"We believe that Israel’s right to exist must be recognized and that Palestinians’ right to a homeland must also be acknowledged."
These are words from the Independent Australian Jewish Voices Statement of Principles: A Call for an Alternative View http://www.iajv.org/the-declaration/ as in March 2007 by its co-founders, one of who was Anti-Zionist Jew Antony Loewenstein. This same person is the co-author with Palestinian spokesperson Michael Shaik of the travesty of an op ed article in today's Age entitled "A celebration that ignores the plight of Palestine".
What makes this article such a travesty is that it is so full of factual errors, distortions, half-truths and false assertions that it simply beggars belief. The claim that Israel was formed, as if it arose out of nowhere in 1948, as compensation to the Jews for Nazi crimes, is but one of its absurd statements. There were commissions of enquiry studying the possible partition of the British Mandate before the Second World War and, in any event, descendents of the victims of The Holocaust are a minority in the State of Israel: more of population come from Arab lands which they were forced to leave principally because of persecution by despotic regimes.
The article's gross lies and omissions are too many to respond to here but it is suffice to say that the major historical omissions are the avoidance by its authors of reference to the ongoing reign of terror visited upon the Jews of the region by successive Palestinian leaderships both before and after statehood and of the collaboration of its leadership with the Nazi final solution.
Ignored is the incitement to violence that continues to this very day and the genocidal intentions inherent in the charters of the groups including Hamas who use violence not for territorial means but to ethnically cleanse the region of all Jews.
Also ignored are past agreements made by the Palestinian leadership to end the violence and incitement to violence and the fact that these agreements been routinely dishonoured over a period of years. What Shaik and Loewenstein disingenously seek to do is cover up for this duplicity by justifying the continued use of violence.
In order to achieve a better understanding of the depth, breadth and audacity of the deception that the Age has allowed Shaik and the confused Mr. Loewenstein to perpetrate in its pages, I refer readers to Ephraim Karsh's excellent Commentary article which I referred to here only two days ago.
Loewenstein makes it abundantly clear in this collaboration with Shaik, that he has eschewed the position taken in the IAJV Statement of Principles that "that Israel’s right to exist must be recognized". That he no longer accepts that proposition was evident in his introduction to the second reprint of his error riddled tome "My Israel Question" written only a month after the IAJV was formed.
Loewenstein lost many supporters when he tried to involve them in the notorious Nakba Advertisement in the Australian Newspaper in March of this year. He surely doesn't think they are all idiots but they, on the other hand, must be wondering now how the wording about the recognition of Israel's right to exist could have found its way into the so-called "Statement of Principles" and why Loewenstein's name is still attached to that document on the IAJV website?
These are words from the Independent Australian Jewish Voices Statement of Principles: A Call for an Alternative View http://www.iajv.org/the-declaration/ as in March 2007 by its co-founders, one of who was Anti-Zionist Jew Antony Loewenstein. This same person is the co-author with Palestinian spokesperson Michael Shaik of the travesty of an op ed article in today's Age entitled "A celebration that ignores the plight of Palestine".
What makes this article such a travesty is that it is so full of factual errors, distortions, half-truths and false assertions that it simply beggars belief. The claim that Israel was formed, as if it arose out of nowhere in 1948, as compensation to the Jews for Nazi crimes, is but one of its absurd statements. There were commissions of enquiry studying the possible partition of the British Mandate before the Second World War and, in any event, descendents of the victims of The Holocaust are a minority in the State of Israel: more of population come from Arab lands which they were forced to leave principally because of persecution by despotic regimes.
The article's gross lies and omissions are too many to respond to here but it is suffice to say that the major historical omissions are the avoidance by its authors of reference to the ongoing reign of terror visited upon the Jews of the region by successive Palestinian leaderships both before and after statehood and of the collaboration of its leadership with the Nazi final solution.
Ignored is the incitement to violence that continues to this very day and the genocidal intentions inherent in the charters of the groups including Hamas who use violence not for territorial means but to ethnically cleanse the region of all Jews.
Also ignored are past agreements made by the Palestinian leadership to end the violence and incitement to violence and the fact that these agreements been routinely dishonoured over a period of years. What Shaik and Loewenstein disingenously seek to do is cover up for this duplicity by justifying the continued use of violence.
In order to achieve a better understanding of the depth, breadth and audacity of the deception that the Age has allowed Shaik and the confused Mr. Loewenstein to perpetrate in its pages, I refer readers to Ephraim Karsh's excellent Commentary article which I referred to here only two days ago.
Loewenstein makes it abundantly clear in this collaboration with Shaik, that he has eschewed the position taken in the IAJV Statement of Principles that "that Israel’s right to exist must be recognized". That he no longer accepts that proposition was evident in his introduction to the second reprint of his error riddled tome "My Israel Question" written only a month after the IAJV was formed.
Loewenstein lost many supporters when he tried to involve them in the notorious Nakba Advertisement in the Australian Newspaper in March of this year. He surely doesn't think they are all idiots but they, on the other hand, must be wondering now how the wording about the recognition of Israel's right to exist could have found its way into the so-called "Statement of Principles" and why Loewenstein's name is still attached to that document on the IAJV website?
6 comments:
You write Loewenstein lost many supporters for his IAJV however if you check the original list of IAJV members and the current list it appears to be the same?
anon...if you think most of the people on his list have a shred of respect left for ant these days you don't know much... (an insider)
To the contrary what I meant was even though Loewenstein compares Israelis to Nazis even though Loewenstein claims Zionism has come to an end even though Loewenstein aligns himself with extremist Islamists here in Australia the people who signed up with him originally still have no problem being associated with him their names remaining on his website.
Even after The Australian advertisement controversy where many of the Jewish dissidents were upset that they were endorsing Loewenstern and Palestinian views protesting Israelis 60 th anniversary they could have taken their names off the IAJV web site but they didn’t which means they still endorse Loewenstein's extremist views .
I agree that these approx 400 dissident Jews out of a population of about 100-120,000 Jews are insignificant ,,
Anonymous at 06:14am - it's difficult for me to have a shred of respect for anyone you refer to, as long as they don't (very publicly) withdraw.
Many of them were naive fools who were duped by his message and have since woken up to what Loewenstein really represents (something many of us have know for a while). They will always be remembered as naive fools, of course. However, they could regain some small amount of respect if they did the honourable thing, admitted they were duped and pointed the finger at Antony.
Until then, they are quite simply supporters of his.
Interestingly, if what you say is true, it illustrates something. Loewenstein is constantly banging on about the Jewish Community's apparent refusal to criticise Israel. Even though this is untrue - what really happens, is people simply disagree with him - taken at face value, it shows an interesting standard. Loewenstein must be very grateful that the IAJV "insiders" don't wish to publicly air their dirty laundry. Quite a conundrum wouldn't you say?
Exactly what is it that this IAJV does other than fight among themselves and disagree on whether there should be a 2 state or 1 state solution and how best to blame Israel and israel alone for the problems of the region?
They were formed 15 months ago and all they've done is put out a statement of principles to which very few of its signatories adhere.
Do they have any meetings, functions, a purpose ... anything?
The IAJV Anti Zionist Jews are the best advocates The Palestinains and Arabs have,, if only Israeli Jews had Arabs supporting their right to live in Peace ....
Faygale
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