She Called Me a Radical

I seldom use this blogspot to defend myself. In fact, if I’m not accused of being “anti-Semitic” from time to time, I feel like I am falling down on the job. 

However, when I was dis-invited to speak to a church group because their leader said, “I understand perfectly well what is happening between Israel and the Palestinians, but Tom is a radical.”  I had two responses.

First, if she really understood what is happening over there, why is she not a radical. When the rich and powerful openly oppress, abuse, misrepresent, rob and kill a weaker people to take their land and resources, it is not a time for calmness and business as usual. It is a time to scream for justice, understanding and compassion.

Second, I am not the radical. I want peace and a decent life for the Israelis and the Palestinians. What’s radical about that?  In fact, I am a conservative. I want to conserve human rights and civil rights and women’s rights. The radicals are in Washington and Tel Aviv.

I want to urge those extremist in Washington to make the motto of “liberty and justice for all” the standards by which America treats the world. What is radical about that?

It’s not the American people but those in Washington who are screaming for war with Iran. They are the ones who want to allow the most right wing bully of another nation dictate our U.S. foreign policy. They are the ones who are willing to sell out the average American for one more term in Congress.  And they are the ones who over and over again put our moral standards in jeopardy before the international community by voting the interest of Israel above the well-being of the United States. I say, “That’s radical.”   

Want radical?  Representative Steve Israel, in an interview with Mondoweiss, boldly declared his loyalty to Israel.

I support Israel through and through, no matter what atrocities it commits.

My job as congressman from NY district 3 is to advocate for Israel at all cost. People argue that I harbor dual loyalty. They’re totally wrong I’m just loyal to Israel. We share a name after all… I have to keep the military aid flowing. Israel can never have enough white phosphorus. Am I right?[1]

Now, that’s radical.

Also, compared to those drastic leaders in Tel Aviv,  I am not radical. 

Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, recently appointed Civil Administrator responsible for all aspects of the occupation, said on August 1, 2013:

            Palestinians are beasts, they are not human.

Four months later he adds:

            A Jew always has a much higher soul than a gentile, even if he is a homosexual.[2]

When elected officials justify Israel’s brutal treatment of Palestinians on the grounds that God (Yahweh) gave Palestine to the Jews, and when they quote Genesis 12 as a real estate deed, I see that as rather radical and drastic. That’s when I become very conservative. I want to conserve the moral and ethical teachings of their own Jewish prophets. I want to conserve such things as:

--- Remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:16-17)

--- For the Lord is a God of justice. (Isaiah 30:18)

--- Behold my servant, He will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)

--- For I, the Lord, love justice. (Isaiah 61:8)

--- Thus says the Lord,  Do justice and righteousness and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless and the widow, nor shed innocent blood. (Jeremiah 22:3)

--- Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:24)

--- Justice and only justice, you shall follow that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Deuteronomy 16:20)

In fact, listen to the Bible and it is clear that God is a God of justice. If you know this about God and you don’t know anything else, you will know more of God than if you know everything else there is to know of God, and you don’t know this. God is passionate for justice. 

The lady who called me a radical was right in being concerned about the injustice brought about by the radicals in positions of leadership. It’s just that I am not one of them.

Thomas Are

June 5, 2015

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[1] Scott Roth, Mondoweiss Exclusive: One on One with Rep. Steve Israel. Mondoweiss, April 1, 2015.

[2] Philip Weiss, Netanyahu Deputy Charged with Administrating Palestinians Says They are “Beasts, Not Human.” Mondoweiss, May 9, 2015

To Get Elected

Want to get elected, especially to a national office? It seems that all you have to do is to “out-Israel” your opponent.  Sell out the Palestinians. Never try to be neutral or talk about the facts on the ground.  Forget being fair and ignore such things as murder, torture and terrorizing innocent kids. It will not be enough to refrain from criticizing Israel, you have to be pro-Israel, no matter what Israel does, even if Israel’s actions put Americans at risk or gets them killed, you have to “out-Israel” all your opponents.

