Israel's worst enemies are those who support its policies, claims Chomsky
PAUL CULLEN
Irish Times: November 4, 2009
ISRAEL'S GREATEST enemies are those who support its decline into moral degeneration and destruction, philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky has told an audience in Dublin.
Chomsky, who is retired professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said Israel was once a civilised society similar to those found in Scandinavia. Now, however, that has changed. There is high inequality just as in the US, and the social security system has collapsed, he said.
In the 1970s, he said, Israel had a choice between security within its existing borders and expansion into settlements and it chose expansion.
It was not possible to carry out the military occupation this required and at the same time maintain elementary moral values. "The worst enemies of Israel were those supporting it. What they were in fact supporting was its moral degeneration and ultimate destruction," said Chomsky.
Chomsky, the son of Jewish parents from Pennsylvania, said that at one stage he considered going to live in Israel but "now I prefer to come to Dublin".
He was speaking at the College Historical Society, or Hist, in TCD, which yesterday awarded him a gold medal for outstanding contribution to public discourse.
Last night, the 80-year-old philosopher and author also addressed UCD's Law Society, which awarded him honorary life membership.
Answering questions from journalist Robert Fisk and a packed student audience at the Hist, Chomsky maintained there were grounds for hope in the conduct of world affairs. Countries such as Britain and the US had become much more civilised, a trend he attributed to the active engagement of citizens, especially young people, in politics. Disillusionment with the policies of John F Kennedy in the 1960s had prompted people to become involved in civil rights campaigns and, later, the feminist movement, he pointed out.
Drawing a distinction between "stories" and "non-stories" in the media and academia, Chomsky pointed out that the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago was followed six days later by the "end of Christianity" through the defeat of liberation theology. This occurred when elite units of the army in El Salvador, trained by the US, murdered six leading Catholic intellectuals. Yet, in contrast to events in eastern Europe, few people knew about this event.
Warning against the pitfalls of humanitarian intervention, he pointed out that British colonists came to the New World with the express intention of helping natives in this manner. "In the process, they helped exterminate them."
Most of these colonists were religious fanatics, Chomsky said, and this streak in American society has lasted almost up to the present day.
He described the conflict in eastern Congo as the worst catastrophe currently going on in the world and asked why Darfur, which was a much smaller conflict, received so much more attention. "In Darfur, you can blame it on enemies – the Arabs – whereas in the Congo it's a lot harder."
The multinationals were "all over" eastern Congo, using local militias to gain control of its rich resources, he said.
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http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23857.htm
America, Stop Sucking up to Israel
By Gideon Levy
November 01, 2009 "Haaretz" -- Barack Obama has been busy - offering the
Jewish People blessings for Rosh Hashanah, and recording a flattering video
for the President's Conference in Jerusalem and another for Yitzhak Rabin's
memorial rally. Only Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah surpasses him in terms of sheer
output of recorded remarks.
In all the videos, Obama heaps sticky-sweet praise on Israel, even though he
has spent nearly a year fruitlessly lobbying for Israel to be so kind as to
do something, anything - even just a temporary freeze on settlement
building - to advance the peace process.
The president's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, has also been busy,
shuttling between a funeral (for IDF soldier Asaf Ramon, the son of Israel's
first astronaut Ilan Ramon) and a memorial (for Rabin, though it was
postponed until next week due to rain), in order to find favor with
Israelis. Polls have shown that Obama is increasingly unpopular here, with
an approval rating of only 6 to 10 percent.
He decided to address Israelis by video, but a persuasive speech won't
persuade anyone to end the occupation. He simply should have told the
Israeli people the truth. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived
here last night, will certainly express similar sentiments: "commitment to
Israel's security," "strategic alliance," "the need for peace," and so on .
Before no other country on the planet does the United States kneel and plead
like this. In other trouble spots, America takes a different tone. It bombs
in Afghanistan, invades Iraq and threatens sanctions against Iran and North
Korea. Did anyone in Washington consider begging Saddam Hussein to withdraw
from occupied territory in Kuwait?
But Israel the occupier, the stubborn contrarian that continues to mock
America and the world by building settlements and abusing the Palestinians,
receives different treatment. Another massage to the national ego in one
video, more embarrassing praise in another.
Now is the time to say to the United States: Enough flattery. If you don't
change the tone, nothing will change. As long as Israel feels the United
States is in its pocket, and that America's automatic veto will save it from
condemnations and sanctions, that it will receive massive aid
unconditionally, and that it can continue waging punitive, lethal campaigns
without a word from Washington, killing, destroying and imprisoning without
the world's policeman making a sound, it will continue in its ways.
Illegal acts like the occupation and settlement expansion, and offensives
that may have involved war crimes, as in Gaza, deserve a different approach.
If America and the world had issued condemnations after Operation Summer
Rains in 2006 - which left 400 Palestinians dead and severe infrastructure
damage in the first major operation in Gaza since the disengagement - then
Operation Cast Lead never would have been launched.
It is true that unlike all the world's other troublemakers, Israel is viewed
as a Western democracy, but Israel of 2009 is a country whose language is
force. Anwar Sadat may have been the last leader to win our hearts with
optimistic, hope-igniting speeches. If he were to visit Israel today, he
would be jeered off the stage. The Syrian president pleads for peace and
Israel callously dismisses him, the United States begs for a settlement free
ze and Israel turns up its nose. This is what happens when there are no
consequences for Israel's inaction.
When Clinton returns to Washington, she should advocate a sharp policy
change toward Israel. Israeli hearts can no longer be won with hope,
promises of a better future or sweet talk, for this is no longer Israel's
language. For something to change, Israel must understand that perpetuating
the status quo will exact a painful price.
Israel of 2009 is a spoiled country, arrogant and condescending, convinced
that it deserves everything and that it has the power to make a fool of
America and the world. The United States has engendered this situation,
which endangers the entire Mideast and Israel itself. That is why there
needs to be a turning point in the coming year - Washington needs to finally
say no to Israel and the occupation. An unambiguous, presidential no.
© Copyright 2009 Haaretz
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