They Con the World

Especially for those familiar with “We are the World,” this is a must-watch video.

This video was taken down by YouTube for a “Copyright Violation” after some 3 million views. Thanks to Ori for providing a revised link.

For men there is individual Kol Isha at 1:05-1:20 and 2:50-3:10, and a mixed chorus thereafter. Please respond accordingly.

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46 Responses

  1. Raymond says:

    I saw this video, and was so amazed by the sheer creativity of it, not to mention the timeliness of it, that I sent it to hundreds of people on my e-mail list. To top it all off, none other than Caroline Glick is in this! So completely entertaining and fitting.

  2. L. Oberstein says:

    Very intertaining. If it gives a moment’s respite to those of us who are depressed by the reality of the situation, then it is of value.
    I am distressed by what the head of Turkey Erdogan keeps saying. It gets worse by the day and he ridicules Israel and says that it was murder and piracy. Is Erdogan aware of the extent of premedition by those who attacked the Israelis boarding the Turkish ship? Did he not think that attacking, choking, stabbing the Israelis wouldn’t lead to a response in self defense. I assume he did and that he is a lier and wants to inflame anti Israel sentiment and make himself the had honcho of the Muslim world. If he sends Turkish troops and personally goes on a flotilla to reach Gaza, he will be daring Israel to respond. This is like Gamal Abdul Nasser who talked himself into the Six Day War. His baggadocio led him to act in a way thatg forced Israel to attach on June 6, 1967 (today). Nasser didn’t expect the war and neigther does Erdogan, but it can come to blows and that is not good for Israel. I hope the United States can calm him down before he goes too far.
    Meanwhle those Jews who call our President a Muslim, a socialist/nazi (huh!) and someone who wants America to go down the drain better pray taht Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck are wrong. Otherwise, Israel is in big trouble.Let’s daven.

  3. dovid landesman says:

    Probably the most effective piece of counter propoganda possible – absolutely brilliant. It has had well over a million hits already on YUO TUBE and hopefully the networks will pick it up. Y’yasher kochachem to those responsible for using seichel to counter sheker.

  4. Esther says:

    Posting this is a big shayla of ולפני עור לא תתן מכשול.

    [Editors – Forgive us if we are wrong, but the term “big shayla” is usually code for “I haven’t really learned the sugya, but the idea doesn’t sound frum, so it probably is assur.” Lots of people make the lives of others miserable by misguided and hollow “big shaylos.” Now, if after studying the halachos you conclude that it is assur, please bring the reasons to our attention. We will either show you why you are wrong, or gratefully admit our error. Our guess is that you are looking in the wrong place for a problem. Unless you pasken like the Rambam, it’s hard to make a lifnei iver case for something that has dozens of other access points that are well publicized. Doesn’t sound very much like תרי עברי דנהרא. If anything, we could make a strong case for having removed the michshol present in all the other entry points by telling people exactly where to cut the audio.]

  5. David N. Friedman says:

    You need to go to Caroline G’s website to see the full 9:00 minute version complete with a cute dig at Rahm Emmanuel at the very end.

    Merging liberal politics with Arab terror, this video makes it clear there is such a dangerous alliance and the point cannot be lost that the useful idiots who side with Hamas are liberals who think they have some kind of moral superiority.

  6. Marc Goldstein says:

    Am I the only one who found this spoof offensive? Am I the only one who believes it paints us in a most unflattering light? In order to defend our actions in the flotilla skirmish, must we necessarily make light of the loss of life? More importantly, do we have to insist that no one is legitimately suffering in the hell hole of Gaza?
    Do not misunderstand: I place the blame for their plight squarely (and almost entirely) on the Hamas led government and its policies. And I understand who elected that government. But do we have to deny their plight? I even can respect the argument that they do not deserve any sympathy from us (although I reject such logic). But should we be in denial about the conditions in which they live? Have you seen the list of permitted and prohibited items for shipment to Gaza? Isn’t it an incredibly demeaning and, yes, difficult, way to live?
    Again, blame whomever you’d like for this. I happen to feel it is naive to say that we have no responsibility for the situation, but ok. That still does not justify denying the suffering.
    I find the video indecent and beneath our wonderful nation.

  7. One Christian's perspective says:

    Am I the only one who found this spoof offensive? Am I the only one who believes it paints us in a most unflattering light? In order to defend our actions in the flotilla skirmish, must we necessarily make light of the loss of life? More importantly, do we have to insist that no one is legitimately suffering in the hell hole of Gaza?
    Marc Goldstein

    Marc, I appreciate your concern for people who are suffering. It is where my heart is as well.

