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First off a note to moderators, I have permission to reprint the subsequent material in its entirety.
Have you ever noticed that you can call our own President a blood thirsty paranoid madman or even discuss the horrendous acts of various vile dictators and tyrants with little rebut but at the first mention of terms like, Israeli lobby or the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, things suddenly change.
Even on this forum, like others, the discussion often turns sour, tempers flair, and threads are closed, discussion over. This is something that is and has been repeated time and again in a variety of discussion forums as well as in print media, academic circles and at college campuses where such topics of controversy are usually highlighted instead of quashed.
With AIPAC being the second most influential lobby in our own nations capital, and with the great impact that this region and its people have on US policy one would think discussion would be the order of the day, yet just the opposite is true. With the release of the Mearsheimer and Walt report, cracks in the wall of silence have begun to emerge and the silence is lifting, but will it continue to do so?
The following article written by the progressive Zionist Richard Silverstein and goes on to show some various examples of the phenomena of preemptive censorship on this topic and others like it.
Richard Silverstein
I've noticed what may be a new phenomenon in the Israel-Palestine debate as it plays out in the US. I call it pre-emptive censorship. A number of non-Jewish organisations have denied supposedly controversial speakers or organisations the right to speak or perform due to the anticipated reaction of the local Jewish community.
It's one thing for pro-Israel groups to protest, as they did when Columbia University extended a speaking invitation to Mahmoud Ahmedinejad or when Barnard College approved tenure for a supposedly anti-Israel professor, Nadia Abu el-Haj. At least there was an actual protest that came in the midst of, or after, the supposedly controversial activity.
But in the case of the postponed New York performance of My Name is Rachel Corrie, a cancelled Chicago appearance of Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, a cancelled concert by Marcel Khalife in San Diego, and a cancelled speech by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Minneapolis, the hosts nixed the appearances before there was any protest. And they cancelled because of an anticipated response from the Jewish community which they had no reason to know might ever happen. This to me seems absolutely pernicious to open political debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Richard Silverstein runs Tikun Olam, a peace blog dedicated to a negotiated resolution of the Israeli-Arab conflict. He also created Israel Palestine Blogs, an aggregator of 50 peace blogs written by Israelis, Palestinians, American Jews, Arab Americans and Lebanese.
He earned a Bachelor of Hebrew Literature degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary and an MA in Hebrew Literature at UCLA.
He served as a communal fundraiser at Jewish federations in New York and California, and Brandeis University. He also worked as administrator of a Los Angeles Reform temple.
He has been a proponent of Israeli-Arab peace since 1968, and currently lives in Seattle with his wife and three children.
I agree that discussion of the conflict should be less stifled.
At the synagogue where I used to work, Arab kids would meet with Israeli and American Jewish kids every spring/summer to meet, talk, hang out--connect.
Maybe the other grownups could follow suit, without any posturing or politicizing.
BTW
I have never heard Tikun Olam referred to as strictly a Kabbalistic term, but I am no scholar of Judaism, and "repair the world" is indeed the meaning I was taught.
Here's a little more on Kabbala. It is a term often misunderstood and misrepresented.
The Kabbalah Centre International | Kabbalah education worldwide, Kabbalah classes, videos, books how to study Kabbalah (http://www.kabbalah.com/01.php - broken link)
And while I am not one to stifle anyone on this subject, I have already been attacked for sharing my personal views, so as much as I would enjoy this discussion, I will pass.
I agree that discussion of the conflict should be less stifled.
At the synagogue where I used to work, Arab kids would meet with Israeli and American Jewish kids every spring/summer to meet, talk, hang out--connect.
Maybe the other grownups could follow suit, without any posturing or politicizing.
BTW
I have never heard Tikun Olam referred to as strictly a Kabbalistic term, but I am no scholar of Judaism, and "repair the world" is indeed the meaning I was taught.
