US Presidential Candidates line up behind Israel Lobby
Newsletter published on December 4, 2019
(1) Sanders
declares war on Anti-Semitism, on behalf of his people -
Gilad Atzmon
(2)
How to Fight Antisemitism, by Bernie Sanders
(3) Sanders panders to Lobby -
Jewish Forward
(4) Sanders: We Will Go to War Against White Nationalism and
Racism
(5) Michael Bloomberg: good for Israel - but good for the United
States?
(1) Sanders declares war on Anti-Semitism, on behalf of his
people -
Gilad Atzmon
http://www.unz.com/gatzmon/the-jewish-progressive-agenda-according-to-bernie-sanders/
The
Jewish Progressive Agenda According to Bernie Sanders
GILAD
ATZMON
NOVEMBER 14
In the 2016 Democratic primaries, Bernie
Sanders presented himself as an
American who happened to be Jewish. Now, in
a radical shift, Sanders
identifies as "a proud Jewish American." The
progressive politician went
from speaking in a universalist voice to
defining himself as a 3rd
category Jew, i.e., a person who identifies
politically as a Jew (as
opposed to identifying religiously:1st category, or
ancestrally: 2nd
category). In his new capacity as a proud Jew, Sanders has
declared all
out war on Anti-Semitism on behalf of his people and in the
name of what
he describes as ‘multicultural progressive values’.
In
his recent extended article titled How to Fight Antisemitism,
published by
the purportedly ‘Left’ Jewish Currents, Sanders takes up
the same line you’d
expect from an ADL spokesman, ticking every Hasbara
box from the Jewish
right of ‘self determination ‘to the primacy of
Jewish suffering.
It
is hard to miss the echo of Zionist propaganda in Sanders’ drivel.
Understandably, Sanders doesn’t like Anti-Semitism. In that he isn’t
alone. I would venture that no one, including antisemites, likes
anti-Semitism. However, fighting anti Semitism is pretty simple. All it
takes is self-reflection. This is exactly what early Zionists did and it
was pretty effective. Early Zionism promised to introduce a new Hebrew:
civilized, proletarian, universalist and ethical. Some of the worst
anti-Semites were impressed with the idea, for a while even Hitler
supported that Jewish nationalist project. At the time, Zionists were so
popular that they were largely forgiven their 1948 racist ethnic
cleansing crimes. Their introspective project was perceived as
genuine.
Now, Sanders informs us, "antisemitism is rising in this
country.
According to the FBI, hate crimes against Jews rose by more than a
third
in 2017 and accounted for 58% of all religion-based hate crimes in
America." Does the ‘progressive’ presidential wannabe bother to ask
himself why an ethnic group that comprises only 2% of the American
population is subject to the vast majority of religion based hate
crimes?
Sanders doesn’t advocate that Jews reflect on whether there is
something
they do that provokes such crimes, he prefers to blame everyone
else and
White identitarians in particular. He argues that antisemites such
as
the Pittsburgh Synagogue murderer "acted on a twisted belief that Jews
were part of a nefarious plot to undermine white America. This wave of
violence is the result of a dangerous political ideology that targets
Jews and anyone who does not fit a narrow vision of a whites-only
America."
Although I am a harsh critic all forms of identitarianism,
Sanders seems
to want it both ways, he identifies himself as a "proud Jewish
American"
and yet he is hostile to those who identify as White and to their
political and identitarian agenda. In reading Sanders’ piece, one can’t
miss the fact that the so-called ‘progressive’ seems to support all
forms of identitarianism except the White one. "This wave of violence"
he writes, "is the result of a dangerous political ideology that targets
Jews and anyone who does not fit a narrow vision of a whites-only
America."
Politicians who explore ideas in a manner that is ignorant,
uneducated
and clumsy are now a universal Western symptom. However, Sanders
manages
to form a category of his own. "The antisemites who marched in
Charlottesville don’t just hate Jews. They hate the idea of multiracial
democracy."
What is multiracial democracy? Are we supposed to know or
should we
guess? Are there any voices that should be excluded from this type
of
diverse democracy?
"They [presumably, the White Identitarians]
hate the idea of political
equality."
Is this true? Perhaps ‘they,’
rightly or wrongly, just see themselves as
among the oppressed and want
their plight addressed?
"They hate immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ
people, women, and anyone
else who stands in the way of a whites-only
America."
