Segacs's World I Know

Posts Tagged ‘imshin’

I said it in my last post, but in case you didn’t get the message, here’s a repeat: If you’re not reading Imshin religiously lately, you need to be. As in, now.

Here are just a few reasons why:

• Israelis dancing on the roof
• The Gaza war is real
• What choice do they have?
• Gaza war ruminations
• Why is Israel doing this?

There’s more. Much, much more. What are you still doing here? Head on over there and start reading.

Imshin is fed up, and writes why:

I started this blog in 2002 because I was so upset about the lies being told about Israel all the time. Lies being told and being believed.

I don’t care any more. It doesn’t matter. We’ve always had to look out for ourselves. Today is no different.

[ . . . ]

Brave kids are fighting for us in Lebanon, getting wounded, getting killed. Whole families have been sitting underground for weeks, many others are refugees. People are being killed and wounded in their homes, thousands of homes have been destroyed. By an organization described by some foreign media as a ‘resistance movement’. Resistance against what exactly?

Against Israel’s existence. They are quite clear about that.

The situation is that Lebanon has to burn right now if Israel is to survive. I’m sorry for the people on the other side, but that is the way it is. Us or them. In that respect we are not doing nearly enough for the enemy to get the picture. No, for the enemy to cease to be.

So I’m supposed to be bothered about the usual lies being told about us by our enemies, those who wish us to cease to be? Excuse me if I don’t give a $%^&!

Read the whole thing.

I know we’re heading into yet another election campaign in Canada… but, as all our elections are, it’s sure to be a real snoozer. So instead, let’s talk about the more interesting election campaign – Israel’s.

Imshin is optimistic, sort of:

There is something uplifting about what has been happening here in recent days. For years everyone has been moaning that we have no leaders. Suddenly we do. Two of them, up against each other.

Sharon and Peretz are both nasty bastards, both sly, corrupt, cynical politicians. Is Peretz any nastier than Sharon? I doubt it. Love them or hate them, the thing is that both are people who get things done, make things happen. Who would have believed the Gaza disengagement would actually happen? You had to be here to realize how absolutely incredible that was. And who would have believed anyone would be able to resurrect the Histadrut? For instance.

Here’s Allison on Shimon Peres:

We need a national referendum on whether it’s time for him to retire.

Here’s Harry’s reaction on what Sharon’s new party may mean for Shinui:

Oh, and Shinui is DONE. The creation of a centrist party without the anti-religious banter and sans a cantankerous leader is the death knell for the secular party.

That’s true, though I still contend that Shinui has been done ever since the night after the last election, when Yasser Arafat openly praised Tommy Lapid.

Finally, we have Isreality giving the ultimate reality check:

“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

The outcome of this spring’s elections will undoubtedly result in another limping coalition of partners tugging each other apart at the seams, with the same old leaders making the same old back room deals.

The only aspect to look forward to actually, is the campaign commercials for the fringe parties like the taxi drivers’ party, the Green Leaf party for legalizing pot, and the sentimental favorite – the battered husbands’ party. Now that’s entertainment.

Fringe parties are probably the only things that will save the Canadian election from mind-numbing dullness as well. At least we have that in common.

Imshin says we should not avert our eyes. She’s probably right. Israelis – and those of us who consider ourselves in solidarity with Israel – need to be engaged during this painful time of disengagement.

But Meryl describes perfectly how horribly difficult it is:

I have found myself unable to read the stories, or watch the news reports, or even think very much about it, because no matter whether or not you agree with the removal of the settlements, if you have a heart, you cannot but be upset to see people uprooted forcibly from their homes.

I cannot watch Jews fight Jews and remain dry-eyed. I can’t even read about it and not choke up. And I find that I cannot write very much about it, either.

[ . . . ]

Here is what I think is going to happen in the next few months: The terrorist attacks will continue, redoubled, as soon as Mahmoud Abbas feels comfortable enough with doing so. Israeli will not invade Gaza in response; world opinion will prevent her from doing so. The terrorism will move to the West Bank, as the IDF already realizes. Rockets will fly at Israel proper. The world will tell Israel to “show restraint.” The UN will condemn any Israeli actions.

Nothing will change. Nothing. The Bush administration has proven that they believe in the Exception Clause when it comes to condemning terrorism against Jews. I’m not buying this op-ed in the Times; Zev Chafets is an optimist, and he is overlooking the Exception Clause. The EU and the UN are still slaves to Arab oil, Arab money, Arab voting blocs, and their own barely-repressed history of anti-Semitism. They still refuse to fully condemn Hamas and Hizbullah, whose leaders have a new rallying cry, and who insist they are winning the battle with Israel.

