48 thoughts on “Israel’s Fresh Forum Bans Me and Post About ‘Outing’ Shin Bet Agent – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. I don’t think the issue is that you have some odd expectation that Israel is hospitable to free speech. It isn’t, but that’s not the point.

    The point is that you have some odd, American belief in fair play and rules applying equally to all persons, be they posters from America or Israeli soldiers. That idea, the one where all are equal – that goes directly against the grain of Israeli thought & culture.

    1. Maybe you should read some of Mr. Silverstien replies towards other folks, including myself in this blog, to realize that what you stated about the fairness with which he treats others is not true.

  2. Hey, Richard, just think of it as collecting medals. First you’re on the S.H.I.T. List, and now this. The more medals you have, the better you know you’re doing the right things. Congratulations.

  3. Seriously, the left leaning Fresh banned you and the rightist Rotter did not?

    Yeah, funny how your assumptions (left=freedom right=oppression) crash upon the rock of reality time and time again…

    1. The Rotter members hate my guts (I’m even learning some colloquial Hebrew insults & curses I never knew out of this) but the moderator tolerates my posts & ones which link to my own blog posts. But Fresh somehow felt that even a forum post that linked to a blog post outing a Shin Bet agent warranted my immediate execution.

  4. Richard.
    I know how you feel:
    During the height of The Guardian’s campaign against BAe and the arms trade, I had the temerity to post on the Guardian’s “Comment is Free” pages, the once well-known fact that The Guardian’s editor was started his career as PA to Tiny Rowland, sales agent for BAe’s main European competitor, as well as notorious middleman in arms deals of every kind, but particularly the kind where the arms were paid for with conflict diamonds and the like, which Rowland’s “Lonrho” company was ideally placed to fence.

    The Guardian’s response was an absolutely crazed jihad against not only Msonea, but also any other poster who’d referred positively to my comments. Comments weren’t just moderated, they were erased completely.

    This went on for months and months, but perhaps not as long as The Guardian/Observer hate campaign against Mr Rowland’s erstwhile business rival, Mr Mohamed Al Fayed.
    (Mr Fayed did not deal arms, he just bought Harrods for a fair price when Mr Rowland was trying to buy it for a much lower price.)

    Psychotic control freaks can be found in just about any part of the political spectrum.

    Comment is precious and it certainly isn’t free if the Guardian’s Editor has anything to do with it. You are lucky: he actually seems to approve of you, so far.

    (This may change merely because of the name on this comment!)

  5. Hi Richard,
    Perhaps you may have violated some of their posting “Guidelines”? You know, like your own set of self-declared “rules” you yourself arbitrarily apply to ban people from posting on your own site when it’s not 100% conforming to your own views… Just a thought.

  6. What comes around goes around. you deleted my two comments from your israeli families owns 60& of equity column. And they were very honest and objective comments. no foul language, just straight critisism of that column. One might ask if you are not ready to accept harsh criticism then why should they be. You are being just as bad. I hope you learned you’re lesson. If your posting your beliefs in the internet be prepared to face critisism.

    Or is this your fanblog where everyone states that “great job Richard”. it seems that way because you’re removing comments that you do not like. That doesn’t suit your agenda. What ever that is. Atleast not Free Speech.

    You should title your blog as follows:Make the world a better place, but do not disagree with me anyway or I will ban your from this blog

      1. Good job, Mr. Silverstein. I am quite fond of your elaborate, yet effective responses. Perhaps the Israelis should also deal with your criticism in the same way: “Blah, blah, blah”

    1. hey objective – I read Richard’s blog, and generally support his rules. Those of us who come here and occasionally comment have very little expectation that the agents and apologists for Israel’s creeping fascism will have much to say worth taking on. When it’s just inane comments like we see now and then, one can ssskip and move on. After all, it’ss hardly a surprise that most criminals justify their own crimes with the caveat “they made me do it!” and/or “they are worsse”. But when comments cross into outright lies, smears or obscenities, they should be removed.

