Comments on: On International Holocaust Day, reminders of local racism are abundant

By: Bill Inaz

Bill Inaz — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:30:06 +0000

Muslim is a “race”?

By: dickerson3870

dickerson3870 — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 07:14:48 +0000

RE: “This morning we awoke, in the state of the Jewish people, on International Holocaust Day, with huge signs in yellow and black reading ‘Beitar (Jerusalem’s soccer team) Will Forever Remain Pure’.”

MY COMMENT: This should come as no surprise considering Beitar’s origins.

SOME BACKGROUND ON THE BE(I)TARIM

● FROM WIKIPEDIA [Betar]:
(EXCERPTS) The Betar Movement (בית”ר, also spelled Beitar) is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir (Ze’ev) Jabotinsky. Betar has been traditionally linked to the original Herut and then Likud political parties of Israel, and was closely affiliated with the pre-Israel Revisionist Zionist splinter group Irgun Zevai Leumi. It was one of many right-wing movements and youth groups arising at that time out of a worldwide emergence of fascism.[1] Some of the most prominent politicians of Israel were Betarim in their youth, most notably Prime Ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Menachem Begin, the latter of whom idolized Jabotinsky.[2]. . .
. . . The group initially praised Mussolini for his anti-communism and fascist principles, leading it to adopt the black uniform shirt of Italian fascism for a short period. Mussolini’s invasion of Abyssinia, however, was seen as “cowardly” by Betar and led them to break with him shortly after.[8]. . .

● ALSO SEE: “The Hidden History of Zionism”, Chapter 6, by Ralph Schoenman
[EXCERPT] . . . Mussolini set up squadrons of the Revisionist Zionist youth movement, Betar, in black shirts in emulation of his own Fascist bands.
When Menachem Begin became chief of Betar, he preferred the brown shirts of the Hitler gangs, a uniform Begin and Betar members wore to all meetings and rallies – at which they greeted each other and opened and closed meetings with the fascist salute. . .

By: Greg Pollock

Greg Pollock — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 06:16:04 +0000

I didn’t say that, JK. What I said was

‘This racism is masked by employing the label “enemy.” But these now dead young were not terrorists in any evident sense.’

That is, the label “enemy” is being used to hide racism as applied–here. Not that the concept of “enemy” is inherently racist. Of course Israel has enemies. And just as of course, these recently killed young are not them.

Total war is not a policing action, and Israel is engaged in the latter, now. Yes, it is very, very difficult to get it right. It is equally clear, however, that IDF command and control isn’t interested in that. To get it right, you have to act on the mistakes; this is never done, as far as I have seen.

By: JKNoReally

JKNoReally — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:42:03 +0000

Well actually you don’t understand me right. I was pointing out that Greg’s argument about the concept of “enemy” being racist leads to absurd results – i.e. I don’t think the comparison I made is at all valid.

By: Oriol2

Oriol2 — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:31:34 +0000

If I have understood you right, comparing Israel with Nazi Germany is abject demagoguery (certainly it is), but on the other hand it is perfectly valid to compare unarmed Palestinian youth with the guards in Auschwitz concentration camp.

By: leen

leen — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 07:19:40 +0000

Not necessary. It is however racist to call a german who is not associated with nazis your enemy and seek out to kill him.

By: leen

leen — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 07:15:12 +0000

you should check out the stages of genocide as well as the definitions of genocide.
Genocide as defined by international law is any of the following;

(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Article d rings true of the forced long-term birth control of Ethiopian women, which has yielded the results of decreased fertility rate of 50%. Now is the intent there? I don’t know, if there is evidence that Ethiopians have been considered as undesirables by Israeli government, then yes this is a persuasive case of genocide.

The 8 stages of genocide as defined by US state department;
(1) classification: us and them
(2) symbolizations: combined with hate speech, symbols may be forced on the said group
(3) Dehuminaztion
(4) organization
(5) polarisation
(6) preparation
(7) extermination
You can draw your own conclusion and whether this constitutes as genocide, but just because people are not being round up in camps and being exterminated does not mean the intent is not there. However there is an international legal definition of genocide.

By: Greg Pollock

Greg Pollock — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 02:54:50 +0000

The actual Palestinian dead, all young. Get back to them. You can do it.

Once again: The rules of evidence are astoundingly high when a Palestinian is killed; but not when a Jew is killed. This is racism as applied, and it is an affront to Shoa.

By: JKNoReally

JKNoReally — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 02:34:32 +0000

If calling someone, who happens not to share your ethnicity, an enemy, is racism, is it racist to call a German concentration camp guard your enemy? Is than an affront to the Shoah? Great logic.

By: Greg Pollock

Greg Pollock — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:51:14 +0000

Larry D. of 972 describes one harmless racist event at an Israeli soccer game. If such a thing happened in the US, in exactly the same way, there would be law suits.

Always true that it is easier to find others’ faults rather than one’s own. If you want examples of applied racism in Israel, consider the recent killings of young Bank Palestinians by IDF soldiers. This racism is masked by employing the label “enemy.” But these now dead young were not terrorists in any evident sense. The rules of evidence are astoundingly high when a Palestinian is killed; but not when a Jew is killed. This is racism as applied, and it is an affront to Shoa.