Israel: Self-hate or Glasnost? Antony Loewenstein Tuesday 18 September 2007
Banksy artwork on the West Bank barrier.
Something strange is happening in the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, though far away from the action itself.
Deliberations between the two sides continue with little to show for their efforts. The occupation in the West Bank continues to deepen. The November ‘peace conference’ is looking shakier by the day. Hamas is sidelined by much of the international community and the split between it and Fatah is worsening.
I DON'T KNOW MUCH, BUT FEEL THERE ARE SOME IN CHARGE WHO DON'T WANT PEACE, UNTIL THEY KILL MORE OF EACH OTHER .. SUPPOSE SOME ON BOTH SIDES.
But something else happened recently, virtually ignored in the Australia media. Israel flew over Syria and fired its weapons into sovereign territory. Haaretz reported the latest developments:
Syria's ambassador to Washington over the weekend denied foreign media reports that an Israel Air Force strike on his country 10 days ago targeted a nuclear project being undertaken with the cooperation of North Korea.
SUPPOSE ALL YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT THIS .. I DIDN'T ..
According to the foreign press reports, the target of the IAF raid was a Syrian nuclear installation that was constructed in the northeastern corner of the country, with North Korean assistance.
The story shows that Israel is becoming increasingly brazen in flexing its military muscle in the Middle East — and Washington is more than happy for it to continue its bullying tactics. .. KNEW THAT .. HA! .. After all, the United States recently increased its own military spending in the region, blissfully unaware that trying to isolate Iran will likely have the opposite effect. .. MY PROBLEM IS THAT I JUST CAN'T BRING MYSELF TO BELIEVE THAT THEY COULD BE .. Israel’s supposed independent status is bankrolled by the world’s leading superpower, and its ability to move is severely limited without Washington’s backing.
But what if we put geo-politics aside from a moment? As a long-time writer on and observer of the Israel/Palestine conflict, I want to argue that there is a fundamental shift occurring within the world’s Jewish Diaspora communities. In the words of Time.com’s senior editor, Tony Karon, a ‘Jewish glasnost’ is upon us.
Pointing to a recent study that showed that only 20 per cent of US Jews aged under 35 felt a strong attachment to Israel, and only 54 per cent were comfortable with the very idea of the Jewish State, Karon writes:
[These] startling figures alone underscore the absurdity of [the] suggestion that to challenge Israel is to ‘defame an entire people.’ They also help frame the context for what I would call an emerging Jewish glasnost in which Jewish critics of Israel are increasingly willing to make themselves known.
TOO BAD FOR CRAIG THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE THE SAME GUTS. GUESS HE FELT HE HAD TOO MUCH TO LOSE by being more of himself .. is sad for him and for all of us .. well, for me anyway and i know for many others ..
When I arrived in the United States 13 years ago [from South Africa], I was often surprised to find that people with whom I seemed to share a progressive, cosmopolitan worldview would suddenly morph into raging ultranationalists when the conversation turned to Israel. Back then, it would have seemed unthinkable for historian Tony Judt to advocate a binational State for Israelis and Palestinians or for Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen to write that ‘Israel itself is a mistake. It is an honest mistake, a well-intentioned mistake, a mistake for which no one is culpable, but the idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians) has produced a century of warfare and terrorism of the sort we are seeing now.’ Unthinkable, too, was the angry renunciation of Zionism by Avrum Burg, former speaker of Israel's Knesset.
The evidence is growing that many Jews — even some within Israel — are recognising that the Jewish State has no long-term future without profound shifts in its behaviour. Perhaps more importantly, however, there are a steadily increasing number of Jews who will no longer be silenced by accusations of disloyalty to the utopian Zionist ideal — an ideal that historians can prove was little more than a well-executed plan of ethnic cleansing.]/b]
Haaretz columnist Danny Rubinstein has likened Israel’s behaviour in the occupied territories to that of South Africa during apartheid. John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt’s book, The Israel Lobby, further erodes the financial, political and moral support offered by the US towards Israel, arguing that the Jewish State should be treated like any other country, not as a special case deserving unique dispensation. Its abominable behaviour in the occupied territories should be reason alone to tie US financial support to withdrawal of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
The launch of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) in Britain and Independent Australian Jewish Voices (IAJV) (of which I am a co-founder) show that the self-declared guardians of Jewish nationalism are lying when they claim to speak for all Jews.
The IAJV is planning a number of prominent events in 2008 to show the wider community that Jews welcome a diverse range of viewpoints on the Israel/Palestine conflict, from both Jews and Arabs. No area should be out of bounds nor any proposed solution beyond discussion. And as Jewish dissent reaches the mainstream, the Zionist lobby is responding with predictable hysteria.
For the current leaders of the Jewish community, any crack in the 60-year campaign to present a united front is tantamount to treachery (and seriously threatens their jobs). Those who believe in the concept of Jewish glasnost are used to being labelled ‘fringe,’ ‘far-Left,’ ‘extremists,’ ‘Holocaust deniers,’ ‘anti-Semites’ and ‘unrepresentative.’ Compared to a few years ago though, such ad hominem attacks are brushed aside as little more than a distraction.
