Steven Plaut |
Original articles on Israel and related issues written by Steven Plaut, a professor at an Israeli university. |
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Israeli Left Warming up to Idea of a Military Coup By Steven Plaut
Israel's anti-democratic radical Left has a new brilliant brainstorm idea. Having despaired of ever convincing more than a trivial portion of the Israeli public of the correctness of its "ideas," it now would like to impose its ideas on the country by means of a military coup.
Really.
It is now their favorite way of repairing the intolerable situation under which Israelis keep electing the wrong people, the non-Left, by huge majorities. Democracy should only be accepted when it results in leftist hegemony.
The idea of peace-by-coup is being promoted by Haaretz, that SWAT TEAM FIELD ARTILLEY of the radical anti-Israel Left, which tells the country's leftists each morning what they think about everything. Haaretz and its flocks of sheep have been trying to recruit pressures from overseas against the Israeli government to coerce it into acquiescing and accepting the political agenda of the Far Left that is otherwise rejected by 98% of Israeli Jews. It wants Israel to be coerced via BDS terrorism and by recruiting the EU members to recognize "Palestine" in Israeli territory in defiance of Israeli sovereignty, in both cases showing its disdain for democracy and for Israeli independence. But instead of welcoming the foreign extortion, the vast majority of Israelis see BDS as anti-Semitic terrorism and see the soliciting of EU countries to engage in anti-Israel actions as treason.
So Zvi Harel, one of the regular Haaretz pinkologists (pink journalists) leads the flock of sheep to go one step further, calling for a military coup to fix the problem. On May 11, he dropped all pretenses about believing in democracy: http://www.haaretz.co.il/opinions/.premium-1.2940414
Barel writes:
'When the government adopts and cultivates values that the army leadership sees as a threat to the country's existence, and when the public, which provides the army with its manpower, demands that the IDF become corrupt and bestialize itself, the military's top brass will face a dilemma. It will have to decide what constitutes the ultimate threat to the security and existence of the country: Is it thousands of missiles and Palestinian knife attackers or is it a government that is shaping the public into a monster threatening to devour Israeli democracy's fundamental values….But it will not be the army that causes the revolution, if it occurs. The political leadership that is currently pushing the army into a position in which it has to defend itself and its values is what could bring about the first Jewish military coup – one which may have already begun.'
The fondness of the Left for a military coup as a way to impose its agenda upon the country will seem bizarre only to those who do not realize how much of the senior IDF brass in Israel is leftist. The Israeli military shares guilt for the "Oslo" debacle, failing to warn it would lead to disaster. For decades the Israeli intelligence services were dominated by leftists, no doubt explaining many of their fiascos. The presence of far leftists in the IDF leadership was illustrated dramatically recently when an ignorant leftist general compared Israel to Nazi Germany, to the chortles of delight of the anti-Israel Left. This is the same Left that declares everyone who disagrees with the Left is a fascist.
So you can see why the Left might find the idea of a military coup to its liking.
1. Ben Gurion "University" holds one-sided "conference" to support treasonous espionage group "Breaking the Silence," in which only anti-Israel ultra-leftists allowed to speak.
Major donor to BGU cancels donation:
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Donor-withholds-1m-from-BGU-over-Breaking-the-Silence-panel-455179
A prominent British donor is withholding a $1 million donation from Ben Gurion University of the Negev to protest the school's sponsorship of a conference that includes members of Breaking the Silence, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
2. As you know, a group of pro-jihad radical anti-Semitic homosexuals is battling for the destruction of Israel and has invented the nonsense term "pinkwashing." The term supposedly refers to the use by pro-Israel people of Israel's tolerant treatment of homosexuals as a PR device to show Israel in a positive light, whereas the gay anti-Semites giggling about "pinkwashing" claim it is all simply a tactic to prettify and hide the ultimate evil of Israel. The question is what is the appropriate response to the anti-Semitic gays participating in the "pinkwash" jihad against Israel. One wag suggested treating them the way ISIS will treat them when their "pinkwash" jihad gets its way - and simply toss them off roofs. What do you think?
3. Haaretz has a new scoop. It seems that Sheldon Adelson, the conservative casino moghul, friend of Bibi, and owner of the rightish Israel Hayom freebie paper in Israel, purchased a small newspaper in Las Vegas. He immediately replaced some of its staff and implemented a managerial regime where the paper would reflect his opinions.