    That said, I do think there will be a backlash from: the left wing secular liberal media and their followers who include the terrorists because it suits their goals and objectives. However, isn’t it the responsibility of those who see evil to stand up against it and shine the light onto it for all to see. Those who hate Israel will still hate Israel. It is not just Israel. They hate any nation/person who do not agree or support their ideology.

    Because the press no longer produces non-biased journalism (where is that today) and are clearly in the midst of its followers, the news stinks. I think the video is one way to get the message out without hatred or anger that there is another view. OK, there are some parts that make you want to say “ouch” but terrorism is much worse. It’s goal is to kill and maim without words.

    Also on the other side are Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck who can be extreme but there is an element of truth in what they say. It needs to be said. The world has been blinded by the liberal secular view which has no place for God or others who do not share their view.

    The video is very creative – words and singing. Singing rather than ranting in hatred may turn out to be the diffuser.

    I pray for the peace and welfare of both the people of Israel and Palestine because both are created in the image of God. He doesn’t make junk. We all do and we need His wisdom in a time like this to see the truth. Often, He shows me where I am wrong. Sometimes He will bring on suffering as a way of refinement but the suffering isn’t wasted when you realize that He is sovereign and it has a purpose for our good …… if you can keep your eyes on Him and not on the situation. Proverbs 3:5-6 speaks of this.

  8. Ori says:

    Marc Goldstein: Am I the only one who found this spoof offensive?

    Ori: No, my wife found it offensive too, for the same reasons. However, it is a work of propaganda. By its very nature, it has to be short and simple. The facts on the ground are complex, so it has to be inaccurate.

  9. Yaakov Moshe says:

    It’s a brilliant counter offensive to the outright sheker/duplicity that the world accepts as truth. Music with simple lyrics can do more than responding to the complexity of the situation we find ourselves in. Caroline Glick is a treasure!

  10. mb says:

    I think it was rather clever the way they captured some of the original, especially Dylan, Springsteen and Elton John.

  11. Marc Goldstein says:

    Sorry. Music and humor are wonderful tools for communication, but do not in any way make it less offensive or insensitive. (I am also truly baffled by Ori’s statement that “The facts on the ground are complex, so it has to be inaccurate.” Huh?)
    Additionally, I have long admired Caroline Glick’s work, but I find her role in this particularly inappropriate. I have always believed that any truthful analysis of the conflict requires us to avoid the type of demonizing and caricaturization that marks so much of the discourse.
    I should clarify, for what it’s worth, that I had less problem with poking fun at the “peace” activists than I did with the dismissal of the suffering in Gaza. My point is simple: We need to decide what we are saying. Are we claiming that there is no humanitarian crisis, or are we claiming that is the fault of Hamas? I think the first argument is dubious, and the second require a tone much different than the one on display in the YouTube clip. I also found nothing amusing about the poor and trite impersonations.
    I remain offended and embarrassed by the clip and the widespread support and acclaim it has received.

  12. Rudy Wagner says:

    Marc Goldstein and wife of Ori,

    Your sensibility is completely misplaced. This is a media war and you have to fight it on the appropriate grounds. It is about Israel right to defend itself. It is about avoiding kassam rockets being launched on a lot of civilians. It is about showing the true face of modern day Islam. It is about fighting the repulsive antisemitism of the nations. It is about the right of Israel and the Jewish people to exist. Are you not sensitive to Israel and the Jewish people? Would you have refrained from bombing Germany to take down nazism because of the risk of affecting the sensibilities of the German people? Come on! The video aims at showing what the flottilla was all about: lies! And it does it brilliantly. It is our obligation to fight this war. Trust me: not a single radical muslim, Gaza resident or western antisemite will cry because of this video. And if a couple of leftist americans are affected, we are sorry, but it is their problem.

    Rudy Wagner

  13. ASC says:

    I’m with you, Marc Goldstein. As for those who enjoy the video, I don’t want to hear another complaint about anti-Jewish cartoons in the Muslim press or TV shows appearing on Arab television.

  14. Aaron says:

    More creativity on the way: http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=177789 Reverse flotillas to help the Kurds of Turkey.

    I’d like to see anyone critical of Israel’s handling of the flotilla put their values where their mouths are and participate. Courage from the left isn’t something I’d hold my breath to see, though.

    Find me ONE campus demonstration about Turkey’s treatment of the Kurds. Find me ONE mainstream media article about the issue from 2010.

