Opinion Editorials, August 2010

Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, August 19, 2010

Gilad Atzmon: United Against Paintings

Some British Jews are desperate to stop the truth about the Jewish state being spread around.  The Jewish Chronicle reported today that Jewish  “Community leaders are battling to stop an exhibition of paintings by children from Gaza being shown in schools in the North of England.”

Jewish campaigners say they have “no objection to the paintings, but have reacted with anger at a series of talks given to accompany them.”

The man behind the exhibition and the talks is  Rod Cox, 62,  who visited Gaza and the West Bank a few times in recent years.  The exhibition, Loss Of Innocence, has been on tour since September, visiting universities, town halls and, most recently, Manchester Cathedral. It was taken to a Quaker venue in Marple, Stockport, on Monday evening and plans are under way to take it to schools in the north west.

To watch Rod Cox and the Exhibition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=575N0JRzaIs

Manchester Rep Council President Lucille Cohen said: "Rod Cox is disseminating hatred. His talk and text accompanying his exhibition either indirectly implied or overtly conveyed a number of unsubstantiated assumptions about Israel. I am astounded that Christians of good will would seem willing to become a party to this."

I guess that Lucille Cohen better read the Goldstone report. The list of Israeli war crimes against humanity is totally and overwhelmingly substantiated. As it happens, the Jewish community leaders who rush to assist the Jewish state give a clear message of Jewish collective support of Israel and its crimes. It is also almost amusing to read Zionist Lucille Cohen trying to tell Christians what the meaning of ‘good will’ is all about.

Zionist Federation co-president Joy Wolfe said: "If the pictures had been allowed to speak for themselves most people, myself included, would have found little reason to criticise the concept of the exhibition. But they weren't. They were accompanied by Rod Cox's captions which demonised Israel and invented some truly remarkable allegations."

The pictures obviously speak for themselves  and as for the Palestinian cause, slowly but surely, it becomes a universal cause. Someone also should remind Zionist Wolfe that the children of Gaza live in a siege, neither they nor their picture can travel around unless Mr Cox kindly delivers. God bless Mr Cox for his activism.

I would suggest  that Britain do itself a great favour if it proceeds with the idea of comparative literature and combine the teaching of Anne Frank with the story of Gaza children.  At the end of the day, history is meaningful once it is put in perspective.

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