Ardent Zionists v Enlightened Jews: An Assault on British Jewry
May 14, 2012 12:06 by Simon Plosker
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown has been critiqued regularly by HonestReporting over the years. The Independent columnist has a particularly vicious streak when it comes to Israel, which she routinely describes as a “racist” and “apartheid” state. Indeed, she has a propensity to view many issues through the framework of race.
In her latest op-ed, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown:
- Accuses Israel of charging its critics with anti-Semitism to shut down legitimate criticism.
- Fails to acknowledge that hunger striking Palestinian prisoners may have been detained for legitimate reasons, including terrorism.
- Portrays the majority of Israel-supporting British Jews as being “instructed to hate” Palestinians and lacking in integrity.
Read on to find out how you can take action.
In her latest polemic, Alibhai-Brown addresses the issue of Palestinian hunger strikers and administrative detention. To be sure, the topic is not a comfortable one and a healthy debate, as also occurs within Israel itself, is perfectly legitimate. But to Alibhai-Brown, referring to “hardline Israelis”:
Their country is protected from censure partly because of fears that any criticism of its actions is potentially “anti-Semitic”. Some anti-Semites do use Israel as a cover, but then Israel uses that fact to tar and warn all legitimate criticism. Its governments do what they damn-well want and claim perpetual exceptionality. Their darkest deeds are thus left unscrutinised.
We challenge Alibhai-Brown to furnish us with the evidence that Israel’s supporters use an “anti-Semitism card” to shut down all legitimate criticism. This is patently untrue and Alibhai-Brown’s charge is more commonly employed as a means to delegitimize the rights of Israel’s supporters to advocate for or defend Israel from criticism. As for the claim that Israel is beyond scrutiny, the amount of stories published on the Palestinian hunger strikers alone, not to mention the constant focus of the media and world on this part of the world, make this claim laughable.
If Alibhai-Brown were interested in a proper and balanced debate on the issue, perhaps she would have cared to mention the fact that those hunger strikers in her op-ed are members of Islamic Jihad, a vicious terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews. But no. To Alibhai-Brown:
The detained Palestinians are embarked on peaceful, Gandhian protest action.
Referring to Palestinian prisoners, Alibhai-Brown states:
To be a Palestinian, to want equality, rights, freedom and land is not a crime. Except that for hardline Israelis, it is.
Palestinian prisoners are not detained for seeking peace. Israel is not a sinister police state that arrests Palestinians for expressing legitimate aspirations. Israel takes appropriate action against those who carry out, advocate or incite terrorism or violence. Islamic Jihad is not an organization with legitimate political aspirations – its sole raison d’etre is to carry out acts of terror.
Alibhai-Brown is fond of noting that she has many Jewish friends, although these friends are invariably critical of Israel. Indeed, Alibhai-Brown likes to differentiate between “good Jews” and “bad Jews”:
The moralistic Chief Rabbi will not be on “Thought for the Day” expressing sorrow for the treatment of these prisoners. Ardent British Zionists will not be pressed to condemn those responsible for the state barbarism.
Who exactly are these “ardent British Zionists”?
Mr. Light-Bright
5:27 pm
May 14, 2012
Every time Alibhai-Brown, or anyone else mentions “Zionist/Zionism” just insert the words “members for advocating a homeland for the Jews,” Or simply put “Pro-Israel.”
Alibhai-Brown QUOTE: “Ardent British Zionists will not be pressed to condemn those responsible for the state barbarism.”
Alibhai-Brown QUOTE [with descriptors]: “Ardent British [members for advocating a homeland for the Jews], will not be pressed to condemn those responsible for the sate barbarism”
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Stan Lee
9:42 pm
May 14, 2012
“Ardent British Zionists” is a fancified title Alibhai-Brown gives to British Jews who happen to be in favor of Israel. That certainly doesn’t mean that British Jews don’t revere their own homeland, Great Britain. (or the UK if you prefer) As an American, I respect either title.
The fact is clear to me that Alibhai-Brown is an ardent Jew-hater, no matter how she represents herself as a journalist. She is far from objectivity, and I believe that one’s belief in Judaism is no more “Rocket Science” than me belonging to my faith. She caters to Jew-haters, who look forward to reading one vicious column after another about the one subject which Alibhai-Brown excels at. To those readers, she is an important part of their reason to live.