  15. dovid says:

    “the useful idiots who side with Hamas”

    What’s the basis of support for anything anti-Israeli? If Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Al-Qaeda have their way, Gd forbid, they will flush their current apologists (the Israeli, American, and European academia, Haaretz, the western media, etc.)down the toilet in a jiffy. It’s impossible to believe Israeli detractors are not aware of this. So, what’s their motivation? Normal, rational people would regard “my enemy’s enemy” as my ally. Is there hatred of anything Jewish driving them into the suicide-bomber syndrome?

  16. dovid says:

    “I place the blame for their plight squarely (and almost entirely) on the Hamas led government and its policies.”

    I, for one, don’t. I blame the Arabs currently residing in Gaza for their plight. It’s not only that they willingly elected Hamas. Even now, after experiencing increased hardships under Hamas, they would rather have it this way if they know that that’s the price to inflict suffering on Israel.

  17. rachel w says:

    I think it is adorable and humorous-very entertaining.

    No-it does not sift through all the issues and expand politically and philosophically on each one. It’s not meant for that. They are just (in a light manner-because that works better than serious sermonizing or op-eds) trying to make people stop and think for a moment if they are blindly placing the blame for everything on Israel’s doorstep and if there is another side to the story that the media is not giving them.

  18. Ori says:

    Marc Goldstein: (I am also truly baffled by Ori’s statement that “The facts on the ground are complex, so it has to be inaccurate.” Huh?)

    Ori: Let me see if I can explain this better.

    The facts on the ground are complex, and impossible to portray in a manner that would not be long and tedious. Works of propaganda, by their nature, have to be short, because they are addressed to people who do not have much of a stake in the subject(1). Therefore, any effective piece of propaganda has to be inaccurate.

    (1) It’s nearly impossible to change the opinion of people who do have such a stake already. That kind of propaganda is “teaching Halacha to the Levites” (preaching to the choir), which is nearly useless.

  19. David N. Friedman says:

    I sense some are missing the point of the video. It is a counter-punch against the plan to isolate Israel in the eyes of the civilized world. Merging radical Islam and liberal politics–the stunt was concocted with the expressed intent of giving Israel a black eye diplomatically. The “useful idiots” I referenced are not those who came along for the boat ride–it is those in the left especially in the liberal churches in the US, the editors in the newspapers and magazines in the West, etc. You see, it might seem to be a huge leap for kind people in the West to take on the “cause” of terrorists like Hamas but this is precisely what has happened. Sure, part of this is blatant Jew hatred but it goes deeper and cannot happen without channeling the kind of 60’s style love and peace that created a song like “we are the world.” Linking this kindly one-world love fest with Hamas led terror is a major coup in propaganda.

    This is the target of Caroline Glick’s video. She is saying let’s break it down so the link is a little more obvious. Therefore, she has them singing that “the world will abandon reason and treat the Hamas like Mother Theresa and the IDF like Jack the Ripper.,” This is a legitimate counter-punch and all the satire does is highlight the real effect of the Arab propaganda so it is seen clearly and not filtered. The violent imposition of Sharia law which is marching through Europe and a significant segment of the world is no legitimate claim for human rights and neither is a “humanitarian” crisis for Gazans who should be absorbed into other Arab nations, especially after wasting a billion dollars of international aid annually. Who can get away with a “peace offensive” which is inherently violent–a planned provocation? The left can take righteous persons like the US or Israeli military and turn them into supposed murderers while giving the real murderers a complete pass. It is so shocking and so stupid–a bit of humor can calm the outrage and perhaps someone will take notice. Indeed, this video has been a huge hit and a real sensation.

    Thus, militants planned a provocation aimed at smearing Israel and forcing more isolation of Israel; 9 people died. In response, a small group of Israelis planned a video aimed at helping restore Israel’s image and forced people to see the real intentions of the perpetrators of violence. Of course, the Israeli government then had to apologize for the video since it was seen by so many people. Obama called Turkey to apologize for the loss of life supposedly caused by Israeli “force.”

    Wasn’t it a good Lefty who said love means never having to say you are sorry? I say stop the sorry apologies, the video is righteous and so is the defense of Jews in Israel.

  20. Shua Cohen says:

    ASC wrote: “As for those who enjoy the video, I don’t want to hear another complaint about anti-Jewish cartoons in the Muslim press or TV shows appearing on Arab television.”

    You have got to be kidding. How can you conflate a satire aimed at exposing a pseudo-peace-activist murderous mob with cartoons advocating the genocide of the Jewish people, and children’s TV shows promoting Muslim martyrdom by the murder of Israeli civilians? What you don’t want to hear is not another “complaint,” but any attempt by Jews to dare to fight back (finally) in a propaganda war that we have been, heretofore, losing badly. Kal HaKovod to Caroline Glick and company for a brilliant parry and riposte.

