Archie1954 http://jta.org/user/profile/67335 en-us marcus@infolink.com.br Copyright 2009 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 I always feel when I hear Israel complaining about Iran and it's alleged nuclear weapons program that hypocrisy knows no bounds. How dare a country that clandestinely acquired nuclear weapons criticize another country for wanting nuclear power? It actually makes me think that Israel is a dangerous, rogue nation that should be under severe international sanctions. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Thank goodness that we have a president who is reluctant to shoot first and ask questions later. The talks with Iran should have occurred years ago as they would have resolved any problems by now. Bush simply wouldn't treat Iran as an international entity he would negotiate with. Too bad for Iran, Israel and the US. Now rather than open another war front in the Middle East we have a president who will treat with Iran diplomatically as civilized parties are wont to do. Finally! 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Mary Robinson did a credible job at the Durban Conference. Certainly when both sides of a question are dissappointed with the result than she must have done something right. With all the problems in the world the bestowal of a medal to a special individual should not be taking anyone's time worrying about it. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 I guess these emigrants were never truly American to begin with. I hope they aren't making a huge mistake confusing Zionism with Judaism. The article mentions that they are Jews but I don't consider Judaism and Zionism (return to Israel) as related at all. In fact I know that I have read many times that Israel is a secular state and not a religious one. In othe rwords I don't understand why Jews would want to practice their religion in Israel instead of America when both are secular states. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 To rail against the president's chice for a medal of honour in this case is absolutely foolish. It makes the group represented by this article's author look like they are poor loser and whiners. ?Instead of falsely acussing the Durban conference of being anti-semitic why not dwell on the anti-zionism shown at the conference. Being anti-zionist is not a crime nor a moral failure. That political movement has been responsible for so much violence and enmity in the world that it deserves criticism. But please understand that such criticism is not aimed at the Jewish religion or its followers. It is strictly aimed at the politics of certain extremist zionists. Madam robinson was not at fault allowing such criticism to be aired publicly, far from it. She in fact did the world and Israel a service which if understood properly and acted upon could save Israel from much greater harm in the future. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Why is it so difficult to differentiate between followers of Judaism and Zionists? They are not the same thing. Any potential so called anti semitism on the part of FBI officers is probably not that at all but blowback for Zionist demands by pseudo Americans who are willing advocates for Zionism even when the results of such advocacy damages the US. As well many government employees remember the USS Liberty almost sunk by a complicit and deceitful Israel. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Instead of being obviously affectionate it should have been as serious as if he had been speaking French, Iranian or Japanese. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Such criticism must be heavenly to the president as it proves he's doing something right. You must always consider the source of criticism and the sources mentioned in this article are spurious to say the least ( they should be registered as foreign lobbies). It's long past time for these sources to lose some of their power to sway the US government and that seems to be happening now. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 I am wondering what good it would do to bring back sad memories of times gone past. Wouldn't it be better in a situation that goes back hundreds of years to just let bygones be bygones? No one today is going to feel the least bit ashamed of what their far distant ancestors did. The time is just too great between then and now so being adamant about the statue's removal will just exacerbate problems that no one needs at this time. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 The only thing American Jews should be interested in is the best interests of their country, the US not some foreign entity like Israel. If the best interests of the US coincide with the best interests of Israel, fine but if not too bad Israel. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 I don't understand why a Jewish group would have any interest in creating a controversy over the lecture tour of a Hamas scholar. First, the scholar may castigate Zionism which is his right, but he will probably not mention Judaism at all. This rancour between the Palestinians and the Zionists is a political problem not a religious one. If everyone would just think straight the Middle East problems could be settled. First divorce your thinking of religious overtones, it's not a religious problem, secondly remove thoughts of racial division, it's not a racial problem. for heaven's sake, Arabs and Hebrews are both Semitic races, related by blood to each other. No, this is strictly a political problem and must be treated as such if it is ever to be solved. