Posts by Isca Stieglitz

'Wide angled lens'

Isca Stieglitz — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:11:01 +0000

This post was a comment on another bloggers post; I thought I'd share it as a blog piece.

There are countless democracies, groups, organisations etc. across the globe who have 'declarations' of aspirations, intent, promises and probably all countries and many groups/ organisations fall woefully short of those 'declarations'. Israel is not the only democracy to fall short.

As such, I believe that if you point your camera and focus close up on a given country, group etc. you could make it look poverty stricken, riddled with crime, full of fanatics, war mongering, fascist, racist and so on. Pull your camera back and other aspects come into focus and hopefully more positive aspects come into view.
I watched the result of an exercise like this done to the UK, Belgium and Switzerland, (as an experiment), and the deliberately selective film made for tough viewing...guns, gangs, riots, anarchy, racists, poverty, malnutrition, torture and neglect of children, and so on.

I believe, that Israel is focussed on in 'close-up' by too many people, groups and organisations.
Everything is 'monstrous', 'nazi', 'murderous', 'disgusting', 'war mongers', 'dirty', 'zios', 'bankster', 'prison camp', 'ghettoes', 'callous', 'wicked', 'cruel f*ckers', 'controlled, 'neo-con', 'holocaust', 'lobbyist', 'conspiratorial', 'power hungry', 'apartheid', 'South African', 'boycotted', 'divested', 'illegal', 'anti-
'in human', 'in humane', 'concentration camp', 'ethnic cleansing', 'genocide', 'organ snatchers', 'poverty', 'child killers', 'women beaters', 'rapists', 'torturers', 'vindictive', 'psychopathic', 'sociopathic', 'deliberate targetting of...', 'should be squashed, smashed, ended, annihilated, pushed to the sea', 'shameful', 'nasty', 'vicious', 'Hitler', '9/11', 'terrorist'...the lists are endless, but can be found anywhere and everywhere and yet even if there are incidents of truth in any of this, just read this list again and this is a taster of what is levelled in one direction only, by a lot of so called peace makers, intelligensia and the like.

Can you think of any country that is so systematically undermined maligned in a complex, tragic and multi-faceted conflict by SOME - legal systems, groups, NGOs, charities, churches, mosques, meeting houses, unions, politcians, teachers, exibitions, journalists, comedians, actors, musicians, academics etc. when there is clear evidence staring them in the face that if the camera was pointed in the other direction with the same 'close-up', then we would see a more balanced view of the whole picture.

And G-d forbid we should pull the camera right back and see something beautiful, kind, compassionate on either side. The culprits on any side of conflict hog the limelight.

In Israel's particular political case, 'wide angle' simply isn't possible, nobody wants to 'pull back', because to pull back in wide focus would re-humanise the 'in human'.

Quite plainly, Israel is not all of these things and certainly not in the way that racist and anti-semitic vocabulary as become acceptable and casually levelled at 'her' , Israelis and Jews.

This close-up focus is not fair criticism, it is racist and in a lot of cases irrational, unfettered, uneducated, biased hatred and in most cases anti-semitic.

And so we return to the 'accepted close-up': The 'demon' Israel remains, the only 'hate ridden country' with no redeeming features in the Middle East which is singularly responsible for all Islamist terrorist activities throughout the globe, to blame for all the internal and external conflicts in the Middle East. Really?

Pull back that camera.

'To completely consume by fire'.

Isca Stieglitz — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:09:37 +0000

Caveat Preamble

I am not ‘an’ academic, so my piece may not be as robustly referenced or argued, in such an academic manner, as some contributors. I have had to reference as best as I can at the end of each section and find some sources ‘post-hoc’, because my books are probably out of date e.g. I have used ‘Wiki’ for the less contentious collated data and information aspects, but of course opinion is opinion at the end of the day.

Ha Sho’ah – The Holocaust; what are you thinking about?

