"Anti-Israel crusaders give (all) tyrants a free pass"

Adriana Stuijt's "journalism during apartheid "site ^ | 11-30-02 | staff

[backhoe]

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Treatment of Israel strikes an alien note (1 new message)

Treatment of Israel strikes an alien note

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Message 2 in Discussion

From: AdrianaStuijt

Treatment of Israel strikes an alien note

By Alan M. Dershowitz - National Post -November 5, 2002

If a visitor from a far away galaxy were to land
at an American or Canadian university and
peruse some of the petitions that were circulating
around the campus, he would probably come
away with the conclusion that the Earth is a
peaceful and fair planet with only one villainous
nation determined to destroy the peace and to
violate human rights. That nation would not be
Iraq, Libya, Serbia, Russia or Iran. It would be
Israel. There are currently petitions circulating
on
most North American university campuses that would
seek to have universities terminate all
investments in companies that do business in or
with Israel. There are also petitions asking
individual faculty members to boycott scientists
and scholars who happen to be Israeli Jews,
regardless of their personal views on the
Arab-Israeli conflict. There have been efforts,
some
successful, to prevent Israeli speakers from
appearing on college campuses, as recently
occurred at Concordia University. There are no
comparable petitions seeking any action against
other countries that enslave minorities, imprison
dissidents, murder political opponents and
torture suspected terrorists. Nor are there any
comparable efforts to silence speakers from other
countries.

The intergalactic visitor would wonder what this
pariah nation, Israel, must have done to
deserve this unique form of economic capital
punishment. If he then went to the library and
began to read books and articles about this
planet, he would discover that Israel was a
vibrant
democracy, with freedom of speech, press and
religion, that was surrounded by a group of
tyrannical and undemocratic regimes, many of which
are actively seeking its destruction. He
would learn that in Egypt, homosexuals are
routinely imprisoned and threatened with
execution;
that in Jordan suspected terrorists and other
opponents of the government are tortured, and
that if individualized torture does not work,
their relatives are called in and threatened with
torture as well; that in Saudi Arabia, women who
engage in sex outside of marriage are
beheaded; that in Iraq, political opponents are
routinely murdered en masse and no dissent is
permitted; that in Iran members of religious
minorities, such as Baha'is and Jews, are
imprisoned and sometimes executed; that in all of
these surrounding nations, anti-Semitic
material is frequently broadcast on
state-sponsored television and radio programs; in
Saudi
Arabia apartheid is practised against non-Muslims,
with signs indicating that Muslims must go to
certain areas and non-Muslims to others; that
China has occupied Tibet for half a century; that
in several African countries women are stoned to
death for violating sexual mores; that slavery
still exists in some parts of the world; and that
genocide has been committed by a number of
countries in recent memory.

Our curious visitor would wonder why there are no
petitions circulating with regard to these
human rights violators. Is Israel's occupation of
the West Bank and Gaza -- an occupation it has
offered to end in exchange for peace -- worse than
the Chinese occupation of Tibet? Are the
tactics used to combat terrorism by I

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Message 2 in Discussion

From: AdrianaStuijt

"Anti-Israel crusaders give (all) tyrants a free pass"
...warns Nat Hentoff, columnist for the Village Voice, writes in the Star-Ledger, New Jersey:

Nov 29 2002 -- " On at least 40 campuses nationwide, professors and students have mounted campaigns to force colleges and universities to divest themselves from their holdings in anyu corporations or firms that do business with Israel.

"In october, hundreds of these crusaders - including many from campuses not yet involved in the campaign - gathered at the University of Michigan for the second National Student Conference of the Palestine Solidarity Movement. Addressing the throng was Eric Reichenberger, spokesman for Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, the University of Michigan group that hosted this jeremiad against Israel.

"Reichenberger proclaimed that "Israel is the prime example of human rights violators in the world." There were no objections in the crowd. The tyrannical crushers of human rights in Zambia (and Zimbabwe, South Africa) Liberia, Kazakhstan and China would have been relieved at gettinga pass from these paladins of freedom and equality.

In case some independent human rights activists might have asked about the relationship of Palestinian suicide bombers to the shining principles of this human rights conference, there was this revealing section of the divestment's guiding princes included in the event's promotional material:

 

"As a solidarity movement, it is not our place to dictate the stategies or tactics adopted by the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation."

"It's a pity no one there quoted Hanan Ashrawi, one of the most visible and persistent advocates of Palestinian liberation, from what she repeatedly describes as "the occupation". As quoted in the Village Voice, Ashwari has called the suicide bombings "morally reprehensible." And in the Progressive magazine, she denounded those Palestinians who interpreted "Israeli military attacks on innocent Palestinian lives as license to do the same to their civilians. Where are those (Palestinian) voices and forces that should have stood up for the sanctity of human lives (ours and theirs) instead of allowing the horror of our own suffering to silence us?"

 

"Those voices were absent at the National Student Conference on the Palestine Solidarity Movement.

"I'm puzzled by the hordes of faculty members at distinguished universities around the country who have enthu

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Remove my e-mail address from Adriana Stuijt's "journalism during apartheid "site.

[backhoe]

Frankly, I've never heard of such a thing.

[Catspaw]

Let's ask someone with firsthand information, smarticus, to see if your allegation is true:

I have never been there, but I have heard that if you attempt to, for instance, share the "Good News" of the New Testament on the streets of Isreal by handing out copies of Bible with the New Testament included, it will first land you in jail, and then you will be deported.

[timestax]

bump!

[backhoe]

Thanks for the ^

[timestax]

bump

[Bella_Bru]

I have never heard of such a thing either.

There were several Christian groups that marched in the Succot festival march back in September in Israel. However,accoding to an article I found: Jerusalem Municipality reportedly turned down a request by a so-called Messianic Jewish group which had sought to take part in yesterday's march, because of concerns it would exploit the event to proselytize.

They may not throw you in jail, but you also cannot expect them to joyously welcome your attempts to shove your religion down their throats.

[Radix]

Where did you hear that?


CNN?

Democrat Party website?

Radio Free Iraq?

At an LSD party?


That is in my opinion, please excuse me, one of the dumbest things that I have ever seen posted on FR.com!

I do not mean to offend you personally.

I am just exressing my opinion about a fact.

That fact is, I am the World`s foremost expert on my opinion!

[backhoe]

With the pinger non-functional I only saw your reply by chance. Thanks for the comments; all I know is what I get scanning news, what smarticus described I've heard about in some Arab countries, not Israel.

Far as I know, you can be rather outspoken there without much problem, I agree trying to prostheletize is bad manners, bad form, and generally a poor idea.

[Bella_Bru]

I thought is was just my pinger that was busted.....

I do know that some Christians are offended by Jews who do not wish to hear their message. You shouldn't be in the business of prostheletizing if you don't have thick skin.

[VaBthang4]

I think you are.

I stood in front of the Israeli knesset[sp?] and talked with one of the uniformed, Uzi weilding Security Guards for close to an hour about the Word and the New Testament.

Now if you go over there and act like a silly Caucasian-American who doesnt have any friggin sense then they probably deport you for your own safety.

;o)

[Radix]

Ping!

Is this how a ping works?

[backhoe]

Well, I see other have weighed in... click my profile page to see a little more about me & The Jews...

[timestax]

bump