Tikkun Magazine, which I have long criticized for spewing hatred against Israel, is now trying to silence me by employing old fashioned McCarthyism tactics. They are blaming me for inciting a group of protesters who apparently glued some political signs to the house of Michael Lerner's, who runs Tikkun. Of course I don't know any of these protesters, nor was I aware of their actions until I read about them in the newspapers, as a result of Tikkun's publicizing the incident. I do not approve of people pasting posters on someone else's property.
Although Lerner regards this as a hate crime, the local authorities have apparently explained to him that he cannot achieve the martyrdom status of the victim of a hate crime because his Jewish attackers were not attacking him for his religion, but rather for his politics. On a scale of one to ten, having a few posters glued to your house ranks at about a one for seriousness. Lerner went to the press and is trying to use it to silence my criticism of him.
Tikkun blames the posters on the article I wrote criticizing Lerner for claiming that the Israeli government-at the highest level-made a decision to kill as many Palestinian civilians as possible, without any military purpose, during Operation Cast Lead. This of course is entirely untrue, and the Goldstone report, which originally made this claim, produced absolutely no evidence to back it up. The reality is, as Colonel Richard Kemp, the former British Army Colonel, who said:
I don't think there has ever been a time in the history of warfare when an army has made more efforts to reduce civilian casualties and deaths of innocent people than the IDF is doing today in Gaza.
My criticism of Lerner was entirely valid, and it must have struck a painful chord in this rabbi who pitifully claims that he is pro-Israel, while essentially accusing the Israeli government and military of a blood libel. Lerner has been trying to silence me for years. In reviewing one of my books, he accused me, in the pages of Tikkun Magazine, of having the blood of OJ Simpson's victims "on my hands," because I was a member of the legal team that defended him.
This time, the anti-Israel guru and his followers have resorted to a different technique. They claim that I incited those who glued the posters to his house. The managing editor of Tikkun, David Belden, tried to relate my article to an increase in hate mail and ultimately to the great gluing gambit. "It's undoubtedly due to Dershowitz," he said. What he failed to consider is that the hate mail may be a reaction to Lerner's own hate mongering.
Another of Lerner's followers, Richard Silverstein, has gone ever further, accusing me in effect, of trying to kill Lerner. Here's what he has said,
In effect, Dershowitz words here are the equivalent of 'will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?' Of course there are those willing to act on Dershowitz's rhetoric. He, of course, is too slick to be caught anywhere near a real act of violence. He would rather use rhetorical violence to impugn the morals of his enemies and gin up real violence by others.
This is by one who supports the rabbi who has impugned the morals of his own enemies, namely the leaders of Israel by falsely accusing them of setting out to kill as many civilians as possible. Lerner, Belden and Silverstein know that I oppose violence as strongly as I favor the open marketplace of ideas. I have long argued that the best answer to falsehood of the kind promoted by Tikkun is truth, and that the answer to bad speech is good speech. Tikkun Magazine has incited hatred against me and others who support Israel. I have been threatened with real violence, not a couple of posters on my house. I have needed armed bodyguards, policemen with bulletproof vests and other forms of protection from those incited by Lerner and his crew. Yet I would never try to shut down Tikkun nor silence Lerner. Nor should he try to silence me.
In any event, his efforts to frighten me into silence will not work. I am tempted to make a deal with him, of the sort that Adlai Stevenson offered one of his political opponents: "If you promise to stop lying about me, I will promise to stop telling the truth about you."
I will not make that promise because I will continue to tell the truth about Michael Lerner, as long as he continues to lie about Israel. Let him whine to the press about a little glue on his house. If he can't stand the heat.
Instead of talking about yourself and dealing with “alte myses”, you'd better deal with this:
1.Anti-Semitic jokes that reveal the real nature of the Obama administration.
2.The new trend that is developing: After having failed to stop Iran, who is threatening to annihilate Israel, from obtaining nuclear weapon, Obama is now focusing on Israel nuclear disarmament, so that Iran will be able to do what it threatens to do without fear.
3.The racist attitude that is common in the world that whenever a Muslim is angry he is bound to kדill someone, and that's okay. Yeah, that's a natural phenomena, and they are not to be blamed for their murders – blame the Jews instead (see 1).
4.The attempt to force Israel alone to do all the concessions required for “peace” regardless of its own security and while ignoring the real obstacles for a real peace (see http://timespost.wordpress.com/).
FROM THE NYT, 05/05/10: Criticizing Israel has long been the equivalent of touching a third rail in many Jewish families and friendships, relegating disagreements to a conversational demilitarized zone where only the innocent and foolhardy go. “You cannot really engage in that conversation,” said Phillip Moore, a teacher in this Detroit suburb who has embraced strong opinions on many topics in his life — on politics, education, even religion — but avoids the subject of Israel at gatherings of his Jewish relatives.
“You raise a question about the security forces or the settlements and you are suddenly being compared to a Holocaust denier,” said Mr. Moore, 62. “It’s just not a rational discussion, so I keep quiet.”....
