Gilad Atzmon - Living on Borrowed Time in a Stolen Land
By Gilad Atzmon • Jan 3rd, 2009 at 17:28 • Category: Analysis, Education, Features, Gilad Atzmon, Gilad's Choice, Israel, Newswire, Opinions and Letters, Our Authors, Palestine, Religion, Resistance, War, Zionism
Communicating with Israelis may leave one bewildered. Even now when the Israeli Air Force is practicing murder in broad daylight of hundreds of civilians, elderly persons, women and children, the Israeli people manage to convince themselves that they are the real victims in this violent saga.
Those who are familiar intimately with Israeli people realise that they are completely uninformed about the roots of the conflict that dominates their lives. Rather often Israelis manage to come up with some bizarre arguments that may make a lot of sense within the Israeli discourse, yet make no sense whatsoever outside of the Jewish street. Such an argument goes as follows: ‘those Palestinians, why do they insist upon living on our land (Israel), why can’t they just settle in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon or any other Arab country?’ Another Hebraic pearl of wisdom sounds like this: ‘what is wrong with these Palestinians? We gave them water, electricity, education and all they do is try to throw us to the sea’.
Astonishingly enough, the Israelis even within the so-called ‘left’ and even the educated ‘left’ fail to understand who the Palestinians are, where they come from and what they stand for. They fail to grasp that for the Palestinians, Palestine is home. Miraculously, the Israelis manage to fail to grasp that Israel had been erected at the expense of the Palestinian people, on Palestinian land, on Palestinian villages, towns, fields and orchards. The Israelis do not realise that Palestinians in Gaza and in refugee camps in the region are actually dispossessed people from Ber Shive, Yafo, Tel Kabir, Shekh Munis, Lod, Haifa, Jerusalem and many more towns and villages. If you wonder how come the Israelis don’t know their history, the answer is pretty simple, they have never been told. The circumstances that led to the Israeli Palestinian conflict are well hidden within their culture. Traces of pre-1948 Palestinian civilisation on the land had been wiped out. Not only the Nakba, the 1948 ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinians, is not part of the Israeli curriculum, it is not even mentioned or discussed in any Israeli official or academic forum.
In the very centre of almost every Israeli town one can a find a 1948 memorial statue displaying a very bizarre, almost abstract, pipe work. The plumbing feature is called Davidka and it is actually a 1948 Israeli mortar cannon. Interestingly enough, the Davidka was an extremely ineffective weapon. Its shells wouldn’t reach more than 300 meters and would cause very limited damage. Though the Davidika would cause just minimal harm, it produced a lot of noise. According to the Israeli official historical narrative, the Arabs i.e., Palestinians, simply ran away for their lives once they heard the Davidka from afar. According to the Israeli narrative, the Jews i.e., ‘new Israelis’ did a bit of fireworks and the ‘Arab cowards’ just ran off like idiots. In the Israeli official narrative there is no mention of the many orchestrated massacres conducted by the young IDF and the paramilitary units that preceded it. There is no mention also of the racist laws that stop Palestinians[1] from returning to their homes and lands.
The meaning of the above is pretty simple. Israelis are totally unfamiliar with the Palestinian cause. Hence, they can only interpret the Palestinian struggle as a murderous irrational lunacy. Within the Israeli Judeo- centric solipsistic universe, the Israeli is an innocent victim and the Palestinian is no less than a savage murderer.
This grave situation that leaves the Israeli in the dark regarding his past demolishes any possibility of future reconciliation. Since the Israeli lacks the minimal comprehension of the conflict, he cannot contemplate any possible resolution except extermination or cleansing of the ‘enemy’. All the Israeli is entitled to know are various phantasmic narratives of Jewish suffering. Palestinian pain is completely foreign to his ears. ‘Palestinian right of return’ sounds to him like an amusing idea. Even the most advanced ‘Israeli humanists’ are not ready to share the land with its indigenous inhabitants. This doesn’t leave the Palestinians with many options but to liberate themselves against all odds. Clearly, there is no partner for peace on the Israel side.
This week we all learned more about the ballistic capability of Hamas. Evidently, Hamas was rather restrained with Israel for more than a long while. It refrained from escalating the conflict to the whole of southern Israel. It occurred to me that the barrages of Qassams that have been landing sporadically on Sderot and Ashkelon were actually nothing but a message from the imprisoned Palestinians. First it was a message to the stolen land, homes fields and orchards: ‘Our beloved soil, we didn’t forget, we are still here fighting for you, sooner rather than later, we will come back, we will start again where we had stopped’. But it was also a clear message to the Israelis. ‘You out there, in Sderot, Beer Sheva, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Tel Aviv and Haifa, whether you realise it or not, you are actually living on our stolen land. You better start to pack because your time is running out, you have exhausted our patience. We, the Palestinian people, have nothing to lose anymore’.
Let’s face it, realistically the situation in Israel is rather grave. Two years ago it was Hezbollah rockets that pounded northern Israel. This week the Hamas proved beyond doubt that it is capable of serving the South of Israel with some cocktail of ballistic vengeance. Both in the case of the Hezbollah and the case of the Hamas, Israel was left with no military answer. It can no doubt kill civilians but it fails to stop the rocket barrage. The IDF lacks the means of protecting Israel unless covering Israel with a solid concrete roof is a viable solution. At the end of the day, they might be planning just that. http://peacepalestine.blogspot.com/2006/08/gilad-atzmon-operation-security-roof.html
But this is far from the end of the story. In fact it is just the beginning. Every Middle East expert knows that Hamas can seize control of the West Bank within hours. In fact, PA and Fatah control in the West Bank is maintained by the IDF. Once Hamas takes the West Bank, the biggest Israeli population centre will be left to the mercy of Hamas. For those who fail to see, this would be the end of Jewish Israel. It may happen later today, it may happen in three months or in five years, it isn’t matter of ‘if’ but rather matter of ‘when’. By that time, the whole of Israel will be within firing range of Hamas and Hezbollah, Israeli society will collapse, its economy will be ruined. The price of a detached villa in Northern Tel Aviv would equal a shed in Kiryat Shmone or Sderot. By the time a single rocket hits Tel Aviv, the Zionist dream will be over.
