I came across a blog on a website called Salon. Salon describes itself as an "award-winning online news and entertainment Web site", and has apparently been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, "Good Morning America," "Morning Edition," "Talk of the Nation," "Crossfire," the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Time, Newsweek "and other major media". It is based in San Francisco, and was founded in 1995. It has had positive reviews in the Washington Post, 'Time' magazine and 'Forbes'.
The article itself is, at the time of my writing, six years old. It starts off fair enough with the sub-headline, "In Northern Ireland, anti-Semitic groups back Israel and Sinn Fein flies the PLO colors." After that, it takes a nose dive.
The writer, Aaron Tapper who describes himself as an American Jew, tells us how he and his "American friend" took a taxi tour around Belfast, "as Irish flags were raised atop storefront canopies and park fences while people ran through the streets waving the green, white and orange colors over their heads," suggesting that this behaviour was occurring throughout the city because of the Republic of Ireland's (he simply says "Ireland") success at drawing with Germany in the World Cup. It didn't occur to him that he was in Northern Ireland and that Northern Ireland has its own team. It hadn't occurred to him that had he arrived on a different day, he might have seen similar "ebullient patriotic Irish fervor". Aaron distinguishes between the "ebullient" (positive) flag-waving of one side and the "ominous" (negative) flag-waving of the other.
In the Shankill Road part of the tour, to which he is attributing the negative "ominous" comment, he claims to have seen "numerous English flags". I can't remember a time when English flags were flown in the Shankill Road, though there might have been an occasional one flown - perhaps on the occasion of the Queen's Jubilee, for example. Presumably the Israeli flags he claims to have seen "paired with" the English flags were just as common on the day he visited. Don't get me wrong - there is the occasional Israeli flag flown in Loyalist areas of Belfast and the Northern Ireland flag is very similar to the English flag, so it would be easy to confuse the one for the other. Another addition to possible confusion is that the flag of Northern Ireland has a six-pointed star in it. Now this may or may not be the result of the suggestion that the people of Ulster are the descendants of one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. It may simply be a geometric shape used to denote each of the six counties that are in Northern Ireland. In addition to the star the flag has a Red Hand of Ulster, having been based on the Ulster Flag, which is crowned.
Aaron progresses by telling us of another Protestant area he was driven through called the Village. He tells us how "KAT" stands for "Kill All Taigs", but failed to notice equivalent graffiti from the other side, such as "KAH" ("Kill All Huns" - derogatory slang for Protestants). Of course, perhaps he hadn't noticed any of those particular equivalents, or the taxi driver hadn't pointed them out to him.
I should take the opportunity to point out that Aaron is correct when he says that "many Irish Catholics deem" the UDA, UVF and UFF to be terrorists. So do many Irish Protestants. The implication, it seemed to me, was that Protestants in Northern Ireland do not 'deem' those groups to be terrorists. All of them are proscribed in British law. There is a fringe element within Loyalism (ie. within the aforementioned groups) that supports the racist supremacism of neo-Nazi groups. These same types (or their children) tend to write graffiti on walls such as "Fuck the PSNI" (the PSNI being the Police Service of Northern Ireland).
Aaron continues by suggesting that a professor (of what?) from Queen's University informed him that the usage of Israeli flags in Northern Ireland is a "belief that" Loyalists hold that the British government "should resort to" a military response against the IRA. Not the whole of the IRA though - just the "violent extremists within" it. He then provided what we must assume to be an actual quote from the professor, in which he doesn't suggest anything of the sort. Nor does he distinguish between the "violent extremists" of the IRA and the.. what..? The IRA Chess Association?
The good professor's take on the issue may or may not be entirely correct. If we are to assume that it is at least correct in part though, can we logically conclude that Roman Catholic sympathy for Palestine is most likely based on an assumed commonality of interest in promoting or supporting 'terrorism'? And yes, I noticed the "scare quotes" around the word terrorism also. I wonder if the professor wiggled his fingers in the air when he said it, or was that some interpretation by the boul Aaron? It's almost as if Aaron doesn't believe the IRA to be anything more than a Bridge and Chess-playing social club, wherein the crack is ninety and damn those nasty Brits for spoiling all our board game fun!
