A Comment on Ellison and Baird

Following the Jerusalem Post reporting on the visit to Gaza by U.S. Representatives Keith Ellison and Brian Baird, I sent the following letter that appears in the February 24, 2009 edition.

Eating macaroni vs sitting shiva

Sir, - Israel is long accustomed to foreign criticism of its actions. It is one thing, though, when the complaints come from the usual list of anti-Semites; but when they come from elected representatives of Israel's staunchest ally, it must hurt more than usual.

So on behalf of my fellow Americans, I wish to apologize for the silly remarks made by Congressmen Keith Ellison and Brian Baird, as reported in "Visiting US Congressmen say Israel has to change 'counterproductive' Gaza policies" (February 22), following their tour of Gaza. I am sorry these gentlemen do not understand the most basic of facts: that Israel is at war with Hamas.

It seems every American politician is now a maven when it comes to the security of Israel and its people. Until these folks know the difference between macaroni and sitting shiva, they ought to mind their own business and stop embarrassing the US.

STEPHEN FLATOW

When Elected Officials Sound Silly -- Ellison and Baird Weigh-in on Gaza

U.S. Congressmen Keith Ellison and Brian Baird recently made a visit to Gaza. Their comments? Per the Jerusalem Post, after urging that more aid be allowed through Israeli checkpoints,

"When have lentil bombs been going off lately? Is someone going to kill you with a piece of macaroni?" asked Rep. Brian Baird (D-Washington).

Ellison added, "When people have been deprived and feel beat down long enough, you cannot make them do what you want by beating on them more. They are used to that. They know that. They have been without and they can be without," he said.

Gee, thanks for those insightful remarks, gentlemen. How about this-- Israel is at war with Hamas. What country in history has been asked to provide supplies to its enemy? Yes, Gazan civilians suffer but it the fault of their leaders who call for the destruction of Israel and, therefor, its citizens on a daily basis.

The story about the visit, 'Israel must change "counterproductive" Gaza policies' is found here.

To the Students of Hampshire College

In my previous post Shame on Hampshire College, I took issue with the college's adoption of a divestment program directed against companies that sell to Israel. I have been taken to task by one commentator from the college and have reviewed a divestment blog run by students at the college.

I respond to the commentator by referring him or her to an op-ed in the February 17, 2009 edition of the Jerusalem Post. It is called "When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews, said Martin Luther King" and was written by Arno Lustiger, a German historian who survived Hitler's death camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald.

He writes:

Is criticism of Israel anti-Semitic? The Six Day War sparked a wave of anti-Zionistic reactions, triggering the Left's denial of solidarity with Israel, a stance that holds until today.

In August 1967, Martin Luther King wrote in Letters to an Anti-Zionistic Friend:
"You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely 'anti-Zionist'... When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews - this is God's own truth. Anti-Semitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, has been and remains a blot on the soul of mankind."

He quotes from Jean Améry who said in a 1969 speech

"Anti-Semitism was once the socialism of the stupid guys. Today it is about to become an integrating ingredient of socialism as such, and thereby every socialist turns himself, by his free will, into a stupid guy. Anti-Semitism has become respectable again, but there is no such thing as respectable anti-Semitism!"

Quoting "well-known literary scholar and dedicated leftist" Hans Mayer Lustiger writes

"Whoever attacks Zionism, but by no means wishes to say anything against the Jews, is fooling himself and others. The State of Israel is a Jewish state. Whoever wants to destroy it, openly or through policies that can effect nothing else but such destruction, is practicing the Jew hatred of yesterday and time immemorial."

"Unfortunately, these 30-year-old texts still hold true today."

Lustiger then outlines Hitler's plans for the Middle East, one that would be Jew-free. With Nazi collaborator Grand Mufti Haj Amin el-Husseini as a model for many in today's Middle East, "the comparison of the lives of Palestinians in the occupied areas with the starvation and murder of Jews in the ghettos of Europe living under a death sentence is impudent and the product of possible deliberate ignorance."

So I recommend Lustiger's article to the good students of Hampshire College and pray that they are not deliberately ignorant of history.

Read the full article here.

NYPD Trains for Mumbai-style Attack

We recently posted The Coming Swarm - Get ready for small attacks regarding the likelihood of Mumbai-style attacks in the United States.

Well, it looks as though the New York Police Department is planning for such an event. In an AP story posted today,

"NYPD officials say the mission at their firearms training facility reflects their belief that the city is vulnerable to a New York sequel to the Indian siege, and their determination not to be outgunned."

Makes sense to me. And a good example of fine police work in anticipating the worst. Will other cities follow through?

Shame on Hampshire College

Hampshire College, located in Amherst, Massachusetts, has fallen victim to the latest round of Israel bashing by a small group of pro-Palestinian anti-Semites who succeeded in having the college divest from companies doing business with Israel.

The college’s decision was made following a petition drive by the virulently anti-Zionist (read anti-Semitic) college group Students for Justice in Palestine. They are proud supporters of Hamas and critical of the Oslo Accords and the Palestinian Authority. In my book, they are not nice kids.

Opposition by American colleges and universities to divestment campaigns that single out one country is widespread. Most have seen through the fog of divestment campaigns and realize that there are other countries with human rights abuses far worse than those alleged against Israel but that Israel is singled-out for attention. Thus, the success of the SJP at Hampshire College has taken many by surprise.

Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz addressed the issue in his blog Double Standard Watch at jpost.com on February 15, 2009. He noted,

“Several months ago, a rabidly anti-Israel group on the Hampshire College campus began a campaign to try to get the college to divest from six companies that they claim helped ‘"the Israeli occupation of Palestine."’ Those who came up with this formulation regard all of Israel, including Tel Aviv, Haifa and Ben Gurion Airport, as ‘"occupied Palestine."’ In other words, their goal is to end the existence of Israel. This divestment effort is part of an international campaign against Israel.”

Despite college denials to the contrary, Dershowitz writes, “the student group, supported by many faculty members, claimed total victory, issuing a press release that boasted that Hampshire has become the first college in the United States to divest from Israel.”

Should we write this off to over-exuberant college students? I think not. Experience with anti-Israel campaigns by other pro-Palestinian groups at colleges around the country shows that the anti-Palestinian college crowd is well placed with backing from the anti-Israel camp. There is no interest there for Israelis to live side by side in peace with a Palestinian state. Their goal is to destroy Israel and the Jews who live there.