By ALEXANDER DOLITSKY
Courage is the ability to face fear, discomfort or danger. It is about acting in the face of adversity, whether that’s physical hardship, moral opposition, or personal loss. Essentially, courage is about doing what is necessary even when it’s difficult or scary.
An example of courage is when someone speaks up against injustice or stands up for their beliefs and values, even if it means facing opposition or potential consequences. This could involve refusing to go along with a group that is doing something wrong, or simply helping others in need.
Historically, the famous “Dreyfus Affair” exemplified a courage and determination that tore through late 19th century France and rocked the country’s claim of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.” It was the Dreyfus Affair that convinced Theodore Herzl, the founder of Political Zionism, of the need for a Jewish state, which became a reality in 1948 with the creation of Israel by the United Nations.
The “Dreyfus Affair” was an espionage trial that took place in France in 1894. Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer, was convicted of treason for allegedly passing military secrets to the Germans. He was sentenced to a solitary confinement for life on the Devil’s Island, France’s notorious penal colony off the remote coast of South America. How could this happen in 19th century France, in which Jews had been equal citizens?
On Jan. 13, 1898, the most famous front page in the history of journalism appeared in a French paper L’Aurore (Aurora) beneath a two-word headline: “J’accuse” (I accuse!). In a long and fearless article, France’s leading novelist, Emile Zola (1840-1902), accused the French government of having orchestrated the conviction of an innocent man, Alfred Dreyfus.
Zola’s brave article immediately caused French society to split into Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards. At the heart of the Dreyfus Affair was a toxic and rapidly growing anti-Semitism in France. In fact, the Dreyfus Affair and anti-Semitism in France contributed greatly to the rise of Jewish political leader Theodor Herzl and Zionist movement. Thus, Zionism was a nationalist and political movement that advocated for the establishment and maintenance of a Jewish state in the historic Land of Judea (Israel).
Zola’s intention in publishing “I accuse!” was to provoke the French government to prosecute him for libel, so that the emerging and exculpatory facts of the Dreyfus case could be, for the first time, publicly heard. Accordingly, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to jail for his provocative (courageous) act—a penalty Zola evaded by urgently fleeing abroad.
In short, in 1898, the prolific writer Emile Zola took a courageous stance in defense of the falsely accused Dreyfus and was himself threatened with imprisonment. As a result, he urgently fled to England to avoid incarceration, without luggage, without sufficient resources, and unable to speak fluent English. Dreyfus was finally vindicated in 1906 or four years after Zola’s death in 1902.
Indeed, the patterns of history tend to repeat. Today’s pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel rhetoric masks deep-rooted antisemitism in our country and worldwide, regardless of who advocates either for or against Israel, or those who demand a release of remaining Jewish hostages that are still been held in the tunnels of Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
My good and long-time friend, via private correspondence, had a courage and intelligence to clearly assess the situation in our country, regarding the subject matter and a lack of courage on the part of American Jewry in confronting antisemitism:
“It really is surprising how silent most Jews seem today about all the widespread antisemitism sweeping the United States and Europe. Your Juneau synagogue does not seem unusual in that respect. I suppose so many Jews, at least in the United States, find it confusing to be so strongly committed to the Democrat party and then see that party embrace the “Palestinian” cause, even with its extreme and violent antisemitism. Maybe that’s an example of how we can become some political self-image of who they are. (‘I’m a liberal Democrat,’ cries my brother as he spouts the latest party talking points taken without question from Democrat politicians). But, wow, you’d think a lot of Jews would be questioning their unswerving allegiance to a political party in this case, by now. Your points [in the article ‘Free Palestine’ is a call to destroy Israel and exterminate Jews‘] about the historical background of Mideastern nations is an important perspective, too. As very few people alive today (including myself) know anything about that history and simply assume that all those nations have had very long histories as such, like so many of the major nations of the world. If it weren’t for all the petroleum in that region, all those “nations” would still be poor and ‘backward’ (primitive, undeveloped). But even though Israel has real and very long historical claims to its “homeland” and nationhood there, they are at a disadvantage of being a minority; peaceful religion surrounded by religious fanatics of an especially violent religion and basically having been given their land by a political fiat at the end of World War II. I don’t see how today’s politics cannot be terribly upsetting to any Jewish person anywhere in the world.”