Of course, those running against you know that they have to “out-Israel” you.  But, there is no limit to how “Israel” you can be.  Never mind that Israel has become a paranoid nation. Never mind the unbelievable massacres unleashed on the people of Gaza over the past decade, and the thousands of Palestinians, including children, who have been put in prison without charge. Never mind the children who have been abused, the thousands of homes demolished, the trees uprooted, the water and property stolen.  Just declare Israel a democracy with whom we share moral and pious values.  Such is the approved program for the day and our politicians have caught on.

Allison Deger writes:

Carly Fiorina promises to make Israel her first phone call as president. Mike Huckabee is “just nuts” about Israel. Jeb Bush calls settlements “apartments.” Ben Carson wants to transfer the Palestinians to Egypt. Marco Rubio has taken to dining with top-donor Sheldon Adelson. Ted Cruz is making the rounds with Fire Island’s pro-Israel community. And, Lindsey Graham who  has not announced his bid, said if he is president he will have the first “all-Jewish” cabinet.[1]

Mike Huckabee said on his campaign website, “In a world of uncertainty, evil, and moral insanity, Israel is a shining light of moral clarity. The enemies of Israel are the enemies of America… There is no Christian faith without a Jewish state”[2] 

He just wiped out the faith of millions of Christians including Saint Frances, Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. But, he knows the mind of God and according to him, God wants those Palestinians out of there.  And how does Huckabee know this?  Because a Jewish scribe heard a voice that only Jews could understand and wrote that a Jewish god, named Yehweh, said that the non-Jews had no value, and that he wanted the Jews, and no one else, to have the land of Palestine, now and forever.  How about that? And because Huckabee knows all this, anything the state of Israel does to the Palestinians is OK.  It’s all about what God’s wants. Huckabee believes that the Jewish people have God’s blessings upon acts of immorality and injustice against a weaker people, including terrorism, ethnic cleansing, occupation, oppression, and torture.  All of them are acceptable because the Jews of Israel are doing them.

Ted Cruz, got a 30-second ovation at Liberty University when he said, “Instead of a president who boycotts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, imagine a president who stands unapologetically with the nation of Israel.”

Cruz, the tea party icon became angry and walked off the stage in the middle of a speech hosted by a Christian organization because they did not see Israel through the same narrow  blinders that limit his vision.

I will say this: “If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you. Thank you and God bless you,” he said walking off the stage…”Anti-Semitism is a corrosive evil, and it reared its ugly head tonight.[3]

Marco Rubio in a speech to Congress said, “How much better would the middle east be if more countries looked like Israel and less like Iraq and Syria.” Rubio’s biggest backer, Norman Braman is said to have committed at least $10 million to the campaign, says, “U.S. must be a ‘global military power’ so that we can sustain Israel.” He did not say to sustain  the security and safety of America, but, so we can sustain Israel.”[4]

Ben Carson, advocates transferring all Palestinians to the Sinai desert and then taking over their property. He claims that the criticism of the settlements “has been exaggerated,” and that Palestinian hostility toward Israel is what is preventing peace. The Guardian reports him as saying, “I would make sure that Israel knew that we had their back. Because if their neighbors know that we’re backing them up, they’re not going to be anywhere near as aggressive.”[5]

Carla Fiorina states, “This administration has made the world a more dangerous place by the way they have treated Israel” She said this with a straight face as her former company, Hewlett-Packard, makes money off of the occupation of Palestinian lands.[6]

Rand Paul vows “that any attack on Israel will be as an attack on the United States.”[7]

These kind of comments are not “slip ups” heard only when the mike is “left on” by mistake. They are main line headlines for our politicians. It has been said that Benjamin Netanyahu has become the leader of the GOP and support for his militaristic policies has become a Republican litmus test.

Want to get elected? Then cheer the Prime Minister of Israel and swear loyalty to his state. Vote for everything he demands.  Of course, doing so will probably get the US engaged in another war with yet another Muslim nation. Never mind that following his leadership has given birth to Islamic Jihad and ISIS. He is to be hailed and heeded. Want to be elected, then puff Israel.  It’s the only way.

