It's pretty rare I disagree with Naomi Klein. However, there are two sides to this story. Israel is slow to negotiate, but Hamas utterly refuses. It seems Hamas hoped Israel would react the way they did. By now they know how Israel is going to respond to rockets, and people act less rational when spending time in bomb shelters. Above all, Israel is very different from South Africa. The blacks didn't do anything to bring on apartheid. However, one Palestinian group or another has broken truces as often as Israel has. Non-combatant Israelis have been targets of attacks. South African whites stood to lose power, but South Africa wouldn't cease to exist. Israel fears it will cease to exist, so it will hold out longer than boycott advocates expect. I don't suggest boycotting Palestinians either because life already sucks for them. Now that we have a change in our own government, and Israel won't be getting terrible advice and approval of stupid moves from the next president, it's time to try to be a friend to both sides, and tell them the truth, that the other side is as tough as you are. They can keep making your life miserable. The other one is never going away, and will never listen to your case while they feel you might bomb them at any time. Negotiation is inevitable since inevitably you must face reality, so might as well start now. No preconditions.

Naomi Klein is great on everything but this topic, in which she's dead wrong. As long as Hamas exists, there will be no peace. Israelis would make peace with Palestininas tomorrow if there were no Hamas. Neither party wants war, both want to co-exist and respect / recognize each other's right to exist. That's why Hamas and Hezbollah must be exterminated in their entire.

Hootowl I take your point. In addition to "The Diary of Anne Frank" I will request the Rachel Corrie and "The USS Liberty" be offered also to our students. It is most difficult to not be hateful when one sees the slaughter in Gaza and then be insulted and cowed by our own representatives!!
Very hard indeed. My hatred is hard to contain. TY anyway.

I dont know what the fight is all about. Read below and lets all bow down to the almighty Israel:

According to the Torah, Israel's character as the chosen people is unconditional as it says in Deuteronomy 14:2, "For you are a holy people to YHWH your God, and God has chosen you to be his treasured people from all the nations that are on the face of the earth."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_as_a_chosen_people

There is no hope for the USA government to act in a moral capacity; witness the recent unanimous vote in support of the Paletinian Holocaust. The USA is still in denial in regards to the Native American genocide.Couple this with a general lack of remorse for the millions killed by the USA in Phillipines, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa,Iraqi and Afghanistan and you have a truely cruel, greedy , heartless nation. The USA politicians ignore all the Palestinian/zionist history and just endlessly repeat "Rockets" "Rockets" "Rockets". Yes those rockets that killed exactly one israeli between the time israel violated the latest ceasefire by murdering six Palestinians and this massive bombardment.Hamas is the duely elected government of Palestine and has made hurclean efforts at peace( not retaliating for one year to a couple dozen assassinations and kidnappings of Hamas's elected ministers) The USA is in a state of well deserved collapse. And israel is the USA's Frankenstein; it would neither exist as state or be as powerful except for USA aid and influence. Hopefully it will collapse with it's sponsor. All empires collapse and considering the Senate vote the USA is way past due.

If a non-Jew had written this article CD wouldn't have published it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050902296.html
No myths, some facts

Who finances, educates, takes care, feeds and arms the people of Gaza since sixty years?
UNO, UNRWA, FAO, UNICEF, OPEC, EU, USA, Red Cross, former Soviet bloc, Islamic Conference, Arab League, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Lybia, Kuwait, ... and hundreds of NGOs.
Inhabitants of Gaza
1946: 100.000
1948: 250.000
2008: 1,5 million (due to Israeli suppression and starvation, or because it is a Ghetto or why?)
Fertility rate: 7.5
Women rights: Hamas
UNRWA: 28.000 employees, more than 20.000 of them Palestinians, more than 50% of these are members of Hamas

I find Canadians are nicer people than Americans.

