Excellent point.

I probably will keep saying free gaza, tho. It seems to be suffering the worst, even if no less free than the rest of Palestine.

It doesn't help that Israel has made such a calculated campaign of assassination and imprisonment of anyone who might show leadership competency, as well as (historically) professors, intellectuals, writers, on top of their campaign to discredit and sideline them. It doesn't help that (in fact) Israel with the help of the US selects who they'll talk with and in so doing selects to a great extent who ends up in leadership role, those, that is, more likely to cave, those more amendable to bribery. Leaders with charisma aren't the point. Israel has none (did you think Ariel Sharon had charisma?) but in carefully studied manner puts appealing spokespeople on the media (like the woman IDF officer during the Gaza offensive).

Stories of victimhood are also stories of struggle and survival against overwhelming odds. Stories of victimhood are also stories retaining one's human dignity, society, and culture in the face of those attempts to erase your people as a people. Against such unfair attempts to villify you as a people. It's the struggle of the whole world, to see that a just world is created, that mass murder by state authority are not permitted, covered up or unatoned for. That states shall not impliment policies of expulsion and discrimination against persons due to their religion or ethnic group, as Israel is, nor present lies to the world about what it has done and is doing. Leaders aren't the point.

--- On Sat, 7/11/09, IntenseDebate Notifications <notifications@intensedebatemail.com> wrote:

Seriously, I was happy to read that "Americans respond much better to facts, actions and results when they know why," it made me so proud to be an American.

No, honestly, given the level of propaganda to date from the hasbara spreaders, we have our work cut out for us, and I think there are lessons to be derived from it. I advise everyone to read it carefully.

And you know what else I think, I think leftists in the pro-Palestinian camp actually do have sympathy for the Israeli parents. Or at least the children, I certainly do. Unlike these hasbara spreaders who, after Israeli troops shoot Palestinian kids for sport or the army rains white phospherous burning some to death, or bulldozes a family to death, shed copious tears (crocadillian) about how all human life is precious. "Israel hasn't always been successful at preventing civilian casualties..."

Then there's the funny stuff, like in one paragraph saying in many contexts '... the defense of Israel as a "Jewish State" or "Zionist State" will be received quite poorly.' (not among evangelicals, but among mainstream Americans). Funny, because in another paragraph they say the right of return for Palestinians is unacceptable because the idea is to have a Jewish state. And, doesn't Israel currently demand Hamas and the Palestinians accept Israel as specifically a "Jewish State" before they'll even negotiate with them?

Also advising hasbara spreaders (sorry I can't think of a better word) to deflect issues with rhetorical questions. Ha.