  21. Bob Miller says:

    It’s natural and fitting to demonize demons.

  22. mb says:

    “Find me ONE campus demonstration about Turkey’s treatment of the Kurds. Find me ONE mainstream media article about the issue from 2010.”

    Or any protest of Egypt’s blockade of Gaza.

  23. cvmay says:

    Whether the video is offensive or not to some…….can be debatable.

    “Have you seen the list of permitted and prohibited items for shipment to Gaza? Isn’t it an incredibly demeaning and, yes, difficult, way to live?” – An order can be placed with the “TUNNEL AUTHORITIES” and with the proper amount of cash + smear, everything and anything is deliverable, even a BMW limo was brought in this week.

  24. Mark says:

    mb: “I think it was rather clever the way they captured some of the original, especially Dylan, Springsteen and Elton John.”

    The only thing they missed was the rap from this year’s version of the song. I have provided the lyrics here:

    We made an ambush for the soldiers coming on
    We put on vests and picked up bars but no gun
    Those knives are from the kitchen to feed the throng
    We tried to feed the IDF that’s our song
    Don’t mind the 10 G’s in my pocket that you stumbled on
    Just gonna spend it in Gaza til its gone
    Won’t unload in Ashdod to show that we mean no harm
    Cuz what we really want is confrontation
    We know the world will blame the Jews, the old song
    Next time our guns will reach their destination
    We made a story the UN can lean on
    Media makes up facts as they go along

    THE FACADE…

  25. Shua Cohen says:

    Marc Goldstein wrote:

    “…do we have to insist that no one is legitimately suffering in the hell hole of Gaza?…do we have to deny their plight?… should we be in denial about the conditions in which they live?”

    Given the tenor of your 3 questions, I assume that you have personally visited Gaza to investigate the living conditions there, and can therefore confirm — by first hand observation — that Gaza is a suffering-filled “hell hole.” NO?

    So perhaps you depend for your information upon such studies as the much referenced “Living Conditions in the Gaza Strip During and After Israel’s Military Campaign…” published by Fafo: The Institute for Applied International Studies (Oslo Norway) and funded by the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). This gem of a study — considered by many in the international community to be “definitive” — was based upon interviews with a random sampling of Gazan residents (who, of course, would only tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help them Allah). Included in the report is the following (typical) paragraph, in the chapter entitled “Physical Damages and Displacement:”

    “While these figures cannot serve as a basis for assessing the overall damages at a community level, they are indicative of the share magnitude of destructions that the Israeli war machine inflicted on Gaza’s population during the three weeks of bombardment and, later, land invasion. Few, if any, Palestinians in Gaza were spared the atrocities.” (page 25)

    Hmmm…”Israeli war machine”…”atrocities.” You think these people maybe had a predtermined agenda, Marc?

    Or perhaps the reality is as reported by CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America): “Palestinian Arabs living in the Israeli-controlled West Bank and Gaza Strip have fared better in terms of life expectancy, adjusted real income, and educational attainment than many fellow Arabs, according to the United Nations ‘2005 Human Development Report’…But a September 19 Nexis search showed no news coverage of the study’s ranking of Palestinian Arabs under ‘Israeli occupation’ higher than Algerians, Syrians, Egyptians, Moroccans and Yemeni.” (from “Missing UN Report on Palestinian Living Standards,” 09/19/2005)

    Marc, unless and until you are able to report from first-hand, observed evidence, you’ve got nothing but anti-Israel propaganda to stand on, as the basis for your description of Gaza as a “hell hole.” The accusation rings hollow.

  26. Tal Benschar says:

    To those who find the video offensive, let me tell you a short story. I had a cousin who died a couple of years ago. He was a history professor in a NY college. Shortly after WWII, he was invited to Germany as an exchange lecturer. He told me that when he went, the Germans were polite, but they often complained about how they had been treated during and after the war.

    Unimpressed, he answered: “Next time don’t elect a madman who decides to make war on the world. You chose war, you got war.”

    The good citizens of Gaza, we are told, freely elected Hamas as their government. They chose war, the got war.

    War is brutal, and people suffer in war. They are bombed. Some die, others lose their homes. Others must deal with economic crisis and food shortages. Ask the good German citizens of Dresden (or the Japanese citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) what war is about. They suffered far more than the Gazans do today.

    So, sorry, I do not feel bad for the Gazans. The could easily have chosen a different path — after Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the Gazans were handed such an opportunity on a silver platter. They chose something else. Now they have to live with their choice.

    Alternatively, they can chose to install another government that, if it will not recognize Israel, at least can agree not to shoot rockets and foment terrorism against Israel.

