Machine-Translated from the Spanish at L.Y. Conde's
Judios en el Norte de Sefaradhttp://judiosenelnortedesefarad.blogspot.com/Conference of PILAR RAHOLA in GLOBAL FORUM FOR COMBATING ANTISEMITISM, Jerusalem 16 Dec. 2009. For any additional information, the website of this important forum is:
http://www.gfantisemitism.org/Pages/default.aspx 12/2009 [NOTE: Not much there. lw]
[translated from the Spanish by
"bing" --a raw translation, no editing nor cleanup.
Want me to edit and clean-it-up? Leave me a COMMENT here to that effect. If I get a sufficient number of these, I shall do just that.]
[Pilar Rahola speaking]
Monday night in Barcelona. In the restaurant, a hundred lawyers and judges. Gathered to hear my views on the Middle East conflict. Know that I am a heterodox, ship in the wreck of the single-minded prevailing in my country, on Israel. Want to hear me. Someone reasonable as I say, do why risk losing credibility, defending the bad, the guilty parties? I tell the truth is a broken mirror, and we all have some piece. And caused his reaction: "all you create experts in international politics, when talking about Israel, but actually know nothing." Do you dare to speak of the conflict in Rwanda, Kashmir, Chechnya? "." Not. They are lawyers, its terrain is geopolitics. But with Israel dare. Worldwide dares. Why? Why Israel is under the permanent magnifying glass media and distorted image, pollutes the brains in the world. And why is part of the politically correct, why seems solidarity, why leaves free talk against Israel. And thus people cultivated, when read about Israel are willing to believe that Jews have six arms, in the middle ages believed all kinds of atrocities. On the Jews of yesteryear and the Israelis today, anything goes.
The first question, then, is why so many intelligent people when speaking about Israel, idiot. The problem we who not demonizamos to Israel, is that there is no discussion of the conflict, there is the banner; not ideas we we cross, we paste with slogans; not enjoy serious information, suffer hamburger, fast food, full of prejudice, propaganda and simplismo journalism. Intellectual thinking and international journalism, has resigned in Israel. Does not exist. Therefore, that when you try to go beyond the single thought, becomes suspicious, unsupportive and reactionary, and is immediately segregated. Why?
Years ago that I try to answer this question: why? Would why of all conflicts in the world, just like it? Why does criminalizes a small country, struggling to survive? What why triumphs lies and informative, handling so easily? What why throughout, is reduced to a simple mass murderers imperialists? Why the reasons of Israel are never there? Why are there never blame Palestinian? By what Arafat is a hero, and Sharon a monster? Ultimately, why, being the only country in the world threatened with destruction, is the only that no one considers victim?
I do not believe that there is a single answer to these questions. Just as it is impossible to explain fully the historical wickedness of anti-Semitism,
It is not possible to explain the current imbecilidad of the antiisraelismo. Both drink sources of intolerance, lying and prejudice. If, moreover, that the antiisraelismo is the new form of anti-Semitism, we conclude that they have changed the contingencies, but deeper, myths of medieval Christian anti-Semitism, both of modern political anti-Semitism remain intact. And these myths have resulted in the story about Israel. For example, the medieval Jewish that killed Christian children to drink his blood, connects directly to the Israeli Jew who kills Palestinian children to stay their lands. They are always innocent children and dark Jews. For example, the Jewish bankers who wanted to dominate the silent on European banking as the myth of the protocols, connects directly to the idea of Jews from Wall Street to dominate the world from the White House. The domain of the press, the finances, the universal conspiracy, everything that you configured the historical hatred against Jews, domain today empties into hatred Israelis. In the subconscious, therefore late Western anti-Semitic DNA, which creates an effective breeding ground. But what late in the conscious? What why today comes with so much virulence a renewed intolerance, now centered, not on the Jewish people, but in the Jewish State? From my point of view, it has historical and geopolitical, reason among others the bloody Soviet role for decades, Arab interests, European anti-Americanism, the energy dependence of the West and the growing Islamic phenomenon.
