The last few weeks have showed us the unjust and un-proportionate levels of force by Israel on Palestinians in Gaza. If you have not seen the brutality, well...take a pick! We all agree or at least the majority feels that these are barbaric acts by Israeli Government. Now, before you rush into judgment, how many times have you thought to speak out against Israel’s action but have held back because of fear of being labeled anti-Semite?
So today I went to wikipedia and did a search on Anti-Semite and started reading through definitions, forms, and usage of anti-Semitism. There are great verity of definitions and explanations from different group, scholars, to institutions but one Form of definition and critic stood out in my view and I wanted to quote it in bold for you to read because I feel it reflects the current environment we live in:
In addition, from the 1990s, some writers claim to have identified a new antisemitism, a form of antisemitism coming simultaneously from the far left, the far right, and radical Islam, which tends to focus on opposition to Zionism and a Jewish homeland in the State of Israel, and which may deploy traditional antisemitism motifs. Proponents of the concept argue that anti-Zionism, anti-Americanism, anti-globalization, third worldism, and demonization of Israel or double standards applied to its conduct may be linked to antisemitism, or constitute disguised antisemitism. Critics of the concept argue that it conflates anti-Zionism with antisemitism, defines legitimate criticism of Israel too narrowly and demonization too broadly, trivializes the meaning of antisemitism, and exploits antisemitism in order to silence debate.
After seeing pictures and videos of the horrifing seen of the last few weeks, I am mad, angry at the US and Israeli governments and in many ways disgused. I voice my anger in the Bush’s administration actions for allowing this to go on. I realize without the blessing of the US, Israel would never have acted in this manner. I also voice my anger in the Israeli government for the level of distruction to civilians brutal killing (watch the video) which I would like to call committing a different type of Holucoust.
Ok...these are the thought of many but in the back of our minds, why do we have to feel like someone out there is going to lebel us as anti-semite for these views? Because, we let them! I see Kos members that condem the acts of Israel being shouted on, smarked, be-littled, etc...by some in Kos as anti-Semite where some applify it with a bigoted caveat. Most if not everyone believes in Zionism. I do! I am a strong proponent of the right of Israel to exist. But, Israel is not above the LAW! That is my sentiment and I have the right to speak without some of you irrational supporters of the Israeli punishment in Gaze call me anti-Semite. I love people whether they are Jew, Muslum, black, white, gay, striaght, on their merits but I will not be silenced to debate because you (and you know who you are) who trivilaze the meaning of antisemitism and exploit it in order to silence debate.
NOT THIS TIME!
UPDATE D I (Mon Jan 12, 2009): After receiving rather many descent form those who rightly so thought of me different than who I am, thanks to the Diary of dhonig, Dog Whistles- an Anti-Semitism Primer (a timely repost), I broke one of the rules of the test of "dog whistles" as dhonig puts it.
dhonig writes:
I am going to attempt to address a single issue which continuously arises in I/P debates, to everybody's consternation- accusations of anti-Semitism, and cross- accusations of abuse with same. I am going to write about the "dog whistles" of anti-Semitism.
A dog whistle is a whistle used to train dogs- it works in a frequency inaudible to human ears. "Dog Whistle Politics" plays on the term, defining words in speeches intended only for a limited crowd, words that just slip by everybody else.
dhonig goes on to expand the different types of statements that are made that will cause "Dog Whistle"...
There are really four classic anti-Semitic themes that have been for centuries to justify mass murder, mass expulsion, or both. They are that Jews have control the world's media, that Jews have an international conspiracy to control the world's money, that Jews join national governments and undermine them from within for their own purposes, and the "blood libel," a claim that Jews use the blood of Gentiles, usually children, to bake their Passover matzoh. I will try to define each of them, discuss their history, and explain why they remain important to this very day.
I can say I was naive to make a generalized statement such as the below because it implies that any Israeli Descent is not loyal or as dhonig puts it has Jewish Disloyalty (the claim that Jews are more loyal to Israel than their own country).
As a Jewish descent, her (Feinstein) priority is (0+ / 7-)
Hidden by:
Sharoney, shpilk, arielle, boofdah, karpaty lviv, Interceptor7, heart of a quince
not the American People when it comes to our bread and butter cause our national security that dectates on how our economic well being is measured! At any cost to Americans, she will put Israel's cause before anything (Iraq is a good example). These means even if it means siding with the right wing Republicans neo-cons! That is why I dislike American Jewish descents in politics. Their interest is not Country First, it is Israel First! That is what voters at the grass roots level need to know and no kind of organized money will beat the power of the grass roots to unseat these traitors like Lieberman and Feinstein.
dhonig analysis has helped me understand why I deserved the "Dog Whistle" for that statement from Sharoney, shpilk, arielle, boofdah, karpaty lviv, Interceptor7 and heart of a quince. It is clear to me now as dhonig summarized the Jewish Disloyalty factor...
Even today, accsuations of Jewish disloyalty, often as claims that Jews are more loyal to Israel than their own country, are common. A recent survey of 2,714 people in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland found that 51 percent of respondents believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the countries they live in.
So, again, what is my point? Is it to shut down one half of the I-P debate, or to say you can't argue about AIPAC? Nope. Not at all. It is to explain both the canard, and how the use of it is more likely to shut down debate than to enhance it. If you are writing a diary or a comment about Israel, or Palestine, or AIPAC, etc., if you include an accusation that some of the people involved are disloyal, or more loyal to Israel, or have "dual loyalties" and therefore can't be trusted, you are blowing a dog whistle and will be greeted with rage. It might be a rage you do not understand, but it is not false rage calculated to shut you up. It is rage based upon a thousand years of tribulations, of slaughters and evictions.
