Muslim and Jewish Women in Nazareth

'We can live in peace'...John Lennon (photo: Dafna Tal)

Mahzor

Mahzor

New York Public Library

Churches

Sarajevo Haggadah

Mah Nishtanah

Sarajevo haggadah

Antaea Darom

Israeli women's art

Action

Torah as music

Ben Heine

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ceramic bowl

Mohammad Said Kalash, "Offering Reconciliation" exhibit (photo: Ilan Amihai)

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Punch and Judy/Pinchas and Jamila

Avi Katz

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David Grossman

Ben Heine

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Eldrige Street shul

Lower East Side

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Dove

Ben Heine

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Two birds

Hoda Jamal

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Israeli and Palestinian boys

from documentary, Promises

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Cat in the Hat

Yiddish version

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Daylight through the Wall

Banksy: graffiti art on Separation Wall

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Maurice Sendak's Brundibar set

New Victory Theater (photo: Nan Melville/NYT)

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Daniel Barenboim, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

Palestinian-Israeli musical ensemble (photo: Kerstin Joensson/AP)

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Great Day on Eldrige Street

N.Y.'s klezmer greats celebrate shul rededication (photo: Leo Sorel)

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Joint Appeal for Peace

(Avi Katz)

Joint Appeal for Peace

Ketubah, Ancona, Italy (1772)

(Jewish Theological Seminary library)

Ancona ketubah

Posts Tagged ‘israeli foreign ministry’

Twitter and Winning the Online War for Israel

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Those valiant hasbara honchos in the Israeli foreign ministry are fighting the good fight on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people.  First, Danny Ayalon stood up to the Turkish ambassador by seating him on a kiddie chair and showing how to humiliate a true enemy of Israel.  Then Danny stiffed a U.S. Congress delegation, making clear that he’d have nothing to do with those anti-Israel, so-called Jews in J Street.  Next, to show Israel in a truly constructive light as a center of hot sex in the Middle East–the MFA, Canadian Jewish pro-Israel donors, and the Israel lobby funded a thrilling video that proffered oral sex in return for traveling to the land of hot beaches and bronzed bodies that is Israel.

Yuli Edelstein, settler, and minister of the newly created Hasbara (I kid you not) Ministry, created a devilishly witty website which makes fun of foreign journalists telling their audiences back home that the IDF uses camels to haul their ammunition and that standards of civilization are somewhere in the late 19th century.  He’s also deputized Israeli tourists and, why the hell not, the entire Jewish people to be ambassadors of hasbarist good will on Israel’s behalf.  I tell you, as a good Zionist, it just makes my heart pound and my body tingle.  We’re finally getting out the message.  With this, it won’t be long before we win this damn propaganda war with the dark Arab hordes.  Then Israel will stand with its foot atop the neck of those damn Palestinians, as it should be.

Now, Danny and his friends in the Australian Zionist Federation have discovered a truly nefarious enemy within our very own Jewish people.  These are those Jewish-born individuals who should be ashamed to call themselves Jews (we certainly don’t), because they hate, I say HATE, Israel and all it stands for.  People like those nasty Twitterers who mock magnificent specimens of Jewish manhood like Gerald Steinberg of NGO Monitor, and deputy minister Ayalon himself.  And how do these so-called Jews disseminate their hate?  Not through the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.  No they’re far too crafty and hip for that.  They seek ever newer ways to promote their bile.  They do it using the tools of the young people on whom they prey: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.  Yes, I said Twitter.  Is nothing sacred?

And who do we have to thank for this Paul Revere-like early warning of the impending peril to Israel?  Something called the Community Internet Engagement Project of the Australian Zionist Federation.  You see, many of our leaders are the white-haired Old Guard.  They’re used to dictating to cute secretaries a la Mad Men.  They barely know how to type, let alone tweet or “friend” someone on Facebook.  They’re the dinosaurs.  But the future belongs to the CIEP which aims to teach Australian Zionists how to fight for Israel in the perpetual online war waged by Islamofascists and their anti-Zionist fellow travelers.  All I can say is thank God for this veritable firewall, or should I say mechitza, on behalf of all that is good about the Jewish people.

