Martin Luther King, Jr. on Israel and Jews...

[k_jerome]

"I cannot stand idly by, even though I happen to live in the United States and even though I happen to be an American Negro and not be concerned about what happens to the Jews in Soviet Russia. For what happens to them happens to me and you, and we must be concerned."

"peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality."

"When people criticize Zionists they mean Jews, you are talking anti-Semitism."

[ShortnFiery]

1. But what would he say today? eom

[k_jerome]

2. I don't know...

according to the Israel haters, Israels entire history is one of evil and violence. Maybe MLK Jr. was not an intelligent man? Or one that was not very well informed. My opinion is to the contrary, but I am sure others may disagree.

[shance]

3. Do you have a link to this quote Jerome?

n/t

[k_jerome]

5. from this mans website (he may be a little familiar to some)...

http://www.house.gov/johnlewis/oe_i_have_a_dream.html

[ShortnFiery]

6. You may also consider that their Government's present aggressive

warfare is quite legitimately drawing criticism.

Not every disagreement to Israel's conduct of "protecting itself" is a wish for it's demise.

Just a suggestion. :hi:

[k_jerome]

8. government and policy criticism are one thing...

the hatred and vitriol said of Israel lately is another.

[Lars39]

10. Then alert on the posts and quit broad-brushing all of DU.

[still_one]

26. why hide it with an alert?

[LostinVA]

91. You got it, Lars

The only nasty ant-semitic remarks I've seen have been by trolls... lots of anti-Israel posts, which too many posters think are the same thing.

[ShortnFiery]

11. I don't get it! People are sad and angry at killing but not

the vitriol of The State, but of The Government. Sort of like the USA's Killing Machine is despised all over the world BUT people mostly separate "the American People" from our warmongering government.

[still_one]

25. at this time over 70% of Israellis support their government

no question it was an over-reaction on Israel's part for the capture of its two soldiers, but what was the motivation of Hezbollah to illegally cross the border in the first place to capture them?

It has obviously gone to far to be stopped now, and this will have to run its course for the time being

[ShortnFiery]

30. why can't it be stopped now? IMO there's no SANE reason to continue war.

[still_one]

39. Here is the reason why

A scorpion and a turtle stood at the edge of a river. As the turtle prepared to swim across, the scorpion asked, "Will you give me a ride across?"

"Absolutely not," the turtle responded. "You are a scorpion, and you will sting me before we get to the other side."

"No I won't," the scorpion answered. "That wouldn't make any sense, because if I sting you while we cross, we'll both drown. I want to get to the other side as much as you do. So let's work together, what do you say?"

It tok a while, but the scorpion finally convinced the turtle to let him ride on his back as he swam across the river. As they drew close to the opposite shore, the scorpion raised his tail and stung the turtle.

"What did you do that for?" the turtle cried. "Now we're both dead!"

The scorpion just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Welcome to the Middle East."

[Skidmore]

85. My problem with your statements is that you appear to think

that any criticism at all means that the person making critical statements "hates" Israel and Jews and is, therefore, anti-Semitic. I don't see that here on DU at all. I see people voicing their opinions out of being sickened by the carnage in the ME. Israel is an active participant in this carnage and both sides, as far as I am concerned, share blame because the ugly truth is that neither side really wants peace. They've both nibbled around the edges of a peace accord when brought by other nations to a table, but are quick to jump into another fray with little provocation. Also, I would like to point out that 50 years out from MLK's movement, Israel and the US neither bear much resemblance to the societies he was addressing then.

[still_one]

16. that is a valid point, but for some

they do wish for it's demise

[still_one]

15. They want to roll the clock back to 1948, and say Israel doesn't exist

THAT ISN'T going to HAPPEN, until they realize that, there will be no peace

[chimpymustgo]

83. If you are attempting to hijack history to suggest MLK would support the

current carnage and destruction of Israel's wrath, I think you've reached beyond the bottom of your bag of tricks. Many people around the world once admired the Israeli people for their strength and determination. Now, their goal seems to be killing, stealing and destroying - actions quite criminally beyond "defending itself."

