Reply #22: OK, my comments about people screaming for blood are [View All]

[Colorado Blue]

a reflection of actual speeches that are, and have been, aimed at Jewish people and at Israel. This is by no means an ancient phenomenon. Any study of political propaganda from before the establishment of the State of Israel, up to the present time, will reveal verbiage that would make a Hitler blush.

There are several links to this in a thread called "Modern antisemitism" in I/P.

I did not accuse Juan Cole of this. However, it is and has been, a distressingly common refrain throughout the Middle East. Attacks on Jewish people world wide are greatly on the increase. I attribute this at least in part, to the propogation of falsehoods and lies. Again, I refer you to the documention cited above. If you can't find it, let me know. I am not even including the American Nazis, who are becoming increasingly visible.

Yes, "junta" is OTT. And compared to the influence of the oil-producing states, AIPAC has next to zero. A careful examination of Anglo-American politics in the M.E., and of the nature and composition of the oil industry itself, should reveal that the elephant in the soup bowl isn't some Jewish conspiracy, but the oil industry and its connections - for example, to Saudi Arabia. The Bush family is intimately connected there. Again, there are books on this topic.

The continuous presence of the Jewish people on the West Bank isn't racial or rascist thinking. This is the original homeland of the Jewish people. The spiritual connection to Jerusalem has kept this people together throughout 2,000 years of Diaspora. You really cannot simplify this matter into a matter or race or nationality. It is much vaster, yet more ephemeral, than that.

I will post a poem about this later, from the 11th century, when I have time.

What IS rascist, is a suggestion that the West Bank should be rendered free of Jews.

Beyond that, whatever else you might think, Eretz Israel was established and exists today, primarily as a much-needed lifeboat. It is unfortunate, but repeated persecutions and attempts at exterminations have created a garrison state.

As far as sovereignty is concerned, the land was given over to the Jewish people for their homeland by a series of transactions, including large land purchases, declarations of the League of Nations, the United Nations, and so forth. It was also fought for in a series of wars, notably the 6-Day War, to which I can append a link if you would like, and which was a DEFENSIVE war.

What the hell, here's a link, including the expressed desire by Nasser to destroy Israel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Day_War

Perhaps, you believe that Judaism is just irrational tribal thinking. Maybe so. Who, after all, would rationally buy 5,768 years of aggravation?

But, I'll tell you something: if you, as a person, live only in the rational world, you are missing something. More importantly, perhaps, as a political thinker you are missing something important about the nature of humanity.

There are dimensions to life that can't be expressed by linear thought.

So what the hey, here's one of my favorite poems:

"Now, When the Waters are Pressing Mightily"

Now, when the waters are pressing mightily
on the walls of the dams,
now, when the white storks, returning,
are transformed in the middle of the firmament
into fleets of jet planes,
we will feel again how strong are the ribs
and how vigorous is the warm air in the lungs
and how much daring is needed to love on the exposed plain,
when the great dangesr are arched above,
and how much love is required
to fill all the empty vessels
and the watches that stopped telling time,
and how much breath,
a whirlwind of breath,
to sing the small song of spring.

Yehuda Amichai, 1924-2000, translated from the Hebrew by Leon Wieseltier