Israel: "Mad Cow " or Simply Maddened?

[Rubo]

Uri Avnery wrote for Global Peace Alliance

 

Israel: ‘mad cow’ or simply maddened?

 

Israel is the only state in the world that has a population of 200 percent. And that’s a fact. Public opinion polls show that it has two simultaneous majorities. One is peace-loving, the other supports extreme nationalism.

At the present time, it looks like this: In every public opinion poll there is a large majority that supports the prime minister, Ariel Sharon. Sharon wants, of course, to enlarge the settlements, intensify the war against the Palestinians, eliminate their leader, Yasser Arafat, postpone a permanent solution and refuse any peace negotiations until unattainable conditions are met. Anyone who supports him must be a radical right-winger.

But the very same public opinion polls also show that a majority agrees to withdraw from (almost) all the Occupied Territories, dismantle (almost) all settlements and accept the establishment of a Palestinian state in return for peace.

 

How is this possible? Can a state have a population of more than 100 percent? If so, Israel is a very special country.

This curious situation did not come about yesterday. It started long ago. I remember public opinion polls of more than 20 years ago, which also revealed two majorities. The first majority supported the idea of expelling all Arabs from the country west of the Jordan River. The second one supported a withdrawal from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Together with those who were against both proposals, this totaled 200 percent.

Statisticians and sociologists examined, researched, shook their collective heads, shrugged their shoulders, raised both hands and thought: a crazy people. Doesn’t know what it wants. Mixed up. Schizophrenic. Suffering from a split personality.

 

But the people were not mad at all. The professors just did not know how to read the polls. What the public tried to say was: If it were possible to drive out all the Arabs, that would be wonderful. If it’s impossible, let’s get the hell out of there.

Why? For a simple reason: The one thing that unifies almost all Jewish Israelis is the wish to live in a state where there are only Jews. If we could achieve such a state in all the country between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, OK. If not, let’s leave the Occupied Territories. Not “land for peace,” but “withdrawal for the sake of safeguarding a homogeneous Jewish state.” This is the majority opinion, and there is, indeed, only one majority.

 

Some call this “racist.” Some call it “nationalist.” Some say that this is “apartheid.” But this attitude is rooted in the fact that for thousands of years, Jews have lived as a religious-ethnic community dispersed throughout the world and often suffered cruel persecution, especially in the Christian world. They have developed a ghetto mentality. They want to live among themselves, separated from others, surrounded by a high fence.

Zionism wanted to achieve this by establishing a state where Jews would live together without Gentiles. Even the presence of a considerable minority ­ the Arab citizens ­ in Israel creates severe mental stress. For most Israelis, the ideal situation would be a state without a single non-Jewish citizen. The presence of foreign workers does not bother anybody; it is temporary, and they are devoid of any rights.

 

Lately this aspiration has found new expression in an idea which is becoming quite popular: to transfer the Arab-Israeli villages adjoining the West Bank, together with their inhabitants, to the future Palestinian state, which means giving up territory so that Israel will have less non-Jewish citizens. This is quite unusual. The French, for example, have shed rivers of blood in order to keep Alsace, whose people are of German descent. India is ready to wage a nuclear war in order to keep Kashmir, which is populated by Muslims. For other nations, territory is more important than a homogeneous population, geography precedes demography. Israelis, too, like territory ­ but demography is by far more important to them.

 

One example: After the 1956 war, during which Israel conquered the Sinai and the Gaza Strip, David Ben-Gurion was compelled to give up the Sinai. At the time there was a clamor from right and left to annex the Gaza Strip. Ben-Gurion refused because he did not want to increase the number of Arab citizens by hundreds of thousands at any price. (The idea of an eternal military occupation, which allows the occupier to abstain from conferring citizenship on the occupied population, was not yet invented.)

Today, too, there is only one majority in Israel. Most Israelis are ready to pay the price demanded for peace. So why do they support Sharon, who represents the opposite? For one simple reason: They have been brought to believe that “we have no partner.”