Does Sanders understand that ‘hating people’ (women, migrants,
people of
color, LGBTQ etc,) is not the same as opposing the identity
politics
that divides nations into a manifold of discrete
identities?
Sanders accuses the anti-Semites of being conspiratorial.
"this is the
conspiracy theory that drove the Pittsburgh murderer—that Jews
are
conspiring to bring immigrants into the country to "replace"
Americans."
I feel obliged to remind Mr. Sanders it is hardly
conspiratorial to
acknowledge the fact that Jewish politics in the West and
in America in
particular, is pro-immigration. It is well documented and is
actually
rational. As opposed to the Jewish State that performs some of the
most
brutal anti immigration policies, Diaspora Jews tend to prefer to live
in a society that is made of an amalgam of many groups and ethnicities.
Sanders who identifies himself as a ‘proud Jew’ should ask himself why
he supports ‘multicultural democracy’ and what he means by that. Sanders
ought to look into the work of HIAS and decide for himself how well it
reflects his own political sentiments.
Bernie Sanders sees
anti-Semitism as "a conspiracy theory that a
secretly powerful (Jewish)
minority exercises control over society."
Someone should ask Sanders to
explain the peculiar phenomenon at work
when Israeli PM Netanyahu received
29 standing ovations during his hard
line speech in Congress. Mr. Sanders,
who believes that pointing at
Jewish power arises from ‘conspiratorial’
inclinations may want to ask
himself what drove him to declare war against
anti Semitism instead of
joining battle against all racism. Does Sanders
plan to speak at AIPAC
or J-Street as part of his presidential campaign or
does he intend to
deny himself the support of the most influential political
lobbies in
Washington?
Sanders writes that "like other forms of
bigotry—racism, sexism,
homophobia—antisemitism is used by the right to
divide people from one
another and prevent us from fighting together for a
shared future of
equality, peace, prosperity, and environmental justice."
But if Sanders
is genuine here and his objective is ‘unity,’ why does he
single out
White identitarians? Shouldn’t he invite the Whites to join his
phantasmic identitarian ‘unity’ as equal partners? And more to the
point, if "like other forms of bigotry—racism, sexism,
homophobia—antisemitism is used by the right to divide people" why not
simply oppose all racism and bigotry in a universal manner?
According
to the "proud Jewish American" who wants to be the next
president, "opposing
antisemitism is a core value of progressivism." Is
it? I would have thought
that progressivism is about opposing all forms
of racism in the largest and
least discriminatory manner.
To illustrate his alliance with what is
currently the most racist state
on the planet, Sanders delves into nostalgic
memories of his Zionist
youth. "I have a connection to Israel going back
many years. In 1963, I
lived on a kibbutz near Haifa. It was there that I
saw and experienced
for myself many of the progressive values upon which
Israel was founded."
Mr Sanders forgets to mention that Sha’ar Haamakim,
the Kibbutz he
briefly dwelled in, was founded on the land of a Palestinian
village; Al
Zubaidat that had been the home of 60 Palestinian families. In
1925 a
Zionist organisation purchased the village land from a rich Beiruty
family and beginning in 1931, the Jewish Agency struggled to evict the
Palestinians of El Zubeidat. A few years later, in 1935, Kibbutz Sha’ar
HaAmakim was founded by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. In short,
the place Sanders describes as embodying ‘progressive values’ was in
fact, part of the vile racially driven, Zionist ethnic cleansing
project.
The intellectually compromised Sanders goes on to describe a
criminal
state with a very odd use of the term ‘progressive.’ "I think it is
very
important for everyone, but particularly for progressives, to
acknowledge the enormous achievement of establishing a democratic
homeland for the Jewish people after centuries of displacement and
persecution." I find this confusing. Unless the words ‘progressive’ and
‘Jewish’ have morphed into synonyms, I do not understand what is
‘progressive’ about the process of violent racist ethnic cleansing.
I
guess even Sanders must realise that his pro-Israeli screed is easily
ridiculed. "We must also be honest about this: The founding of Israel is
understood by another people in the land of Palestine as the cause of
their painful displacement."
According to Sanders the Palestinian
plight is simply a matter of a
subjective perception, that it was merely
‘understood’ by the
Palestinians that the founding of Israel resulted in
their own painful
displacement. Sanders dismisses reality, ignoring the
chain of massacres
of Palestinians in 1948, and the clear agenda of the
Israeli military to
cleanse the indigenous people of Palestine from their
land. I can’t
think of anything more disgusting and duplicitous than
Sanders’ fake
humanism.
