Press Action

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Larry Franklin: Just a Sideshow on the Road to Total War

By Kurt Nimmo

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Posted 09/01 |

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Thanks Kurt...I made this point on Pure Polemics earlier, and was attacked by some strange person who pops up on my site any time Israel is criticized. At least they aren’t threatening to bomb my apartment, like in Montreal…

One other factor, I would presume to take into consideration is that Hamas is a tad more strategic than this...this may not even be Hamas, and/or they have been fully infiltrated by “razzias”

This is not to say that I endorse Hamas...I have written for years on the futility of this type of action, and have lost a few friends and relatives to terrorism. But their pattern has usually been more strategic, as to when to when to re-start a pattern of suicide attacks. Perhaps the reason for the assassination of certain elements is that other elements are more strongly “razzia” oriented.

What can we do to build other networks of solidarity with Palestinians, within Palestine. I think that if my city was occupied, I sure as hell would probably be psychologically induced into backing a terrorist group, so it is no surprise that Palestinians back Hamas over Arafat the corrupt quisling. How can we make this point to Palestinians?

Posted by j cummings from on 09/01 at 01:49 PM

Veteran journalist, Jeff Blankfort commented on the Nimmo piece,

“I don’t buy this at all. While Israel gave its blessings almost 20 years ago as a counter to the secular PLO, it has been the latter’s blatant, unrelenting corruption that has led Palestinians to join Hamas. Nimmo doesn’t really understand the depths of hatred that Israel has engendered...People are capable of doing good or evil on their own.”

Well, there’s another view on the matter.

Posted by Rhino Rick from Tokyo, Japan on 09/02 at 03:17 AM

I have to correct you on one point. Ther have been three Jewish presidents in the 20th century. Two were Roosevelts(Roosenvelt as stated on the History Channel-descended from the Spanish Inquisition) and Eisenhower(check the 1917 West Point yearbook under his picture is self described “the terrible Jew") Who da thought. President Eisenhower in mortal standoff with Kruschev(real name Perlmutter who’s son is now retired in Conneticut) Good article. Keep it up

Posted by Robert Leach from on 09/02 at 09:57 AM

Mr. Leach…

Please cite sources as to your Father Coughlin-derived story regarding the Roosevelts, Eisenhower and Kruschev. I am assuming you believe waht you are saying, but please back it up...When was Roosevelt called “Roosenvelt” or some such on the History Channel?

BTW, to an extent, given his deism and friendship with deistic/reform Jews, one could say that Benjamin Franklin was the first Jewish president.

Posted by j cummings from on 09/02 at 02:35 PM

I can’t disagree with Jeff Blankfort. The PA is corrupt, mostly because it serves as a capo for the Likudites, as its agreement with Oslo demonstrates. I think, however, I have a pretty good handle on how the actions of Israel against the Palestinians has engendered hatred. Regardless, this does not negate the fact the Israelis have used Hamas, as the research of the UPI’s Richard Sale points out, as a tool against Palestinian nationalism, a deep fear on the part of the Likudites, more of a fear, obviously, than irrational Muslim fanaticism. I’m not sure what Blankfort is driving at exactly. But then I did not read the article the quote is apparently extracted from.

Posted by Kurt from on 09/02 at 04:18 PM

Obviously it would be better if Blankfort joined the discussion himself. As I understand it he is deluged with emails dealing with the Middle East issues as is. He brieftly commented to me about Kurt’s article after I forwarded it to a list of recipients.

Blankfort is writing a new article which disagree’s with Chomsky’s position on the ME, I believe. I hope he will solicit it to Press Action for Mark to post.

I always like your article’s Kurt-- provocative, well researched and informative. Great photography at your website as well…

Posted by Rhino Rick from Tokyo, Japan on 09/02 at 09:52 PM

Someone claiming to be Kurt Nimmo has been leaving threats on my answering machine on website - and I quote..(claiming to know where I live etc.)

Posted by kurt nimmo @ 09/03/2004 10:28 AM PDT
so whats new on chaplin?
I guess a tough-guy smart-ass “radical” like you wouldn’t mind some piggish company, hmmmm?

Posted by kurt nimmo @ 09/02/2004 09:06 PM PDT
#### you asshole

If this is Kurt, how did you get my info? If it isn’t...well someone is trying to use your identity…

Posted by j cummings from on 09/03 at 11:08 AM

Jordy-- I think it’s a very, very safe bet that someone has appropriated Kurt’s name in order to leave those comments. Apart from uncovering their real identity and their motivation, the question remains why did they choose to leave the comments using Kurt’s name.

