I live in Humboldt County California. I am a Progressive, and I am a lifelong Democrat. So, I thought it a natural fit for me to join the Humboldt Progressive Democrats on Facebook.
Boy, was I wrong.
You see, according the the experts at HPD, I’m not really a Progressive. Oh, it’s true that I believe in everything that Bernie Sanders and “The Squad” believe in. So that should qualify me as a Progressive. If you read through my blog, you’ll note that I am, on some issues, to the Left of even Sanders and “The Squad,” But there is one thing, and only one thing, that I disagree with Sanders and “The Squad” about: Israel.
I am an unabashed, maybe even radical, Zionist. I believe that the State of Israel has a right to exist, and a right to protect itself against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
I do not believe that Israel is a Colonialist state (how could it be? Jews not only have a historical claim to the land, but there has never been a time when Jews did not live there (witness the Cemetery in the Kidron Valley, on the eastern wall of Jerusalem, which has been in continuous use for over three thousand years. ALL of the grave markings are in Hebrew)).
I do not believe that Israel is an Apartheid state. Given that under apartheid in South African, Black people could not vote, could not work anywhere in the health care profession, could not serve as lawyers, could not marry outside their race, could not work for the government, could not vote. — Arabs can do all of those things in Israel. There are even Arab representatives in the Knesset. So how is that Apartheid? It’s because some human rights organizations have redefined what apartheid means, and it means that Israel is practicing it.
I do not believe that Israel is practicing genocide against the Arabs living within it’s borders. How can that be true when since 1948 the Arab population of Israel has increased ten fold? If they are practicing genocide, they sure aren’t very adept at it.
I do not believe that Israel occupies Judea/Samaria (aka, “The West Bank”) or Gaza. 1st, Judea/Samaria was a part of Israel prior to the May 1948 war, when five Arab nations attacked Israel to “drive the Jews into the sea.” Jordan was able to capture Judea/Samaria and a good part of Jerusalem in that war. Jordan occupied it until June of 1967. when Israel was attacked again, only this time Israel better defended itself and liberated Judea/Samaria and all of Jerusalem. Israel does not occupy Judea/Samaria because it belonged to Israel in the first place.
Gaza was given independence by Israel, to rule itself as it wishes. After this, the citizens of Gaza allowed a terrorist group, Hamas, to take over. As a result, travel from Gaza into Israel is severely restricted. For that matter, Gaza also borders Egypt, which also severely restricts travel. One wonders what Egypt’s justification is? (One also wonders why no one mentions this fact?)
Many Democrats believe in a “two state solution.” I agree with this, only I believe that the two states, one for the Jews and one for the Arabs already exists in “Palestine”. You see, the area of land we call Jordan today, and the area of land on which Israel lives, used to be called the “British Mandate of Palestine.” It was this entire land that was promised to be a homeland for the Jewish people by the Balfour Declaration. But, Britain, as they always do, partially reneged and gave two thirds of that land to the Arabs, forming the Kingdom of Jordan. Jordan and Israel are “Palestine”. There is an Arab “Palestine” (Jordan) and a Jewish “Palestine” (Israel). Let the Arabs live in Jordan and leave the Jews alone.
But back to Humboldt Progressive Democrats. Because, on these pages, I declare myself a proud and unabashed Zionist, I automatically am not Progressive. I am told I am regressive. So, it’s kind of like a religion, or maybe a cult. If you don’t drink all of the Kool Aid – every last drop, you can’t play in their sandbox. I’m not too worried. They only represent about 383 members. There is another group, Humboldt Progressives, that I also belong to, that has 1.5 thousand members. Probably a mixture of Democrats and Green Party members. So far I’ve survived there, but, no one has posted any Palestinian propaganda for me to refute as yet.
Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that I quit the HPD group when one of the people I was arguing with 1)told me I wasn’t Progressive, 2) Used “Palestinian” news sources (so, very, very biased) to refute my arguments. 3)Used Jewish anti-Israel sources also to refute me (yes, there really are such folks. It boggles the mind). The straw that broke the camels back was when, in the thread I was working in, an Admin posted this little gem:
Why did I quit? Look at the date: this was voted on while I was making my arguments, meaning, that at least part of the group had turned against me on principle. How many voted for this? I have no idea and that fact isn’t revealed, If HPD is really a democracy, then we have to assume that a minimum of 192 voted for it. Do any of the other 191 support, or at least. sympathize with me? Well, no one has contacted me. In reviewing the participation of the group, fewer than twelve actually ever post. So my guess is that a majority consisted of maybe seven people.
There are a number of troubling allegations, and stretches of the truth in the above document. I will pick them apart in my next blog.
