Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Do Not Buy Books Published By Palgrave Macmillan (Updated)

Che Gorilla

Daphne Anson has more disturbing evidence that pervasive antisemitism has once again deeply infiltrated the "intellectual elite" with news that a formerly respected British publisher has sunk to the level of  just another  extremist propagandist without the slightest evidence of a glance back in time.

Major British Publisher Promotes "Israel Apartheid Week"


Readers might wish to protest this disturbing anti-Israel initiative by a famous British publisher.

In response Che Gorilla was moved to email this to whatever contacts he could find in this part of the world.

Dear Palgrave Macmillan Australia,

It is a disgrace that the British publisher for which you are listed as the Australian representatives has taken upon itself the task of promoting the vile campaign known as “Israel Apartheid Week”. I have no doubt that this filthy slur may generate some sales for your grubby pamphlets in a certain book buying market but that is nothing new. Exactly the same thing happened during the Nazi era when some publishers thought it would be a good idea to turn a buck by publishing genocidal antisemitic literature in our universities often masquerading as “enlightened” or even “progressive” or “pacifist” .

All these decades later and you would hope that a reputable book publisher would finally have learned to resist the urge to promote hateful anti-liberal, anti-democratic ideology that vilifies the only state in the Middle East where the publication and reading of books are free and accessible to all irrespective of race, religion, nationality and social and political outlook.

Israel is not an apartheid state. Israel is the only state in the Middle East where Arabs and Muslims enjoy full civil rights. You have no right not to be aware of this. To describe Israel as an apartheid state is a racist lie. That you have not even made the slightest attempt to balance your publication list with books that set out the truth about Israel and the war against her shows you no longer have the right to be regarded as anything other than propagandists for the nastiest campaign against Israel, the Jews and indeed Western standards since the age of Goebbels. Your company should be publicly denounced. For you its just one big lie said over and over again.

More to the point your books should be boycotted. No one would challenge your right to publish whatever crap you like. That only happens in places like Iran, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, the “Palestinian Territories” and every other member state of the OIC. Just as everyone in Australia and the West has a right to make a point not to buy books published by your company. Any other them. You have nothing to contribute to the conversation and a tiny minority of profoundly ignorant adolescents with undeveloped minds and their seedy teachers hanging around the universities and colleges at the start of the academic year are not the only book market in the world.

This is precisely why I intend to launch a campaign of my own from my blog. Stop the lies. Do not buy any books published by Palgrave Macmillan. The stakes have become too high.

Sincerely,  

Che Gorilla

A list of contacts for this publisher is here.

Cross Posted Geoffff's Joint

Update

Pleased to report that Daniel Pipes has sorted Palgrave Macmillan


19 comments:

  1. Anyone know when Arab Apartheid Week is held? Oh, wait.

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  2. Thanks for that link Jay.


    It has prompted an update at the Joint

    http://geofffff.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/do-not-buy-books-published-by-palgrave.html

    I wonder what they must think of my face?

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  3. In response to our earlier email

    Palgrave Macmillan would like to express our regrets for the e-mail sent in error on Monday morning.

    While many of our authors have published seminal works debating various aspects of the Israeli/Palestine conflict, and Palgrave Macmillan is committed to promoting scholarship, research and debate on this difficult topic, we would never endorse one particular political point of view. The wording used in the e-mail is unacceptable, and the e-mail does not represent the views of Palgrave Macmillan, distribution partners or its employees.

    The e-mail was sent without having gone through the usual checks and processes, for which we sincerely apologise. We are working with the team involved to find out how this happened, and to ensure it does not happen again.

    Amy Bourke
    Corporate Communications Manager
    Palgrave Macmillan, Scholarly

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  4. I received a personal email from Amy Bourke.

    I think that we need to make it clear that the Jewish people will no longer put up with the kind of hatred toward us that leads to violence and when people talk about "apartheid Israel" they are a spreading a malicious lie that justifies hatred toward the Jewish minority in the Middle East.

    I want to give kudos to Geoffff and to Daphne and to Mr. Pipes, as well.

    We need you guys to stand tall.

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  5. A nonsensical 'we made a mistake/our email was hacked blah blah blah' mea culpa. Lying scum.

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    Replies
    1. Well, whether or not what was expressed in the apologizing e-mail as being the reason for the doing of the wrong-doing was, in fact, the reason for the doing of the wrong-doing, it's good that an apologizing e-mail was sent.

      Although, that the wrong-doing was done in the first place is very bad and is indicative of the current situation in the world.

      However, as Mike said, Jewish people need to make it clear that the Jewish people will no longer put up with the kind of hatred toward us that leads to violence.

      Jewish people need to effectively verbally defend themselves against libels.

      Jewish people need to no longer tolerate the propagation of libels against themselves.

      The doing of what Geoffff and some other people did in this instance is just what needs to be done. Very good.

      Very good, Geoffff.

      And very good, everyone else who did what was right and which was what was needed to be done.

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    2. That is NOT what she said.

      The wording used in the e-mail is unacceptable, and the e-mail does not represent the views of Palgrave Macmillan, distribution partners or its employees.

      Calling others lying scum is not appropriate.

      Delete
    3. "That is NOT what she said.

      "The wording used in the e-mail is unacceptable, and the e-mail does not represent the views of Palgrave Macmillan, distribution partners or its employees."

      Okay. Yes. That's good.

      "Calling others lying scum is not appropriate."

      Yes, that's right.

