'Go to Ethiopia to kill'

[moon]

Is it ok for a Palestinian man to confront Israeli soldiers and tell them to 'Go to Ethiopia to kill'
"I will not move. You should be ashamed of yourself. How do you fire your weapon on kids? That's not ok. Take your soldiers away from here. Do not fire your weapons. If they die you will die. Be careful, do not fire your weapons on kids. You should be ashamed of yourself. Do not raise your hand on me. You should be ashamed. You should be ashamed. Do not shoot. No, I will not move. I will not move. No, you cannot arrest me. I will not move back. Take them, imprison them but don't shoot them. You want to kill more? Two martyrs were buried today and you want to kill more? Are you not ashamed? Are you not a human being? A dog? A pig? Go to Ethiopia to kill. Do not shoot," Abu Haleel yelled at the soldiers."
West Bank: Elderly Palestinian man confronts Israeli soldiers before collapsing

 

[Idris2002]

Is it ok for a Palestinian man to confront Israeli soldiers and tell them to 'Go to Ethiopia to kill'
"I will not move. You should be ashamed of yourself. How do you fire your weapon on kids? That's not ok. Take your soldiers away from here. Do not fire your weapons. If they die you will die. Be careful, do not fire your weapons on kids. You should be ashamed of yourself. Do not raise your hand on me. You should be ashamed. You should be ashamed. Do not shoot. No, I will not move. I will not move. No, you cannot arrest me. I will not move back. Take them, imprison them but don't shoot them. You want to kill more? Two martyrs were buried today and you want to kill more? Are you not ashamed? Are you not a human being? A dog? A pig? Go to Ethiopia to kill. Do not shoot," Abu Haleel yelled at the soldiers."
West Bank: Elderly Palestinian man confronts Israeli soldiers before collapsing

Would he even know where Ethiopia is?

FWIW, in the late 1960s, Israel sent military advisors to Ethiopia to train Haile Selassie's army in counter-insurgency. Their comment on the Ethiopian troops they met was "they are very good at killing innocent people".

 

[trabuquera]

Was he shouting at Israeli soldiers of Ethiopian descent? Because there are plenty (from the communities "rescued" from famine in Ethiopia by the Israeli gov't, then marginalised into the worst jobs and conditions in Israel.) Is it OK? It's a mildly racist statement from someone whose community is very literally under siege and occupation conditions. I don't feel in any position to judge anyone on either side of that particular argument.

 

[moon]

They don't look particularly Ethiopian

 

[Mation]

Is it ok for a Palestinian man to confront Israeli soldiers and tell them to 'Go to Ethiopia to kill'
"I will not move. You should be ashamed of yourself. How do you fire your weapon on kids? That's not ok. Take your soldiers away from here. Do not fire your weapons. If they die you will die. Be careful, do not fire your weapons on kids. You should be ashamed of yourself. Do not raise your hand on me. You should be ashamed. You should be ashamed. Do not shoot. No, I will not move. I will not move. No, you cannot arrest me. I will not move back. Take them, imprison them but don't shoot them. You want to kill more? Two martyrs were buried today and you want to kill more? Are you not ashamed? Are you not a human being? A dog? A pig? Go to Ethiopia to kill. Do not shoot," Abu Haleel yelled at the soldiers."
West Bank: Elderly Palestinian man confronts Israeli soldiers before collapsing

No it's not ok. It's a terrible thing to have said. I'd still support him though, in this particular fight.

Was he shouting at Israeli soldiers of Ethiopian descent? Because there are plenty (from the communities "rescued" from famine in Ethiopia by the Israeli gov't, then marginalised into the worst jobs and conditions in Israel.) Is it OK? It's a mildly racist statement from someone whose community is very literally under siege and occupation conditions. I don't feel in any position to judge anyone on either side of that particular argument.

What qualifies you to judge how racist it is??

 

[Santino]

I used to be in favour of Palestinians having some semblance of normal human rights, and maybe an alternative to the seemingly inevitable total destruction of their country by Israel, but after this development I'm not so sure.

 

[Mation]

Would he even know where Ethiopia is?

Why wouldn't he?

 

[Treacle Toes]

Who knows why he said that really? We can only speculate.

No it is not okay to say that, in any circumstances, obviously.

 

[Mation]

I used to be in favour of Palestinians having some semblance of normal human rights, and maybe an alternative to the seemingly inevitable total destruction of their country by Israel, but after this development I'm not so sure.

Yes, how appalling not to have ignored it. Sometimes one should really not even mention racism. It just gets in the way.

 

[ska invita]

Sounds like a tweet from Dr Jack Monroe

 

[SpookyFrank]

FWIW, in the late 1960s, Israel sent military advisors to Ethiopia to train Haile Selassie's army in counter-insurgency. Their comment on the Ethiopian troops they met was "they are very good at killing innocent people".

Evidently they learned from the best.

 

[uk benzo]

What he said was stupid and outwardly racist.

But I suspect his shit comment was made as the zionist leaders send the Ethiopian Jews (and Druze) to the occupied territories to serve in hot spots (part of their racist zionist ideology) where they act as a tool of repression.

What a fucked up situation.

 

[LiamO]

I think it is terrible that this elderly Palestinian; who has spent his whole life in an over-sized prison camp; watching young people shot dead almost daily for throwing stones at heavily armed soldiers; has not been sufficiently politically educated to meet western lefty standards of right-on-ness.

