Synopsizing Sibel Edmonds

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Synopsizing Sibel Edmonds Synopsizing Sibel Edmonds: The Evolution of Operation Gladio -- Part Six Robert Paulsen America Judas April 12, 2013 http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2013/04/synopsizing-sibel-edmonds-evolution-of_12.html James Corbett: ...And on that note, we have an email in from Robert, who has a blog called americanjudas.blogspot.com where he is starting to synopsize our conversations and he's got Part One and Part Two up already and has done a good job of putting in some relevant links and explaining some of the characters and the details, so I will put the links to those blog posts in the show notes for this, and also Robert had a question, he said, "In Part Two, Sibel mentioned that the Pentagon doesn't call it Gladio B, but there is a designated section, a physical office that deals with Gladio operations. Can she tell us what the actual name is, or has she been gagged from doing so on the grounds of State Secrets?" Sibel Edmonds: Right, um, the FBI's file, because the name of the file itself wouldn't be even considered classified, it's the name of a file, the operation is considered the Operation Gladio Plan B. With the Pentagon, I can't because it has not become public, and it is part of or under another division; and again that division if I were to name the division, people would be very familiar, and it will be say 'Why, that's an interesting place to put the Operation Gladio Plan B and the office there'. I can tell you that the division is mainly international NATO officers, you're looking at lieutenant colonel and higher, and it has the only office that I know in the Pentagon with the highest number of Turkish officers, they're going to have both US citizenship and Turkish, but they're assigned to this Pentagon division. Now it changes, every four or five years, some are stationed somewhere else, but if you look at it let's say during a certain period of time, the highest percentage are Turkish officers there, female and male. That Robert who emailed the question is, in fact, yours truly, Robert Paulsen. Part Six is certainly exciting for me on a personal level, but I also think this is one of the more exciting parts of the interview as far as the focus of the content. The part is subtitled: Sibel Edmonds Explains Who's At The Top Of The Pyramid. This interview follows the money where Gladio B is concerned. That takes us to some of the largest corporate and military interests that comprise what President Eisenhower warned us about in his Farewell Address on January 17, 1961: the Military-Industrial Complex. Part Six Synopsis: The interview starts with James Corbett bringing up the subject of what groups are puppeteering this operation. Sibel Edmonds starts by talking about her father, who tried to get her engaged in critical thinking. He was a lifetime anti-war activist in Iran. During a period of her youth, she really got into war films like The Great Escape that to some degree glorified war. In response, he took her to the hospital where he was the director and surgeon to show her a baby horrifically burned by war, to where the baby's skin had melted with the clothes on its body. The child didn't even have the lungs to cry out in pain. "When you hear bombs falling or read about it", her father said, this is what happens. Where war is concerned, her father also taught her to follow the money, that's where you'll find the only "winners" in war. The problem is, as Sibel - 1 - mentioned previously, we too often try to characterize through a black hat/white hat mentality. It's so easy to paint Dick Cheney as Darth Vader, Democrats are much better at avoiding that kind of label. That's one way to miss the mark on locating the real power in charge, another is to generalize and say, 'It's the government!' If you just take a few individuals from a few different departments to blame, you're not going to get anywhere close to the truth. Take a look at those in government (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Feith, Rice), look what they were doing before they got in government, look what they did after they left the government, then look for a common theme. They're not working for themselves! To some degree, it's easier to be influential from outside the government. Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski are great examples of this. In general, the top two most important entities we are dealing with over the last few decades are: the Military-Industrial Complex (MIC) and Oil. The financial institutions go with these two, regardless of what operations they undertake. Some might say pharmaceutical industry, but that's more domestic, the other two fit into the global scheme more. If you look at the Cold War, look at the period afterward before 9/11, look at 9/11 and the aftermath, the involvement of the MIC is not something that you need a whistleblower to uncover! Edmonds directs our attention to a graph that shows military spending from 1962 to present day. It's a very revealing graph, we see a large rise throughout the Cold War, a drop during the 90's and the subsequent spike after 9/11 and the Iraq War. If you look at the top ten companies of the Military-Industrial Complex, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrup-Grumman, their existence is dependent on a fear factor. That fear factor during the Cold War was Communism, equaling trillions of dollars. Communism's collapse and the end of the Cold War was the MIC's "WTF!" moment. With The Monster gone, what happens to all the profits derived from the fear of it? You're talking about some very nervous people during the 90's. The lesson learned: we're not going to create a monster that can be taken out, it must go on forever. The new threat is "like amoebas", they are all over, different countries, hidden in caves, and we must always be on alert. Going back to what her Dad asked, "How much are those bombs hitting those caves?" Three million dollars? Five million dollars? Who profits? How did they create this New Monster that never dies? Edmonds cites as very important the creation of the Project for the New American Century. If you look at the list of signatories, you see much more than just "the government" you see the true beneficiaries, the corporate heads that comprise the MIC. They knew they needed a new threat to scare us into keeping their industry bulked up. It has remained up since 9/11 because there are so many secret wars all over the map in the name of the War on Terror. Corbett concurs with that assessment, noting how low the price of oil was during the 90's and how high it has risen since. Edmonds then cites Pepe Escobar's Pipelinestan as a good source mapping the oil trade in Central Asia. The companies involved are all looking down the road to where the industry will be 40 years from now. They know to protect their investments they'll need the military guarding the pipelines. We know we can't trust whatever despot or dictator is in charge, that's why they bring in the IMF and the World Bank in addition to the military. If you look at the US military bases erected since 2001, the vast majority are in oil-rich locations. Corbett adds these locations also intersect with major drug routes. Edmonds mentions she just wrote an article on how this is being done through Azerbaijan with the Turkish NATO actors. Since the Cold War, things have shifted from Russian control to where our control of the - 2 - drug trade is over 90%. In that context, she also talks about how Baluchistan will never be economically feasible for China, because they don't control security in that region, we do. Corbett then elaborates on the characters involved in Baluchistan, then cautions against using the word "we", that it is not done with our will, but these dark characters in positions of power like the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) acting in our name. He then mentions another organization like CFR not mentioned as much, the American Turkish Council (ATC). Edmonds corroborates how they are connected with her case, explaining how they were set up to act much like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) does, and were created in 1995 by Richard Perle and Douglas Feith. In 1989, Richard Perle, while a government advisor, set up a lobby group for Turkey setting himself up as a foreign agent. This became a huge scandal when discovered in 1994, because you're not allowed to be a foreign agent while working for the government! Thus, ATC was created by Perle and Feith. Edmonds says it's not just her word, the Justice Department has identified the ATC as the top FBI target in her case, some operations involving heroin, others terror. Once again, if you look at the top players in ATC, you see people connected with the MIC and oil companies. That is their ultimate boss, not the Turkish or US government. They serve as subcontractors getting US tax dollars in the hundreds of millions that gets diverted from its intended purpose for nefarious ends like money laundering, weapons smuggling, drugs and terror.
