The Palestinian Authority's war on Facebook dissent

[Jefferson23]

Since 2014, more than 50 Palestinians have been detained for their activity on the social media site.

Alex Kane | 15 Nov 2015 08:38 GMT | Human Rights, Law, Middle East, Palestine

Ramallah - Baraa al-Qadi, a 23-year-old student at Birzeit University in Ramallah, has been arrested twice by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces for criticising the government on Facebook and in the media.

In September 2014, PA preventive security forces arrested Qadi, who is the head of Birzeit's media club, after he wrote an article for al-Quds quoting someone who said that Jibril Rajoub, the former head of the preventive security forces, had tortured former Hamas member Imad Awadallah. (Amnesty International has said that the PA abused Awadallah, though they do not name Rajoub in their report.)

Held for 10 days, Qadi said he was asked about his Facebook posts and whether he had any links to Islamist organisations like Hamas; he told his interrogators that he did not. He stood accused of defaming the PA.

In January, Qadi was again arrested when he put up a Facebook post mocking Rajoub, the same high-ranking Fatah official who is now the head of the Palestinian Football Association. He suggested that Rajoub should resign after the Palestinian football team lost to Jordan in a match, and should hand over the reins to "Captain Majed Faraj", a tongue-in-cheek reference to a popular Arabic cartoon character and to Majed Faraj, the PA's intelligence chief.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/palestinian-authority-war-facebook-dissent-151114105846783.html

[oberliner]

1. Alex Kane of Mondoweiss

Is there a clever word for a white NYU kid shilling for Hamas?

Hasmasarist maybe?

[Jefferson23]

2. Shilling for Hamas? You have any evidence the PA has not done what they've been

accused of, or is that a different form of shilling?

I am always amazed at comments such as yours regarding race and
advocacy for Palestinians...interesting, indeed.

[oberliner]

3. Covering news from the perspective that Hamas is good and that the PA and Israel are bad

I do not believe I have seen a story where he goes after Hamas as aggressively as he does Israel or the PA. His stories all generally cast either Israel or the PA in a negative light, and Hamas in a favorable or neutral one. That's what makes him a shill, in my view.

With regards to race and Palestinian advocacy, I take the opinions of actual Palestinians more seriously than I do white kids from New York (especially actual Palestinians who live there). There is something more authentic to me about hearing the views of people who actually are living what they are talking about.

There are Israelis and Palestinians with whom I vehemently disagree but I respect that their personal experiences give them an authenticity that I, as someone who is neither Israeli nor Palestinian, do not have.

Alex Kane is a Mondoweiss hack, not a journalist, who is used as a willing propagandist for one of the most regressive regimes in the region.

[Jefferson23]

5. I haven't seen any shilling for Hamas by this young man. I have seen people who are advocates

for Palestinians dismissed b/c they are white..that tells me a lot about a person
who judges in that manner.

The PA has a great deal of corruption behind it and they are not interested
in dissent, the human rights group AI has verified the Palestinian was abused
and has no ties to Hamas have been proven by the PA. They were relying on
an old Jordanian law to go after any dissent.

Considering how limited their venues are for the Palestinians to voice their fears and
their desires for a viable state, I can only say again how amazed I am with your
opinion.

[oberliner]

6. Allow me to provide an example or two

Last edited Mon Nov 16, 2015, 03:14 PM - Edit history (1)

I will break my usual policy of not linking to Mondoweiss in order to do so:

Let’s get the facts straight on Hamas
Alex Kane

http://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/lets-get-the-facts-straight-on-hamas#sthash.nTpKgYMh.dpuf

In that piece, he writes:

"As for the claim that Hamas rejects the two-state solution, that also doesn’t bear scrutiny."

Now I know we had a back and forth about this just a few days ago, and you seem to share Alex's opinion on this, but as I have pointed out, Hamas leaders have explicitly vowed to never recognize Israel and to at most only offer a temporary truce (and only some Hamas leaders have said this - others have been much less accommodating even as far as that goes).

How Israel is exploiting the reported kidnapping to weaken Palestinian reconciliation
Alex Kane

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/06/exploiting-palestinian-reconciliation#sthash.pP6MDzhl.dpuf

As in the above, he takes the Hamas spokespersons at their world while being extremely dubious of those speaking on behalf of Israel or the PA. If he was a real journalist he would be as rigorous in his challenging of the official party line from the Hamas leadership as he is of those from the others.

There is no doubt that there is corruption among the PA - that is not really in dispute.

With respect to your other point, I think that Palestinians are quite capable of advocating for themselves and have done so effectively both at home and around the world. I also think it is great that they have so many allies of different races and nationalities supporting their cause - however, I think there sometimes is some presumptuousness involved with respect to the way non-Palestinians approach this topic (much in the same way that some non-Israeli supporters of Israel behave).

On this subject, to me, the most authentic voices are Palestinian and Israeli ones.

[Jefferson23]

8. If stating what Hamas has said makes one a shill, then Kerry is one too by your logic.

The US supported a unity government, and with your approach to Hamas,
there will be no diplomatic/political end to the conflict. Hamas has stated
on several occasions they will accept the borders as we have discussed
before. If you don't believe them, then they have no reason to believe
Israel's government who has gone on record there will not be a Palestinian
state. Israel also rejects international law on all fronts regarding the
occupation.