SOURCE - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/us/politics/06jews.html
PLEASE SEE: "Soldiers charged with using boy, 10, as human shield", The Independent, 05/05/10 (excerpt) Two Israeli soldiers were charged in a military court yesterday with forcing a 10-year-old Palestinian boy in the Gaza Strip to handle objects they suspected of being rigged to explode. The soldiers were indicted for "ordering the boy to open cases that they thought were explosives", Major Dorit Toval, the prosecutor, said. The alleged crime took place during Operation Cast Lead...
SOURCE - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/soldiers-charged-with-using-boy-10-as-human-shield-1962561.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4333982.stm
Let the readers decide.
Richard Silverstein is honest, trustworthy, intelligent, well-informed, knowledgable and well-connected. More people should read him.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2010/05/04/dershowitz-lies-there-he-goes-again/
So youre either
1) doing it wrong
or
2) trolling
MY COMMENT: I do not believe the Goldstone report made any such claim(s). Jerry Haber addressed this assertion by Dershowitz on his blog "The Magnes Zionist" and concluded that "...nowhere in the Goldstone Report is any of these claims made! In fact, such claims are by implication rejected by one of Goldstone's Conclusions..."
SOURCE - http://themagneszionist.blogspot.com/2010/02/alan-dershowitz-brief-against-goldberg.html
today he denied accusing dershowitz of inciting anyone....on the same page with the post headlined: Dershowitz’ Climate of Incitement: Pro-Israel Hooligans Vandalize Michael Lerner’s Home
seriously professor dershowitz, dont bother with the guy. he loves seeing his stuff quoted.
First don't agree wGoldstone award.
Since Gazans revealing Hamas shields-usage would be killed after Goldstone Left, &Israel not cooperating (though did internal investigations) REPORT THEREFORE OUT OF CONTEXT (WHERE CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING) USED like "the elders of Zion" to manipulate IGNORANts.
Wiser for Goldstone not submitting final copy, &PATIENTLY proding Israel (not after).
But Radical Right Wing Republican RoviensPR Actively Microtargetting "People w/Typical Jewish Names" for votes&money
=Yet, Republicans pushed Lebanon over-reaction!
=Republicans empowered Hamas pushing elections against PA&Israel's wishes
=Republicans, after 9/11, DISSED Iranian moderates (10s of thousands of Iranians lit candles for US all over Iran. offered Reproachment &Halting Anti-Israel/US rhetoric, contributed $600M to Afghanistan, insisting Democracy in their Constitution.
Instead, Pre-Abudinajad, Republicans launched Axis of Evil., Cheney oil driving rhetoric "We'll have to get Israel to attack Iran &deal with PR later"
Republicans/Bush benign NEGLECTed/Abandoned Afghanistan, AT CRITICAL MOMENT LIKE Bush#1 did. EMPOWERING Al Qaeda with the Chutzpah to believe they'd destroy US similar to what they believed they did to theSoviet Union!!!
NOT WITHSTANDING THE STRAUSSIANS, some Jews embraced Republican USERS) at very high price whose THE IDEALis a destroyed Israel for their savior (thus belligerent behavior encouraged) involving converting limited number of Jews and hell with the rest.
Which is worse the above? Or giving Goldstone award(?) Some Jews hate fellow Jews in alliance w/sophisticated Republican PR MACHINE of POWER OVER JUSTICE.
#2 Not knowing much about this particular dust-up, it sounds to me like you're both playing to the balcony on this one.
#3 This is all dwarfed by the recent death of any possibility of a two-state solution. Israel is destined to become, or already is, the classic apartheid state, just like South Africa. How's that going to work out?
Either this British colonel is a fake or on the payroll of the IDF. Either way, his testimony is worth zilch.
As usual, I'll be very surprised if Huffington Post's censors allow this comment to be seen.
if a 12 year old is carrying a weapon, he can no longer be considered an innocent civilian.
Instead, it's time to focus on the real issues that thwart peace. If you don't know what I am talking about, read this:
http://timespost.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/peace-in-our-time/
The extreme rhetoric you spew against Michael Lerner stands in sharp contrast to your hollow and indifferent comment on the threats against him ("I do not approve of people pasting posters on someone else's property.")
As a defender of democracy and free expression it behooves you to issue a more serious response to the action against Lerner, perhaps along the lines of the statement by the ADL, Jewish Community Relations Council, Northern California Board of Rabbis, and Jewish Federation of the East Bay, which says:
"We unequivocally condemn criminal acts perpetrated against Rabbi Lerner's home. Political disagreements must be resolved in a civil manner, and not by resorting to violence. Our communities are especially disturbed that this crime targeted Rabbi Lerner at his home, thereby conveying to him the message that he may not be safe there. We are encouraged by the responsiveness of the Berkeley Police Department to this incident, and we urge its officers to investigate this crime as thoroughly as possible. The entire community must send a message to the perpetrators that we reject violence and criminality as a means to express our political opinions."
(Tried three times posting the link.)