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Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
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September 02, 2002
Ray Hanania, Comedian or Terrorist Apologist?
Largely unknown, Ray Hanania, a Palestenian-American attempting to jump-start a comedy career found himself bumped from an opening spot for Jackie Mason. Right away, Mason was put on the defensive, with presumptions of "racism." This didn't seem just right, so us good folks in blogland dug up some of Mr. Hanania's published writings on the internet, including this particularly inflammatory item from a Lebanese newspaper.
Looking for his side of the story, I wrote Mr. Hanania directly. For starters, I rush to give him credit for his prompt and courteous reply. He responded to my initial query within an hour. I'll write up a final report as a separate entry, but here is the whole of our correspondence. Following is our exchange of emails:
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Dear Mr. Hanania,
Following up on your current controversy regarding the Jackie Mason slot, I wanted to ask a couple of questions for clarification.
You have presented yourself as being just a genteel guy trying to be understanding of all sides. From your webpage "I have tried to keep my public comments consistent. It is not easy with the pressures and emotions of the Middle East violence.
I oppose violence and have consistently advocated for peace in the Middle East that includes the recognition of Israel and the Palestinian rights."
Or does this column you wrote for a Lebanese paper reflect your real views? Remember, you wrote here among other things "The dream of compromise with Israel is over, today, and it is clear to nearly everyone that Sharon has opened the door to the new possibility of correcting the original injustice of 1948 and restoring Palestinian control over all of Palestine, an action that the pro-Israel American apologists have dubbed as the �destruction� of the state of Israel."
Further in this same article, you write "These are events we could never have hoped for. It proves that by standing up to Israel�s brutality, and even in the face of losing so many innocent Palestinian lives either to Israeli Army murder or suicide bombings, the Palestinians will defeat Israel.
Now is not the time to surrender to Israel and accept compromise.
Now is the time to forge ahead and demand even more."
In short, how does any of this jibe with the "recognition of Israel" that you have claimed, or your general claim of being just a friendly humorist?
It seems that the whole tone of your public presentation is a harsh anti-Israeli harangue. In light of this all-but-endorsement of suicide bombings, do you still insist that you are a victim of racism from Mr. Mason?
Quoting from the bio on your own website, "Hanania is an outspoken advocate for peaceful compromise between Arabs and Israelis and has dedicated his life to bringing Arabs and Jews together. He has consistently opposed violence."
Please help me reconcile these seemingly widely divergent statements.
I will be publishing a follow-up on this within a few hours at the Culpepper Log, and I want to get the facts straight. To that end, I would very much appreciate your input.
Thanks,
Al Barger
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The comments in that column were a reflectioin of the harsh realities of the moment ... it was an attempt by me to convey where we could be headed if Israel's government continues with its current practices ... it certainly was forceful, but it does not reflect my views ... it did reflect my emotions ...
And that is the problemw ith the Middle East conflict ... it impacts ALL of us ... we all live in glass houses and we all are victims to being drawn into the emotional fight, no matter how hard we resist ... we are all human ...
For all that Ihave said, no one has once pointed out the things that Mason has said about Arabs and Palestinians ... the emotional battle keeps our two sides apart ... and does not want moderates on either side to come together ...
Thanks for your comments
Ray Hanania
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Dear Mr. Hanania,
Any other criticisms aside, thank you for your very prompt and courteous response. I appreciate that.
What can you give me about Mason's comments on Arabs? Any news stories, web links, etc? I would certainly be interested in that. I would be perfectly willing to take him to task if he has any really egregious statements.
Still, it seems a bit much to dismiss your column as "emotions" rather than "views." If we were having a couple of drinks and you spouted off a sentence or two that came out harsh, hey maybe that was the booze talking.
It's a lot harder to slough off a whole column like this, though, saying it doesn't represent your REAL views. You must have spent at least a couple of hours composing this, editing it. If they aren't YOUR views, then whose views are they? The words didn't just jump up there on their own. Does being angry relieve you of responsibility for your words and deeds?
Again, thank you for your input, and I would appreciate any critical material on Mr. Mason that you can supply.
Al Barger
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Al, I understand your feelings ... but the Middle East is like no other conflict in the world ... no other conflict has the emotion levels that have been ingrained in our two communities for more than 100 years ... we come close and fall back ... two years ago we were hugging, kissing and shaking hands after years of killing each other and calling each other names ... and then we are back at the battlefield doing worse things to each other ... this cycle continues and I am confident we will be back together shaking hands again ...
Search google for jackie Mason and Meir Kahane or KACH Party and also David DInkins ... I am not one to do what he is doing and slander him, but he has no right to throw stones from his Glass House Intifadah ...
Thanks
Ray Hanania
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Thanks, I'll look for Mason, and with combos of the other names you gave.
It definitely does NOT constitute slander to quote someone's own words back to them.
Al
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It is slander to state that a woman who is married to me is a self-hating Jew ... or to say that I am a Nazi, anti-Semite, Jew-hater, because I expressed one bad opinion about a political situation, against more than 100 good opinions in the middle of a political conflict ..
Thanks
Ray HananiaLabels: ray_hanania
posted by Al at 9/02/2002 03:38:00 AM
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