Comments on: Backman column: Israeli lobby censorship

By: William Bowe

William Bowe — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Greg, take a look at Margaret Simons’ article on Tuesday. The Age subs desk chose to run the article in part because they were concerned that ‘The Age should not be seen to be frightened of the “Jewish lobby”’ - in other words, because they were over-sensitive not to the Jewish lobby, but to drivel of the kind that you have written here.

Now take a look at this opinion piece by Michael Shaik from the January 1 edition of the same paper (among others).

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/the-deadly-consequences-of-the-games-that-israel-plays-20081231-77x8.html?page=-1

It excoriates Israel’s actions in Gaza in entirely legitimate terms, and was thus neither pulled nor apologised for. It does not stoop to accusing Israelis of tight-fistedness, or of telling “Israelis” they should emulate a kind and generous religious group (and here he explicitly loses sight of the fact that he’s supposed to be criticising Israel rather than Jews) like the Parsees.

I also take it that notwithstanding what “many on Arab streets think”, even you know it is nonsense that Israel was “at the nub” of 9/11 and the Bali bombings. A premise of this intellectual standard has no place in a serious newspaper (not least in the business section), especially when placed in the poisonous context of the remainder of the article.

By: Mike Carey

Mike Carey — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

I notice that the Backman article has gone from "anti-semitic" to "racist" and finally to just plain, "controversial". Whatever you may like to call it, the article has become a convenient distraction. Instead of discussing the horrors perpetrated against the women and children of Gaza we are discussing the Age's weak kneed response to a campaign of criticism by the the Israel lobby.

Israel's army is the fourth largest in the world and it must be the best trained. I do not believe the IDF could kill that many civilians and destroy so many schools, hospitals, government buildings and private homes unless it was really trying! Did the government think no one would notice?

Of all the people to lay waste a ghetto. Years ago, Professor Yeshayahu Leibovitz told me that the occupation of Palestine would corrupt Israel from within. Sadly, his fears have been realized.

By: lmxly

lmxly — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

for once, I agree completely with Barns

By: barb

barb — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

At a stoke of the Obama pen,some form of equity for the Palestinians could manifest itself if only the US could spend the same amount in aid to the Palestinians as the Israelis enjoy.
I was interested to hear on yesterday’s ABC evening news that ‘hundreds’ of Palestinians died in the recent Israeli invasion.
erm,was that just the first two hundred of the more than 1,000 who were killed?

By: JamesK

JamesK — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

For Michael Backman, Israel is held responsible for jihadi terrorism of 9/11 and also for the London and the Bali bombings. Christian anti-Semitism was the Jews' "punishment for the death of Jesus". The Jewish state sits at the origin of the world's problems – and it is a state, incidentally, whose young people are 'rude, arrogant, and argue over trifling amounts of money even though they clearly have means'. We are all aware of the folk tale that Jews are inclined to be tight-fisted and Backman informs us that Israelis are known for being "rude and arrogant"

For Greg Barns, Ramadge's was a "groveling apology" following "precious, hectoring and arrogant conduct of the all too powerful pro-Israel lobby in Australia."

For Michael Gawanda, "The apology is a non-apology really. It apologises for the hurt it caused some people, especially Jews. This is a clayton’s apology--the sort, for instance, that Wayne Carey once offered up when he apologied for grabbing a young woman’s breast."

For Senator Ronaldson, "If anti-Semitism is truly the oldest hatred, the hallmark of this noxious ideology is the enduring nature of its bigoted beliefs. Business columnist Michael Backman recently dredged up the most venerable of anti-Jewish biases in the place where they should be least expected: the opinion page of The Age. What Backman wrote was an appalling piece that did not deserve a berth in one of Australia's signature newspapers"

Hmmm the ever indignant Greg- 'Michael Backman is the victim here'- Barns and the sickening poison of Kevboy aka the loon versus respected voices of reason.

I'm not sure which is more sad, confused and patently bigoted, Backman's original or Barns' reliably more wrathful version?

By: Stephen Wong

Stephen Wong — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Hear! Hear!

By: Jennie Bremner

Jennie Bremner — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Thank you Greg Barns and Michael Potter for your clear-eyed analysis. The toadying to the Israel lobby by the mainstream media is shocking and Margarat Simons stands condemned for her intellectual dishonesty over this Michael Backman’s op ed piece.