When deciding whether to use Nazi and Holocaust metaphors, comparisons or analogies, one has to ask ‘why?’ What is the purpose, what is the motive, what is the intended outcome? Is to add to the debate, open up the debate or is it to hurt?

I then have to ask myself, why do I find it so hurtful or offensive? Why would I not use Holocaust evoking terminology in order to describe someone, something, an entire group of people or a country? Personally, I would only use it if it was describing directly the period in history or current self-declared groups or someone in fancy dress.

Here is my answer. When I think of Nazis or the Holocaust I don’t just think of autocratic behaviour, or soldiers in Storm trooper uniforms I think of the following:

Human experimentation – the sewing together of children’s bodies for conjoined twin experiments; people with dwarfism, who after experimentation had their bodies boiled to reveal the skeletal structure for further scrutiny; gynaecological experiments; live altitude and extreme cold studies; dye injected to eyes; homosexual reorientation tests; the Roma sea water experiments, which led to them licking newly washed floors in order to get water. The list is endless and unthinkable. These images are graphic and not intended as ‘trophy-ism’ or to subjugate the memory or importance of other victims from other conflicts, they are what they are.
http://holocaustimages.blogspot.com/2006/03/mass-executions-and-human.ht...
http://thehumanmarvels.com/?p=894

The likes of – Joseph Mengele, Hermann Goering, Karl and Ilse Koch, Joseph Goebbels, Franz Stangl, Paul Blobel, Josef Kramer, Irma Grese, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Friedrich Jekeln, Oskar Dirlewanger, Odilo Globocnik, Adolf Eichman, Reinhard Heydrich, Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler.
http://listverse.com/2010/08/22/top-15-most-evil-nazis/

Jews, Roma, LGBT, disabled, mentally ill, physically ill, dissidents, political prisoners, Russians, Poles…and any other non-Teuton ideal. Bearing in mind that the ‘excuse’ was, that the only reason a nation has to deal with these ‘misfits’ is because they are all a result of allowing Jewish blood to infect your nation by interbreeding! Of course.
Nails removed for lacquer, skin for leather and light shades and fat for soap (still debated, based on testimonies, which may be ‘legend’/’myth’, and conflicting evidence. Arguments and counter argument found easily on the web), hair for stuffing, gold extracted from teeth, being stripped, nakedness, cannibalism, fighting over potatoes, piles of bodies, lime powder, gas chambers, ovens….and finally The Holocaust.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1158529/Germany-agonis...

The Holocaust – the ultimate conclusion for the final solution to the Jewish question. From the Greek ὁλόκαυστος holókaustos: hólos, “whole” and kaustós, “burnt” – to completely consume by fire, in order to obliterate an entire gene pool from the earth, hence Genocide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust

Is it any wonder that some Green Party members, including myself, are deeply upset at it being implied that we are ‘Nazi’ or ‘Nazi infiltrators’?

Is it ok for Jews to use this language then?

To be honest, anyone can say anything in private or in a mutually agreed group; that’s free speech. Holocaust survivors are often cited as using Nazi comparisons, as if that makes it ok. My answer would be, for every Jewish person or survivor who says it’s ‘ok’, there is most likely one who is deeply hurt and anguished by it.

In some circles, it has become ‘ok’ to use the word ‘nigger’ between black people predominantly influenced by the some elements of ‘rap culture’. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/24/nyregion/rap-s-embrace-of-nigger-fires...

Maybe that’s ok within a private group, but would we, (of all colours) tolerate that word in open public debate, except for direct quotation?

I remember, during my times as a more politicised feminist, that the word ‘cunt’ was used quite prolifically. To ‘own’ it, ‘demystify’ it? Maybe that’s ok in a mutually agreed private group, but would we, (of all genders) tolerate that word in open public debate, except for direct quotation?

Would it be acceptable for me to invoke ‘The Slave Trade’ imagery and vocabulary to now describe the more despotic regimes in Africa, as if to imply, ‘Who’s the slave driver now then? You have a history of being slaves, so how come you treat each other like this now?’ Maybe you would say ‘yes’ and I would categorically say ‘no’.