It’s simply feeble to watch even so-called liberal Zionists cling to a concept of Israel that only exists in their minds. .. HEH, CAN'T RESIST .. NO WON'T SAY IT .. AS DEFINITIONS ARE DIFFERENT .. Their assumptions — that the settlements will be removed, that a Palestinian State is essential and Israel is constantly striving for peace — are all contradicted by facts on the ground. To accept this, however, would require a fundamental shift in mindset. They’ve spent a lifetime clinging to the idea .. YOU GET THE IDEA .. SO MANY ARE CLING CLANKING .. soooooooo funny .. and fucking sad .. that Zionism is noble, even utopian, and to give this up is a step too far. Fair enough, but many other Jews no longer care if Israel ceases to exist.
This obsession with policing the bounds of debate (yet again this week we had the unedifying sight of Jewish Federal Labor MP Michael Danby claiming anti-Israel bias in the Fairfax press) merely indicates to the wider community that the Jewish establishment is afraid of robust discussion. In my opinion, such intolerance leads to anti-Semitism. Israel may or may not have a future, but continually resorting to Israeli Foreign Ministry talking points is actually contributing to the Jewish State’s ever-increasing isolation on the international stage.
Criticising Israel is not the same thing as criticising Jews. One of the great successes of the Zionist movement throughout the 20th Century was to convince the wider community that supporters of Israel spoke for all Jews. In fact, a sizeable number of Jews around the world have never supported Israel and never will. These people are only now finding their public voices and re-claiming the mantle of ‘Jewishness’ from Zionist militarism and racist ideology espoused under the guise of an all-inclusive post-Holocaust Jewish identity.
The Jewish glasnost has already succeeded in separating Judaism from Zionism and in articulating frameworks for an Israeli/Palestinian future devoid of racial separation.
Debate in Australia may seem parochial and stale — and the Australian Jewish News prefers to keep it that way, moderating the bounds of debate solely along the lines of ‘what is good for the Jews?’ — but we are thankfully not immune from global trends. The end result of Soviet glasnost was the dissolution of the Soviet Union itself. The path of Jewish glasnost may be far more unpredictable.
About the Author
Antony Loewenstein is a Sydney-based freelance journalist, author and blogger. He has written for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Haaretz, The Australian, The Guardian, Sydney’s Sun-Herald, The Bulletin, The Washington Post, The Big Issue, Crikey, Znet, Counterpunch and others. Melbourne University Publishing has released his book on the Israel/Palestine conflict, My Israel Question (2006), which was recently short-listed for the 2007 NSW Premier’s Literary Award. It is now re-released in an updated edition. His website is antonyloewenstein.com . .. http://www.antonyloewenstein.com/ ..
By SARAH EL DEEB The Associated Press Monday, October 29, 2007; 3:42 AM
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- On a Gaza City main street, three out of eight ATMs are wired off and locked, sending a stark warning to customers: Cash is running out.
Fears of a panic have been sparked by the decision of two Israeli banks to sever ties with the Gaza Strip. Bank officials in Gaza say customers are already hoarding cash.
Palestinians walk past an ATM at a branch of the Palestine Islamic Bank in Gaza City, Friday, Oct 26, 2007. In one of Gaza City's main streets, three out of eight ATM machines are locked and encased in wire mesh, sending a stark warning to customers: Cash supplies are running out. Fears of a panic have been sparked by the decision of two Israeli banks to sever ties with the Gaza Strip. Bank officials in Gaza say customers are already hoarding cash. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa) Palestinians walk past an ATM at a branch of the Palestine Islamic Bank in Gaza City, Friday, Oct 26, 2007. In one of Gaza City's main streets, three out of eight ATM machines are locked and encased in wire mesh, sending a stark warning to customers: Cash supplies are running out. Fears of a panic have been sparked by the decision of two Israeli banks to sever ties with the Gaza Strip. Bank officials in Gaza say customers are already hoarding cash. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa) (Hatem Moussa -
The cutoff was prompted by concerns by the banks that they might run afoul of anti-terrorism regulations. It came after Israel designated Gaza "hostile territory" in September.
The government's decision was part of a series of moves to weaken the Islamic militant group Hamas, which violently seized control of Gaza in June .. fuagf .. wasn't there an election? .. and has allowed militants to continue firing rockets into Israel. Gaza residents say it's collective punishment.
The cutoff was supposed to begin last week, but was delayed for a month by Israel's central bank while alternatives are sought. Meanwhile, Gaza's 12 banks are scrambling for ways to keep their operations going.
Bankers say enough cash is circulating to keep the economy, badly hit by the closure of Gaza's borders, sputtering along. But the unease was already palpable during this month's Muslim holiday of Eid el-Fitr, when people spend on gifts, clothes and food.
Banks declined to cash large checks and limited withdrawals. Some branches closed or shortened their hours.
A Hamas leader insists the group has enough cash to last for a year, but Maamoun Abu Shahla, a board member of the Palestine Bank in Gaza, is alarmed by the Israeli move.
"This means the death of banking life in Gaza," he said. "All our business with the world is done through Israeli banks."
His institution has done business with Israeli banks for 24 years but has had to move its headquarters to the West Bank, which is controlled by the moderate government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and is not affected by the order.
Gaza is entirely dependent on Israel for trade, and the Israeli shekel is the primary currency. Following the Hamas takeover, .. fuagf .. hang on I must be missing something .. election??? .. Israel and Egypt closed the borders with Gaza, and Israel allowed only basic items, such as food and medicine, into the territory.
On Sunday, Israel began cutting vital fuel shipments to the Gaza Strip after the Israeli government warned it would use the tactic to pressure Hamas after months of Palestinian rocket attacks.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
