printThe excerpt is from my new, WND.COM column, “Saint Mandela & The Gaza Amity Armada”:
“‘One of the worst human rights violations in the world today’—this is how Nelson Mandela has characterized Israel’s naval blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza, and the defensive actions the Jewish state’s soldiers were forced to take on board a Gaza-bound ship. The Mavi Marmari was one in a flotilla of six ostensible aid ships headed to Gaza in contravention of the naval blockade.
And I know this how? Norman Finkelstein, another of Hamas’ effective spokesmen—left-liberal, Jewish academics often are—has galvanized Mandela for moral suasion in condemning Israel’s actions.
The fact that Mandela made the condemnation in his capacity as a member of the UN’s ‘Committee of Elders’ was supposed to further bolster Finkelstein’s position (made on ‘Russian TV’). According to Finkelstein, this particular coven includes another international holy man, Desmond Tutu (in my upcoming book, “Into The Cannibal’s Pot: Lessons For America From Post Apartheid South Africa,” I tell of the time I took afternoon tea with Tutu himself).
This is important, why? Because, even more than the Dalai Lama, Mandela is considered the moral compass of the world by the philosopher kings of this country— beauty pageant contestants, contemporary conservative and liberal pundits (ranked here from most to least intelligent).
Look, I too condemn the Israeli commandos—for sliding one-by-one into a snake pit seething with poisonous reptiles. …
The complete column is “Saint Mandela & The Gaza Amity Armada.”
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UPDATE (June 4): A more impassioned defense of Israel as Glenn Beck’s I have not heard since Alan Keyes’ magnificent display of outrage, on MSNBC, at the reality in the human heart a suicide bombing bespeaks (Keyes was fired shortly thereafter).
Glenn’s Israel narrative of June 3 (here) arises deep from within a pure Puritanical heart exquisitely attune to the historical “Hebraic bond,” and to morality.
I’ve said it before, Glenn (overall) is great.
Why the world sees Mandela as a moral compass is beyond me. I suspect it has something to with the fact that they believe he was imprisoned for his political views. This is however not the case. He was imprisoned for acts of terrorism (which probably explains his solidarity with the “aid ships”).
On another point, someone referred to Pavlov’s dog in comment on one of your previous articles. Unfortunately I have to admit I am guilty of acting like Pavlov’s dog too. When I fisrt heard the story breaking on the news and how the MSM condemned Israel, I immediately took Israel’s side, without knowing all the facts. I guess I have been so condisioned by the the MSM’s bias I too now have knee-jerk reactions.
Yes well: in s. africa Mandela is loved by all.
The problem these days is that he is retired
92, and a private person first
So, when he makes a statement:then he has been informed by close family.
And some anc inner circle powerbrokers.
Also:he has always been a friend(really) of Castro and PLO and Gadaffi etc.
What he really thinks these days no one knows:not outside immediate circle.
he was never sympathetic to Jews: silly liberals who gave him money for anc since 1969…more so in 1990 onwards….liberals are seriously deranged the last 25 years worldwide.
That’s why the world looks the way it does at this point.
Dear Ilana,
Thank you for seeing Mandela for what he is. Thank you for the concern you show towards the Afrikaner Boer and for seeing what really is happening in this lie of a “Rainbow Nation” and for exposing the truth to the World of our suffering and the terrible torture that our men, woman and children have endured so far and might still be enduring at this very moment. One almost want to live in denial with what the future has in store for us.
I was still in school when Apartheid ended and have inherited this hate currently being portrayed onto us, and as you know the screws are now turned even tighter by the day. I don’t agree with what Apartheid stood for and believe that certain things could have been done differently. [Ditto my family, who were actively opposed.] Maybe we do deserve what we are currently experiencing because of this country’s riches that went to our heads. We lost our Godly focus and brought this unto our selves. The onslaught we are experiencing is pushing us into a corner where we eventually will have no way out. But the peels of our “safety in riches” is starting to fall off our eyes so we can once again believe and hope in God like our Voortrekker ancestors did! Today’s government might be plotting there revenge and might even partly succeed, but in the end, we will still be victorious through our Lord Jesus Christ. Then, and only then, will the World know what injustice was done to our Afrikaner women and children, and that we are a Godly people to be reckoned with. [That Hebraic idea brought the Israelis and the Afrikaners together.]
All the glory to Jesus Christ.
Arno
Arno, it is good to see that you have the wisdom to understand how the problems facing the Afrikaners are in many ways self-inflicted, but know that your people are not alone in that. We Americans have also made a lot of mistakes, such as hiring illegal aliens and supporting the businesses that employ them. Like your people, we also became blinded by our riches and power and lost focus of what really matters. Hopefully both of our peoples will get up on our feet and start over; the statue of the Afrikaner boy rolling his sleeves up in Orania is very inspirational.
