An anonymous commenter ('Random Dude') underneath a recent post at Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers left the following sharp opinion:
[Quote]
" .. Jess Ghannam (University of California, San Francisco) and Andrew Paul Gutierrez (University of California, Berkeley) are both signatories to the US Campaign for an Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, and have spent much time making the campuses of their universities as inhospitable to Jews as possible. Both where at that rally, both expressed their hate for Israel on the street, and both are clearly in cahoots with Forrest Schmidt and Dick Becker, whose vile hategroup has had activists on campus and in the faculty and administration of both institutions for several years.
A reasonably full list of academic hatemongers can be found here: http://usacbi.wordpress.com/endorsers/
These people represent the most vile and despicable form of anti-Semitism: Politically correct pseudo-intellectuals. The authorities in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area know that catering to the comfortable bourgeois anti-Semitism of the middle-classes pays off in the end; radical support at the voting booth, continued support for a political career.
Even the police recognize this. They too are part of the petite bourgeois machine, they too wish to be accepted. Or at least, not hindered in their careers. .. "
[End quote]
SOURCE: https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7769014608405032519&postID=1225662340495476838&isPopup=true
Underneath this post:
http://proisraelbaybloggers.blogspot.com/2010/07/international-answer-enables-jew-hating.html
It's angry, and to the point. I myself cannot think of any counterarguments to his assertion, the more so as I have personally experienced both SF State and UC Berkeley as thoroughly rotten environments, sodden with socially-accepted hatred and official apathy.
The only time when the administration of either university gives a damn about the bigoted and damaging atmosphere on campus is when someone gets whacked or an alumnus with money raises hell. Other than that, business as usual. Which means that they wish 'those pests' would stop complaining.
I would be keen to see someone else's point of view, though. There are undoubtedly students and faculty who would wish to counter Random Dude's assessment. Perhaps they have experienced things differently.
Or have a different take on the anti-Israel agitation.
Feel free to react, either at PIBB or underneath this post.
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11 comments:
I do have to say that while you're reasonable on most subjects, you're a bit of crank on this topic. Why a non-Jewish American of Dutch descent is so hot to demonize these people is beyond me, especially since you're writings in response to my comments are pretty critical of the actions of the Israeli government.
Now I don't agree with the views of the US Campaign for an Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. I think that a widespread boycott and divestment of that sort won't be particularly effective, given the fact that Israel is now in the grip of crazed (Jewish) religious fanatics. But I did check out the website of the US Campaign for and academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, and I didn't see anything remotely antisemitic. In fact, I didn't even see the word "Jew" mentioned. And I didn't see any calls to burn down synagogues or grab Jewish men and forcibly shave of their beard, or advocacy of the removal of Jews from academic and government positions, etc. In fact, I don't even see any calls for the elimination of the State of Israel, and certainly I didn't see any calls for killing Jews.
Sure, I can see that the guy and his movement might be clueless and misguided, but why depict him as the ultimate of evil?
Uh,previous commenter, they save that stuff for PRIVATE meetings, and often in Arabic. The web site is for public consumption.
Tayere CA,
My reasons and motivations for being pro-Israel and opposed to many of Israel’s detractors and enemies have been on display in this blog for several years; if they still aren’t clear to you, I doubt that I can make it clear in any response in a comment string.
People like Jess Ghanam, Paul Guttierez, Richard Becker, Paul Larudee, Kate Bender Raphael, the Wallach sisters, and their associates are not just critics of the Israeli government or even of the ‘grip of crazed fanatics’ that you allege. They oppose the existence of Israel, and they reject the right of Jews of any kind to be considered a nation. We have witnessed them in action, we have attended their talks, we have seen with whom they associate, what else they support, and who their beloved fellow travelers are. They are truly utterly evil.
Why do I support Israel? Why do others, like Snooky, Steffy, Grant, Dusty, Mac Tav, Fuzpin and other contributors to PIBB support Israel?
