As anyone with an IQ above room temperature can tell by a quick glance through the main page of this blog, I am a Zionist. And by “Zionist” I do not mean the perversion of the definition that Israel-haters use. I mean that if I had been alive during Theodor Herzl’s time, I would have supported his idea for establishing a Jewish state in our ancient homeland of Israel, and would have worked to help him achieve that dream. Now, when I say I am a Zionist, I mean that I support the state of Israel and her continued existence as a free, sovereign, Jewish nation.
I do not give a damn for the opinions of those who think that Israel is a racist state. I do not give a damn for the opinions of those who think that Israel has no “right” to exist. I do not give a damn for the opinions of those who think that the Jews of Israel are a bunch of European colonials who “stole” the land from the “indigenous” population (utterly ignoring the 3,500-year history of Jewish communities in the land of Israel, up to and including ignoring the Hebron massacre of 1929, which erased the millennia-old Jewish population of that “West Bank” town).
And more to the point, I am not at all interested in seeing those thoughts uttered in my comments sections. Neither am I interested in hearing the viewpoints of those who pretend that a terrorist group that has a “military” and “political” wing is any more legitimate than any other terrorist group. I am not interested in hearing about how Israel is enforcing “collective punishment” on the poor, poor, pitiful Pals. I am not interested in hearing the same, tired, over-the-top shrieking against a state that is protecting its people from having brainwashed children blow themselves up in the middle of a restaurant, or a bus, or a market. I am tired of hearing the Israel-bashers attack Israel on every single point while utterly ignoring the barbarity of the so-called “victims,” the poor, poor, pitiful Pals.
I was not kidding when I declared this blog to be a No Israel-Bashing Zone. I can read that garbage in any mainstream media publication. I can read anti-Israel reporting on the BBC website, or in the Guardian, or Reuters, or the AP. I can watch it on any given news program. And I can read it on any unmoderated blog that has a discussion that mentions Israel or Jews, on any topic.
You know what? That’s not this blog. If you want to rag on Israel, go somewhere else. If you want to sympathize with the poor, poor, pitiful pals, go somewhere else. If you want to bash the one nation in the Middle East where it is not illegal to be homosexual, where “honor” killings are not winked at, where women can work, vote, and run for office, where you can worship as you please, and where the government changes regularly without a single shot being fired—GO. SOMEWHERE. ELSE.
Think that makes this blog an echo chamber? Ask me if I care. My blog, my space, my dime, my rules. I did not ask for your opinions, Mr. and Ms. Israel-hater, I do not want them, I will not publish them. If your comment gets through my moderation queue, I will delete it. That means your trackbacks, too. Once again, my blog, my space, my dime, my rules.
Go somewhere else. This is a no Israel-bashing zone for a reason: So I and my readers don’t have to be subjected to the Israel-hating, Jew-hating garbage that we see everywhere else.
Not here.
Go.
Somewhere.
Else.
Wow, cool. I think it is such a nice place to be, not having to hear anti-Jewish crap. (oh, don’t let the b*st*rds hide behind the “anti-Israel but not anti-Jew” nonsense).
I’m with you Meryl. I can hear the anti-semitic rants on CBC – don’t want to have to read them here too.
Go Israel, you are in my heart and my prayers.
You know, as Israel goes, so do we all…
Bravo.
I too am an unapologetic Zionist Joooooâ„¢.
I’ve spent the past thirty six of my forty-eight years as an ardent Zionist.
Though I was raised in a nominally, culturally Christian home, I was largely an unchurched heathen.
Yet, reading Uris’ “Exodus”, watching the horror of Munich, the Yom Kippur War…. I knew right from wrong from a very early time in my life.
And I knew I was on the side of Zion.
Later, finding Christ in ’75, I learned even more how right the cause of Israel.
So I am now, not quite old, no longer young.
And armed to the teeth, with a fierce willingness and cold resolve.
I stand with Zion.
Jim
Sloop New Dawn
Galveston, TX
Ms Yourish:
I understand how you feel and sympathize. But I’m a secular center Zionist. Am I allowed to bash the Kahanists here?
