Sacramento Protests War, Occupation, and Israeli aggression

Great pics! As always, encouraging to see people standing up and saying no to aggressive, corrupt bully states like the U.S. and Israel.

Okay, Ms/Mr/Mrs Civilian, congratulations, you've made great strides since the first spread. I'm impressed:)

But not ready to contribute any seegars just yet: it may be accidental, but I found the focus on APN aka Americans for Peace Now unwelcome.

In my judgment, & I've been following these issues pretty closely since the 1982 invasion of Lebanon (you remember, Sabra & Shatilla & all that?) APN is really, in the final analysis on the other side, on the side of the "State of Israel" Violence and Lies apparatus.
So it pisses me off to see my presence w/ my instruments functioning to call attention to what I see as a harmful message.
Let me be perfectly clear: I regard the representative of APN as a Misleader and a big Parking Meter, to paraphrase that fellow from Hibbing MN. I hope he picks another corner to hang out on, because his presence in close proximity bums the shit out of me. Even worse than the "protest warrior" jerk, because more deceptive and more insidious.

The Zionists since their inception at the Basel Conference and before have pursued two quests: 1, the search for the ultimate weapon, and 2, the perfection of Tricknology: Lies, Damn Lies, and AIPAC propaganda.

No one should underestimate their skill in the field of Bunco Games: they managed to convince Joe Stalin they were a bunch of Socialists long enough to get their Partition resolution past the UN in 1947, then immediately set about trying to assasinate him, brand him as an "anti-semite" etc. Now we have a whole industry in the USA dedicated to convincing peace-minded USians that "Israel isn't bad, only the Occupation is bad; as soon as we persuade both sides to negotiate a two-state solution, all will be well with the lion & lamb living happily ever after".
Sorry folks, there really ain't no tooth fairy;) If you can, go see that film about "The Iron Wall"? Or maybe even better, read Lenni Brenner's book, "The Iron Wall: Revisionist Zionism from Jabotinsky to Shamir".

You can't negotiate with Zionists; they are not about negotiations. They are not interested in "peace", only in another piece of Arab land. If you read what they themselves say, not just the founders like Herzl, Jabotinsky, Chaim Weissman, Ben Gurion, but also the statements by Olmert made for domestic Israeli consumption -- they make no secret of their intentions.

Which is to bomb the entire Arab world plus Iran back into the stone age.

Outfits like Peace Now exist to obscure that reality.

& Ol' Captain Ratchetmouf is here to pull your coat: wake up & smell the Dark Ages, coming now to a suburb near you:)

The gentlemen holding the sign with "Americans for Peace Now" did so on his own, without any guidance or authorization from the organization. We had no knowledge of this in advance to determine whether or not it would be appropriate.

And if any of you are unaware of Americans for Peace Now except for the extremely inaccurate and nasty comments of DanE, including when he said that Israel's true intentions are "to bomb the entire Arab world plus Iran back into the stone age" and that "outfits like Peace Now exist to obscure that reality", please see for yourself at http://www.peacenow.org. B'Shalom / In Peace.

The man holding the Peace Now sign was myself. I am neither a representative nor a member of that organization. I'm not Jewish either. All I know about Peace Now is what I read on their website at http://www.peacenow.org. Their stated positions on many of the issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seem very fair and reasonable to me and that is why I made and held the sign at the rally.

Now to respond to the comments of DanE:

First, in response to your comments that you found my sign to be "unwelcome" and that my presence "bums the shit out" of you; I will have you know that this was not my intention, although to be honest, I could care less. Who the hell are you? Why attack another participant regarding their sign, without first inquiring as to why they were displaying it? Second, your comments about Zionists and their intentions are simply prejudicial. Although I'm sure that there are some Zionists that would like to "bomb the entire Arab world plus Iran back into the stone age" that is obviously not the case with all of them. Hell, I'm a Zionist (support Israel's right to exist) and I would like to see the violence and other injustices perpetrated by all parties in this conflict to cease.

whoever took the photos may have taken them without knowing the history of the group. negative insinuations (that have no backing) are not necessary when trying to build a peace movement.

