Marmara aid ship, there has been growing criticism of Israel’s behavior across much of the world, including from traditional allies like Turkey.
Yet as this criticism has grown abroad, the pressure for Israel’s public to toe the official line on the story (whatever it may be at any given time) has also grown, and in the West there is an increasingly visible effort to lionize the Israeli attack and do demonize even perceived criticism of the Israeli government as “anti-semitism.”
In a speech earlier this week, several Congressmen demanded that the US bar anyone who was on board the Mavi Marmara from ever entering the United States because they are “terrorists.” There have also been calls to join Israel in re-classifying the aid group that sent the ship as a “terrorist organization” because they sent the ship that attempted to transport electric wheelchairs and toys to the Gaza Strip.
The ire has been even more blunt against Turkey, as a number of US Congressmen are openly promising “payback” against the Turkish government for complaining about eight of its citizens being slain on the Mavi Marmara. A US citizen was also slain, eleciting the following response from America’s Vice President: “So what’s the big deal here?”
In fact while officials were finishing up a collective yawn on the attack, the real ire was saved for Helen Thomas, a White House Press Corps reporter who responded to the attack by saying Israelis should “get out of Palestine.”
In the run-up to Thomas’ resignation, the White House publicly condemned her remarks as “reprehensible” and demanded she apologize. There were several open calls to punish her for the comment, and several claimed that the comment proved Thomas was secretly an anti-semite for years, the new explanation for her years of criticizing the wars of the Bush and Obama Administration.
The situation is even more incredible in our neighbor to the north. Canadian member of parliament Libby Davies, a representative from Vancouver, called Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands “the longest occupation in the world” and hinted that she personally supports a boycott campaign against Israel.
The backlash against Ms. Davies was quick and astonishing, with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper demanding that she resign and insisting that he had called Israel’s ambassador to reassure him that this was not the position of the Canadian government.
Ms. Davies may be thankful that she is not in Germany, however, where three MPs who were on board the Mavi Marmara are facing charges of “incitement to hatred” for even being on the ship. The MPs and their Left Party were, in public comments by rival politicians, condemned as “anti-semites” on a number of occasions.
In the weeks since the attack, the story about the Mavi Marmara has changed a number of times, as has the tenor of the story. An Israeli attack became a battle and finally an “act of self defense.” The aid workers on the ship have gone from aid workers to “pro-Palestinian activists” to “terrorists” in the blink of an eye. Turkey itself appears to have moved from “close US ally” to NATO member and finally to enemy in the same span, with Israeli Education Minister condemning Turkey’s government for a “new type of anti-Semitism.”
The story can be taken as an example of how much can happen in a matter of a half a month, and while Israel’s killings may have sparked enough outrage to force at least minor relaxing of the blockade, they have also underscored just how large a crowd remains willing to praise anything Israel does, no matter how much of an atrocity, and willing to attack anyone even tangentially opposed to it at the slightest provocation.
I thought this country was bad but Canada seems to be worse. A memeber of Parliment can't even make her opinion known about an important world issue.
But that's not because of the Israel Lobby, you understand? Palestinian suffering is purely the fault of U.S imperialism. The Israel Lobby is just like another Lobby; just doing their best for their 'country' in the great 'democratic' tradition.
Funny though that a spokesman for B'nai Brith boasted to in a CBC interview how they had worked so very hard to get to the position they are now whereby the Canadian Prime Minister was bought and paid for all the way back in his Reform Party days.
Real funny, that….
For those who don't know the Reform Party was a Western Canadian-based group of right wing extremists, from which our current Prime Minister so proudly began his brilliant political ascent…
My fellow Canadians terrify me!!!! I cannot believe I live amongst such morons that would vote for a Fascist lite party not once but twice. I think Canada now has a real zionist occupation/infiltration problem, and our society has visibly changed…..more racial profiling, more racism, more arrogance, more incitement to racial hatred, more paranoia all brought to us by our Israeli owned media, and experts from tel aviv.
I's bizarre in the extreme. Israel could probably carpet bomb Toronto and the Canadian government would officially apologize for watering the eyes of their pilots with antisemitic smoke of burning Canadians.
In Germany it would be totally different. The Luftwaffe would immediately volunteer to assist.
