Hello To All From Newest Israellycool Writer: Judge Dan
Judge Dan | May 05, 2012 | 6 comments
Hello everybody, I would like to introduce myself.
My name is Dan, but you can call me Judge Dan. After a good few years of behind the scenes pro-Israeli advocacy on Twitter, internet forums and IRL encounters, Aussie Dave offered me to have a go at it in the best pro-Israel site of them all, Israellycool.
I’m happy to be part of this excellent team, and I hope I can contribute in the fight to de-delegitimize Israel, my home.
And now, some info on me:
- I like ice-cream, that’s the only way you can pass these blazing hot and humid summers.
- I once milked a sheep.
- I’ve served my time, and then some more, in the IDF (And a heads up to all you cynics out there, no, I did not kill or rape anyone during that time).
- I am an Iraqi Palestinian refugee. You see, on the one hand I have a certificate that shows my maternal grandma immigrating to Palestine. On the other, my paternal grandma was kicked out of Iraq and fled to Israel in the early 50′s, then she
lived in a refugee camp till this day, suckling money from UNRWAacclimatized and made a good living. - I’m a geek.
- I like making lists with bullets.
- I live in Jerusalem.
- Mistakes and errors, especially in the media, have a nice warm place in my heart, for me to rip apart and ridicule the fact that in the age of Google, such things even happen in the first place.
You can tweet me, or just follow me at @JudgeDan48
So see you all soon enough,
Dan.
P.S. a hat tip for the first one to know what my avatar is, and no cheating!
About the Author
Dan Smith has been exposing anti-Israel fallacies since the first time he opened the world wide web on Netscape Navigator, sometime in the late 90's. His lack of formal journalistic, political and sociological education means he is still capable of objective, unbiased views and opinions. A judge of media, pundits and media pundits.Filed Under: Blog Announcements • Judge Dan
Let me be the first commenter to welcome you. I hope you’re open to discussing a wide range of subject matter. Like the Tal Law. And Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. And Avigdor Lieberman’s striking resemblance to Lew Zealand the fish-tossing muppet which AussieDave has neglected to include in his otherwise exhaustive “Separated at Birth” feature. Anyway, welcome aboard, Dan.
Actually, Lieberman bears a striking resemblance to David Axelrod, Michael Savage and Argentine poet Juan Gelman.
David Axelrod doesn’t have those bug eyes and isn’t a nefarious crook like Lieberman. Do early elections trump an indictment for fraud in Israel?
Just saying about overall resemblance, and besides, Axelrod is a Chicago politician who has not yet been caught.
In examining the media, you should bear in mind what pioneer television journalist David Brinkley said about his profession. He said that a journalist is someone who separates the wheat from the chaff — and prints the chaff.
“I hope I can contribute in the fight to de-delegitimize Israel”
I thought you had surely misspoken, since the first time through, I saw only “delegitimize,” missing the preceding “de-.” (A line break contributed to the misreading.) I think your stated goal to stand up for Israel against its loathsome enemies, those who would seek to “delegitimize” the Jewish state, a straight up antisemitic undertaking (forget the “anti-Zionist” whitewash), is a most admirable one. But when you refer to the fight as one to “de-delegitimize” Israel, you are yielding ground that shouldn’t be yielded, making it sound as though Israel has been delegitimized and the fight is to undo what the antisemites have accomplished, “de-delegitimizing” Israel. That is like saying “restore the reputation of the Jews,” suggesting it needs restoration, when in fact only in the mind of bigots has it been damaged.
Call mine a semantic quibble, but I think it important not to allow the Israel’s enemies even the smallest verbal advantage by implicitly accepting the proposition that Israel has been in any way “delegitimized.” (If you are in favor of a woman’s right to have an abortion, would you choose to march under the banner of “pro-abortion” or “pro-choice”, while those who favor the curtailment or extinguishment of that right call themselves “pro-life,” not “anti-abortion”?)