Kane does say: *There are lots of legitimate criticisms of Hamas to be made, for instance of their policy of executing “collaborators” and destroying Palestinian homes that they say were built on public land. But repeating the standard line
that Hamas rejects peace and is opposed to a two-state solution is simply not a legitimate criticism when you look at
the factual record.*

Hamas is responsible for what they been found to be criminally responsible for, killing innocent
civilians, war crimes..all of it. Does he mention that? No, yet I don't see how his position
puts him in the shill category. Human rights groups have documented their violations
for years. If he ever states Hamas has a right to kill innocent civilians, that's another
story...I have not read anything that suggests his sympathies go in that direction.

Israel joining the ICC? No, they're not. Hamas is on record at least which is good, push them
to do so..push all parties to join, that's my view.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hamas-says-willing-to-cooperate-with-ICC-to-uphold-Palestinian-rights-396707

In the second piece he is repeating what was reported, and all the contradictions
by Israel, he offers links to support his assertion. You're suggesting he is inaccurate?

If you don't feel he is advocating for the Palestinians fairly, I would say ok, but to
call him a shill for Hamas is absurd..there is nothing there to rise to that level.


Regarding your opinion the Palestinians can advocate successfully for themselves
is demonstrably untrue..they have close to zero prospects of receiving a viable
state from any negotiations with the Israeli government..those land swaps will
leave them with a bantustan.

It is your comment about the kid being an NYU student and white is what I find
troubling, if more people felt as you do, there would be a huge disadvantage
for millions of people around the world who do not have the means to advocate
for themselves. It makes no sense whatsoever...none, imo.


When I googled his name, he comes up on Alternet with a host of issues,
I/P conflict does not appear to be his only focus.

[shira]

13. Kane's a shill. If you can provide an article from Kane that's as critical of Hamas.....

....as he is the PA or Israel, then please bring it.

[Jefferson23]

14. Already done...you're late to the thread. n/t

[shira]

15. Is it in invisible ink? What post? Link? n/t

[Jefferson23]

16. Post #8..but I don't believe you're capable of seeing it. n/t

[shira]

20. He doesn't condemn Hamas terror. Doesn't even believe they're terrorists.

Kane's a shill.

Mondoweiss has one article after the next supporting Hamas' resistance (terror).

Connect the dots.

[oberliner]

21. Please be intellectually honest

Last edited Tue Nov 17, 2015, 11:10 AM - Edit history (1)

He clearly does not criticize Hamas with the same rigor as he does the PA and Israel. He tosses a casual throw-away line about "well, they have some bad qualities too" and then focuses on going along with the Hamas party line. Hamas is a hateful organization that has repeatedly made the most regressive and loathsome statements contrary not only to basic human rights but literally advocating violence against civilians. Alex Kane looks past this and carries their water while digging in against those who oppose Hamas.

[Jefferson23]

24. I suggest YOU look in the mirror before you make pleas for intellectual honesty, oberliner.

I already said, if you do not find him fair to Israel in his writings, that is one thing, to
state he's a shill for Hamas, we don't agree. What he repeated from Hamas is exactly
what they said..and I will remind you the US supports a unity government to include
Hamas. You don't have to agree that's a good idea, but to suggest he's shilling
for them is without merit. I found no statements from him suggesting he sympathizes
with their killing innocent civilians. Why you expect Palestinians to trust Israeli
leaders after all the violence they cast upon them and negotiate a deal but Hamas
should never be trusted to do the same is a recipe for endless occupation. They
have kept to agreements with Israel before and received nothing tangible in
exchange...NO ONE has clean hands in this conflict.

From your perspective there will be no diplomatic/political end to the occupation,
that is on you, not him.

[oberliner]

22. Respectfully disagree with you on all points

The most preposterous statement being:

"Regarding your opinion the Palestinians can advocate successfully for themselves
is demonstrably untrue"

There are countless Palestinians advocating their cause effectively all over the world. Do you need a list of their names?

I am kind of stunned to see you write something like that.

[Jefferson23]

23. The proof they're not successful is in the FACT there is no viable state of Palestine, is there?

That you're stunned is no surprise to me, as I suspect what worries you about
an American kid from NYU is that a movement of advocacy for the Palestinians
could take hold enough to make a difference. Your criticism of him is based in part
on the fact that he's white..so what does he know? Talk about intellectually dishonest,
you hold a deeply offensive mindset.

You're in upside down world with your statements Palestinians living elsewhere have effectively
advocated for their people.

[leftynyc]

4. So both hamas and fatah suck

when it comes to liberal values and you go after the poster for pointing that out?

[azurnoir]

7. seems to me we regularly see posts about how Abbas abuses the rights of Palestinians here

from certain quarters and it's fine as long as it comes from a rightwing proIsrael source. However let the same information come from the other side and suddenly it's "shilling for Hamas"

[Jefferson23]

9. Yes and so it goes again. n/t

[oberliner]

10. Treat this OP with the same skepticism you would apply to one from a rightwing proIsrael source

That would be my only request.

[King_David]

11. As amazing as hate on American Jews "peddling "for the Jewish State ?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1134119142#post12

Really amazed ?

LOL

[Jefferson23]

12. Peddling propaganda..yes, that is Dershowitz.

The alleged great deals, he sounds like Trump.

The Palestine Papers made that clear and he believes the Palestinians
are being coddled and enabled by the ICC and other groups to
not negotiate with Israel..all nonsense.

http://www.aljazeera.com/palestinepapers/

[King_David]

17. And Alex Kane who's not even a participant in this

Is not "shilling" for Hamas and your amazed ?


Ha ha ... That's funny ...

[Jefferson23]

18. I do find your opinions funny, yes and no, he's not shilling for Hamas.

The US supports a unity government too..just an FYI

[King_David]

19. And FYI :

Hamas and Fatah do not support a unity government...

Hence the 3 states are the most likely.