4. The Palestinian savages announced that they are opening a Palestinian "museum." I was going to make a spoof of it in which the museum displays Holocaust denial exhibits and medieval exhibits about Jews making matzos out of gentile children, while of course all the while wailing about Palestinian "victimhood." But then I realized that is precisely what it will really be so the spoof would not work. This is not the first time a "museum" was created as a weapon of racist aggression and hatred, to facilitate a totalitarian regime of mass murder. Previously was the Fuhrermuseum in Germany.
5. The Palestine Hoax http://sultanknish.blogspot.co.il/2016/05/the-palestine-hoax.htmlSunday, May 22, 2016
1. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, or more precisely its politicized School of Law, operated a fundamentalist jihad these past days … against religious women.
The law school has a number of religious women students. Each year it runs a spring "gala" party for students, with music and dancing. This year the religious women in the law school requested that a small corner of the hall be partitioned off in such a way so they could conduct there women's-only dancing, among themselves. The rest of the hall would have dancing for men and women together.
When word got out of the proposed atrocity, the anti-religious academic Left went on a rampage. The forces of darkness are seeking to thrust Israeli academia into clericalist coercion, they moaned. The coercion being of the form of letting the religious women who wish to do so dance in a corner without men. If a similar request had come from lesbians, the same people would have fallen over one another to endorse it!
On professors chat lists, the tenured Left denounced the very idea of even allowing such primitive religious people to attend universities. The same people who are the first to endorse "safe spaces" for black students on US campuses where whites are prohibited insisted that the separate dance corner was a threat to civilization. The radical feminizts in Israel denounced the idea as equivalent to turning Israel into Iran.
The very idea of accommodating the request of these women was a form of suppression and dehumanization of women, belched the tenured Left. Why can't they just be like us.
In the end the law school student union voted to refuse the women's request. No dance corner for them. The secularist Left is again safe and unthreatened by backward religion and diversity.
2. Israel's worst-ever Prime Minister Joins the "Fascism" Choir of the Left
Yes, Ehud Barak, arguably the worst Prime Minister in Israel's history, the guy who proclaimed that if had been born an Arab he would be a terrorist, the guy that tried to surrender to Syria and let it move its armies to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the guy who set new lows in corruption, the guy who DID surrender to the Hezb'Allah and singlehandedly created the massive 2006 war against Israel by the Hezb'Allah, the coward who simply fled the scene of a massive military training accident. He also wanted to turn the Old City of Jerusalem over to the savages. That is the same Barak this week claiming that the Likud leaders are fascists, joining the list of mindless leftists who insist that everyone who disagrees with them are fascists. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212584#.V0FP__l95iy
Repost of old item: ISRAEL'S MUSIC MAN The Israeli Labor Party recently selected Ehud Barak, who had been prime minister from 1999 to 2001, to serve as its party chief and contender for prime minister in the next election, probably in 2008. But once he left the army, he went out shopping for political ideas and ended up buying the silliest ones available on the Shimon Peres/Oslo vintage clothing rack. He attempted to turn the Golan Heights over to Syria, which would have allowed the Syrian military to advance to the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This inspired me at the time to write a parody of an old Bobby Darin classic, with Ehud Barak singing "Splish Splash I was taking a Ba'ath." It continued: "Splish, Splash! I jumped back in the bath. Well how was I to know here was appeasement going on?" And now Barak is desperately looking for a new campaign jingle. Being a helpful sort, I thought I would give him a hand. To understand the new song, you need to recall that in 1998 Barak declared: "I imagine that if I were a Palestinian of the right age, I would, at some stage, have joined one of the terror organizations." My proposed campaign song for Reb Ehud is based on the wonderful "If I Were a Rich Man" from "Fiddler on the Roof." Ready? Here goes! Dear God, you made so many, many cowardly people. If I were a terrorist,
3. The following was posted to a list of University of Haifa professors, after several members of the tenured Left posted messages there insisting that there was no nefarious agenda behind the holding of "Nakba Day" mourning events:
