The first is the longer of the two. It's full of 3+ syllable words, and perhaps will require more than one reading. (It reads more naturally in its original context.)
This is Melanie Phillips' reference to
the foaming fury amongst the Israel-bashers, whose edifice of lies is maintained by casting critics who dare to call this by its proper name as a supremely manipulative lobby merely peddling their own paranoid propaganda -- and whose nefarious power is supposedly proved in turn by their very protests.
In other words, it's a reference to the well-practiced technique, utilized by Israel's opponents, of trying to stifle debate by accusing others of stifling debate.
The process is all too common: It begins with a statement or column or book that lies about or unfairly demonizes or delegitimizes Israel. People express that this statement lies about Israel (or perhaps that the book demonizes... or whatever other combination of the above you'd prefer). Inevitably, Israel's most dogmatic critics scream out against the lobby that tries to squash criticism. How dare they try to squash criticism!? How dare they speak out?! How dare they speak??
Oh wait... who's trying to muzzle whom?
Statement number two is shorter. There are no 3 syllable words. It's more funny than it is piercing. But then, maybe it's equally piercing. Tia, a reader from the West Coast (Jewish Voice for Peace's home turf) brings to my attention this pithy statement, used to describe JVPers:
Proud to be ashamed to be Jewish.
Perfect. Just perfect.
Have you seen JVP's latest plea for money?
ReplyDeleteCan you believe their logic (or lack thereof?)
Its classic "blaming the victims".
(According to JVP, if we just gave up, if we stopped fighting and accepted our fate, like good little shetl Jews, then all would be good and right with the world)
ARGH!!!!!!!!
JVP's post follows:
I write to you as a Jewish woman who is both American and Israeli. I have lived in Israel for over 50 years, and I can tell you that I have had enough of wars and insecurity.
America keeps on sending us billions of dollars in weapons every year. And yet, Israel has become the least safe country for Jews to live in (except for war zones such as Afghanistan, where no one is safe).
Nowhere else in the world since WWII have we Jews lived through 12 wars/battles/campaigns--all in less that 61 years.
Nowhere else in the world since WWII have so many Jews been killed in violence--over 23,000 since Israel came into being.
Nowhere else in the world have so many Jews been injured.
And yet, we have no security. 61 years of the use of force have not brought us Israelis one iota of security.
I'd like to remind JVP, of the 20,0000 + we've lost fighting for our lives in Israel over the last 60 years, it is still less than one DAY's slaughter at Auschweitz