Saturday 17 March 2012

Dissident Voice: A Call for the Disavowal of Splittism

DateSaturday, March 17, 2012 at 1:30PM AuthorGilad Atzmon
Abunimah Boycotting and Censoring Gilad Atzmon ?
When someone within the broad framework of social justice espouses views that are repugnant to others within a social justice movement, disavowal of such views is fair.1 Attacking the holder of the repugnant views would be overstepping the lines of decency. Nevertheless, it is bizarre that mass murderers and war criminals are accorded much more respect than racists, homophobes, or misogynists. How else to explain why no social justice group has formally called for a disavowal of Barack Obama, the Nobel Peace Prize winner complicit in the killing of so many Afghanis, Iraqis, Iranians, Bahrainis, Egyptians, Yemenis, Syrians, Libyans, Palestinians, etc.? Yet when “a musician born in Israel” speaks out against occupation, oppression, and killing and denounces the groups behind the occupation, oppression, and killing, he is excoriated allegedly because of racism against the occupier-oppressor group.

A group led by a pro-Palestinian rights campaigner, Ali Abunimah put out a call for a disavowal of Gilad Atzmon, “a musician born in Israel and currently living in the United Kingdom, [who] has taken on the self-appointed task of defining for the Palestinian movement the nature of our struggle, and the philosophy underpinning it.”2 [italics added]

Self-appointed? Please. Do humans need an appointment to oppose social injustices?
The anti-Atzmon signatories state they know best how to define the Palestinian movement the nature of the Palestinian struggle; that may very well be so, and that is something that is rightfully promoted by Palestinians in the struggle.

I have not read every word or heard every speech by Atzmon, but I never came to a conclusion that he was defining anything for Palestinians. Atzmon has been focused on the occupiers, a group he stems from, and what makes them occupier-oppressors, and as a member of the group (he has since renounced allegiance with), and as a human being he has every right (indeed, it should be a duty of every human) to criticize the war crimes and crimes against peace and humanity perpetrated by another group.

Surprisingly, the signatories resort to the gutter of Zionist tactics and hurl the abused canard of racism and anti-Semitism against Atzmon. Yet Atzmon’s entire thesis is predicated upon the fact that everyone belongs to the group called Homo sapiens. He is opposed to fractionalization into groups that ignores the basic humanity of all and the rights that all humans must share equally. He opposes group/tribal supremacism and calls for the dignity of all humans to be respected.

That members of one group in large numbers deny the humanity of another group of humans must be opposed. However, it is not merely sufficient to oppose this inhumanity; it should be eradicated so that such inhumanity never surfaces again. To solve the scourge of inhumanity that arises within a group, it is only logical that the group be studied in depth and the causes of the inhumanity be identified so that solutions may be forthcoming.

Atzmon does not mince words. He states matters boldly and forthrightly. I do not always agree with his wording, and I diverge from some of his findings and conclusions. Nonetheless, his basic thesis — that we are all human beings and must treat and respect each other as equally endowed with human rights — is a thesis with which I fully agree.
Abunimah et al. charge:
Atzmon’s politics rest on one main overriding assertion that serves as springboard for vicious attacks on anyone who disagrees with his obsession with “Jewishness”. He claims that all Jewish politics is “tribal,” and essentially, Zionist. Zionism, to Atzmon, is not a settler-colonial project, but a trans-historical “Jewish” one, part and parcel of defining one’s self as a Jew. Therefore, he claims, one cannot self-describe as a Jew and also do work in solidarity with Palestine, because to identify as a Jew is to be a Zionist. We could not disagree more. Indeed, we believe Atzmon’s argument is itself Zionist because it agrees with the ideology of Zionism and Israel that the only way to be a Jew is to be a Zionist.
Atzmon, say the signatories, claims that all Jewish politics is “tribal…” How to respond? I am left wondering what exactly “Jewish politics” is? Is it politics inside Israel where Zionism is thoroughly dominant or does it include politics in Canada, the US, and the UK, and elsewhere where the Jewish Lobby holds extraordinary sway? Politics is, by its very nature, tribal. I disagree with it, but it is a fact.
As far as I understand, Atzmon does not say that one cannot self-describe as a Jew and also do work in solidarity with Palestine. Abunimah et al. have set up a strawman to criticize. I understand that Atzmon finds it is unnecessary to self-describe as a Jew and that such self-description obfuscates the thesis that we are all humans. For this writer, to identify as a Jew does not mean to be a Zionist. A core principle of progressivism is respect for diversity. That people identify with any group is non-problematic as long as the basic humanity of everyone is respected.

