I have decided to cancel my subscription to the Nation magazine because of a full page advertisement I encountered in the February 28, 2011 issue on page 22.  The add was titled “Myths about Israel and the Middle East (2)”.  The pro-Israeli group that posted the advertisement was FLAME (Facts and Logic About the Middle East).  Their web site is below:

http://www.factsandlogic.org/

At a minimum I expect my liberal leaning magazine to fake some semblance of neutrality (like Rachel Maddow) when it examines Israel and the Middle East.  What I got was a full page of bald-faced unabashed racism. The pro-Israeli myth-busters started this way (recapping the last issues debunked  myths):

“The myth that Jewish settlements in these territories are the greatest obstacle to peace; the myth that Israel is unwilling to yield land for peace; and we cleared up the greatest myth of all, namely that Israel’s administration of the territories, and nor the unrelenting hatred of the Arabs against the Jews, is the root cause of the conflict between Arabs and Israel.”

Then advertising on and on, wrapping Israel in a shroud of victimization while portraying the Arabs as two dimensional bad guys in a B movie.  The ad proudly states that Israel, among all the 22 other (Arab) countries in the Middle East, is the only true Democracy.  The ad conveniently omits the reasons for this  (U.S. foreign policy).  I am aware that my voice, like that of Norman Finkelstein, Oliver Stone, Noam Chomsky, and Jimmy Carter could never come close to matching the mighty magnificent pro-Israeli propaganda machine.  So, now FLAME adds it’s voice to AIPAC, John Stewart, Bill Maher, Fox News, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, C-Span, ……………

If one is so sure of the justness of their position, why should other voices be feared so?