NYCartist, to answer your question, if you're still reading this thread: No, I'm not Jewish, but since I frequent what one might call an intellectual/artistic milieu (when I can get out of the house, that is), many of my friends and colleagues are Jewish, as has been the case since University, and thus such questions as I address here have long been a subject of conversation among us. How many times we've wondered how different things could be if "the right Jews," who seem to be so many (i.e., Jews like them but with more power and influence), truly, profoundly represented that community, or at least had equal input into matters of politics and policy regarding Jews, and played an equal part in defining the Jewish identity today, to that of the warmongering Zionists and pro-Zionists. In no way did I mean to imply that Jews were somehow different from others and therefore had more of a responsibility to "lead" (and this is why I said "leaders or participants in human advancement"); I merely meant to say, as others have said before me, how unfortunate it is that the Jewish identity (especially in the public eye, as simplistically represented in the MSM), has been usurped, so to speak, by Zionist Israel, to which Jews are expected to pay homage as if to some false god. How different the Israeli ethos, with its militarism and lack of compassion for the other, is from the culture that produced, say, Einstein, Arendt, Kafka, Chagall, Jonas Salk, Hermann Broch, Leon Blum, Bruno Schulz, Osip Mandelstam, et al. And, say what one will about Israeli achievements, even today nearly all of the great Jewish cultural figures of world stature (regardless of their stance towards Israel) are not Israeli: Chomsky, Primo Levi, Yehudi Menuhin, Harold Pinter, Philip Roth, Wallerstein, our dear Naomi Klein, Tony Judt; and those Israelis who do rise to this level--witness Barenboim--are almost always severely critical of what has become of the Zionist project.
But, to put a further nuance of my point, and to illustrate that the onus lies on us all as Americans, and not just on Jews, I said the other day, in a post commenting on the US Congress's recent resolution overwhelming in support of Israel in their current buthery in Gaza, that the US itself is the problem, in a very real sense, with Israel being an extension of that problem, and nothing short of a complete overhaul of the predominant mindset of Americans--in re Israel but also in re their power relationships with the rest of the world--is going to change things much. I'm thinking in particular of what Chomsky, referring to the post-Vietnam era, called the need for something similar to the "de-Nazification" of the ruling elites of Germany, but in America, and I think the same is needed now, even more, in the wake of Bush gang's depredations. But given the current makeup of the Obama administration, this doesn't seem around the corner. Nothing short of a 'soft revolution', a non-violent but nonetheless profound upheaval in the very manner in which we perceive our roles in the world as individuals and co-nationals will ever bring us even close to realizing something of this nature. It may not even happen in our lifetimes. But it needs to happen, or we're all doomed.

From the responses of the international community this past week, and the entire immediate ineffectiveness of protests and boycotts, its seems to me the horror will draw out, perhaps for a month, until future generations will read about this moment in history as Holocaust II. It was a problem technology exacerbated, not solved.

Jewish Lobbies are a decisive factor in Washington's support for Israel and wield immense power and influence in the United States

In a November interview with the German daily Junge Welt, former state department official William R. Polk said Jewish lobbies have long had an 'active and determined' say in US politics

"That is a characteristic of American politics. It is unfortunate and disturbing, but it's just like that," Polk said.

It seems to me that the only way to bring Israel to it's senses is to bring America to it's knees.
By de-powering the US we will de-fund the IDF. Boycott and divest in the United States (of Israel) and sanction all of our Israeli controlled politicians (at the ballot box).

Humbaba's opinion
Occupied America

i have know some jews -- Israelis -- who said that there israeli jews of conscience who , refusing to serve in their army against the arabs and palestinians - would try to be "ineligible" by pretending to be "crazy"...they would have to undergo medical exams to find out of they are lying. the punishment for refusing is JAIL. some say it is one reason many Israelis have left israel as they couldn't bear doing what their conscience opposed: "to kill".

One hopes that the movement to divest ourselves of those entities which support the genocide by Zionist Jews of the mostly helpless Palestinians will grow into a chorus that will be continuous and effective. The Jew State has so far been able to, through a concerted effort by their helpers (sayanim) here in America, bribe or smear it's detractors into America. Our feeling, here at The American Peasant is that these ongoing efforts by foreign-controlled Jweish organizations are criminal...and, as I said "ongoing" Some might find language in the RICO Act applicable. Should thus be the case that an ongoing criminal conspiracy exists to thwart American election law, why then those entities might be fined right out of existence....think about it.

