Comments on Simply Lujayn.......: US Senators press Obama on 'risk' for Israel

Racism in the Arab world: "The racism I saw ...

2009-11-16T02:03:44.536+04:00

Racism in the Arab world:

"The racism I saw on the Cairo Metro has an echo in the Arab world at large, where the suffering in Darfur goes ignored because its victims are black and because those who are creating the misery in Darfur are not Americans or Israelis and we only pay attention when America and Israel behave badly.

We love to cry "Islamophobia" when we talk about the way Muslim minorities are treated in the West and yet we never stop to consider how we treat minorities and the most vulnerable among us."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/opinion/10iht-edeltahawy.1.18556273.html

I take issue with the title of the piece. It is not a secret that the Arab world is racist. It is only secret to the Arabs who inhabit
that world and are incapable of looking at themselves with any kind of honesty.

You are very noble to make a distinction between I...

2009-11-15T19:30:04.470+04:00

You are very noble to make a distinction between Israelis and Jews. There are between 12-14 million Jews in the world and 6 million of them live in Israel. Of the 6, at least 3 million are refugees from Arab lands, Syria included.

When you were speaking of Jews returning to live in Syria, which Jews, then, were you speaking about? I don't suppose you meant New york Jews, did you?

And what makes you think that it is OK to call Israelis liars, murderers and usurpers? On what kind of knowledge do you base these mindless accusations? Do you think you can hide your deep hostility and prejudice behind the fig leaf of this latest rhetorical fallacy: I cannot be antisemitic because I do not speak of Jews, only Israelis?

According to this document, produced by EU forum on antisemitism:

“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

In addition, such manifestations could also target the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. [-]

Examples of the ways in which antisemitism manifests itself with regard to the State of Israel taking into account the overall context could include:

*

Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
*

Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
*

Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
*

Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

*

Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.

However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic."

http://www.european-forum-on-antisemitism.org/working-definition-of-antisemitism/english/

So far I read from not one argument that could be construed as legitimate criticism of Israeli policies. What you make is not arguments. You merely regurgitate the nonsense you have been taught by your blinkered and ignorant teachers.

I met and spoke with Syrian expatriates who struck me as lucid, cogent, with a presence of mind that spoke of a respectable ethos. And then I come to your blog and read your robotic ignorant condemnations pronounced as if they were gospel truth. So i wonder about it.

"When the Syrian people swarmed the Danish embassy and burned it down, it burned my heart too. Why? The Syrian people are dying of hunger. The Syrians, despite their [ancient] civilization, chase after their daily bread. Why don’t they swarm the palace of their president, who has 40 billion dollars in European bank accounts, and burn down the palace, along with its occupant? They swarmed the Danish embassy, giving the West the wrong image of the moral and civilized Syrian people. Therefore, I describe their conduct as barbaric and backward."

http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/1783.htm

CC, what on earth are you on?? I assume I'm ...

2009-11-14T23:55:13.261+04:00

CC, what on earth are you on??

I assume I'm writing English, but you seem to be getting something totally different out of it!

Where on earth did I say Jews were murderers, liars and usurpers??? Is being Jewish synonymous with being Israeli because in my mind, they're definitely not! But in yours, they seem to be. So criticism of one sounds like criticism of the other. Thats your problem, not mine!!

As for the actual content of my post, the entire international community and every international body concurs that Israel illegally occupies Syrian and Palestinian land. Even your Daniel Pipes acknowledges it is occupied land, at least where Syria is concerned in this particular passage, so I can hardly be accused of making "shrill mindless baseless, a-historical accusations". But hey, dont let something as trivial as the international community and law mar your flow of "independent" thought. In case you dont recognize it, this is called sarcasm.

And to my mind, I dont have to append every sentence I say with a denunciation of everything wrong that every single Syrian citizen or political leader has done from the start of time to the present so that you feel the conversation is balanced. That makes for a very silly, long, tedious and juvenile conversation. I assume that when people discuss a topic, they discuss that topic, not every other topic under the sun just to provide balance and context. I dont see you bending over backwards to acknowldge Israel's wrongdoings everytime you accuse Arabs of one evil or the other? Or is Israel infallible? Sarcasm, again (just making sure you understand, seeing as what I say seems to end up sounding something completely different over at your end).

And please, CC, drop the drama! "spider to the fly tale"????? Give me a break! You might want to actually read what I write and focus on that instead of fabricating scenarios in your mind about what I must really mean when I say what I say.

