Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Israel’s immoral novelists

Op-ed: Italian journalist says likes of David Grossman, Amoz Oz promote vicious distortions about Israel


Israeli authors have never been shy. They have always commented on their governments and always speak about politics in their novels. But the best-selling Israeli writers are now captives of a dangerous syndrome. One can legitimately criticize Israeli governments, their errors and deafness. But a dark malaise is now driving these authors to toe the line with the worst emotions of global public opinion.
Peaceful Gesture?

Amos Oz sends book to jailed Barghouti / Zvika Brut

Acclaimed Israeli author sends Palestinian prisoner convicted of several terror attacks book with personal dedication: 'Hope to meet soon in peace and freedom'
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This is the same public opinion that in essence boycotted the tragic news about a large, beautiful and caring Jewish family destroyed in a minute, when terrorists burst into their home in Itamar with one aim in mind: To murder as many Israelis as possible.

There is now a deep chasm between the pretension of the "good conscience" of these writers and the crude realism of history. This is even sander and more significant because we are not talking about writers who hate Israel or novelists who pontificate against the Jewish State from abroad, but rather, about locals.

Amos Oz and David Grossman, Israel’s most popular authors, have a track record of genuine Zionist endeavor. But Oz just got in touch with Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian terrorist leader convicted of murdering five Israelis and planning several terrorist attacks. The Israel Prize recipient sent the Palestinian prisoner one of his books with a personal inscription wishing him a speedy release from prison: “This story is our story. I hope you read it and understand us better, as we attempt to understand you. Hoping to meet soon in peace and freedom.”

Indeed, the gap between these authors and the guillotine threatening Israel grows larger every day. David Grossman, whose son Uri was killed in the Second Lebanon War, was the first Israeli writer to explore the psychology of the Israeli occupation after 1967. Since then, Grossman’s paradigm, simply put, was always the same: Israel must end its role of occupier and oppressor if the horror of terrorism is to end.

Israel deserves better

It seems as though Grossman’s conscience as an intellectual hasn't been shaken by the Twin Towers attack, by the 1,600 Israeli civilians killed in terror attacks, by a decade of rockets on southern Israeli cities or by Iran’s atomic death cult.

Shortly after the Gaza war, Grossman called for an independent inquiry into the conduct of the IDF, paving the way for the biased Goldstone’s report. He also urged dialogue with Hamas. When Grossman went to collect a cash prize funded by the Israeli state, he refused to shake hands with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

After the flotilla incident, Grossman charged that Israel behaves like “a band of pirates.” He said the blockade on Gaza was “despicable,” attacking the Israeli government “which is prepared to embitter the lives of a million innocent people in the Gaza Strip, in order to obtain the release of one imprisoned soldier.”

Indeed, the morality of Israeli writers is not longer in tune with reality and its contradictions, Israel’s security, very existence, identity and memory. These authors’ publications attract so much attention abroad because of the baleful influence they have on Israel’s reputation, as they promulgate the most vicious distortions about Israel.



When Ariel Sharon sent forces into the West Bank to defeat the terrorists, both Grossman and Oz went to help the Palestinians with their olive harvest. Their noble generosity didn’t stop Hamas from slaughtering two Jewish girls in a nearby settlement, Linoy Sarussi and Hadas Turgeman. Now, again, after a new Jewish family was destroyed in Itamar, the writers chose to send postcards and books to the terrorists. Israel deserves better bards.

Monday, August 08, 2011

Uribe descreve Lula como hipócrita e covarde

Álvaro Uribe também assegurou que “Lula combatia (o presidente da Venezuela, Hugo) Chávez ausente e tremia frente a Chávez presente”.




O ex-presidente colombiano Álvaro Uribe Vélez (2002-2010) respondeu através de sua conta Twitter (@alvarouribevel) ao ex-presidente brasileiro Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), depois que este revelou em Bogotá, em um encontro com o presidente Juan Manuel Santos que, quando foram governantes, “Não havia confiança entre Uribe e eu”.

“Lula nos maltrata e no governo fingia ser o melhor amigo”, escreveu Uribe através de sua conta no Twitter, e acusou Lula de ser “mal perdedor”, porque a Colômbia ganhou do Brasil a presidência do Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento (BID).

Em outra mensagem, Uribe disse: “Lula incapaz de declarar a narcofarc de terroristas”, em alusão à insistência do governo de Uribe de que os países vizinhos declarassem como grupo terroristas às Forças Armadas Revolucionárias da Colômbia (FARC, comunista). Uribe acrescentou que “Lula foi incapaz de extraditar o padre Camilo, terrorista refugiado no Brasil”, que segundo as autoridades colombianas era o representante das FARC nesse país.

Além disso, Uribe assegurou em outra mensagem que “Lula combatia (o presidente da Venezuela, Hugo) Chávez ausente e tremia frente a Chávez presente”. Finalmente, o ex-presidente colombiano afirmou que “hoje Lula confessa que me teve desconfiança, porém o investimento do Brasil teve toda a confiança”.

O que Lula disse?

O ex-mandatário do Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, de visita a Bogotá, afirmou que acredita que os presidentes Juan Manuel Santos e Dilma Rousseff podem fazer muito mais “do que fizemos eu e Uribe. Não confiávamos inteiramente entre os dois (sic)”, anotou.

O ex-presidente propôs ao governo colombiano criar um fundo de garantia para investir no desenvolvimento estratégico do Sul, de maneira que se avance em novas hidrelétricas, portos e vias. “há que aproveitar o gasto para a riqueza do continente. Projetos estratégicos para daqui a 10 anos. Isto é o melhor que está acontecendo entre Brasil e Colômbia”, acrescentou Lula.

O ex-presidente do Brasil pediu para dar importância ao crédito. “Presidente Santos, você não deve ter medo de emprestar dinheiro aos pobres. Os pobres pagam”, disse Lula ao fazer um chamado à “bancarização”. Ele destacou a gestão do presidente colombiano, Juan Manuel Santos e disse que o país “está vivendo um momento de tranqüilidade extraordinária com alguns vizinhos polêmicos”.

Lula assegurou que Santos está marcando na UnaSul uma política muito importante. Segundo Lula, a lição que o mandatário colombiano deu é de que não dedicou seu tempo em brigar com os demais vizinhos, senão em fazer a paz com eles.

O ex-mandatário brasileiro ressaltou a presença de empresas do Brasil como a Petrobras, Odebrecht, Grupo Sinergy, entre outras. “Este é um sinal muito promissor das relações bi-nacionais”, disse Lula.


Publicado no La Patilla.