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What You're Missing in our subscriber-only CounterPunch newsletter MY LAI VET SAYS: HERE IT COMES AGAIN IN IRAQ Tony Swindell recalls "Butcher's Brigade" in '69; says "gooks" have now become "ragheads", every adult male is an "insurgent" ... atrocities against Iraqi civilians are soon going to explode in America's face; US Government's courtroom jihads against terror stumble. Alexander Cockburn on Lodi case where Feds paid $250,000 to man who "saw" world's three top terrorists at mosque. As neocons and Israel lobby howl for US to bomb Teheran, an Iranian outlines simple path to peace. CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! Get CounterPunch By Email for Only $35 a Year

Today's Stories May Day, 2006 Alexander Cockburn The War on Terror on the Lodi Front Website of the Day Survival of the Fattest April 29 / 30, 2006 Peter Linebaugh May Day with Heart Ralph Nader Break Up the Big Oil Cartel Robert Bryce The Scandal of the V-22: It Kills, It Crashes, But It Won't Die Rev. William Alberts Praying for Peace or Preying on Peace? Time for People of Faith to Censure Bush Lee Sustar Opening a New Movement John Chuckman Xenophobia in a Land of Immigrants Eric Ruder An Interview with Camilo Meija on the War and Immigrants Seth Sandronsky Securing the Homeland for Whom Ron Jacobs Neil Young's Call to Arms Ben Tripp A Fork in the American Road Fred Gardner Forgotten Memories: Personal and Political Don Monkerud Corruption Reform in the Age of Abramoff: Not a Roar, But a Whimper Tommy Stevenson JazzFest, Tears and the Renewal of New Orleans Lettrist International Proposals for Rationally Improving the City of Paris Contratiempo Back to the Back of the Yards: the Jungle, 100 Years Later St. Clair, Vest and D'Antoni CounterPunch Playlist: What We're LIstening to This Week Poets' Basement Engel, Orloski and Guthrie   April 28, 2006 James Ridgeway What You Won't See in Flight 93, the Film Ramzy Baroud Hamas' Impossible Mission Sarah Knopp An Interview with Nativo Lopez on the May Day Protests William S. Lind Off With His Head!: But Rumsfeld's Should Not be the Only One That Rolls Werther Operation Canned Meat and Its Derivatives April 27, 2006 Winslow T. Wheeler How Much is the War Costing? How Many US Troops are Really in Iraq? Robert Fisk The United States of Israel? Juan Santos Immigration Endgame Robert Jensen Why Leftists Distrust Liberals Dave Lindorff Making America Safer: One Released War Crime Victim at a Time Jose Pertierra Honor and Injustice:the Case of the Cuban Five   April 26,2006 Robin Philpot The Rich Life of Jane Jacobs Sherry Wolf Democrats, Their Apologists and Abortion: the Jig is Up Pratyush Chandra Nepal: a Saga of Compromise and Struggle Joshua Frank Zig-Zagging Through the War With John Kerry Gary Leupp The Neo-Cons and Iran: No Negotiations Bill Quigley Katrina: Eight Months Later     April 25, 2006 Gary Leupp Wilkinson Speaks Out About the Coming War on Iran Paul Craig Roberts The World is Uniting Against the Bush Imperium Linda S. Heard Is the US Waging Israel's Wars?: the Prophecy of Oded Yinon Ralph Nader Political Science: Gingrich, "Futurism" and the Abolition of the OTA Mike Whitney Preparing for the Economic Typhoon Michael Donnelly Lutherans Betray Michigan's Loon Lake Wetlands for Pieces of Silver Sharon Smith Breathing New Life Into May Day Website of the Day SDS Ver. 2   April 24, 2006 Tim Wise What Kind of Card is Race? John Stanton Strike Iran, Watch Pakistan and Turkey Fall Dave Lindorff Dangerous Times Ahead Steve Shore Berlusconi Defeated: The Long Wait is Over ... Or Is It? Amadou Deme Hotel Rwanda: Setting the Record Straight Mickey Z. 15 Minutes of Radical Fame: America Meets Bill Blum and Ward Churchill Ralph Nader Lee Raymond's Unconscionable Platinum Parachute Alexander Cockburn Obama's Game Website of the Day Too Stupid to Be President?   