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<h3><b>Thursday, March 22, 2007
</b></h3><font size=3><a name="7679871487746077912"></a> <br>
</font><h2><b>A Tribute to Shimon Tzabar by Gilad Atzmon
</b></h2><font size=3><i>(Note by Peacepalestine:</i> I found the books
by Mr Tzabar extremely original and interesting, and highly recommend
them, if you can still find them. I consider myself fortunate enough to
have heard a fascinating and insightful observation on Israeli society
from Mr Tzabar. In an email he once sent me, he wrote this: <b>They say
there are two kinds of people in Israel - Hawks and Doves. I agree that
there are two kinds of people, but I would call them Hawks and
Super-Hawks</b>.)<br>
<b>A tribute to Shimon Tzabar<br>
</b><i>By Gilad Atzmon</i> <br><br>
Shimon Tzabar, one of the very few Israeli genuine and authentic peace
enthusiasts, died three days ago (19 March 2007). He was Eighty-one.
Shimon was a friend. Though we hardly ever agreed on anything, though he
was sometimes harsh in his criticism, he has always managed to be
charming, loveable and a good laugh. Maybe even the best laugh around.
<br><br>
As well as being a fabulous artist, a landscape and portrait painter,
Shimon was probably one of the best storytellers one could find. This is
hardly surprising, the man obviously had some stories to share. He was
born in Tel Aviv in 1926. Already in his teens he had managed to join
every Israeli Paramilitary organisation. He knew everyone and it is more
than likely that everyone knew him. <br><br>
Shimon participated in three Israeli wars. However, it was only after
1967 that he fully internalised the scale of the Zionist fallacy.
Repulsed by emerging Israeli imperialism, Shimon left Israel and settled
in London. I believe that it was then that Shimon started regarding
himself as a ‘Hebrew-Speaking Palestinian’. By doing so he detached
himself from the classic Zionist collective attribution to world Jewry,
he instead identified himself with an esoteric geographical orientation.
<br><br>
Like my peers, I came across his name as a young kid. Every Israeli child
knows Tzabar’s ‘Tusberindi the Hero’ (<i>Tusberindi Ha’gibor</i>). We
grew up with his special wit and captivating sketches. <br><br>
Before leaving Israel, Shimon was an established author. He was also a
columnist for a number of years for both the daily <i>Haaretz</i> and Uri
Avnery’s <i>Ha’olam Haze</i>. In fact, till his last days, Israeli
journalists, intellectuals, academic researchers and solidarity
campaigners who visited London tried to approach him and to learn his
views about things. <br><br>
Shimon always loved to surround himself with creative people. When we got
to know each other he asked me to join the editorial staff of the
<a href="http://www.israelimperialnews.org/">Israel Imperial News</a>. I
was on his editorial board for a while. In 2004, he asked me to join
forces with him in the production of the
<a href="http://www.monabaker.com/pMachine/more.php?id=A2166_0_1_0_M">
“Better than the Michelin Guide to Israeli Prisons, Jails, Concentration
Camps and Torture Chambers</a>". To join forces with Shimon, or to
be on his editorial board, meant to come over for a coffee and watch him
working. There was never much for me or anyone else to do. <br><br>
Shimon was a workaholic, he was addicted to hard work. In 1967, in his
early forties, after immigrating to London, Shimon became a builder. Not
exactly what you would expect from a prominent writer. Evidently, the man
was anything but spoiled. However, in London Shimon found the time to
write one of the funniest books ever.
“<a href="http://deuceofclubs.com/books/158_white_flag.htm">The White
Flag Principle, How to Lose a War and Why</a>”. It is a profound military
doctrine that is there to suggest that losing a war is always the best
way to win a future. The white flag principle was there to teach generals
and warlords how to get everything wrong, how to train their soldiers to
run backwards and to bring their country to their knees. “Being defeated
is the way forward,” said Tzabar. <br><br>
I believe that the necessary key to understanding Shimon’s unique
contribution to the Israeli-Palestinian discourse has something to do
with the fact that Shimon was primarily an artist. Rather than bouncing
between political campaigns and dealing with activists’ will to power,
Shimon was always focused on himself, on his own acts, on his art, on his
particular creative way of saying things. Shimon always had something in
the pipeline: whether a large landscape picture, a print, a portrait, a
pamphlet about Israeli occupation, a book about Israeli atrocities, a
virtual Israeli roadblock in front of the Parliament. Though I myself
hardly agreed with Shimon on many things, I did learn a lot from the man.
