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FAITHHACKER
Jews and Their Culture of Violence: Commence Shitstorm |
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 by Tamar Fox, January 11, 2008 |
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I’ve never been a big fan of the OnFaith series that Newsweek does because the commentaries usually seem a bit obvious to me, but while I was in Dublin I was pointed to
this inflammatory piece by Arun Gadhi, Mohandas’s grandson, now president and co-founder of the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, at the University of Rochester in New York.
Arun Gandhi: no more Mr. Nice Guy
Arun Gandhi wrote:
Jewish Identity Can't Depend on Violence
Jewish identity in the past has been locked into the holocaust experience -- a German burden that the Jews have not been able to shed. It is a very good example of a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends. The holocaust was the result of the warped mind of an individual who was able to influence his followers into doing something dreadful. But, it seems to me the Jews today not only want the Germans to feel guilty but the whole world must regret what happened to the Jews. The world did feel sorry for the episode but when an individual or a nation refuses to forgive and move on the regret turns into anger.
The Jewish identity in the future appears bleak. Any nation that remains anchored to the past is unable to move ahead and, especially a nation that believes its survival can only be ensured by weapons and bombs. In Tel Aviv in 2004 I had the opportunity to speak to some Members of Parliament and Peace activists all of whom argued that the wall and the military build-up was necessary to protect the nation and the people. In other words, I asked, you believe that you can create a snake pit -- with many deadly snakes in it -- and expect to live in the pit secure and alive? What do you mean? they countered. Well, with your superior weapons and armaments and your attitude towards your neighbors would it not be right to say that you are creating a snake pit? How can anyone live peacefully in such an atmosphere? Would it not be better to befriend those who hate you? Can you not reach out and share your technological advancement with your neighbors and build a relationship?
Apparently, in the modern world, so determined to live by the bomb, this is an alien concept. You don't befriend anyone, you dominate them. We have created a culture of violence (Israel and the Jews are the biggest players) and that Culture of Violence is eventually going to destroy humanity.
Wanna guess how many comments there are on that post? Well over 400. And no, most of them aren’t full of joy and good tidings, if you know what I mean.
Gandhi and Arafit Sittin' in a Tree: H-A-T-I-N-G O-N I-S-R-A-E-L
So, Gandhi obviously wrote a lame little retraction:
My Apology for My Poorly Worded Post
I am writing to correct some regrettable mis-impressions I have given in my comments on my blog this week. While I stand behind my criticisms of the use of violence by recent Israeli governments -- and I have criticized the governments of the U.S., India and China in much the same way -- I want to correct statements that I made with insufficient care, and that have inflicted unnecessary hurt and caused anger.
I do not believe and should not have implied that the policies of the Israeli government are reflective of the views of all Jewish people. Indeed, many are as concerned as I am by the use of violence for state purposes, by Israel and many other governments.
I do believe that when a people hold on to historic grievances too firmly it can lead to bitterness and the loss of support from those who would be friends. But as I have noted in previous writings, the suffering of the Jewish people, particularly in the Holocaust, was historic in its proportions. While we must strive for a future of peace that rejects violence, it is also important not to forget the past, lest we fail to learn from it. Having learned from it, we can then find the path to peace and rejection of violence through forgiveness.
When I was in Israel for my junior year abroad I wrote a paper about Mohandas Gandhi’s general distaste for Israel. He was trying to make nice with Pakistan, which meant making nice with Islam, which meant he couldn’t be buddy-buddy with Israel. I have a certain level of respect for that, and I believed the writers and biographers who claimed that Gandhi sympathized with the Jews on an ideological level, but I have to say if that’s true he did a lousy job of making sure that message came through in his family and teachings.
Or maybe his grandson is just kind of a moron. Either way, I’m so sick if the confusion between “Israel” and “the Jews” that I could spit.
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Tamar Fox has an MFA from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, but she still doesn't like sweet tea. Born and raised in Chicago, she's also lived in Iowa City, Dublin, Oxford, and Jerusalem. When she's not rocking out at honky tonks she teaches More... |
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Anonymous
"I’m so sick if the confusion between “Israel” and “the Jews” that I could spit"
The "confusion" is not surprising given the ambiguities in the word Jew. Israel is the land/country of the Jews, right?