I believe a major campaign using all media - showing palestanian children praying to GOD asking God to send another Moses to Deliver them from the Jewish Pharohs.. would really convey the message.

Maybe Millions of Good and Decent Jewish People would understand the parity between their history and todays situation.

Saudis reject oil embargo on Israel

What American stations sell gas made from Saudi oil?

CD posters spread the word on this video around the world. I will be
renting a hall and publisizing in the local paper that this film, plus the story of Rachel Corrie and a tape I procurred on the USS Liberty will be shown free of cost twice daily on Successive Saturdays and Sundays after the super bowl. I will also take it to our local school boards (accompanied by about 20 people, plus a petition signed by 215 people) and ask them to allow students to voluntarily view it. We will ask that from now on "the Diary of Anne Frank" not be mandatory but only read as an elective.

Naomi Klein I love you! All poster must go to the following site: http:portail.islamboutique.fr/gaza2008/

Naomi klein is a voice of a person that speaks to JUSTICE and what is right over and above that all to common voice of the nationalist and tribalist that considers justice and what is right as a thing tied to ones skin color, religion or ethnicity.

Boycott Israeli products: http://www.boycottisraeligoods.org/modules11748.php

Two things:

One:

We need to make clear to the Israelis that we think the land of Israel is a wonderful dream made manifest. The Jewish homeland was re-created after World War 2 by a world both shocked and, for once, realistically guilty for millennia of horror visited on the Jews. This didn’t start with the Holocaust; the Holocaust was merely the logical extension of what had been going on for more than 2000 years. But the equally horrible mistake made then of ignoring the area's other inhabitants has been compounded by the Israelis' transgenerational PTSD. We need to make clear that we understand that, we forgive it, and we will stand by Israel and the Jewish people and not let that or anything like it happen to them, ever again. The only way to do that convincingly is by not letting it happen to anyone else, either--including First Americans, Islamic and Arab people, gay and lesbian people and other minorities everywhere. Ironically, it is largely by peacefully and non-punitively preventing Israel from further abusing the Palestinians that we will finally convince Israelis that Israelis are safe.

We need to draw up a resolution stating our love for Israel, Israelis, and Jews everywhere, and let them know that although we will no longer trade with Israel as long as they abuse Palestinians, we will offer them any forum for discussion that they want, and any assistance we can agree on to make the transition, especially to poor people hurt by the boycott (although a socialist state like Israel probably won’t need that). We must also offer gratis any personal or systemic therapy they need to recover from their affliction and be able to feel safe without violence, without projecting onto and projectively identifying the Palestinians and other Arabs into violence against Israel.

We must get individuals, governments, business, religious and other institutions participating in the boycott to sign this resolution, which will further say that as soon as the Palestinians are treated well and fairly we will welcome Israel back into the fold, as we did South Africa.

Two:

We need a website, an organization, a clearinghouse for information on brands, products, actions, and ideas. We need to communicate with each other in some forum designed just for that.

Naomi Klein, Ralph Schoenman and Mya Shone, Noam Chomsky, Glen Greewald, Norman G. Finkelstein, and Gilad Atzmon, are but a few of many Jews who show determined courage in the face of a very real political atmosphere in which the slightest criticism of egregious Israeli policy is swiftly followed by fallacious and highly intimidating charges of anti-Semitism.

The systematically cruel and devastating occupation of the Palestinian people has served only to galvanize support by the average peace-yearning Palestinians for more desperate means of surviving this genocide by installment...which in turn serves to compromise (to whatever degree that it might) the security of Israel.

I am joining the rest of the courageous and conscious world in speaking out and taking action against the horrific injustices committed by Israel, not the least of which is the continuing brutal occupation of the Palestinian and Lebanese people.

No justice, no peace. The future is in the Israeli's hands as the Palestinians are in truth, powerless against the Israeli military juggernaut. Israel's citizens must choose to finally make a stance against the devastating occupation and attrocities carried out by their leadership in their name.

Naomi Klein is just amazing !

Great article, she's just such an inspiration.

