Ahmadinejad, time for a change of tactics?
By Mary Rizzo • Apr 21st, 2009 at 17:00 • Category: Analysis, Israel, Mary's Choice, Newswire, Opinions and Letters, Palestine, Religion, Resistance, War, Zionism
WRITTEN BY MARY RIZZO Every time I see Ahmadinejad go to speak at a forum, I start to put my hands in my hair. It is not that I disagree with the man, it’s simply that I can’t figure out why he has still not yet learned how the game works at least where the majority of the world's power structure is located. It is enough for him to be announced as a visitor, be it at Columbia University, the UN General Assembly or an international forum on racism, and all the players line up to go through the motions. While his commentary is generally reasonable, (if one does not mind an ample smattering of religious sentiment within a political discourse, something that I don’t personally find agreeable, although that puts me in the vast minority in the world), almost always factual, citing incidents that are on the public record and common knowledge, it is my opinion (and I hope to stand corrected) that not a single word he has ever said has changed anything for a single Palestinian victim of Zionist ideology. I hate to say it, if anything, the appearance of President Ahmadinejad has provided on a silver platter a new, smashing opportunity for his many opponents to vociferously condemn him, while being able to fit their own discourse in the available news spaces without any possibility for the majority of the general public to be truly informed about what actually was said and done. Israel becomes once again the poor, beleaguered victim of “attacks” and the entire “international community” reinforces their steel-like bond to her. It becomes a “cultural clash” when not simply a circus.
Just like clockwork.
I begin to wonder if Ahmadinejad understands that his role starts to look awfully much like one of the agent provocateur. I wouldn’t say that he does it intentionally, but it is almost diabolical the way it works every time in the same way, and the question always pops up of who gets the most out of the intervention, seeing that it can only get strong reactions, given the subject matter and the nation the speaker comes from. It might bring him a standing ovation in his own country, which easily identifies with the Palestinian plight, even in a large part of the Muslim world or the Middle East, where this discourse reflects the street and the mass sentiment. It might serve to be a rallying cry to some kind of unity, but in places where the world power lies, which can be classified for easy reference as “The West”, it only seems to backfire according to our rules.
Is it true that the opinion of those outside The West is meaningless? Of course not. Many nations get invited to speak at these forums, and for those with the wherewithal, Brazil, Senegal, Tunisia, Mexico and other nations got to present their speakers to the dozen or so persons who remained after “the prime time show” ended. And what was it, if not theatre, with its Act I, (important nations boycotting given the advance notification that Zionism as an ideology would be considered as racism, just as it was in Durban I), Act II, (important nations storming out during the soliloquy of the lead actor), Act III (important mass media condemning the entire affair). That Brazil, Tunisia and Mexico are every bit as vital to world peace as Iran is something that the “international community” is not ready to even contemplate, but it is the brand of racism that will be denounced by them that just doesn’t generate much interest. In fact, it would be advantageous for the (largely White) power to keep on ignoring the cries coming from the South. These denouncements might look like border police shooting economic refugees at the Rio Grande or the indigenous people of the Amazon being shuttled into labour camps while industry takes over the habitat. Therefore, it’s a racism that “we” just accept as part of the system, a price that economic development and affluence call upon the poor (who happen to often be non-white) to pay. There would be a lot of nodding at some of the information presented, hand-wringing and determination to “bring change”, but when you are in an empty theatre, shouting “FIRE!” isn’t going to cause a stampede. You need a full house to see some adrenaline and movement.
There was going to be a packed house in Geneva for the speech by Iran’s president, and it was also premeditated to heckle it with clown costumes and cameras aimed at vacant delegations. And, I think this too was part of the set design for Maximum Western Effect. When I throw a dinner party, those who decline the invitation don’t get their seat held for them, especially when there is standing room only! Given the precedent and the pre-Forum declarations of love towards Israel by The West, no one expected The West to tolerate denouncement of its racism against the indigenous people of Palestine either, and if anyone imagined a different reaction to anything Ahmadinejad would say, as long as he sticks to the facts, then I am sad to admit he is dreaming. Everyone at that meeting hates racism, I am sure of it. The problem is that they are Daltonic. As long as the racism is detached from white colonialism and Western Power, no one cares. They can always simply not attend the session, it’s far less dramatic than walking out, where every television station will run that reel to set an image in.
What image was projected? As Gilad Atzmon rightfully states, the image of a deaf, sheepish and prejudiced West, self-righteous and incapable of participating in debate much less understanding the terminology that is going to be used. However, are many people able to see this? I wonder if it is possible that Ahmadinejad himself can’t see that this is what would happen, that his intervention would be twisted into yet another condemnation of his person, alienation of his country and something I consider far worse, hijacking yet again of the Palestinian cause. That he feels for them, I do not doubt for a moment, but allowing Israel to have its victim moment when instead it should be put on trial, just turns the game on its head.
Perhaps this is the problem. Israel is not on trial. It never has been, and it may never be. It is a dream for all who seek justice. “I trust in the law” is what everyone tries to say when it’s clear that they can’t take justice in their own hands. But in the case of Israel, there will be a million complaints filed, but the court clerk doesn’t even protocol them. Ahmadinejad treats these forums as if he is presenting a case. These are not venues for that. They are showcases for Western predominance, because it’s the Western Media busy working to carry the message out.