April 22/23, 2006 Jeffrey St. Clair The General, GM and the Stryker Jeff Halper SUMUD vs. Apartheid: the Elections in Palestine and Israel Jeff Klein How to Manufacture a War Criminal: Saddam and Me, a True Story Thomas P. Healy Out Now: an Interview with Anthony Arnove David Underhill Stuck in Mobile with the Rev. Graham Blues Again Lee Sustar "We are Going to Keep Marching": an Interview with Immigrant Rights Organizer Martín Unzueta Deb Reich The Little Mermaid on Highway Six: Rooting for Ordinary Israelis to Wake Up John Chuckman America's Gulag: Purge at the CIA Fred Gardner More Suppression of Marijuana Research Julian Edney Can Our Economy Run Without Fear? Seth Sandronsky The GOP and California's Levees Brynne Keith-Jennings The Meddlesome Ambassador Trivelli: Undermining Democracy in Nicaragua Dave Lindorff Where are the Frogs? Catherine Ann Cullen and Harry Browne Springsteen Polishes His Roots: First Impressions of "We Shall Overcome" Bill Pahnelas Bush Passes the Buck on Soaring Gas Prices Jim French Time to Overhaul US Farm Policy Ron Jacobs "I Know I'm Not Dreaming, Because I Can't Sleep Any More" David Krieger The Courage of Sophie Scholl: Resisting Hitler Jeffrey St. Clair Playlist: What I'm Listening to This Week Poets' Basement Buknatski, Engel and Ford Website of the Weekend Eye of the Storm   April 21, 2006 Jonathan Cook The Sinister Meaning of Olmert's "Hitkansut": Deporting Hamas MPs Lawrence R. Velvel Physical Courage, Moral Courage and American Generals Evelyn Pringle How to Out a CIA Agent Christopher Brauchli The Rich are Different Pratyush Chandra Pure-and-Simple Revolutions in Nepal and Venezuela Michael George Smith This is What a Movement Looks Like Missy Comley Beattie Serving at the Decider's Pleasure Sarah Hines The Bracero Program: 1942-1964 Website of the Day Hunger Strike at U. of Miami   April 20, 2006 Chris Kutalik As Crisis Deepens, Is Labor Finally Showing Signs of a Comeback? Gary Leupp Cheney, the Neocons and China Joshua Frank Stop the War! Dump the Democrats! Diane Christian The Authority to Kill William S. Lind Sweeping Up: the Real Problem Wasn't the Execution of the War, But the Enterprise Itself Ramzy Baroud A Case for the Palestinan Government Justin E.H. Smith Doctors and Lethal Injection   April 19, 2006 P. Sainath More Kids? Pay More for Your Water Norman Solomon When Diplomacy Means War: Bait-and-Switch on Iran Anthony Papa When Justice Isn't Blind: Double Standards for the Rich and Poor in New York Mike Ferner Movement Blues Stanley Heller The Massacre at Qana, 10 Years Later: Still No Justice Rifundazione "We Defeated Berlusconi" Christopher Reed Secrets of the Garden of Bliss Alexander Cockburn The Pulitzer Farce Website of the Day Bunker Busters: the Movie April 18, 2006 Paul Craig Roberts How Safe is Your Job? Eric Wingerter Washington Post vs. Venezuela Juan Santos What Immigrants Need to Learn from the Black Civil Rights Movement Greg Weiher The Zarqawi Gambit Revisited Sam Bahour Is Hamas Being Forced to Collapse? Behzad Yaghmaian In the Gaze of New Orleans Website of the Day The FBI and the Jack Anderson Files   April 17, 2006 Kevin Zeese An Interview with the First Arab-American Senator: Jim Abourezk on Bush's Lies and the Dems' Complicity Uri Avnery Olmert the Fox Norman Solomon Why Won't Moveon.Org Oppose the Bombing of Iran? John Ross A Real Day Without Mexicans? Laila al-Haddad The Earth is Closing in on Us: Dispatch from Gaza Jeffrey Blankfort A Tale of Two Members of Congress and the Capitol Hill Police Website of the Day Dixie Chicks: Not Ready to Back Down   April 15 / 16, 2006 Jeffrey St. Clair How Star Wars Came to the Arctic Ralph Nader Remembering Rev. William Sloan Coffin Thaddeus Hoffmeister The Ghost of Shinseki: the General Who Was Sent Out to Pasture for Being Right Kevin Prosen / Dave Zirin Privilege Meets Protest at Duke Thomas P. Healy Taking Care of What We've Been Given: a Conversation with Wendell Berry Kristoffer Larsson Are 40 Percent of All Swedes Anti-Semitic?: Anatomy of a Statistical Flim-Flam Fred Gardner Continuing Medical (Marijuana) Education Edwin Krales New York's Katrina: the Hidden Toll of AIDS Among Blacks and the Poor Brian Cloughley Don't Blitz Iran: Risking the Ultimate Blowback John Holt Walking Off Vietnam with Edward Abbey's Surrogate Son Seth Sandronsky What Billionaires Mean By Education Reform: Oprah, Bill Gates and the Privatization of Public Schools Rafael Renteria Making It Plain About New Orleans Michael Ortiz Hill In the Ashes of Lament: an Easter Meditation