I don't think this issue gets talked about enough. It's a serious problem in world affairs.

[EDIT] serious moral problem

Here is a quick link to his site:

maxblumenthal.com

Quick link to the full speech: http://fora.tv/2009/09/29/Republican_Gomorrah_Max_Blumenthal

He's not a very good orator but he's a clever and very well documented bugger. Worth a watch.

Being Israeli, I felt compelled to register just to comment on this, it made me feel a bit warm inside, the same kind of warmth I imagine many sifters here get when they watch any of the bucket-loads of liberal media/politics videos posted here every day.
What I want to address here is the issue of racism and hypocrisy, not the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I can imagine what this guy's videos showed, I've lived in Jerusalem and the surrounding area all my life, I've went through the Israeli education system and I served in the military. Saying Israelis are racist and hypocritical (as a generalization obviously) would be an understatement. You see Israel has its own special brand of patriotism, so much more powerful and blind than any other I'm aware of. If, as liberal Americans, you find yourselves sick and tired of the "America can do no wrong" mentality, the sort of thinking that drives republican politics, that fuels right-wing arguments about the merits of torture and military action, that gives the multitude of liberal comedians their daily material, let me tell you, you haven't seen shit. You're sick and tired of religious bigotry? again, you haven't seen shit.
If you're the kind of people that can't possibly comprehend how it is possible for gay marriage or abortions to be forbidden by law, how would you feel living in a country where marriage outside one's religion is forbidden by law? How would you feel living in a country that is by definition Jewish? where by just being born to a Jewish mother you are automatically entitled to citizenship?

I don't want to ramble on for too long, just to be clear again, I'm not talking about the conflict in the middle east, I try to be as apolitical as possible, I honestly don't have enough faith in my fellow man to hope for a better world in my life time, I don't doubt the Arab side has its fair share of racism. I wholeheartedly agree with this guy's comment about a double standard on the issue of Israel, again, being one, I constantly feel like I'm drowning in the all powerful Jewish/Israeli propaganda machine, surrounded by people who have lost touch with reality. The irony is that you see the phenomenon most distinctively on the hoards of Jewish Americans that swarm this city on a daily basis.

^ What he said. Every word.

The Isreali community is insular. In the modern era it has to be said that this resulted as a defense mechanism not as much from internal prejudice as from external hostility. They did it to survive pogroms, the holocaust, invasion, and terrorism. Prejudice in any direction is not justified but Blumenthal routinely cherry-picks only 'bad Isreali' issues while ignoring the pervasive anti-Semitism surrounding Isreal even today. Does that mean Isreal is a guiltless chior-boy? No - but to harp on them as if the issue is all their fault is disingenous and biased at best. It is racist in itself at worst.

But perhaps I mis-speak. I doubt Blumenthal & neolibs like him care squat about the 'racism' here. That is simply a cloak to wrap around a political aim. Ending the US/Isreal relationship would allow deep military cuts and extricate the US from an unpopular political stance. That's Blumenthal's real issue here. He doesn't care jack whether Palestinians & Isrealis hate each other. His real target is US foreign policy. It isn't hard to find a few jackasses in a population by emulating the MadCow/Moore school of propoganda. Find the extremists, portray them as the majority, and wait for the stupid & gullible to march like lemmings. Yawn - I have a larger resistance to bullcrap than that. Nice try.

>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
...... Ending the US/Isreal relationship would allow deep military cuts and extricate the US from an unpopular political stance. That's Blumenthal's real issue here. He doesn't care jack whether Palestinians & Isrealis hate each other. His real target is US foreign policy. ..........


And for that, I applaud him. Cutting wasteful spending and avoiding harmful foreign entanglements. I wish so-called conservatives and libertarians had the same goals in mind, rather than feeding an apocalyptic pipe dream in the 'holy lands'.

Videosift + serious political discussion = Asshats. Stick to the funnies and cartoons.

Cutting wasteful spending and avoiding harmful foreign entanglements. I wish so-called conservatives and libertarians had the same goals in mind,

I'd love the US to 'get out' of Isreal, Korea, Europe, and a lot of places. A constant military presence all over the world is an outdated paradigm. With modern technology we don't need large military bases dotting the planet. Build the strong military at home & let everyone else run their own affairs.

Problem is the world keeps begging us to 'step in' (ironically, Europe most of all). They LOVE us having a strong military because they consider it to be 'their' military be default. They don't have to maintain a large defense, because we're doing it for them. I say it is long overdue for Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and all the other EU powers to step up and take care of thier own military needs.