But also arises from a set of defeats that suffer as free societies and empties into a strong ethical relativism.
Moral defeat of the left. For decades, the left raised the flag of freedom, there where there is injustice, and was the repository of utopian expectations of society. He was the great construction company for the future. While the murderous evil of Stalinism sank these utopias and left to the left as the naked King, stripped of costumes, has preserved intact its halo of struggle, and still mark patterns of the good and the bad guys of the world. Even those who would never vote left-wing positions give great prestige left-wing intellectuals, and allow to be them which monopolize the concept of solidarity. As they have always done. Thus fighters against Pinochet, were the freedom fighters, but Castro, victims are expelled from paradise of heroes, and converted in CIA agents, or undercover fascists. I remember perfectly, as young, combative University of Franco's Spain reading Solzhenitsyn was anathema... And thus the man raised the cry from the black hole of the Stalinist Gulag, it could not be read by antifranquistas fighters, why there were leftist dictatorships or victims fighting them.
This historic betrayal to freedom, reproduced at present, with mathematical precision. Also today as yesterday, that left forgives totalitarian ideologies, falls in love with dictators, and in their offensive against Israel, ignores the destruction of fundamental rights. Hates rabbis, but falls in love with magnets; shouts against the IDF, but welcomes the terrorists of Hamas; cries by Palestinian victims, but despises the Jewish; victims and when shocked by Palestinian children, does only it if you can blame the Israelis. Never denouncing culture of hatred, their preparation for death, or slavery suffered by their mothers. And while stands the Palestinian flag, burning the flag of Israel. A year ago, at the AIPAC in Washington, Congress did the following questions: "do what deep pathologies away to the left of his moral commitment?" What should we see in Paris or Barcelona demonstrations against Islamic dictatorships? why is there no demonstrations, against the enslavement of millions of Muslim women? What why not manifested in the use of child bombs in conflicts where Islam is involved? "why the left is only obsessed in fight against two of the strongest democracies of the planet, and which have suffered most bleeding attacks, U.s. and Israel?"… Why the left dreamed utopias stopped dreaming, broken in the Berlin wall of their own failure. You no longer have ideas, but slogans. Already does not advocate rights but prejudices. And greater prejudice of all is the anti-Israel. I acknowledge, therefore, clearly: the primary responsibility for new anti-Semitic hatred, disguised as a antiisraelismo, comes from those who would have to defend freedom, solidarity and progress. Far from it, defend despots, forget their victims and silent before medieval ideologies that want to destroy civilization. The betrayal of the left is a real betrayal of modernity.
Defeat of journalism. We have a more informed than ever world, but we have a better informed world. On the contrary, the information highways connect us with any point of the planet, but not connect us with the truth, nor with the facts. Current journalists do not need maps, why have Google Earth, do not need to know history, why have Wikipedia. Historical journalists who knew the roots of conflict, still exist, but are a species endangered, devoured by this journalism that offers fast-food news readers who want information fast-food hamburger. Israel is the most guarded world and yet, the place of the least understood world. Of course, also influences big lobbyists of the petrodollar, whose influence in journalism is subtle but deep pressure. Any more media knows that if he speaks against Israel, will have no problems. But what will happen if criticises an Islamic country? Certainly, then complicate life. Let us not confuse us. Part of the press writes against Israel, would be reflected in an acute Goethe phrase: "no one is more slave which have for free, without it". Or also in another, more cynical of Mark Twain: "First know the facts and then distorsióna them as you want".