Clearly, “Free Palestine” is not just a slogan, it is a genocidal call echoing the darkest chapters of history. It takes courage for all peace-seeking people, regardless of their political and religious affiliations, to stand proudly against this terrorist organization, its virulent movement and antisemitic agenda.
Alexander Dolitsky was born and raised in Kiev in the former Soviet Union. He received an M.A. in history from Kiev Pedagogical Institute, Ukraine in 1976; an M.A. in anthropology and archaeology from Brown University in 1983; and enrolled in the Ph.D. program in anthropology at Bryn Mawr College from 1983 to 1985, where he was also lecturer in the Russian Center. In the USSR, he was a social studies teacher for three years and an archaeologist for five years for the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. In 1978, he settled in the United States. Dolitsky visited Alaska for the first time in 1981, while conducting field research for graduate school at Brown. He then settled first in Sitka in 1985 and then in Juneau in 1986. From 1985 to 1987, he was U.S. Forest Service archaeologist and social scientist. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Alaska Southeast from 1985 to 1999; Social Studies Instructor at the Alyeska Central School, Alaska Department of Education and Yukon-Koyukuk School District from 1988 to 2006; and Director of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center from 1990 to 2022. From 2006 to 2010, Alexander Dolitsky served as a Delegate of the Russian Federation in the United States for the Russian Compatriots program. He has done 30 field studies in various areas of the former Soviet Union (including Siberia), Central Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and the United States (including Alaska). Dolitsky was a lecturer on the World Discoverer, Spirit of Oceanus, and Clipper Odyssey vessels in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions. He was a Project Manager for the WWII Alaska-Siberia Lend Lease Memorial, which was erected in Fairbanks in 2006. Dolitsky has published extensively in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology and ethnography. His more recent publications include Fairy Tales and Myths of the Bering Strait Chukchi, Ancient Tales of Kamchatka, Tales and Legends of the Yupik Eskimos of Siberia, Old Russia in Modern America: Living Traditions of the Russian Old Believers in Alaska, Allies in Wartime: The Alaska-Siberia Airway During World War II, Spirit of the Siberian Tiger: Folktales of the Russian Far East, Living Wisdom of the Russian Far East: Tales and Legends from Chukotka and Alaska, and Pipeline to Russia: The Alaska-Siberia Air Route in World War II.
Well done, Mr. Dolitsky. Another insightful article, I thoroughly enjoy reading them, and highly respect your unique perspectives form both sides of the Iron Curtain.
Does it take courage to blow up kids in tents, or steal $20B a year in US taxpayer dollars?
Wanting to end Israel’s genocide and wanting the US to fix it’s own problems first before sending billions of dollars to prop up a British Colony isn’t antisemetic.
Does it take courage to attack unarmed civilians attending a music festival? Does it take courage to take them hostage, and to abuse them, rape them, and force them into slave labor?
Does it take courage to launch thousands of unguided missiles into residential areas of Israel?
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Which side of this conflict has broken every cease fire? Does that take courage?
Which side thinks it is OK to kill infidels?
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If hamass and the muslims were to put down their weapons and petition for peace in the middle east, there would be peace.
If Israel were to do the same, there would no longer be an Israel, and the destruction of all Jews would not be far behind.
It takes courage to fly planeloads of innocent people into buildings.
So ‘good job’ by your team.
You must be so proud.
The far right is very good at conflating anti-Israel genocidal policies toward Palestinians with anti-semitism. The reality is Bibi needs conflict to stay in power
There would be no confusion on the issue if the other side in this conflict stopped advocating for the genocide of all Jews, and the destruction of the Israeli state. Bibi does not need this conflict to stay in power. Bibi, and every Jew on the planet needs this conflict to stay alive.
Israel was born into conflict thousands of years ago. It has been in conflict with it’s neighbors since Jews began returning to their homeland again in 1947. They are surrounded by countries that want to see that nation and those Jews exterminated. This is nothing to do with Netanyahu and everything to do with those who want to kill Jews. Thank you, though, for unmasking your anti-semitism.
Do not confuse/conflate anti-semitism with anti-Zionism. The majority of the Jewish faith are anti-Zionist, even in Israel proper. This has caused much upheaval in Israel. Like elsewhere, it can almost be thought of the people are not the ones at fault so much as the leadership in control and not representing the people.
Also, do a dive into Zionism and history, if only the past 125 years, and much is to be learned.
Thinking this is about zionism is childish. That implies the conflict is about land.