The Muslim listener will hear many things he or she agrees with at every level, it will probably not galvanise them to action, but it makes them feel good for a few moments. Then that moment passes and all that’s left is an aftertaste of Israeli victimhood, so artfully achieved thanks to these forums.
So what should happen? Should we hope that Ahmadinejad just starts to learn the system and act in a way that is far more clever? I think he could have given a different speech, just as effective, without rattling any of the cages. It would have required a sophistication of terminology and abandonment of rhetoric. It may have had less effect in the Muslim world, but until the Muslim world starts to make itself matter and be heard, anything said will simply be used and abused by the media we are stuck with in The West, which is born to serve The Power.
The alternative is to create our own media and empower it, hoping that the message can get out without the Zionist filter to pollute it, caught unprepared and off-guard, because it is a language they are not trained to counter. This is what we try to do day after day, certainly not succeeding in liberating Palestine, but then again, not being ignored either. I think about how the President of Turkey quoted (among two others) Gilad Atzmon, on the stage of the World Economic Forum. What was the most important was that it was said to the Israeli President, who could only turn red as a response, without the filter of servant mass media or clowns bouncing around. Where did those words that slapped Peres on the face come from? From our media, our creation, our group of writers and readers. Somehow, our views ARE getting out there, a finger in the eye to Zionist power. TO the Zionist power, where it scoffs at the nakedness of the Emperor.
At least that is something. Let’s build on it. It might be our only chance to make some change happen.
Mary Rizzo is an art restorer, translator and writer living in Italy. Editor and co-founder of Palestine Think Tank, co-founder of Tlaxcala translations collective. Her personal blog is Peacepalestine.
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AMEN.
Mary, no need to change technique
Please watch this BBC from around 27:12
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00k3nwx/Newsnight_20_04_2009/
Yes, Ahmadinejad could have been more clever and sophisticated. I would have liked to have seen him make a direct reference to the long-standing European policy of criminally prosecuting dissident writers who have doubts abut execution gassings in Auschwitz. Most recently Bishop Richard Williamson has been threatened with prosecution in Germany. There is a scientist in jail in Germany for asking too many questions about the chemistry of the gassings.
One must also ask, how sophisticated and clever is it for the Zionists to parade their arrogance at Ahmadinejad when the blood of the innocent in Gaza still soaks the earth? The entire European agenda is hostage to Zionist megalomania to such an extent that the recent slaughter of 1400 Palestinian people, including police recruits and some 400 children, earns diplomatic cover in Geneva, rather than outrage and protest from western diplomats at the UN conference.
The Talmudic depiction of Judaics as having nefesh (soul) superior to non-Judaics can be tested empirically: in the West no amount of Israeli mass murder can stigmatize the Israelis with the Mark of Cain. They always emerge from slaughtering Arabs wrapped in the striped uniforms of Auschwitz victimhood.
This surreal situation is far more primitive and retrograde than anything the President of Iran represents with his unpolished, but truthful declarations.
Michael Hoffman
USA
Mary thanks, could not agree more. The image does bluer the message. Israel was the clear winner without even being there. The Israeli Occupation was overlooked while the Holocaust was so ever present. Never understood why there is such an issue from “our side” on the Holocaust? Who in their right mind could deny such a thing happened? It is a fact and the archives are full of documentaries, whether the number is 6 millions or 3,998,354, it makes no difference to the core issue of the existence of such genocide. No one should ever deny the Jews their sad and painful history. Such denial diminishes our own sad and tragic history of exile. Of course the West is so ever hypocrite and it simply refuses to accept the ugly face of the Israeli Occupation even if the message was delivered by Catherine Deneuve, Sofia Loren or Tom Cruise. There is something sheepish about the West facing more than 42 years of Israeli/Jewish Occupation and more than 62 years of Palestinian exile. There is that ever present intimidation and fear of Anti-Semitic accusations. The only thing we want from the West is to have the courage and criticize this occupation that lasted too long even if the occupiers happens to be Israelis and Jewish. Jews and Arabs should not be beyond criticism simply because they are Arabs and Jews. Frankly speaking I think it is best for Ahmadinejad to stay out of the world scene. However why would the West accept a Jewish Lieberman but not Muslim Ahmadinejad?
Thanks Sami,
I am always depressed when I see more opportunities missed, more lies being plugged and less and less space given to the real issues, diverted into Jewish suffering and victimhood, which is the Western priority because it does not threaten their own interests (economic or geopolitical). Why does Palestine need to have a spokesman in someone who is just there to bring more "sympathy" to Israel? They might appreciate his thoughts and efforts, but it never works! What is needed (in my view) is vast and extensive and forceful joint efforts of everyone to stay focused on the Nakba, on Palestine, on the recent and not so recent atrocities that have not had much attention or sympathy. To demand equal time. To demand that they are sitting at the same level as any other foreign dignitary.
If i were the Brazilian delegate, for instance, I would have been furious with the folks who walked out and stayed out. These things are not pointed out in the Western (or Muslim?) media. Just the whole drama that was scripted before it was even started. Sad and depressing.
"Perhaps this is the problem. Israel is not on trial. It never has been, and it may never be. It is a dream for all who seek justice. “I trust in the law” is what everyone tries to say when it’s clear that they can’t take justice in their own hands. But in the case of Israel, there will be a million complaints filed, but the court clerk doesn’t even protocol them. Ahmadinejad treats these forums as if he is presenting a case. These are not venues for that. They are showcases for Western predominance, because it’s the Western Media busy working to carry the message out."
