Anti-Israel Crowd Plays Racist Gotcha
Anti-Israel Crowd Plays Racist Gotcha
By Omri Ceren
The international media is salivating with what they're convinced is a Zionism is racism gotcha:
Families of Israeli Arabs shot dead on a bus in Galilee are not considered terrorism victims because their killer was Jewish, the defence ministry says. Under Israeli law, only attacks by "enemies of Israel" are considered terrorism, the ministry said.
The ruling means families of the four victims will not be entitled to the lifelong monthly payments given to Israeli victims of Palestinian attacks. The ministry says it has offered them an unspecified one-off payment.
We've been pretty clear that we think
Natan Zada was a terrorist. But that doesn't mean that he was a terrorist that tried to undermine Israel - which is what the compensation fund was intended to combat.
This isn't a "you've fallen on hard times let us help you" kind of thing - rather, it's designed as Israel's answer to the tens of thousands of smuggled international development aid dollars that go to "compensate" the Palestinian families of suicide bombers. Those bombers' families get reward money for every relative that tries to destroy Israel by blowing up a cafe or bus – so the families of their victims get money from the Israeli government to balance that out by keeping Israel strong. It's specific money set aside for a specific purpose.
Which also explains how the BBC lede is wildly misleading: this dispute has nothing to do with Natan Zada being Jewish and everything to do with the fact that the purpose of his action had nothing to do with trying to destroy the state of Israel by his actions (spare us the whole "well disengagement was good for Israel's security, so he really was undermining Israel" - there's a difference between trying to strengthen Israel and being wrong about the strategic-diplomatic situation and blowing up a bus because you don't like Jews who exist between the Jordan and the Mediterranean). Israel doesn't go around giving money out to every Jewish crime victim in Israel, any more than they do to Arab victims. In the specific case of this compensation fund, the fund was established to meet a specific purpose, a purpose that would in no way be met by compensating the Arab families victimized by Natan Zada.
Now the good answer to this argument is that all Israeli citizens - Jewish, Arab, or other - have equal civil rights. But this isn't a civil rights issue - again, not every victim of every crime in Israel is entitled to money from the state. And if anyone thinks that throwing money at the Israeli Arab community would promote pro-Israel patriotism, this should help clear that up:
Meanwhile, Israeli Arab leaders plan to present a 'blacklist' of grievances to the UN and the international community, which was drawn up after the attack by in Shfaram. The document details what they described as fascist and racist phenomena on the part of Israeli society and the establishment towards the country's minority Arab community.
The dominant voices of the sub-national Israeli Arab community are now calling for money (in fact, insisting that it's racist if they don't get any) from a country that they're actively trying to undermine by appealing to supranational actors. Why the rush of enthusiasm? Why the appeal to organizations objectively hostile to Israel?
When evaluating which communities are driven by what kind of racism, maybe the BBC could consider what it is about Israel that makes its Arab citizens want to undermine its security. Somehow we don't think it will turn out to be the substantial Buddhist majority in the country.
[Cross-posted at Mere Rhetoric]
Posted by Omri Ceren at August 30, 2005 07:38 PM
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1
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BobW
said:
There are 2 categories of material here: finance and public relations.
Re finance; "smuggled" money to Arab families of suicide mass murderers? Does GOI allow this money to be deposited in Israeli banks? Does GOI not monitor illegal proceeds from drug smuggling? the illegal arms trade? sex slavery? Something is missing from this scenerio. If "bombers' families get reward money" it can be frozen and seized by GOI even if outside Israel in some cases. Don't blame the government of British Antarctic Territory for these wealth transfers.
The international media can launch a campaign charging GOI with planting citrus groves in Mongolian cemeteries. Without a modern Jewish government, Israel will always be on the defensive until the Third Commonwealth is soon disestablished.
There is more to the Natan Zada event.
Since GOI does not have enforcable laws on Israeli private sector diplomacy (Israelis had met with the PLO when a statute made it a crime, but this was not exercised and fell into disuse.)that "blacklist" will reach the UN probably at the same time Edgar Bronfman asks them to refute antisemitism.
