Jeff Halper

by Paul Eisen
Saturday, May 5th, 2012

Jeff Halper's good works

Below is a piece by Susan Abulhawa about Jeff Halper. Susan is a Palestinian currently exiled in the USA and a member of the Deir Yassin Remembered Board of Advisers. Susan’s piece struck a particular resonance with me because once upon a time Jeff Halper too was on the DYR Board of Advisers. But one night in 2005 Jeff resigned and, I’m sure not at all by accident, he took most (not all!) of the Jewish members with him.

It was a major blow and a terrible night.

I picked up the publicly emailed resignation letter at about 1.30 in the morning (London time); skimmed it and then tried to sleep but I couldn’t. Resignations were flying all over the place and the time gap between London, the U.S.and Israel/|Palestine making it all the more gruelling.

Sleepless and distressed I began to think of the trip Dan McGowan and I made to Israel/Palestine in April 2004 and particularly of the times we spent with Jeff Halper.

I thought of the solidarity visit he organized to Beit Arabiya – the ‘Peace House’ – ‘once’ Salim Sharamwa’s house in the village of Anata. The original house was built by Salim, demolished by the occupation forces and then rebuilt by Halper and ICAHD. Three times they bulldozed the house and three times Halper rebuilt it. Marvelous work. But I also recall at the solidarity visit, being served Palestinian food by Salim’s silent and nameless wife.

I was also reminded of the Friday night when he invited Dan and myself, with many others, to his home in Jerusalem. It was an unforgettable evening, a wonderful occasion – pasta and wine followed by chocolate cake. The room was jam-packed with activists – Jews, non-Jews, Christians and others and the conversation was loud, raucous and very stimulating. I had a great time.

But not a single Palestinian was in that room. Everyone – all us activists doing all that fine work – from Israel, the US and the UK– colonizers, all of us. From the young woman, once an American called Deborah now an Israeli called Dvorah, to the former North London Jew once called Ruth but now called Ruti – all the way to Dan and myself (also in our own ways colonizers), and finally to Halper himself. .

Above, I wrote that Beit Arabiyah was “once” Salim Sharamwa’s house. I included the quotation marks because that house, no matter whose name is on the title deeds, is no longer Salim’s house. It is no longer a Palestinian home any more than if the IDF had, as they intended, bulldozed it to the ground. Salim’s house is now, by courtesy of the IDF and of Jeff Halper, a Jewish house.

Salim’s house is no longer Salim’s house as surely as the land that Jeff Halper shows to solidarity visitors is no longer Salim’s land. As the IDF with its bulldozers has turned it into Israeli land so Jeff Halper, by his good works, has turned it into Jewish land.

At the end of his resignation letter, Jeff Halper urged us at DYR to search our souls and that in leaving the organization he would “find other ways to pursue the lessons of Deir Yassin.” It may be that, in the short term, Palestinians may be better off for Halper’s solidarity work but of one thing I am sure: It is not we at Deir Yassin Remembered who needed to search our souls for the true meaning of Deir Yassin, – it is Jeff Halper.

Now, over to Susan

Solidarity and Realpolitik: My Response to Jeff Halper

By Susan Abulhawa

Some years ago, I was on a panel with three men, Jeff Halper among them, at a Sabeel conference in Pennsylvania. Each panelist was asked to give their vision for a solution to the ‘Palestine/Israel conflict’. Because I was sitting at the end of the table, I was the last to speak. I listened to each one of my fellow participants lay out different versions of a two-state solution, each more depressing than the other, each with irrelevant nuances (all previously articulated by Israel, by the way) on how to make the refugee problem just go away. They spoke the tired talk of land swaps, compromise, several surreal highways that bypass humanity for miles on end, and more creative solutions designed to circumvent the application of human rights where Palestinians are concerned.

When my turn came, I spoke of Palestinians being accorded the same basic rights that apply to the rest of humanity, including the right to return to one’s home after fleeing a conflict. I spoke of equality under the law regardless of religion. I spoke of a construct that would prevent one group from systematically oppressing another. I spoke of human dignity and the universal right to it. I spoke of equal access to resources, including water, regardless of religion.

