The Truth is the Mortal Enemy of the State

(This article was originally published as a Crime of the Month column in the Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newletter, Santa Fe, New Mexico, in July, 2011.)

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” --Joseph Goebbels

The lie is that Israel is a democracy. This is so obviously not true, even to the casual observer. Israel is a theocracy which grants semi-democratic rights to its Jewish majority. But even that illusion is beginning to evaporate. Any Jew in Israel who criticizes the state or suggests a boycott faces ostracism, degradation, and now even legal action.

Let’s boycott Israel. Oops! If I were in Israel and said that, I could be sued by anyone who might object to my opinion. They  wouldn’t have to show that boycott strategies harm or damage them, just be in disagreement with my suggestion. Let’s commemorate Al Nakba (the Catastrophe), the Palestinian term for the ethnic cleansing which occurred in 1947-48 resulting in three-quarters of a million Palestinians being driven from their homes. Sorry! Do that in Israel, or even use the term as a historical reference in a classroom, and your institution will be denied public funding.

Well, how about this: let’s go to Palestine to support the non-violent resistance to Israel’s illegal occupation. Wrong! Try to enter the West Bank, which can only be done through Israeli controlled entry points, and unless you lie and tell them you’re going to visit “Holy” sites, you will be denied entry and/or deported. Dog gone it. what’s left? I know! Let’s take humanitarian supplies to Gaza by sea. Too bad! The Israeli Navy will attack our boats in international waters, possibly execute us (nine unarmed civilians were killed on the Freedom Flotilla last year), steal our cameras and computers, then deport us.

I thought Israel was the only “democracy” in the Middle East. Turns out it’s only a democracy for Jews and anyone who agrees with everything Zionists think and say.

Our Crime of the Month is the continued pretense that Israel is a democracy for all its residents.

Making Their Parents Proud

(This editorial was originally published as a letter to the editor in the Santa Fe New Mexican on June 7, 2011.)

Our local paper limits us to 150 words for letters to the editor. I wish I had about 1500 words to devote to the topic. I think it's one of those 'under the radar' events that's even being passed over by most anti-Zionists. American Jews studying in Israel enter a Muslim neighborhood in the middle of the night to revel in the oppression and hatred they feel toward Arabs. I resisted the temptation to compare it to the Hitler Youth and their rampages through Jewish communities in Germany.

All I can imagine is the kid I quoted in my letter going home, and when he's showing photos of his trip to his parents and friends he gets all excited. "Here's some pictures of the night we rampaged through the Muslim Quarter at 3:00 a.m. taunting the Arabs. That was so 'way-cool.' We sure showed those sand-niggers whose boss."

This event illustrates how deeply the Zionist nightmare has infected our children. Heartbreaking.

Thousands of young Israelis celebrating Jerusalem Day, which commemorates what international law regards as Israel's illegal occupation of Arab East Jerusalem, paraded through the streets of Jerusalem chanting slogans such as, “Mohammad is dead,” “Death to Arabs,” and “May your villages burn.” This frenzy of ethno-religious nationalism included a march through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City at 3:00 a.m. by hordes of young American Jews studying in Israel. One student interviewed said zealously, “This is the Israel experience.” What a tragedy. Jewish students travel to Israel to revel in confrontational Zionist demagoguery. How proud would their parents be if these children marched through a Jewish neighborhood in New York City in solidarity with crowds chanting, “Death to Jews?” Intimidating Palestinian families in the middle of the night must be one of those “shared values” we hear unquestioning supporters of Israel talk about so often.

Despots Tremble

Not being one to dabble in optimism, I expect many of the uprisings in the Middle East and Northern Africa to be hijacked by the U.S., with the help of Israel's Mosad, and turned into the usual strong-man protectorates for international corporate interests. Until we have a similar uprising here in the U.S., the rest of the world remains at the mercy of our sociopathic culture and "leadership."But the revolts, while they last, are inspirational.

(This article was originally published as a Crime of the Month column in the Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newletter, Santa Fe, New Mexico, in February, 2010.)

Revolution is in the air. Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Morocco: non-violent resistance (on the part of resisters, anyway) is flooding the streets. While in Palestine, civil society has used non-violence as a form of resistance to brutal Zionist colonization for decades. But no thanks are due on any of these fronts to our own government. These despotic regimes being challenged are U.S. protectorates, encouraged and funded as part of our global corporate empire. It remains to be seen what the end result will be of this wave of collective consciousness, but the will of the people, once roused, is a powerful force. We may even see an awakening in this country.

No doubt, the CIA and Israel’s Mosad are working overtime behind the scenes to derail any move toward autonomy on the part of Arab peoples. There is no greater threat to the oppressive policies of these two most virulent rogue nations than the blossoming of social justice and human rights. We talk about freedom and self determination from one side of our mouths while enforcing corrupt, subversive agendas from the other.

Our Crime of the Month is the combined imperial and colonial machinations of the U.S. and its partner, Israel. (The distinction as to which is the puppet and which the puppeteer is debatable.) Our Counter-Crime of the month is the heroic action of the people of the world, making their voices heard over the obstructive racket of the power elite who would suppress them.

