babble is rabble.ca's discussion board but it's much more than that: it's an online community for folks who just won't shut up. It's a place to tell each other — and the world — what's up with our work and campaigns.
I don't need to claim to be censured. I already have been censured, particularly by "Unionist". Unionist asks who the hell I am. I would invite her or him to answer the reciprocal question first.
I don't mind being censured, but I very much hope not to be censored. That, however, is not in my hands, but in the hands of the illustrious moderator of this website.
I didn't know that nkcanada.ca had a monopoly on the moniker Neturei Karta, which means in Aramaic "Guardians of the City".
Perhaps the moderator of this website could enlighten us all as to what part of the babble policy statement the sentiment in my previous message has allegedly violated. Is it contrary to the babble policy statement to mention that Jews are not allowed to reside in Gaza (much less practice their religion there), and to suggest that this prohibition might be redolent of the South African Group Areas Act of 1950?
By the way, I am a paid up member of the New Democratic party, and quite progressive and anti-racist.
My grandfather who was also very progressive and anti-racist, was expelled from the Communist Party in Poland back in the early 1960s when Poland went through an anti-Semitic spasm (thinly disguised as anti-Zionism), so if I am booted from this website, I will in a certain manner of speaking be continuing the family tradition!!
Perhaps the moderator of this website could enlighten us all as to what part of the babble policy statement the sentiment in my previous message has allegedly violated. Is it contrary to the babble policy statement to mention that Jews are not allowed to reside in Gaza (much less practice their religion there), and to suggest that this prohibition might be redolent of the South African Group Areas Act of 1950?
By the way, I am a paid up member of the New Democratic party, and quite progressive and anti-racist.
NDPP
and lots more where that came from too...of course if he'd been cheering on our own Charlie Bouchard - NATO's General Butcher - bombing Libya back to the stone age, or our NATO barbarism in Afghanistan [to theirs AND ours ] - there might not have been a problem, correct? His questions should be answered of course...
What's interesting is the similarity between the arguments being put forward by the apologists for Israeli apartheid today and the arguments put forward by apologists for South African apartheid pre-1990.
South African apartheid apologists used to point to various repressive regimes in nominally independent African states and use that as an excuse to support the apartheid regime. "What about Idi Amin in Uganda...or Bokassa in the Central African Republic?" we'd hear. The idea being that until every black majority state or national liberation movement was "pure", it was quite okay for the "civilized" white majority to enslave the black majority. Also, they'd conveniently forget that most of the repressive regimes in Africa were installed by western imperialism. Idi Amin in Uganda for instance was installed in 1971 largely with the help of British and Israeli intelligence services.
So today we hear Israeli apartheid apologists pointing to various repressive regimes in the Arab world (mostly maintained in power by western imperialism) and using that as an excuse to support Israel's repressive apartheid policies against the Palestinians. It's a tired old argument and ...complete bullshit.
I thought that Idi Amin called himself the Conqueror of the British Empire and that he ordered the execution of Dora Bloch, a 74 year old lady who was a passenger on the Air France aeroplane that was hijacked in 1976, and who was taken to hospital during the hostage-taking at the Entebbe airport. Dora Bloch wasn't an Israeli citizen, so animus against Israel couldn't have been the motive for killing her. Could it be, just possibly, that Amin ordered her killed because she was Jewish? If Israeli intelligence had a role in putting a chap like that in power, then they obviously weren't very intelligent, were they? And if the Israeli intelligence are such bumblers and fumblers, how the heck did they manage to snatch Mr. Eichmann?
Come now folks, we need to get our stories straight. Next thing, we'll hear that the when Mr. Klinghoffer was shot and thrown overboard into the Mediterranean, wheelchair and all, it was all a stage-managed plot by the Mossad to provide a cover story to deflect everyone's attention from Israeli apartheid.
Anyway, for all those folks who think that Israel practices apartheid, why don't you send a complaint to Dr. Ahmad Tibi, the Deputy Speaker of the 18th Knesset and ask him why he associates himself with an apartheid state. His email address is: atibi@knesset.gov.il.
When did the megaphone go out? How come I'm always the last to hear it. Anyway, thanks for your contribution, Percy, but I don't think you're here in good faith.
isn't it actually the state of israel that is preventing people from going to gaza? And when they did allow their citizens in, it was in the form of exclusive jewish only settlements that evicted everyone else?
israel controls who goes in or out, so you can't claim it's the gazans who are "enforcing" some form of "apartheid" in the OT....
Actually egypt shares a border with Gaza, though I assume only the Jewish treatment of Palestinians is of concern here. Double standards, demonization, and deligitimization is exactly where valid criticism of Israel crosses into antisemitism.
I have read through the above comments with much interest, but would like to point out a misconception that sadly a lot of well meaning people have about the situation in the Middle East. I trust that the contributors to this discussion are sufficiently well-informed and educated to receive these remarks in the progressive spirit in which they are given.