  27. L. Oberstein says:

    ++The response to Marc shows what Israel faces. War is not good for middos.Itg forces kind people to do cruel things The Torah teaches us that our actions influence our thoughts. The long occupation of the Palestinian Arabs, an unanticipated accidental outcome of the Six Day War, is not good for Israel. At some point we have to get out from under this crushing burden of ruling over another nation that despises us. Even the Israeli Arabs who are citizens of Israel and benefit greatl from that are turning hostile. Israel is fast being ostracized by many nations that were once sympathetic to the plight of the Jews after WW II.
    Young Jews in America identify with J Street more than with AIPAC.
    If most of us who are highly involved in our Jewishness overlook this reality, it still doesn’t make it go away.
    If telling the truth makes one a traitor, then I feel glad that I don’t live in a country run by people who don’t allow freedom of speech. In Israel one can be against the occupation, but in American Jewry it is considered self-hating.
    I am not advocating a specific solution to this problem and am not sure what could be done in the current situation but that doesn’t mean we have to pretend that facts are lies. “The accusation rings hollow.” is wishful thinking.

  28. Raymond says:

    It is not Caroline Glick’s We Con the World that is offensive. What IS offensive are those who find her video to be offensive. While her video is highly entertaining, humorous, and so very creative, its real purpose is to let the world know the truth about islamofascist terrorism. She uses this video as her vehicle of communication because most people are far more likely to watch it, then to read endless opinion pieces that cater mainly to intellectuals. I have to wonder why anybody would object to what she did here; if anything, she should be endlessly praised to the skies for her actions.

    And as for comparing her video to the antisemitic garbage put out by the islamofascists, I guess such a comparison is possible, but only to some politically correct nihilist who denies the very existence of objective truth. But for us more old-fashioned types who still believe in that quaint notion of absolute truth, there is all the difference in the world between the truths being put forth by Caroline Glick in her video, and the nazi-like propaganda put forth by the islamofascist terrorists.

  29. Bob Miller says:

    Videos of this type should encourage the good guys and offend the bad guys. We should lose no sleep over the potential or actual loss of terrorist lives.

  30. One Christian's perspective says:

    The “useful idiots” I referenced are not those who came along for the boat ride–it is those in the left especially in the liberal churches in the US, the editors in the newspapers and magazines in the West, etc. – David N. Friedman

    David, a secular liberal is a secular liberal and that includes both Jew and Gentile. It matters not that they even go to a church or a synagogue . The liberal view is their religion and their god is “it’s all about me and my rights”.

  31. Marc Goldstein says:

    Thank you all for your responses. I will try to offer a brief rejoinder to allow the discussion to continue in a productive manner.
    1. For all who claim that Glick has offered “the world” an effective piece of pro-Israel PR, I suggest we keep some perspective. For the choir she is preaching to, her message is applauded. For those in the world who are truly undecided here, I strongly suspect that the tone is wrong and will ultimately do more damage than good. No one is being convinced by this. Do you know anyone- a coworker or friend perhaps- who has? A quick perusal of the blogosphere does indicate that more were offended than convinced. Of course some will claim that that’s nothing but typical anti-Israel bias, but I don’t accept that.
    2. Others argued that no sympathy or sensitivity is necessary. I respectfully disagree. If there are true hardships in Gaza, it is not in anyone’s best interests to celebrate them. Like it or not, the conflict has its complexities, and over-simplification will not help. I don’t want to stray to far from our original point here, but suffice it to say that there are some frequent arguments we shovel down the throats of our people that are hopelessly naive or flat out wrong. Examples: Regardless of how many times it is mentioned in the Koran, many Arabs really do value Jerusalem, and not just because they hate Jews. Also, not all muslims are bloodthirsty or subhuman. Now, to be clear, of course we need to inflict some of these hardships in our legitimate struggle with Hamas. So the analogy to bombing Dresden is off. What we don’t need to do is callously mock suffering and inflict humiliation.
    3. Finally, many argued that the humanitarian crisis is a myth. I find this to be absurd. No, I have not inspected Gaza myself. Yes, I am sure that there are some living there in comfort. Yes, I believe the blockade and inspections are more then justified and it is imperative to continue them! But they do create hardship! How can one not sympathize with the plight of 1.5 million people who need to get approval of a foreign power before being allowed to import peanut power? Or a people unable to freely import cement for building? Folks, we’re TRYING to inflict hardship, and we are allowed to hope that we are succeeding. But we shouldn’t deny it, and we shouldn’t mock it.

