IN DEFENSE OF BENJAMIN HEINE
April 6, 2007 at 8:58 am (Uncategorized)
Image of Ben by David Baldinger
I along with a few others including Benjamin Heine were recently asked to crosspost on a site called Daily Kos. It seemed an honour at the time, a chance to be read by more people on a daily basis. My first post there was not accepted graciously by the readers there, my second post was literally attacked by the zionist elements there. It is not my intention here, on my own blog, nor there to engage in debate with these people. Fine to disagree with what I have to say, but at least read it.
Benjamin posted there yesterday for the first time. He was literally ‘tarred and feathered’ for what he posted. The images below were presented in his post, one reader had the gall to comment “How could you put a nazi face on a Jew?” To that I answer…. HOW CAN A JEW ACT LIKE A nAZI??
The text that went with his post was censored after receiving over 400 nasty comments.
The text appears HERE. If censorship is the game the zionists wish to play, fine… it’s their site, their rules. But to lie about the reasons is another question… to claim it was censored because of copyright violation is absurd. The author’s name and source were clearly printed in the introduction. It is obvious that the guilty zionists felt targeted and reacted.
The conclusion I reach is that Daily Kos is not the progressive site I thought it was. It is top heavy with zionists and obviously just another organ of the lobby.
They cannot and will not stop the message of truth. Benjamin’s personal message appears in the images he creates. They can be seen HERE on his blogsite. His defense is his honesty and integrity. Daily Kos cannot take that away from him.
Ben’s Daily Kos entry can be seen HERE.
Servant Savant said,
April 6, 2007 at 11:30 am
Thanks for posting on this Steve.
I’ve been reading at Kos for more than a few years now, so I know that this is a vocal minority who regularly show their ignorance on any post dealing with criticism of Israel.
DailyKos remains one of my favorite progressive political activism reads, so let’s not tar all 2 million regular users with the ignorance of a few. Rabid Zionists want to sound like they run the roost, but they’re just really loud and obnoxious.
You know the drill …. claims of anti-Semitism, feigned outrage, the race for the king of the hill inside victim circle … all while completely ignoring the diary itself. Don’t confuse me with facts.
It’s ironic that people at a progressive site would end up in effect defending Lieberman’s desire to complete the ethnic clensing of Palestine once and for all.
I think a lot of these people know better, but they’ve been conditioned to not think about anything critical of Israel.
BTW. I’ll be posting some of the more idiotic excuses for comments at Ressentiment in a little while.
Ben Heine said,
April 6, 2007 at 11:39 am
Thank you Steve.
I’m really disappointed by Daily Kos.
Isn’t it the most non progressive site ruled by Zionists?
Ser, sorry to say that about a site that you still appreciate, but I really don’t understand censorship and I think 90 per cent of the comments I got there had the same sort of Zionist conservative content. So where are your 2 million progressive regular users?
thecutter said,
April 6, 2007 at 12:13 pm
I know Nancy in the past had some reservations about Daily KOS, you should ask her for the lowdown. They were defending settlers as if it was the most natural thing to do, and it was an eye-opener to her as well. At any rate, I am very used to being treated worse than **** because of my anti-Zionism and attacked on some boards. It happens a lot, so I am used to it. The first few times, it is hard though, but I’d suggest for Ben to laugh it off and put on his defensive armour of irony. It is the only way to not let them think they are “winning” some existential battle of the wills and of “truth”. Just be strong! This stuff will pass!!
Ann said,
April 6, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Hear, hear. Ben’s integrity and success hit the nerve straight away and mobilised the loud and obnoxious ones, as Ser rightly noted. What struck me also was their sheer banality — they didn’t address anything of the article content, and then the article was removed due to “copyright violations”. Ha! We’ll just write them ourselves, that’ll show them. Well put rejoinder Steve, how can a Jew act like a Nazi? Best wishes with your endeavours there. The campaign to reclaim progressive political activism from its hijacking by the zionists in the US ain’t going to be easy, but we’ll get there yet.