      Yet, these are not the reasons comments are nowadays removed on the Cif. It’s enough to offend the “sensibilities” of the zionist-controlled patrols, or bring up something from the not-so illustrious past of certain editors-in-charge and poof- off it goes into the ether. As a result, most of the excellent, first rate commentators – who used to make truly profound comments and engaged in deep debates- have been disappeared, and the comments page has degenerated into something barely worth wading into. By the same token the Cif articles published now are, for the most part, plain vanilla, punctuated by the occasional foray into something more penetrating. The result is that people like me rarely bother to read the Guardian any longer, which is just fine with the zionist cadre.

      I did not see your comments, but if they were of the caliber seen here sometimes from the PR trolls sent out to uphold the right of Israel to do the unspeakable, then well, we don’t need to see that spoken yet again. We already know how you feel and why. Not all that different perhaps from O J Simpson – the “If I did it, that’s how” version? He has been temporarily shut up, and I have no qualms with you peddling your ware to other Inquirer style publications ass well. Plenty of them out there.

      Now what was the name of that hideous shin bet crime boss again?

  7. It may be that the moderator of the site has a personal link to the agent involved and it’s not really ideological at all.

  8. Oh really…
    First, where you know from whatever there is a gag against it or not? Maybe you don’t know(or don’t care) but Shin Bet department chiefs’ photos are forbidden to be published.

    Your post is such an unbelievable non-sense… Fresh forum is a private run forum, which run by their own rules and if you disagree which them, just don’t use this forum…

    I’m afraid it’s just too easy to forget about democracy when you need your’s and your followers’ hatred to be feed. They have a non-government site, and who are you to tell them what to do and what not?

    Now I just wonder whatever you do it for money or just enjoy feeding those antisemitic groups looking for any threads that mocking Israel, no matter how ridiculous they are?

    Now I want to see this reply posted in YOUR free and democratic state.

    1. I didn’t publish his picture in the forum. I published it at my blog. I didn’t know I was required to abide by Israeli law.

      Rotter’s site is private as well but they somehow seem to be able to withstand the supposed poison I’m circulating w/o falling dead from it–unlike Fresh which seems to need to innoculate their readers against so called unpopular ideas like mine.

      Now I just wonder whatever you do it for money

      Oh yes, donors and other intelligence agencies are knocking at my door begging to make deposits into my bank account. Don’t be an idiot. But your paranoid delusions are quite instructive as to how the Israeli right thinks.

      If you need to you can post comments in Hebrew. Your English needs some work.

      1. Well, ok. But what’s the point of this entire post? One private run forum deleted your post there, big deal.
        Sometimes you just push too hard to attack the state of Israel, right to the edge of being ridiculous.

        And oh please, don’t make me laugh. You don’t get money from running this blog? Yeah, right.
        The “donate” button, is here just by mistake?

        Donations or Ads, but you receive money from all this – this is a quite popular blog after all. Most of this blog visitors looking for anti-Israeli posts from jewish writer, and you just can’t let them down.
        The question is whatever you do it just for cash, or also enjoy this attention/else.

        If you concentrate on facts only and put down those ridiculous agenda posts, your blog would be much more trust-able. You would also lose 90% of your followers and earnings, and you know it.

        1. One private run forum deleted your post there, big deal.

          They also banned me from the site entirely.

          You don’t get money from running this blog?

          How much money do you think people donate via that Donate button? Take a guess & I’ll tell you how far off you are. You don’t understand anything about blogs like this. They don’t earn money even with all the ads and the Donate button. My readers don’t earn a lot themselves generally and don’t spend a lot at least not via this site. I would that it were different. But believe me if you’re thinking there’s some sort of rich conspiracy supporting my blog you’re not only being offensive, you’re so wrong that you’re ludicrous.

          If you keep harping on the notion that I’m “bought” you won’t be publishing comments here very much longer.

          1. Still, how you came to your conclusion that “I guess some Israelis may say: “Welcome to Israel, land of the free.” But I’m still just a bit shocked.”, only cause you been banned from a forum? You can say that this forum is shitty, but how you connect that to Israel and freedom?
            (hint: clear your cookies, register new name and you’re there again)

            Well, you insist not to understand me on the money issue.