I agree Mary that the reaction was expected and that his rhetoric was the same. I guess considering the president’s background he is revolutionary by nature that is not an excuse just an insight about why his speeches have the same presentation. I read through the whole speech and he said some very sophisticated concepts that I know the media in the West will always ignore much less even know he said them. I guess he should start with those and end up with Palestine or any other injustice.
One thing, even though I always speak of annoyance why the West supports “Israel” I doubt the change in Palestine will come from their end.
I disagree with Mary..
Rattling the zionist's cage can cause them to react in ways which expose them even further..
Before the reaction of the EU,US,UK,and other govts to either walk out or boycott the conference,
did everyone realize the extent of the unity of these govts with zionism?
Maybe people had a clue,watching their govts react to Israel's crimes in Gaza,
but now they know just how strong the Israel Lobbies are in the West….
Sure the Israel Lobbies will spin this walkout as a reasonable response to a madman..
its our job to educate them to the truth..
I will also be looking at the response of the govts of Egypt,and the rest of the Arab world..
The lines of demarcation are drawn by this speech..
this can be a good thing..
an article found in my inbox
Israel's publicity campaign at Durban II-
not really boycotting after all
http://www.muzzlewatch.com
Turns out Israel is here in full force at Durban II. Earlier today I told you about the range of Israeli-government-narrative-only events being held in UN buildings, while Palestinian NGOs have been banned from holding side-events. (The transparent excuse is that the side-events can not be region specific, only issue specific. The real story is the UN simply folded to pressure.)
As one respondent told me, the UN Human Rights Commissioner is still reeling because she folded on all of the US demands to essentially cleanse the Palestinian narrative from the conference, and still the US and others pulled out. Of course, the UN can't say no to any leader of state who wants to speak. I'll post more later about the disaster that was Ahmadinejad's speech, which, it can be said with certainty, put the issue of Israel and the US back into the center of the conference. In fact, his speech made the scarily well-run Israeli government/pro-occupation NGO propaganda campaign almost unnecessary.
Haaretz explains:
Israel, which had said it would boycott the event from the outset, announced it would launch a publicity campaign while it is going on. Israel is particularly concerned with the planned address by Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and said it will organize demonstrations during the speech, and will distribute materials on human rights violations in Iran – with particular emphasis on public executions and violence against women.
The campaign will be overseen by Israel Ambassador to Geneva Ronnie Lashno-Yaar. He will be assisted by Nobel Prize laureate Elie Weisel, U.S. law Prof. Alan Dershowitz and film actor Jon Voight. A special media room will also be set up in Geneva, to provide immediate responses to anti-Israeli statements.
A special delegation of 14 Israeli students will also be taking part. All the students speak foreign languages and have undergone extensive training by the Foreign Ministry and the World Jewish Congress.
And in more unintentional hilarity:
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman issued a statement yesterday, saying "an international conference in which a racist like Ahmadinejad, who preaches daily about Israel's destruction, is allowed to speak, says all that needs to be said about its character and purpose."
Ahmadinejad, as I've said, is perhaps the last person anyone would want to see as a speaker at a conference against racism and discrimination. But equally, it needs to be said, what does it say about the Israel government's (or more accurately Netanyahu's) "character and purpose" that they have allowed a reviled racist like Avigdor Lieberman not just to speak, but to become foreign minister?
@realistic bird –
I just wrote a long reply to you, dear, but it got swallowed up in a computer disfunction. will try to briefly summarise what I said:
That the content of the speech was fine, I am not contesting at all. I never considered the content unsophisticated, but inappropriate for the venue, when it is not a true setting for discourse, there is generally a prepared campaign to divert all the attention to Israel and true to form (in my country at least) there is a bear hug of monstrous proportions going out to Israel. Did anyone expect anything different? I don't believe so. I am sure that those like us who see his content as normal, could agree to it and not understand the scandal, but the mere fact that he played out the precise same scenario that in the past has given him the demonisation that is not doing the cause any good is indication that there is something that is not working.
Agreed that change can't come from the West, but on the other hand, delisting can, support of resistance can, and condemnation of war crimes can as well. What is done with it depends very much on what is said and done in the West, and if the game is run with rules that consider sane ideas revolutionary ones, being warped to just drive the point home, it's going to take too long! You do very well what you can, inform and educate, and you also inject things that are important to you, such as your personal faith and your very caring personality. I believe that this is a powerful tool. I want EVERY activist and supporter of the just causes to do like you do. It's the only way. We have to fight the mass media with truth but we can't pretend the mass media has no influence and we NEED to learn how to combat the hasbarists.
There isn't going to be all the time in the world for it, so we have to mobilise. I am just as angry and hurt as I was during the Gaza War. WHAT?! LOOK WHAT IS HAPPENING, and we in Italy see Sderot! This is the mechanism!
I don't know how the President could have done it, but he might have started by reading off the Israeli statements that are racist, and saying that this is wrong, or the laws that they have and say they are discriminatory. Who could have argued with that? Talking in an abstract way about the foundation of Israel is not going to get progress. I know folks who don't even know WHO is occupying whom in Palestine. They think it's the other way around. There has been a lot of bad information and simple explanation might be just as effective as discourse on the origins of the foundation of Israel.