Servant Savant said,
April 6, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Shameless blog cross-post spam
I support Benjamin Heine. As if it wasn’t obvious.
Dare you to say that on DailyKos now! Double-Dog Dare Ya!
The Art that Ate Israel
I love Munich said,
April 6, 2007 at 1:32 pm
As German the Nazi-issue is a very sensitive one though I can’t but agree to what you say - someone tell me what’s the difference between i.e. the conduct of these bastards some seventy years ago in Germany and Avigdor Lieberman! Whoever is apalled - kindly gather information before you talk! It looks shocking, it IS shocking … but it is the truth! Nazis are, sadly enough, everywhere nowadays .. and if one in Israel behaves this way - why shouldn’t he be called this way - just because he is a Jew? I absolutely agree with you Steve … “don’t behave like one so you’re not called this way”!
Benjamin struck an Achilles tendon - otherwise the reaction wouldn’t have been that vicious! I TOTALLY oppose what happened in my country, I abhor it, abhor racism in ANY form (and am “colorblind” on top), regardless where on this planet … but I am for telling the truth and calling a spade a spade!
Anonymous said,
April 6, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Ben, we are all behind you. Talent and ethics is their biggest enemy.
With admiration
Gilad Atzmon
CrazyComposer (aka Peter Amsel) said,
April 6, 2007 at 3:16 pm
It all boils down to ducks. Look, acts, sounds … it’s a duck. If a person acts like a racist, fascist, neo-nazi – well, what does it matter if they happen to be Jewish. Need we be so concerned with the niceties of etiquette that we must insist that we refer to such aberrant individuals as merely being enthusiastically Zionistic in their political (and military) pursuits? Of course not … nobody can be that naïve … can they?
Well, it doesn’t surprise me that Ben experienced such attacks – it only serves to prove that the myths of Zionism are as difficult to kill as the myths of the “Chronicles of the Learned Elders of Zion”. We should be ashamed that such lies (the former, not the latter) still has as many supporters amongst a people that, quite frankly, should know better. Having had as many opportunities to “learn lessons” from history what has been accomplished?
The holocaust is now used, I fear, as a carte blanche for committing atrocities in the name of “security” and “ensuring the survival” of the State of Israel. Nothing could be a greater perversion of the deaths of our loved ones than anything I could imagine; it takes the memories of those who were murdered at the hands of the monsters in the Third Reich and says, “See, we learned well at the hands of the Reich, and we shall do even better. Israel shall never fall.”
Zionism is a curse to every living Jew: its continued existence permits the perpetuation of the anti-Semitic rhetoric that is targeted against all Jews by those spouting the vitriol of generational ignorance. Now, alas, it is also being turned against other Jews; who, I wonder, does this benefit?
LJansen said,
April 6, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I don’t read Daily Kos much b/c I’ve been an independent for quite awhile and it seems to be mainly Democrat supporters.
The Dems are extremely pro-zionist, with all their AIPAC connections.
Not sure what alternate sites are available, but I wouldn’t waste my time at DK.
Ben Heine said,
April 6, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Mary, many thanks for letting me know about Nancy’s experience with Daily Kos. The fact that Kos defended settlers is a serious crime for a site that pretends to be democratic and progressive. I know all this will pass and be forgotten, as everything does actually…
As I told you in the email exchange we had today, this affair might become a new source of inspiration to me for new political cartoons defending the Palestinian causes.
Thanks again for your activism and friendly help !
Ben Heine said,
April 6, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Ann, thank you for commenting under this post. I was also amazed that not even one of these hundreds Daily Kos notes reffered to Avigdor Lieberman’s public calls for “Transfer”. As Ahlam Akram puts it in his article “Zionism and the creation of Israel” (the article that was actually deleted on my Daily Kos post, because there was a so called copyright violation), this means total expulsion of all non Jewish people including Israeli citizens with non Jewish origins. What does that means if not ethnic cleansing? Ethnic cleansing reminds me the methods used by the Nazis and Lieberman reminds me Hitler.