            The point is that you made this blog to be an agenda one, and this is an one way ticket. From now on all your posts should be judged as biased, cause most of your viewers here to see anti-Israeli posts, not to “Make The World A Better Place”.
            If you stop attacking Israel your blog would lose money/views/popularity(my original question was about which one would hurt you more). You can’t be neutral now, and this post proves that.

            I rest my case.
            My replies are toward the readers of this blog, I don’t profess to change your posts bias. I just hope that the neutral readers would take your “conclusions” with a pinch of salt.

          2. clear your cookies, register new name and you’re there again

            Didn’t need the hint. As a webmaster and admin of my own forum, I know how these things work. When I’m banned fr. a site I don’t come back using a new identity. If my presence threatens them, then F(&k ’em.

            you made this blog to be an agenda one, and this is an one way ticket.

            You probably should write your comments in Hebrew if that’s your native language. Things aren’t coming out the way you intend. If you’re claiming that this blog has an “agenda” and that this is somehow suspicious or immoral, you’re full of crap. As for the “one way ticket” phrase I have no idea what you meant.

            If you stop attacking Israel your blog would lose money

            Actually, if Israel ended the Occupation, recognized a Palestinian state and ended its hostilites with any number of neighboring Arab states then my blog would lose its reason for being. And you know what? I’m raking in so much dough from all my secret Sugar Daddies that it would hurt no end if this happened. But I’d somehow survive losing my meal ticket.

            Seriously, I’d be one of the happiest people alive if this blog lost its reason for being due to Israeli-Arab peace being declared. I say, to quote one of our beloved presidents: “Bring it.”

            I just hope that the neutral readers would take your “conclusions” with a pinch of salt.

            Or in the case of all those anti-ZIonist, Israel-hating readers: a pinch of zattar.

          3. I know what a one-way tkt is so don’t try to be smart. What I don’t understand is what you meant by yr use of the phrase since it doesn’t correspond to English usage. So instead of trying to be snarky, you might try some humility & try to learn how the language is used. IT will help you communicate better when you try to use it.

  9. Richard, you old Bolshevik. Why are you trying to undermine the reputation of the most moral security service in the only democracy in the Middle East? We Americans must stick together with the people of our 52nd state. I mean, we have an unbreakable bond and shared values… and stuff.

  10. lol..
    I hope you understand you are talking about an internet forum..they have the right to ban you because they don’t like your name if they want to.
    I guess they ban you because you published political stuff on their security forum..
    but sure.. who cares about the facts.. lets go slander some more Israelis..
    oh, and yes..
    israel is the land of the free.
    in the day the mainstream media in the US or Europe would publish articles against their own state that are even 1% as radicals as the israeli mainstream media publish ..
    come here and claim your title (land of the free) back..

    1. Of course, in America, our congressfolk can speak their mind on the floor of the capitol without being physically assaulted by their colleagues, so there’s that.

      1. Wowzers. You really are a bright cookie.

        I assume you are referring to the incident where knesset member Michaeli “assaulted” knesset member Zuabi. The former received extreme criticism for this action and was removed from the floor immediately. She might be facing disciplinary punishment. The same exact thing can happen in the US and has happened in many parliaments in the world (check youtube for parliament fights). The knesset did in no way support or legitimize these violent actions and almost everyone (press, “talkbalks”, forums) thinks this was an immature and unnecessary demonstration. After all though she is a private woman ad no one can control her actions. No need to make a big fuss about such an incident like a second grader. Grow up.

        1. Michaeli received “extreme criticism?” From whom? And she wasn’t removed from the floor immediately. She was dragged off the floor in a torrent of abuse emanating from her overmade up lips. And do tell me when she faces disciplinary action from the Knesset. I’ll be waiting for word fr. you.

          The same exact thing can happen in the US

          No, it can’t & you don’t know anything about the U.S. Congress. The last time someone was physically assaulted on the floor of Congress by a fellow member was around the time of the Civil War.

          The knesset did in no way support or legitimize these violent actions

          Actually, if you’d bothered to watch the video you’d see that many members assaulted Zoabi verbally & physically.

          No need to make a big fuss about such an incident

          I guess I’ll have to be the judge of that.

