Antony Loewenstein

The victory of Hamas in the Palestinian elections is, in the words of one Haaretz commentator, “one of the most important events in the history of the Middle East since the Six Day War.” The Palestinian people have spoken and elected a party that they believe will be a viable alternative to the endemically corrupt Fatah. It should be noted that Hamas was not running on a platform of destroying Israel or wiping Jews from the face of the earth – its charter was barely even raised during the campaign – but rather, the corruption in the Palestinian Authority and its failure in improving the conditions of the Palestinian people.

Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Jewish group Tikkun, writes this:

“Just as the election of previously Israeli terrorists Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir and Ariel Sharon set the backdrop for the possibility of peace negotiations with Israel’s enemies in the past thirty years, the election of the murderous terrorists of Hamas may ultimately make it more likely that a peace agreement entered into by a Hamas dominated government would actually amount to something lasting and substantial.

“We at Tikkun have no sympathy for Hamas’ terrorism, and we are distressed that the new government of the Palestinians will be a government collaborating with those whose hands are drenched in blood. But this does not distinguish them, for example, from Ariel Sharon’s government or George Bush’s government, which have both been responsible for the deaths of more innocent civilians than Hamas (though always excusing themselves because these deaths were ‘only collateral damage’). So Israel and the U.S. ought to get off of their moral outrage at Hamas and recognize that this election provides them, in the long run, with opportunities to make peace with their enemies. But that will only happen if Israel and the U.S. stop using the lame excuse that they won’t negotiate with terrorists, a position that would have led the U.S. to remain in Vietnam to this day, refusing to talk to Vietnamese terrorists.”

World reaction has been swift and utterly predictable.

Grave concerns exist about the true intent of Hamas and only the most idealistic would ignore these warnings. For example, an Iranian-style repressive environment for the women of Palestine would be a major concern, as would a virulent Holocaust-denying environment. There is evidence that Hamas is already taking some responsibility for a less militant future, though only time will tell how effective that will be.

The democratic world, supposedly warmly embraced by neo-conservatives everywhere, must accept the Palestinian result. Hamas is now a legitimate political force.

Tikkun expresses my personal feelings pretty accurately:

“We at Tikkun are not so optimistic about Hamas – their legacy of violence is deeply troublesome. But then again, we tend to be very critical of anyone who relies on violence, including the Israeli government and the United States government, and also the gangsters now running Iran, China, the Soviet Union, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Sudan and the list goes on and on and on. It is without compromising our critique of these governments that we simultaneously support steps for peaceful accommodation rather than military escalations.”

Israel’s current path is leading to inevitable disaster, a walled-in, ghetto-style Zionism defined by occupation and oppression. The rise of Hamas may force Israel to negotiate with its former enemies and reach a long-lasting peace agreement. Of course, this may all be wishful thinking, but today’s election result does nothing to challenge Israel’s military, political and economic supremacy in the Middle East.

Following an infestation of abusive comments, I’ve decided to start moderating comments. After you’ve been approved the first time, you’ll subsequently be able to post without hassle.

Let the debate continue.

I have no idea how, but I’ve won “Best Australian Mainstream Media Blog Award” at the 2006 Australian Blog Awards. Thanks to all who voted and supported me.

Although I’m not a mainstream site, nor funded or supported by a major media company, I’ll happily take the award and unending adulation.

Journalist and author Dilip Hiro on the rise of political Islam in the Middle East:

“This [Palestinian elections] is but the latest manifestation of the rise of political Islam in the electoral politics of the Middle East, a development that – despite the Bush administration’s endless promotion of democratic reform in the region – is causing deep worry among top policy makers in Washington.

“Last year began with Islamist candidates winning most of the seats in the first very limited municipal polls in Saudi Arabia and ended with the Iraqi religious parties – both Shiite and Sunni – performing handsomely in the December parliamentary elections. The official Iraqi results, announced on January 21, showed the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance winning almost 80% of the seats that should go to the majority Shiite community. Likewise the Islamic Iraq Party won 80% of the places to which the Sunni minority is entitled.

