[net.politics] The definition of terrorism is not flexible

mokhtar@ubc-vision.UUCP (Farzin Mokhtarian) (12/24/85)

Subject: Re:Re:The definition of terrorism is NOT flexible!

>         Is calling Begin a terrorist (which indeed he was) an act of
> anti-semitism?  The posting *was* objective and well documented.  It pointed
> out the fact that some Jews did engage in terrorism as part of a movement to
> establish a Jewish state.  Is this incorrect?  Is Aouriri telling lies? 
> Making up stories to slander Jews?  I think not.  Would you rather we
> rewrite history so as to forget that one part of the Zionist movement (though
> by no means the thrust of it) did engage in terrorism?
>						Rich Rosen   pyuxd!rlr

Yes, Begin was a terrorist but remember that some zionists will even dismiss
that by saying that he and his group (Irgun) acted independently and did not
represent zionist policy. (I am ignoring the astonishing fact that Begin 
actually went on to become the prime minister of Israel.) 
    
Zionist  policy, they  would  say,  never  included  terror as  a
political  tool.  Since it  is  widely  known  that PLO, the  official
representative of the Palestinians, has resorted to terrorism in their
struggle against Israel, they can place themselves at a  higher  moral
level before world public opinion.
    
But it is documented  history that  Haganah, the  official arm of Zionism, 
did engage in terrorism and did claim responsibility for it. This destroys 
the  distinction  between  official and  unofficial terrorism.
In light of this, how  can zionists  expect  the  Palestinians
not to engage in terrorism and how can they criticize them for
doing it?
                                                   Farzin Mokhtarian
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"Life will repeat my heart."