Too funny! Tears of cynicism mind you. How sadly true.
The Bundestag would also vote to give the Israelis German aircraft to carry out the attack.
The prime minister of Turkey got it right. Israel committed acts of state terrorism, and those in congress who are calling peace activists "terrorists" ought to take a look in the mirror. In fact, these congressmen are funding aggression in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, making them far more disgusting criminals than the vilest retail terrorists in the world. Perhaps one day they'll be brought to account, but not before they completely bankrupt the US.
Elections are in November…. why don't we hold them to 'account' then?
Nah … that would require real work. We'd have to get up and actually organize. We'd have to actually volunteer for campaigns. We'd have to actually go door to door and work phone banks. We'd have to do a lot of that to create the grassroots power needed to combat big money.
Its so much easier to just sit on the internet and whine about things.
PS … to avoid confusion, this is from a different Carl than the first post. Just notice that someone has my name!
The policies of Israel are getting out of hand. Do they expect the rest of the world to support them when they do to what they do to Gazans?
For those who live in rural areas, what would you do if there was a pack of rabid dogs in the area. Maybe at first it was just a local problem, with whoever was unfortunate enough to live near their lair having to deal with them.
But, now they are getting so bold that they are attacking unarmed travelers on the area's highways. At some point, something has to be done.
Of course, its a nasty job, that people who'd rather just live peacefully with their families would rather not take on. No one wants to take guns and gasoline and go to the lair to eliminate the problem. So, most people try to just find some way to adapt. But, eventually, the problem becomes so bad that its clear to everyone that if they want to live both peacefully and securely that they have to spend a very day or two out in the woods with gasoline and guns and taking out the lair and the pack and the problem.
I'd really hope that Israel doesn't force the world to do this. But, with the path they are on, this is where this is heading. At some point, even though I abhor violence, it becomes obvious that a bit of violence to remove the problem leads to much better and peaceful days afterwards.
If there was no Israel, would the world be a more peaceful place. Years ago, that would be a ridiculous thought. But today, with Israel openly attacking peaceful travellers on the high seas? With Israel attacking a blockading Gaza? With Israel putting nuclear missile submarines off other nations' shores. With Israel constantly threatening to attack Iran? With Israel constantly threatening to attack Lebanon again?
At some point, one has to start to ask whether the world is a better and more peaceful place without a state of Israel? And note, I'm not talking about genocide. The goal would simply be the familiar one of 'regime change'. And maybe offering relocation to those Israelis who can't handle living in a non-religious democracy with the Palestinians, including those who want to come home after 50 years.
Your question Lorraine, is an excellent one, central even, to the remarkable events we are witnessing.
What is it with the Israelis? What are they thinking? On the one hand they must think that their nukes make them invulnerable, when in fact the opposite is the case. The crazier and ever more brazen they get, subverting the US Congress in full view off 300 million non-Jewish Americans, and traveling the world over to kill whomever they want in full view of video surveillance — which is to say in full view of the world — has got to scare the crap out of the entire world. These people have nukes! Inevitably, the rest of the world is going to turn their backs,…carefully… and wait for someone to "solve" the problem.
When I was born — 1948, the same year Israel finagled the stamp of legitimacy from the UN — WW2 and the holocaust were searingly fresh in everyone's mind. It was impossible — off the scale of politically incorrect — to ask "What have the Jews done over their five-thousand year history to provoke the hatred and genocidal violence they have repeatedly suffered?" Such a question would have been howled down and condemned as "Blaming the victim". But now, seeing what we are seeing — not just in the US, but the world over — the question screams out at us. The Canadians, the Germans, the US Congress, and the scourging of Helen Thomas, the unarmed-yet-ruthlessly-executed-activists-rebranded-as-terrorists aboard the Mavi Marmara — all events are conspiring to ram into the world's consciousness the answer to "the question that dare not be asked": simply put, Israeli and Jewish influence around the world is dedicated, organized, planned , and executed, and penetrates all societies and governments ***and subverts them***, turning whole nations, the most powerful nations in the world, into pawns of Israel and the Jews. I'm an American and a Jew — this doesn't come from some whacked out anti-semitic conspiracy theory, nor does the "back-up" smear of "self-hatred" apply. I'm scared. Because there are 300 million non-Jewish Americans who are going to react… how?… when they find that the American Jewish community, on behalf of Israel, has crapped all over the land of their birth, their home country, the land that gave them everything they had always dreamed of — prosperity, freedom, safety — and betrayed them, in favor of (hoodwinked, perhaps, but too easily) ethnic loyalty to a mad-dog Zionist criminality that has become so strong that the entire world has fallen under its influence.