  32. Shua Cohen says:

    > “Folks, we’re TRYING to inflict hardship…but we shouldn’t mock it.”

    >> Marc, I see no evidence in the video that anyone is “mocking” anyone else’s “hardship.” Those being mocked are those who exaggerate the hardships beyond all reality for propaganda purposes. Remember, you’re the one who called Gaza a “hell hole” based solely on that propaganda. In other words, it (sadly) worked on you.

    No, Gaza City certainly isn’t Fort Lauderdale…but neither is it post-WWII Dresden or the municipal version of the Black Hole of Calcutta, as the propagandists want the world to believe. I must repeat myself here…when the U.N. reported that Gazans have a HIGHER living standard than a large percentage of the Arab world, the international mass media deep-sixed the report. It just didn’t fit into the propaganda mold that they were, and are, continually shaping.

    “Emes yesh lo raglayim, and sheker ain lo raglayim.” It doesn’t hurt one bit when we are successful in sticking a foot out and tripping sheker up, to help it fall flat on it’s face. I believe that the “Flotilla Choir” video has had over two million hits on YouTube. If even a small fraction of viewers were brought to re-evaluate their perspectives, then that is for the good. And even if NO ONE’s position was positively influenced…hey, it sure has been a ‘heckuva’ morale builder for the home team, which we very badly needed.

  33. Rudy Wagner says:

    Marc wrote: “Folks, we’re TRYING to inflict hardship”…

    whenever any food or medicine is imported to the US it has to go through Food and Drug Administration approval. Do you feel you are under any hardship? Cuban sigars were also not allowed in the US? Do you feel hardship is being imposed on you? If you make sizeable wire transfer they are screend by tax and anti-terrorism authorities? Do you feel any hardship? Every time you fly you are not allowed to bring on board many items. Do you feel any hardship? The list can go on. Do you feel the US is going through an “humanitarian crisis” because of all this government imposed limitations?

    Do you really think the Gazans care if an Israeli officer check the “hecksher” of the peanut butter going to Gaza?

    And what about what Egypt is doing? Are you aware of the real hardship imposed by Hamas? If Mohammed the buildier is bringing in cement, do you think that Abdullah of Hamas will not take it for not quite “humanitarian purposes? Do you know where all the Western and Arab funds given to Gaza are going? Who was responsible for throwing rockets to the Israeli people after we gave them Gaza for free? Who caused a war in Gaza? Who is responsible for the blockade?

    And where do you see mockery of suffering in this video?

    Sorry Marc but if a person like you who seems quite refined and developed has been completely brainwashed by baseless propaganda, then it is a proof that this video is spot on and may work very well indeed!

    Gut Shabos

    Rudy Wagner

  34. Marc Goldstein says:

    I pledge to discontinue this conversation when we hit a wall and are simply rehashing old disagreements. For now, however, I believe we are still breaking new grounds and can have a valuable dialogue.
    It seems to me that many of the responses are extensions and new applications of the very same dangerous and corrupt thinking that I initially attempted to highlight. Why are we incapable of acknowledging and lamenting others’ suffering?
    Rudy- Are you seriously suggesting an analogy between the Gaza blockade and the FDA? We are imposing our will over another people. We do not have their best interests in mind (nor should we, for the record).
    Our inspectors are not checking the hechsher on Peanut Butter. They are, in many cases arbitrarily, determining which basic foddstuffs are allowed through. Yes, if the FDA or US Coast Guard did that, I would feel hardship and protest it mightily.
    The video dehumanizes Gazans. The video suggests that the blockade has not inflicted real pain on them.
    I believe that to be wrong and offensive.
    Good Shabbos to All

  35. dovid says:

    Marc Goldstein, you attribute humane qualities to the Arab residents of Gaza that are just not there. You assume they are just like your neighbors next door, or Canadians or Mexicans over the border with whom we sometimes disagree. They are not like them. The parents extirpate their children of any remenant of Tzelem Elokim before they reach adulthood. They are indoctrinated to hate Jews and non-Arabs in way you have no concept. You simply talk in vacuum. You haven’t been there. You haven’t dealt with them. They are given every day the choice between status quo (material misery and hardship), which results out of warfare with Israel, or normal life for them and Israel. They wittingly choose the status quo, as long as they know they also can inflict misery on the Jews. Btw, they don’t hate only Jews. They hate each other as well. More Palestinians were killed by Arabs since the establishment of the state of Israel then by Israelis. You share with Yosi Beilin the discomfort that Israel will never be able to come to a peace agreement with this people.

  36. Ori says:

    I think part of the disagreement is whether being disrespectful towards the enemy in a time of war is a valid propaganda tactic or not. I believe it is, as it has been used in the past by other countries (the US, for example).

