Do you believe in an ideology? Putting it slightly more strongly, are you a follower of an ideology? I guess for most people the answer is “no” to both. Ideologies are generally felt to be bad, false and deceptive and those who follow them to be fanatics of some kind, unable to see things as they really are and act accordingly, in a calm manner and with their minds unclouded by mysterious and undisprovable notions.
Archive for the 'zionism' Category
Yoram Hazony, the Israeli scholar whose brilliant essay on Europe and Israel I critiqued here, has a piece in The Forward replying to a particularly silly take by J.J. Goldberg on the same piece. Inter alia, he writes:
1.
Linda Grant has a piece here in which she compares the Gaza flotilla with the Exodus. If I understand it correctly, its main point is that legality or justifiability of the conduct of Britain and Israel in each case is largely irrelevant, what really matters is the broader public perception of what occurred and the images on which that perception is based.
This is a guest post by Petra Marquardt-Bigman.
The Quilliam Foundation in London prides itself for being “the world’s first counter-extremism think tank.” The organization’s expertise in this field is clearly unique given that it was founded by “former leading ideologues of UK-based extremist Islamist organizations.” When it comes to Zionism, however, Quilliam’s former Islamists find it hard to really leave behind the ideology they now oppose.
Continue reading ‘Zionism and Islamism: A New False Equivalence’
Karl Pfeifer will be known to readers of this blog for his regular contributions. What you may not be aware of is that, after surviving the Nazi onslaught in both Austria and Hungary as a child, Karl went to what was then Palestine, where he served with the Palmach during the War of Independence.
Here are two photographs of Karl serving with the Second Regiment of Hativat Hanegev in 1948. In the top photo, Karl is the fellow wearing the scarf. In the photo underneath, Karl is in the center, wearing a steel helmet. As we mark the 61st anniversary of Israel’s independence, Karl’s experience is a reminder of why we shouldn’t take that independence for granted - and why we owe him and his comrades a huge debt of gratitude.
There’s a certain irony about the title of Avraham Burg’s forthcoming book, “The Holocaust Is Over: We Must Rise from its Ashes.” Those very same words could be the motto of the State of Israel itself, given its emergence just three years after the defeat of Nazism.
Petra recommends this “interview” with Theodor Herzl, founder of modern Zionism. Whether or not historical exercises like these are your cup of tea, it’s hard to disagree with “Herzl” on the social agenda.
I try, inasmuch as I can, to ensure that I cast around the blogosphere for interesting material (same goes for non-blog sources) which deserves a wider audience. In that spirit, I just have to share something that I came across this morning.
Noel Ignatiev is one the last people you would expect to be authoring an entry on Zionism for an encyclopedia published under a well-known, trusted imprint. But open Volume 3 of the “Encyclopedia of Race and Racism,” which carries the names of both Macmillan Reference USA (now owned by the Michigan-based Gale, Cengage Learning company) and the Macmillan Social Science Library, and you will see that he has done just that.
Continue reading ‘Macmillan USA Encyclopedia Damns Zionism as Racism’
Over at Normblog you’ll find the latest installment of Sam Fleischacker’s series “A Cool Hour on the Israel-Palestine Conflict” here. You’ll find my comments on previous installments behind these numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. On this occasion Fleischacker deals with questions relating to the idea of collective ownership of particular territories.
Continue reading ‘A Response To “A Cool Hour on the Israel-Palestine Conflict 6”’
Over at Normblog, there’s a great post by Eve Gerrard in which she goes to work on certain arguments against Zionism.
I have already commented on the first four posts of a series by Samuel Fleischacker - hereinafter SF - on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute currently appearing over at Normblog here, here, here and here. The fifth in the series, dealing with the validity or otherwise of the historical claims of the parties, appeared yesterday and here are some comments on it.
Continue reading ‘A Response To “A Cool Hour on the Israel-Palestine Conflict 5”’
In what Yediot Ahronot has billed as a “legacy interview” on the occasion of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has - as he himself says - expressed ideas unheard from any previous Israeli leader.
There follows my response to certain matters raised in the third post, titled “Racism and Anti-Semitism”, in a series by Samuel Fleischacker - hereinafter referred to as SF - about the Israel-Palestinian conflict, currently appearing over at Normblog. My responses to the two previous posts can be found here and here.
Continue reading ‘A Response To “A Cool Hour on the Israel-Palestine Conflict 3”’
There follow some comments on Samuel Fleischacker’s second post in a series on the Israel-Palestine conflict which is appearing over at Normblog. You’ll find my response to his first post here.
Continue reading ‘A Response To “A Cool Hour on the Israel-Palestine Conflict 2”’