In actual fact, the so-called "Palestinian people" does not exist. To anyone who studies the history of the region seriously, it is clear that there are no meaningful cultural, lingusitic, ethnic or religous differences between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing the progressive stuggle against the colonialist Israeli state and to establish a unified Arab republic in the region. Therefore it is only for practical reasons that we should speak about the existence of a Palestinian people, in order to oppose Zionism and the imperialism that it represents.
In actual fact, the so-called "Palestinian people" does not exist.
I suppose you could say the same about the Pakistani people. Before 1947, Punjab was one. So was Bengal. Same language, same "ethnicity", blah blah. The imperialists split them up. And joined them together! (East and West Pakistan, now split again).
Here's the point: You may say Palestine was populated by Arabs for many centuries if you like. I don't know when they became "Palestinians". But my guess is that if they weren't "Palestinians" before 1948, they certainly were afterward - created by the Zionists, by the naqba - created and re-created in the struggle for liberation against colonialism and imperialism. Just as many of the European nations and nation-states were created with the decline of the feudal empires. And if that wasn't enough, the indifference and enmity of the surrounding Arab neocolonial regimes gave another boost to Palestinian nationhood.
So I take your point in the spirt in which it is intended. But at a time when enemies of humanity, from Netanyahu to Obama to Harper, are denying the national rights of the Palestinian people, I think your point belongs in academia or some library, not in modern political discussion. That's my opinion, in any event.
Hi Doc! Welcome to babble. Thanks for taking the time to disabuse us of our foolish, well-meaning notions. Do you know this guy? He has similar views. To wit:
Quote:
The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism.
For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.
Sad about his untimely end.
Quote:
Mohsen was assassinated on July 25 in 1979 in Cannes, France.
I guess he's feeling better now. Although thirty-two years of death seems to have left him slightly disoriented, given that he's reversed his first and last names in his posts.
I'd suggest the good "doctor" take a nap, but that's probably redundant.
In fact, Palestine was referred to by Herodotus in the 5th Century BCE as “Palaestina, a land stretching from Phoenicia to Egypt while during the 2nd century CE, the word “Palestine” appeared on coins and in rabbinical writings. The Palestinians have far more claim to be a cohesive, indigenous people than most Americans.
If Palestinian people don't exist, that leaves me with an obvious question: Those folks I saw in Ramallah, Hebron and Nablus... were they robots or holograms?
"The Israeli army and the government and the Zionist movement need to understand that their weapons of murder and their methods of torture will not stop us, will not silence us..."
"Just in case there was an iota of doubt left in your mind, Israel was officially declared an apartheid state by a session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine in Cape Town on 7 November.."
I don't need to claim to be censured. I already have been censured, particularly by "Unionist". Unionist asks who the hell I am. I would invite her or him to answer the reciprocal question first.
I don't mind being censured, but I very much hope not to be censored. That, however, is not in my hands, but in the hands of the illustrious moderator of this website.
I didn't know that nkcanada.ca had a monopoly on the moniker Neturei Karta, which means in Aramaic "Guardians of the City".
Perhaps the moderator of this website could enlighten us all as to what part of the babble policy statement the sentiment in my previous message has allegedly violated. Is it contrary to the babble policy statement to mention that Jews are not allowed to reside in Gaza (much less practice their religion there), and to suggest that this prohibition might be redolent of the South African Group Areas Act of 1950?
By the way, I am a paid up member of the New Democratic party, and quite progressive and anti-racist.
My grandfather who was also very progressive and anti-racist, was expelled from the Communist Party in Poland back in the early 1960s when Poland went through an anti-Semitic spasm (thinly disguised as anti-Zionism), so if I am booted from this website, I will in a certain manner of speaking be continuing the family tradition!!
Just get rid of this fucking troll, please. He can go brag about following his disgusting reactionary tradition.
Is this any way to treat a comrade, brothers and sisters?
As a retired moderator, I haven't banned anyone in just ages. Thankyou for this opportunity to keep my hand in the game so to speak. It's still fun
WTF?
Thank God for oldgoat.
And vice versa.
and lots more where that came from too...of course if he'd been cheering on our own Charlie Bouchard - NATO's General Butcher - bombing Libya back to the stone age, or our NATO barbarism in Afghanistan [to theirs AND ours ] - there might not have been a problem, correct? His questions should be answered of course...
What's interesting is the similarity between the arguments being put forward by the apologists for Israeli apartheid today and the arguments put forward by apologists for South African apartheid pre-1990.
South African apartheid apologists used to point to various repressive regimes in nominally independent African states and use that as an excuse to support the apartheid regime. "What about Idi Amin in Uganda...or Bokassa in the Central African Republic?" we'd hear. The idea being that until every black majority state or national liberation movement was "pure", it was quite okay for the "civilized" white majority to enslave the black majority. Also, they'd conveniently forget that most of the repressive regimes in Africa were installed by western imperialism. Idi Amin in Uganda for instance was installed in 1971 largely with the help of British and Israeli intelligence services.
So today we hear Israeli apartheid apologists pointing to various repressive regimes in the Arab world (mostly maintained in power by western imperialism) and using that as an excuse to support Israel's repressive apartheid policies against the Palestinians. It's a tired old argument and ...complete bullshit.