    The moderators do not allow us to post links. However, if anybody wants to see a number of historic examples available on youtube, e-mail me at ori simple tech com and I’ll reply with a number of links. Some are even Dr. Seuss’s work.

  37. Shua Cohen says:

    Okay Marc, here it is…the ONLY paragraph in the entire video that actual refers to the situation in Gaza:

    “There’s no people dying, so the best that we can do,
    is create the greatest bluff of all.
    We must go on pretending day by day, that in Gaza,
    there’s crisis, hunger and plague.
    ‘Cause the billion bucks in aide won’t buy their basic needs,
    like some cheese and missiles for the kids.
    We’ll make the world abandon reason.
    We’ll make them all believe that the Hamas is Momma Theresa”

    The ONLY thing being “mocked” here is the propaganda claim that Gaza is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, a crisis which you insist is real.

    Now, please do the following Marc: google “Steffen Jensen + gaza”

    Mr. Jensen is a Danish television news reporter on assignment in Israel, who DID what you did NOT do. He decided last week to visit Gaza and see for himself what’s going in. You can read his entire account on numerous websites, but here is the salient information [in somewhat imperfect translation from the Danish]:

    “Judging from the media, the situation in Gaza is desperate, everything is about to collapse, and the community is on the brink or at the level of a third world country…I had expected to see real suffering, because with all the fuss in recent days about bringing tons of humanitarian relief in — so much that people actually sacrificed their lives for it — there certainly had to really be a deep, desperate situation in the Gaza Strip. No food. Long queues in front of UN food stocks. Hungry children with food bowls. But this was not the picture that greeted me.

    “I was immediately surprised that there are almost as many traffic jams as there always has been. Is there not a shortage of fuel? Apparently not. Gasoline is not even rationed…I went over to the Shati refugee camp, also known as Beach Camp…There was certainly no shortage of vegetables, fruits or any other ordinary, basic foods. Tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, watermelons, potatoes — mountains of these items in the many stalls. I must admit I was a little surprised.

    “The first woman we interviewed in the market confirms a strange, contradictory, negative mindset: ‘We have nothing,’ she said. ‘We need everything! Food, drinks…everything!’ It disturbed her not at least that she stood between the mountains of vegetables, fruit, eggs, poultry and fish, while she spun this doomsday scenario.”

    So Marc…whom do you choose to believe? The Al Jazeera/Hamas propaganda machine, or this [hopefully independent, non-biased] report. Oh, sorry. You’ve already told us the answer to that one.

  38. Rudy Wagner says:

    Marc wrote: “you seriously suggesting an analogy between the Gaza blockade and the FDA? We are imposing our will over another people…. Our inspectors are… in many cases arbitrarily, determining which basic foddstuffs are allowed through.”

    Where did you get this piece of information that Israelis are ARBITRARILY deciding what is going in or not. Plese note your use of words. The Oxford dictionary defines the word arbitrary as: “1. based on random choice or personal whim. 2.(of power or authority) used without constraint; autocratic.” Do you consider yourself fair vs Israel? Are you not depicting Israel the same way the worst antisemitic newspapers of the world do? Why everyting that has to do with Israel has to be Israel’s fault?

    I DO suggest an analogy between the Gaza blockade and the FDA! The FDA according to their best judgement prevent any item that can harm US citizens to enter the US. Do you call it arbitrary? The Israeli officials according to their best judgement prevent any item that can harm (or could harm in future) ISRAELI citizens to enter GAZA. And in any case you know very well that there are two other borders: an official Egyptian border and an un-official underground border with Egypt where everything can get through.

    And it is completely immaterial the fact that it is a foreign or non foreign entity checking the items coming in, the real hardship being created by Hamas and the palestinian people themselves. This is the absolute minimum you are supposed to do to a “quasi-state” run by a terrosit organization who aims at destroying Israel. Or are you suggesting (as the antisemites and islamists do) that we should not have the right to defend ourselves? What else should we do?

    Most of the time I can live with people thinking differently than me. But when a jew comes out with such self-hating distorted picture I can’t contain myslef… As my wife would say: “Is it so hard to admit you are wrong?”

