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Awesome interview! Jon Stewart had him on as well. I wrote about it here: leeconomics.wordpress.com.

to hjs

Are there all kinds of Arabs? Yes there are. Three names that come to mind are Walid Shoebat, Nonie Darwish, and Brigitte Gabriel. But few are ready to risk their lives the way the above mentioned are. THey are very brave indeed.

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2009.04.20 (Lahore, Pakistan) - An 18-year-old girl is among two women shot to death by their family member on suspicion of illicit relations with men.
2009.04.20 (South Waziristan, Pakistan) - A woman and child are among three people killed during a Taliban ambush.
2009.04.20 (Baqubah, Iraq) - Eleven Iraqis are blasted to death by a Fedayeen suicide bomber.
2009.04.20 (Fallujah, Iraq) - Jihadis manage to kill two young girls with an IED.
2009.04.20 (Kismayo, Somalia) - Seven people are killed during an al-Shabaab assault.
2009.04.20 (Khost, Afghanistan) - Islamists bomb a passenger bus, killing two civilians.

To Dat from Nathan

Actually, I read The Revolt as a kid back in the 1950s. As I said, the Arabs started with terror. Unfortunately, as any forest firefighter knows, sometimes fire has to be fought with fire. When the British reneged on the League of Nations Mandate in 1939,due to warming Arab-German relations, and fearing the loss of oil from Kirkuk to their naval base in Haifa, and virtually stopped Jewiish immigration to Palestine, some splinter groups condemned by Ben Gurion's Jewish Agency did turn to insurgency methods that I call counterterror. That is reprisals,which often means tit for tat attacks. Anyhow, in 1947, the UN offered to split country between JEws and Arabs, but the Arabs chose to try to annihilate the Jews instead - and failed. But they caused two refugee problems:725,000 Arabs from Jewish controlled territory, and 850,000 Jews from the Arab countries. But the last refugee problem has been forgotten, because they are now ISraelis.

JGarbuz, you might be interested in reading
The Revolt: Story of Irgun, by
Menachem Begin.

Blowing up police facilities,
hiding weapons in ambulances,
kidnapping and killing British Soldiers,
the massacre or Arab Villages, like Deir Yassin, are all outlined, spelled out,
by Menachem Begin, in his book.

The Jews were fighting the British at that time.

The Palestinians fight the USA backed,
brutal Israel occupation of the Palestinian
people.

jgarbuz
and would u say there are all kinds of arabs?

to hjs

I lived in Israel for ten years. There are all kinds of Israelis as there are all kinds of AMericans. You have Israelis who live in North Tel Aviv who have the same opinions as Jews living in Seinfeld country on the Upper NY West Side. That is to say, liberal-left and almost appeasing by nature. Then you have Jews who came from the Arab countries who now live in Sderot in the south near Gaza and who have rockets falling them daily. So they shout "Death to the Arabs" when they go to soccer games. It all depends which Israelis you pick. The ones who live in North Tel Aviv work for HaAretz, the liberal-left, like Gideon Levy, and they trumpet the leftist line. And they get interviewed by the BBC and CNN. Not the ones getting bombed in Sderot.

jgarbuz, putting aside your comment that people with tourette's should not be on the radio. i also would see more views of israel but from israelis not just americans who want a nice place to vacation.

To DAT from Nathan

Terror as a form of struggle was first used by the Grand Mufti who murdered both Jews and Arabs from 1920 till he escaped to Berlin right before WWII to help Eichmann kill Jews in Hungary and elsewhere. The Irgun only retaliated tit for tat against Arab and British killiogs. When Arabs killed Jew, the Irgun killed Arabs. WHen the British hanged Jewish "terrorists" for blowing up installations, only then did the Irgun hang British tommies. The King David Hotel was blown up only AFTER 85% of it was turned into a British Military and Civilian headquarters, thereby turning it into a military target. There is no honest comparison. Might as well compare US special forces to Al Qaeda.

The Palestinians also have:

-Islamic Jihad
-Al Aqsa Brigade and about
5 other terrorist groups

The Palestinians have HAMAS and the
Jews had IRGUN.

Each "terrorist" organization felt they
had right on their side.

I would like to nominate Walid Shoebat or Nonie Darwish or Brigitte Gabrielle, all Arabs, to come and argue the Israeli cause.I have given up on the idea that there is an articulate and capable Jewish speaker out there capable of doing justice to the Israeli cause. I DARE WNYC to invite any of the aforementioned ARAB SPEAKERS to come on WNYC and make the case FOR Israel, because I see no Jewish speakers with the oratory capabilities, or in-depth knowledge capable of doing a decent job of it.

Yeah, I heard the rather poor speaker, constantly blowing his nose as he speaks, MOrton Klein, say his piece, immediately followed by a more articulate Arab speaker Barghouti. Israel is outnumbered 100 to 1 and so should be getting MORE speakers on radio rather than fewer, because they are outnumbered. Instead, the outnumbered Israelis are also equally outnumbered by propagandists who get 100 times more radio air time. Israel's POV needs MORE air time rather than less. And certainly needs better speaker who do not hem and haw and sputter while trying to make the case. Leftist Jews are so articulate when making the Arab cause, but only the spastic are interviewed making the right wing Israeli cause.