That was then. This is now. Tragically, for a good part of the rest of the world.

[LostinVA]

92. Agreed -- he would not be for the killing of innocents n/t

[cantstandbush]

89. "A drummajor for peace" he wouldn't say that today. When he said

this, it was before the most hineous of actions by Israel. Today he would probably be saying that the Israel today is NOT the Israel of Jehovah but a bastardized government run amuck in the name of religion hosited by the US that is equally quilty of the crimes against humanity. Just look at his speech on Viet Nam...a time to break the silence.

[chimpymustgo]

94. MLK sought non-violent solutions. This effort to co-opt his "support"

betrays the desperation of the war-mongers.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

[ruggerson]

4. Game, set, match

let the Hizbollah whining begin.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ruggerson]

23. Go ahead

apologize more for little children going into restaurants with bombs strapped to their backs and blowing themselves and everyone else up. Oh I forgot, they have to do it because bad Israel stole their land, so they have no choice but to sacrifice their young in psychotic fits of inhuman rage.

[ErisFiveFingers]

52. Lobbing cruise missiles and artillery is much more efficient.

More dead civillians killed that way.

[still_one]

28. where was the passion for Sudan or Rawanda

or for that matter when King Husseins father in Jordan slaughtered all the Palestinians

Yes, defenseless people caught between isn't right

and I know the Hezbollah are NOT the defenseless people you are referring to, but this will run its course

[k_jerome]

37. the jews were not involved. nt.

[ErisFiveFingers]

53. Indeed.

No ASPAC or ARPAC would be my guess...

[barb162]

7. MLK was a wise man; I have seen this before

thanks for posting

[minkyboodle]

9. Bishop Tutu

Apartheid in the Holy Land

Desmond Tutu
Guardian

Monday April 29, 2002


In our struggle against apartheid, the great supporters were Jewish people. They almost instinctively had to be on the side of the disenfranchised, of the voiceless ones, fighting injustice, oppression and evil. I have continued to feel strongly with the Jews. I am patron of a Holocaust centre in South Africa. I believe Israel has a right to secure borders.

What is not so understandable, not justified, is what it did to another people to guarantee its existence. I've been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa. I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about.

On one of my visits to the Holy Land I drove to a church with the Anglican bishop in Jerusalem. I could hear tears in his voice as he pointed to Jewish settlements. I thought of the desire of Israelis for security. But what of the Palestinians who have lost their land and homes?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4403427,00.html

Also since MLK died in 1968 he never really got to see what the post 1967 war occupations would look like. I'm not so sure he wouldn't have spoken out against Israel's treatments of the Palestinians, obviously one can never know.

[IChing]

14. Thank you

Time is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor. Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor. You don't need anything else.

Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks, 1965


You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.

Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks, 1965
- More quotations on:

[still_one]

29. as soon as they recognize Israel then negotiations can begin

[IChing]

47. Malcom X ...............n/t

[still_one]

12. its the new code word

though Zionism is actually the movement that Jews should have a homeland. Which incidently over 98% of the Jews in the world believe

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[still_one]

31. that is YOUR interpretation

anyway they DO HAVE A HOMELAND, now as soon as the Arabs recognize it, maybe negotiations can take place

[Violet_Crumble]

75. Which Arabs would those be?

Would they be Egypt and Jordan, who do recognise Israel and have peace treaties in place?

Or would they be the Palestinians? The Palestinian PM stated his desire last week for a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem and said that negotiations must be based on that. How is that not recognising the existance of Israel?

[ErisFiveFingers]

58. Circular logic.

As I pointed out in another thread, some scholars are setting forms of Zionism as the benchmark for being "Jewish".

So, if 99% of people born to Jewish parents, raised in jewish culture, think that Israel's current setup is a mistake, then they are, by that definition, not Jews.

Slight problem there.

[Lars39]

13. I do not believe that Martin Luther King, Jr. would support

this act of aggression by Israel.

[TahitiNut]

38. No. Really? The foremost American proponent of non-violence??

(Sheesh!) It's not even close! :eyes:

[k_jerome]

40. pretty good judge of bigotry and racism too. nt.

