Comments on: MK Ahmad Tibi gives Israeli Jews a ‘lesson’ in Hebrew

By: ARTH

ARTH — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:43:21 +0000

I disagree with Tibi about one of his analogies:

In the Hebrew language, it is better to be, and I would prefer to be, a “maskeel” rather than an “intellectual.” “Maskeel” good Hebrew word. It may reinforce what I wrote above as the English word in Israel has more prestige than the Hebrew word just as English really has more prestige among many educated Israelis, the “intellectualeem,’ than Hebrew.

By: ARTH

ARTH — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:39:09 +0000

In general, Arabs are better in Hebrew than Jews, especially the seculars, and because of their Arab culture, have a much better notion of what Hebrew is than the typical secular who lives his Western Culture “in translation,” primarily from English.

By: amazona

amazona — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:38:05 +0000

Well done Dr Tibi for a witty and concise moment of Hebrew. What the patriotic talkbackers (Jazzy and co) overlook is the difference between the hegemony and the minority. The hegemonic discourse, any hegemonic discourse, positons the minority as inferior, different etc. etc. and perpetuates discrimination. In Israel we are no exception to this although it is getting worse rather n than better and as Pete says, what is happening today in the Knesset is indeed a racist disgrace. (and sorry if this talkback is late!)

By: Pete

Pete — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:16:51 +0000

Jazzy you’re talking about organizations that were found in the past and nowadays it’s very rare to see it compared to what is happening in the Israeli’ Kenneset that most of it’s MK’s are the ugly face of rascism,apartheid and disgrace….

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:58:06 +0000

Jazzy, you’re right about the corruption and racism of American society! Israel must reject all money and aid coming from this tainted source!

By: Ami Kaufman

Ami Kaufman — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:40:52 +0000

@afula – you didn’t even have a chance with me. Try somewhere else.

By: Afula Magavnikkit

Afula Magavnikkit — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:22:15 +0000

Comment deleted

By: XYZ

XYZ — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:23:44 +0000

Danny is absolutely right. The Arabs are much smarter and more moral than Israelis are. That’s why the Arab countries are sociallly and economically in the state they are in and that’s why Israel is socially and economically in the state it is in. Compare them!

By: Aaron the Fascist Troll

Aaron the Fascist Troll — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:02:07 +0000

To modify what I wrote above: I focused on stuff like family size, because that was more interesting to me. Other examples were of condescending language, though some were questionable (I’ve often heard Arabs described as “intellectuals,” like Jews, rather than “educated.”) Patronizing language *should* be changed.

By: Aaron the Fascist Troll

Aaron the Fascist Troll — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:39:02 +0000

Some of Tibi’s particular examples are arguable, but there’s no disputing his main point. I agree with some of the comments here: that Tibi is a very smart guy, and that this is a sad comment on our divided lives.
*
Now what? This kind of thing just takes us right back to the start. We use different language about ourselves and our enemies. (Arab Israelis are, collectively, “enemies” in the precise sense that they’re a threat to the Jewish state’s existence at the present time, not in the sense that they’re bad people or that their cause is unjust.) For instance, if we support Israel as a Jewish state, whatever that means, then we’re worried about demographics. Our language naturally reflects this. Seeing this asymmetry in the language might be surprising, but it reflects an unsurprising, well-known political reality. So deconstructing the language just takes us right back to the political reality that we discuss every day.