Must read: “An Irrational, obscene hatred” by William Shawcross
An excellent piece by William Shawcrowssin the Jerusalem Post today. This, a standback piece looking at the hypocrisy and moral inversion of Israel’s critics in the West, is one to send around to everyone you know.
Anyone who appreciates this piece will (I hope) also find my recent book, A State Beyond the Pale: Europe’s Problem with Israel interesting.
While I’m at it, there’s also an interesting piecein the Times today about Muslim conversion in British prisons. Certainly a sign of the times in more respects than one…
Tags: Israel
June 8th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
it’s almost becoming absolutley ridiculous. how do people defend israel against the zombie masses. i’d like to know what their experiences are. i’m constantly attempting to get people to think about what they are reading and be critical but the only thing people say is israel should give back gaza.
that’s how ignorant people are. im stunned by the standard of the media here in australia, it’s absolutley taking the bbc / guardian line and people are sucking it up.
June 8th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
At least in the U.S., there are many millions who aren’t so stupid:
From Power Line:
The Truth Leaks Out
“It is remarkable how often Americans are able to deduce the truth about a news story, given how little help they get from the mainstream media. Another instance: Rasmussen Reports finds that by a 49%-19% margin, voters blame “activists” on board the Mavi Marmara, rather than Israel, for the violence that accompanied the boarding of that ship. The remaining 32% are undecided.
I suppose, if you are a glass-half-empty sort of person, you could say that the MSM have succeeded in confusing one-half of all voters.”
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/06/026480.php
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And this is where it all leads…
Spain: Pro-Palestinian activists attack Israeli businessmen
“Conference held by Spain-Israel Chamber of Commerce at Madrid’s Autonomous University cut short after 200 protestors burst into hall chanting, ‘Murderers, get out of Gaza’; one Israeli lightly wounded when police vehicle stoned
Five Israeli businessmen were attacked on Monday by pro-Palestinian activists during a conference at the Autonomous University of Madrid.”
More at the link:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3902046,00.html
June 9th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
William Shawcross: “Israel is an imperfect society (like any other), but it has extraordinary social, scientific and scholastic achievements. Despite living under endless threats, it is far closer to the liberal ideal of a free society than any other in the Middle East.”
Well, this is the only sentence that caught my eyes and the only sentence with which I disagree. Sin by minimalization. For me there can be no doubt that Israel – by its very nature and circumstances – is actually “far closer to the liberal ideal of a free society than any other.” Well, here the sentence ends. Full stop. Israel’s liberal democracy is actually *better* than Britain’s, Holland’s, Denmark’s or any other. Seriously. If anyone disagrees, be my guest and I’ll expound on the whys.