The point should be clear. We can all ‘think’, ‘feel’ and ‘say’ what we like in private or in mutually agreed groups, but surely the point is to come up with a mutually agreed language for public and general engagement. A common language which allows for robust criticism and praise, without using language which we know causes pain. This is particularly pertinent when discussing groups of people who are in pain and suffering as a result of conflict, whoever they are.

The richness of the English language is indisputable and there are many words available to us to engage in a debate. The Israel/Palestine debate is already fraught with anger and pain, why would we even want to inflict more on each other; especially when we know that it does cause pain, intimidation, isolation and fear?

Why Should the Holocaust (and Nazi Imagery) Be Held as Unique?

Because it is. The Holocaust is a uniquely painful European experience and should be held as such. The only way I’ve seen Nazism being dealt in serious ways is through books, plays, films and comedy etc.; you may remember Mel Brooks sailed close to the wind in his film “The Producers”. Again, intent and motive is fairly clear: to take the sting out of ‘Nazi’ via mockery or to educate.

However, I believe that all similar experiences should also be held as unique:

The Native Americans 1830 and possibly the Anazazi before them.
Tribal Peoples of the Amazon
The Armenians 1915
The Ukrainians 1930s
Hiroshima & Nagasaki 1945
Tibet 1949-
Congo – to present
Cambodia (Kampuchea) 1975
Baha’is in Iran
Balkans –Bosnian Moslems 1990’s
Pigmy tribes of Southern Africa- pre- & post-Apartheid
And on…and on…thousands or millions in each case
I believe that it is a mistake to homogenise these events. We can have our ‘World Genocide Day’ and for sure we can find similarities in the universal human nature aspect of these atrocities, but each group deserves to be remembered uniquely and each country, region or people will remember there ‘fallen’ in their own, very personal, way. I fear that if we do not find ‘uniqueness’ in deliberately orchestrated atrocities, then the victims also become homogenised.

To find ‘uniqueness’ can help ameliorate the sadly all too common conflict in the world.

It is also important not to exaggerate and embellish events beyond what they actually are, if not, I believe this also diminishes the true meaning of words and events and ultimately the victims.

‘History is full of horrors. This is not a contest to win some awful prize’. Barbara Rogasky 1991, from her book ‘Smoke and Ashes’ – also more on ‘uniqueness’ of deliberately orchestrated atrocities.

Zionism and Racism / The Law of Return

This is far too big a subject to address here. However, again this word is bandied around as some casually acceptable insult. ‘Racist Zionist’, ‘smash the Zionists’, ‘eradicate this Zionist entity’, ‘Zios’ ‘Zionism = Nazism’, ‘Zionism-The New Holocaust’; and on and on. If you believe that the State of Israel, as a Zionist endeavour, is an entirely racist entity then you are, of course, entitled to that opinion. Likewise, Jews who don’t subscribe to the default position of the EUMC anti-semitism document don’t have to.

All I will say is ‘I am a Zionist’, but I certainly don’t recognise myself as being a Nazi or Racist who needs to be smashed and I do subscribe to my right to self-determination if I so wish.

With 14 odd branches of Zionism, this alone should indicate that Zionists are not a homogenous group of racists or homogenous group of anything.

Likewise, ‘The Law of Return’ is not a cut and dried issue, (it is not the only means of procuring citizenship and will no doubt be modified as situations change) and the notion of ‘jewishness’ or a ‘Jewish state’ is often not fully understood; there are many countries across the globe who employ similar rules, regulations, preferential treatment of entry, (inc. Germany, Serbia, Greece, Japan, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Chile, Poland, Finland et al), and ‘christian-ness, moslem-ness, hindu-ness’ in how a their country’s calendar is run – I might write about all this another day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Return

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism

‘The Zionist Idea’ (1981) Arthur Hertzberg.

