Scorekeeping condemnations

Scorekeeping condemnations

Moderator Mike Ghouse comments : The following two articles are a good example of score keeping by any two groups, in this case the Jewish and Muslim Communities.

The two articles are:

i) Jews know how to protest and
ii) where are the condemnations

God has blessed me with the friendship of people from all faiths, (friends from every symbol on the foundation for pluralism website and more) and it amazes me the amount of bias that is prevalent among people.

Muslims (a few) tend to paint Jews with a broad brush and certainly the opposite is also true, I have witnessed it and have accounted for it in my writings. One of these days, when I have the funds, I would like to launch research on determining percentages. I believe until I am proven wrong, the same percent of fanatics can be found in every group, religious, civic, ethnic or nationalistic and that I believe is less than 1/50th of 1%. The average Jew or a Muslim when in company of Neocons** instinctively assumes that there is no moderate on the other side. It is a darn shame. But when you reason them, they see that they blurred on the truth.

I know it is bias because when you are with the others as friends, you will develop an understanding and prejudices fade away.

Well, there are two organizations in the US, fairly large ones who oppose the war in Iraq and who are taking action, as much as the Palestinians and Muslims are doing about the Gaza. I had posted that piece by Jewish Alliance for Peace and Justice. This is the same broken record the Neocons play; that Muslims have not condemned 9/11 – there is plenty condemnation, but they don’t even see it, the Media has to bring the truth to the American Public and the world. What does it take?

The truth is there as many Jews as Muslims (percentages) who seek peace; there as many Jews as Muslims who do nothing about anything; either they don't care or too selfish to think about others; there are as many extremists in Jews as in Muslims who would do harm to the other for a selfish short term again.

What we need to do it drop the prejudices first, look for facts and not fiction shoved down our throats by our Neocon* brothers.

* Neocons are extremists in every group be it Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jews or others. These babies are afraid of every little thing that happens around and take advanatage of the opportunity and mint money by frightening the easy prey through books and their talks. I wish the frightened rats don't open their check book until they demand that the necons work for peace, mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill and promise to stay out of the frightening business and building chaos.

The following two articles are a good contrast....

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JEWS KNOW HOW TO PROTEST

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/950381.html

Last update - 15:31 02/02/2008
British Jewish group sparks outrage with Gaza blockade criticism

By Saul Sadka
Tags: Israel, British Jewry, Gaza

LONDON - A controversial coalition of prominent Jewish activists and academics has reignited controversy in the British Jewish community after taking out an paid advertisement in The Times this week calling for Israel to lift its economic blockade of the Gaza Strip and accusing the state of breaching international law. "Independent Jewish Voices" was formed a year ago and counts Nobel laureate Harold Pinter and actor Stephen Fry among its prominent signatories. Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm is also a signatory though neither he nor Fry and Pinter - the groups most recognisable names - signed Wednesday's statement.

The group was formed to provide an alternative to the Board of Deputies of British Jews - a cross communal Jewish organisation dating back to 1760 - who the IJV felt were inauthentically presenting themselves as the exclusive voice of Judaism in Britain. IJV members say that the Board of Deputies refuses to allow criticism of Israel and this presents a unrepresentative picture of Jewish opinion in the U.K. The statement which appeared on the inside pages of the paper was signed by 250 of the groups members. Entitled "End the siege of Gaza!", the statement condemned Israel's actions in blockading Gaza as a violation of international law, and also called for a halt to Palestinian rocket attacks. "The collective punishment of the population of Gaza is illegal under international law.

We condemn attacks on all civilians including the rocket attacks on the residents of Southern Israel," said the statement. The statement also called for an end to the blockade and for "both sides to observe a ceasefire." Feminist academic Jacqueline Rose who describes herself as a "critic of Zionism," is one of the groups principle advocates. She said that the motivation for the statement was in response to the current crisis in Gaza. "IJV arose partly in response to our sense that bodies in the U.K. who claim to represent British Jewry make statements as though they were speaking for all British Jews. While many of us have a high profile - we are not claiming that we are excluded from the debate - we formed to make it clear that British Jews do not speak with one voice."

The group has views on everything from th right of Norman Finkelstein to speak at the Oxford Union which they support, to the proposed academic and economic boycotts of Israel which members disagree on. Rose says that while the group disagrees over the boycott they "support it being discussed openly, something which regrettably may be illegal in the UK." She argues that "the battle against antisemitism is weakened by its association with criticism of Israel." Rose says that the network took out the advertisement in The Times rather that what might be seen as its more obvious political home

The Guardian to get its message beyond the left wing readership who would generally approve of the group's credo, to a more mainstream audience. She argues that "Israel must negotiate with the elected Hamas government for there to be any kind of a solution to the rocket fire on the south." The group caused a media storm following its launch, with a full page advertisement in The Times, a week long discussion on The Guardian's Website and extensive media coverage. However, the group does not take a firm position on the proposed academic and economic boycott of Israel, with some of its members supportive while other are in opposition.

