Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Careful readers may note that I myself do not throw around the term anti-Semitism all that often here. Don't look so shocked, it's true if you think about it. I usually reserve it for overt displays of obvious insanity -- usually in my reposting of press and entertainment from other parts of the world, or in quoted material where I let the author make the point...but when it comes to more borderline "anti-Zionist" polemics and diatribes...I usually eschew the word itself and let the evidence and implications speak for themselves.
The reason is that the "anti-Semitism" word ends up as a distraction and risks a predictable tangent -- "not all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic," etc... You know how it goes. It's often "arguable," and you wind up in these debates over semantics when none of it is really necessary. Fortunately, a majority of Americans, at least, still recognize the distasteful strains and odor of you-know-what when they see it. There's no need to risk the distraction. Further, a lot of well-meaning folks are just parroting things they've heard that sound good on the surface, when they themselves don't have the grounding and experience to recognize the implications and the provenance of what they're repeating. Remember that the haters have become adept at couching their venom in the spoonfuls of sugar the language of the Left has provided them...peace, equality, anti-racism, tolerance...no self-determination for Jews...
With that introduction in pocket, I want to say something very clearly to you, and I want you to mark it well. The Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party (search -- note: I can't speak to other chapters) is the most openly anti-Semitic party operating in the American political mainstream today. I'm fudging on the word "mainstream" here a bit . The GRP is still very much a fringe group as far as the numbers go, but they do operate openly, and will, just barely (more on that in a bit), have four candidates on the state-wide ballot this November. Four years ago, the GRP candidate for Governor, Jill Stein, shared the stage in debate with the "legitimate" Democrat and Republican candidates. They have a voice, and it has been given the opportunity to be treated as though its priorities were similar to those of the American political mainstream. It isn't. I may be fudging on the "mainstream" label, but I'm certainly not fudging on the anti-Semitism part.
If the "anti-Zionism" of GRP were being espoused by a party perceived to be anywhere even slightly Right of Center, they'd be making headlines on that factor alone, and they would never have been invited to share the stage with legitimate candidates.
Let's be clear in brief, just for the record, because I do not think I need to spend much time on this point for readers here -- it is always acceptable to criticize Israeli actions and decisions, even harshly. But an obsessive interest in the Jewish State, the idea that it alone amongst all the states on the planet established with or centering around an ethnic character should be singled out for dismantling, that amongst all the nationalisms in this world, it is only Jewish nationalism (Zionism), Jewish self-determination, Jewish self-affirmation that is singularly evil and worthy of condemnation...THAT is anti-Semitism, and that is what the GRP preaches and practices daily.
Let's take a moment to review some of the things the officers of the GRP have been saying. Many of them we have met before. I'm going to run through a sampling here, and then include a more complete list of choice quotes at the end of the post.
First there's Secretary David Rolde. 
Readers will recognize his picture, as will anyone who's attended any sort of Israel or Jewish-oriented event over the past few years. He and his signs are a ubiquitous sight -- occasionally having to be escorted out by the police. Rolde is an unapologetic fan of "resistance":
Annie Butler, newly installed co-Chair of the party:
That as part of an exchange over an article comparing Israel in Lebanon to the Nazi atrocity in Lidice, Czechoslovakia...for Butler, the article doesn't go far enough.
Finally, there's Andover High School's own Ron Francis, who's exploits and statements we've covered many times here (click on his name). Here's a recent quote to chew on:
The zionists are very good at this, from AIPAC on down. Their strategy is to keep talking and talking and use a voice that is disproportionate to their numbers inside of anti-racist progressive organizations, in order to waste there time essentially and create a false impression of dissent when in fact the percentages of people against zionism in anti-racist organizations is overwhelming (of course).
Another strategy that the zionists use is to buy out elected officials. They are also very good at this - witness US congressional votes - no further comment needed !
A third strategy is to control the discourse in the media about zionism. They are also very good at this...
Francis is right about one thing. There isn't a lot of dissent in the party about "Palestine." These quotes from the party leadership are representative of the party as a whole, with very little dissent, including on the part of their four state-wide candidates. Those who disagree are mostly silent or have left.