[TahitiNut]

54. Which is more than could be said for ...

:shrug:

[k_jerome]

64. those that would paint Israelis and Jews under the guise of ...

zionists or an impersonal "government" as evil.

[TahitiNut]

65. Evil is as evil does.

I equate Likudites with the Bushoilini cabal. Political necrophiliacs, sociopaths, and profiteers.

[k_jerome]

66. sure, that is not what words are used...

zionist, Israel. Those are the words used. The majority of Israel supports the current operation against Hezbollah.

[sinogirl]

90. Please don't use Israel and Jews

is the same breath...

You give the wrong impression that all Jews are Israelis...


If indeed the Zionists are evil... it has absolutely nothing to do with Jews.

[Lars39]

46. What can I say?

I'm up past my bedtime. :boring: :D

[Violet_Crumble]

19. That quote is a fraud...

"In the item, entitled “Letter to an Anti-Zionist Friend,” King proclaims that criticism of Zionism is tantamount to anti-Semitism, and likens those who criticize Jewish nationalism as manifested in Israel, to those who would seek to trample the rights of blacks. Heady stuff indeed, and 100% bullshit, as any amateur fact checker could ascertain were they so inclined. But of course, the kinds of folks who push an ideology that required the expulsion of three-quarters-of-a-million Palestinians from their lands, and then lied about it, claiming there had been no such persons to begin with (as with Golda Meir’s infamous quip), can’t be expected to place a very high premium on truth. I learned this the hard way recently, when the Des Moines Jewish Federation succeeded in getting me yanked from the city’s MLK day events: two speeches I had been scheduled to give on behalf of the National Conference of Community and Justice (NCCJ).

<snip>

“I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God's green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews--this is God's own truth.” The letter also was filled with grammatical errors that any halfway literate reader of King’s work should have known disqualified him from being its author, to wit: “Anti-Zionist is inherently anti Semitic, and ever will be so.” The treatise, it is claimed, was published on page 76 of the August, 1967 edition of Saturday Review, and supposedly can also be read in the collection of King’s work entitled, This I Believe: Selections from the Writings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That the claimants never mention the publisher of this collection should have been a clear tip-off that it might not be genuine, and indeed it isn’t. The book doesn’t exist. As for Saturday Review, there were four issues in August of 1967. Two of the four editions contained a page 76. One of the pages 76 contains classified ads and the other contained a review of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s album. No King letter anywhere.

http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2003-01/20wise.cfm

The sad thing is that even after the sort of propaganda you posted is proven false, some still will cling to it and ignore facts...

[k_jerome]

21. you may want to check some more...

the letter was shown as a forgery. the quotes are verified. once again, mistruth to support hatred of Israel. Next?

[Violet_Crumble]

51. I suggest you try reading what I linked to...

The quotes are NOT verified. And since when is it hatred of Israel to point out that quotes falsely attributed to people are fakes??

[k_jerome]

59. the letter you link was shown to be a fraud...

the zionist quote is verified through:

"When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews, You are talking anti-Semitism." < from "The Socialism of Fools: The Left, the Jews and Israel" by Seymour Martin Lipset; in Encounter magazine, December 1969, p. 24. >

and people that were there, or intimately familiar with MLK Jr, such as Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights pioneer and one of the "Big Six" leaders of the civil rights movement. In your zeal to discredit, you now call this man a liar as well.

[Violet_Crumble]

68. I suggest knocking off the insults and actually reading the article...

It's not all that hard to do. Whatever that crap was that you posted in the OP, it was fraudulently attributed to MLK. Yet you dare to sit here and accuse anyone who points that out of attacking MLK. As you seem uninterested in reading the article by Tim Wise (who, btw, would know a hell of a lot more about MLK than you), I'll post the relevent bits for you to try to digest....

