In Which I Talk to One Zionist and Two Jews
(Not the Same Thing)
I had some uncomplimentary things to say about Dr. Rich Sweir, a self-styled Christian Zionist, ahead of our “debate” a few days ago. And lo and behold, Sweir lived down to my expectations and then some. The experience was so excruciating that host Johnny Punish asked whether it was worth posting. I replied:
“I don’t know, John, it sort of felt like I was picking on a handicapped person who isn’t capable of realizing the stupidity and obnoxiousness of the canned soundbites he has internalized. There was no coherent logic to anything he said, and it was all randomly jumbled up with his reminiscences of this and that. Obviously this is not a person worth debating. I have no idea whether it would be interesting or entertaining for how much of our audience.”
John asked around and got comments like:
“I thought it was unique, actually, to see two guys with completely opposing views on a subject appear at the same time. I actually didn't mind seeing it get heated, honestly. I thought it was authentic, and that's what people like."
So he posted it. Watch it above and see what you think.
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The American Jewish community is in turmoil over the Gaza concentration camp breakout and subsequent genocidal bombing campaign. While a few Americans of Jewish ethnicity side with the Palestinian Resistance (check out my interview with David Rovics) the wealthier and more powerful element—the one that dominates US media and politics—has united behind the genocide, and forced the US to back it. But many American Jews, especially younger ones, are losing their taste for Zionism. I thought this might be an interesting time to check back in with two Jewish guests from years past…
First hour: Joel Simpson has “had careers in college teaching, jazz piano and music software” but is happiest now as a professional photographer. He also has a good eye for truth (as opposed to “public myth.”) When I was censored at the Left Forum in New York, Joel wrote a terrific report. In it, he writes: “Growing up, as I did, in the traumatic shadow of the Holocaust, I embraced Zionism as a young person—it was the dominant ideology of my Jewish education—insensitive to its implicit racism, and only came to realize its truly oppressive dimensions in the early 1980s.” Since then he seems to have fully recovered…
Second hour: Doooovid (check out his X/Twitter feed) is an independent Jewish thinker and interfaith activist. A strongly religious Jew who opposes Zionism, his distaste for Israel may be one reason that our cordial conversation on Jewish identity and anti-Semitism was censored by YouTube.
And finally, in case you missed my parody video that led off this week’s False Flag Weekly News and amused E. Michael Jones, here’s the stand-alone version:
Israel’s United Nations Ambassador Threatens to Gas Himself If UN Doesn’t Condemn Hamas
Last Monday Gilad Erlan, Israel’s UN ambassador, brandished a yellow star—and said he wouldn’t take it off until the UN condemned Hamas. Erlan’s UN colleagues, as well as some Israeli officials, rolled their eyes.
Erlan, angered by the frosty reception, got an Auschwitz-style number tattoo at his local tattoo parlor and spent Tuesday flashing it at his colleagues. Most were unimpressed. But the ambassadors from Tuvalu, the Maldives, and Liechtenstein all said it looked very nice.
Now Erlan is upping the ante. Still wearing the yellow star and sporting the tattoo, the Israeli ambassador told the General Assembly this morning that unless it voted to condemn Hamas, he would build a gas chamber in his basement, buy a bottle of Zyklon B, and gas himself to death.
The General Assembly then voted 120 to 14, with 45 abstentions, in favor of a resolution that would provide funding for Erlan to purchase the bottle, build the chamber, and carry out his threat. Subsequently the Security Council passed a similar binding resolution, but it was quashed by a US veto.