Israel lost the war,
;- ' and the argument
From the protests at Prestwick Airport to plays on the Edinburgh Fringe, Scotland has found itself at the heart of a growing condemnation of the State of Israel. Writer and activist Mark Brown believes the tide has turned against Zionism.
\ the Israeli arm) limped out ol' \outhern Lebanon
in mid-.'\ugu\t alter llx dixaxtroux .‘xJ-tla) \xar. it
lel‘t more tltan its pride amidst the ruhhle ol' the homh hlaxted \illage\ and tounx \xhieh it had lailed to \ei/e lrom lli/hollah. lxrael loxt the \tar and. \xith it. the xenxe that il\ militar} tteehnieall} the lilth tnoxt pouerlttl in the \torldt “as im ineihle.
.\lore \ignilieantl}. Israel‘s standing in the eouit ol \xorld opinion sank to a ne\\ hm. 'lhe /.ioni\t state and its Prime Minister lihud ()lmeit. rather than lli/hollah and its leader llaxxan \éhl‘ililttil. \\ ere l'ound guilt} or being the real lL‘thtli\1.\. It I li/hollah. “hose roeket attaekx on Israel eost 43 en ilian lixex taeeording to Israeli polieel. are to he demonixed ax 'lerrot‘ixtsi. him then do \\ e dexerihe lxt'ael. “hose hlit/krieg (and I use that “(fill ad\ ixedl} i has killed more than l.ll)t) innoeent Lebanese. \xounded 3.(i‘)7 and turned ilillttN a million people into ielugeex'.’
l'ar lte_\ond the Middle last. the outer} at Israel's assault indieated that people \\ ere eoming to the same eonelusion: the imasion ol' Lebanon “as not a ‘proportionate response' to a border raid h} lli/hollah in \\hieh three Israeli \ttltilt‘l\ \\ ere killed and too \\ ere eaptured. Rather. it \\a\ a ealeulated attempt to humhle lli/hollah‘x \upponen in Iran at a titne when the Bllxlt administration i\ rattling ilx \ahrex o\ er 'lehran. Israel \\a\ aeting as an attaek dog lor the l'nited States in the Middle liast. and the people ol Lebanon \xere p;t_\ing the hlood} priee ol a polie§ eooked tip in \Vaxhington and Tel :\\ i\.
Here in Seotland. \\e \au lirxt hand hou that l'S/lxrael a\i.\ \\t)t'k\. \\'here\er .’\meriean toreign polie_\ goex. the Blair go\ernment \urel} lollo\\\. 'l‘hux. l’re\t\\iek Airport “as heing Used It} [lie ['5 to ll} deli\erie\ til. \o-ealled 'hunker httxtei’ homhx to lxrael lor the against l.ehanon.
'l'he protests at l’rexmiek l‘oreed the British gmernment into a rapid u-turn taeeommtxlating the ['8 shipments. not at l’rexmiek. hut at a militar} airport in linglandl. 'l‘he eontinued use oli Britain as an aireralt earrier lor the .-\meriean\ is an indelible stain on Blair\ legae}. but the protests in Seotland made art important politieal point;
iron] the outraged residents and holida}maker\ ol‘
l’restniek to the politieiam tlL‘l't)\\ the politieal \peetnnn. people \\ ere no longer alraid to eritieixe Israel.
()l‘ten in the past. it has been dillieult l'or people in the [K to eomprehend that the greater pan ol' the “odd has a|\\a_\.\ oppoxed Israeli state polie}. (‘ontrar_\ to (‘hurehillian m}th. Britain did not light the Seeond World War in order to \;t\ e the .le\\ .\ and other \ ietims ol’ the .\'a/i lloltx‘aust: the (ierman ei\i|ian population \\;t.\ targeted. \\here a lull) ’Ltttti-Xa/i \\ar' \xould ha\ e eoneentrated its tire on the intrastnteture ol‘ the death camps. In our guilt. most people in Britain haVe. ltixtorieall}. taken the \ie\\ that the ease for a Jexx iin state \\;t.\ unarguahle.
.\'o\\'. ho\\e\er. \xith Lebanon hing in ruins. inet‘eaxing
12 THE LIST ‘ Sat
ISRAEL'S STANDING IN THE COURT OF WORLD
he aeeuxed ol' anti—Semitixm. 'l‘he SUNK TO A NEW LOW
numbers ol people in Britain. liurope and. men. the [‘8 are ioining the rank\ or \xorld opinion in reltning the logie ol the [iottN ideolog} ol' lxt‘ael. .v\doll Miller \\a\ not a Palestinian. 'l‘he .leu -hating genoeidixtx ol' the ( iextapo and the \Vall'en SS uere not l.ehane\e. No longer ean l\rael
juxtil} its raeixt dehumanixatitin ol‘ the :\rah people on the
grounds ol' the lloltx‘auxt.
llixtor} pro\ide\ no juxtilieation lor the \o—ealled 'l.a\\ ol Return'. \\hieh allo\\\ a Seottixh .le\\ ol' eaxl laurolwan origin to li\ e [X'rmanentl_\ in Tel ..\\ i\. hut l‘eltl\e\ the right ol' return tenxhrined in the l'.\' deelaration ol human rightxi ol~ a Palestinian relugee to return to the land lrom \xhieh the Zionistx remo\ed them in l‘Hh’ or No? \Vh} should the people ol’ Palestine and Lebanon he the pro\_\ \ ietimx ola lloloeauxt lm‘petrated h} liurorwanx‘.’
l’eople \\ ho look \xith horror at Israel‘s \\ar erimex mm rexixt the erude taetie ol ealling anti— Semitixm on att_\one \xho eritieixex lxrael. .-\lan Riekman staged his lidinhurgh l'iringe hit .ll_\' Nit/He ix It’m'lu'I ('orri't' tahout the :\meriean aeti\i\t L‘l'll\llL‘ti to death h_\' an Israeli hulldo/er \xhile \he tried to delend a Palestinian home lrom dextnietion). in the klltm ledge that he \\ ill
organisation Seottixh .lexxx lior a hut l’eaee publishes a letter eondemning Israel in HM Hem/(l. lull} expeeting the aeeuxation that the} are ~\elli-hating .leux'.
Israel's mask ix oil. It \xaxn‘t a ease ol‘ intelleetualx \ueh as the .le\\ ish eritie ol' the l'S/lsrael a\i\ .\'oam (‘hotnxk_\. persuading a reluetant puhlie. 'I'hrough ll\ oun aetiom. Israel has exposed itsell‘. l.ike apartheid South .'\l'riea hel‘ore it. the Zionist \tate is non \een h} million\ as nakedl} raeist and an allront to human dignit}.
Dime/w." l’lr'rt.xt't'/)ir1i/iix (ll Ir'ut'lm li'.\r.t'o.ii/\.
Interesting Times, a short film about Israel's 1998 incursion into Southern Lebanon, is shown at 8-10 Osbome Street, Glasgow on Sun 24 Sep at 2.30pm, as part of the Merchant City Festival.
My Name is Rachel Corrie
PLUCKING FRUITS FROM THE CULTURAL BUSH
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