Ben Heine said,
April 6, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Hi Karin, you’re right, this is the truth. And truth always hurts very much. This is important that the German citizen you are underlines this.
tinoire said,
April 6, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Sites like DailyKos are gatekeepers for the left side to ensure US support for Israel’s war crimes. Little Green Footballs and FreeRepublic guard the right, KOS and DemocraticUnderground guard the left.
The only decent site I know where you can openly discuss US policy and World Affairs is http://www.progressiveindependent.com . I know because I set it up precisely because of that problem. Our homepage makes our stance very clear.
We won’t tolerate racism towards either Arabs or Jews but we will NOT remain silent about Apartheid and war crimes; nor will we allow apologists for those obscenities, to play their little games with us.
What happened to Ben Heine made me furious because both those political cartoons were spot on. We would be honored to have him post with us and help grow the site. People are unwilling to tolerate being manipulated by racial supremacists anymore.
It seems you really hit a nerve Ben: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/122045
Peace
[i]“In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” — Martin Luther King Jr.[/i]
Ben Heine said,
April 6, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Gilad, thanks for this. That’s what I sincerely hope, that ethical artworks with political references can have some effects on what is going on here. I also hope they can bring more justice by reminding the social tragedies the human beings have already been through. This can be a good weapon and confusing in the Zionist eyes. You are a bold artist and saxophonist, so you know perfectly how to use this timeless and emotional language. I must still train very hard.
Ben Heine said,
April 6, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Peter, hi, how are you? it has been long.
What you say sounds very important.
I agree with you and I would add that the Jews will really be free when Zionism comes to an end.
PS : Thanks for using this identification thumbnail…
Ragnar Johannessen said,
April 6, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Ben,
We @ thepeoplesvoice.org admire you and appreciate what you are doing. Desert Peace is a great blog. We will stand together and we WILL win this war on truth.
Thanx Ben!!
Ragnar Johannessen
DesertPeace said,
April 6, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Thanks to all that showed support for our dear friend Ben…
UPDATE….
Ben apparently has been banned at Daily Koss… rendering his post to the trolling section.
The image of Lieberman which they originally left up after removing the text of his post has now been removed as well.
I suppose that was another copyright violation.
Are the zionists that afraid of the truth?
David said,
April 7, 2007 at 1:12 am
Welcome to the “political correctness” hypocrisy of US “liberalism.” Oh, how they scream when Bush violates the US Constitution but let someone say or write something they don’t like, free speech goes out the window. I have no use for these asses. To me, liberalism is just a way to keep the masses slightly satisfied while maintaining the status quo for the ruling class. You can’t have a revolution with whiny, upper middle class “activists” marching around with MoveOn banners. As I wrote to Ben, they are all self-important pseudo-intellectual snobs. These people are exactly why nothing really gets accomplished.
Graeme said,
April 7, 2007 at 4:01 am
Sites like DailyKos are gatekeepers for the left side to ensure US support for Israel’s war crimes. Little Green Footballs and FreeRepublic guard the right, KOS and DemocraticUnderground guard the left.
Well put.
I am with you too Ben. Fuck the Kos.
Haitham Sabbah said,
April 7, 2007 at 8:01 am
Ben, my here, you’ve hit a nerve and great you did.
I always new this will happen to you or others. Anyone who speaks the truth will be censored sooner or later.
It is a waste of time. I’m reluctant to cross posting at Kos because I really don’t have time for that crap there. Look how much time and efforts it takes to keep up a good post or even a drawing. Didn’t we all knew this will happen?
Anyway, Ben. Keep up the good work, and I’m looking forward for more drawings from you to publish.
DesertPeace said,
April 7, 2007 at 8:50 am
Thanks to all that appearead after my last comment. The discussions continue throughout the extreme right and zionist blogs and news sites… looks like a real nerve was hit by exposing the truth to them.
