Noam Chomsky, Eyeless in Gaza

When former President Bush in 2001 warned the world, “You are either with us or against us”, the former President of the United States set forth a dangerous precedent. The remarks by Bush, gave a green light to countries around the world to treat people with opposing views in a combative and hostile manner. As editor of TomDispatch highlights in a recent posting, Israeli leaders took that precise approach with Noam Chomsky, when he tried to give a speech at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah.

Instead of allowing a forum to discuss the issues regarding the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, the Interior Ministry of Israel simply refused Mr. Chomsky the opportunity to speak by denying him an entry VISA. This is something that would be expected from authoritative regimes like North Korea and Saudi Arabia, rather than from a country, the United States closely supports and gives billions of dollars to a year.

While not covered by the mainstream press, the incident was covered by the blogs TomDispatch and War in Context. On the informative War in Context blog, Paul Woodward includes an interview Noam Chomsky has with the Israeli newspaper, Haaetz which merits attention.

Chomsky told Haaretz about the questions.

“The official asked me why I was lecturing only at Bir Zeit and not an Israeli university,” Chomsky recalled. “I told him that I have lectured a great deal in Israel. The official read the following statement: ‘Israel does not like what you say.’”

Chomsky replied: “Find one government in the world which does.”

“The young man asked me whether I had ever been denied entry into other countries. I told him that once, to Czechoslovakia, after the Soviet invasion in 1968,” he said, adding that he had gone to visit ousted Czechoslovak leader Alexander Dubcek, whose reforms the Soviets crushed.

For more of a story you won't find in the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times, go to the blogs War in Context and TomDispatch for more.

Here is a link to a posting Noam Chomsky wrote on TomDispatch, “Eyeless in Gaza,” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in order for you to have a fair and balanced view of the issue.

If you cant't take the time to read the entire article, here is a portion of the article.

The leading academic specialist on Gaza, Harvard scholar Sara Roy, adds:

“Gaza is an example of a society that has been deliberately reduced to a state of abject destitution, its once productive population transformed into one of aid-dependent paupers.… Gaza’s subjection began long before Israel’s recent war against it [December 2008]. The Israeli occupation — now largely forgotten or denied by the international community — has devastated Gaza’s economy and people, especially since 2006…. After Israel’s December [2008] assault, Gaza’s already compromised conditions have become virtually unlivable. Livelihoods, homes, and public infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed on a scale that even the Israel Defense Forces admitted was indefensible.

“In Gaza today, there is no private sector to speak of and no industry. 80 percent of Gaza’s agricultural crops were destroyed and Israel continues to snipe at farmers attempting to plant and tend fields near the well-fenced and patrolled border. Most productive activity has been extinguished.… Today, 96 percent of Gaza’s population of 1.4 million is dependent on humanitarian aid for basic needs. According to the World Food Programme, the Gaza Strip requires a minimum of 400 trucks of food every day just to meet the basic nutritional needs of the population. Yet, despite a March [22, 2009] decision by the Israeli cabinet to lift all restrictions on foodstuffs entering Gaza, only 653 trucks of food and other supplies were allowed entry during the week of May 10, at best meeting 23 percent of required need. Israel now allows only 30 to 40 commercial items to enter Gaza compared to 4,000 approved products prior to June 2006.”