From: Anthony Saidy: [email protected]
Uri Avnery
May 28, 2011
Bibi and the Yo-Yos
IT WAS all rather disgusting.
There they were, the members of the highest legislative bodies of the
world's only superpower, flying up and down like so many yo-yos, applauding
wildly, every few minutes or seconds, the most outrageous lies and
distortions of Binyamin Netanyahu.
It was worse than the Syrian parliament during a speech by Bashar Assad,
where anyone not applauding could find himself in prison. Or Stalin's
Supreme Soviet, when showing less than sufficient respect could have meant
death.
What the American Senators and Congressmen feared was a fate worse than
death. Anyone remaining seated or not applauding wildly enough could have
been caught on camera - and that amounts to political suicide. It was enough
for one single congressman to rise and applaud, and all the others had to
follow suit. Who would dare not to?
The sight of these hundreds of parliamentarians jumping up and clapping
their hands, again and again and again and again, with the Leader graciously
acknowledging with a movement of his hand, was reminiscent of other regimes.
Only this time it was not the local dictator who compelled this adulation,
but a foreign one.
The most depressing part of it was that there was not a single lawmaker -
Republican or Democrat - who dared to resist. When I was a 9 year old boy in
Germany, I dared to leave my right arm hanging by my side when all my
schoolmates raised theirs in the Nazi salute and sang Hitler's anthem. Is
there no one in Washington DC who has that simple courage? Is it really
Washington IOT - Israel Occupied Territory - as the anti-Semites assert?
Many years ago I visited the Senate hall and was introduced to the leading
Senators of the time. I was profoundly shocked. After being brought up in
deep respect for the Senate of the United States, the country of Jefferson
and Lincoln, I was faced with a bunch of pompous asses, many of them
nincompoops who had not the slightest idea what they were talking about. I
was told that it was their assistants who really understood matters.
SO WHAT did the great man say to this august body?
It was a finely crafted speech, using all the standard tricks of the trade -
the dramatic pause, the raised finger, the little witticisms, the sentences
repeated for effect. Not a great orator, by any means, no Winston Churchill,
but good enough for this audience and this occasion.
But the message could be summed up in one word: No.
After their disastrous debacle in 1967, the leaders of the Arab world met in
Khartoum and adopted the famous Three No's: NO recognition of Israel, NO
negotiation with Israel, NO peace with Israel. It was just what the Israeli
leadership wanted. They could go happily about their business of entrenching
the occupation and building settlements.
Now Netanyahu is having his Khartoum. NO return to the 1967 borders. NO
Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. NO to even a symbolic return of some
refugees. NO military withdrawal from the Jordan River - meaning that the
future Palestinian state would be completely surrounded by the Israeli
armed forces. NO negotiation with a Palestinian government "supported" by
Hamas, even if there are no Hamas members in the government itself. And so
on - NO. NO. NO.
The aim is clearly to make sure that no Palestinian leader could even dream
of entering negotiations, even in the unlikely event that he were ready to
meet yet another condition: to recognize Israel as "the nation-state of the
Jewish people" - which includes the dozens of Jewish Senators and
Congressmen who were the first to jump up and down, up and down, like so
many marionettes.
Netanyahu, along with his associates and political bedfellows, is determined
to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state by all and any means.
That did not start with the present government - it is an aim deeply
embedded in Zionist ideology and practice. The founders of the movement set
the course, David Ben-Gurion acted to implement it in 1948, in collusion
with King Abdallah of Jordan. Netanyahu is just adding his bit.
"No Palestinian state" means: no peace, not now, not ever. Everything else
is, as the Americans say, baloney. All the pious phrases about happiness for
our children, prosperity for the Palestinians, peace with the entire Arab
world, a bright future for all, are just that - pure baloney. At least some
in the audience must have noticed that, even with all that jumping.
NETANYAHU SPAT in Obama's eye. The Republicans in the audience must have
enjoyed that. Perhaps some Democrats too.
It can be assumed that Obama did not. So what will he do now?
There is a Jewish joke about a hungry pauper who entered an inn and demanded
food. Otherwise, he threatened, he would do what his father did. The
frightened innkeeper fed him, and in the end asked timidly: "But what did
your father do?" Swallowing the last morsel, the man answered: "He went to
sleep hungry."
There is a good chance that Obama will do the same. He will pretend that the
spittle on his cheek is rainwater. His promise to prevent a UN General
Assembly recognition of the State of Palestine deprived him of his main
leverage over Netanyahu.
Somebody in Washington seems to be floating the idea of Obama coming to
Jerusalem and addressing the Knesset. It would be direct retaliation - Obama
talking with the Israeli public over the head of the Prime Minister, as
Netanyahu has just addressed the American public over the head of the
President.
It would be an exciting event. As a former Member of the Knesset, I would be
invited. But I would not advise it. I proposed it a year ago. Today I would
not.
The obvious precedent is Anwar Sadat's historic speech in the Knesset. But
there is really no comparison. Egypt and Israel were still officially at
war. Going to the capital of the enemy was without precedent, the more so
only four years after a bloody battle. It was an act that shook Israel,
eliminating in one stroke a whole set of mental patterns and opening the
mind for new ones. Not one of us will ever forget the moment when the door
of the airplane swung open and there he was, handsome and serene, the leader
of the enemy.
Later, when I interviewed Sadat at his home, I told him: "I live on the main
street of Tel Aviv. When you came out of that plane, I looked out of the
window. Nothing moved in the street, except one cat - and it was probably
looking for a television set."
A visit by Obama will be quite different. He will, of course, be received
politely - without the obsessive jumping and clapping - though probably
heckled by Knesset Members of the extreme Right. But that will be all.