The IDF generals know it, the Israeli leaders know it. This is why they stepped up the war against the Palestinian into extermination. The Israelis do not plan upon invading Gaza. They have lost nothing there. All they want is to finish the Nakba. They drop bombs on Palestinians in order to wipe them out. They want the Palestinians out of the region. It is obviously not going to work, Palestinians will stay. Not only they will they stay, their day of return to their land is coming closer as Israel has been exploiting its deadliest tactics.
This is exactly where Israeli escapism comes into play. Israel has passed the ‘point of no return’. Its doomed fate is deeply engraved in each bomb it drops on Palestinian civilians. There is nothing Israel can do to save itself. There is no exit strategy. It can’t negotiate its way out because neither the Israelis nor their leadership understand the elementary parameters involved in the conflict. Israel lacks the military power to conclude the battle. It may manage to kill Palestinian grassroots leaders, it has been doing it for years, yet Palestinian resistance and persistence is growing fierce rather than weakening. As an IDF intelligence general predicted already at the first Intifada. ‘In order to win, all Palestinians have to do is to survive’. They survive and they are indeed winning.
Israeli leaders understand it all. Israel has already tried everything, unilateral withdrawal, starvation and now extermination. It thought to evade the demographic danger by shrinking into an intimate cosy Jewish ghetto. Nothing worked. It is Palestinian persistence in the shape of Hamas politics that defines the future of the region.
All that is left to Israelis is to cling to their blindness and escapism to evade their devastating grave fate that has become immanent already. All along their way down, the Israelis will sing their familiar various victim anthems. Being imbued in a self-centred supremacist reality, they will be utterly involved in their own pain yet completely blind to the pain they inflict on others. Uniquely enough, the Israelis are operating as a unified collective when dropping bombs on others, yet, once being slightly hurt, they all manage to become monads of vulnerable innocence. It is this discrepancy between the self-image and the way they are seen by the rest of us which turns the Israeli into a monstrous exterminator. It is this discrepancy that stops Israelis from grasping their own history, it is that discrepancy that stops them from comprehending the repeated numerous attempts to destroy their State. It is that discrepancy that stops Israelis from understanding the meaning of the Shoah so can they prevent the next one. It is this discrepancy that stops Israelis from being part of humanity.
Once again Jews will have to wander into an unknown fate. To a certain extent, I myself have started my journey a while ago.
Gilad Atzmon is a jazz musician, composer, producer and writer.
Email this author | All posts by Gilad Atzmon
I'm sorry, but I got a few bones to pick:
"Miraculously, the Israelis manage to fail to grasp that Israel had been erected at the expense of the Palestinian people, on Palestinian land, on Palestinian villages, towns, fields and orchards. The Israelis do not realise that Palestinians in Gaza and in refugee camps in the region are actually dispossessed people from Ber Shive, Yafo, Tel Kabir, Shekh Munis, Lod, Haifa, Jerusalem and many more towns and villages. "
This is extremely simplistic, to the point if inaccuracy. Every single politically literate person in Israel knows these things well - including the right wingers. Right wingers use this fact as a rhetorical ploy to shame opponents of the settlements, by saying "so why don't you evacuate your home in Sheikh Munis". The problem is not ignorance, but justifying, and to be precise - justifying ad infinitum. Israelis think that because their need was once found more urgent than the rights of others, their whims and luxuries also take precedence over the ever-more urgent needs of others.
"In the very centre of almost every Israeli town one can a find a 1948 memorial statue displaying a very bizarre, almost abstract, pipe work. The plumbing feature is called Davidka and it is actually a 1948 Israeli mortar cannon."
Excuse me, what is this pile of horse manure? Did you visit Israel once (despite having an Israeli name), see the davidka square in Jerusalem, and extrapolate that there's one in every town? Because there isn't. There is no "cult of the Davidka". It's an anecdote. I know of precisely one town with a "davidka square" anywhere in it (Jerusalem), let alone "at the very centre". Excuse me, Wiki informs me that the tiny, provincial city of Safad has one too. That's still not "almost every".
Or is this a bit of rhetorical flourish? If so, it has zero place in a political essay in which you pretend to teach your audience about Israel. Seriously, this is cartoonizing and even the horrible Israelis don't deserve it - not if one's goal is to understand and promote same. If it's about ridiculing, please, carry on.
"In the Israeli official narrative there is no mention of the many orchestrated massacres conducted by the young IDF and the paramilitary units that preceded it. "
Dunno what you mean by "official". Dir Yassin is taught in schools, as is S. Yizhar's Hirbet Hize'a. No, the full extent of the moral problem is not impressed upon consumers of the official line (when is it ever?), but neither is it as one-sided as you portray it.
This is not to say that Israeli common wisdom is not astonishingly self-centered, detached from reality in places, and tainted by racism to allow logical failures. Case in point: The expectation that the continued siege of Gaza was a sustainable condition of continued "calm". Most Israelis simply don't understand that you can't have a siege and expect quiet for long.
But your approach, which generalizes, stereotypes, and seems about 30 years old, won't help anyone understand Israelis nor why they do the stupid things they do.
I am sure you are not going to post this comment (this blog is blocked for Israelies).
So to make it short
Mr. Atzmon is the only one that saw the light.
All the Israelis and jews are blind stupid and ignorant.
Give me a break
Arnon
Hi Gilad,
Great piece as always. Have linked it at DKos. It's very telling just how angry the hornets get at any snippet of truth that make it into the echo chamber. A much larger segment has appeared to educate themselves on the matter (no thanks to the MSM). It attribute this largely to voices such as your own, as well as the many other heroes here at PTT.
Warm regards to you all!
