angryamerican
don't mistake the photo above for this week's time. it's from 1982.
i mean, really, can you imagine the MSM publishing such an
as my last post suggested, i'm getting really sick and tired of all the tacit (and not so tacit) complicity with israel's unchecked, unjustifiable aggression. i've noticed that the increasingly disappointing NYT, for instance, likes to mention (before retracting, apparently), that israeli victims of the current conflict were "drinking coffee" and doing other such human things before dying, unlike those masses of worthless lebanese, who were probably hiding katyushas under their beds. they can delete all the phrases they like, but googlecache don't lie:
in contrast to the stunning imbalance and resounding silence out there, i've been appreciating the critiques and analyses over at angryarab (who has taken some direct shots at the NYT), lenin's tomb, and juan cole's informed comment.
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it is downright shameful that a mere 8 US senators voted against the resolution supportive of israel's attacks on lebanon. and it is downright shameful that over 80% of israelis support their government's policy of collective punishment.
if i were jewish (as is my wife, her family, and many dear friends of mine), i would speak in solidarity with bionicoctopus's sentiments of a year ago: NOT. IN. MY. FUCKING. NAME.
but i am an american, and contrary to what hilary says, i do NOT stand behind israel.
THIS. MUST. STOP.
posted by wayne&wax @ 2:46 PM
9 Comments:
From StrategyPage:
"While Hizbollah has made no secret of its goal of destroying Israel (as has Iran), Hizbollah has cleverly set up its defenses in southern Lebanon so as to maximize civilian casualties if Israel ever attacked. For example, when thousands of rockets were brought in from Iran (via Syria) over the last six years, they were stored in special rooms or basements in schools, Mosques and homes. Civilians were given no choice in this matter, and many Shia in the south were proud to help house weapons to be used against Israel. Fewer of these civilians were willing to get killed when Israeli bombs or artillery shells came to destroy these rockets. Israel knew what Hizbollah was doing, and that's why Israel did not go after the rockets until now. To bomb the rocket supplies would have killed civilians, and without a Hizbollah attack on Israel, the PR and diplomatic backlash would have made such attacks too costly. "
obviously this is a complex situation, but i think these two comments illustrate better than anything else that israel and its supporters have successfully colonized the discourse around this conflict. plain and simple: hizbollah and hamas did not exist before the modern state of israel and its violent occupations and repressions.
ijoIn fact, Israel created Hizbullah out of nothing. When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, many Shias living in the south welcomed them, because they (the Shias) were so fucked off with the PLO. They were a ready-made comprador group, but instead Israel proved so barbaric an invader (they killed 20,000 Lebanese) that within a year Hizbullah had coalesced out of nothing into a hardcore guerilla army with enormous popular support. (This is in Robert Fisk's 'Pity the Nation' and passim.)
Meanwhile, it's a matter of no dispute at all that Israel funded Hamas beginning in the late 1970s, believing it would be a useful tool against the secular PLO. UPI article from 6/02 which happens to contain my all-time top favorite quote ever about Israel, from a former State Dept. official: "The Israelis are like a guy who sets fire to his hair and then tries to put it out by hitting it with a hammer."
thanks, bionOc. appreciate the perspective and the righteous rage, as always.
RE: your previous post - Heres another interesting map:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1096/3412/1600/lebanon-map-July-12-22.1.jpg
thanks for pointing me to that, droid. another good illustration, no doubt.
this is all making me rather weary. several conversations with israeli friends and acquaintances over the weekend have left me feeling pretty burned out. not as burned out as beirut, though, surely, so it's worth keeping the torch burning here.
and here's another:
http://www.moiz.ca/coffin.htm
pretty illustrative, though one that differentiates between civilian and non-civilians deaths would be even starker.
thanks for the tip, j ..
this is all making me rather weary. several conversations with israeli friends and acquaintances over the weekend have left me feeling pretty burned out. not as burned out as beirut, though, surely, so it's worth keeping the torch burning here.
And you deserve a big up for doing it. Ive consciously avoided putting anything politically related onto the blog, because Ive been trolled by right wing maniacs in the past and know what kind of reaction it could get, so I prefer to stick to forums and comment boxes...
Israel has a huge propaganda machine at its disposal, so its no surprise that people get sucked in. Exhausting as it may be, you just have to be patient, read as much as possible, try not to get angry when accused of racism and argue the facts.
Im sure you know all this already though! ;)
Another good link:
http://www.thecatsdream.com/blog/2006/07/did-you-know.htm
And medialens as always (their message board is good for info)
http://www.medialens.org/alerts/index.php
thanks again, droid. appreciate it.
peace.
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