Feb
Lupines presumes to know what people criticise and don't criticise. She has the ability to not know what other forums you go on, for all she knows you protest Darfur, and other atrocities as much as the one in Gaza, or how the Palestinians are treated as a whole. I have been told many times here to go protest something else, such as Darfur, which I already have done, and continue to do. This is wishful thinking on the part of people like this. They want you to go away, and criticise someone else. It takes the spotlight off of them.
The reason many Zionists do this is because the word Anti-Semite has a very strong meaning in the world, and it means that not only do you hate Jews, but you agree with the idea of the Holocaust, but you’re also a Holocaust denier, and therefore a very low person. Now, most people who criticise Israel are none of these things. But, because most people don’t want to be associated with this traits stated above, they will think twice about their criticism, which is exactly the objective, to stem any criticism justly or unjustly of Israel. Because to them, it is one in the same. But many people are now seeing through that, and because of it's over use, the word has tiny meaning any more, There is nothing wrong with legitimate criticism of a government, and it's policies and wrong doing. If you hate Jews as individuals, that’s where the problem begins. If you hate ANYONE for their race or religion, that’s also a problem.
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Lupines: “Why do you keep criticizing Israel all the time when there are other peoples in this world that do the same things too and you don't criticize them? And why can't I call you an antisemite when it is so obvious that is exactly what you are doing, using Israel as excuse to criticize just Jewish people?”
Let me first say that I support the existence of Israel. I don't regard all Palestinians as innocent victims. However, I don’t comprehend your reasoning. You seem to be suggesting there are several murderers in the world so why focus on my little murder? That is just nonsense.
Israel got caught in a time warp. In the late 19th & early 20th century Western European countries saw nothing ethically wrong with using military force to conquer territories occupied by non European natives, drawing borders, taking political control, then settling those lands with Europeans. Europeans had a history of doing this. For example, this model was used to settle Europeans in the Americas and Australia. The Zionist idea of settling European Jews in Israel along the same lines, was also crafted in the late 19th century, when it made complete sense. However, by the middle of the 20 th century, this model suddenly fell out of favor, when it became seen as morally and ethically wrong to subject a native population to huge migrations of Europeans. Consequently, in 1947 Britain withdrew from China, India & the Middle East. Eventually, France and Italy also followed suit and pulled out of their former colonies in the Middle East & North Africa. So, it is not correct that everyone is doing it, why should not Israel? Israel is trying to go forward on a plan crafted in the 18th century whose ethics are now in question. Most of the laws that authorized the creation of Israel were passed by the League of Nations, when Euopean nations were it's members. A country like Israel could never be created in today's UN. I dont think these realities should be ignored. By suggesting that people who are concerned with the welfare of the natives (Palestinians) are anti-semitic ignores these realities and advocates people have to be insensitive to native cultures to be Jewish.
Edit 1: Lupines, why not clue me in?
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Yes, Galahad, the term was coined by Wilhelm Marr, whose purpose was to give Jew-hate an intellectual sheen. In those days, racism was a respectable field of scholarship. “Anti-Semitism” was a euphemism for Jew-hate, in the same way that “special handling” was a euphemism for a one way ticket to Auschwitz, “bath house” was a euphemism for “gas chamber”, and so on. The Nazis were great with euphemisms. “Resettlement”, “executive measure”, “auxiliary equipment”, “final solution”.
“Anti-Semitism” carries this heavy emotional baggage, and it's unfortunate that it's actually overused by Jews, which dilutes its original meaning and impact.
But I find it really pathetic that Arabs so passionately want to co-opt it from the Jews, by interpreting it literally: “How can I be anti-Semitic, when I am a Semite?”
It's like someone named “Tom” (who has a nephew) insists on the right to call a black man an “Uncle Tom” - “but I, too, am an Uncle Tom!!”
Pathetic.
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Apparently they think they are supposed to be above criticism because they’re “jewish” whatever that means; most of these so-called Jews I've known are just athiests of Russian ancestry. In any event it isn't particular to the the Bizarro Say,they react with that kind of infantile name calling whenever they’re criticised. No takes it seriously anymore. As you see from the above name-calling is pretty all they’re cabable of.
