From the River to the Sea 2

November 16, 2023November 16, 2023 ~ The Koboi Project

” a) The right of the Jewish people to the land of Israel is eternal and indisputable and is linked with the right to security and peace; therefore, Judea and Samaria will not be handed to any foreign administration; between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.”

This is the first tenet of the Nethanhayu’s Likud Party’s original Platform statement of 1977. Any claim by Zionists that From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free is a call to genocide is disingenuous and obfuscatory. In 1942, European and American Zionist’s set forth the seminal Biltmore Conference Declaration which laid claim to the whole of the British Mandatory Palestine for their new settler colonial state –

“8. … The Conference urges that the gates of Palestine be opened; that the Jewish Agency be vested with control of immigration into Palestine and with the necessary authority for upbuilding the country, including the development of its unoccupied and uncultivated lands; and that Palestine be established as a Jewish Commonwealth integrated in the structure of the new democratic world.“

Indeed, it is the Zionist version of From the River (the Jordan) to the Sea, that is founded on acts of ethnic cleansing, starting with the Nkabah of 1948 and continuing on through the last 75 years by way of sustained apartheid oppression, relentless settlement activity, crushing military rule, and murderous wars on civilian populations. It is Israel, that is an exclusive and exclusionary ethnocracy. Before the imposition of this Jewish state upon its territory, Palestine was a multiethnic, multireligious land of Arabs, both Christians and Muslims, Bedouins and Jews. There is nothing to suggest that either contemporary Palestinian national aspirations or the slogan uttered in this cause, is genocidal or hateful in any way. It is not a call for ridding the land of Jews. From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free should be understood in the context of the above declaration and the second tenet of the Likud Party Platform which explicitly refuses the establishment of a Palestinian State anywhere on this land.-

” b) A plan which relinquishes parts of western Eretz Israel, undermines our right to the country, unavoidably leads to the establishment of a “Palestinian State,” jeopardizes the security of the Jewish population, endangers the existence of the State of Israel. and frustrates any prospect of peace.“

While it must be acknowledged that a liberation slogan can mean different things to different people, From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free, when interpreted in its proper historical context, is simply a cry for freedom, across all the land, for all the people.

Mahathir’s Heuristics

November 15, 2023November 16, 2023 ~ The Koboi Project

Mahathir Mohamed, unquestionably Malaysia’s most successful politician and impactful leader, is still in the game at the ripe old age of 98. He is a strident anti-imperialist and an unapologetic ethnocentric nationalist who, in his heyday, was loved by Malaysians of all races. In fact, he is lauded in the Arab world and all across Asia for his outspokenness and statesmanship in championing regional causes. Equally, he has been despised and derided by all Malaysian communities, Malays included. He is not well-liked in the West and is even seen as an exemplary antisemite.

In a recent engaging and wide-ranging interview on episode 65 the Keluar Sekejap podcast, Mahathir showed that he has lost neither charm and charisma, nor his wile and guile. I learnt many things about the man in watching this episode attentively, but the most salient insight was into his political means. Mahathir is a man of many generalizations, essentialisms and simplifications. Key giveaways about his underlying approach are found in these ideas exposed in the interview-
1) Successful Malays are the exception proves the rule (12:22)
2) We have to characterize the Jews, not by the just minority, but in terms of the majority, who unquestioningly support Israel (1:58:36).

Indeed, his is a heuristic approach – a method of reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making based on approximation. As evidenced by his career highlights and pitfalls, it is a method that can be efficient and effective, but that can also be prone to error, bias, and failure. Here is a list of what I suggest are Mahathir’s primary heuristics, each of which is presented along with some associated secondary generalizations –
1. Malays are Lazy (Non-Malays are industrious)
2. Non-Malays are Immigrants (Non-Malays don’t want to Assimilate, There is a communal zero-sum game, and The Malays are in danger of losing primacy on their Tanah Melayu)
3 The West is Imperialist (Malaysia should look East, China is not necessarily a threat)
4. Jews Rule the World (Jews are Zionists, )
5. Mahathir is always right (Anwar is unsuitable, Najib is unconscionable, Badawi is incapable, Mahathir does no wrong)

Jewish Voice for Peace

November 8, 2023November 8, 2023 ~ The Koboi Project

According to Al Jazeera, hundreds of Jewish activists occupied the Statue of Liberty on 7th Nov 2023, to demand a ceasefire in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. They unfurled banners including one that proclaimed NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE, while wearing black T-shirts bearing the slogans Jews Demand Ceasefire Now and Not in our Name. Anyone, regardless of which side of this conflict they belong, who conflates Jews with Zionists and antizionists with antisemites is, at best, deeply mistaken.