Posted by Mark Hand from on 09/03 at 11:16 AM

Jordy, tis not me. I’m sorry somebody is doing this to you. I’ve received threatening phone calls---at work (that is, when I had word, I am now unemployed). I guess they would call me at home as well, except for the phone is not registered in my name. All I can say is we live in an increasingly fascist nation and those who disagree are moved to violence, if only verbal at this point. I’m still waiting for a rich Republican to send me to New Zealand, just to get rid of me. I’m not holding my breath. Again, I’m sorry somebody is using my name to harass you. I get dozens of virus attached emails a week with the names of people I know. Somebody is posting on a Yahoo forum using my name. It’s crazy. These people will stop at nothing to defame us. All I can say is ignore the posts. I know it is difficult to ignore threats of physical attack. I don’t know what to say. A few months ago I received an email from a guy who said he wanted to beat me with a baseball bat. I look over my shoulder now when I go out after dark. I’m getting to the point now here I believe this society is a lost cause. I know this is cynical. So many people believe in Bush and what the neocons are doing. There are millions of them. I’m reaching the point where I want to drop out completely, live in a remote cabin, say #### everything. But then there’s this voice inside of me saying “no, you care too much to run,” and then I write another article, post it on the web. Anyway, I am truly sorry somebody is pretending to be me and is threatening you. I wish I could make them stop. I wish I could sue them (or even know who they are) and make them stop. I can’t. I’m sorry. BTW, do you mind if I make mention of what happened to you on my blog? I think somebody is sending nasty emails to other people using my name. I can’t get a response from several people who were at one time quite friendly. Thanks.

Posted by Kurt from on 09/03 at 12:26 PM

Go right ahead...the messages have stopped...there are some scarier ones on my answering machine....

Thanks Kurt. I really couldn’t believe that you would do that.

Posted by j cummings from on 09/03 at 12:33 PM

What I mean is go ahead, bring sunlight, write about it on ADE. (Excellent site, brother)

This is not the first time I have been attacked using a fellow writer’s name...and also I have seen letters written by me (not written by me of course) adressed to comrades. This is how they broke up the Panthers, this is even how they screwed the New Jewel Movement in Grenada

Old Cointelpro trick.

Posted by j cummings from on 09/03 at 12:43 PM

Just FYI Jordy,

Telephone threats are illegal, so I suggest you call the telephone company and the police to report it. Also, no matter how much people think they are anonymous in cyberspace, they can be tracked down. Even if they are using a public computer. I recall an incident where a death threat was sent to a radio personality at a local radio station via email, and the police became involved. The culprit turned out to be a disturbed 16 year old girl and they found that she had been using a library computer to send the messages and were able to track her down with IP addresses and library records. Now, this was a few years ago, and I will say, with the Patriot Act, most libraries now do not keep records of Internet use anymore so they have no info to release…

Anyway - good luck,

Nancy

Posted by Nancy from on 09/03 at 01:04 PM

I don’t call the cops unless I am actually worried....

I do still have the recordings though. My buddies at CBC will help me analyse the, and if I have to, I will call my ex’s dad, an RCMP agent for advice.

Posted by j cummings from on 09/03 at 01:16 PM

I’ve got this conspiracy theory...left-wing journalist plants story that Hamas is somehow a tool of Israeli intelligence in an attempt to discredit the growing strength of Hamas and its potential to liberate Palestinians.

Far-fetched? Was Mossad behind 9/11? Is the pope a paedophile? Come on, Kurt. Get a grip.

Posted by Ed Strong from on 09/06 at 05:00 PM

Ed, you may want to take up the Hamas story with Richard Sale of UPI.

Incidentally, this story is no longer available on the UPI website. It was last week. Maybe that’s a conspiracy theory, too?

BTW, I don’t consider Sale a “left-wing journalist,” per se. The information on Hamas came from the CIA. Of course, there are plenty of liars and fabricators at the CIA.

As for the possibility that Mossad was behind 9/11, there’s meat on that bone as well. Is there a reason Israeli operatives followed Mohammed Atta around and lived in an apartment down the street from him? Is there a reason confirmed Mossad agents were dancing as the twin towers smoldered and crumpled? Of course, this isn’t evidence of Mossad complicity---but it sure the hell is suspicious, wouldn’t you say?

As for the pope, I know nothing of his sexual preference. However, he appears to be rather old and infirm, so his rumored sexual daliance truly is a “conspiracy theory.”

Posted by Kurt from on 09/07 at 01:54 PM

I don’t really know that responding to this rant of yours will do much good. There aren’t many facts in there to address, mostly just bile, hatred and ranting. Still, I’ll give it a shot.

