Fidel Castro gone mad: defends Israel's right to exist, labels critics "anti-semites"

[Adi Shankara]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/08/fidel-castro-criticises-mahmoud-ahmedinejad

Fidel Castro accuses Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of antisemitism

Former Cuban leader criticises Iranian president for denying the Holocaust and calls for end to slander of Jews



Fidel Castro (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/fidel-castro) has accused Iran (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iran)'s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/mahmoud-ahmadinejad), of antisemitism, in a passionate defence of Israel (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/israel)'s right to exist. Cuba (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/cuba)'s retired president, a longtime critic of Israeli government policy, said Jews had been slandered and slaughtered for centuries whereas Muslims were not blamed for anything.
The 83-year-old comandante criticised Ahmadinejad for denying the Holocaust (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/holocaust) and urged Tehran to acknowledge the "unique" history of antisemitism and understand why Israelis feared for their existence.
The comments will sting Iran's president and could prove awkward for Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, two presidents who revere Castro and have forged close ties with Ahmadinejad.
Castro made his comments to Jeffrey Goldberg, a journalist with The Atlantic, whom he summoned to Havana after reading one of his articles about the Middle East (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middleeast).
Goldberg brought Julia Sweig, a Cuba expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the two talked with Castro over three days last month. The journalist's blog on the encounters, posted today, revealed the first details of the encounter.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/09/fidel-to-ahmadinejad-stop-slandering-the-jews/62566/
In recent months Castro has repeatedly warned that the US and Israel were edging the world towards a nuclear catastrophe in their confrontation with Iran. But he surprised his visitors by dwelling on the historic injustices suffered by Jews. Iran, he said, should understand the Jews were expelled from their land and mistreated all over the world as the ones who killed God. "The Jews have lived an existence that is much harder than ours. There is nothing that compares to the Holocaust."
Castro continued: "I don't think anyone has been slandered more than the Jews. I would say much more than the Muslims. They have been slandered much more than the Muslims because they are blamed and slandered for everything. No one blames the Muslims for anything." Asked what he would tell Ahmadinejad face to face, Castro replied: "I am saying this so you can communicate it."He reminisced about being a young boy and overhearing classmates saying Jews killed Jesus Christ. "I didn't know what a Jew was. I knew of a bird that was a called a 'Jew,' and so for me the Jews were those birds. This is how ignorant the entire population was."
The Cuban said nuclear powers, including Israel, should disarm and that he understood Iranian fears of Israeli-American aggression. "Iranians are not going to back down in the face of threats. That's my opinion."
Goldberg said Castro's body was frail but his mind was acute and energy levels high. "And not only that: the late-stage Fidel Castro turns out to possess something of a self-deprecating sense of humour. When I asked him, over lunch, to answer what I've come to think of as the Christopher Hitchens question – has your illness caused you to change your mind about the existence of God? – he answered, 'Sorry, I'm still a dialectical materialist.'"
Goldberg also asked Castro what he now thought about his recommendation to the Soviet Union to bomb the US during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. "After I've seen what I've seen, and knowing what I know now, it wasn't worth it all."

[Adi Shankara]

castro continued: "i don't think anyone has been slandered more than the jews. I would say much more than the muslims. They have been slandered much more than the muslims because they are blamed and slandered for everything. no one blames the muslims for anything."• . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . ,.-‘”. . . . . . . . . .``~.,
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[Saorsa]

Um, where in this article does Castro say Israel has the right to exist?

[scarletghoul]

Um, where in this article does Castro say Israel has the right to exist?
I'm not sure. In the original article which I posted the interviewer says he "endorsed unequivocally" Israel's right to exist, but does not provide any quotes.

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

All of these headlines surrounding Castro are starting to sound like a joke to me. At least I was thinking that he's just senile, but these claims are completely contradicting his character.

Has Fidel Castro completely disregarded his past and all of the ideology behind it, in the years since his retirement? I find it very hard to believe.

