DailyKos bans writer for mocking settlements
Update: see my additional commentary on this flap here
July 22 2009 by Cecilie Surasky Muzzlewatch
What’s up with DailyKos? This isn’t the first time they’ve banned bloggers for writing about Israel and Palestine, but this surely is the dumbest case. Guess that free trip to Israel really went to their heads.
Mondoweiss reports that Jane Stillwater got booted from DailyKos for making fun of, um, settlements.
Seriously. She made fun of illegal, immoral, ridiculously anti-peace, settlements, and US support for them as in:
“Our American government is currently financing and maintaining a fabulous all-comprehensive housing program that can provide you with modern newly-constructed state-of-the-art housing at either subsidized prices — or free! And talk about location location location. This wonderful model housing program isn’t located in undesirable places like the grungy old Boston inner city or shabby run-down parts of L.A. And, unlike those tacky bankrupt schools in California and Mississippi, this place has outstanding schools too. And its healthcare services, shopping centers and freeways are also top-of-the-line.
These fabulous new housing programs are located in a place that is sunny, modern, upscale and family-friendly — Israel!
According to USA Today, “Nefesh B’Nefesh, a non-profit organization, provides grants of $3,000 to $10,000 as an incentive for Jews to move [to Israel]. Nefesh B’Nefesh, which means ‘Soul to Soul,’ also helps arrange housing, jobs and schools for immigrants’ children.”
Read my less tongue-in-cheek op-ed here about the real horror of settlements, which, in fact, are made possible through US support.
Shame on DailyKos.
Wake-up Call 
One of the commenters at DailyKos claims that: “The US government doesn’t spend any money either on Nefesh Benefesh or on housing in East Jerusalem. It is all a fabrication.”
Perhaps not directly. But if I buy you a car and pay your kids tuition, maybe you’ll have more money for your mortgage?
From http://www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/usaid.html
“The U.S. is providing Israel with at least $7.0 million each day* in military aid and is giving the Palestinians $0** in military aid during Fiscal Year 2009………..
The source for US military aid to Israel during Fiscal Year 2009 is the Congressional Research Service’s “U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel,” written by Jeremy M. Sharp, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs, updated February 3, 2009. According to this report, by early February 2009, the US had already given Israel at least $2.55 billion ($2,500,000,000) in military aid for Fiscal Year 2009.
Over the last 20 years, the U.S. has been slowly phasing out economic aid to Israel and gradually replacing it with increased military aid. Beginning in 2007, the U.S. has been increasing military aid by $150 million each year. By FY2013, we will be sending Israel $3.15 billion a year (or an average of $8.6 million a day)”
laudyms
July 23, 2009 at 11:59 am
my God, i thought you were going to chip in with some decisive insght at the end there, not leave it with ‘we leave it to you to decide’.
Extenze
August 17, 2009 at 10:02 am