(1) Hamas has launched more than one attack a day since Yassin was killed. There have been rocket launches, mortar attacks, snipers, roadside bombs and more than 50 attempted suicide bombings. They just haven’t had much success. Israel has largely thwarted their efforts, and the wall is working even better than expected. So the notion that they have taken a “long and inexplicable hiatus” until now is factually wrong.

(2) The fact that Israel aided Hamas twenty years ago doesn’t mean Hamas is an Israeli tool now. Despite all evidence to the contrary and without citing any facts, you insist they are in Israel’s pockets. Then in your comments you also complain that Arafat and the PA are Israel’s “capos.” So if Hamas is in Israel’s pocket and the PA are Israel’s servants, who is the enemy? You’re not making much sense.

(3) The notion that Sharon would blow up two busloads of Israelis as “a distraction” is just silly. Does it make the investigation go away? Is it really a distraction? Does it get him anything? Those who are sympathetic to Israel were already sympathetic. Those who hate Israel, such as you, won’t be influenced either. Of course, you cite absolutely no facts for this weird conspiracy theory. I notice you’ve also bought into the theory that the Mossad was behind the World Trade Center attack. You’re way out there, off in implausible conspiracy land, where facts and logic no longer matter.

(4) The idea that the government, in conjunction with the Israelis, is working to establish “a neocon fascist dictatorship in the United States, complete with martial law, special tribunals, press and media censorship, and the full pervasive apparatus of the modern police state” is just absurd. You are off your rather bizarre rocker.

You should take advantage of your current unemployment to do some research and learn the facts a bit better before your next rant.

Posted by Andrew from on 09/07 at 02:51 PM

Interesting how criticism of Israel is “bile, hatred and ranting.” Of course, you forgot anti-semitic, the typical canard for anybody who opposes the Israeli apartheid state.

In the article, I made mention of Hamas suicide attempts, a far more sensationalistic and headline grabbing propaganda ploy than a few highly inaccurate Kassam-3 rockets. I’d have to say, regardless, all of this fits nicely into Sharon’s plan for the Palestinians, the possibility Hamas is a Mossad operation not withstanding.

It is my contention Hamas is an Israeli false flag operation. Naturally, the Israelis are not going to advertise this fact on the front page of Haaretz or the New York Times. Qui bono comes into play here. Do you think the Palestinians sincerely believe Hamas will successfully defeat the IDF? Or maybe you think they’re nothing more than a bunch of stupid Arabs. The latter seems apparent since you support “the wall,” in fact an apartheid wall, as a way to prevent these attacks.

Who is the enemy, you ask. Well, that’s really a no-brainer--Palestinian nationalism is the enemy of the Israeli state. This should be obvious. It’s been obvious for decades now. Best way for the Israelis to denigrate Palestinian nationalism is to make it appear the Palestinians are nothing but a bunch of terrorists. Meanwhile, you may want to take a count of how many innocent Palestinians have died over the last 50 years, how many are in prison, how many have emigrated because life is simply too daunting, thanks to the Zionists.

Posted by Kurt from on 09/07 at 04:42 PM

(Continued)

As Patrick Seale writes: “Israeli penetration of Palestinian organizations was common, but it was clearly not the whole story. Most intelligence sources I consulted agreed that it was standard practice to use penetration agents not simply to neutralize or destroy the enemy but to try to manipulate him so that he did one’s bidding without always being aware of doing.”

But then since this was not published by the New York Times or Haaretz, you probably will not believe it. You may want to do a Google search on Victor Ostrovsky. He wrote a devastating little book, “By Way of Deception: A Devastating Insider’s Portrait of the Mossad.” Ostrovsky writes: “Supporting the radical elements of Muslim fundamentalism sat well with the Mossad’s general plan for the region. An Arab world run by fundamentalists would not be a party to any negotiations with the West, thus leaving Israel again as the only democratic, rational country in the region.”

But then I guess he is simply a self-hating Jew.

Anyway, all of this is pointless because you are convinced those of us who oppose what Israel is doing to the Palestinians is nothing but hatred--although I have to hand it to you, you didn’t say hatred of Jews, just hatred of Israel.

Let me ask you a question: Do you think the Palestinians deserve their own state, as mandated by the United Nations eons ago? Or do you think this tit-for-tat violence should go on indefinitely? You seem to support the idea of Israel creating the largest open-air concentration camp in the world. Is this viable? Or don’t you care?

Posted by Kurt from on 09/07 at 04:54 PM

Kurt, I back you up to the hilt on your Israel-Palestine stance. The point I was trying to make in Comment 14 was that your story, via UPI, hurts Hamas far more than Israeli Intelligence or Zionism.