Slippery slope

By allowing ‘Nazi’ imagery to become a standard level of discourse for critical purposes we are prone to becoming desensitised. As we have seen, next it’s cartoons of gas chambers, Auschwitz and then Holocaust denial. Using direct replacement, “The Palestinian Question”, of course only serves to invoke the next stage “A Solution”, implying mass orchestrated and deliberate murder. Bearing in mind this kind of imagery has been bandied around since before 1967, and indeed 1948; so is not just as a result of the current I/P situation.

Whether intended or not, the outcome will be the feeding of blatant anti-semitism; it is already happening. I do wonder about the minds of people who think it is ‘ok’ to have and display a ‘Holocaust Cartoon Competition’; this is not for educative purposes or satire. Think about it…Holocaust-Cartoon-Competition. Insert the following in the space where ‘Holocaust’ sits and think negative-making-fun images: Slavery…Ethnic Cleansing…Wounded Knee…Nakba…Pol Pot…what does any of this do to enhance debate? It doesn’t, it hurts and it is racist.

Nazi and Holocaust language is also the language of the KKK, White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis.

http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=3&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TM...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Holocaust_Cartoon_Competition

http://engageonline.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/a-new-low-for-scottish-pale...

http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/ArabCartoons.htm

EUMC on Anti-Semitism

No document is perfect and most such things tend to continue to evolve. Overall, it has to be read ‘entire’, as each part tends to elaborate on a preceding part.

The document also offers a ‘default’ position, which can be accepted or rejected by each person as they see fit. Like many documents which offer guidelines, law or support, I can choose for it to support me or not. If I decide ‘not’, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other people who are glad of it.

What this document does indicate is how to conduct discourse, without resorting to Nazi/Holocaust metaphor and analogy.

My only question would be:

What is it that cannot be said as a genuine robust criticism of Israeli Government Policy because of this document, whilst offering a default position on the use of language in that discourse?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism

No.

So, we come full circle, and I would ask the same questions:

When deciding whether to use Nazi and Holocaust metaphors, comparisons or analogies, one has to ask ‘why?’

What is the purpose, what is the motive, what is the intended outcome?

If someone is deeply hurt, angered, fearful or intimidated by the use of Nazi/Holocaust imagery in this comparative way, especially knowing where it can lead; is it ok?

I would say ‘No’.

"Only Connect" - Howard's End, E.M. Forster - B.T. , Bezeq and BDS.

Isca Stieglitz — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:03:44 +0000

Here is some lovely heartening news, (from a couple of months ago), and another example of why I don't support 'Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions'(BDS) in helping to resolve the Israel-Palestine(I-P) conflict. BDS may have a role in many situations, but, on the whole, I don't support it as a remedy. I have come to this conclusion from my personal experience in I-P and as a participant in the "Anti Apartheid Movement".

Identities have been changed and privacy preserved at their request, for obvious reasons. A handful of British based colleagues have seen the original exchange.

The latest BDS angle is to disconnect from and/or protest against BT because of their dealings with Bezeq, Israel. The fact that Bezeq and other Israeli telecommunications companies have business relations with PalTel and many more mid-east telecoms companies is quickly dismissed as an ‘under-duress-relationship’.

I couldn’t stomach anymore non-horse's mouth propaganda so I contacted a colleague, who works for a major middle east telecommunications company, directly and had a good exchange of e-mails with **** and was then put in touch with *** , see below:

"Dear Jessica;
Pls provide us with the Tel/Mob to call you to clarify the issue
hereunder ..
Thanks
Best Regard

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail"

*** called me from *** . I told *** about the the BT protest situation and I how I was worried if any divestment could affect other mid-east telecoms. companies. *** talked at length about the interconnectedness of all their business relations and how they help broker between Israel and other Arab based telecommunications companies.

*** said they have good relations with all their international companies and that includes all Israeli tele-businesses, not just Bezeq.

To paraphrase - business is business and I expressed my happiness at hearing how 'peaceful' their approach was. *** asked about my time in Israel-Palestine and we talked about the weather! Our snow and their lack of water.