I can only agree with Haitham in saying that I will be reluctant to crosspost there again…there are other fields to ‘play’ in… onnes with open minded players.
Servant Savant said,
April 7, 2007 at 2:49 pm
If you can’t run with the big dogs, I guess you gotta stay on the porch then.
Ben’s tactics were designed to get himself crucified, and he got exactly what he wanted. How can anybody be surprised?
So I don’t see how you can be a good martyr if the only one you kill is yourself.
Thanks for totally fucking up everyones efforts to talk about justice for Palestine at DailyKos.
Not only did you get banned, Ben, but you brought a lot of negative attention to the people who wanted to continue working for peace there.
It’s okay if you make a decision that affects only yourself. But when other people are involved you have to think about the consequences for them too.
Now that all the shouting is over, I just want to be on record as the person who said it was a stupid tactic. It accomplished nothing except to make this tiny backwater of justice bloggers feel like they are important for a very short time.
And the real thing it accomplished - along with your on-going rhetoric about Zionist hegemony - was to help the Zionists lock down ALL the major oulets for dissent.
Chet said,
April 7, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Ben I am behind you, I have not seen anyone as great as you to get the message out as you do with your drawings. Keep up the good work. Many are behind you and support you.
Latuff said,
April 7, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Then my good Ben was noticed by the Zionists eh? Good! Is him striking Zionist nerves? Good again! We need more artists with guts for supporting Palestinians. Because you see mainstream artists asking for support for almost every cause in this world, from whales to multiple sclerosis victims. What about the Palestinians? Aren’t they in need too? What’s the big deal? What are the artists affraid of? The Zionist lobby? The “Anti-Semitic” label?
Ben have no fear and I’m sure he will keep making his art on behalf of the Palestinian people.
DesertPeace said,
April 7, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Thanks Carlos…. your participation here is very meaningful as one who the zionists also tried to silence.
I am sure that you too will continue to make your art on behalf of the Palestinian people.
DesertPeace said,
April 7, 2007 at 11:43 pm
David…. I just realised that was YOU… David Baldinger.
Your support is also very meaningful as another one of the great People’s Artists in our community.
Keep up your good work… it is much appreciated.
Anonymous said,
April 8, 2007 at 11:39 am
One more thing.
Quite apart from my agreeing with the political and humanist sentiment in Ben’s cartoons, I must confess to finding them to be real, though small…. WORKS OF ART.
I’ve just inherited a nice medium format printer and intend splashing out on some ink!, some large glossy A3 paper…. and sticking a few up on the walls - next to my favorite Matisse prints!
Anonymous said,
April 8, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Good to see G. Atzmon, posting here, let us hope he is the same chap as the one on the Zionist ’shit list’ (Zionist zealots, reflecting their psychological flows, have set-up a shit-list site, that contains the names, photos, and crimes of their perceived enemies and detractors from within the Jewish faith) along with many others whom dare to speak against the Semitic Supremacists that deems any dissent as an abomination directed against their ‘rightful’ Supremacy.
Notwithstanding the above, here is a danger that old ideas, can get in the way of innovation, and new constructs. This danger summed up, can be seen as the notions prevalent in the Main Stream Media (whatever this phrase may mean) is getting superimposed on the innovative cybernetic methods of exchange of ideas!
Analogous to the so called satanic churches, that having adopted the symbolism of the standard church, then utilise the same symbols but with a twist of 180 degrees, turning these upside down. The absurdity then extends to borrowing the payers of the standard church, only to utter it backwards. Evidently Satan decrees contrary behaviour as a matter of course, and default behaviour of Satanist ought to include drying up first, and getting a shower after, so he/she can satisfy the contrary Lord of the universe, or is that nether regions?
Daily Kos having two million readers, no longer meets its remit of remaining independent and free. In fact this clearly shows the incorporation and high jack of a good idea, and turning into a putrid and rotten construct, while proclaiming independence. While behaving very much as any one of culprits from the plethora of the Zionist sponsored rags, and media currently available.
