Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Pilar Rahola is angry, and she has a devastating piece titled "Apology for terrorism in Barcelona" in La Vanguardia today. The Barcelona Council of Youth, which receives large government subsidies, has invited Leila Khaled to speak on "the Palestinian cause." Ms. Khaled, in case you didn't know, is a member of the Marxist-Leninist PFLP terrorist gang, and was involved in several notorious hijackings in the early '70s. Khaled's speeches include such statements as, "Negotiations are useless. The occupation will only be ended by armed struggle."

Says Rahola:

The problem, unfortunately, is not that in Palestine there are people who support bombing schools, buses, and weddings with the sole goal of indiscriminately killing civilians in order to sow terror. The problem is that this kind of individual receives the support of Catalan organizations, is invited with public money, and is allowed to give speeches that are evidently apologies for terrorism.

Of the many Palestinians that the Barcelona Council of Youth could have invited, the brilliant members of the Council decided to choose one of the most hate-filled voices in the history of Palestine, only surpassed by some Hamas leaders. The most tragic thing is that Leila Khaled's party, which is classified as terrorist by the European Union and the US Department of State, has always defended European terrorism, and it has a historical relationship with the IRA. In Barcelona, thanks to the support of institutions like the Barcelona City Council and the Catalan Department of Interior, today speeches can be made that justify and defend terrorism as a means of conflict resolution.

The question is as simple as it is ugly: after Leila Khaled, will our worthy Barcelona Youth Council invite an ETA member to speak about the necessity of armed struggle? What does the Council consider to be terrorism? Does it depend on whether they kill us or kill others? Is killing Israelis an epic feat and killing Spaniards tragic? And what does the radical position of a leader of a Palestinian terrorist organization have to do with the problems of the youth of Barcelona?

The vision of the lunatic Left, which confuses solidarity with nihilism, and believes that defending the Palestinian cause means defending Palestinian bombs, is delirious. In their twisted view of the conflict, they do not realize that many Palestinian parents are horrified at the idea that their children might be entrapped by terrorism. So today, in the city of Barcelona, paid for with public money, someone who is a hijacker, who defends terrorism, and who does not believe in a negotiated peace, will give a speech. If this is the Council's idea of teaching values to our youth, then it's time to flush the toilet.

It's especially ironic that Khaled will speak today, the same day that ETA murdered a Civil Guard in the Basque Country with a car bomb.

In case you'd like to see some vile Spanish anti-Semitic Israel-bashing, check out this cartoon by Ferreres, who is lower than what you scrape off your shoes after you walk through a barnyard, in yesterday's El Periodico. There are two Israeli soldiers holding automatic rifles on blindfolded Palestinians on their knees in front of a high wall with a watchtower flying a pirate flag. The first soldier says, "Sixty years ago our free state was born democratically." The second soldier says, "We invited those who lived here to leave. Democratically, of course. But it looks like some of them didn't understand."

8 comments:

John said...

Looks like I still haven't learned how to post images.

Anonymous said...

Yeah I read about this a few days ago in www.pilarrahola.com. Where I left a coment in my pigion Catalan. Pardon my pigion dyslexic English hehe:

Es un insult a gent de les dos bandes que volen la pau. només conviden gent així que fan apologia al terrorisme. segur que podrien haver convidat a un palestí que vol viure en pau amb els isrealians es que no n'hi ha? o es que tenen por de sortir? Es una vergonya que l'ajuntament de barcelona faci coses així, clarament parcials i anti israelianes per no dir anti semites, que en el fons ho es.
UNA VERGONYA CATALÀ!
Visca Catalunya just i pro palestina tan matiex com pro Israel i no el catalunya parcial, anti pau, pro terrorisme, anti semita, i anti israel.
Autor : Anthony
Fecha de publicación : 9/5/2008

Anonymous said...

Will any of the Barna based readers drop by the conference and ask a few questions?

Anonymous said...

Creo que en realidad eres español y escribes en inglés. Pues vale, yo no entiendo la postura de Pilar: un día escribe que le parece mal la condena a un tipo por vejar la bandera de España, al siguiente le parece mal que se invite a una terrorista que YA NO ES terrorista. Un día ataca el buenismo y la corrección política, al otro día se deshace en boberías sobre su hija Ada o insulta a los actores. Un dia ataca a la 'izquierda infantil del poster del Che', al día siguiente se alía con los 'okupas' que impiden una conferencia neofascista en CEDADE Barcelona

John said...

You think I'm Spanish and writing in English? Trust me, I'm American. I swear on a stack of "Left Behind" novels.

Anonymous said...

Back in 2003 I attended a speech / conference at which some PLO tool spoke. It was here in Gracia, at a tiny Ayuntamiento building, I think on Calle Topazi. I just went along for shits and giggles. The poster said 'A Conference on the State of Palestine' or something like that.

I was amazed at the utter hatred and lies coming out of this guy's mouth about Israel, the wars in '48 and '67, and the whole Palestinian situation in general. Totally one-sided, openly anti-semitic.

... and behind me were the righteous lefty / hippy / okupa / whatever morons, nodding in unison. Not a word of protest. Hook, line and sinker.

The guy was preaching to the choir.

Bob

pd. The upgrade to the blog is ok, but can you make it so the popup comments window is resizeable? It should be an option somewhere ...

John said...

I checked and can't find it, but I can't even figure out how to do images, so I don't know. I really am extremely computer-illiterate.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I agree with you that the Spanish press is sometimes too much one-sided with regards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and I know there is a lot of activity on the part of pacifist Israeli movements with regards taking care of the dignity of Palestinians at the border posts which never comes out in the media; I also agree with you with regards the naïve and sometimes silly attitude the Spanish left develop with regards international terrorism, regimes such as that of Castro or Chavez, etc.; but the way you despise Ferreres' cartoon, not acknowledging that a country's freedom (that of Israel, of course) cannot be based on the violation of human rights with the inmense power of a modern army which constantly humiliates people, makes no distinction between terrorist and innocent civilians, indiscriminately punishes all of a people and educates their children in the hatred of their neighbours I am afraid doesn't seem too balanced. Maybe you should hear some Israelis who are more and more fearful of living in a State which has gradually become dominated by their army, and who truly believe their promised land shouldn't be built upon the death and suffering of others... Just check figures with regards mutual damages and humiliation. I'm a pacifist myself, but I don't know how long one may keep a balanced mind when they are suffering as much as the Palestinians are, and even then, not everyone of them is a terrorist.