Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Excellent report on the preaching of Rev. Tim Kutzmark, of the UUA church in Reading, Massachusetts by Dexter Van Zile at CAMERA: UUA Pastor Remembers the Holocaust, Ignores the Hate
...In particular, Rev. Kutzmark, who has preached on how Christian anti-Semitism laid the groundwork for the Holocaust in Europe, ignores altogether the role Muslim attitudes toward Jews play in fomenting violence against Israel. He portrays Israeli policies as a delayed and misplaced response to the Holocaust and not a response to the threats currently faced by the Israeli people. He also portrays Zionism as a racist and colonialist cause whose leaders are intent on perpetrating a genocide against the Palestinian people.
One hint of how far Rev. Kutzmark is willing to go to denigrate Israel is his decision to show his congregation Occupation 101, a dishonest, propagandistic film that distorts essential facts of history and depicts the Arab-Israeli conflict as solely the fault of Israel.
Additionally, the pastor has portrayed Palestinian leaders - who have routinely trafficked in anti-Semitic propaganda and have repeatedly called for Israel's destruction - as if they are the Middle East's answer to Martin Luther King, a man who engaged in non-violent protest to achieve civil rights for African Americans in the United States.
The overall effect of Rev. Kutzmark's narrative is to depict anti-Zionism, or hostility toward Jewish sovereignty and self-determination, as a legitimate and progressive cause in the U.S...
Perhaps the good Reverend is simply ignorant?
It is good that he recognizes the role of antisemitism in Europe.
However, there is also bigotry against minorities in the Middle East, some tribal, some gender-based and some religious, and that has resulted in the oppression and even the apparent or near elimination of many groups.
To compare the destruction of the Armenians or the Assyrians to the supposed situation of the Palestinian Arabs is really upsetting - hundreds of thousands of Armenians and Assyrians were murdered in a very short time - yet the Palestinian Arab population has risen dramatically - I fail to see any comparison frankly. And it is really outrageous to accuse the Israelis of even thinking about such an outcome.
It is interesting to me that so little is written of the several mass killings in the 20th century alone, of the oppression of Copts in Egypt, the Ba'hai in Iran, the long history of Armenia, the Assyrians and Kurds and Zoroastrians, the disappearance of pagans altogether, the lowly status of Jews and their not infrequent victimization.
And, what of the Berber and other people in Africa? Or the many victims of extremists, terrorists and oppressive governments?
If people want to discuss Israel intelligently they need to discuss Israel in the broader context of the entire region. Of course the role played by Middle Easterners before, during and after WWII is also highly significant even today.
The role of Britain, France, Germany and the oil industry pre-and-post WWI and WWII is also signicant as is the rise of extreme Islamist parties from North Africa to KSA to Iran.
Now of course they are major players right next door to Israel, in the PA and in Lebanon. It is notable that they've absorbed a great deal of European antisemitism such as the "Protocols" and Nazi imagery and ideas, on top of the traditional anti-Jewish sentiments already present.
Ignoring these ideological and religious issues as key to the conflict against Middle Eastern and Israeli Jews is simply unscholarly at the very least.
Also, "facts" such as the concept that Israel had a mighty military force in 1948 are absurd.
At the time the Israelis were widely considered to be toast, not least by the Arab armies. Anybody who's studied the history of Israel is aware of the fact that many newly arrived Holocaust survivors, not even Hebrew speakers let alone trained soldiers, were rushed into the lines - the story of the attempt to liberate the road to beseiged Jerusalem is one heartbreaking example. If people are interested in real history and not just Wiki and "narratives" might I suggest Karsch?
And, there is simply no way to compare the homemade weaponry and smuggled guns of the Israelis with the top of the line armaments possessed by the Arabs (most of which had been provided by the people who were simultaneously blockading the Yishuv and sending ships like Exodus 1947 back to Europe - firing on survivors in the process - guess who).
I wish apparently well-meaning folks, especially those in possession of a pulpit, would study a little more and pontificate a little less.
Maybe this kindly Reverend would care to respond?
And, there is simply no way to compare the homemade weaponry and smuggled guns of the Israelis with the top of the line armaments possessed by the Arabs
That sort of dis-proportionality was OK I guess.
Sophia,
Why do you assume well meaning when discussing these people/media et al?
Start out with maliciousness and get them to prove their well meaning or attempt at being fair and balanced instead of ameliorating an obviously nasty attack.