The Big (Hidden) Agenda
By Mary Rizzo • May 7th, 2009 at 20:41 • Category: Analysis, Hasbara Deconstruction Site, Israel, Newswire, Palestine, Religion, Zionism
A Palestine Think Tank Editorial
We truly think that Jewish tribal politics has absolutely no place within the Palestinian solidarity discourse. Palestinian solidarity is primarily about Palestine rather than prosaic wars against imaginary anti-Semitism.
However, we suggest that if the proponents of Jewish ideology and tribal interests insist upon interfering with Palestinian solidarity activism, they really should invest a lot more effort into hiding their crude agenda.
The following email was passed to us by a member of the BigPlan list, a list of activists that was initially set to deal with the Boycott of Israeli Goods. It is meant for the exchange of information and for cooperation on boycott-relayed activities. It was started by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the majority of members are PSC members. There is at least one sub-group, and it’s called J-Big, (Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods). In an email primarily addressing notorious Jewish ethnic campaigner Tony Greenstein, Vic McIntyre, pretty much an unknown activist from Durham, blantantly describes what should be done in order to Judify the Palestinian solidarity movement.
Read it for yourself
From: vinmcintyre@x xxxxx
To: tonygreenstein@x xxx; debopera.fink@xxx, xxx bigplan@xxxx.org; jews4big@x xxx
Date: Tue, 5 May 2009 14:50:30 +0100
Subject: Re: [BigPlan] Counterpunch: The Israel Boycott is Biting
Dear Tony
Of course you are right about Atzmon and people who think like him. Jewish anti-Zionists are, potentially, crucial to justice for Palestinians. I say "potentially" because the Palestinian lobby has not yet grasped the fact that our main strategic aim should be to remove the equivalence in people's thinking between "Israel" and "Jews" and to force a separation of the two identities…..
Vin McIntyre
Durham PSC (personal capacity)
Except the cheering fact that Mr. McIntyre admits that the Palestinian Lobby (as if there is such a thing) acknowledges the obvious equivalence between Jews and Israel, Mr McIntyre seems to have a set plan for us all. He even plans to “force” us in case we fail to succumb to his bizarre precept.
Considering the fact that Israel is defining itself as the Jewish State and has been since day one, bearing in mind that Israel’s crimes are committed in the name of the Jewish people and taking into account that Israel is supported institutionally by Jews around the world, we approached Vin McIntyre and asked him a few questions. As of this moment, he has acknowledged reception, asked who “we” were and since then we have heard no more from him. Who knows if he is consulting the others (naturally, in a “personal capacity”).
Mr Vin McIntyre,
1. Do you really believe that Palestinian Solidarity Activists’ "main strategic aim" should be “to remove the equivalence in people's thinking” between "Israel" and the "Jews"?
2. How would such a removal serve Palestinians in Gaza?
3. Do you really believe that 'we' should "force" a separation of the two identities on a Palestinian Lobby?
4. Do you really believe in "forcing" ideas?
We also asked Vin McIntyre whether he is Jewish and/or Marxist?
If not, we wondered, why does he think that "forcing" Jewish ideology should serve our "strategic aim"?
We would like to make it clear to Mr. McIntyre and to anyone else who may be foolish enough to promote such an idiotic ideology that enough is enough. Palestinian solidarity is about Palestine. It is about the about people who have been tormented for decades by the Jewish state and in the name of the Jewish people (Atzmon and Greenstein included).
Those who insist that the Main Strategic Aim is making Jews look good may simply join Abe Foxman and his ADL. They know how to promote and to spin, they know how to lie when they need to. In the Palestinian solidarity movement we can afford to tell the truth, it is on our side.
We also have to ask, is the Boycott Israeli Goods organisation aware of the strategic planning that their networkers are engaged in and of how totally out of reality it is? If they are not paying attention to the backroom dealings of their strategists, perhaps it's time to put some order in the campaign and ask it to join the rest of the world in boycotting Israeli goods, where the well-being of Palestinians should be at the top of the agenda and not convincing a non-existent Palestinian Lobby that they have to remove the connection between Israel and Jews. It's time to truly think big, not to think tribal.
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.
Email this author | All posts by Mary Rizzo
[...] Read more here: The Big (Hidden) Agenda [...]
Your website asks contributors to "Please treat others with respect". Perhaps you might think of doing the same.
If you had read my suggestion to the Bigplan list, or indeed if you had not rushed to publish without giving me the chance to answer your questions, you would know that the "people" I was referring to are not the citizens of Israel but the people of Britain who we are trying to convince of the case for justice for Palestinians. I reproduce below the whole of my message. I fail to see how anyone could possibly misunderstand it in the way you have done unless you are simply looking for people to abuse. No, I am not Jewish and I do not belong to any conspiratorial group but I do try to think about the way forward for Palestinian Rights and I do spend most hours on most days working for the Palestinian cause.