The signatories may well be characterized as having sprung a “vicious attack” on Atzmon. Describing Atzmon as being obsessed with “Jewishness” is like criticizing a Canadian patriot with being obsessed with “Canadianness” or a devout Catholic as being obsessed with “Christianness” because Atzmon was born a Jew. When a group starts charging others with racism and anti-Semitism, then they should be careful of uttering allegations that smack of racism and anti-Semitism.

Abunimah et al. state without offering one example in their call: “… as Palestinians, we see such [Atzmon's] language as immoral and completely outside the core foundations of humanism, equality and justice, on which the struggle for Palestine and its national movement rests.”

This is splittism; it is disunity; it is anti-solidarizing. It is well known that a house split against itself will fall. I am sure that many Palestinians support Atzmon for having the courage to accuse a large segment of Jewry of condoning and supporting Zionism and its crimes. It is important is that there is a solidarity against all racism, Zionism, colonialism, and imperialism, even though there will be disagreements on tactics in achieving social justice.
The anti-Atzmon signatories “reaffirm that there is no room in this historic and foundational analysis of our struggle for any attacks on our Jewish allies, Jews, or Judaism…” With all due respect, this is misleading and just plain wrong. First, as stated, I do not find that Atzmon is defining the struggle for Palestinians as Abunimah et al. claim (without presenting one piece of clear evidence). Second, while solidarity is crucial to resistance and revolutionary movements, the tenets of an ideology (or in this case, a religion) are — and must be — challengeable. Judaism must be as open to honest scrutiny as any other religion like Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, etc.
I agree wholeheartedly with the signatories that anti-Semitic or racist language is anathema.

I support wholeheartedly the Palestinian people’s struggle for social justice, for human rights, for the rights to regain what has been criminally dispossessed from them. However, Abunimah et al. appear disingenuous when they write, “We will not allow a false sense of expediency to drive us into alliance with those who attack, malign, or otherwise attempt to target our political fraternity with all liberation struggles and movements for justice.” First, who is driving who? The only driving that is palpable from their invective (because they are maligning Atzmon) is to drive Atzmon out. Second, I am unaware of anyone driving Abunimah et al. into alliance with Atzmon or that he has requested such a specific alliance. Third, Atzmon has not sought leadership — that I know of — to any political fraternity or liberation struggle. He is a free agent, and free agents have what any free human has, the right to speak freely, and particularly to give voice to their conscience when they see evil. No one has the right to deprive another human of this freedom.
Palestinians must guide their liberation struggle. They must protect the integrity of their movement; but the integrity of a movement is impaired by wilfully attacking others — especially the human rights and freedom of others — outside of the movement. If Palestinians want to go it alone against the Zionists, then that is their prerogative. I believe, nonetheless, that Atzmon is strategically correct and Abunimah et al. are strategically wrong. Zionism, racism, colonialism, and imperialism are best defeated when the tidal wave of a united humanity washes away the evils of inhumanity.

May all humans conspicuously recognize, affirm, and support the humanity and dignity of Palestinians, the humanity and dignity of Tamils, the humanity and dignity of Indigenous peoples everywhere, and the humanity and dignity of all peoples who suffer occupation and oppression wherever they may be.
  1. I did so myself when one writer opined that Jews were a monolith. See “This is Not Progressivism,” Dissident Voice, 6 February 2006. []
  2. Ali Abunimah, et al., “Granting No Quarter: A Call for the Disavowal of the Racism and Antisemitism of Gilad Atzmon,” US Palestinian Community Network, 13 March 2012. []
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'US will try to preserve low-grade instability in Syria'

Press TV


March 16 2012
The secretary-general of the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah has called on the Syrians to start political dialogue to resolve their differences.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has warned that any other course of action would result in more bloodshed.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. The violence has claimed the lives of hundreds of people, including many security forces.