LT
brilliant piece.
the angry arab is saying similar things: http://angryarab.blogpost.com
the world is turning against zionism, and israel is very weak — attacking gaza, a place of poverty and relative weakness militarily, is a clear sign of israeli desperation. all of this will become clearer in the future.
The arab world is united on the street. Popular consciousness is breaking against israel in europe. large protests across north america this week.
as the pockets of resistance spread from lebanon to gaza to the west bank to egypt and syria, israel will be backed into a corner, and the rest will be history.
the international movement towards sanctions, combined with the resistance on the borders and the demographic dynamics in israel — all of these will erode zionism over the long term.
whether the break comes through a regional war or simply through the threat of a regional war combined with international sanctions and pressure, there will be a single democratic state in palestine/israel in the future. that is clear. it is just a matter of time.
In the 60 years of the Zionist/Jewish occupation of Palestine, this abomination totally sanctioned by the Jewish control of the US/UK has succeeded magnificently in creating a wall of hatred against itself,which must be increasing exponentially with every day as the Zionist Einsatzgruppen pour into Gaza. Are the Zionist leadership seriously suggesting that they are the friends of the Jewish people?Israel is doomed to destruction
ultimately and as that zealot Meir said-they will take the world down with them ! Check out the Talmud and it's many racist comments about the GOYIM (that's all of us non-Jews by the way).These people represent the greatest threat to humanity EVER.The final Armaggedon doth approach.Instead of totally ignoring their frequent fraudulent shrieks about anti-Semitism (the sheer utter gall of it),steps should have been taken to acknowledge the threat that they represent and decisive action taken against them.Now it is too late ! Looking forward to the nuclear catastrophe ? Der Ewige Jude kommt.These people who sent millions to the Gulag and starved millions in the Ukraine.The Synagogue of Satan.The family that preys together !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Israel seems to be suffering from some sort of mass hypnosis and indoctrination. A type of paranoid victim mentality, a racist superiority complex, with illusions of grandeur, and an over-blown, self-important ethnocentric egoism. No doubt the result of constant brainwashing in their schools, synagogues, and army. A result of the one sided propaganda they are fed night and day from childhood to adulthood. They have never had a chance to learn any type of objectivity in their closed Jewish worldview.
This mindset, mixed with the so-called chosen people myth makes it easy for them to rationalize away the savage, animal brutality in their dealings with the Palestinian people and the world at large. This would explain how Elie Wiesel can talk about truth, justice, and morality and turn a blind eye to the slaughter of Palestinian men, women, and children.
Critics of Israel have likened their behavior to Nazi Germany. Apologists for Israel say this parallel is outrageous and unfounded. Well, the old saying goes, If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then its a duck. Ive heard that people who have been abused in the past can turn around and become abusers
themselves. Maybe there is something to this.
I think Israel had better step back, take a look in the mirror, and seriously consider if the end justifies the means. The Bible says,"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul . Is all the killing, bloodshed and ruined lives worth the price of a mythical homeland built on the bones of a vanquished people? I think not!
Greetings Gilad Atzmon,
You have a very clear way of stating the Truth.
The Current Desperate Actions of the The Israelis
demonstrates and states they are in the last stages
of their own extinction.
They are in their Death throes.
Their coming passing. Is truly a blessing for
"Planet Earth."
Aussie.
Excellent article. Israel is finished, but before it goes will it drag the world into chaos.
'Within the Israeli Judeo- centric solipsistic universe, the Israeli is an innocent victim and the Palestinian is no less than a savage murderer.'
This seems analagous to the way WWII is depicted in Anglophone discourse, with the Germans as the savage murderers. It seems that if you demonise your enemy enough, people will believe literally anything about them.
A very encouraging analysis, Mr. Atmon. The current butchery is no more than the dying spasms of a doomed ideology.
I would like to thank you all. We are living in a very grave time.
The disaster in gaza is more than just a glimpse into psychotic murderous identity. This is what happens when Israelis celebrate their symptoms.
@Ernest Z. -
Ernest, your comment is trully good one. I will use (quote) some of its parts in commenting the issue myself - hope you don't mind.
Here I must add that hugh impact on people perception comes from US mainstream media, like CNN, and their role as defenders of Israel, justifying and rationalising their savagery and barbarism in their Pro-Israel propaganda program - brainwashing. When a human being with scruples see and hear swines like mayor of NY, Bloomberg and US ambasador at UN, all on CNN intrviews/programs, then become aware of these leading news organisations point of view and probably point of view of majority of the American citizens.
from Dubrovnik
@Arnon Nevo - So to make it straight:
Mr. Atzmon is not the only one that saw the light.
Not all the Israelis and jews are blind stupid and ignorant.
Go ahead israHell
kill, destruct, murder, bomb, sharp shoot children, manupulate news, fool people, sneer,laugh, dance.
This time the whole world is waching you. You can fool most USA but you can't fool everybody in the world.
You are just guaranteeing 2nd holocaust for your race. But would any of you survive this time. Don't bet on that. This time you can't run anywhere, thanks to the hatred you have built up during years towards you.
And shut up this is not antisemitism. It's just plain forcast of future events. You just can see it
while youre wraped in your bloody history, and errogance.
@Arnon Nevo - No Arnon, the Jews are not stupid, blind or ignorant. The problems with the Jews is that they don't WANT to see the truth and reality of the Palestinians.
At the end of the world war II Europe come to the realization that they have to discard of the Jews. The problem was were could they be disposed of, what part of the world will tolerate them. The mutual consent was to send them back to Palestine. That's the beginning of this conflict. Get rid of the Palestinians to give room for the Jews, who in term will dispose of the Palestinians at their heart contents and at any cost and at the same time justifying themselves as being the victims of the conflict. Israel exist thanks to the Europeans and obviously with the support of USA that has a strong Jewish lobby and a strong interest of having an allied in the area to pursue personal interests. No Arnon, they are not stupid, but they have proved to the world that hey can be abusers and commit genocide with the blink of an eye.
