WAWA/WeAreWideAwake is my Public Service to America as a muckracker who has journeyed seven times to Israel Palestine since June 2005.
WAWA is dedicated to confronting media and governments that shield the whole
truth.
We who Are Wide
Awake are compelled by the "fierce urgency of Now" [Rev MLK, Jr.] to raise
awareness and promote the human dialogue about many of the crucial issues of our
day: the state of our Union and in protection of democracy, what life is like
under military occupation in Palestine, the Christian EXODUS from the Holy Land,
and spirituality-from a Theologically Liberated Christian Anarchist
POV.
"Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all...and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave...a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils." George Washington's Farewell Address - 1796
"My aim is to agitate & disturb people. I'm not selling bread, I'm selling yeast." Unamuno
"Imagine All the People Sharing All the World." John Lennon
"If enough Christians followed the gospel, they could bring any state to its knees." Father Philip Francis Berrigan
"You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down." Tom Petty
"If I can't dance, it's not my revolution." Emma Goldman
"We have yet to begin to IMAGINE the power and potential of the Internet." Charlie Rose, 2005
Only in Solidarity do "We have it in our power to begin the world again" Tom Paine
"Never doubt that a few, thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
"You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:32
DO SOMETHING!
Photo of George shown here and in web site banner courtesy of Debbie Hill, 2000.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that, among these, are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. -July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence
April 26, 2010: Zionism: Israeli and Christian Style
Avnery leads and I end:
In the
Name of Zionism
By Uri Avnery
ISRAEL IS a Zionist State. Everybody knows that.
There is no (Jewish) politician in
Israel who misses an opportunity to repeat this.
Last week, when we celebrated the 62nd
Independence Day, we were flooded by a deluge of patriotic speeches. Each of
the Ciceros, without exception, declared his total commitment to Zionism.
By the way, when it comes to the
Zionist character of Israel, there is complete agreement on this between the
leaders of Israel and their enemies. The Iranian big-mouth declares at every
opportunity his conviction that the “Zionist regime” will disappear. Arabs who
refuse to utter the name of Israel speak about the “Zionist entity”. Hamas and
Hizbullah condemn the “Zionist enemy”.
But no one of them – friends and
enemies alike – spells out what it means. What makes the state into a “Zionist”
one?
FOR ME, this is Chinese. I mean,
everybody knows that China is a “communist” country. Friends and enemies speak
about “Communist China” as something that is self-evident.
But what does this mean? What makes it
communist?
When I was young, I learned that
communism means the nationalization (or “socialization”) of the means of
production. Does this describe the reality in China? Or rather the exact
opposite?
Communism aimed at creating a classless
society, leading in the end to the “withering away” of the state altogether. Is
that happening in China? Or is a new class of capitalist tycoons coming into
being, while hundreds of millions vegetate in utter poverty?
The Communist Manifesto declared that
the proletariat has no fatherland. But China is as nationalistic as any country
on the globe.
So what remains of communism in China?
Only the name, which serves as a cover for a group of powerful rulers who use
the communist party as a means for maintaining a despotic regime.
And, of course – the ceremonies,
symbols and banners. Karl Marx would have called them “opium of the people”.
AND BACK from the Manifesto of Marx and
Engels to the “Jewish State” of Theodor Herzl, the official “Visionary of the
State”.
Herzl’s Zionist vision was quite
simple: the Jews, all the Jews, must go to the Jewish State. Those who do not
will be Germans, Britons, Americans or members of any other nation, but
definitely not Jews.
In the Zionist school in Palestine we
were taught that the essence of Zionism is the negation of the Diaspora (called
Exile in Hebrew). Not just the physical negation, but the mental, too. Not only
the demand that every single Jew come to the Land of Israel, but also a total
repudiation of all forms of Jewish life in Exile, their culture and their
language (Yiddish/Jewish). The absolutely worst thing we could say about
anybody was to call them an “Exile Jew”. Herzl’s own writings exude, in places,
a strongly anti-Semitic odor.