I told *** about our work here of trying to promote good business and working relations as positive way to peace and how this can help prevent conflict. *** said business tends to cut through conflict and high emotions and *** simply has to run the business as best as *** can for the benefit of everybody - that kind of sentiment anyway. If people's standard of living and life are improved then there is less likely to be conflict. I hope I have paraphrased the intended gist.

We talked about political policy on both sides and I expressed how magnanimous *** is in pursuing what must sometimes be a difficult relationship with Israel and yet *** seemed to think it was more a matter of concentrating on what is good and profitable about their business relations.

I'm sure *** is a businessperson and pragmatist through and through, but it works and I did get a feeling that *** cares about it.

We wished each other, our loved ones, friends and the wider communities wellness and happiness.

*** encouraged me to contact if I ever need to and we have an invitation to visit their office if we are ever in the area! Business-schmizzness and boy does it work sometimes.

Real people, real lives, real conversations, real progress.

UNESCO Rewrite History and Deny Heritage - Petition.

Isca Stieglitz — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:39:39 +0000

Not sure if this has been posted before, I can't keep up.

I've tried to check this out and it appears to be true. Now I'm not particularly religious, but again this kind of decision making would not be tolerated for any other group.

UNESCO have decided to redesignate originally jewish historical sites e.g. to relabel 'Rachel's Tomb' as a mosque and have disallowed the addition of the 'Machpelah' to Israel's Heritage list.

Now we all know that successive empires, religions and so on have always sought to subjugate predecessors by renaming holidays, places and denying 'linkage' to land. Christianity did 'a very good job' of that with regard to paganism - Winter Solstice period = Christmas; Eggs, Bunnies, Fertility Spring rites =Easter (Oestre) etc. And, a really 'good' way is to build your own building on top of an original and precious site so as to complete the subjugation.

All sides in conflicts tend to do this and Islamic history is no different, e.g. Al-Aqsa, Dome of the Rock. However, these things are now here and form part of the iconic skyline of Jerusalem. BUT, to go on to deny a linkage which predates both christianity and islam is unacceptable.

The promotion and enhancement of the sharing of these sites is surely the way to go, so that new generations may well stop fighting over them....I can wish can't I?!

Please read the petition and if you agree, do sign up and pass on.

http://www.petitiononline.com/rabbiv/

Wishes,
Isca

Two Polar Bears in the 'Glacier Mint Brawl'?

Isca Stieglitz — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:33:35 +0000

This opener stems from my background in psychology and on going charity work in the field of mental illness. I hope it helps/informs a little. I also hope that the links work!

Two Polar Bears and the ‘Glacier Mint Brawl’?
Imagine the scene; ‘Morgenstimmung’ by Grieg is playing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bihp6gwTdeg
Soda, the polar bear, pops her head out of her snow hole; she flicks one of last night’s fish cache into her mouth and pads, with a saunter, over to her ‘glacier mint’; remember those?:
http://www.retrotvads.com/tag/eric-fox/ - scroll down a little for image of packet.

Soda is about to take up her position, when suddenly ‘Ace of Spades’ cracks the gentle stillness, “Oh no, here comes Val!”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxJwP0izGgc

Val, the other polar bear, steams forward and engages Soda in their ever so regular ‘glacier mint brawl’; a sometimes fraught exchange over the right to stand on the mint.

Let’s pan away from this scene; one of them will win out...until the next time.

Two Polar Bears? This is one of my more ‘fun’ descriptions of an illness I have lived with for most of my life and was diagnosed with ‘proper’ nearly ten years ago. It is Bi-Polar disorder aka. Manic Depressive illness. Either of the terms is fine with me. I quite like ‘disorder’, because that’s how it is sometimes – a life in disorder; a life disordered.

I have come to describe my Bi-Polar in many different ways over the years:
• The chocolate duvet – a depression can sometimes feel very familiar. It can allow me to escape and get off of the world, to simply stop because I cannot stand any stimuli – music, heavy clothes, water on my skin, loud noises etc. It can be a comfort, like chocolate and bumfy duvets. Until ‘it’ turns.