Reaper although your vocab is impressive your clarity is lacking. What are you talking about?

Well, Don, if I had realized that the guy holding the objectionable sign was the same guy I'd met at the Pearcy's, I'd have been more polite. To say the least. I owe you an apology for boorish behavior.

But maybe in the big picture my goof happened for the best?

First, let me apologize for what must have seemed like a personal insult. And compliment you on your restrained response. I see that your intentions are positive & I give you full credit for it. And for your excellent camera work, which is a big contribution to the overall effort.

"However", as Irwin Corey used to say: there is a good deal that needs to be said about Peace Now, zionism, and this racist apartheid theocratic anachronistic abomination that goes by the name "State of Israel".

You say you believe "Israel" has a "right to exist"? So, logically, it follows that you believe a society founded on racism, theft, military aggression/expansionism, terrorism & religious discrimination has a "right to exist"?

You probably have never had it brought to your attention that this is "israel's" real nature, but it is a fact. The historical record is very clear. regardless of how the zionists try to twist and squirm, no matter how much they dominate the news media & entertainment industry.

Zionism, the movement that created this racist/militarist "isreal", is both an ideology and a set of institutionalized practices, both with definite historical roots. If you want to understand "israel" you should first read the words of the Zionist founders: Herzl, Weissman, Ben Gurion, & above all the founder of the presently dominant rightwing version of Zionism, Vladimir Jabotinsky. It is an interesting historical fact that both Herzl's Zionism and Hitler's Nazism share Bismarckian premises; both are based on the apostle of RealPolitik's "Blut & Boden"principle, i.e., racism and conquest.

Once you understand the founding principles, all you have to do is look at what the zionists have DONE. They have stolen a country, and subjected the original inhabitants to a reign of terror which makes South African Apartheid pale by comparison.

In addition to all the other successful invasions they've carried out, they've invaded & successfully occupied the US Congress & Executive Branch.

Even convinced apologists for US Imperialism are complaining that Israel and the Zionist Lobby centered around AIPAC have not only drug the US into a Quagmire Redux in Iraq, but have now got us supporting this aggression in Lebanon & genocidal turkeyshoot in Gaza, neither of which operations have anything to do with US National Security or US economic interests.

Peace Now? I've been to their site, seen what they're up to. They are an arm of the Zionist State, pure and simple. They along with AIPAC, the JCRCs & the rest are required under existing law to register as Agents of a Foreign Power, but since Zionism controls Congress & the Justice Dept, plus has a lot of clout with the Supine Court, the law is in this instance ignored.

The Coercive branch of the Zionist State Apparatus is comprised of elements like the IOF/Isreali Occupation Army, the Shin Bet, Mossad etc; the Ideological Branch of elements like AIPAC, the PNAC group, Tikkun, Peace Now, and most of the US "peace movement", notably those who peddled the Anybody But Bush snowjob in 2004 & got everybody to take a year off from protesting the warmachine.

Don, I've been on Israel's case since 1982 when they carried out their unprovoked invasion of Lebanon which led to the Sabra & Shatilla massacre. I don't put my knowledge on the level of real experts like Lenni Brenner, Jeff Blankfort, or Naseer Aruri, but I've done a lot of homework. I've argued these points over and over again. I've been a Democratic Party activist, done a lot of lobbying, walked precincts, etc etc. I understand the relationship between Zionism and not just the Republicans but also the "Democrats". I know whereof I speak.

