Jews In The Movement

Jan 16, 2018

by Devon Nola

By Devon Nola

Thanks to Laura MacDonald for bringing to our attention the revealing thread that begins with Richard Silverstein lamenting over being suspended from Twitter and infringing on his freedom of speech. This phenomenon of thought police is unfortunate, and we see this happening all over social media. However, it doesn’t take long before we see Silverstein engages in this very same reprehensible practice, blocking anyone who challenges his opinion or who expresses a view point he doesn’t agree with.

Silverstein is hardly the only one who engages in this behavior. In fact, it’s rampant across social media and most prevalent in the Palestinian Solidarity Movement: it appears to be largely controlled by the so called ‘Jews in the movement,’ a bunch of self-proclaimed anti-Zionist Jews. This contingent seems to be involved, primarily, in keeping the discourse of the oppressed Palestinians free from ‘antisemitism.’ In practice it sets the boundaries of the Palestinian solidarity discussion, so it is compliant with Jewish sensitivities.

What is most ironic is while blocking pro-Palestinian activists or anyone who crosses his redline, Silverstein simultaneously has started another Twitter page, “Why Is Twitter Censoring Free Speech”. His Twitter name on this page is ‘Tikun Olam Speaks’. Tikun Olam in Hebrew translates to ‘fixing the world,’ an aspiration of mending the human landscape in an ethical and universal manner. This may sound like a noble aspiration, yet, the intolerance performed by Silverstein and his acolytes isn’t necessarily the universe the rest of us like to dwell in.

Here are a few pearls from Mr. Silverstein: “…tonight, of all nights, Atzmon himself and a few acolytes decided they would take a dump here in the midst of my efforts to fight back against zio-suppression of free speech.” “So, these assholes, happy to divert attention from what’s important to their petty ideological squabble, mess things up for all the rest of us.” Based on these comments one may assume that Silverstein, despite his age, is still well within his anal phase. However, Silverstein continues, “I’ve almost never blocked anyone on the left....” I presume that Silverstein doesn’t see the irony in his supposed fight for free speech.

Maybe, Tikun Olam means fixing the world so it is constructive and beneficial to Jews only or Israelis, more specifically. Whatever the case, I would suggest that Silverstein and his company of ‘world fixers,’ may consider repairing themselves first.

For me, a female goy, self-reflection is the cornerstone of constructive universal ethical correction. Yet, my experience, with many of those who identify as the ‘Jews within the movement’ (including Liberal/Progressive, anti-Zionist, anti-racist, tolerant, peace-seeking, etc.) shows all evidence their agenda is somehow different. Rather than looking in the mirror, they engage in hideous smear campaigns, intense attempts to cancel talks and boycotts against anyone who doesn’t stay within the ‘safe boundaries’ of Palestinian discourse. Sadly, they operate much like the so-called hardcore, right-wing Zionists. This shouldn’t take us by complete surprise, the Zionists and the ‘Jews in the Movement’ self-identify as one people. They seem to disagree on some issues but they happen to adhere to one particular authoritarian political culture. Truthfully, by now, I have less issue with the Zionists as there is no pretense about who they are.

Two such innocent people who’ve been subject to these attacks are Gilad Atzmon and Alison Weir. The campaigns against them are astounding, merely for not following orders put in place by the so-called ‘Jews in the movement.’ But here is the good news. Both Weir and Atzmon survived the vile onslaught. I believe this is due to people experiencing a change of heart. It’s become clear to many of us that Atzmon and Weir are somewhat of a litmus test. If you hate them, you are most likely a ‘Jew in the movement.’

It may come as a surprise to some, but many television programs begin with a precursor stating the views in the program are not necessarily shared by the station. This is how we American Goyim, the so called 98% understand freedom of speech. This is how we unchosen Americans comprehend the 1st Amendment and the American experience in general. We want to see platforms open to all viewpoints. The notion of silencing dissent is what we Americans with just a single citizenship view as tyranny. If this is what the ‘Jews in the movement’ have to offer, they may be better off operating in isolation as they apparently do.

