May 6, 2002
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What if all is irrelevant except killing and destroying?
Following my curiosity, I recently muddled around in the history of Judaism, Zionism and Palestine covering a couple thousand years and focused on the twentieth century and the post WW II years. Zionism may be defined, in part, as the objective of Jews to occupy (reoccupy?) Palestine. As Israel begins to take form in the latter part of the 19th century, Jewish settlement under the Ottoman Empire and then the British Mandate following WW I was sporadic but increasing as a trend. It is from this time that we have the romanticisms associated with Kibbutzim. Parenthetically, when I was working on dry land farming in Arizona and New Mexico, much of the quality work available was traceable to modern day interpretations and expansions of techniques such as those of the Essenes, desert residents from just before the time of Jesus Christ. Development-oriented Jews couldn't understand why Arabs were more interested in grazing than plowing, allowing the land rather than cutting it to shape, sustaining more than exploiting. Do words such as Haganah, Palmach, Stern Gang and Irgun have meaning to you? To refresh any memory or awareness you may have of these words, I will quote from the Jewish Virtual Library as prime source. Haganah: "The underground military organization of the yishuv [Jewish community] in Eretz Yisrael [Palestine redefined as Israel] from 1920 to 1948." Irgun: ". . . Irgun Zvai Le'umi (the National Military Organization) known in Hebrew by its acronym Etzel, and in English as the Irgun or IZL. . ." ". . . While the Haganah adhered to the policy of self-restraint ('Havlaga'). . . the Irgun activity resisted Arab aggression." "With the publication of the 1939 White Paper [by Great Britain] restricting Jewish immigration into Palestine, the Irgun had no choice but to direct their efforts against the British, too. . . ." "On February 1, 1944, the Irgun proclaimed a revolt against British rule over Palestine and demanded that the British leave the country forthwith and a Jewish state be established. The gradual intensification of military action against the Mandatory Government undermined the basis of British rule. These operations, carried out with the Lehi (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel [aka, Stern Gang]) and occasionally with the Haganah as well, ultimately forced the British government to bring the question of the future of Palestine before the United Nations. . ." "Now that the British Archives have been opened, it is obvious that the armed fight against the British, in which the Irgun took a prominent part, had a decisive role in their withdrawal from the country." If you will plow through hundreds of pages of text available through this website and its links, you will find many similarities in operations and organization with Arafat's Palestine Authority and others such as Hamas, et al. Although no intifada, per se, was cited in Zionist sources, there is frequent reference to "passive resistance." Suicide intents were common, however, among the Zionist resistance. It is clear from all this documentation that Bush II would have a hard time leaving the Zionists out of the Terrorist category. Instead, he unleashes the worst of repressive measures by a militant old man now leading the Israeli government. There is only one way to win and that is to win. Bush II to Sharon, "Go for it man! Assassination works. Get it over with. Clean up the vermin and clear out their shit." Pictures of various explosive actions by Zionists look almost identical to pictures of explosive actions taken in recent times. Among the more blatant actions was blowing up the King David Hotel in Jerusalem (July 22, 1946) killing 92, wounding 58. That blowout was only one of a long list of such actions. Three immigration offices (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa) were hit on February 12, 1944. Tax offices, British Intelligence Headquarters (twice March 23, 1944 and December 27, 1945), four police stations (Tagggart Fortresses), airfields (Kfar Surkin, Kastina or Hatzor), Jerusalem Railway Station, seizure of Haifa, targeting police and military, etc. and etc. Prominent among the Zionist fighters are found the names of those who would head up or occupy significant roles in the future state of Israel. Terrorists who win become statesmen and women. As Daniel Quinn suggests in his many novels, there is no way for two people to stand on the same land at the same time and both insist that it is exclusively theirs. Fifty years later, little has changed except switching of names between terrorists and freedom fighters. Who was there first is quite irrelevant. The March 2002 issue of Harper's Magazine reports that "Archaeology Refutes the Bible's Claim to History." "In the last quarter century or so, archaeologists have seen one settled assumption after another concerning who the ancient Israelites were and where they came from proved false. . . The religion we call Judaism does not reach well back into the second millennium B. C., but appears to be, at most, a product of the mid-first." You may read the details and agree or disagree as you feel directed. In my library, there are several books covering research into the area and the various religions related thereto which come to similar conclusions. A reasonably open mind allows for the possibility if not probability that belief often overcomes data. Did God write in modern English? Notice that several "terrorist" operations have been successful. France and the United States in the late 1700s. Israel and Algeria in the mid-1900s. Defeat of Reconstruction efforts following the American Civil War. Destruction of indigenous peoples and seizure of their lands dating from the beginning of recorded history. Various anti-colonial efforts in Africa and Asia. Reconfiguration of the Balkans, several times. Afghanistan in terms of the Soviets. I suppose it is too much to expect politicians to concern themselves with historical relevance when power is their lure. Welcome to the War on Terror, which well serves the domestic purposes of those who have seized power in the United States of America. As Deep Throat advocated during the Watergate follies of the 1972, "Follow the money." Find out who benefits. Right now the money largely comes from the federal coffers of the United States. The usurpers are looting the treasury, destroying essential American values, determined to impose their policies on lands and peoples around the world as well as to drill and mine what may be underneath it. On one level it may be encouraging that "intellectual" media such as Harper's Magazine and The Atlantic Monthly are starting to publish articles highlighting some of the perplexities and conundrums evident. Normally staid and predictable journals such as Foreign Affairs and Current History are also presenting food for thought. Among daily journals, the London-edited Financial Times is carrying much more solid reporting than any American newspaper I see. Meanwhile, killing and destruction expands and resolution, if possible, diminishes. · · · · · ·
Milo Clark, a founding member of Swans, had it all: Harvard MBA, big house, three-car garage, top management... Yet, once he had seemingly achieved the famed American dream he felt something was missing somewhere. As any good executive he decided to investigate. Since then, he has become a curmudgeon and, after living in Berkeley, California, where he was growing bamboos, making water gardens, listening to muses, writing, cogitating and pondering, he has moved on to the Big Island in Hawaii where he creates thought forms about sunshine. Do you wish to share your opinion? We invite your comments. E-mail the Editor. Please include your full name, address and phone number. If we publish your opinion we will only include your name, city, state, and country. Please, feel free to insert a link to this article on your Web site or to disseminate its URL on your favorite lists, quoting the first paragraph or providing a summary. However, please DO NOT steal, scavenge or repost this work without the expressed written authorization of Swans, which will seek permission from the author. This material is copyrighted, © Milo G. Clark 2002. All rights reserved. |
This Week's Internal Links
The United States v. Democracy - by Stephen Gowans
The Wrong Stuff - by Deck Deckert
The Hand Of God - by Alma Hromic
Of Rice And Men: The Mistaken Promise Of Genomics - by Jan Baughman
Self Interest - by Milo Clark
Massacre Or Not? It Depends On Which Side Of Washington's Ledger You're On - by Stephen Gowans
Blackmailing Palestinians: Plucked, Cooked, Baked And Packaged - by Gilles d'Aymery
Going Home: i - Looking Back - Poem by Alma Hromic
Going Home: ii - Taking Flight - Poem by Alma Hromic
Dollars for Terror - Book Review by Milo Clark
Blighted National Priorities - Book Review by Milo Clark
Milo Clark on Swans
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