I would suggest to her, if she’s even up to it, that she ought to rationalize Islam about which she may be something of an expert. Her carping about Jews and Israel is getting very old and she’s getting it nowhere anyway. All she’s been doing is making it tougher for those people calling themselves Palestinians to come to the reality that they actually could live in peace with Israel if they’d only stop being pawns to earn people like Alibhai-Brown her Jew-hating living.
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Empress Trudy
5:41 pm
May 14, 2012
So what are the odds that a pogrom breaks out during the Olympics. I’d say 50/50
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barbara panken
5:46 pm
May 14, 2012
besides the obvious bias of the article, can she please define for me the term anti-semite/anti-semitic. what does semite/semitic mean?????
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Mike Ross
5:52 pm
May 14, 2012
She is a fraud and monster.
Perfidy and deceit are her stock and trade, one but needs to examine the routine logical contradictions in her assertions as explicit proof.
She is not enlightened but simply embittered and poisoned with the classic toxic paradigm of blame for the purpose of sympathy and penalty. She has that physical manifestation of the devil going for her from which she has projected her own shortcomings and evil inclinations.
Life is about making choices and living with the consequences or alternatively blaming and vilifying others for outcomes you don’t especially like. If you want to learn about personal responsibility and continuous character improvement you need to look to the core of the Jewish faith.
They but need choose real peace, love, humanity and compassion and you will find nothing but friendship and partnership with Israel.
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MARTIN BROSCHOWITZ 3955 Laurelwood Ln. broschowitz
6:25 pm
May 14, 2012
When the time comes that Israel outlaws the practice of religions other than Judaism, forbids building Churches, Mosques and silences
free speech, Israel will
then become welcome
in the mid-east and
acceptable to world
media and the UN.
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Frank Adam
6:28 pm
May 14, 2012
At least YAB has bad conscience about Antisemitism.
Given the size of the Irish constituency in all Anglophone countries if somebody were to go beyond criticising the Irish government in Dublin for its politics and finances – and it gets a lot of local flak – to innuendos and statements that the Irish government has no right to exist and the Irish State should subside back into the UK then we would all recognise how offensive, discriminatory and excessive such an anti – Irish statement is.
Well YAB and her friends in the anti-Israel campaign are in that boat because each and every day there is criticism of Israeli government for a lot of detail but the anti-Zionist and Antisemitic campaigns against Israel’s right to be are vicious and discriminatory as can be seen from how the Germans, Japanese and Russians have all been de facto pardoned their disgusting behaviour as totalitarians in the late century when their conduct killed millions and not thousands.
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martin green
6:29 pm
May 14, 2012
It is obvious that her whole purpose in life is to be critical of Israel, clearly she is an inti semite as there is no indications anywhere of her criticism directed to Syria for the slaughter going on there nor is there any indications anywhere of any criticism of any other moslem country. The best way to deal with her diatribes is to boycott whatever media that grants her a foroum to vent her garbage.
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J Dearlove
6:50 pm
May 14, 2012
I heard YAB a while back on the radio. She was explaining how in the six day war Israel expanded it’s borders (totally legally). Giving the lie that Israel was grabbing land. She convieniently omitted to say that most of that land was returned not long after the war. She is only being true to form and spouting her anti semitic bile. In my book, a useless idiot. It is such a shame that we allow such nasties to live in Britain.
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oldschooltwentysix
7:01 pm
May 14, 2012
She seems no different than many others that oppose hate in a hateful manner. There is no shortage.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Julius Romanoff
7:59 pm
May 14, 2012
The critics of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, is part of the religious war that has been waged for centuries. The belief in one G-d originated in the thinking of Abraham, who has become accepted as the patriach of major religions. The Torah details the history of the Jewish people and the religion of the Jews. Jews were compelled to change their religion by nations that accepted them to live in their land when expelled from their homes and nations. Mighty nations, such as Babylonia and Roman Empire conquered the Jews, who still exist while their conquerors are gone.
It seems Jews are accepted if they are subservient, and helping lands in which they live. The history of the Jews detail the might of their warriors, which is attributed to G-d’s helping hand. Now that the Israeli Defense Forces have protected Israeli citizens, and proved their ability to defend it’s nation, it has been under attack by world powers. Believers in Allah which is now the largest religion is the prime enemy. Israel’s allies, the democratic nations, are unwilling to side openly with Israel to avoid antagonizing the oil rich Arab lands.