Watching Silverstein’s Thread is a lesson in Jewish self-ghettoization. You can see how Goyim and dissenters are pushed out one after the other. Within just a few hours a vivid discussion had been reduced into an isolated corner in a remote synagogue. Is it a coincidence that all of that happened just a few days before Yom Kippur when Jews, so we hear, are commanded to ‘self-reflect and amend their ways’?

The ‘Jews in the Movement’ seem to operate as a dedicated thought police force. For them speech is only free if you stick to their ‘script.’ Otherwise, be prepared to face their wrath. It seems fitting to close with two very profound Atzmon quotes. 1) “Jewish power is the capacity to suppress discussion of Jewish power”. 2) “The discourse of the oppressed is dictated by the sensitivities of the oppressor.” With friends like this, who needs enemies?

The Guardian of Judea

March 17, 2019

by Devon Nola

In the last week, we saw yet another organized smear campaign of hate and slander orchestrated by Jewish interest groups and Labour Party affiliates wielded against Internationally acclaimed Jazz musician, Gilad Atzmon. A protest was planned for Atzmon’s concert at The Vortex Jazz Club after numerous emails from local Labour Council members and members of these groups demanded the cancellation of the gig fell on deaf ears. They claimed Atzmon plays Nazi-apologist Jazz. Personally, I’m not familiar with the genre. The chief organizer was Jewdas, a group that qualifies itself as “Radical Jewish Voices”. The four co-sponsors were: Momentum, an alleged grass-roots collective, Socialists Against Antisemitism, whose name is self-explanatory if not contradictory, London Young Labour and The Jewish Labour Movement.

What is most interesting is this event was supported and promoted by journalist for “The Guardian”, Owen Jones. It’s always shocking when a journalist supports any sort of censorship. Jones posted the event on his Facebook page and within two days, managed to rack up over 350 comments telling him what a huge mistake he was making, the accusations against Atzmon were false and totally absurd, and might he provide some proof to substantiate the claims. Many came from avid readers and supporters of Jones’ usual commentary but were aghast at his support of preventing a respected musician from earning a living and they expressed this in no uncertain terms.

When Jones finally did respond, it was to attach a hit piece that came from an ultra-Zionist website full of misquotes, quotes out of context and even completely fabricated quotes. Rather than sifting through Atzmon’s prolific body of written work to decipher if the accusations against him were legitimate, Jones instead chose this piecemeal missive full of lies.

Realizing, at that point, Jones hadn’t actually read anything by Atzmon, I attached a copy of a page from Atzmon’s book, “The Wondering Who?”. I assumed once he read Atzmon’s thoughts, directly, versus some bastardized fictional version, he would realize his error in judgement and deliver a swift apology. This is what an honest journalist, a person with integrity would do. Astonishingly, Owen Jones chose a different path. He didn’t admit to his mistake (giving him the benefit of the doubt, here), but rather removed the entire thread, or shall I say, the evidence. This was a calculated, conscious decision, by Jones, suggesting he was fully aware of the deceit being peddled in both the protest he was supporting and the piece he scrounged up to defend it. This isn’t the behavior one expects from a journalist. It’s typically something one finds in a sleazy tabloid writer whose articles are printed next to ads for miracle serums to cure baldness or penis enlargement.

Some time ago, Atzmon coined the phrase “The Guardian of Judea” for the well-known paper. Witnessing one of their journalists engaged in such a slanderous campaign, where completely unfounded accusations of antisemitism, Nazi apologist and holocaust-denier are being lobbed at an innocent man like tennis balls on the final Sunday of Wimbledon, I’m inclined to think this is yet one more astute observation by the legendary saxophonist.

https://www.redressonline.com/2019/03/the-guardian-of-judea/

https://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/2019/3/19/the-guardian-of-judea

Capitulation

January 8, 2019

by Devon Nola

Black civil-rights icon, Angela Davis, was selected by Birmingham Civil Rights Institute as the recipient of the prestigious Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award at its annual gala in February 2019. BCRI’s CEO, Andrea Taylor, said of Davis that she is “one of the most globally recognized champions of human rights, giving voice to those who are powerless to speak,”. Dr. Davis is an American political activist, an academic and author.