“In between these polls, in a general election held last summer, Hizbollah emerged as the preeminent representative of Lebanese Shiites, the country’s largest sectarian group (which is grossly underrepresented in parliament). And in the first election for the legislative assembly not flagrantly rigged by Hosni Mubarak’s regime in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood registered a nearly 60% success rate by winning 88 out of the 150 seats it contested. The Brotherhood certainly could have won many more, but its leadership deliberately decided to contest only a minority of seats in order not to provoke the regime of Egypt’s pro-American president and so create a situation in which he might be likely to strike out indiscriminately against the opposition.”

Sooner or later, the US and its Western allies will have to learn to deal with groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. True democracy means accepting the will of the people, without interference or obstruction.

The West should be worried.

The following advertisement by Israeli peace group Gush Shalom will appear in Haaretz on January 27:

“With Hamas entering the Palestinian parliament, and perhaps the Palestinian government, there presents itself a historical opportunity to include this movement, with its leaders, members, sympathizers and voters, in the peace process. Any peace agreement so reached will be stronger and more durable.

“Every Palestinian group that talks with the Government of Israel does thereby recognize the State of Israel in practice.

“In the past, that applied to the PLO. The same way, it applies now to Hamas.”

For more information on the Palestinian elections, see here, here and here.

Leading Israeli journalist Amira Hass expresses the sentiment of the election:

“The elections taking place today in the Palestinian Authority are fluctuating between two poles: The Israeli occupation and its tremendous involvement in Palestinian lives, and the responsibility that the occupied have for their own lives. The world, led by Israel, loves to forget that the Palestinian parliament and government, despite their respectable name, are not state institutions, and that the PA enclaves are not independent.”

On this Australia/Invasion Day, if you’re feeling in need of spiritual awakening, or an injection of moral certainty, or even reassurance that Australia in 2006 is one big, happy family that rather likes the aroma of Bush’s rear passage, read on.

Who says the US can’t manage the Iraqi occupation? The office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction:

“A new audit of American financial practices in Iraq has uncovered irregularities including millions of reconstruction dollars stuffed casually into footlockers and filing cabinets, an American soldier in the Philippines who gambled away cash belonging to Iraq, and three Iraqis who plunged to their deaths in a rebuilt hospital elevator that had been improperly certified as safe.

“The audit, released yesterday by the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, expands on its previous findings of fraud, incompetence and confusion as the American occupation poured money into training and rebuilding programs in 2003 and 2004. The audit uncovers problems in an area that includes half the land mass in Iraq, with new findings in the southern and central provinces of Anbar, Karbala, Najaf, Wasit, Babil, and Qadisiya. The special inspector reports to the secretary of defence and the secretary of state.

“Agents from the inspector general’s office found that the living and working quarters of American occupation officials were awash in shrink-wrapped stacks of $100 bills, colloquially known as bricks.”

Reading the report, it’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry. On second thoughts, wider knowledge of US incompetence and corruption reveals a superpower bereft of nation-building abilities and this can only be a blessing.

Fancy an AK-47? Looking to buy an early Christmas present for your young, virile son? Look no further.

Much more information here on these startling deals.

Jewish historian Norman Finkelstein writes:

“In The Holocaust Industry I documented the World Jewish Congress’s double shakedown of Swiss banks and Nazi holocaust victims. The mastermind of this plot was a repellent sewer rat named Rabbi Israel Singer who headed the World Jewish Congress. In the appendix to the second paperback edition of my book I stated that Singer won’t be stopped ‘unless he is finally put where he belongs, behind bars.’ It seems that day might not be so far off. In the past year it has been reported that while denouncing the Swiss banks for using secrecy laws to deny Jews access to their Holocaust-era accounts, Singer himself opened up a secret Swiss bank account where he was squirreling away monies pilfered from the World Jewish Congress. Now it seems that the House of Hucksters is beset with yet new scandals.”