<br><br>
Following Shimon, I tend to believe that artists better leave politics to
politicians. Artists should work independently. We should never affiliate
with anyone but our ethical consciousness and moral awareness. In fact,
Shimon has never pointed it out in such a clear manner, but thinking
about the man and his role, this is what Shimon was all about, a total
commitment. He was always doing his thing, engaging in what he believed
should be the right thing to do. Shimon will be missed.<br><br>
</font><h2><b>Michelin Guides Sue Israeli Satirist over
Spoof</b></h2><font size=3 color="#000066">by Shimon Tzabar |
<i>Oznik.com</i> | 19 July 2004</font><font size=3> <br><br>
<b>Micheling Guides have recently filed suite against Israeli expat
satirist Shimon Tzabar, publisher of a pamphlet titled MUCH BETTER THAN
THE OFFICIAL Michelin Guide to Israeli Prisons, Jails, Concentration
Camps, and Torture Chambres. Below is an excerpt from the guide, followed
by Tzabar's defense submitted to the British Hight Court.<br><br>
Excerpt: The Guide (pp. 6-11):<br>
</b>Before we start our guided tour of Israel's prisons, concentration
camps and torture chambers, it would make sense to ask why we are doing
this. Why should anyone go on such a tour? The answer is simple: to see
<b>history in the making.</b> <br>
Usually, it is through newspapers that history unfolds before our eyes.
In the case of Israel however, we cannot trust newspapers. They mix
everything up and make us confused. We cannot distinguish any more
between anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, and anti-Israeli government policy.
The only way to know the truth is to go there in person and see with our
own eyes and watch history, true history, in the making.<br><br>
Going to Israel is quite simple. Anyone can do it; with or without a
travel agent. The problem, once you are there, is how to see the prisons.
There are two ways to see prisons, one is from the outside and the other
is from the inside. For the sake of watching history in the making, there
is not much one can see from watching from the outside but, after all, it
is better than nothing. Since this guide serves everyone, we thought we
would help people to reach the prisons and concentration camps and to see
them from the outside as well as from the inside. We therefore, where
possible, provide telephone and fax numbers of the prisons and police
stations concerned. It will be obvious that to see the prisons from the
inside, one has to be arrested. For Palestinians or any other Arab, this
is not a problem. But for people who are not Arabs and may speak Arabic
but don't have the proper accent, it is not so easy to get inside a jail.
So, we have to give some guidance as how to be arrested.<br>
Of course, it is easy to commit a crime and be arrested, but we can't
recommend such an ungraceful solution, especially since being arrested as
a criminal may land you in the wrong jail. So, you have to do something
political. You can demonstrate against the mistreating of Palestinians or
try to stop bulldozers demolishing their homes or even try to save
children from being shot. But this carries with it another danger.
Instead of being arrested you may be shot yourself, or buried alive by
the bulldozer.<br><br>
This is not a hypothetical suggestion because it has already happened to
a few English and American people. We must admit that there is no 100%
safe way to be arrested. Watching history in the making, especially in
Israel, carries some risk with it, but we will try to help make that risk
as small as possible. The safest way to be arrested, although this also
carries a risk with it, is to look like a Palestinian Arab. This can
easily be achieved by putting on some Arab garb, such as, for example, an
Arab head dress or a kafiyeh, as it is commonly known. Once you look like
a Palestinian you have a good chance of being arrested. Your chance is
actually so good, that you don't have to do anything in particular. You
can be arrested for anything, even for smiling (in the wrong place or at
the wrong person!) Once you have been arrested, don't talk or answer
questions. Don't open your mouth even if you do understand what is being
said. We would especially stress that whatever happens, never protest
because if you do it in any other language apart from Arabic (in the
correct accent), you might be released at once or worse still, you could
be expelled from the country.<br>
There is also another and much more important reason not to open your
mouth. This is especially important if you want to observe what Israelis
are capable of and are actually inflicting on the Palestinians. If you
don't talk, they will assume that you know and have something to hide, so
they will employ physical and psychological means to make you talk. They
will start by beating you up. There are different methods of beating. One
of them for example is known as the 'bending method'. After they have
handcuffed your hands with plastic wire behind your back, and seated you
on a small chair without a back support, two people will hit you: one,
sitting in front of you, will push your chest with his left hand and, at
the same time,will slap your chin with the palm of his right hand, while
the other person, just standing behind you, will hold your head with his
left hand, and box your left arm with his right fist. We go into these
details so that you will know what to expect.<br><br>
Other methods of first stage torture include the 'tripping game'. While
your eyes are covered and you can't see, you will be given the command to
go forward. The moment you move, a soldier will trip you with his boot.