Even though support for Israel has become the Republican party line, it is not limited to Republicans. I wish it were. Peter Beinart calls Hillary Clinton, “Israel’s new lawyer.  Haim Saban,  Israel’s Channel One’s interviewer  said of Hillary Clinton, “Everything that she thinks and everything she has done and will do will always be for the good of Israel.[8]

Because she is so eager to see the world through the eyes of Benjamin Netanyahu, she blames Hamas for all conflicts between Israel and Gaza.  “Hamas just wanted to pile up dead civilians for the cameras… the Palestinians stage-manage civilian deaths to win the sympathy of an anti-Semitic world.”[9]

You start a war with Hamas with a lie about the murder of three Israeli teenagers. You fought the war with exceptional brutality, killing hundreds of children and civilians, leveling whole streets and bombarding hospitals and United Nations shelters with indiscriminate artillery fire…and when world opinion turns against you, what do you do?   You turn to Hillary Clinton.[10]  “If I were the Prime Minister of Israel, you’re damn right,” she says. “I would expect to have security.”

Peter Beinart says in Haaretz: “Clinton offered the most articulate sophisticated, passionate defense of Netanyahu’s conduct I’ve heard from a government official on either side of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, important chunks of it aren’t true.”[11]

It might be easier and surely would save a lot of money if we would skip the primaries.  In fact, we might just skip the election altogether and just ask Benjamin Netanyahu who he wants in the White House to jump through his hoops. Why not just ask him to appoint the next President of the United States. What do you think?   

Thomas Are

May 16, 2015

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[1] Allison Deger,  As Presidential Field Broadens, GOP candidates Race to Show Their Love for Israel, Mondoweiss, May 7, 2015.

[2] Same article by Allison Deger.

[3] Johnathan Topaz, Ted Cruz booed, Walks off Stage. Politico.com  March 24, 2015

[4] Philip Weiss, Rubio’s Backer says U.S. must be “global military power” so that We can Sustain Israel. Mondoweiss, May 12, 2015

[5] Associated Press, Republican Presidential hopeful Ben Carson Seeks to buff Image in Israel, The Guardian , Dec.  10, 2014.

[6] Allison Deger,  As Presidential Field Broadens, GOP candidates Race to Show Their Love for Israel, Mondoweiss, May 7, 2015.

[7] Also from Allison Deger, Mindoweiss, May 7, 2015

[8] Philip Weiss, Everything Hillary Clinton will do will always be for Israel – Saban warns the Republicans. Mondoweiss,  April 18, 2015.

[9] Interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, Tough Hillary Clinton says, “Dreadful” pictures of dead women and children make it hard to get at truth – Hamas is to Blame.

[10] Ed Moloney, Hillary Clinton’s 11^th-hour Diplomacy.  August 17, 2015

[11] Tough Hillary interview with Jeff Goldberg.

It's Discouraging

The meeting was over.  We had just heard a talk by a Palestinian activist sharing what his life is like under military occupation. As we stood to leave, a man in front of me, his name tag read, “Ben,” turned around and said, “It’s discouraging. But, what can I do? I guess the best thing is to just pray.”

Here are a few suggestions for Ben:

1 – BUMPER STICKERS

Some say, “I don’t want to use my car to make a political statement.”  I say, Why not?  If we believe in something, a bumper sticker is an easy way to show our solidarity with the suffering people of Palestine and stand up for peace and justice.  I have had a FREE PALESTINE sticker on my car for 15 years and I remember getting the ‘finger” only once. On the other hand, it has been a great conversation starter. 

I returned to my car, parked on a city side street, and there stood a woman staring at my bumper.  O Boy, I thought, now I am going to get my head knocked off. 

             “Is this your car?” she asked,

“Yes.”

“I agree.” And, she said, “I am Jewish.  I feel lonely at my synagogue.  It feels good to know that I am not alone.” 

