Was Elliott Abrams Hitler’s Senior Advisor?
Probably not: Abrams was born 2.5 years after Hitler died. But then again, who knows. At any rate, putting the two in one line, in one headline, is contagious: when you now Google "Abrams and Hitler" you get results. As many results as this column is posted or quoted. That’s the power of association: all you have to do is put two things next to each other. Not many people would bother to ask why, or check your reasoning. Abrams and Hitler? There must be some reason for them to be side-by-side. They must have something in common.
Abrams knows this very well. The Jewish-American lawyer and policy analyst who served in foreign policy positions under Reagan and George W. Bush, currently a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, cannot claim innocence nor ignorance. He knows the Middle East better than many others. So when he says the Palestinian State "would be the first to officially prohibit Jews or any other faith since Nazi Germany, which sought a country that was judenrein, or cleansed of Jews," Abrams knows what he is doing. And what he is doing is much dirtier than the manipulative title I gave this column.
Abram’s malicious demagoguery was triggered by the words of Palestinian ambassador to the US Maen Erekat, quoted saying that "after the experience of the last 44 years of military occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it would be in the best interest of the two peoples to be separated." That’s what Erekat said; he didn’t say no Jews would be allowed into Palestine; he didn’t say all Jews would be butchered and their corpses sliced and pickled; he didn’t say all Jews would be annihilated or gassed. He just said it would be in the interest of the two peoples to be separated.
Now this, of course, is a despicable vision. Separation between the two peoples? Is this not a form of racist discrimination, of ethnic cleansing, of Apartheid? Perhaps it is. But it also happened to be the slogan of Israel’s Defense Minister Barak: "Separation, We are Here, They are There." It happened to be the incarnation of mainstream Zionism, claiming it’s the interest of Jews to live separately from non-Jews. Israelis who oppose this separation nowadays are branded as anti-Zionist and traitors. But don’t confuse Abrams with facts, truth or honesty: Abrams is a demagogue.
Abrams knows very well what Erekat meant. Erekat meant that after 44 years of cruel, ruthless military occupation (oops – "cruel, ruthless" are my words, Erekat didn’t say that), when every Palestinian man, woman and child meets Jews daily as settlers who demand "Arabs" (no settler uses the term "Palestinians") be deported; or as kind and pleasant settlers who feel sympathy for "Arabs" while stealing their land and drinking their water; or as cruel thuggish soldiers who knock on their door in the middle of the night and destroy everything (this is called "searching" in military jargon); or as nice and polite soldiers who stand at the checkpoint, gently aim a machine-gun at the Palestinians and tell them they cannot go to the next village, or to school, or to pray in their mosque in Jerusalem – after 44 years of such a cruel, ruthless occupation, Erekat meant to say, it makes no sense to leave settlers within the Palestinian State. That’s all he meant to say and that’s all he said. And you know what? he’s right. If you had known the settlers, or some of them, or the occupation soldiers, all of them, you would have understood him. In fact, as some of my Jewish-Israeli friends say, the nightmare about dismantling settlements is that the settlers would come to live with us, in Israel. Who wants these zealots back here? (Perhaps that’s what Erekat is worried about: that Israel would dump its colonialists on Palestinian soil.)
But Abrams has another interpretation. For Abrams, Erekat’s words express "a despicable form of anti-Semitism." And "the first country since Nazi Germany" to ban Jews. If this is not a desecration of the Holocaust, I wonder what it is: as if the Jewish minority occupied Germany for 44 years and terrorized millions of Germans like the Israelis have been doing in the Palestinian territories.
"No civilized country would act this way," Abrams added. Sure thing. In fact there is one country that does act this way, civilized or otherwise. Abrams knows it very well. I don’t mean "separation serving the interests of both peoples," as Erekat suggested: there is one country which is really judenrein or clean of Jews just like Nazi Germany wanted to be. Every Middle East expert knows that, and Abrams is not just an expert: he presents himself as "Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies." Perhaps this "senior fellow" should consult Wikipedia from time to time. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:
There is virtually no Jewish activity in Saudi Arabia in the beginning of the 21st century. Jewish (as well as Christian and other non-Muslim) religious services are prohibited from being held on Saudi Arabian soil. When American military personnel were stationed in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War (…) Jewish services were only permitted on US warships. Census data does not identify any Jews as residing within Saudi Arabian territory. Persons (…) who are openly Jewish are generally not permitted into the Kingdom.