Sanders finds that "some criticism of Israel
can cross the line into
antisemitism, especially when it denies the right of
self-determination
to Jews…" I allow myself to assert that no one out there
denies Jews or
anyone else’s right of self-determination but self
determination becomes
a serious problem when executed at the expense of
others, whether this
takes place in Palestine, in North America or anywhere
else.
Bernie Sanders, a declared non-universalist ‘progressive,’ uses a
Jewish
outlet to vow to his people "I will direct the Justice Department to
prioritize the fight against white nationalist violence. I will not wait
two years to appoint a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat
Anti-Semitism, as Trump did; I will appoint one immediately."
If
America intends, as it should, to fight racism and to heal its wounds
it
could be that Bernie Sanders is the worst possible candidate as he
clearly
expresses that what he cares about is the hatred of the one
group that
happens to be his own. Maybe president of the ADL is the more
fitting post
for the pretentious self confessed "proud Jewish American."
Leading the
American people and the world should be left to a proper
universalist and a
genuine ethical character assuming that such a person
is available and
willing to commit.
(2) How to Fight Antisemitism, by Bernie
Sanders
https://jewishcurrents.org/how-to-fight-antisemitism/
How
to Fight Antisemitism
November 11, 2019
Posted by Bernie
Sanders
ON OCTOBER 27TH, we marked one year since the worst antisemitic
attack
in our country’s history, when a white nationalist walked into the
Tree
of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and murdered 11 people and injured six
others. The murderer acted on a twisted belief that Jews were part of a
nefarious plot to undermine white America—a plot to assist in the
"invasion" of the United States by a caravan of migrants from Latin
America. This vicious lie about an "invasion" had been repeated
endlessly in right-wing media, on Fox News, across the internet, and,
most disgracefully, by the president of the United States.
Yes,
President Donald Trump’s own words helped inspire the worst act of
antisemitic violence in American history.
The threat of antisemitism
is not some abstract idea to me. It is very
personal. It destroyed a large
part of my family. I am not someone who
spends a lot of time talking about
my personal background because I
believe political leaders should focus
their attention on a vision and
agenda for others, rather than themselves.
But I also appreciate that
it’s important to talk about how our backgrounds
have informed our
ideas, our principles, and our values.
I am a proud
Jewish American. My father emigrated from Poland to the
United States in
1921 at the age of 17 to escape the poverty and
widespread antisemitism of
his home country. Those in his family who
remained in Poland after Hitler
came to power were murdered by the
Nazis. I know very well where white
supremacist politics leads, and what
can happen when people do not speak up
against it.
Antisemitism is rising in this country. According to the FBI,
hate
crimes against Jews rose by more than a third in 2017 and accounted for
58% of all religion-based hate crimes in America. A total of 938 hate
crimes were committed against Jews in 2017, up from 684 in 2016. The New
York Police Department reported in September that antisemitic hate
crimes in New York City have risen by more than 63% in 2019 and make up
more than half of all reported hate crimes. Just last week, on November
4th, we learned that federal authorities had arrested a man in Colorado
they believe was involved in a plot to bomb one of the state’s oldest
synagogues.
This wave of violence is the result of a dangerous
political ideology
that targets Jews and anyone who does not fit a narrow
vision of a
whites-only America. We have to be clear that while antisemitism
is a
threat to Jews everywhere, it is also a threat to democratic governance
itself. The antisemites who marched in Charlottesville don’t just hate
Jews. They hate the idea of multiracial democracy. They hate the idea of
political equality. They hate immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ people,
women, and anyone else who stands in the way of a whites-only America.
They accuse Jews of coordinating a massive attack on white people
worldwide, using people of color and other marginalized groups to do
their dirty work.
This is the conspiracy theory that drove the
Pittsburgh murderer—that
Jews are conspiring to bring immigrants into the
country to "replace"
Americans. And it is important to understand that that
is what
antisemitism is: a conspiracy theory that a secretly powerful
minority
exercises control over society. Like other forms of bigotry—racism,
sexism, homophobia—antisemitism is used by the right to divide people
from one another and prevent us from fighting together for a shared
future of equality, peace, prosperity, and environmental justice. So I
want to say as clearly as I possibly can: We will confront this hatred,
do exactly the opposite of what Trump is doing and embrace our
differences to bring people together.