It’s just possible that the original story was based on a deliberate leak. When does the spinning stop?

Should the Palestinians be given their own State? But they have one. It just so happens that Jewish settlers occupy much of it.

Why were the Jews given part of Palestine? Because it says so in the Bible? Please, not that one.

Guilt? Imperial middle-east musical chairs ninety years ago? Who else to blame but the British?

Sure, let Jews live in Palestine if they want to, but that they should subjugate Arabs to maintain domination is one of the worst crimes of the last fifty years.

Worse than the Holocaust? Ah, there’s the rub. The protective shield of victimhood. Jews sure know how to play on feelings of guilt.

If only black Americans had learnt the trick. They’d have half the southern states of the USA to call their own nation.

You’re doing good stuff, Kurt. Keep it up.

Posted by Ed Strong from on 09/07 at 05:31 PM

Andrew posts that I should “do some research and learn the facts a bit better,” in other words he expects me to cull my “facts” from the mainstream press. Never mind that the so-called “mainstream” press, that is to say the corporate media, never reports on this sort of thing, and for rather obvious reasons. I may as well get my information straight from AIPAC, the Bush neocons, and other Israel Firsters. As Israel Shamir writes, there is a “dangerous Judaic conspiracy” involved here, namely “the undue influence on discourse. A major share of the world media is concentrated in Jewish hands, well beyond wild dreams of the mythic Elders, and this share is growing daily.” I will leave it up to Shamir, a Jew, to make this conclusion, lest I be characterized as a vile and hateful anti-Semite, as Andrew insinuated.

http://www.serendipity.li/zionism/spider_web.htm#4

I am less than convinced, however, about a generalized “Judaic conspiracy.” Rather, I tend to believe there is a convergence of interested parties, all of them fascistic in character--the Israeli Firster neocons, the AIPAC-Likudite network, the so-called “military industrial complex” (read: the likes of Halliburton and Lockheed Martin) and other corporate interests, including but not limited to Big Oil. Birds of a feather comes to mind. Benito Mussolini also comes to mind. He said: corporatism is fascism.

I suggest Andrew check out what Ari Ben-Menashe has to say about Mossad funding and support of Mossad and other terrorist organizations. “Ben-Menashe claims that some of [the Iran-Contra] profits of war were funnelled to Palestinian organizations to stage terrorist attacks,” writes Ronald Bleier in a review of Ben-Menashe’s book, Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S. - Israeli Arms Network. “He says that Rafi Eitan, Begin’s counter-terrorism advisor, (no relation to Lt. Gen. Rafael Eitan, former chief of general staff of the IDF), decided in 1985 to generate anti-Palestinian sentiment. Accordingly, through the smokescreen of a Jordanian ex-army officer, Eitan, in a ‘black operation’ paid the Abu Nidal Palestinian terrorist group to stage the Achille Lauro hijacking.”

http://desip.igc.org/Rev_ProfitsOfWar.html

So as to not make Andrew think I’m picking on the Israelis, I might also add that Mossad and the CIA play by the same rules (the CIA has a far more grievous history of supporting terrorism and killing people). But then, since little of this is reported in the New York Times, it must remain in the kooky realm of conspiracy theory.

What did William Burroughs say? A paranoid is simply somebody who knows a little more than everybody else.

Posted by Kurt from on 09/07 at 07:39 PM

There’s criticism and there’s shrieking. You were shrieking. You’re still shrieking. You’ve got a bunch of weird conspiracy theories which you STILL haven’t backed up with facts. These are flushed out with a whole lot of rather childish name calling.

What I see as your main points are:

Mossad owns and controls Hamas. Still no evidence for this other than the well known fact that Israel provided some support two decades ago. I saw no recognition from you of the overwhelming evidence that Israel and Hamas are in all out combat with eachother.

Israel is behind the current Hamas attack that blew up the school buses. Again, no facts or evidence on your part. There was also no response to my point that Hamas has been continually attacking Israel. So I suppose you admit you were wrong on this point.

The US, without or without Israel, is out to reestablish the draft, permanent martial law, possibly food rationing and a fascist state. Again, no facts for this totally absurd fantasy of yours. (I was rather mystified how closing the Strais of Hormuz would lead to food rationing, but that’s just one strange idea among many.)

You also threw in a comment that Mossad was probably behind the World Trade Center attacks. You sort of had some facts here, but no source or citation.

So I think you are still off your rocker in a big way. Maybe more so now.

Then there’s the childish name calling:

The PA are the capos to Israel. A nice Nazi reference there.