William A. Cook An Israel Accountability Act Gideon Levy Shooting Nasarin: a Story About a Little Girl Andrew Wimmer Stopping the Bush Juggernaut: a New Citizens Campaign Madis Senner Talking Points for Easter Weekend: Jesus Didn't Lie, Mr. Bush Michael Kuehl The Sex Police State: Women as "Rapists" and "Pedophiles"? Mark Scaramella When Even God Can't Follow His Own Commandments: the Timeless Scarcasm of Mark Twain Nate Mezmer 187 Proof: Living and Dying Hip-Hop Jesse Walker Playlist Poets' Basement Engel, Laymon and Subiet Website of the Weekend Pink Serenades Bush   April 14, 2006 Col. Dan Smith Candor or Career?: Why Few Top Military Officials Resign on Principle Saul Landau Ho Chi Minh City Moves On Without Regrets Stan Cox The Real Death Tax Kevin Zeese Hersh vs. Bush on Iran: Who Would You Believe? Brian McKinlay Bad Times for Bush's Buddies Howard Meyers Dwarves, Knives and Freedom: Bush, Jr. is No LBJ Ishmael Reed The Colored Mind Doubles: How the Media Uses Blacks to Chastize Blacks Website of the Day Asshole: a Film Strip   April 13, 2006 CounterPunch News Service Powell's "Bitch"? Norman Solomon The Lobby and the Bulldozer Stanley Heller Time to Shake Up the Peace Movement Jeff Birkenstein Bush and Freedom of Speech Evelyn J. Pringle Not So Fast, Mr. Powell Michael Donnelly The Week the Bush Administration Fell Apart Kamran Matin Synergism of the Neo-Cons: What's Going On In Iran? Website of the Day "Don't Be Afraid of the Neo-Cons"   April 12, 2006 Vijay Prashad Resisting Fences Alan Maass The Suicide of Anthony Soltero Dave Lindorff Bush's Insane First Strike Policy: If You Don't Want to Get Whacked, You'd Better Get Your Nation a Nuke ... Fast Ron Jacobs Resistance: the Remedy for Fear Ramzy Baroud The Imminent Decline of the American Empire? Randall Dodd How a Wal-Mart Bank will Harm Consumers Missy Comley Beattie The Boy President Who Cried "Wolf!" P. Sainath The Corporate Hijack of India's Water Website of the Day "The System is Irretrievably Corrupt"   April 11, 2006 Al Krebs Corporate Agriculture's Dirty Little Secret: Immigration and a History of Greed Lawrence R. Velvel The Gang That Couldn't Leak Straight Sonia Nettinin Palestinian Health Care Conditions Under Israeli Occupation Willliam S. Lind The Fourth Plague Hits the Pentagon: Generals as Private Contractors Robert Ovetz Endangered Species in a Can: the Disappearance of Big Fish Pratyush Chandra Nepalis Say, "Ya Basta!" Grant F. Smith The Bush Administration's Final Surprise? Laray Polk Loud, Soft, Hard, Quiet: Marching Through Dallas for Immigrant Rights Francis Boyle O'Reilly and the Law of the Jungle: How to Beat a Bully on His Home Turf José Pertierra A Glimpse into the Mindset of Terrorists: Posada Carriles, Orlando Bosch and the Downing of Cubana Flight 455 Website of the Day The Dead Emcee Scrolls   April 10, 2006 Ralph Nader Tinhorn Caesar and the Spineless Democrats Heather Gray Atlanta and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Uri Avnery The Big Wink Joshua Frank Big Greens and Beltway Politics: Betting on Losers Seth Sandronsky Immigration and Occupations Michael Leonardi The Italian Elections: "Reality is No Longer Important" Evelyn Pringle Did Bush Pull a Fast One on Fitzgerald? Tom Kerr FoxNews Does Ward Churchill Lucinda Marshall The Lynching of Cynthia McKinney Website of the Day Brown Berets April 7 -9, 2006 Alexander Cockburn If Only They'd Hissed Barack Obama Jeffrey St. Clair The Saga of Magnequench: Outsourcing US Missile Technology to China Patrick Cockburn The War Gets Grimmer Every Day David Vest The Rebuking and Scorning of Cynthia McKinney Dave Lindorff The Impeachment Clock Just Clicked Forward Gary Leupp "Ideologies of Hatred:" What Did Condi Mean? Elaine Cassel The Moussaoui Trial: What Kind of Justice is This? Saul Landau Vietnam Diary: Hue Without Rules James Ridgeway "This is Betty Ong Calling": a Short Film Ron Jacobs Why Iran was Right to Refuse US Money John Walsh Kerry Advocates Iraqization: Too Little, Too Late Ramzy Baroud The US Attitude Toward Hamas: Disturbing Parallels with Nicaragua Christopher Brauchli Bush Finds Democracy Has Its Limits Todd Chretien What the Pentagon Budget Could Buy for America Jonathan Scott