‘Progressive’, ‘Left’, ‘Independence’, are but, semantics for the fools whom as yet neither have understood the scope of the cybernetic exchange of ideas, nor the impact of such transaction on the said exchange of ideas.
The notion of the competition of ideas, these days has been reduced to a narrow, and obtuse interpretation of an echo chamber, that only reflects the success, or failure of the main stream media by synthesis of the cybernetic exchange of ideas, into a feed back.
This contention can be easily deduced through the withdrawal of the posts, and or cartoons in Daily Kos, and elsewhere in the cyberspace. Competition cannot be based on constraints, and filtering of the competing ideas. This conduct by default narrows the field, and results in affording the weak absurdities, a longer shelf life, than these weak abstractions deserve.
However, the sad fact remains, that the readers, instead of boycotting the site, still carry on reading, fully ware that the site is engaged in censorship.
Censorship by default wreaks of feudal pathos, that deems the recipients incapable of discerning the good from bad, and or untrue from the fact, as well as having little faith in the recipients judgement, by considering the probable impact of such information on their behaviour, and or actions.
As we all know, the Semitic Supremacists are fully aware of the absurdities of their ideology, as well as the weakness of their doctrinal beliefs. Further, by default any supremacists bunch, consider all those from without their catchment constituency to be subhuman, moronic entities incapable of discerning the realities these face. In other words, the conflation of anti Semitism (a grave charge evidently) and anti Zionism, is a control construct, that is designed to wrong foot the critics, and compel these to explain their stance, as to lack of any malice towards a group of people, as opposed to a virulent and corrupt ideology that is reliant on Nationalism/Tribalism as any other nationalist movement included the Nazi ideology.
Therefore, the honour of having been banned, by Daily Kos, itself should satiate the authors vanity. For these could have been one of the many lickspittles whom are regularly featured in such sites. Further, the notion of putting up with replying to the charges of anti Semitism, ought to be dispensed with, in the face of the current mandatory pro Semitic zeitgeist. The simple fact remains, until such time that there is an international ‘hug a Jew day’ is decreed, no one need to explain away their motive in confronting the evils of Zionism.
Finally, murder is flat wrong, lying is flat wrong, deceiving is flat wrong, coveting thy neighbours lands is flat wrong, oppressing the weak is flat wrong, genocide is flat wrong, and no tribe, person, or entity can claim especial dispensations for committing these wrongs, regardless of their colour, faith, tribe, or standing.
Diane said,
April 8, 2007 at 2:38 pm
I think it’s a common mistake to regard DKos as a “progressive” site. It is a Democratic site, whose primary goal is simply to get Republicans replaced by Democrats. Inasmuch as Democrats are generally less conservative than Republicans, there is an assumption that DKos must be progressive, but that’s not the case.
Markos himself has sounded decidedly un-progressive on, for example, abortion rights and womens’ issues, and I would say that on foreign affairs the general ethos of the site is “liberal hawk”. Markos, like John Aravosis who runs the Democratic but not necessarily progressive Americablog, is a former Republican who joined the Democrats at a time when the Republicans were shifting to the looney right on emotive issues like evangelical Christianity and homosexuality. The fact that some Republicans couldn’t identify with the rightward shift on those issues doesn’t mean that they suddenly became “progressive” on issues of more substance, like foreign affairs. It just means the GOP went so far to the looney right that even some Republicans could no longer stomach it and looked for a new home in the Democratic Party.
In the U.S. we simply don’t have a “progressive” or “leftist” national-level party. We have a party of the right-to-lunatic-right and a party of the centre/centre-right. Our foreign policy debate generally takes place in the same narrow part of the political spectrum, with Zionism as the prism through which the Middle East is viewed. A TV debate on Israel that gave “both sides of the story” would probably, over here, consist of Michael Lerner versus Dore Gold. The idea that there is a whole different non-Zionist perspective through which one can look at the Middle East is simply anathema. We just don’t discuss that (as you can see in the comments on Ben’s thread, where – in a thread that generated more than 400 comments - nobody wanted to touch the actual issue raised in the article cited, i.e. whether Zionism is a racist ideology).
