Is Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) an anti-semitic organization?

[Karmadillo]

I don't think so, but using Howard Dean's less than compelling logic, they appear to be. In the statement below, the organization fails to single out Hezbollah for denunciation and, in fact, harshly criticizes Israel for its brutal occupation of Palestinian land. Given the facts (not the cheap politics), it seems an extremely reasonable position. Is there no longer room in the Democratic Party for people who hold similar views?

http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/news/israeli-occupation.php

PDA Reiterates Call for an End to Israeli Occupation
Around the world, people are watching in fear and horror as the Middle East sinks further into violence. We are witnessing human rights violations and civilian deaths on a massive scale in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. And now, the conflict has escalated with added violence between the Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel. All of this comes on top of the chaos in Iraq caused by the unjust and ill-considered U.S. invasion and occupation.

Progressive Democrats of America asserts that any remedy to the escalating conflicts involving Israel and its neighbors must begin by addressing the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and the consistent violence, humiliation and brutality the occupation entails. In the absence of this fundamental assertion, the violence will no doubt continue.

PDA proudly stands as the only premier Democratic Party organization that has the courage to make this demand. Even though lawmakers on both sides of the aisle privately question its logic, many Democrats are complicit in the failed American policy towards Israel and Palestine and the wisdom of America's overwhelming support for Israel's policies is not debated on Capitol Hill. It should be.

PDA joins our allies in the American peace movement who legitimately criticize the relationship between America's Mid-East misadventures and US military support for the Israeli occupation and Israeli settlement policies. PDA also supports the courageous voices of the Israeli, Palestinian, and American Jewish peace movements who have denounced violence on both sides. All are crying out - together with Palestinian victims of the current wave of violence - demanding an end to the systematic brutalization of Palestinians through checkpoints, land confiscation, settlement construction, and now bombing.

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[mod mom]

1. ABSOLUTELY NOT!

[ladjf]

2. A bit off your subject but I wanted to say that being anti-semitic and

being opposed to Israel's current war actions are not the same positions.

[Lerkfish]

6. amen, and how many times does this have to be explained?

[Karmadillo]

9. Howard Dean appears to disagree with you. Do you think

any leading Democrats will speak out against him on this?

[oberliner]

3. Does the PDA have members who say things like this?

“On July 13th, the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament claimed that there was a Jewish conspiracy which was responsible for the insurgency in Iraq. He was quoted as saying: “Some people say 'we saw you beheading, kidnapping and killing…These acts are not the work of Iraqis. I am sure that he who does this is a Jew and the son of a Jew. I can tell you about these Jewish, Israelis and Zionists who are using Iraqi money and oil to frustrate the Islamic movement in Iraq.”

http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/PressRelease_7_25_06_HastertMaliki.html

[DYouth]

5. That's not Al Maliki by the way..

He's not the Speaker...

[Karmadillo]

8. That's not why Dean denounced Milaki. If it was, shouldn't

he have been raising the issue months ago when the US was tying the strings to its puppet government du jour? According to Dean's words, he denounced Milaki because he failed to denounce Hezbollah. The PDA did not denounce Hezbollah and appears to hold both sides responsible for the violence. Their statement goes further and explicitly denounces Israel for its brutal oppression of the Palestinians. So, having, I hoped, disposed of your efforts to distract, is the PDA, per Howard Dean, an anti-Semitic organization?

[oberliner]

18. No it's not

I did not mean to distract.

My opinion is:

PDA is definitely not an anti-semitic organization.

I agree with Dean when he says that Maliki is an anti-semite.

[Karmadillo]

20. Using Dean's logic, how does one

distinguish between the two? The PDA didn't denounce Hezbollah for its violence against Israel and, in fact, proceeded to denounce Israel for its unjust, brutal treatment of the Palestinians. Doesn't that make them anti-semitic if one takes Dean's words seriously?

[oberliner]

21. this was Dean's actual statement

"The Iraqi prime minister is an anti-Semite," the Democratic leader told a gathering of business leaders in Florida. "We don't need to spend $200 and $300 and $500 billion bringing democracy to Iraq to turn it over to people who believe that Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself and who refuse to condemn Hezbollah."

It's the AP Writer who decided that means:

Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean on Wednesday called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki an "anti-Semite" for failing to denounce Hezbollah for its attacks against Israel.

Dean states that the Iraqi prime minister is an anti-Semite. Then he states that we shouldn't spend billions of dollars turning over Iraq to people who people that Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself and who refuse to condemn Hezbollah.

I think the AP writer is playing with Dean's quote a little bit.

[Karmadillo]

28. I think you're right, but

I still think Dean's statement is immensely unhelpful. The kind of outrageous violence occurring right now does no one any long term good.

[DYouth]

4. Howard Dean is LYING

He doesn't truly believe what he is saying. It's a cynical political trick and it'll backfire because voters won't be going to the polls in November voting on Israel support. It's a non-story; everyone knows both political parties are Israel's female dog.

[Ken Burch]

7. Yet another reminder of why I supported Kucinich, not Dean, in 2004.

I never saw Dean as a true progressive, and I always had concerns about his stability and judgment.