Zionism is like an onion: the racist/militarist core is wrapped in layers of ideological packaging so that the minute one set of lies (like Leon Uris' "Exodus" fairytale) is exposed & becomes untenable, behind it is another line of defense which (it is hoped) still retains a shred of plausibility. So if it is no longer effective to try to defend the Occupation of territories conquered in the 1967 "Sixday War", a portion of the Zionist ideological apparatus switches to a stance of OPPOSITION to the occupation of the W Bank & Gaza, even calling for "an end to US Aid to Israel" until "negotiations" produce a "settlement fair to both sides". Of course they slip in their proposition about this "right to exist" (sic) -- but they never want to talk about what the acceptance of the proposition would require us to accept: settler-colonialist racism, with a religious test to decide your racial classification.

Do you realize that "Isreal" has no Constitution? No defined borders? Do you know what the "Law of Return" does? It gives anybody born of a Jewish mother anywhere in the world the right to move to the West Bank & walk around carrying an UZI, lording it over the ihabitants, intimidating and occasionally shooting a few, while millions of Palestinians can't get back to where they or their parents were born, where their forebears had lived for centuries...

I'm sure you never had any idea it was like that, did you? Of course not.
Please, Don, do look a little closer into the matter?

BTW, I'm ready to debate anybody anytime about it. Or we can set up a panel with you, any Peace Now representative you want plus myself and Jeff Blankfort? Yes? hehe;)

Again, I'm sorry I took this to a personal level. As I told Steve, I shoot from the hip too much. Please understand, it's no picnic finding myself constantly forced to confront the Prevailing Mythology that pervades these "antiwar" activities. I'd much rather concentrate on playing music.*

But hopefully we can "turn a bad thing into a good thing", (as the Great Red Sun In Our Hearts usta say:)

Regards,

Dan

*PS: I'll be playing this Saturday at The Plantation, four-star soulfood restaurant at Del Paso & Arden, from 1PM to 5; mostly bebop & standards, blues etc, mostly trapdrums: "Keep Swinging, Everbody"!

July 20, 2006 - Issue 192
Cover Story
Israeli Apartheid
by BC Editor Bruce Dixon

Imagine, if you will, a modern apartheid state with first, second and
eleventh class citizens, all required to carry identification specifying
their ethnic origin. First class citizens are obliged to serve in the armed
forces, kept on ready reserve status until in their forties, and accorded an
impressive array of housing, medical, social security, educational and
related benefits denied all others.

Second class citizens are exempted from military service and from a number
of the benefits accorded citizens of the first class. They are issued
identity documents and license plates that allow them to be profiled by
police at a distance. Second class citizens may not own land in much of the
country and marriages between them and first class citizens are not
recognized by the state. Second class citizens are sometimes arrested
without trial and police torture, while frowned upon and occasionally
apologized for, commonly occurs.

Citizens of the eleventh class, really not citizens at all, have no rights
citizens of the first class or their government are bound to respect. Their
residence is forbidden in nearly nine-tenths of the country, all of which
they used to own. The areas left to them are cut up into smaller and
smaller portions weekly, by high walls, free fire zones and hundreds of
checkpoints manned by the army of the first class citizens, so that none can
travel a dozen miles in any direction to work, school, shopping, a job, a
farm, a business or a hospital without several long waits, humiliating
searches and often arbitrary denials of the right to pass or to return.
Posh residential settlements for the first class citizens with protecting
gun towers and military bases are built with government funds and foreign
aid on what used to be the villages and farms and pastures of the eleventh
class citizens. The settlers are allotted generous additional housing and
other subsidies, allowed to carry weapons and use deadly force with impunity
against the former inhabitants, and are connected with the rest of first
class territory by a network of of first-class citizen only roads.

Citizens of the eleventh class are routinely arrested, tortured, and held
indefinitely without trial. Political activism among them is equated to
“terrorism” and the state discourages such activity by means including but
not limited to the kidnapping of suspects and relatives of suspects,
demolition of their family homes, and extralegal assassination, sometimes at
the hands of a death squad, or at others times by lobbing missiles or five
hundred pound bombs into sleeping apartment blocks or noonday traffic.
Passports are not issued to these citizens, and those who take advantage of
scarce opportunities to study or work abroad are denied re-entry.