I will never forget Jeff Halper’s response, which he was eager to voice even before I had finished speaking. He began with a smile, the way an adult might smile at the naive remarks of a small child. He needed to give me a lesson in reality, and proceed to tell me, in the patronizing way of someone who knows best, that my vision lacked “how shall I say it…Realpolitik”.

I did not waiver then, nor have I since, on my position that Palestinians are not a lesser species who should be required to aspire to compromised human dignity in order to accommodate someone else’s racist notions of divine entitlement.

That said, I do not consider Jeff Halper racist and I acknowledge the mostly positive impact he has had in bringing attention to one of Israel’s enduring cruelties, namely the systematic demolition of Palestinian homes as a tool to effectuate ethnic cleansing of the native non-Jewish population. But in my view, that does not entitle him to speak of what Palestinians should or shouldn’t do. I also don’t think it qualifies him as an anti-zionist when he clearly accepts the privilege accorded to Jews only.

After all, Jeff Halper is an American from Minnesota who made aliyah (Israel’s entitlement program that allows Jews from all over the world to take up residence in my homeland, ultimately in place of the expelled natives). Perhaps is it my lack of Realpolitik, but I cannot reconcile embracing the very foundation of zionism on one hand, and calling oneself an anti-zionist on the other.

In a recent interview on Al Jazeera’s website with Frank Barat, he did just that. He also laid out a dismal scenario for the future of Palestinians, based on what Israel is very likely plotting, namely the annexation of Area C and the pacifying of the Palestinian Authority (also likely) with economic incentives and mini Bantustans they can call a state. But he missed the mark, repeatedly, when it came to Palestinians themselves, as if he sized us all up with a glance and decided he was not impressed. Despite the burgeoning nonviolent resistance taking place all over Palestine, in various forms ranging from demonstrations, significant solidarity campaigns, hunger strikes, and more, he says that “[Palestinian] resistance is impossible” now. At best, he trivializes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which is the first coordinated nonviolent movement of Palestinians inside and outside of Palestine that has also managed to inspire and capture imaginations of individuals and organizations all over the world to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Again, my lack of Realpolitik here, but to me, creating a situation where it is possible to force the implementation of human rights and restore dignity to Palestinian society is in itself an end. Jeff Halper seems unable to consider anything other than a negotiated agreement to be an end.

He enumerates all that is wrong with internal Palestinian issues. Of course there are problems. We know our leadership is doing little more than pick up the trash and keep people in line while Israel steals more and more of our land. We are not happy about it either. But he seems to suggest that he, along with other Israelis I presume, have been carrying the burden of resolving this conflict. In one instance he says:

“We’ve (I assume Israeli leftists?) brought this to governments, we’ve raised public awareness, we’ve had campaigns, we’ve done this for decades, we’ve made this collectively, one of two or three really global issues. But without Palestinians we can only take it so far.”

Then he adds:

“I am trying to challenge a little bit my Palestinian counterparts. Where are you guys?”

If I read this correctly (and I will grant the benefit of the doubt that it was not meant as it reads), then he clearly sees himself at the forefront of the Palestinian struggle where his Palestinians counterparts are disorganized, haphazard, or not present. He even suggests that at this crucial time, “Palestinians have to take over,” further supporting the suggestion that Palestinians are not at the helm of the resistance.



New UN Report Shows Sharp Rise In Palestinians
Uprooted By Israeli Demolitions

He also asserts that importing Jews from all over the world to live in colonies built on land confiscated from private Palestinian owners is “not settler colonialism”. What is it then?

But back to his strange assertion that Palestinians “should take over” (from whom?), he describes an instance where he refused to participate in the global march to Jerusalem because the Palestinian organizers (who took over?) did not want to include the world “Israel,” the name of the country that denies our very existence and seeks in every way to eradicate us. Is it that Jeff Halper wants “Palestinians to take over” as long as Palestinians do so in a way that does not offend the sensitivities of the very people deriving privilege at their expense? That is not how solidarity works.