One of its signatories, Tony Greenstein is a trade unionist who has publicly called for a boycott of Israeli goods and is also a member of "Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods." A critic of the group, lawyer and academic Anthony Julius, disputed the claim that Israel was in breach of international law. "It is by no means unarguable that Israel is right to treat Gaza as an enemy territory.

It is hard to see on what basis Israel's actions can be seen as a violation and only one or two of the signatories could grapple with issues involved." Julius argues that the group is "fraying at the edges and has lost some of its membership. It is unable to speak with a coherent voice on any issue, such as the academic boycott of Israel." Related articles:

· New group aims to open debate among British Jews on Israel
· British Jewish group strikes back at new left-wing group
· Jonathan Spyer / The anti-Israel lobby
· Richard Silverstein / In praise of the Jewish blogosphere


Where are the Jewish American condemnations?
2/1/2008 - By: Sherri Muzher

For years now, I have heard demands that we Americans Palestinian descent condemn various military actions. And we do because innocents should never pay for the sins of their military forces and government. I'd like to know if the American Jewish community will ever condemn the intentional starvation and collective punishment of an entire Gazan population?

The silence has been deafening at this inhumanity. I've heard that Palestinians have invited these brutal measures after they elected Hamas during internationally-observed elections, since Hamas refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Setting aside that the elections were about corruption, Palestinians said nothing when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert invited Avigdor Leiberman to his cabinet. Leiberman, once praised by Jewish extremists for supporting the deportation of Palestinians inside Israel, is known as an avid racist.

There were no condemnations from the American Jewish community about this repulsive appointment despite their long history of persecution.

I've also heard that 1.5 million Palestinians are to be collectively punished for the acts of a few militants firing homemade rocket into Sderot. If our government believed that, all of us Michiganian's would have been punished for the indirect role of the Michigan Militia during the Oklahoma City bombing in1995. But that is not what America stands for. People are not expected to pay for the acts of others.

What does the American Jewish community believe?

In February 22, 2006, Israel's Gideon Levy of Haaretz reported on a disturbing story, "Everyone agreed on the need to impose an economic siege on the Palestinian Authority, and Weissglas, as usual, provided the punch line: "It's like an appointment with a dietician. The Palestinians will get a lot thinner, but won't die," the advisor joked, and the participants reportedly rolled with laughter."
That's supposed to be funny?

And now nearly two years later, their "joke" has become a tragic reality with tens of thousands of Palestinians having to forcibly destroy parts of a wall to stream into Egypt to get food, fuel, and other necessities. Where was the American Jewish condemnation for this siege? When Israel prevents Palestinians from getting vital medical care and preventing dozens of Palestinian university students from returning to their studies in Europe., where are the condemnations from the American Jewish community?

When Gazan children go to school hungry and unable to concentrate, where are the American Jewish condemnations?

According to the Defense for Children International (DCI), there were 385 children doing time in Israeli prisons as of July, 2007. The DCI also notes that, "amongst the denial of many other fundamental rights, children do not have the right to a parent, a responsible adult or a lawyer to be present during the interrogation process. On average, Palestinian children are detained before being taken to court from between 8 and 21 days. As with adults, under Military Order 378, a child can be detained and interrogated for up to 90 days without charge."
Where are the American Jewish condemnations?

The list of human rights violations go on and on, whether they are noted by Amnesty International or Israel's own B'tselem. And with so many people having access to information on the internet, there is little excuse to be unfamiliar with at least some of the eye-opening tragedies on the ground. It's important to point out that The Israeli Coalition Against the Siege at least attempted to send a protest convoy to the Gaza border, on January 26, in coordination with the Palestinian Coalition. Parallel actions inside Gaza and in Ramallah, demanding a complete end to the blockade of Gaza, will also take place. Thankfully, there is more coordination between Palestinians and Israelis abroad. Rarely, here in the States.

I am often reminded of a conversation I observed between an Israeli and an American Jew years ago. The American Jew had expressed incredulity that another Israeli in the forum did something not particularly upstanding. The Israeli person responded that "We're human. We have bad people, too"

I left the forum a short while later but the conversation stayed with me. I was appreciative that the Israeli was more realistic about humanity and utterly disappointed in the star-struck tone of the American Jew. If peace is ever going to prevail, American Jews are going to have to look honestly at the realities on the ground and start speaking up. Staying silent while children starve from an Israeli siege can only be interpreted as approval. Is that the message we're supposed to get?Sherri Muzher is a contributing writer and journalist