I'm not responding anymore. This isnt a platform for you to spout racist nonsense. I gave you a chance to rise above your racism ("Arabs are steeped in hatred", "they revel in it", and other crap you've been saying over the past few days on different posts in this blog) but you insist on seeing what you want to see and hearing what you want to hear, rather than listen to what I'm saying. I guess you just have a lot of pent-up hatred and paranoia that you just want to dump on an Arab, any Arab. If so, you'll feel right at home in one of the racist Arab blogs you say you've been browsing over the years - I can see the attraction. This is my blog and I will not tolerate racism, so kindly go away.

"Or the risk of acknowledging its appalling h...

2009-11-14T05:52:42.361+04:00

"Or the risk of acknowledging its appalling human rights record."

I don't suppose there is any such risk of you acknowledging any of the following:

"The Hama massacre (Arabic: مجزرة حماة‎) occurred on February 2, 1982, when the Syrian army bombarded the town of Hama in order to quell a revolt by the Muslim Brotherhood. An estimated 7,000 to 40,000 people were killed, including about 1,000 soldiers, [1][2] and most of the old city was completely destroyed, including its palaces, mosques and ancient ruins."

_________

"According to the U.S. State Department’s 2004 report on human rights, Syria’s human rights record remains poor. A state of emergency has been in effect since 1963. Security forces continue to commit numerous and serious human rights abuses including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture in detention, prolonged detention without trial, fundamentally unfair trials in the security courts, and infringement on privacy rights. Police and security forces are corrupt. Prison conditions are poor and do not meet international standards for health and sanitation. The regime significantly restricts freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association. Kurds suffer systematic discrimination. After a brief period in 2000–2001 known as Damascus Spring, during which time independent debating clubs were established, satellite dishes became much more prominent, Internet cafés opened, new independent print publications were established, and political detainees from across the political spectrum were released, Decree No. 50/2001 was passed, which places severe restrictions on the media, especially the print media. According to Arab Press Freedom Watch, the current regime has one of the worst records on freedom of expression in the Arab world."

From the content, tone and shrillness of your mindless baseless, a-historical accusations, I see the Syrian regime has been wildly successful in its efforts to put a stop to any equitable flow of information or the capacity for independent thinking.

I assume, having just proclaimed Jews to be liars, usurpers and murderers, your invitation to Jews to return to Syria was something like:

"Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,
'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I've a many curious things to shew when you are there."
Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."

etc etc

"And now dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly."

Nicely done.

"Is there a hotline somewhere I can contact t...

2009-11-14T05:29:26.025+04:00

"Is there a hotline somewhere I can contact to hand over the deeds to my home, land and life in exoneration for my sin of having been born on someone else's potential state?"

I often ask the same question myself:

"On first entering Syria, the observant traveler will probably be startled to go through passport control and notice a military map of Syria on the wall, for this map contains several anomalies. It shows the Golan Heights under Syrian control, though they have been occupied by Israel since 1967. Syria's boundaries with Lebanon and Jordan appear not as international borders but as something called "regional" borders. Israel does not even exist; instead, there is a state called Palestine. And Palestine is separated from Syria by a line designated a "temporary" border". Finally, the province of Hatay, a part of Turkey since 1939, appears to be included in Syria; only on close inspection can one see the "temporary" border between it and Syria.[2]

The many inaccuracies on this map reflect the Syrian rulers' profound unwillingness to accept the actual size and shape of the country they administer. They remember that until 1920, "Syria" referred to a region much larger than the Syrian Arab Republic of today, a region that stretched from the borders of Anatolia to those of Egypt, from the edge of Iraq to the Mediterranean Sea. In terms of today's states, the Syria of old comprised Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, plus the Gaza Strip and Alexandretta. This larger land, known since 1920 as Greater Syria, is what they dream of reclaiming."

http://www.danielpipes.org/books/greaterchap.php

Mea maxima culpa, Nour. Is there a hotline somewhe...

2009-05-21T14:36:00.671+04:00

Mea maxima culpa, Nour. Is there a hotline somewhere I can contact to hand over the deeds to my home, land and life in exoneration for my sin of having been born on someone else's potential state?

Its so damn frustrating listening to this crap being mindlessly regurgitated by US politicians and the media.

Lujayn, Don't you see that the people of that reg...

2009-05-21T14:17:52.384+04:00

Lujayn,

Don't you see that the people of that region continuously pose a threat to "Israel" by living on land that "Israel" covets? They should just move out and let "Israel" have the land. I mean, can't they see that this land was promised to the Jews? Or are they just a bunch of "anti-semites" who don't appreciate the historical persecution suffered by the Jews?