Al-Jazeera, English featured a nice little discussion on Israeli apartheid week. I love that we finally have a channel where the debate is two-to-one against the pro-Israel position. In US mainstream media, it is usually two-to-one or more frequently two-on-none in the favor of the hasbara.
According to AJE, Israeli apartheid week “links Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to the treatment of blacks in apartheid South Africa.” They offer some background:
University campuses in more than 40 cities around the world are marking the week with lectures, films, multimedia events, cultural performances and demonstrations.
Since it was first launched in 2005, the week has become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar, according to its organizers.
The organisation says its goals are ending the Israeli occupation of Arab lands, and the recognition of Palestinians’ right to return to their homes in Israel.
They also want Arab citizens of Israel to be treated equally and the separation wall to be torn down.
Several Israeli officials have criticised it and condemned the participation of senior Israeli academics and artists.
Inside Story presenter Imran Garda was joined by Gidi Grinstein, the president and founder of the Reut Institute, Hazem Jamjoum, one of the organisers of the Israel Apartheid Week, and Eyal Sivan, a filmmaker and research professor in media production at the University of East London (UEL).
This episode of Inside Story aired on Wednesday, March 3, 2010.
The KABOBforum on our listserv was not very deep, but here were the summary reactions:
Gidi Grinstein, the president and founder of the Reut Institute, before appearing on Al-Jazeera, English.
Hazem Jamjoum is great though.
I like the host calling the anti-semitism argument a conspiracy theory. I’ve never made that connection but it is true. Equating fundamental critique of Israel as anti-Semitism is a conspiracy theory.
Fayyad: this was good… Hazem, did very well and the guy from Paris had a few really good comments and played his position well, especially on how Israelis have no right to speak in the name of all Jews…
Sunbula: i thought eyal sivan was the best and totally owned that zionist fuck.
Fadi: I’m halfway through. THis is awesome. I love this Grinstein guy, he’s like a robot.. a ziobot.. programmed to spew Zionist propaganda while making one deliberate hand gesture after another. Why can’t we see stuff like this on CNN?
Related posts:
- Oxford U. Hosts Israel Apartheid Week
- Israeli Apartheid Week
- A Website to Spread Al Jazeera English.
- Burlington, VT Debates Al-Jazeera, English
- Al-Jazeera, English: Nowhere to Run in Gaza
The Arabs cannot live among themselves in peace, yet they want to force themselves on the Jews.
Forget it. Your ideas would have some merit if there was just ONE example of an Arab democracy. If you cannot live among yourselves in peace, democracy and equality then of course you cannot live in this way with Jews. Gaza is internally run by Palestinians. Why is it not a democracy?
Posted by jjj | March 5, 2010, 7:25 pmexcellent point jjj
you put the idea very succinctly.
Posted by abdul alhazred | March 15, 2010, 2:26 amhah! that's great.
Will, why has posting on this site, save you it seems, grinded to a halt?
Posted by art | March 5, 2010, 11:16 pmHalf of us are in grad school facing prelims or midterms. Things will pick up in two months or heads will roll. Thanks for asking.
Posted by KABOBfestWill | March 8, 2010, 1:26 amjjj,
Give me a freaking break!
Arabs want to force themselves on Jews? It is rather the other way around. Prior to 1948, there was no Israel, no so called Jewish State
Gaza is internally run by Palestinians? Who else do you want it ran by,. Czechoslovakia?
Why is t not a democracy?
who elected Hamas to powe?
Which US president certified the Palestinian election in 2006, as clean, fair and transparent.?
Give up?
Need a clue?
the 39th President.
James E. Carter
art: why posting on this site came to a grinding halt? Honestly, sometimes if the post is perfect, there is nothing to add.
When commenter deviate from the subject and engaged in smear campaign and misrepresentation, some of us feel compelled to respond.
I am very new member on this site. I like the variety this site offered. It is not strictly political.
I do like meaningful and civil debate. I do learn a lot form others posters. I would like to share my
views and experience living in America, Dispel some of the myth of being an Arab or a Muslim. If I succeed, then I feel better, because I help made a difference in raising awareness.
Posted by mahmoud el-yousseph | March 6, 2010, 2:59 amJJJ,
You make me laugh.
If you definition of Western Democracy is regime change, "Liberation",occupation, and stealing other people natural resources,then who would want this kind of democracy? You will be more accurate if you call it hypocrisy instead of democracy.
While on the subject of democarcy, I got an email from a friend today about the bumper sticker of the year. It reads:
"BE NICE TO AMERICA OR WE'LL BRING DEMOCRACY TO YOUR COUNTRY"
I guess that sums it up.
Posted by mahmoud el-yousseph | March 6, 2010, 3:37 amDemocracy is accountable politicians that can get voted out. You have that in the US. We have that in Israel.
What you have in Gaza is "one man one vote one time". Hamas is not accountable to anybody and can only be removed using force. Democracy is a free judiciary and the ability to protect the citizen from the state. That is missing also in Gaza.
If you want a two state solution then you have nothing to explain. But if you demand a one state solution you need to explain why it will work. If it will be like other Arab states, it is clear why Israelis would reject it. Furthermore, why should Israelis believe you that it will be a good and stable solution? What are your assurances? The assurances I need are simple. I want to see what you propose work in ONE other Arab state for a while. Then I may be convinced that my rights will not be trampled by the one state solution. But from what I see around me, I can only deduce that the one state solution is a recipe for civil war. No thank you.
Posted by jjj | March 6, 2010, 5:53 amOne is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one. – Agatha Christie. Dude, it's worth it to work it out. If you want help, find Pax101 on FB or @Pax_101 at Twitter…
Posted by Pax R. | March 7, 2010, 5:56 pmcongratulations ! .. you have finally won a new reader
Posted by John | June 27, 2010, 4:47 amUh…JJJ we have none of those things you describe as being a democracy in America nor do you have them in Israel. Thats totaly bullshit. Furthermore the US was not founded as a democracy it was rather founded as a constitutional republic where the General gov't had little to no interaction with the citizens of the several states and in fact prior to the civil war and the erroneous 14th amendment there was no such thing as a "US citizen" but rather only citizens of the common wealth republican states or simply put state citizens. In fact each state was viewed as being it's own separate country and only united by the Federal Constitution and the Declaration.
Posted by Jason L | January 6, 2012, 3:06 pm