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Land has nothing to do with it. This conflict started in 613AD, and is not going to end until islam wipes out every Jew, and enslaves all those who do not adhere to islam. Taking Israel is just step one.
Globalize the intifada is being chanted in LA.
Tell me that this is about land. Go on.
The majority of the Jewish faith in Israel are against Zion? Against Israel? Against themselves?
The people that go to Shul, the ‘faithful’, are against Israel?
really?
There’s a candy jar sitting on the mantle and two kids are eyeing it.
One’s a polite hard knocks kid that would graciously accept, rarely ask and never demand.
One’s a fat kid that’s already eaten a sh*tload of your candy and incessantly demands more, occasionally disparaging your courage and masculinity, even stooping to expressions of outrage when you’re not understanding of his insatiable desire. Sometimes he takes candy and gives a piece to subordinates such that they’ll later come to you and lobby on the fat kid’s behalf. At other times you notice that he’s urinated in the candy jar. The fat kid tells you he’s your best friend and insists that he’s done great things for you but he’s also clearly vandalized your stuff and at one point found your puppy out of earshot and killed it.
Which of those two is preferable and is it wrong to wish that there were no fat kid in your sphere of acquaintances?
If I am reading this correctly, the fat kid is hamas.. well.. all muslims actually. I have never seen a more demanding bunch of whiners in my life. And, do not doubt this for a second, if you turn your back on them they will gleefully stab you without hesitation.
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Give me the hard knocks kid, any day of the week.
Whoa, BM! You have misunderstood this analogy. No one is talking about hamas. The fat kid is Israel. In that analogies may be an esoteric concept for you note the following:
– the reference to having eaten a sh*tload of our candy represents the monstrous number of US tax dollars that have been squandered on Israel and the inhabitants by US taxpayers. A thumbnail sketch of the respondents would indicate that few agree with the transfer of such a huge volume of money.
– the reference to the fat kid giving candy to subordinates is to the representative Israel assigns to every US politician. US tax dollars go to Israel > Israel in a lawful manner bribes US politicians > US politicians vote in support of more US tax dollars going to Israel. It’s a sham, BM. A complete sham. Ask our buddy the Alaska senator that likes to write strongly worded letters. He has one of these grifters assigned to him and he knows exactly what that grifter wants. Would you care to hear the jew’s name? The name of the program? It would be good for you to have looked prior to voicing your opinion.
– the fat kid having urinated in the candy jar is a reference to the disrespectful manner Israel holds US authority, much like a spoiled child taunting another and then running back to hold onto mom’s apron strings, Israel intentionally antagonizes neighboring countries w/ nuclear capabilities and expects that once they’ve stirred their enemy to anger the US will come to sort things out.
– the fat kid saying he’s your best buddy is Israel crowing about how they’re an ally when they’ve done far more to our detriment than they’ve ever done to our betterment and all has been accomplished w/ our dollars that we could have used ourselves. IIRC Trump has given them $16BB so far this year alone and we receive nothing for it. Nothing.
– the fat kid as a vandal represents the harm and disrespect being associated w/ him casts upon the US. The monstrous never-to-be-repaid debt owed, the osmotic harm that comes from allowing Israel to defecate on other nations under the guise of being a friend of the US. Make no mistake the disrespect is on every level, even to the degree that when the supposed hebrew (yet documented spaniard) that leads them comes to visit the White House he brings a mountain of filthy laundry to have cleaned by US staff, gratis.
– the reference to having found our puppy out of earshot and killed it is a reference to the USS Liberty. You’ll apparently not recall that they identified the Liberty as a non-aggressor with no defense capability, waited until it was at the edge of comm and then disabled the ship’s ability to send any SOS signal at all. Then they spent a leisurely hour strafing and fire bombing the US service men and women on board. All of them dead, many burned alive.
This is the tip of the iceberg and your comments make it appear you’re attempting to defend your point w/out having reviewed an opponent’s perspective. Shameful, really. It is imperative that you educate yourself, BM. For more than a millennia western civilization has thrown money and munitions at the area and all in support of someone else’s religion. Many are tired of it and they’ve now had nearly a century of life on their stolen land yet still hang off of Lady Liberty’s teat. One and all they enjoy benefits that we don’t and they’re doing it w/ our money. Did your kid go to University at n/c? I’ve read a bunch of your posts and speaking freely I’d say that it’s not likely. Every kid in Israel does though.