Javelins at the Head of the Monolith John Bomar What They're Saying About Bush in Arkansas Michele Brand Iran, the US and the EU Ronan Sheehan Remember When the Irish First Met the Chinese? Mickey Z. Let Us Now Praise OIL Don Monkerud March of the Bunglers Michael Dickinson The Rich Young Man: a Miracle Play Website of the Weekend The Case Against Israel and Munich: Compare and Contrast     April 6, 2006 John Ross Mexico's Most Toxic Presidential Election Ever Dave Lindorff Time to Get on Message with the Sissy French Don Monkerud The Strange Case of the American Worker Robert McDonald The Texas Railroad to Death Row: How Prosecutors Fabricated a Case Against Rodney Reed Boris Kagarlitsky A Marriage of Convenience in Ukraine Remi Kanazi The Assault on Cynthia McKinney Niranjan Ramakrishnan Untangling the Issues in the Immigration Debates Robert Fisk A Lesson from the Holocaust for Us All   April 5, 2006 Dick J. Reavis Pancho Bin Laden and the Terrorists' Tombs Mark Brenner Workers in the Aftermath of Katrina: Survival of the Fittest Brian Cloughley Nailing the Lies: Come Clean, Mr. Bush Jozef Hand-Boniakowski Why Democrats Are At Least Half of the Problem Matt Vidal Republican Bliss: the Selfish Road to Happiness Juan Santos The Politics of Immigration: a Nation of Colonists and Race Laws Alan Maass Week of the Walkouts JoAnn Wypijewski Malevolent Power at Ft. Sill: the Army Slays Its Own Website of the Day My Life in the Bush of Ghosts   April 4, 2006 Jackson Thoreau How the Hammer Got Nailed: Taking Down Tom DeLay Gary Corseri Osama's Favorite Writer?: an Interview with William Blum Dave Lindorff Provocative Humanitarianism?: Bashing Hugo Chavez at the NYT Paul Craig Roberts Belligerent to the Bitter End Norman Solomon When War Crimes Are Unspeakable: Bush, Always the Accuser, Never the Accused Michael Carmichael The Christocrat: Condi Does Britain Winslow T. Wheeler Is the F-22 Worth the Price-Tag? Ingmar Lee Is Another World Possible?: Report from Karachi Michael Neumann The Israel Lobby and Beyond Website of the Day West Point Graduates Against the War   April 3, 2006 Saul Landau Vietnam Diary: "What Socialism?" Richard Thieme The CIA: Cowboys, Indians and Whistleblowers, an Interview with David MacMichael Timothy B. Tyson Race, Class and Rape at Duke Omar Barghouti The Israeli Elections: a Decisive Vote for Apartheid Iwasaki Atsuko "As Israelis, We Also Fight for Palestinians:" an Interview with Jeff Halper Julian Edney A Terrible Weapon in the Hands of the Rich Roger Morris Catfight Among the Conservatives   April 1 / 2, 2006 Alexander Cockburn Truth and Fiction in Elie Wiesel's "Night" Ralph Nader Exxon/Mobil: the Corporate Superpower of Superpowers Dave Zirin The Press Mob, Their Rope and Barry Bonds: Damn Right Race Matters David Underhill Walkin' to New Orleans Earl Ofari Hutchinson Do Immigrants Really Take Jobs from Urban Poor? Dave Lindorff Sen. Orrin Hatch: Defender of Presidential Lawlessness P. Sainath Where India's Brave New World is Headed Fred Gardner Debunking "Amotivational Syndrome" Clancy Chassay Hamas or Al Qaeda? The Gun or the Ballot Box? Heather Gray The Inspiring Face of Immigration: Australia and the American Rural Southeast Greg Moses Austin Students Walkout: "We're a Group This Country Needs" John Chuckman When the Violent Enforce the Peace: America's Brutal Tactics in Iraq Ron Jacobs Leaving Iraq Now is the Only Sensible Solution Jeffrey St. Clair Playlist: What I'm Listening to This Week Poets' Basement Holt, Engel, Subiet, Ford and Davies Website of the Weekend Pentagon Thievery     Subscribe Online

