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)
Showing posts with label Neil Young. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Neil Young. Show all posts

Friday, 14 February 2014

Far Left Israel-Hater Mads Gilbert Joins BDSers Pressuring Neil Young

Gilbert and Tonge: Richard Millett photo
Remember far left hatchet-faced Norwegian Mads Gilbert doing a far-left far-from-fair and reputedly decidedly dodgy  hatchet job on Israel during Operation Cast Lead in 2009?

He has form on the issue of Israel and the Middle East, has Mads (see here for starters and also here) and as blogger Richard Millett, who went along to witness Mads and Jenny Tonge vent their spleen at a meeting at Westminster in 2012 (photo at left), noted:

'Gilbert had called for an academic boycott of Israel and during the Q&A I asked him how he could propose such an obviously racist policy and whether he used any Israeli products himself.
He said that the accusation that he was “a racist” was “absolutely preposterous” (I didn’t call him “a racist”) and said that he used computers without Intel chips. He then accused me of “smiling and laughing arrogantly” while Manal was speaking. I was smiling, but only at Manal’s suggestion that Jonathan go to the West Bank with her to drink tea “like a Palestinian”.
Gilbert further rejected accusations of anti-Semitism, eventhough none were made, with:
 “If you want to look for anti-Semitism don’t look among us because we are profoundly anti-racist”.
He’s even friends with a Canadian Jew!'
 See more, including a video, here)

Mads Gilbert's now stepped into the Israel-demonising limelight yet again in order to lend his ten kroner worth to the BDSers' current campaign to cajole US-based "Crazy Horse" singer Neil Young to cancel his scheduled appearance in Israel in July.

Mads Gilbert has issued an Open Letter to the singer here

Before he yields to Mads Gilbert's pressure, Canadian-born Mr Young should take heed of what Honest Reporting Canada wrote about Mads back in 2010:
'Mr. Gilbert is often portrayed as the epitome of courage under fire, but in reality, this “doctor” is more of a self-described partisan political activist than a medical practitioner. Instead of appropriately framing this interview for its readers by properly acknowledging Gilbert’s limited credentials and troubling background, the McGill Daily instead treated him as an innocent, objective, and credible medical professional.
“Mad” Mads is in reality a radical anti-Israel political activist and member of the Norwegian Maoist ‘Red’ party. Gilbert is viscerally hostile towards Israel. He’s an extremist Marxist propagandist who outrageously accused Israel of using Gaza as a “test laboratory for new (Israeli) weapons.” He even went as far to compare Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, which although not stated in this interview, was an effort to thwart the thousands of deadly rockets fired at Israel for the past eight years, to the 1982 massacre in the Palestinian refugee camps that was committed by Christian Phalangists.
Gilbert’s partisan political agenda and hatred for the U.S. and Israel is best understood though his own statements where he supported the September 11 terror attacks. Shortly after 9/11, Gilbert was interviewed by the Norwegian daily newspaper Dagbladet where he stated the following: “The attack on New York was not surprising, after the policy that has led the West in recent decades. I am upset over the terrorist attack, but am equally upset over the suffering which the United States has created. It is in this context that the 5000 dead people must be seen. If the U.S. government has a legitimate right to bomb and kill civilians in Iraq, then there is also a moral right to attack the United States with the weapons they had to create. Dead civilians are the same whether they are Americans, Palestinians or Iraqis.”
Gilbert was then asked by the Dagbladet reporter if he had supported the 9/11 terror attacks and he replied: “Terror is a bad weapon, but the answer is yes, within the context I have mentioned.” ....' [Emphasis added]
See the entire article here

More regarding Mads Gilbert here

Monday, 20 January 2014

Canada's Prime Minister Arrives in Israel, & Israel-haters Target Canadian Musician Neil Young

 As we see in this footage, Canada's staunchly pro-Israel prime minister Stephen Harper has arrived in Israel to a deservedly warm welcome (a "rock-star welcome" as one Canadian newspaper described it):



Coincidentally, the announcement that Canadian-born, US-based singer-songwriter Neil Young of Crazy Horse fame is to perform in Tel Aviv in July has led to the BDS fanatics springing into action, with their usual invective against Israel that takes absolutely no account of Arab rejectionism and terrror tactics against Israel in perpetrating and perpetuating the conflict, nor of Israel's legitimate security requirements.

Thus, in support of the alleged "indigenous" people of Palestine, an Open Letter (complete with footnotes from Israel-demonising sources) has been addressed to the veteran musician; it reads in part:
"Many of your fans, including our organization DPAI [Don't Play Apartheid Israel], are concerned about the recent announcement that you plan to perform to a segregated audience in July 2014 in what is an apartheid state:  Israel. 
We sincerely ask that you reconsider your commitment to promoter Shuki Weiss  who serves the interests of the state of Israel, providing select Israeli officials with VIP tickets to concerts he promotes. 
Israel truly stands apart on the world stage as an exclusivist, ethnocentric, settler-colonial state, with a powerful military and extensive political reach.  Backed unconditionally and delivered impunity by the USA, Canada and the EU, Israel continues with its slow, gradual genocide against the Palestinian people who are indigenous to the land.... 
People of conscience, including musicians, are feeling the substantial, persuasive moral weight to act urgently, ethically - and clearly, BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) is an effective, powerful means to end Israel’s impunity and make it accountable for its illegal actions.
At this time, we ask you to not cross the Palestinian picket line.  We sincerely hope that soon, you will perform in a state that offers total equality in citizenship to both Palestinians (refugees included) and Jews in Israel.  Sadly, that state does not exist, yet. 
....Israel was established in 1948, as an exclusively Jewish state, after over 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes and land. For over 65 years, the Israeli government has used both ‘legal’ and arbitrary force against the indigenous people who still remained in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and who now comprise almost half (5 million) of the population which Israel controls. Today, Palestinians are the largest and longest suffering group of refugees in the world. One in three refugees world wide is Palestinian, making up a 7.2 million refugee population worldwide....
The cultural boycott really stepped up after the assault on Gaza and then Israel’s attack on the Freedom Flotilla in 2010.  As the lead ship, the Mavi Marmara [owned by the Islamic charity IHH, which is alleged to have terrorist connections], was changing course and heading away from Israel at high speed, Israeli commandos killed nine volunteers at close-range, execution-style. [See the true facts here and in the video below the present paragraph] This murder took place in International waters.  Many highly respected musicians cancelled their concerts in Israel, or became outspoken in favor of the boycott. 
 Recently the American Studies Association (ASA) voted to join the academic boycott of apartheid Israel, a move that the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA) followed up with a similar declaration of support for BDS, stating: “As the elected council of an international community of Indigenous and allied non-Indigenous scholars, students, and public intellectuals who have studied and resisted the colonization and domination of Indigenous lands via settler state structures throughout the world, we strongly protest the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and the legal structures of the Israeli state that systematically discriminate against Palestinians and other Indigenous peoples....
 
Mr. Young, please respect the boycott, and make it known you will not play in Israel while it is an apartheid state and an oppressed people have called for solidarity and for artists not to cross their picket line.
Respectfully,
DPAI
We are a group, of over 1400 members, representing many nations around the globe, who believe that it is essential for musicians &other artists to heed the call of the PACBI [see here], and join in the boycott of Israel. This is essential in order to work towards justice for the Palestinian people under occupation, and also in refugee camps and in the diaspora throughout the world."