The “apartheid wall.” You don’t want to be called racist or anti-Semitic (and I haven’t called you such), but you persist in calling the Israelis racist. Apartheid was about racism. Depending who you believe, the wall is about security or it’s a land grab. Neither motive is about racism. You also called the settlers racists. So you aren’t criticising. You’re just spewing ugly little names.

For that matter, calling Kerry the first Jewish President sounds rather anti-Semitic, as do some of your other comments about Jews. But I attribute it to your rabid hatred of Israel, as opposed to anti-Semitism.

“...the demented neocon Master Plan for war against Islam in the name of Greater Israel.” Another nice Nazi reference with some other strange ideas. The Greater Israel thing sounds a bit like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Again, I don’t think you’re anti-Semitic. I think you’re crazy.

Posted by Andrew from on 09/08 at 03:23 AM

How do you respond to somebody who thinks you’re crazy? You can’t. So no use wasting time or words on people who dismiss you as crazy. Best to ignore them because they are not interested in debate, only discussing your supposed mental condition, or dismissing what you say based on their perception of your mental condition. Best thing to do is ignore them. So, after the last post, where this person says I’m crazy, that’s what I will do.

Posted by Kurt from on 09/08 at 10:28 AM

Comment 20: ‘As Israel Shamir writes, there is a “dangerous Judaic conspiracy” involved here, namely “the undue influence on discourse. A major share of the world media is concentrated in Jewish hands...’

To calm things down a little, remove the loaded phrases. The essence is that Jews have an “undue influence on discourse.” Does Andrew dispute that?

Why is it impossible to criticize the State of Israel without accusations of anti-semitism? Palestinians are being oppressed. Israel is the oppressor. Many Jews - and Christians - can’t comprehend this.

It suggests a covert racism. It permeates Western culture. It is the dominant ‘text’ in the Middle East.

Now we have Iraq to reinforce that racism. It’s appalling. History will condemn The West for its bigotry.

Posted by Ed Strong from on 09/08 at 05:54 PM

I’m glad to see Israel Shamir being mentioned here, what a great writer he is. He has recently been discussing “the media of the new totalitarianism” in the West. In his article, The Spider Web, which Ed refers to, Shamir puts to rest Chomsky’s arguments about a two state solution:

“The international support for Israeli withdrawl [from the settlements] asserted by Chomsky has very little value, for none of the international bodies and/or states dares to say “boo” to Jews. In the US, Bush and Kerry compete who loves Jews most.”

But isn’t this a racist contention? In a follow up item to Shamir’s list, Socrates participates in a dialogue on the matter and we find out that if Naomi Klein can complain correctly about discrimination against Jews in corporate America, then it is also valid, and not racist, to complain about undue influence in the media by Jews. The NYT just had a long piece about how Haim Saban is a mover and maker media-mogul who is one of Sharon’s best friends and supporters.

Shamir’s Spider Web article also discusses the impending invasion of Iran. Our good friend at the Washed out fence Post, Charles Krauthammer is on the offensive, to quote Shamir:

Charles Krauthammer calls for an ‘urgent
pre-emptive attack’ [against Iran]. He openly
admits that this is the dear wish of the
Jewish state, but, he says, “for Israel,
attacking Iran is a far more difficult
proposition. It is farther away...but there are
146,000 American troops and highly
sophisticated aircraft standing by just a few
miles away—in Iraq”. America exists to
take Judaic orders—that much is clear for
Krauthammer and for the Washington Post,
his preferred tribune.

Posted by Rhino Rick from Tokyo, Japan on 09/08 at 07:22 PM

Ed,

If you’ll notice, I didn’t accuse Kurt of anti-Semitism. I stated this explicitly several times.

It’s certainly possible to criticise Israel without being accused of anti-Semitism. You just have to do it in a calm, rational manner. When you start throwing in references to “the Jews” and “the Zionists” and slinging around a bunch of Nazi references, as Kurt does, then you are likely to get accused of anti-Semitism. Also. when you call everyone else a racist, as Kurt does, you can expect people to respond in kind. Again, I did NOT accuse him of anti-Semitism or racism. All I said is he has a bunch of wild claims (e.g., the US is out to establish a fascist state with martial law and food rationing) with no factual support of any kind, backed by a bunch of ugly, childish name calling. He needs to calm down and grow up.

