New York Jews welcome Bush’s U.S. Attorney General candidate

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/908724.html

Jews Worldwide oppose ahmadinejad speech

Iranian Jews criticized Bollinger.

http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=153810

Scholars like the German historian Matthais Kuntzel, and others before him, have written about the pernicious influence of European antisemitism on Middle Eastern culture

I used to believe Matthias Küntzel was a half-wit with a doctorate, but then I realized that he had found a very lucrative niche for himself as a professional German anti-anti-Semite.

CAMERA and MEMRI, on the other hand, shouldn’t be lightly dismissed. They back themselves up. I haven’t seen honest refutations of their work.

You are only betraying how little you really know about these groups. Their translations though sometimes accurate, are highly suspect. I have written here about one terribly embarrassing example of mistranslation & this was not a one-off incident. The fact that you do not know about the inaccuracy & unreliability of their work shows the insularity of yr viewpt. on this subject.

Scholars like the German historian Matthais Kuntzel, and others before him, have written about the pernicious influence of European antisemitism on Middle Eastern culture.

I cannot believe how obssessed you are with anti-Semitism. This phenomenon is a symptom of what’s wrong but not the cause. THere is only one way to resolve all of this & that is by negotiating an end to the conflict. Anti-Semitism exists because there is no settlement. You’ve got yr head buried in the sand if you want to fight the battle with Arabs over anti-Semitism. Of course anti-Semitism is a horrible thing. But in the ME it exists because of the war between Israel and the Arabs. If there were no war anti-Semitism would be at best a minor irritant.

the rise of antisemitism in Europe and in the US can’t be ignored either. In Europe it’s quite drastic

Again, with the anti-Semitism. Instead of fixating on this phenomenon why don’t you try to live a good, rich Jewish life. I believe part of this may be due to the fact that you’ve lived all or most of yr life in small communities without many Jews. If you’d lived in the places I’ve lived you’d realize that anti-Semitism isn’t nearly the danger you find it.

Just how do you know so much about the dangers of European anti-Semitism? Have you visited Europe? Spoken or written to European Jewish leaders about the problem? If you haven’t & are just relying on the ADL & similar groups whose raison d’etre is to get Jews to believe that anti-Semitism is a critical problem facing the world–then of course you’re going to be as morbidly fixated on this as you are.

I think the Left most certainly has a responsibility NOT to call people who discuss these issues “right wing”, especially when they are Left wing;

Yr views precisely mimic groups like the Jewish Defense League, ADL and other right-wing Jewish defense organizations. An obssession with anti-Semitism IS right wing (notice I wrote “obssession” and not “concern,” which is valid). Someone who believes that this is the most important problem facing Jews in the world is not only divorced fr. reality, but right-wing.

“Cultural relativism” says I shouldn’t care, it says I should respect “indigenous cultures” more than people. It says honor killings shouldn’t be a matter of concern, religious oppression shouldn’t be a matter of concern, death threats against artists should’t worry me, and just because people march around with signs threatening to drop bombs on Israel I shouldn’t worry

You’re just on a self-righteous tear which I find nauseating. Do NOT get on a soapbox & start preaching to me about the superiority of yr moral code. I don’t need that. If you don’t respect indigenous cultures then you ARE a neocon. That is the hallmark of the neocon philosophy. Our values are superior to yours. Yours are backward, bestial. And don’t preach to me about honor killings. I think they’re as horrible as you do. But what would you propose–that the U.S. invade every country in which incidents happen that offend our values? Where does that stop? Do we militarily intervene to bring so-called democracy to Syria, Iran, Palestine, etc?

As an artist, am I a neocon because I don’t want Ayaan HIrsi Ali or Salmon Rushdie or Theo van Gogh harmed?

No, you’re a neocon because you are obssessed with these incidents & read Muslim-Arab religion and culture as backward, violent and intolerant. You’re a neocon because you have hardly said a word about the suffering of Arabs or Muslims. You have no balance or perspective in yr analysis. You are a monomaniacal fantatic I’m sorry to say.

maybe they are hearing something in your voice that is disturbing,

What you hear in my voice is not my problem, but yours. My voice is my voice. I’m comfortable with it as are my readers and that’s all that matters to me. If you’re not, pls. don’t try to lecture me or think that I should mend the error of my ways on yr account. It ain’t gonna happen.

when DID the Left become so dogmatic and judgmental?

Your comments here have been nothing but dogmatic & judgmental about those religions & cultures that offend you & yr sensibility & you have the nerve to call me those words?

As far as Hamas, Hezbollah, etc are concerned, or radicals like Admadijenad, the fact that they are at the center of their societies, as you claim, doesn’t mean that they are good or right

No, they may not be. But are you willing to force the 50% of Palestinians who believe in Hamas to bend to yr will or that of the Israelis in order to get them to renounce their allegiance? It simply can’t be done. Hamas may not be my cup of tea. But that doesn’t mean that a peaceful agreement can’t be negotiated with them (or Hezbollah or even Iran for that matter). I am a pragmatist & you are a moralist. Moralism can cause immense damage in the world when taken to extremes just as pragmatism can. My pragmatism is not taken to extremes, your moralism is.