Well, it behooves us to make a list of OTHER completely apolitical and neutral positions regarding human suffering that demonstrate that there are no political agendas behind the choice of which "tragedies" are selected to be commemorated and mourned. First, we must all agree that a day of commemoration for the tragic losses in property values by white slave owners in the American south, stripped of their slave assets, as a result of the loss of the Confederacy in the American Civil War would be a great step in the direction of neutral apolitical honoring of human rights and dignity. Clearly there would be no political agenda behind such a position. Then we should be holding special campus days of commemoration and empathy for male rapists who have been injured while violently raping women. Their bruised knees and knuckles and scratched faces are human tragedies that all compassionate members of society must honor and respect in the name of neutral human rights and apolitical dignity. While we are on the subject, members of the Boko Haram group in Nigeria who have ever been insulted or called names by Christian girls should also be specially honored and empathy expressed for their plight. Clearly there would be no political agenda behind those taking such a position. After that, we need to hold a special day of remembrance for the guards at Gulag facilities in the days of Stalin who suffered terribly and at long distances from their homes and families in order to man and staff the gulag internment camps. Clearly there would be no political agenda behind those taking such a position. Then a special day of sympathy should be held on September 11 each year to remember the sufferings of the Al-Qaeda hijackers who died such terrible deaths that day in 2001. A much more important even would have to be the day in which the German and Japanese victims of Allied bombing raids are remembered and honored, and there of course should be no need to mention any other people who suffered during World War II, since there is no need for proportionality or inclusion of unrelated cases of human suffering. Clearly there would be no political agenda behind those taking such a position. To top it all off, we would of course want the Law School at the University of Haifa to operate special clinics for prisoner rights that only provide free legal counsel to convicted Arab terrorists. Why confuse the issue by bringing up unrelated cases of prisoners, which would only make people think there is an ideological agenda behind the choice?! And after all of that, then by all means, do hold completely apolitical Nakba Day mourning events that have nothing at all to do with any ideological agenda. Clearly there is no political agenda behind those engaging in such behavior.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
1. JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT THE PAGAN ASSLIBS (ASSIMILATIONIST LIBERALS) OF THE US JEWISH COMMUNITY (AS WELL AS THE COMMIES FROM THE FORWARD) COULD NOT POSSIBLY GET ANY MORE IDIOTIC:
Meet the "transgendered" pseudo-rabbis!
In the next few years, the number of transgender rabbis in America is expected to double — from three to six. The tiny cohort makes up a miniscule percentage of the rabbis graduating rabbinical school (sic), but these individuals have already played a big role in their respective seminaries to provoke conversations about gender and Judaism. They're also paving the way for more transgender rabbis to come….
If Bruce Jenner joins this pagan cult, would his genitals be usable as the Afikoman?
How 'bout if we eliminate all "gender reassignment" treatments and funding, take all the money saved, and use it for treatments that might take the tranny lobby and similar PC leftist twits and reassign them as earthlings?
2. The "Nakba" Debunked The world media are filled with Big Lies
3. Zionist students ordered not to wave Israeli flags at University of Haifa. You know, the same University of Haifa where the Law School prohibits the singing of Hatikva:
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=33715
4. Makor Rishon over the weekend published a survey of the political views of Russian-Israelis, a huge and growing portion of the population.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Since when is Criticism Prohibited in Israel? Chill out! Join the Left!!
We are the progressive Israeli forces for peace. We read Haaretz. We protest against intolerance towards the Other. We oppose occupation. We want a Palestinian state. We want equality. We want people to be nice.
We are outraged that the politicians and media have attacked the general who compared Israel to Nazi Germany. Whatever happened to freedom of speech?
Why can't people criticize Israel, denounce its leaders, question its agenda, challenge its motives? What do you think, that Israel is beyond criticism, exempt from denunciation? Chill out!
While we defend the rights of all to criticize Israel, there are some other things that are clearly beyond the pale of legitimate public discourse.
Take, for example, the attacks by some against the radical Left in Israel. There are people who are criticizing the Israeli Left, denouncing its leaders, questioning its agenda, challenging its motives. Calling us anti-Israel and anti-Zionist. And THAT is anti-democratic!
The incitement against the Left must stop. When people claim the radical Left is motivated by hostility to Israel, they are not engaged in legitimate discourse. The Left's motives are beyond the realm of legitimate examination and forensic criticism. The opponents of the Left are endangering lives. Just like before Rabin was assassinated.
When opponents of the Left claim that our support for BDS boycotts against Israel is a form of terrorism, THEY need to be reined in. When opponents of the Left claim that it is anti-democratic to call upon countries to undermine Israeli sovereignty and recognize Palestine, those opponents need to be silenced. When people accuse us of secret delight at terrorist attacks against Jews, they are exposing us to ridicule. How dare they! Their racist books need to be banned. Their captive media must be shut down. Israeli academic institutions must be purged of them. They are proliferating incorrect thinking. Israel needs to build large internment camps for such dangerous people!