Defeat of critical thinking. All this can add ethical relativism that defines the current time, and being based, not the negation of the values of civilization, but their normalization. What is modernity? Personally explain with this small story: if I lose on a desert island, and like to establish a democratic society, would need only three books: the tables of the law, which established the first code of modernity. "Not kill, do not steal,..." founded the modern civilization. Roman criminal code. And the Bill of rights. And with these three texts should begin. These principles, which speak for us as a society, are relativizados, even by those who claim to defend them. "Not kill"..., depends on who would be the target, think those who, for example in Barcelona, demonstrated with shouts for Hamas. "Live human rights", depends on a who apply and therefore not concerned million women slaves. "Non mentirás"..., depends on whether the information is a weapon of war in favour of a cause. Social critical mass has thinned, and at the same time, has fattened ideological dogmatism. In this double yaw, strong currency values have been replaced by a thought weak, vulnerable to manipulation and Manichaeism.
Defeat of the United Nations. And with it, a rotunda defeats international agencies that should ensure human rights, and that have become broken in the hands of despots dolls. The UN only serves to make islamofascistas as Ahmadinejad or dangerous demagogues like Hugo Chavez, a planetary speaker from where spitting his hatred. And, of course, to systematically attack Israel. Also against Israel, the UN lives better.
Finally, defeat of Islam. Islam lights today suffer violent attack by a totalitarian virus that attempts to curb his ethical development. This virus uses the name of God to perpetrate the most unimaginable horrors: stoned women, enslave them, use pregnant and young people with mental retardation as human bombs, train in hatred, and declare war on freedom. Let us not forget, for example, that us kill with mobile satellite connected... with the middle ages...
If Stalinism destroyed left, and the Nazis destroyed Europe, Islamic fundamentalism is destroying Islam. And also, like other totalitarian ideologies, an anti-Semitic DNA. Islamic anti-Semitism is perhaps the most serious intolerant phenomenon today, not in vain affects more than 1,300 million educated, massively, hatred the Jew.
Israel is located at the crossroads of these defeats. A reasonable left a serious journalism and a dignified UN, orphan and tolerant Islam, Israel orphan orphan suffer violent paradigm of the 21st century: the lack of strong commitment to the values of freedom. Nothing is strange. Jewish culture embodies as none, the metaphor of a concept of civilization today suffering attacks by all sides. You are the thermometer health worldwide. Provided that the world had totalitarian fever, you have suffered. In medieval Spanish, in the Christian persecutions in the Russian progroms in European fascism in Islamic fundamentalism. The first enemy of totalitarianism has always the Jew. And in these times of dependence and social confusion, Israel embodies in meat, the Jew of always.
A pariah nation among Nations, for a pariah people between peoples. That is why the anti-Semitism of the 21st century has dressed the effective costume of the antiisraelismo. All the criticism against Israel is anti-Semitic? Not. But all current anti-Semitism has dump in prejudice and demonising against the Jewish State. A new dress for an old hatred.
Said Benjamin Franklin: "where mora freedom, there is my homeland". And added Albert Einstein: "life is very dangerous." "Not for people who do evil, but that sit to see what happens". This is the twofold commitment here and now: not sit never to see pass evil and Always defend homelands of freedom.
Thank you.
Pilar Rahola
16/12/2009
Published in the original Spanish by L. Y. Conde at
http://judiosenelnortedesefarad.blogspot.com/ABOUT PILAR RAHOLA:She is a Catalan--from Catalonia in Spain, capital is Barcelona.
She is a writer, journalist, former member of the Spanish Parliament
She is
not Jewish.
BUT . . ..- For many years she has been closely following the Middle East question and is an expert on the political, fiscal, and social geography of the area. She has travelled more than twenty times to the area. She is a fervent fighter against media distortion and the current criminalisation of the state of Israel. The battle against anti-Semitism has become one of her priorities. This struggle is reflected in dozens of speeches and articles.
.- Her speech "The Jews and the flies" at UNESCO in Paris in May 2003 was one of the first European texts that denounced, with regard to Israel, the left and the role of journalists, whom she accused of promoting the current wave of anti-Semitism. It was translated into many languages.
