Out 'Palestinianing' the 'Palestinians'
Khaled Abu Toameh recently visited a series of college campuses in the United States. His report ought to scare those of you who think that 'it couldn't happen here [in the US].'Abu Toameh reports specifically on Leftist (although he never uses that word) hatred for Israel on American college campuses. He says that in many ways, it is more vehement and irrational than Hamas' hatred for Israel. He doesn't mention how many of the people he's describing are Jews - unfortunately, I suspect it's a substantial number.
The so-called pro-Palestinian “junta” on the campuses has nothing to offer other than hatred and de-legitimization of Israel. If these folks really cared about the Palestinians, they would be campaigning for good government and for the promotion of values of democracy and freedom in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Read the whole thing. Much of the Left would probably say this is Israel's fault. But it's not. Abu Toameh makes clear that this isn't about supporting the 'Palestinians.' It's about destroying Israel. Yes, I know, that's what I always tell you the 'Palestinians' want. But at least the 'Palestinians' have a more rational motivation for that feeling than these Americans have.
Their hatred for Israel and what it stands for has blinded them to a point where they no longer care about the real interests of the Palestinians, namely the need to end the anarchy and lawlessness, and to dismantle all the armed gangs that are responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent Palestinians over the past few years.
The majority of these activists openly admit that they have never visited Israel or the Palestinian territories. They don’t know -and don’t want to know - that Jews and Arabs here are still doing business together and studying together and meeting with each other on a daily basis because they are destined to live together in this part of the world. They don’t want to hear that despite all the problems life continues and that ordinary Arab and Jewish parents who wake up in the morning just want to send their children to school and go to work before returning home safely and happily.
What is happening on the U.S. campuses is not about supporting the Palestinians as much as it is about promoting hatred for the Jewish state. It is not really about ending the “occupation” as much as it is about ending the existence of Israel.
Many of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas officials I talk to in the context of my work as a journalist sound much more pragmatic than most of the anti-Israel, “pro-Palestinian” folks on the campuses.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:56 PM
3 Comments:
You know, on the left saying it's all Israel's Fault... Bibi, I'm told, is going to appoint Barak as Defense Minister because he's in good with Hillary Clinton.
Trying to play footsie with the Obama regime is not going to win anyone anything in the U.S. Media. The proper tactic would be do as the terrorists do. Put someone up to subtly offend Obama and play on American Sympathies as the victime of the U.S. President... that will win you points.
Carl - as I noted yesterday, a substantial minority of Palestinians DO support Israel. Ironically, Zionism was more successful in winning friends among the Arabs than among the Jews. But don't look for the Left to ever acknowledge Israel's humanity. Anti-Semitism is a hatred that just has a life of its own and there's no sense in trying to reason with it.
The comment "If these folks really cared about the Palestinians, they would be campaigning for good government... the promotion of values of democracy ... freedom in the West Bank and Gaza." hits the nail on the head.
Sadly most of the Jews I know who criticise Israel ... well that's the point, they criticise Israel, they never show any desire for the Palestinians to ever experience some of those left-wing rights we all championed in college.
Funny how I still believe in those "rights"; funny how I believe that's the only way to resolve this conflict but no one on the Left will let me say that. I'm always shouted down because I won't sing the neo-Left party anthem.
Bummer
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