From bushy bearded motorcycle riders to totally covered Muslim ladies, I have received expression of appreciation from those who do not want to feel alone.  All a bumper sticker does is show solidarity, but how valuable that is.[1]

2 – LISTEN AND CONFRONT

While sitting at a table for ten in a restaurant, a man I hardy knew, said something about the stupid Palestinians firing rockets.  He was too far away to engage in a conversation without turning the dinner party into a shouting match, so, I made a face as though I had been whiffed by a smell from a sewer.   He got my message and I could only hope it made him uncomfortable. 

Under different circumstances, we might see it as an opportunity to say something like, “I used to think that way. But, then I read Elias Chacour’s book, BLOOD BROTHERS and it pointed out another way.” There are many books, many by Jewish authors, which have helped me to better understand that situation and my part in it. [2]

3 – FLAG

On May 15, Nakba Day, and March 16^th, the anniversary of the crushing of Rachael Corrie,  people walking by will see a Palestinian flag flying in front of our house.  It is a small way to show solidarity with those oppressed by Israel’s occupation and has led to meeting several like minded friends.

4 – JEWISH VOICE for PEACE

Ben could also send $100 to Jewish Voice for Peace,[3]  This is a nation wide organization of Jews committed to the ethical teaching of their scriptures, such as Jeremiah, Isaiah and the Psalms. At great rick of being isolated from family, friends and religious community, they live out the historical mandate of their faith by marching, demonstrating and teaching justice for all, especially those oppressed by religion, racism or pariah nations.

Jewish Voice for Peace is growing in number and influence.  Anyone experiencing discrimination will have a friend in JVP. 

5 – BDS

Ben could  join hundreds of thousands of world wide supporters of BDS, (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions), a call from Palestinian civil and religious leaders to pressure Israel  to end the occupation. Sanctions are the actions of governments. Divestments are the actions of corporations. But, individuals, like Ben, can boycott those companies that profit from the occupation, such as Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard, and any business that sells soda stream, to name  a few.[4]  

6 – WRITE LETTERS

Letters to the Editor on the Israel/Palestine crisis seldom get published, but every now and then, one will get through.  At least, they are read by the editor.

I often write letters to my elected officials which I am convinced are never read. I get back a form letter addressing none of my concerns. But, who knows. If our representatives in Congress got ten letters from ten different people expressing concern over the same issue, it might get mentioned at their staff meeting.  Every little bit of awareness might help.  At least, it helps me to write them.

7 – READ AND RECOMMEND BOOKS

There are a hundred books out there addressing Israel’s brutal oppression of the Palestinians.  Ben could read any one of them and be motivated to take a little risk and share it with a friend.  We do not get an honest representation of what is happening from our media, our politicians or even from out pulpits.  Our best resource for accurate reporting can be found in books and in the social media.  A great place to start is with the Website Mondoweiss.

8 – Then Ben could pray.  But unless he, and all of us, do the kind of things listed above, it will do little good to pray.

I understand that Ben is discouraged. I want to say, That is OK. Go ahead and be discouraged,  even get depressed and feel like quitting.  It's a normal part of working for justice for any cause.  Take off a day, or  two, even let it go for a week.  But, then get back up, dust yourself off, and get right back in the fight.

Thomas Are

May 10, 2015

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[1] FREE PALESTINE bumper stickers may be purchased for $2 from the Palestine Online Store, a not-for-profit that has been promoting Palestine products since 2005.

[2] I recommend: Mark Braverman – FATAL EMBRACE

                          Max Blumenthal, GOLIATH, 

                          Mico Peled – THE GENERAL’S SON.

                          Paul Finley – THEY DARE TO SPEAK OUT.

            A valued internet resource is:   www.mondoweiss.com

            And a must see documentary is: PEACE, PROPAGANDA and the PROMISED LAND

                 Media Education Foundation, 60 Masonic St., Northampton,  MA  01060

                     Email: sales@mediaed.org

[3] Jewish Voice for Peace, 1611 Telegraph Ave.  Suite 1020, Oakland, CA  94612

     Phone  (510) 465-1777        Email:  info@jvp.org

[4] Google BDS for a more comprehensive story of the BDS movement, a boycott list and suggestions for actions toward divestment. 