A better question to ask is why people like Jess Ghanam, Paul Guttierez, Richard Becker, Paul Larudee, Kate Bender Raphael, the Wallach sisters, and their associates so fanatically and consistently demonize Israel and support any evil sonofabitch that swears to destroy Israel. Why do they hold Israel to a far higher standard than any other nation, while holding the entire Muslim world to no standards at all? Why do they consistently excuse the excesses of tyrants and bagatellize the acts of terrorists as understandable reactions to circumstance and deserving of sympathy? Why do they empower and enable every venomous bigotry that still festers for purely anti-Israel motives? Why do they cheer for psychopaths who advocate murder?
And why do they do so little about any other cause, no matter how appalling the circumstance and enormous the suffering? Why is only Israel evil in their eyes?
If you cannot understand why they are evil, it is because you know far too little about them, and if you cannot understand why we continue to support Israel, perhaps you know too little about Israel and have not read our blogs and comments more than just superficially.
CA, as regards American domestic politics and social issues, you and I very often see eye to eye. We probably share many of the same ideas and knowledge-sets.
As regards Israel, and the evil sodding bastards in the anti-Israel movement, however, we clearly cannot be on the same page.
And of course, it could just be that, as a commenter five years ago wrote, I am just "another anti-arab propaganda spewing right winger".
Please note that only ONE of the moral cripples I named above is, actually, an Arab.
"Uh,previous commenter, they save that stuff for PRIVATE meetings, and often in Arabic. The web site is for public consumption."
Oh right, left wing American academics hold private meetings and discuss in Arabic how they're going to destroy the State of Israel and ensure that Jews never have any "national self-determination." (as if most Jews, like most people in general, really care about abstract stuff like "national self-determination.")
If you believe that, I have a bridge connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan that I'd like to sell you.
People like Jess Ghanam, Paul Guttierez, Richard Becker, Paul Larudee, Kate Bender Raphael, the Wallach sisters, and their associates are not just critics of the Israeli government or even of the ‘grip of crazed fanatics’ that you allege. They oppose the existence of Israel, and they reject the right of Jews of any kind to be considered a nation.
OK, so they don't believe the Jews are a nation. Why is that evil? A lot of Jews don't see themselves as a nation, either. Why do you think that most American Jews don't make aliyah? To an American Jew, Israel is a alien place, not their nation. (I have experience, I lived there for a year.) Just becuase we American Jews share a common ancestry and religion with Israeli Jews doesn't mean we are of the same nationality.
And to judge whether these leftist anti-Zionist academics are truly antisemites, you would need to tell more about what fate they advocate for the Jews currently living in the State of Israel if that state should get overthrown.
Why do I support Israel? Why do others, like Snooky, Steffy, Grant, Dusty, Mac Tav, Fuzpin and other contributors to PIBB support Israel?
A better question to ask is why people like Jess Ghanam, Paul Guttierez, Richard Becker, Paul Larudee, Kate Bender Raphael, the Wallach sisters, and their associates so fanatically and consistently demonize Israel and support any evil sonofabitch that swears to destroy Israel.
That's not any kind of answer to my question. Face it, you don't know why you support Israel. And destroying the State of Israel is, technically speaking, a different goal from destroying the Jewish people.
Why do they hold Israel to a far higher standard than any other nation, while holding the entire Muslim world to no standards at all?
Because the United States provide way more diplomatic support and $$$ aid to Israel than to any other state in the world. And as a Jew, I hold Israel, a state that claims to represent my people, to a higher standard than any other nation. After all, their policies do have an affect on Jews in the rest of the world. All the Israeli government seems to care about is their precious dream of Eretz Yisrael Shleima, and they don't care who gets hurt in the pursuit of that dream of a bigger ghetto. Why shouldn't we hold the State of Israel to a higher standard than other nations? The State of Israel claims to represent the Jewish people, and God sure held the Jews to a higher standard when He gave them the Torah.
If you cannot understand why they are evil, it is because you know far too little about them, and if you cannot understand why we continue to support Israel, perhaps you know too little about Israel and have not read our blogs and comments more than just superficially.
