On Thu, 12 Jul 2001 Nathan Newman wrote:
> One thing I have never understand (or may understand well) is why
> opponents of Israeli repression insist on referring to it simply as
> Zionism, as in "Zionism equals racism" when it would be simple enough,
> less inflamatory and more accurate just to say the Israeli state
> practices racism and oppression.
I don't think there's much of a mystery. As Edward Said lamented in the last two articles from The Dawn that Ulhas posted, Arab writers have been completely forbidden for 50 years from using the word "Israel" in any form, under pain of being accused, and perhaps leaned on hard, as a "normalizer." So they have to say Zionism when they mean Israel.
I fully agree that an American critic will get much farther referring to "Israel's murderous policy" than by calling it "Zionism's murderous policy." The second phrase sends up hackles on many natural allies who wouldn't blink at the first.
Michael
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com