These are mere examples but there are a lot more surprises once you are
in the hands of the Shabak, the Israeli army police. <br><br>
You may rightly ask how we know all this. Is it from personal experience?
The answer is no. We copied this information from a booklet by the Public
Committee Against Torture in Israel which was published in Jerusalem, in
April 2003. You can order this booklet yourself, by writing to: Public
Committee Against Torture in Israel / PO Box 4634 / Jerusalem 91046 /
ISRAEL. (see also: related links)<br><br>
Here is one concrete example of a torture case, as published on December
12th 2003 by the Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (Case
ISR101203.CC):<br><br>
“According to the information received, at around 2 pm on April 24th
2003, a 16-year-old Mejad Abdalatif Fatah Sabach was arrested by Israel
Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers near Kfar Geva/Jenin (see Map 1, pp.
12/13). He was in a taxi on the way to school. The soldiers handcuffed
him, stripped him of his clothes down to his underpants and hit him all
over his body, including the head. They reportedly subsequently tightened
his handcuffs so much that the marks were still visible, two and a half
months later, when he submitted his complaint.<br><br>
“While they were transporting him blindfolded to the prison facility at
Araba, the soldiers beat him again. When they arrived, they threw him
into the camp with his hands and feet tightly handcuffed. [Editors Note:
It turns out that Araba is not a prison as such, but in fact a small
Palestinian village south-west of Jenin which is occupied by a whole
brigade of Israeli soldiers, called Hativat Menashe]. He was left that
way until 10 pm, without receiving any food or drink. He was then
transferred to the Salem detention facility (see Map 9, pp. 28/29). On
arrival, four soldiers, using the butts of their rifles and sticks, beat
him on the head, face, in the stomach and on the legs until he bled. This
lasted until 2 am.<br><br>
“Mejad was subsequently taken to the Kishon detention center (see Map 2,
pp. 14/15), where he was questioned for three hours while seated on a
small chair, with his hands and feet handcuffed and his body bent
backwards. After this, he was put in solitary confinement for a week.
During this time he was interrogated twice, once for 6 hours and once for
3 hours.<br><br>
“He was then taken to Megido Prison (see Map 9, pp. 28/29). After having
been held there for 15 days in a tent with 20 other prisoners, he was
sent back to the Kishon Detention center for another week in solitary
confinement. On the 7th day of detention there, he was taken for
interrogation which lasted from 10 am to 5 pm.<br><br>
“During this interrogation, Mejad was placed in a painful position, his
back stretched backwards, with his interrogator kicking him in the legs.
The following day, he was again interrogated for three hours, seated in
the same position. The many kicks that he received made it difficult for
for him to stand. After this interrogation, he was taken back to his
cell, where he remained until June 20th 2003, when he was taken to the
Hasharon Prison. There could be some confusion here because there are 2
prisons called Hasharon. One is situated on Road 553, near Tel-Mond, (see
Map 4, pp. 18/19) which belongs to the Prison Service, and the other
belongs to the Police and is near Petach-Tikwa (see Map 5, pp. 20/21),
where he is still being held”.<br><br>
On top of physical torture one can also expect psychological torture.