Opposing antisemitism is a core
value of progressivism. So it’s very
troubling to me that we are also seeing
accusations of antisemitism used
as a cynical political weapon against
progressives. One of the most
dangerous things Trump has done is to divide
Americans by using false
allegations of antisemitism, mostly regarding the
US–Israel
relationship. We should be very clear that it is not antisemitic
to
criticize the policies of the Israeli government.
I have a
connection to Israel going back many years. In 1963, I lived on
a kibbutz
near Haifa. It was there that I saw and experienced for myself
many of the
progressive values upon which Israel was founded. I think it
is very
important for everyone, but particularly for progressives, to
acknowledge
the enormous achievement of establishing a democratic
homeland for the
Jewish people after centuries of displacement and
persecution.
We
must also be honest about this: The founding of Israel is understood
by
another people in the land of Palestine as the cause of their painful
displacement. And just as Palestinians should recognize the just claims
of Israeli Jews, supporters of Israel must understand why Palestinians
view Israel’s creation as they do. Acknowledging these realities does
not "delegitimize" Israel any more than acknowledging the sober facts of
America’s own founding delegitimizes the United States. It is a
necessary step of truth and reconciliation in order to address the
inequalities that continue to exist in our respective societies.
It
is true that some criticism of Israel can cross the line into
antisemitism,
especially when it denies the right of self-determination
to Jews, or when
it plays into conspiracy theories about outsized Jewish
power. I will always
call out antisemitism when I see it. My ancestors
would expect no less of
me. As president, I will strengthen both
domestic and international efforts
to combat this hatred. I will direct
the Justice Department to prioritize
the fight against white nationalist
violence. I will not wait two years to
appoint a Special Envoy to
Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, as Trump did; I
will appoint one
immediately. I will also rejoin the United Nations Human
Rights Council,
which Trump withdrew from. The United States should not be
sitting on
the sidelines on these important issues at the UN; we should be
at the
table helping to shape an international human rights agenda that
combats
all forms of bigotry and discrimination.
When I look at the
Middle East, I see Israel as having the capacity to
contribute to peace and
prosperity for the entire region, yet unable to
achieve this in part because
of its unresolved conflict with the
Palestinians. And I see a Palestinian
people yearning to make their
contribution—and with so much to offer—yet
crushed underneath a military
occupation now over a half-century old,
creating a daily reality of
pain, humiliation, and resentment.
Ending
that occupation and enabling the Palestinians to have
self-determination in
an independent, democratic, economically viable
state of their own is in the
best interests of the United States,
Israel, the Palestinians, and the
region. My pride and admiration for
Israel lives alongside my support for
Palestinian freedom and
independence. I reject the notion that there is any
contradiction there.
The forces fomenting antisemitism are the forces
arrayed against
oppressed people around the world, including Palestinians;
the struggle
against antisemitism is also the struggle for Palestinian
freedom. I
stand in solidarity with my friends in Israel, in Palestine, and
around
the world who are trying to resolve conflict, diminish hatred, and
promote dialogue, cooperation, and understanding.
We need this
solidarity desperately now. All over the world—in Russia,
in India, in
Brazil, in Hungary, in Israel, and elsewhere—we see the
rise of a divisive
and destructive form of politics. We see intolerant,
authoritarian political
leaders attacking the very foundations of
democratic societies. These
leaders exploit people’s fears by amplifying
resentments, stoking
intolerance and inciting hatred against ethnic and
religious minorities,
fanning hostility toward democratic norms and a
free press, and promoting
constant paranoia about foreign plots. We see
this very clearly in our own
country. It is coming from the highest
level of our government. It is coming
from Donald Trump’s tweets, and
from his own mouth.
As a people who
have experienced oppression and persecution for hundreds
of years, we
understand the danger. But we also have a tradition that
points the way
forward. I am a proud member of the tradition of Jewish
social justice. And
I am so inspired when I see so many Jewish people
picking up this banner,
especially the younger generation of Jews, who
are helping to lead a revival
of progressive values in our country. They
see the fight against
antisemitism and for Jewish liberation as
connected to the fight for the
liberation of oppressed people around the
world. They are part of a broad
coalition of activists from many
different backgrounds who believe very
deeply, as I always have, that we
are all in this together.
Bernie
Sanders is a United States senator from Vermont and a candidate
in the 2020
Democratic presidential primary.
