Ads Anti-Semitic

I don't have access to the issue in question and when I glanced through that issue, I didn't see the ads in question.. To what ads does he refer?

I pulled the May 15 issue out of the recycling bin and had a look at the ads Rick Feldman cites. They were run by a non-profit called "Americans for a Just Peace in the Middle East". One ad features a quote from an Auschwitz survivor who is an author of books shown in the ad - the impression I get (I've never read the book or heard of the author before) is the author is critical of official Israeli policy towards the Palestinians. The other ad features books by an Israeli Jew and professor of history named Ilan Pappe.

Although I'm not a Jew, I think its pretty safe to say there is nothing anti-semitic about these ads. Rick Feldman may disagree with the viewpoints of those two authors, but that doesn't make the ads anti-semitic.

To put it another way, would I be anti-American to criticize the Bush Administration? Of course not.

Rick, you actually did me a favor. I went to the AJPME's website and watched the video of Ilan Pappe speak at UCSB. I had never heard of him, but I found him to be an interesting speaker with fresh ideas. I'll probably pick up his book and give it a look-see.

I have no ax to grind with either side, have friends and relatives on "both side of the Jordan," one might say. However, Mr. Feldman does his cause no favors in his poorly written diatribe (addressed to the "Independent") published in today's "Daily Sound." Advising people to go "to the web" to gather information on these "hateful men." Are you kidding? I don't know anything about Hajo Meyer, but Ilan Pappé is a respected, if controversial, Israeli scholar and his views are put forth in reasoned arguments using documented sources. I guess he too could tell his critics to go "to the web" to gather information about his detractors.
And speaking of critics, if one is going to slam someone and label him as an "anti-Semite" or as being "hateful", shouldn't an attempt be made to spell his name correctly at the very least. Like the person who commented above, I too will now be inclined to purchase Pappé's book. Simplistic attempts at labeling someone with whom one disagrees ultimately fail and bring discredit to the attacker while blurring any real debatable points that might otherwise be discussed.

Regarding the ads we ran in the SB Independent that caused Rick Feldman to attack me personally, I ask you to go to the following sites to see and hear from the two Jews who we featured in the ads.

Auschwitz survivor Hajo Meyer: http://web.mac.com/ajpme1/ajpme1.org/Hom...

Israeli historian Ilan Pappe:
http://www.ajpme.org/home.htm

The Pappe one is a lecture he gave at UCSB.

Make up your own mind.

David Neunuebel
President
Americans for a Just Peace in the Middle East
PO Box 1086
Santa Barbara, CA 93102

I agree that I saw nothing anti-semitic about the ads Mr. Feldman referred to. I was in Israel and Palestine in April. Professor Pappe's book was on sale in bookstores just blocks from the Old City of Jerusalem.

Pappe is recognized as a legitimate historian (the preferred Israeli term is "new historian"), along with a number of others. He has authored at least six books, and many articles. He is Israeli-born, Israeli-educated, and the son of German-Jewish immigrants to Israel.

While Pappe has recently moved to England, as Professor of History at the University of Exeter, he remains controversial. However, those who disagree with him, even in Israel, can do so without the vituperative calumny exhibited by Mr. Feldman.

1) There never was a Palestinian state or a Palestinian nation. There are no Palestinian people, per se. Rather, these are Arabs living in a region that historically has been called many things, including "Palestine."

2) Israel did not go to war against a Palestinian state and occupy its land. Rather, Israel was attacked by six Arab countries at once. She defended herself, defeated her attackers, and won the so-called territories, not from the Palestinians, but from Jordan and Egypt.

3) Jerusalem was never the capital of any state but Israel. It was certainly never the capital of a country that never existed. Why should the Palestinians get any part of it? Because they want it? Because they have terrorists?

4) Jerusalem, under the current Israeli control, is a free and open city. Israel, as a democracy, guarantees freedom of religion within its borders. Contrast this fact with areas that have come under Palestinian occupation. What percentage of Christians have left in recent years because they cannot stand the harassment and persecution?

5) Most Arabs living in Palestine today are not indigenous to the region. It was not until after the Jews had changed deserts and swamps into a productive and thriving land that the Arabs started migrating there. Arafat himself was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. Did you know that?

The belief that giving the Palestinians a state will bring peace is a delusion. The truth is that they want it all. The short-term goal is a state consisting of the West Bank and Gaza. The long-term goal is a state which includes all of "historical Palestine," including Jordan.

Unless the Arabs recognize and accept these truths, even if they are given a state of their own, and no matter how many agreements and treaties they sign, they will always feel wronged, cheated, and forced into giving up what they now claim is theirs. They will continue to plot and look for an opportunity to destroy Israel in order to take back what they claim is theirs, especially the younger generation that has been brainwashed to hate the occupying enemy. Whether there is a Palestinian state or not, there will be no peace.

Only a massive and ongoing re-education of the Arab people to these truths will enable meaningful negotiations to begin, followed by a lasting peace between Arabs and Jews. It is therefore critical that everyone who has an audience, whether in print or other media, use the forum they have available to repeat these truths again and again until they reach the consciousness of those waging war in the Middle East.

The above post is a word-for-word lift from the 2002 article by Sharon Nader Sloan (copyrighted) as shown here: http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTI.... It was quoted (and copyright acknowledged) at the virulent web site www.masada2000: http://www.masada2000.org/been-had.html. I did not see any acknowledgement from the previous poster.

"The long-term goal is a state which includes all of 'historical Palestine,' including Jordan." I would be interested in knowing the source for this statement.

