Organizing Notes

Bruce Gagnon is coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. He offers his own reflections on organizing and the state of America's declining empire....

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Location: Brunswick, ME, United States

The collapsing US military & economic empire is making Washington & NATO even more dangerous. US could not beat the Taliban but thinks it can take on China-Russia-Iran...a sign of psychopathology for sure. We must all do more to help stop this western corporate arrogance that puts the future generations lives in despair. @BruceKGagnon

Thursday, July 24, 2014

FROM THE HORSE'S... MOUTH



Note the disregard Netanyahu has for the US....which gives him $3.1 billion a year.

This video reminds me of a story that old friend Nat Kaplan told me years ago in Delray Beach, Florida.  Nat had been an early union activist in the CIO when it was merged with the AFL.  I would annually, for close to 20 years, be invited to speak to the predominately Jewish peace group in Nat's community.  Each time, before my talk, someone would pull me aside and tell me not to mention Israel or else there would be a big fight in the group.

At the end of my talk the tall and handsome Nat would stand in the middle of the room and ask me about Israel.  I'd say that Israel was essentially a military outpost for the US and that their illegal treatment of Palestinians, and their ever expanding settlements, must stop.  Then the argument would begin between various members of the group.

I usually stayed at the home of Nat and his wife Grace.  Besides being involved in the peace movement Nat was a great environmentalist as well.  I once asked him why he stirred up the pot at each of these meetings about Israel.  This is what he told me.

Soon after WWII was over and Israel was created I traveled to visit an uncle there who owned alot of land.  He had servants.  One day he pointed to a beautiful young Palestinian woman servant and said, "I can fuck her anytime I want to."

I was disgusted and realized how racist my uncle was toward the Palestinian people.  Ever since then I've become more critical about Israeli policies. Our group wants to avoid the issue but I believe we need to face it.
If Nat is watching today I know he is in great pain over what Israel is doing in Gaza. I know he'd want all of us to talk more and learn more about what is actually going on there.


 

1 Comments:

Anonymous Ljiljana said...

This statement reminds me of what Yugoslav president Milosevic advised the Serbian Christians the breakaway province of Croatia in regard to the long planned Croatian military operation against them: “Don’t resist.” Some did and died, most didn’t and fled. It was a swift success for the Croatian military plus known involvement of the US military. As a result of Operation Oluja (Storm) in August 1995, 250,000 thousand people fled their long time hearths in only two weekends. Most never returned to their longtime homeland. The numbers of Orthodox Christians in what is now being called Croatia were reduced from 14% to today’s 4%. They fled to Europe, the United States and Australia. Thousands of refugees of the former Yugoslavia live in the Chicago area. It was the grave or the suitcase. Now the people of Ukraine face the same choice. Many have died. Many more flee.

What Netanyahoo is suggesting is forced deportation or death otherwise, the grave or the suitcase. That the Gaza and West Bank land seizure and fragmentation is a slower operation than the Serbian Krajina makes no difference. It is the same goal regardless the pace and the same crime.

People of good will must break the silence. No more ppssssttt – time for you to leave. That whisper was heard in history before. We hear it for Palestinians and condemn it.

7/26/14, 2:54 PM  

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