In truth, King appears never to have made any public comment about Zionism per se; and the only known statement he ever made on the topic, made privately to a handful of people, is a far cry from what he is purported to have said in the so-called “Letter to an Anti-Zionist friend.” In 1968, according to Seymour Martin Lipset, King was in Boston and attended a dinner in Cambridge along with Lipset himself and a number of black students.After the dinner, a young man apparently made a fairly harsh remark attacking Zionists as people, to which King responded: “Don’t talk like that. When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking Anti-Semitism.” Assuming this quote to be genuine, it is still far from the ideological endorsement of Zionism as theory or practice that was evidenced in the phony letter.

<snip>

So yes, King was quick to admonish one person who expressed hostility to Zionists as people. But he did not claim that opposition to Zionism was inherently anti-Semitic. And for those who criticize Zionism today and who like me are Jewish, to believe that we mean to attack Jews, as Jews, when we speak out against Israel and Zionism is absurd.

http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2003-01/20wise.cfm

It's very important to look at both the context words are said in, as well as the era they were being said in....

[k_jerome]

70. what are you talking about...

you said the quote is a fraud. the author of your article says otherwise. the context within his view as someone with an axe to grind with a Jewish group is the context you wish to see it in. I view it in the context of Congressman John Lewis, a contemporary and friend of MLK Jr., the man you claim is a fraud as well.

How is the quote itself a fraud?

[Violet_Crumble]

71. What you posted in the OP was fraudulent...

If you had the ability to comprehend what Tim Wise had written, you'd understand why and not be asking the same ridiculous question over and over again when Tim Wise has been very clear about it. I don't give a rats arse who that John Lewis guy is, he's lying if he claims the context was anything else than what Tim Wise said it was...

[k_jerome]

72. then you are saying a giant of the civil rights movement is a liar...

and a friend and confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. As well as the man at the dinner that wrote the article in 1968 quoting King. You are reaching in an effort to excuse what?

[Violet_Crumble]

73. Guess what? People lie...

Instead of popping up in multiple areas of the same thread saying the same thing over and over, how about actually reading what gets said to you. Here's a fact. People do tell porkies. No-one's immune from it. If this guy said it was said in anything other than the context than was described in the article I posted, he's a bullshit artist. You totally ignored what I said about context and the era this was said in being important. Geez, I wonder why?

[k_jerome]

74. Ok. We have established that you think John Lewis is a liar.

And Tim Wise knows the mind of Martin Luther King. This is going nowhere. I think Tim Wise is full of it. You think John Lewis is. We can all read the quote and form our own conclusions as to what King was trying to say. That does not make the quote a fraud.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

82. Hmmmm

"If this guy said it was said in anything other than the context than was described in the article I posted, he's a bullshit artist."


John Lewis was an intimate of Dr. King during the Civil Rights movement:

http://dev.ngerr.gsu.edu/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2742

I believe you are an Australian. As an American I would never be pretentious enough to believe I know more about a seminal chapter in Australian history than an Australian does, and I think it would be equally pretentious for an Australian to think he or she knows more about a seminal chapter in American history than do I.

[Violet_Crumble]

87. And how was this private exchange a 'seminal chapter'...

..in the civil rights movement? It wasn't. It was about someone at a dinner who made a vicious comment about Israel, not about civil rights...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

I Think John Lewis Has Earned The Right To Be Taken At His Word

Unless there is incontrovertible evidence he is lying.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

96. I Think John Lewis Has Earned The Right To Be Taken At His Word

Unless there is incontrovertible evidence he is lying.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

80. John Lewis Was One Of King's "Lieutenants" In The Civil Right Movement

He was beat up during a civil rights march and still carries the scar nearly forty five years later. To claim that he would have a fabricated quote from Dr. King on his website is a calumny.

[IChing]

22. thanks I knew this bullshit n/t

[k_jerome]

34. again, a little research...

you call into question the honor of a man who was a pioneer in the civil rights movement close to MLK Jr.