[Adi Shankara]

All of these headlines surrounding Castro are starting to sound like a joke to me. At least I was thinking that he's just senile, but these claims are completely contradicting his character.

Has Fidel Castro completely disregarded his past and all of the ideology behind it, in the years since his retirement? I find it very hard to believe.

I'm starting to think it's senility; in the July 5th edition of Granma in his "Reflections of Fidel" column, he says Israel is "a fascist state founded by colonialists". if he is defending the Israeli state (which doesn't appear to be the case, when I make a deeper inspection of the article), then he is completely going against every single thing he stood for prior to retirement.

[Die Rote Fahne]

For the love of god.

Let's set some things straight:

First - Calling Ahmadinejad out on his antisemitism is fair. He has denied the holocaust. Why the fuck would you want to defend him? He's as reactionary as Netinyahu is.

Second - Israel exists now. So it's right to remain in existence is legitimate. Whether Castro made that point or not, doesn't change the fact.

Third - criticizing a nation, or defending a nation, does not mean he supports the ideals of said nation. I commend a nation for legalizing gay marriage. Doesn't mean I suddenly think that country is number one, or that their leader is some sort of hero.

Fourth - your title is extremely misleading as Castro DOES NOT label "critics" as antisemitic. He labels antisemites as antisemitic. Cuba, noteably Castro, has a history of anti-zionism and support for the Palestinians as well as criticizing Israel. http://www.neoliberalismo.com/cip.htm

[Wanted Man]

(which doesn't appear to be the case, when I make a deeper inspection of the article)

Whoops! Let's not get little facts in the way of big lies, though.

Anyway, some people are full of shit. It's not always the same people, but there's a big tendency to simply cry wolf at anything that is ever said by any socialist leader. At some point, the chorus of bullshit becomes so thick that you can't really distinguish different posters from one another any more:

Chávez embraces Ahmedinejad: "What the fuck is he doing, messing with a declared anti-semite? This just proves that there is a strong streak of anti-semitism on the left, all for the sake of so-called national liberation. Why isn't anyone denouncing this? Where are the so-called socialist leaders when Ahmedinejad starts spouting off?"

Castro criticises Ahmedinejad's anti-semitism: "What the fuck? Is he going senile or something? What's he going to do next?"

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

For the love of god.

Let's set some things straight:

First - Calling Ahmadinejad out on his antisemitism is fair. He has denied the holocaust. Why the fuck would you want to defend him? He's as reactionary as Netinyahu is.

Second - Israel exists now. So it's right to remain in existence is legitimate. Whether Castro made that point or not, doesn't change the fact.

Third - criticizing a nation, or defending a nation, does not mean he supports the ideals of said nation. I commend a nation for legalizing gay marriage. Doesn't mean I suddenly think that country is number one, or that their leader is some sort of hero.
Its not as black and white as that though, its that the media are suggesting that Castro has said some things that are very much contradictory to his initial opinions that is confusing people.

[Rusty Shackleford]

im honestly worried about what castro is saying. not necessarily this article, i have not read it... but, its really disheartening hearing some things. :(

[Magón]

im honestly worried about what castro is saying. not necessarily this article, i have not read it... but, its really disheartening hearing some things. :(

Until we start to see something, where Israel is supporting Cuba with say tanks, guns, etc. I say we just sit tight and let the old man flow. Even if Israel starts supporting Cuba with arms, or something else, I doubt Cuba would do the same except for maybe something like Moral Support, or telling people to just leave Israel alone. Either way, Cuba could benefit. And there's really no need to worry, Raul's in charge now, not Fidel.

[Adi Shankara]

And there's really no need to worry, Raul's in charge now, not Fidel.

That's what's worrying me.

[Die Rote Fahne]

Its not as black and white as that though, its that the media are suggesting that Castro has said some things that are very much contradictory to his initial opinions that is confusing people.

That's very true. That is a big issue. The context of Castro's words is absent and those words are being portrayed in such a way to make it seem he is supporting Israel.