To hjs again.

You are right, I did leave a comment. Don't remember the topic of the talk though. I'll give it another listen.

23
I found it on the Brian Lehrer archives. Thanks. I will listen.

22
it's archived, enjoy

To 21.

I missed this Morton Klein. I'll see if they have the show archived. Thanks. I don't recall anything about it. Maybe I just forgot.

jgarbuz & Elaine

on 02/12/2009 BL had Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America on his show. not the first pro-israel american on the wnyc, not the last. jqarbuz even posted a comment, did u forget or was it another jqarbuz from queens?

Whether you agree or disagree with Reza's opinions check out the excellent documentary series by Adam Curtis the Power of Nightmares.

Reza is a heavyweight please invite him back with others who have done in-depth research on "Islamic civilization and Western civilization".

Spot on jgarbuz from Queens!

I too would like to hear a Zionist POV. May I suggest Natan Sharansky? As a former Soviet dissident, human rights activist, former prisoner of Zion & Israeli politician, he would make a most interesting guest.

jgarbuz
BL had a right wing zionist on air about 2 months ago, sorry u missed it.

When is WNYC going to have a right wing zionist on to discuss that point of view? Why is everything on WNYC from the left wing, or from the Muslim POV? Why can't an authentic Zionist Jewish POV on this conflict ever be allowed to express itself publicly? Does WNYC consider Zionism racism? I swear I just do not know why I continue to listen to this station. It must be Jewish masochism.

Jews have always been considered an alien group in European and other societies, so why should Arabs or other diasporas not feel the same? Jews are the oldest diaspora, but today there are literally hundreds of diasporas. The US, Canada, Australia and other continent-sized countries that were settled by Europeans could not have ethnicity as their basis of nationality because only the aboriginal natives could claim them as their true native homelands. Britain is a bit different.It was originally Celtic but was invaded by Romans, Germanics and Nordics so it has been more tolerant than say Germany which was more of a tribal ethnic state. You can be a citizen of Germany, but never be a German unless you have German blood. But there is no such thing as "American blood" unless you are a native American "indian."

Thank you for an insightful and engaging interview. Fabulous questions and follow-up with an author who's giving us a broader context through which to begin looking at very difficult issues.

I love the host who's covering for Leonard today.

This segment was Phony, phony, phony :< --- but great example of clever, sneaky propaganda.

I'll have my media criticism deconstruct Reza Aslan's innocuous little talk - replete with all the half truths, exaggerations and little whitewashed lies.

Another apologist for Islamist terror.
Yawn.
West is bad, Islam is good.
West needs to do more & more, make more concessions to the poor Arabs & Muslims and then maybe they'll like us.
Yawm.
Whitewash all Islamist terror goups - I mean political movements.
Demonize evangelicals.
Yawn.

Hey! Wait a minute! They've been given NO opportunities to integrate into European society? Whaaat? Don't Cherrypick the most extreme examples in order to make a point.

I don't think that you can characterize the Palestinian election as 'truly' democratic-since Hamas murders people who oppose them as Israeli-collaborators.

Hamas & Hitzbollah a legitimate, political entity that can be talked to? Hamas victory a good thing? It softened their ideology? What world are you living in?

While you delude yourself into believing that these terrorists groups, in sheep's clothing, are changing their ideology, they are re-arming for another day.

Would WNYC consider declaring a non-terror, non-Islam, non-religion day or even week when you do no stories on these topics? Since 9/11, it's been non-stop on WNYC and every other news outlet. It's exhausting to hear about over and over again, and it just may be that there are more important things for people to focus on.

Aren't George Bush and is associates self procliamed christian evangilists?

Also, where do these people get the authority to create and publish US foreign policy on their own? Isn't that illegal? Why do they believe they represent ALL Americans when they do not.

dr dave

Religious whackjobs of every stripe have been slaughtering each other (as well as those not so inclined) for thousands of years. As long as people continue to believe there's an invisible man in the sky, the killing will continue. In other words, it's not going to stop.

i think, Chris Hitchens has got it right...religion poisons everything.

Interesting guest and I will red his book, but did he actually say 50% of Americans identify themselves as evangelical Christians? If so, he should find out that that is not the case.

Mr. Aslan's book wants the US to self-reflect and police itself to be more constructive in this effort to end terrorist's destruction around the world-but what can Muslims do to end radical 'cosmic' Islamists acts.

Let's not confine our discussion to U.S. Christians and Islamic Fundamentalists. How about Benjamin Netanyahu?

By declaring a war on terror, how was it not hypocritical that Bush did not also go to war with groups like ETA and the IRA, and other nationalistic organizations who use terrorism as the primary tactic?