Original message
Of course you are right about Atzmon and people who think like him. Jewish anti-Zionists are, potentially, crucial to justice for Palestinians. I say "potentially" because the Palestinian lobby has not yet grasped the fact that our main strategic aim should be to remove the equivalence in people's thinking between "Israel" and "Jews" and to force a separation of the two identities.
If any other country in the world had acted over the last 60 years in the way Israel has done, it would long since have been regarded as a pariah or rogue state. But because of Western guilt over the holocaust and Israel's brilliance in exploiting this, most people who would normally condemn massacres, human rights abuses and foreign occupation only get as far as thinking that these things shouldn't be happening but can't take their thinking further because the word 'Jew' would come into consideration. And, because Jews can't really be criticised, then neither can Israel. From this also comes the notion that any criticism of Israeli policies or activities stems from anti-semitism. Of course, this is a perfect situation for Israel and Zionists and one they plan to perpetuate.
JBig, Jews for Justice etc. are already doing a great job in helping to shift this near-universal mental contruct but it's too small scale and, if I may say so, sometimes too much directed at Zionists and organs like the JC, rather than at the general public. But PSC and supporters of the Palestinian cause world-wide need to start thinking much more strategically along the lines I have suggested and then Jewish anti-Zionists would become a hugely important component of the fight back.
First of all, we gave you more than a day to come with your reply. You basically asked who we were and then expected us to wait and wait. Well, let me say that your response is not at all illuminating in any new way:
1) Why is Tony Greenstein Right about Atzmon and people who think like him, by the way. Please explain what this means. And give examples. Of course you first have to ask Tony, who has published the same unsubstantiated prejudicial posts about 20 times, but Tony then, as you may not know, is not doing too well in court these days, so his opinion is painted by his lack of being able to get money out of Atzmon.
2) What is the world does it change if British people are supposed to learn a difference between Jews and Israel? Did you know that ONLY Jews have been involved in the checkpoints (even the one between Jordan and the West Bank) and of course the wars? Are not Jews those who are "settling" in Palestinian land?
Who are people supposed to connect it to? Israelis? Come ON! I happen to know personally about 500 Israelis who are not Jews and more than 90% of them are even "Palestinian Arabs". So, eliminating this distinction serves at what?
3) so because "Israel can't be criticised" you then accept the reason of the guilt of Europeans over the Holocaust as a legitimate reason. What kind of logic is that??? And…. why can't Jews be criticised? Are they above or beyond criticism? I would say that is a pretty amazing thing to claim!
4) I hope NO ONE follows your "strategy", because you have your lovely sacred cows and your priorities are a mess.
5) Jews for this or that also recently protested charity events for Gaza. This is kind of sick, don't you think so? Not that it got anywhere, but all the same, the point is that they think they can say who is good or bad. We operate on what people say and then what they do.
Now, answer the questions. We will make sure that the PSC is able to see this and decide for themselves if you are an asset to their campaign or if you are setting agendas that will ruin the campaign, which is the last thing it needs.
@Vin McIntyre –
Dear Mr McIntyre,
Thanks for your response. To be honest, I am pretty sure that your heart is in the right place. We do not doubt your devotion to the Palestinian cause either.
Clearly, no one here is trying to abuse you. If you want to disown your words, you are welcome to say so.
We will then move on.
Our task here is to analyze the Pls discourse and your public email that was passed to us was very interesting indeed.
Your words are very clear. You are talking about "forcing" an ideology. you are also talking about "our main strategic aim".
Thus, we asked you 4 simple questions which you failed to answer.
here they are again:
1. Do you really believe that Palestinian Solidarity Activists’ "main strategic aim" should be “to remove the equivalence in people's thinking” between "Israel" and the "Jews"?
2. How would such a removal serve Palestinians in Gaza?
3. Do you really believe that 'we' should "force" a separation of the two identities on a Palestinian Lobby?
4. Do you really believe in "forcing" ideas?
We also asked you whether you are Jewish and/or Marxist?
You were kind enough to answer this question partially.
And yet again you failed to answer the most important question. Given you are not a Jew, why do you think that "forcing" Jewish ideology should serve 'our strategic aim'?
It will be very interesting to read your simple answers to the questions above.
We are not interested in political spin or victim spiel. We only expect you to be honest enough to clarify your stand. Here in this on line journal we believe in honesty.
All the Best
Gilad