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Posted in: Sarah Leah Whitson of HRW answers my questions
Is this Sarah Leah Whitson the same Sarah Leah Whitson who before hiring on as HRW's Middle East director served on the board of the American-Arab Antidiscrimination Committee. The same one who lists Adam Shapiro, the founder of the International Solidarity Movement, as a Facebook friend, and lists as her sole favorite "product" Mondoweiss, a decidedly anti-Israel blog? (She's also said to have expressed her admiration for Norman Finkelstein, another hater of Israel.) This interview of Ms. Whitson by Mr. Kampeas reminds me very much of Bill Moyer's interview of Reverend Wright after he became such a controversial figure because of his anti-Israel expressions. Moyers, known for fawning interviews, outdid himself with that one. Though Reverend Wright had gone to radio silence before then in an attempt to spare Obama and himself further embarassment during the campaign, and Moyers was getting an exclusive interview with this "progressive" firebrand UCC minister, Moyers challenged not a single thing Wright said, asking only the most softball of questions.
Posted in: When Does Criticizing Israel Become Anti-Semitic?
Will Edwards, your notion of what qualifies as antisemitic ("Hateful speech, angry shoutings of racial slurs, violent abuse.... those things are anti semitic. ") is naively narrow. There is plenty that is antisemitic without the presence of those elements, that is unless you mean "hateful speech" to include everything that deserves to be labeled antisemitic. And such a circular definition is of no help. dcdoc
Posted in: When Does Criticizing Israel Become Anti-Semitic?
"...Anti-Semitism cannot be justified with reference to an alleged greater good to be derived from Nazism, fascism, socialism, communism, environmentalism, anti-colonialism, the Non-Aligned Movement or any other cause or ideology. " There is imprecision in that list of causes or ideologies, since it neglects specific mention of the banner that so much present day antisemitism marches under, namely "Progressivism." Progressivism is farther from the center, more over to the Left, than "Liberalism," and an anti-Israel stance is a core principle for many who identify themselves as Progressives. Indeed, those who would count themselves Progressive (most neither communist, nor decidedly socialist) but don't share the general anti-Israel view are derided as "PEP," or Progressive Except on Palestine." Though there have been, there are, and there will be other practitioners of terrorism (e.g., IRA, ETA, Tamil Tigers, etc.), one can't have an intelligent conversation about global terror without acknowledgement of the greatest source of terrorists, that being the Islamic world. Similarly, antisemites are to be found among neo-Nazis and other Rightist elements, but one cannot have an intelligent conversation about antisemitism without focusing considerable attention on the contributions of the Left, and the greatest number over there are most aptly characterized as "Progressives." dcdoc
Posted in: Recount in Franken-Coleman race
"neck in neck"?! How about, "they were 'necking'," which would at least be an amusing bollixing of language. "Corruption" versus "satiric writings" makes it sound as though Franken had serious charges to level at Coleman, while Coleman had nothing more against Franken than his career as an entertainer. Not the case.
Posted in: A look at Obama and McCain advisers
How about Samantha Power, who embarrassed Obama politically by calling Hillary Clinton a "monster"? Many think she might get an important foreign policy position in an Obama administration. Ms. Power, the wunderkind, is on record as suggesting that the United States should consider imposing a "peace" on Israel, intervening with military force to accomplish that end.
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Updated 11/22/09 @ 05:02PM EDT
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- Turkey has given Israeli defense contractors 50 days to deliver 10 promised drone aircraft.
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Posted in: Sarah Leah Whitson of HRW answers my questions
08/04/09 11:53 PM
Jeremiah Haber: "Ron, good piece, not just because I support HRW, but mostly because I support moderates who ask legitimate questions, and are willing to listen to replies - and to let the reader judge whether they are satisfactory." It should be pointed out that "Jeremy Haber" is the nom de plume used by the person blogging as "The Magnes Zionist." He is another admirer of Phil Weiss and Mondoweiss, and his commendation of HRW should be understood in light of this. It is ridiculous to congratulate Mr. Kampeas for this sham of an "interview" with Ms. Whitson. That was not an interview in the real sense of the word, but rather the provision of an open mike for her to spin her story without any serious questioning. "conscientiously reached out to me to answer my questions" - those were questions? For a real critique of Ms. Whitson and HRW, have a look at David Bernstein's posts to the Volokh Conspiracy (www.volokh.com). The points Professor Bernstein raises are what Ms. Whitson and HRW should be called upon to answer.