Ben White, CiF’s resident Hamas shill and antisemitism justifier is coming to Canada to join the Towards the Dignity of Difference, “Neither a Clash of Civilizations or End of History” conference coming up at the University of Alberta in Edmonton from October 2-4, 2009.
He will be speaking at the section called Dialogue and resistance – mutually exclusive or parallel tracks? Global civil society engages with Palestine/Israel which is described in the following terms:
Since the 1990s and the Oslo peace process there has been a growth in the number of NGOs in the West – as well as on the ground in Palestine/Israel – who have invested in what has been described as a ‘peace industry’. Dialogue between Jews and Palestinians is encouraged, and boycotts are considered ‘extremist’ or unhelpful. Meanwhile, in the last few years, a significant section of Palestinian society has officially called for what is known as BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) to be adopted by governments and global civil society as a way of pressuring Israel to comply with international law and enable Palestinian rights to be realised. Does dialogue work – or is it more a matter of what kind of dialogue? Are dialogue and tactics like BDS mutually exclusive? What are the main obstacles to a just peace in Palestine/Israel?”
So predictably, Ben White will be promoting the boycott-divestment movement as opposed to the approach promoting dialogue. Nothing new for those familiar with his diatribes on CiF.
He will be joined in this section by Dr. Moustafa Abu Sway, a Professor from Al Quds University of Jerusalem and a known Hamas supporter. Militant Islam Monitor says the following about the “Peace Professor”:
“During the years 1997 to 2002 one can follow Abu Sway’s continuous connection with two known Hamas leaders Sheik Jamal Hamimi, and Hasan Yousef, both of whom are linked to terrorist funding . Hasan Yousef runs the Zakat “charity” department at Al Quds University. Below are photos showing Abu Sway seated next to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. This proves that he is considered a significant figure by the PA and by the Hamas political and ’spiritual’ leadership .”
Another guest speaker speaking along with White is Dr. Ghada Hashem Talhami from Lake Forest University. While she’s on break from writing about Palestinian and Arab women’s issues, she is busy claiming that Israel is a terrorist state and is the driving force in the “Clash of Civilizations” discourse.
Her conference page outlines this pretty well:
“The Clash of Civilizations” purveyors of continuing and future bloody confrontations between the West and the Islamic world have succeeded in impressing upon the Western mind the essential violent nature of Islam. In this context the struggle against terrorism has been reduced to the struggle to save Western civilization, consistently represented by the US and Israel, from the non-Judaeo-Christian barbarians at the gate. This paper will argue that Israel as a state routinely condones official terrorism even in open debates of the Knesset. Some of Israel’s prominent historians of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict like Benny Morris advocate a pre-emptive form of state terrorism. The endorsement of a violent solution to this conflict was always supported by the US which views global terrorism through the same lenses like Israel. The US has also resorted to redesigning the world and its security organizations in a manner compatible with its own understanding of this problem (which is based on the Israeli view recall!). According to Professor Mahmood Mamdani of Columbia University, the world is now living under a new “Humanitarian World Order” perpetrated through the US-controlled Security Council which selectively condemns some types of terror, as in Darfur, and ignores others. This paper will conclude with a plea for a universal definition of terror and a unified campaign against it.”
At Qumsiyeh, Human Rights Web, in a review of Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle, by Mazin B. Qumsieh, Talhami endorses the argument that Palestinians are the descendants of the Canaanites along with the Jews, thus the rightful inheritors of the land. Interestingly, the Qumsiyeh webpage (in which the Talhami review appears) has for background the map of Israel without the borders of the West Bank and Gaza and this is not because this source supports the Israeli Right wing “greater Israel” position.
So judging from this, Ben White is in good company. Sitting between a Hamas activist and a supposed feminist who has no trouble sitting next to a Hamas activist herself and who believes in a one-state based on Canaanite heritage (despite being from Jordan herself). Or perhaps, Ben will sit between them so that no sensitivities are disturbed.
Anything for peace…as they say.
Hawkeye
Omar
WellofSense
Medusa
The Alchemist
Louise
Tosca
Maimon
Telling the Truth
Israelinurse
22 comments
Comments feed for this article
September 6, 2009 at 6:40 pm
AKUS
The BDS movement has massive support from a Canadian (Toronto) based “United Church of Canada “, aided and abetted by the Canadian IJV group (claiming to speak for “the progressive Jews”), no less. Useful idiots barely begins to describe it.
Canada has a deplorable record of anti-Semitism, and gets a free pass due to its generally low profile in world affairs. Anti-Semitic attack out-number similar attacks in the US by about 10:1 on a per capita basis.
White will feel right at home in that anti-Semitic gathering, with Jews and Gentiles striving, to borrow a recent phrase from CIF, to show that they are “whiter than white” by ramping up the extravagance of their anti-Semitic attacks on Israel.
