Shakespeare and Zionism

It will come, Humanity must perforce prey on itself, Like monsters of the deep“If that the heavens do not their visible spirits
Send quickly down to tame these vile offences,
It will come,
Humanity must perforce prey on itself,
Like monsters of the deep.”

(King Lear, act 2, sc. 2)

Comment. The relentless and continuous crimes of the Zionist state cannot but excite the regret and indignation of every spectator whose mind is not totally darkened by religious or racial prejudice.

Albert Einstein, for one, wrote extensively about Palestine, Israel, Zionism and Judaism. And he said, “The first and most important necessity is the creation of a modus vivendi [way of living] with the Arab people.”

Einstein inflicted a wound on the superstition that claims any superior rights for Jews. He called for “complete equality” for Palestinian Arabs as the “most important aspect” of Jewish policy,

“The most important aspect of our policy must be our ever-present, manifest desire to institute complete equality for the Arab citizens living in our midst … The attitude we adopt toward the Arab minority will provide the real test of our moral standards as a people.”

As well as a scientist, Einstein was a philosopher, a humanitarian and a peace activist. What did he have to say about Palestine and Israel?
“The strength of our whole movement [Zionism] rests in its moral justification, with which it must stand or fall.”

Those unfamiliar with the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, or have been told that Israel is “only defending itself,” may want to meditate on the following words by Einstein, written on the occasion of a visit to the US by Begin,

“Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our times is the emergence in the newly created state of Israel of the “Freedom Party” (Tnuat Haherut), a political party closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties. It was formed out of the membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine.
The current visit of Menachem Begin, leader of this party, to the United States is obviously calculated to give the impression of American support for his party in the coming Israeli elections, and to cement political ties with conservative Zionist elements in the United States. Several Americans of national repute have lent their names to welcome his visit. It is inconceivable that those who oppose fascism throughout the world, if correctly informed as to Mr. Begin”s political record and perspectives, could add their names and support to the movement he represents.”

And on April 17, 1938 in a speech to the National Labor Committee for Palestine, Einstein said, “I should much rather see reasonable agreement with the Arabs on the basis of living together in peace than the creation of a Jewish state. Apart from the practical considerations, my awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power, no matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain, especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks, against which we have already had to fight without a Jewish state.”

Einstein has not been the only voice of reason before every congressman or senator of the US of A must be or declare himself a “Zionist” or lose his/her seat.
Other voices of reason include Noam Chomsky, the recently deceased Howard Zinn, Harold Pinter, Professor Finkelstein, to name a few.

Probably, the most regressive and superstitious fringe of the US citizenry, are the “Christians for Israel” right wing madmen. The leaders of this sect inflame the devotion of their faithful by a superstition exceeding the bounds of the imaginable. That is, when Israel will have conquered the whole Middle East, then and only then Jesus will return to earth.

You may think that religious Israelis should view this prediction with horror, given that Jesus was heretical and killed for being such (at least as the legend goes). But no, the Zionist government of Israel welcomes the “Christians for Israel”.

The cases can only be two, either the rabid Zionists believe in a return of Jesus, but that would be an insult to their intelligence (and their religion). They may be evil but certainly not stupid. Or they welcome such crass idiocy as it supports their policy.

And for those who still believe that “Israel wants peace”, here is a collection of statements by prominent Zionists pertaining to the issue.