May Day Edition May 1, 2006 Self-Haters Unite! The Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoons Contest By GILAD ATZMON More than two months ago, following the cartoon scandal and the outrage of the Muslim world that ensued, a group of Israelis announced their own anti-Jewish cartoons contest. At the time, they received very wide coverage in the Israeli media and Jewish supportive press around the world. At the end of the day, the Israelis in particular, and Jews in general, insist on being 'seen' as open-minded beings, people who can easily handle self-mockery. The contest is now over. More than a few cartoons were submitted from around the world, many of them made by Jews and Israelis. Most of the cartoons are hilariously vicious, but -- how can one put it -- the Jewish and the Israeli media are now far less enthusiastic about the entire issue of self-mockery. Two out of the four jurists (Art Spiegelman and Amos Biderman) were quick to distance themselves from the contest, dismissing the submissions as disappointing, low quality work. While Spiegelman suggested that the cartoons were "frightening for being too real, lack any sense of irony, and look very much like genuine Anti-Semitic cartoons," Biderman insisted that the illustrations are not funny at all and fall into the category of "letting the shit hit the fan." "We don't think this is the right way," said a spokesman for the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. The Simon Wiesenthal Center dismissed the contest as "gallows humor." Once it was clear what the imagery of the cartoons might suggest, Israeli mainstream press imposed upon itself a complete silence. It is fairly clear that the artists who sent in their cartoons have something to say about the devastating Jewish reality, something that Israeli and Jewish media would prefer to brush under the carpet. As it seems, the two artists behind the contest (Eyal Zusman and Amitai Sandi) were abandoned. The Israelis and the Jewish media failed miserably in the 'self- mockery exam'. In an article named 'Kosher Anti-Semites', Henryk M. Broder, a German and a devoted supporter of Israel, offered an insight into the content of the Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoons Contest. "In the past," says Broder, "there were Jewish anti-Semites like Karl Marx, Otto Weininger and Karl Kraus, yet they were all operating as individuals, not as a collective. Nowadays," Broder concludes, "this could change." Indeed, Mr Broder is absolutely correct, this could change, and in fact, it has already changed. In an era in which Jews celebrate their symptoms collectively, as well as violently, it is rather natural that a few Jews who happen to be ethically motivated and talented enough to express themselves would raise their voices. Seemingly, the morally deteriorated conduct of the Jewish state and its supportive Jewish lobbies around the world push some Jews towards some manifestations of collective self-hate. The Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoons Contest has illustrated, with a real collection of 'Kosher anti-Semitism', a celebration of what I tend to define as 'proud Jewish self-hatred'. It is crucial to suggest the following necessary criticism. Rather clearly, for most of the cartoons, the Orthodox Jew, the one with the caftan and the beard, serves as a stereotype of the Jewish protagonist of Zionist crimes. As bizarre as it may sound, Orthodox Jews have very little to do with the crime they are associated with: the Holocaust industry, the Zionist sin which oppresses Palestinians, and American lobbying for Israel. If anything, the converse is true. It is a Jewish Orthodox sect, namely Neturei Karta, that collectively supports the Palestinians and fiercely fights Zionism. The secular Jewish tendency to stereotype the Orthodox Jew may expose two fundamental psychological elements within the collective Jewish secular psyche. First, more than anything else, anti-Jewishness, and anti-Semitism, are internal Jewish affairs. It is the Jews who are the first to hate everything Jewish. Second, the so-called 'liberated' secular Jew is eager to disassociate himself from any possible ties with the notion of the 'Jew', whom he intentionally defines as a Diaspora ultra-Orthodox man wrapped in a characteristic caftan and covered with facial hair. Rather than looking in the mirror and engaging in self-reflection, the secular Jew pins the current crimes of Israel and Jewish lobbies on a backward-looking and unattractive man with a big nose and a big black skullcap. As I mentioned above, this is a misleading, manipulative tactic. The crimes of the Jewish state, and its supportive Jewish lobbies, are committed by some handsome Sabras and ordinary looking human beings; people who look more like Mr Broder than like an Orthodox Rabbi. The Orthodox Jews have no share in this crime, at least not collectively. The collection of cartoons is a glimpse into the world of a few morally enlightened Jews and what they feel uncomfortable with. It portrays as well what seems to be the Jewish notion of Anti-Semitism. Clearly, three main themes keep repeating themselves. 