September 6, 2009 at 10:39 pm
AKUS
er …”whiter than White”
September 6, 2009 at 11:59 pm
JerusalemMite
Ben White is a particularly odious obsessive Israel hater.
He lives in Brazil and is promoted by The Guardian newspaper with a plethora of articles attacking everything in Israel. Bearing in mind that at a rough count, less than 2500 Palestinians have lost their lives in the past 9 years directly related to the I/P conflict, one wonders what attracts Ben Whites attention.
I mean, the BBC estimates that upwards of 350,000 Sudanese have lost their lives over the past 5 years in Darfur related violence, so why don’t Ben White and others from the CI(F) ’stable’ direct their attention there.
September 7, 2009 at 4:30 am
Fairplay
In the programme, to discuss the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Ben White is described as a ‘freelance journalist in the UK’ and is sharing the platform with three other speakers, all Muslim academics.
The bias is plain for all to see. Ben White is a self-declared expert on the basis of having specialised in the Arab-Israel conflict at university and two internships or field trips to WB/Gaza. Useful idiot, I’d call him, not expert at all.
As to why he’s chosen Israel to hate, there are many reasons. Perhaps he’ll have the courage to explain himself on CiF Watch. He sure as hell won’t on the Guardian.
September 7, 2009 at 5:23 am
John
AKUS
I have always enjoyed your comments on CiF – informative and generally good-natured – and can only imagine you were banned because you went for the Guardian’s jugular in a moment of frustration and you did it too directly. Comment is of course not free and the editors cannot tolerate too much truth about themselves and their site.
Re-register with a variation of your ‘name’. Everyone else does.
September 7, 2009 at 5:24 am
John
As for Ben White – he is a big-faced boy. Attractive qualities to some.
September 7, 2009 at 7:10 am
Eh? « Seismic Shock
[...] Filed under: Uncategorized — seismicshock @ 11:10 am Ben White’s going to Canada. Leave a [...]
September 7, 2009 at 9:21 am
AKUS
John – September 7, 2009 at 5:24 am
John – thanks for your comment. Probably right – the Carmi thread really got to me. It was pure cyber-mobbing assisted by the moderators removing almost every post in support of her and allowing posts attacking and denigrating her that would never be condoned for a moment if it had been, for example, Lerman, or another of the protected favorites, writing.
There have been cases of cyber-bullying in the US that have led to tragedies, and she was, after, writing under her own name thus opening herself to future verbal or physical abuse. She had the guts to stand up for her point of view by allowing a reprint of her response to Gordon from the LA Times (I assume CIF cannot simply “lift” articles from other sources without the author’s permission). She deserved the same respect and protection the Guardian provides even to, for example, spokesmen for Hamas.
I may “reappear” on CIF, but I have seriously begun to question the utility – or futility – of trying to break out of the endless spirals on the threads with some actual facts and what I think is a reasoned POV, let alone dealing with the not-so-hidden anti-Semites the site attracts. Also the futility of occasionally injecting a little humor into the grim world the editors and moderators seem to prefer and watching the comments disappear!
CIF’s I/P threads have degenerated into a sort of horrible narcissistic meeting place for a rather small group of agenda-driven uninformed Israel-haters, contributors and commentators, who like to see themselves in print spouting their opinions, endlessly using the same “talking points” to try to paint Israel as an evil empire. The same can be said for those threads that give those who blame the US for all the world’s woes a chance to spout their hatred of America.
Perhaps I should simply watch talknic destroy the site with his endless war against banning and the repetitive nonsense that he manages to post each time till the moderators catch up with him?
Eh? :-)
September 7, 2009 at 12:25 pm
1peter
“CIF’s I/P threads have degenerated into a sort of horrible narcissistic meeting place for a rather small group of agenda-driven uninformed Israel-haters, contributors and commentators, who like to see themselves in print spouting their opinions, endlessly using the same “talking points” to try to paint Israel as an evil empire. The same can be said for those threads that give those who blame the US for all the world’s woes a chance to spout their hatred of America.”
Yet they frequent this site to see what is being said, and many come here to “debate” as this is the fuel that drives them
September 7, 2009 at 12:34 pm
JerusalemMite
It seems that whoever is responsible for this site recognised a tremendous amount of anger generated amongst previous CI(F) posters who were ‘moderated’ out of the discourse there.
For reasons which obviously pertain to the views they put forward and very well expressed, which are in direct opposition to the ‘CI(F)/Guardian world view’.
What surprises me is that no one noticed this ‘well of deep anger and rage’ before.
Still. Better late than never.