We should thank them for all they do on our behalf (cut out that sniggering you in the back, this is serious work we’re engaged in):

Israel has been attached [sic] in Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. Eventually it had to happen… and in messages of 140 characters of [sic] less, now Twitter too is being used in public diplomacy against the Jewish state….In Israel MKs, such as Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, are also making use of Twitter. So is the IDF’s spokesperson and the Israeli Foreign Ministry. What’s new…are efforts to use Twitter to attack, satirise or demonise. Two fake profiles demonstrate the potential. The first, is a FakeDannyAyalon profile on twitter, [sic] is an example of political attacks. Using his real picture and a string of 79 posts, the profile spreads over-the-top messages in the Deputy Foreign Minister’s name. One expounds the rights of protestors to express themselves in Iran, going on to say those who do so in Israel should be shot. Another suggests a Palestinian Mandela must be found… so that he can be locked up. The second fake profile of interest is for NGO Monitor. NGO Monitor is the watchdog organisation that reports on human rights NGOs active in the Arab Israeli conflict.  This profile likewise makes over the top and self defeating statements. “‘Telling the truth is less important than defending Israel.’ Yes, EXACTLY! When will you learn?!” it reads. Another comment says “Remember: Everything we say = democratic debate, legitimate criticism. Everything they say = exploiting democracy for a political agenda”.

Ashley Perry and advisor to Danny Ayalon responded to our enquiries saying they were aware of FakeDannyAyalon on Twitter and that “imitation is the highest form of flattery”…Despite the interest from imitators, Danny Ayalon apparently soon launch a blog and an interactive website. One wonders if FakeDannyAyalon will be left by the wayside.

The fake profile for NGO Monitor is less blatant than that for Danny Ayalon. IT differs from NGO Monitor’s real account by only an under score. The posts also link to articles that debate and respond to NGO Monitor reports. The profile itself lists the Palestinian Propaganda [!] site Electronic Intifada as its home page. Electronic Intifada was previously exposed as being behind efforts to manipulate the Wikipedia community after they infiltrated and exposed efforts by CAMERA to encourage more people to become Wikipedia editors.

It’s taken a while, but finally twitter too has become a tool of online warfare. While Facebook bans the use of fake names, Twitter only prohibits Impersonation and Trademark violations. It remains to be seen how far satire can be used as a cover, and how good the satire must be to qualify. One this [sic] is certain, the online world is only growing in impact when it comes to politics and the international reputation of countries. Israel is starting to get online, but there is a long way still to go.

And with starke Yidn like Prof. Dr. Oboler on our side, we’ll get there in no time.  Who is this fellow, you ask?

Dr. Andre Oboler is a social media expert and Director of the Community Internet Engagement Project. He…spent a year as a Post Doctoral Fellow focusing on Online Public Diplomacy at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

Phew, I feel better already.  One thing you should know, by the way, is that that wonderful sounding name “public diplomacy” is another phrase for hasbara when it comes to Israel.  It’s selling Israel, selling its story (as conceived by the pro-Israel right), selling the good, and dismissing the bad with the wave of a hand.

Psst, Dr. Oboler, use that PhD in computer science to buy yourself a good grammar check program, lest the anti-Semit’n out there start thinking all of us Jews are semi-literate.

To enjoy the wonderful satire of NGO_Monitor and FakeDanny Ayalon, visit their profiles and be ready to laugh your head off.  Some of this has to be written by writers for Eretz Nehederet, it’s that good.  By the way, Prof. Dr. Oboler missed a few other hilarious ones as well that would throw him into fits of righteous indignation: Fake_Bibi, FakeShimonPeres, DanHalutz, M_Ahmadinejad, SalamFayyad and MohammadDahlan.  Please let us know about others in the comment thread below.

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Canadian Jewish Tourism Ad Uses Oral Sex to Promote Israeli Tourism

Sunday, February 21st, 2010


UPDATE: The video was originally hosted by Vimeo, which removed it after a complaint that it featured “explict sexual content.” Bad taste, for sure. But “explicit” content? It is instructive though, at least in a symbolic sense, that Vimeo finds such Israeli hasbara is video pornography. H/t Robin.

