I have to take issue with this notorious post and some of the reaction that has erupted over at Doc Dawg's place. First off, the title of CC's post is unfortunate and wrong. Steve Harper is a happily bought fella (and he's still for sale) but he wasn't bought by the "Jews" per se. He cashes his ideological checks from the extreme right wing faction of the hyper-partisan zealots who hide behind the pro-Israel banner. Certainly some of those folk are Jewish and wear their religion like inviolable armour. The simple fact is that most Jewish people and Israeli citizens do not support or condone the positions held by groups like the Jewish Defence League. Nor do they support the actions of the Israeli government in the West Bank and Gaza. In an interesting twist, many of our conservative pals also balk at the positions held by more liberal factions of the Israel lobby. The Canadian Jewish Congress stands four-square behind the dreaded Human Rights Commissions, bane of hate spewing Con bloggers.
There is a long standing right wing alliance with certain elements within the so-called pro Israel lobby, characterized by a motley gang of evangelicals, arms merchants and political opportunists (hi Steve). It is unfortunate that the more extreme sorts have co-opted the notion of Zionism and twisted it to their own bitter ends. As was readily shown in Dawg's comments here, there is no criticism of Israeli policy allowed and the "measured response" gang will play the anti-semitism card first and always because, as far as they are concerned, it is always trump. It is by their own hands that Zionist radical elements and their far right enablers have linked Judaism with the political. That is a gross disservice to the people of Israel and Jews the world over. It also makes it doubly difficult to make honest criticism of Israeli policy and practice.
That said, CC's post title steps across a line in my opinion. I know for a fact that CC is not an anti-semite, I have broken bread with him and we have spoken at length on political topics including this. The title of his post mischaracterizes the issue at hand. So I am asking that CC amend the post and issue a mea culpa. I think we need to be a little more temperate when it comes to casting wide nets in our criticisms. As for the laughable calls for Dr.Dawg to strike us from his rolls, that will be up to his own conscience. I will note for the record that it is comic at best to be getting a lesson in civility from a whining goober like Jay Currie whose own blog roll features such stellar bigots as Five Feet of Venom. I suppose when it comes to actual hatred it has to be the right flavour.
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*Sigh*. My eminent co-blogger PSA is, not surprisingly, exactly correct. The title of that post was poorly chosen indeed, and I will have more to say about that shortly.
Stay tuned. Or not. Whatever.
Just change the "j-word" to papists or gays or negroes or muzzies or frogs or "giant lizards;" anything further up the scale of bigotry acceptable to right wing supremacist morons.
Actually, none of that works on those people either. They get to have it both ways; they can be hideous bigots *and* accuse everyone else of bigotry. They really learned a valuable lesson from the Third Reich, that's for sure.
i totally get cc's use of ironic endorsement (been a vehicle of my own for ages), but it doesn't work in that particular case, cc, although that's not an indictment. i wouldn't even call it poor judgement, just not your best.
but anyone accusing you of anti-semitism, on that flimsy evidence, is an oppportunistic liar who cares nothing about genuine anti-semitism. fuck 'em.
KEvron
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