I thought that Idi Amin called himself the Conqueror of the British Empire and that he ordered the execution of Dora Bloch, a 74 year old lady who was a passenger on the Air France aeroplane that was hijacked in 1976, and who was taken to hospital during the hostage-taking at the Entebbe airport. Dora Bloch wasn't an Israeli citizen, so animus against Israel couldn't have been the motive for killing her. Could it be, just possibly, that Amin ordered her killed because she was Jewish? If Israeli intelligence had a role in putting a chap like that in power, then they obviously weren't very intelligent, were they? And if the Israeli intelligence are such bumblers and fumblers, how the heck did they manage to snatch Mr. Eichmann?
Come now folks, we need to get our stories straight. Next thing, we'll hear that the when Mr. Klinghoffer was shot and thrown overboard into the Mediterranean, wheelchair and all, it was all a stage-managed plot by the Mossad to provide a cover story to deflect everyone's attention from Israeli apartheid.
Anyway, for all those folks who think that Israel practices apartheid, why don't you send a complaint to Dr. Ahmad Tibi, the Deputy Speaker of the 18th Knesset and ask him why he associates himself with an apartheid state. His email address is: atibi@knesset.gov.il.
When did the megaphone go out? How come I'm always the last to hear it. Anyway, thanks for your contribution, Percy, but I don't think you're here in good faith.
[Troll spray deleted - Catchfire beat me to the draw!]
isn't it actually the state of israel that is preventing people from going to gaza? And when they did allow their citizens in, it was in the form of exclusive jewish only settlements that evicted everyone else?
israel controls who goes in or out, so you can't claim it's the gazans who are "enforcing" some form of "apartheid" in the OT....
Actually egypt shares a border with Gaza, though I assume only the Jewish treatment of Palestinians is of concern here. Double standards, demonization, and deligitimization is exactly where valid criticism of Israel crosses into antisemitism.
I see the Zionists are sending in reinforcements to keep this thread going, even though it's nowhere near Israeli Apartheid Week.
It can't cross into antisemitism. There's a checkpoint to keep us lesser types out.
Paranoid Android
Well, SJ, that's some good that has come out of this. Paranoidandroid? Ciao, bro.
I have read through the above comments with much interest, but would like to point out a misconception that sadly a lot of well meaning people have about the situation in the Middle East. I trust that the contributors to this discussion are sufficiently well-informed and educated to receive these remarks in the progressive spirit in which they are given.
In actual fact, the so-called "Palestinian people" does not exist. To anyone who studies the history of the region seriously, it is clear that there are no meaningful cultural, lingusitic, ethnic or religous differences between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing the progressive stuggle against the colonialist Israeli state and to establish a unified Arab republic in the region. Therefore it is only for practical reasons that we should speak about the existence of a Palestinian people, in order to oppose Zionism and the imperialism that it represents.
Dr. Mohsen Zuheir.
I suppose you could say the same about the Pakistani people. Before 1947, Punjab was one. So was Bengal. Same language, same "ethnicity", blah blah. The imperialists split them up. And joined them together! (East and West Pakistan, now split again).
Here's the point: You may say Palestine was populated by Arabs for many centuries if you like. I don't know when they became "Palestinians". But my guess is that if they weren't "Palestinians" before 1948, they certainly were afterward - created by the Zionists, by the naqba - created and re-created in the struggle for liberation against colonialism and imperialism. Just as many of the European nations and nation-states were created with the decline of the feudal empires. And if that wasn't enough, the indifference and enmity of the surrounding Arab neocolonial regimes gave another boost to Palestinian nationhood.
So I take your point in the spirt in which it is intended. But at a time when enemies of humanity, from Netanyahu to Obama to Harper, are denying the national rights of the Palestinian people, I think your point belongs in academia or some library, not in modern political discussion. That's my opinion, in any event.
Mr. Unionist
Hi Doc! Welcome to babble. Thanks for taking the time to disabuse us of our foolish, well-meaning notions. Do you know this guy? He has similar views. To wit:
Sad about his untimely end.
I guess he's feeling better now. Although thirty-two years of death seems to have left him slightly disoriented, given that he's reversed his first and last names in his posts.
I'd suggest the good "doctor" take a nap, but that's probably redundant.
Take two pills, and seance me in the morning.
Source
If Palestinian people don't exist, that leaves me with an obvious question: Those folks I saw in Ramallah, Hebron and Nablus... were they robots or holograms?
It's animatronics. Retirees from Disneyland put the whole thing together. Amazing work on their part, actually.
"The Israeli army and the government and the Zionist movement need to understand that their weapons of murder and their methods of torture will not stop us, will not silence us..."
http://electronicintifada.net/blog/linah-alsaafin/video-and-testimony-is...
"Just in case there was an iota of doubt left in your mind, Israel was officially declared an apartheid state by a session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine in Cape Town on 7 November.."
http://www.opednews.com/articles/BDS-update-BDS-unites-Eas-by-Eric-Walbe...
Tell that to Olivia Chow.
Wait...what the FUCK?
He be gone
Hey, he was only SS 1. Are there more coming?
Actually there was another unused one which I also closed