Externe

This is no real parallel with white South Africa

Michael Kinsley
Tuesday December 12, 2006
The Guardian

In the six decades since the founding of Israel, there have been about one and a half new ideas for solving the most intractable problem on the map of the world. In fact, ever since Britain's 1917 Balfour declaration made incompatible promises to Jews and Arabs struggling over the same tiny plot of land, most would-be solutions have counted on an outbreak of goodwill among the Middle East's warring parties. This tradition continues in the Iraq Study Group report, which declares that "there must be a renewed and sustained commitment by the United States to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace on all fronts," as a small warm-up for tackling the problem of Iraq.
What a good idea! And then we'll cure cancer, to pave the way for healthcare reform. Why, of course, all humanity should put down its weapons and learn to live together in harmony and siblinghood - especially in the Holy Land, birthplace of three great religions (so far).

Comes now former president Jimmy Carter with a new bestselling book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. It's not clear what he means by using the loaded word "apartheid", since the book makes no attempt to explain it, but the only reasonable interpretation is that Carter is comparing Israel to the former white racist government of South Africa. That is a foolish and unfair comparison, unworthy of the man who won - and deserved - the Nobel peace prize for bringing Israel and Egypt together in the Camp David Accords, and who has lent such lustre to the imaginary office of former president.

I mean, what's the parallel? Apartheid had a philosophical component and a practical one, both quite bizarre. Philosophically, it was committed to the notion of racial superiority. No doubt many Israelis have racist attitudes towards Arabs, but the official philosophy of the government is quite the opposite, and sincere efforts are made to, for example, instill humanitarian and egalitarian attitudes in children. That is not true, of course, in Arab countries, where hatred of Jews is a standard part of the curriculum.

The practical component of apartheid involved the creation of phoney nations called "Bantustans". Black South Africans would be stripped of their citizenship and assigned to far-away Bantustans where often they had never before set foot. The goal was a racially pure white South Africa, though the contradiction with the need for black labour was never resolved. Here might be a parallel with Israel, which needs the labour of the Arabs it is currently trying to keep out.

But in other ways, the implied comparison is backward. To start, no one has yet thought to accuse Israel of creating a phoney country in finally acquiescing to the creation of a Palestinian state. Palestine is no Bantustan. Or, if it is, it is the creation of Arabs, not Jews. Furthermore, Israel has always had Arab citizens. They are Arabs who were living in what became Israel prior to 1948 and who didn't leave. No doubt they suffer discrimination. Nevertheless, they are citizens with the right to vote and so on. There used to be Jews living in Arab nations, but they also fled in 1948 and subsequent years - in numbers roughly equivalent to the Arabs who fled Israel. Now there are virtually no Jews in Arab countries - even in a moderate Arab country like Jordan. How many Jews do you think there will be in the new sovereign state of Palestine?

And the most tragic difference: apartheid ended peacefully. This is largely thanks to Nelson Mandela, who turned out to be miraculously forgiving. If Israel is white South Africa and the Palestinians are supposed to be the black population, where is their Mandela?

a fost cel mai calamitos presedinte al USA.
in momentele dificile anunta natiunea ca va cere parerea fiicei sale Amy (avea 9 ani), ea va stii sa-l indrume. Frumos, nu ? Natiunea impreuna cu mine am ramas masca.

dupa presedentie a inceput sa activeze in diverse zone ale lumii, pentru pace.
Acu, cind nu mai era presedinte, lumea il privea cu oarecare bunavointa, ca nu deranja pe nimeni, plus si fiica a mai crescut si-i dadea sfaturi mai bune.

L-am vazut deunazi la TV, promovindu-si cartea.
Cind am vazut titlul, mi-am zis, Okey, fiecare are dreptul sa aibe parerile lui, INSA cind i-am auzit argumentele, am ramas din nou masca de cit de incredibil de puerile puteau fi, mi-am dat seama ca acum se consulta cu nepoteii.

Altminteri arata bine, precum il vedeti, total senin.

La 2006-12-17 23:47:42, Seherezada a scris:

L-am vazut deunazi la TV, promovindu-si cartea.
Cind am vazut titlul, mi-am zis, Okey, fiecare are dreptul sa aibe parerile lui, INSA cind i-am auzit argumentele, am ramas din nou masca de cit de incredibil de puerile puteau fi, mi-am dat seama ca acum se consulta cu nepoteii.


_________


Iubitzel, am vazut de Hanuka, la odtv, multe imagini frumoase despre Israel, dar mai ales multe videoclipuri cu muzica evreiasca. M-a fermecat muzica lor. Shi ce m-a surprins, a fost faptul ca muzica evreiasca de actualitate se aseamana IZBITOR de mult cu manelele noastre.

O melodie foarte frumoasa am auzit-o intr-un video-clip in care aparea o trupa de tineri care cinta in fatza a mii de soldatzi amestecatzi cu fete tinere shi frumoase de-tzi venea sa mushti din monitor.

Deci, in concluzie, who gives the shit about Carter ? A scris shi el o carte care miine se va vinde la One Dollar store shi de-acolo va lua drumul R-R-R. Miine l-am shi uitat deja ! Tinerii aia pe care i-am vazut nu pot fi opritzi de astfel de cartzi. Trebuie altceva. Ceva care sa-i faca pe acei tineri sa explodeze in iubire.

Hanukate-ash !