Zionist group urges donors to avoid UC Irvine
MSNBC
IRVINE, Calif. – After months of growing tension between Jewish and Muslim students at the University of California, Irvine, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is asking potential students to apply elsewhere and donors to stop sending contributions.
The New York-based organization lambasted Chancellor Michael Drake in a statement Tuesday for not condemning anti-Semitic speech on campus and enabling a years-long history of “bigotry, discrimination and the violation of civil rights” by the school’s Muslim Student Union.
And what did the students do? They harassed Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador, as he defended Israel’s actions in Gaza, which have been called criminal by the UN (Goldstone Report).
ZOA is the most right wing member of the Israel Lobby, a Likud supporter of Eretz Israel (Israeli colonialism), whose own Islamophobic history equates Arab and Palestinian resistance to occupation and colonialism with terrorism, begs the question of discrimination. Their pages reek with Israeli propaganda.
Gaza photo exhibition threatened with closure
Muzzlewatch
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East just sent out an action alert concerning this threat to free speech in Canada against an exhibit of photos showing the effects of Israel’s devastation in Gaza last year. The video above features some of the photos in the exhibit.
The action alert can be read at the link.
Divestment campaign gains traction at U of Arizona
February 16, 2010
Divestment is biting at the University of Arizona. Several articles about the campaign in the student newspaper. Here’s the lead:
And this piece, Dial D for Death- Motorola. And some important history:
And this reference to Rachel Corrie in a piece by Gabriel Schivone (who wrote the last two links, too) dedicated to the memory of Howard Zinn:
Thanks for this report, I have been wrestling with issue quietly in my own mind since I have been frequently lambasted and censured on the big orange when I even question the policies of Israel or the definition of what constitutes “anti-semitism.” It has been my experience, that according to most defenders of Israel to say anything, anything, anything, anything at all critical of Jewish policies or attitudes constitutes “anti-semitism” and is punished by Nazi-like actions or characterizations by the thought police on Kos.
Just sayin, it has been my experience that there is little rational discussion from the Israeli side of things. No give, all take.
Daily Kos is monitored by a group of right wing proZionist bloggers who do their best to challenge anyone who is critical of Israel. Some of them post diaries appearing left wing, but which are used to promulgate Israeli propaganda. It has been that way for several years.
Likewise, in the past three years or so, about 25 proPalestinian bloggers have been banned from the site, while in the same period only 2 proIsrael bloggers have been banned. IP is allowed on the site, therefore, but there seems to be tendency to keep it at a minimum.
Your own experience is not atypical; it comes with the territory.
It became farcical around the time of the last Lebanon incursion when it seemed like the Zionistr thought police had moved in although apparently Israel did take to using software to seacrh out comments on Israel and have a team ready for immediate response.
Segueing to a related topic — I was just sorting through my mail. I happen to be on the ADL mailing list, which is something I like to do (I’m also on McCain’s). It’s always interesting to contrast how an issue is handled by its advocacy group with what I know.
http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/deadliest_lies/
I recently picked up Peace, Not Apartheid and I’ve read the Israel Lobby paper so Foxman’s claims have a problem.
Abe Foxman perpetually has a herd of anti-Semites hiding under his bed, and another one in his closet that come out whenever he turns off the lights.
The ADL used to be a respectable organization, until it decided to become a defender of Israel at all costs. Foxman’s main gripe is that people who complain about Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians induce or increase anti-Semitism. Stop it! He’s also a proponent of the “new anti-Semitism,” entirely caused by criticism of Israel, but which has been shown to be a myth.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec07/israel_10-09.html
The above link in to a PBS show in which both Mearsheimer and Foxman debate the points. Guess who wins under standard debate rules?
I can’t help but wonder is we’re experiencing a phenomenon similar to the one I suggested recently as a cause for Republican self-delusion. Motivated cognition, which I’m using as the desire to believe a mythic or romanticized depiction of truth, and exposure by low information voters to news sources such as Fox news can produce a severe warping of attitudes when combined with standard cognitive biases. There’s certainly enough evidence for the ability to brainwash people, such as the Dolchstosslegende (stabbed-in-the-back) or the Almond-Lippmann thesis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almond-Lippmann_consensus
Anyone who relies on the MSM is going to have difficulty understanding events related to Israel. I’m embarrassed by how poorly I understood the situation until rather recently. Foxman didn’t help himself by denying that the war in Iraq was in part spurred by Israeli foreign policy objectives. I didn’t pay attention to the Israeli-Palestinian situation but I did pay attention to the war in Iraq. I gather that Foxman’s message wasn’t intended for someone like me.
Then there is also the murder in Dubai using the fake passports of several EU countries and being a tad careless with the credit cards.