The apartheid state in question is, of course, Israel. Its first class
citizens are Israeli Jews, the majority of them of European or sometimes
American origin. The second class citizens are Israeli Arabs, who enjoy
significant but limited rights under the law including token representation
in the Knesset. The eleventh class citizens are not citizens at all. They
are Palestinians. One expects to be able to say that Palestinians live in
Palestine and are governed by Palestinians, but the truth is something
different. The areas in which Palestinians may inhabit have shrunk nearly
every year since the Nakba, their name for the wave of mass deportations,
murders, the dispossession, destruction and exile of whole Arab towns,
cities and regions that attended the 1948 founding of the state of Israel.
As the whole world, except for the US public knows, Palestinians have lived
under military occupation, without land, without rights, without hope, for
nearly sixty years now.

The difference between life inside and outside the US corporate media bubble
is extraordinarily clear on this question. US authorities subsidize the
state of Israel to the tune of at least six billion per year, and corporate
media take great pains to protect US citizens from news of actual human and
legal conditions their tax dollars pay for. The ugly and racist realities
of Israeli society and life under Israeli occupation are rarely discussed
anywhere most consumers of media might find them. It is nearly taboo in
mainstream US print and broadcast media to apply the words racist or
apartheid to the state of Israel or its policies, or to call its control at
the point of a gun of millions of non-citizens what it is, namely the
longest standing military occupation in the world today. In the US media,
and on the lips of every administration since Harry Truman's Israel is “a
democracy”, whatever that word has come to mean.

Though news stories in the US talk about autonomous “Palestinian areas”
allegedly controlled by Palestinian authorities, often referring to Gaza and
the West Bank by name, actual maps displaying the geographic boundaries of
the so-called Palestinian controlled areas are rarely seen by American
viewers, let alone maps comparing the size of Palestinian areas year to
year, or showing the steady encroachment upon Arab land and water resources
year to year by Israeli settlements, military outposts, Israeli-only roads,
free fire zones and Israel's wall. The massive and militarized apartheid
wall, as the rest of the world calls it, is termed a “separation barrier” or
a “separation fence” in the US media, an understandable precaution against
hordes of terroristic former owners of the land who lurk just outside.

Still, when you Google the terms Israel + apartheid, you get 5.5 million
hits. A lot of somebodies somewhere are making the connection without the
help of CNN, ABC or Fox News.

The parallels with apartheid South Africa are many and striking. Like its
earlier apartheid cousin, Israel menaces all its neighbors with an
impressive array of nukes and the largest military establishment in the
region. As Noam Chomsky observed back in 2004:
”Not discussed, in the US at least, is the threat from West Asia. Israel's
nuclear capacities, supplemented with other WMD, are regarded as "dangerous
in the extreme" by the former head of the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM),
Gen. Lee Butler, not only because of the threat they pose but also because
they stimulate proliferation in response. The Bush administration is now
enhancing that threat. Israeli military analysts allege that its air and
armored forces are larger and technologically more advanced than those of
any NATO power (apart from the US), not because this small country is
powerful in itself, but because it serves virtually as an offshore US
military base and high tech center. The US is now sending Israel over 100 of
its most advanced jet bombers, F16I's, advertised very clearly as capable of
flying to Iran and back, and as an updated version of the F16s that Israel
used to bomb Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981....”

The old South Africa bombed, strafed and invaded all its neighbors with some
regularity, crippling their commerce and extracting horrific death tolls
from refugee camps and other civilian targets. The last time Israel invaded
and occupied Lebanon, it left 30,000 corpses.

White South Africans rightly fretted at the fact that they were a minority
ruling over an unhappy majority, and concocted schemes to exile the
country's black population to isolated rural reservations it called
bantustans. Israeli pundits calmly discuss the demographic bomb, their name
for the fact that second and eleventh class citizens, Israeli Arabs and
Palestinians will soon outnumber them within the borders of their supposed
“Jewish state” while Israeli politicians sit in Knesset and hold ministries
in successive governments openly calling for mass deportations and ethnic
cleansing.