Damascus blames ‘outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups’ for the unrest, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Lawrence Davidson, a professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, to get more on the issue.

The video offers the opinions of two additional guests: Omar Nashabi from Al Akhbar, a daily Arabic language newspaper published in the Lebanese capital Beirut, and Jiwad Rashad from Syrian Social Club.

What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview:

Press TV: What the Syrian government has done so far in terms of the constitution, in terms of the reforms, is much more than what for example Yemen has done under this joint US-Persian Gulf Arab countries mainly Saudi Arabia and we can include some of the other countries from the Persian Gulf area also. But Syria is accused of doing nothing and when it comes to the efforts by President Bashar al-Assad and his government, why this contradiction?

Davidson: I think it is a political positioning, if you will. There is no inherent contradiction. The government in Syria has in fact set forth a program of reform. Now that has been done under pressure but it has been done and I think that a certain amount of pressure will have to be maintained on the government to make sure that there is a modicum of follow-through on this.

But that pressure cannot be in the form of a civil war and that is really what these outside agitators, if you will, and their supporters really want. The United States, the Saudis, what they want is regime change and clearly in the case of Syria, the only way you are going to get regime change is by a very bloody and destructive civil war and so it is [de facto] that is what they are trying to do.

That is why they are smuggling the weapons; that is why they are enticing Syrian soldiers to desert and that is why these Saudis are pouring in the money. Now that seems to me that strategy has resulted in the pressure that is factionalizing the opposition and so there probably are a lot of Syrians who had started out in the opposition and demonstrated in the streets, etc. would say OK, let's take the government out of its words, so to speak, and see where these proposed reforms go.

And I think that they are wise decision under the circumstances because the alternative is pretty bad. However, I do not think that we should kid ourselves. If there is going to be serious follow-through on these reforms, people are going to have to periodically take to the streets in a non-violent fashion but in a relatively massive fashion to make sure the government knows they are still there.

Press TV: We saw in the hundreds and thousands today Syrians poured out; Kofi Annan tomorrow will be making his revelations to the UN. What do you think? Is this the point where some of the Arab countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia along with the US and its allies have realized their approach has not worked, of course given the fact that Russia and China have stood firmly against them?

Davidson: I am not sure if that is the case. I think they have realized that they cannot promote outright civil war and get their regime change, but I think that they are perfectly willing to maintain a low-grade unstabilizing kind of profits. So I do not think that the smuggling of the weapons and the funding of an armed opposition, I do not think that is going to go away; I do not think it is going to go away even if everybody else is satisfied with the reforms of the government.

So my feeling is that you are going to have this sort of insidious, periodic outburst of violence, car bombing, the whole nine yards, I think that is going to go on for a while yet because a certain modicum of the instability particularly in a place like Syria are distracting the government say from its confrontation with Israel, making nervous the Iranians. I think that that kind of low-grade instability is something that the US will try to maintain.

MSK/HN
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Syrian opposition coalition formed without the SNC

Five Syrian opposition groups on Saturday announced the formation of a new coalition, a sign of growing opposition to the Western-backed Syrian National Council (SNC) a year after the start of the protest movement.

The five groups said their yet unnamed coalition would act independently from the SNC, the main opposition coalition which was set up in August.

The new group is made up of the liberal National Movement for Change, the Islamist Movement for the Fatherland, the Bloc for Liberation and Development, the Turkmen National Bloc, and the Kurdish Movement for a New Life.

Asked about relations between the new coalition and the SNC, Ammar al-Qurabi, leader of the National Movement for Change, told AFP his "coalition was not set up in opposition to anyone, other than Assad's regime, but rather to unite the opposition outside the SNC."

"We see the SNC as a temporary structure which will disappear with time, while our own coalition is a more long-term entity that will be there after liberation" in Syria, according to Imamuddin al-Rashid, head of the Movement for the Fatherland.