Who Retaliates

Did you see it in the news?  ABC reported that Israel retaliated against a rocket fired from Gaza. One crude, unguided, homemade rocket landed in an open field in the southern part of Israel, causing no injury to anyone or damage to any structure. However, the news was of “Israel’s retaliation.”

The news faithfully reports the violence, yet seldom mentions the cause of that violence. It is presented as authorities controlling riots. These authorities, however,  are occupying someone else’s land, fighting to seize more land and water that does not belong to them. How can it be retaliation when Israel is the aggressor?

Hanon Ashrawi comments:

It is not presented as an army using its arsenal against young people who are largely unarmed, who are besieged, who are protesting because of the occupation against the total oppression of their whole nation… Israel is the aggressor, killing people in their own homes on their own land, yet it is presented as though the Palestinians attacked Israel which is now simply “retaliating.”[i]

According to: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Only 4% of Network Reports even mention the word “occupation.”

Neither the Associated Press, nor ABC News, included in their story of “Israel’s retaliation” the context of that rocket, the one and only rocket fired at Israel from Gaza this year.”[ii]  At the same time, unreported in the mainstream media during that same time:

In the three months January-March, there were six military incursions - when Israeli forces invaded the Gaza Strip then withdrew – and 67 shooting attacks on land and at sea.[iii]

According to our news media, attacks on Palestinians are normal, certainly not news worthy.  It is only when someone from the occupied territories fires back that it merits a story.  As long as no Israeli is forced to duck, it is seen as a time of “calm” no matter how many Palestinians become victims of Israel’s aggression.  “Israeli forces injured dozens of Palestinians and foreign activist on April 3rd using live fire to suppress weekly marches in West Bank…another Palestinian was injured and dozens more suffered excessive tear gas inhalation during clashes with Israeli forces at the weekly march at Bil’in.”[iv] No headlines in my paper.

On April 2nd, Israeli soldiers arrested Palestinian parliamentarian, Khalida Jarrar for “unspecified reasons.”  She joined 16 other Palestinian lawmakers currently serving time in Israeli prisons.[v]

The next week, April 10th,  a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces at the funeral of his cousin who had died from unattended medical complications while in an Israeli prison.  Thirteen others attending the same funeral were injured by live ammunition and rubber coated bullets.[vi]

The following Thursday, two Palestinians were shot and injured when Israeli soldiers raided their refugee camp.

The next day, Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly protest against the illegal wall and settlements near Ramallah, wounding five, including two by live ammunition.

Settlers attacked Palestinian shepherds, forcing them at gunpoint to go into their homes. Israeli forces arrived and arrested the shepherds.

Back in March, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian fisherman.[vii]

At least 30 children across the West Bank sustained gunshot wounds when Israeli forces used live ammunition to quash protest during the first three months of 2015.

In summary: Since 2000, Israeli security forces have killed over 8,896 Palestinians. At least 1,900 of those have been children.[viii]

A report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory found that, overall, Israel was responsible for 2,314 Palestinian deaths and 17,125 injuries last calendar year...Defense for Children International – Palestine has documented abuse and torture that Palestinian children endure in Israeli prisons, where they are denied due process.[ix]

Today, there are nearly 6,500 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails; 500 of them held under administrative detention without charge or trial. There are 200 child prisoners, 24 women prisoners, and 14 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council behind bars… There are 1500 sick prisoners including 16 severely ill in the Ramle prison clinic, 24 with cancer and 80 with severe illnesses.[x]

Yet compared to a small rocket fired into a field in Israel, none of this merits attention in our news media. I can only imagine the coverage if this were violence against Jews?

Thomas Are

May 2, 2015

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[i] Documentary: Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land, The Media Education Foundation, 2004.

