[News] Marc Lamont Hill politically lynched for telling truth about Palestine
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Fri Nov 30 11:05:37 EST 2018
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/marc-lamont-hill-politically-lynched-telling-truth-about-palestine
Marc Lamont Hill politically lynched for telling truth about Palestine
Ali Abunimah <https://electronicintifada.net/people/ali-abunimah> - 30
November 2018
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marc Lamont Hill <https://electronicintifada.net/tags/marc-lamont-hill>
gave a beautiful speech at a United Nations event
<https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/gapal1417.doc.htm> marking the
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People this week.
For this, the Temple University professor and long-time advocate for
Palestinian rights has been the target of an orchestrated political
lynching by Israel lobby groups.
Smeared as an anti-Semite and grotesquely and falsely accused
<https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/is-cnn-now-just-ok-with-genocidal-rhetoric-aimed-at-jews>
of calling for genocide against Jews, Hill was fired from his role as a
political commentator for CNN.
The same
<https://www.mediaite.com/tv/exclusive-cnn-fires-marc-lamont-hill-following-israel-comments/>
Israel lobby operatives who bullied CNN into ending Hill’s contract are
also demanding
<https://twitter.com/NCYIYoungIsrael/status/1067938412295069696> that he
be fired from his teaching position.
The university has rebuffed
<https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/nov/29/marc-lamont-hill-keeps-temple-university-professor/>
these calls, citing Hill’s “constitutionally protected right to express
his opinion as a private citizen.”
The accusations against Marc Lamont Hill are outright lies promoted by
high-level <https://twitter.com/AdamMilstein/status/1068216460269383680>
operatives <https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah/status/1068306176633376768>
of the Israel lobby in their latest effort to silence and punish anyone
who dares speak out in support of Palestinian equality and freedom from
Israel’s brutal regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid.
They perfectly match the kind of smear and sabotage tactics revealed in
the censored Al Jazeera documentary on the US Israel lobby that was
recently published in full by The Electronic Intifada
<https://electronicintifada.net/content/watch-film-israel-lobby-didnt-want-you-see/25876>.
Israel and its lobby see solidarity
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/black-palestine> for Palestine from
Black people as a particularly dangerous threat
<https://grayzoneproject.com/2018/09/05/censored-documentary-exposes-the-israeli-governments-attack-on-black-lives-matter/>
to be combatted with special zeal
<https://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/pro-israel-groups-smear-movement-black-lives-its-solidarity-palestine>.
It is no wonder that Jackie Walker
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/jackie-walker>, a Black Jewish
anti-Zionist activist in Britain’s Labour Party, has likened the
years-long smear campaign targeted at her by the Israel lobby to a
lynching <https://jackiewalker.org/>.
At the top of this page is the full video of Hill’s UN speech, published
by the anti-Palestinian group UN Watch
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/un-watch>, no doubt in an effort to
embarrass him.
You can also read a transcript <http://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/38202>.
Anyone familiar with Israel lobby defamation campaigns will not be
surprised to learn that there is not one word of bigotry and of course
nothing that can remotely be construed as a call for genocide.
Real solidarity
Rather, Marc Lamont Hill commits an even more unforgivable thought crime
in the eyes of Israel and its lobby: he calls for effective solidarity
with the Palestinian people on the basis that the full range of rights
contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should apply to
them no less than to any other people.
Hill also draws on the Black history of struggle against American state
racism as a source of inspiration for that solidarity. His own words are
worth quoting at length:
As a Black American, my understanding of action and solidarity
action is rooted in our own tradition of struggle. As Black
Americans resisted slavery, as well as Jim Crow laws that
transformed us from a slave state to an apartheid state, we did so
through multiple tactics and strategies. It is this array of tactics
that I appeal to as I advocate for concrete action from all of us in
this room.
Solidarity from the international community demands that we embrace
boycotts, divestment, and sanctions as a critical means by which to
hold Israel accountable for its treatment of Palestinian people.
This movement, which emerges out of the overwhelming majority of
Palestinian civil society offers a nonviolent means by which to
demand a return to the pre-1967 borders, full rights for Palestinian
citizens and the right of return as dictated by international law.
Solidarity demands that we no longer allow politicians or political
parties to remain silent on the question of Palestine. We can no
longer in particular allow the political left to remain radical or
even progressive on every issue from the environment to war to the
economy. To remain progressive on every issue except for Palestine.
Contrary to Western mythology, Black resistance to American
apartheid did not come purely through Gandhi and nonviolence.
Rather, slave revolts and self-defense and tactics otherwise
divergent from Dr. [Martin Luther] King or Mahatma Gandhi were
equally important to preserving safety and attaining freedom.
We must allow – if we are to operate in true solidarity with
Palestinian people, we must allow the Palestinian people the same
range of opportunity and political possibility.
If we are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, we
must recognize the right of an occupied people to defend itself. We
must prioritize peace. But we must not romanticize or fetishize it.
We must advocate and promote nonviolence at every opportunity, but
we cannot endorse a narrow politics of respectability that shames
Palestinians for resisting, for refusing to do nothing in the face
of state violence and ethnic cleansing.
Hill ended his speech with a call for “a free Palestine from the river
to the sea.”
The political lynch mob tried to spin these words as a genocidal call
for the destruction of Israel.
But they are a simple recognition of reality: historic Palestine – what
is today Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip – is not free
between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
You can quote me: I call for the full liberation of Palestine from
the river to the sea, an end to the Israeli Zionist system of
occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid, and its replacement
with democracy, equality and justice for Jews, Palestinians and all
in that land. https://t.co/E1kHJEv4fM
— Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) November 29, 2018
<https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah/status/1068253246236577793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
As a landmark UN report
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/landmark-un-report-backs-israel-boycott>–
quickly withdrawn
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/un-official-resigns-after-pressure-withdraw-israel-apartheid-report>
under Israel lobby pressure – documented last year, the entire territory
and the entire Palestinian people are subject to an “apartheid regime.”