So,…are we witnessing the cause of five-thousand years of attempted "suicide by goy": blind arrogance and indifference to the opinion and concerns, and, yes, the SAFETY, of others? Are we watching a pattern repeat itself? Are we witnessing the building of the next holocaust?
As I said, I'm an American and a Jew, and I'm scared by the implications for my safety and the safety of my fellow Jews the world over.
We can all curse America or Russia or any country
In the world and its called freedom of speech, but
To even mention Israel's atrocities we are called
Anti smite and it's a big no no, why is it every country
In the world bows to Israel and to Jews, I should say
Zionist Jews, does any body have an answer?
When is enough, enough already?
1st Tuesday in November.
Be careful citizens. We’ve got a ‘hate speech’ law in America now. Pretty soon there will calls for the prosecution of critics of Israel.
Sadly, I have no DOUBT that this is just around the corner.
Prosecutions – or 'targeted assassinations'?
Neither should stop resistance from free people with the courage to fight for their freedom.
Prosecutions should actually be a PR godsend, if there are any who are willing to face those trials and tribulations for the cause of freedom. And, the idiots who keep arguing in favor of 'targeted assassinations' never seem to realize that martyrs are more powerful than the living person was. For instance, have 'targeted assassinations' caused Hamas to fold up shop. Or have they even more firmly cemented the loyalty of Palestinians to the martyrs.
As things stand now individuals have ZERO chance against the tyranny of the FedGov and its Israeli ally. There will be no sympathetic coverage for anyone who falls afoul of edicts banning criticism of Israel, and without popular outrage the cause of freedom will be a bitter, lonely and futile thing. The fate of Winston Smith in 1984 is a more realistic assessment. Was the GULag a "godsend" for the zeks? Of course not, for millions of them died for absolutely nothing in the way of freedom. Even if Khruschev "apologized" many years later, it did them no good. Hamas at least fights back against the Zionists.
WE can only shed our tears on the reaction congress so called congress of a civilised world and may American,s think in their national interest but is also against their interest. America can destroy this world 9 times but we will have to destroy America economically by buycotting their business. I am shoked on the character of American congressman and Senators may be they are still living in fools paradise.
This version is being accepted that where ever the american,s go destroy their land except Israel.
Congress men foeget Turkey knows to fight and are nationalists. If they have imposed so much restrictions on Muslims they have harmed themself e.g. before 9/11 all the Arabs from middle east were going to USA for treatiment, vacations for business noe they have changed their roots towards other countries. Who is effected American,s
The time is running out for American,s and others can unite too to punish America. The time is running out for one way traffic.
We can do more than shed tears. Elections are coming!
This is really weird and shows the disconnect between reality and public discourse about it. Lucky we've still got some rational commentary via the Internet.
Notice also that the ratings for the corporate news keep falling. Readership at the corporate newspapers keep falling. All of this means that this corporate news nonsense is becoming less relevant.
This is also why they are fighting 'net neutrality' so hard. They want to use it to cut back on our access to other information.
And that puts them exactly with the old Soviet commisars who tried to ban copying machines and fax machines because it threatened their control to push out their ridiculous lies. And its why its the US and China who both lead the world in trying to 'control' the internet.
I guess this proves that having your ass kissed constantly tends to make one crazier than a rat in a coffee can. Israel will eventually turn on those kissing its ass so relentlessly and it will be to my own great amusement.
The traditional problem with all kings, emperors and royal families. This always seemed to make them all "crazier than a rat in a coffee can."
My thoughts exactly!!
Hope it's eminent. USA needs to be taken down a peg or too, particularly after the wars in middle east.
I am surprised that Israel hasn't demanded financial compensation from Turkey over the Mavi Marmara incident yet, but I am sure that is not too far away.