I also disagree that these groups or politicians ARE at the center of their societies. Hezbollah most certainly does not represent all or even most of the Lebanese people

Hezbollah has over 33% of Lebanese votes. I didn’t say they were the majority. But they ARE at the center of Lebanese society. You simply cannot have a functioning political system in Lebanon by dismissing or ignorning Hezbollah. This group does not use its guns in its internal political efforts within Lebanese society. It uses its votes & support fr. the people. I don’t support Hezbollah. But I don’t write the group off as sadistic thugs either as you seem to do.

Beyond that there are lots of Arab papers published IN ENGLISH, where you can read articles and essays and editorials. This is also true of Iranian papers. And, there are a lot of blogs, also in English.

People do not have to rely upon translations to see the ideas therein, they don’t have to have translations to see vile cartoons that echo the worst of the Nazis, and it’s sheer denial at best to claim that this is the case. There was an excellent program a few months ago on PBS, detailing the shocking rise of antisemitism in the Middle East. (I sometimes use the word “judenhass” because the term “antisemitism” is often either misunderstood or deliberately abused in discussions about the Middle East.) Scholars like the German historian Matthais Kuntzel, and others before him, have written about the pernicious influence of European antisemitism on Middle Eastern culture. This is an exacerbating factor in the Arab-Israeli conflict and can’t be ignored or brushed aside. I feel it most certainly is incumbent upon people not to declare that this is a figment of MEMRI’s imagination because it isn’t, and it was a factor as early as the 1920′s, and has had terrible ramifications. Unless it’s honestly confronted, there will continue to be conflict and war when peaceful, rational solutions are available.

Moreover the rise of antisemitism in Europe and in the US can’t be ignored either. In Europe it’s quite drastic, in the US went down somewhat last year – but not in my state. In my state attacks and desecrations doubled in one year – in my neighborhood alone overtly Jewish, ie Jews wearing distinguishing dress or hair, etc, have been attacked, a Jewish alderman’s office was desecrated, synagogues have been defaced, even firebombed.

I think the Left most certainly has a responsibility NOT to call people who discuss these issues “right wing”, especially when they are Left wing; but rather to listen to what is happening. The same is true of what is occuring on campuses (I have first hand experience with that too – I hear what my students are being told, some by teachers, some by fellow students.)

Similarly, calling me a “neocon” isn’t answering my argument, it’s just putting me down. That’s a kind of cop-out, isn’t it?

Real feminists defend real women, regardless of where they live, and I’m a real feminist, and have the scars to prove it, sir. “Cultural relativism” says I shouldn’t care, it says I should respect “indigenous cultures” more than people. It says honor killings shouldn’t be a matter of concern, religious oppression shouldn’t be a matter of concern, death threats against artists should’t worry me, and just because people march around with signs threatening to drop bombs on Israel I shouldn’t worry – it’s probably just a MEMRI translation.

Meanwhile the Right says that the environment shouldn’t be a matter of concern, and that I shouldn’t care about the planet.

But I do care. I don’t think it’s right to ignore oppressed people just because they happen to be women. I don’t think it’s right to ignore rocket attacks on people just because they happen to be Israelis. Nor should we ignore genocides in Africa, terrorism in Thailand and Bali, poverty in Baltimore or racism in Louisiana. Having ideals doesn’t make a person a neocon.

As an artist, am I a neocon because I don’t want Ayaan HIrsi Ali or Salmon Rushdie or Theo van Gogh harmed? Hell – I’ve been harmed, harmed by people who think we should look alike, march alike, behave alike, follow the rules. When I say something it isn’t coming from a political point of view, as in a book, but from a lifetime of experience. You should at least respect that, and understand that if people are taking the time to write to you maybe they are hearing something in your voice that is disturbing, that is striking a false note, and that is both dismissive and judgemental, and reflect. That’s all I’m really asking.

(It’s SO easy to attack a person, call them a rightwinger or a neocon or make false assumptions about them, isn’t it? But it doesn’t solve anything. I’m also wondering, when DID the Left become so dogmatic and judgmental? Was it always? Many of us older Lefties don’t understand, I admit it. We were raised with admonishments to be open-minded, tolerant, and at least listen to the other guy’s arguments before calling him a name!)

As far as Hamas, Hezbollah, etc are concerned, or radicals like Admadijenad, the fact that they are at the center of their societies, as you claim, doesn’t mean that they are good or right, any more than other radical organizations or even governments – even democratically elected governments – are good or right. Or is it now de riguere for “leftists” to support radical right wing organizations? Or just to “understand” them?

One can understand the relative poverty and marginalization of the Shi’a, for example, and study the Lebanese Civil War, and from that gather that an organization empowering Shi’a and fighting the Israeli occupation might logically arise. But there’s a great leap from that to an outfit that claims Jews have no room for a homeland in the Middle East, or who honestly appear to believe in The Protocols, and who are sworn to the violent destruction of their neighbors.

I also disagree that these groups or politicians ARE at the center of their societies. Hezbollah most certainly does not represent all or even most of the Lebanese people, not even all Shi’a – but they do have a lot of guns and they will use them. Does that make them “central to their societies” or is it their guns?

And, the Iranian theocracy chooses the candidates who can run for office and rigorously enforces its idea of law and propriety, to a terrifying degree.

As for Hamas, I sincerely hope they do not represent the core of the Palestinian people, their true ideals.

I apologize if I have written too many words. I was honestly trying to connect with you.

http://www.realisticdove.org/archives/160