Today, the GRP had a get-together at the State House to congratulate themselves for having managed to collect enough signatures to get their four candidates on the state-wide ballot (they needed 10,000). But did they? You'll remember they were having quite a bit of trouble getting enough signatures.
Here's an exchange from their listserve discussing techniques in getting signatures:
Careful about what you add to signature lists!!!! You will make the name invalid UNLESS the actual signer prints his or her own name...
That said, I would strongly discourage further communications on-list regarding this matter. The folks we hit up for signatures should print their very own names, or we will assume unnecessary risk.
Risk assumed. /me waves. Hi guys! I can't imagine that the GRP came away with all that many extra signatures. A bunch of disqualified signatures because someone admitted on their open listserve that they did a no-no and got their candidates bumped...why that would be a shame, a real shame.
Now, it seems to me that the only reason the state might not care that much about the GRP and their signature drive is that they aren't deemed important enough to bother with, and I'd agree. Heck, I'd ordinarily be happy to have small-party alternatives (especially as a Republican supporter...GRP votes are far more likely to siphon off Democrat votes, but some things are more important [Update: More on this issue, Did Healey Help Green Party Collect Signatures?.]) on the ballot -- makes things interesting. But, given what I've noted here about the GRP, I see no reason to be neutral. Hopefully the state will be taking a very close look at the GRP signatures.
By the way, I'm told that there were about a dozen GRP folk at their little celebration today, and about half that number in counter-protesters, complete with press coverage. I'm also told David Rolde couldn't resist waving his Palestinian flag and flashing his "Divest from Israel, Not Sudan" sign. I can't wait to see the pictures. That all should go over real well with the Massachusetts voter.
As an appendix to this post, I'm including a collection of links to posts of interest on the GRP mailing lists in the extended entry. This collection may [will certainly] be updated in the future.
Ron Francis (GRP co-Chair):
"...Our statement will generate resistance in a society that is inculcated with zionist thought..."
"...all human deaths as a result of zionism are unfortunate..."
"I agree Bill, ....and did not mean to take out support for resistance [from the statement]..."
[9/16/06]: "...Acknowledgement of the zionist project called "Israel" is accepting zionism..."
Annie Butler (GRP co-Chair):
"...this article assumes that israel has a right to exist. our party does not..."
"...hezbollah is not a gang, those fighting are an army of resistence..."
David Rolde (Party Secretary):
"...The violence is entirely the fault of the Zionist entity. We cannot place any blame on people for defending themselves from brutal racist colonial expansionist occupation..." (also goes on to explain why Israel should always be written only within quotation marks)
James O'Keefe (Candidate for State Treasurer):
[Putting Israel in quotation marks]: "..."Israel's" action is patently wrong, and its excuses of "they attacked first" are complete crap considering the deaths the "Israeli" military caused preceding to the taking of their two soldiers..."
Update 9/16/06: As of this date, Francis, Butler and Rolde are still active in the party, but no longer hold the positions named above.
Update 9/23/06:
Colby Peterson (Communications Director):
Owen Broadhurst (GRP Candidate for State Rep):
"...Israel is a classic apartheid state..."
[This post will be updated.]
1) My favorite was the letter to the editor during the last gubernatorial election; "Jill Stein, a Lexington physician, is the only candidate familiar with the situation of the poor."
2) The signature stuff sounds like technical problems with real signatures, not fraud. Or am I missing something?
3) I share your general sense about "anti-Semitism" but don't understand why you've picked this target to move away from it. These guys seem like the usual creepy, nihilistic Third World-ists. They're vile, and yeah, you and I both know they're anti-Semites, but what's special about them?
Jill Stein sounds pretty Jewish though?
Jill Stein sounds pretty Jewish though?
(Sorry, was at Canobie Lake Park all day, just got back)
Re: #2) No, that sounds about right. A technical screw-up as far as can be seen, nevertheless, wrong and they know it's wrong, and hopefully someone's taking out the magnifying glass and counting carefully.