Again: that’s not what Erekat suggested. He did not suggest prohibiting Jewish religious services, nor prohibiting "openly Jewish" persons from entering Palestine. All he said was that it was better for both peoples to live separately. If this turns Palestine into the new Nazi Germany, what’s Saudi Arabia? The Mother of all Nazi Germanies? The Devil Incarnated? Perhaps it is – who am I to say? I haven’t even been there (not allowed to, sorry). But perhaps Abrams knows? After all, Abrams is reported to have met several times with Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington.
Now you may wonder: how can that be true? How can Abrams, who finds a moderate call for separation between Palestinians and Israelis a despicable anti-Semitic manifesto unprecedented since Nazi Germany, how can this idealistic person meet several times an official representative of a state that officially prohibits Jews from entering its borders, where even Jewish-American soldiers (stationed there to defend the backward — but US-friendly — dictatorship) have to hide their identity and carry false "Protestant ID cards" for a rainy day?
Well, you’ll have to ask Abrams about that. If you meet him, take a look at his impressive watch - $1,435 worth Concord Mariner, a friendly gift that Abrams received from Abdullah, the King of Saudi Arabia.
While you are at it, do ask him if he didn’t happen to be Hitler’s close advisor after all. You never know.
Read more by Ran HaCohen
- Purim and Genocidal Phantasies – March 3rd, 2013
- Israel Between Eritrea and Iran – October 4th, 2012
- Tel Aviv ‘Race Riots’ Reveal Much About Israel – May 27th, 2012
- Israelis Sick and Tired – but of What? – August 7th, 2011
- Things You Can Say, Things You Cannot – July 12th, 2011
the lion
September 15th, 2011 at 11:43 pm
To ban any person from a country because of their religion or ethnicity is a crime against Humanity, of course, we all know that there are several million people in Israel who would ban Palestinians in a heartbeat if they thought they could get away with it and they include many of the leaders of the Israeli government.
The only way the Saudis get away with it is their OIl, the US is to scared to say boo to them, for fear of economic kaos similar to 1973
paulBass
September 16th, 2011 at 2:52 am
MUWHAHAHA
excellent article.
hey did you know ellliot abrams was a close adviser to adolf hitler ?
what you want proof?
well i did my research and according to Wikipedia
"Elliott Abrams (born January 24, 1948) is an American lawyer and policy analyst who served in foreign policy positions for two Republican U.S. Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush as well as a close adviser to Adolf Hitler. He is currently a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.[6]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_Abrams
tadzio
September 16th, 2011 at 3:29 am
"Where even Jewish-American soldiers (stationed there to defend the backward — but US-friendly — dictatorship) " How many does this affect? Jews are the only significant demographic in the United States to serve less than their fair share in the defense of America. It is in the 10 to 15 % range. Though the numbers are kept they are not published because the public must not know. Truth and information, you see, are anti-Semitic. Jews, however, are over represented among vociferous warmongers, the neocon chickenhawks. These Jews it is evident think that Christian lives have no or little value. They agree with the Israeli Chief Rabbi who a few months ago proclaimed that non-Jews exist only to serve Jews. This is the Jewish Racism that controls American foreign policy in the Middle East.
Benson
September 16th, 2011 at 6:41 am
The fact that there are no Jews left in Saudi Arabia, is also largely attributable to Zionism and the founding of the state of Israel. Before the 1930s and 1940, virtually all middle-east counties had Jewish villages and populations. Not that they were treated perfectly, but then again, the Arabs didn't kill them and torch them for fun, as the Europeans did in their pogroms and such.
It's pretty clear that 90% of the Jewish and Arab hatred of each other springs from Zionism and the creation of Israel. Before, anyone takes me wrong, I am a supporter of Israel. (But not its crimes and current insane govt) But we should be honest with ourselves, as to where this vitriol and hatred arose from. Once Israel was created, it was necessary for operation "Magic Carpet Ride" and such, to get Jews out of Arab countries. Before Zionism, Arabs and Jews lived in an uneasy, but relative harmony.