[Name removed]

69. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

62. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Just Me]

20. Manipulating MLK's words to justify this slaughter is sick. eom.

[TahitiNut]

33. Didn't you know MLK was a big fan of overwhelming military force?

Sure. He'd applaud the bombing of Beirut. No "turn the other cheek" for him, nosiree. He just loved taking sides in such conflicts in order to ratchet up the killing. Ubetcha. All that non-violent civil disobedience stuff was a facade.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

(It's amazing that I'm not confident that *some* on this board wouldn't comprehend the egregious facetiousness I've employed, and would even begin to believe that MLK would support Likud.)

[k_jerome]

35. he certainly knew bigotry and racism when he saw it. nt.

[IChing]

43. You must work for the lobby of

Bullshit......


and talks against peace.



All right,



bomb me for saying that.

[Just Me]

41. Did you hear Georgie stood on the spot of MLK's assassination?

Gives me the freakin' chills!!! :scared:

[TahitiNut]

57. I hope they detoxed the place after he left.

Like Reagan honoring the Nazi dead, I gotta wonder if Junior savored the moment. :grr:

[BeFree]

24. It is a reality

... to a very large degree, and well supported by America, to the tune of billions of dollars.

Too, dem presidents Carter and Clinton used diplomacy to ensure that security, and hardly anyone is saying we should end that diplomacy, except for bush it seems.

What some have a problem with is the aggressive military moves Israel is taking, while tossing diplomacy aside. Innocent people are dieing.

[cynatnite]

27. I think MLK would recognize a disproportionate response if he saw one n/t

[6000eliot]

32. I don't care who says what

the Israelis are vicious thugs and aggressors.

[still_one]

36. and the other side is sugar and spice

[6000eliot]

45. One doesn't excuse the other.

[T Town Jake]

60. I don't care who says what, either...

...but Hezbollah are vicious thugs and aggressors. As well as indiscriminate mass murderers. And folks who pimp for them by proxy by attacking ALL "Israelis" (read: Jews) on web forums are beneath contempt.

Now, what ya think about that?

Don't bother: I don't really care what you think, to the extent that what you do can reasonably be called "thinking."

[Full Metal]

42. Couldn't have said it better myself.......

.........and not many people in history could so I don't feel to bad.

[NashVegas]

44. " "When people criticize Zionists they mean Jews"

Zionists are a sub-sect of the Jewish population.

One can criticize the Black Panthers without criticizing the African-American population, no?

p.s. - I don't criticize Israel's current actions. Not for security reasons, but because I think it's about time they all have at it.

[Marie26]

48. Why doesn't anyone know

what the word means? Try a dictionary.

[k_jerome]

50. its simply a codeword. nt.

[Violet_Crumble]

55. What utter simplistic bullshit...

Zionism is a political ideology. In particular contexts it can be used in an antisemitic way, but to utter some simpleminded 'it's simply a codeword' shows a complete ignorance of Zionism...

[Cameron27]

56. I think it's always best to let those affected by the word

define its offensiveness. Words change their meanings through time and events, or are twisted by people for an insidious attack rather than an obvious one.

Jews should define the offensiveness of the word IMO.

edit to note that I don't mean define as in explain. I mean it in the sense of saying "we find this an offensive labelling"

[Clarkie1]

49. Great words that still ring true today. nt

[ErisFiveFingers]

61. How often did MLK lob weapons "in defense"?

The root of this whole argument confuses me.

MLK did not stand idly by, true. He spoke, he rallied.

He did not send attack helicopters and special forces squads, either.

This is not a binary decision, and it saddens me to see so many people thinking that "defense of Israel" means "mass killing of others".

[k_jerome]

63. he also recognized bigotry and racism when he saw it. nt.

[ErisFiveFingers]

67. I think I missed your point.

So MLK recognizes bigotry and racism...

I'm not seeing how recognizing evil justifies commiting acts of a greater evil.

[Selatius]

76. What does this have to do with Israel bombing civilian infrastructure???

Are you insinuating those who condemn blowing up civilian infrastructure don't also condemn firing Katyusha rockets into civilian centers and don't also condemn the notion of wiping out Israel?

[k_jerome]

77. no. nt.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

78. At Ten Years Old My Heroes Were JFK, RFK, and MLK

And they still are today.

