Re: Call for a cultural boycott of Israel

From: Mitsu Hadeishi (email suppressed)
Date: Mon Dec 04 2006 - 05:44:44 PST


Already this is being blurred --- the boycott per se isn't "against
Israeli intellectuals and artists" but against Israeli state
institutions and perhaps some major Israeli organizations such as big
publishing houses, etc., but the call even says, go ahead and support
smaller Israeli independent publishers, etc. Yet so easily people
turn this into a "boycott against Israeli intellectuals and artists."

I personally am extremely uncomfortable with the sort of rhetoric
involved here --- there are crimes being committed on both sides,
lack of reason and lack of fairness in the policies and rhetoric of
both sides. No doubt the Palestinians are suffering greatly, and
there is a huge power imbalance, but an analogy with South Africa is
quite strained --- Hamas is not analogous to the ANC, and I don't see
any analogue to the greatness of spirit and wisdom of someone like
Nelson Mandela on either side of that terrible situation.

The strange irony of the situation down there is that a majority of
the population of both sides professes a desire to live in peace with
a two state solution, yet the leadership of both sides seems unable
to work things out for the benefit of their peoples.

Mitsu

On Dec 4, 2006, at 8:02 AM, saul ostrow wrote:

> This is not a boycott against Jewish intellectual and artists but
> against israeli ones, I for one can make that differentiation and
> will not fall into the trap of believing they are one in the same
> On Dec 4, 2006, at 7:46 AM, Chuck Kleinhans wrote:
>
>>
>> On Dec 4, 2006, at 5:53 AM, miriam jayne martins sampaio wrote:
>>
>>> fight racism with racism!? great tactic!!!
>>>
>>
>> I don't see how there is anything racist about individuals
>> choosing to boycott because they object to the the state policies
>> of a specific government. The cultural boycott was a tactic used
>> in the struggle against the apartheid regime in South Africa.
>> Unless you can actually explain your slogan, you seem to be the
>> one who is cheerleading, not participating in dialogue.
>>
>> Chuck Kleinhans
>>
>> --
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