Mark Thomason
September 16th, 2011 at 6:59 am
Odd you mention Abrams service in prior administrations, but not his time in jail and pardon. He is a convicted but pardoned felon, convicted of dishonesty. Now you say he is being dishonest, but ignore his time in jail for exactly that, or how he got out to do it again, more and more.
San Fernando Curt
September 16th, 2011 at 7:22 am
What Abrams said is celebration of double-standard applied to Israelis and Palestinians. Israel itself was founded on principles of that contradictory approach to justice and humanity. Most Jews today don't live apart from non-Jews, but they have a haven in the world that allows them to do just that. And that makes them unique among all the world's populations. When in history of our species has such long-suffering victim been so powerful?
omop
September 16th, 2011 at 9:38 am
Elliott Abram in his book "Faith or Fear: How Jews Can Survive in Christian America", wrote: “Outside the land of Israel, there can be no doubt that Jews, faithful to the covenant between God and Abraham, are to stand apart from the nations in which they live. It is the very nature of being Jewish to be apart — except in Israel — from the rest of the population." Judaism and the Jewish way of life,” writes Abrams, is not “entirely voluntary, for the Jew is born into a covenantal community with obligations to God.” One can interpret that statement a person of the Jewish faith regardless of where they reside their their loyalty is to Israel.
HasteinD
September 16th, 2011 at 9:51 am
The World once dealt effectively with Lebesraumers….
eldad kisch
September 17th, 2011 at 6:22 am
As a person born in the Netherlands, just as Ran HaCohen, I do not intend to contradict his low opinion of the Saudi stance towards Jews. Merely to correct a statement in the introduction of his letter. He writes about the brutal Israeli occupation of the Palestinians by soldiers, and by settlers, who act unpunished as they please.
There is a small group of other Israeli's, who think and act differently. Physicians for Human Rights has extended free medical assistance for over twenty years in the occupied territories. This attitude cannot offset the daily injustices meted out by the 'official' Israel, but it is an indication that there is an alternative route of cooperation and humanity, which is known by thousands of Palestinians who have benefited from their help.
stevieb
September 22nd, 2011 at 5:49 am
It's not about seperating 'two peoples'; it's about Israel removing it's settlements from Palestinian lands. It's about Israel's obligation under international law and SC resolutions that require it to relinquish land it stole through war; it's about the initial UN plan when Israel was established that nothing would be done to disturb the indigenous peoples who had lived their for THOUSANDS of years, AND that a Palestinian state would be established along side the Jewish state – which is what it always was going to be. So talk of 'Judenst..whatever"… is irrelevant. If Abrams had a brain he wouldn't be talking about history so much because when people really start looking at history it makes him and his ilk look infinitely worse.
So this talk by Ahrams trying to compare the two is stupid. And shouldn't even be an issue for debate.
hans met
October 2nd, 2011 at 5:00 pm
If Ellliott was the adviser, Ran was the translator.
@marketmentat
December 1st, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Why would you (or anyone without a brain injury) be a “supporter of Israel”? Land stolen from its indigenous inhabitants and given to a bunch of Eastern European hovel-dwellers whose recent ancestors converted to a blood cult based on a ridiculous fable about a Sky Wizard who loves the cock-snippings of desert nomads (so much that he traded those for mastery over his creation).
Seriously? You “support” that? You ‘support’ the idea that you can found a nation on a tribal lunatic story about some Iraqi geriatric who was fucking his half-sister and was prepared to slaughter his own son in order to get in good with the Sky Wizard?
Really? Was the entire f-cking Enlightenment for nothing?
There is NO EXCUSE for not knowing the entire depraved story on which the ‘claim’ of the Red Sea Pedestrians is based: most of the really lunatic foaming-mouthed f-cktardery is contained in just a subset of the 141 pages (Genesis to Deteronomy) of the OT. If you haven’t read every single one of those pages, then you’ve no basis to ‘support’ anything. If you HAVE read and comprehended that material and you’re not appalled by it, there’s something wrong with you.