However, it seems not everyone was happy with BCRI’s choice. Due to pressure from some of the local Jewish community, BCRI swiftly buckled and rescinded the award. The Institute opted to cancel the annual event and refund tickets. This decision has created a national outrage and harsh criticism directed towards BCRI. That Birmingham Civil Rights Institute doesn’t get to decide who has best served its own community as well as represent universal human rights is a travesty. To go as far as to say, “on closer inspection” they conclude this legendary civil rights activist “doesn’t meet the criteria’ is shameful.

To avoid repeating such embarrassing events such as this, maybe BCRI should get its humanist list from the ADL. Maybe all organizations should check with their local synagogue to obtain a list of permissible saxophonists who can play with The Blockheads on Christmas, which Black men and women can be honored for their work on civil and human rights, who can write lyrics for Pink Floyd and the list goes on. This seems the best way to relieve future tensions with one community determined to dictate to all others who they are permitted to celebrate.

To sign a petition in support of Gilad click here

Lodge a formal complaint with Islington Council: https://www.islington.gov.uk/contact-us/comments-and-complaints?status=inprogress

To support Gilad’s legal fund: https://donorbox.org/gilad-needs-additional-support

https://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/2019/1/8/capitulation?rq=capitulation

Spotlight on UK Zionist Bullyboy, Steve Silverman

January 8, 2019

char·i·ty

[ˈCHerədē]

NOUN

1) an organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need.

2) kindness and tolerance in judging others.

synonyms: goodwill · compassion · consideration · concern · kindness · kindliness · [more]

Campaign Against Antisemitism is a Jewish organization that calls itself a charity. It enjoys all the perks of charity-status, such as tax breaks. However, on close inspection, there is very little about the CAA that resembles a charity other than fundraising. Their most prolific activity seems to be terrorizing British citizens. They have quite a sweet tooth for musicians, in particular, but not solely. Essentially, anyone who offends them will be subject to their wrath and it’s all done in the name of fighting antisemitism.

But let’s focus on musicians. It seems two have been in their cross-hairs. 1) Alison Chabloz, a talented musician with outspoken views on many subjects including the holocaust and freedom of expression. 2) Gilad Aztmon, world-renowned saxophonist, author and philosopher who has a penchant for exploring the meaning of Jewish identity. Both of these talented musicians have been subject to attacks by the CAA. They both incurred massive legal bills defending their right to earn their living and enjoy their right to freedom of thought and expression as British citizens. Both are victims of the most relentless, vicious smear campaigns with the so-called “charity” leading the charge. When did charities carry out smear campaigns? When did preventing someone from earning a living become part of a charity’s function?

Let’s take a look at CAA’s lead character, Steve Silverman. He allegedly studied music at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has the drama aspect down to a science, not sure about the music, however. According to his website, students can come to his home and learn musicianship skills, music theory and history and musical analysis. He is not a musician. This could explain why he seeks to destroy them.

He claims to love opera and certainly sees himself qualified to review them. He believes he is capable of distinguishing what is good and bad in many things. I guess studying music in school is all one needs.

Looking at his reviews of music and performers on his blog tells a different story, however. They read more like the opinion of a pompous, jealous child than that of someone who appreciates, understands or actually plays music. In fact, if one is teaching musicianship, I’m not sure they would speak about musicians in such a repugnant manner.

In Silverman’s blog, he writes about the ‘exploitive’ practices of Simon Cowell and his talent-search show, Britains’ Got Talent. He refers to unlikely star, Susan Boyle, in her audition as “Deliberately brought on stage looking and behaving like someone you’d cross the street to avoid…” I’ve seen the episode. She was most definitely plain, but playful and sweet. To a fellow human, she comes off as lovely woman whom you’d enjoy having as your neighbor. She was a woman with a dream, and whatever one thinks of Cowell, he made that dream a reality. The female judge comments that Boyle is a wake up-call for anyone who was cynical and what a privilege it was to hear her sing. Susan Boyle is now a working recording artist, selling more than 20 million albums.

