Bashing Israel for saving Haitians

[Behind the Aegis]

---snip---

Over the past week, the work of the Israeli medical team has become a kind of Rorschach for how people view Israel and Israelis. Most of the comment, it must be said, is supportive. Even on the part of those who cast the humanitarian misery in Gaza in contrast.

But for a shocking number of others, the bottom line is simple: Israel,
and Israelis, can do no right.

In its most extreme form, there are those who have accused Israel of using the Haiti catastrophe as a new reservoir for harvesting organs.

But even many of those who shun blood libels, have seized on the Haiti mission to bash Israel, revealing in many cases a hatred - and a bigotry - that borders on the visceral.

"I guess giving Israel credit for good deeds in Haiti," wrote reader John Smithson on the widely read Mondoweiss site, "is like watching a serial killer or other sociopathic type mow an old woman's lawn (or some other charitable thing)."

more...

[Better Today]

1. "I guess giving Israel credit for good deeds in Haiti,"

... "is like watching a serial killer or other sociopathic type mow an old woman's lawn (or some other charitable thing)."

Sounds about right.

[unabelladonna]

2. really?

there are many rational people who believe the israelis are justified in protecting its' borders. and the truth is i haven't seen many muslim countries reaching out to help haiti.

many lefties have much in common with the KKK and stormfront in their hatred of israel.

if you were being sarcastic, i apologize.

[damntexdem]

3. What the team is doing in Haiti is exemplary.

What the Israeli government, and its nutcase settlers, have done and are doing in Israel and Palestine is the new Holocaust.

[Better Today]

5. Fair enough, I can embrace your point.

[hack89]

11. Not much of a Holocaust

considering the Palestinian population is exploding.

[cali]

29. holocaust? consider learning a little history.

[Violet_Crumble]

31. You started out well and then crashed and burnt...

That last bit was a real face-palm moment. Do you realise what the Holocaust was and how immense it was, and more importantly who most of the victims were? That's why it's so wrong to use it in the way you just did. What Israel has done and continues to do to the Palestinian people is brutal and so wrong, but there's no genocide happening and to draw totally wrong and offensive comparisons like you did doesn't help anything...

[LeftishBrit]

33. +1

[Better Today]

34. Armenian here, yeah, I get it.

[Violet_Crumble]

30. Yr just the mirror image of the poster yr replying to...

'....and the truth is i haven't seen many muslim countries reaching out to help haiti.'

Both of you are using the earthquake as a tool to get on yr respective hobby horses. As for you, why do you find it acceptable to sit round criticising Muslim countries (btw, the truth is the reason you haven't seen many muslim countries helping is coz yr not wanting to see - start off with Indonesia) yet find it so appalling when anyone criticises Israel?

[Behind the Aegis]

4. "Sounds about right."

Only among narrow-minded, ignorant, and/or bigoted minds.

[Ken Burch]

9. That kind of comment does not help.

Israel has a horrible government.

It's treatment of Palestinians is abominable.

But it's not the political equivalent of a serial killer.

[LeftishBrit]

27. Absolutely..

and we can add that many of the countries concerned in the aid effort have horrible governments and have mistreated the people of other countries and often their own. This should not be seen as relevant to the aid effort. Giving aid in such a disaster is not a privilege that a country needs to 'deserve'; it is a moral duty for all countries that have any aid to give.

It is good at least to see so many countries of the world, whatever their divisions, working together to help the earthquake victims (what a pity that they cannot do so all the time!) Whatever the motives of the countries concerned (probably mixed in most cases), this should be encouraged, indeed demanded, and not sneered at.

[Violet_Crumble]

35. Can you imagine the complaints if some of those countries didn't help?

Some of the same people who are complaining now about them helping would be complaining if they weren't.

[proteus_lives]

25. Ignorant.

[cali]

28. sick comment

says a whole lot more about you and the original utterer than it does about the Israelis.

[azurnoir]

32. see comment #5

and next time please try to control that jerky knee

[Violet_Crumble]

6. I agree with some of what he says

What doesn't get mentioned is that the same attitude is displayed by some people when it comes to help given by Cuba, Iran, the US etc. Pretending that Israel is unique in that regard is bigoted in itself.

I've got so much respect for those helping regardless of their nationality. Unfortunately those who feel Israel can do no right and those who feel it can do no wrong lose sight of the bigger picture.

[Ken Burch]

8. Well put.

Israel has at various times been the source of good things.

None of those good things justify the treatment of the Palestinians.

Can anyone really disagree with that statement?

