Max Blumenthal writes:
This week, a group of elderly Palestinian women were escorted to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance musuem to learn about the Jewish genocide in Europe. At the entrance of the museum, they were surrounded by a group of Jewish Israeli youth who recognized them as Arabs. “Sharmouta!” the young Israelis shouted at them again and again, using the Arabic slang term for whores, or sluts.
The Palestinians had been invited to attend a tour arranged by the Israeli Bereaved Families Forum, an organization founded by an Israeli whose son was killed in combat by Palestinians. They were joined by a group of Jewish Israeli women who, like them, had lost family members to violence related to the conflict. Presumably, both parties went on the tour in good faith, hoping to gain insight into the suffering of women on the other side of the conflict.
Unfortunately, the Palestinian members (who unlike the Israelis live under occupation and almost certainly had to obtain special permits just to go to Yad Vashem) learned an unusual lesson of the Holocaust: A society that places the Holocaust at the center of its historical narrative — that stops traffic for two minutes each year on the national holiday known as Yom Ha’Shoah — could also raise up a generation of little fascists goose-stepping into the future full of irrational hatred.
“In Palestinian culture, older women are most honored and they could not believe their ears,” said Sami Abu Awwad, a Palestinian coordinator of the tour. “We never talk like this to older women. The Palestinians, who were all grandmothers, were very shocked and offended.”
This anti-Arab, anti-American Jewish behavior originates there in Israel by members of the religious community, along with the blessings of members of the ruling factions in the government.
Here I go again; It’s too bad that this country doesn’t have a T.V. network that is willing to step out and give air time to incidents like this. It would also prove beneficial to show what the Israeli youth are doing & saying today. I’ve read that even American Jewish youth are harassed while visiting Israel. We have already witnessed the American Jewish Youth protest in New Orleans recently, even though the elders booed them & had them ejected from the forum.
The American people need to see these types of action taking place, both here & in Israel, as do the U.S. Government, to understand in no uncertain terms the kind of regime they are backing. Is this what America stands for today? Is this any different from what the Holocaust did to the Jews in Europe, what is being done to the Palestinians today?
I remember the film “defamation” by yoav shamir (I think) shown online this year. In it we saw Israeli teenagers going on schol trips to Auchwitz and being told constantly not to talk to local people because everybody hates Jews. It was terrible to see the way these lovely young kids were being fed this narrative and were being denied normal information. All was propaganda. They never see Palestinians or any “Arabs” or even other non-Jews as really humans of any worth.