Top Ten Things Anthony Weiner Has Said
That Are Worse Than Sexting
10 June 2011By Juan Cole
The real scandal surrounding Anthony Weiner is that he
is bigoted against Palestinians and has misused his
position in Congress to support punitive policies
against them. Americans appear to be bored by policy,
titillated by private peccadilloes. But it is the
policies that are important. Mahatma Gandhi was once
kicked out of a brothel in South Africa. No one judges
him by his lapses. Weiner, in contrast to Gandhi, has
not worked for peace but has rather given knee-jerk
support to the worst policies of the most far
rightwing parties in Israel toward Palestinians. A
social liberal in American terms, Weiner is so blinded
by his allegiance to Israel and so studied in his
ignorance of the Middle East that he has played a
uniformly sinister role in that aspect of foreign
policy. If he were replaced by, say, an up an
up-and-coming Dominican-American politician from
Queens who had some sympathy with Arabs, that would be
all to the good.
Weiner:
1. Called for Columbia University professor Joseph
Massad to be fired for being critical of Israel;
Weiner thus spearheaded a new McCarthyism.
2. On the Israeli attack, in international waters, on
the Mavi Marmara relief ship, Weiner sputtered: ""If
you want to instigate a conflict with the Israeli navy
it isn't hard to do. They were offered alternatives.
Instead they chose to sail into the teeth of an
internationally recognized blockade." The blockade of
Gaza civilians is a breach of international law; it is
not internationally recognized and has on the contrary
been condemned by almost every nation and human rights
organization.
3. Alleged that the New York Times is anti-Israel:
";Amnesty International in particular, has always had
bias against Israel, and frankly I would argue that in
many cases, the New York Times has, as well."
4. Alleged that the Palestine Liberation Organization
is still listed by the US as a terrorist organization.
It was dropped from the list over 2 decades ago.
5. Tried to bar the Palestinian delegation to the
United Nations from New York.
6. Alleged that Mahmoud Abbas, President of the
Palestine Authority, is not the head of the PLO. He
is.
7. Refused to condemn the use by Israel of cluster
bombs on the civilian farms of south Lebanon in 2006.
8. Alleged that the Israeli army does not occupy the
West Bank and that there is no Israeli Army presence
in the West Bank.
9. Called Israel's war on Gaza a "humane" war. 400
children were killed.
10. Voted for Iraq War authorization in 2002, before
later turning against the war.
Joe Kaufman's protest against
Florida mosque attracts twenty supporters
A mosque whose imam has been charged with sending
money to the Pakistani Taliban has become the target
of a small group of protesters seeking to shut it
down.
Twenty mostly senior citizens supporting the Tea
Party of Fort Lauderdale as well as groups that call
themselves
Americans Against Hate,
Church
of All Nations and Citizens of
Margate
gathered Tuesday morning in front of Masjid Jamaat Al-Mumineen
mosque.
During a press conference to preview a
demonstration that evening, speakers demanded that the
congregation once led by Imam Izhar Khan be
investigated.
When Khan and five others were arrested in the
alleged plot last month, John V. Gillies, special
agent in charge of the FBI's
Miami office said, "I remind everyone that the Muslim
and Arab-American members of our community should
never be judged by the illegal activities of a few."
Tuesday's speakers were not swayed. "The feds are
acting politically correct," said Joe Kaufman,
chairman of Coral Springs-based Americans Against
Hate.
Six Margate police officers, some perched in an
observation tower that had been raised about the
trees, watched the demonstrators and made sure they
didn't get hit by passing traffic on Holiday Springs
Boulevard.
City Commissioner Lesa Peerman, who also came to
watch, confirmed what a police spokesman said: the
mosque has enjoyed a peaceful co-existence with the
city for many years. "I don't believe in holding an
organization responsible for the actions of one
individual," Peerman said.
As a battered black pickup drove by flying a
massive American flag from its tailgate, Peerman
pointed out that the imam has been charged but not yet
tried. "Thank God we live in a country where people
can protest peacefully, people are innocent until
proven guilty and we have freedom of religion,"
Peerman said.
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