As far as the author of this article, the idea that the Zionist have their days counted. I doubt it, no when we see that USA supports them and the Arabs make a blind eye to the atrocities they commit.
It is impossible to accurately portray what appears as irrational, suicidal megalomania, without putting it in political context: the symbiotic confluence of securing u.s. imperialist global domination with its proxy's 'greater israel' goal.
israel, historical spawn of western colonialism, is today indispensable enforcer of u.s. hegemonic interests.
Without u.s. support israel disappears — USRAEL says it well.
Targeting only israel, exposing u.s role, in the fascist genocide against the Palestinian nation, as many 'leftists' are, intentionally or not amounts to u.s. apologetics - not support the Palestinian (or any other) just struggle for national liberation.
LB
http://www.burbankdigest.com/
Comment forwarded from Atheo News:
Suzan writes:
As far as the above story, what struck me was the tone. The first part of the essay communicates that Israelis are ignorant of their history thus they underestimate the resoluteness of their Palestinian neighbours. I think that is a lame argument. That could probably be said for most Americans–the fact that they were so shocked by 9/11 clearly indicated that they had no idea what American foreign policy of the last 50 yrs was, nor the power of the Neocons. But America is a very isolated and buffered land. People generally do not live each and every day fearing for their safety or hostility from their neighbours. The same cannot be said of Israel. Since its inception, it has been a hot spot–surrounded on all sides by people that don't like them. Dont like them? No, hate them and in fact would love to wipe them from the earth. And when you are living in such conditions, and have for the last 60 yrs, the author plays the card that Israelis have no idea what is going on? So what is his argument? That the Israelis have noone to blame but themselves and their ignornce? Lame.
Two years ago, an Israeli soldier went missing in Lebanon..that was the pretext for Israel launching its bombing campaign in Lebanon/Hezbollah. I believe that is what he is referring to above. In both that conflict and this one, he says "Israel was left with no military answer." And does their launching missiles into Lebanon two years ago, or Gaza presently, and now their ground troops–does this not constitute a military answer, in his opionion? He is saying–our hands are tied behind our back. We cant do anything to protect ourselves. Atheo, that is silly. He means what?– that you cant back people into a corner, and create concentration camp-like living condtions and think that people will just quiety live their lives of desperation and never rise up? We thus cannot stop attacks against us. Is that what he means by saying–Israel has no military answer?
He goes on to say that Hamas and others have all this power to seize this land and seize that..and "the Israelis know it" and then goes on to say that Israel will be within firing range. Israeli society will collapse and the economy will be ruined….
That is what I meant earlier, that his piece, while well written, and does bring up some truths–ie the desperation of the Palestnian people, but ultimately, Israel will be the victim–That is BS.
I dont for a moment doubt that you Atheo know so much more than I do about the politics of this region, but I cannot for a moment entertain that Israel will be a victim here. They have grown extremely powerful and extremely rich in just the last 8 yrs. The author, cunningly crying in his circutious way "victim" does not phase me.
Let me be clear–I am all for Israel existing. I just wish that it would respect its neighbours and that it would stop creating 2 sets of rules–One for them, and the other set for everyone, and I mean everyone, else.
Dear Gilad,
Just wanted to announce that this amazing article of yours was on an important Turkish news channel today (SkyTurk), read out and put on screen completely in Turkish. That's how I heard about it and have already started spreading the word. The fact that you are an Israeli yourself makes the difference.
I'll say only one thing to you: Bravo!
Best wishes
@Arnon Nevo -
No, not stupid and blind, just duped. Israel is the master of the psy-op. As an American, I know full well that effective PR is 100x more powerful than crude propaganda. Freud's nephew, E. Bernays, father of propaganda, later dubbed PR after the Nazis put his new science to work, put it like this:
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of."
—Edward Bernays, "Propaganda," 1928.
@john -
I too have noticed a rising tide of antipathy towards Jews in Europe since the recent military action against Gaza. Most people are ill enough informed to distinguish between Israelis and Jews and , combined with economic hardship amongst native, working class whites and militant muslim youth, I'm not sure to what extent attacks against Jews / Israelis could be contained. I recently was amazed to hear a skinhead football fan in the UK openly bragging about his exploits with a tin of spray paint at a synagogue and of course, no-one confronted him about his actions. Israel has just shot itself, many times, in both feet. Some of the finest people I have ever met are Jews. I'm not Jewish.
@john -
Large tracts of the Middle East don't recognise Israel's right to exist. Even if some governments might give lip service to this recognition, large sections of their populations don't agree. It's sometimes only aid from the US that sustains regimes in the region that tolerate Israel. The power of the US is waning. It survives on ever greater loans from China. Is China a friend of Israel? How long until China decides the US policy towards Israel? What then? Does Israel have the time it needs to start making THAT many friends and building THAT many bridges with it's neighbours? By the way. This is a great forum. I appreciate all contributions. It's only by hearing what many people have to say I might get closer to knowing more of some truths.
I too have tried to send this article to as many people as I know. Thank you Mr. Atzmon.
(Can someone please give me more information on the photograph illustrating this? Where is it? Who erected it? Which side is it on? I sincerely hope it is not what I fear it is — a Jewish "gift" to their subjects?)
Trouvere, I found that photo on a site talking about creative marketing!!… I don't know which side of the wall, but it appears that it is on the Israeli side. The blog didn't say much about it, just commented on how there were "smiling faces" on the wall….
Nous avons un D. commun est la Bible en est sa loi.
Ce qui n'y crois pas, sont dans l'erreur.
Tout document écrit après, n'en déplaise aux lettrés que commentaires.
Mais la Bible a été donnee a l'Homme.
Maintenant, il ya 3 vues monotheiste
celle d'Abraham jusqu'à Moise, qui relie l'Homme a D.et D. a l'Homme, générosité et justice
Celle d'il y a 2000 ans qui mets l'Homme en avant car D. est amour. et pardonne.