It's disheartening, but not surprising in the least.

This is why we need leftist media outlets "Democracy Now!", "The Real News Network", "RT" and "Al Jazeera" to be covering this and interviewing Castro.

But, to anyone who frequents these forums, we should know enough to realize that Castro is not in support of Israel. And we should be able to pick out what is missing in a mainstream article.

[Adi Shankara]

But, to anyone who frequents these forums, we should know enough to realize that Castro is not in support of Israel. And we should be able to pick out what is missing in a mainstream article.

I agree and apologize for the headline, but I'm still very disheartened about his words about muslims; how can you say that muslims are not blamed for anything? in the popular American imagination, they are responsible for the destruction of America!

[west bank mcdaniel]

he's really just a tired old man, you can't really argue with defeat

[28350]

This thread/OP is extremely misleading.
This seems a little more legitimate:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/08/fidel-castro-blasts-ahmad_n_708592.html

[Antifa94]

Excuse me for the ad hominem but IDIOT, Nowhere does Fidel state that Israel has a right to exist but merely criticizes Ahmadinejad's inhuman and fucking repugnant denial of the holocaust.
Now there is a lot of repugnant islamophobia, but there still has not been a holocaust of muslims, as horrid as srebenica was,it isn't comparably to auschwitz in magnitude, only in its barbaric nature.

@ Vacant... What is he saying that's horrifying? He has A- criticized anti-semitism, B- apologized for persecution of gays and C- has acknowledged that Cuba's form of dumbfucking state-capitalism failed. The End.

Even if Cuba was not a very successful socialist state, Fidel is and will always be remembered for his success in latin american anti-imperialism, creating america's ideological antithesis "90 miles away" and dealing a blow to America in the Cold war.
He is and will always be a brilliant, brilliant theoretician. His analysis of current events and marxism are a delight to read.

[Antifa94]

@ Hail to the Thief
I first heard about this news from reading Haaretz(I'm sure you know that it's the left-wing newspaper in Israel) and they didn't say that he supported Israel, and they quoted him profusely.

[RedStarOverChina]

Oh my God, Castro? The Pope of Communism? The Holy Vicar of Marx on Earth actually condemned anti-Zionism as anti-semitism??

Who gives a fuck?

[Kiev Communard]

Oh my God, Castro? The Pope of Communism? The Holy Vicar of Marx on Earth actually condemned anti-Zionism as anti-semitism??

Who gives a fuck?

You seem to be over-sarcastic here. While I do not consider Castro Marxist, I believe that his brand of left-wing nationalism played quite a progressive role in the second half of the 20th century, therefore I don't think mocking him is something worth approving.

Secondly, Castro merely stated the obvious: Ahmadinejad is a reactionary Anti-Semithic clown. Too bad Castro did not mention the massacres and persecutions of Communists - both pro-Soviet and pro-China - under Islamic Republic regime, though.

[thälmann]

he just said achmedinejad is an antisemit, wat is simply true, nothing more. its good that not only western countrys and israel critizise this. i mean that has nothing to do with supporting zionism.

[RedStarOverChina]

You seem to be over-sarcastic here. While I do not consider Castro Marxist, I believe that his brand of left-wing nationalism played quite a progressive role in the second half of the 20th century, therefore I don't think mocking him is something worth approving.
He's been full of shit for quite some time now, it's harder and harder to take him seriously. I highly suspect he will spend the rest of his life re-introducing capitalism to Cuba.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

He's been full of shit for quite some time now, it's harder and harder to take him seriously. I highly suspect he will spend the rest of his life re-introducing capitalism to Cuba.

Warning the world against nuclear war and calling the anti-semite Ahmedinajad an......anti-semite. Yeah, really full of shit.:rolleyes:

Seriously, some people hang off the guy's ever word.

Tony Blair once called himself a 'Democratic Socalist', shall we make a thread analysing, from an historical materialist view, his pronouncement? Honestly. Grow up kids.