Until there is a trial, we have to not give them the chance to win. They say he is "attacking Israel"!! these are the words used in my country. So, there will be support for Israel and retaliation. Gilad and I have been arguing for 2 days on this issue, he sees it all as a major success. I see it as another hasbara victory. I am tired of hasbara victories. We have the arguments, we have to learn how to turn the attention onto us.
I also feel it is shameful that no Palestinian representative speaks for themselves, or even an Arab one for the cause. These things can't be delegated away.
@Gilad –
Too bad. It's only for UK people. maybe sooner or later a transcript will pop up. This is their message.
Currently BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only, but all BBC iPlayer Radio programmes are available to you.
@hlmeankin –
this is basically the argument of Gilad, actually. But I believe everyone knew where the players all stood before they walked out. I blame the media, and see the only solution being to outwit it.
I entirely agree that how the Muslim and Arab world reacts is important. I still haven't read the Palestinian reactions.. I have to find out. I know they are out there, but today am behind in my work! If anyone has a handy link, please share!
@Mary Rizzo – work? oh yeah, oops. they fried this guy before he even opened his mouth. it doesn't matter what he said, they discredited him in MSM using past conjecture and mistranslations. thanks to PTT for setting the record straight about what he really said.
thanks asiswhen!
Here is an article I have set aside to read once again. I think it's got a lot of good things to say about communication:
http://www.anxietyculture.com/stupidise.htm
Yes I agree he wasn’t able to break the continuous reaction to all his speeches and demonization not only of Iran but his person in particular. There is a huge need to get around the media bias or at least let the truth pass through the entire propaganda by the Israelis and their allies. I know that Al Jazeera TV, Press TV, and the blogs are doing an important part but honestly I have had hundreds of discussions with people who support “Israel” yet when you show them the truth they stubbornly stick to their opinion. Some will never change their minds. The information about crimes in Gaza and the international human rights agencies that showed Israelis committed war crimes still didn’t get through to some. The people who went to the streets calling for the end of the war where are they now? The real problem from some of us is the spike we have during wars and then after even though the occupation stands it plummets. There isn’t a huge effort by many with regard to the siege for example; it needs to be broken not only by getting ships or trucks to Gaza but the complete end of it.
The Israelis have succeeded to dehumanize the Palestinian; I feel that when some people in the West see one die they don’t react rather when they see an Israeli cry they cry with him/her. The Palestinians are blamed for their own plight. The issue of Palestine should always be taken as a whole with all the history and not a section of it so yes the president had the idea right but could have executed it a better way, your idea is very good about the quotation oddly I don’t remember many politicians actually doing this.
Akh don’t get me started on Arab regimes my blood boils at their mention, they don’t care, they oppose anyone who wants to do anything to help the Palestinians. Around here we work around them, they are hopeless.
Do you think if we put a message on the president’s blog he would take it into account?
Thanks Mary
Agreed. We need to focus on Nakba, right of return just like the Zionists insists on right of return and |birth right Israel". We also need to focus on the Occupation that lasted over 42 years. It is too bad that both Ramallah and Gaza do not focus on this issue and are lost and drowned in their own cup of tea. We must not be intimidated ever by Zionists and let us not get intimidated by the Holocaust either. The Palestinian and Arab League delegates were a disgrace.
Mary I think the man knows exactly what he is doing.
When he finished that speech he looked like the cat who had licked the cream..
Mind you i am biased i guess……
I think the man makes alot of sense,
Unfortuanately our beloved Palestine is caught up in a much bigger game…
Which does not help its cuase….sigh
@sami jamil jadallah – 2009 – 1948 = 61 and not 42
Hi Mary – I had a good think before I replied. Our 'leaders' need an ogre and Iran and its 'leaders' fit the bill. As we have no control on what they all say, the most we can do is pick up on their big mistakes. So when they go ballistic about a perfectly reasonable critique of Zionism and its allies it is right to draw attention to the words actually used and ask the right questions. The increasingly hysterical response to the speech shows that they feel that they are losing their grip and in this they are right. For a long time we have beaten on the doors in vain, but more and more you hear voices raised against the Zionist agenda. We have been picketing local supermarkets calling for a boycott of Israeli goods and I have been pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction we have received. I don't think we should worry too much when they whip up a fake storm and try to divert us onto their ground. The strength of our argument is in its truth and we just have to keep going without being entangled in the power games played in the old time honoured fashion by the usual players.
Mary,
I agree with you regarding Ahmadinejad. No matter the validity of what he says, everyone of his appearances have their ritualized features, none of which has produced, as you note, any benefit for the Palestinian cause. Quite the opposite, in fact. Moreover his appearance at Durban clearly had the effect of overshadowing the conference itself and has made it that much more difficult for pro-Palestinian delegates to do what needs to be done there. On quite another important front, he has afforded more ammunition to the Zionist warmongers in Israel and the US who are champing at the bit to attack Iran. Frankly, I find Ahamdinejad as detrimental to the cause of justice in the region as was the late unlamented Yasser Arafat. Israel couldn't have produced more perfect adversaries for their propaganda needs if they tried.
@Jeff Blankfort –
Wow! nice to see you here Jeff, and thanks very much for appreciating my view. As I've been arguing on the Xymphora blog, what it boils down to is how useful it is or how much it sets back work. A friend of mine once told me, "It's not what they say to you, it's how you react", and the reactions in this incident have been more interesting than what has been said (Ahmadinejad didn't add anything to the dialogue, and in fact, as you admit, it makes the work for all of us harder). We can agree with the content, but the ritualised elements – good call there! – get in the way and just give many gifts to Israel.