The use of Terrorism and false accusations have become the weapons of religious conflict.
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Stan Lee
10:06 pm
May 14, 2012
You’ve got it dead-right, Julius! In YAB’s kind of thinking, if Jews should be regarded as secondary (or lower) citizens, such as Islam calls “Dhimmitude,” then according to Islam, all would be the way it’s supposed to be. Or even worse, she’s prefer the resurrection of the Hitlerian “Jewish Solution.” Yes, I believe that’s what she’s driving for, except she toys with “political correctness,” as if sane people can’t read between her lines!
On the other hand, when a small (correction:tiny) country allows ALL of it citizens democratic freedom and voice in its government, that’s not good for Islam. And, that is Israel’s position and the reason it’s so detested by the sea of backwardness that surrounds it.
The Jews ancestral homeland just happens to be in a very dangerous place, they felt they had no option but to return to it as it was described in the Old Testament. I respect their courage and devotion to their tradition. I abhor those who make it a livelihood doing what Josef Goebbels did as his duty to Adolf Hitler and Nazism. That cost this world over 50 million lives, one would think we should have learned from that!
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Elana Starr
8:45 pm
May 14, 2012
Unfortunately YAB’s sound bites don’t appear much worse than a lot of the anti-Zionist rhetoric coming out of the UK these days. It doesn’t matter if it’s the demand from left-wing professors to boycott Israeli goods or media darlings like Emma Thompson inexplicably ranting about Habimah appearing in England, their screeds are steeped in ignorance. One web site with substantive information is here: http://britishisraelcoalition.org/note/10-reasons-to-support-israel/. Check it out.
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Paul Tenenbaum
9:24 pm
May 14, 2012
Ms Alibaba,
Where were you in 1948? If you were alive, why did you not accept the partition by the United Natiions. You would have had your “nation”. Israel would not have had to worry about terrorists and we might have had Shalom.
But the likes of you were there in 1948 and there was no Shalom. Look into a mirror with 2 sides. This way you’ll see what is on the other side. You were born with 2 eyes but only one sees. Part of your brain works in the same manner.
Too bad, you could have a prolific positive writer doing good for your people.
Tenpa
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Bob Poplar
10:28 pm
May 14, 2012
The Arab world has announced that they will occupy and control Israel by having many children and change their system by popular elections. They plan to do it in the USA and where ever they can until the entire world shares their belief system. Most mature countries restrict immigration. The original plan was that Israel would move back to their land. The Palestinians would move to Trans-Jordan. What happened? OIL, is what happened. Do we ever learn how much of the oil profits taken from the Middle-East are used to benefit the people in the region? Very little, most of it goes to the “Foreign” Investors – like Standard Oil et-al. It’s all part of the plan to maintain the Royals. I think we have to show – if we haven’t already – that Israel is important to save the World – like they have been since the Industrialization of the modern age. Let my people go.
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Gábor Fränkl
10:42 pm
May 14, 2012
She is what she is hell bent on deviously provoking us all into: stating that ideed she is a borderline vicious antisemite creep of a pathetic radical, extremist rag in a financial freefall!
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Gábor Fränkl
11:05 pm
May 14, 2012
She is just a cheap pathetic propagandist on behalf of her identitcal blood borothers, the same bloodthirsty antisemitic Jewhater terrorists as her. Tribe calls her home every time. Great “journalist” indeed! LMAO!
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Stuart
11:57 pm
May 14, 2012
This bigoted woman has, long ago, given up any right to be taken seriously as a journalist. Her pervertedly one sided view of the conflict in the Middle East, extends no further than Big Bad Wolf Israel and Poor little Downtrodden Arabs and Muslims.
She has never criticised the violence exported by her fellow Muslims around the world and everything wrong in the region is the fault of Israel. She disregards the fact that many Arabs and Muslims live happily in Israel where they can work and vote and who integrtae perfectly well with Israeli society.
There is more wealth in the neighbouring Arab countries than anywhere else in the world and if there really was a desire to improve the lot of the Arab people, the Saudis, Qataris, Kuwaitis,et al would disperse their vast riches to make the lives of all of their indegenous peoples a much better one.