There is no such thing as a Palestinian.”—Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (later parroted by Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum)
“They [the Palestinians] are as grasshoppers in our sight.”—Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir
“The Palestinians are like crocodiles …”—Prime Minister Ehud Barak
“We shall reduce the Palestinians to a community of woodcutters and waiters.”—Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
“Eretz Israel will be restored to the people of Israel. All of it. And for Ever.”—Prime Minister Menachem Begin
“[The Palestinians] are beasts walking on two legs.”—Begin
“We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.”—Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
“There is no Zionism, colonization, or Jewish state without the EVICTION of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands.”—Sharon
“I believed and to this day still believe, in our people’s eternal and historic right to this entire land.”—Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
“Zionism is a TRANSFER of the Jews.”—David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister
Regarding the TRANSFER of the Arabs, this is much easier than any other TRANSFER.”—Ben-Gurion
“The compulsory TRANSFER of the Arabs … could give us something we never had [even in Biblical times].”—Ben-Gurion
“Jewish power, which grows steadily, will also increase our possibilities to carry out the TRANSFER on a large scale.”—Ben-Gurion
“With compulsory TRANSFER we have a vast area … I don’t see anything immoral in it.”—Ben-Gurion
It is impossible to imagine general EVACUATION without compulsion, and brutal compulsion.”—Ben-Gurion
“There are two issues here: sovereignty and the REMOVAL of a certain number of Arabs; we must insist on both.”Ben-Gurion
“Before [statehood] our main interest was self-defense … But now the issue at hand is conquest, not self-defense.”Ben-Gurion
“We should prepare to go over to the offensive. Our aim is to smash Lebanon, Trans-Jordan, and Syria.”Ben-Gurion
“We must do everything to ensure they [ethnically cleansed Palestinian refugees] never return.”—Ben-Gurion
“[Gaza will suffer] a bigger Shoah [Holocaust]”—Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, before Israel used white phosphorous on Gaza
“We shall use the ultimate force until Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours.”—Deputy Prime Minister Rafael Eitan
“[When we build settlements] Arabs will only be able to scurry around like drugged cockroaches in a bottle.”—Eitan
“Spirit the penniless [Arab] population across the border by denying it employment.”—Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism
“The REMOVAL [ethnic cleansing] of the poor [Arabs] must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly.”—Herzl
“It is our right to TRANSFER [ethnically cleanse] the Palestinians!”—Jewish National Fund Director Yossef (Joseph) Weitz
“We [Zionists] all applaud, day and night, the IRON WALL.”—Ze’ev Jabotinsky, spiritual father of the Likud, Begin, Sharon, et al
“This IRON WALL is our policy towards the Arabs. To formulate it any other way would be hypocrisy.”—Jabotinsky
“Zionist colonization … must either be terminated or carried out in defiance of the will of the native population.”—Jabotinsky
“Zionism is a colonizing adventure and, therefore, it stands or falls on the question of armed forces.”—Jabotinsky
“The Arab is culturally backward … his instinctive patriotism … cannot be bought, it can only be curbed [by] major force.”—Jabotinsky
“There is no justice, no law, no God in heaven; only a single law which decides and supersedes all: [Jewish] settlement.”—Jabotinsky
“I devote my life to the rebirth of the Jewish State, with a Jewish majority, on both sides of the Jordan.”—Jabotinsky
“If we desire … a Jewish State, we must first of all create a Jewish majority [by expelling Arabs.]”—Jabotinsky
“If it was possible to TRANSFER the Baltic peoples, it is also possible to TRANSFER the Palestinians.”—Jabotinsky
“The Islamic soul must be broomed [swept, ethnically cleansed] out of Eretz-Yisrael.”Jabotinsky
“[Muslims are] yelling rabble dressed up in gaudy, savage rags.”—Jabotinsky
“Hitler—as odious as he is to us—has given this idea [ethnic cleansing] a good name in the world.”—Jabotinsky
“The interests of security demand that we get rid of them.” Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett
TRANSFER [ethnic cleansing] could be the crowning achievement, the final stage in the development of [Zionist] policy …” Sharett
“We are equally determined to explore all possibilities of getting rid, once and for all, of the huge Arab minority …” Sharett
“The killing [of Palestinians] is a good deed, and Jews should have no compunction about it.”—Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg
“If there are other inhabitants there, they must be TRANSFERRED to some other place.”—Menachem Ussishkin
“[Land is acquired] by force—that is, by CONQUEST in war, or in other words, by ROBBING land from its owner.”—Ussishkin
“This the land problem … the [Palestinian] Arabs do not want us because we want to be the rulers.”—Ussishkin
“Eventually we will have to thin out the number of Palestinians living in the territories.”—General Eitan Ben Elyahu
“There are no two peoples here. There is a Jewish people and an Arab population.”Benzion Netanyahu
“We should CONQUER any disputed territory in the Land of Israel. CONQUER and hold it, even if it brings us years of war.“—Netanyahu
“[War with Arabs] will include withholding food from Arab cities, preventing education, terminating electrical power and more.”Netanyahu
“They won’t be able to exist, and will run away from here. But it all depends on war, and whether we win the battles.”Netanyahu
“[Operation Cast Lead was] not enough … we should have hit harder.”Netanyahu
“There is no Palestinian people, so you don’t create a state for an imaginary nation.”Netanyahu
“They only call themselves a people in order to fight the Jews.”Netanyahu
“We enthusiastically chose to become a colonialist society, ignoring international treaties, expropriating lands … “—Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair

Do we need any more evidence than what the prime movers of Zionism said themselves, and the terrible things they actually did, which confirm their own self-incriminating words?

Few would have believed that after the 1967 war against the Arabs Israel would not have returned the land stolen to their inhabitants. (UN Resolution 242 – a joke like the US aggressions and annihilation of people and countries to bring them “freedom and democracy”).  A look at the map does not require explanations. Not only, but as ex-presidential candidate Pat Buchanan said, “The US Congress is Israeli occupied territory”. To which we should add the banks and the media.

It may behoove the Zionists and the imperialists to remember the following instructive lines, historically proven correct,

“Then every thing includes itself in power,
Power into will, will into appetite;
And appetite, an universal wolf,
So doubly seconded with will and power,
Must make perforce an universal prey,
And last eat up himself”
(Troilus and Cressida, act 1, sc. 3)

In the play.  The Duke of Albany to his wicked wife Goneril. The offences are those perpetrated by Goneril and her sister Regan against their father Lear

Image Source: Information publicly available

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One Response to Shakespeare and Zionism

  1. Jimmie, as a serious reader of Shakespeare (and an Israeli), I still very much look forward to peace. I saw at your carefully collected list of quotations, and can easily match it with quotations by Israelis who work for peace in an ongoing, sincere manner. Your tendentious hypostatization about Israel says much about your deep prejudice. What is you are really trying to prove? Do you have any quotations from Shiite and/or Sunni citizens of Syria? As a concerned, close neighbour of Syria, I cannot but wonder how much longer the enlightened Western World will continue behaving like spectators in the Rome’s Colosseum. Jimmie, your evoke Shakespeare’s “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” As a Holocaust Survivor, I sense in your words the hatred that motivated the deportation of my entire family to the gas chambers. We know how much we need peace – no matter how many more quotes you will list. Come and visit Israel you may be very pleasantly surprised to see how hard we are working for peace.

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