A. Loewenstein Online Newsletter

Deconstructing Zionist attempts to be racist

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 05:27 PM PDT

EU only knows how to release PR when Jewish fanatics act up

Posted: 07 Sep 2011

Yet another attack by Jewish colonists on a Palestinian mosque and the EU expresses concern.

Omar Barghouti explains the constant weakness of this position (with a message under the headline “EU’s Ashton condemns burning synagogue in France as hurting inter-faith trust”):

Well, not quite what Ashton said or what happened. There was no synagogue burnt in France. The truth is, a mosque — only a mosque — was destroyed by arson set by Jewish Israeli fanatics in the occupied Palestinian territory and Ashton condemned it “strongly” for undermining trust, peace and freedom of religion!

But imagine if a synagogue, instead, were set ablaze in France, say. What would happen if armed criminals set a synagogue on fire, burning religious books in the process? Would the head of EU diplomacy simply condemn this as an act that “undermines efforts to build the necessary trust” or “undermines freedom of religion”? Would that be all? 

Wouldn’t the Security Council be convened immediately to condemn the anti-Semitic crime? Wouldn’t two Hollywood films be produced soon after to commemorate the ugliest attack on Jews since WWII? Wouldn’t leading academic institutions in the US organize conferences to examine the post-traumatic impact of these horrific attacks on world Jewry and the post-modern re-emergence of anti-Semitic hate? Wouldn’t the mainstream media insinuate, or say it straight in the US case, that perhaps there is something profoundly wrong with the Muslim/Arab mind, even if there is no proof whatsoever that the arsonists were either Muslim or Arab? Wouldn’t the government of France launch a massive investigation or even resign for failing to protect the besieged Jewish minority?

But hey, it is just a mosque, and a Palestinian one at that–no worries. Move on!

While American officials have consistently partnered in Israeli crimes, defending, whitewashing, funding them, European officials have turned racist hypocrisy into a fully evolved art. Also, they make a joke of the term post colonial! Not so “post,” evidently.

If UN saw madness in Sri Lanka, where’s the real investigation?

Posted: 07 Sep 2011

Wikileaks offers typically invaluable insights but the obvious question remains; where’s the thorough pressure by the UN to force Colombo to answer serious allegations of war crimes?

The UN Secretary General had told the diplomats that he saw a scene of “complete destruction”, when he flew over the former “no-fire zone” in Sri Lanka. He described the conditions of Manik Farm refugee camp as worse than anything he had ever seen before, reveals a US diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon briefed Co-Chair Ambassadors of Sri Lanka aid group at Colombo airport on the night of 23 May 2009 at the end of his 24-hour visit to Sri Lanka.

Responding to a question from Norwegian Ambassador Tore Hattrem on his assessment of conditions at Manik Farm, Secretary General had said his visit to the camp had been “very sobering and very sad.”

Menik Farm was housing more than 200,000 people displaced by the fighting.

“Conditions were worse than those at any other camps, including in Darfur and Goma” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had told the diplomats. He had told them that there had seen signs of malnutrition in Manik farm.

In his visit to Sri Lanka following the government declaration of military victory over Tamil Tigers, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (UNSG) had meetings with President Rajapaksa, Foreign Minister Bogollagama, and other senior government officials.

What never-ending occupation has done; Hamas needs Gaza blockade

Posted: 07 Sep 2011

Amira Hass in Haaretz explains:

How embarrassing. While solidarity activists are planning new protests against the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the Hamas government is adding to limitations on Palestinians’ freedom of movement. One might justifiably ask: What are a few highschool students Hamas refuses to allow to travel to the United States to study as opposed to 1.5 million Palestinians imprisoned by Israel in Gaza?

Who cares about a few Fatah activists who have been banned from leaving the Gaza Strip? They have become a “price tag” – Hamas’ revenge for the persecution of its supporters (not linked to the use of arms) in the West Bank by the Abbas-Fayyad government. And who even pays attention to a few hundred people who might be traveling to participate in NGO projects in the West Bank and abroad? What does it matter that they are required to give at least two weeks notice and provide the authorities in Gaza with an abundance of details about the project?

The truth is, these strikes against freedom of movement can be explained away by political circumstances. The explanations would even suit Hamas’ respectable image abroad as a resistance government (as opposed to the PLO government’s image as collaborators). It’s almost certain that any rare Palestinian who Israel allows to leave Gaza via the Erez checkpoint is being shown some sort of favoritism by the Israeli authorities. This person can be close to the Palestinian Authority or a PA official himself, a favorite of the Americans or other Western entities, or of a well-connected Israeli organization.

By its very essence, freedom of movement for the few constitutes privilege, and privilege is a mutilated right, because rights are meant for everyone. Such mutilated rights foster envy and encourage the estrangement of the privileged from the rest of the public. That has been the basis for Israel’s 20-year closure policy.

…

Last Thursday, the Hamas authorities once again prevented six high school students, scholarship recipients, from leaving for their studies in the United States. A number of them had wanted to leave two weeks ago and were prevented from doing so on the orders of the Hamas education minister. This summer, children were prohibited from participating in a summer camp (! ) in the West Bank. The Gaza security forces interrogated a number of activists who had gone abroad; they were part of the movement against the separation of the West Bank from Gaza. Two had their laptops and cellphones confiscated, one was arrested for two days.

The prohibitions and Hamas’ deterrent tactics must not be taken lightly just because the number of people affected is small. The nature of prohibitions is that they increase in volume as they roll down the slope called “rule.” Hamas believes it has the right to intervene in parents’ choices for their children’s educational future. It believes it has the right to limit national and societal activity that is not based on its religious axioms.

These prohibitions are woven tightly into the Hamas regime’s logic. Hamas, which is not threatened by elections, builds its own separate political-religious entity. The closer the government in Ramallah gets to the UN vote on accepting “Palestine” as a member, the more Hamas stresses the independence of the Gaza Strip under its rule.

In this way the Hamas government provides an alibi for Israel to mendaciously claim that it is no longer an occupier. Hamas needs a blockade to regulate from within so that the subjects of “independent Gaza” will be exposed as little as possible to different realities and will not question its policies. Hamas needs the blockade and needs Gaza to be cut off from the rest of Palestinian society to ensure the continuation of its regime.

Here’s a great idea; let’s just privatise everything

Posted: 07 Sep 2011

Mother Jones with the latest mad scheme:

Pavlov didn’t respond to a request for comment on the teacher privatization plan. But Pavlov has publicly described his plan, which he said was still in the works, this way: “I look at it as offering options. If there is something out there that can offer school officials the same options at a lower cost, schools need to take a look at that. It needs to [be] part of the conversation on reform.”

The Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) says [4] that teachers from private companies would be required to have the same credentials as existing public school teachers. Public school districts, MASSP notes, would begin soliciting bids from private “instructional services” companies once existing teacher contracts had expired.

Michigan Education Association spokesman Doug Pratt says Pavlov’s plan is a “terrible idea” that would erode the quality of public school teaching because districts will look for the lowest bidder, not the best teachers. “Instead of having teachers who care about their students learning and their personal growth as their top priorities, the corporation’s bottom line would be what they care about most.” Pratt also claimed this is a way to kneecap teachers’ unions in Michigan. “Privatization is a type of union busting,” he says.

A thought for the modern, violent age

Posted: 07 Sep 2011