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Lebanon, Israel, Zionism, Judaism And Much More ...
One of the most maddening mistakes so many people seem so often to make, at least in our view, is to see some sort of anti-semitism where there is none.
For example, consider this question: Can a Jew be an anti-Semite?
What's that you say? It sounds like one of those stupid 'trick' questions?
Well, you'd be surprised -- or rather you will be surprised if you're prepared to take the trouble to stay with us and read right on.
Inspired by the latest Lebanon/Israel catastrophic conflict, coupled with some recent 'This Old Brit' posts along with several reader's reactions and comments -- the intrepid Tom at 'Current Era' excavated from deep within the web, the full text of an up to the minute and extremely enlightening, educational, interesting, informative and telling interview -- with an American based, ultra orthodox Rabbi by the name of David Weiss
So, if anyone here has ever had a hard time trying to understand the/any difference[s] between Zionism/Zionists, Judaism/Jews and Israel and Israelis -- then this is definitely one interview that you would not want to miss.
We say again -- this is an interview not to be missed.
Courtesy of, and all Kudos to, Christopher Brown at OhMyNews - International Interviews.
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posted by Richard at Friday, July 28, 2006
18 Comments:
Hi Richard,
Thanks for this post. As you know, I am a Lebanese. Zionist ideology had its heavy toll specially on lebanese and Palestinians. I am only hoping that the madness will stop one day in Lebanon but as you highlighted in a previous post israel feels it has a license to do what it is doing from the world community, specially from your prime minister and the warrior Chimp who is nat the White House !
Anyway, here are two jewish anti-zionist blogs I read on a regular basis now and that might interest you.
http://www.israelblog.org
http://kampfeblog.blogspot.com
It's my pleasure, Sophia and it's good to see you back here -- with your own links even. I will get round to them - eventually - I promise.
Richard:
"Can a Jew be an anti-Semite?"
These people are usually referred to in Zionist slang as "self-loathing Jews".
As regards religion: one of the biggest problems is that the ancient texts can be interpreted in so many ways. There are also ultra-orthodox Jews who are against the state of Israel because the Messiah hasn't come yet!
For others, disregarding the state of Israel, means they can go and settle anywhere in Palestine because "G-d told them so"...
Religion isn't the answer here.
Good find, though...
I don't have your email- if I did I would send you a beautiful Editorial in The Boston Globe this am,"My Mother's Lebanon"...much of what you wrote about today is in that piece as well. Thank you for braving the muddied waters on all of this...I think FInally the World is getting it's messege across to Isreal..now the dumass cowboy who sits at the WhiteHouse- that is another story...It isn't all about Religion ( thought King George would want that in hi warped little fundamentalist christian brain) It is also about History and Culture of an ancient region...but to I think to George land is just a matter of Imminent Domain...I am still embarrassed by our "misleaders" misrepresenting the American People..and sending Condi back is pitiful with her using expressions about "Birth pangs"...Keep up the great blogging...you are heard Richard...
I just searched and found that, enigma. You're right about it being so nice, and so meaningful. Sophia will appreciate it I'm sure - as should anyone reading it who is not an extremist.
Here's the link.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Gert, I respectfully disagree with you. It is true, that religious tenets and dogma are frequently misinterpreted, and also that there are scisms among and within the religions, still just dismissing it and saying, that "there is no answer there" sound very harsh and sweeping to me.
I definitely wouldn't apply it to my life, where I was able to find a lot of explanations and answers, on why we are in this narrow tight juncture in history.
All intelligent, educated and cultured person should at least have some knowledge of the major contentions between Judaism and Zionism as well as between Judaism (non Universalist) and the other (Universalist) monotheistic religions, before casually dismissing them as irrelevant.
What was it someone said about giving enough rope? Israel may not exactly have hung itself yet, but this particular idiot prime minister will go down in history as having suffered the greatest self inflicted foot wound the world has ever known.
Rex you're spot on. I've just posted this on my own site:
"This is good news if and only if the Israelis and their American paymasters learn the lesson.
The lesson is this: The days are gone, long gone, when the kind of racism underlying Ledeen's statement above was either acceptable or viable. If you barge your way into somebody's country commit murder, mayhem, looting, rape, and all the other evils attendant upon tryng to terrorise people into doing your will by waging war on them you have no right to either complain or be surprised if they pick you up and throw you against the wall to teach you manners. Nor do you have any right to sympathy. There is no difference none between a nation that sets itself up as a master race and one that sets itself up as a master nation. That was the lesson of the 20th century.