I don’t presume to tell Israelis what they should or should not do but I would like to see Israelis concentrate on their own failures rather than ours. I would sure like to hear those who have made aliyah acknowledge that it was not their right to do so; that making aliyah is a crime against the native people who have been and continue to be forcibly expelled to make way for those making aliyah. I would like to hear an apology. The trauma that Palestinians feel is very much part of the Realpolitik and it is not unlike the trauma in the Jewish psyche. It comes from the same humiliation and anguish of not being considered fully human. Of being treated like vermin by those with the guns. If Halper truly understood that, perhaps dropping the word “Israel” – a word that hovers over the rubble of our destroyed homes and suffuses the pain at our collective core – would have been a no brainer expression of solidarity.

- Susan Abulhawa is the author of Mornings in Jenin (Bloomsbury 2010) and the founder of Playgrounds for Palestine (www.playgroundsforpalestine.org). She contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Paul Eisen speaks with Gilad Atzmon

 

Gilad Atzmon & Paul Eisen

An insightful conversation between Gilad Atzmon and Paul Eisen. It takes a deep look into their minds and the troublesome relationship they hold with ‘Jewish identity politics’, ‘Jewish ideology’,'Jewish power’ and Jewish history alongside their prolonged intellectual and political activism.


by Tali Atzmon
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!
by the Editor
Sunday, April 29th, 2012

Once a Jew…?

What is a Jew? And, once a Jew, always a Jew?

by Paul Eisen

Sunday, April 1st, 2012

We’re all agreed then, we’re all anti-Semites now but lurking underneath are the questions:

What is a Jew? And, once a Jew, always a Jew?

Up till now, or at least for the last 6 or 7 years, I’ve seen Jewish specialness as a voluntary condition (albeit a pretty hard one to shake off) and I’ve noticed that it ranges all the way from the religious Jew’s ‘light unto the nations’ to the Marxist Jew’s ‘workers of the world unite’. But in the discussion around the article “We’re all anti-Semites now” some opposition was voiced – and from some surprising sources.

Gilad reminded me that my comparison of a Jew to a cauliflower wasn’t quite right. He pointed out that a cauliflower lacks consciousness and is therefore unable to relinquish its cauliflowerness but, by implication, a Jew can.

But he also noted “that Jewish culture lacks the means to restrain Jewishness – something to do with an inherent exceptionalist structure.” So, it’s in the nature of Jewishness to find it hard to give it up. I’ll buy that.

Then Dr. Mathis pointed out that Edith Stein’s conversion to Catholicism did not stop the National Socialists from assaulting her as a Jew. As Dr Mathis himself said, “You can deny your Jewishness as much as you want, but someone is always going to come along and remind you anyway”. I’ll buy that too.

But Dr. Mathis also told me that I’m Jewish because my parents were Jewish and when I asked exactly what was it I had inherited from my parents, he answered in a word: Identity.

“But surely”, I protested, “I can relinquish that identity”,



Ernst Zundel and his wife, Ingrid Rimland



To which he answered “Ask Ernst Zundel if you can do that. Or Ingrid Rimland.”

So it seems that Ernst Zundel and his wife Ingrid, two supposed ‘Nazis’, also don’t quite see things my way.

And it’s true. In an email exchange with Ingrid some years back she reminded me of the story of the scorpion and the frog crossing the river to Paradise.

The scorpion tries to persuade a frog to take him on its back. ”But” says the frog, ”You’re a scorpion. If I carry you on my back, you’ll only sting me and kill me.”

“Of course I won’t sting you.” answers the scorpion, “If I stung you, you’d die but I’d also drown, so what would be the good of that?” Finally the frog agrees and the scorpion climbs aboard and off they go.

Halfway across the river, surprise, surprise, the scorpion stings the frog and, as both frog and scorpion sink beneath the waves, the frog, in his death agony looking first to heaven, then to the scorpion asks, “Why, why, why?”

To which the scorpion replies, “Why? Because I’m a scorpion.”

So, for Ingrid, just as a scorpion will never change, so a Jew will never change, simply because they can never change.

So, once a Jew…?