I also have a question about Mandela directed towards the general BAB audience. During his presidency he seemed to have made conciliatory gestures towards Afrikaners, like supporting the Springbok team, visiting Orania, making peace with many Apartheid era politicians, and showing respect towards Boer heroes from the Anglo-Boer war. Were these genuine, or was it a cynical ploy to settle down the Afrikaners and prevent an uprising?
Excellent! South African media’s pro-Islamic jihad bias is sickening.
Well, first off, here’s an article by the BBC that may interest you:
‘Some things were better under apartheid’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8711089.stm
Pay careful attention to the bit about houses toward the end.
Now I’m from SA as well, and it breaks my heart to see what has happened to the promise of those early years. But it does not negate Mandela’s personal and moral achievement. And intellectual, I might add; I’ve seen the gravel pit where he & his comrades earned their degrees, and its a salutatory lesson for those of us earning our degrees under much easier circumstances. I’d also add that he was 81 when he left office, and he is under no obligation to further martyr himself in those years that remain to him.
Human beings are what they are; Churchill (to take another example) was a drink sodden Imperialist who ended up making a deal with Stalin literally on the back of an envelope. Doesn’t change the heroism of his record. Nor can the slow destruction wrought by the ANC negate the fact of Mandela’s moral value, which is certainly more admirable than that of, say, Eugene Terreblanche.
Ilana, please feel free to delete this post as non-germane to the excellent commentary you posted relating Mandela to the “Gaza Amity Armada,” but I was troubled by Pat Buchanan’s commentary today on the flotilla incident. Buchanan stated that “President Obama should end his and his country’s shameful silence over the inhumane blockade of Gaza that is denying 1.5 million beleaguered people the basic necessities of a decent life.” http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=162057, adding that it is time “to start acting like America again.” (same reference.)
Have you not pointed out, through your earlier posts and links on this incident, that Palestinians residing in Gaza receive the basics necessary for daily life? And that Gazans do, in fact, receive copious amounts of aid toward this objective from the nation of Israel?
I think you have. Palestinians in Gaza either receive basic necessities, or they do not. The proposition that they do should be easy to prove, or to negate. As to “acting like America again,” I’d hope that our leadership would do exactly that: Use standards of justice and fairness to assess any given situation, rather than copping to world opinion (as America’s recent condemnation of Israeli actions in re: the so-called “peace-boat” incident would seem to indicate.)
Barbara – Buchanan has always had an anti-Israel bias but he comes close to an interesting point. The US helped out Germany (and Japan) after World War II AFTER THEY STOPPED FIGHTING US AND SURRENDERED!!!! Until then, America was annihilating their cities – civilians and military. I doubt many of us would want to be a Palestinian living in Gaza – yet, they have preferred this self-sacrificial slummy “refugee camp” existence and perpetual Jihad against Israel to living in peace. Keep in mind that Israel settled millions of Jewish refugees from Yemen, Iraq, Iran, and Algeria and built a modern state. But, as usual, Buchanan sees what he wishes to see.
(2) Apparently, one of the triggers of Israel’s response is not only were they beating the Israelis but trying to kidnap Israeli prisoners (like Cpl. Shalit) as hostages.
(3) In my cynicism, I am thinking that perhaps Israel should use captured Somalia pirates to board the next round of Rachel Corrie Love-Boats and let them keep anything they get as long as they take it all back to Mogadishu.
(4) Also on Ilana’s WND site is an excellent article worth reading by Larry Klayman:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId… – on
“Memorial Day”.
Beck lauds Truman as a ‘bible fearing man’…what a joke. A genocidal maniac who ordered the murder of 200,000 Japanese civilians.…Yes Harry T., Jesus died for them also….Beck discredits himself.
I have difficulty seeing Mandela as anything but a terrorist. Perhaps Mr. Schmidt can educate me as to Mandela’s “moral value” and superiority to Eugene Terreblanche.
And let us be very careful in attributing to the “legacy of apartheid” that savagery which has plagued the African continent since time immemorial.
Van Wijk, to put it at its most bald, Mandela wasn’t in the habit of proudly flying a Nazi-style flag.
Memo to Erudites:
Well… here’s an unexpected bit of whimsy to lighten a very dark event. Some people with very Jewish sounding names and a superb sense of humor. There’s something heroic about this kind of good-natured humor in the face of such great evil…
A parody of “We Are The World” entitled “We Con The World.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOGG_osOoVg
Can’t WAIT ’til your new book comes out Ilana! Do a book signing in California somewhere… I’ll get there one way or the other.
Keep up the great work dear…
Hugo Schmidt, to put it at its most bald, Terre’blanche wasn’t in the habit of proudly waving a communist salute.
Nor was he in the habit of planting bombs near women and children.