Learn the lesson. It's their home not yours and neither you nor I are welcome there other than as invited guests."
I also posted some links to al-Manar (the Hizb's TV station) and to Bint Jbeil's website. The english lanuage version of Bint JBeil's site is here
one thing when you read about Bint JBeil being a village that's a reference to its social structure not its size. It's a decent sized small town - about 30,000 people. Just a point to keep in mind as you read the coverage.
Okay, I for one am going to stop pussy-footing around. Untill the Israeli governement begins behaving as civilised being should -- I AM Anti-Israel. Okay?
Just as I would have been if I'd been old to enough to know what that meant -- while I was a child living in the city of Liverpool -- as we CIVILIANS were all 'blitzed' on a daily basis by Hitler's Germany's Luftwaffe's bombs. Okay? Clear.
Anyone is free to side with them, naturally, nobody can stop vultures gathering together -- but I will NOT provide a platform for them here? Okay? Clear?
If you are PRO what Israel is doing right now, then post elswhere since you are not welcome on MY blog. Okay? Clear?
Moreover, if I meet anyone in real life who currently is -- I'll spit in their eye -- at the very least. Okay? Clear?
Dear Richard;
Oh you mature but not old, stirred but not shaken, lion-hearted Brit.
It was apt for you to recall, the time when only your brave island, offered resistance against a continental behemot, even when the Soviet Union was still heartily congratulating the nazis for their suprise victory in the West and were thinking along lines of co-operation and sharing the loot.
The Yanks, were still over a year away for entering the war and any formal alliance with Britain was still a notion, which could be only be whispered in the obscure corridors of powers in Washington.
At that moment in time, Britain alone had stood up and said:
It's true, that we have suffered a stinging defeat, but we are just started to fight. This is how far your easy victories carried you, but there will be no more of that kind for you. Every subject of His Majesty will do his utmost duty, to defeat you, an odious tyranny, if there was ever one.
And in that moment, when the kernel of future victories have been born.
Whoever,
Thanks for the link to the article. I actually share many things in my personal life with Ms Kayyem. This also tells you soemthing: we arabs, don't have hate towards Jews. It is the other way around. What you see on TV of Arabs is completely biased (the Israeli children signing of bombs destined to Lebanon didn't receive the correct covergae in the western press) and staged by their own thuggish rulers. The anti-cartoon manifestations were completely staged by governments for political gain. Do you see the Arab street protesting now as heavily as for the cartoons ? No. Do you know why ? It is not because they are not angry from what is going on, it is because their rulers didn't give their green light for these manifestations because their American masters told them to do so. This is what is fueling terrorism, America's unconditional support for puppet regimes in the ME.
Mark, thanks for the links.
Richard, I sincerely thank you for your firm stance. Now is time for moral intransigeance and not for sophistic discussions.
Regards
Sophia
Tom:
Whilst I'm all for freedom of worship, as an agnostic (weak atheism), I see religion as something that can be very cohesive for one particular group of people but ultimately divisive between such groups.
This is what leaders of such groups ruthlessly exploit: religion as a battle cry, as it were. That it can be much more than that at a personal level, I don't dispute.
But again as an agnostic I don't see much of a positive outcome in the battle between the "ancient scribblings". I can easily recognise myself in very modern interpretations of religion but there isn't that much of that about...
Richard,
May I suggest that after the Qana massacre as of today, Balir should be impeached ! This bombing surely came after Blair's visit didn,t produce any call for a ceasefire in Lebanon !
That's a good point, Sophia.
Politicians and bureaucrats should be held responsible for what they DON'T do as much as they do do (which is what most of ir amounts to; doo-doos!). I think we would sea different world if we did or somehow could.
jrum,
Gibson is a christian zionist. That means that he hates jews but loves israel because it allows him to get rid of jews. Now is not time for his drunken tirade which is meant to divert attention from what is going on in lebanon and to remind the world that anti-semitism still exist, to the satisfaction of the state of Israel !
Very interesting posting and comments Richard - this is an area that is very blurred in the US . Alot of Jews here don't comprehend that if you are anti-Israel then you are most certainly an anti-semiite. I have been certainly tarred with that brush for speaking out!
cNpvu1 The best blog you have!
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