• Black treacle and live black bubble gum– ‘it’ turns into a wading blackness, when my simply moving through air feels like I’m being held down. It is rather like the almost living black ‘goo’ in the film ‘Spiderman 3’; the one which formed Peter Parker’s alter-ego. It can hurt all over simply breathing in and out. http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/Shadowgeek10/news/?a=22575 - scroll down to 'black spidey' mirror image photo.

• Mad cat lady! – when I first had hallucinations, I was terrified. I saw ‘madness’ square in the face and thought I was losing my mind; I think perhaps I was. I would see cats/kittens walking about, as casual as you like, I didn’t know why, but there it is. I now know, through psychotherapy, that it is most likely related to wanting to protect and rescue ‘something or someone’ and feeling unable to. Myself, most likely.

• Psychedelic dreaming – synaesthesia, no need for drugs here! Hearing colours and seeing music and sound, is very strange, but like the ‘kittens’, I have come to accept it as part of the symptoms of my illness and mostly occurs during a transition between depression and mania. Synapses firing, creating some of the most beautiful light shows and shapes I have ever seen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia

There is lots of information about Bi-Polar out there, so I don’t aim to add superfluously to it. If there is demand, I would be happy to write more and perhaps cover more practical help and how I’ve managed to live a rich life. Life has been much more on an even keel for many years now, a little 'dull' in comparison to the old days, but much more liveable.

For now, let me take you back to Soda and Val...but what is this?

From this... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-491859/Polar-bears-play--unbelie... - scroll down to the fighting bears.

To this... http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/polar-bear3.htm - scroll down to mother and cubs - now that makes a change ;o)

With a bit of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rS-bFYScJQ
Can’t resist the ‘cheese’, but dedicated to my daughter, Hannah, nevertheless. Probably wouldn’t be here without her.

Notes & Credits. Soda and Val are named after Sodium Valproate, one of the many medications used in the treatment of epilepsy and other illnesses including Bi-Polar disorder: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_valproate

I wasn’t sure if I needed permission to use these images and music for non-profit illustration, so just in case, thanks to:
Fox’s http://www.foxs.co.uk/ , my daughter and I love the mints, especially for travelling and it gave me an image of light relief.
Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, Lara Ziskin Productions, the ‘Spiderman’ trilogy is fantastic and often very moving, do watch it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0413300/
You Tube, Edvard Grieg (RIP) and the brilliant AC/DC and Westlife. I own all of these albums and recommend them for different moods.
Polar Bear Images: http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/11_01/polarbearAP0511_468x265.jpg http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/polar-bear-5.jpg

Ahava at First Sight?

Isca Stieglitz — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:34:16 +0100

Not quite, but an interesting day nevertheless.

I was visiting a friend in London and took in Monmouth Street during my stay. I stupidly got off at Covent Garden, instead of Leicester Square, and had to run the crowded gauntlet of the spiral staircase. I didn’t have the patience to wait for the lift and had forgotten how long that spiral ascent was!

I reached daylight with a bit of a sweat on, sorry ‘glow’, and meandered my way across Long Acre and Neal St. and, just before cornering the Seven Dials, I could hear chanting and shouting. I hadn’t been to the Ahava demonstration before and, by later reports, this was quite a ‘tame’ day.

I wanted to see for myself the extent of protest, counter protest and disruption, if any. I approached the Ahava shop, flanked by officers, and asked if it was ok to go in, “Of course madam, you’re safe”. I went into the shop and met two ladies. Very quiet, unassuming and one slumped in an armchair. She looked fed up, down hearted, bored; I couldn’t tell. I introduced myself and said I’d come to support them. We had a little chat; I tried some of my Hebrew and bought some hand cream.

I got the feeling, and expressed, that they must be tired and worn down with the whole affair. They had been frightened on many occasions. There was agreement that a lot of people simply don’t understand the complexity of the situation and those that do often simply disagree. In any event, they are workers in a shop, like you, like me. It can't be right to keep 'punishing' them.

