After two days spent watching the Israeli attacks on Gaza, the Canadian blogosphere seemed sharply divided on Sunday. So were the Canadian media.
Media first: the Globe and Mail reported on Gaza all weekend, but permitted no comments. The Star also reported, but on Sunday evening had over 170 comments.
Among left-wing blogs, the reaction was generally anti-Israeli. The Z-Files reported at length on a Toronto demonstration outside the Israeli consulate. Another blog, As We Were Saying, called the attacks “War Crimes in a Festival of Darkness.”
Among right-wing blogs, Dust My Broom looked at the casualties and decided: “Only 15 civilians out of 930 terrorists, not bad at all.”
At small dead animals, a link took visitor to a long article by Fiamma Nirenstein, arguing that left-wingers are “the real cradle of contemporary anti-Semitism.” About 100 commenters tended to agree.
As of Sunday evening, the New Democrats had nothing on their party site about the Gaza attacks. Neither did the Liberals or the Conservatives. The Canadian government website was offline. Better luck on Monday.
Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee.
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zalm
3 years ago
Open mouths gathering flies
Some pretty astounding comment there on some of those right-wing blogs. The lone voice of reason - ET - on the SDA blog is drowned out by a chorus of vituperation justifying Israel's right to eliminate whoever it chooses in whatever fashion it chooses, hopefully before Shrub leaves office. Kind of makes me ashamed to be a Canadian hearing this kind of s**t.
And ET is somewhat to the right of me.
Rockets into Sderot are not a good idea. Neither are allowing settlers to run rampages through Palestinian-owned cities and steal their land.
If only there was a way to put these 10% of each population in a treeless waste and let the other 90% live more peaceful lives according to law in two separate states...
Sigh. It's the third day of Christmas - I can dream, can't I?
carfreed
3 years ago
dawgs blawg
lots of traffic there.
bombing a university?
hospitals overwhelmed!
Might makes right?
anarcho
3 years ago
The Big Lie Technique once more
“left-wingers are “the real cradle of contemporary anti-Semitism.”
No longer content to red-bait,this is the latest ploy by the far right to attack the left. It is known in psychology as “projection”. The real fascists calling everyone else fascist.
“Only 15 civilians out of 930 terrorists, not bad at all. “
This is known as “the end justifies the means” – a classic totalitarian world view.
The far right is not a political movement so much as as a form of psychopathology.
Skywalker
3 years ago
Is it just me.
Do the folks in Gaza really think their cause is advanced by yelling hostile slogans from a crowd. I am reminded of the powerful protest of the women of Chile about the disappeared. They did not appear to be a rabid mob shouting "death to the 'opponents'" or "long live the intifada". Some of those screaming in front of the Israeli embassies in Canada and other places just look like nutcases. Where is rational discourse that gains the sympathy for their cause. I find most of the coverage discomforting for while I agree that the Palestinians are the oppressed, there is so little that they do that advances their cause. That's usually an indication that they should change their approach.
Raphael Alexander
3 years ago
The Pro-Hamas Palestinians
The Pro-Hamas Palestinians were out in force today in downtown Vancouver at Cordova and Thurlow. Not sure what they were trying to prove, other than the fact they need to get a job.
zalm
3 years ago
skywalker
"I find most of the coverage discomforting for while I agree that the Palestinians are the oppressed, there is so little that they do that advances their cause. That's usually an indication that they should change their approach."
Given who's writing the articles you're reading and filming the protests you're seeing, is it any wonder all you see is the impotent rage? Where would you go to see the mothers in Israel and Palestine who are joining hands and forces across borders to stop their sons and daughters being killed? You won't find that in our useless media.
You need to read more Jonathan Cook and Uri Avnery, just for a start. They're just two among dozens who have done a masterful job of delineating exactly how powerfully Israel's institutions have removed every scrap of power, self-respect, financial clout, health and freedom that Palestinians, Arabs, Christians and other non-Jews living in Israel have tried to exercise over the past forty years. Is it any wonder so many of them are leaving? What's truly a wonder is why so many are staying. Homeland is a powerful metaphor - just ask the Jews about "next year in Jerusalem."
http://www.jkcook.net/
http://www.avnery-news.co.il/english/index.html
http://www.counterpunch.org
zalm
3 years ago
Punished for democracy
In an election deemed free and fair by organizations around the world including the Carter Centre and Canadian election observers, (though hardly surprisingly, not Stephen Harper's Conservatives), Hamas took power in Gaza, and Israel and the US decided that the free exercise of franchise could not be allowed in this case.
All but the most basic of humanitarian aid to Gaza had been cut off, leaving the inhabitants no way of working for a living, exporting products, importing food, gasoline or other necessities, save for a bit of fuel for some of the power plants and some medicines or the hospitals.
Exactly what would we do in a case like this? Rockets wouldn't be muy first choice, but I'm not sure how many other options there would be.
Never forget, Hamas and Israel agreed on June 17 to a ceasefire upon which the borders of Gaza were to be opened to free traffic in food and fuel, and limited traffic in products subject to inspection by Israeli and Egyptian border authorities. Hamas for its part was to end the rocket attacks into Sderot.
The rocket attacks stopped immediately, for more than four months. But the borders never reopened. And Israel denied the Egyptians permission under treaty to open their side either.
As a result, the only source of food and fuel into Gaza became the more than 800 illegal tunnels dug in sand from the Egyptian side, forcing a heavy inflation in the prices of necessities as these were now under control of various mafioso.
So how can Israel act aggrieved when the rocket attacks and protests began again when they never upheld their part of the ceasefire?
Because it's election time in Israel, and the silly season is upon the Palestinians.