You know Cil, I find it amazing that the view of a child is probably the greatest road to hope and the best chance for peace. If only we could see the world as that of a child.
I have studied the roots of the monotheistic religions in the Middle East for some years and the Talmud is one of the more voluminous works I have delved into but admittedly, I have not paid enough attention to the Kabbalah. Although it is my understanding that it is forbidden or at least looked down upon that women partake in the reading of the Kabbalah.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ontheroad
Here's a little more on Kabbala. It is a term often misunderstood and misrepresented.
The Kabbalah Centre International | Kabbalah education worldwide, Kabbalah classes, videos, books how to study Kabbalah (http://www.kabbalah.com/01.php - broken link)
And while I am not one to stifle anyone on this subject, I have already been attacked for sharing my personal views, so as much as I would enjoy this discussion, I will pass.
Thanks for the link, another to add to the list
Bummer about engaging in the topic and I do understand the why. Fortunately for me, I have a view removed from many of the personal aspects of such topics and that coupled with thick skin allows me to easily blow off such attacks. Then again, I find Horatius at the Gate to be much of my inspiration for such things. :-)
It's a horrible topic for the internet.
It arouses all sorts of passions and the anonymity of the web allows people to say all sorts of vile things they wouldn't say face to face (or if they did would have to deal with the consequences). These discussions always end up in shouting matches.
I lived in that part of the world for many years and have been involved in cross-cultural and interfaith work and can say with absolute confidence that the extreme on BOTH sides base much of their rhetoric on misinformation, slander and the demonization of whole ethnic and religious groups. The profusion of conspiracy sites out there hosted by OCD people in their basements don't help either.
The best hope are the grass roots movements in that part of the world which are reaching out across borders. Real people with real lives to lose when things go wrong.
It's a horrible topic for the internet.
It arouses all sorts of passions and the anonymity of the web allows people to say all sorts of vile things they wouldn't say face to face (or if they did would have to deal with the consequences). These discussions always end up in shouting matches.
I lived in that part of the world for many years and have been involved in cross-cultural and interfaith work and can say with absolute confidence that the extreme on BOTH sides base much of their rhetoric on misinformation, slander and the demonization of whole ethnic and religious groups. The profusion of conspiracy sites out there hosted by OCD people in their basements don't help either.
The best hope are the grass roots movements in that part of the world which are reaching out across borders. Real people with real lives to lose when things go wrong.
Yes Anthony, I have through the years discovered the issuance of bile saturated rhetoric on this and similar topics. However this site is moderated fairly well and despite those people who interject that style of discussion, there are on occasions that a good debate can take place. The issues are serious and the ramifications are great, so all the more need for discussion, as it is easy and in fact counted on that these topics are quashed.
As this article points out the almost self censorship that takes place regarding this is one of the reasons why I believe it shouldn't be.
Being you have lived in the region, have you found it easier or a better discourse on this and similar subjects while living in the Middle East as opposed to here in the states?
The two best, open conversations I've had were with people indigenous to the region: a young Israeli couple all night in Taos, NM; and a cafe table full of Palestinians in Jordon.
As this article points out the almost self censorship that takes place regarding this is one of the reasons why I believe it shouldn't be.
Being you have lived in the region, have you found it easier or a better discourse on this and similar subjects while living in the Middle East as opposed to here in the states?
I don't self censor, I just keep to local forums, involving local people.
To answer your question requires a certain level of generalization. There are as many wonderful, liberal, open minded Israelis and Palestinians as there are nasty, racist and closed minded. In Iran, you would be amazed by the variety of thought and opinion there, Lebanon is sophisticated but with a tribal heart and each sect is very different. Just like in the US the spectrum is huge.