Aaron then puts his spin on things by suggesting that "many" people see the ancestors of "today's Irish Protestants" as "colonialists" and "foreigners" who "took Ireland" in the name of the "British royal crown". Perhaps we shouldn't tell him that "many" people see the ancestors of today's Irish Roman Catholics as colonialists and foreigners who took Ireland over a thousand-year period when they arrived from a region of modern-day Spain. Of course, like Aaron's justification for the IRA, that's an oversimplification. Should Aaron, the American, be reminded of how "many" people see the ancestors of today's "Americans" as colonialists and foreigners who took much of North America?
At least Aaron has the good grace to point out the infamous mural which depicts the IRA "affiliate" holding up a bazooka (rocket launcher) with a PLO "affiliate". He goes so far as to suggest that if one visits the Sinn Féin HQ, one will find a Palestinian flag hanging next to "that of Ireland". I wonder if one visited the Sinn Féin HQ, or did one get told about this flag. I also wonder if one took the time to visit a PUP, DUP, UUP, Alliance Party or SDLP office in one's travels.
To round off his take on why there should be Palestinian and Israeli flags in Northern Ireland at all, Aaron tells us that it is perhaps best understood via a 21-year-old Roman Catholic student.
I wonder what would have happened if he had taken the time to interview a Protestant student. What would the response have been? I'm guessing something along the lines of, "Huh? I've no idea - I don't hang about with Loyalists!"
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3 comments:
The British and Jewish link goes back further than you think. The Jew has benefited greatly from the British subjugation of other European peoples, all in the name of the crown.
Cromwell was the GWB of his day, murdering Europeans for the sake of his Jewish financiers.
Free Ireland and Free Palestine.
Every city has it’s shopping and coffee culture but Belfast city has a unique past after coming out of 35 years of conflict.
http://www.belfastattractions.co.uk
The North of Ireland has become famous for the murals painted in almost every area of the country. These pictures of murals are often flashed around the world on news bulletins or used as a backdrop when interviewing people. They often depict the history and political views of both traditions and are a way of marking territory. These wall paintings often look intimidating but they have become as much of a tourist attraction as many of the regular attractions within Belfast and beyond.
Well finally somebody understands something about my country. I hate when people(mainly Americans) write things about this country when they know nothing about it, they are completely biased and one-sided and still think we are part of the British who "came over and attacked Ireland and stole its land" I was only born 23 years ago, something which happened hundreds of years ago is beyond my control. I am entitled to be in this country as much as anybody else who was born here. "Free Ireland and Free Ralestine" one misinformed idiot says above, well what about the generations of people who were born here in Northern Ireland, should it be taken of us and us be thrown out, then will people be coming here in one hundred years saying free Northern Ireland? Most of the Irish people came from Countries such as Spain and countries in Scandanavia, so should we tell these people top give it back, how do you decide who rightly should stay on the land? I was born here and lived all my life here as were many generations before me and have as much right to be here, the majority in this country want it to remain Northern Ireland, which is why it has. Although I would not care if it became one Ireland.
Of course most of the stupid comments come from Americans about giving Ireland back to the Irish, I can't help laugh at this fact as most of the Americans there took the land from the native Indians and most were British also, so it is very likely that they share the exact same fate which I share, their ancestors took land and through the years generations were born there and rightly so they have a right to call the country their own, as it was no fault of theirs and nothing they could have prevented being born hundreds of years later. Really Americans need to be better educated in schools about other countries it is becoming a joke the comments I see coming from them about other countries, it is a serious problem that so many don't know the basics of other countries and even worse know "false facts". This is in no way one of those stereotypical attacks on "dumb Americans" I know that there are many very intelligent Americans millions more intelligent than I am, that know a fair bit about the geography and history of other countries. But people should keep to themselves any opinion they have about things which they know nothing about.
Do I agree with one country coming and taking land from another country and killing people? No of course I don't but I also don't agree with stupid cpomments like give Ireland back to the Irish, most of the "Irish" people live in the Republic of Ireland and most of the Northern Irish(British) people live in Northern Ireland, I can't think of a better solution and if anybody can please let the people here know who have been in talks for years over the situation. There is peace now for the first time in a long time and the fighting has nearly all but ceased. Belfast is a great place to live once again and the number of tourists I have seen here over the past few years is incredible. Let it be, let the people live then hopefully after some time and the "terrorists" and the "brainwashed" will be gone and we will be able to move forward.
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