Comments for Max Blumenthal

Comment on Giulio Meotti: Serial Plagiarist or Common Hasbarist? (Updated) by Chayma

Chayma — Fri, 18 May 2012 22:45:01 +0000

After reading this, i’m reminded of something Ellen Horowitz wrote about Guilio Meotti when she commented on his anti missionary stance,

Max, if you havn’t already seen this, you may find it interesting, Ellen’s insight into his motivations appear to back up what you say. Though Ellen didn’t say he plagiarised, after reading the above, I think he must have just plagiarised Rabbi Soloveitchi

Journalist Giulio Meotti calls for rejection of Judeo-Christian blend

http://jewishisrael.ning.com/profiles/blogs/journalist-giulio-meotti-calls-for-rejection-of-judeo-christian-b

However, it’s likely he recently pulled the counter-missionary card and Rabbi Soloveitchik out of a hat in an attempt to quell the internal Jewish debate over evangelical support which threatens to erode a much larger “theo-political” agenda.

Muslim persecution of Christians, and the death of Christianity in the Middle East, appears to be a primary motivation behind Meotti’s love for Israel. His articles passionately lament the demise of Arab Christianity in the region:

“The cross is near extinction in the lands of its origin.”

“The Islamic tiger is now devouring the Christian lamb. Indeed, the Christian era in the Middle East is coming to an end.”

There is currently empathy for the plight of Christians and the future of Christianity emanating from Jewish Zionist circles and Meotti would like to maintain that momentum.

He feels the fate of Israel is “intertwined” with the fate of Christians in the Middle East. For Meotti, Israel represents the great white hope for a resurgence of Christianity in the region:

Comment on In a fear society, where some facts are crimes by FancyNancy

FancyNancy — Sun, 06 May 2012 12:12:13 +0000

“Limor Livnat, a right-wing Knesset member who co-sponsored the so-called Nakba Law and banned textbooks using the word during her term as Israel’s Education Minister, declared that merely allowing students to learn about the mass expulsion of Palestinians during 1947 and 1948 would encourage them to work against the Jewish state.”

No wonder the rise of Arab Holocaust denial is being reported. It appears to be a regional tactic of oppression and sectarian incitement.

It’s hard to battle an injustice you yourself is guilty of…

Comment on In a fear society, where some facts are crimes by AdamAW

AdamAW — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:49:32 +0000

I would just like to add that I am not questioning the value of educating people about the Nakba – only whether this was the most effective way of going about doing so.

Comment on The arms sale that inspired Grass’s “What Must Be Said” (and a footnote on Deir Yassin) by AdamAW

AdamAW — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:47:24 +0000

I really don’t know what the Hadassah Hospital massacre has to do with the poem by Gunter Grass ‘What Must be Said.’ Whilst the Hadassah Hospital massacre may have been a terrible thing, it something that now belongs in the past. For someone to be posting a totally irrelevant remark like this here looks to me to be symptomatic of a mind-set that believes that Israeli lives are more important than those of Arabs or Iranians.

The belief that Jews have a monopoly on victimhood seems to me to be one of the most dangerous ideas in the world today.

Comment on In a fear society, where some facts are crimes by AdamAW

AdamAW — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:03:15 +0000

I’m not sure if I would class them as ‘thought police.’ As you said: “there is some reason to believe the Zochrot activists could have been subjected to harsh violence if they had been allowed to proceed with their action.”

Whilst I don’t want to belittle the nobel sentiments and commitment of the Zochrot activists, it is a bit difficult to see what is acheived by this sort of thing. With regards to this issue in particular I sometimes think that people should follow the dictum “Choose your battles wisely.” Tactics that have worked well in another context won’t necessarily work well in this one. Is there any prospects whatsoever of converting people celebrating ‘Independence Day’ into champions of Palestinian Rights? I really doubt it – so perhaps another way forward is required.

Comment on The arms sale that inspired Grass’s “What Must Be Said” (and a footnote on Deir Yassin) by Joel

Joel — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:55:47 +0000

Lest we forget. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Hadassah Hospital massacre, where 65 doctors, nurses and medical staff were massacred by Arab forces.
No one can make the claim that these poor souls were armed or resisted.

Comment on The arms sale that inspired Grass’s “What Must Be Said” (and a footnote on Deir Yassin) by AdamAW

AdamAW — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:03:45 +0000

arouet: What Max actually said was “Like Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu before him, Grass stands to suffer serious damage to his legacy for daring to say what must be said” That is he was comparing Grass to Tutu and Carter with respect to the damage to their public image that they all (according to Max) endured through saying what needs to be said. No further comparison was being made.

I have no idea why you seek to cast doubt on Grass’s character. I am not interested in what he did not did not do in the past, but only in the views that he currently holds. Anyone with a sincere interest in peace and justice will simply be grateful to him for saying what needs to be said.

Comment on The arms sale that inspired Grass’s “What Must Be Said” (and a footnote on Deir Yassin) by arouet

arouet — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:50:48 +0000

I think comparing Günter Grass to Desmond Tutu or Jimmy Carter is just not justifiable, given that both Tutu and Carter commited many years for peace in the middle years, while Grass spended sixty years in self-pity before unveiling his Waffen SS membership until 2006 and he, as far as I know, never even took a stand on Israel until now.

Also, unlike Ratzinger, Grass was not forced to join the army. He admited that he voluntary applied to serve in the submarine force at the age of 15, because he felt constrained by his family, but wasn’t accepted until 1944.

(I don’t know if you speak German, but here is the interview with the details on Grass’ life)
http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buecher/guenter-grass-im-interview-warum-ich-nach-sechzig-jahren-mein-schweigen-breche-1357691.html

Comment on The arms sale that inspired Grass’s “What Must Be Said” (and a footnote on Deir Yassin) by AdamAW

AdamAW — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:30:41 +0000

I really don’t have a problem with Grass’s statement ‘warheads capable of ending all life.’ They certainly ARE capable of ending all life within their impact area. Anyone who does not feel a visceral sense of horror and dismay at the thought of the humanitarian consequences of an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is either totally indifferent and detached from the whole affair, or is a person who does not appreciate the value of Iranian lives. The criticisms of people who regard right-wing Israeli sensbilities as more important than Arab or Persian lives should not be taken too seriously.

Comment on The arms sale that inspired Grass’s “What Must Be Said” (and a footnote on Deir Yassin) by AdamAW

AdamAW — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:09:56 +0000

Grass is absolutely on the ball and if this poems helps draw us away from the direction of nuclear massacre it may well be his greatest legacy.