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ZIONISTS FIGHTING PEACE - HOW ISRAEL LOST ITS SOUL
[By Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, The Canadian Charger, June 16, 2009]
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Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu laid out "his vision" of peace last
week. This vision was, in a word, expected. After all, he is a hard-core Zionist
Jew:

"If we receive this guarantee regarding demilitarization and Israel’s security
needs, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish
people, then we will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution
where a demilitarized Palestinian state exists alongside the Jewish state."

Netanyahu also said Israel would not recognize the right of return for
Palestinian refugees, saying that the problem must be solved outside of the
Jewish state.

To understand why Netanyahu’s vision, which can be described as fighting peace,
is supported by many Israelis one must know how Israelis are indoctrinated in
Zionism and how violent militarism is not only a Zionist ideal but an economical
and a sociological necessity.

One of the best books on the subject is How Israel Lost Its Soul, by Maxim
Ghilan, a Zionist Jew who left Israel in 1969, having been "forced to reconsider
his nationalist Jewish stand" :

"Tzahal (the Israeli Defense Forces) is not only an army: it is a state within a
state, a security apparatus, an extremely dynamic economic empire, a never
diminishing source of managerial manpower for the civil economy ... But first
and foremost for the average Israeli, Tzahal is the main channel of his
indoctrination, the symbol of the identity he wears, in fact and in thought,
when he feels insecure or knows himself to be under attack. Zionist history,
which in a totally insipid and slanted form, is pushed down pupils throats in
Israeli classrooms. (Tzahal drafts 18-year-old boys for three years and girls
for two years.)

"[Once drafted he] does not have to fight for his basic needs: home, food, the
usual comforts, transport, health insurance-all these are provided by the State.
Even his family is taken care of, should he fall in battle. He can, then, afford
to be mildly critical, at times-as long as his criticism is unrelated to war.

"[A University student] is either fighting two months a year in the reserves, or
has just completed three years of army duty ... upon completing his studies he
will have a good deal of useful knowledge and a position which will be almost
automatically allotted to him by the manpower-hungry (Zionist) Establishment. He
will have the two necessary attributes: knowledge and Jewishness.

"He thus reaches his conclusions, out of his own vested interests but without
real knowledge or personal experience of the social and military roots of the
conflict upon which his society is based. His future, his economic interests and
past military indoctrination all tend to add up and force him to ignore
‘dangerous’ facts such as racialists exclusivity and perennial war.

"Israeli society is in love with war and Tzahal: because they give the average
citizen a feeling of contradictory safety; because they develop the mind and
muscle of the economy and help them fill their pockets; and because war and
preparation for war tally with the dynamic development of Israeli industrial
life. Further more, war IS the only possibility, when your aim is to live alone
in a country where another people lives as well.

"Israel has gradually become a more and more openly racist country. Anyone not
Jewish is at best second-class in Israel... A Jew has inherent rights in Israel
even if he is not born in the State. A Jew is considered an insider, while a
‘Goy’ (Gentile, non-Jew) always remains an outsider, even if born inside the
country ... In the State of Israel, officially defined as ‘Jewish’ just as
Rhodesia’s or South Africa’s (were) ‘white’, this is a most important means of
personal tyranny.

"As Israel progressed towards its consecration as a ‘pure Jewish’ state, it
found itself giving more and more power to those zealots who held Zionist-
religious views."

Ghilan ends by citing the example of Giora Neumann, who went to military jail
for refusing to serve in an "imperialist army," and those of a growing number of
young Israelis who wish to "escape the nightmare of unending war." If more
Israelis turn into Neumanns then and only then will "peace with an independent
Arab Palestine and rapprochement between this Palestine and Israel would finally
become a possibility."

* Dr Mohamed Elmasry is Professor Emeritus of Computer Engineering, University
of Waterloo; Founder, The Canadian Islamic Congress; and member, editorial
board, The Canadian Charger. He can be reached at elmasry@thecanadiancharger.com

** The Canadian Charger is Canada’s new national independent not-for-profit
multimedia interactive online magazine with 60 of Canada’s top experts, writers
and cartoonists: www.thecanadiancharger.com

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INDEPENDENT JEWISH VOICES FIGHTS FOR JUSTICE
[By Reuel S. Amdur, The Canadian Charger, June 4, 2009]
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Last month NDP MP Libby Davies presented a pair of petitions to Parliament
related to the Palestine question. One was from a Vancouver school, calling for
a UN war crimes investigation of the bombing of a UN school and of the use of
white phosphorous against civilian areas in Gaza.

The second one called on Canada to change its political position on the Middle
Eastern situation and "to initiate concrete action to hold Israel accountable
for its ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law." In an
interview, Dr. Diana Ralph, a social work professor, took partial ownership of
the second petition on behalf of her group, Independent Jewish Voices (IJV).

"Independent Jewish Voices endorsed the petition and helped collect signatures
for it," she said. As for the first petition, IJV is also fully supportive.
"Last January," she charged, "the people of Gaza were guinea pigs for Israel to
field test and eventually market new horrific weapons specifically designed for
powerless urban populations, such as fleshettes, white phosphorous bombs, and
remote controlled predator drones which it used purposely to target children
playing on roofs."