Recommended publications
  • US Thinktanks Booklet.Qxd
    Biased Thinkta n ks Dicta te Fo reign Po l i c y Biased Thinktanks American Enterprise Institute... Middle East Media Dictate Foreign Policy Institute... Washington Institute for Near East Policy... Hudson Institute... Middle East Forum... Middle East Intelligence Bulletin... Middle East Quarterly... Richard Perle... David and Meyrav Wurmser... Michael Rubin... Judith Miller... Yigal Carmon... Laurie Mylroie... Eleana Benador... Martin Kramer... William Kristol... Daniel Pipes... Patrick Clawson... Robert Satloff... Dennis Ross “At a time when much of the world is confused by what it sees as an increasingly bizarre set of policies Brian Whitaker on the Middle East coming from Washington, to Middle East Editor, UK Guardian understand the neat little network outlined here may Brian Whitaker reports on the network of research make such policies a little more explicable.” institutes whose views and TV appearances are supplanting all other experts on Middle Eastern issues - Brian Whitaker little-known fact about Richard Perle, the leading advocate of hardline policies at the Pentagon, is that he once wrote a political Athriller. The book, appropriately called Hard Line, is set in the About Brian Whita ke r days of the cold war with the Soviet Union. Its hero is a male senior official at the Pentagon, working late into the night and battling almost single- Brian Whitaker is a veteran British journalist. He is the Middle handedly to rescue the US from liberal wimps at the state department who East Editor of the UK Guardian, a leading London newspaper. want to sign away America's nuclear deterrent in a disarmament deal with the Russians.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Zionism and the Sephardi Question
    Post-Zionism and the Sephardi Question by Meyrav Wurmser Middle East Quarterly Spring 2005 A growing group of Jewish Israeli professors is challenging the legitimacy of the Israeli state from within. Many are Mizrahim, as the Sephardi Jews from the Middle East and North Africa are increasingly called, and do so from a distinctly Mizrahi outlook. In July 2004, for example, a poem appeared online entitled, "I Am an Arab Refugee": When I hear Fayruz[1] singing, "I shall never forget thee, Palestine," I swear to you with my right hand that at once I am a Palestinian. All of a sudden I know: I am an Arab refugee and, if not, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.[2] The author is not a Palestinian refugee but rather an Israeli Jew. His name is Sami Shalom Chetrit, a Mizrahi professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem who, along with Mizrahi academics like Ella Shohat, Eli Avraham, Oren Yiftachel, Yehouda Shenhav, Pnina Motzafi-Haller and others has developed a radical critique of ethnic relations in Israel. True to post-Zionism, an intellectual movement that believes that Zionism lacks moral validity, post-Zionist Mizrahi writers believe that Israel has no right to exist as a Jewish state. According to Mizrahi post-Zionism, the Mizrahim, about half of Israel's Jewish population, are "Arab-Jews," who like the Palestinians are victims of Zionism. While this new school of intellectual radicalism remains so far contained within the halls of academia and without broad support among the broader Mizrahi population, it, nevertheless, represents a new and worrisome twist on the post-Zionist phenomenon that continues to dominate Israel's academia and media.
    [Show full text]
  • Trauma and the Making of Israel's Security
    University of Wales Aberystwyth Department of International Politics TRAUMA AND THE MAKING OF ISRAEL'S SECURITY This thesis is being submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in International Politics By Hannah Starman Sepee'Wf 200 To Andreja with all my love. Acknowledgements I would like to thank first and foremost, my thesis supervisors, Dr. Tim Dunne and Prof. Ken Booth. Tim Dunne has been a constant source of inspiration and support. His thoughtful and competent criticism at various stages of the thesis has been crucial for both the progress and the quality of my research. Tim also read the entire manuscript and made valuable editorial suggestions on several occasions. Despite his numerous other responsibilities that demanded his attention, Prof. Ken Booth has always afforded me his time and advice whenever I needed it, and I thank him for that. The Department of International Politics has granted me the E.H. Carr Award without which I could not have pursued the work on this thesis. The Department has also provided me with an intellectual environment and expertise that welcomed creativity and fostered critical spirit. Numerous discussions with members of the faculty, especially with Dr. Jenny Edkins, Prof. Steve Smith, and Prof. Mike Foley, have helped me refine and focus my ideas. I also wish to thank Prof. William D. Rubinstein from the Department of History for supplying me with articles and references relevant to my research and for spending his lunch hours to enlighten me on various other issues in modern history. My special gratitude and appreciation go to Yael and Rabbi Hillel Simon who never missed an occasion to further my Jewish knowledge and patiently answered my endless questions about Chassidism and Jewish mystical traditions.