And when we are denounced for celebrating comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany, our opponents are exhibiting proto-fascism. They need to be rounded up. More generally, everyone who disagrees with the Left is a fascist, and the fact that there are so many such people proves that fascism is in imminent danger of winning in Israel.
We need to go now and prepare for Nakba Day mourning events.
Wednesday, May 04, 2016
Leftist Dean at Ben Gurion "University" Indicted for Sexual Harassment of his Students
As Seinfeld would say, "Newman!!"
David Newman is, or at least was up unto this week, the Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities at Ben Gurion "University." The right-hand man of BGU president Rivka Carmi, Newman is a leftist liar, the close colleague and sidekick of the anti-Semitic Boycott-Israel extremist Neve Gordon, Israel's Norman Finkelstein.
Newman is a third-rate geographer who single-handedly built the department of politics at BGU into the worst anti-Israel propaganda center in the country, one in which no non-leftists or Zionists are permitted to teach, one in which students fear to contradict the anti-Israel rhetoric of the faculty. Standards in that department are so low that an international panel of experts called for closing it down altogether. Newman has long defended BDS terrorism against Israel. He crayons columns for the Jerusalem Post. He has repeatedly published lies about me.
And now Komrad Newman is facing prosecution for sexual harassment of students at BGU. The evidence is so overwhelming that even Carmi, who has always had Newman's back, could not sweep it under the carpet. This is the same Carmi who prosecuted a rightwing faculty member for sexual harassment when he forgot to close his zipper (see http://isracampus.org.il/third%20level%20pages/BGU%20-%20Rivka%20Carmi%20-%20investigates%20critic%20in%20zippergate.htm ) and who fired another faculty member from a position because he said he does not like the idea of gay couple raising children.
Here is the Haaretz report:
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.717721
Ben Gurion University's Prof. David Newman faces disciplinary proceedings over sexual harassment complaintAccording to the complaint, Newman, dean of the humanities and social sciences faculty, made sexually suggestive comments to a female student, embraced her and asked her to stay overnight with him.By Yarden Skop | May 3, 2016 | 7:55 PM | 1 Ben-Gurion University has decided to begin disciplinary proceedings against one of its deans, Prof. David Newman, following a sexual harassment complaint by a student who worked under him. Newman's position as dean of the faculty of humanities and social sciences makes him one of the university's top administrators. Prof. Rivka Carmi, the university's president, recently received the findings of a preliminary inquiry carried out by the institution's sexual harassment complaints representative. After examining the findings, she decided to approve disciplinary proceedings against Newman, as she believed his actions had unequivocal sexual connotations. The complainant has been a student in one of the departments where Newman teaches for the past several years. She also worked at the faculty of humanities and social sciences. She decided to file a complaint only after much hesitation, and said she did so only because the professor had serially harassed both her and some of her colleagues. According to the complaint, Newman would frequently praise the student's looks and make suggestions to her, some of them sexual in nature. She repeatedly refused his suggestions and asked him to stop. In a few cases, he touched or embraced her. Once, the complaint said, Newman suggested that she stay overnight with him. She refused and asked him to not repeat the offer. After that, she said, he continued harassing her, despite her refusals. Eventually, she decided to quit her job at the faculty in order to avoid any professional contact with him. Meanwhile, other people in the faculty decided to ask the university's sexual harassment complaints representative, Prof. Esther Priel, to look into Newman's behavior. The moment he found out Priel was looking into the matter, the complaint said, Newman tried to dissuade the student from filing her complaint. After Priel finished her inquiry, she transferred her findings to Carmi, who decided to begin disciplinary proceedings. Newman's attorney, Naomi Shalev Melzer, said, "Prof. Newman has no interest in proving anything or defending himself against anything in the pages of a newspaper, and he does not intend to recruit the media in order to prove his innocence. The confidential disciplinary process laid down in the academic bylaws is what will guide his steps, and he will act in accordance with its instructions." The university said it "attributes supreme importance to eliminating sexual harassment, and it has acted and is acting in accordance with the law and with its orderly, scrupulous, process for preventing sexual harassment and examining every complaint. In its inquiry process, the university is scrupulous about preserving confidentiality, as mandated by law." **************** And so the Newman is about to join the Eyal Ben Ari fraternity: http://isracampus.org.il/third%20level%20pages/HebrewU%20-%20Eyal%20Ben-Ari%20-%20Fired.htm
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