.- She is also the author of a reference text "On behalf of Israel", published in a jointly authored book, in Catalan by Ediciones 3y4, and in Spanish by Editorial Certeza, 2004, with numerous translations.
.- Speech at the Annual Meeting of the American Jewish Committee, in Washington, in 2003: "Europe´s Anti-Semitism and Anti-Americanism. The Chamberlain Syndrome". Numerous translations.
.- Speech at the Karen Hayesod Congress, Dead Sea, Israel, in November 2003: "The blind eye of Europe. The protocols of the information sages". Numerous translations.
.- She has given many speeches at universities in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Israel, and Chile. And she has given many in American cities, among them Miami, San Diego, and Palm Beach, and in Puerto Rico too, and in the legislative palaces of Uruguay and Panama. She has participated in the sessions against intolerance in Sao Paulo, supported by the Observatory against Intolerance of Sao Paulo University.
.- She was awarded the "Javer OLAM" distinction (world friend), 2004, given by the Chilean Jewish Community on Yom HaShoa (Holocaust Day), for her struggle against anti-semitism. She was Honorary Lecturer in 2004 at the Kristallnacht commemoration in Paraguay, in the presence of the President of the Republic.
.- Homage of the AMIA´s Directive, in Argentina, 2004, for her struggle against terrorism.
.- "Panarra de l´any" prize, 2004, given by the Gremi de Flaquers, Barcelona, for her sensitivity to the problems of the sector.
.- Doctor of the Arts and Science of Communication honoris causa, University of Santiago de Chile, for her struggle on behalf of fundamental rights, June 2004.
.- Honorary member of the "Comunidad Mujer" (Community of Women), a group of Chilean women´s leaders, June 2004.
.- First prize 2005, Barcelona Comercio, awarded by the Fundación Barcelona Comercio (Barcelona commercial Foundation), an umbrella group of the city´s commercial organisations. Awarded for her defence of neighbourhood trade.
.- CICLA prize 2004, together with Manuel Tennembaun and Mordejai Arbei, awarded in 2005. Given in the Jerusalem Hebrew University by the Iberian American Communities in Israel. This prize is given to outstanding people and institutions for their support of the Jewish people, the state of Israel and mankind.
.- Honour Member of University of Tel Aviv, 2006.
.- Golden Menora Price 2006, with Simone Weil, given by French B´nai Brith
.- Scopus Price 2007, the best price given by Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
.- APEI Price for yours articles, given by "Asociación Profesional Española de Informadores de Prensa, Radio y Televisión".
.- Honour guest in the AIPAC's Policy Conference, 2008.
.-Senador Angel Pulido, 2009, given by "Federación de Comunidades Judías de España".
.- Mass Media Award, 2009, given by American Jewish Committee, for her fight bias to Human Rights.
HER BIOGRAPHY can be found at
http://www.pilarrahola.com/3_0/BIO/default.cfmSome of her work regarding Jews can be found at
The Jew in Yellow (this blog) at
http://thejewinyellow.blogspot.com/2007/12/hello-welcome-to-jew-in-yellow.html--scroll down to
CHECK OUT
Islamic Danger FU that's
FOR
YOU
NOTE: Yes, I know that what follows has pieces repeated, often more than once. It needs editing. I will do that as soon as I get to it. It's always a tradeoff between what has to be put out there and what can be cleaned up when there's less pressure to keep up the fight. Leslie White"Articles : Anti-semitism Che and a nazi, in the mirrorTwo protagonists at the extremes: Ché Guevara and David Duke"
[NOTE: There's one article in Spanish--scroll right past that, if you do not read Spanish]
ALSOSee . . .
Spanish anti-Semitism is alive in the Left
by Pilar Rahola
Pilar Rahola, Former Member of Parliament of the Spanish Republican Left : "Judeophobia Explains the Pro-Palestinian Hysteria of the European Left"http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=pilar+rahola&d=4743722708112339&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=9640038e,b67e1964http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilar_Rahola