 

There is unanimity from Avigdor Liberman and Effy Eitam on the right to Haim Ramon and Yossi Sarid on the “left” that “there is no partner.” And since there is no partner for peace, let’s support Sharon, who knows (or so it seems) how to wage war. The aim of this brainwashing is precisely to make it possible to keep the Occupied Territories and drive the Palestinians out.

The real criminal in this story is Ehud Barak. In order to hide his monumental failure as a peacemaker, he created the legend that “we offered them everything and they rejected everything.” This historic lie is the connecting link between the two seemingly contradictory results of the polls: The majority is ready to pay the price of peace but does not believe that peace is possible. So they support Sharon.

There is no riddle here. Israel is not a mad cow. It is, at most, a maddened cow.

 

Uri Avnery, founder of Gush Shalom, an Israeli peace group, wrote this commentary for the Global Peace Alliance

[Rubo]

Hagarag please do not read the space between the lines.The article is about Israel and nothing compares with I S R A E l:rolleyes:

[Rubo]

Dear Hagarag,talking about Israel or any other country which mingles in Armenian issues are fine considering Israel’s present land confiscation attempts and Denial policy and Jewish lobby efforts in Washington against Armenians. Your lap sided views are not of a person who cares about Armenia or Armenians but in fact you are acting like a syringe needle for the surgeon. Needless to say when the Turks were massacring Armenians, we had our ignorant priests who brainwashed our people to surrender to Turks in the hope of being saved but were ultimately butchered and now you are that priest trying to disparage, discourage and prevent Armenians from uniting and recognizing our adversaries and overcoming them.

[Rubo]

What bothers me the most about the attack is Sharon’s shameful declaration of the attack as the “our biggest success”

Incidentally the known war criminal Sharon indirectly responsible of killing thousands of innocent lives in Lebanon and Beirut refugee comps got away from prosecution in Belgian court. The main witness to testify against him got blown to pieces in Beirut days before court appearance-The circumstances of these happening points directly to Musad and Sharon.

 

Sharon

“We have no interest to hurt innocent civilians and are always sorry about civilians that are hurt but this action, according to me, is one of our biggest successes," Sharon said, "and of course obliges us to be on full state of alertness.

 

"Civilian victims· Leila Safira, 40· Iman Shehade, 15· Mona Hweiti, 30· Sobhi Hweiti, 4· Mohammed Hweiti, 3· Mohammed Shawwa, 40· Ahmed Shawwa, 3· Iman Matar, 27· Daria Matar, 5· Mohammed Matar, 4· Aiman Matar, 18 months· Dunia Matar, 2 months· Alaa Matar, 11

[TigrannesIII]

Rubo-

In time you, too, will learn to ignore the wrongway's ramblings. He reminds of the old man who used to live next door to my friend- when our ball would go over into his yard, he'd yell at us for being stupid kids and not give it back.

 

hagarag is the same way

[joseph]

Hagarag wants us to be a bunch of brown nosers,i am glad this guy was not in ARTSAKH when the independent war was fought,because he was going to blame the Armenians for what was happening to them,and probebly even blame the Armenians of Backo for what happend to them,i think this guy is ashamed that he is part Armenian,you dont have to listen to the turkish media,just listen to him and you know what the turks think about us,he is the turks and israels mouth peace.Hagarag:You dont have to be full bloded Armenian to be Armenian,you have to love being an Armenian.

[khodja]

This article was posted by a fellow Armenian, Rubo, whose nation-state, the ROA, has the higest homogeneity of natives within the former Soviet Union. The pot (Armenia) calling the kettle (Israel) black.

[Rubo]

Sharon goes too far, again

 

Even some Israelis share the outrage around the world over their military's missile attack on a crowded housing complex. It killed nine sleeping children and five other civilians along with the intended target, a Palestinian terrorist leader. Yet Prime Minister Ariel Sharon boasted that Tuesday's strike was "one of our biggest successes."

 

The incident is another tragic example of Sharon's long history of violently overstepping reason in Israel's struggle with the Palestinians. And his assessment of the attack shows why progress toward a peace settlement has unraveled under his rule.