#3) Why do I keep talking about the GRP? I agree, they're fringe wackos not generally worth the time of day. It's like dredging up crap from Indymedia or Counterpunch or places like that...there's lots of material there, but what does it really matter? They're just not worth it.
I keep meaning to move to other things...but these guys are a bit different. First, they make themselves impossible to ignore. They show up to event after event, not just to stand off to the side and hold their silly signs and have their free speech, but to be as agressive and annoying and disruptive as possible -- at family events...I even seem to recall a few of them showing up to a Holocaust Memorial event a couple years back. It's a disgrace. And Francis infecting kids with his hate, while affluent Andover pays his salary and exports his effluence to working-class Somerville...it ought to be an issue of national attention.
Further, blogging is nothing if not pointing out the elephant in the room that the MSM would rather ignore, and the GRP's anti-Semitism is the elephant in the room. If GRP were a right of center party, Grace Ross (this year's Gubernatorial candidate) wouldn't be able to attend a debate or an event without question after question and editorials in the Boston Globe on this. Instead...don't hold your breath for an expose. Allowing the GRP to appear as though they're all about clean drinking water and worker's rights whitewashes who they really are, and allows this stuff to work its way into the mainstream of acceptable political discourse. It's a poison that needs sunlight. It really gets my goat.
I certainly don't intend to follow the day to day of the GRP...feh...but an occasional post when something "newsworthy" happens, and an opportunity to get these things on the record, that I'll take.
Hopefully, Grace Ross et al, will have some serious questions to answer this time through, and the MSM will let Mass voters know that ticking off the Green candidate you know nothing about is NOT an acceptable protest vote.
Yes, Mike. They have lots of people with Jewish names on board. We're both familiar with the phenomenon (or pathology) of Jews (practicing, and Jew in name only) and the far-left...but don't worry, their favorite Jews are the Naturei Karta.
Someone once said there's no such thing as a self-hating Jew, there are only anti-Semites. I think that's about right.
The GRP of Massachusetts reflects national party policy which is against Israel and for radical islam and all it stands for: oppression and murder of women; absence of civil liberties and personal freedoms; hatred of nonmuslims; preaching of violence. All these violate the US GP Ten Key Values but GP members do not care. The party's resolution 190 against Israel was prepared by Mohammed Abed of the Wisconsin GP; he is an organizer for Al Awda; in effect they wrote USGP policy on Israel. They and the extreme stalinist left are now in control of most of the party. I have been trying to months to get this resolution rescinded but even though many party members dislike the resolution, they are too afraid to open their mouths. Criticizing any aspect of Islam is now impossible in the liberal media and the progressive community. Thus, fighting against islamist violence and oppression has now been left by default to the neo cons. Those who like me dare to defy the stalinits are called racists, Zionist agents, government provocateurs, right wingers, etc. Dissent in the USGP has been definitively squashed. The public needs to know what this party stands for and it isnt the environment or peace as many believe.It has betrayed its origins and the trust of its members and the public. It needs to be exposed.
The GRP of Massachusetts reflects national party policy which is against Israel and for radical islam and all it stands for: oppression and murder of women; absence of civil liberties and personal freedoms; hatred of nonmuslims; preaching of violence. All these violate the US GP Ten Key Values but GP members do not care. The party's resolution 190 against Israel was prepared by Mohammed Abed of the Wisconsin GP; he is an organizer for Al Awda; in effect they wrote USGP policy on Israel. They and the extreme stalinist left are now in control of most of the party. I have been trying to months to get this resolution rescinded but even though many party members dislike the resolution, they are too afraid to open their mouths. Criticizing any aspect of Islam is now impossible in the liberal media and the progressive community. Thus, fighting against islamist violence and oppression has now been left by default to the neo cons. Those who like me dare to defy the stalinits are called racists, Zionist agents, government provocateurs, right wingers, etc. Dissent in the USGP has been definitively squashed. The public needs to know what this party stands for and it isnt the environment or peace as many believe.It has betrayed its origins and the trust of its members and the public. It needs to be exposed.
Secretary of State Galvin's Candidate's Guide to the 2006 Election does not give any clear guidance about whether it is allowable to print the name of the voter next to her signature.