Posted by Andrew from on 09/09 at 10:08 AM

Israel Shamir does not exist. What I mean is that I think that we should all stop using Shamir as a reference point, since he has recently been exposed as a Swedish Holocaust Denier and Shamir is a “role” he plays. There is no Israel Shamir in Israel. He took the name, its said, to imitate Israel Shahak. Ali Abunimah and others stopped relying on him years ago, for his actual anti-semitism. I would think that we on the left should do the same, since he does not exist…

Posted by j cummings from on 09/09 at 03:04 PM

This is madness. You wish him away because you can’t bear what he says. This is Jewish Denial of psychotic proportions. ‘We on the left’ should proclaim j cummings’ non-existence.

I smiled at the ‘Swedish Holocaust Denier.’ Not just your run-of-the-mill holocaust denier, but a Swedish one! Astonishing. Or am I missing intended irony?

Recommended reading: ‘Israel-Palestine: A Single-State Solution’ by Todd May

Posted by Ed Strong from on 09/09 at 05:07 PM

Ed you have zero credibility here...No vaguely same person...Finkelstein, nor anyone else, has put forth a nuanced ‘denial’ arguement or rather grudgning conceded the outrageously low 200,000 figure Jewish holcaust victims as you have. Stop trying to co-opt the discouse here your own agenda (whatever it might be)...or perhaps it is just psuedo-scholarship.

Regaurdless of whether one likes or dislikes what ‘Shamir’ has written Jordy is correct is saying there are serious doubts about exactely ‘who’ is he…

Posted by RzG from on 09/09 at 05:24 PM

I actually like(d) some of what “Shamir” has written...but Ed’s comments are completely inappropriate. It is old news in the anti-racist community that Shamir is not who he says he is, (A Russian Jew in Israel) but a Swedish neo-nazi. I have a link to the story but don’t feel like googling...it should not be hard to prove.

And Ed, please read “Survival at Auschwitz” by Primo Levi, or something. Just because Zionists misuse the Judeocide doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Please don’t maintain such a position, if you care about Palestine..as it has been said many times, Sharon and the Zionists’ best weapon are uneducated and/or Nazi-sympathetic(Hitler was just another charismatic leader, you said?) people like you.
A big Zundl fan? Jews and Palestinians are marching shoulder to shoulder against a nazi rally in Toronto on Sunday. Which side are you on?

Posted by j cummings from on 09/09 at 08:27 PM

This is quite a charge, which sounds like an ADL smear campaign if there ever was one.

Blankfort wrote to me:

“Shamir not only exists, I met him in San Francisco several years ago. He is really a shit disturber and while I don’t always agree with him, his provocative thinking and writing is more often than not a fresh breeze.”

Posted by Rhino Rick from Tokyo, Japan on 09/10 at 03:21 AM

I have translated several papers for Shamir so he MUST exist, as my translations prove. Here is one:

The myth of Shamir
Petrushkin
Zavtra 20/6/3

Zavtra has received tons of mail about Shamir showing that he doesn’t exist. There are 27 proofs.
I finally looked up his bio at his unofficial Russian site:
Guide, translator, journalist and writer, IS was born in Novosibirsk in 1947, studied math and physics and then law at Sverdlovsk legal institute. He befriended dissidents and wrote a project law on rights and freedoms of Soviet citizens, after which he was expelled from the institute. This only strengthened his will to devote his life to the struggle for justice. In the late 60s, IS met Zionists in Moscow who appreciated his samizdat and conspiratorial activities, and he became active in the Zionist movement. In 1968 he protested against Soviet aggression in Czechoslovakia and soon emigrated to Israel where he served in the elite paratroopers division and took part in the 1973 war. He continued his studies in law at the Hebrew university in Jerusalem. He worked at Israeli radio as a correspondent in hot spots such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. In 1975 he worked at the Russian service of the BBC in London. In 1977-9 he lived in Japan and worked for Japanese radio. He was already disillusioned with Zionism because of the discrimination against non-Jews in Israel. He was reminded of Stalinist Russia and began to protest.
Returning to Israel in 1980, IS became active in politics. He worked as press secretary for the Israeli Socialist party Mapam and correspondent for Haaretz. He translated Agnon (Nobel laureate) and Ulysses by Joyce.
His best known work is Pines and Olives, a historical work on Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict published in 1988. In it he sharply condemns the aggression and crimes against the Palestinians.
In 1989-93 he worked as Haaretz correspondent in Russia. At first he strongly supported perestroika, but the real perestroika foreign policy worried him because of its strong pro-American course. He wrote controversial articles in Pravda, Our contemporary, Day (Tomorrow) under the pen name Robert David, arguing that Soviet foreign policy was optimal for the SU and the 3rd world. He condemned Yeltsin and his circle for attacking parliament. Soon, thanks to recommendations of very different writers, such as Lev Anninsky and Stanislav Kuniaev, IS became a member of the Russian writers union. In 1993 he returned to Israel and settled in Haifa. In addition to his many articles for Russian Israelis and Russian newspapers, he translated Homer’s Odysseus, which was published in 2000 in St Petersburg. His next big project was a translation of the Talmud into Russian.
He criticizes the Israeli left “Two State solution”.