And… does his work help the Palestinians? I don't think so, at least, haven't seen it yet.
Today in the coffeeshop downstairs I overheard someone talking and he said, "I'm glad that we (Italy) didn't go to that conference. It was terrible the way that Arab (sic) was saying the Holocaust didn't happen!" People believe so many lies that way, and the biggest one is that Ahmadinejad is an Arab and some might even think he's Palestinian, if they can remember back that far to a few months ago when they got 5 minutes of space on the tv!
take care of yourself!!
[...] source [...]
If it wasn't Ahmadinejad then they would have found some other ogre. The point is that we cannot control the lies they choose to promote. Obviously Ahmadinejad is no hero and has his own agenda but when they make such a theatrical mess in concocting falsehoods then it helps us to show how they lie. Of course people are taken in by lies when they are repeated time and time again but our job is to expose the lies and this is one occasion in which they have made it dead easy for us. All you have to say is 'read the actual words spoken rather than the words put in his mouth' then ask why is it necessary for them to lie in this way and how come this 'spontaneous' protest was so well co-ordinated and who made the decisions. This pantomime is a gift to us.
@Richard Jones –
of course they use everything as an opportunity, of course he is the ogre of choice today, but then one day there will be a different ogre. I never expected anyone to address his real discourse, nor did most people, and in fact, that hadn't taken place because it couldn't.
Are we any wiser? Nope.
Did Israel get all kinds of press time and sympathy? OH yes. This is what I personally cannot stomach. So much so, one of the "radicals", a formerly very progressive political party that still has the audacity to use Gandhi as their symbol (and a peace sign) last night on a talk show about bodily testaments for ending life support systems – a hot issue in italy – was wearing a yellow star of David. No one asked him to take it off. Would there EVER be anyone who doubts that Israel is a victim somewhere, while they are listening to a discourse about another issue?
I am sorry, but I can agree with what the person says, and still believe he is not in any way going to change the fate for the Palestinians because I think the tactics are inappropriate.
For those reading… these are personal views and not diktats.
I agree with Richard Jones, when he says: "If it wasn't Ahmadinejad then they would have found some other ogre. The point is that we cannot control the lies they choose to promote."
That's the key. Ahmadinejad didn't decide to make his speech, more specifically the excerpts shown from his speeach + hostile commentary – the no. 1 news items on western TV. Others did that. In such circumstances, what's his choice? Just stay away and shut up?
I also find I disagree with some of President Ahmadinejad's remarks. But so what? How likely is it that I, a westerner living far away, will agree with 100% of the views of a man from a different culture and a very different role?
The key issue, it seems to me, is solidarity. The writings of Israel Shamir, perhaps more than anyone else, pointed me to the crucial importance of solidarity in the context of the struggle for Palestine and against Zionism.
Together, all the different potential friends and allies of palestine are overwhelmingly numerous. The great success of Zionists has been to keep us apart, lost in the feeling that our mutual differences are so great we can't/won't unite in common cause. Meanwhile, Israel has gone, in stages, from bad to worse. The urgency of the need for solidarity to oppose it grows every day.
If we focus on solidarity, our diversity becomes our strength. What a powerful movement. We have supporters everyhwhere! We're the many, not the few. (Zionists, incidentally, have a wide diversity of views on issues such as homosexuality, but don't seem to let that distract them from unitng in their primary common cause – support for Israel).
The mass media, of course, plays a crucial role in broadcasting a distorted world view and biased spin. We have to do something about that, on many fronts. This website is one excellent part of that effort; well done Mary and others who've made it happen. But more – not less – inclusiveness and solidarity should be our general goal, I think. Letting a thousand flowers bloom is an approach to controlling an invasive weed that's much more likely to succeed than monoculture. And while it's important to critique our respective contributions, we should be wary of descending into recrimination.
We need to keep our eyes on the prize: a free and fair Palestine in a free and fair world. Ahmadinejad, on my analysis, also supports that goal. Above all, therefore, he's my ally. We may well have different views on many issues; it would be surprising if that wasn't so. But I won't help Zionists use those distractions to keep the focus off ending Apartheid in Palestine.
@Syd Walker –
Hi Syd (I really like your site by the way and have posted something by you up here by way of Peter Meyers).
I think you are making quite a lot of very good points, and fundamentally, I am in agreement with you. That we have managed to be divided is the truth, but I ask if it is possible to remain united when the questions are interwoven with other issues. For instance, the Iraqis I know see Iran as a very strong divisional factor and part of an aggression against them. They see the words at the speech, especially the part against the war in Iraq as tragic irony that was not sincere. I can't argue with them, I am not a victim, but I must accept their criticism.
The thing is, we are always able to make choices… could Ahm have stayed at home? It would have certainly kept Israel loving off the TV in my country, where it has set things back considerably. Did you know that now, during the pre-EU elections, one of the parties (a secular one!) has its members wearing the yellow Star of David? Today in my country is the day we celebrate Partisans who liberated our country from Nazis and Fascists…. (not the US coming to save us, but OUR RESISTANCE!!!) and what are the specials on tv??? You guessed it, things about the Holocaust. This was emergency rescue operation, because this is how things work.
so yes, there were choices that could have been made, and I regret things went as they did, truly. It also caused considerable fighting within our camp, (our real camp, not the pretenders who, Syd… I have to expose), which was very unpleasant.