The reason they don’t is because it’s much cheaper and easier to blame Israel. Perhaps, by way of meaningful retaliation, Israel should start to ban the use of all of the life saving medical, technological and communication technology, invented in Israel, from being used in any Arab country.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, Interesting thought………………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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L. Rebhun
12:52 am
May 15, 2012
Why is this old man allowed to share his opinion in this paper? I thought racism was outdated. He needs to get some sleep. Is this the state of British journalism today? I hope not. Logic has seemingly been replaced with delusional hate speech.
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J Burns
1:07 am
May 15, 2012
We well know that anything that features in the “Independent”, especially op-eds, are anything but independent. Accordingly, I treat such with the respect they deserve.
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Stan Lee
6:45 pm
May 17, 2012
Newspapers live by the old bromide “If it bleeds it reads.” Never forget that! Politely worded explanatory pieces don’t excite, don’t sell papers, and generally “turn-off” people in search for scandalous or hateful comments to “brighten-up” their (the readers) mundane, boring, lives.
Such reaction has become YAB’s source of income, papers know that closet Jew-haters can live vicariously through YAB’s hateful journalistic diatribes.Imagine a news-seeking universe that would be absolutely so bored with Muslim Jew-baiting as to completely disregard it as pure crap!
Instead, this stuff is parleyed into an issue because it has the possibility of furthering the Muslim agenda. They aim this garbage at non-Muslims in order to divide Judeo-Christianity!
Agnostics and atheists are just pure bonuses to the Muslim propagandists. (They’d also be the first ones erased in a Muslim country!)
How long would she(YAB) last in her business if she became a non-entity among readers in the UK?
It wouldn’t diminish the deep pathological British feelings toward Judaism, that was even embellished by Shakespeare. However, most of them know it’s wrong and they fear being singled-out as “not politically correct.” Mind you, none have taken a monent to analyze that Judaism isn’t political, it a religion! Plus,it’s unfortunate that non-Jews never consider the differences between “secular” (non-pious) Jews and Jews who do practice their religion faithfully.
They just continue to be “those Jews,” while there are far more secular Christians, numbers growing more daily in the UK ! Now, those respective groups are more easily defined by non-Jews. ( Thought:Good Lord! What’s to become of those fantastic cathedrals in the UK? Who’s attending them now?)
Let’s get back to the Jews…all Jews, secular or pious, are lumped into one group. After all, they’re Jews,right? Why bother any further, who’s got the time to waste? So, how could they, the apathetic, ever kick such a convenient, age-old, bias habit? It’s their problem about a group of people, about which most of them would be hard put to explain their bigotry…it’s just there. Otherwise, they’re very nice people who may actually state that they “have Jewish friends.”
I live in a melting-pot of 311,000,000 people. Most came to America for freedom and opportunity.
By and large, it’s been successful for the majority, “successful” being defined as “middle-class.” Until 2008 and Obama the country was A-1, we aim to reverse Obama, he and his Socialists have hurt my country.
Like it or not, Mrs. Thatcher was right; in Socialism, sooner or later it runs out of other people’s money! When times become tough, people take to blaming everything but themselves. They need a scapegoat to feel better about their own failures, about the fact that we really get the government we deserve.
Joila! All is not lost, I spy the scapegoats! How convenient for everyone and they’re used to it anyway. No one cares whether those appointed scapegoats are fed-up with that role to play. They’re here, they’re there, they’re a perfect minority, they are Jews!
The convenience of it all should cause all good people to think, think. Don’t allow the haters to manipulate you, you could be next. It did happen in Hitlerian Germany, it did happen in Russia.
May God bless you all.
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Mark
1:59 am
May 15, 2012
To riff on a recent statement by the current Occupier of the White House, “If Helen Thomas had a hate-filled ranting daughter, she’s look just like Yasmin!”
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greeneyeshade
2:08 am
May 15, 2012
Anybody but me old enough to remember the great British philosopher’s line, “Well, she would say that, wouldn’t she?”
If the Independent didn’t run Howard Jacobson as well as Alibhai-Brown and Robert Fisk, I wouldn’t line the birdcage I don’t have with it.
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Stuart
2:11 am
May 15, 2012
You do realise that the “Great British Philosopher” was Mandy Rice Davis ofd Christine Keeler fame.
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greeneyeshade
2:13 am
May 15, 2012
Yes; I thought people would notice the bulge my tongue was making in my cheek.
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