• letter to Dave Smith‏ part 2
You, the Socialists and the Greens are the only groups that see fit to create internal tension within Australia. There are already enough problems that need to be solved within Australia. The subject of Immigration and elements of Muslim / Islamic minority groups are also working against Australian values.
Australians in the next 6 months will be debating issues such as the full face covering bill, thus removing the Burqa and Niqab from becoming a greater problem in the future, and hopefully preventing many of the social problems facing Europe and England from gaining any foothold in Australia.
Unbalanced immigration by people from Muslim countries and especially from people entering via illegal boat travel is becoming another major problem and there is need of greater public debate. Hopefully you should start seeing the need for the very important and open discussions that Australians must have to solve the future problems that are rushing at us.
The BDS is a waste of everyone’s time. Your views are out dated and very last century. The Greens have now reached the top and only have one way to go, and that is down. The Carbon Tax will be the end of the Greens and, hopefully, all extreme left wing viewpoints.
Mr Smith if you do believe in peace and you do pray for justice then please pray very hard because if all goes well in the Middle East, the Arab people will see fit to develop a true Secular and democratic system, that will allow the Coptic Christians and Jews of the region to live in peace. The Arab people will need to take a monumental step and free themselves from the shackles of Submission and Slavery that the Islamic political, legal and religious Ideology represents

Dane,

Your vicious generalisations about “Jews and Israelis” reveal the racism underscoring your contributions here.

You talk about being “tired” of references to the holocaust. The article’s bizarre attempt to paint tolerance of Hitler and non-support for BDS as morally equivalent was the first part of this article and discussion eligible for Godwin’s law. Maracas1 was the second, and you the third – all hostile to Israel. If you find reference to the holocaust tiresome, I suggest you stop introducing it. More than 60% of Europe’s Jews died in the holocaust. This, and (DavidL has pointed out), the Nazis’ intent to kill all Jews makes the holocaust unique even in the bloodbath that was WW2.

I do not support Israel’s abuses of Palestinians’ rights, nor do I support not support Palestinians’ abuses of Israelis’ rights. I hope for a two-state solution bringing a just peace and autonomy for both Israelis and Palestinians, though I’m not naive enough to think that will happen soon or easily.

My main concern with the application of BDS at local authority level is twofold.

Firstly, its ineffectual moral vanity that seems designed to make its proponents feel good about themselves rather than delivering any tangible benefits for the Palestinians.

Secondly, its lack of a sense of proportion. For all Israel’s faults – and they are many – it cannot by any objective standard be deemed the worst human rights abuser in the world. If Dave Smith’s primary motivation was really borderless compassion for the suffering and oppressed then he’d be directing his attention to North Korea, Ivory Coast or the failed states of SW Asia. I do not deny that compassion for the Palestinians is part of his motivation, but his choice of target, and of victims to champion, suggests it is not the only one. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that – I guess most of us are influenced by our politics when decide that a country deserves particular condemnation. But it makes Dave’s inference that he is only motivated by fraternal compassion seem sanctimonious and self-serving.

DaveL and Rhian,

I only mentioned the holocaust because Australia's preeminent cheerleader for Israel, Andrew Bolt, posted a picture of a Jewish shop from 70 years ago with a Star of David sign on it. It is completely irrelevant to the proposed boycott and clearly misuses the holocaust (again) for current political gain.

But I don't want to get into the 'debate the holocaust as a distraction from current events trap' that so many Arab haters lay.

I think we really do live in interesting times. If the popular movements succeed in the ME, Israel will come under enormous pressure. Democratically elected Arab governments will have much more moral authority than the current tyrants. Israel will no longer be the only 'democracy' meaning it will no longer be able to claim strategic asset status to the US.

Nothing is certain and much could go wrong. But the Israelis know democracy might succeed in the ME and they are quaking. Nothing scares them more than peace and democracy in the ME because it makes them geopolitically redundant. If this happens the days of a Jewish majority in Israel will be numbered.

Call again in 2000 years please.

Dane

As I said, the holocaust was first mentioned in this thread by antagonists of Israel. If you think it a distraction, I suggest you don’t raise it.

Like you, I hope the current turmoil in the Middle East leads to democracy and the overthrow of tyrants. I disagree, however, that this is something Israel should fear. Democracies are much better than dictatorships at sorting out their differences peacefully, and at living with neighbours they’re not very fond of

Rhian,

'the holocaust was first mentioned in this thread by antagonists of Israel. If you think it a distraction, I suggest you don’t raise it'

I explained why I mentioned the holocaust in my previous post. Andrew Bolt raised the holocaust that day on his blog so I think it was legitimate reference to make. If you have a problem with it I suggest you email Andrew Bolt and ask him not to misuse it.

But I see your point. You only want the issue raised on your terms. You are not happy if other people raise the holocaust at inconvenient times. It debases the currency and subverts your control over the debate. How can you use it for a distraction if people call you on it?

That's why we get little dummy spits like:

'Your vicious generalisations about “Jews and Israelis” reveal the racism underscoring your contributions here'

Whenever someone calls me racist I rest at ease. I know they are phoney and have nothing to worry about.

Yes Dane,

You rest easy knowing that your eager support for the 'one Israel' policy, that you readily acknowledge would lead to the ethnic cleansing of jews, couldn't possibly make you a racist. And after all, its not really possible to be racist against white people anymore, is it?