And I believe with all my heart if they were alive today they would be committed to a robust, independent Israel. I also believe the only change in their thinking would be to allow for a Palestinian state living peacefully beside it.

[Cameron27]

86. Thank god there's someone here my age

We've witnessed, and were moved by very great men, and because of that experience I believe we view the world from a unique perspective. I've tried to explain to my sons just how I felt growing up having a vibrant and intelligent President, listening to MLK's "I've Got A Dream" speech, and how I cried through all of it, but I just can't find the words. You just have to be a poet.

Can you imagine how much Israel could have accomplished if left in peace. And in peace there would be a Palestinian state where the citizens were allowed to learn and grow without fear and hate. These men would have been able to accomplish that, I really don't have a doubt about it.

I swear everyday that I listen to bush, I still get a jolt of "how the HELL did this imbecile get elected?" Every damn time.

The deep sadness for our generation really is, "if only."

edited/spelling

[jonnyblitz]

79. Martin Luther King would NEVER be supporting the slaughter

of innocents! what an insult to his memory!! unbelievable post! :puke:

some of you seriously have no shame.

[Behind the Aegis]

81. Where did you read that assertion anywhere in the OP?

Oh that's right...YOU DIDN'T!

It is YOU who have no shame!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

84. Nobody Is Using This Great Man To Justify Everything Israel Does

They are only using him to defend Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state in secure and recognized borders.


My three heroes were the martyred Kennedy brothers and Dr. King. I believe if they were alive today they would be staunch supporters of the state of Israel. I also believe the only change in their thinking about this issue would be to allow for a Palestinian state living peacefully beside it.

I can supply links if you want.

Some historical perspective. JFK was the first American president to sell military arms to Israel and Sirhan Sirhan shot RFK because he favored selling Phantom Jets to Israel during his 1968 president al run.

[AnOhioan]

88. Here are some more MLKJr. quotes......

Read into them what you will


“Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”

“That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.”

“A riot is the language of the unheard.”

“Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

“I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.”

"Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

“We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not yet learned the simple art of living together as brothers.”

“Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.”

“If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in the struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos.”

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

“All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.”

[sinogirl]

93. I believe Martin Luther King, Jr would support Israel today

Cause it was a lot worse during his days...


Though I completely disagree with his last statement:

"When people criticize Zionists they mean Jews, you are talking anti-Semitism."


Back then a great majority of Jews did indeed support Israel. Today that support has dwindled down to a minority. Hence Anti-Zionism is NOT anti-Semitism. Zionism is NOT Judaism. Not all Jews are Zionists, and not all Zionists are Jews.

[H2O Man]

95. Good quotes.

Thank you for bringing Martin's voice of reason into the discussion. It is important that we listen to him carefully. I think that it is worth noting Martin did not take a one-sided approach to the issues involving the Israeli & Arab conflct, however. For the sake of presenting a more accurate picture of the Israeli - Arab tensions, these two quotes from Taylor Branch's third book on America in the King years (At Canaan's Edge) may be useful.

"On the Middle East, King thought a complex peace required security for Israel and development for the Arab nations. 'The whole world and all people of good will must respect the territorial integrity of Israel,' he said, listing the vital ports and trade routes. He proposed also a 'Marshall Plan' to relieve desperate poverty among the mass of Arab citizens and refugees. 'So long as they find themselves on the outskirts of hope,' he said, 'they are going to make intemperate remarks. They are going to keep the war psychosis alive'." (page 624)

"To answer a volley of protest from Jewish political leaders, and at least thirty letters from rabbis, King busily disclaimed the NCNP's unbalanced resolution against Israel. 'Israel's right to exist as a state in security is incontestable,' King wrote Morris Abrams, president of the American Jewish Committee. 'At the same time the great powers have the obligation to recognize that the Arab world is in a state of imposed poverty and backwardness that must threaten peace and harmony'." (page 639)

Also, to be accurate and balanced, it is important to recognize that the Six Day War created a significant split in the coalition of groups involved in the Civil Rights struggle, and was the genesis of the neoconservative movement in the US. This is well documented in Branch's book.