I know more about Israel than you realize. I lived there. I used to be a Zionist and planned on making aliyah. I follow the Israeli media, and if you want to know what's happening there, you should follow the Israeli media, too and not rely on BS hasbarah from the Israeli government or the American Jewish establishment. In addition to Haaretz and the Jerusalem post webpages, I also recommend Coteret (http://coteret.com/), which provides various Hebrew articles in translation (with the original Hebrew at the side).
You and your pro-Israel Bay bloggers have not shown me any good evidence that these anti-Israel leftists are anything but misguided and naive. Evil, I can't see.
People like Jess Ghanam, Paul Guttierez, Richard Becker, Paul Larudee, Kate Bender Raphael, the Wallach sisters, and their associates are not just critics of the Israeli government or even of the ‘grip of crazed fanatics’ that you allege. They oppose the existence of Israel, and they reject the right of Jews of any kind to be considered a nation.
So the belief that the Jews aren't a nation makes them "evil?" By that calculus, most American Jews are evil, as they sure don't believe that the Jews are a nation, otherwise, they'd have made aliyah years ago. Oh, they want to overthrow the State of Israel. Yes, that's a foolish and misguided goal, but why "evil?" More to the point is what fate they advocate for the Jews living in the Land of Israel if the State of Israel is overthrown. If wee know that, then we might have some evidence that they are "evil."
Why do I support Israel? Why do others, like Snooky, Steffy, Grant, Dusty, Mac Tav, Fuzpin and other contributors to PIBB support Israel?
A better question to ask is why people like Jess Ghanam, Paul Guttierez, Richard Becker, Paul Larudee, Kate Bender Raphael, the Wallach sisters, and their associates so fanatically and consistently demonize Israel and support any evil sonofabitch that swears to destroy Israel.
That's not much of an answer. I suspect you don't know why you support Israel the way you do. On the other hand, I remembers some comments you made about leftist political parties in the Netherlands, and I suspect it might have something to do with disgust towards European far-leftists becuase of their support of the Soviet Union. Maybe it has to do with the left-tinged anti-American comments you heard as a kid growing up in Holland. Since far leftists tend to be anti-Israel, you have transferred your disgust to the Anti-Israel movement. Perhaps the fate of the Jews has little to do with this.
Why do they hold Israel to a far higher standard than any other nation, while holding the entire Muslim world to no standards at all?
Well, that's an easy one. We're all more interested in Israel because of the extensive diplomatic support and $$$ aid that the United States provides Israel. It doesn't help that we have hundreds of thousands of American soldiers in Muslim countries and our economy is dependent on petroleum from Islamic countries, either. In other words, supporting Israel to the extent that we do is not exactly in the national interest of the United states.
Besides, as a Jew, I hold the State of Israel to a higher standard than other countries. The claim to be the representative of my people, and their actions affect all of us Jews who live in the Diaspora. And I'm in good Company, becuase, God holds the Jews to a higher standard. That's why He gave them the Torah.
If you cannot understand why they are evil, it is because you know far too little about them, and if you cannot understand why we continue to support Israel, perhaps you know too little about Israel and have not read our blogs and comments more than just superficially.
I know more about Israel than you realize. I lived there for a year. I had plans to make aliyah until I realized the place was an alien country, and that I'd never fit in, no matter how Jewish I am. I follow the Israeli media, and thus know more about what's happening than you get from swallowing Israeli government propaganda or the drivel provided by the Jewish establishment. In addition to Haaretz and the Jerusalem post websites, I also recommend Coteret (http://coteret.com/) which provides translations of Hebrew articles that cover news that for some reason doesn't get into the American Jewish media.
As for the leftist ant-Israel academics, you and your pro-Israel Bay blogger friends have not shown me any evidence of evil, only that they a perhaps misguided and naive.
Sorry about all the comments When I made the comment at 12:43, google sent me an error message that claimed my post was too large, so I cit my post into multiple sections. But it looks like everything got posted.
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