Alterman has another idiotic follow up today 7/19/03.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/752664.asp#030716
L’ANTI-SEMITISME, CONTINUER

I got a ton of mail yesterday, some of it abusive, complaining about my comments on attacks against French Jews. Roughly half of the e-mails accused me of “blaming the victims” because I stated that the attacks, undertaken virtually exclusively by young immigrant Arabs, were inspired by the Israeli occupation of Palestine and could be ameliorated by ending that occupation. Well, I didn’t “blame” anyone. I merely explained what I understand to be the sources of Arab anger.

But an even bigger problem with this complaint is that it makes no sense. The victims in this case are not the Israeli settlers, but the French Jews. Unless you take the anti-Semitic canard that one Jew is the same as another, it is impossible to conflate the two. It is an uncomfortable fact - and one that most Jews are loathe to admit - that Israel’s actions can endanger the lives in the Diaspora, particularly that part of the Diaspora that lives in the Arab world, which, alas, now includes some suburbs of Paris.

Many American Jews are raised never to question anything Israel does. I know I was. But the fact is, even if you wish to defend the Israeli occupation, you cannot pretend it does not have costs. One of them is the hatred of Jews by Arabs who otherwise would not be engaged in the issue, and the ensuing violence this hatred engenders. If anyone thinks that worldwide Arab terrorism, including 9/11, has nothing to with the Israeli occupation, I suggest that this is not a person worth talking to. It’s a problem, and pretending it isn’t will only make it worse.

This is not to argue that the French government has handled the issue well or that France does not have a historic problem with anti-Semitism. But life is complicated. This issue is driven by the hatred of Arab immigrants toward Jews, whom they view as a convenient symbol of the miseries inflicted on Palestinian Arabs by Israel. You can defend Israel down the line if you like, but even if something is “right” - and I obviously don’t think the occupation is - that doesn’t make it wise.

Personally, I think the most compelling reason to end the occupation, from a Jewish standpoint, is because of what it does to the Israelis who carry it out. The best reason, from a purely humanist view, is to offer the Palestinians a modicum of hope in their lives, or at least independence.

A third reason that speaks to both perspectives would be to save the lives of those outside of the conflict who will suffer or be killed because of it. The French Jews in question fall into the latter category. I’m sure this willingness to face the ugly reality engendered by Israel’s behavior will inspire even more e-mailed abuse. I say, “Bring it on.”

As if Alterman, or anyone else from the loony left, had facts instead of lies/rhetoric, their heads would explode.
I just can't believe these morons have a "following"....

Man, people like eric alterman should have to live in israel or france (as a jew) for one day. That is my wish

Joel,
This is the ultimate nonsense, to justify the persecution of Jews in France or anywhere else because of Israel occupation of WB and Gaza. How do you explain the persecution of Jews before creation of Israel? How do you explain the Arab terror before Six Day war?
The ever present tendency of diaspora Jews to keep low profile, not to be visible, not raise ire of the local population, not to rock the boat, etc. was now promoted to blaming Israel for blatant and violent antisemitism.
Grow some effing spine or go to Israel to get one implanted.

Marek, I believe Joel knows this was nonsense, he was simply quoting Alterman's subsequent post for the nonsense that it is.

IN RESPONSE TO A POSTING of the WashPost Article in a New Topic at WRH 1 LUNATIC REPLIES:

Oil_Under_their_Sand - Message #2
http://groups.msn.com/whatreallyhappened/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=38658&LastModified=4675430753052107265

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it... Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate.... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. -- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Just as charming:

Human Rights Watch organization announced that the attacks and aggressions against Muslims and Arab-Americans in the USA increased by 1700% in 2001 following the attacks of September 11.

reporters generally stressed that there was no hard evidence within the first few hours after the bombing which might lead to the identity of the perpetrators. However, many North Americans seem to have believed that Muslims were responsible.

