Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Lush: The Soap Opera ...

Remember my post about soap and cosmetics company Lush's contribution to the Israel-demonising cause, with its spruiking that OneWorld song? http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/06/its-lush-its-green-and-its-frothing.html

Well, the doughty and cerebral pro-Israel blogger Edgar Davidson wasted no time in complaining to the company about its stance: http://edgar1981.blogspot.com/2011/06/lush-pushing-death-to-israel-narrative.html

Promptly, a representative of the company responded, blaming "the wall" for the Palestinians' plight and observing, inter alia:
"History does not excuse such suffering. It will take both sides to come to a solution, but what is also clear is that this is not a conflict of two equal sides and thus the onus must be on the dominating force, Israel."
Again wasting no time,  Edgar Davidson has written back with a polite but firm dissection of the representative's reply.

Here's part of his response:
"Finally, I now see that the previous  lies about poverty have been replaced with  
 “life for most Palestinians living under the illegal Israeli occupation is at least as bad as that endured by black South Africans in the bad old days of apartheid.” 
This is even more incorrect and offensive than the original statement. The West Bank is officially “disputed territory” not “illegally occupied” and the “apartheid” analogy is bizarre in this context. It would be just as meaningful to say that poverty levels in Glasgow are at apartheid levels.
 Clearly the statement was intended to promote, indirectly, the false notion of Israel as an apartheid state.  There are certainly several apartheid states in the area but Israel is not one of them. The Apartheid states are all Arab: a total of 0 Jews live in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority areas, 0 Jews live in Jordan and Saudi Arabia (where in both countries it is illegal to be a citizen if you are a Jew) and less than a handful of Jews live in all of the other Arab countries combined. Less than 60 years ago those Arab countries had thriving communities of Jews totally some 1,000,000.  They have all been driven out. But, of course you never heard their narrative did you?"

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