Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 00:29:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Marwan Dalal <dmarwan-AT-yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: FW: TikkunMail Rabbi Michael Lerner (fwd) DC & Boston


the kurds in iraq, of course, not algeria...

--- Marwan Dalal <dmarwan-AT-yahoo.com> wrote:
> I read a lot of West's writing, and consider myself
> influenced by him. It is very unfortunate to
> discover
> that West is ignorant on key issues regarding the
> question of Palestine. But first, a word on Rabbi
> Lerner. 
> 
> During the world conference against racism in
> Durban,
> South Africa, when Israel lost much of the moral
> ground it had gained through years of hasbara, Rabbi
> Lerner chose to write an article for the NY Times
> defending the Morality of the Israeli state. To
> prove
> this morality he stressed the color blindness of the
> zionist project, where whites and blacks are equally
> incorporated in it. The blacks were the Ethiopian
> Jews, who are not exactly equal in Israel, and even
> their Jewishness and that of their relatives in
> Ethiopia is seriously questioned by Israeli
> authorities. But as long as they join the common
> struggle against Palestinian demography, they are
> tolerated, but still not exactly welcomed. Needless
> to
> say, that Rabbi Lerner failed to notice fifth of
> Israel's population, and clearly he would deny the
> right of their refugee brothers and sisters to
> return
> to their homeland and become neighbors of Ethiopian,
> Russian, South American, and Brooklyn Jews.  
> 
> 
> Some comments on West. Would he be that objective
> and
> that neutral had it been the cause of South Africa,
> or
> Black America? "race matters" suggests otherwise. As
> to the facts:
> 1. When Palestinians talk about the West Bank, Gaza,
> and East Jerusalem, it is important to understand
> that
> they are giving a huge concession. The numbers
> illustrate this concession obviously:
> a. 1917: the zionists got a promise from colonial
> Britain to have a national homeland in Palestine
> while
> comprising 10% of the population.
> 
> b. 1947: the UN partition plan granted the zionists
> 54% of Palestine, while comprising 30% of the
> population, and actually owning 7% of the land.
> 
> c. 1948: after the 1948 war the newly established
> Israeli state spread over 78% of Palestine (all of
> it
> except of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem). 
> 
> d. 1967: after the 1967 war Israel controlled 100%
> of
> Palestine. 
> 
> The 1967 occupied territories (22% of historic
> Palestine)  that Israel keeps occupieng again, and
> again, even when it negotiates peace, is not exactly
> a
> concession by it, and certainly not a generous
> offer,
> as most Israelis enjoy lying to themselves. 
> 
> 2. "and for Jewish refugees from Arab land"
> Many point out that Jews did not suffer in the Arab
> and Muslim worlds, as they have in Europe during
> various historical contexts. I, however, think that
> this view is too simplistic. I think that the Arab
> identity has yet to tolerantly adopt an inclusive
> approach towards minorities: the Berbers in Algeria,
> the Kopts in Egypt, and the Kurds in Algeria are
> some
> examples. This applies also for the Jewish identity,
> who, nevertheless, experienced flourishing periods
> in
> Iraq and Egypt. Obviously, Israel's continuous
> assault
> on Palestinians and other Arabs, will delay this
> process, but should not make it dispensable. 
> 
> Asking for any compensation for Jewish refugees from
> Arab lands, is something to be raised in the face of
> Arab governments, not the Palestinians. More
> importantly, there are intellectual Arab Jews (or
> Mizrahis) in Israel, who ask Israel not to interfere
> in such a personal matter (as did the sociologist
> Yehuda Shenhav). Some Mizrahis in Israel might want
> to
> ask Israel to pay them reparations for the treatment
> of their parents in the maabarot, or for not
> convincingly explaining the disappearance of Yemeni
> babies in the early 50's. 
> 
> Marwan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --- Elizabeth DeLoughrey <emd23-AT-cornell.edu> wrote:
> > 
> >    Join TIKKUN COMMUNITY co-chairs Rabbi Michael
> > Lerner and Cornel
> > West in a demonstration at the State Department in
> > D.C. at 11 a.m.
> > on Thursday, April 11, or in similar
> demonstrations
> > in NYC and S.F.
> > that same day. Sorry to inconvenience you during
> the
> > work week, but
> > the slaughter is happening right now. Some of us
> may
> > engage in
> > non-violent civil disobedience (depending on
> whether
> > it makes sense
> > given developments till that moment), others will
> be
> > there to
> > publicly support our call for an international
> force
> > to intervene
> > immediately to separate and protect both sides.
> > 
> > 
> > This is the moment to act decisively. If you share
> > our outrage at
> > the slaughter of innocents on both sides of this
> > struggle in the
> > Middle East, then join us in putting our bodies on
> > the line for
> > sanity.
> > 
> >     STOP THE KILLINGS ON BOTH SIDES!
> > 
> >     Yes, we are glad that President Bush is
> calling
> > for Israeli
> > troops and tanks to withdraw from Palestinian
> > cities. But as long
> > as they remain ready to return the moment Bush's
> > attention turns
> > back to his insane plan for a war against Iraq,
> > Ariel Sharon will
> > be able to use the pretext of the (inevitable)
> next
> > strike by Hamas
> > (which benefits every time their terror is
> rewarded
> > by a strike by
> > Israel at Hamas' domestic enemy the Palestinian
> > Authority) to
> > return to complete the devastation of Palestinian
> > society. Only the
> > presence of a well-equipped and very large
> > international force,
> > led by the United States, can actually achieve the
> > goal of creating
> > safety for the Palestinian people. And only when
> > that safety is
> > achieved will Arafat be able (or willing) to
> > actually do something
> > to stop terror, which in the meantime appears to
> > Palestinians to be
> > the only way they can retain their dignity in the
> > face of humiliation
> > and powerlessness.
> > 
> >       But separation is not enough--peace requires
> > that the
> > international community, acting through the UN,
> > impose on both
> > parties a settlement of the conflict, based on
> > Israeli withdrawal
> > to the pre-67 borders (with slight emendations to
> > include Jewish
> > sections of Jerusalem and Gush Etzion),
> reparations
> > for Palestinian
> > refugees (and for Jewish refugees from Arab
> lands),
> > a Truth and
> > Reconciliation commission, and a new spirit of
> > generosity and
> > open-hearted repentance from both sides for the
> > evils they have
> > committed. Both sides are responsbile for the
> > present mess, but
> > they are unable to settle this without the
> > intervention of outside
> > international leadership.
> > 
> >       If you can't come to D.C., create some
> action
> 
=== message truncated ==

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