      Although the anger that one might feel as a result of the situation that the Jewish people are in, and as a result of the evil that has been done to the Jewish people, and as a result of the propagation of the libels that have been propagated against the Jewish people, is understandable and is a normal human reaction, expressing harsh angry words is not beneficial and is harmful. Expressing harsh angry words toward one who has apologized is especially harmful.

      But, Empress Trudy, I understand your anger.

      But it's good to be mindful, and to not do any actions that can cause harm, and to do what's skillful -- what's beneficial.

      Best wishes,

      Dan

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    4. Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum.

      :O)

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    5. I apologize if my comments were preachy, and I apologize if my comments were wishy-washy. I apologize if my comments were unbeneficial.

      I just wanted to prevent harm. I just wanted to do what's right.

      But, after I wrote my comments, and after I saw that oldschooltwentysix had written the comment that I saw that oldschooltwentysix had written, and which I thought was, and which I think is, a beneficial comment, I thought that my having written my comments might have been unbeneficial, and I felt distressed about my having written my comments.

      I apologize if my comments were preachy, and I apologize if my comments were wishy-washy. I apologize if my comments were unbeneficial.

      ----

      And, thank you, Mike, for lightening it up. :)

      ----

      Right Speech - samma vaca
      http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-vaca/index.html

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    6. Why are you apologizing? You did and said nothing improper.

      We should all be more careful how we talk about others.

      What bothered me here was not only the language, but that it seemed based on unfounded speculation concerning intent, and ignored the clear statement that was made, as set forth above.

      I appreciate the attempt to "lighten" things, but unfortunately there was a need to speak up.

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    7. oldschooltwentysix,

      I just wanted to clarify and explain myself.

      I felt badly and distressed and uneasy about my having written my comments.

      Those of us who are Jewish are in a difficult situation. Those of us who are Jewish need to be mindful. Those of us who are Jewish need to not do any actions that can cause harm. Those of us who are Jewish need to do what's skillful.

      Thank you, oldschooltwentysix, for your mindfulness and for your expressing right speech.

      Delete
    8. The question of the dehumanization of others is a road that I have been down many times.

      Nobody is perfect and we all tend to lose our tempers at times, but I have no reason to believe that Amy Bourke is anything but a fine individual.

      In fact, it was Amy who, on behalf of the company, came forward to apologize.

      We need to be vigilant, but we should not be either vindictive nor unforgiving.

      That's what I think.

      What I also think is that I've got an old buddy of mine, Chris, coming into town tomorrow with his wife, Maria, and we're going to take them up to Tomales Bay Oyster Company on Saturday for bbq oysters and beer with a mess of people from the city.

      I despise with all of my heart the lies that people tell about the Jewish State of Israel, but I will be damned if I will allow their hatred to make me a hater.

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    9. "...Nobody is perfect and we all tend to lose our tempers at times, but I have no reason to believe that Amy Bourke is anything but a fine individual.

      "In fact, it was Amy who, on behalf of the company, came forward to apologize.

      "We need to be vigilant, but we should not be either vindictive nor unforgiving. ..."

      "...I despise with all of my heart the lies that people tell about the Jewish State of Israel, but I will be damned if I will allow their hatred to make me a hater."

      Well said.

      Thank you, Mike.

      Delete
  6. This thing is not over yet.

    See Daphne Anson's comment and link about the bigot Ben White being given video space by Palgrave Macmillan to launch his essentially racist attacks on Israel so as to promote his book they have published.

    http://geofffff.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/palgrave-macmillan-backs-down.html

    Not the actions of a prominent academic publisher with a reputation to defend. There is a nasty reflex to this whole thing which makes one think that this is about much more than just one errant email and that Palgrave Macmillan needs to look to its core.

    They can be a respected academic publisher. Or they can be a publisher of anti-Israel vilification and lies steeped in hateful ideology and racism rooted firmly in the ugliest periods of history. But not, I will suggest both.

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    Replies
    1. This is an example of why I wrote what what I wrote in my first four comments on this post. I didn't know what to do. I was distressed.

      Israel and the Jewish people are under siege from a Tsunami of intendedly genocidal lies, and there was a glimmer of what seemed to be a slight abatement in a part of the Tsunami of intendedly genocidal lies, and then some harsh wrong words were said toward what seemed to be a slight abatement in a part of the Tsunami of intendedly genocidal lies.

      Jewish people are in a difficult situation.

      Jewish people need be careful. Jewish people need be mindful. Jewish people need to not do any wrong actions. Jewish people need to do what's skillful -- what's beneficial.

      Call out the liars. Firmly.

      But never speak harsh wrong words to, nor about, anyone who is not malicious nor to, or about, anyone else.

      Be mindful.

      ----

      And thank you, Geoffff.

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  7. I would send each corporate officer of the company hardbound editions of Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Just in case they're short a few or lost theirs.

    This is more or less what I've been asking the fellows who run Huffington Post Monitor to do for a long time. They spend an enormous amount of time compiling their stuff. What they need to do is bundle it up and send a copy to each and every member of the board of directors of AOL which owns HuffPo and point out to them what's being done in their name. If they're ok with Nazi hate speech under the banner of an AOL company, fine. Then they admit it publicly and we can move on from there.

    If the officers of this publishers are AOK with this, then that's good enough for me. They can start selling books about the White Christian Identity Movement and the Skinheads too. And then we can all admit what we know is the case and proceed from there. But not one to be narrow and parochial I can suggest several titles that cover anti black race hatred, holocaust denial, gay bashing, misogyny and general topic extremist twaddle they can push through the channel as 'academic' material.

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