      2. lol.
        you just prove my point.

        show me even one US congressman that openly support terror attacks against the US, and openly calls for the destruction of the US.

        if there were such a congressman he would have been kicked out of congress.
        in israel, there are 9 (out of 120) PM’s with thus kind of views against their own state.
        and no body prevent them from expressing thus views even on the parliament floor.

        1. Really? Can you link to Zoabi or any of the Arab MKs calling for terror attacks against Israel?

        2. The U congress supports – almost unanimously a country that endanger America and ha nuke pointed at Turkey and European capital. The US Congress supports a country that was behind 4400 dead american troops and countless wounded and traumatized for life. the US congress is bought and paid for as is amply proven by their votes against Iranians who happen to be human beings Israel doesn’t like. Yet, people like Rep Berman who supports terrorism against America (that’s what Israel’s actions are doing, whether directly or through blow-back) is not assaulted. And Israeli shin bet agents like Joe Lieberman and Berman are neither assaulted and shouted down, as much as many of us despise them for betraying their country, despicable individuals who’d, in a second, sell their land of birth for a fascist, authocracy like Israel.

          In other words, the legion of unregistered foreign agents for israel – which is what AIPAC and friends along with the like of Krystol and the “emergency committee for israeli terrorism” are, can say and speak their mind without fear of being assaulted or even stripped of their parliamentary or “journalistic” or academic credentials.

          And Israel, BTW, is on the record as advocating terror attacks against Iran – kind of all they are doing these days – advocating terror – and on the front pages of our newspapers too.

        3. show me even one US congressman that openly support terror attacks against the US, and openly calls for the destruction of the US.

          Neither Zoabi nor any other Israeli Palestinian MK calls for any of those things & you lie to claim that they do.

          1. this is a quote from a comment of mine you didn’t maybe i’ll be lucky today:
            “how about espionage ? would you consider espionage as actively helping terrorists with their attacks ? why don’t you go look for MK Azmi Bshara and ask him why doesn’t he return to the state of Israel ?”

          2. I’ve written many, many post about Azmi Bishara & heard all the lame, empty claims from people like you about his alleged espionage which no court & not even the Shin Bet proved. I don’t like to repeat myself so go read what I’ve written & all the comments critical of what I wrote. Then if you have something new to add try to do so without being offensive or personally insulting. You won’t be able to do it, but I suggest you try anyway.

      3. The USA is like being at work-on the job-people try to get along until they go home. Israel is like being at home-you cannot avoid disagreements and you are not there specifically to “just make money.” There is no comparison between life if the USA and Israel!

        1. you are not there specifically to “just make money”

          That’s very quaint & all & spoken like an olah who’s scraping by–but Israelis & specifically many American olim have done quite well for themselves.

  11. richard,

    lift my moderated status and i will happily go over to the forum and plead your case

      1. I am very happy to see that Richard treats everyone equal.
        if you criticize him and do not agree with his views, he will have you moderated to make sure he can control the flow of information and opinions to the other readers.
        Its his blog, and he can do what ever he wants, when other do the same, he burst in tears.
        Hypocrisy a la Silverstien.

        1. Stop whining. If you read the comment rules & follow them, even if you disagree w. me, you won’t be moderated. There are many commenters in that category who are not moderated.

          And do cut out the attempts at ridicule. They fall flat.

          1. Richard
            you are the one who whine. i don’t as long as i write in here i need to accept the fact, that you are the one setting the rules. i do, you don’t accept the same about fresh.

  12. Wear this experience like a badge of honor. Israeli blogs are fascist echo chambers where intelligent, rational and humane expression is a treasonous threat to controlled hasbara.

  13. Richard, I was reading through rotter when I came across a link to your post. Just to set the record straight, I read rotter because it’s always a good idea to learn what the enemy is up to.

    Anyway, my memory is really patchy on this but I seem to recall somebody at rotter claiming that the “Fresh” site was set up by the Shin Bet. Apparently the name and ID number on the domain registration matched the name of a Shin Bet official who has given testimony in some public trial. Like I said – I didn’t really follow up on this and the rotter forum is known to be paranoid central so you never know what to believe. If it’s true, it could explain your quick expulsion from Fresh. I’ll have a look later and see if I can find that (very old, around 2003) post.

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