Israeli Realities

Reporting (almost) daily from Israel.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Pornography - the political style

Did you ever consider how it feels to be objectified and used as a fetish ? Not a pleasant position most people would agree. This is how I feel when I read about the much publicized, money making, bogus debate between the "giants" of Jewish American politics - Dershowitz v. Finkelstein. In today's Haaretz (Israel's more reasonable mainstream newspaper), at last we see the first signs of sanity in Israelis response to the bad habit of American Jews to use the "icon" (Israel) for their bank accounts and leisure. Haaretz's lead writers - Tom Segev - humorously describes the ongoing dispute and bashing between those famous Jews, one so called "for" Israel and the other, so called "against" it. Both are Americans who found out the secret of making a quick buck and publicity, without ever having to be accountable for their opinions.

This publicized debate represents the general treatment of "Israel" by our rich uncles in the USA. AS of 1967, along with the Department of State and the Pentagon, they found out that nothing is more attractive than investing in the "Israel fetish". You don't have to be Israeli, you don't even have to know what you are talking about, you certainly don't have to visit (perhaps one Bar Mitzva trip to the wailing wall) in order to write heaps of nonsense about "Israel", and get all the attention you want. Of course the Pentagon went a step further and realized one can really make a lot of money by investing in the "fear production", or the general rehearsals to the Apocalypse. This could actually get you real oil wells, free Jewish guinea pigs, mercenaries- and what not. A real treasure.

The process of "objectifying" Israel, and throwing on it (dumping ? Projecting ?) anything you wish, has now reached an unprecedented record. The stuff written about Israel, or done "in its name" is not even remotely known by the people who inhabit this place. With the Evangelical cults, jerking off on their "third temple" fantasies, messiah anointing and Anti Christ S&M porn, the party is ON.

Being one of those "real people" who was born, raised and probably going to die here, this is becoming a very distressing situation. While Dershowitz is making millions from his "Sharon infested booklets" (Sharon's aids are quoted in Today's Haaretz as saying they never saw the book, and therefore do not even know what's in it, and the blurb is old stuff the Sharon told Dershowitz, as he does with numerous Jews and none Jews who show concern and interest in Israel), and Finkelstein is selling thousands of copies in Germany, people here do not have food on their table. This is disgusting, but especially coming from our rich uncles in the USA, the wealthy, greedy, PR oriented Jews, from the left to the right. Dershowitz received this "cold shoulder" from Sharon's aids, because it turned out his book is suggesting a partition of Israel and the immediate establishment of a Palestinian state, with a divided Jerusalem. However funny this is, to those who understand the intricacies of this situation, it is actually not funny at all, as a cultural trend.

I am not going to read any of those books, until the two "stars" are either going to give me a portion of the royalties OR they intend to immigrate along with their offspring, to this miserable piece of shitty military state, they help turn into hell. Yes, my post is overstated, yes, i am pissed off today.

4 Comments:

At 8:17 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hope you saw these guys on TV, I think it was a Democracy Now show. Personally I like Finkelstein, well, except for some stylistic problems I have with him. But I can see how it must feel for average Israelis. Thanks for the perspective

 
At 10:16 AM, Blogger iris said...

Sure J, up until this year I would probably read Finkelstein, and feel utterly "with him" on it. In fact this was my ethusiastic response to his writings on the issue, previously. However, it recently dawned on me that this is a Schtick as well. He is not taking any personal risks. Regretfully, most of us here do not have a US citizenship. What does he suggest we do ? Take on Sharon-Bush and the IDF with our bare hands ? I'll do it, if he came down here and joined the revolution. Apparently, the level of resistance in the USA to the same policies leaves much to be desired...

 
At 1:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Schtick is the word and the feeling I came away with after watching the Democracy Now show. Like the formalized kvetching a couple does.

This has entered the thin and rarefied atmosphere of academic debate. I have the book but it's unread until time allows.

 
At 2:44 PM, Blogger iris said...

well, if you DO read it, please be sure to drop a note, impressions, brief description etc. Thanks !

 

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