[ii] ABCNew.go.com, Israel Retaliates to Gaza Rocket Attack, No Injuries, AP , Jerusalem, April 23, 2015

[iii] Philip Weiss, One rocket from Gaza outweighs 6 Israeli Incursions and 67 Attacks,  Mondoweiss, April 27, 2015

[iv] Same article as above, Mondoweiss, April 27, 2015

[v] +972 Magazine,  Israeli soldiers arrest feminist Palestinian lawmaker, By Haggai Matar

[vi] From, Today in Palestine, Al-Awda-News, April 10, 2015

[vii] Philip Weiss, One rocket from Gaza outweighs 6 Israeli Incursions and 67 Attacks,  Mondoweiss, April 27, 2015

[viii] Kate, 30 Palestinian Children have been shot with Live Ammunition in Protest last 3 Months.  Mondoweiss, March 25, 2015.

[ix] Sarah Lazare, 2014 Deadliest Year for Palestinians Since 1967, UN Report Finds. Common Dreams, March 27, 2015.

[x] AL-AWDA-News, Palestinian Prisoners Day, April 17, 2015.

Death to ...

All over Iran, there can be seen billboards and graffiti saying, “Death to America,” and “Death to Israel.” It is understandable.  Every Iranian school kid knows about 1953.

I get angry when Israel, or any other country, interferes with our American political process.  It upsets me when a presidential candidate responds to a question concerning our foreign policy by saying, “Well, first, I would call my friend Bibi and ask him what he wants us to do.”  I cringe when Congress treats the Prime Minister of Israel with more respect than they treat our own president.

I get especially angry when Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu urges our Congress to invade Iran because “Iran supports terrorism.”  Of course, the terrorist organizations he has in mind are Hezbollah and Hamas.  However, most people in the world know that Hezbollah came into being to protect its people from Israel’s aggression and fight against Israel’s war to occupy the southern part of Lebanon on order to access the Litani River. Likewise, Hamas came into being to defend the people of Palestine, especially those in Gaza, from Israel’s brutal occupation and imperialism.

Because I know a bit of this history, I am prone to say, “Damn Israel.”  But in my most vicious moments, I do not wish for Israel to be literally damned, for all its citizens to die and burn in hell forever.  It is just an expression of my anger and frustration. But I would never support an invasion of Israel to bring it about.  

Every student in Iran knows that in 1953, the United States, primarily through the CIA, overthrew Mohammad Mossadegh, their democratically elected Prime Minister. He had upped the price of oil to the west in order to offer education and medical care for his own people.  So, we, the United States, had him removed from office.  We chose Reza Pahlavi as the Shah, to rule as a king. As such, he lived in extreme opulence while keeping the people powerless, poor and under control by fear, murder and torture.  When salafist students demonstrated against the Shah’s policies, his SAVAK troops killed them by the hundreds, all the time being supported by the U.S.  Suddenly, the students began shouting, “Death to America,” and took over our embassy.  Most Americans could not understand.

But, remember, those students did not kill a single one of the 52 hostages and eventually let them come home. So, what does “Death to America” mean to the Iranian? 

Riding through Tehran in a taxi, Rick Steves heard the driver suddenly yell, ”Death to traffic.”  Steves wondered what that was all about.  The people of Iran would also say, “Death to summer heat.”  But they did not set out on an invasion plan to kill the traffic or the heat.  “Death to… “ is an expression of anger and frustration, of exasperation and disgust.  But, it’s just an expression. That’s all.    In our culture we would say, “Damn this traffic,” or “damn teen aged drivers.” Or even “damn it is hot.”  But we would never lay out a plan to kill teen aged drivers and have them suffer in hell because of their driving manners.  “Damn” is an expression of frustration with annoying things beyond our control.

Our cultures are different. Iran is a religious culture. From dress codes to gender segregation, public life is regulated and enforced by religious law. Their billboards advertise religious slogans. Murals on the sides of their building praise their leaders and martyrs.  On the other hand, we, in the west, live in a consumer culture. Every blank space is filled with commercial ads. “Buy this or you will never be happy.”  Iranians sacrifice their freedom to religion.  We have our freedom squelched by Wall Street and multinational corporations.  Their younger generation would probably choose to loosen the regulations a bit. But, would they swap their culture for ours? I wonder.[1]

All of this is to say, I hope our political leaders do not lead us into a war with Iran because we do not understand the semantics of their culture.  We did that in 2003. We allowed ourselves to be coaxed into a war with Iraq and we are still suffering the consequences.  And what did we get for it?  More people than ever who hate us, including ISIS.