Have you been to Palestine ("The West Bank," if you will) recently? Are you aware of the many non-democratic means that Israel exerts over Palestinians (yes, some even being its own citizens) regarding freedom of movement, second-class citizen status, access to public highways, intimidation and harrassment, among other non-democratic actions? Are you aware that over 500 Palestinian towns have been wiped from the face of the earth by the IDF? Are you aware that 20,000 Palestinian homes are under demolition orders? Hardly the actions that one would expect from a democracy!

Don't forget, one can be pro-Israel and not support all of Israel's actions. Do not fall into the trap of assuming otherwise.

Shalom and Salaam

Thank you, tex805, for posting the source of the material I had posted previously. The author, Sharon Nader Sloan, is a Lebanese-American with an open mind and a clear view. Her article does not purport to support all of Israel's actions, or even to be pro-Israeli - she only wishes the Palestinians, and the world in general, to recognize the truth, and the need for educating them before any chance of peace maybe realized.

As mentioned in the article, the source of the statement in question is Faisal Husseini: "the ultimate goal is the liberation of all of historical Palestine."; historical Palestine includes what is today Israel, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.

Tex805, are you aware that Israel is occupying the West Bank as a result of Jordan - the previous occupier - starting a war, and refusing to negotiate the return of the West Bank in exchange for peace? That Palestinian militants have engaged in murderous attacks against Israeli civilians from that territory since before Israel's occupation? That their reply to Israel's offer of withdrawal and peace was to intensify that campaign with suicide bombings? Do you believe that Israeli Jews have the same right of self-defense as everyone else in the world, even if they are a democracy?

While Israel has not carried out home demolitions for many years - they proved ineffective at preventing terror - destroying a building to save a life is completely understandable. Democracies have an obligation to protect their citizens, and very few options in the face of jihadis, shaheeds and the rest of the crazies. Barriers, security checks, and other measures to prevent terrorism are unpleasant but necessary, considering the severe consequences of not implementing them.

Israeli Arabs, who do not live in the West Bank or Gaza and are full citizens, are not subject to the restrictions you mentioned as long as they are not actively engaged in acts of violence, and very few are. The Palestinian areas suffer because that is where the terrorists operate and hide amongst the population, supported by PLO, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who prefer prolonging the war to negotiating peace. Blame them, not Israel, for the state of Palestine.

"Israel has not carried out housing demolitions for many years...." Oh?

betty, please see http://icahd.org/eng/news.asp?menu=5&... for a slightly different view of recent history. Incidentally, this organization has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

How many suicide bombings took place in Israel in 2007? Just one. In Elat.

Why are suicide bombings down? Not because of the wall, according to B'tselem, the respected Israeli human rights organization. The wall is still porous. Suicide bombings were down by 50% when the wall was only 30% built, according to B'tselem. The reasons are (1) Palestinians realized that suicide bombings are not effective means of influencing Israel's actions; and (2) Israeli and Palestinian intelligence have been working more effectively together to prevent such bombings.

The reality is that fear of terror, not the terror itself, is necessary for Israel to continue its undemocratic oppression.

Perhaps the best analogy, although painful, is the way the Americans treated the American Indians.

Neither Israel not Palestine has lived up to all terms of any agreement they have signed.

The best approach to peace in the Middle East is for BOTH sides to stop provocative actions - something that NEITHER is willing to do at this point. Palestinians need to stop the rocket attacks (actually, Israel has a new defense system scheduled to be deployed later this year that is designed to be 98+% effective), and Israel needs to stop expanding the wall and the settlements. Then, and only then, will there be an opportunity for peace in the region, which so many people on both sides, truly desire.

Hello tex805-
If you will send me all kinds of anti israeli propaganda web sites , I have something else for you . It is NGO Monitor-Promoting critical debate and accountability of Human Rights in the Arab Israeli conflict. NGO -Non Governmental Organizations

http://www.ngo-monitor.org/index.php

Their mission statement (I copied word by word...) :

Our Mission Statement
The community of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has become extremely powerful and influential, particularly with respect to human rights related issues and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Their reports, protests and lobbying activities have a dominant impact, particularly in the United Nations as well as on the policies adopted by many governments.

Until recently, however, these NGOs, which receive significant financial support from generous donors, philanthropic institutions, and government budgets, have not themselves been subject to independent and critical analysis. NGO Monitor, therefore, was founded to promote accountability, and advance a vigorous discussion on the reports and activities of humanitarian NGOs in the framework of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
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I believe on critical thinking and all these fancy peace organizations have only one sided opinion and very bad propaganda, it is only Anti Israeli. I have never seen one good thing from these organizations that promote about Israel.

You can check them on NGO web site and maybe educate yourself about their purpose.All these organizations are in alphabetical order in their web site.

I just wish you will never wittness a suicide bomber in your hometown nor a kassam rocket or a granade which landed on a work place and killed one Israeli and wounded badly 2 today. I hope you never feel the pain. If there are no suicide bombers from hamas, cihad that's because of the wall. They just can't pass this wall and attack civillians on the other side of the wall. It is absouletely necessary to prevent such attacks.

Sometimes you need to listen also to the other side (israeliis and their suffering and the real reasons). Do you think Israelis are not crazy enough for a peaceful life? Try to criticize the Arabs and you will get "punished" by them talking Anti Islam Propaganda.

Hi, betty -

Thank you for your comments. I appreciate your pointing out the large number of NGO's, some of which I had not been aware of. There are lots of good guys there!

I hope that you have a chance to go to Palestine sometime. Look, learn, and see for yourself, as I did. It's not what you may think.

Until then, Shalom, and Salaam.