Skip to content

Archive

Tag: Neve Gordon
How hatred plays a role in politics (November 29 2012) How hatred plays a role in politics (November 29 2012)

Niza Yanay the 61 year old Israeli Professor of Sociology and Anthropology has been interviewed by Neve Gordon in an Aljazeera article titled ‘The Ideology of Hatred’ discussing how ‘hatred’ plays a role in politics. In the interview Yanay states “…distinction between hatred as an experience and hatred as ideology underscored the need to ask new questions about the relation between politics and hatred. And these new questions, I believe, need to focus on power relations between different groups, such as coloniser and colonised, ruler and subject, and not so much on the personal experience of specific individuals who experience hatred (though such questions are still important too). …Most people consider “suicide bombings” as motivated by hate, while very few people consider air strikes on populated areas to be hate crimes. The media often describes the suicide attack as a hate crime, but I have never come across a report describing the US drone attacks in Pakistan – that have killed over 3,500 people – as hate crimes. This suggests that hatred as ideology is at work. And this ideology helps determine who is blamed for being the initiators of hate, who becomes the target of hatred, and, in fact, when hatred counts as hatred at all. Let me give you an example to help clarify my claim. Think about a young adolescent Jewish girl in Israel who leads a comfortable life and has never interacted face-to-face with Palestinians. This is a very reasonable assumption, since Israel is a totally segregated society. Why, it is interesting to ask, would a girl who has never met a Palestinian speak with such vehemence and personal hatred against Palestinians and Arabs in general? Why do so many Jewish citizens of Israel, who have never been hurt by Palestinians, openly admit to intense hatred? This articulates a national ideology of hatred and not merely a personal hatred.”

 

Inspired by Redress ow.ly/fuIio image source Neve Gordon ow.ly/fuIrJ

No justice for Rachel Corrie (September 17 2012) No justice for Rachel Corrie (September 17 2012)

Neve Gordon the 47 year old Israeli Philosopher of Politics and Government, supporter of the two state solution and member of the Israeli peace camp, has released an article on Aljazeera titled ‘No justice for Rachel Corrie’. Gordon states “Twenty-three-year-old Rachel Corrie …[while] demonstrating against the Israeli military’s massive demolitions of houses on the Egyptian border … was crushed to death by a Caterpillar D9R Israeli military bulldozer … the family filed a civil suit in Israel against the State of Israel and the Defence Ministry. …according to the Israeli military … close to 6,000 grenades were thrown at the IDF in the region, there were 1,400 shooting incidents between the IDF and Palestinians, and 150 roadside bombs were detected. Writing for Haaretz, Amira Hass reveals that bullets were fired in both directions. …101 Palestinians were killed in the region, forty-two of them children. One Israeli soldier was also killed during the same period. The defence team used these statistics against Corrie, claiming that she put herself in harm’s way, but one could, more persuasively I think, say that she was an incredibly courageous human being who believed that all people should enjoy basic rights, such as freedom, self-determination and security. And Rachel was willing to struggle for such rights. Haifa District Court Judge Oded Gershon showed no empathy toward this line of thinking, and on August 28 handed down his verdict: the State of Israel and the Defence Ministry were not responsible for Rachel Corrie’s death.”

 

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/dCCcl image source openshuhadastreet ow.ly/dCC1k

Rss Feed Tweeter button Facebook button Technorati button Reddit button Myspace button Linkedin button Delicious button Digg button Flickr button Stumbleupon button Newsvine button Youtube button