Saturday, May 29, 2010

A Shalom Aleikhem from Jerusalem to the Free Gaza Flotilla

As the Free Gaza flotilla approaches the shores of besieged Gaza (or, in the felicitous phrase of the Goldstone Report, "effectively occupied Gaza"), I can only wish a shalom aleikhem to the gallant captains, crews, and passagengers. The Israeli media coverage has been dismissive; the biggest chutzpah of a putdown was that if the organizers really wanted to get humanitarian supplies to the Gazans, they would give their cargo over to the Israelis, who would deliver it for them. That has got to be the joke of the week.

Is the point of the Free Gaza flotilla to make Israel look bad? Well, if that were the case, then the rational response of Israel would be to allow the flotilla and all ships through the blockade. But how long has it been since Israel acted rationally? Israel will try to think of some way of stopping the boats so that it looks as if they stopped themselves.

For some cynics, the Free Gaza flotilla may appear like a sideshow. After all, what can a few boats do? But I say to the organizers, "Thank you for caring," and I urge my readers to make a donation to their cause here

8 comments:

Utopian Yuri said...

Done. $50 donated.

Anonymous said...

they are still stuck in cyprus....guess you arent following the news reports...and wont be in gaza (which they wont make it to anyway)until monday, at the earliest

heres an idea...why dont you drive down to gaza and wait for them

"gallant captains" please....

its a pr stunt and you know it

why dont you get some balls, load up your car/truck/van, with food stuffs and drive through the road blocks into gaza

be a hero jerry....instead of a hater

Michael said...

PR... Remember when a video that was used to justify Cast Lead atrocities turned out to be years old? Well, it seems they're at it again. This time a video of wealthy people dining in an expensive restuarant in Gaza is being used to spin the line that there are no food shortages there. One of the diners shown is Mahmoud Abbas. Perhaps he was there to catch up with some old friends from Hamas after having been, well, just too busy to visit Gaza these past few years.

It's hard to decide which is the more deserving of scorn: the Avital Leibovitzs and Mark Regevs who merely expect people to believe their hasbara or those going about busily justifying that expectation.

(Jerry, some could suspect that comments like that of bacci40 are published in order to expose the level of the opposition - that is, to give readers something to look down on, when it would be worthier to publish, as well as reply to, only those comments which are least superficially logical, if not civil. I assume you do it from a commitment to free speech, or to demonstrate tolerance, but even done for the noblest of motives it doesn't add to the value of your blog, and there are plenty of outlets elsewhere for people to make an exhibition of themselves.)

Anonymous said...

Forgive my infringement on your little fundraiser, but you need to read the news:

http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=176908

Now, please don't plead ignorance. It's no secret that you're aligned with forces who seek to do violence to Jews. Aren't these folks for whom you're holding this important fundraiser headed to Gaza which is led by a group whose views are the same as that chant?

All of your talk about Israeli bigotry and Jewish racism, and here comes reality to reveal the plain, naked truth for all to see. You're in bed with bigots and racists who seek nothing less than the extermination of Jews.

Yup, another example of the unholy alliance between the Left and Islamists that the Left should be shunning.

Ashamed yet, "Jerry?"

Unknown said...

"they are still stuck in cyprus...." Wasn't that true of another blockade breaking ship
63 years ago. Let's hope/pray they have as much hasbara success and as good a propaganda film as Israel had when it was her turn!
'moral equivalence' and other meaningless sounds expressing disapproval will be taken as content free, fact free, emotional expressions in reaction

Anonymous said...

update on the flotilla of fools

seems they are going around in circles...still stuck in cyprus

but ya...keep sending in those donations....cuz they really care

Anonymous said...

michael,

thanks for proving my point that supporters of the hamas led regime of gaza are not liberals. you guys really cant stand to hear another side. no difference between you and the wingnuts that run sites like redstate and control fox news.

eric,

nice attempt at moral relativism. btw, if those ships are returned to their respective ports, any chance of their passengers being sent to death camps?

michael said...

you guys really cant stand to hear another side.

As will be clear to anyone who reads it (and your first comment), my objection was not to hearing another side but to a comment which did not rise above the level of a peurile taunt. To the extent that your comments here have exceeded zero intellectual content, they appear designed only to tie up the author of this blog in writing low-value refutations. My time, like yours, may be cheap, but the two minutes I've spent writing this are the last you'll wring from me.