Et celle plus recente, qui dit que D. est justice et ou l'Homme non convaincu n'a pas sa place
Maintenant en 2009, il y a aussi les gens qui n'ont pas la foi et ce langage ne leur parle pas car comme Nietzsche le dit, l'Homme dirige le monde sans D.
La Fraternité, inscrite au fronton de notre République Française nous montre le chemin de respecter l'autre qui n'est qu'un autre soi-meme.
La Politique et l'argent sont aux services des pouvoirs totalitaires qui nieent l'existence de l'autre.
Ces manipulateur utilisent la Religion pour avoir raison et aveuglent les gens de bon sens croyant en une foi aveugle.
Ce n'est pas la premiere fois dans le Monde que la Religion est l'arme du pouvoir de ceux qui veulent régner au nom du peuple souverain. 5moyen Age, Colonisation diverses..°
Israel est la Terre du Peuple du Livre depuis Moise et chacun veut se l'approprier.
La France est la terre des droits de l'Homme et aussi des devoirs du Citoyen, la Fraternité après la Liberté, l'Egalite n'oubliez pas la Fraternité
@danash - "Nous avons un D. commun est la Bible en est sa loi." - Qui est ton "nous"? Qui êtes-vous? Je ne connais pas "un D. commun" et imho la bible est seulement un texte barbare écrit par des barbares.
"Ce qui n'y crois pas, sont dans l'erreur." - Je n'y crois pas, alors je suis "dans" quelle "erreur"?
"Mais la Bible a été donnee a l'Homme." - Non à moi et non à la majorité de l'humanité.
"Israel est la Terre du Peuple du Livre depuis Moise". La Palestine appartient à les Palestiniens!
"et chacun veut se l'approprier." - Vraiment? Les Chinois aussi? Moi, je ne veux pas me "l'approprier"!
Oui, la France barbare a produit les trois mots - liberté, égualité, fraternité. Mais la liberté et les droits de l'homme pour les Palestiniens n'existent pas!…
To enlighten the discussion, I have to offer the following quotation:
"…we have to kill and kill and kill. All day, every day."
Listen to the words of Professor Arnon Sofer, the government consultant who did so much to help plan the isolation and imprisonment of Gaza, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post in 2004: “When 2.5 million people live in a closed-off Gaza, it’s going to be a human catastrophe,” Sofer predicted. “Those people will become even bigger animals than they are today, with the aid of an insane fundamentalist Islam. The pressure on the border is going to be awful. It’s going to be a terrible war. So, if we want to remain alive, we will have to kill and kill and kill. All day, every day.” Sofer admitted only one worry with all the killing, which will, he says, be the necessary outcome of a policy that he himself helped to invent. “The only thing that concerns me,” he says, “is how to ensure that the boys and men who are going to have to do the killing will be able to return home to their families and be normal human beings.”
Source: Interview with the Jerusalem Post in 2004 ("It's the demography, stupid", Jerusalem Post weekend supplement Up Front, May 21, 2004)
If this isn't the horror, I don't know what is!
The last words remind me of the qualms Heinrich Himmler had, about how long
young SS men could sustain acting at the continuous mass executions without
turning crazy. As a consequence, the authorities of the 3rd Reich turned to
executions via industially organized gas chambers…
(This information is well documented in various sources available in Germany,
I found it in: Erich Fromm, The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, Penguin 1977,
p. 424)
Unfortunately our government supports all these lies about Israels so called
"self defence" and backs it up, in harmony with the US and european governments.
It's a shame! Let there be more light! People of the world, stand up to end this
genocide!
My respect to Mr Atzmon for his words, I can´t understand why is so-difficult to find a self-criticism of this painful matters in the Israel society and in the USA too. As You. A real eye-opener insight.-
@Arnon Nevo -
******************************************************
Wrong Sir, may be is blocked for Sionists but surely not for israelis. You missed.
Mario.-
@Bernd Rosenlecher -" the authorities of the 3rd Reich turned to
executions via industially organized gas chambers…"
Can you bring up a proof? Can you give the name of a single person, Jew or goy - who lost his/her life in "
executions via industially organized gas chambers"?…
There is NO doubt that america is complicit in these atrocities. The "new" democratic administration should be forewarned that THEIR silence IS complicity. Just as they have been complicit in the multiplicity of crimes committed by the outgoing regime, thery continue the tradition, by being the only member to abstain from the UN 14 - 0 vote.
How is it that Iraq is "guilty" of ignoring UN resolutions, but israel is absolved from the same?
And how do israelis justify defying their own "supreme court" ruling permitting journalists to be witness to the crimes being committed using american tax dollars?
Boycott all israeli products, and hold the feet of the new democratic congress and obama to the fire, so any further atrocities against the Muslim peoples shall no longer be carried out in our names.
Blowback is a beach, and if america thinks it can escape its culpability in the interventions of (at least) 44 countries globally since WWII, then the myopia is more severe than even I imagine.
@3bancan -
Sorry for the typo and grammar - it should have been:
"the authorities of the 3rd Reich turned to industrially
organized mass executions via (using) gas chambers"
On the other hand, I'm not sorry but sad about your ignorance of history!
A quick search of the web for the following words would maybe help:
Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobibor, Heinrich Himmler, concentration camp…
to just name a few possibilities…
Use the web to increase your knowledge!
There are millions of proofs to be found!
@Bernd Rosenlecher - I repeat:
Can you bring up a proof? Can you give the name of a single person, Jew or goy - who lost his/her life in "
executions via industially organized gas chambers"?…
Hello, Gilad, and well done for this insightful, brave and uncompromising piece, which I've been tirelessly sending to people in both English and Italian since it was published (I'm originally from Rome myself, and someone was kind enough to provide an Italian translation of this on their blog, with your surname misspelt, unfortunately: http://www.stampalibera.com/?p=1065#more-1065. That way, I could also forward your article to all my Italian contacts).