Since psychological torture involves vocals, and is executed in Hebrew or
in Arabic, those who don't know these languages will not understand a
word and, therefore, have nothing to fear. <br><br>
Bon voyage.<br>
++++++++++++++++++<br><br>
<b>Letter submitted to the British High Court, Chancery Division, in
London, in response to a suite by famed international publishing house
Michelin, against the MUCH BETTER THAN THE OFFICIAL Michelin Guide to
Israeli Prisons, Jails, Concentration Camps, and Torture
Chambres:<br><br>
</b>Michelin claim against me is invalid, for the following
reasons:<br><br>
<b>1. The “book” that Michelin is referring to, is not a book in a
commercial sense.<br><br>
</b>The “book” that the claimants are referring to, is not a book in a
commercial sense. It doesn't have an ISBN number or a publisher. It has
not been sent to the British Library as the law requires of any book
published in this country and has not been sent to any bookshop to be
sold to customers. It is a political pamphlet given free or in exchange
for a small donation that some people send us voluntarily or at our
request, to cover the cost of printing and postage. A notification of the
existence of this pamphlet and a request for a donation was only sent to
a few people who are on my e-mail address list.<br><br>
Since it is not a book in the commercial sense, it could not have caused
any loss or financial damage as Michelin claims. As for other, real or
imagined damages, like damage to reputation for example, I will refer
later on. This pamphlet is a political publication. It attacks the
government of Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians; for their
imprisonment and torture, for the demolition of their houses and for the
killing of hundreds of innocent people, including children. To make it
impressive, it is written in a literary style of a satire that I’ve
learned from Jonathan Swift.<br><br>
<b>2. The cover of the pamphlet is a visual satire, to fit the style of
the text. <br><br>
</b>I assume that what the claimants are objecting to, is not the
pamphlet itself but the cover of that pamphlet. That cover, which was
printed separately and added to the pamphlet later on, is in the same
spirit of satire as the text is. I chose the subject of the satire on the
front page to be that of the famous Michelin guide. However, I made it
clear that it is not a real Michelin guide. I made this clear by
printing, on the cover, in bold letters, the title which is: “MUCH BETTER
THAN THE OFFICIAL Michelin guide” if it is better, it cannot be a
Michelin guide. This must be clear to everyone. In addition, I printed on
the spine: “THE TOURIST GUIDE THAT NEVER WAS. These additions are clear
evidence that it is not a genuine Michelin guide but a spoof. <br>
The idea came to me from the Campbell Soup silk-screen print, by the
artist Andy Warhol. He took a commercial logo and made an art object out
of it. Since I am also an artist I thought that I can create something in
the same spirit. <br><br>
<b>3. The accusation that I have caused damages to Michelin is not
true<br><br>
</b>I have already explained in paragraph 1), why my publication could
not have caused financial damage to the claimant. As for damage to
reputation, I must say that the way I used the name of Michelin in the
cover of the spoof, could only add to their reputation, not to damage it.
I used their name to make the international public aware that Israel is
trying to eliminate the Palestinians. I tried to prevent a holocaust. I
am sure that Michelin, as a company that employs many people, supports
humanitarian causes but as a commercial company they cannot express
it.<br><br>
<b>4. Michelin has given me a tacit permission to distribute it<br><br>
</b>In spite of all that, I still wanted to make sure that Michelin did
not object to the spoof. Being a French company, I was sure that they
would know what satire is and would have enough sense of humor to
tolerate a spoof based on one of their products, especially for such an
humanitarian cause. To make sure that they did not object, I made one
copy of this cover, enveloped a pamphlet with it and sent it to Michelin
with a note of my address stacked among the pages. Since I did not
receive any response from them for over three weeks, objecting to what I
had done, I was sure that they did not mind. So, I enveloped all the
pamphlets with this cover and started to distribute them among my
friends. <br><br>
Allow me to end my defense by quoting a short poem written by the Chilean
poet Pablo Neruda:<br><br>
You will ask: where are the lilacs<br>
And the metaphysics petalled with poppies<br>
And the rain repeatedly spattering<br>
its words, filling them with holes and birds?…<br>
You will ask why his poetry does not speak of<br>
dreams and leaves, and the great volcanoes of<br>
his birthplace?<br><br>
Come and see the blood in the streets.<br>
Come and see the blood in the streets.<br>
Come and see the blood in the streets!<br><br>
<br>
[oznik.comment: We have been able to obtain a copy of the <i>Much Better
than the official Michelin Guide</i> and wish to inform our readers that
in addition to detailed maps and brief descriptions of Israeli prisons,
jails, concentration camps, and torture chambers, this pamphlet also
contains a translation of a memoir published in Israel, but nowhere else.
<i>Checkpoint Syndrome</i> by Liran Ron Furer, is a personal account of
an Israeli soldier's experience as an occupier, and the his being haunted
by this memory. A note found among the pages of the book says: "We
asked for permission to translate <i>Checkpoint Syndrome</i> from Hebrew
into English bit it was denied. Since we think the book is of great
importance, we have decided to translate and publish it without
permission. The Editors."]<br><br>
<br>
<i>Shimon Tzabar is a satirist, poet, and artist. A new edition of his
book, The White Flag Principle: How to Lose a War (and Why) (buy from an
independent book shop, buy from Amazon) was published by Four Walls Eight
Windows in Feb. 2003. Tzabar is editor of 'Israel Imperial
News'.<br><br>
</i></font><font size=3 color="#000066">
<a href="http://oznik.com/news/040719.html" eudora="autourl">
http://oznik.com/news/040719.html<br>
</a></font><font size=3>Posted by: Mona Baker on Jul 23, 04 | 10:30 am
<br><br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
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