And lo and behold, “Zionist” Israel is
embracing the Diaspora, loving the Diaspora, kissing the Diaspora. The Zionist
Executive is sending emissaries to the Jewish communities throughout the world
in order to reinforce their “Jewish culture”.
The leaders of the “Zionist State”
depend to a large extent upon the Diaspora and use it for their own purposes.
The Exile-Jewish AIPAC ensures the subjection of the US Congress to the will of
the Israeli government. The “Anti-Defamation League” (which should more
properly be called the “Defamation League”) is terrorizing the American media
in order to prevent any criticism of Israeli policy. In the past, the United
Jewish Appeal was essential for the economic wellbeing of Israel.
For years, the foreign policy of Israel
has been based upon the power of the Jewish “exile” community in the US. Every
country, from Egypt to Uzbekistan, knew that if it wanted aid from the American
Congress, it had first of all to acquire the support of Israel. In order to get
access to the American Sultan, they first had to get past the Israeli
gate-keeper.
WHAT HAS all this to do with Zionism?
What has remained of Zionism, except
the historical fact that the Zionist movement has given birth to Israel? Empty
platitudes, and an instrument for achieving quite different objectives. Inside
our political system, Zionism serves various and contradictory aims.
If one speaks in Israel of “Zionism”,
one means “not Arab”.
A “Zionist” state means a state in
which non-Jewish citizens cannot be full partners. Eighty percent of Israel’s
citizens (the Jews) are telling the other twenty percent (the Arabs): the state
belongs to us, not to you.
The state constructs settlements in the
occupied territories because it is Zionist. It builds in East Jerusalem because
it is Zionist. It discriminates against its Arab citizens in almost every field
because it is Zionist. It mistreats African refugees who manage to reach its
borders because it is Zionist. There is no dastardly act that cannot be wrapped
in the Zionist flag. If Dr. Samuel Johnson were living in Israel today, he
would say “Zionism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”.
THE “ZIONIST Left” is also waving this
flag in order to show how patriotic it is. In the past, it used it mainly to
keep its distance from the radical left, which was fighting against the
occupation and for the two-state solution. Nowadays, after the “Zionist Left”
has itself adopted this program, it continues to wave the Zionist flag in order
to differentiate itself from the “Arab” parties (including the Communist Party,
90% of whose voters are Arab).
In the name of Zionism, the “Zionist
Left” continues to reject any possibility of including the Arab parties in a
future government coalition. This is an act of self-mutilation, since it
prevents in advance any possibility of the “Left” returning to power. That’s
simple arithmetic. As a result, the “Zionist Left” has practically disappeared.
THE WAY the Israeli Right is using the
Zionist flag is far more dangerous. In their hands, it has turned into a banner
of pure hate.
For years now, the plague of “talkbackists”
has been spreading. Unidentified persons are filling cyberspace with their
outpourings. Here and there a liberal citizen posts some interesting remarks.
But the immense majority of the talkbackists belong to the extreme Right and
express themselves in a style reminiscent of the darkest periods of the last
century. The appellation “traitor” for leftists is the most moderate in this
lexicon, and the demand for their execution has become quite commonplace.
(When my name happens to be mentioned
on one of the websites, it routinely draws behind it a train of dozens, and
sometimes more than a hundred talkback epithets spewing pure hatred. All this
in the name of Zionism.)
The public has become accustomed to
this phenomenon and tends to ignore it or to shrug it off. They think that the
talkbackists belong to the political underworld, together with the fanatical
settlers and assorted marginal rightist groups.
But are they still “marginal”? Or are
they closing in on the center of the stage?
RECENTLY, THE public has been exposed
to a song that lit red lights all over the place.
A popular singer by the name of Amir
Banyon has decided to tell those Leftists exactly what he thinks of them. Here
are some choice samples:
“I defend the children / I risk my life
for your family / And you spit in my face. / After the enemies outside did not
succeed in killing me / You are killing me from the inside.”
