The truth is hard to face

I was deeply touched when I read Uri Avnery's farewell tribute to his wife Rachel, published on Desertpeace in June 2011. In his long life of now 88 years he has gained a solid reputation as a journalist, peace activist, and mediator between Israelis and Palestinians.

I was deeply disappointed, saddened, I was devastated, to find out that Uri Avnery is not a peace activist anymore, he is a war activist. His conversion is even more despicable because he does the biding of the imperial powers (USA and her NATO allies plus the Gulf monarchies) under the disguise of a wise elder statesman and a peace loving person with high moral standards.

It is evident that he does great harm because under the disguise of a peace activist he is able to sow confusion and unease among the activist community and to weaken the cause for peace and self-determination of Palestinians.

Maybe he is just coming back to his roots, after all, wasn't he in his younger years (from 1938 to 1942) a member of the Irgun?

Even if I would never formulate my disappointment and disgust in such emotional terms as Jonathan Azaziah did in his widely distributed and discussed text "The Case Of Uri Avnery", and I also don't condone the expressed Holocaust denial and blatant Antisemitism, I agree with the main message of Azaziah's article.

One could argue, that Uri Avnery simply lost his way and because of his advanced age of 88 years lacks the ability to analytically dissect and evaluate the zillions of bits and pieces of information that are constantly poured onto us, but I read his piece "Shukran, Israel", and though I profoundly disagree with the tenor of this text it is admittedly well formulated and logical (at least inside the constraints of a supremacist and colonial mindset).

His analysis that Israel aided the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism is accurate, he only omits the fact, that this resurgence will cement the patriarchal social structures, will strengthen or reinstall a feudal system, will perpetuate sectarian and ethnic divisions in Arabic nations. The resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism and the toppling of secular regimes (Iraq, Libya, Syria) which tried to modernize their countries based on socialist principles is the best thing that can happen to the neocolonial powers and will allow them to exploit the resources of Arab nations for a pittance as long as there is any drop of oil or water left in the ground.

Forget the warning and whining about Islamic terrorism, The "war against terror" is just a sideshow. The terrorists are useful tools, they for instance are perfect scapegoats for curbing civil rights and shovel money to the "military industrial complex". Terror groups can be corrupted, bribed, co-opted, neutralized, they can be used in many respects in the shadowy war that the imperial powers wage against the rest of the worlds nations.

Uri Avnery's last writings prove, that he still has a sharp mind and there is no excuse for his support of the conquest of Libya and the impending conquests of Syria and Iran. The only explanation for this position is plain self interest, isn't he an Israeli after all?

Israel profited from the destruction of Libya, which was an active supporter of Palestinians, and will even rake in greater profits from a destruction of Syria. 

The destruction of Syria by a bombing campaign or by civil war will remove another active supporter of Palestinians from the scene, and it will also secure the conquest of the Golan Heights (annexed in 1981 in defiance of Security Council Resolution 497). The water reserves of the Golan Heights, especially the Banias River, are desperately needed for agricultural irrigation and for northern Israeli cities. 

A destroyed and conquered Syria would not be able to launch dam projects and further reduce the water flow of the Jordan River. Israel would also be able to start another war against a weakened Hezbollah and secure control of the Hasbani River, another contributor to the Jordan River.

I was saddened to see a defense for Uri Avnery mounted on Desertpeace, a blog that I hold in high regard. I read every post carefully and until now I didn't mind the fact, that Desertpeace has not taken a clear stance against the NATO bombing of Libya and against the destabilization of Syria. But I have to ask now: Please, Joseph Dana, explain your position! You mounted a defense for Uri Avnery with a text that for sure evoked fond memories but was completely unrelated, if not to say irrelevant to Uri Avnery's views about Libya and Syria.

Please, Joseph Dana, tell us what you think about Libya and Syria! 

Sometimes the truth is hard to face.

I'm tired and my fingers hurt already from writing about Libya and Syria, therefore I didn't include any details here. They can be found in various posts on my blog.