Benjamin Netanyahu says that Iran is the most dangerous nation earth.  He doesn’t say why, only that we should be afraid. Wiser minds say that the flip side of fear is understanding.[2]   With the stakes so high, surely, it is worth a try.

Thomas Are

April 17, 2015      

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[1] I confess that I am not an authority on Iran. I have never been there. I am not an ambassador nor have I served on any foreign relations committee. However, I have read enough books and listened to enough lectures to know that Iran is misunderstood and demonized by most Americans and we do so at our own peril. 

[2] I have been helped in my understanding of Iran by Rick Steves’ IRAN, a 1-hour Public Television Special, especially his lecture on personal impressions, (2009, Back Door Productions.  Also by several books, including: Flint and Hillary Mann Leverett, Going to Tahran,  Peter Beinard,  The Good Fight,  and Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God. 

Is Benjamin Netanyahu Mentally Unstable

On March 24^th, an airliner carrying 150 people crashed into the French Alps. Immediately, the announcement of this tragedy dominated the news all around the world.  For over a week now, it has been investigated and analyzed from every possible angle. The most horrendous aspect of this story is that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, locked the pilot out of the cockpit, and deliberately crashed the plane.  Every day and every night since then, the airline, medical and news industries have been pulling their hair out asking how this could have happened. How could anyone so mentally unstable be allowed to be put in a position where he could cause such a horrifying act of terror? Could the people who knew him not see that he was mentally ill?

That question must run through the mind of every passenger stepping on a plane. 

We follow the airline accidents and hijackings because we know that it could happen to us. (However, statistics show that the odds of being killed in an airline crash is 1 in 9 million, which means that you would have to fly every day for 19,000 years to die in an airline crash.) However, on the other hand, it is happening every day to the Palestinians, and it has been happening for over sixty years.

So, my question has a much broader scope and far greater consequences:

 Is Benjamin Netanyahu mentally ill?

He is obviously paranoid. He caused, not just the crash of one plane full of people, but he deliberately caused the crash of tons of bombs into buildings full of men, women and children.  He dropped burning white phosphorus on defenseless people.  He blew up power plants, schools, mosques, hospitals and homes leaving thousands dead and tens of thousands destitute.  We are quick to question the sanity of a 28 year old co-pilot who deliberately caused the death of 149 innocent people. But, who questions the sanity of a man who babbled one thing on Monday and the exact opposite the next day and then announced that both statements were the same. Apparently, in his mind, “there will never be a Palestinian state” and “I still support a Palestinian state,” were not contradictory.

And now, Netanyahu is panic stricken over the possible easing of tensions between the US and Iran. On March 30 he actually said, “an emerging agreement in Lausanne sends a message that there is no price for aggression, – on the contrary, Iran gets a prize for its aggression.” [1]  Really?  Strange that he has nothing to say about the pass he gets for Israel’s aggression against the people of Palestine as he holds up the occupation of  Palestinian land and water like a prize. I say again, no rational thinking person could possibly miss the “transference” of his conduct unto the perceived actions of his victims.  A healthy mind would at least recognize that others would see the distortion.

But, what can we expect from a paranoid leader of a paranoid nation but a paranoid response to any situation?

Co-pilot Lubitz, deliberately killed 149 innocent people and the media is 24/7 proving that he was mentally unstable.  Netanyahu deliberately killed … only God knows how many … but thousands and thousands.  Count the wars he has hyped and it could be counted into the millions. I think Netanyahu is showing signs of mental instability and should never have been put into a position of power.