Since the presentation of the two petitions, Davies has also drafted a motion
for Parliamentary consideration:

(That this House calls on the Government of Canada to act swiftly as part of the
International Community, to end the 20 month blockade of Gaza; To follow through
on its promise for aid and assistance to the people of Gaza; And exercise its
responsibility under international law to condemn the use of force and violence;
And begin the process for normalized relations to attain a Palestinian state and
peace for the region, including the ongoing control of Gaza’s border.)

Independent Jewish Voices has sent letters to the four party leaders in
Parliament in support of Libby Davies’ motion.

IJV is a small organization, with about 140 members and a mailing list of 500
people, and it is unclear just what portion of Canadian Jewry it speaks for. "We
may undertake a survey," she said. Ralph challenged the notion that
organizations such as B’nai B’rith and the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC)
represent all Canadian Jews in their attitudes toward Israel. For one thing, CJC
has restructured itself to disenfranchise its individual members from any voice
in the running of the organization.

While Canadian data are unavailable, a 2008 survey of 800 Jews in the United
States found that they "overwhelmingly disapproved of the Middle East policies
of the George W. Bush administration and felt that Israel was less secure as a
result of his policies by a 61-25 margin."

When asked about IJV, she explained that its origins can be traced back to 2006.
Israel was engaged in military action in Gaza and Lebanon, and the United Church
of Canada was considering a resolution calling for divestment of companies
contributing to Israeli occupation. The Canadian Jewish Congress waged a
campaign against the United Church, its leadership, and those proposing the
motion, accusing them of anti-Semitism. In reaction, a group of Jews who agreed
with the United Church sprang to its defence and supported the resolution, using
an on-line petition and handing delegates a booklet that they produced.
Delegates approved the motion, with minor changes.

The Canadian Jewish Congress met its nemesis in Diana Ralph and her associates.
"In March of 2008, last year, we organized a national conference of Canadian
Jews who were already promoting a just peace in Israel /Palestine. We invited
unions, churches, peace and student groups, and Palestinian, Muslim and Arab
groups to send delegates. It was the largest gathering of progressive Jews and
allies Canada had ever seen. We came from all across Canada. About ¾ of us were
Jews ranging from secular to Orthodox, from young adults to seniors,
representing 18 Jewish organizations. We unanimously adopted a statement of
unity and launched Independent Jewish Voices (Canada)." Among the Jewish
organizations participating were the United Jewish Peoples Order, Montreal’s
Palestinians and Jews United (PAJU), Not in Our Name (NION), and Palestinians
and Jews for a Just Peace, from Halifax. Naomi Klein was the principal speaker.
Their first Annual General Meeting will be in Ottawa from June 12 to 14, with
Judy Rebick as the keynote speaker.

IJV "organized a cross-Canada tour by Jeff Halper, Director of the Israeli
Committee Against House Demolitions and a tour of Al-Haq (a Palestinian legal
rights organization), which is challenging the legality of Canada Park, built
with Canadian funds in the Occupied Territories where three Palestinian villages
had stood. We also co-sponsored performances of the play ‘My name is Rachel
Corrie’ across Canada and Israeli Apartheid Week activities on several Canadian
campuses." More recently IJV has been presenting Sarah Churchill’s play "Seven
Jewish Children," which garnered considerable attention in Montreal and Toronto
where B’nai B’rith has attacked it as anti-Semitic. It attempted to get it
banned in Toronto.

What has motivated Diana Ralph in her efforts and in her activities as the
primary organizer of IJV? In part it may have something to do with the fact that
her father took part in the Nurenburg War Crimes Tribunal. And then there is the
fact that she is a Jew. The prophet Jeremiah "insisted that, rather than blaming
Yaweh for their misfortunes, they must acknowledge that it was their own
sins-especially the sin of enslaving and oppressing others-which had led God to
exile them."

She pointed to the historical opposition of Zionism to Judaism, which only in
the 1940’s changed to most religious Jews embracing Zionism, basically because
of the Holocaust. Ralph finds the two belief systems as still fundamentally
antagonistic.

Where the Jewish ethos is one of serving God, the Zionist serves Israel
(nationalism). The Jewish principle is one of ethical behaviour even at personal
risk, while Zionism favors security above ethics. For the committed Jew, the
Golden Rule is for everyone, while for the Zionist the duty is only to Jews.
While the committed Jew is committed to peace, the Zionist wants power, the
committed Jew is committed to humility, while the Zionist is prideful. A
religious Jew believes in a return of all Jews to Israel only when they are free
from sin, in a Messianic age. The Zionist favors a military/legal Jewish control
of Israel.

She was asked which Canadian political party currently in Parliament takes the
best position on justice in Israel/Palestine. "The Bloc Québécois," she replied
with a laugh.

* Reuel Amdur is a freelancer and social worker living in Val-des-Monts, Quebec.
His work has appeared across North America and abroad.

