Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts

Saturday, August 22, 2015

If You Won't Listen To Me, Listen To You

Alison Chabloz, a Scottish artist has made some headlines by questioning the existence of Nazi gas chambers and performing the anti-Semitic "quenelle" gesture.
As blogs and local publications reported on the actions of Chabloz — a singer-songwriter who has lived in Egypt, among other countries — she published another blog post, explaining that her gesture was a “massive up yours” as a reaction to being “hounded online by a small group of hardline Zionists.”

Chabloz has been criticized in recent months for suggesting on Twitter that “it would appear that Anne Frank’s diary was mostly fabricated,” and that British organizations teaching about the Holocaust were “indoctrinating children.”

In her defense, Chabloz wrote that “nobody denies that the Jews and other groups suffered horrendous atrocities,” but added that, “if people dug a little deeper into the issue they may discover some interesting facts regards the presumed existence of homicidal Nazi gas chambers.”
Fascinating! And for the inevitable explanation about how none of this is anti-Semitic?
As for the quenelle, which French Prime Minister Manuel Valls in 2014 termed “an anti-Semitic gesture of hate,” Chabloz wrote that Roger Cukierman, president of France’s Jewish CRIF group, considers it “an anti-establishment gesture unless it is performed outside a place of worship or memorial to Holocaust victims.”
Or by someone who just said something like "Anne Frank was a liar and the gas chambers were fake"? Just guessing.

Anyway, Chaboz has now written that “All publicity is good, and it’s time more people started standing up to Zionist bullies,” (with the obligatory #FreePalestine hashtag). So consider this post my contribution to the movement.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Unrepentant

A former St. Andrew's student convicted of racially abusing an Israeli classmate has been sentenced to a fine of 300 pounds payable to the victim and 150 hours of community service. He intends to appeal, but also had this to say about the student he abused:
“Mr Reitblat was an American studying over here so he’s from a rich family – I hope he gives the compensation to a good cause and doesn’t just fund his own greed.

Going straight back to the well with the "rich greedy Jew" trope I see. Well, at least he learned a valuable lesson.

(The victim actually is planning on donating the funds to victims of terrorist attacks in Israel).

Monday, November 30, 2009

Friendly

There is a soccer match coming up between Celtic FC (a Scottish club) and Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israeli). The Scottish Trade Unions Congress, generally sympathetic to boycotting Israel, wants to attend this game and protest Israeli policies by waving a bunch of Palestinian flags. Apparently subscribing to the Limbaugh/Klein school of thought, which assures its supporters that the targets of a political protest would be absurd to consider themselves targets of a protest, the STUC writes that they are "making clear that we attach no blame either to Hapoel Tel Aviv players, nor their fans, for the outrageous actions of their government."

That's good to know, because as it happens, Hapoel Tel Aviv is known as the quintessential left-wing team, and indeed is currently captained by an Israeli Arab. Hell, it's even rocking the hammer and sickle on its logo ("Hapoel" means "the worker"):



The team also sponsors the Mifalot project, designed to create interfaith and interethnic soccer teams to help bridge divides and promote peace (endeavors which the BDS campaign has come out explicitly and definitively against). I'm sure that Hapoel would love more international support for these sorts of bridges. I'm equally sure that the STUC has absolutely no interest in providing it, because the STUC has absolutely no interest in ending the conflict.

But sure, what the hell, launch the protest. Why seize the opportunity to express solidarity with a prominent Israeli institution doing the hard work of building peace, when it is so much easier and more satisfying to entrench hatred instead?

UPDATE: FC Celtic is reportedly quite unhappy with the proposed protest, and is urging the STUC to call it off. Their objection seems to be two-fold: first, they don't want their soccer game politicized, and second, they are concerned about safety in the confines of a crowded arena.