Responding to "Infuriating Incidences of Ignorance"

My colleague Mason sent me this link:

Infuriating Incidences of Ignorance

Mason,

He seems to leave us sort of hanging in empty space in regards to the Palestinian alliance with the NAZI's... did they wave an olive branch at their border and welcome the NAZI's in or where they attacked or surrender out of fear? Well if that is the case we can add a good 20 countries to this list who collaborated with the NAZI's after being conquered... out of fear or out of lust for power (and only certain groups? generally?--see next pgph)

Plus, was it the ruling elites of Palestine that collaborated or was the blacksmith in the village also saying, you know this NAZI plan sounds very good? If it was the elites (those in power) well then this is part of a longer chain of elites working across national borders to collectively exploit/destroy their and other peoples.

I would agree with the last comment that he seems to be conflating history (something I am guilty of from time to time) ... and past injustices against your group still do not justify your present abuses/crimes/oppression against the descendents of the group that hurt you (if so there would be all kinds of legitimated ethnic massacres). This is why a bombing of everyday citizens is evil and why an occupation that seeks to demoralize and destroy a section of a (or entire) population is evil. They both only increase the hatred and continue the chain of violence. I commend Israel on recognizing this fact and I hope that their current actions will be a step in the right direction.

Yes, there is a long, cruel history of anti-semitism in the world. Likewise there have been many, many other examples of historical and continuing concerted acts of injustice, oppression, exploitation, abuse and genocide against many groups of peoples (of various designations, ethnicities, genders and sexualities).

For me the most powerful, progressive and positive Jewish thinkers/activists (at least in the context of work done in the US--my perspective in which I can claim some authority) have been those that recognized common cause with others and sought broader movements that moved beyond a solely Zionist, special people outlook (if you mark yourself off as God's chosen people, you are asking for trouble? in other words isn't this another cognitive assertion of cultural elitism--just not very successful?)

Peace,

Thivai