That said, discussions about events on the ground tend to be better, more effective and more profound when they involve people actually there or with extensive experience of the region. Lessons are learned and bridges are built. The saddest conversations are among people from other regions (lets say Americans for the sake of the discussion) endlessly arguing about what it is "like" in places they have never visited or been to for a week, or what an Arabic leader "actually said" when they don't even understand Arabic. Inevitably their information comes from websites or books with a bias they're not aware of and cultural differences they don't realize exist. Not because they don't try, but that is the way it is. Imagine someone in France commenting on US culture based on reading one Ann Coulter book, or on one Al Franken book- without knowledge of the discussions and controversy surrounding them.
It is difficult to look at a region as f**ked up as the Middle East and not get emotional, or want to "fix" things. I personally believe that people have to fix their own things.
That is not to say that there isn't a place in the US for debate. But a more productive debate would be about the role of the US in the region - that is an issue which is very relevant to Americans and where they have every right to have a say.
What I would really like to see more of in forums is for those outside the Middle East to actually ask more questions of those within, especially regarding the role of the US, and also in getting to know more about the country and people.
AIPAC is frequently defined as "the pro-Israel lobby" or even as an arm of Israel itself.
It is not.
It is a single lobby group that DEFINES ITSELF as pro-Israel while arguing for certain Middle Eastern policies although its goals frequently clash with those of the Israeli government and/or people. In fact many of its most strident members are apocalyptic Evangelical Christians whose eventual goal is the conversion of or death of the current non-Christian citizens of Israel which is hardly pro-Israel at all. It also attempts to lobby the Israeli government on behalf of the US, or at least what it defines as the US.
I don't self censor, I just keep to local forums, involving local people.
To answer your question requires a certain level of generalization. There are as many wonderful, liberal, open minded Israelis and Palestinians as there are nasty, racist and closed minded. In Iran, you would be amazed by the variety of thought and opinion there, Lebanon is sophisticated but with a tribal heart and each sect is very different. Just like in the US the spectrum is huge.
That said, discussions about events on the ground tend to be better, more effective and more profound when they involve people actually there or with extensive experience of the region. Lessons are learned and bridges are built. The saddest conversations are among people from other regions (lets say Americans for the sake of the discussion) endlessly arguing about what it is "like" in places they have never visited or been to for a week, or what an Arabic leader "actually said" when they don't even understand Arabic. Inevitably their information comes from websites or books with a bias they're not aware of and cultural differences they don't realize exist. Not because they don't try, but that is the way it is. Imagine someone in France commenting on US culture based on reading one Ann Coulter book, or on one Al Franken book- without knowledge of the discussions and controversy surrounding them.
It is difficult to look at a region as f**ked up as the Middle East and not get emotional, or want to "fix" things. I personally believe that people have to fix their own things.
That is not to say that there isn't a place in the US for debate. But a more productive debate would be about the role of the US in the region - that is an issue which is very relevant to Americans and where they have every right to have a say.
What I would really like to see more of in forums is for those outside the Middle East to actually ask more questions of those within, especially regarding the role of the US, and also in getting to know more about the country and people.
For myself personally, I have a fairly reasonable understanding of the diversity of cultures in the region and even among individual groups. I get tickled when people refer to Jews or Arabs as though they were some homogeneous singular aspect to them, when in fact they, within their own culture are as diverse as snowflakes.
As much as I also enjoy discussions with people in the region or at least experience with it, for most Americans and anyone for that matter, the only exposure to the region is from the net. I hope to encourage more people from the region to engage in thoughtful dialog and I have been witness to this first hand, so I know it can happen, even if it does not.
I realize it is an emotional topic for many people and for a variety of reasons but in this case, I have to judge it in a case by case basis. I try to engage in this and similar topics with as much objectivity as I can as outside of a friend or two who live in Israel and Lebanon, I have no personal stake or religious ties to this region. However, as an American, the relationship with this region is important to me and in my opinion is in dire need of solid rational discussion. Whether or not I achieve this is irrelevant, as I feel I must always at least make the attempt, because someone does. The course of the dialog we are now having is of course, most appreciated.
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