In 2012, a seventeen-year old boy with an astonishingly beautiful operatic tenor voice, Jonathan Antoine appeared on Cowell’s BGT. Silverman compared his appearance to that of a “Victorian circus sideshow.” The boy was quite large. Silverman’s take is a bit more cruel: “Hey, look at this big fat lad with the weird hair. Guess what – he can sing.” But the whole point of the show is to give opportunities to people who may never get them, thanks to the Silvermans of the world. Antoine was admittedly fragile and insecure, do to his size, but a sweet friend and fellow singer gave him the confidence to go on the show. Again, think what you like about Cowell, but without him and the support of the friend, Antoine may have remained in obscurity and no one would have heard his exquisite voice. In truth, Cowell has launched many successful musical careers. Is the industry exploitive? Indeed. It always was. However, I don’t think its anymore exploitive than the CAA and at least it honestly calls itself a business rather than a charity.

His take on International singer/songwriter/producer, Andrea Bocelli, is equally disturbing. He illegitimately and unfairly compares him to Pavarotti. There is one problem. Pavarotti is an opera singer, Andrea Bocelli is not. He never was. He is classical crossover, easy listening who has sold over 80 million albums. He performs some arias as well as selections from other genres but is not categorized anywhere as an opera singer. However, Silverman can’t seem to get passed the fact that he is a “former lawyer from Tuscany” who found world-wide fame as a singer. Silverman also can’t overlook Bocelli’s “need for a microphone, the thin whiny vocal tone and the absence of anything remotely resembling a talent for interpretation.” He attributes Bocelli’s success to the “one thing that not even Pavarotti in his prime possessed: blindness. Ker-ching!” Who on earth speaks about fellow musicians in such an ugly manner?

If he isn’t attacking their musical ability, outright, he goes for his favorite attack of anti-semite and does everything in his power to prevent them from performing as in the case of world-renowned jazz saxophonist, Gilad Atzmon. Atzmon was awarded (BBC award) as well as (British Grammy for best Jazz? Album). He is sought after, globally for his extraordinary musical genius but Silverman taunts and threatens music venues where Atzmon is scheduled to play. He may not like Atzmon’s missives, however, this has nothing to do with Atzmon as a musician.

Silverman deceptively cloaks his jealousy of the success of others in false concern for the poor exploited souls being duped by Cowell. He claims to be concerned about the welfare of their vocal chords. Young Antoine is classically trained so apparently there is nothing to worry about. I’m not sure there is one singer whom Silverman has tutored that is a raging success. They most likely bag groceries to pay their bills, including their lessons in musicianship.

In fact, his blog is one evisceration after another of musicians. The name of his blog should be “The Green Monster”. Jealousy oozes from every hateful word. His problem with Cowell is that he, too, is making boat loads of money. The irony is that both he and Cowell make money from other people’s talent. The difference is Cowell has found himself a little cash cow in his talent-search shows. Sadly, I believe Silverman isn’t doing so well.

Silverman needs to reconcile the fact that while he may own a few instruments and may possess a degree in something to do with music, he isn’t a musician. It would serve him well to stop attacking musicians and find something he enjoys and does well that isn’t drenched in venom, and spend his final years perfecting it. Green really isn’t his color.

https://www.redressonline.com/2019/01/spotlight-on-uk-zionist-bullyboy-steve-silverman/

Sukkot

October 3, 2018

by Devon Nola

Sukkot (Hebrew) is a biblical Jewish festival translated as Feast of Tabernacles and occurs in the fall. It has both agricultural and historical origins. According to the book of Exodus ( 34:22), it marks the end of the harvest time and the agricultural year in the Land of Israel. In the Book of Leviticus (23 :42-43), it commemorates the forty-year period during which the Jews were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters.