It’s messy… and it’s time to put a close to the inequity, disrespect and graft. When less than 1% of the world’s population is creating that much of a drain it’s time to cut those apron strings. Curiously, it is normally only the minimally informed US citizen (as I assume you to be) that agrees w/ Israel’s nonsense and typically they’re just parroting what they’ve heard some other boob potter on about. In this perfect example Dolitsky claims to be a US citizen except when he’s claiming to be Russian. Oh, and except when he’s claiming to be a jew. Newsflash: He’s a chameleon at best and not who he purports to be when he’s hollering about being such a victim.
What do you call such a person?
Mr. Dolitsky is a Ukrainian, not a Russian.
He is a Jew (the ones everyone hates)
The Jews are God’s chosen people and supported by modern Christians.
If the left could only get rid of those annoying Christians.
George D – What, exactly, is a “modern Christian”? Perhaps, you are referring to adherents of the relatively modern, Zionist financed, rewritten Scriptures in the Scofield Bible that falsely alleges the Jewish people are God’s chosen people? Do you believe in the “Rapture”? Then you are a Christian Zionist, or to put it in theological language, a believer in what, to many Christians – probably the majority of them – is the heresy of Dispensationalism.
Mr. Dolitsky’s heritage is of zero interest to me and as to Ukrainian or Russian? We’ll see.
Of the 10000 or so religions in the world you are an atheist concerning all but one of them and that’s whatever nonsense was stuffed in your head when you were impressionable. Those of us that have dropped any belief in Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Devil, or yes… a Sky God are more inclined to be objective and see through the facade that is the “God’s Chosen People” story.
In a funny way it is science that will ultimately prevail but in a manner few have considered. Science will triumph over religion when the occupants of the region use nuclear science to eradicate disbelievers in the land. Let that soak in my faithful little lamb.
It is a split atom that will eventually impose limits to rock throwing, prayer rugs and prostitution involving goats.
Your analogy sucks.
Everything you describe is the actions of muslims worldwide.
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Is Israel some kind of perfect angel, underserving of criticism? Not a chance.
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However, who are the ones that migrate to other countries, then demand those countries change to suit their wants? Not Jews.
What group is destroying world wide recognized historical sites because some dead guy said something 1500 years ago? Not Israel.
Last time I checked, no Jewish individual said an author should die because they said something unkind about their prophet. Who attacked the Charlie Hedbo office?
What group decided that Dante Alighieri’s tomb should be destroyed because the founder of their religion was mentioned in his book?
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How many islamic states across the middle east are taking US money left and right, and funding terrorism with it?
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Seriously, you are comparing millions of violent, barbaric actions with the intent of turning the entire planet into an islamic caliphate, with a handful of similar actions?
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Get real. The only way you can claim Israel is some kind of terror state is if you ignore 1500 years of history of violent and oppressive actions on the part of those trying to destroy Israel.
Well now. When a man that professes a strong interest in homosexuality says my analogy sucks… I have to stop and wonder how he means that.
Regardless of your muddy metaphor I’ll add some clarity here and it’s that generally speaking I think in broader terms than you. Forget the middle east in its entirety and focus on a less backward area of the world. Let’s say, any area that doesn’t have a victim culture rooted in a sky god scary-tale which would be uh, anywhere at all absent the stolen land now temporarily known as Israel.
Stolen land?
There is clear evidence Jews were living in that area dating back to 3,000BC. Meanwhile, islam did not exist until 610AD.
Stolen from who?
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Now… metaphor? You are the one who brought up vague ides of a fat kid and a hard knocks kid. And, your lack of real historical knowledge led me to the wrong conclusions, but somehow… it is my “muddy metaphor?”
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Reality is you, like most people who are anti-Israel are blinded by the overwhelming negative news coverage of the country. Blinded to the point you think this is about land. Blinded to ignore millennia of history and focus only on post WWII history.
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Reality is this conflict has nothing to do with land. Saying so just demonstrates your complete lack of knowledge.
Stolen from who(m), you ask? That is the wrong question. It’s only important to identify the lie. It has been proven that there is no genetic similarity between Israel’s current occupants and the historical occupants of the region. You may feign ignorance of that fact but no one will believe you.
Why does genetic similarity matter?
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Red herring pushed by the leftists and muslims in order to discredit the Jewish heritage. Thanks for repeating it.
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Tell me, clam, what genetic similarity do you have to the people who lived on the land you occupy now? I will bet there are less connections, but for some reason, I suspect you think it is your land.