SJ

Posted by Simon Jones from Uzbekistan on 09/10 at 05:57 AM

“Serious Concerns About Israel Shamir"

Posted by j cummings from on 09/10 at 11:43 AM

“Israeli writer is Swedish anti-Semite"

Posted by j cummings from on 09/10 at 11:51 AM

j cummings:

Why don’t you take a good long look at the “friends” you are associating with and move on to a new place? Like me, you seem like someone who is concerned about Israel, but doesn’t approve of all its actions. Why not start speaking to a forum where you could actually make a difference?

Here your buddies include Ed Strong, who you seem to say is a Holocaust denier. There’s Kurt Nimmo and others citing and defending Israel Shamir, who you say is really a Swedish neo-Nazi. You’ve got Mr. Leach (comment 3) with his strange theory that the Roosevelts and Eisenhower were secretly Jews. I could go on. There are plenty of others around here.

For a guy with some sense, you are in the wrong place.

Posted by Andrew from on 09/10 at 03:44 PM

Regaurdless of whether Shamir is exactely who he says he is, and whether or not certain of his commentaries have an inherent value, the fact that any so-called ‘progressive’ can put forth the following notion WITHOUT being facetious should be cause for major alarm…

“The Christians in the US, as elsewhere, belong to the traditional all-embracing faith of love to the poor and downtrodden...”

HaHa - Since when has this been the case? How many attrocities have been committed in the name of Christianity (without their Jewish shepherds)
- seems history shows these ‘all-embracing’ Christians did just fine on thier own when it came to inflicting pain a misery.

This comes from Shamir’s truly riotous article praising Mel Gibson’s latest craptacular epic Passion of the Christ as well as the spectacular race-based sluggfest LOTR:Return of the King where Shamir puts forth the notion that “Christ indeed was our secret weapon against the Zionist takeover.” The fact that some of the better authors here can cite him uncritically without even recognizing his rather obvious deficiencies is a bit of a problem I’m afraid.

Posted by CK from on 09/10 at 05:06 PM

Andrew…

I will solidarize with Kurt and my progressive comrades any day before I will solidarize with Zionists who assert mental illness on the part of people they disagree with. I differ with people about Shamir, but you know what? I am far more worried about the Israeli occupation of Palestine than I am about a few dozen cranks in their basements who believe in holocaust denial. If you want to believe in holocaust denial, thats fine with me, just as if you want to believe that some Jew died on a cross for your sins. Irrational beliefs are everywhere. What matters to me is results, not trivialities. I even like Pat Buchanan, who I know is an Anti-Semite, but I don’t think that he is about to start a new “Kristalnacht”...better to show the Buchanans and others that there are Jews who beleive in justice than to take on a liberal position like yours..

Posted by j cummings from on 09/10 at 05:32 PM

The Jewish ‘voice’ on the Left becomes increasingly shrill. The apologists for Israel, although accepting ‘injustice’ towards the Palestinians, maintain that a two-state system is the only solution.

I believe Jews have no god-given, or otherwise, right to their own state. This seems to put me beyond the pale. So be it.

This issue must be hammered out by the Left. Even the man himself, Chomsky, is being challenged on his position:

An interview with Noam Chomsky is an exemplary contribution to the genre of left apologetics. Since it contains so many of the arguments generally advanced to legitimize some form of continued existence for an Israeli system of colonialism and Apartheid — and to shore up rear-guard support for it among US progressives — it is worth examining in full. In general, the argument rests on two pillars:

(1) Israel’s history of colonial occupation and expansion must be separated from all other colonial histories as a special case and special consideration must be given to Zionist colonial settlers as a historically vulnerable group;

2) Since this “historically vulnerable group” also has massive military power, nuclear weapons, and U.S. military and economic support, calling for an end to the colonial regime is unrealistic; it only hurts the colonized, and should be redirected to more useful activities.

‘Noam Chomsky and ‘Left’ Apologetics for Injustice in Palestine’ by Noah Cohen

Posted by Ed Strong from on 09/10 at 05:37 PM

Ed...who here is an ‘apologists for Israel’ (except for maybe Andrew) or has put Chomsky beyond the pale of critisizm?? The discouse between Chomsky, Cohen, Todd May (the article you posted) is incredibely healthy and urgent I think…

What I have do have zero patience for (as an elapsed catholic a now a devout atheist/agnostic who is suspicious of all organized religion) is when Judaism is ravaged while SIMULTANIOUSLY Christianity is upheld and promoted as being inherently moral superior (as if Christians don’t see themseleves as “Gods chosen people” too even though they might not frame it in those terms). This is what I see coming from Shamir as of late, and I don’t see the inherent value in it.