Within 36 hours of the bombing, attacks began on persons and mosques which were totally unrelated to the attacks:
-Six bullets shattered windows of a mosque in Irving, TX. $3,000 in damage was caused.
- A bag filled with blood and labeled 'Pig's blood' was thrown at the door of a mosque in San Francisco, CA.
- Four bricks were thrown through the windows of a Muslim bookstore in Alexandria, VA. Also in Virginia, two mosques reported vandalism.
-In Canada, the front doors at mosques in St. Catherines, ON and Montreal, PQ were fire-bombed, with minimal damage.
- The British Broadcasting Commission reported that there had been many death threats and assaults against Muslims.

By 2001-SEP-25, three weeks after the attack, there have been many assaults on Muslims in the U.S. In addition, Sikhs are being targeted because some are being mistaken for Muslims. Hispanic-Americans have been harassed, presumably because of their skin color. One Egyptian Copt was murdered. Even members of the Baha'i Faith have been harassed. It is ironic that Baha'is are themselves viciously persecuted in Iran, and Copts are oppressed in Egypt.

Some examples are:
- On the afternoon of Saturday, 2001-SEP-15, a gunman killed the 49 year old owner of a gas station in Mesa, AZ. He was a Sikh. His family believes that he was killed because he "looked Middle Eastern." Additional shots were fired at a Lebanese clerk and at the home of an Afghan family.
- On the evening of Saturday, 2001-SEP-15, a gunman killed a Pakistani Muslim store owner in Dallas, TX.
bullet Adel Karas, 48, an Egyptian-American grocer was shot and killed near his International Market store in San Gabriel, CA. He was a Copt -- neither Muslim nor Arab. No money was taken. Police are investigating the murder as a possible hate crime.
- A man drove his car through the front entrance of Parma Mosque in Cleveland OH.
bullet Also on Saturday, a Christian of Egyptian origin was shot dead in California.
- Near Chicago, IL, there was a march in which about 300 anti-Arab youths waved flags, shouted "USA, USA," and attempted to march on a mosque in Bridgeview, IL -- a suburb southwest of Chicago. Colin Zaremba, 19, said: "I'm proud to be American and I hate Arabs and I always have." Three demonstrators were arrested.
bullet In Chicago, a Molotov cocktail was thrown t an Arab-American community center. There were no injuries and little damage.
- In Huntington, NY, Adam Lang, reportedly a drunken driver, 75, allegedly tried to kill a Pakistani woman with his car. He later followed the woman into a store and threatened to kill her for "destroying my country."
- In Gary, IN, a man wearing a mask pumped over 20 bullets from a high-powered assault rifle at a Muslim, Hassan Awdah. He survived. Hassan is a U.S. citizen, born in Yemen.
- In Lynnwood, WA, a mosque was vandalized.
- In Suffolk County, NY, a man allegedly made anti-Arab threats and pointed a handgun at the employee of a gas station. He was arrested.
- In a prison in Washington state, two inmates fought over an anti-Muslim slur.
- a gasoline bomb was thrown into the home of a Sikh family in California.
- Two mosques were firebombed with Molotov cocktails during the weekend of OCT-20-21. They are located in Burlington and Mississauga, near Toronto ON Canada. Kendrich House, 35, from Oakville ON has allegedly been charged.

In May 2003, Amnesty International charged, "The 'war on terror', far from making the world a safer place, has made it more dangerous by curtailing human rights, undermining the rule of international law and shielding governments from scrutiny. It has deepened divisions among people of different faiths and origins, sowing the seeds for more conflict. The overwhelming impact of all this is genuine fear --among the affluent as well as the poor."

Why not decry VIOLENCE rather than the French?

To suggest only France has such a problem shows YOUR RACISM as much as it illustrates the presence of some racists in France........

You racist pig. I guess you feel intimidated by the French? All that culture?? All that history?? All that philosophy............

Make sure to read #'s 5, 9 and 12 as well.

Geez Marek I posted Alterman's screed so we could all rag on him. What on earth makes you think that I agree with one word or comma that a leftist windbag like Alterman has to say? I don't want Alterman in Israel, there are enough Peace Now types there already, maybe if he rode the buses all day in Jerusalem I would have some respect for him.
Thanks Sharkman for setting this guy straight!

Joel,
My "I'm sorry post" disappeared - so once again - I'm sorry - I've misread your comment.

Otherwise I believe we are on the same frequency, at least on this topic.

Apology accepted. I despise Eric Alterman and his defeatist views.