Dimi Reider has discovered one of the stranger of Israel’s tourism promotions.  This one is sponsored by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA) undoubtedly in close collaboration with the foreign ministry.  The video is in indescribably bad taste, portraying an attractive couple in bed with the woman telling the man she can’t possibly “do it” because it’s “too small.”  The dialogue is so lame that it simply must be quoted to be believed:


Girl: Uhhh…
Boy: What?
G: Don’t be mad…It’s just that it’s small…
B: Small?!
G: I don’t know if I can go there.
B: I consider this a spot of worship. It may be small, but it’s brought the driest places to life. Baby, this is paradise. [camera pans to show map of Israel and tourist guidebooks covering boy's crotch].
G: OK, but if I go down there for you, you have to promise you’ll down south for me next winter.

I’m simply flabbergasted that Israel would use the promise of fellatio and cunnilingus to promote itself. This also puts into proper perspective the blandishments of Birthright Israel and its former premier trip vendor, Shlomo Momo, who hold out to trip participants the possibility of great Jewish sex and meeting potential Jewish mates on their trips.

There are just way too many strange, odd places to go with this evocative video. Do you notice the phallic outline of Israel in the video’s opening image? What does it say about the creator’s fixation on the symbolic size of Israel’s, er member? Maybe Israel is compensating for this sense of sexual inferiority with its “muscular” Occupation (h/t to Ali Gharib)?

The website devised to promote this tourism campaign portrays Israel as a hipster paradise full of models, beaches, bronzed bodies, and beautiful modern metropolises. If I caught it correctly, there’s an image of a dread-locked Idan Raichel thrown in for good measure. Yes sir, Israel is nothing but sun and fun. Not a hint of politics. Not even culture, art or music. And certainly not an Arab in sight. In fact, here are some factoids of which the hasbara machine wants you to be proud:

Did you KNOW?

* On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotechnology startup companies in the world
* Israel is a world leader in water conservation and reforestation
* Arab Israelis have served as elected representatives of the Knesset (Parliament) since Israel was founded

Israel is a welcoming and inclusive country

* In 1999, an Arab woman was named as “Miss Israel”
* Israeli Arabs serve on the Israeli Supreme Court
* Israel is at the forefront of promoting equality for LGBT communities, as well as promoting women’s rights
* In 1969 Golda Meir was elected as Israel’s Prime Minister – the third elected woman leader of any other country in the world

Speaking of Israel’s technological innovation, did you get a load of those Mossad killers talking into their wrists with that cool gear that communicated with their Austrian command center? Now that’s innovation! Not to mention the cool floppy hat worn by the Mossad babe who was stalking the victim. If that isn’t fashion sense, what is? And how ’bout targeted assassinations in general? What a neat innovation Israel has perfected and given as a gift to the Palestinians and the rest of the world.

How ’bout those claims about Israeli Arabs? Holy shit, Batman! There are Arab Israelis who’ve been elected to the Knesset! I bet you thought they were all dishwashers, daily laborers and maids. No kidding. Of course, this “fact” omits the real fact that Arab political parties are excluded from governing coalitions, and rarely are individual Arab Knesset members named government ministers and so have almost no political power.

And yes, Israel is an inclusive and welcoming country if you’re a Jew. If you’re not, not so much.

Regarding Arabs sitting on the Supreme Court, this neglects the fact that the daughter of Israel’s Arab justice was treated like an Arab terrorist by the Shin Bet when she attempted to leave Israel. Israel is at the forefront of gay rights…except when crazy haredim stab gay marchers in Gay Pride parades, when haredi rabbis denounce gays as evil Sodomites, and when Tel Aviv gay community centers are attacked by crazed gunmen. As for Golda, that’s very nice except that the percentage of women in the Knesset is miserably low and women hold almost no major cabinet portfolios.