 

Each time Sharon overreaches, his country pays a heavy price. This time, the terrorist group Hamas, which lost military commander Salah Shehadeh in the attack, has vowed to kill Israeli children and target bus stops, restaurants and other public places. Before the strike, Hamas had hinted that it might end its attacks on Israeli citizens.

 

Sharon's record of overkill covers nearly half a century:

 

In 1953, he avenged the murder of an Israeli woman and her two children by leading a raid on a Palestinian village that killed 69 people. Many were women and children hiding in buildings his forces blew up.

 

In 1982, as Israel's defense minister, he earned the nickname "the butcher of Sabra and Shatila" for letting Lebanese allies massacre at least 800 Palestinian civilians in two refugee camps in Lebanon.

 

Two years ago, he made a provocative visit to a holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims, a gesture that Palestinians say triggered the current uprising that has killed nearly 1,800 Palestinians and 600 Israelis.

 

Sharon's defense of the latest missile attack, which even some of his senior advisers call a "mistake," raises some of the leadership concerns that President Bush has voiced about Palestinian Authority head Yasser Arafat. Bush has called on Palestinians to choose new leaders willing to achieve an independent state through peaceful dialogue, not violence.

 

Yet Sharon believes that the only language Palestinians understand is force. Like Arafat, the Israeli prime minister has shown little interest in taking genuine steps to revive peace talks. Instead, he continues to support the expansion of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory in the West Bank, and his military forces continue to occupy most West Bank towns.

[khodja]

Kashishian, Rubo: Who are you to state MY intentions. You and your kind have been in charge of Armenian affairs for about a century now. Have you done a good job? I don't think so. My family and their friends were in charge of Armenian affairs for the previous 50 years and the Armenians rose to financial and academic heights. You are a bunch of DAKH KLOOCHS who bring us nothing but misery.

 

I am concerned with Armenians. You are more focused on the interests of Palestinians. That is why you have brought down the Israelis wrath on our heads.

[Rubo]

Hagarag, I will try last time to articulate the fallacy of your thought pattern. (I know it is futile)

Israeli anti Armenian policies are not the result of Armenian’s actions or position in Arab-Israeli conflict but rather it is based on Israeli need to feel secure, hence the closer ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Israel needs Turkey as counterweight to Syria, Iraq and Arabs in general and Ankara has had long standing feuds with her neighbors therefore their partnership is natural. What you Mr. Hagarag and your types fail to understand that Israel can do those things without active denial policy of Armenian genocide and other hostile issues directed at Armenia. Israeli denial of AG goes deeper then simply pleasing the Turks moreover it serves the purpose of having the Holocaust as the sole important tragedy to propagate on international scene and use as a political weapon. You are extremely biased towards Armenians and you shamelessly blame every action against Armenians on Armenians. Your reasoning is that of a child or miscued priorities.

[khodja]

I operate from first-hand experience with Armenians. I understand now in my middle years what I did not understand in my youth, why my father, scion of one of the most illustrious Armenian families, changed his name, his religion (to Protestant) and his identity.

[Rubo]

Hagarag jan, your past and family past should not be a hindrance to understand Armenians and seeing them more objectively. Rape victim should not blame all men for the same crime therefore your assessment of our people is also construed. My family has experienced real racism in Armenia (we were not natives) by some ignorant native Armenians but I never blamed all natives for racism and prejudice. Our experience was extremely traumatic on my mother and father but they never complained in generalities. I turned up still loving our people and married to a Georgian Armenian and we are raising Armenian kids with pride. I am proud of being an Armenian and would not want to change anything. I genuinely advice you not to put our people down based on your family experience since that does disservice to those Armenians who genuinely want to help our communities and build stronger homeland, furthermore you invariantly play the pipes of our enemies and further create tense discourses.Please take your time and think seriously about this.

[khodja]

Rubo,

 

I have heeded your advice. Yet, what do you see as the outcome of our problems with the Israelis (re: Armenian lands) and Jewish lobbying groups in the US (re: Genocide Resolutions and other concerns)?