[Violet_Crumble]

23. Thanks. And what you said is so true...

What some people appear to be ignoring in their haste to hump the leg of Israel, is that this whole thing isn't about Israel - it's about Haiti. Trying to make it all about Israel is really pathetic and obsessive, imo...

[Ken Burch]

7. Aegis, for the love of God, we had a thread PRAISING Israel on this right here in DU

Indiana Green started it.

You're stirring up shit here for no reason.

The worst anybody's done is to not say that the Israeli medical assistance in Haiti somehow JUSTIFIES the Occupation. This wasn't said because there was no REASON to say it.

Nobody has attacked Israel for SENDING help to Haiti.

Please stop creating enemies where enemies aren't.

[Behind the Aegis]

14. Did you bother to read it?

If posting this article is stirring up shit, I would say you are falling down on your duty as hall monitor in "correcting" the behavior of those posting other threads, which were, interestingly enough, posted within an hour after mine was started.

You're the one stirring shit with your condescending moralizing.

"Nobody has attacked Israel for SENDING help to Haiti."

Try that on someone who doesn't read this forum daily.

"Please stop creating enemies where enemies aren't."

Please stop pretending some aren't already enemies.

Edit: time change

[azurnoir]

16. That I saw there was one comment that actually bashed Israel

on that thread

[Behind the Aegis]

17. Thank you.

[azurnoir]

18. Your welcome n/t

[Ken Burch]

19. One comment does not equal Israel being under unfair attack

And one comment couldn't possibly harm Israel's chances of survival(we all know it's certain to survive anyway).

[Behind the Aegis]

20. Do you ever stop with the strawmen?

Seriously, give it a rest.

[Ken Burch]

21. There was no strawmen

Israel is being treated just as thankfully for its assistance as any OTHER country would be.

[Behind the Aegis]

22. Ignoring your own strawmen, doesn't mean they don't exist.

[azurnoir]

15. True enough but that thread very quickly turned in to bashing

of another sort IMO; and likewise IMO the politicizing of the desperate situation in Haiti is uncalled for no matter who is doing it

[Ken Burch]

10. As Tuesday's "Democracy Now!" pointed out, people from Gaza have sent support to Haiti as well

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/19/headlines/gaza_residents_donate_to_haiti_relief_effort

Therefore, while what Israel has done is admirable, it doesn't prove that the Israeli side is morally superior to the Palestinians.

[Alamuti Lotus]

12. Yes, it smacks of trying to make too much PR hay out of the matter

I am not sure which side I'm referring to there... hmm. Not sure which I find more displeasing:
"Hey hey! Look at me! Look at how good I'm trying to look!"
or,
"Hey hey! Look at them! Look at how good they're trying to look!"

[IndianaGreen]

13. I find myself in rare agreement with you, BTA

Recently I was taken aback when someone unrec a thread I posted in the Indiana forum about a Hoosier servicemember that was killed in Afghanistan. I thought the unrec was in bad taste, and whoever did it was an idiot carrying some grudge for something posted upstairs in the forum.

The recent attacks on Israel on account of its humanitarian mission to Haiti are far more in bad taste than an unrec on a DU post. Not only it is in bad taste, it is way off the mark, and can only be categorized as irrational behaviour, or worse.

Israel is a good country. Israelis are good people. We can no more judge Israel and Israelis for the actions of its government, and some crazies, than we can judge America and Americans for the actions of our government, and our share of crazies.

[Violet_Crumble]

26. What recent attacks??

The recent attacks on Israel on account of its humanitarian mission to Haiti are far more in bad taste than an unrec on a DU post. Not only it is in bad taste, it is way off the mark, and can only be categorized as irrational behaviour, or worse.

If yr talking about that thread you started, people were being told off if they didn't agree that Israel was the bestest and most awesome country in the world and so much better than everyone else. How is that attacking Israel? The earthquake isn't about Israel, it's about Haiti...

[ProgressiveMuslim]

24. They send aid to Haiti, but don't allow NGOs into the territories they occupy and destroy. Sweet.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Violet_Crumble]

36. There's lots more bashing Muslim countries for not being as good as Israel...

I just found a revolting site called Tom Gross media that's going full-bore in a simultaneous whine aobut how dare anyone not think Israel is wonderful for helping and how dare anyone not think that Muslim countries suck big chunky bits for not helping as much as Israel. Absolutely nauseating stuff and a great example of how there's some folk who care much less about the victims than they do about scoring points for their political hobby horse...

[cali]

37. you're doing exactly what you're complaining about

you're turning it into a contest over who's being bashed more.

[Violet_Crumble]

38. Sorry I missed seeing this when it was posted. I was doing nothing of the sort n/t