    Chodesh Tov

    Rudy Wagner

  39. Ori says:

    I know it is normally forbidden to post links here, but I think this is an exception. Youtube removed this video, claiming there’s a copyright violation. If you want to share it with anybody, use this link: http://www.latma.co.il/Latma/Templates/showpage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=2&TMID=81&FID=269&IID=3337

  40. Evan Steele says:

    Good for Marc Goldstein for raising important issues. Of course the analogy to the FDA is absurd on its face. Mr. Goldstein never even criticized the policy, and, in fact, defended it as neccessary for Israeli security. Harming others is sometimes necessary, but his point is that when we blind ourselves to the hardship we cause others, even if neccessry to defend ourselves, then we lose our humanity and ability to be self-critical. As to who to “believe” about conditions in Gaza, I beleive only in HaShem. I am skeptical of all others. I am certainly more inclined to beleive Israelis than Arabs, but Israelis also engage in propaganda and distortion. I can recall many personal examples of being lied to by Israelis and Israeli officials. Indeed, I find it curious that frum Jews often criticize secualar Israelis as having comprimised values, yet, when it comes to matters of security, these same secular Israelis suddenly become truth telling tzaddikim. There is nothing “self-hating” about raising important issues and questions. If so, then we are no better than other religions that cannot tolerate dissent.

  41. tzippi says:

    Copyright violation? (?!?!) I can’t access the Youtube thanks to my filters but sounds like some enterprising copyright lawyers could spend the next few years going through the archives….

  42. rachel w says:

    How many hits did it get before they got around to removing it?

  43. Sarah says:

    Rachel, they say it got over 3 million hits.

  44. Ori says:

    Tzippi, youtube has a ton of copyright violations, and arguably this isn’t one of them (satire is fair use). However, youtube doesn’t have a stake here. If there’s any risk of being sued, they’ll remove the video.

  45. Rudy Wagner says:

    To whoever says that this video is culpable of making fun of the “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza. After looking at few numbers it looks like the islamist/western antisemitic propaganda worked well on you. If anything the video was a polite understatement…

    During the week may 2 to may 8 (well before the flottilla episode) the following enterd Gaza via the Israeli border:

    1.535.777 liters of naphta/kerosene for the electric powerhouse,
    293.796 liters of diesel fuel (for cars and trucks),
    917 tons of cooking gas,
    76 trucks of fruit and vegetables,
    91 trucks of flour,
    33 trucks of meat and fish,
    39 trucks of milk and cheese,
    112 trucks of animal feed,
    26 trucks of hygenic products,
    48 trucks of clothes and shoes,
    30 trucks of sugar,
    7 trucks of medicine and medical aid,
    1 truck of milk powder for babies and baby food,

    In addition:
    370 patients and attenders entered Israel to obtain medical aid,
    93 other palestinians entered Israel for other reasons,
    191 members of ONGs went one way, 192 the other way,

    And let’s see what is the result of this “humanitarian crisis”. The Wall Street Journal (June 14) brings infant mortality as the main data to assess the medical state of a country: in Israel 4,17/1000 in line with western countries. In Sudan it is 78,1/1000 (20 times Israel). In Gaza it is 17,71/1000, much higher than Israel. But hold your indignation. The number is in line with the middle east average. In Turkey for example it is 24,84/1000. In other words it is safer to be born in Gaza than in Turkey. Notwithstanding wars and terrorism the life expectancy of somebody born in Gaza is 73,68 years. In Turkey it is 72,23 years.

    Gut Shabos

    Rudy Wagner

  46. David N. Friedman says:

    Marc G: “For the choir she is preaching to, her message is applauded. For those in the world who are truly undecided here, I strongly suspect that the tone is wrong and will ultimately do more damage than good. No one is being convinced by this. Do you know anyone- a coworker or friend perhaps- who has? A quick perusal of the blogosphere does indicate that more were offended than convinced.”

    Resp. Marc–you are making a huge mistake. Israel is being targeted by a lynch mob. Yes, the video is aimed at the civilized among us and sure, it may not convince the bigots at all. So? The whole point was to give conviction to Israel’s friends and those who are on the fence. The flotilla run was a propaganda ploy so a defensive propaganda ploy is needed and desired in this context. Stigmatized and marginalized by ugly world opinion, we need anything we can do to put some wind to our sails. It is interesting that you might NEVER criticize the strategy of the organizers of the attack against the blockade on YOUR terms, that is, that their planned provocation would fail to open the hearts of the IDF and the Israeli public and Israel’s supporters. Indeed, it was strictly designed NOT TO. This is what Caroline and Co. are singing about. It is time for you to agree or disagree concerning the unfairness of this reality. So answer–is it reasonable to scream about a “crisis” when the Arab Palestinians get a billion dollars every year in aid and manage to produce so little of value, while their elected leaders stash cash in personal bank accounts while blaming Israel for a “humanitarian” assault? If the appeal to your liberal friends did not work–were they listening? And if they are not–is it rightly the fault of the small voice that attempted to help them listen?

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