Now, a lot of people are now going to be jumping up and down yelling “Racist!” and “Nazi!” And certainly, when Ingrid first suggested this, I was a bit put out myself. “Are you saying that a Jew is a kind of human, like a scorpion is a kind of insect?” I asked. To which she answered ”Come on, Paul. Did I say that Gentiles are like frogs? Fables are shortcuts to facets of human nature.”

Well, I certainly don’t believe that a Jew will forever act in a certain way, but still, figuratively and allegorically there’s a lot in that tale. Jews often do seem to share certain chracteristics and they do seem remarkably resistant to change.

But why?

I suppose Ingrid and Ernst would say that different groups who have lived together for a long time will inevitably develop some shared characteristics. For example, I remember once when she claimed that, like so many Germans, she had no sense of humour (actually, she does and it’s quite delightful) and, when I protested, she asked me whether I had ever met a German stand-up comic (BTW, there is one now on the circuit in Britain but his celebrity rests very much on the fact that he’s a German) I think she also asked me if I had ever met a Jew who could write a poem to a tree.

Another time I was describing to her how, at times I found it quite thrilling to be the centre of attention. She thought that this was very Jewish indeed (I can’t disagree), but that for her, being the centre of attention was what she most disliked. She wrote how she had on so many occasions appeared before huge and rapturous audiences and each time, as they applauded, her heart was as stone. This essential difference between us was she felt, partly due to our respective Jewishness and German-ness.
Did I agree? Not entirely, but it was interesting and there is some truth in it.

I think people like her are far more subtle in their thinking than is often thought. They believe that these characteristics are the product of many subtle and interacting factors – including some biological ones. After all, people who live together, breed together.

Of course none of the above means that all Jews are funny and self-obsessed or that all Germans are dour and diffident or anything else for that matter…… or does it?

So there we have it from three totally different sources – A celebrated artist/anti-Zionist activist, a Jewish- Zionist academic/activist and a couple of ‘Nazis’ – Once a Jew, always a Jew.
What do you think?
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

We’re all anti-Semites now!

 

Solar, one of our commentators asks me to name one living anti-Semite. I’m happy enough to do this but before I do, I ask him what he means by the term.

Solar is reluctant to commit himself so, to help him along, I say what the term means to me.

For me, there seems two possible meanings. The first is someone who opposes all Jews simply because they’re Jews. The second is someone who opposes ‘Semitism’ – some kind of Jewish ideology, mindset or spirit.

The first is of course absurd. In all my life I’ve never come across anyone who opposed Jews just because they were Jews. Oh, I’m always running into people (more and more these days) who don’t seem to like Jews very much, but that’s always because of the way Jews think and behave, – more recently the way Jews behave towards Palestinians and the way other Jews behave to defend the way Jews behave towards Palestinians.

Anyway, the notion is implicitly absurd. I don’t like cauliflower, but not just because it’s cauliflower, but because it’s white, looks funny and smells of sick.

Trouble is, the situation becomes so much more complicated with the possibility that a Jew is a Jew only because he/she thinks and behaves like a Jew (I suppose a cauliflower is also only a cauliflower because it’s white, looks funny and smells of sick).

Still, anyway you look at it, people don’t much like the way Jews think and behave and my feeling is their not going to put up with it forever.

So what to do?

Well, one way is that Jews simply stop being Jews – just as Jesus, St Paul, Karl Marx, Israel Shamir and Gilad Atzmon have done. It is a solution but, for me, not a satisfactory one. A few years ago I went to observe Jewish Book Week in London. During one of the sessions, someone from the audience asked the distinguished panel whether they agreed that if our Royal Family were Jewish they would be slightly more amusing. The panel thought they would and so did I. It would be a pity if there were no Jews and for me, it would be a tragedy.

No, there’s a better solution. Jews should be Jews but they should try and contain themselves a bit more. Sure, there’ll be peaks and troughs in their behaviour just as there always has been, but perhaps the peaks could be a little less peakier and the troughs a little less troughier.

Because if they don’t, it’ll take me a lifetime to meet Solar’s challenge and name all the living anti-Semites and the day will surely come when you’ll all be singing, ”We’re all anti-Semites now!”