Sadat's visit was a deed in itself. Not so a visit by Obama. He will not
shake Israeli public opinion, unless he comes with a concrete plan of action
- a detailed peace plan, with a detailed timetable, backed by a clear
determination to see it through, whatever the political cost.
Another nice speech, however beautifully phrased, just will not do.. After
this week's deluge of speeches, we have had enough. Speeches can be
important if they accompany actions, but they are no substitute for action.
Churchill's speeches helped to shape history - but only because they
reflected historic deeds. Without the Battle of Britain, without Normandy,
without El Alamein, those speeches would have sounded ridiculous.
Now, with all the roads blocked, there remains only one path open: the
recognition of the State of Palestine by the United Nations coupled with
nonviolent mass action by the Palestinian people against the occupation. The
Israeli peace forces will also play their part, because the fate of Israel
depends on peace as much as the fate of Palestine.
Sure, the US will try to obstruct, and Congress will jump up and down, But
the Israeli-Palestinian spring is on its way.
<http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=4107752/grpspId=1705444603/msgId
=31681/stime=1306367051/nc1=1/nc2=2/nc3=3>
_____
From: Rae Abileah, CODEPINK [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 10:46 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Why did I disrupt?
<http://www.codepinkalert.org/img/original/1_rae.jpg>
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=1xA5hNGutuud9XAnh1r%
2B0ElODyInZ%2FOq>
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=717UQPUIaTo1zqQsbF%2
BCfPTsA1Lg0oPQ> Show your support for nonviolent activists going on the Gaza
Flotilla
<mailto:[email protected]?subject=Letter%20to%20Gaza> Send a letter
to Gaza
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=O7vhNyQKj5wj9Hk0i9vl
BPTsA1Lg0oPQ> See video of disruptions of Netanyahu's speech at AIPAC and
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OftZVUyZX%2FiXFj7g36
paX%2FTsA1Lg0oPQ> photos from Move Over AIPAC actions
Why did I disrupt?
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=DCRmqdLMSGm%2FMnlymr
6I9UlODyInZ%2FOq> Read why here
Help me pay my medical bills by
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BIqBYECbPwbb3SQIUQ
Y3mPTsA1Lg0oPQ> making a donation to CODEPINK
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=V%2BPMYl4Pse7kjggY%2
FG%2BMuvTsA1Lg0oPQ> Tweet |
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=U9Gtf%2BtsnH4jL8W8xB
BnvElODyInZ%2FOq> Facebook
May 26, 2011
Dear Friend,
Do you know that our Congress gave 29 standing ovations to Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he spoke on Tuesday? I couldn't watch this
hero's welcome for a man who supports the continued building of illegal
settlements, won't lift the siege of Gaza and refuses to negotiate with the
new Palestinian unity government. During the talk, I got up from my seat in
the Capital Gallery and shouted, "No More Occupation! Stop Israeli War
Crimes! Equal Rights for Palestinians!"
I was tackled, gagged, tossed to the floor and ended up in the hospital.
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XO8RaavORKh7cfplX%2F
dE8PTsA1Lg0oPQ> You can read more about my experience here. The outpouring
of support I have been receiving from all over the world has been
astounding. A woman in Iraq said she was moved to tears seeing a
Jewish-American speaking out.. A man in Gaza wished me a speedy recovery and
quoted the civil rights song "We Shall Overcome." I even got a message of
gratitude from Brad Pitt!
We have also had a great response to the protests, summit and other creative
actions we organized this weekend opposing AIPAC, the powerful Israel lobby
that has a stranglehold on Congress (see
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=PsBJUFwegmCG2AHCxHqK
EfTsA1Lg0oPQ> MoveOverAIPAC.org). People are thrilled to see Americans
standing up to our government's unconditional support for the crimes Israel
commits with our tax dollars and we have received hundreds of emails and
calls from people in all corners of the world.
In a few weeks, a courageous group of internationals, including many
Americans, will have another chance to stand up for justice. The Gaza
Freedom Flotilla will set sail from Europe in June with the goal of reaching
Gaza, breaking through Israel's inhumane siege. Last year, the Israeli
military violently intercepted the flotilla in international waters, killing
nine activists. This year, let's do everything we can to ensure that the
flotilla is not met with violence.
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=FTMtWGZp1lbV1oc0xEPw
MElODyInZ%2FOq> Please send the members of the flotilla your support.
You can also write a letter to the folks in Gaza who are living under siege.
The "Audacity of Hope," which is the name of the U.S. boat on the flotilla,
will deliver your letters when they set sail next month. Send your written
letters to: LETTERS TO GAZA, 2010 Linden Ave, Venice, CA 90291 or email to
<mailto:[email protected]?subject=Letter%20to%20Gaza>
[email protected].
Being a part of
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=h9I0%2FyABMwDHS5XEsV
92ZvTsA1Lg0oPQ> Move Over AIPAC this weekend was an incredible experience.
Check out our
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=mr6ZzrlhqKQHAAig8rXG
TPTsA1Lg0oPQ> photos and
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ioRJA70ZmNL4aStkCqRR
fvTsA1Lg0oPQ> videos. We heard from excellent speakers at our summit; we
coordinated a
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=JKSAyU31GIBtAA5Mw1rb
JPTsA1Lg0oPQ> flashmob (that's been seen by over 36,000 people); we created
a people-powered flotilla; we had a dialogue booth, a mock-settlement
expansion, and a street theater-style checkpoint. The creativity and
dedication of this movement inspires me to believe that justice will
prevail, and is within our reach, if we all work together.
Onward ever for justice,
Rae Abileah
Grateful member of CODEPINK
PS Being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance is not a free service
(though we should all have universal healthcare!). Can you
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=VGRhq9qiGMcLkAtS2XfC
DPTsA1Lg0oPQ> make a donation to support my medical and legal bills?
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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