Image composited from: https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/11/7/jewish-new-yorkers-occupy-statue-of-liberty-to-demand-gaza-ceasefire

Stop Antisemitismism

November 8, 2023November 9, 2023 ~ The Koboi Project

Renowned Israeli Historian, Avi Shlaim, who is an Emeritus professor of International Relations at Oxford University, makes the following distinction between antisemitism and antizionism.

Antisemitism is the hatred of Jews simply because they are Jews.

Antizionism is the opposition to one or more of the following –
1) the Zionist ideology
2) the official ideology of the state of Israel
3) the criticism of policies of Israel, particularly regarding the occupation of Palestine.

Shlaim goes on to state that while antisemitism is a very ugly thing that can never be justified, antizionism can be reasonable evidence-based, and legitimate. The problem, however, is that Israel and its allies deliberately conflate the two to besmirch assertions of antizionism, however legitimate, as being instances of antisemitism. This patently cynical obfuscation has been effective in silencing debate on the Palestinian question in Western nations. Given that current Israeli policy, arguably encompasses, genocide acts with stated intent, is time we denounce such antisemitismism.

Israel Invokes the Holocaust

October 31, 2023November 9, 2023 ~ The Koboi Project

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, donned the despicable yellow star that Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis to mark them out as such in Aryan society. After saying “From now on my team and I will wear Yellow Stars”. He stood up to put on his star, sat down again, and said, “We will wear this star until you condemn the atrocities of Hamas and demand the immediate release of our hostages.” The original yellow star had the word ‘Jude’ emblazoned across its center, while the ambassador and his delegation donned stars that said, ‘Never Again’. The Irony of this political theatre at the UN is that the Holocaust had already been invoked in the mediain a comparison with the contemporary Israeli persecution of Palestinians. Palestinian American celebrity Mohamed Hadid made a much maligned repost of a meme on X which itemised the 6 congruities between Israel and the Nazis . Hadid was accused of antisemitism and eventually removed his post. I have restated the correlations presented in the meme below –
1. an ideology/nationality based on racial supremacy,
2. the forced transfer of populations,
3. containment within ghettos and concentration camps,
4. the use of language to dehumanize,
5. collective punishment and
6. genocide by industrial means.

Image: https://staging-beta.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2023/10/31/israel-envoy-wears-yellow-star-at-un/

https://www.firstpost.com/world/staying-silent-in-face-of-evil-israel-envoy-to-un-vows-to-wear-yellow-star-until-un-condemns-hamas-atrocities-13323472.html

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/tierin-rose-mandelburg/2023/10/30/deport-him-bella-gigi-hadids-dad-roasted-comparing

Mahathir’s Error on the Jews

March 22, 2019April 17, 2019 ~ The Koboi Project

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s reputation for being ‘antisemitic’, was recently brought to mind by the problems experienced by his family in the movie business (in the context of investments made in the production of the film Dr Strange). In the interest of the truth, of his legacy, and perhaps even of his family’s business interests, I urge him to make one specific correction in his world Jewry rhetoric. As evidenced by the Senator Ilhan Omar affair, there is an urgent need to cleave in two the confused referent/s of these signifiers – ‘Jew’ and ‘Zionist.’ In fact, as explained by Rabbi Dovid Weiss in the Al Jazeera interview above, the conflation of these signs serves the cause of Zionism. Haderim (Ultra-Orthodox) Jews are amongst the firmest and truest defenders of Palestine and Palestinians. Many Muslim nations, communities and leaders have been fair weather friends of the Palestinians, but not these gentle, archaic and God fearing Jews. Just listen to the humility, clarity, love and courage expressed by the Rabbi, bearing in mind that his people resist Zionism from communities across the world and even, at great risk, from the within the heart of Israel (Haderim Jews constituted over 12% of Israel’s population in 2017). While I am tickled by the reflexive candour of Mahathir’s taxonomy of noses and comprehend the political expediency revealed in his explanation that ‘the people’ will understand better if he says ‘Yahudi‘ (Jews) instead of ‘Zionist’, I am nevertheless perplexed by, even ashamed of, his perpetuation of this Zionist conflation, not least because it obscures the diversity of positions held by the Jewish peoples, amongst whom are these staunch allies of Palestine! I hope that the good Dr. will be more nuanced in his use of the terms ‘Jewish’, ‘Zionist’ and even ‘Israeli’ before he ends his time on the world’s stage.