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

by Paul Eisen
Sunday, March 25th, 2012

Two faces of the Same Shekel: "Hey free Israel", "Hey anti-zionist zionist" ... "Our enemy and your enemy is one"

The latest scandals of Istanbul Council



[On behalf of the moderate Sunni majority, a representative for "general body of the Syrian revolution" demanded Israel support of the Syrian revolution "against" enemy "Shiite!!?



Exposing the untold...
141 members of the "Istanbul Council"...
71 of them not declared..
What Are Israel's terms to meet with Ghaliun? ..
Ghaliun to Israelis: "You have to restrain Arour"...

Tel Aviv announced the creation of the "Israeli coordinating in support of the Syrian revolution" led by Likud member Ayoub Al-qarra and Israeli MP's, rabbis and retired military personnel and Muslim clerics from the Arabs of Palestine 1948. The Announcement was made during a "solidarity" stand in front of the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv last week (see the Video).... ] 

The conspiracy on Syria, like all conspiracies is "made in Israel"!

Almanar:


A member of "general body of the Syrian revolution" claiming to represent the moderate Sunni majority addressed the Israeli coordination committee skillfully touched the feeling of what he called, the "freemen of Israel", and avoided completely the blood torrent in Gaza, and the Sunni Palestinian resistance factions confrenting the Israeli aggresion, saying:

"Hey freemen of the state of Israel ... Arabs, Yahood, Duruz.. and all spectrum within Israeli society, we demand you to to support the Syrian "revolution" and give-up "the terrorist, sheaa Assadi regime", killing its people, and supporting terrorist organizations like Hezbollah firing rockets on Israelis, participating in killing Syrians. We witnessed Hezbullah rockets falling on Zabadani where many Hezbollah and Irani fighters were captured... Iran supports the criminal regime, threatens Israel, its security and people, Ahmadinejad, many times threatened to raze Israel from the map and very soon will have nuclear bomb. Our enemy is your enemy; we need freedom, security as you do. Our aims and our enemy are one."

Meanwhile, Alain Juppe urged the Syrian opposition to stop "tearing itself apart" in an interview published on Friday, in which he also opposed providing Syrian rebels with arms.

 

"There are some opponents whose attitudes are seriously weakening the opposition -- as long as they continue to tear themselves apart and fight amongst themselves," Juppe said in an interview with French newspaper Le Monde.

"We are doing everything to try to unite the opposition around the Syrian National Council and to convince them to be more inclusive, to welcome Alawites, Christians," he said. "They are not doing well enough.

Its two late Mr. Juppe,

The Syrian People Said its Word, therefore, after Anan's visit to Damucus, an the rise of Islamic Jihad with weapons that can reach Tel Aviv, a delegation from Hamas headed by Mousa Abu Marzouk (NOT Mishaal) met Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah met Monday to “to resolve the developments in Syria and the relations with the Muslim Brotherhood amid the developments in the Arab World, as well as on cooperating to find the “right channels to improve Iran’s ties with the Arab countries which would be based on trust”.

On Wednesday as part of a visit to Tehran, ignored by PIC, Mahmud Zahar met with Iranian Parliament speaker Ali Larijani and the head of Iran's supreme national Security Council Saeed Jalili late who reiterated Iran's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, and cautioned Zahar against "plots" seeking to divide the Palestinian resistance. Zahar was quoted as saying that "the principles and strategy of the Palestinian Islamic resistance will not change." “The regional Islamic revolutions are all in line with strengthening the Islamic objectives, the upcoming victory of the Palestinian nation, and changing the power balance in the region,” he said.

According to English Alakhbar "In recent months, divisions have opened between Hamas chief Khaled Meshal, who lives in exile, and members of the group's Gaza leadership, including Zahar.

Meshal said in May 2011 he was ready to give negotiations with Israel "a chance," and offered tacit support for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

He has also publicly supported peaceful "popular resistance," and engaged in a reconciliation deal with rival Palestinian group Fatah, even backing an agreement to have Palestinian president and Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas serve as the head of a temporary consensus government.