And look, your “..polite hard knocks kid that would graciously accept, rarely ask and never demand.” just attacked a bus carrying aid workers, and took hostages per current reports. .
Obviously, those are the people we want to associate with.
You make a lot of assumptions there, BM. I didn’t identify the polite hard knocks kid at all. That individual in the analogy is any other nation that would respectfully receive, responsibly use and perhaps even repay.
A question for you please. I’ve read a bit of your screed and you’re clearly not from Anchorage and likely not even Alaskan in any manner. Your remarks follow a sort of Hezbola Handbook format and your written voice is that of a liberal Seattle type. Have even those in your vicinity tired of your muddy logic and tendency to jump to conclusions?
Wrong on all accounts.
Nailed it. I am definitely not wrong when ‘oh-huh’ is all you’ve got. Tell your husband you need to be disciplined. Maybe then you’ll make better sense.
That you have chosen to resort to personal ad-hominin attacks tells me everything I need to know about the “facts” you are using in your argument.
I would much rather see my tax dollars go to Israel as the only country in the middle east that allows people of a different religion to hold citizenship and vote in elections. I would also support the country that does not allow the killing of homosexuals. I would support the country that holds numerous Nobel prizes in the science and health fields over the countries that have no world wide accomplishments in those fields.
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“Oh… Israel is getting too much money from the US and they are not acting grateful enough” is a lousy argument for denigrating the country.
Expand your thinking there, BM. The entire middle east is a wasteland of irritable religious freaks that believe their god is all powerful but very bad with money… and He needs yours. Mine, too. Consider supporting any other area of the world that actually attempts to contribute w/out pirating US tax dollars. Stop the madness, the drain, the whole ‘we’re a victim / you must come to our aid’ BS… and attenuate the likelihood that one of those irritable clowns might start a fight that could wind up killing US Service men and women. Got progeny of military age there, BM? Send them over now to throw rocks at tanks and piss off other religious freaks. Sound bad? The rest of us don’t want our kids going over to settle a fight those parasites start, either.
As luck would have it there are several countries outside the region that would allow you to practice homosexuality as well so you’re good there, too.
Expand your thinking, clam.
As soon as the muslim have overrun Israel and slaughtered every Jew there, they will not stop. It will continue worldwide. Next will be the Christians, and finishing up with the lower participation religions.
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And, they are more than willing to accept the support from folks like yourself who are not aware enough to realize the danger.
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Your disdain for Israel works in the favor of your eventual overlords.
Send as many of your personal dollars as you like, BM. No tax dollars though.
Well, I know where you stand.
Personal freedoms be damned. Let the muslims rule the world. I just want a few more dollars.
USS Liberty and the Lavon Affair are all I need to know that Irael is not our ally.
As a Jewish Alaskan, I can attest that anti-semetism rears itself in two main categories:
1) Folks who just plain don’t like Jews, for whatever reason. These people exist on the left and the right, and some post here.
2) Folks who assume I would agree lockstep with every decision a foreign government (even an ally) makes. No one expects Italian Americans to agree with the Italian government 100%, and generations of Scots-Irish to care about the politics in Dublin, Edinburgh, or London. Heck, World War 2 proved that “ethnic” Americans would take up arms against their ancestral homelands to fight for America.
My experience has been being accused of being too “pro” or “anti” Israel because of my faith. I find that antisemetic prima facie. I am a 4th generation American, *my* ancestors fought in Ww2 and my family has served overseas for America in nearly every conflict since. (including Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Iraq, Bosnia, Afghan, Iraq 2, and “conflict zones”.
No one gets to tell me how American I am, and no one gets to classify any critique I have of Bibi’s and Israel’s flawed prosection of the Gaza military campaign as anti-Semetic.
I’m an American. Full stop. No dual loyalties, and no shame with not agreeing 100% with an ally’s crappy politics. Any implication I should support a foreign nation due to my religion insults me on religious terms. The worst Anti-semites are the Westerners who would accuse me of loyalty to politics, not faith.
According to at least one Representative in the US House, this “Folks who assume I would agree lockstep with every decision a foreign government (even an ally) makes.” is enough to make you unAmerican.
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While at the same time, she declares her allegiance to a foreign nation.