    [Show full text]
  • Clean Break Or Dirty War? Israel’S Foreign Policy Directive to the United States Executive Summary Great Changes Are Seldom Achieved Without a Plan
    Institute for Research: Middle East Foreign Policy Middle Eastern Policy Brief Policy, Inc. March 27, 2003 Clean Break or Dirty War? Israel’s Foreign Policy Directive to the United States Executive Summary Great changes are seldom achieved without a plan. The Israeli policy paper “A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm” (ACB) was authored by a group of policy advisors to Israel. Subsequently, nearly all members ascended to influential policy making positions within U.S. government, media, and academic circles. Many of the ACB policies such as toppling the government of Iraq are now in full implementation and present new challenges to the global community. Others, such as the reform of Israel’s economy have been abysmal failures, but generate little visibility or impact outside of Israel. (See Exhibit 1) Exhibit #1 “Clean Break” Policy Implementation Score Card through March, 2003 (IRMEP 2003) Increase U.S. Congressional Support “ Peace for Peace” Palestin- ian Strategy Contain, Destabilize and Roll Back Regional Challengers Domestic Economic Reform Rejuvenation of Zionism 0 1 2 3 4 5 Implementation Points (1 = Very Low, 5 = Very High) This paper provides an overview of the policy implementation of “A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm”. (http://www.israeleconomy.org/strat1.htm) Some of the events and trends that contribute to success or failure of the plan predate ACB by many years. And although many ACB authors ascended to new heights of political power in the U.S., the success or failure of the policies cannot be solely ascribed to them. However, ACB policies are, for the most part, extremely damaging to U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Fall/Winter09:Layout 1
    HUDSON INSTITUTE News & Review WWW.HUDSON.ORG FALL/WINTER 2009 HUDSON WELCOMES NEW EXAMINING THE SCHOLARS AND STAFF RUSSIAN MILITARY JOHN SHENEFIELD, former In August, a Hudson Institute conference on the present and Asso ciate Attorney General of the future of the Russian military, held in conjunction with the U.S. United States and former Assist - Army War College, was broadcast live on C-SPAN. The numer- ant Attorney General in charge of ous at ten d ees included members of the media, re searchers, congressional aides, officials from the U.S. Department of State, and representatives of foreign embassies. For nearly five decades, Hudson has had a record of closely ex - amining the Soviet Union and now the Russian Fed eration. Senior Vice President for International Programs and Policy S. Enders Wimbush, himself an analyst of the former Soviet Union, key noted the conference, pointing out that it was being held in trib ute to the late Mary FitzGerald, a Hudson scholar who passed away in April. Fluent in Russian, FitzGerald analyzed Russian and Chinese the Antitrust Division of the U.S. military writings for the Department of Defense. Drawing on Sov- Department of Just ice, joined iet era sources, she defined the revolutionary CONTINUED ON PAGE 27 Hudson as an Ad junct Fel low in September. At Hudson, Shenefield will re- search and publish on anti trust law, regulatory policy, intel li gence, and national security law. “John Shenefield is a leading scho lar and distinguished practitioner of anti trust law,” says Hudson CEO Kenneth Wein
    [Show full text]
  • BRINGING RADICAL CHANGE to the ARAB WORLD: the “DEMOCRATIZING” LEGACY of GEORGE W. BUSH Dan Tschirgi 1
    UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 12 (Octubre / October 2006) ISSN 1696-2206 BRINGING RADICAL CHANGE TO THE ARAB WORLD: THE “DEMOCRATIZING” LEGACY OF GEORGE W. BUSH Dan Tschirgi 1 American University in Cairo Abstract: In the wake of this summer’s war between Israel and Hizballah, it seems likely that the Bush Administration’s hopes for the Middle East have produced their antithesis. Far from becoming a showcase for the realization of one of the administration’s most prominently proclaimed values— democracy—the region is now threatened as never before by obscurantist Muslim forces. This article examines the rise of neoconservative forces in American policy-making circles, examining their ideological premises, their linking of Iraq to the requirements of Arab-Israeli peace in light of the Palestinian Refugee issue, and their confidence that historical or divine purpose upholds the use of American political power on the world stage. It concludes by questioning this position. Keywords: Israel, Hizballah, Middle East, United States, democratization. Resumen: Tras la guerra del pasado verano entre Israel y Hezbolá, parece probable que las esperanzas de la Administración Bush para Oriente Medio hayan producido su antitesis. Lejos de convertirse en un escaparate del logro de uno de los valores mas proclamados por la administración, la democracia, la región esta ahora mas amenazada que nunca por fuerzas musulmanas oscurantistas. Este articulo examina el auge de las fuerzas neoconservadoras en los círculos políticos estadounidenses, analizando sus premisas ideológicas, su vinculación de la guerra de Irak con los requerimientos de la paz árabe-israelí a la luz de la cuestión de los refugiados palestinos, y su confianza en que un propósito histórico o divino apoya el empleo del poder político estadounidense en la escena mundial.