Jewish newspaper, The Forward, explains:

“The World Jewish Congress is fighting to block publication in Switzerland of a series of magazine articles [by journalist Daniel Ganzfried] that reportedly will contain damaging new allegations about the organization’s management and handling of funds.

“Ganzfried, the Swiss journalist, has been sharply critical of Jewish communal efforts to win back Holocaust-era assets, which have roiled Swiss Jews’ relations with their neighbours. He said his upcoming articles will be aimed at documenting the shortcomings in that process.”

Despite years of abuse, Finkelstein’s initial thesis is being confirmed yet again. Leading Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg has supported Finkelstein’s analysis of Jewish organisations’ mismanagement and cynicism while trying to negotiate lost funds:

“When I read Finkelstein’s book, The Holocaust Industry, at the time of its appearance, I was in the middle of my own investigations of these matters, and I came to the conclusion that he was on the right track. I refer now to the part of the book that deals with the claims against the Swiss banks, and the other claims pertaining to forced labour. I would now say in retrospect that he was actually conservative, moderate and that his conclusions are trustworthy. He is a well-trained political scientist, has the ability to do the research, did it carefully, and has come up with the right results. I am by no means the only one who, in the coming months or years, will totally agree with Finkelstein’s breakthrough.”

The latest scandal merely confirms Finkelstein’s allegations against one of the world’s leading Zionist organisations. Their primary interest is not the Holocaust victims themselves, rather obtaining financial reward and spending the money as they see fit, either for themselves or on Zionist projects in Israel.

Google’s unofficial motto may be “Don’t be evil“, but it appears the company is willing to sacrifice integrity for market share:

“Google, the world’s biggest search engine, will team up with the world’s biggest censor, China, today with a service that it hopes will make it more attractive to the country’s 110 million online users.

“After holding out longer than any other major internet company, Google will effectively become another brick in the great firewall of China when it starts filtering out information that it believes the government will not approve of.

“Despite a year of soul-searching, the American company will join Microsoft and Yahoo! in helping the communist government block access to websites containing politically sensitive content, such as references to the Tiananmen Square massacre and criticism of the politburo.”

Google Watch has more on the relationship between the internet giant and the communist regime.

Joel Stein, LA Times, January 24:

“I don’t support our troops. This is a particularly difficult opinion to have, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to put bumper stickers on his car. Supporting the troops is a position that even Calvin is unwilling to urinate on.

“I’m sure I’d like the troops. They seem gutsy, young and up for anything. If you’re wandering into a recruiter’s office and signing up for eight years of unknown danger, I want to hang with you in Vegas.

“I do sympathize with people who joined up to protect our country, especially after 9/11, and were tricked into fighting in Iraq. I get mad when I’m tricked into clicking on a pop-up ad, so I can only imagine how they feel.

“But when you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know you’re not going to be fending off invasions from Mexico and Canada. So you’re willingly signing up to be a fighting tool of American imperialism, for better or worse. Sometimes you get lucky and get to fight ethnic genocide in Kosovo, but other times it’s Vietnam.

“And sometimes, for reasons I don’t understand, you get to just hang out in Germany.

“I’m not advocating that we spit on returning veterans like they did after the Vietnam War, but we shouldn’t be celebrating people for doing something we don’t think was a good idea. All I’m asking is that we give our returning soldiers what they need: hospitals, pensions, mental health and a safe, immediate return. But, please, no parades.

“Seriously, the traffic is insufferable.”

Iraqi academics are being targeted. This international petition (supported by many of the world’s leading thinkers) aims to bring the issue to wide attention.

Robert Fisk wrote on this disturbing development in July 2004:

“Other university staff suspect that there is a campaign to strip Iraq of its academics, to complete the destruction of Iraq’s cultural identity which began with the destruction of the Baghdad Koranic library, the national archives and the looting of the archaeological museum when the American army entered Baghdad.”