[khodja]

My ex-wife's grandparent's estate, one of the most desired in the Beirut area, was confiscated by the Moslems in 1975. They were told to leave their home at gunpoint. Not much dissimilar from what happened to my family members at their Eastern Anatolia residence in 1915, except these Beirutzis were not killed. Luckily my grandmother, father and aunt were at their other residence in Pera at the time, or I would not be here today.

[Rubo]

Dear guys, when I mention that Jews in Washington do substantial damage to our cause, this does not mean automatically I support the Palestinians. Armenian government has been pretty neutral in Arab-Israeli conflict but Hagarag likes to blame Armenians for Zionists actions! (Oohhh I said Zionism, therefore I must be a Jew hatter! ) I am actually exhausted from this empty argument if Hagarag hates his Armenianism, there is nothing I can do but when he blames Armenians for Jewish lobby efforts just pisses me up. What an intellectually moronic argument!

[Rubo]

A Well-Entrenched Factor

The intimidating power of the "Jewish lobby" is not a new phenomenon, but has long been an important factor in American life.

 

In 1941 Charles Lindbergh spoke about the danger of Jewish power in the media and government. The shy 39-year-old -- known around the world for his epic 1927 New York to Paris flight, the first solo trans-Atlantic crossing -- was addressing 7,000 people in Des Moines, Iowa, on September 11, 1941, about the dangers of US involvement in the war then raging in Europe. The three most important groups pressing America into war, he explained, were the British, the Jews, and the Roosevelt administration.

 

Of the Jews, he said: "Their greatest danger to this country lies in their large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio, and our government." Lindbergh went on:

 

... For reasons which are understandable from their viewpoint as they are inadvisable from ours, for reasons which are not American, [they] wish to involve us in the war. We cannot blame them for looking out for what they believe to be their own interests, but we must also look out for ours. We cannot allow the natural passions and prejudices of other peoples to lead our country to destruction.

 

In 1978, Jewish American scholar Alfred M. Lilienthal wrote in his detailed study, The Zionist Connection:[note 10]

 

How has the Zionist will been imposed on the American people?... It is the Jewish connection, the tribal solidarity among themselves and the amazing pull on non-Jews, that has molded this unprecedented power ... In the larger metropolitan areas, the Jewish-Zionist connection thoroughly pervades affluent financial, commercial, social, entertainment, and art circles.

 

As a result of the Jewish grip on the media, wrote Lilienthal, news coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict in American television, newspapers and magazines is relentlessly sympathetic to Israel. This is manifest, for example, in the misleading portrayal of Palestinian "terrorism." As Lilienthal put it: "One-sided reportage on terrorism, in which cause is never related to effect, was assured because the most effective component of the Jewish connection is probably that of media control."

 

One-Sided 'Holocaust' History

The Jewish hold on cultural and academic life has had a profound impact on how Americans look at the past. Nowhere is the well entrenched Judeocentric view of history more obvious than in the "Holocaust" media campaign, which focuses on the fate of Jews in Europe during World War II.

 

Israeli Holocaust historian Yehuda Bauer, a professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, has remarked:[note 11]

 

Whether presented authentically or inauthentically, in accordance with the historical facts or in contradiction to them, with empathy and understanding or as monumental kitsch, the Holocaust has become a ruling symbol of our culture ... Hardly a month goes by without a new TV production, a new film, a new drama, new books, prose or poetry, dealing with the subject, and the flood is increasing rather than abating.

 

Non-Jewish suffering simply does not merit comparable attention. Overshadowed in the focus on Jewish victimization are, for example, the tens of millions of victims of America's World War II ally, Stalinist Russia, along with the tens of millions of victims of China's Maoist regime, as well as the 12 to 14 million Germans, victims of the flight and expulsion of 1944-1949, of whom some two million lost their lives.