Wow. Nobody, but NOBODY ever clicks on the link that says “COMMENTS POLICY (PLEASE READ).
If you click on it, Diogenes, your question will be answered. But I would think the words “Keep it civil” would give you a clue about bashing anyone.
Oh, you know what I mean, Ms Yourish. Is everyone ‘on our side’ a sacred cow, however extreme?
Perhaps you should look around a while before asking that question. Here’s a good place to start.
Okay, I think our red lines are similar. :0^
I’ve been run off all the Jewish-Arab dialog/peace forums for my insistence that Muslim/Arab culture is part of the problem—but I’m not simplistic or bloody minded enough to be at home on most of the pro-Zionist venues, and I try not to depersonalize the Arabs, even if they’re meshuggah.
I do have a few topics I don’t allow. I will not have the “Who is a Jew” discussion here, because it always–ALWAYS–devolves into name-calling.
There is criticism, there is discussion, and then there is simply throwing verbal bombs. Civility is requested, and required.
I also tend to quash over-enthusiastic demonization of the palestinians.
I don’t want my comments to be LGF Lite. I’ve lost more than a few LGF commenters by forbidding them to post like that here.
We have our rough edges, and sometimes things get a bit nasty, but overall, I’m happy with the comments here.
I was aware of your blog but hadn’t frequented it before—came over tonight because it was linked on LGF. Some of the people on LGF curdle my blood. I’m generally characterized as center right, tend to see both sides but favor a hard-nosed approach.
There are times I enjoy the challenge of keeping my cool and fencing with the leftist antisemites—who are much more infuriating than real Arabs—and times I’d just like to not hear from them. People delegitimizing the peoplehood of the Jews are not worth arguing with anyway—just tell them to find any professional anthropologist who denies that Jews are an identifiable ethnoreligious group and culture.
so this is a propaganda blog? look, i’m an americanist and i too want its existence to continue but i know it is not a perfect nation and the only way to head toward perfection is to criticize its imperfections. why publish your “zionist” blog on the internet if you don’t want criticism, start a pro-zionist members only club. or did you just want to propagandize zionism? i know you’re emotional about the subject but can you rationalize your position.
Hi, like your blog, as I grew up (church of England) I heard in the news the 7 day war and had common knowlege of the history and allways felt what was right, as I was educated before political correctness I learnt the basics but today where can I find an unbiassed as possable history of Israel in the 20th century? it seems to me that most decent people dont have a clue about the reality of Israel/palastine, I remember from school inthe 60s the Jewish homeland was invaded and the brutal occupation made rome send the crusaders but can you point me to a link that can tell the last 100 years? then I can hold my own in the many discussions i find myself embroiled in, the media having done sucha good job in brainwashing the population with the poor palastinian bullshit.
Would that our State Department could give such a clear, ringing explanation and endorsement of why we support the Jewish state.
Well done, indeed.
jk: I already stated, quite clearly, why I do what I do. The fact that you don’t accept my explanation doesn’t make it emotional or irrational. Or wrong.
The fact that you think not allowing Jew-hatred in my comments is “propaganda” does not reflect well on you.
Okay, Meryl, so now I’m a lapsed Catholic promoted to Zionist? That’s great! (When do I get my commensurate raise?)
But seriously, I fully understand the “No Israel Bashing Zone” concept. It’s not like there’s a dearth of Israel bashing elswhere on the planet. I have never understood the lop-sided, one-sided bashing of the only Democratic state in the Middle East. If Israel is so bad, so apartheid, so evil, why are there so many willing Arabs who are Israeli citizens? Why does Israel allow Arabs to sit in the Knesset? Where are the Jews who sit in the governments of countries like Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Morrocco, Algeria, etc.? This double standard of holding Israel to a higher standard is pure hypocracy. It is also why the U.N. is holding true to the legacy of its predecessor, the League of Nations, and is becoming more and more irrelevent with each passing “Bash Israel” resolution.