Stop blaming the barbarians and the BBC. The problem is internal.
Kol tuv,
BobW
Posted by: BobW on August 31, 2005 12:15 AM
2
.
suha ha ha
said:
I wish I knew a hacker/phracker. I would suggest that some webpages be replaced with items so absurd as to match the cycle of bullshit!
ie Headline: (AP) "Israeli Gov't to Pay Teenage Suicide Bombers From Arab/Palestine." In a results oriented program the Knesset announced that payments would be made to the families of teenage attackers against Israel.
Posted by: suha ha ha on August 31, 2005 12:30 AM
3
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t
said:
First of all is it a fact that Zada was a murderer or was he acting in self defence? Secondly it is a fact that arabs brutally beat him to death and should be punished to the full extent of the law without exception! Thirdly, the police officers involved should be fired and put up on charges. Disagree?
Posted by: t on August 31, 2005 04:36 AM
4
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Ted Belman
said:
I'm with you T.
Anyone know what's happening with the enquiry. Is it even happening?
Posted by: Ted Belman on August 31, 2005 05:24 AM
5
.
georg von mecklenburg
said:
Zada appeared to have been crazy a tthe time of the killings. He was not a suicide bomber who planned his attack. There is no comparison between the two. Had the Arbs not killed him, they may have had a claim aginst the IDF who failed to locate and incarerate him. Right now, they are in the wrong for taking the law into their own hands.
Posted by: georg von mecklenburg on August 31, 2005 06:26 AM
Anti-Israel Crowd Plays Racist Gotcha
By Omri Ceren
The international media is salivating with what they're convinced is a Zionism is racism gotcha:
We've been pretty clear that we think Natan Zada was a terrorist. But that doesn't mean that he was a terrorist that tried to undermine Israel - which is what the compensation fund was intended to combat.This isn't a "you've fallen on hard times let us help you" kind of thing - rather, it's designed as Israel's answer to the tens of thousands of smuggled international development aid dollars that go to "compensate" the Palestinian families of suicide bombers. Those bombers' families get reward money for every relative that tries to destroy Israel by blowing up a cafe or bus – so the families of their victims get money from the Israeli government to balance that out by keeping Israel strong. It's specific money set aside for a specific purpose.
Which also explains how the BBC lede is wildly misleading: this dispute has nothing to do with Natan Zada being Jewish and everything to do with the fact that the purpose of his action had nothing to do with trying to destroy the state of Israel by his actions (spare us the whole "well disengagement was good for Israel's security, so he really was undermining Israel" - there's a difference between trying to strengthen Israel and being wrong about the strategic-diplomatic situation and blowing up a bus because you don't like Jews who exist between the Jordan and the Mediterranean). Israel doesn't go around giving money out to every Jewish crime victim in Israel, any more than they do to Arab victims. In the specific case of this compensation fund, the fund was established to meet a specific purpose, a purpose that would in no way be met by compensating the Arab families victimized by Natan Zada.
Now the good answer to this argument is that all Israeli citizens - Jewish, Arab, or other - have equal civil rights. But this isn't a civil rights issue - again, not every victim of every crime in Israel is entitled to money from the state. And if anyone thinks that throwing money at the Israeli Arab community would promote pro-Israel patriotism, this should help clear that up:
The dominant voices of the sub-national Israeli Arab community are now calling for money (in fact, insisting that it's racist if they don't get any) from a country that they're actively trying to undermine by appealing to supranational actors. Why the rush of enthusiasm? Why the appeal to organizations objectively hostile to Israel?When evaluating which communities are driven by what kind of racism, maybe the BBC could consider what it is about Israel that makes its Arab citizens want to undermine its security. Somehow we don't think it will turn out to be the substantial Buddhist majority in the country.
[Cross-posted at Mere Rhetoric]
Posted by Omri Ceren at August 30, 2005 07:38 PM