During the eight-day holiday (seven in Israel), temporary enclosed structures, called sukkahs, are erected and this is where the meals are eaten. I live 8 blocks from the very large Ashkenazi, Zionist Hasidic community, Chabad Lubavitch. This holiday brings the otherwise secluded Lubivitchers up to my end, in droves, where they approach everyone they pass and ask, “are you Joyeesh?” If someone is, they wish them “Chag Sameach” or ‘happy holiday’. If the answer is no, they keep it movin’. Nothing to wish to the goyim.

What is impressive about this holiday is the work that goes into its preparation. I watch sukkot being constructed throughout their community, which involves large trucks bringing in tall panels of wood and Hasidic men directing labourers on where to make the piles and even doing the actual construction. These structures are somewhat of an eyesore as they litter a community that is multicultural, but they’ll only be up for 8 days so everyone just accepts it. Mitzvah tanks covered in Hebrew letters and images of rabbis are out in full force blasting klezmer music from their speakers. The celebration of the ancient nomadic Jews and the reaping of their harvest is underway. Ironically, some 5700 miles away, Jews in Israel are doing the same thing, while simultaneously destroying actual nomadic Palestinian Arab communities. Bedouins construct temporary structures and move from place to place with their livestock, but are being forced off their own land into a sedentary lifestyle in permanent structures by the Israeli government. The Israeli government actually forces the Bedouins to demolish their own shelters.

Sukkot can be seen throughout NYC. Typically, there is a small one in Union Square and young Hasidic men are all too happy to tell the tale of this joyous, Joyeesh festival. The Upper East Side is also home to a sukkah, however, this one ran into a bit of controversy. A “vandal” allegedly spray-painted the tent with the slogan, “Free Gaza”. Its being qualified as a hate crime. I don’t see how a message to free a viciously oppressed people can be misconstrued as hate. It’s the most loving, selfless message on earth. According to The Times Of Israel, “Free Gaza” is an anti-Israel slogan. So, they are unapologetically stating that the freedom of the Palestinians is the current price to be paid for Jewish liberation. Is it any wonder Israelis project the notion that it is the Palestinians calling for destruction of the Jews? The ADL qualified the incident as “beyond the pale”. How dare anyone interfere with the Jewish celebration of an ancient tribe by drawing attention to the crimes against humanity being carried out by their modern-day kin?

https://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/2018/10/3/sukkot?rq=Devon%20Nola

The Green(stein)-Eyed Monster

February 27, 2018

By Devon Nola

Tony Greenstein has been having a tough time, lately. He was recently expelled from the Labour Party for misbehaving. Actually, being antisemitic is what he was accused of. It’s ironic as I see him as one of the hardest working Jews to protect Jews. It’s his top priority. Or is it? At least equally important, if not more so, is over-indulging his clear obsession with jazz artist/philosopher, Gilad Atzmon. He credits Atzmon with the formation of his blog site so as to have a platform on which to display his, in my opinion, homoerotic sweet-tooth for Atzmon.

It’s Atzmon’s alleged anti-semitism that seems to get Greenstein’s knickers in a twist, but it’s worth emphasizing it is Greenstein who got the boot from the Labour Party, not Atzmon. Frankly, I don’t think Tony deserves it, either. As I said, it is the preservation of the Jewish reputation that drives Greenstein, so much so that he believes he gets to determine what is “real” antisemitism and he’s shifty enough to wrap it in a Palestinian flag. Tony likes to play the “good Jew”, but it is Atzmon who, for at least a decade, has been brave enough to dig deep into the nuances of Jewishness and what it means to be/identify as a Jew. Atzmon isn’t interested in protecting Jewishness. He is more about liberation and seeking truth. Atzmon has a horse in this race, after all. He was born in Israel and its only natural for truth-seekers to want to understand whence they came and how it relates to the world around them. Atzmon rarely, if ever draws conclusions or offers solutions. As a philosopher, he refines the questions. For some reason, Atzmon’s questions make Greenstein nervous as a long-tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Greenstein’s latest meltdown has him hurling accusations of holocaust denial at Atzmon . Apparently, Greenstein doesn’t want the philosopher to pose questions about or defend anyone’s right to delve into this historical event. Like many others in his tribe, he wants the primacy of Jewish suffering never to be questioned. Is it possible he knows what should be concealed?. He has a lot of rules regarding what should and shouldn’t be discussed which is rather peculiar as he fancies himself a fighter against fascism.