It is f-cking nonsense from go to whoa, and anybody who thinks it’s even remotely plausible should be ridiculed publicly (which, in case you don’t get it, is what I am doing now).
I’ve said this before (for those who want to pretend that they’re Deists): it is palpably ridiculous to believe that an entity capable of creating 100 QUADRILLION stars (at least) gives a sole solitary fuck about some naked monkeys traipsing around some sh-thole in the desert on an insignificant ball of rock that orbits one of those stars.
It would be like iSteve iJobs giving primacy – over all he created – to a single silicon atom in one of the transistors on a specific iPhone.
Kratoklastes
December 1st, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Why would you (or anyone without a brain injury) be a "supporter of Israel"? Land stolen from its indigenous inhabitants and given to a bunch of Eastern European hovel-dwellers whose recent ancestors converted to a blood cult based on a ridiculous fable about a Sky Wizard who loves the cock-snippings of desert nomads (so much that he traded those for mastery over his creation).
Seriously? You "support" that? You 'support' the idea that you can found a nation on a tribal lunatic story about some Iraqi geriatric who was fucking his half-sister and was prepared to slaughter his own son in order to get in good with the Sky Wizard?
Really? Was the entire fucking Enlightenment for nothing?
There is NO EXCUSE for not knowing the entire depraved story on which the 'claim' of the Red Sea Pedestrians is based: most of the really lunatic foaming-mouthed fucktardery is contained in just a subset of the 141 pages (Genesis to Deteronomy) of the OT. If you haven't read every single one of those pages, then you've no basis to 'support' anything. If you HAVE read and comprehended that material and you're not appalled by it, there's something wrong with you.
It is fucking nonsense from go to whoa, and anybody who thinks it's even remotely plausible should be ridiculed publicly (which, in case you don't get it, is what I am doing now).
I've said this before (for those who want to pretend that they're Deists): it is palpably ridiculous to believe that an entity capable of creating 100 QUADRILLION stars (at least) gives a sole solitary fuck about some naked monkeys traipsing around some shithole in the desert on an insignificant ball of rock that orbits one of those stars.
It would be like iSteve iJobs giving primacy – over all he created – to a single silicon atom in one of the transistors on a specific iPhone.
Roya
July 30th, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Why would you support a parasitic terrorist cult that calls itself a state? Seriously, you don't have to love or support Israel–nobody's asking you to, and nobody can legitimately call you an anti-Semite if you just don't support a "state" with a consistent track record of wreaking havoc and terror on the world, including even on its own "ally".
Benson
July 31st, 2012 at 9:45 am
You are aware that violent(?) psychopaths such as yourself, who call for the the total destruction of Israel, is what has driven it to its current paranoid insanity? You are a like poster boy for the Likud Party and the Israeli Right. They are quite happy to use people such as you, to whip the population into fear and militarism. In that, I can only say that you are part of the problem of the middle east. Sadly, there is not much middle ground- You have those like yourself and Hamas, Al-Queada, etc, who call for Israel's total destruction, and you the the Likud and Neo-Cons who are more than happy to see Israel wipe out what is left the the Palestinians.
When I stated that "I support Israel" I should have qualified it as "I support the right of Israel to exist." However, if you had bothered to read what I stated, it is clear I do not support its current government and treatment (genocide) of the Palestinians.
Benson
July 31st, 2012 at 9:53 am
I should have qualified my statement a bit more- What I stated that "I support Israel" I was stating that I support its right to exist as a country. Even Hamas, the PLO, etc.. has stated the same!
Once again, my original statement was: I am a supporter of Israel. (But not its crimes and current insane govt)
I guess I did not make it clear enough that I do not support its crimes(of which there are many) and it current insane govt.
I would actually force Israel to go back to the 1948 borders, thus giving the Palestinians some of their land back and a viable homeland. I also call for an intentional boycott of Israel, by every country in the world. But when you start talking about Israel not having a right to exist and destroying it, I consider you no better than a Avigdor Leiberman, Meir Kahane, Netanyahu, etc…