Jewish American peace activist groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) are beginning to become exasperated over Israel's progressive leaning toward ethnocentric fascism, as indicated by this review of recent untoward, anti-democracy developments by the right wing government. Requiring loyalty oaths from Palestinian-Arab citizens, outlawing anniversary celebrations of Nakba Day, the day of the year that Palestinians commemorate the "catastrophe," the ethnic cleansing of 1948, and other rules such as denial of Israel as a Jewish state, which seem intent on discriminating against Israel's minority Arab population, are cited.
Muzzlewatch, JVP's propaganda watch site, recently published this news about what is essentially the curtailment of free speech in Israel.
Yesterday, on Democracy Now!, Amy had an hour long interview with Breyten Breytenbach, one of South Africa's best-known public figures, a poet, writer, painter and anti-apartheid activist. This is actually the second hour-long interview Amy has done with Breytenbach in the last month-the first one was exactly one month earlier. She rarely does hour-long interviews. The fact that she's now done two within a month of one another with Breytenbach should tell you this is someone worth listening to.
So, why is that? Well, there's Breytenbach, the man himself, and there's the world situation right now. If we want to have a new relationship with the rest of the world, one that actually increases security and well-being for all, we're going to have to start with being a lot better listeners. And this is a place to start. This is a part of the world in which America could do a great deal of good for a tiny fraction of the money we have been wasting in Iraq, particularly if we listen carefully to their stories, and take guidance from them.
Why listen to Breytenbach in particular? First of all, he comes from as far inside the world of privilege, and has fought as hard against it, risking, and paying as much as anyone else in the anti-apartheid struggle. He was jailed for more than seven years under the apartheid regime, two of them in solitary confinement, the subject of probably his most famous book, the memoir, The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist. (At the same time, his oldest brother was the head of the special forces in South Africa.) So he speaks with an unusual degree of moral and artistic authority, strongly committed to social justice, with clear-eyed critiques of failed policies and missed opportunities. He remains deeply devoted to the transformation of South Africa, which he sees as a two-stage process, which has yet to seriously address the social and economic inequality underlying the political inequality of the apartheid era. He has a continent-wide perspective, and is quite perceptive in dissecting why the promise of liberation from colonial rule has not been realized, both in terms of continued European and American interference and in terms of internal political failures. He also has important insights into the very different nature of Islam in Africa as opposed to the imagery Americans have from the Middle East.
Breytenbach was described as the only example of a "nice South African" in the song "I've Never Met A Nice South African". The song was written by John Lloyd for the satirical British TV series, Spitting Image.
I've selected a few significant segments below the fold. I hope they'll pique your interest enough to read the whole transcript or listen online.
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