I watched Greenstein’s interview with George Galloway and his hypocrisy was tangible (https://youtu.be/n1PTeqbSXLM). Galloway quoted the Jewish sage, Hillel, “that which you hate, do not do to others” to which Greenstein seems to be in full agreement with. In fact, this little profundity also graces the top of Greenstein’s Twitter page. Yet, he makes a career out of doing the opposite. His Twitter feed is one ugly tweet after another as he rabidly makes personal attacks on anyone he doesn’t like, calling them Zios (short for Zionist), anti-Semites, racists, or what appears to be the ultimate blow, an Atzmonite and then blocks them. I have a second a account which allows me to indulge a guilty pleasure of observing Tony come off the rails on a daily basis with the periodic “Free Palestine” thrown in for good measure. But none of these verbal abuses carry as much venom as those lobbed at Atzmon. See, Atzmon doesn’t follow Greenstein’s rules of (Jewish) engagement, which are to stick to the script of criticizing Israel and Israel, only. Zionism is fair game as well, but don’t dare make any connections between the Jewish state and Jewishness. That’s when he starts foaming at the mouth. It’s important to mention the full Hillel quote; “That which is hateful unto you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary. Go forth and study”. This is the big reveal, as it is my assessment Hillel’s quote was not a universal statement but rather instructions for how Jews should be treating other Jews. Who else reads the Torah? . If one lives within a cultural or religious ghetto, it is your own kind that are your neighbors. So, it seems somewhat fitting Greenstein favors this quote. However, he seems to have some difficulty staying within even the narrow parameters this quote provides. For Tony, it only applies to those he deems kosher, his fellow AZZ activists. Hillel also offers us this pearl of wisdom: “if I am not for myself, who is for me”. This isn’t a universal attitude, this is possibly the core philosophy of Judeo centricism. It seems to depict Israeli attitude toward Palestinians and African migrants. It also sheds light on the ugliness of JVP and the rest of the AZZ community, who favor going after genuine seekers of truth like Alison Weir, Richard Falk and of course, Gilad Atzmon. Sadly, Jewish voices for peace becomes Jewish voices for Jews.

It’s my belief he is envious of Atzmon, to a suffocating degree. No one really pays attention to Greenstein. Maybe he wants to be Atzmon or at least garner the accolades of Atzmon, but I don’t think this is possible. It takes some talent. He would have to leave the safety of his tribe, leave the ghetto, become an ordinary human and take a long hard look in the mirror. The evidence suggests he’s not wired to do this. As soon as the pathetic Labour kicked him out, he completely reverted to type. He became a Jewish victim, the rabbi’s son. He seems to use this line of defense every time he gets into trouble. So, instead, he will continue to devote a blog site to the man he secretly admires, lamenting over that which he cannot attain.

https://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/2018/2/27/the-greenstein-eyed-monster?rq=Devon%20Nola

AIPAC: We Don't Plan To Fail, We Fail To Plan

March 26, 2017

by Devon Nola

This weekend, the annual AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) Convention takes place where 15,000 of this diabolical Jewish lobby’s best and brightest meet to mix and mingle, celebrate the successes of the past year and more importantly, strategize for the coming year how best to maintain Israel’s strength. The claim is that it’s in America’s best interest, as well, but the truth is American citizens get zero from this one-sided relationship. Sure, a few American companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin make boatloads of cash through the sales of Apache helicopters and weapons to Israel, but for American tax payers, the return on investment is nothing more than our share of the guilt of mass slaughter of Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese, and whomever challenges Israel’s dominance in the region.