I went outside and received unexpected applause mixed with a cacophony of jeers. I recognised Jonathan Hoffman and introduced myself and met with a young man from Oxford, Ian and later Richard Millet and others from the different groups. I decided to stay and observe from behind the barrier.

I saw:
Pen #1 - a large contingent of anti-Ahava protesters from the pro-Palestinian Campaign;
Pen #2 - a handful of pro-Ahava protesters and
Pen #3 - the English Defence League (EDL)-Jewish and gay divisions pro-Ahava group. The EDL group kept blurring their boundary by walking across the middle pen and putting their possessions inside it, this served to cause tension. I couldn’t help but think that the EDL pen should be placed the other side of the anti-Ahava pen and at least this would put to bed the accusations of the majority of Jews being in league with EDL. If these Jewish and Gay divisions of EDL think they'd be afforded any protection if the EDL had any power, then they are mistaken.

Pen #2 tended to give out leaflets and was relatively quiet, the odd conversation taking place with the public and with members of Pens #1 and 3. "Support Israel...buy Israeli goods here...read the truth not the lies...make up your own mind...". If there was abuse, I didn't hear any.

Pen #1 and #2 tended towards loud chanting and the language was not pleasant. “Where’s your Burkah gone...Hamas hates homos...Israel terrorists...Israeli mud, Palestinian blood...shame on you” and things I won’t repeat, when tempers frayed.

I had cause to ask an EDL person not to put her stuff in Pen #2 and received a torrent of vitriol. To which I replied, ‘that’s why people don’t like you, you’re rude and abusive and you stand for bigots’; I then ignored her. I then asked one EDL’er not to associate with me, when she tried to speak to me. I couldn't even bear to engage because of the sheer nastiness of their attitude. There were people trying to angle pictures so that it looked like Pen #2 were in league and 'friends' with Pen #3. The only interaction I witnessed was efforts to be educative, or to ward off abuse and once to give a leaflet.

Above all I found the anger spilling into venom, unabashed hatred, contorted faces, spittle flying and there were pictures displayed of maimed dead children like some sick trophy. Every conflict could display such pictures from all sides, maimed twisted bodies, hacked corpses, beheaded corpses and so on. A dead person from one side cannot be worth more than a dead person from another side. Surely this is to further disrespect the dead and make trophies of personal and individual tragedies. I do wonder about the workings of the mind of the type of person who thinks that this is a fitting tribute to dead children.

I am reminded of my time as a member of the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM). I can’t speak for all sub-groups, but I found myself falling into vitriolic anti-white activism. I later found out that a lot of our donated money was siphoned off into terrorist groups from the townships who were metering out internal punishments, including ‘necklacing’ and ‘macheteing’. People were punished for collaboration of any kind and a blind eye was turned by our AAM coordinators from this information. People were killed/'punished' for simply working in a 'white' shop.

I later found out, from some horses’ mouths (black/white/Asian and indigenous people), that AAM weren’t as so responsible for the fall of apartheid as we thought. There was already lots of manoeuvrings going on behind the scenes well before. It wasn’t a black and white issue; I was shown and made to understand the many grey areas and I vowed I would never be so swayed into extremism again.

I couldn't help but think how the situation in Monmouth Street maybe echoes the situation in Israel-Palestine; a microcosm being played out by proxy. Only we all, hopefully, got to go home, to a warm safe bed. I did think about my friends again that night, friends from all sides; huddled in my duvet.

Anger and passion can be great motivators and if people disagree over an issue – in this case Mitzpe Shalem produce; fair enough. However, if there’s one of many things I’ve learned, it is not our place to add fuel to an already incendiary and tragic situation. Corner a dog and it will snarl and bite; no matter who the dog, no matter what the corner.

We should be doing more to lessen flames; and barking abuse; making trophies of the dead; parodying songs with inflammatory lyrics and spewing hatred isn’t going to work.