But realistically for Isreal, what is the alternative? It is pretty much a given that if the US walks away there would be a horrific bloodbath. The US both (A) provides at least a modicum of a brake on Isreal and (B) prevents the Arab world from booting up Holocaust 2.0 tomorrow. Let's be frank. Europe is neither inclined or capable of halting Muslim aggression if it flares up badly in Isreal or anywhere else. Europe relies on the US to do its dirty work. It isn't an ideal solution, but the US presence is currently about the only real 'stabilizing' influence in that region. Are we prepared to accept the consequences and implications of ending that?

With racists like Avigdor Lieberman in charge, it looks like Peace is the last thing on the mind of the Israeli gov.

"Peace an illusion, says Israel FM "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8296809.stm

>> ^thumpa28:
Videosift + serious political discussion = Asshats. Stick to the funnies and cartoons.


You are probably on the wrong video site, here let me help you out: youtube.com

Do we need to make the correlating list of Muslim leaders who demonstrate just as much racism, and far more willingness to kill? As I said before - this is not a one sided issue. People like AL wouldn't be voted into power if Isreal wasn't being forced to discuss "peace" terms with guys like Arafat, Abbas, & other terrorists masquarading as politicians.

The Isreali's elected a guy do deal with the situation as it exists. I don't applaud it, but I can at least intellectually understand it and even sympathize to a degree. Isreal's security has improved tremendously by adopting hard-line positions. Before they were getting bombings regularly. Once they built walls and established buffer zones in Gaza, the Palestinians were reduced to blindly lobbing rockets at random. From the point of view of the average Isreali, the increase in security would be well worth it.

Other nations take that kind of security for granted. Once it is obtained, then a society has the luxury of generating citizens who are safe enough to have the liesure and idleness required to stew in their own guilty consciences over the 'price' of security. What we have here are a bunch of buttinskys wagging their fingers at Isreal from the safety of their armchairs.

The Palestinians have it tough - no question. Isreal is really turning the screws and it makes life hard for them. What are Isreal's options? 1. They can give the Palestinians what they want (which is never enough parenthetically) and go back to daily bombings. 2. They can maintain their stance and keep thier people safe. Hmmm - agree with the people who want to KILL us or defend ourselves...? Not a very tough choice really.

The false premise here is that for some reason Isreal is always held 100% 'responsible' for the Palestinian plight. Uh uh. There are at least three seats at the table. The Pals need to be far more aggressive at stomping out their extremist factions and behaving like a peace-seeking people. Then Isreal will have cause to believe that providing them territory will not result in security comprimises.

And (most critically) the REST OF THE FREAKING ARAB WORLD needs to stop pretending they are innocent bystanders in all this mess. Yeah - it sucked that the Palestinians got shafted after WW2. But the Pals wouldn't be in so much trouble if guys like Egypt, Syria, Lybia, and everyone else was willing to cut them some slack as opposed to expecting Isreal to just go away.

>> ^thumpa28:
Videosift + serious political discussion = Asshats. Stick to the funnies and cartoons.


You must be new here...

and a little slow.

>> ^demon_ix:
^ What he said. Every word.


Comment upvote whore.

>> ^blankfist:
Comment upvote whore.


Shhh. Have an upvote!

>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
Yawn - I have a larger resistance to bullcrap than that. Nice try.


Oh, this made my day. Good one pennypacker.

>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
Do we need to make the correlating list of Muslim leaders who demonstrate just as much racism, and far more willingness to kill? As I said before - this is not a one sided issue. People like AL wouldn't be voted into power if Isreal wasn't being forced to discuss "peace" terms with guys like Arafat, Abbas, & other terrorists masquarading as politicians.

Agreed, not a one sided issue at all. Still talking with the butcher Sharon might not have been much fun for them either.


The Isreali's elected a guy do deal with the situation as it exists. I don't applaud it, but I can at least intellectually understand it and even sympathize to a degree. Isreal's security has improved tremendously by adopting hard-line positions. Before they were getting bombings regularly. Once they built walls and established buffer zones in Gaza, the Palestinians were reduced to blindly lobbing rockets at random. From the point of view of the average Isreali, the increase in security would be well worth it.

Is it possible these hardline policies have made Israel less safe in the long run?


Other nations take that kind of security for granted. Once it is obtained, then a society has the luxury of generating citizens who are safe enough to have the liesure and idleness required to stew in their own guilty consciences over the 'price' of security. What we have here are a bunch of buttinskys wagging their fingers at Isreal from the safety of their armchairs.

Ummm... more Americans have died in terrorist attacks in the last decade than Israelis.


The Palestinians have it tough - no question. Isreal is really turning the screws and it makes life hard for them. What are Isreal's options? 1. They can give the Palestinians what they want (which is never enough parenthetically) and go back to daily bombings.

