Comments on: Palestinians asked to close their shops for Jerusalem Day

By: Rowan Berkeley

Rowan Berkeley — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:55:00 +0000

I found three stories on this today in the english-language Israeli online press. Oddly enough, the Haaretz story (by Nir Hasson, Oz Rosenberg, and Yair Ettinger) was the worst. The Jpost story (by Melanie Lidman) was better, and the best one was in the so-called ‘Times of Israel’ (by Mitch Ginsburg). Both Haaretz and JPost had small subsections on Ben-Ari & Co’s antics on the Mount. Haaretz said: “Ben Ari and two other right-wing figures prostrated themselves on the Temple Mount, where the Muslim Waqf does not allow Jews to pray.” JPost said: “Ben-Ari and a number of the other activists started praying out loud. Due to status quo agreements, Jews are allowed to visit the Temple Mount during certain hours but are not allowed to openly pray.” See the difference? Also, ‘Times of Israel’ was the only one of the three to make it clear that this whole jamboree is organised by Bnei Akiva.

By: Rafael

Rafael — Mon, 21 May 2012 04:26:27 +0000

The Fascism checklist applied on Israel.
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1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism – YES.
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2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights – HELL YES.
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3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause – YES. Palestinians, Africans, Iranians — you name it. There’s definitely no dearth of scapegoats.

4. Supremacy of the Military – YES. They’re privileged in government resource allocation and soldiers are glamourized.
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5. Rampant Sexism – NO, not for now. But things are worsening for the women.
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6. Controlled Mass Media – NO.
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7. Obsession with National Security – DEFINITELY YES.
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8. Religion and Government are Intertwined – YES, and increasingly so.
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9. Corporate Power is Protected – IDK.
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10. Labor Power is Suppressed – IDK.
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11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts – YES.
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12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment – YES. At least when the crime is perpetrated by non-Jews.
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13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption – YES. Israel’s score on the Transparency Index has deteriorated more than any other industrialized country’s — it is perhaps in the top 10 countries who’ve seen corruption worsen in the last 20 years.
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14. Fraudulent Elections – NO.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 21 May 2012 01:58:51 +0000

This is not what Judaism means, to me, this is not what Zionism means to me. This is sheer moral corruption that must not be allowed to continue, even Ehud Olmert the former Likudnik says Jerusalem must be divided, let the madness stop. East Jerusalem is a Palestinian city and I will look forward to visiting the capital of Palestine soon

By: caden

caden — Sun, 20 May 2012 23:09:14 +0000

And before 1967 when the Jordanians were busy eradicating Jewish religious sites it was shangri la. Not to mention all residents of the Jewish quarter in 1948, or wiping out the doctors convoy on Mt Scopus. Yo uwant to go back in history you open it all up

By: sh

sh — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:56:58 +0000

It doesn’t matter whether it’s unified or not; what’s important is that it should be peaceful. You only have to see it once to know that Jerusalem Day in Jerusalem strips all pretense off Israel. I’m so sorry, Aziz.

By: max

max — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:02:15 +0000

Thanks, Aziz, for a calm and sad reminder that the current daily situation shouldn’t be tolerated. Israel is failing where it has no reason to, as fair cohabitation does exist elsewhere.
I join you in your closing remark, and hope for a unified Jerusalem with equal rights, duties and involvement to and by all its residents.

By: Jack

Jack — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:38:30 +0000

Thanks for brining us these news.
If world media would dare to present these despicable actions, the support for Israel would go rock bottom. Sanctions WOULD have been imposed.

By: David K

David K — Sun, 20 May 2012 19:42:30 +0000

Wow. Very sincere and real read. I feel for you, and I thank you for expressing this so eloquently. Labels are childish and hurtful, and false pretense by whole nations and international communities is confusing, and oppressive. What is the difference from Hitler, Polpot, Ghaddafi, and other dictators while today’s dictators do so with a velvet glove? I hope one day a nation shall not be called a national unless every other nation can be called so without provision and malice.