'Smash EDO' takes a Bath?

Isca Stieglitz — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:06:12 +0100

Thought some of you might be interested in the outcome of the complaints made against Lord Bathurst-Norman re: his summing up on the 'EDO case' in Hove.
I made my thoughts clear at the time.

Dear Ms. Goldfinch,

Complaint against His Honour Bathurst-Norman
I am writing on behalf of the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice to inform you of their decision in relation to your complaint against His Honour Bathurst-Norman.

You complained that the Judge’s comments during his summing up to the jury displayed a personal bias, that he was not impartial and that he swayed the jury improperly.

A number of complaints were received on this matter and the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice have decided that they should be resolved in accordance with Regulation 26(1)(e)(i) of the Judicial Discipline (Prescribed Procedures) Regulations 2006 (as amended) on the basis that the complaints are substantiated wholly or in part. The Lord Chief Justice has exercised his disciplinary powers and, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor, has issued the Judge with a formal reprimand. They found that a number of observations made during the summing up did not arise directly from the evidence at trial and could be seen as an expression of the judge's personal views on a political question. This was an error.

In coming to this decision the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice have considered the details of the complaints made, the comments of His Honour Bathurst-Norman and the advice of the Nominated Judge. The decision does not affect nor seek to comment upon the outcome of the trial and the verdict reached by the jury in the case.

Shanah Tova 5771!

Isca Stieglitz — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:58:52 +0100

Wishing a Happy New Year 5771 to all at JC & bloggers, l'ha'kol b'nei adam & Israel.
May it be a sweet one.
Wishes from,
Isca & Lital(daughter)
xx

Woodcraft Folk & Children in the Mix

Isca Stieglitz — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 11:45:40 +0100

Woodcraft Folk is of course entitled to pass motions on whatever they like, but as a parent I baulk about involving children at meetings such as this - see photo. I've endeavoured to shield my daughter from the more contentious areas of politics; she has her childhood to live. She is lucky enough to live in a country which, on the whole, allows her to have a childhood, when many do not.

Political awareness like sex, puberty and growing up in general has to come from a position of age appropriate knowledge and this just doesn't fit the bill. An adult struggles enough.

I'm worried that yet another group do not seem to engage with all angles of an issue. It seems 'regressive' not to analyse carefully all the evidence available around the 'Flotilla' and like incidents around the world and not just around Israel. There is plenty of evidence. I'd like to think 'Woodcraft Folk' did scrutinise the evidence and context, but I fear not.

Again, I would like to see if 'Woodcraft' have boycotted any other countries which they feel have terrible human rights track records; we can all think of many, including the activities of Hamas towards children and its adult citizens. Again, I fear not.

'Regressive' is somewhat ironic especially given Woodcraft's own tag line:

"This movement is a fundamental part of progressive Britain and a progressive world."

http://www.woodcraft.org.uk/news/article/4657

Green Party & Anti-semitism?

Isca Stieglitz — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:39:01 +0100

This is more of a call for advice and information. I am an active member of the Green Party for England & Wales. I was simply doing some research and came across a very heartening group called 'Greens Engage'; they are monitoring anti-semitism within the party, e.g. the contents of motions regarding boycotts of Israel. However, I am also very saddened by the knee-jerk reactionism and hyperbole around Israel. React-first-ask-questions-later, seems to be the order of the day on a lot of world conflicts in general. I felt the hair go up on my neck when I saw Green members carrying "We're all Hamas Now" placards.

I understand that all parties in contentious situations can sink to bilious outpourings, but I endeavour to educate myself on many contentious issues before forming opinions and this issue is no different. The evidence so far is not looking too 'good' for the Green Party.

Any comments gratefully received, avoiding 'bilious outpourings' of course ;o)

UPDATE April 2011:
Some people have read this post and by reading the comments have found 'Greens Engage'. For ease, here are direct links to the site and an article I wrote connected to this subject:

http://greensengage.wordpress.com

http://greensengage.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/to-completely-consume-by-fi...