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Facts and Logic About
the Middle East
P.O. Box 590359
San Francisco, CA 94159
(415) 356-7801 |
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April
7, 2009
Bashir's genocide against African Muslims is permitted by Arabs because.
. . he's not Jewish?
Dear
Friend of FLAME:
Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir, wanted for genocide in Darfur by
the International Criminal Court, was greeted with kisses by his Arab
brethren last week in Qatar. Gosh, what a surprise that the Arabs
embraced this fellow Arab, despite his history of murdering hundreds
of thousands of African Muslim civilians.
Ah, but those were non-Arab Muslims. When Israel kills 950
Palestinians, more than 600 of whom were Hamas fighters, most of whom
were hiding among civilians---after notifying Gaza residents in advance
of bombing targets through leaflets and phone calls---Israel is condemned
by outraged outcries from nearly every Muslim nation. When genocidal
murderer Bashir kills hundreds of times more Muslims, he's feted by
those same nations.
Double standard? Uh, yeah. But what else is new? The most frustrating
element is not even the double standard, which we've come to expect,
but that so few media have called the Arabs out on their hypocrisy.
Martin Peretz of The New Republic is an exception, and his
article below expresses this unfairness forcefully.
One of the key elements of anti-Israel criticism that assumes the
proportion of anti-Semitism is just this double standard applied to
Israel. Please review this short, indignant piece by Peretz. It will
serve you well as you help people understand the difference between
criticism of Israel, which certainly can be justified, and double-standard
criticism, which cannot.
Best regards,
Jim Sinkinson
Director, FLAME
P.S.
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The scourge of rabid
anti-Israel rhetoric that veers into anti-Semitism is so serious
that I refer you to FLAME's position paper---"The
New Anti-Semitism: Who are its advocates? What are its goals?"---which
we have run again in national media. This hasbarah
effort has now clocked tens of millions of impressions in the
U.S., including runs in college newspapers and individual mailings
to all members of Congress. I think you'll find it useful in
discussing this provocative and critical topic with friends,
colleagues and co-congregants. Most of all, if you agree that
this kind of public relations effort on Israel's behalf is critical,
I urge you to support us. Remember: FLAME's powerful ability
to influence public opinion comes from individuals like you,
one by one. I hope you'll consider giving a donation now, as
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just go to http://www.factsandlogic.org/make_a_donation.html.
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Why
the Murder of African Muslims Doesn't Matter to the Arabs
By Marty Peretz, March 30, 2009, The New Republic
The Arab states continue to be apoplectic over the Gaza war, at least
apoplectic in public. This is true even though some of the most significant
of these states secretly cheered Israel on and certainly did nothing
to help their Hamas brethren fight or recover. Yes, I know they have
pledged, this country, this many zillions and that country, that many
zillions. Welcome to the world of the forked tongue as both routine
chat and high rhetoric.
The big royals and small, plus all of the colonels and petty politicians,
who run Arab Islam have gathered this week in Qatar, the second richest
per capita principality in the world, according to the CIA, the richest
according to the IMF. The Qatari sheikhs own al-Jazeera and they also
host a U.S. military base. Sometimes they tow the American line, more
recently they are on the radical side of the Arab street. There are
350,000 native citizens and, at least as of last year, 800,000 laboring
and foreign non-citizens, mostly from India. Maybe there are less
now, due to the depression in oil prices. But there is no change in
their status: they are without rights.
In any case, the big news event of the Qatar gathering was the arrival
of Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, who is a fugitive from
the International Criminal Court which has a warrant out for his arrest
on charges of genocide. Now, genocide is a serious accusation to have
made against a head of state, particularly one who is being welcomed
by an Arab summit that is so concerned about human rights. Well, no,
that is not quite accurate. The summiteers are not concerned about
human rights in their own countries or very much, for that matter,
in each others' countries. But do any of you doubt that Bashir is
guilty of genocide? Do any of you doubt that hundreds of thousands
(three, maybe four hundred thousand) of African Muslims have been
murdered by Arab Muslim hordes deployed by Khartoum to kill, rape
and pillage.
The Arabs are moved only by the plight of the Palestinians.
This is true. It is, in fact, a truism, so obvious that one should
be embarrassed even having to argue it. And why the plight of the
Palestinians? Because their condition can be blamed on Israel and--make
no mistake about it--on the Jews, the Jews the world over.
The New York Times, playing its inherited role as opponent
of Jewish peoplehood, has now brought some credibility to the accusations
of reckless killing against the Israeli military. My friend Ethan
Bronner published a piece in the Times detailing charges
made by a few soldiers against the commands of their officers. Actually,
they were not as shocking as Bronner insinuated. Alas, unintended
tragedies and often even intended tragedies happen in every war. And
they happen especially in wars where one side fights from within civilian
life, which is how Hamas fought in Gaza. A few days after Bronner's
initial dispatches he wrote another article reporting on the army's
inquiry into the initial charges. It read to me like Bronner actually
believed the army in its rebuttal. What convinced me was the presence
in the narrative of an old pal of mine, a deputy commander of the
reserve battalion that fought in Gaza, Bentsi Gruver. In fact, he
was not for the Gaza engagement. He was rather against it. You may
say that it was predictable that I'd believe him.
And I also believe that Israel, with America and England and Australia,
are probably the most ethically constrained militaries in the world.
Of one fact I am absolutely certain: the leaders of the Arab world
are welcoming a mass murderer into their midst. And, instead of turning
him over to authorities in the Hague, they are welcoming him because
he is an Arab who is killing black Africans.
Of course, the Arab world is in a mess. No one believes anyone else--and
for good reason. The Saudis are saying that they are giving Israel,
maybe, ten minutes to accept their peace proposal, which is to say
their ultimatum. Or else.
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