    [Show full text]
  • 2008 Annual Report
    Hudson Institute 2008 annual report Hudson Institute is a nonpartisan, independent policy research With offices in Washington and New York, Hudson seeks to organization dedicated to innovative research and analysis that guide public policy makers and global leaders in government promotes global security, prosperity, and freedom. and business through a vigorous program of publications, con- ferences, and policy briefings and recommendations. Founded in 1961 by strategist Herman Kahn, Hudson Institute challenges conventional thinking and helps manage strategic Hudson Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization financed by tax- transitions to the future through interdisciplinary studies in deductible contributions from private individuals, corporations, defense, international relations, economics, health care, tech- foundations, and by government grants. nology, culture, and law. CONTENTS 4 Message from the Chairman, CEO, and President 6 International Security, Foreign Policy, and Global Affairs 20 Economics, Trade, and Science 24 Society, Culture, and Philanthropy 27 Hudson New York 28 Hudson History and Herman Kahn 30 Outreach 33 Hudson Institute Press 35 Support for Hudson 36 Finances 37 In Memoriam 38 Hudson Scholars and Centers 40 Hudson Leadership “Hudson Institute is one of America’s foremost policy research centers, known and respected around the globe, a leader in innovative thinking and creative solutions for challenges of the present and future.” –HENRY KISSINGER 2008 annual report 3 Message from the Chairman, CEO, and President F inancial upheaval, a historic presidential elec- denced by the introduction of significant legislative re- tion, turmoil in the oil markets, and the threat of a form to combat sex trafficking; the willingness of former nuclear Iran dominated the news in 2008.
    [Show full text]
  • Neo-Ottomanists and Neoconservatives: a Strange Alignment in the 1990S
    ARTICLE NEO-OTTOMANISTS AND NEOCONSERVATIVES: A STRANGE ALIGNMENT IN THE 1990S Neo-Ottomanists and Neoconservatives: A Strange Alignment in the 1990s MALİK MUFTİ* ABSTRACT In a curious and hitherto largely overlooked episode, the revisionist “neo-Ottomanist” ambitions of King Hussein of Jordan and Turgut Özal of Turkey converged during the 1990s with the interests of an influential group of “neoconservatives” centered in Washington to press for a radi- cal redrawing of the Near Eastern political and territorial map. Due to a combination of material and normative limitations, neither Hussein’s nor Özal’s ambitions materialized, but the common central elements of their visions –a rejection of the nation-state system imposed on the region after the Ottoman Empire’s collapse; the evocation instead of past imperial greatness, updated to reflect contemporary democratic norms; and a style of rule characterized by a cosmopolitan and accommodating realpolitik– constitute an alternative to rival (authoritarian secular-nationalist, lib- eral, militant Islamist) prescriptions for the region’s future at a time when the erosion of the post-Ottoman status quo continues to accelerate. n a curious episode overlooked by the scholarly literature, the ambitions of two Near Eastern leaders generally viewed as conventionally conserva- Itive, King Hussein of Jordan and Turgut Özal of Turkey, aligned during the 1990s with the interests of a group of influential American and Israeli policy hawks to press for a radical redrawing of the regional political and territorial map. That such a revisionist agenda should arise during the 1990s is not in itself surprising, for this was a time of great upheaval, precipitated in part by broader developments such as the end of the oil boom and the collapse of Communism.