But Jews who disagree with Israel have to lead the way. It is up to them to start it. Israel has been benefiting from less condemnation and consequences by the world community for aggressions only and exclusively BECAUSE they are Jews, so it is up to the Jews to distance themselves from this cynical abuse of Jewish history for military and aggressive purposes.

If such a movement weren't spearheaded by Jews, I can see the danger that a "Boycott Israel" movement could easily turn into a "Boycott Jews" movement, and we've been there in Europe, thank you very much, so we gentiles have to avoid anything that resembles Nazi tactics and slogans.

Not because the right wing in Israel would immediately publicly draw the parallel, they'd do that anyway every time you criticize them, but because it is a matter of simple ethics.

In Europe, already the extreme right everywhere is happily chiming in when progressives are criticising Israel, so we have to be careful about eerie bedfellows who have a completely different agenda and who actually often are antisemites.

If America had a more diverse political landscape with more parties in Congress which would represent the entire political spectre in the US, the same would be the case, BTW. I am sure that the KKK is also highly critical right now...

So I am hoping for the combined efforts of Jews around the world to lead the way.

Don't forget to boycott Starbucks in this case. Their founder donates millions to Israel, as I understand.

But I could be wrong !

Well said and to the point. Thems are the marching orders folks, let's get to it.

Sophie Scholl-The Final Days

Ms Klein has shown the way. Let progressives everywhere join together in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people by contacting the president of European Commission letting him know we favor the commission, which has authority to do it, to approve action to provide for European Union sanctions against Israel, and call for the Council of Europe, which must be in on the process to back same referring over to the European Parliament to be passed as legislation.

The contact information is listed below for the president of the European Commission:

Jose Manuel Barroso
President of European Commission
phone number-- 322/2991111
fax number-- 322/2991111

Act locally, contact globally for a better world globally. As Martin Luther King Jr once said we must "internationalize the struggle." Dr King was so right! "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

AD

"It's time. Long past time. The best strategy to end the increasingly bloody occupation is for Israel to become the target of the kind of global movement that put an end to apartheid in South Africa."

Waiting for business to orchestrate a boycott against Israel is like waiting for Godot.

I feel as if I could stand on top of the tallest mountain with the largest megaphone and scream in my loudest voice that the true power of the people now is economic, but I know I wouldn't be heard.

Screw it. OUR TRUE POWER IS ECONOMIC! STOP BUYING ISRAELI PRODUCTS AND THEY WILL GRIND TO A HALT! SAME IS TRUE FOR ANY CORPORATE ENTITY! STOP B-U-Y-I-N-G AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AND LIFE WILL CHANGE!

Carry on...

"All Nature's difference keeps all Nature's peace." Alexander Pope

I applaud this article. The only problem with it, as I can see, is that it will only be effective if the Jewish community in the United States, Canada and elsewhere take the lead. I don't think that's likely to happen.

Far too many diaspora Jews are complicit in this crime, and acquiescent in what is patently a pattern of gross violation of human rights.

The other thing that has to happen, and this will follow from above, is that the US government has to stop its unequivocal support for Israel. Either that, or the United States sinks further into decline, taking Israel with it, and they can both go down together.

I applaud this article. The only problem with it, as I can see, is that it will only be effective if the Jewish community in the United States, Canada and elsewhere take the lead. I don't think that's likely to happen.

Far too many diaspora Jews are complicit in this crime, and acquiescent in what is patently a pattern of gross violation of human rights.

The other thing that has to happen, and this will follow from above, is that the US government has to stop its unequivocal support for Israel. Either that, or the United States sinks further into decline, taking Israel with it, and they can both go down together.

Long overdue. And a good start. Thanks

Great article. It's time for the whole world to unite against Israel and its partner in war crimes, America.

These two greedy, elitist, imperialist, warmongering countries do not deserve a place in this world. They are a scourge!

www.dangerouscreation.com

I know, I love Naomi.

She's a goddess.