(3) Sanders panders to Lobby - Jewish
Forward
https://forward.com/fast-forward/434601/bernie-sanders-judaism-israel-antisemitism/
Bernie
Sanders Goes Into Most Detail Yet About Judaism, Israel,
Anti-Semitism
November 11, 2019
By Aiden
Pink
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders went into more
detail than ever before about his ties to Judaism and Israel in an op-ed
for Jewish Currents published Monday. Here are the key takeaways:
He
warned of the danger of white supremacy:
Sanders described how his
father’s relatives were killed in the
Holocaust, and detailed the rise in
anti-Semitism in the United States.
He described hatred of Jews as "a threat
to democratic governance
itself" because white nationalists also hate the
ideas of equality and
multiracial democracy. Sanders pledged to combat white
nationalism and
"do exactly the opposite of what Trump is doing."
He
detailed how he thinks about anti-Semitism on the left:
Sanders stressed
that criticizing Israeli government policies is not
anti-Semitic, but added
that some critiques do stray into anti-Semitism,
such as conspiracy theories
about Jewish power or denying the Jews’
right to self-determination. "I
think it is very important for everyone,
but particularly for progressives,
to acknowledge the enormous
achievement of establishing a democratic
homeland for the Jewish people
after centuries of displacement and
persecution," he explained.
But he also said that he was concerned that
the Trump administration was
using accusations of anti-Semitism "as a
cynical political weapon
against progressives."
He called for two
states and "reconciliation" between Israelis and
Palestinians:
Sanders stressed the importance of Israel ending its
occupation of
Palestinian-claimed lands, and called on the two sides to
recognize the
legitimacy of each other’s historical grievances: "The forces
fomenting
anti-Semitism are the forces arrayed against oppressed people
around the
world, including Palestinians; the struggle against anti-Semitism
is
also the struggle for Palestinian freedom."
Why is this coming out
now?
Polls and donation data have repeatedly shown that Sanders, the
leading
Jewish contender in the race and the most successful Jewish
presidential
candidate in American history, is less popular among American
Jews than
he is among the general population.
Sanders has been
criticized by some Jews for not talking enough about
his Jewish heritage and
background. Sanders has done much more of that
in this cycle.
Aiden
Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at
pink@forward.com or follow him on Twitter
@aidenpink
(4) Sanders: We Will Go to War Against White Nationalism and
Racism
https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-says-we-will-go-war-against-white-nationalism-racism-1454892
Bernie
Sanders Says 'We Will Go to War Against White Nationalism and Racism'
By
Scott McDonald On 8/17/19 at 8:26 PM EDT
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders told
a group of people Saturday that if
elected president in 2020, he will "go to
war" with white nationalism
and racism. Sanders said he would use every tool
at his disposal,
including executive orders.
Speaking to a crowd of
mostly African Americans at the Young Leaders
Conference in Atlanta,
Georgia, Sanders described his family background
as being Jewish and from
Poland.
"My father's whole family was wiped out by Hitler and his white
nationalism," said Sanders, who is one of many Democratic presidential
hopefuls in 2020. "Too many people have fought over the years, too many
people have died against racism to let it resurface and flourish in
America."
Then he made his declaration.
"We will go to war
against white nationalism and racism in every aspect
of our lives," he
said.
We will go to war with White Nationalism.
pic.twitter.com/HVtDI0eweQ — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August
17, 2019
Sanders told the crowd that whenever someone hurts or kills
someone
because of their skin color, that's it's "not just a hate crime,"
but
that it is also "domestic terrorism."
He said that if such
attacks are carried out in America, then "we're
gonna throw the full force
of the law against those people."
Then the senator said things would move
forward by actions and not just
words. He said he would have a government,
administration and cabinet
"that looks like America."
"And when we
combat white nationalism and when we combat racism, we are
gonna use all the
laws in our power, including executive orders in every
area to make certain
that we end the discrimination which now exists in
heatlh care, where black
women are dying three times the rate of white
women when they give birth,"
Sanders said.
Sanders added he will end "redlining" in housing
discrimination and "end
the absurdity of black kids leaving school much more
deeply in debt than
white kids."
Meanwhile, as Sanders was making his
speech on Saturday, a protest on
the other side of the country took place in
Portland, Oregon, with a
counterprotest staged by an Antifa
group.
