freepalestine
5th October 2012, 05:25
‘Peace Now’ video against binational state features scary soundtrack: Muslim call to prayer
http://mondoweiss.net/images/authors/philweiss-36.png
by Philip Weiss (http://mondoweiss.net/author/philweiss) on October 4, 2012 15 (http://mondoweiss.net/2012/10/peace-now-video-against-binational-state-features-scary-soundtrack-muslim-call-to-prayer.html#comments)
qxi0mQpD15A
More than a year ago Peace Now in Israel (Shalom Achsav) posted (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Cd2K24qw8) the above video in Hebrew, calling on Israelis to save Israel from "downfall" by giving up the territories and working to establish a Palestinian state-- two states for two peoples.
The video has lately been translated and reposted by leftwing Israelis critical of Peace Now. You will see that at :47 the video warns that if Israel annexes the territories, "Israel will become a binational state, without a Jewish majority." At this point the wail of the muezzin, or Muslim call to prayer, is heard. So: A liberal group is employing Islamophobia. (The recent Nation issue on Islamophobia (http://www.thenation.com/article/168374/sugar-mama-anti-muslim-hate) pointed out the connections between Zionism and Islamophobia.)
Also, the video says that there are 300,000 settlers. This is a vast understatement of the number that, among others, Trudy Rubin has used (http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-12/news/32649321_1_outposts-west-bank-jewish-settlements), 722,000. It surely leaves out all the East Jerusalem settlers.
Ofer Neiman sent me the video, which its translators titled, "Peace Now's ethnic-supremacist ideology as expressed in their own campaign." He writes:
I also think there is a socio-political reason why Peace Now have become so repugnant. Until a few years ago, they had grassroots activists. I was one of them. The activists always pushed in the direction of more genuine peace and human rights campaigning, not (just) sheer populism. Nowadays Peace Now is not a mass movement, and the show is run by PR hacks. It has never been a democratic movement, No official membership, and no elected board.
This is the same problem that I have had with J Street. It doesn't represent the rank-and-file you see at the conferences, it's non-democratic. And of course the same criticism is made of AIPAC; it doesn't represent American Jewish opinion.
P.S. Amos Oz has long been associated with Peace Now and he also made the ethnic claim at J Street's conference earlier this year (http://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/zionism-as-a-political-movement-is-kaput.html): There is a Palestinian family and an Israeli family, and we can't be in a state together. And liberal Zionists regularly say that there are "too many Arabs." Here (http://mondoweiss.net/2012/08/nyt-publishes-op-ed-saying-there-are-too-many-palestinians-and-arabs-in-israel.html) and here (http://mondoweiss.net/2011/12/obamas-rabbi-sidekick-is-opposed-to-too-many-arabs-in-israel.html).
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/10/peace-now-video-against-binational-state-features-scary-soundtrack-muslim-call-to-prayer.html
http://mondoweiss.net/images/authors/philweiss-36.png
by Philip Weiss (http://mondoweiss.net/author/philweiss) on October 4, 2012 15 (http://mondoweiss.net/2012/10/peace-now-video-against-binational-state-features-scary-soundtrack-muslim-call-to-prayer.html#comments)
qxi0mQpD15A
More than a year ago Peace Now in Israel (Shalom Achsav) posted (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Cd2K24qw8) the above video in Hebrew, calling on Israelis to save Israel from "downfall" by giving up the territories and working to establish a Palestinian state-- two states for two peoples.
The video has lately been translated and reposted by leftwing Israelis critical of Peace Now. You will see that at :47 the video warns that if Israel annexes the territories, "Israel will become a binational state, without a Jewish majority." At this point the wail of the muezzin, or Muslim call to prayer, is heard. So: A liberal group is employing Islamophobia. (The recent Nation issue on Islamophobia (http://www.thenation.com/article/168374/sugar-mama-anti-muslim-hate) pointed out the connections between Zionism and Islamophobia.)
Also, the video says that there are 300,000 settlers. This is a vast understatement of the number that, among others, Trudy Rubin has used (http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-12/news/32649321_1_outposts-west-bank-jewish-settlements), 722,000. It surely leaves out all the East Jerusalem settlers.
Ofer Neiman sent me the video, which its translators titled, "Peace Now's ethnic-supremacist ideology as expressed in their own campaign." He writes:
I also think there is a socio-political reason why Peace Now have become so repugnant. Until a few years ago, they had grassroots activists. I was one of them. The activists always pushed in the direction of more genuine peace and human rights campaigning, not (just) sheer populism. Nowadays Peace Now is not a mass movement, and the show is run by PR hacks. It has never been a democratic movement, No official membership, and no elected board.
This is the same problem that I have had with J Street. It doesn't represent the rank-and-file you see at the conferences, it's non-democratic. And of course the same criticism is made of AIPAC; it doesn't represent American Jewish opinion.
P.S. Amos Oz has long been associated with Peace Now and he also made the ethnic claim at J Street's conference earlier this year (http://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/zionism-as-a-political-movement-is-kaput.html): There is a Palestinian family and an Israeli family, and we can't be in a state together. And liberal Zionists regularly say that there are "too many Arabs." Here (http://mondoweiss.net/2012/08/nyt-publishes-op-ed-saying-there-are-too-many-palestinians-and-arabs-in-israel.html) and here (http://mondoweiss.net/2011/12/obamas-rabbi-sidekick-is-opposed-to-too-many-arabs-in-israel.html).
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/10/peace-now-video-against-binational-state-features-scary-soundtrack-muslim-call-to-prayer.html