Is this any way to promote a country? You bet it ain’t. But one thing I have to say–this is yet another ‘brilliant’ manipulation brought to you by those boys, Yvette and Danny, and their most excellent adventure at the Israeli foreign ministry. At the rate they’re going, there may not be much of an Israel left to promote before too long.

This advertising campaign is part of a joint Israel rebranding effort organized by the Israeli consulate in Canada and Canadian Jewish business leaders including the Asper family and Jason Reitman, who also chairs CIJA. An earlier effort at this type of rebranding included the Toronto Film Festival’s honoring Tel Aviv’s 100th birthday in an effusion of pro-Israel glitz and hasbara that Israeli film artists and Naomi Klein objected to strenuously.

Students at 20 Canadian universities will have the pleasure of dreaming about oral sex in Israel when this tourism campaign comes to a campus near them in the coming weeks. I bet they just can’t wait.

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Israel’s Counter-Attack on Goldstone Report

Friday, September 18th, 2009
Israel's online media assault on Goldstone report

Israel's online media assault on Goldstone report

The Israeli foreign ministry is hauling out all the guns to counter-attack against the Goldstone UN report, which determined that both the IDF and Palestinians militants committed war crimes during the Gaza war. How do I know this? In a very direct, personal fashion. I noticed in the past hour or so a new Google ad being served in my sidebar:

Gaza.
Hamas.
Conflict.

Facts!
Click here

Israels anti-Goldstone hasbara

Israel's anti-Goldstone hasbara

Notice there is no mention of the word ‘Israel.’ This is of course done deliberately because they seek to pull in as many viewers as possible and adding the word Israel would drive away potential viewers from one camp or another. Only when you click on the ad does it take you to the Israeli foreign ministry’s Gaza fact sheet page (imagine the temerity of the Israeli foreign ministry labelling their information “facts??), whose headline lays its cards on the table and speaks truthfully for once:

Gaza Facts–the Israeli Perspective

The hasbara attack machine is in high gear.  I imagine you’ll be seeing full page ads in the N.Y. Times, op eds by the usual suspects (Abe Foxman, etc.), and hearing many lies from what Daniel Levy calls “the smear industry.”  I imagine that right now as we speak Gerald Steinberg and Danny Ayalon are desperately seeking to expose a nasty Goldstone hobby.  Perhaps (like Marc Garlasco) he collects historical artifacts of the Boer War, bespeaking a sympathy for pro-Nazi Afrikaners?

The truth of the matter is that Israel gradually, inch by inch, is losing the propaganda war.  Yes, it has an effective hasbara apparatus that has kept the opposition at bay for years.  But the sheer accumulated weight of Israel’s brutal violations of morality and law are sinking its case before the international community.  When Bibi comes to New York for the UN General Assembly meeting he’ll be greeted with the same nose-holding as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Muamar Khadafi.  Well, not by Malcolm Hoenlein, Marty Peretz or Norman Podhoretz, that’s for sure.  They’ll welcome Bibi with open arms.  The rest of us will hold our noses.

Israeli Foreign Ministry Smears Human Rights Watch Analyst

Monday, September 14th, 2009

In the past few days a tempest in a teacup has been brewing regarding charges of pro-Nazi sympathy, raised by Avigdor Lieberman’s foreign ministry and amplified by the ministry’s megaphone NGO Monitor, against Marc Garlasco, Human Rights Watch’s senior military analyst.  The rap against Garlasco is that he is an avid collector of “Nazi” memorabilia.

That’s the claim. Here’s the truth: Marc Garlasco’s grandfather served in a Wehrmacht anti-aircraft unit (another relative served in a U.S. B-17 crew), hence he has an interest in the insignias or badges worn by members of these units. As such, he’s written two books aimed at collectors regarding this subject and he participates in online forums devoted to World War II memorabilia. In one posting, he’s pictured wearing a sweatshirt displaying an Iron Cross. Gerald Steinberg and his ilk are trumpeting the fact that the Iron Cross is a Nazi symbol. Not only isn’t it, it is today part of the official logo of the German army, the Bundeswehr, as you can see from this graphic on its website.