Posted by CK from on 09/10 at 06:21 PM

Regarding the charge of Shamir’s non-existence, he wrote to me the following:

Now the plethora of ADL-led publications claim I do not live in Israel/Palestine and that I am not even called Israel Shamir. Hundreds of readers have met me in Jaffa, but it does not stop the slanderers. Only a lunatic or a liar can write that I do not live in Israel/Palestine; for I am a local guy who is seen around a lot, far from being elusive, is active politically and socially, gives interviews for newspapers, buys milk in a grocery, regularly appears on Israeli TV and is personally known to hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians.

I dare every Doubting Thomas to send me an international money order on name of Israel Shamir to my address in Israel to satisfy their doubt; as these orders can’t be cashed without strict identity check. Put your money where your mouth is; speak now or keep silent for good. Israel Shamir

Posted by Rhino Rick from Tokyo, Japan on 09/15 at 06:04 PM

I wouldnt’ put it past people to spread rumours as to Shamir’s non-existance. I believed them but will be checking with friends in Gush, etc. in Israel… I still have a problem with some of his Anti-Jewish (theological, not political) stance.

Posted by j cummings from on 09/17 at 07:45 AM

Israel Shamir doesn’t exist? Why don’t you write my publisher and ask her who she makes royalty checks payable to. It’s possible it is a pen name.

http://www.dandelionbooks.net/

Andrew may believe I am childish for saying Bush is a wannabe dictator—he has admitted this himself—and the people around him are interested in a fascist state (if they get one is entirely another matter). All of this is backed up by research, none of it too arcane. For instance, read the following Stanley Hilton transcript.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/september2004/130904hiltontranscript.htm

Hilton is former Bob Dole chief of staff, so I guess this would not make him part of the tinfoil hat brigade Andrew mentions (and he believes I am an honorary member of). But then since this interview was conducted by Alex Jones and not Sean Hannity, I guess it can be easily dismissed.

But then some people will never be swayed.

Incidentally, I don’t recall mentioning food rationing. I guess, as a member of the conspiracy nut tinfoil hat brigade, I better start filling in those conspicuous holes in my “magic bullet” conspiracy theories.

Posted by Kurt from on 09/17 at 04:20 PM

Shamir - The Red Herring. Can we move on to the meat course?

The rampant proliferation of Jewish settlements in the Occupied West Bank has convinced many Palestinians and some Israelis that the two-state solution, which foresees the creation of a viable Palestinian state, is utterly unrealistic if not outright impossible.

Hence, a growing number of activists and intellectuals on both sides have come to explore and advocate the creation of a united, democratic and civil state in all of mandatory Palestine (Israel and the Occupied Territories) where Jews and Palestinians live equally as citizens regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliations.

Needless to say, the Israeli Zionist establishment vehemently rejects the concept as a prescription for the destruction of the “Jewish identity” of Israel.

However, the Israeli policy of settlement expansion, financed largely by American taxpayers, has ironically served those who champion the one-state solution.

The other, far less attractive alternative, would be perpetual occupation by Israel and continued violent resistance by the Palestinians and political instability in the Middle East.

Khalid Amayreh @ Al Ahram

Destruction of the ‘Jewish Identity?’ A crisis of occupation.

Posted by Ed Strong from on 09/17 at 05:24 PM

Ali Abunimah, most of the leadership of the Palestinian diaspora - many many people have a problem with the use of Shamir’s material, whoever he is, because he is, and is clearly - from a Christian perspective a critic of Judaism as such, not of Zionism. whatever his critique is of Zionism is secondary to a misunderstanding, probably deliberate, of Judaism itself.

I am sure that Dandelion sends the checks to the man in Sweden mentioned in the Searchlight article. Regardless, wasting one’s time on Shamir and the “political ramifications” of UFOs is exactly what Huxley would have us do in his Brave New World. Even if there are UFOs and even if Judaism and the Talmud itself are responsible for occupation, as Shamir often implies, they aren’t the biggest problems in the world, nor will they contribute to any understanding or solution to Palestine-Israel. I think that people who want to help Palestinians should keep this in mind.

Posted by j cummings from on 09/18 at 12:51 PM

What a class act.

Posted by j cummings from on 09/18 at 12:59 PM

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