Those positions have put him at odds with much of the leadership in Gaza, which has warned that it expects to be consulted about key decisions, including on reconciliation with Fatah."

According to PIC, Mishaal and Hamas delegation arrives Friday in Turkey to meet with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the moderate sunni Sultan, and a number of Turkish officials, and discussthe latest developments relating to the Palestinian (SYRIAN) issue..

Meanwhile, pregnant US "Palestinian" Community Network, after "years of work, persuasion, temptation, pressure and coercion" delivered a bastard.

On the "Popular resistance" and "Activisim front,"

The illusion to be accepted as equals with "Chosen" is intact, thus equating oppressors and supremacist with oppressed, ignoring the ugly fact that 70% of "Israeli" Jews believe that they are the "chosen"?, facilitating the normalization and the whitewashing of the crimes" "while knowing that the oppressor suffers from the "chosen" superiority complex, and "foolishly accepting the finalization of the Zionist project by embracing Post-Zionism with all its supremacists racist attitudes"

"Abunimah, the self-claimed "owner of Palestine", the self-appointed Future-Immigration-Minister, hopes to facilitate the continuous invasion of the supremacist "chosen" occupiers! How amazing! How just! How very generous! How pathetic!"

 "Abunimah, continues to further deceive his people, the victims, when he lays the claim that as a prerequisite to having "self-determination", Palestinians are implicitly asked not only to pre-forgive and grant their oppressors total and unconditional amnesty before they even stop their crimes, but also they are suppose to defend the sensitivities and shield from attacks, the present occupiers and those who support them.

Moreover, the victims of decades of racism are supposed to secure the future of the supremacist victimizers, and to reassure and guarantee the abusers that their crimes don't matter, no matter what they do, they will always be accepted as equal (though as "chosen" they will be a little bit more equal than others), and their freedom (to continue their oppression, theft, crimes and mischief) will always be granted."

Gilad Atzmon has become
a favorite target of the Jewish tribal nexus and
its allies because he
is fearless enough to
take on the issue of
Jewish supremacism.

Electronic Ali expose his tue face
"A group of prominent Palestinians made their required obeisance to Jewish sensibilities and launched an attack on Gilad Atzmon. "Atzmon is not only a longtime defender of Palestine, he has also emerged as one of the most powerful voices in anti-Zionist discourse. Why attack him at all, of course, but why especially now?" Asked Richard Edmondson.

Here is some answers:

(Paul Eisen)

Ali Abunimah wants to protect and enhance his western-based solidarity  Career. Over five years ago he did exactly the same to Israel Shamir, Deir Yassin Remembered and me.

"Abunimah is nothing but a gatekeeper on the payroll of his Jewish Zionist friends. They pay him with the currency he appreciates: publicity and access to the Jewish-owned media. Totally unheard of previously, his articles began to be published in the important American papers. Some friendly Jews set him up with his Electronic Intifada. They keep the discourse within its permitted limits."

 (Rich Siegel)

"He (Gilad) has examined, and written about, the issue of “Jewishness”, about HIS “Jewishness”, and about mine"

"If there are those who dislike Atzmon’s ideas, they are free to write their own and express disagreement. They are free to state that Atzmon does not represent them. But to organize a list of those who agree to disavow him is disgraceful, and in my opinion does not serve the cause. There should be a retraction and an apology"

(GILAD) 

Because "The Wandering Who?, rocked the boat," said Gilad, "it also has managed to unite Alan Dershowitz and Abe Foxman with Ali Abunimah and Max Blumenthal." he added and confirmed that he do not have any plans to slow down or drift away. "it is our duty to ask: Who are the Jews? What is Judaism? And what is Jewishness all about?....The fact that some activists shy away from asking those questions doesn’t mean that the rest of us also should behave cowardly...What we are witnessing here is a clear Zionist shift from the discourse of a “promised land” to one of a “promised planet....my detractors may have to actually read my book and decide exactly what they are against."

