tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post4437817790546088484..comments2024-01-06T10:36:04.084-05:00Comments on A Commonplace Blog: Free speech—but not for JewsD. G. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-16098075767772149802010-02-18T07:16:05.762-05:002010-02-18T07:16:05.762-05:00Free Speech is an important value but it is not th...<i>Free Speech is an important value but it is not the ultimate value.</i><br /><br />Thus proceeds the apology for tyranny. The apologetic tendency is further revealed when freedom of speechis reduced to “debating society rules.” May I recommend a country where apologists for tyranny might feel more at home? Iran, perhaps?<br /><br /><i>Israel is not an ordinary country.</i><br /><br />Yes, it is. And it has the rights (sovereignty) and duties (self-defense) of ordinary countries. The only thing that makes it out of the ordinary is that it is the world’s only Jewish state. That, of course, is what its critics cannot stomach.<br /><br /><i>It stands accused of war crimes and its ministers are fearful of travelling to Europe.</i><br /><br />The accusations are false. Israel defended itself against aggression, as I explain fully <a href="http://dgmyers.blogspot.com/2009/01/but-especially-israel.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> and <a href="http://dgmyers.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-just-war-theory-defends.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. Israeli ministers will not travel to Europe because they might be arrested on false charges—the only diplomatic representatives in the world who face arrest in this way. Turkish leaders can travel to Europe, despite their country’s crimes in Cyprus; Chinese ministers can travel to Europe, despite their country’s crimes in Tibet. Only the ministers of a Jewish state face arrest, because of Europe’s obsession—its lethal obsession—with the Jews.<br /><br />This cannot be said often enough: even propaganda has the right to be heard. To brand uncongenial views propaganda, and then to justify their repression on this basis, is to agitate for the institution of tyranny.<br /><br />On this subject see Nabokov’s frightening dystopian novel <i>Bend Sinister</i>.D. G. Myershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-3149011629721357692010-02-18T06:27:16.646-05:002010-02-18T06:27:16.646-05:00The simplest explanation is that Oren is the Israe...The simplest explanation is that Oren is the Israeli Ambassador, 'a man who lies abroad for his country'. He therefore has questions to answer about the conduct of the war on Gaza. My reading of the report in the LA Times leads me to believe that the student interruptions were choreographed. Each one stood up, made his point, walked to the aisle, and was escorted from the meeting. <br />“They were very cooperative, they rose, they spoke and they began to leave their seats,” Lawhon said. “Because they had been told what would happen if they did this.”(University Spokeswoman)<br /><br />Free Speech is an important value but it is not the ultimate value. Israel is not an ordinary country. It stands accused of war crimes and its ministers are fearful of travelling to Europe. Debating society rules must occasionally be suspended when they are the cover for the propagation of lies that justify evil actions.<br /><br />Now the Madison Eleven will pay the penalty as they should if their witness is to be meaningful. They could be expelled. Meanwhile the Israelis block educational materials from entering Gaza. As a teacher this might interest you:<br />http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/10/09/israel-stop-blocking-school-supplies-entering-gaza-0<br /><br />Elberry:<br />You've disabled the comments on your own blog. Mum's the word!michael reidynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-25167266816594002162010-02-16T01:47:42.427-05:002010-02-16T01:47:42.427-05:00From the British Muslims i know, a Muslim state wo...From the British Muslims i know, a Muslim state would entail not merely the shouting down of Jews but probably the locking up or possibly shooting in the head thereof. Though in all fairness the Middle Eastern Muslims i've met (from the Jordan) were very casual about religious & ethnic differences - however, they were all postgrads in England, so perhaps not representative.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-56670836988223644782010-02-15T21:31:35.262-05:002010-02-15T21:31:35.262-05:00Any injustice suffered by the Palestinian Arabs (f...Any injustice suffered by the Palestinian Arabs (for the Israelis are Palestinian Jews) has largely been brought upon them by the combined actions of the Arab nations and themselves.<br /><br />And I am not sure what “access to public speech” is. In the state of Israel, where freedom of speech is protected by law, Arab citizens enjoy the same freedom of speech as Jewish citizens.D. G. Myershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-31045740392118342412010-02-15T19:51:38.235-05:002010-02-15T19:51:38.235-05:00This is another example in which politics of the r...This is another example in which politics of the real world (and its attendant biases and dangers) trumps abstract political philosophies and ostensibly American values (which embrace concepts like "free speech," even if the speech is either unpopular or represents minority opinion). More than this being an example of Islamic anti-Jewish attitudes, this is--more generally--a frightening example of two aspects of the 21st realities: (1) indifference about civility and common courtesies (an epidemic problem that extends beyond the instant example; (2) the real threat posed by a growing Islamic population versus a dwindling Jewish population, which an indifferent (ostensibly) Christian population says or does little to mitigate the threat.R/Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07791522136032565027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-6881240806347643692010-02-15T19:26:34.095-05:002010-02-15T19:26:34.095-05:00But who could possibly believe that Palestinians i...But who could possibly believe that Palestinians in particular, who, as all disinterested observors attest, have suffered an appalling injustice, and who continue to suffer under it, have anything like the same access to public speech as Israel's supporters?<br />Where's tht factored into yr comments?Kaudershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03760764905158860445noreply@blogger.com