The radical notion that (vegan) Israelis are people

Kristofer Aberg, a Swedish animal rights activist since 1995 has written a response to the article by the Peace and Conflict Studies scholar Shawndeez Davari Jadali ‘Vegan Killers: Israeli Vegan-Washing and the Manipulation of Morality.  This was original published as a comment, but the aptly named Turkey Agenda  website censored it.

Kristofer Aberg nails it:  "What Javali is doing is to be categorised as the master suppression technique known as double bind – “damn you if you do, damn you if you don’t”

The radical notion that (vegan) Israelis are people 

Shawndeez Davari Jadali wrote a couple of days ago about Israeli “vegan washing” in Turkey Agenda. Israel, Jews and Zionists have been subjected to a lot of lies and conspiracy theories during the years. Do we really need another one?

First of all: Is it really that hard to understand that you shouldn’t use collective punishments on Israelis just as you shouldn’t do it on Americans? How would Shawndeez Davari Jadali feel if she was to be blamed for the war in Iraq, just because she lives in theUS? And that her attempt at peace and conflict studies is just a “peace washing” to make the US image better for the world?

The slogan “feminism is the radical notion that women are people” has shown to misogynous men what feminism is really about. It seems like people like Jadali need to be taught the radical notion that also Israelis are people! They are not propaganda machines for their government just as Jadali probably wasn’t a propaganda machine for the Bush administration. Israelis can have a life not connected to the conflict with the Palestinians. Jadali’s single minded attitude sounds like someone who has never met a gay person, and then stereotype that person totally. A Swedish comedian therefor said something like “I’m not just gay, I’m also a carpenter”, to point out that you are more than your sexuality. And you are also more than your citizenship. Israelis can be interested in veganism and queer politics just as Jadali or I can.

So where is Jadali’s evidence that it’s the Israeli state that is behind the vegan boom in Israel? I have been active in the vegan and animal rights movement in Sweden since the 1990?ies, working with low budget grass roots campaigns. I would love to hear about the secrets on how to get your state to support these causes and make a vegan boom such as the one in Israel! Also, in Sweden, and probably in other places, most of the animal rights movement comes from the left/liberal/green side of the political spectra. In Israel there is a right wing government, so the conspiracy theory of them being behind the vegan boom seems even harder to believe.

What Javali is doing is to be categorised as the master suppression technique known as double bind – “damn you if you do, damn you if you don’t”. The same thing goes for the people using the “pink washing” theory to blame the Israelis for their liberal attitudes toward the LGBTQ community. If Israel would have a lousy policy on veganism and LGBTQ issues, people like Jadali would have used that to blame them. Now when they are progressive, Jadali comes up with another way to be able to blame them. The same goes for Jadali’s criticism of the Israeli army providing non leather shoes for a minority (vegetarians and vegans). If they would refuse, Jadali would have just had the chance to blame Israel for discrimination against minorities. Some more peace and conflict studying of Norwegian social psychologist Berit As is recommended for her.

Read it all here