I still believe the action needed is to create and empower our media. You are doing it, many who are here have sites and blogs and comment and are out on the streets with more than a slogan, but with arguments… this is our weapon we can use to resist. Those like Bassem who are dying to defend their own land need us to get their message out where the mainstream is lacking. We have to dominate the discourse, not be forced into reacting. I believe we now have the struggle pushed back some, and this is what Israel wants. Ahmadinejad must know it or else he doesn't care…. It depresses me.
@ Mary Rizzo
Hi Mary and thanks for your nice comments. For what it's worth, to me from the outside this website – Palestine Think Tank – looks a model for principled inclusiveness . So you are helping disprove your own gloominess.
I think you should cheer up. Maybe you need a holiday from Zionists? (Don't we all!
)
@Syd Walker –
Thanks Syd! But where can one get a holiday like that?
[...] Rizzo, questions Ahmadinejad's tactics in giving such as speech, because it appears he is either not concerned or does not recognize the [...]
USA has invited Iran to Irak and Iran is playing a very dirty role there. The best way to avoyd critisism of this is to let Ahmadinejad tell the truth about Zionism. This is the most effective way of rule and devide among supporters of the irakian och palestinian people. This weekend I had the privilege to discuss this issue with spokesmen for the Iraki resistance. They are very careful and handle this issue with great diplomacy, but my impression is that we are looking at a teatre, whitch even may include an israeli strike on Iran.
We may agree on what A is saying, but when we ask Qui Bono, we must conclude that it is not the irakian and the palestinian people. Just bad luck?
Lasse Wilhelmson
@lasse wilhelmson –
My sentiments exactly, dear Lasse…
It's sad that many of us are divided on how a message against Zionism is coming out (and that we all want it to come out so much is not the question, we do and that is what we struggle for)…. but the qui bono question is the first that should arise when we know we live in a world of psyops, black ops and media warfare. I keep looking where I live and believe me, it has made our education work so much more difficult, never mind trying to get the EU to dump Israel in their list of favourite sons. That battle has just become so much harder.
You are right, to look like they criticise him (even for what he didn't say, but who's checking) for something makes people look elsewhere. Have you written a paper on this Lasse? I would love to read (and publish) it.
I met with the same 4 people that Lasse met with. One of them, Raad Nassir Al-Adhami of "Loyalty to Iraq", was adamant that neither Israel nor USA would ever attack Iran. I really made him clarify this, because I was not of the same opinion. My thinking were more in line with my friend Lasse:s. Al-Adhami may of course be plain wrong, but I think in fairness I should point out his opinion in this regard, expressed in the context where Lasse got the above.
Best, Leif Erlingsson
@Leif Erlingsson –
Hi Leif,
do you know Einar Shlereth? He translates for Iraq Solidarity (into a few languages, maybe even swedish). I don't know if it's linked to Iraq Loyalty, but it might be.
I have gotten many many letters and phonecalls from Iraqi friends and people in Iraqi solidarity telling me this same thing. Uruknet has published a lot on this aspect of it.
I hate to see the Arab unity get threatened like this over something we all agree on… that Israel is racist and must be stopped. We need to support all resistance.
Yesterday was our day to celebrate Italy's resistance, but we are more slaves now than ever before, but the fact that we can't say it openly is the worst slavery of them all.
thanks for dropping by and please come back again!
Mary and all others,
There is a lot of bewilderness in the solidariy camp because of this, and among people on the whole. And to bee honest, are we really that naive, so to think that the busches, the obamaies, the ahmadinejadies, and the putines are the persons that roule the world? I think it is the people that control the money, and for them there is no mothercountry, or to be more exact, any and all countries are potential nets for their eggs to be placed in. Like a koko
Btw, you may be cetrtain that all the representatives of the western countries that left the meeting i Geneva, made it up beforehand, and that they know very well that Israel is a rasist apartheid entity. It´s just teatre.
Those who see will live
Lasse
@Mary Rizzo: Yes, I'm in email contact with Einar Schlereth since a few years. He's been around long enough to know how corrupt things are, and to not be afraid to say so.
@Lasse Wilhelmson: Just for the record, I 'minted' the expression 'Those who see will live' in Swedish in 2007-08-16. But Lasse Wilhelmson provided a lot of the inspiration to this with a short text that he read on a meeting 2006-05-29, to former Swedish ambassador Sverker Åström, titled in translation "Is the world upside down?". (Yes, it is.)
@Leif Erlingsson –
Einar's a real role model for me! Very talented and wise.
did you know in Italy we say "chi vivrà vedrà" (he who lives will see), so your twist on it is very nice!
@Mary Rizzo – Yes, in Sweden also. But you see, since the world is backwards, I figured I had to turn it around…
@ Mary. Follow Sid's advice: Do take a holiday from Zionists. His was the most rational statement I have ever read on this blog. I hope you will consider it for your own mental health. It is depressing obssessing like that about "zionists". Have a pedicure. Go the hairdresser. Have sex.
I like you down and depressed. You are almost normal! There is life outside of Palestianism, you know.
A flash of reality just hit you my dear. NOBODY CARES ! I enjoyed your post and oddly enough I totally agree with you! How about that?
Well, I didn't expect my light-hearted remark to attract support. For the record, I think Mary and Palestine Think Tank team do a marvellous job, and while I'm sure Mary deserves a good holiday (plenty of empty beaches in Australia), the world need you too!