No country is perfect but, in my humble opinion, Israel is the canary in the jihad coal mine. And I want that canary to continue to sing, and continue to be a shining light among nations. I’ve asked this question to people before, and usually got dumb looks for an answer: If you were in the middle of some deep sh*t, and you saw various groups of people surrounding you under various national flags, to which flag would you run for safety? After the Stars and Stripes, the list grows quite thin, but the blue and white banner of Israel is one of those flags to which I would make haste to seek protection and security. And that, to me, says it all.
You’ve obviously struck a chord tht resonates. I don’t know which I appreciate more, your general theme or the phrase, “anyone with an IQ above room temperature”. I think this is the first time I’ve laughed since Olmert took office.
God post.There are some people whose haate becomes so intense,it becomes a pleasurable emotion.Simply state,
“I will oppose you.”
God Bless Israel; and God Bless you, Meryl. I’m another non-Jewish Zionist, perhaps even a bit hard-core. I love Israel. I know of few Nations, or Peoples, more entitled to a land of their own than the Jewish people. The hateful fictions used to attack Israel’s existence are completely hollow in light of Israel’s ancient history and the sorrows inflicted on her children by so many barbarous groups.
I follow Israel issues fairly closely, but going through your comment section for this topic alone has been quite enlightening, and I think I have some catching up to do! You can thank Captain Ed for a new reader, and I thank you for raising your voice as eloquently as you do.
Mazel tov, bro.
Well stated remarks, Meryl. I am a U.S. Submariner stationed in Hawaii, which appears is not safe from N.K. now, and I had the opportunity to get to know an Israeli soldier who was staying in a hostel in Waikiki for a month.
Until then, I didn’t really understand the angst people had with Israel. I wasn’t into politics at the time and all I knew was that Israel was surrounded by despotic assholes; I did’t understand why Palestine hated Jews so much.
I didn’t understand why people didn’t recognize the state of Israel when I could read about Jews in the Bible some 2 thousand years ago.
After talking to my new Israeli friend, Antonio, I quickly gained perpective, first hand, to the Israeli culture and struggle through Antonio’s stories.
That friendship peopelled me to an exhaustive Internet search on the creation of hte state of Israel. You are absolutely correct when you say there are sites that have nothing on them but Jew-hating agendas. It makes my head hurt to read the same tiring arguments you talked about page after page.
I will never understand how people can take such a harsh stand against Israel- is it because Israel has turned the .1% of the Arab land they own into a thriving oasis? How cosmicly ignorant.
I wave a dismissive hand at the tools who continue to bring the First Amendment into question when it comes to blogs. Why would the rules on someone’s blog be any different than if you were in that person’s house? I have left a few blogs because the owners did not care for my style of writing- it gets a bit brash at times and since they do not like it I exercise the freedom to not go there.
Thank you for this site, Meryl, for giving people the opportunity to learn even more about Israel and its struggles. It will be added to my modest blogroll.
Shalom, Meryl, Kol HaKavod!
As you point out, for those who wish to see Israel and Jews bashed, there are innumerable fonts of foolery and foulness.
May you remain a font of decency and truth.
Kol Tuv
For the record – your blog post speaks for me, Meryl.
Mazeltov and yasher koach.
criticism of zionist policies does not equal jew-hatred just as criticism of u.s. policies does not equal american-hatred. one can hate the game and not the player. i guess your reply is really “it’s my ball and you can’t play unless you let me win.” maybe you should rethink your response to my earlier comment (#63) of your blog policy “it doesn’t make it emotional or irrational. or wrong” b/c i wasn’t refering to hatred, just criticism. also, what does propaganda mean to you?
Meryl,
I really like this post. Thanks for reminding everyone that blogs are not government sponsored rags, and are meant to reflect the oppinions of the people writing them. Bravo on the stance on Zionism too. You’re on the blogroll. Keep up the good work.
jk: Once again, I already stated my reasons. You are asking me to restate them. Go read my post again. Read it a few more times, and maybe it will sink in.