Anyway it should come as no surprise Israel is again spewing forth the tried and tested line of, anti-Semitic this, and anti-Semitic that, which is the standard Israeli reaction to anyone who disagrees with them in any way whatsoever.
I am currently sitting here trying to think of another historical religion or culture that was so paranoid and closed to rational discussion that they actually have a word for anyone who didn't agree with them in every possible way, on every possible occasion but none spring to mind right now.
(If anyone can help me out I would appreciate it.)
Well getting back to the Mavi Marmara affair only 1 other country apart from Israel hasn't condemned Israel for its actions out of approximately 192-194 countries in the world.
Any rational person would then take this to mean that the "Majority of humanity" is disgusted and condemns Israeli actions. (Apart for the good old U.S.A. of course.)
So we should ask ourselves, does this now mean that the whole world is now anti-Semitic? (Apart from SOME citizens of the good old U.S.A. of course.)
Or maybe its time that Israel and the U.S.A had a long hard look at themselves and realize that they live on a planet 6 billion other people who are appalled and truly disgusted with what they are seeing.
I truly and honestly do not believe that the people of the world are born anti-Semitic are they?
But it is concerning that if there truly are as many anti-Semitic people on the planet as Israel claims there are, then there must be a very compelling reason for this. Maybe the time has come for Israeli scientists, religious, politicians, journalists etc. to start taking a closer look at the causes of this global phenomenon and try to figure the root causes of this anti-Semitic pandemic?
Turkey is the one country in the region that Israel can not intimidate. That's a NATO equipped and trained military …. not the laughable Egyptians.
———————
Forget arguing the anti-semetic thing. Its obviously ridiculous at this point when Israel calls anyone who doesn't drop to their knees and kiss their rear an anti-semite. Its so obviously silly that its not worth the breath to argue against.
————-
What we really need in America is a whole new Congress. Elections are coming. And while Democrats are no change from Republicans, and vice-versa, there are almost always other names on the ballot. And if not, put one there. And if you can't, run a write-in campaign.
But the goal needs to be a whole new Congress 7 months from now.
It's worth noting that Stevie Harper is an evangelical Christian, and is waiting breathlessly for something called 'the rapture' to begin. As with American 'christians,' these clowns think that they receive air miles to heaven by licking the shorts of anybody Jewish.
Hey Israel: FU you POS.
Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Think
"Hey Israel: FU you POS"
might make a catchy T-shirt?
Certainly cuts to the chase. ;^ )
We should take them to whatever harbors the next boats are loading at. Could probably make a lot of money selling them. 🙂
And people think they live in democracies…poor fools.
End the Zionist States of America. If a politician is a Dual Citizen they need to figure out what country the Represent or resign.
Being called an "antisemite" in today's world given the Israeli treatment and murders of Palestinians and Flotilla is a GOOD thing…it is a Medal of Honor!
I'm so sick of hearing "anti-semitism". The great majority of modern Jews aren't even Semites. Palestinians are Semites. But if they insist on using the buzz words then I am anti-semitic and proud of it since the "Semitic " state of Israel is a racist, apartheid, ruthless, thieving (land especially) gang of criminals who have used their manufactured victim-hood to steal a country from the indigenous population, while glorifying themselves over all other people on earth.
It's amazing, and should be very alarming, when 1.2% of the population of Canada and 2.2% of the US control so much of the policy and attitudes of these countries. No group,race, religion or movement should ever be allowed this power.
And we pretend to be a democracy.
Shameful
It used to be, a long time ago, that 'anti-semites' were people who were against human rights. Now all the people who are for human rights are anti-semites and all the people who are pro-semitic if such a phrase can be termed are against human rights. I did not expect such a radical turnaround in my lifetime.
Anti-Semite? You "hate" Arabs as well? Palestinians? The whole anti-semite schtick smells like week old matzah balls.
We can have a whole new Congress 7 months from now
Yes, especially if we can convince all the dolts in love with Israel to vote in politicians to throw Israel off the US dole, right?