(Tim King )

Know Your Enemy! End the Ridiculous Persecution of Gilad Atzmon said "Tim King of Salem News "Just know this: every time one of our dedicated writers falls under a public attack over criticism of Israeli military politics, those leading the charge with their same lame false claims of 'antisemitism' are insincere and acting out of pressure from Israel, even if they don't know it.

Every time. No exceptions.

When an activist for Palestine is killed and reports say the killers didn't carry out the murder on behalf of Israel, they are lying. When they say Ken O'Keefe or Gilad Atzmon are antisemitic, they are lying."

(Nahida)

 "Not in my name!" responded Nahida, the exiled Palestinian to the zionist, anti-zionist zionists campain.

"What is shocking in this whole fiasco is the striking similarity of the method, the timing, and the type of accusation between the anti-Zionist Jewish “supporters” and hyper-Zionists. It is a carbon copy of the Anti Defamation League and the Board of Deputies of British Jews style that aims to “silence by slander” those who dare to speak the truth or go deeper in their analysis by looking at motivation and methods of operation of the criminal entity and it's global supporters." she said.

 "Finally, it appears that years of work, persuasion, temptation, pressure and coercion have yielded its fruits, with the publishing (made it into hyper Zionist hate-site Harry's Place) of the joined statement by Mr Ali Abunimah and a few others, in which they brazenly called upon Palestinians and their supporters to disavow Gilad Atzmon because of his alleged "anti-semitism". 

Here, I cannot help but wonder, what does Ali Abunimah mean exactly when he invites people to disavow Atzmon?

Can this "disavowal" be understood as a modern secular-leftist substituted for the "good old" Judaic concept of Herem?

Are we not entitled to ask then, if that concept of "disavowal" is by any chance related to the Talmudic concept of excommunication, in which "the Talmud forbids coming within six feet of a person who has been excommunicated"?

Ali Abunimah opens his statement with the declaration: "Granting No Quarter", calling to deprive the accused of any mercy or forgiveness. Such daring harsh words which mean "not to allow someone any mercy" eerily resemble the sinister Kabbalistic invocation of Pulsa diNura, a "ceremony in which the angels of destruction are invoked to block heavenly forgiveness of the subject’s sins",

It appears, yet again, that some people are determined to thrust us back into the Dark-Ages. Not only do they exhibit severe intolerance towards those whom they disagree with, but also instead of defending their position and "refuting" such disagreeable ideas with logic, factual information and reason, they resort to fight them with unsubstantiated accusations. 

Furthermore, they actively and shamelessly participate in barbaric rabbinic medieval type of behaviour, in which they call for the "disavowal" (modern-secular for excommunication) of those whom they perceive as "heretics" for daring to think outside the box or for being crazy enough to talk about taboos and cross the boundaries of "permissible" debate. Amazingly, even those who refuse to abide by such "rabbinical-style" orders are also sentenced for being guilty by association, so they get the excommunication treatment too!

I would like to remind Mr Ali Abunimah and the few individuals who signed his statement, that in our Islamic heritage, Arabic tradition and Palestinian culture that they claims to defend and protect, such concept of excommunication , Herem, Pulsa diNura, and exclusion from mercy and forgiveness, are non-existent.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

(Israel Shamir)

Ali Abunimah and his Solidarity Career.

byPaul Eisen

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

The Enemy within

Ali Abunimah’s intervention and denunciation of Gilad is nothing new. Over five years ago he did exactly the same to Israel Shamir, Deir Yassin Remembered and me.
But why then and why now?

First now, because his rather lack-lustre Electronic Intifada, now well past its sell-by date is now being totally eclipsed by deLiberation.

And second, because above all else,  Ali  Abunimah needs to protect and enhance his western-based solidarity career. Ali Abunimah knows that as with pretty much everything in the west, if the Jews don’t want it, it’s not going to happen and compared to that, truth and courage mean precisely nothing.

God save us all from such people.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Breaking the Chains of Arrogance

Nahida the exiled Palestinian

I have just finished reading the heartfelt plea of Paul Eisen inviting his fellow Jews to abandon their "supremacist inclinations" (which I content is a result of long-term ideological indoctrination with concepts such "chosen-ness" in which 67% of "Israeli" Jews believe ) and to embark on a journey of self-reflection, and to ask themselves some tough questions for once, rather than continuing to blame the entire world and accusing the entire humanity of harbouring intrinsic, inexplicable and incurable feelings of "hatred towards Jews", which erupts randomly and violently around the globe for no particular reason.

