Archive for the ‘Stopping Hate’ Category
Serj Tankian “Yes, it’s Genocide” Call for Videos
Thursday, September 9th, 2010Christian Science Monitor: For biased critics of Israel, even its defensive actions violate human rights
Friday, August 20th, 2010Legitimate debate is one thing. But reflexive bias against Israel means even basic security efforts to defend innocent civilians are criticized as violations of human rights.
By Jeffrey Robbins / July 29, 2010
Boston
In 1947, when excusing Soviet totalitarianism had become quite the rage in fashionable progressive circles, George Orwell eviscerated a British politician who consistently defended totalitarians but nevertheless denied that he was a defender of totalitarianism. “But of course he does,” Orwell wrote. “What else could he say? A pickpocket does not go to the races with a label ‘pickpocket’ on his coat lapel, and a propagandist does not describe himself as a propagandist.”
Orwell’s point holds true for today’s debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His pickpocket metaphor seems particularly applicable to those critics of Israel who can always be counted upon to decide that Israel has behaved miserably in defending herself, regardless of the suffering of Israeli civilians that their government is seeking to prevent and regardless of the actions of those who have caused that suffering.
For biased critics of Israel, even its defensive actions violate human rights
Legitimate debate is one thing. But reflexive bias against Israel means even basic security efforts to defend innocent civilians are criticized as violations of human rights.
BostonIn 1947, when excusing Soviet totalitarianism had become quite the rage in fashionable progressive circles, George Orwell eviscerated a British politician who consistently defended totalitarians but nevertheless denied that he was a defender of totalitarianism. “But of course he does,” Orwell wrote. “What else could he say? A pickpocket does not go to the races with a label ‘pickpocket’ on his coat lapel, and a propagandist does not describe himself as a propagandist.”
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Orwell’s point holds true for today’s debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His pickpocket metaphor seems particularly applicable to those critics of Israel who can always be counted upon to decide that Israel has behaved miserably in defending herself, regardless of the suffering of Israeli civilians that their government is seeking to prevent and regardless of the actions of those who have caused that suffering.
The Making of a Mosque Mess
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 17, 2010; 9:36 AM
On Dec. 8, 2009, the New York Times published a story about a planned development in lower Manhattan:
“The building has no sign that hints at its use as a Muslim prayer space, but these modest beginnings point to a far grander vision: an Islamic center near the city’s most hallowed piece of land that would stand as one of ground zero’s more unexpected and striking neighbors.
VOA: Polish Prisoners on Front Lines in Fight Against Anti-Semitism
Saturday, July 31st, 2010Like many countries in Eastern Europe, Poland is dotted with hundreds of Jewish cemeteries left behind when the country’s Jewish population was decimated during World War II. But Poland’s Jewish community and its Prison Service are teaming up to care for the grave sites and combat anti-Semitism at the same time.
Saturday, July 31st, 2010
Press release
OSCE rights office, Holocaust education task force formalize co-operation on combating anti-Semitism
JERUSALEM, 21 July 2010 – The Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, today formalized the office’s partnership with the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF) by signing, together with ITF chair Dan Tichon, a memorandum of understanding aimed at intensifying joint efforts to combat anti-Semitism.
Ynet: Darfur teen to visit Auschwitz
Friday, July 9th, 2010Muhammad, who escaped Sudan genocide and found shelter in Israel, to travel to Nazi concentration camp with his classmates. ‘Studying about your Holocaust helps me connect to my own holocaust,’ he tells his friends
Itamar Eichner
Guardian UK: Spectres of inhumanity
Thursday, July 1st, 2010New hatreds are surfacing in Europe. The economic crisis cannot be an excuse to walk over human rights
29/06/2010 – Europe’s human rights landscape is about to change. The accession of the EU to the European convention on human rights, made possible by the Lisbon treaty, will complete a cycle begun at the end of the second world war, when human rights visionaries drew up the first international texts and the Council of Europe began its work to establish the rule of law across the continent.
The EU will join a family of 47 European countries – including global players like Russia and Turkey – in a system that brings them all under the same legal standards, monitored by the same court. But inequity and injustice are still an everyday fact for many.
The council’s human rights commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg, has already issued a warning: about 150 million of Europe’s 800 million people are living below the poverty line, with certain groups such as the Roma excluded from society; child poverty is growing; and many elderly and disabled people live in extreme hardship.
The poor and marginalised are ignored by political parties and the media. When they are victims of crime they hesitate to report it because they do not trust the police or courts. Corruption is widespread. Poor people are forced to pay for protection and services which, according to human rights law, should be free. The economic crisis only makes things worse, providing an excuse for politicians to blame the victims rather than help them.
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/29/spectres-inhumanity-new-hatreds-europe
Vedi Vitro Vivo: Excellent questions for classes on Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Sunday, May 16th, 2010Possible exam/study questions
- List and explain and give an example the four types of groups
- Explain an online group and how it has affected you
- Differentiate between Web forums and mailing lists
- Differentiate between informal and formal norms
- Explain the role in your life of injunctive norms (descriptive, explicit, implicit, subjective, personal)
- Explain with examples
- Homogeneity
- In group bias
- Group pressure
- Describe and explain an incident involving the bystander effect
- Discuss the three areas of social influence ( conformity, compliance and obediance)
News One: Kellogg Foundation Pledges $75M To Combat Racism
Sunday, May 16th, 2010The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has announced that it will lead a $75 million initiative aimed at righting some of the disparities that can lead to racism. On May 11 youth organizations from 29 states and the District of Columbia will receive grants through the “Racial Healing Initiative.” Host Michel Martin speaks with Gail Christopher, vice president of programs for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Terry Cross, director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association, one of the organizations that received a grant from the foundation.