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As pointed out,they obviously think it should be above criticism. Because it is “jewish”. Anything jewish should be above criticism. Any criticism is “anti-semitic” which actually means Hostile to the Arabic and Hebrew Languages. Ironically,it was concocted by an antijewish 19th century antijewish writer. Wilhelm Marr was his name as I recall.
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Apparently it is at least somewhat effective in stifling dissent or they wouldn't do it. I'll have to give it try and see what happens. I've seen a lot of people get accused of it but I've never known of anyone to ask if the accuser was personally Jewish in any event. So I guess it doesn't matter. Bottom line: from now on anyone who dares to even think anything critical of me is to be castigated in a Most Vociferous Fashion as one of those gosh-darn anti-semite neo-nazi skin-head holocaust deniers with secret connections to David Duke and Iran to boot.
Frankly,at this point the term has so tiny credibility left after decades of abuse and overuse it's like rain going off a tin roof. But reporters are still scared of it,so there’s a task ahead for the future. I see no reason why reportorial fear of this stale accusation should not be included in the next edition of the Diagnostic Symptoms Manuel as an identifiable phobia. That is to state,as an irrational fear.
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I concur 1000% with Maya…I criticize my own government and I'm not anti-American. I plainly want a BETTER America.
Israelis and their supporters (and yes, Kevin, one can be a pro-Zionist Jew WITHOUT being an Israeli; sorry to burst your bubble there) haven't got anything they can use to “justify” their thoughts and actions with except to holler “anti-Semitism!”—which is so silly it's nearly funny; as Palo correctly points out, Arabs are Semites.
The world is turning against Israel (including the U.S.) and Israel will blame it all on “anti-Semitism”, rather than place the blame on themselves, where it rightly belongs. The government of one nation cannnot blatantly kill, maim, torment and displace a group of people—the Palestinians—without suffering the consequences at some point.
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I hate Israels government but that does not mean that I hate all Israelis and certainly not all Jewish people. Its never good to paint all people with the same brush. I’ve had many Jewish friends but none were in the Israeli brutal government Olmert and his corrupt government should all be taken to the Hague and tried for crimes against humanity.Olmert still faces charges of fraud so even that talks for itself.
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It's a sleazy gimmick,and you might draw your own conclusions from that. Obviously no other nation on earth hides behind alleged ethnic bigotry to fend off criticism. I don't see the Russian Federation squalling and screeching that so-and-so is “anti-Slavonic” whenever their government is criticised.
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Because we let them get away with it. Next time someone calls you 'antisemitic' because you question the actions of the illegitimate 'state of Israel', simply laugh out loud in their face. If we all do that, it won't carry any weight, will it?
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How can we be anti-semetic when we are semitic? I dont get it? We are anti-ourselves?
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no this instantce Israel was defending itseld against an unjusified attack from Hamas
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Because you are anti-semitic. I bet you use Jews more than the word Israeli. That’s the first sign. It's a disease that not everyone knows they’ve. There is no cure for this disease according to the bible.
“most of these so-called Jews I've known are just athiests of Russian ancestry.”
For example this is anti-semitic since he is denying the Jews their semitic ancestry. Would you call gypsies europeans? No.
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Why do you keep criticizing Israel all the time when there are other peoples in this world that do the same things too and you don't criticize them? And why can't I call you an antisemite when it is so obvious that is exactly what you are doing, using Israel as excuse to criticize just Jewish people?
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Edit to Lulu: You're just making excuses for the obvious. The man is a new account and he just criticizes Israel with it. His profile is open go look for yourself:
http://answers.yahoo.com/my/profile;_ylt…
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Edit to J2a1*: I don't agree with you one bit and I really think you’ve no clue what's going on.
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Because people ignore and do no go out on protest against Hamas and other terrorist groups that are firing rockets at Israeli civilian towns. Ignorance and whitewashing is a bias which leads to antisemitism and rise of attacks on Jewish areas all over the world.