I appreciate people like dhonig who have enlighten me to learn an insurmountable lesson on how it is looked at by those TUs and some out there who greeted me with rage. Apparently, it certainly is a rage I did not understand, and it is not a false rage calculated to shut me up. But, there are times it has been used outside of the four premise noted by dhonig's diary and even as we speak about the current I-P conflict.
So...Sharoney, shpilk, arielle, boofdah, karpaty lviv, Interceptor7, and heart of a quince, I understand now where you are coming from. I also encourage you to educate rather than hate.
As to why I think DeFi is not fit for the position as chair of the Senate Rules Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee as I replied to Sharoney:
Let me first make it perfectly clear that I do not believe that Senator Feinstein is disloyal to American's Interest. I will speak on Senator Feinstein on her merit (a lesson I have learned from dhonig). First thing is first; I will take back the generalization statement.
However, my beef with DeFi is at a personal level..read this article in this link about the war profiteering that has taking place:
In April 2003, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave $500 million to Perini to provide services for Iraq's Central Command. A month earlier in March 2003, Perini was awarded $25 million to design and construct a facility to support the Afghan National Army near Kabul. And in March 2004, Perini was awarded a hefty contract worth up to $500 million for "electrical power distribution and transmission" in southern Iraq.
Feinstein, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee as well as the Select Committee on Intelligence, is reaping the benefits of her husband's investments. The Democratic royal family recently purchased a $16.5 million mansion in the flush Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. It's a disgusting display of war profiteering, and just like Cheney, the leading Democrat should be called out for her offense.
Now let's look at Feinstein's voting record on National Security here:
National security and civil liberties
In recent years, Feinstein has been working in the Senate to increase surveillance and wiretapping powers of the government and to reduce legal safeguards that would protect citizens against it: In August 2007, Feinstein joined Republicans in the Senate in voting to modify the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by narrowing the scope of its protections to citizens and by sharply reducing the legal limits on the government's ability to monitor phone calls and email messages of American citizens.[21] Feinstein voted to give the attorney general and the director of national intelligence the power to approve international surveillance of the communications of Americans entirely within the executive branch, rather than through the special intelligence court established by FISA. Many privacy advocates have decried this law and Senator Feinstein's vote in favor of it.[22] In February 2008, Feinstein joined Republicans in the Senate in voting for provisions providing ex-post immunity to telecommunication companies for illegal wiretapping which they conducted for Government agencies.[23] On July 9, 2008, Feinstein broke with counterpart Sen. Barbara Boxer and voted for the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, H.R. 6304.[24]
Feinstein was the original Democratic cosponsor of a bill to extend the USA PATRIOT Act. In a December 2005 statement, Senator Feinstein stated, "I believe the Patriot Act is vital to the protection of the American people."[25] She was the main Democratic sponsor of the failed 2006 constitutional Flag Desecration Amendment.[26] In November 2007, Feinstein was one of only six Democrats to vote to confirm Michael Mukasey as Attorney General.
Here is my intent of the statement I made that deserved a "Dog Whistles". My believe is that there is a conflict of interest if you are an Israeli American or a Palestinian American and you are in a position to make national security related decision that involves Israel and Palestine -- forget the profiteering aspect. Some would love to see the US bomb Iran because they are a threat to Israel. I would rather like that decision be made by someone that has no ties to Israel, Palestine, and the many enemies of Israel or someone who is not influenced by Israel or Palestine lobbyist to remove the bias factor. I reject the notion that war is an answer for peace. Some would feel the money spent in a war like that has more merit because of Iran’s Anti-Zionism stand than build the livelihood of struggling Americans, creating jobs for the unemployed, providing health care to the 50 million of Americans who do not have coverage, etc. Sure, it is a human nature for some Israeli descent to want to support that kind of decision or for some Palestinian descent to reject that kind of decision. All I am trying to convey is, there is a huge conflict of interest when an Israeli American is in a position to make decisions that affects Israel and Palestine just as there is a conflict of interest when a Palestinian American who is in a position to make major National Security decision on Israel and Palestine. Peace requires impartiality and my hope is that unbiased leaders who can make unbias decisions will lead us to peace between Israel and Palestine. The bottom line is Feinstein is not fit to serve as the Chair of the Senate Rules Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee based on her voting records.
Please read dhonig two blogs: Dog Whistles- an Anti-Semitism Primer (a timely repost)and Palestinian Independence Day. It is a very articulately written Diary with great analysis that is really helpful to many.
"Ignorance is the root of all evil" - Molly Ivans
...and I say educate don't hate!
Update II (Thur Mar 12, 2009)- It has been a while since I wrote this diary but whenever I engage in a discussion about the I/P issues, I have come across folks who may have not seen this diary totally judging me as antisemitic because of an ill worded and careless generalization statement I had made as I have noted above. While I have explained my short coming and careless generalization with apology as I have noted in my Update I section of my diary, these are dialogs I strongly feel will benefit others who want to dig deeper to understand my thought process. These dialogs also would be a testament to those who may not have been engaged in such a charged environment to be true to yourself, learn and educate. No one is mistake free...you just have to pick up the pieces and learn from them. To those that judge others quickly, it is my hope you would give others the benefit of doubt to understand and educate.
Big thanks to aggregatescience and Futuristic Dreamer for an engaging dialog and finally an understanding.