The SNC has emerged as one of the main voices of the opposition, but is often criticized by activists inside Syria who say the mostly exiled leadership has little connection to protesters on the ground.
The SNC was dealt a blow earlier this week when three prominent members resigned in frustration.
"There is a small group that wants to monopolize the SNC and all the decision-making," Kamal al-Labwani, one of those who quit, told AFP. "They are doing nothing for the opposition.

"Some are in it for personal gain and the Muslim Brotherhood is trying to monopolize aid and weapons to gain popular influence on the ground."
(AFP, Al-Akhbar)
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Iraq Vows: No Arms to Syria to Cross Our territory

Local Editor

Iraqi flagIraq has informed Iran that it will not permit arms shipments to Syria to pass through or over its territory, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Saturday.

Baghdad informed Tehran through the Iranian ambassador "that Iraq will not permit the use of its air space or its territory for the transit of any arms cargo to Syria," Dabbagh said in a statement.

"Neither cargo of arms nor munitions coming from any party or country will pass the air space or borders of Iraq and no combatant from any side will have the right of passage to Syria," he added.

On Friday, the United States said it was concerned about Iranian aid cargo flights over Iraq to Syria, saying it has warned Iraq they might contain arms that could be used by Damascus to crush protests.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki insisted Friday that all items transported through Iraq to Syria were humanitarian goods, after a US newspaper reported Iran was moving weapons to Syria via Iraqi air space.

"Iraq does not allow its land or its skies to be a passage for weapons in any direction, and from any source," Maliki said in a statement released by his office.

He said shipments going through Iraq were "only carrying humanitarian goods, not weapons."

Source: Agencies
17-03-2012 - 18:28 Last updated 17-03-2012 - 18:28


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Syria Terrorist Blasts Kill Civilians, Police


Local Editor

Two terrorist attacks rocked the Syrian capital on Saturday, killing several civilians and police.
"Two terrorist bombings struck Damascus this morning," the television said, adding that preliminary reports suggested the attacks were car bombs.

The first blast targeted the criminal police headquarters in the Duwar al-Jamarek area, while the second hit an office of Syria's intelligence services on Baghdad Boulevard in Al-Qasaa district.

The television broadcast photos and videos of the explosions, with blood and body parts being scattered.

Syrian cities have been targets of many terrorist attacks, with dozens of civilians and security forces have been killed.

DAMASCUS, (SANA)_ Two terrorist attacks targeted Damascus Saturday morning as Preliminary Indications Point to 2 booby-trapped Cars Attack.

The two terrorist attacks targeted two crowded places in the capital: Customs Square, and the zone linking Baghdad Street to al-Qasaa' Quarter.

Scores of civilians and security personnel were martyred in the two terrorist attacks targeted the Criminal Police Force Headquarters and the Air Security Directorate.
Al-Ibrahim


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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:


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."


"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.

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Israel Shamir: To disavow or debate Abunimah


Israel Shamir, like Gilad Atzmon, is a brilliant pro-Palestinian ex-Israeli-Jew whose thoughts on Jewish identity politics and Zionism have elicited the ire of the gatekeepers.
His lack of appreciation for Gilad Atzmon’s The Wandering Who? is curious; maybe it’s because Shamir has worked the same territory himself and grown tired of it. Aside from that, his latest politically-incorrect tirade is right on the mark.

Listen to my interview with Israel Shamir: http://noliesradio.org/archives/43054

To disavow or debate Abunimah

by Israel Shamir

To disavow or debate Abunimah – this is the correct question. Indeed, an American citizen, born in Jordan, who never tread on the land of Palestine, decided to ostracize Gilad Atzmon, a native Palestinian, born and bred on its soil – a silly idea! Next step, he will forbid earthquakes and hurricanes to occur.

For me, there is a terrible sense of deja-vu. Some ten years ago, the same Abunimah and his obese Lebanese boyfriend successfully hunted me out of the pro-Palestinian movement, saying that without Shamir, they will win sooner. Ten years passed, and the movement did not get to the mark it was then.

This repeat proves that 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.

This is expected: the Palestinian discourse is heavily policed one; the Jews can’t allow it to run free so they would not get unexpected results. They deform it by using their anti-zionist agents like despicable Roland Rance and Greenstein, and by their Palestinian stooges like Abunimah. You can easily understand who is doing their work: they are allowed to appear in the mainstream media on regular basis, so they have to be enemies.

