A Campaign Against Genocide w/ Craig Murray & Richard Medhurst
This is a conversation I had with Craig Murray and Richard Medhurst about the genocide in Gaza. It was held at Craig’s campaign headquarters in Blackburn, England where he is running for parliament. Like George Galloway, who was recently elected to parliament, Craig’s central campaign issue is the genocide in Gaza. He calls for a permanent ceasefire, the establishment of a full and independent Palestinian state and backs the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against the apartheid state of Israel.
Good discussion by all. I listen to Medhurst on occasion, but my enthusiasm for him is dampened a bit by his seeming glee at Israeli deaths. I oppose apartheid, am sickened by Israel's (and US's) genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity. But I don't rejoice over Hezbollah missile impacts or resistance sniper rounds hitting their targets.
The points often raised by Chris Hedges and others are pointless because they will lead nowhere. They are propaganda. They are also not "new news" rather I recall them being reported at the time of their occurrence or as a part of the historical record. Individuals who have had an interest in this region of the world know full well that Menachem Begin was a terrorist. The King David Hotel was bombed. The US Liberty was attacked in the Mediterranean by the Israelis. Chris Hedges and Richard Medhurst portray themselves as having a strong sense of justice. They both certainly have an interest in such an image. I agree with Dan Potter on his criticism of Richard's enthusiasm. All one needs to do is watch some of his postings. Early in this current conflict he enthusiastically called for all Islamic nations in this region to "go all in". This is against a nation armed with thermonuclear weapons. His demeanor and analogy reminded me of a poker tournament.
Doubtless Chris and Richard both have a much better understanding of the Arab world than I ever will. Chris has certainly paid a career price for his opposition to the war in Iraq during Bush2. I don't think one should accept his conflation of the failures of Bush2 policies with this current crisis. The origins are different in many ways. When one considers the common myth-making ability of all tribes, I find his criticism of stories such as "making the desert bloom" as a frivolous point. What is not a myth and what is well grounded in history is the murder of 60% of European Jewry from 1939 to 1945. The root cause of this slaughter was a lack of agency for the ethnic Jews in Europe and Russia.
For Jews, Israel is existential; Jews have agency in the state of Israel. For Palestinians it is property. Different tribes have, throughout most of history, fought over wealth. This fight for one side is existential. In that respect Chris Hedge's conflating the disproportionate deaths of Palestinians with genocide is not supportable. Ethnic cleansing most definitely and certainly disproportionate deaths. However, the behavior of the Palestinian leadership has always been to kill Jews. It is well known that Nazi propaganda had a sympathetic ear in the Arab world.
There can be peace in this region or justice. Both will never be achieved to the full satisfaction of all involved. I find the positions of Richard Medhurst and Chris Hedges to be enabling of further deaths. I find this position which supports justice above humanity as simply no solution at all.