1.'Jewish Power' 2.'Zionist official Holocaust narrative' 3.'Blood Libel' Seemingly, more than a few of the cartoonists found a way to ridicule what they see as a Jewish intent to own the world, to run its media, to run America and to seek any means of power and control available, dismissing any possible moral conduct. In Jeremy Gerils' work, it is the 'Other' who refers to the Jews the intent to own the world. In Codor's work it is Jews in disguise that run, what seems to be, the 'World Order'. Alfred Breitman's 'American Flag' doesn't leave us with much doubt. We are dealing here with the 'Jewnited States of JewMerica'. The Poetic Sherman may have something to say about the real power behind the American $$$$$s. Elders Of Zion is indeed something a proper anti-Semite should never skip. This time it is an offer no one can refuse: Join now, Circumcise later. Indeed brilliant work by Mike Eighpe (France). Clearly, the cartoonists do not shy away from illustrating that which we are all banned from saying. Whether they mean it or now is indeed a difficult question to answer. However,more than enough was published about the Israeli influence within the American presidential administration. As evidence that this issue is entering into mainstream discourse, recently, an extensive work about the Jewish Lobby's influence in America was published by two major American academics. The cartoons above were made by Jews and were published in Israel. Thus, I would maintain that artistic work could serve as a glimpse into the notion of Jewish and Zionist brutality from a unique internal Jewish perspective. The holocaust narrative cartoons can be divided into three main categories: the ones that ridicule the notion of Jewish suffering, the ones that ridicule the official historical narrative (mainly numbers), and the ones that draw moral conclusions and associate Nazi crimes with current Israeli brutality. Jewish identity is associated with the exceptional capability to enjoy, not to say celebrate, one's symptoms. Without a doubt, Post-WW2 Jewish politics reduced Jewish agony into an unbeatable positivist argument backed with many numbers, mountains of shoes, and piles of glasses and golden teeth. Robin Moore portrays the process of cold decision-making made by the concentration camp inmates. Jeremy Gerlis, who we met before, enlightens the notion of the post-Holocaust orientated Judeo-centric symbolic order. Within the newly formed Hebraic world, every perception and lingual expression is Auschwitz'ly orientated. Ostensibly, many of the Jewish cartoonists can't stop themselves from ridiculing the sacred 'six' figure. Nowadays, when some German-speaking nations are actively implementing Holocaust denial laws and arresting historical revisionists, it is rather crucial to emphasize that many Jews do not take the 'six' figure and the Zionist Holocaust narrative very seriously. As we will see next, the Jewish cartoonists portray the Holocaust as an utter manipulative lie. Miki Mottes and Elad Cahana from Israel can probably see some clear discrepancies within the Holocaust tale they learned in Israel. Asaf Luzon from Israel is no different. He can see that the numbers do not add. Ilan Touri may try to tell us that the 'six narrative' is basically a Jewish orchestrated Hollywood movie. Aron Katz is no different. He locates Jews in the hub of 'fake' American glory. Greg found a very personal and funny way to express his doubts. Some of the cartoonists didn't refrain themselves from drawing the necessary conclusions. The Zionists transformed the Jewish bloody history into a Palestinian reality of pain and misery. Arnon Moskoitz and Koren Shadmi depict the image of Palestinians queuing in the entrance to a 'Nazi-like' Israeli employment office. According to AF, from Illinois USA, considering the current Israeli murderous reality, Adolph may have gotten it