    [Show full text]
  • Neo-Conservatism and Foreign Policy
    University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Master's Theses and Capstones Student Scholarship Fall 2009 Neo-conservatism and foreign policy Ted Boettner University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis Recommended Citation Boettner, Ted, "Neo-conservatism and foreign policy" (2009). Master's Theses and Capstones. 116. https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis/116 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Capstones by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Neo-Conservatism and Foreign Policy BY TED BOETTNER BS, West Virginia University, 2002 THESIS Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Political Science September, 2009 UMI Number: 1472051 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI" UMI Microform 1472051 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
    [Show full text]
  • America's Alleged Intelligence Failure in The
    University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2017 America’s Alleged Intelligence Failure in the Prelude to Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Study of Analytic Factors Cake, Timothy Cake, T. (2017). America’s Alleged Intelligence Failure in the Prelude to Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Study of Analytic Factors (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24784 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3688 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY America’s Alleged Intelligence Failure in the Prelude to Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Study of Analytic Factors by Timothy Cake A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN MILITARY, SECURITY, AND STRATEGIC STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA APRIL, 2017 © Timothy Cake 2017 ABSTRACT In the prelude to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), notables in the G. W. Bush administration declared Iraq to be an existential threat as it had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and connections to transnational terrorist groups. After the 2003 invasion of that state, coalition forces engaged in a search effort that found no significant evidence of WMD.
    [Show full text]
  • Hudson 01-02 Annual Report
    2003 ANNUAL REPORT MESSAGE FROM THE 2003 CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT Dear Friends and Supporters: From the neighborhoods of the Midwest to the halls of government in Washington, D.C., to the policymaking circles that shape the world, Hudson Institute left an indelible mark on a remarkable year. As you read through this synopsis of 2003, remember that it is only that—a synopsis, a snapshot, if you will. A snapshot can capture some elements of an event—the people, the place, the color—but it cannot capture all of them. The sounds and smells and sentiment are left to the imagination and memory. In the same way, this review captures some of what Hudson was a part of over the previous twelve months, but it fails to capture everything—how testimony by a Hudson researcher changed the trajectory of public policy; how a Hudson conference opened the door to new solutions to old problems; how a police officer used Hudson data to make a neighborhood safer; how a Hudson project or idea improved the quality of life for an individual, family, community, or region; how an article in American Outlook—or in any of the dozens of other places where Hudson researchers are published—made someone in Bloomington or Berlin reconsider this position or that. Thanks to friends, supporters, and partners like you, these things and much more are happening in and around Hudson Institute. Without question, the highpoint of 2003 was the 13th Annual James H. Doolittle Award Luncheon, which honored Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for a lifetime of service to America’s national security.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Zionism and the Sephardi Question
    Spring 2005 Post-Zionism and the Sephardi Question By Meyrav Wurmser http://www.meforum.org/707/post-zionism-and-the-sephardi-question A growing group of Jewish Israeli professors is challenging the legitimacy of the Israeli state from within. Many are Mizrahim, as the Sephardi Jews from the Middle East and North Africa are increasingly called, and do so from a distinctly Mizrahi outlook. In July 2004, for example, a poem appeared online entitled, "I Am an Arab Refugee": When I hear Fayruz[1] singing, "I shall never forget thee, Palestine," I swear to you with my right hand that at once I am a Palestinian. All of a sudden I know: I am an Arab refugee and, if not, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.[2] The author is not a Palestinian refugee but rather an Israeli Jew. His name is Sami Shalom Chetrit, a Mizrahi professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem who, along with Mizrahi academics like Ella Shohat, Eli Avraham, Oren Yiftachel, Yehouda Shenhav, Pnina Motzafi-Haller and others has developed a radical critique of ethnic relations in Israel. True to post-Zionism, an intellectual movement that believes that Zionism lacks moral validity, post-Zionist Mizrahi writers believe that Israel has no right to exist as a Jewish state. According to Mizrahi post-Zionism, the Mizrahim, about half of Israel's Jewish population, are "Arab-Jews," who like the Palestinians are victims of Zionism. While this new school of intellectual radicalism remains so far contained within the halls of academia and without broad support among the broader Mizrahi population, it, nevertheless, represents a new and worrisome twist on the post-Zionist phenomenon that continues to dominate Israel's academia and media.
    [Show full text]