KABOBFest is a unique Arab-American blog consisting of talented and oft times satirical writers. They appear to use a no-bars-held attitude toward their favorite subject matter, the Middle East in all of its political and real life forms from Iraq to Israel to Egypt and elsewhere Middle East. The article below is a humorous take on Alan Dershowitz’s attempt to cut down Jimmy Carter after the publication of his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.
One thing you can expect about Dershowitz’s defense of the behavior of right wing Israeli governments is the total absence of any mention of the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza (by siege), the stealing of Palestinian land, and the brutality and hardship experienced by the Palestinian people, beginning with their ethnic cleansing in 1948, going on to the tragedy that befell them after the war of 1967, when the West Bank and Gaza were first occupied and then colonized to obtain the Greater Israel dream of the religious/historical Zionists, an Israel from the Jordan River to the sea, still incomplete.
Jimmy Carter’s book was an eye opener for many Americans, who have been the object of a massive Israeli propaganda effort to keep them in ignorance about the true nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even Democrats, the upholders of truth in American politics, waffled when it came to the issue of Apartheid in Palestine, beating the Republicans to the microphones to refute Jimmy Carter on matters they knew damned well to be true. AIPAC was listening, however, and thoroughly pleased by their performances.
Teflon Jimmy, which is a serious and insightful but satirical critique, was written by Will, the Pope of KABOBFest, who writes from Nazareth, Israel.
“Despite the crusade by the likes of Alan Dersho-dim-witz and other zionuts against Jimmy Carter for his willingness to call an apartheid an apartheid, a Gallup poll shows his reputation is still strong in the American public. The catch is that the polls showed an even balance between approval for and opposition to his book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid.
Gallup’s Feb. 9-11, 2007 poll asked Americans to rate their overall opinion of the three living former presidents. Carter got the highest rating, at 69%, which is well more than double George W. Bush’s rating. Of course, it is easier to feel warm about a guy out of power… kind of like nostalgia for the good old days (which always seem better than the present).
The results show that opinion on the book is pretty evenly divided, with only about a third of the respondents actually caring. The rest are neutral or apathetic, and probably either see books as so last century or are confused or tired of the squabbling. That there is a fifty-fifty divide among people who have an opinion is interesting though. Zionuts would have us believe they had a bigger piece of the opinion pie. Most people fall somewhere in the middle. This indicates a strong basis for expanding Palestinian advocacy efforts in the United States. Despite the enormous gap in resources and influence between pro-Israel advocates and Palestinian rights activists, the fact that there is no clear majority consensus shows the opportunities before those fighting for Palestinian equality.
Even more interesting is the impact Carter’s book has own his fellow liberals and Democrats. They are much more likely to look at the book favorably than are conservatives.
Could these figures indicate a chipping away at the Zionist hold on the Democratic party? Possibly.
This is likely not going to amount to a meaningful shift in policy. Even if all the Democrats sympathize with the Palestinians, it is not worth the political cost to put their necks out.
A much more likely source of a changing position would be greater American reliance on the “moderate” Arab states as a crutch against Iran. They have been making the case that something needs to happen for the Palestinians, in order to win over their own publics and get some sorely needed legitimacy (they need more political return on their pro-U.S. investment). Given that these states are about as concerned with Palestinian liberation as candy companies are with cavities, this is nothing to hope for. It, however, could signify a shift in the dynamics that make US and Israeli policy identical twins. Maybe I’m just being hopeful. Actually, I am not. I mean even if this came true, it would still be a bad outcome for the Palestinians — their own state with a mini-Mubarak or Abdallah in power.
The Gallup poll was not as complete as it should have been. It did not measure public opinion of Alan Dershowitz. KABOBfest Statistics Engineer Chaim Sugarman projected the probable results of such a survey:
I know. I’m a liar, too, Alan.”
This article was posted from KABOBFest with full permission of the author.
Since Americans are subject to considerable censorship about events in Israel and Palestine, a good place to get that news in an in-your-face style is KABOBFest. KABOBFest’s mission is otherwise to provide an unedited forum for Arab-Americans and friends to complain about politics and other serious topics in intelligent and funny ways. The KABOBers (writers) include Will, Hanaan, Fadi, Maytha, Nadeem, Diana, and Fayyad. They are situated in Israel, Palestine, and the United States.
It is my hope that this talented group will reach out and share their writings with a wider audience so that more Americans will become knowledgeable about life and reality in the Middle East.