September 7, 2009 at 12:49 pm
1peter
I don’t know if the issue is being “moderated” out of the discourse there as much as the obvious slanting of the discourse.
While I’m not familiar with the various individuals it is evident that only a handful who point out the errors are allowed to be there, almost like the “token Jew” who if they behave and are “nice” are allowed to post.
Considering the high volume of articles that relate to Israel, one would think that something positive would sneak in now and again, but if a Leftist like Petra is called a Kahanist what can be expected?
September 7, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Mita
Has anybody any idea of the average length of a CiF life for an Israel supporter as compared to that of the others? – apart from the talknic dynasties of course.
I recognise so few of the Israel supporters and yet the old opponents are there – berchmans larrit moron etc
September 7, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Pro-Zionist
1peter
it is evident that only a handful who point out the errors are allowed to be there, almost like the “token Jew” who if they behave and are “nice” are allowed to post.
Indeed, the Guardian’s atttitude towards Jews seems to be exactly the same as that of the racist white American south towards black freedmen: Know your subordinate place, stay in your place, and shut up or we’ll shut you up.
Actually, much the same as the Muslim attitude towards the Jewish dhimmi for one- and one-half millennia.
That may be what the Muslim and Guardian worldview hates so much about Zionists – just as the American south’s virulent hatred for “uppity blacks” – that is, complete and all-consuming hatred for the minority which wil not stay in its place, whether black or Jewish.
September 7, 2009 at 3:21 pm
SilverTrees
Mita, your question is an interesting one, and it reminds me of what I have read about the average life-span of a WWII fighter pilot (usually very short).
John, your advice to AKUS is wise about perhaps not going for the jugular (CiF mods are such sensitive souls) but, whether you meant to or not, it highlighted yet another distinction made between pro-Israel/?Jewish posters on CiF and yer average run of the mill poster – we are constrained by threat of moderation where as certain creatures such as moron and laRitournelle can be as shrill as they wish, apparently without let or hindrance.
September 7, 2009 at 3:53 pm
John
“Well said. Even though I do find him quite attractive, as I mentioned earlier, he’ll get a taste of my Zimmer frame if I ever catch him around here.”
Site administrators: That quote above is from someone pretending to be me. You need to set up passwords – or something – to prevent this.
September 7, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Arnon
What was said about Ben White is true.
But, we need to go beyond posting our outrage on an obscure web site.
We need to mount counter speakers at conferences that support Israel and attack verbally the enablers of antisemitism.
September 7, 2009 at 9:35 pm
modernityblog
I think we need to move beyond personalities like Ben White.
In and of themselves they are inconsequential, rather it is what they represent which must be argued against, that slapdash propaganda, the “understanding” of anti-Jewish racism, that willingness to always see the charitable side of anyone who attacks Jews (ie. Iranian President) and the habit of cobbling together any old argument to delegitimise the State of Israel.
These people are inconsequential and probably only do it to gain favour, fame and cheap notoriety, but the subject goes beyond them and as Arnon suggests much more needs to be done.
September 8, 2009 at 12:48 am
JerusalemMite
modernityblod – These people are inconsequential.
Well. I suppose some of them are.
However, it does allow a certain amount of satisfaction to people like myself who used to comment on CI(F), (until being banned), and saw through the ‘balanced’ publications on CI(F).
Here, hopefully, I am able to express my thorough disdain of CI(F) without fear of ‘deletions’.
A novel feeling.
September 8, 2009 at 12:56 am
JerusalemMite
Arnon – We need to mount counter speakers at conferences that support Israel and attack verbally the enablers of antisemitism.
Good idea but I would suggest waiting until you can be sure that enough people view this site so that a call to boycott CIF on this site would be effective.
And this site would have to provide an alternative meeting ground with enough posts to satisfy my debating appetite. (and presumably, the debating skills of others).
Perhaps someone from the site would respond.
September 8, 2009 at 9:08 am
MotherRedDog
I ran across this article this morning regarding someone you may already be looking at. After reading the article and checking into some of the references, I had to send it to you so that I could try to stop thinking about the possibilities of what it means. If you already have this, then just know that there are many regular people like me who think that you are doing very important work. It’s time for these people with hidden agendas to be brought out into the light.
If nothing else, this consolidates a lot of information.
http://www.mererhetoric.com/archives/11275875.html
September 8, 2009 at 1:47 pm
The Alchemist
Thanks MotherRedDog, saw this on Atlas today also.
Perhaps you haven’t seen this:
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=163537&page=17
September 9, 2009 at 5:59 am
Nandoo
I do hope that people who go to this meeting from “our side” at least behave themselves and don’t get thrown out for heckling and making nuisances of themselves as has happened in the UK. What an own goal that was!
Best thing to do is hear what he has to say then take his argument to pieces. Simples!!!!