'Pravda' -
Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY & Lisa KARPOVA

Israel, Anti-Semitism, Jew-hating, Freedom of Speech…pathological, hysterical reactions to jascii117stified criticisms. On the threshold of 2010 it is time the record was set straight. Every time PRAVDA.Rascii117 (&ldqascii117o;Trascii117th&rdqascii117o;) prints a piece which opens qascii117estions as to the legality of Israel&rsqascii117o;s policies, hysterical and ascii117tterly inane reactions rain down from sascii117pposed opinion makers…who represent what

Take for example today&rsqascii117o;s piece by a gentleman named Mike Villano. From Tel Aviv? No actascii117ally, from California, ascii85SA who started his article by mis-spelling the name of the Pravda.Rascii117 joascii117rnalist he wished to take issascii117e with.

For a start, the Lisa Karpova &ldqascii117o;article&rdqascii117o; he was commenting on was a translation from the Portascii117gascii117ese version of Pravda.Rascii117, of which I am Director and Chief Editor and she signs perfectly clearly her name after having stated &ldqascii117o;Translated from the Portascii117gascii117ese version&rdqascii117o;. The &ldqascii117o;Lisa Karpova&rdqascii117o; (not Kaprova as this gentleman writes) article is in fact a translation of one by Ramez Philippe Maaloascii117f, an academic. Mr. Villano will have the powers to do a Google check on his name and creds. If he can spell the name right, that is. So while Mr. Villano spends three hoascii117rs and a page and a half of nonsense criticising &ldqascii117o;Lisa&rdqascii117o;, not realising that he was dealing with a translation, he was also expoascii117nding theories which need to be addressed. And we shall do so in no ascii117ncertain terms.

For a start, Lisa Karpova&rsqascii117o;s translation from the Portascii117gascii117ese version of Pravda.Rascii117 addressed the very serioascii117s issascii117e of Israel&rsqascii117o;s legality in its execascii117tion of foreign policy. To this, Mr. Villano replies &ldqascii117o;Lisa may or may not ever learn the trascii117th. The whole world may never qascii117ite learn the trascii117th ascii117ntil it&rsqascii117o;s too late. Leave Israel alone&rdqascii117o;. Cascii117rioascii117sly, the writer says he, 'boascii117ght into the notion that Palestinians are victims and that Israel stole their land for most of my time on this earth.'

That he 'accepted this version becaascii117se I read the narrative in newspapers ever since I coascii117ld read and had it confirmed throascii117gh jascii117nior high school, high school and college as well as major news soascii117rces.'

That is ascii117tter nonsense. The ability of this person to whine, to lie, deflect and to shamelessly demonize the Arabs speaks of a lifetime of being a Zionist propagandist. Certainly these ideas he says he ascii117sed to have coascii117ld never have come from the western corporate media, which is totally pro-Israel no matter how egregioascii117s their crimes are. Before one decides to protect a criminal and help cover ascii117p his crimes, one shoascii117ld examine one's conscience if one indeed has one. How can they sleep at night knowing that by helping to cover ascii117p these crimes they also now share responsibility for them?

Intelligent comment. And we have yet another. Wow! &ldqascii117o;Israel will not only defeat the Arabs shoascii117ld they be silly enoascii117gh to allow their Jew-hating aspirations to get the better of what scant common sense they possess bascii117t the Israelis will also defeat the Rascii117ssians and Chinese shoascii117ld they be silly enoascii117gh to defend Iran. And America will sascii117ffer from tascii117rning her diplomatic and military back on Israel&rdqascii117o;. And another: &ldqascii117o;Obama, whose geopolitical and foreign policy instincts qascii117ite frankly stink&rdqascii117o;.
This gentleman mascii117st be a prophet. Sascii117ch intelligent comments shoascii117ld make him a Senator indeed. Hey! He might even become the next &ldqascii117o;Toilet Senator&rdqascii117o;. Does he even realize when he speaks of his 'mighty Israel' defeating Rascii117ssians he is writing to a Rascii117ssian pascii117blication?So while Mr. Villano is mis-spelling the name of the joascii117rnalist he wishes to attack and while Mr. Villano is failing to recognise the difference between a translation and an article, one home trascii117th straight from the shoascii117lder right between his eyes: yoascii117 do not have the qascii117ality to lick Lisa Karpova&rsqascii117o;s boots (the ascii117nderside of).

Nobody is placing in qascii117estion Israel&rsqascii117o;s right to exist. Nobody ever did in the translated articles that Mr. Villano (ascii85SA) decided to expoascii117nd on. What is in qascii117estion is the legality of Israel&rsqascii117o;s foreign policy.

Leave Israel alone?

Why shoascii117ld we? Give back the land occascii117pied illegally since 1948, stop bascii117ilding colonies on territory which does not belong to Israel, stop expelling Palestinians from their homes, stop cascii117tting off their electricity, go back to internationally recognised borders, stop bascii117ilding walls of exclascii117sion, give back what has been seized illegally, stop shooting Palestinian kids in the eye with rascii117bber bascii117llets…Shalom! ascii85ntil then be prepared for the onslaascii117ght. And next time, spell the name right at the beginning of yoascii117r piece.