We actually met in the flesh on a couple of occasions some 7 or 8 years ago, back when I used to live in London myself. I was a good friend of drummer Asaf Sirkis's ex wife, Gabriela. We may have swapped a few words after a gig of yours, but probably nothing worthy of note at the time. I will probably be checking your website out more regularly from now on, not just for your music (for the record I own two CDs of yours) but also for your insightful opinions on the Middle Eastern conflict. I'm offering my own minuscule contribution by translating a good friend's crude, painful and authentic eye-witness accounts directly from Gaza in these last two weeks. This friend's name is Vittorio Arrigoni, he works for the ISM (International Solidarity Movement) and is at present the only Italian in Gaza, along with just a handful - 8 in total, I believe - of other internationals bravely refusing to budge, despite a pass having been opened for them to let them leave (obviously, Israel doesn't like the fact these foreign eye-witness account might point out the discrepancies between their version of the story and what is actually going on). How ironic that these ISM volunteers should now be accused of being anti-semitic by some (predictably, I guess), when they're exactly the kinds of people who would have risked their lives in the same way in the 30s and 40s to save the Jews and other persecuted peoples from the Nazis. Vittorio's personal blog, should you be interested: http://guerrillaradio.iobloggo.com/
OK, enough talk of others, who aren't around to join in the debate. Anyway, Gilad - keep up the good, nay - excellent work, and do let us know if and when you might be gigging in Rome or anywhere in Italy. Cheers!
Ciao
Daniela F.
Oops, sorry - just noticed the Italian version of your article has already been linked here. Never mind my sloppiness… Meglio così!
Daniela, all of Gilad's papers are in Italian also on http://www.tlaxcala.es as well as in other languages.
Vittorio's paper is here in English under Mary's Choice. Great paper.
Hi, Mary! Sorry for being totally useless, but I couldn't find the "Mary's Choice" bit anywhere on the website you linked. It's a great site, though - thanks! I'm translating all of Vittorio's pieces, every single day, as he sends them to me via email (I can also find them on the Manifesto newspaper he publishes them on daily, obviously). Here are a few of his older articles also in English (some bits in my translations are a bit wobbly, considering I have to work on them at the speed of light sometimes!):
http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1157&Itemid=214
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/649-doctors-with-wings-arafa-abed-al-dayem-rip
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/661-al-nakba-2009
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/667-i-wont-leave-my-country
Vittorio will be appearing on Italian TV on Thursday night, hopefully speaking in real time from Gaza. The programme he's being hosted on on Rai2 has a loyal following among its viewers and usually treats controversial, politically and socially relevant topics of the day, constantly challenging the powers-that-be (which is why Berlusconi has been doing his very best for months to close it down!). I'm so glad that someone here is finally going to start telling a different story on Gaza, rather than constantly pandering to the spoilt brat of international politics, Israel! (I hope Gilad won't mind me calling it this - something tells me he probably won't).
Once again thanks so much for that link of yours, Mary. It's quite frustrating sometimes to read a great article in English and not be able to pass it on to my non-English speaking Italian friends!
Daniela, Mary's Choice si trova proprio qui su PTT (dovrebbe essere l'articolo sopra questo sul homepage). Tlaxcala è un sito di tante diverse articoli, non solo di medio oriente, ma Gilad è uno dei nostri autori più spesso tradotti.
Siccome sei tradutrice, come mai non si unisce a noi di Tlaxcala? Quale programma su Rai2 (Santoro?) E' sa una vita che cerco di salvarmi il fegato e non guardare la tv. (vivo in italia e claudio pagliara è il mio nemico numero uno).
@Mary Rizzo -
"Vivo in Italia e Claudio Pagliara è il mio amico numero uno!"
Cara Mary, mi sei ancora più simpatica di quanto già non lo fossi all'inizio!
Sì, Vik sarà in collegamento da Santoro, ad Annozero, praticamente l'unica trasmissione che io segua religiosamente, senza mai perderne una puntata. Ha un seguito sempre maggiore qui in Italia, anche grazie alla presenza di Marco Travaglio, quindi sono veramente contenta che Santoro abbia deciso di dedicarla tutta a Gaza!
Sarò ben felice di collaborare con voi su Tlaxcala o altri siti quando ci sarà bisogni di traduzioni dall'italiano all'inglese, o anche il contrario, grazie per l'opportunità.
Cara Daniela,
Claudio non è un amico ma un grande, grandissimo Nemico! (ho appena visto la sua penosa esibizione 5 minuti fa….)
Hai letto il sito di Miguel Martinez, Kelebek? Purtroppo, ha scoperto che Travaglio ha scritto un pezzo a favore di … Israele.
In compenso, Beppe Grillo ha scritto la settimana scorsa, "cinque sorelle per me posson bastare", riferendosi alle 5 bimbe uccisi da Israele. Ha un pubblico vasto, spero che qualcuno che se ne frega almeno si ha potuto scoprire qualche dettaglio di più.
Poi, sono arcicontenta che vuoi collaborare con il gruppo Tlaxcala. Siamo attivi da 3 anni, con più di 7000 traduzioni!!! mandarti un email a contact@tlaxcala.es (credoooooo, sennò fammi sapere) e dire che ti mando. A noi serve cose in ambedue le direzioni, ed altre direzioni ancora da scoprire!
un abbraccio (finalmente, guarderò Santoro dopo tanto tempo… non mi ricordo l'ultima volta!!!)
Ah, cavoli - ho scritto "amico"? Volevo scrivere "NEMICO", pardon! Ho scritto una cosa pensando all'altra. Figurati, Pagliara è odioso, tant'è vero che ormai non guardo più nemmeno il tg3 per non rischiare di vederlo (mi irrita troppo). E' il solito invertebrato come purtroppo ce ne sono tanti, troppi. Soprattutto in Italia.
