'Engage' says no to boycotting Israel (Howard Jacobson)

ENGAGE's persistence in opposing the boycott stands firm as a conference was held on the 11th of July at the Friends Meeting House, London. (http://www.engageonline.org.uk/home/)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Engage
• anti-semitism
• academic
• boycott
• israel

[jameshanley39]

we need more howard jacobson on youtube.

be good to see a conversation between him and stephen fry!

[nukmike]

Humorous, intelligent and thought-provoking.

[givinitsome]

@smrndoff

Correcting your Pavlovian response: Mosley was a fascist. Yet you seem oblivious to the fact that in the Middle East, it was the Arabs who sided with Hitler in WWII. It was the Arab leader of Jerusalem, a friend of Hitler, that wanted to annihilate the Jews living in Arab lands.

Today there are videos here of Palestinian children praising Hitler and advocating a continuation of Hitler's policies. Yet to you, a Jew defending Jews is the equivalent of a fascist.

Fascism, ironically.

[archdeaconj]

@soovey1 "No, no, of course it is not anti-Semitic to be a critic of Israel. Please be as critical as you like." says Jacobson, "but it is a false syllogism which goes Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic (Independent, 8 June 97). To call someone an ignoramus simply because they do not know something or are wrong on some point is simply rude, but when they are CORRECT in what they say it is deeply unjust.

[archdeaconj]

@soovey1 A good reply to a Jacobson rant: '[Jacobson] thinks any Jew who is anti-Zionist is automatically self'-hating. He doesn't allow for the possibility of someone being perfectly comfortable being Jewish, and also being anti-Zionist. Do I feel ashamed to be Jewish. It's an odd question - it's like asking whether I feel ashamed to be a man, or ashamed to be white. It's something that I was born as, and can't change...' Ben Abuyah.

[Valelacerte]

@soovey1 Hmmm, kind of similar to your other post, but just more boring and infantile, which is quite an achievement. Well done!

[Valelacerte]

@soovey1 So, an alleged increased Palestinian birth rate absolves Israel for their grotesquely disproportionate military aggression against Palestine, for their theft of Palestinian land and resources, for their blocking of essential supplies, for their complacence to law and world condemnation, for the multitude of armed checkpoints imprisoning Palestinians, for the families that can never leave their houses for fear of Israeli settlers and snipers?

Would he remember me? yes; jealousy? no.

[archdeaconj]

@soovey1 Here's Jacobson writing in the Independent: "I mean the hatred of Israel expressed on our streets, campuses, in our newspapers... I am not allowed to subscribe any of this to anti-Semitism. It is, I am assured, criticism of Israel pure and simple...'. He goes on to opine, of course, that it is indeed criticism of Israel. I thought I would actually quote from Jacobson, in view of your 'no he doesn't, ignoramus' remark.

[archdeaconj]

@soovey1 For an example of Jacobson equating criticism of Israel with anti-semitism, see, for example, 'Lets' see the Criticism of Israel for What it Really Is' by Howard Jacobson (Independent, 18 February, 2009). Apology for calling me an 'ignoramus', please.

[archdeaconj]

@soovey1 Yes, I'm afraid he does. I used to read his column in the Independent (a UK newspaper) every Saturday. I read this loathsome specimen of inhumanity because of the many examples of ad hominem attacks that his writing affords, among which is this insidious tactic of calling people who protest against Israel 'anti-Semitic', and Jews who do so, 'self-hating'. I was interested - and still am - in linguistic techniques of manipulation and Jacobson's writings were a rich seam to mine.

[number94]

@soovey1 Of course it is not possible to exclude everything that is made in Israel but I do my best. By the way, some of the worst, most vicious, Zionists are not Jewish at all but born again Christians who support the status quo for their own reasons. Similarly many of Israel's harshest critics are Jews. So lets not be racist here.

[soovey1]

@Valelacerte Wiping out Palestinians??? The birth rate is GROWING you ass!

I wonder whether Howard remembers you? Jealousy can poison you know