Eisen's genuine plea inspired me to myself to rethink and reflect.

It has been said that we are not bodies with souls, but rather souls which are given physical bodies temporarily, through which we can come to learn and expand if we choose to.

We make our journeys through life independently yet our paths cross, and our experiences are interconnected by communication, exchange of feelings, actions, reactions and interactions.

All our options remain open, if we comprehend the simple reality of our humble existence: we humans (Jews or non) are NOT the "masters of the universe", we are NOT Gods, neither are we "Gods in the making" for that matter, and from this elementary perspective, our human reality appears humble.

So, by simply accepting that viewpoints appear different when approached from different angles, and by keeping our hearts and minds open to the fallibility and the limitation of our own singular conclusions, then our various understanding of the same information is facilitated, better comprehension emerges when viewed from different sides. Thus correct, just and innovative path toward understanding the mysterious "other", and towards the realization of infantility of ideas like superiority of self or inferiority of "others" become self-evident, which in turn enables us to explore ways of solving discord without the "need" to destroy the "other".

Accepting the fact that we stand on equal footing in our quest for answers, and that non of us has more claim to truth than the other by virtue of "birth", and as we climb up the mountain of self discovery leaving our ego behind, we learn to see multiple perspectives , we grow spiritually and our horizon expands. By realizing how microscopic, thus vulnerable we are in relation to the infinite, and by accepting the relativity of our perspective and the deficiency of our restricted paradigm, we come to our senses and allow the very feelings of modesty and humbleness which are basic prerequisites for individual compassion and the emergence of sustainable, cohesive societies

However, IF we choose NOT to take that inner path of self-discovery, self-check and self-realization, if we deprive ourselves the ability to see the others' view point, we restrict our views into a one-point linear-perspective, which in turn results in a stunted growth condition.

As it has been emphasized by many insightful prophets and inspired teachers, arrogance is one of the most poisonous traits in human character. It is one of the most dangerous obstacles that blocks our ability to learn and expand.

An arrogant soul, person or group would struggle to accept that there might be a perspective that differs from his/ her own, thus their ability to learn is significantly reduced, so they keep doing the same mistakes over and over and over again... quite sad really, when we think about it.

Unfortunately, no one can help people with such attitude except themselves, because their overgrown ego and their uncontrollable arrogance would always stand in the way, separating them from the rest of humanity. By their refusal to accept the multiplicity of perspectives, they fail to comprehend that outside their own little bubble things might be viewed differently. So when an exchange of opinions occurs or when they are invited to do some self-reflection, instead of appreciating the sincerity of heart in which the advice is given, they perceive such differences of opinion and criticism as an existential threat.

The problem remains, as long as arrogance is kept unchecked, or fostered to become a prominent feature in our souls, we won't be able to accept the concept of the fallibility of our opinion, the vulnerability of our existence, the limitation of our comprehension and the imperfection of our beings.Therefore, self-reflection and looking at the self with a critical eye becomes almost an impossibility, which in turn disables us from learning and spiraling upwards, and like a child who keeps putting his finger in the fire and getting burned each time, and as long as we fail to make the link between acts and consequences, we would get stuck in a never-ending perpetual vicious circle of mistakes and pain, and so it goes . . .

The problem remains as long as arrogance is kept unchecked, or even fostered to become a prominent feature in our souls, thus rendering us incapable to accept the concept of the fallibility of our opinion, the vulnerability of our existence, the limitation of our comprehension and the imperfection of our beings. Therefore, critical introspection rendered impossible, we remain incapable to learn and to spiral upwards, and remain like a child who keeps putting his finger in the fire and getting burned each time. Whomever fails ore refuses to recognize the direct link between acts and consequences, is stuck in a never-ending perpetual vicious circle of mistakes, destruction, and pain... and so it goes .