Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an op-ed about the shocking footage of the reaction by some Israelis and American Jews in Jerusalem to Obama's speech to the Muslim world.
Read full op-ed here and see the video below.
Unbelievable...
Read full op-ed here and see the video below.
Unbelievable...
3 Comments:
I think all those kids are Americans -
The video is disgraceful. Surely, everyone can have an opinion about Obama - be it positive or negative - but the vulgarity of their hatred and language is just beyond belief.
I am fairly certain I could video tape all my American friends (some pro, some anti Obama) and no one will talk like this ... I guess going to 'Downtown Jerusalem' and interviewing college aged, drunk fools will get you this - still inexcusable however.
They don't represent most American Jews - it's like me saying the Palestinians who celebrated 9/11 represent all Palestinians
Thanks a lot, Avram for your insight. It's very important to hear your voice since you are an Israeli and one of those who promote peace and tolerance. I really appreciate your comment.
"They don't represent most American Jews"
I'm sure they don't. I have so many Jewish friends who are American and who were equally shocked when they saw the video.
i would have to agree most wholeheartedly w/avram. they absolutely do not represent most american jews.
that said, parts of the haaretz article reek of hypocritical jargon.
on a mission to humiliate the Jewish people.
huh?? says who? more likely on a mission to expose the kind of rabid hatred spewing out of the rightwing community here in the US many of us have to contend with whenever we forge into the discourse of I/P issues?
it's easy to let the beer overtake you.
hmm. somehow i missed this line of defense from anti semite accusers when mel gibson had his drunken 'slip up'!
the way that Israel, in particular Jerusalem, can radicalize the young to the left or the right.
i just returned from the region and i can attest first hand my encounters w/foolish, clueless, american radicals in the tel aviv hostel i stayed at.
So far, the campaign appears to consist of sparsely attended rallies and posters of Obama in a kaffiyeh, much like those of Yitzhak Rabin before his 1995 assassination.
apparently the haaretz reporter missed the demonstration outside bibis speech in tel aviv on sunday. unless that is considered 'sparsely attended' by israeli standards.
For many, the video is shocking because they think Jews aren't supposed to be racist.
i doubt it. it's pretty hard to imagine most people 'forget' israelis live in and control an area where almost 1/2 the population is living under occupation, based on ethnicity. i think it would be accurate to assume most people wouldn't think or expect jews (or anyone ones else for that matter) would be so stupid or clueless as to fly their racist flag so publicly, that's all.
There are really only two types of young American Jews in Israel: the ones who head for Jerusalem, and the ones who go to Tel Aviv. I hope Blumenthal films his next segment in Tel Aviv, though the results would probably be far less salacious.
i guess i was hanging out at the wrong spot. i definitely met many cool people in tel aviv, but none from america outside of the ones i was traveling with. all the kids i ran into at the beach were for the most part massive partiers and radically right wing.
Talking to drunken American Jewish 19-year-olds to gauge Israeli opinion on Obama is like using far-right conservatives to measure American public opinion on gay marriage.
yes well arguing a strawman is alot easier than facing the implications of the video too. the filmakers never asserted to be gauging Israeli opinion on Obama. but it sure as hell gauges the rightwing american jewish viewpoint unfiltered which seems to match the views of those ultra israeli freaks protesting bibs speech w/the photo of obama looking like the grim reaper decked out in a kaffiyeh.
btw, i was traveling w/an affiliated delegation as the filmmakers albeit philip weiss (from the mondoweiss blog that published the video) joined our group in gaza on the heels of obamas speech..
my first trip to the middle east. really amazing. i learned alot, like how people who seemingly have absolutely nothing can be so overwhelmingly generous. it blows me away. our culture could benefit from a lesson on hospitality hosted by palestinians.
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