I thought Congress persons were suppose to take an oath to uphold the Constitution, and not the ideas and political agenda of the Likud party of Israel and its bastard child, the radical settler movement. This is not only a gross betrayal of the people they are supposed to represent, it is also a gross betrayal of the majority of Jews and the Jewish religion. It is thanks to the efforts of these Likud Firsters and a vocal and politically connected minority of Jewish neocons, that many people now associate Judaism with zionism. Zionism is a racist and exclusionary political philosophy that the panders to the worst and most chauvinistic elements of the Jewish community. One can only hope that zionism like communism is soon consigned to the dustbin of history, and all the people living in Israel, both Jewish and Palestinian find a way to live in peace without anyone having to leave or be killed. If there is any hope for this to happen, however, zionism must be become a discredited political philosophy.
Israel is antichrist
I remember during the Israeli massacre in Gaza (when I was living in Berlin) the stench of German guilt as the Palestinians were having white phosphorous and cluster bombs dropped on them and the Krauts government threw their full support behind Israel.
The German government is – and always was – full of Nazi shitheads…
The German Government has bent over backwards for Israel, so the term "Nazi," the traditionally used albeit incorrect slur for National Socialist, who instigated sweeping if not violent removal of Jewish power in Europe around WW2, seems not to imply much logic.
That "antisemite" label caused lot of people a lot of grief; some folks lost their jobs and others not promoted. That was when Israel "appeared" to be a nation of fairness. However, behind the scenes Israelis were killing Palestinians and throwing hand grenades into Palestinians homes wiping out families.
Today,"antisemite" means not being mind controlled.
Instead of antisemite, simply use "desire to persecute thousands of Jews". Would you, given the power, persecute thousands of Jews you never met?
I wrote a letter to my US House Representative, Jerry Costello (D-IL), decrying the brutal Israeli massacre aboard the Gaza aid convoy and urged him to speak out against this atrocity. Sadly, the main trust of Rep. Costello’s reply to my message was (and I quote):
“Israel remains a close ally and friend to the United States and we stand firmly beside our partner in pursuit of peace and security in the Middle East. I believe strongly in Israel’s right to self-defense against threats of violence and extremism. Israel faces repeated attacks against its citizens, necessitating increased security preparedness, and the United States will continue to support Israel in its efforts to protect its citizens from harm.”
The utter lack of outrage by the Congressman regarding Israel’s military’s massacre of harmless aid carrying civilians on the high seas, and justifying this brutality with “Israel’s right to self-defense” surpasses anything I can imagine. The control and brainwashing of our representatives in Congress is astounding and utterly unbelievable. It is indeed a despairing time for America.
YOUR KKONGRESSMAN SHOULD MOVE TO PALESTINE I CONTRIBUTE TO ANY
SHIP HAUL .
The difficulty with the distinction anti semitism v anti zionism lies in the ability of proponents of the former to use the latter to proselytize. Very, very rarely does one see anti zionists in countries an ocean or sea or more away from Israel/Palestine condemn actual anti semitism in their own lands. Consider this paragraph quartet:
Statistics Canada released their 2008 report for hate crimes on Monday showing a 35 per cent increase in hate crime incidents nationally from 2007.
All three categories of hate crimes, related to race, religion and sexual orientation, showed a significant increase. Religion alone showed a 53 per cent increase in 2008 from 2007 and continues to be on the rise.
Two thirds of the hate crimes related to religion were made up of incidents against Jews. The rise in hate crime incidents against the Jewish people alone was presented as a distinct category. Jews were victim to hate crimes on 165 separate occasions, up 42 per cent in 2008 from the previous year. With this rise in anti-Semitism playing itself out most recently in public displays of hate speech, websites, and acts of vandalism (making up a staggering 47 per cent of 2008’s reported hate incidents in Canada), Jewish organizations like B’nai Brith continue to put pressure on all levels of government and law enforcement to better combat hate crimes.
Anti-Semitism has been the growing concern of Jewish organizations, as demonization of Israel becomes more and more popular and the difference between anti-Semitism and what poses to be legitimate criticism of the Israeli government becomes almost indistinguishable. For this reason, many acts of anti-Semitism go either unnoticed or those who perpetrate it are not held responsible.
http://www.shalomlife.com/eng/13037/Stats_Can_Rep…
When Canadian anti zionists object to actual acts of anti semitism in Canada and acts of Jews against Palestinians in Palestine pari passu, it will follow that anti zionism is not anti semitism de facto.