** The Canadian Charger is Canada’s new national independent not-for-profit
multimedia interactive online magazine with 60 of Canada’s top experts, writers
and cartoonists: www.thecanadiancharger.com

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COULD THE REAL OBAMA STAND UP
[By Yvonne Ridley, The Canadian Charger, June 1, 2009]
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I wonder how many of you have woken up to the fact that America's latest leader
is really a political Houdini ... an illusionist on a presidential scale.

In front of our very eyes he has morphed from a gentle intellectual, and strong
defender of human rights into a war-mongering bully who sponsors targeted
assassinations and orders pre-emptive strikes with casual ease.

It took George W. Bush years before he dared to unveil his true intentions and
invade Iraq, displacing three million people in a war which cost the lives of
thousands of U.S. soldiers and the slaughter of countless civilians.

Whereas the smooth-talking Obama has achieved the same in just a few months
since he arrived in The White House by launching an illegal war on Pakistan ...
but he's using someone else's army instead of his own.

He is twice as clever as the previous White House incumbent and far, far more
deadly. Obama is quite possibly one of the world's most skillful manipulators
and his greatest illusion so far is fooling the public as well as the media.

While blatantly using Pakistan's army as a cheap source of military labor he
holds the country's leader Asif Ali Zadari in suspended animation, trapped
helplessly in an almost hypnotic state, induced by the promise of millions of
dollars and the support of the world's biggest military machine.

Of course we must lay some blame at Zadari's feet for allowing himself to be
used like a magician's assistant instead of acting with the dignity and honour
his office, country and people demand.

Obama is far more lethal than his predecessor - and yet his transformation from
Mr Nice Guy to something more sinister seems to have gone largely unnoticed by
the world's watching media which appears to be intoxicated by the powerful
charisma emanating from his rich, but smooth seductive tones.

He has already reneged on promises over closing down Guantanamo, ending military
tribunals and releasing to the public the entire archive of shame which captured
the torture and abuse of the previous administration's War on Terror in video
and film from 2001 onwards.

Moazzam Begg, an ex-Guantanamo detainee remarked recently over one of his u-
turns: "President Obama has recently granted immunity to CIA agents ... if the
desire to get at what went wrong is so blatantly covered up under cover of
"national security concerns", there will be no end to this. And once again, the
warmongers will get away with another odious and criminal cover-up".



He has the power to make Guantanamo's vile prison disappear and for a few
glorious weeks human rights activists across the world waited with baited breath
for the cages of Cuba, Bagram and elsewhere to fly open.

Just how difficult is it for the media to dip into their own archives and remind
Obama about the pledges he made on the campaign trail and hold him to account?
His first promise on the White House website was that his administration would
be the most transparent in U.S. history. Sadly these grand statements have not
been followed through.

But this journalistic amnesia is all too convenient - what happened to his
determination to bring home all combat troops from Iraq within 18 months?

Is there no journalist from the White House lobby prepared to remind him of how
he said during televised presidential debates that getting Usama bin Ladin was
"our biggest national security priority"? Perhaps the hypnotic Obama Affect has
wiped their computer hard-drives and their memories but if you listen to his
very first TV interview as the Commander-in-Chief of America he said Usama was
more than a symbol.

His actual words were: "He’s also the operational leader of an organization that
is planning attacks against U.S. targets," adding that "capturing or killing bin
Ladin is a critical aspect of stamping out al-Qaida."

Having secured the votes from red neck territory by saying Obama will get Usama,
he now says that killing or capturing the al-Qaida chief is no longer necessary
to "meet our goal of protecting America."

However, American Armenians are not so gullible and quite a few were shocked out
of their trance following the U.S. President's recent visit to Turkey when he
executed with the greatest of ease yet another presidential flip flop.

"As President, I will recognize the Armenian genocide," he declared loud and
proud during his campaign, but when he arrived in Turkey he sort of muttered,
when asked about the hugely sensitive subject: "My views are on the record, and
everyone knows my views." And then he refused to elaborate and state them!

"Sunlight is the best disinfectant" said Obama before he took the keys to the
White House - may be that's why, when I watch the U.S. President perform under
the glare of the spotlights on the world stage, I can see something of the night
lurking around his presidential shadows.

There are a few of us who are immune to the charms of the new president. Like
me, they believe that the sheep's clothing has vanished and what we now have is
a dangerous wolf stalking the corridors of power on Capitol Hill.

Yes, there's a new act in the White House these days but while Harry Houdini
built his reputation performing death-defying escapes and magic tricks his
political Doppelganger is certainly the master of dark arts and mass illusion.

This president has gone from charming to harming and few have noticed.

* Journalist Yvonne Ridley is a patron of the human rights organization Cage
Prisoners at www.cageprisoners.com and a member of the RESPECT political party
as well as being a presenter of the weekly political show The Agenda on Press TV

** The Canadian Charger is Canada’s new national independent not-for-profit
multimedia interactive online magazine with 60 of Canada’s top experts, writers
and cartoonists: www.thecanadiancharger.com