The report found “beyond a reasonable doubt that Israel is guilty of
policies and practices that constitute the crimes of apartheid” as
defined in international law.
With clarity and courage Marc Lamont Hill rightly stands by his
principled words and we should stand by him – as many are doing.
Almost 5,000 people have already signed a petition
<https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/cnn-reverse-firing-of-marc-lamont-hill-for-endorsing-a-one-state-solution-to-israel-palestine-crisis/>
demanding that CNN reinstate Hill.
I believe in full rights for all citizens. I believe in safety for
all citizens. I believe in self-determination for all citizens. This
is not an anti-Semitic position.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018
<https://twitter.com/marclamonthill/status/1068173051987193856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
My reference to “river to the sea” was not a call to destroy
anything or anyone. It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in
the West Bank/Gaza. The speech very clearly and specifically said
those things. No amount of debate will change what I actually said
or what I meant.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018
<https://twitter.com/marclamonthill/status/1068238076252745728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
This isn’t a case of throwing rocks and hiding hands. I genuinely
believe in the arguments and principles that I shared in the speech.
I also genuinely want peace, freedom, and security for everyone.
These are not competing ideals and values.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) November 29, 2018
<https://twitter.com/marclamonthill/status/1068239416823635969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Marc Lamont Hill is an excellent scholar, a deeply ethical writer,
and a terrific human being. CNN's decision to fire him is
disgraceful and further evidence that Zionism is incompatible with
free speech.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) November 29, 2018
<https://twitter.com/stevesalaita/status/1068269732741169152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Criticizing the actions of Israel is not anti-semitism. Since when
is advocating for human rights a fireable offense? Join us in
standing in solidarity with Dr. @MarcLamontHill
<https://twitter.com/marclamonthill?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>:
https://t.co/5Sd3b1qdBK
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) November 30, 2018
<https://twitter.com/MarkRuffalo/status/1068519092112388097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
I'm Black and Jewish and I agree with everything this article quotes
@marclamonthill
<https://twitter.com/marclamonthill?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> as saying
in his speech to the UN. https://t.co/JFU1oVyYBG
— Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🙅🏽♀️ 🇧🇧🌈 (@IBJIYONGI) November 29,
2018
<https://twitter.com/IBJIYONGI/status/1068225165388066817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
I had the opportunity to learn from @marclamonthill
<https://twitter.com/marclamonthill?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> this past
summer in Jerusalem. Frustrated, angry, & disappointed at CNN for
succumbing to pressure and firing Marc. Marc is dedicated to
fighting for human rights, democracy, and just peace FOR ALL. (1/6)
#IStandWithMLH
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/IStandWithMLH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
pic.twitter.com/BOMqJy1eFw <https://t.co/BOMqJy1eFw>
— Will Yetvin (@ZYetvinator) November 30, 2018
<https://twitter.com/ZYetvinator/status/1068322391506468864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
This is a disgrace. @marclamonthill
<https://twitter.com/marclamonthill?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> is a
fierce advocate for justice & rights. #CNN
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> fires
him for a speech he gave at the UN. Some pro-Israel groups protested
& CNN buckled. There is no tolerance for open debate on #Palestinian
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/Palestinian?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
rights. https://t.co/OCQBSXFvTd
— James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) November 29, 2018
<https://twitter.com/jjz1600/status/1068283703292555265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
— JewishVoiceForPeace (@jvplive) November 30, 2018
<https://twitter.com/jvplive/status/1068299131523715072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Hi, I'm Jewish. All solidarity with @marclamonthill
<https://twitter.com/marclamonthill?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>.
Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitism. Real anti-Semitism is the
assumption that all Jews are of one mind and abide - or even endorse
- the horrific mistreatment of Palestinians. Shame on @CNN
<https://twitter.com/CNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) November 29, 2018
<https://twitter.com/EdgeofSports/status/1068276207156948994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
Fake support for press freedom
Earlier this month, CNN and many of its defenders postured as defenders
of press freedom and freedom of speech after the White House withdrew
<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/19/business/media/jim-acosta-press-pass-cnn.html>
the pass of its correspondent Jim Acosta.
The Acosta affair was a cheap opportunity for pundits to pose as brave
and courageous members of the #Resistance to Donald Trump.
But when freedom of speech really faces a test – as it so frequently
does <https://ccrjustice.org/the-palestine-exception> when it comes to
Palestine – don’t expect to find too many of the same voices demanding
that Hill’s right to ask difficult questions be respected and protected.
Mendacious liberal pundits who make careers of decrying
"intolerance" on "the left" (while studiously ignoring the
persecution of Israel's critics) are more responsible than anybody
for the epidemic of Zionist suppression.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) November 30, 2018
<https://twitter.com/stevesalaita/status/1068314391584612354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
A critically important lesson from CNN’s firing of Marc Lamont Hill is
that mainstream media will tolerate just about anything, from white
supremacy
<https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/11/28/soledad-obrien-slams-cnn-for-giving-white-supremacists-airtime/>
to climate denial
<http://www2.philly.com/philly/blogs/real-time/Bill-Nye-CNN-climate-change-denial-William-Harper.html>,
but never clear, open and principled support for Palestinian rights.
That is a systemic problem and it underscores that only truly
independent media free from corporate and state control can guarantee us
the right to speak freely about Palestine and advocate for its liberation.
--
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863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/
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