In practice, it would be difficult to determine whether a printed name was written by a different person from the adjoining signature. Even a different pen color would not be definitive.
Anyone who wants to challenge signatures has only until tomorrow to do so.
The reason to shine a light on this group is because un-challenged anti-Semitism often grows. Ron Francis was trying to keep his political activities very quiet in Andover (where he teaches children), but he now knows that the town is watching him very closely to see if he will continue preaching his hate...
Eric Danis
Quotes from Grace, the candidate for governor (quotes are from email conversations I had with her). I think the general writing style and typos say even more than the hateful words (although her distortion of history and obvious bias against Jews is pretty galling):
1)“some folks consider self-defense violence, some arug eit maybe violent in some cases but it is a lesser form of violence. So we are imperfect and as US citizens whose government helped set up the power imbalance in Palestine - well I think it is more than fair to ask if we have a right to judge the woman for killing her rapist.â€
2)“I think you mihgt check though - Arab are semitic - so I do think the term you want is anti-Jewish.â€
3)“My overall attitudes were formed through my father's incredble moral insight and his and my grandfather's commitment to affirmative action with Jewish folks - from during Nazi Germany to the incredible anti-Jewish policies and discrimination around that time in the US. And I grew up in NYC and have tons of Jewish friends who agree that Israel's behavior in Palestine is unbelievably reprehensible, and many policies have been directly destructive and at times I suppose could be described as genocidal of the Palestines still there-“
4)“Jews escaping Nazism first tried to go to Britain and the US - they were overwhlemingly sent away (the border guards and government not caring if they wree slaughtered. Here was the first transgression against Jews who were escaping - and it was done at the hand sof white Christians overwhlemingly.
Where were folks sent? To israel - they were told it was a mostly empty land. and the mostly European troops cleared Palestinians out of their homes and moved them (thousands upon thousands) into refugee cmaps where many still live - they know what house their family was expelled from, on what street in what neighborhood. and many arriving Jews were never told - they were shown to a house and told there had been a great plague and these houses were empty.
and that was a lie and a set up - to set Jew against Palestinian and Palestinian against Jew -
so much of Israel was forceably cleared for Jews escaping persecution - but not just formthe Nazism but from others in free Europe and in the US.â€
5)"Beware - the Palestinians did not create this situation, perhaps your anger should be focused somewhere else?"
I am more than happy to forward the emails to anyone interested…
Wow, those are wild, particularly #4. Thanks.
And yes, please forward them to me. If this stuff is going to be posted here I'd like to see the source.
Sol,
I was also shocked that a candidate for governor would ignore more than a hundred years of Zionism and would make factually incorrect statements such as, "and the mostly European troops cleared Palestinians out of their homes and moved them (thousands upon thousands) into refugee cmaps where many still live ."
It's hard to believe anyone could be so ignorant and hateful, but I have forwarded all the emails to you for verification.
Impressive spelling and writing style, eh? Ladies and Gentleman, your future governor!...
Eric
I came across this web site quite by accident. I traveled to Israel this summer for a first hand look at the situation and was fortunate enough to talk with many different Israeli citizens, from all walks of life.But that's a subject for a different forum.
You are quite correct in pointing out the policies of Green_Rainbow, which more or less appear to call for or support armed struggle by (whomever) against the Israelis.
I left the Greens in protest over this policy but also in view of what I saw as the failed policies of the Rainbow contingent for decades.Despite trying to organize people of color for a long time, their record is pretty abysmal.
Among broad sections of the liberal intelligentsia, there is, of course, widespread criticism of Israel and I would argue that much of this criticism flatly ignores the history of the region.It is trendy to hate Israel, despite millions of deaths in Africa and sanitation crises in much of the developing world affecting billions.
When all is said and done and after consideration of some minimum facts, to me some of the criticism is just anti-Jewish. Christians learn this at an early stage and they just may not be able to get over it. The large number of Jews who are fierce critics of Israel? No answer.
Green Rainbow is a rehash of many of the failed ideas of the New Left ,almost 40 years ago. Been there, done that,no thank you.
Shalom