http://www.birthrightunplugged.org/ These trips have been put together by some Jews on the D.I.R.T. list ("Dense anti-Israel Repugnant Traitors") also known as the S.H.I.T list ("Self-Hating and Israel-Threatening" Jews), heralding what may be the onset of the Jewish glasnost in the US. American Jews show a growing trend against the concept of a Jewish only state The idea that criticism of Israeli policies is anti-Semitic is diminishing against the objective reality of Palestinian oppression More and more people in the Jewish community see an uncomfortable comparison to apartheid in Israeli treatment of Palestinians. The bottomline: "Judaism's universal ethical calling can't really be answered if we live only among ourselves -- and Israel's own experience suggests it's essentially impossible to do so without doing injustice to others. Israel is only 59 years old, a brief moment in the sweep of Jewish history, and I'd argue that Judaism's survival depends instead on its ability to offer a sustaining moral and ethical anchor in a world where the concepts of nation and nationality are in decline (but the ferocity of nationalism may not be). Israel's relevance to Judaism's survival depends first and foremost on its ability, as Burg points out, to deliver justice, not only to its citizens, but to those it has hurt." http://www.alternet.org/story/62618/?page=entire (excellent article if you can read the whole thing) Its good to see the trend towards justice. It provides hope for a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian crisis.
I think Judaism it going down the way Christianity is. When church has to compete with the likes of Jerry Springer church loses almost every time.
Let's hope this time there can be a fair and equal integration, without the needless trappings of religious supremacism.
Is there any group that opposes Israels actions that aren't labled as anti-semtic? Once I started to read the article, I was thinking "Ok, now when are they going to be accused of being anti semtic by documenting the Palestenian experience". And low and behold, before I got half way through the article, they have infact been labled anti-semetic. Malcom X was the biggest critic of the Black Community to date, was he labled as Black? Nope! He was labled as a hero.
Settle down, Beavis. Americans toss hyperbolic insults at each other all the time, and Jewish Americans are no exception. There are organizations like the Anti-Defamation League whose sole mission is to examine the life of every single American, and if they find one thing that doesn't match their agenda, they call him anti-Semitic. This group of idiots actually got Frank Zappa's hit "Jewish Princess" pulled off the radio 27 years ago. My wife and every other Jewish Princess I've ever met thought it was the funniest thing since "Springtime for Hitler." I've never actually met anyone--Jewish or not--who supports groups like the ADL so their power base must be an extremely small group of extremely rich people. There are prominent and influential Jewish American entertainers, commentators, educators, scholars and others who have spoken out against the theocrats, racists and chauvinists who frequently control Israel. The Jewish theocrats, racists and chauvinists in America routinely yell "anti-Semitic!" at them. And in general hardly anybody gives a damn. They're extremists. America is a loud, rude community and it's full of extremists. The influence of these particular extremists is pretty limited--not to deny their occasional ugly successes. The extremists to worry about are the ones who actually wield some influence, like the Minutevermin and the Science Denialists, who comprise large--and largely overlapping--political blocs.
"Anti-Semitism" is an emotionally charged word, not an objective one. To make an analogy, image a wealthy Church leader that has much political power. Now, suppose a rebel movement materialized that questioned the Church leader's ideas. The leader now has a fear that the rebel movement will result in loss of power and wealth, so he decides to use "emotional warfare" by concocting the word "Anti-Churchism." The masses would be indoctrinated into thinking that the the biggest evil in the world is to be an "Anti-Churchite." "Anti-Churchism" of course would never be objectively defined because the term must be given flexibilty so that almost any behavior the Church leader sees as threatening to his power and wealth can be labeled "anti-Churchetic." The Church leader than makes a deal with the government to create a new Hate Crime law in which "anti-Churchism" would be punishable by imprisonment. The Church Leader then uses his influence to get the mass media to agree to an indoctrination project to get the masses to see the "virtues" in what the Church leader has decided.
SAM, please don't pretend you understand even 1/10th of the Jewish psyche and the challenges that the Jewish Nation is facing. Why don't you go spam some thread or something.
It is a legitimate point. The people living under Israeli occupation are actually living under occupation under such conditions. It is not fun for them. Israel tearing down people's homes and taking their land, say because its close to potable water, is common. I know many have been conditioned to link Jews as God'speoplepersecutedbyevilnazis. I invite you to use a bit of your peripheral vision when look at them again. Not everyone who disagrees with or questions their motives is an antisemitic evil nazi out to kill Jews.