This lobby is powerful. Some consider it to be a lobby like any other, but the truth is it differs in a few crucial ways. To start with, no other lobby forks over millions of dollars in campaign donations, on local and federal levels to push the agenda of and back a foreign government. Whether one supports or opposes the existence of the Jewish state, it cannot be denied it is, in fact, a foreign government. And no other lobby makes EVERY member of Congress sign an agreement that they will fully and unconditionally support the state of Israel economically, politically, militarily and diplomatically. On the rare occasion someone has refused to sign it, the AIPAC campaign to get them removed from Congress goes into full-force. Ask Cynthia McKinney how refusing to sign this agreement worked out for her.

Counter to this annual event is a protest of AIPAC. I’ve attended this protest four times. Different groups organize to meet at the Convention Center to denounce AIPAC’s hideous agenda and the impact it has on our government, the Palestinians and beyond. The protests are always peaceful with a diverse group of people and one can always count on seeing familiar faces including Orthodox Torah Jews, Neturei Karta. They adamantly oppose Zionism and the existence of the Jewish state. I attend independently, not as a member of any group.

This year I made the choice to forego the protest and attend the fourth annual conference, ‘The Israel Lobby And American Foreign Policy’ hosted by The American Educational Trust who publishes Washington Report On Middle East Affairs and The Institute For Research: Middle Eastern Policy. I only learned of the conference just last year and missed an impressive lineup. This year I got lucky as a friend had an extra ticket and was generous enough to let me have it. The presenters and keynote speakers were, again, impressive. The standouts for me were Palestinian legislator and scholar Hanan Ashrawi, Ilan Pappé, documentary filmmaker (Two Blue Lines, Native Sons), Tom Hayes, and American Journalist and author, Clayton Swisher, who managed the six-month undercover investigation that produced Al-Jazeera’s 4-part series, “The Lobby”, about AIPAC’s activities in the U.K. It’s stellar and you can watch it on YouTube.

Hanan Ashrawi is a powerhouse, just as I expected. She is monumentally clever, charismatic and a force to be reckoned with. Her main focus was the Israel Lobby and the duplicity of the “peace process”. Ilan Pappé geared his presentation towards seeing Palestine through the prism of settler-colonialism (a term I’ve grown disgusted with due to its inaccuracy of what’s really taken place, therefore it’s been adopted by controlled opposition groups. It invokes a romantic, pastoral image rather than the reality of the more accurate terms of genocide, ethnic cleansing, land theft, etc.), the lobby’s participation in forming/maintaining Zionist myths, and accurately identifying and exposing the myths so that efforts to end the conflict are based in reality.

While most of the speakers had interesting perspectives and personal experiences with the Israel lobby, I had a nagging, frustrating feeling that something was missing. Speaker after speaker, I continued to be underwhelmed. No one went far enough. No one drew the parallels between Gaza, Detroit, Athens, and Berlin. In the world in which we currently live, we are all Palestinians. There was quite a lot of focus on the impact in Palestine and to Palestinians and non-Palestinian supporters of this struggle, we are always elated to hear anyone acknowledge the injustice and continuing horrors inflicted upon them since 1948, but is the acknowledgement of what we already know all we can expect? Have we been so well trained by the oppressor to not expect more?

About an hour or so after the conference ended, I had an epiphany. AIPAC is convening to determine our future while pro Palestinians convened to reflect on the past. Over the course of 8.5 hours, it was evident what is AIPAC’s agenda, how duplicitous and ruthless are its methods, how it manipulates Congress and further exacerbates the suffering of the Palestinians and how it strong-arm’s our government out of billions of tax-payer dollars to support the foreign government of the Jewish state of Israel. The conference was a culmination of the past and the present. But, what about the future? Where is the strategic plan for the future? When AIPAC has their convention on Sunday, March 26, 2017, they will spend some time celebrating the successes of this past year, but the vast majority of their 8 hour day will be spent strategizing about the future, both immediate and long term. They will present the road map, step by step no doubt, with crystal clarity of what are their goals and exactly what steps need to be taken to bring them to fruition, so that next year’s celebration will be bigger than this year, followed by a whole new strategy for the coming year.

If there is anything we can learn from AIPAC, indeed this is it.

https://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/2017/3/27/fighting-aipac-we-dont-plan-to-fail-we-fail-to-plan?rq=Devon%20Nola