Per quel che riguarda Travaglio… sob, sigh… lo so che è piuttosto pro-Israele, ma lo sapevo già da prima, ahimè! Detto questo io spero - ripeto, SPERO! - che essendo comunque un uomo intelligente e intellettualmente onesto, lui possa mettersi in discussione e cambiare idea. Forse proprio la puntata di giovedì potrebbe aiutarlo a aprire un pò gli occhi. Tra l'altro anche Vik lo stima ed ha un link al suo sito nel suo blog. Me lo auguro di cuore che cambi idea perché rispetto e ammiro Travaglio, gli sono grata per il lavoro che fa nel contrastare il regime di Berlusconi, e lo considero uno dei pochi giornalisti italiani ancora realmente liberi. E' una spina nel fianco per me questa faccenda del suo pro-sionismo… speriamo che abbia l'umiltà di riconoscere che finora ha giudicato la situazione senza conoscerla bene!
Sì, Grillo ha scritto quel bell'articolo sulle 5 sorelle e essendo anche lui un compagno di battaglie civili di Travaglio… beh, spero che anche lui possa contribuire a fargli aprire gli occhi. Sì, è come dici tu: Grillo è seguitissimo e infatti il suo parlare di medio oriente è una bella fonte di speranza per tutti coloro che tengono a questa causa. Ma Grillo parla di molte cose, e spesso ad esempio è l'unico a parlare di Africa anche quando i suoi problemi e conflitti in quel momento non vanno di "moda" sui media tradizionali.
Guarda, ti chiederei gentilmente di aspettare la settimana prossima prima di iniziare a inviarmi traduzioni, perché ho una settimana piuttosto piena e faccio fatica, anche con un figlio di nemmeno un anno, a tener testa anche agli articoli che mi invia Vik tutti i giorni (oggi no perché il Manifesto è chiuso il lunedì). Dopodiché, ti prometto che sarò felicissima di collaborare con voi, anche visto che da quando sono diventata mamma non ho più avuto l'occasione di fare alcuna forma di volontariato. Tradurre per Tlaxcala potrà quindi essere per ora la mia forma di volontariato senza nemmeno uscire. Voglio sentirmi almeno minimamente utile al mondo fuori dalla mia porta di casa!
Brava, guarda Annozero giovedì prossimo, è l'unica trasmissione alla TV italiana che merita di essere vista! A proposito, tu dove abiti? Ciao, Mary!
Ciao Daniela!
intanto auguri per il pupo! ad un anno, capisco, è difficile gestire anche i momenti di relax tipo, andare al bagno, scendere per prendere la posta e portare fuori l'immondizia! Io ho una femmina di 11 anni, e non ho più avuto tempo libero… faccio "queste cose" sempre facendo finta di lavorare sul serio… non c'è alternativa! In ogni caso la mia sta studiano sul vecchio clarinetto di Gilad, almeno a volte mi allieta con i suoi fischi pazzeschi!
Per quanta riguarda Travaglio, vero, è stato grande contro Berlusconi, e spero che continui, ma forse è un po' chiuso nel mondo suo, potrebbe sempre essere. Oppure, che ha paura di andare contro corrente… però, tra poco si renderà conto anche lui che anche il popolo non ne può più di tutto questo. (Sai, in casa mia si chiamo Pagliara Il Gatto Silvestro…. per la squisitezze della pronuncia.) Vediamo come Travaglio si comporta giovedì. Spero che Santoro non è troppo "bilanciato". Ecco un pezzo che ho scritto tempo fa su questo argomento: http://peacepalestine.blogspot.com/2005/02/left-and-palestine.html quando ha avuto Fiamma N come ospite (anche Luttwak, credo) poi, per la parte dei Palestinesi… un ragazzino che non parla nemmeno italiano. Tragico!
Non c'è fretta per far parte di Tlaxcala, comunque, usiamo un Google Board, siamo un gruppo ormai di 100 amici che lavoriamo insieme, ti piacerebbe, credo! Quando hai il tempo, contatti quell'indirizzo, è il nostro.."coordinatore" che da tutti le dritte.
Vivo a San Benedetto del Tronto sul ridente costiera adriatico … :-l
un bacio!
@Mary Rizzo -
Ciao, Mary! Ho letto il tuo articolo due volte e l'ho anche inviato ad alcuni miei contatti, e sono spiacente di annunciare che lo condivido in pieno! Dico "spiacente" perché questo denota che fin nella sua fibra ideologica più sottile, la cultura di sinistra in questo momento storico sta messa proprio male. Credo questo dipenda alla fine da un bruttissimo sintomo della nostra epoca, questa tendenza a sottovalutare, se non criminalizzare l'ideologia. Se ci fai caso, quando un politico (soprattutto di destra) vuole screditare le affermazioni di un altro politico (spesso di sinistra), lui dice: "Parli per ideologia, per partito preso". Come se l'ideologia fosse un elemento indesiderabile, come se chi ha ideologie fosse incapace di obiettività, razionalità, imparzialità, ecc. Ma ciò che è più grave è che la sinistra non reagisce con la dovuta energia, controbattendo che le sue ideologie le porta avanti con orgoglio, che sono il motore di tutto e che l'ideologia non è da criminalizzare. Siccome "chi tace acconsente", stando sempre zitti, o rispondendo sempre con quella odiosa moderazione, la sinistra si sta facendo seppellire viva dalla destra, o comunque dalla politica cinica e opportunista, priva di sincera ideologia (faccio questo appunto perché sia chiaro che anche alcuni ideali di destra, purché costruttivi e realmente democratici, li rispetto in pieno come anche chi si promessa di destra con sincero idealismo, onestà intellettuale e assunzione delle proprie responsabilità).
Mamma mia, quello che mi racconti di Santoro che fa il "bilanciato" invitando Fiamma N. e il 12enne palestinese non promette molto bene per giovedì sera - spero proprio di non dover sopportare troppa indignazione frustrata! Però almeno ci sarà un uomo adulto e competente, cioè Vik in collegamento stavolta anziché un povero ragazzino, che trovo scandaloso sia stato messo in una posizione di tensione e responsabilità così grande!
A proposito, il blog che riporta il tuo articolo ha una colonna sonora fantastica!