Garlasco collects other World War II memorabilia including objects representing U.S. forces.  He has never uttered a word supportive of Nazism.  In fact, the opposite.  The introduction to one of his books notes that the Nazi movement was evil and brought nothing but horror upon the world.  But all that will be forgotten as the pro-Israel far-right smear industry goes to work doing a “Freeman” on Human Rights Watch’s senior munitions expert.

Why do they hate him so?  HRW recently published a scathing report criticizing Israel’s attack on Gaza and its human rights record in general (it also criticized Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli civilians in a separate report which you’ll hear nothing about from Steinberg).  Garlasco was a key participant in this effort.  As such it is imperative that the Israeli government impeach the reporting in any way possible.  One of the cheapest and easiest is to raise charges of sleazy associations by someone like Garlasco.  Make him look like a weirdo, pervert, neo-Nazi.  That cuts the report down to a manageable size out of which the Israelis can then make short work.

The truth of the matter is that the Israeli-Palestinian issue can be a confusing mess.  You can’t reduce it to a sound byte.  Human rights work on this issue is also incredibly complex.  Rather than addressing complicated issues or refuting claims which are rock-solid, Israel chooses to slime the messenger.  Then it doesn’t have to do any heavy lifting in addressing the substance of HRW’s claims.  This is a tried and true tactic of bigots and demagogues (including politicians like Lieberman himself).  This is the reason Marc Garlasco is being slimed.

They even have someone who is otherwise one of the most lucid of Middle East analysts, Helena Cobban, dazed in the headlights.  Helena read the NGO Monitor report on Garlasco and came away thinking he was a near neo-Nazi pervert.  I have nothing but admiration for Helena.  But on this I think she got it wrong and several of the commenters in her post thread on this subject correctly took her credulousness to task.  Clearly, as a Quaker, war and militarism disgust her.  And I respect that view.  This country and world would be much the poorer for not having the good sense of Quakerism in it.  But to penalize Marc Garlasco because he doesn’t share her pacifism or detestation of things military seems unfair.

Do I think that the Marc Garlasco affair will harm or damage HRW in its future work regarding the I-P conflict?  No.  Does Helena?  Yes.  She sits on the HRW board.  I don’t.  I’m afraid that if Helena and Gerald Steinberg have their way, HRW will part ways with Garlasco.  This will satisfy no one except perhaps Helena.  It certainly won’t satisfy Israel or the lobby.  Nor will it have much impact on the public at large for whom this will be an internal matter.

And let’s keep our eye on the ball.  The true slime is the Israeli Occupation and the mayhem inflicted by the IDF against Palestinains who resist (and also violence against innocent Israeli civilians).  Making Marc Garlasco the issue is helping the pro-Israel right do its work for it.

Let me be clear.  I don’t know Marc Garlasco or the reasons for his hobbies.  They’re certainly not hobbies I would choose.  Some of the statements he made online which Helena quotes make me wince.  But he comes out of a military background (and calls himself a “military geek”) and served in the Pentagon for eight years.  Do we wish to criminalize or even ostracize people for their personal hobbies?  Is that what it’s come to?  Let’s not be hoodwinked by this vicious smear.  Let’s consider the source.

The victim of this smear has written an explanation of his behavior that should be read by anyone who wishes to be fair (Steinberg & Lieberman: don’t bother, there isn’t any further ammunition with which to impeach him).

Israel Considers Free Gaza Movement Ships ‘Pirates’

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008
S.S. Free Gaza and Liberty in port (EPA)

S.S. Free Gaza and Liberty in port (EPA)

The war of words between Israel and the Free Gaza Movement is heating up as its ships prepare to sail toward Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade.  I’ve written before here that there are some aspects of this project that don’t have the greatest appeal to me, but that I support it nevertheless.