Right on, Naomi! And a very fine nuancing of her argument by Hoodeet. It is hard, sometimes, to remind Jews of their own need to distance themselves from the dysfunctional, hypermilitarized state that has long been trying to usurp their identity, and I think Hoodeet has laid out some very useful guidelines to attaining that end. It's in everyone's interest, especially Jews, to reassert the great humanistic traditions of modern Jewry, without which many of the major advances in science, thought, and human emancipation would never have occurred. Such should be the identity to which Jews all over the world aspire, that of leaders or participants in human advancement in all fields, not that of ruthless ethnic soldiers fighting weaker cousins for a mythical homeland based on the violent assertion of a dubious birthright.

naomi klein and her husband BOTH come from families of leftist activism. her own mother was VERY activist - and Klein herself says she actually resisted her mother's activism - and wanted to be the "conservative, normal, that dressed chic" girl...i saw this in an interview she gave from her home in toronto..which is very simply upholstered.

she's not only a genius, she has the heart of a human being.

"Yet many still can't go there. The reasons are complex, emotional and understandable. And they simply aren't good enough"

Ethical behavior is an outcome of ethical values and the ethical deficit exists generally in the USA, not specifically to the issue of Israel. The reasons many still cannot go to democratic socialist nirvana are NOT understandable, and can no longer be ignored. They have to be acknowledged and then properly disposed in the compost heap instead of put back in the cupboard. People can't face their own personal ethical deficits due to their embrace of the "success formula" of capitalism which requires people not to think to achieve an independent satisfaction, but to want, so that capitalism may create a mass DEPENDENCY that keeps the capitalist (class war) machine running. People who don't think but only consume cannot take civic responsibility such as demanding their government take a stand against apartheid. This is NOT understandable. This is EVIL on the part of the elites. Everyone has to shift all of their exchange/association away from all the elites, all the power centers, and toward their local communities, toward people they know and trust. This builds mass independence, self-determination, responsibility, worldwide peace and prosperity.

"It was this kind of cold business calculation that led many companies to pull out of South Africa two decades ago. And it's precisely the kind of calculation that is our most realistic hope of bringing justice, so long denied, to Palestine."

Here, Ms. Klein implies that "cold business calculations" should be more convincing than ethical concerns for people to choose the apartheid bandwagon. But this only illustrates the contradiction that deflates her argument. Why should a cold hearted capitalist be concerned with the plight of his fellow man? and so the only effective approach is a general approach - to raise the society's ethics in a general sense, to dump oligarchic capitalism and embrace democratic socialism, to dump the elites and join the people in defense against the elites' class war aggression.

It seems a small thing to boycott Israel as one lone consumer. But if you personally feel antipathy towards the policies of this murderous national entity, then do you own personal boycott. The "invisible hand" will take care of the rest of it. Actually, this is what Adam Smith was getting at with his notion of self-interest. Free individuals making personal choices spontaneously create a market, or anti-market, in this case.

How does one identify Israeli products? Check attached labels. If not labeled, check the numbers associated with the bar code. If the prefix is 729, it's Israel.

back in the 1970s, the left called for a boycott of Suoth Africa, but not Cuba. In the case of Cuba, they said that Boycotts don't work. The right called for a boycott of Cuba, but not South Africa. In the case of South Africa, they said that Boycotts don't work.

Boycotts don't work. Besides, Israel is not alone. Hamas can share the blame. Also, why single out Israel. Other countries have their skeletons in closets. Hypocracy.

A boycott cannot be truly effective, as a friend astutely reminded me, unless all arms dealers, gangsters and small states AND the US (a prime market for Israeli military technology) are on board. True, massive commercial losses from such items as fruit, flowers, make-up, candy, chocolate bars, clothing, and especially tourism will make a dent. (As someone here pointed out, many commercial brands are disguised.)
But the real meat of Israel's economy is in the weapons and military technology industry and in the hiring out of military and security "consultants" and "advisors" (mercenaries and paramilitary trainers), as well as in tourism (mainly by Jews, who are for the most part knee-jerk supporters of "Eretz Israel right or wrong", and Christians, predominantly the masses of evangelical types). Both line items are big fat cash cows and it will be very hard, probably impossible, to wean much of the world from them.