Not to be missed, new from Vittorio Arrigoni in English:
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/676-in-gaza-hippocrates-is-dead
Daniela,
love your comments here and want to respond as they deserve but right now a bit overwhelmed with work and whatnot. so I'll pick up the thread I've dropped in a day or two when my chin gets above water level!
I will however be watching Santoro and speriamo bene!!! But I don't hold out much hope. What would it change if he has to be "balanced!"
and just heard Veltroni talking about the flag burning… not a word about the skin burning, eyeballs burning… what a JOKER! I hate him!
Please continue this argument and extend the discussion to the Jewish communal organizations in the US, UK and Europe.
I believe that some people in this world got an extra gene in their biological system.. it's a very complicated, sophisticated gene that 99.9% of Israelis and 99.9% of jews have. This gene make these people think that they are not ordinary humans, so if one of them felt a little bit scared then 500 children of the Gaza children must be killed in return and 1370 children of Gaza children have to live with physical disabilities for the rest of their miserable life. When jews and Israelis who are born with this extra gene think that their life worth more than other humans life, then excuse me… they are not humans at all… This gene also is responsible for what they did back before in 1948 and after 1948 … Jews are not ignorant at all, they are just IRROGANT and they believed the lie that they spread to the rest of the world as being God's chosen people.
Has anyone tried to search for Palestine on Google Earth? It doen't seem to exist! Israel does though!
bravo, gilad, a very well written piece as always, please continue to speak out the truth even if the sound of truth hurts the ears of the willfully deaf poeple.
@Mary Rizzo -
Hi, Mary
Well, as you probably saw for yourself, Vittorio Arrigoni never appeared on Annozero, which was a huge disappointment for us all, and obviously for Vik himself more than anyone. To add insult to injury, he'd been asked to provide Rai with some footage from Gaza, which he duly did, using up an entire afternoon during which he could have been doing urgent humanitarian work. Then, at the last minute, once he had handed over that precious footage (obviously for free!), he was simply told he would no longer appear on air, just like that. Needless to say he has a huge grudge against Annozero now!
And yet, even without Vittorio and his powerful, crude eye-witness accounts, the programme caused a huge sensation anyway. That just goes to show the tragic state of the Italian media.
How are you doing? I'm still keen to help you guys out with the translations, by the way.
Hard? Its very easy. Search Zochrot. Search B'tselem, Search "Hagada Hasmalit". Search Gideon Spiro, Gideon Levy, And Amira Has's assays in Ha'aretz. Search Haim Bar'am.
Plenty of self-critic. Don't worry. Only most of it is in Hebrew…
@Noa - For me there's a big difference between Gilad Atzmon and the soft jewnazi scribblers you've mentioned…
@3bancan -
May I understand, that unless Jewish existance wouldn't given any legitimacy, as Atzmon does (read his others articles please), you won't be satisfied?
@Noa - I don't have the slightest idea what "Jewish existance" (sic!!!) is.
As to other Atzmon's articles: I've read them all - and I agree with him nearly completely…
@3bancan -
It's now official - there is no actual shortage of Holocaust survivors.
'The Israeli Prime Minister's office recently put the number of "living Holocaust survivors" at nearly a million' (extract from The Holocaust Industry by Norman G. Finkelstein of the City University of New York, published by Verso, London and New York, 2000, p.83).
I've checked out Churchill's Second World War and the statement is quite correct - not a single mention of Nazi 'gas chambers,' a 'genocide' of the Jews, or of 'six million' Jewish victims of the war.
Eisenhower's Crusade in Europe is a book of 559 pages; the six volumes of Churchill's Second World War total 4,448 pages; and De Gaulle's three-volume Mémoires de guerre is 2,054 pages.
In this mass of writing, which altogether totals 7,061 pages (not including the introductory parts), published from 1948 to 1959, one will find no mention either of Nazi 'gas chambers,' a 'genocide' of the Jews, or of 'six million' Jewish victims of the war.
I republished this conscience and thought-provoking article in both languages here:
http://bekirlyildirim.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/calinti-topraklar-uzerinde-uzatmalari-oynamak/
Hope there is no copy-right violation objection
Keep up the good work noble man! The real medal is worn inside the heart.
Tonight I had the honer to meet Gilad in Berkely , California
I was impressed with his entertaining smooth music , but further most with his progressive political views concerning the Palestinian Israeli conflict .Gilad is a man not defined or restricted by his ethnicity ,nationality or religious affiliation ,but rather by humanity ; being a member of human race.
He sees the scene in Palestine/Israel as its : a savage mighty inhuman military crushing without mercy a defenseless civilian population supported by miss guiding propaganda . I was amazed to see an Israeli Jewish artist sees the picture without a prejudice or bias . I greatly appreciate this wonderful man and I wish him progress and prosperity .
Please watch my experience as a victim of Israel's ethnic cleansing policy , click the following link :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BinNhxrfmN4
"Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist. Not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushua in the place of Tal al-Shuman. There is not a single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population." ~ David Ben Gurion quoted in The Jewish Paradox, by Nahum Goldmann, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1978, p. 99.
These Zionists rewrite history constantly to their own advantage and this is but one small detail what they do about Palestine and teach their own people. They have been doing this for so many thousands of years it is almost impossible to find the truth. Taking on this task is what they call Revisionist History. And it ain't easy but it is something people are now doing more than ever before.
This rests poorly with these people who want to keep the lies in place, but eventually their millennium of lies will be rewritten. Even now, their foundation wobbles as people dig into the more recent atrocities they hide. Did you know that here in Canada, there is to be a huge exhibit at the ROM ~ ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM ~ from September through until Spring. In it they will be showing off Israel's rich archeological heritage. And guess what? It is all STOLEN Palestinian work! They even have to steal another culture's history.
ISRAEL STEALS PALESTINIAN HERITAGE AND HISTORY
http://snippits-and-slappits.blogspot.com/2009/05/israel-steals-palestinian-heritage.html
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