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 We shouldn't be surprised by the controversy. It's quite obvious that many members of the Jewish community in the US understand that the Rachel Corrie matter is a black eye for Israel and that there is no valid rationalization for cold blooded murder. therefore the best thing to do is make sure no one brings the matter to the light of day. It must be kept in the deepest, darkest part of the MSM graveyard, never to be seen or heard of again. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Within striking distance but only with the help of its Arab friends. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 The Israeli prime minister should know better than to mix up Judaism with Zionism. They are not the same thing. Not at all. President Obama's advisers may be Jewish but not necessarily Zionists. To argue that that makes them self hating Jews is outrageous. Many Jews are not Zionists, or are not Zionist extremists. That dose not touch upon their religious beliefs whatsoever. Zionism is a political movement not a religious one. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 There is absolutely no proof that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon. That is the gist of the information coming from the new head of the international nuclear inspection team. Iran signed the non proliferation treaty that guarantees it the right to nuclear power. Israel din't and surreptiously acquired nuclear weapons. If it hadn't done so no one else in the Middle East would be potentially looking to do so. Unfortunately Israel is the author of its own imminent destruction by the poor decisions it has made. I wouldn't characterize any Jewish groups as supporting the attacking of Iran but would argue that it is Zionist groups that are doing so and such groups are becoming increasingly sidelined and their effect marginalized by their own tactics. You can only shout "anti-semitism" so often before it becomes a hack accusation with no power behind it. That is what is starting to occur now. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 The innocent seem to always pay for the crimes of the guilty. Israel must remember that what egregious actions it takes results in some poor Jew somewhere paying for it through no fault of his own. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 That's all we need. Why are these right wing nutcases constantly finding press willing to disseminate their crazy rantings? We have all lived through the Bush/Bolton scenario and seen just how well their warmongering ideas turned out. There are very few people with even half a brain that would agree we need more of the same, but I guess this Bolton fool is one of them. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Let the settlers stay and when the West Bank becomes part of the new Palestinian state the settlers will become citizens of Palestine. There should be no problem. If they refuse to be good citizens of Palestine then there are criminal laws that will prevail. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 It's nice to see the tables turn once in a while. Certainly any criticism or repeating of rumours of Israeli complicity in deadly deeds is not anti-semitic. I would wager that the great majority of Zionists residing in Israel are not of ethnic Hebrew stock at all. They are, in fact as Caucasian as you or me. No true Christian would ever criticize Judaism as it forms the base upon which our religion was created. So if she isn't criticising Judaism or Hebrews (Semites) then she must be opining on Zionism which is a whole other kettle of fish relating to a political regime and therefore not racially based. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 It is toi be hoped that once a peace treaty has been signed between Israel and the Palestinians such right wing groups will lose all animosity toward the Jewish citizens of their respective countries. There is nothing like constant trouble brewing in the Middle East to keep things boiling in the streets of Europe. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 I find it very difficult to correlate this article with what is really happening on the ground in the Middle East. For instance instead of settlers leaving the Palestinian areas they are flocking to them and 10,000 rockets only killing 8 people (the number calculated by Israel itself)? It just doesn't make sense to me. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 What they think is gross criticism of the Jewish religion is in fact the proof of Jews being God's chosen people. Any true Christian thanks the Jews for doing the Lord's work. Without them we would all be consigned to He**. Why? Because God's plan for humanity required that His chosen people do His bidding. His plan required the sacrifice of His beloved Son and the Jews supplied that key piece in His plan. They did not kill Jesus, we, all of humanity are responsible for His death. They were simply the agent that did it on our behalf. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Israel is a secular Zionist regime not a religious one (at least it was). Any criticism of Israel should not include mention of Jews whatsover. I dare to state that I wouldn't be at all surprised if a great number of ruling parties in Tel Aviv are not even bona fide members of Judaism. So criticise Israel and its politics all you want but leave Judaism out of it. Secondly much to much is being made of the numbers used for the Holocaust. If one Jew was killed during that time it was one too many. I fell just as devestated by that one person's trip through Nazi he** as I do about six million. None of it should have happened. It is an evil stain on human civilization. The reason it is being used as a comparison is simply because it is the most egregious thing that has ever happened and that gives it shock value beyond anything else. When it is applied to Israel's conduct then you know people are very unhappy with what is going on. It's a wake up call to the Israeli government. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 The US now has an intelligent leader, a man who plans for the future not just for today. He sees that nothing will bring peace to the Middle East without some heavy pressure from outside. He is a good friend of Israel's but sometime a family intervention is required to protect it from itself. This is one of those times. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 The ADL, AIPAC and other Zionist lobby groups go well beyond fighting anti-semitism. I think if you look deeper into the so called anti-semitic talk backs you will find that most of these individuals are mistaking Jews, members of a religion with Zionists, members of a political, secular organization. They mean to criticize (sometimes harshly) a political movement and use the incorrect designation to do so. They don't mean Jews, they mean Zionists. While many would decry the criticism of Zionism, it is in no way is anti-semitic. There is absolutely, at least in my mind, no rational of any kind to defend anti-semitism but due to the negative and deadly condition of the Middle East I will continue to decry Zionism in its most destructive guise. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Whether or not it meant to do so Israel has caused a major and deadly problem in the Middle East just by locating there some 61 years ago. Now it wants to make the problem it caused go away by foisting it on someone else. There is no reason in the world that Jordan or Egypt should take on this difficult and onerous burden. Help with it? Yes, but accept it as their own problem? No. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Why shouldn't they think well of the US? Their country would fail without US monetary and military support. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 It may actually be best for the matter to be dropped as I'm certain there is a lot of information that is being held back that would not serve the interests of world Jewry. However if it manages to put a dint in the activities of Zionism then go right ahead. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Let's have a poll on how much everyone thinks Harman got paid for her services to AIPAC. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 It is very unfortunate that over the years the AJC, AIPAC and the ADL have cried wolf too often for any of their current words to be accepted without some great amount of scepticism. When Israel really needs existential assistance it will receive it but not every situation that occurs in the Middle East is of such serious circumstance. Perhaps a little more transparency on the part of Israel would be helpful. You know for instance as in the movie Dr. Strangelove, it is extremely foolish to have a system of nuclear destruction at your beck and call and not tell anyone about it so they won't try anything. Truly how foolish is that? 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 This Harman problem would probably been ignored if it were an isolated incident but it wasn't. Many others have conspired with AIPAC and/or ADL to protect Israel's interests at the detriment of US interests. These conspirators have been congressional members as they were the ones in positions of power to help Israel. It is treacherous to help a foreign entity if that help also damages your own country in some way. This kind of activity must be publicised and stopped whenever possible. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 This type of legislation could be construed as a form of economic war against another country. The best way to make Iran give up its desire for nuclear power is to demand that Israel dismantle its own nuclear weapons. Iran may be looking to have a nuclear arsenal, although the jury is still out on that question but it would be only to counter Israel's. Remove Israel's and you will remove Iran's. Don't forget that Iran signed the non proliferation treaty to show its goodwill in this matter and Israel didn't have any goodwill to show so it didn't sign. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Criminal cases are, of course, replete with legalities all, pr any of which can make or break a case. But there is much more at stake here then if or if not, Harman was complicit in influence peddling or whether or not the information passed on was military secrets. The big stoy is whether or not the parties involved are agents of a foreign government who have that foreign government's best interests at heart and are traitors to the US. AIPAC is a lobby, but it may also be a formidable foreign spy agency for another country. If it is, as many Americans suspect then it bears going through the legal motions to get the inside information necessary to either clear the organization of such innuendo or to evidence its complicity in espionage. Either way it's important to follow through with the case. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Would it not have been better to stay in the forum and argue against the Iranian president's premise? Also I don't agree that his kind of extreme criticism is racist at all. It is political not racist. How can criticising a secular state be racist? Israel is not a religious or racially pure state. I believe there are very few actual Hebrews living there. There are people from every race and every nation residing in Israel. Their only connection is Zionism, a secular, political movement. Let's keep religion and racism out of this matter shall we? While I believe that Israel treats its Arab residents abominably, I think it is for them to decide, not the rest of the world. We only desire that the Palestinians have their own separate country and that peace result from that. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 This is a good time to reform the human rights branch of the UN if it is not living up to its mandate. Everything seems to be in flux right now so reform should be possible. Why not get Israel to also try for a position on the council? this may be a good time for some changes in the way Israel does things also. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Well after all, that's as good a reason as any I suppose. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 It isextremely unfortunate for the US that it has so many arrogant and foolish judges operating there. No judge should bring down judgements that are impossible to enforce. It just shows how impotent the US system of justice is. In this case of course it's even worse for the US as it leaves a precedent on the books for all of the families whose members were kidnapped and thrown in black sites by Americans during the dirty war on terrorism to demand damages from the US and it even sets a very large limit on such monetary redress. That judge should probably be looking for a new job. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 I'm not sure what the archbishop was trying to say when he mentioned the ownership of median outlets by Jews. Certainly that should amke no difference in either the quality of or the veracity of the news presented to the public. Where the archbishop might have appropriately criticised news ownership would be if many media companies were owned by Zionists with a desire to use them for Israeli propoganda. Such a problematic situation though has absolutely nothing to do with Jews, nothing! 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Iranian Jews were not persecuted by the government or the people of Iran over many centuries of existance in that country. They lived fairly trouble free lives prior to the creation of Israel. With the fulfillment of the Zionist movement all Jews everywhere were targetted for criticism if not more. This was a result of misplaced anger. The people who did the targetting were upset by the actions of Zionists but confused them with Jews. If someone would seriously and definitively separate the the Zionists from the followers of Judaism these egregious attacks would cease. We have a right to criticise and oppose the Zionist political movement and what it represents whereas criticism or opposition to Judaism is not only very foolish it is absolutely unsupportable under any circumstances. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Canada has certain laws against incitement to violence and if these laws are broken than there will be consequences to the parties doing so, but until these laws are broken everyone should have the right to speak to any audience and say what they wish to say without being refused entrance into the country. Certainly no religious group should be demanding the power to prevent another religious group from having whoever they want speak to them. Finally the Canadian government must reamin totally neutral in such matters and let the law take its course. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 Perhaps the Israeli government will also ask them not to send money. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 AB and Hayalets, you must become part of the solution or remain part of the problem. The first thing to do if you want to help Israel is to understand in your heart of hearts that Israeli soldiers are not beneficent beings, they are soldiers with a great hate for Gentiles especially Palestinians. Only diligent professional training can prevent them from doing what they did in Gaza. Their training must be intensified and they must be inoculated against the hatred of rabbis who are trying to egg them on to do evil things. This must be stopped for the good of all. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 When a lobby group statrs to spout "anti-semitism" as an argument it loses me immediately. To me it means that party has no viable argument to espouse so they fall back on spurious accusations. That is not the way to make friends and influence people, at tleast not in today's world of instant internet communications. No lobby group should have bragging rights over who enters and who exits any country, Canada included. I will definitely be watching this matter closely and if the government doesn't relent and allow Mr. Galloway the right to enter then I will not vote Conservative next time around. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00 This article is not taking into account that it has been a very long time since the US and Israel's interests have coincided. The only way to make sure that the US interests are put first and foremost is to have someone like Mr. Freeman at the helm. Also it may be that Israel's government may not know or realize that some of its policies may actually be bad for the country and in those cases it should have a big brother onside to help it change course before it's too late. That won't happen if a partisan lobby group in the US is calling the shots. It could be extremely dangerous for Israel. 2009-11-22T;22:02:00-05:00