Moreover, Israel has well-placed advocates in foreign governments, media and financial sectors around the world, who do not allow dissent and who play influential roles.
To head off my critics: I'm not blithely repeating the shibboleth about "Jewish-owned media", although the Aspers in Canada do a good job with their near-monopoly and many high-profile media personalities in the U.S. certainly keep a tight rein on criticism of Israel; nor am I echoing the Nazi paranoia about the "conspiracy of international Jewish bankers", although the likes of Mr. Madoff and Mr. Greenspan are pretty hefty pillars of the financial community and coincidentally do not appear to line up with progressive Jews against the excesses of the Jewish State.

I only wish to invite people to be realistic and practical.
Divestment, yes. And progressive Jews of the Diaspora need to move the debate into the synagogues and the Jewish charity organizations, front and centre, so these institutions are no longer automatically the channels they've been for pro-Israel propaganda and indoctrination. Progressive Jews now have to find the courage to challenge and confront their peers within congregations and associations, and not limit themselves to the safety of like-minded groups at demonstrations or on line. This is, I think, where the tough work needs to be done, because the politicians and the military establishment in Israel (one and the same, really) have always taken the Diaspora communities for granted, to keep on sending money (Israel bonds, etc.) and to keep on parroting the official line.

The Jewish nation has become a dysfunctional family, no different from the imperialist U.S. or the Catholic Church. We must confront the source of the dysfunctionality, which is the militarized state and the hubris and hypocrisy of its rulers and their enablers. At the same time we need to counter the shameless Holocaust industry and the exploitation of a very real anti-semitism, which is going to come back to bite all Jews in a big way as Israel's despicable actions continue to be identified with Jews worldwide. None of us want community centres, places of worship, or non-combatants (religious children in the streets of France or Argentina or India, Israel or Iran) to become targets of extremists, yet Israeli policies are increasing the vulnerability of those civilian sectors.

So it's up to us Jews to "clean house" and be leaders in setting Israel on a more righteous path.

To boycott Israeli products one has to know what they are. In a supermarket there may be one soup packet labeled BING and another labeled BONG; BING might be Israeli (or even a settler colony) but the packet only names the local distributor, or it might be BONG. There needs to be a web page where one can ask if a product is from Israel or not. This would do much to increase the communication that Klein describes.

Adapted from JFK's address to the nation on civil rights, June 11, 1963:

"We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the UN Deeclaration of Human Rights.

The heart of the question is whether all dwellers in Israel and Palestine are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether Israel is going to treat all the citizens and those who live in territories under its control as they would want to be treated.

If a Palestinian, because his faith language, or customs, are different, cannot come and go as they please, or use any facilities or institutionhs intended for the public, if his children cannot be properly fed or educated, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?

Sixty years of delay have passed since the establishmednt of the State of Isreal, Forty-one since they siezed territories that are not a part of their country, The UN did not create the nation of Israel in order to allow them to persecute the original dwellers in that land which they now occupy. Yet the Palestinian people not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And the nation of Israel, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens as well as those who live in territories under its control are free."

***************

We have faced these issues before--the question before us is whether we will have the courage to face them again.

Poet

Its the right action but Jewish groups are probably going to have to lead the way.

I really dont expect many celebrities to come forward to endorse it however. Too many high level zionist supporters in Entertainment business.

Its a difficult hill to climb due to the money and power involved, and the Holocaust Industry.

I think Israelis like comfort and leisure, and being invited to foreign universities,

and divestment would make them very uncomfortable.
But they could be stubborn for a long time before seeing the light.

Buying land in an arab country makes no sense.
If French were driven out by French canadian migrants, would it make sense to have them relocate to Spain or Belgium and make a country there?

make the European Jewish settlers in palestine give up the dream of an an artificially jewish majority and things will be better--but having a UN police to protect the palestinian arabs from Israel is a good idea. Palestinians have been in favor of it for a long time-but not Israel obviously.

The only way Israel and Palestine will stop fighting is if they are seperated by a policeable, defendable, no-person-land (PC?).

It is necessary for the UN, Israel & the US, Japan, etc. to purchase a tract of sand/land in one of the surrounding countries and turn it a state-of-the-art country with water desalination, solar power and light rail system to a number of the Arab countries and Jerusalem.

The "host" country that sells Palestine it's land would instantly become a major player in world politics.