Thomas Are

April 2, 2015

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[1] Earmon Murphy, Day before deadline, Iran negotiations coming “down to the wire’ and Netanyahu still hopes to play spoiler.,  Mondoweiss,  March 30,  2015

Netanyahu Backtracks

The night before his up-set election, Netanyahu vowed that there would never be a Palestinian state on his watch.  The day after his election, he said that he was committed to a two state solution.  What is amazing is that he is having difficulty understanding how anyone can see these statements as contradictory.  “My position has always been the same.”  In Israel, the Prime Minister, as long as the people vote for him, is the law and whatever he says is the truth.   

Nahum Barnea, columnist for Yediot Ahronot, wrote:

            Netanyahu’s promises are like something written on ice on a very hot day”[1]

I wish Netanyahu would backtrack… about sixty years or so and establish a Constitution for Israel to protect all its citizens.  However, until that happens, he is free to shoot from the hip.  He has run Israel for about ten years now and I can think of many ways he could backtrack with dignity.

I wish he could pull the bombs he dropped on the defenseless people of Gaza back up into his planes.  Just this week, on Meet the Press, Ron Dermer, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., referred to the ineffective, crude rockets Hamas fired into southern Israel. At the same time, he failed to complete the picture and mention the 800 tons of bombs Israel dropped on Gaza, killing thousands of people, including 500 children, and causing such destruction that Oxfam says will take a hundred years to rebuild.  Yet according to Ron Dermer, Netanyahu is committed to peace and Hamas is nothing more than a terrorist organization.

I wish Netanyahu could suck back up the white phosphorous bombs which burned to the bone causing uncontrollable agony to anyone unlucky enough to come in contact with this gas. Its use is condemned by international law. When the planes came, as they did for 20 days last summer, children looked up with absolute terror in their eyes. Yet, according to Israel and the US media, the Palestinians, not Israel, are the terrorist.

I wish Netanyahu could backtrack and restore the arms and legs of the victims of his his slaughter of Gaza, offer medical care for the more than 11,000 injured and the more that 1000 children permanently disabled.  And rebuild the schools, hospitals and power plants and the tens of thousands of homes he destroyed in Palestine. And rebuild the economy his policies have wrecked by blocking imports and exports to and from the occupied territories.  I wish he could bring back the life of the fisherman his gunboats killed last week who was fishing within the “allowed” six mile limit Israel imposed upon those seeking food for their families.  However,  Netanyahu “put 1.8 million Gazans on a diet.” According to the UNRWA, 1.5 million Palestinians are food insecure because of Israel’s blockade at the entrance gates.

Yes, I wish Benjamin Netanyahu could wash the blood off of his hands.

The world press is accusing him of back tracking. But, unfortunately, he is not backtracking in anyway that could make a difference.  He is the same Netanyahu who can do anything he wants to do and say anything he wants to say because according to him, and most of the members of the US Congress, he is the only game in town.  Add to that, the support of fifty million Christian Zionists who preach that Israel is God’s chosen people and right away, Israel gets a pass, no matter what it does. Even worse, Netanyahu himself actually believes he is “special,” above accountability to international law, human decency, or to God.   

While Israel gets money, legitimacy and protection because of our “special relationship,” the question is: what do we, the people of the US, get?

We get to bury 34 sailors serving on the USS Liberty in 1967, killed by Israel. Of course, Israel backtracked the next day, claiming that it was a “mistake.”  Admiral Thomas Moorer, Chair of the Joint Chief of Staff, said, “I will never buy the idea that the pilots did not know this was an American ship. The attack was deliberate.”  Our Congress has yet to demanded an investigation.

We get to honor the life of a 23 year old American girl crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer as she stood up to protest the demolition of a Palestinian's home.  Our congress has never demanded an investigation and that was twelve years ago.

We get to have an American humanitarian worker refused entrance into Israel. Without any explanation, a U.S. citizen, at great inconvenience and personal financial cost, is  denied the right to enter Israel in spite of our “special relationship.”  

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Perhaps it is we, the people of the United States, and not Netanyahu, who should backtrack.

Thomas Are

March 25, 2015

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[1] Quoted by Thomas L. Friedman,  Go Ahead, Ruin my Day, New York edition, March 18, 2015, p.A25.