To be fair, they never tried option 1. It's not that those mean palestinians always want more, Israel never conceded anything. Even when they did on paper, they never actually did it. They continually built more settlements, and annexed more territory. In fact your wall may just be the most egregious example.


2. They can maintain their stance and keep thier people safe. Hmmm - agree with the people who want to KILL us or defend ourselves...? Not a very tough choice really.

There were more attacks on Israeli soil under Sharon than under Rabin. Who's policies kept Israel safer?

The false premise here is that for some reason Isreal is always held 100% 'responsible' for the Palestinian plight. Uh uh. There are at least three seats at the table. The Pals need to be far more aggressive at stomping out their extremist factions and behaving like a peace-seeking people. Then Isreal will have cause to believe that providing them territory will not result in security comprimises.

So instead you are suggesting that the Palestinians are 100% responsible. Why are the Palestinians the only ones who need to show good faith here? The problem is that neither side trusts the other side to follow through on their promises... both with good reason. Hamas receives support because it is the only organization that actually provides infrastructure to the Palestinians. They are the only ones building roads, schools, hospitals, providing aid, etc... Perhaps if Israel showed some good faith by doing those things, Hamas would struggle to recruit.


And (most critically) the REST OF THE FREAKING ARAB WORLD needs to stop pretending they are innocent bystanders in all this mess. Yeah - it sucked that the Palestinians got shafted after WW2. But the Pals wouldn't be in so much trouble if guys like Egypt, Syria, Lybia, and everyone else was willing to cut them some slack as opposed to expecting Isreal to just go away.

Well, I'd just as soon the rest of the Arab world quit pursuing their present course of action, which is less innocent bystander, and more aspiring nuclear annihilator. I don't think the little border wall is going to protect anyone from that.

Is it possible these hardline policies have made Israel less safe in the long run?

Perhaps - but holistically speaking when the 'end-game' objective of both the Palestinians and the rest of the Muslim world is the 100% explusion (1 way or another) of Isreal from the region, then you have to ask just exactly how "less safe" can they be no matter what position they take?

To be fair, they never tried option 1. It's not that those mean palestinians always want more, Israel never conceded anything.

I intend no offense - but that's baloney. Isreal's entire policy in the 70s, 80s, and 90s was concession after concession. At one point when Clinton was in office they had a deal right on the table that gave the Palestinians 90% of everything they wanted. Did Arafat sign it? Of course not. He rejected it flat out. I'm not saying that 'only Isreal' has been trying here, but to imply that Isreal has never conceeded ANYTHING is pure horse hockey.

So instead you are suggesting that the Palestinians are 100% responsible.

No - I'm saying the Pals need to stop talking 'peace' while planting bombs. Israel has no reason to offer concessions to a party that is openly hostile.

Well, I'd just as soon the rest of the Arab world quit pursuing their present course of action, which is less innocent bystander, and more aspiring nuclear annihilator.

Agreed, but I'm talking about the fact that Arab countries could be doing a lot to help the Pals. Give them land. Give them infrastructure. Help them out. Instead they funnel money to Hamas, which may do some good things but also does a TON of bad things. They can't actively support terrorism and pretend they are not culpable.

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Every one eats, sleeps, and shits in generally the same ways.

So fuck you if you think you are better than another man simply because of their race, culture, or whatever the fuck.

I rembemer seeing an article in the NY times. I skimmed through it, but it was about the racial tension in the region. The picture that was attached told me all I neede to know. A jewish boy spitting, and at the same time doucing wine at an elderly palestine woman as she walked down the street.

As for the attack on MSNBC that duude talks about. I think the dems have a big enough fight in our country, and have been rightfully dealing with issues in america rather than global ones. 2 people can only be expected to do so much in the political arena.

>> ^highdileeho:
I rembemer seeing an article in the NY times. I skimmed through it, but it was about the racial tension in the region. The picture that was attached told me all I neede to know. A jewish boy spitting, and at the same time doucing wine at an elderly palestine woman as she walked down the street.
As for the attack on MSNBC that duude talks about. I think the dems have a big enough fight in our country, and have been rightfully dealing with issues in america rather than global ones. 2 people can only be expected to do so much in the political arena.


I am not trying to suggest that the racial bigotry is one sided. I also have no idea what it's like be in that situation, which is why I applaud Bloomenthal's efforts to shed A perspective.

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the jews are the god's chosen people. and that' their land. or so their book says. sometimes that strikes me as being slightly self-serving. but I guess that means they are wicked special. and un-jews aren't.

with different religions around the world there seems to be a variable loss of reality, and it seems like the more special you are, the more out of touch you are.

anyone else notice this?