Space Tycoon
03-09-2006, 07:38 AM
Space, I am not sure if this was asked of you before, and if so I appologize. But from the tone in several of your posts over the years I am just honestly curious:
Do you have a problem with Israel? Or Judaism?
I have no real problem with Judaism or Jews as an aggregate. I have great respect for the accomplishments of the Jewish people.
Israel, on the other hand... yes, I would say have certain issues with that country. There are of course many principled Israelis who seek nothing but justice and coexistence with their Palestinian cousins. I have the highest regard for them. But the Zionist movement should be regarded as just another relgious-ethnic-nationalist cult, and it isn't. In fact, it is estimated that Israel has recieved about 90-105 BILLION dollars in funding since the 1960's. All for a relatively small state with a population of about 7 million people, founded upon dubious biblical claims of a "promised land" for God's "chosen people." Can you think of any other such minority religious group receiving such largesse? Imagine if the Sikhs received similar aid in their struggle for a homeland Of Khalistan in the heart of India.
By and large, I am dislillusioned with the hypocrisy of many of the Israelis and their fellow travellers I have encountered, particularly the pro-Israel elements here in North America, who are always willing to beat the drums for war in the Mideast. Those elements include lobby groups such as the influential American Israeli Political Action Committee (http://www.wrmea.com/html/aipac.htm) who are currently under investigation (http://www.wrmea.com/archives/Jan_Feb_2006/0601012.html)by the FBI for espionage--but who nonetheless have the ear of the White House. (http://www.forward.com/articles/7458)
I can only go by the Israelis and neoconservative Jews that I have known and read about. Increasingly I find them duplicitous, arrogant, myopic. It is clear to me that certain Jews have gained great influence, at times even dominance, in the American media, popular culture, legal and political system. Among other things, it definitely influences our perceptions of the Middle East, as well as Islam in general. I only really started thinking about this a couple of years ago. It occurred to me that nearly every depiction of an Arab in an American movie or television show I had ever seen was as a terrorist, primitive savage, sleazy businessman, ruthless monarch or dictator. Rarely ever depicted as NORMAL PEOPLE. You could chalk that up to bad taste, as I usually did. Or you could see it as part of a much larger agenda. I began to ask, who writes/directs/produces/distributed this media?
It is difficult to express trenchent criticism of Israel without accusations of being a Jew hater. And yet see how easy it is to condemn Arabs, Muslims, Christians, and other groups in the media. Catholics in particular take it on the chin on a regular basis. And always, when the arguments about security, democracy, or human rights fail, the Israelis and their supporters turn to the one sure-fire method of silencing debate about Jewish interests and Israeli policy in general-- the Holocaust.
Filmmakers such as Spielberg have made it their life's mission to ensure we "never forget" about the Holocaust. Well by now everyone surely is aware of the Holocaust. We will "never forget," because we are never allowed to forget! And yet see how easy it is to sweep other, equally atrocious acts under the rug on a fairly regular basis. I could spend hours listing genocides from the 20th century, if I had more time. Why are we not barraged with films and documentaries about Stalin's genocide of the Ukrainian Christians? (http://www.faminegenocide.com/resources/forgotten_holocaust.html) Or his ethnic cleansing of the Chechen, Tartars, Volga Germans, and numerous others? For one thing, many of the early Bolshevik leaders were ethnic Jews, including Lazar Kaganovitch and G. Yagoda, who oversaw the Holodymor, Ukraine's holocaust.
I cannot escape the conclusion that too many Jews regularly, shamelessly exploit Western guilt over the Holocaust to further their aims, which is to control the debate in the United States and dominate the Middle East. You can call that what you will. It's not racism, since most Jews by now are about as white as the rest of us. It's not religious intolerance, since Judaism is simply another western religion with it's roots in the Mideast. It's simply an observation of a political development which is fairly obvious to people who bother to look.
.
Do you have a problem with Israel? Or Judaism?
I have no real problem with Judaism or Jews as an aggregate. I have great respect for the accomplishments of the Jewish people.
Israel, on the other hand... yes, I would say have certain issues with that country. There are of course many principled Israelis who seek nothing but justice and coexistence with their Palestinian cousins. I have the highest regard for them. But the Zionist movement should be regarded as just another relgious-ethnic-nationalist cult, and it isn't. In fact, it is estimated that Israel has recieved about 90-105 BILLION dollars in funding since the 1960's. All for a relatively small state with a population of about 7 million people, founded upon dubious biblical claims of a "promised land" for God's "chosen people." Can you think of any other such minority religious group receiving such largesse? Imagine if the Sikhs received similar aid in their struggle for a homeland Of Khalistan in the heart of India.
By and large, I am dislillusioned with the hypocrisy of many of the Israelis and their fellow travellers I have encountered, particularly the pro-Israel elements here in North America, who are always willing to beat the drums for war in the Mideast. Those elements include lobby groups such as the influential American Israeli Political Action Committee (http://www.wrmea.com/html/aipac.htm) who are currently under investigation (http://www.wrmea.com/archives/Jan_Feb_2006/0601012.html)by the FBI for espionage--but who nonetheless have the ear of the White House. (http://www.forward.com/articles/7458)
I can only go by the Israelis and neoconservative Jews that I have known and read about. Increasingly I find them duplicitous, arrogant, myopic. It is clear to me that certain Jews have gained great influence, at times even dominance, in the American media, popular culture, legal and political system. Among other things, it definitely influences our perceptions of the Middle East, as well as Islam in general. I only really started thinking about this a couple of years ago. It occurred to me that nearly every depiction of an Arab in an American movie or television show I had ever seen was as a terrorist, primitive savage, sleazy businessman, ruthless monarch or dictator. Rarely ever depicted as NORMAL PEOPLE. You could chalk that up to bad taste, as I usually did. Or you could see it as part of a much larger agenda. I began to ask, who writes/directs/produces/distributed this media?
It is difficult to express trenchent criticism of Israel without accusations of being a Jew hater. And yet see how easy it is to condemn Arabs, Muslims, Christians, and other groups in the media. Catholics in particular take it on the chin on a regular basis. And always, when the arguments about security, democracy, or human rights fail, the Israelis and their supporters turn to the one sure-fire method of silencing debate about Jewish interests and Israeli policy in general-- the Holocaust.
Filmmakers such as Spielberg have made it their life's mission to ensure we "never forget" about the Holocaust. Well by now everyone surely is aware of the Holocaust. We will "never forget," because we are never allowed to forget! And yet see how easy it is to sweep other, equally atrocious acts under the rug on a fairly regular basis. I could spend hours listing genocides from the 20th century, if I had more time. Why are we not barraged with films and documentaries about Stalin's genocide of the Ukrainian Christians? (http://www.faminegenocide.com/resources/forgotten_holocaust.html) Or his ethnic cleansing of the Chechen, Tartars, Volga Germans, and numerous others? For one thing, many of the early Bolshevik leaders were ethnic Jews, including Lazar Kaganovitch and G. Yagoda, who oversaw the Holodymor, Ukraine's holocaust.
I cannot escape the conclusion that too many Jews regularly, shamelessly exploit Western guilt over the Holocaust to further their aims, which is to control the debate in the United States and dominate the Middle East. You can call that what you will. It's not racism, since most Jews by now are about as white as the rest of us. It's not religious intolerance, since Judaism is simply another western religion with it's roots in the Mideast. It's simply an observation of a political development which is fairly obvious to people who bother to look.
.