Anonymous
I was one of the first commenters to that ridiculous post, and I made the same point you just did, i.e. about Jewish identity not being coextensive with Israel's policies of agression (whether you agree with them or not). Nevertheless, the comments quickly eroded into a wonderful display of jew-hating shit-bags on the one hand, and hawkish defenders of Israel on the other hand. It physically made me sick...I actually puked later that day.
Anonymous
the confusion IS surprising, considering that most Jews don't live in Israel, considering how much Jews contribute to this earth outside of Israel, and further considering how much opinion is stratified inside Israel itself. Are you capable of distinguishing between the Vatican and the world's Catholics???
Anonymous
Actually, Jews are ultimately responsible for much of the violence in the world. Just think, if there were no Jews there would have been no Bible, no Christians, no Muslims and no Communists. We'd all be one big happy Hindu planet.
Adam Shprintzen
if the Palestinian political leadership had followed the example of Mohatma Ghandi, and not the violence of Arafat then there wouldn't be the need for a wall?
Dan Garwood
"Actually, Jews are ultimately responsible for much of the violence in
the world. Just think, if there were no Jews there would have been no
Bible, no Christians, no Muslims and no Communists. We'd all be one big
happy Hindu planet."
Well, no. Actually it's the fault of the monocellular organisms which had the audacity to evolve into all the life on this planet today. Without them, there'd be no Jews.
Fuck that, it's matter's fault for having the audacity to conform to the laws of gravity and coalesce into all the objects in the universe, including the earth, which then had the audacity to have the right conditions for monocellular organisms to come into existence.
Fuck that, it's the fault of the universe for allowing itself to come into existence.
You see, you can pass blame back as far as you want, but it very quickly becomes a futile exercise. It's like failing a test, then laying the blame on my parents for having given birth to me in the first place.
GDTRFB
1:31: you don't hear too many jews talking about the bible these days, that's usually the folly of evangelical american retards.
Anonymous
Actually, more Jews live in Israel than in any other country. Among those who live outside Israel, many pray daily for all Jews to move to Israel and for peace for Israel and many pray weekly for the Israeli government and the IDF.
Anonymous
"the confusion IS surprising, considering that most Jews don't live in Israel, considering how much Jews contribute to this earth outside of Israel, and further considering how much opinion is stratified inside Israel itself. Are you capable of distinguishing between the Vatican and the world's Catholics???"
Good analogy. No, I don't distingusih between the Vatican and the world's Catholics regarding how the Vatican treats other countries or groups.
Anonymous
1:31: you don't hear too many jews talking about the bible these days, that's usually the folly of evangelical american retards.
What's your point? The Bible (you know the book in the hotel nightstands that doesn't say Hilton, Mormon or Yellow on the cover) was written by Jews, except for the parts written by God. That was my point.
Helen Jupiter
...I'm gonna bust a cap in his ass!
(tee to tha hee y'all.)
arsimandfrechot
this sentiment shouldn't really be too surprising though. i guess if yr not familiar with some of old ghandi's anti-zionist ways then maybe it could be. i don't know, i just sometimes think that going on the defensive and trying to justify ourselves to the rest of the world is just sometimes so futile and silly. not that i'm advocating withdrawing back to the shtetl or anything (oh the glory dayz). we should be proud of what we've contributed to humanity and most of us should all realize that the righteousness of the jewish conscience is still alive and well. so basically what i'm saying is that if the world is going to hold us all collectively responsible for some of israel's policies then that's their problem, and they shouldn't be surprised when things come full circle. word life. shout 2 harlem~~
David N. Friedman
Tamar, one might be please that you have the good sense to take on an antisemite yet your last sentence ruins the whole point of the post and shows your true complaint.
It is not simply the words of an antisemite that has you in despair, rather, it is only that he used the standard line of attack of the modern antisemite by using irrational criticism of Israel (yes, there is rational criticism of Israel) as a cover for his beliefs. It seems your problem is not that he is a Jew-hater, rather he includes you and me in his anti-Israel/antsemitic rant. But why is this a surprise? You infer that if he made it plain he was only anti-Israel--you would not bother exposing his words of hate.
This is no spirited refutation of his words, only an apologetic.
ChevyNazi
"I'm gonna bust a cap in his ass!"
Right on Helen! You sound like a "Jewish Sista Soljah"!:-)