right. Naturally, the Jewish cartoonists couldn't avoid the very charged subject of blood libel. Jewish European history is spiced with sporadic tales of blood libel in which Jews are blamed for making Matzos for Passover using the blood of Christian youngsters. Indeed, not many would take such an allegation seriously in the 21st century. However, the blood-thirstiness portrayed by Israeli politicians as well as the Israeli society, who time after time votes in war criminals, raises some major concerns regarding the moral integrity of the reformed Hebraic people. The cartoonist challenges the ethical quality of the Jewish state and its Jewish inhabitants. Leandro Spett doesn't leave us much room for doubt. Palestinians are indeed a necessary ingredient for Passover Matzos. Greg Berman is concerned whether Palestinian babies are Kosher. Indeed a legitimate Talmudic question to ask your local Rabbi. Beto Cruz takes it one step forward. He associates Judaism with some clear murderous tendencies. Neta Ram knows how to strengthen the so-called Judeo-Christian bond. With just a little bit of money and luck, every narrative can be transformed in favour of the Jews To follow Broder's interpretation into the cartoonists' insights, Jews are capable of anything. They run the show, they own the world, and they are brutal, monstrous cannibals. As one would expect, once realising what the contest was about, the Israeli media was very quick to ignore the event and to dismiss its importance. Israel is far from interested in letting the world know what Jews could think of themselves. Generally speaking, in many cases, the strength of a given cartoon is due to a very clear method of exaggeration; something verging on Reductio ad absurdum. It stretches our notions and categories beyond imagination. Yet, it may be hard for some to admit, the Zionist moral reality is overwhelmingly stretched and this has been the case for more than a while. Whether it is the continuous robbery of Palestinian lands, the endless ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, or the merciless daily killing of innocent Palestinian civilians, all those appalling crimes are done by the Jewish state in the name of the Jewish People. Undeniably, as far as the Jewish state is concerned, there is no room left for the absurd. Moreover, the current state of Jewish ethics is beyond absurdum, it is a total disaster. It is no coincidence therefore that within the continuous cruelty towards the Palestinian people, a reference is made to the plausibility of Blood Libel or there is a comparison with Nazis. The cartoons may suggest that if world Jewry supports such genocidal crimes against the Palestinian people, Jews are probably capable of anything. It is quite apparent that many of the Jewish cartoonists present us with a very low image of the Jewish character, world Jewry, Jewish interests and so on. Although it may be possible that many of the cartoonists are taking a very highly cynical standpoint that is far from what they themselves believe in, it is as well very likely that we are dealing here with an outstanding collective manifestation of Jewish self-contempt. Considering the Israeli reality and the support from world Jewry of this very brutal reality, such a collective reaction by honest Jews is long overdue, yet, it is more than welcome. At the end of the day, it is always the proud self-hating Jews who transform Jewishness into an ethical message. Gilad Atzmon was born in Israel and served in the Israeli military. He is the author of two novels: A Guide to the Perplexed and the recently released My One and Only Love. Atzmon is also one of the most accomplished jazz saxophonists in Europe. His recent CD, Exile, was named the year's best jazz CD by the BBC. He now lives in London and can be reached at: atz@onetel.net.uk

Now Available from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann Click Here to Order Michael Neumann's Devastating Rebuttal of Alan Dershowitz WHAT'S INSIDE Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair   CounterPunch Speakers Bureau Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org. The Book on 9/11 the White House Denounced as "ABSOLUTE GARBAGE"