“I am storming the enemy lines / With
my back exposed to you / And you sharpen the knife.”
“I am your brother, you are the enemy …
When I weep, you laugh behind my back … You are handing me over to the
foreigner … You are killing me!”
By the way, those who distributed this
masterpiece forgot to mention that the author, he who “risks his life” and “always
storms forwards”, has never served in a combat unit. Actually, he was released
from the army after three days (!) because of drug problems. Later he became a
pious Jew and joined Chabad, the sect of the ultra-nationalist Lubavitcher
rabbi who never visited Israel.
THE WORDS “handing me over to the
foreigner” are the most serious accusation in Jewish tradition. “The moser” (he
who hands over) was a Jew who betrayed another Jew to the gentile authorities
and deserved death. It was precisely this accusation that sealed the fate of
Yitzhak Rabin.
Lately, this has become the main
accusation hurled by Israeli fascists against the Left. Recently, an extreme
campaign of incitement was launched against the New Israel Fund, a US-based
institution that supports many leftist NGOs in Israel. The fund is accused of
financing organizations that “helped Judge Goldstone”, the “anti-Semitic Jew”
who is spreading despicable lies against the Zionist State. (Disclosure: the
organization I am active in, Gush Shalom, which is also uncovering war crimes,
never received a dime.)
Anat Kam, a soldier who “stole” secret
documents from the army command and helped Haaretz to exclose a war crime, was
also accused of “serving the enemy”. She has been indicted for “aggravated
espionage”, a crime bearing a life sentence.
“Traitors”, “Enemy Agents”, “Destroyers
of the Fatherland”, “Knife in the back” – these epithets are becoming part of
the mainstream discourse in Israel. One should not dismiss them.
Not so long ago, just such language led to historic
tragedies in Europe.
“Father Paul, you cannot possibly be telling me that an Episcopal priest has
been taken in by fundamentalist theology?” Terese incredulously asked the new
assistant to the rector at St. Joan of Arc Episcopal Church in Orlando, who
also served at the noon mass every Wednesday.
Father Paul Hendricks was a passionate
evangelist on a mission to convert every Jew he encountered to become a
Christian. Terese had kept her silence for the first six months she had been
listening to his Wednesday noon sermons, but finally broke her silence after
the rest of the parishioners had departed.
Paul sighed and shook his head. “Look,
Mrs. Hunter, I read your op/ed in the newspaper about Israel and Palestine, and
we both agree we want peace; we just go about it differently.”
“Father, let me say that the fastest
growing cult in the U.S.A. is the cult of Christian Zionism. Approximately 25
million U.S. Christians believe as you do, and I am most depressed to see that
the simple answers of fundamentalism have reached their tentacles into the
thinking man’s church. You just preached for thirteen minutes on Genesis
12:3--‘I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will
curse: and in you all the families of the world are blessed’--as if God meant
blessings to be political power and military might. Father, surely you
understand that the belief of the ancient Israelites, who held that they were
chosen, as if they were somehow special from others, as if God esteemed them
above others, is just basic primitive nationalism. Come on, Father, looking
down on one’s enemies to foster one’s own tribal interest and praying to God to
smite one’s enemies is what the ancients did. Isn’t it about time we moved
beyond that limited thinking?”
Father Paul clenched his fists and held
them behind his back, as he suppressed a simmering rage. He stood nine inches
above Terese’s upturned head, and with a slick smile and condescending tone
told her, “Mrs. Hunter, you are very misled. The text is understood to mean a
blessing to Abraham’s lineage--”
Terese cut in. “Agreed! And Genesis
12:3 was promised even before Ishmael, the father of the Arab nation, and
Isaac, the Jew, were born! And what about the very first mention of Israel?
Jacob was renamed Israel for having
wrestled and struggled with God. That is how I understand Israel; everyone who
struggles and wrestles with God is Israel, too. Israel means more than a
geographical location, Father Paul.”