>Fox News contributor Dan Bongino said Antifa was "a domestic
terror
organization committed to attacking civil liberties and free
speech."
Bongino's tweet accompanied a video from another tweet that show
the
Portland protests in what looks like Antifa members attempting to pull
people from a bus while swinging fists at them.
Antifa attacks
people on a bus. They try to pull them out and hit
them with a hammer.
#PortlandProtests pic.twitter.com/JSkCE1Vrcy —
Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo)
August 17, 2019
Sanders did not mention whether or not groups like
Antifa, a leftist
group, would be targeted as domestic terrorists, despite
Bongino's
remarks and then President Donald Trump this week calling Antifa a
terrorist organization.
Sanders was not the only 2020 Democratic
presidential candidate to
appear at the Young Leaders Conference in Atlanta,
which draws about
5,000 delegates — mostly African American, according to
WXIA.
There were forums with Corey Booker, Pete Buttiegieg and Julian
castro
on Friday. Elizabeth Warren was among the speakers on
Saturday.
Sticking with the white nationalism theme, castro said Friday
that, "The
first thing that we need to do is get the white nationalist that
is
currently in the Oval Office out of the Oval Office," which brought
cheers from the crowd.
(5) Michael Bloomberg: good for Israel - but
good for the United States?
https://israelpalestinenews.org/michael-bloomberg-israel-connection-runs-deep/
Michael
Bloomberg’s Israel connection runs deep
by Alison Weir
{photo}
Then-Mayor Bloomberg kissing the Western Wall in Jerusalem on a
visit to
Israel in 2003 (GETTY IMAGES)
The Democratic Party’s newest candidate,
Michael Bloomberg, has strong
ties to Israel and apparently no time for
justice for Palestinians; his
media empire has also pushed a pro-Israel
agenda. by Kathryn Shihadah
The pool of democratic candidates for
president just expanded again with
the addition of billionaire and
three-term mayor of New York City,
Michael Bloomberg. If Americans Knew has
published multiple reports on
the candidates’ positions regarding
Israel/Palestine (including an
in-depth analysis of Joe Biden and a
comparison of Elizabeth Warren and
Bernie Sanders); it’s only fair to have a
look at Bloomberg as well.
The newest candidate has close ties to the
Jewish state and asserts a
commitment to what he calls "Jewish values." The
New York Times quoted
Bloomberg:
The values I learned from my parents
are probably the same values that,
I hope, Christians and Muslims and Hindus
and Buddhists learned from
their parents. They’re all centered around God
put us on Earth and said
we should take care of each other. We have an
obligation not to just
talk about it but to actually do it. [Those values
are] freedom,
justice, service, ambition, innovation.
Michael
Bloomberg’s record indicates that, when it comes to
Palestinians, his close
affiliation with Israel has hampered his ability
to act on his values of
freedom and justice.
Israel ties
Bloomberg has made many trips to
Israel and donated millions to
charitable causes in Jerusalem, including in
2003 a Mother and Child
Center at the Hadassah University Medical Center
dedicated to his
mother, and in 2007 a blood bank and massive ambulance
station named
after his father.
During his time as NYC mayor,
Bloomberg initiated a $2 billion high-tech
research campus in Manhattan, a
joint venture between Cornell University
and the Technion-Israel Institute
of Technology (Haifa, Israel). He
personally donated $100 million to the
effort.
In 2014, he talked about his closeness to the Jewish
state:
My parents saw in our lives just why Israel had to exist, and why
it
must always exist, and those lessons were passed on to us. We are as one
with this city [Jerusalem], and this country and this people as you can
be.
[Jewish history] gives us a special obligation to build a brighter
future for everyone, and to always believe that tomorrow can be better
than today. For them and for so many Jews who witnessed the horrors of
World War II, the creation of Israel embodied that obligation and
validated that belief. It was a dream fulfilled. After all, if the dream
of Israel can be realized, what dream can’t be?
Bloomberg’s words
betray a total disregard for the Palestinian
experience: the birth of the
state of Israel came at the cost of the
indigenous Palestinians’ loss of a
homeland. 750,000 became refugees,
thousands were massacred, and hundreds of
villages were bulldozed – so
that Jewish immigrants (and a small number of
indigenous Jews) could
have a nearly Arab-free state. [...]
Michael
Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the US, said of Bloomberg
that he is a
"friend" who would be "very good" for Israel.
The question is whether
Michael Bloomberg would be very good for the
United
States.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.