[WilliamPitt]

10. No

[AlamoDemoc]

11. NO

on edit: what generally bothers me is how our representatives use their elected position to align with the lobbyists.

[MrPrax]

12. Did your headline

come from Giyus?

Dear friends,

Many of us recognize the importance of the Internet as the new battleground for Israel's image. It's time to do it better, and coordinate our on-line efforts on behalf of Israel. An Israeli software company have developed a free, safe and useful tool for us - the Internet Megaphone.

Please go to www.giyus.org, download the Megaphone, and you will receive daily updates with instant links to important internet polls, problematic articles that require a talk back, etc.

We need 100,000 Megaphone users to make a difference. So, please distribute this mail to all Israel's supporters.

Do it now. For Israel.

Amir Gissin

Director Public Affairs (Hasbara) Department
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem

http://mparent7777.livejournal.com/10638822.html

[w13rd0]

13. Is the intention of those that...

...unquestioningly support Israel, and those that unquestioningly support the Palestinians...is it both these groups intention to make the rest of the world want to kick them ALL off that planet? Because if that's their intention, it's working...

[treestar]

24. I think so.

[papau]

14. The PDA has no official position on Israel/Palestine Policy -just a draft

The following writings describe our policies in depth on issues related to peace. Unless otherwise indicated, all papers have been ratified by the PDA grassroots via our National Spokescouncil. Those papers marked as DRAFT are working drafts which are not yet ratified. We encourage you to send comments or suggestions by clicking on the "comment" link after each draft.

Status Title/Author
DRAFT Israel/Palestine Policy Guidelines by Charles Lenchner and Bruce Taub http://pdamerica.org/policy/peace/docs/isr-pal-guidelines.pdf

[Karmadillo]

15. You're referring to a different document. Does the statement I posted

indicate, per Howard Dean, the PDA is an anti-semitic organization? The statement is not marked as a draft and has been on the organziation's website for days.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. After all these days, some people STILL think that being opposed

to actions of the Israeli government is the same as anti-Semitism?

Yeesh!

[papau]

22. the commentary asking for a peace agreement is "apple pie & motherhood" -no

one disagrees.

Indeed "Progressive Democrats of America asserts that any remedy to the escalating conflicts involving Israel and its neighbors must begin by addressing the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and the consistent violence, humiliation and brutality the occupation entails. In the absence of this fundamental assertion, the violence will no doubt continue" is a given.

I do not know of Howard's comment re PDA.

Could you post it?

[Karmadillo]

26. Did I say Dean made a comment about PDA? Please check the OP

and let me know. I was referring to his statement that a refusal to denounce Hezbollah regarding the current violence in the Middle East equated to anti-semitism.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060726/ap_on_re_us/iraq_dean

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean on Wednesday called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki an "anti-Semite" for failing to denounce Hezbollah for its attacks against Israel.

Al-Maliki has condemned Israel's offensive, prompting several Democrats to boycott his address to a joint meeting of Congress and others to criticize him. Dean's comments were the strongest to date.

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[papau]

30. "we condemn those Palestinians guilty of waging & supporting terrorist war

"PDA opposes the powerful and dangerous lobbies that distort US foreign policy in the Middle East, much as we condemn those Palestinians guilty of waging and supporting terrorist war against Israeli civilians."

[KoKo]

16. Your post is so Funny....I just had to reply!

:rofl: Is this "Freep Night" here on DU? :rofl:

I just put you on IGNORE...Only three people on that in my 5 years on DU.

[Karmadillo]

17. Merci.

Whoops! I meant thank you.

[treestar]

23. Did they criticize Israel one teeny weeny little bit?

Then of course they are anti-semitic.

:sarcasm:

Even if they listed all and every single crime for the last 20 centuries of the Arabs as a preface and disclaimer, that teeny weeny criticism of Israel would make them anti-semitic, so I wouldn't fall into that trap. You're not going to still be allowed to criticize Israel "defending itself" without being called anti-semitic. It's to keep you busy so you won't have time to think.

[ima_sinnic]

25. they must be--they criticized Israel--do you even have to ask?

those who throw out the "they must hate the Jews" tired old line of bulls**t apparently have no arguments to offer on Israel's behalf other than "they are Semites," implying, therefore (I guess), that they can do no wrong and are above reproach.

PDA, like me and like the majority of DUers, has a real problem with wanton murderers, warmongers, and occupiers. Deal with it.

on edit: meant to say--that goes for both sides, but of course that coesn't count in yuour world I guess.

[Karmadillo]

27. My world? I was referring to Howard Dean's world.

Please see the OP.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060726/ap_on_re_us/iraq_dean

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean on Wednesday called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki an "anti-Semite" for failing to denounce Hezbollah for its attacks against Israel.

Al-Maliki has condemned Israel's offensive, prompting several Democrats to boycott his address to a joint meeting of Congress and others to criticize him. Dean's comments were the strongest to date.

more..

[burythehatchet]

29. I think I just became a member of PDA