 

The well-financed Holocaust media and "educational" campaign is crucially important to the interests of Israel. Paula Hyman, a professor of modern Jewish history at Yale University, has observed: "With regard to Israel, the Holocaust may be used to forestall political criticism and suppress debate; it reinforces the sense of Jews as an eternally beleaguered people who can rely for their defense only upon themselves. The invocation of the suffering endured by the Jews under the Nazis often takes the place of rational argument, and is expected to convince doubters of the legitimacy of current Israeli government policy."[note 12]

 

Norman Finkelstein, a Jewish scholar who has taught political science at City University of New York (Hunter College), says in his book, The Holocaust Industry, that "invoking The Holocaust" is "a ploy to delegitimize all criticism of Jews."[note 13] "By conferring total blamelessness on Jews, the Holocaust dogma immunizes Israel and American Jewry from legitimate censure ... Organized Jewry has exploited the Nazi holocaust to deflect criticism of Israel's and its own morally indefensible policies." He writes of the brazen "shakedown" of Germany, Switzerland and other countries by Israel and organized Jewry "to extort billions of dollars." "The Holocaust," Finkelstein predicts, "may yet turn out to be the 'greatest robbery in the history of mankind'."

 

Jews in Israel feel free to act brutally against Arabs, writes Israeli journalist Ari Shavit, "believing with absolute certitude that now, with the White House, the Senate and much of the American media in our hands, the lives of others do not count as much as our own."[note 14]

 

Admiral Thomas Moorer, former Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has spoken with blunt exasperation about the Jewish-Israeli hold on the United States:[note 15]

 

I've never seen a President -- I don't care who he is -- stand up to them [the Israelis]. It just boggles the mind. They always get what they want. The Israelis know what is going on all the time. I got to the point where I wasn't writing anything down. If the American people understood what a grip those people have got on our government, they would rise up in arms. Our citizens certainly don't have any idea what goes on.

 

Today the danger is greater than ever. Israel and Jewish organizations, in collaboration with this country's pro-Zionist "amen corner," are prodding the United States -- the world's foremost military and economic power -- into new wars against Israel's enemies. As the French ambassador in London recently acknowledged, Israel -- which he called "that shitty little country" -- is a threat to world peace. "Why should the world be in danger of World War III because of those people?," he said.[note 16]

 

To sum up: Jews wield immense power and influence in the United States. The "Jewish lobby" is a decisive factor in US support for Israel. Jewish-Zionist interests are not identical to American interests. In fact, they often conflict.

 

As long as the "very powerful" Jewish lobby remains entrenched, there will be no end to the systematic Jewish distortion of current affairs and history, the Jewish-Zionist domination of the U.S. political system, Zionist oppression of Palestinians, the bloody conflict between Jews and non-Jews in the Middle East, and the Israeli threat to peace.

[nairi]

There is one thing that still upsets me greatly: My sophomore history teacher who completely overlooked and ignored my essay on the Armenian Genocide. Our assignment was a 1500-word essay on a 20th Century event. I was the ONLY one in my class to write about an event that had never been discussed by any of my history teachers so far. In fact, I was the only one to write about an event that wasn't even mentioned in our 1250-page history book. Not to mention that I was the only one to get the highest grade in my class (with a lot of help from my dad, but still...). And yet, my teacher didn't even care enough to share it with the rest of the class. It still upsets me when I think about it, especially after all the (ad nauseam) emphasis on the horrors and lessons of the Holocaust we had.

 

[Note: I was the only Armenian in my class in a school with 1200 pupils, of which three were Armenians, including one who identified himself as Turkish.]

 

[ July 27, 2002, 12:58 PM: Message edited by: nairi ]

[MadArmo]

Okay ...

 

Just a reminder to all Armenians to stay united no matter how much opinions conflict, I don't blame hagarag his right... Palastians are not trustworthy at all.

 

Facts:

 

Lebanon 1975

 

Palastians turn on the Armenians in beriut over vaccant apartments in Bourge Hammoud, Armenians refused them entery and Street fights broke out and they were crushed, Property damages were heavy especially since most of the merchants were Armenians...

 

Lebanon 1976

 

Palastians attacked an Armenian controled outpost "Arakatz" center and surrounding it, Our hero's fought them off, After several hours of negotiations they backed off with revenge in their hearts.