I am surprised by some of the comments to this post. I'm something a libertarian at heart, and find it hard to get too enthusiastic about most governments. I'm sure if I had direct experience of Iran I'd find fault with plenty that goes on there. But I'd make a couple of points in that context…
1/ I'm distrustful of the western media's portrayal of Iran and take much of what I'm told via the mass media with a pinch of salt. These people are capable of lying about 9-11, WMDs etc; telling a few porkies about human rights in Iran wouldn't be beyond them.
2/ I do know as a plain historical fact that over a period of time such as the last decade or the last century, the record of Iran compares favourably with the record of Britain/the USA/Israel. Iran does not have scores of overseas military bases. Iran does not invade other coutnries. etc etc
Solidarity is the key. If we obsess about the purity of ionism's opponents, the anti-Zionist movement has no solidarity. That is exactly what Zionists want – and they've been able to count on gross disunity among their opponents for as long time. We need to deprive them of this unecessary advantage.
On the topic of Zionism, Ahmadinejad’s speech to the UN Conference was light years ahead of anything that came out of western countries. The rest, IMO, is nuance.
@Syd Walker –
Thanks Syd! I really love your comments and the way you think. But don't be surprised at how people interact here. Well, I have gotten used to people using this space (or any of my comments spaces) to put me down, which is easier than putting down the Palestinian cause, which might really be what they mean. Then they ask, "Are you brave enough to print this!" kind of thing. Personally, I don't care what they say. If they come here to talk about Bhutan and the Congo… what really can I say?! They have to go to Bhutan Think Tank and 23 skidoo.
I agree with you on all that you say: that there are just so many horrible things to say about Israel, the list is practically endless, and if one person alone decided to do it, then that says a lot about how leaders consider their role. I too don't trust the media, and this is why I think he could have read off the phone book of Geneva, and they would have shouted that he was an antisemite. That's just his role. Also agree that it's ridiculous to compare Iran to an occupying nation, although friends of mine in Iraq have a lot of negative things to say about Iran, and I tend to trust them too. Yet, if Iran is doing this, they are getting a hand by the Coalition of the Willing.
To be completely honest, I totally agree with you that our "movement" has NO solidarity! In fact, there are separate movements in the West… many of them with very different viewpoints and actually… very different goals!!!
Read this excerpt of an interview I published here: http://palestinethinktank.com/2008/08/24/cherif-ismail-interviews-mary-rizzo/
Cherif: We, all the Arabs, have read lots of English and French blogs about the Arab-Israeli case which shows the Israeli injustice against the Palestinians, are these blogs considered as a realistic expression of the real feelings of the European peoples or are these blogs just a sympathy?
Mary: That is a very good question, and I hope my answer won’t sound evasive! There are a lot of ways to present the Palestinian-Israeli case, and I think that the solidarity movements run the gamut from those who endorse a generic peace to those who support all forms of resistance, even those ones that might be labeled as radical. All of them “want” to see something good happen, this “peace” we all yearn for, but some of them probably do not have sources that are interested or willing to seriously question why there is such a level of violence, and depend on stereotypical responses to this question.
Another scenario is if someone sees so many atrocities, rights violations and out and out lies, when looking for material to publish, the editor (and I fall into this myself much more often than I like, generally for restrictions I share with many others, on how much time a person can dedicate in this “unpaid journalism work”) might feel there is a saturation in a journalistic sense. It is not out of disinterest, but it simply becomes very difficult to depict the depth and breadth of what is really going on. In this case, we thank heaven that there are others to fill in the blanks, to report what we didn’t report that day. So, in that case, I can only say, the more the better, and every blog or site that dedicates space and energy to achieving justice for Palestinian people is an ally, worthy of my respect and I believe is doing good in the world, spreading justice.
The motivations for running these blogs and sites vary, I suppose, but if the intention is to be a witness, to say, “I care”, then it is not wasted time, and it is doing its part in helping get the information out. I don’t believe anyone, given the emotional costs, (it is not a fashionable cause, and there are a lot of pitfalls, considering the terror many have with the absolutely real danger of being smeared and perhaps paying for this somehow) it leads me to believe that the sincere sites and blogs and activists (and the fake solidarity sites are another category) don’t do it out of an empty pity, but out of true compassion and yearning for justice and, basically, out of love for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, which can’t but inspire someone on many levels.
Regarding the feelings of the European public, this is again, a very complicated matter. I believe they truly do see the atrocities and do not like them, but they aren’t allowed to really talk about the root causes, about what it might mean to stop Israel. On a human level, they are interested, but the mainstream media is not allowing them to really articulate this feeling and turn it into a mass political movement where they actually ask their lawmakers to do something. It is an apathy out of being ignorant of the situation, and obviously, Israel has been successful in promoting European guilt for the atrocities against the Jews, so Europeans maybe even think that Jews deserve a break, or worse, they erroneously believe that Palestinians came in to occupy Jewish land and Jews are the ones seeking justice there. If the hearts of Europeans were able to be free, they would embrace the Palestinian cause. Europe is fundamentally humanist and seeks rule of law.
great article. I believe as well that Ahmadinejad's antics, though they greatly increase his own popularity and therefore his own chances for reelection, they have only made things worse for the palestinians. Like Uri Avnery says, if Ahmadejad didn't exist already. The mosad would had to invent him: http://owlminerva.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/ahmadinejad-and-lieberman-two-hands-on-one-belly/
I don't know what anybody thinks they will gain from the tactic of reminding the israelis how they were almost completely annihilated once.
