Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Anyone else can help, if they have good ideas. As you all know, Peter has a flair for it; he's the one who wrote the lines "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
I'm prompted to suggest this by Ursula's comment on the thread about Hamas, Ben Franklin, and the menace of Jewish bats:
| Ursula Hennessey: Wow, glad (I think?) to see people having a sense of humor about this. I read this yesterday and it really bothered me. I'm not peppy enought today to add to the humor. I. just. don't. understand. how people cannot see or acknowledge -- at EVERY opportunity -- the massive threat growing and thriving in the Middle East to Israel, Jewish people, Americans, the list goes on. Why would people IGNORE this kind of stuff? Ugh. Sorry. Not much to add except a "what-is-this-world-coming-to" weariness. · Jul 13 at 6:00am |
And by this depressing piece by Eve Garrard:
then I heard the academic on my right hand side say to the person opposite him, 'Bloody Jews.'
When he saw my appalled stare, he said impatiently, 'Oh well, I'm sorry, but really...!'
'I'm glad you're sorry,' I replied politely, collecting myself together for a fight. But then he asked, 'Are you Jewish?' When I nodded, this academic - whom I'd met for the first time that day - put his arm around me and said, 'I'm sorry, but really Israel is terrible, the massacres, Plan Dalet, the ethnic cleansing, they're like the Nazis, they're the same as the Nazis...'
Stories like this are now so commonplace as to be barely worthy of note; I doubt many will note Eve's. Ursula's right to despair, of course, although I do stand by the assertion that the whole business about Ben Franklin's Jewish bat obsession is at least redeeming in its hilarity.
As Ursula notes, it is now so commonplace to hear such things that they scarcely merit remark, and as Ursula also notes, remark is warranted. In a perfect world, our president would deliver a clarifying speech on the subject, one that like the Brandenburg Gate address had the capacity to convey a moral shock. It would deliver the message that anti-Semitism is an unspeakable evil, a present danger not only to the Jews but to the entire world, and an ideology to be reviled by all men who consider themselves civilized. One would wish this so obvious it needn't be said, but alas it is not.
I'm not really holding out the hope that Obama will be delivering this speech any time soon, but sometimes people suddenly wake up. Perhaps he'll bolt alert in the middle of the night and realize, with a gasp of horror, that the global recrudescence of ravening, exterminationist anti-Semitism is actually quite dismaying and that someone really should say something about it, and Hey, I'm the President of the United States, so probably that someone should be me. If that happens, we could help him by having the speech he needs ready to go. I'm sure we'd all be happy to set aside partisan differences and lend our assistance. If we pool our talents here, we should be able to come up with something quite strong.
Peter, how would you start? What would you take into consideration when writing a speech like this? Would the other Ricochet contributors like to help?
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Jun '10
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Good morning, Claire. I would start by reviewing a speech given by Benjamin Netanyahu to the Jewish Federation of North America delivered about 8 months ago. I found his comment that "The Jews are a people few in number, but luminous in achievement" to be particularly stirring. You can find two clips of this speech at YouTube from a user known as "Israel6."
Jun '10
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Full disclosure so you know where my sentiments are. The picture to the right is me, the righteous gentile, on guard duty, the Golan Heights, Hamat Gader, 1988.
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
YouTube, Paules: banned in Turkey. Do you have a link to the text itself?
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Okay, this is one of those questions that has always mystified me, but I think now's the time to finally ask it, at the risk of sounding monumentally dumb. After all, I'm not Jewish, so maybe I'm missing something here. Why are so many American Jews anti-Israel and/or quiet in the face of threats (both physical and verbal) to Israel? I mean, New York City, where I grew up and lived for many years, is filled with Jews. Virtually all of them are wildly and vocally liberal. AND, therefore, their candidates are the ones who are doing NOTHING as this stuff happens. Or, worse, they are quietly supporting the people who are looking to erase Israel from the map, right? Why is this? One would expect American Jews to be demanding -- loudly -- apologies, changes, new candidates, a new party if that's what it takes. I mean, isn't Rahm Emanuel Jewish? Does anyone here think that he'd "keep quiet" out of some weird deference to Obama, etc? What's up with that? Why don't they all scream from the rooftops about the crazy stuff happening in your neck of the woods, Claire?
Jun '10
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Claire, I'm unable to catch the URL from Haaretz. It might be blocked in Turkey anyway. Maybe you can get help from one of your editors.
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Ursula, it's no stranger than the phenomenon of Americans who are quiet in the face of threats (both physical and verbal) to America and the West generally, is it? I mean, the anti-Semitism and the anti-Americanism tend to eruct from the same quarters. They almost always go hand-in-hand.
Jun '10
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Ursula, you answer yourself when you say "virtually all of them are wildly and vocally liberal." Conservatism for those not born into it arrives as an epiphany. It takes a combination of worldly experience, deep reading, and reflection before someone sees the light. The best example I can offer is the conversion of Edward Said. Glad he's on our side now, too.