Did I say nothing will change? That’s wrong. Israelis will no longer be murdered in the Gaza Strip. But only because they aren’t there.

These days, I find I’m just as pessimistic as Meryl. And equally unable to write about it.

Imshin’s verdict is that this latest Harry Potter installment is better than the last.

I think the exact opposite. And judging by the comments section on her site, I’m not the only one.

If you aren’t reading Imshin, Damian or Lisa regularly, you’re missing out. Do yourselves a favour and surf on over there now. There’s not much to see here anyway; I’m still in too-busy-to-blog mode.

Fairly amusing in that so-wrong-but-somehow-so-deserved kind of way. (Via Imshin).

We in Quebec are no strangers to colour wars in politics. Just three days after the sea of red at Canada Day, and ten days after the similar sea of blue at the St-Jean Baptiste Day celebrations, it’s hard to deny that complicated political and identity politics are too often reduced to a colour of the rainbow.

Witness what’s been going on in Israel, where a colour war of their own is raging over the disengagement issue. And it seems like it’s all anyone there can talk about these days. Here are thoughts from Allison, Imshin, Imshin again, and Brian, just to name a few. And here’s a Ynet analysis of the colour war.

The thing is, there’s nothing simple or trivial about the current situation in Israel, that seems to be leading the country to the brink of civil war. Protests are turning violent and there are even worries of potential assassination attempts on Sharon or other key members of government. To Israelis who feel that this is the only way to break the stalemate and ensure Israel’s security, the protesters are divisive extremists creating disunity at a critical time. To Israelis being asked to leave their homes, uproot their communities, and – in their view – reward terrorists for years of attacks and bloodshed, this is nothing less than a catastrophe. Are there any issues more serious than one’s home, one’s safety and security, and one’s identity?

Maybe the colour war has emerged precisely because the issues are so serious. Discussing orange or blue takes the focus off the agonizing choices and potential consequences, and places them on the often absurd things emerging from the whole issue. Humour as a defence mechanism is not exactly new for Israelis as a way of coping.

Or maybe it’s just politics. A colour is an easy symbol to represent a political view, and makes a powerful visual statement in a crowd. Perhaps this is just simply smart marketing on the part of the disengagement protesters.

One thing is for sure: this colour war is nothing like the kind we used to have in summer camp. And it’s going to get worse before it gets better. With many Israelis supporting the plan, many more vehemently opposed, and a whole host of people caught in the middle and unsure of what to think, it’s making for a long, hot summer.

(Hmmm, now that I’m ready to publish this, I notice that the button on Blogger to “save as draft” is blue and the one to “publish post” is orange. Will you take my word for it that I’m not making a political statement by choosing to publish the post?)

Autonomous Source has a story that’s getting little press coverage but could have widespread implications.

Debbye warns us that Carolyn Parrish may be staging a comeback, now that Paul Martin’s so desperate to inflate his ranks with just about anyone. Why can’t she just disappear?

Imshin and Lisa both share travel tales.

And over at Peaktalk, a strongly-worded post criticizing the Liberals of playing politics with human lives in Darfur. On principle I agree, though I have to sadly admit that there’s precious little that Canada could do even if we were honestly committed to trying.

Allison is tired of the same old story:

We’ve seen this movie before — the Palestinian Authority does nothing, Sharon and the government have no choice politically or militarily but to root out the terror itself, going into Gaza and the West Bank, resuming targeted assassinations, etc. And while they still say they are going ahead with disengagement, the political road to getting out of Gaza will get even rockier and they may have to slow down the pace.

Then the world gets all pissed off at us, and the sparks of potential for a real agreement and progress towards peace quickly get snuffed out.

I would love it if someone would change the script.

Lisa worries about the effects of becoming numb:

I told her that I’d let my guard down. I had lost the ability to shrug off the bombings, and I didn’t think I had the energy to deal with the rollercoaster of emotions again – the adrenalin rush and the grief and the fear.

But most of all, I am afraid of the numbness. Because when unspeakable events occur on a regular basis, survival mode kicks in: you can’t deal with those constant questions about meaning, so you don’t. You become numb. And that means that you lose a bit of your humanity. Because if you cry over every person who is killed, then you go cuckoo. But if you don’t cry, then you’ve lost something important. Empathy. Humanity.

And Imshin went to the site itself and took some horrifying photos.