For example, the group’s invitation to Tzipi Livni to join them on their voyage is fatuous and annoyingly so.  Likewise, their decision to name one of their ships the S.S. Liberty in honor of the U.S.S. Liberty, which was attacked by Israel during the 1967 War.  An FGM press release even refers to the “assassination” of U.S. sailors during the incident. Gimme a break. Whatever happened in 1967, whether it was a dastardly act or an accident, these were sailors serving military duty. “Assassination???” C’mon. This just shows the group’s partisan agenda. As a political activist, I hate the idea of muddying the waters and confusing your prospective audience by combining disparate political goals.  What, in God’s name does the U.S.S. Liberty have to do with the Gaza blockade?  To me, it simply dilutes the power and purity of whatever idea or goal you’re pursuing.

But none of these criticisms outweigh the essential importance of the political statement FGM is making.  The fact that the Israeli foreign ministry bothered to address FGM directly indicates it takes the project seriously.  But I found the ministry statement to be riddled with inaccuracies and parroted arguments.  Take this:

We assume that your intentions are good but, in fact, the result of your action is that you are supporting the regime of a terrorist organization in Gaza…

In fact, FGM’s goals have nothing to do with Hamas and everything to do with alleviating the suffering of the average Gazan who is not responsible for whatever sins Hamas may or may not have committed.

In June 2007, Hamas led a violent coup in Gaza and seized the government illegally, a fact which led to an international boycott and isolation of its government.

This, in fact, is a basic and egregious error.  In fact, the international boycott began in 2005 after Hamas won the PA election and not after Hamas took over Gaza.  Keep in mind this is an official statement of the Israeli foreign ministry and they can’t even get their facts straight.

Hamas is the central player in the Gaza Strip and the address to which you should direct your complaints concerning the situation there.

This is blaming the victim.  Because Hamas won an election, Israel is justified in essentially strangling the innocent civilian population of Gaza.  And not only is it justified in doing so, it is Hamas’ fault it has had to do so.

Your claim that the residents of the Gaza Strip are suffering from hunger is groundless…There isn’t another conflict in the world in which one side supplies all the needs of the other side

This is a real laugher.  In its reply, the FGM quotes various humanitarian sources serving Gaza:

According to the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “only 43.5% of basic commercial food import needs were met during the period between 3 and 30 December 2007.” Furthermore, in May 2008, several international aid organizations, including CARE International UK, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam, and Medecins du Monde UK, stated that, “the stranglehold on Gaza’s borders has made … the work of the UN and other humanitarian agencies … virtually impossible. Only a trickle of medicine, food, fuel and other goods is being allowed in. [The Israeli Blockade of Gaza] has made people highly dependent on food aid, and brought the health system and basic services such as water and sanitation near to collapse.”

This closing statement from the Israelis, which was preceded by a “generous” offer from them to guarantee delivery of FGM’s aid via Israeli-controlled land crossings, was also typically cheeky:

…If you do not intend to deliver the humanitarian aid via Israel, this proves that your goal is political…

In other words: if you seek to deliver the aid yourself and independently then you are an enemy of Israel. However, if you allow us, the Occupiers, to deliver it to Gaza on your behalf, then you truly are humanitarians and not political partisans. Which of course implies that the Israelis themselves are NOT political or partisan.

The Independent reports a defense ministry spokesperson referring to the FGM as “pirates,” an ominous escalation of the verbal conflict between the two entities:

“From my point of view this is some kind of pirate ship,” said Shlomo Dror, a defence ministry spokesman.

“You can demonstrate, that’s OK with us. But you are not allowed to break international law.”

Which, of course, is ironic.  This means Israel claims its blockade is being mounted on behalf of international law.  The opposite, of course, is the case.  International law specifically forbids a nation from besieging a civilian population and blaming it for the acts of military forces.

Finally, the FGM ships are not “pirates” nor are they a danger to Israel.  The government has threatened to “use force” to prevent them from reaching Gaza.  Again, this is a completely unjustified threat compared to the “danger” the group represents.  Pro-Israel supporters have made death threats to private unlisted phone numbers and sent similar e-mail messages to participants and crew in an attempt to intimidate them.  If Israel engages in violence of any kind in detaining the activists, it deserves the opprobrium of the world community.

My piece about the “Gaza Fulbright 3″ was published today at Comment is Free under the title, Let Them Come and Study.