When people refer to DKos as “far left” or “progressive” or even “liberal”, what they mean that it looks like those things in comparison to the rest of the political spectrum here. To say that is a progressive blog isn’t really an indicator of the blog’s content, but simply a sign of how skewed to the right our politics are. In U.S. terms, what would be called a progressive blog might, in international terms, simply be a blog of the conservative, but not totally batshit crazy, right.
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Thanks again Steve for this post. It allowed me too see who my real friends are. Indeed the image of Avigdor Lieberman seen as a new hitler was also censored at Daily Kos. Fortunately, our activist friends from the Blogdom won’t make this image disappear. It shows what Lieberman really is, a dangerous fascist. For those who want to read more about him, I have just inserted a post on my Blog with an article by my friend Tinoire from Progressive Independent (http://www.progressiveindependent.com/) :http://benjaminheine.blogspot.com/2007/04/ben-heine-silenced-by-daily-kos.html
She found a series of links were the truth is said about him.
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Ljansen, indeed Daily Kos is mostly reserved for Democrat voters… If you don’t follow their philosophy, you just get banned, as it happened to me. According to Servant, another Daily Kos contributor, that kind of censorship happens frequently at DK. How can a serious debate about the current problem in the Middle East be launched if the people who express their opinion about it and about the Israeli policy in Palestine get censored and labelled as “anti-Semitic”?
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Tinoire, I was lucky to meet you. You and your peace working team created a true Independent site (http://www.progressiveindependent.com). , which helps to achieve a mutual understanding and respect between Palestinians and israeli. Thanks again for having written a brilliant piece about all this on PI and for sending me this stunning and disturbing video where Mohammed Omer describes with emotion the crimes committed by the Israeli army.
As you saw it, I republished it on my own Blog.
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Thanks Graeme.
May they go to hell (DK Zionist network) indeed.
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Ragnar, I appreciate you put a link to DP’s post on thepeoplesvoice.
Like Steve’s Blog, thepeoplesvoice’s site help to make the truth spread. Thanks for your work.
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 5:24 pm
“They are all self-important pseudo-intellectual snobs. These people are exactly why nothing really gets accomplished.”
Well said David.
Thanks for not being like the majority of your fellow citizens.
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Haitham.
You’re right, people with strong but true views always get their message silenced. This isn’t fair. Like our brother Carlos Latuff once said, the Internet is the theater of a virtual guerilla between 2 camps. There are many other places on the Web, such as http://sabbah.biz/mt/ where the truth can be said. I’ll continue to send you cartoons criticizing the Israeli crimes.
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Ser, I’m really surprised by your contradictory comments. But I understand you. I guess you want to protect your position as a Daily Kos contributor. You are different from the other pseudo progressive people there and I’m sorry to have involved you so deeply in such a “controversy”. I sincerely believe that individual Blogs can carry a more important message than official Websites corrupted with ideologies such as Zionism.
I just want to remind you that Daily Kos is a Blog initially.
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Chet, many thanks for your support. It’s really much appreciated. I have visited all your Blogs, and I find them sensational!
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Carlos, brother,
Obrigado !
I agree with you that there are not enough artists, using their voice and particular expression for the Palestian causes. This is due to Zionist censorship. I remember you being threatened by the Likud, you weren’t scared and continued your Peace activism through your cartoons. I’ll just do the same.
your work has always been an inspiration to me.
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Anonymous 1, I’m honoured with what you say. I have always been torn apart between pure art and pure politics in my graphic representations. I try then to mix both. The thing is that non political artworks are timeless while political cartoons can be used once and then thrown away after a specific historical event. Feel free to reproduce all my works.
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Anonymous 2, thanks a lot for your bright analysis.
You say :
“However, the sad fact remains, that the readers, instead of boycotting the site, still carry on reading, fully aware that the site is engaged in censorship.”