Someone should start a crowd-funding campaign so we can raise enough money for Moon to fly over and educate him as to the error of his ways.

 

[likesfish]

that he's in a shit situation with the idf being as kindly as friendly as normal and the political leadership of palestine corrupt ineffectual wankers or corrupt bearded freaks who don't get a history of ineffectual as the israelis keep killing them

but ethiopia to kill is bad although it is several thousand miles from palestine so the idf would be wandering around looking for arabs to opress they'd be out of luck

 

[J Ed]

Yes, what vile racism. After the IDF bulldoze his home and murder thousands of his compatriots in order to maintain an illegal occupation he should be sent to an intersectionality workshop where he will be forced to check his privilege.

 

[Treacle Toes]

The sarky comments are not helpful!

I think if people are not used to seeing racism/prejudice in this way it can be shock to them. Maybe the OP is one of those people. Some people only have experience of racism/prejudice from and amongst particular groups.

...and no...his suffering doesn't make his prejudice okay, however much one might understand how it can come about.

 

[YouSir]

Why did he say it? What's the context? Get the feeling I'm missing something here.

 

[Idris2002]

What's the context?

 

[YouSir]

Very illuminating...

 

[Idris2002]

I think it is terrible that this elderly Palestinian; who has spent his whole life in an over-sized prison camp; watching young people shot dead almost daily for throwing stones at heavily armed soldiers; has not been sufficiently politically educated to meet western lefty standards of right-on-ness.

Someone should start a crowd-funding campaign so we can raise enough money for Moon to fly over and educate him as to the error of his ways.

Enough money for a return ticket, you mean?

 

[Dogsauce]

Maybe he meant go on safari? If they piss off to Africa and shoot a famous lion or something at least the world would give a shit. Shooting Palestinian kids is less controversial.

 

[LiamO]

Enough money for a return ticket, you mean?

nope.

 

[tim]

Would he even know where Ethiopia is?

There's no reason to assume that he's less educated than you or me.

 

[andysays]

No it's not ok. It's a terrible thing to have said. I'd still support him though, in this particular fight.
What qualifies you to judge how racist it is??

Can you explain why you think it's a terrible thing to have said?

It seems to me mainly like a bizarre thing to have said. I would therefore be very wary about ascribing any particular meaning to it and judging it as terrible or anything else with any certainty.

 

[Idris2002]

There's no reason to assume that he's less educated than you or me.

I've met educated people who have been genuinely unaware that Scotland and Ireland are two separate, distinct, different countries.

My first thought was that this guy was distraught over what he had been forced to witness, and was just using "Ethiopia" as a synonym for "somewhere far, far away".

 

[uk benzo]

I've met educated people who have been genuinely unaware that Scotland and Ireland are two separate, distinct, different countries.

My first thought was that this guy was distraught over what he had been forced to witness, and was just using "Ethiopia" as a synonym for "somewhere far, far away".

Minorities in the IDF that the Palestinians in the occupied territories have to deal with.

 

[Idris2002]

Minorities in the IDF that the Palestinians in the occupied territories have to deal with.

I see the list includes Vegans.

No further questions, your honour.

 

[quimcunx]

It's not right but we don't know the context. From other posts on this thread it seems like there is history of Israel using Ethiopians in Israel as a stick to beat the Palestinians with so maybe it's similar to someone here suggesting the army blow up Scotland Yard or the tax alliance HQ or Vodafone or, as the powers that be like to pit the exploited against each other maybe it's like a muslim in the UK, on being harassed by the police, suggesting they go pick on some jews or gay people or cyclists, or motorists, or dog owners for a change? Still not ok, but maybe understandable and there are a lot of things out there that are not ok. you can support a movement without agreeing with every opinion of every member of that movement.

If we were to only support pristine movements, then no resistance will be worthy of our purity.

Arundhati Roy.


Maybe he meant to say Syria and it came out wrong. Or the UK, or your mum. Maybe he's just a bit of a bigot when it comes to Ethiopians.

 

[Mation]

I think it is terrible that this elderly Palestinian; who has spent his whole life in an over-sized prison camp; watching young people shot dead almost daily for throwing stones at heavily armed soldiers; has not been sufficiently politically educated to meet western lefty standards of right-on-ness.

Someone should start a crowd-funding campaign so we can raise enough money for Moon to fly over and educate him as to the error of his ways.

Yes, what vile racism. After the IDF bulldoze his home and murder thousands of his compatriots in order to maintain an illegal occupation he should be sent to an intersectionality workshop where he will be forced to check his privilege.

Perhaps anti-racism is a stance for you; about political correctness and a good lefty education. Something you can drop or ignore if it's not convenient.

For me, it's not. I still feel the hurt even while totally supporting what he was doing. This isn't about telling the man himself of his incorrect position. But it's revealing to see who thinks this isn't a reasonable thing to consider here on this bulletin board.

Perhaps if he'd said 'go and shoot women' there would be bunch of men on here telling women that now isn't the time for their political correctness.

 

[Idris2002]

Perhaps if he'd said 'go and shoot women' there would be bunch of men on here telling women that now isn't the time for their political correctness.

Or perhaps there wouldn't.