[Peace-discuss] Israeli massacre in Gaza [and J Street PAC's call to end the violence and the blockade]

[C. G. Estabrook]

Naturally I mean that you can't say things that aren't true.

The quoted statement as a whole is objectionable. You refer only to the
statement's "declining to assign blame" -- rather difficult without falling into
the "all are equally at fault" nonsense, an attempt to equalize the crimes --
"disingenuous at best."

The statement also misrepresents the role of the US as passive or uninvolved
while calling for its intervention -- more nonsense, hardly innocent: they know
what they're writing. --CGE


Stuart Levy wrote:
> On Sun, Dec 28, 2008 at 11:30:52PM -0600, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
>> But you have to tell the truth, even in political statements.
> 
> Surely far more truth exists than we can fit in *any* statement. Just as
> there's more on and under a landscape than a mapmaker can fit in any map.
> 
> As with maps, (political) statements are made, and the truth that goes into
> them is selected, for a purpose.  Neglecting to assign blame doesn't have to
> be misrepresentation.
> 
> If this were for a brief being drawn up for the International Criminal Court
> then assigning blame and considering proportionality of force would be
> central.  (As I think Mary Robinson said during the bombardment of Lebanon,
> those who ordered it "should look to their personal exposure.")  But that's
> not the intent here, and we shouldn't judge it as if it were.
> 
>> I suggest J Street means to play Good Cop to AIPAC's Bad Cop.  --CGE
> 
> That makes sense in a way.   Though I don't think J Street's aims have all
> that much in common with AIPAC's.   Although both say they "support" Israel,
> they have wildly different views of what they'd approve of Israel doing -- re
> attacking Iran, or returning West Bank settlement land, for example.
> 
>> Stuart Levy wrote:
>>> On Sun, Dec 28, 2008 at 10:15:34PM -0600, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
>>>> Stuart Levy wrote:
>>>>> ... 
>>>>> http://action.jstreet.org/t/3251/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=508&tag=gazaemail-txt
>>>>>  Here's their call:
>>>>>> ... And there is nothing to be gained from debating which injustice
>>>>>> is greater or came first.   What's needed now is immediate action
>>>>>> to stop the violence before it spirals out of control...