Comments on: Kenneth Stein Dissociates Himself from StandWithUs Before He Even Speaks

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:59:10 +0000

You did.

No, I didn’t. Since you didn’t mean that then your statement was even weaker since wanting a Palestine w/o hooligans like those in Hebron & other places who kill & injure with impunity seems a reasonable objective.

By: silvia

silvia — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:07:59 +0000

“”Unless you’re trying to claim that he means Israelis within the Green Line as well,”

I didn’t say it. You did.

And why do you call any views/facts you don’t agree with “partisan”??

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:57:18 +0000

And you are surprised that an Israeli Palestinian wants the land clean of settlers? I’d like the land clean of settlers too. Unless you’re trying to claim that he means Israelis within the Green Line as well, which he does not.

And in case you’re not up on inconvenient facts for yr partisan views, Mahmoud Abbas has said that Israeli settlers may stay in Palestine as long as they accept Palestinian sovereignty, which seems an eminently fair offer.

By: silvia

silvia — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:19:19 +0000

It is not impossible that they got tired “In the years I lived in Israel I virutally never saw or heard such a thing in Israeli media.”

Well they did now and without voice over. But it must be said that in this particular case many speeches contained what could be called new news. And maybe in Arabic so the speakers won’t say -as they did in the past – that their words were misconstrued.

By: silvia

silvia — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:00:57 +0000

I particularly appreciated this from Israeli Knesset member Ahmed Tibi’s speech in Bethlehem – which sounds a lot better in Arabic with the accompanying intonations-

“the land will be CLEEEEEAN of “settlers”. Like in the Algerian revolution.”

As we know, the second important revolutionary act of the Algerian independence was to CLEANSE the land by introducing a “grandfather clause” in the 1962 constitution stripping anyone whose grandfather wasn’t a Muslim of Algerian nationality – thus effectively making for the first time since antiquity the land judenrein.

Subtle.

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:32:54 +0000

I’d like to see yr report verified by other Israeli readers before I grant it credence. I find it unlikely that Israel Radio would broadcast live to a largely Hebrew speaking audience long speeches in Arabic. In the years I lived in Israel I virutally never saw or heard such a thing in Israeli media. They might show a short shot on TV news of a Palestinian speaking or an audio clip, but never very long.

By: Warren

Warren — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:25:33 +0000

I think the Carter Center is getting by just fine without Kenneth Stein. For one thing, it relies just as much on human sweat as big $$$, and lots of those dollars come from ordinary working Americans. The loss was Stein’s, not the Center’s, in that he used to be part of something that really mattered, and now he’s not. The Carter Center is one of the most effective, doing on-the-ground work and help, humanitarian organizations out there. Habitat for Humanity alone helps countless regular, lower-income people get into a real house, that they own! It’s amazing. Having worked for Habitat for Humanity helping build a house, I can tell you it’s a wonderful experience.

I guess, in the end, Stein’s tribalism trumped anything else, rather revealing.

By: silvia

silvia — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:57:30 +0000

“However, I would note that the report is from Israel Radio, not a source that was at the conference & certainly not a Palestinian source. I tend to be careful about trusting Israeli sources on contentious issues & claims like this one.”

Israeli Radio broadcast large portions of the Bethlehem speeches live in Arabic. Their translation was correct.