 

Our beloved leader at the time was Khachik Arabian, May his soul rest in peace...

 

That Same year the infamous sloagan they chanted and wrote on the walls...

 

"Ermen miskeen and thaghtel sikeen..."

 

translates !

 

Armenians are sorry and under our knives...

 

Yes, They are butchers and I have no symphathy for them.

 

Armenians answer the call...

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~artsakh/_images/anca.gif

 

Sound Off !

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~artsakh/_images/reborn.jpg

 

Work for your liberty...

[Arpa]

In case you are wondering, I have not read any of the posts regarding those damn Jews.

Here I am, I go away for a few days and the entire forum is full of news about Jews and other garbage.

Does one have to join a Jewish forum to talk about Armenian stuff? Do they talk about us? What do they say? Who cares? Why are we talking about those damn Jews? Does that mean there is nothing Armenian to talk about? Then, how about we close this damn forum and join a Jewish one. Perhaps then we may talk about Armenian things.

How idiotic can we be?!! Is it not enough that we have been reading those Jewish fables that some call the Word of God? Yeah right!!!

 

THE HELL WITH THEM!!!

CAN WE TALK ABOUT OURSELVES?!!

OR, IN THE LEAST, TALK ABOUT THEM AS OFTEN AS THEY TALK ABOUT US. Like never??

 

If this Jewish dialogue must continue then I must find another medium to talk about things Armenian.

 

SCREW THEM!!!

[Rubo]

Dear Arpa,it is too bad that you did not read the posts on jews since they all are related to Armenian issues as well.Jewish lobby efforts to deny the AG and And the present Armenian land confiscation attempts by Israel (there is a letter compigh going on ANCA) are very much an Armenian issues.In case you are wondering why I did not write about Japan, china or India they do not intermingle in our affairs as Jews do. Cheers Ruben

[Rubo]

Arpa forgive me, you brought the cynical and comical side of me so bare with me and smile

 

I jilt up from my sleep

Jeese Jews were jabbering all around me.

I reached for the Jar of jam

But the damm jelly could not be found

 

I called for my dog Jesse but he was busy

Chasing jenny

Poor jenny fell down and broke her little jewbone

 

Her Jewish doctor Joseph

Could not stop writing his jewrnal

“Poor little Jenny I can’t fix her little jewbonie”

 

All this would not have happened

If I had my juice before my nap time

Jesus Moses jolly Santa

I wished we all had our joyous siesta

 

By Rubo

[Arpa]

That is exactly my point.

Who the hell they are to mandate their will on everybody.

If we don't like their answer then we should not ask them. Who the hell cares what they think about the AG? Who assigned them judge jury and executioner? Who gave them the right to be the consciece of the world?

Prophwsies are a bunch of gibberish until we bring it upon ourselves. And it seems Armenians are the only imbeciles to listen to them. Why are ANCA and AAA even giving them the courtesy? Just tell them to go to hell, may then they will shut up.

You don't like thier answer then tell to shut the hell up!!

[Rubo]

Dear Arpa , scoring victories in Washington is not as simple as telling Jewish lobbies to shut up and assume they will stop their activities against Armenia. You very much sound like Hagarag! Let’s blame ourselves for Jews pursuing their national objectives and goals while we, you suggest, ignore them and the Jews succeed advancing their every cause against us. Political awareness is not easy but I suggest you visit ANCA site and educate yourself.

[joseph]

To ARPA:WHO ASSIGNED THEM JUDJE JURY AND EXECUTIONER???.Hagarag did,dont you read his responses,he thinks we Armenians should go down on our knees and beg them to be nice to us.RUBO: I agree with you 100%.

[Rubo]

Dear Arpa, I am repeating myself … We Armenians do not like to talk about the Jews because we got nothing better to do but we are compel to act politically to advance OUR CAOUSE which may include counteracting Jewish or Turkish lobbies in Washington. Simply ignoring the Jews does not solve the present land confiscation attempts in Israel or reverse the Israel denial policy. If we do nothing chances are we will loose our properties. People, who insult my heritage, greatly upset me.