“Mrs. Hunter, the modern state of
Israel is the fulfillment of the prophetic scriptures, and God’s covenant with
Israel is eternal, exclusive, and will not be abrogated. I refer you to Genesis
12:1-7, 15:4-7, 17:1-8; Leviticus 26:44-45; and Deuteronomy 7:7:8.”
“And Father, I refer you to Matthew 5:43-45, which does not only critique
Genesis 12:3; it blows it apart, for Christ commanded, ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate
you, and pray for them that despite-fully use you, that you maybe children of
your Father.’”
The two had reached Paul’s SUV and he
silently prayed he could make a swift escape, but Terese had positioned herself
at the driver’s door, and if he were to open it swiftly, she could be easily
moved aside. Father Paul entertained the thought for more than a moment, but
remained mute and still, as the tiny woman exploded with a torrent of words.
"Look, blind allegiance to the
Israeli government has allowed them to become a big bully, and isn’t God always
on the side of the oppressed? My sense is that you Zionists see the political
state of Israel as a replacement for Christ, at the center of the Christian
faith, and that certainly is not Christianity!
"How do you take Genesis 12:3 to literally mean that blessings equal land
and political power, yet ignore God’s promise in Genesis 21:17-20 to ‘make a
great nation out of Ishmael’s descendants and that ‘God was with the boy.’ Yet
your way of thinking allows the growing apartheid wall to continue, and
supports occupation and oppression of people that God also made promises too.”
“Mrs. Hunter, why don’t you make an
appointment and we can discuss this further? I really have to go.”
“Okay, I can take a hint, but let me
leave you with this: when religion and politics are in bed together, everybody
gets screwed! The Israeli government is using you Zionists as apologists in
support of their agenda of illegal occupation and settlements in the West bank,
Golan, and Gaza, on literal biblical grounds taken out of context. Your blind
allegiance to every act of Israel, understood as being orchestrated by God and
which should therefore be condoned, supported, and even praised, makes me want
to puke! And I wonder about the true motives of Christians who actually relish
the idea of Armageddon and love to speculate on who gets ‘left behind.’ Christ
was very clear that there will be a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth by
those who were so sure they were in, but get left out. God has always been on
the side of the oppressed, and your uncritical endorsement and justification
for Israel’s racist and apartheid policies are an abomination.”
The stunned and silent priest watched
in relief as Terese turned, flipped her braid, and walked away.
PS-Dear Reader: This chapter is based on an actual email
conversation I had with an Episcopal priest. He gave up talking to me after my
third email to him. I have been informed that he is now in Jerusalem connected
with the Holocaust Memorial.
Visitors since 07.22.05
Visitors: 34487942
"HOPE has two children.The first is ANGER at the way things are. The second is COURAGE to DO SOMETHING about it."-St. Augustine
"He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust." - Aquinas
Everyone has the right to freedom of
opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
" In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."-Mother Teresa
“You cannot talk like sane men around a peace table while the atomic bomb itself is ticking beneath it. Do not treat the atomic bomb as a weapon of offense; do not treat it as an instrument of the police. Treat the bomb for what it is: the visible insanity of a civilization that has ceased...to obey the laws of life.”- Lewis Mumford, 1946
The age of warrior kings and of warrior presidents has passed. The nuclear age calls for a different kind of leadership....a leadership of intellect, judgment, tolerance and rationality, a leadership committed to human values, to world peace, and to the improvement of the human condition. The attributes upon which we must draw are the human attributes of compassion and common sense, of intellect and creative imagination, and of empathy and understanding between cultures." - William Fulbright
“Any nation that year after year continues to raise the Defense budget while cutting social programs to the neediest is a nation approaching spiritual death.” - Rev. MLK
Establishment of Israel
"On the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations." - May 14, 1948. The Declaration of the Establishment of Israel