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Said? Since when?
Jun '10
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Oh, hell, I'm having a brain block. I'm thinking of a Jewish comedian, but his name completely slips my mind.
Jun '10
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Evan Sayet!
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Yes, yes, I do know that. I guess I wonder why more people are not verbal in their support of Israel. Why are so many Jews liberal? It seems it's the liberal media (I know, a cliche) and the Democratic leaders (well, ALL leaders, I guess) who are actively ignoring what seems so obvious to be a near-crisis situation. These stories, which you so responsibly bring to our attention, Claire, should be plastered in the NYTimes, whose readership which I would guess is largely (in the city, at least) Jewish. There seems to be a choice there, not to publish, right? Why? Also, don't you think that many of these shifty organizations in your area, which are anti-Semitic and, yes, anti-American, are supported overtly and/or covertely by American groups. Why?
May '10
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Ursula - The "self-hating Jew" has long been a phenomenon. I think some of it can be attributed to survivor's guilt. And the Jews have survived a lot. The 20th century was filled with pogroms, the holocaust and war - all aimed at them. And you're asked to be grateful everyday and to remember everyday. And yet the threats remain - every day. I think that it is all too overwhelming at times and some wish it would all go away.
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Ursula, here are two attempts to answer your first question, one from Denis Prager, one from Norman Podhoretz. As for the second, it depends which shifty group you're talking about. Which ones in particular do you have in mind?
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Ugh. Now I'm going to have to recall some of those acronyms that you taught us about. (Not a good student of facts these days, as I am near zombie-like from years of no sleep.) Anyway, I feel like you wrote about one (or two) shifty groups that seemed to have a very high tech website and general polished approach to the English language and Western social norms. Wasn't there a place that you mentioned that you suspected as having some powerful ties here, in order to reach and capture the Western elite? Forgive me Claire, I read every word you write (I'm currently just starting Loose Lips) but if you gave me a quiz on the facts that you so patiently and carefully present to us, I'd fail miserably. And, yes, after I wrote my first comment, I remembered that in my previous attempts to explain this phenomenon to myself that Podhoretz has written extensively about it. I will read up and be quiet until I can write more thoughtfully :)
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Ah, the IHH. Don't feel bad, Ursula. If you heard me struggling to remember basic Turkish verbs that I've tried at least a thousand times to shove into my brain, you'd feel well ahead of the game. With the IHH, a lot of us here are trying to answer that question. Take for example one Joost Lagendijk, a senior advisor at the Istanbul Policy Center, who recently published an apology for the IHH in the Netherlands, insisting that they're a "humanitarian organization." They are--but they're more than that, as he surely knows; he's not exactly unfamiliar with the scene here. Why would he write that? We're all wondering. What's the agenda? Is someone paying him off? Is he just stupid? In many cases, the columnist or advocate is, indeed, on the payroll of an organization that has ties to said shady group. This kind of conflict of interest is rarely noted. In other cases, you're dealing with your classic useful idiot. Sometimes politicians or governments lend their support to one shady group because they hold them (perhaps correctly) to be less evil than their rival shady group. Many explanations.
May '10
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Since Said has passed on, perhaps God has had some discussions with him about the true meaning of "orientalism"....
May '10
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Claire, I have sent you a copy of the text of Benjamin Netanyahu to the Jewish Federation of North America, to your website email address. Hope it makes its way safely. Best Regards David K
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
It did, and thank you. The word limit won't allow me to post the whole thing. It's a very good speech, and perfect for that occasion. But it's not quite the speech I'm looking for. I'm looking for something with the rhetorical simplicity and effectiveness of "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Not a lengthy explanation of the history, not an invitation to debate: Something memorable and clear, conveying a simple message: The hatred of Jews is an ancient madness; those who indulge in it have always brought evil upon the world and themselves; this madness is again gripping the imagination of mankind; those who call themselves civilized must recognize this and despise it for the evil it is. What would best convey that?
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
Um, this conveys that. You have just done it. No pithy slogan to pull from it, but those words are pretty powerful as you write them, Claire.
Re: Let's you and I draft a speech together, Peter
I bet Peter can do better. (I don't think "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" was a fluke.) I don't want to over-analyze the lines, but they're effective because of the imperative tense, because of the vigor of the verbal phrase "tear down," because of the direct and easily-visualized reference to the Wall. Not a feeling person in the world could look at an immense bleak wall topped with razor wire, guarded by armed men and vicious dogs, designed to keep desperate men and women from fleeing a desperate country, and fail to recognize that the Soviet Union was not what the propagandists claimed. And the words were so obvious and simple--but previously unspoken!--that they were shocking and thrilling. I'm looking for something more like that. The whole speech is a masterpiece.
Let's see what Peter comes up with.