White South Africans constructed for themselves a bogus scriptural narrative
in which the God of Abraham promised them somebody else's land, and brought
it into modern history with the embellishment that they were holding the
line for the free world against godless communism and the black menace. How
similar is Israel's line that European Jews are promised the land of Muslim
and Christian Arabs, and that they now hold the line for the free world
against radical Islam and those ungrateful brown people?

We at BC have to believe that if the American people knew the truth about
what their tax dollars pay for in Israel and what is left of Palestine,
there would be a deep and widespread revulsion, similar to that occasioned
by US support for apartheid in South Africa. But there are important
differences between that time and this one. Though unspeakably odious,
racist South African was only marginally important to US interests. By
contrast, the maintenance of Israel's apartheid regime, essentially a white
hi-tech and military outpost in the middle of all those brown people sitting
atop a large share of the world's proven oil reserves is absolutely central
to US foreign policy for the foreseeable future. The US is Israel's banker,
its arms depot, and its principal diplomatic sponsor. The US is far more
complicit in the crimes of the Israeli state than it ever was in South
Africa.

Racism and apartheid being what they are, and our historical experience in
America being what it is, African Americans have a crucial role to play.
African Americans have seldom supported US imperial adventures overseas as
readily as whites. Our American experience inclines us to a skeptical
appraisal of our government's means and motives at home and abroad. Even
though we live as much within the media bubble as white America, where
images of the broken and mangled families, the incinerated homes and bombed
hospitals are hard to come by, our skepticism leads us to sympathize with
those who live at the sharp end of US foreign policy far more often than do
our white neighbors.

Our first duty is to tell the truth to each other. We must combat among
ourselves the bogus historical narratives which permit indifference to US
policy in the Middle East in general, and support of Israeli apartheid in
particular. The churchgoers among us urgently, publicly and repeatedly must
confront and debunk the nonsense which holds that “wars and rumors of wars”
are something predestined to happen in the biblical holy land for what they
are – bad scripture and fake history. We need to interrupt, correct and
school everyone who talks to us about a “cycle of violence” in the Holy
Land, as though some raggedy fool with a suicide belt, or a few hundred
fighters with small arms are or ever have been equivalent to the devastation
wrought by the established gulags, checkpoints, airborne firepower, economic
strangulation, house demolitions and nuclear armed might of the Israeli
state. The two sides do not have access to anything like equal means of
inflicting violence, and so cannot be equally culpable or equally
responsible for stopping that violence.

We need to catch up with the rest of the civilized world, and talk about
what we can do to emphatically withdraw our support from the apartheid state
of Israel and its immoral and illegal occupation regime. The Presbyterian
church, for example, has in the past considered selective divestiture from
Israel and from US companies who profit from the occupation, as have the
Anglicans. Both might do so again.

What can our churches, our unions, our local elected officials, our young
people do? What will we do?
Apartheid in South Africa eventually bit the dust mostly because the
inhabitants of that country, black, brown and white resisted it, putting
their bodies and lives on the line. Their resistance was aided and abetted
materially, financially, politically and spiritually by people of good will
the world over. Someday the sun will rise on a post-apartheid Jerusalem,
one that belongs to all the people who live there of whatever origin. This
is bound to happen because Palestinians as well as substantial numbers of
Israeli Jews do and will continue to resist the regime. They will do what
they can. What will we do?

Bruce Dixon can be contacted at bruce.dixon [at] blackcommentator.com.

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Follow-up Question: Am I to believe there are no genuine Jewish peace and justice organizations based in Israel?

A lot of good information here. This is one hell of a problem. It seems that Israel enjoys almost universal, unquestioning support among our elected officials on the Federal level. This issue is not going to get resolved easily or anytime soon. We must continue the dialogue and activism.

There rae a lot of Israeli peace and justice groups opposing the war.
See:
http://israel.indymedia.org/