It’s honestly pathetic how many people try to hide their antisemitism by protesting to much. They try to explain it away because they would rather try and hide their beliefs than be true to them. So many people who say that “legitimate criticism of Israel isn’t antisemitic” haven’t once offered anything closely resembling legitimate criticism. It’s pretty easy to spot those offering legitimate criticism of Israel and those hiding under the thinly veiled guise of anti-zionism. People who constantly comment here about how they aren’t antisemitic and don’t care about what’s happening in the Middle East but rail against Jews, rail against those who support Jews, and who openly support those who hate Jews are a few clear examples.
The Jews are God’s “chosen” people. …. I read that somewhere.
Since God chooses them, so do I.
Imo …. we should throw all the Muslims out of Isreal.
They stole it in 650 ad, we want it back.
it is OUR Holy land …. your Holy land is Mecca & Medina.
The Dome of the rock should be burned to the ground (it’s made of wood)
Finally someone gets it. A book to model your life around.
Deuteronomy 23:1 brother! 650 AD was foretold chapter and verse in that scriptural prophesy though you may have to read it a couple times to actually get it. Hidden in plain view as it is.
George D – What, exactly, is a “modern Christian”? Perhaps, you are referring to adherents of the relatively modern, Zionist financed, rewritten Scriptures in the Scofield Bible that falsely alleges the Jewish people are God’s chosen people? Do you believe in the “Rapture”? Then you are a Christian Zionist, or to put it in theological language, a believer in what, to many Christians – probably the majority of them – is the heresy of Dispensationalism.
Talk about political fiat – the Balfour Declaration is the best example.
London times headline 1919 by Winston Churchill:
“Zionism vrs Bolshevism, the struggle for the heart of world Jewry”
But Alexander proves that in fact the Bolsheviks and the Zionists are one and the same.
I am encouraged and pleased that my articles “‘Free Palestine’ is a call to destroy Israel and exterminate Jews” and “It takes courage to confront antisemitism and terrorism” have stimulated MRAK’s readers to be engaged in the discussion of these important and controversial subjects. After all, how the truth and justice could prevail without vibrant and intelligent discussions.
However, I would like to clarify several critical points pertaining to the subjects:
(1) I do not connect Bolshevism and Zionism as the same or even similar movement, as some readers (Nat) concluded. I suggested that Captain Alfred Dreyfus’ case gave birth and growth to Zionist movement at the end of the 19th century in France for the establishment of Jewish state in their historic land of Judea (Israel). Bolshevism, however, is the communist form of government adopted in Russia, following the Bolshevik (Socialist) revolution of October 1917.
The term “Bolshevism” originated from the Russian word “bolshevik,” meaning “majority.” This term emerged in the early 20th century within the Russian Socialist Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP), a Marxist political organization. The RSDLP split into two factions at its Second Congress held in Brussels, Belgium and then in London, England in 1903: the Bolsheviks (majority faction) and the Mensheviks (minority faction).
The Bolsheviks, who favored a more radical and centralized approach to socialist revolution, were opposed by the Mensheviks, who advocated for a more gradual and democratic path. The Bolsheviks won the majority vote at the congress and were thus labeled “Bolsheviks” (majority faction).
(2) Zionism is a movement for the re-establishment and today the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel. It was established as a political organization in 1897, just about the same time as the Dreyfus trial of 1894-1895, under Theodor Herzl, and was later led by Chaim Weizmann. In fact, Dreyfus’ trial coincided with the growth of antisemitism in Europe, and this was one of the factors of an unjust and fabricated trial by the French government.
(3) Zola’s courageous involvement with the Dreyfus case cost him heavily: his extra-marital affair, for instance, was exposed, his estate was put up for auction to pay the fines, sales of his books suffered considerably, and he also became the target of vast amounts of hate mail and death threats. However, Zola felt genuinely that it was his duty as a human being—and as a Frenchman—to defend the innocent against well-connected bullies, and protect the values, such as Truth, Justice and Liberty, of the country he loved. His next series of novels, Fécondité (1899), Travail (1901) and Vérité (1903), dealt with these ideals. The last one, Justice, was never to be completed for, because on September 29, 1902, Zola was found dead at his home in Paris, as a victim of a highly suspicious accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
I understand how controversial this subject is and, therefore, call MRAK readers to show proper civility and respect each other point of views regardless of your biases and sincere passion for the subject.
Our irritable Israel acquaintances just lobbed a few incendiaries at Iran.
Now they’re declaring a state of emergency and it’s one of their own making.
Guess who they’re going to run to as soon as Iran lobs something back?