All Palestinians would be resettled there, with homes, apartments, everything they need to survive in peace and moderate well-being. It would cost a fraction of what is being spent on terrorism and the military and cut off direct access to Israel by any die-hards. It would not have to be that large - perhaps the size of London or LA - a small country.

It is the only way, short of world war 3 that the situation will ever be solved.

Traveler

One of the most effective boycotts of apartheid South Africa was the sporting one. It succeeded, not just because South African teams could not play against other countries' teams (and South Africa are very very good at rugby union and cricket), but also because it hurt their pride. South Africans take their sport very seriously and the sporting boycott was taken seriously. And when SA was allowed back into the community of nations, and their rugby team was on the verge of winning the World Cup, the sight of President Mandela wearing a Springbok shirt and urging the team on was one of the great moments in sport.

Naomi Klein is right. The one thing more powerful than money is public opinion. And the strategy she is really advocating is not a bad one, not the boycott, that she rightly points out is just a tactic. But realistic reports and rational claims.

I think this is a very good idea. Klein didn't mention that such a divestment and boycotting tactic would be portrayed as "antisemitic" by much of Israel's diehard apologists. Of course this has nothing to do with antisemitism since many Israeli Jews and Jews from around the world support divestment and boycotting Israel.

From 1948 to 1962, the U.S had an arms embargo on Israel. It would be great if it could be reinstated, although that seems extremely unlikely at this point. Besides the boycott, we must do everything we can to neutralize and expose AIPAC for what it is first, and other Zionist-Likudnik lobbying groups.

We have friends in Israel in the Peacenow movement - http://www.peacenow.org.il/site/en/homepage.asp

Don't forget the courageous Orthodox Jews against Zionism - http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/

Give 'em, gal! You're right on the mark. What's not to love about a really decent woman and intellectual it hitting right on the mark? Stand your ground. The struggle continues-- thanks for the leadership.

AD

Naomi Klein I bought that book. You are a crdit to the human race. I feel the UK and independent states in the EU must be targeted to break ranks. God help us all for allowing complicity in this to terrible venture to persist. There has to be justice and criminals must be confronted, whatever the cost. Some country must break ranks.

I tie this to The Lisbon Treaty in Ireland being given a re-run. Let the elites Sarkozy and Merkle the Dutch, Belgians, the Czechs and Poles know that Lisbon is dead and the Irish people will not allow some EU foreign minister represent us in war crimes as EU solidarity persists.

Campaign in Ireland before the vote and ask at what cost would Irish people representing the European populations who have no say vote, follow this dreadful EU relationship with the rogue state's crimes. Unless and until The European Union severs all ties with Israel till it fully complies with International Law it dies with its ally forthwith. How dare the elites in European capitals disgard their citizens voices? Let them rot and stew with their Zionist masters. They will make Gazians of us all soon enough if they can. Waken up to the terror of the situation everybody who is human and free!!! What is democratic about what is happening in Gaza? Ask around the world with truth and information about realities. Nobody who is a human being could condone or support such barbarity. Those who do are either ignorant or liars and psychopaths, thieves and deluded lunatics, greedy, insatiable, selfish and cruel, mean and vile, lost and powerful usurers. We support them? Who are we?

Not me, my friends, my family or my Palestinian brothers and sisters. I will fight for them to-day and forever confronting such bullies and such terrorism. Break EU and USA first. Country by country. Divide and rule like they do. Go for their wallets, they are ours anyway. Good luck Naomi and God Bless. Thanks!

We just need Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr , Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Jackson Browne , U2, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Bonnie Raitt, and Joey Ramone to take a stand again.

Bet some of their mothers will be pretty disappointed.

On a more serious note Annie Lennox has been speaking up at protests in London.

The real trick is that the big money comes from the US taxpayers. Boycotting that will be about the same as saying I'm boycotting the Iraq war.

______________________________________

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it and then misapplying the wrong remedies. " Groucho Marx

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people."
H. L. Mencken

Of course you are right. This should have been done years ago. I only hope its not too late...

The Glue That Holds Chaos Together

All excellent points, but let's be more specific and suggest that we need to get non-stop video feeds from Gaza sent to the States and the rest of the world, through government enforced media coverage.