And despite revulsion I feel every time his name is mentioned, I’d say: something good may come even of an Abunimah. Remember Gollum who helped to destroy the Ring: even he was useful, in the last run. So one does not have to ostracise him; let us tolerate him until his own brothers will deal with this treacherous beast as he deserves.

As for Gilad Atzmon, his recent writing disappointed me, for he went heavily into navel-glazing of Jewish identity search. In my view, this is a dead-end; but a writer and a thinker should be allowed to explore dead-ends. And anyway, nobody forces us to read all these endless soul-search reports. Still, he wrote many wonderful pieces and will write many more, after he will exhaust his soul-searching.
However, as I wrote previously, his writing is fully within the framework of Jewish thought, partly in the tradition of Weininger and early Zionists, partly in the latest post-Zionist Israeli line. Our Arab brothers, perhaps, are not sufficiently aware of that; their interference is utterly out-of-place in this inter-Jewish polemics. The most important signee against Gilad, the heir to Edward Said’s cathedra in the Columbia U, Joseph Massad, whom I do respect for his brave struggle against the Gay International, failed to understand it again: years ago, he proclaimed Israel Shahak, another inter-Jewish heretic, “an anti-Semite”.

Our Arab brothers will do well if they will stand out of this debate: let the Jews fight out the battle for their identity. As it happens, Gilad is their strongest champion on the Jewish side, they should cheer, not discourage him.
- Israel Shamir
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Military correspondent for Israel's Channel II in Hospitality of the Syrian Revolution capital and Deraa!?


March 16, 2012 22:03 Number of Views 2271

Itay Angel entered Deraa and the surrounding area via Jordan with the help of "Al Jazeera" photographer, in Homs Mr. Rami and "Omari battalion" and the members of the "General Authority of the Syrian Revolution!"?

المراسل العسكري للقناة الإسرائيلية الثانية في ضيافة عاصمة الثورة السورية وثوارها... درعا!؟

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Iranians feel as if their arms are being twisted, & are not known for crying "uncle."

Via FLC

"... The views of average Iranians reflect slightly different priorities. There is no doubt that citizens' daily lives are deeply affected by international sanctions -- Iran's import-dependent economy is struggling, and the riyal has lost half its buying power since the beginning of the year. What's more, the progress of Iran's nuclear program isn't a top priority for many of the country's citizens. Nevertheless, it is increasingly difficult to find people who believe the leadership should concede on this issue.
While complaints are rampant about the soaring prices of consumer goods, and Iranians lay plenty of the blame at the feet of the government for economic mismanagement and long-standing corruption, shutting down Iran's nuclear program -- which, incidentally was originally started with the help of the United States in the 1970s -- is out of the question. The essence of the not-so-sophisticated argument employed by Iranians at all levels of society is: "If other countries can have enrichment programs, why can't we?"...
Iran's sanctions profiteers also have their choice of luxury goods to choose from in Tehran. An insane proliferation of European luxury cars has been building in the capital for several months -- a Maserati dealership is set to open any day now, just off one of central Tehran's main squares. Some Iranians see their country's capacity for unchecked consumption as progress, but it's also a reminder that the economy is still functioning, even if top White House officials insist that sanctions are "working."
What is really at stake is Iran's relatively high standard of living, not something so grave as starvation. Iranians asked about their country's economic struggles resent comparisons with any countries other than those of the developed world.
"You can't compare us to Africa," they say, with the understanding being what they mean is that "we're better than that." They don't even accept comparisons with Arab countries and their uprisings. Turkey and the United Arab Emirates -- relative success stories in the region, which Iranians believe have thrived due in large part to Iranian investment -- are topics better left alone.
Iranians are unsatisfied with many aspects of their leadership, but certainly aren't eager for a war or even a revolution. They are proud of their accomplishments, old and new, and want to be acknowledged for both. From Tehran, it's hard to see how Washington's strategy -- which seems to hold no incentives for the Iranian state or its people -- can ever fulfill these aims. Iranians feel as if their arms are being twisted, and one thing that should be crystal clear by now is that they are not known for saying "uncle."
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