Maniacs and Crazies Minding the Store

My most recent article from CounterPunch and Dissident Voice. In response, someone sent me this quote from T.D.Allman's Unmanifest Destiny: "Perhaps it would take a literary genius, some master of the surreal, to do justice to the absurdities of self-perpetuation, self repeating destruction visited by the United States on the innocent, the poor, the unlettered and the weak."

The Greatest Purveyor of Violence in the World Today
CounterPunch / January 19, 2011
It is tragic that six people lost their lives and many more were wounded by a fanatic in Arizona. Indiscriminate killing is a terrible thing. There is no way we can truly comprehend the motives behind this act, nor appreciate the full extent of the pain and heartache suffered by those affected. But behind the pathos surrounding this crime is an ugly truth. Though we profess indignant sorrow for those who died at the hands of a madman in Arizona, we willfully ignore the deaths of innocents which occur every day as a result of our own government’s  foreign policies.

When those who support our imperial wars become victims of aggression themselves, they need to examine their role in the acceptance of brute force as a tool of foreign policy. Ours is a nation which glorifies violence. It is taken for granted that our government has the right to kill with impunity. Our President has even declared he can assassinate anyone, including U.S. citizens, whenever he deems it necessary. Yet when a similar mindset results in violence more close to home, when it impacts us directly, we become outraged. Representative Giffords, the primary target of the recent attack in Arizona, is a supporter of war. She has voted to fund the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the so-called war on terror. As a proponent of global violence herself, she should not be surprised when this heritage of belligerence touches her life and the lives of those around her.

Arabs are Okay, But I Wouldn't Let My Daughter Date One

This editorial was originally published as a letter to the editor in the Santa Fe New Mexican on April 10, 2011.

Palestinians who aren’t Israeli citizens are banned from living in Israel with their Israeli spouses. Imagine the United States refusing residency to Jews who are not U.S. citizens but are married to someone who is. Recently, several hundred prominent Israeli rabbis (many state-employed municipal rabbis) urged Jews not to rent to Palestinians. A group of the rabbis’ wives urged Jews not to date Palestinians. A recent poll shows only 51% of Israelis believe Palestinians should have equal rights.

Rabbi Gilad Kariv, head of Israel’s Reform branch of Judaism, has warned, "Israeli society is falling into a deep, dark pit of racism and xenophobia.” Zionism, an extreme form of ethnic nationalism, mandates the demographic superiority and cultural dominance of one ethic group over another. Are we surprised that this ideology has fostered a bigoted, intolerant society? There will be no equitable justice in Palestine until Zionism is abandoned.

Fascism in Little Ol' Santa Fe? You Bet!

Every time a new Police Chief is hired in Santa Fe, a few right-wing wackos in the Police Department decide to flex their fascist muscles and come out to the major intersection in town where we have been holding a weekly demonstration for the last eight years. They threaten us with arrest, harass a few passing motorists who honk their horns in support of us, and go around pissing on the lamp posts. So we go through all the motions of raising a fuss in our local media, working through back channels at the Department and otherwise wasting our time to have the new Police Chief issue a new Memo telling his "pigs" to back off. Generally speaking, we have a fairly benign police force. But when some within the organization get the opportunity, they are ready and willing pull on their jackboots and start bullying the residents. We won this round, once again.

Six police officers on bicycles visited the weekly demonstration at St. Francis and Cerrillos on Friday. I thought perhaps, like us, they were there to object to the illegal wars being waged by our government. They are law enforcement officials, after all. But they had come to harass the demonstrators. When shown a memo posted at the corner outlining the agreement made with the City regarding protests at the intersection, one of the officers tore it down disdainfully.

I’m glad crime in the City Different is so infrequent these officers had nothing better to do. But it’s unfortunate they tarnished the reputation of the Santa Fe Police Department with their petty, arrogant behavior. Join us every Friday from 12 to 1 where for the last eight years concerned residents have spoken out against U.S. wars of aggression. It is a right and a responsibility we all share. 

This editorial was originally published as a letter to the editor in the Santa Fe New Mexican on August 31, 2010.

Gotta Take What We Can Get. Or Do We?

My latest article at Counter Punch. I keep poking my finger in the eye of the compromisers and reconciliators.

The Wages of Compromise
CounterPunch / August 16, 2010
Oh happy day! It’s mission-accomplished time in Iraq (again), the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has evaporated into history, landmark financial reform and health care reform legislation has passed, the economy is recovering, and we’ll be out of Afghanistan by next year. What more could we want? Well, for starters, how about a glimpse of reality.

These claims are so absurd, they don’t even make for convincing satire. The real irony is that much of what passes for progressive mainstream media endorses this kind of surreal propaganda. The so-called alternative progressive media, if not embracing the lies outright, is willing to play the usual “better than nothing” game of self delusion. Look what we’ve accomplished! What a great first step!