@sandra – You jewnazis view the world upside down, so it's very easy to follow your "reasoning". What Ahmedinejad SAID was TRUE and what he DID was COMMENDABLE. – Of course you're trying to throw as much mud at him as your brain can come up with – to describe him as a clown, and a very successful one (his "antics (…) greatly increase(d) his own popularity and therefore his own chances for reelection"), ie you portrait him as a BIG DANGER to the illegal immoral state of Israhell and of course the entire jewnazified "West". Of course it is he who has "only made things worse for the palestinians", not you jewnazi thieves, robbers, vandalizers, torturers, murderers and genociders who CONTROL EVERY ASPECT OF THE PALESTINIANS' LIFE EXCEPT THE AIR THEY BREATHE. The old jewnazi Uri Avnery aka King Mendax's blather is just the right icing on the cake.
At the end of course the sine qua non for a jewnazi hasbara agent: the holohoax mantra with a typical jewnazi consummate mendacity: that "the israelis (sic!!!!!!!!) were almost completely annihilated once". Your last sentence is a perfect example of typical jewnazi RHETORICAL THREAT.
Btw, imho the market where you can sell your jewnazi hasbara seems to be shrinking…
@ByTheWay –
you are not even making sense anymore. You are so caught up in your 'hasbara' accussations that you stopped speaking coherently. I think you are blinded by your A. idolatry. A. is the best thing that happened to the Israelis. Now they have legitimate reasons to be paranoid. But then again, I can't expect anything smart coming from you, you seem to take perverse pleasur in alienating the people that are actually on your side. I don't think you care at all about anything that is unrelated to the career of Ahmadejejad. The least of all the palestinians. I don't see them jumping up and down to celebrate A. idiocies.
@sandra – You're a typical jewnazi hasbara agent so it's more than understandable that for you the only truth are the jewnazi BARBARITY, MURDEROUSNESS and MENDACITY. It's you who are the perversity embodied when you come up with your irrational claim that Ahmedinejad is the ultimate reason for the Israhellis' barbarity. It's the same type of jewnazi reasoning that puts all blame for the jewnazi barbarity on the Palestinians. Even if all the Palestinians committed suicide, you'd find the right jewnazi reaction – ie. that they did it out of their irrational hatred for the chosen ones just to make look the poor innocent godly Jews bad.
Btw, had you as a baby been fed milk instead of jewnazism, you'd probably learn to understand what JUSTICE is, the concept absent in jewnazism. But they say it's never to late to learn – just ask Gilad Atzmon how it can be done…
@ByTheWay –
Again, you make no sense whatsoever. Your brain is too clouded with anti-semitical accussations to say anything intelligent. I never said Ahmadijad is responsible for the situation of the Palestinians. Of course not. One can blame the Germans and the Israelis and the British and the US and anybody else that contributed to the creation of Israel in Arab lands. What I said is that he didn't help the cause of the Palestinians at all in that racism conference. All he did is give an already paranoid people even more reason to be paranoid. Again, the israeli hard liners couldn't have wished for a better enemy. Ahmadinejad cares just like everybody else more about his own wellbeing (= re-elections) than the situation of the Palestinians. And you are so full of antisemitical hatred that you actually can't stand it when I call the Jews 'people'. Very nice. You are about the worst thing that can happen for the Palestinians that really are suffering. I am not going to deny that jews are people just so that people like you would be satisfied. I happen to think that both Arabs and Jews are people. Excuse me for such outrageous thoughts. It's people like you and Ahmadinejad that do more damage than anybody else.
@sandra –
By the way I completely agree with the analysis of Rizzo. So why don't you call her a newnazi? Hm?
@sandra – Of course I don't agree with her analysis, but hlmeankin, commenter No. 7, gave her a short and good reply, just of my liking. I'd never have dreamt to read something like this by her. So no wonder that you and a couple of your soul mates (eg. Ruth aka jewnazi ruthlessnes) are here praising her.
As to your previous comment: only mental castrato jewnazi(fied) brains produce that sort of blather…
@ByTheWay,
You are one crazy mother! What the hell are you blathering on about? Get yourself a brain for crying out loud. And improve your vocabulary in the process too. Nazi! Nazi! What is this, A playground taunt? You are a total moron and Palis are in bigger trouble than I though if they have the likes of you as supporters.
And for your information, I was not praising Mary. I think she is a nutcase just like you, but she showed rare signs of sanity with her post on A.
I am a 100% proud zionist and I visit this blog out of curiosity. Call me jewnazi if you like and I will call you a plain mother fucker loser fascist. If you are a moslem, I wil agree to call you an Islamonazi. Is that a deal?
@Ruth – You've forgotten to tell Mary that you are angry with her because she took down the introductory slide which brought you such a great enjoyment of the pinnacle of the jewnazi art of murder and destruction and such an improvement in your sexual life watching it. A 100% mental castrato jewnazi psychopath…
@ByTheWay –
I didn't take it down. Unfortunately, the company that runs it probably figured out it contained pictures of the reality of the atrocities Israelis committed against Palestinians.
@Mary Rizzo –
Mary, I thought you might get a smile out of this light-hearted look at the latest domestic political challenge to President Ahmadinejad.
Hope so, anyway