I would add that not even one commentor said a thing about Lieberman’s fascist policy in Palestine, which was one of the messages in the cartoon.
And I strongly agree with you when you say :
“In other words, the conflation of anti Semitism (a grave charge evidently) and anti Zionism, is a control construct, that is designed to wrong foot the critics, and compel these to explain their stance, as to lack of any malice towards a group of people, as opposed to a virulent and corrupt ideology that is reliant on Nationalism/Tribalism as any other nationalist movement included the Nazi ideology.”
Ben Heine said,
April 8, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Diane, you’re right, and as Tinoire noted a bit higher in this comments’ page :
“Sites like DailyKos are gatekeepers for the left side to ensure US support for Israel’s war crimes. Little Green Footballs and FreeRepublic guard the right, KOS and DemocraticUnderground guard the left.”
And it’s true, there were no commentors to actually comment on the real message of ahlam akram’s article.
DesertPeace said,
April 8, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Joe Shergald posted an interesting response to all of this on his site at…
http://www.boomantribune.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2007/4/6/233830/3204
Thanks Joe.
Freedom said,
April 9, 2007 at 5:05 am
Sorry, I’m a bit late commenting on this DKos debacle. I had left a comment on another diary related to the Ben Heine diary but it does not appear anymore as it was trollrated by a ‘MBYNC’ whereas it had no hate content whatsoever. And today I read from that same ‘personage’ the following relating to another post: you’ll see that I expressly abjure any kind of censorship, and say that anyone should be and needs to be free to criticize Israel.
I could not allow such hypocrisy to go unchallenged. I posted the following plus my previous comment that s/he had trollrated: But you do censor, MYNBC. Why did you trollrate my comment in the ‘Ben Heine’ diary.
————
Where’s the problem? (0+ / 1-)
Trollrated by:MBNYC
I fail to see why Ben Heine had to be banned. Yes, his depictions of the ongoing conflict in Palestine are shocking (although nowhere as shocking of what is actually happening on the ground). But I for one have detected no anti-Semitism in his work, only anti-Israel sentiments pertaining to the latter’s conduct in the Occupied Territories.
Indeed, the one piece that is causing all this hoopla is NOT anti-Semitic at all. It is a graphic depiction of the racism of Lieberman and not “the Jews” … unless one would wish to equate all Jews with Lieberman, which I think would be totally insane.
BTW, perhaps the loony Right would not have had any leg to stand on if people at Kos would have had the good sense of criticizing Ben Heine’s images and the article that accompanied it for its political content, instead of for its ’shocking’ value.
——————
LanceThruster said,
April 10, 2007 at 7:22 am
There is none so blind, as he who will not see.
Keep up the great work Ben. I do not frequent Daily Kos much as many others do, but am a fan of Markos on the whole. I was encouraged when Steve and Ben were invited to contribute. This episode is truly distasteful and shows a lack of courage on DKos’s part. I have heard (and largely agree) that they shun discussions that may be overtaken by hatemongers and therefore avoid serious discourse on many crucial though contentious issues. I feel this lets nuts, plants and fifth columnists control the debate.
Anyway, that’s my $.02. Keep fighting the good fight.
Censorship and Press Freedom: at home and away « peacepalestine said,
May 3, 2008 at 2:52 pm
[...] Daily Kos was the first to cut me off with a ban…. I dared to defend my brother and friend Benjamin Heine. He too dared to criticise the inhumane policies of zionism…. he too was banned from Daily Kos. The post that got me banned can be seen HERE. [...]
Censorship and Press Freedom, Google & Blogger play dirty | Palestine Think Tank said,
May 5, 2008 at 4:40 pm
[...] Daily Kos was the first to cut me off with a ban…. I dared to defend my brother and friend Benjamin Heine. He too dared to criticise the inhumane policies of zionism…. he too was banned from Daily Kos. The post that got me banned can be seen HERE. [...]