Douchy Dickie Demands Money

Doucheblogger^TM Richard Silverstein is currently begging his readers to get into the Christmas spirit and pony up some moolah for the “work” he does.

And even though beggars can’t be choosers, trust Dickie to sound like a douche when doing so.

(http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2015/12/25/support-exposing-the-dirty-secrets-of-the-national-security-state/)

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know its value.  You know the secrets I expose.  You know how hard the Israeli security apparatus works to maintain opacity and impunity.  You know how hard I work on behalf of transparency and openness.  You appreciate the suffering of the Palestinian and Israeli victims I dramatize. You value those things or you wouldn’t be here.

Another distinction of this blog is it’s probably the only one in the world which offers its charity pitch in three languages: English, Hebrew and Arabic.  I’d especially like to encourage Israeli and Arab readers to contribute, as much of what I do offers comfort and support (to the Palestinians) and exposure of critical information (to the Israelis):

إدعموا موقع تيكون عولام ليتسنى نشر المزيد من المعلومات الحصرية عن قضايا أمنية مثل اعتداء دوما، والعميلين المزدوجين أ. أ. وبوريس كراسني

תימכו ב”תיקון עולם” כדי לאפשר עוד חשיפות בלעדיות כמו בפרשות דומא, האסיר איקס 2, ובוריס קרסני

Here are a few of the highlights of major stories I broke here over the past few months.  These are stories you either would never have heard about at all, or would’ve learned about weeks or months later, and only if someone in Israel had the courage to break censorship or Shin Bet gag orders:

* Shabak arrested at least five suspects in Duma attack, and one of them confessed. A Shabak agent provocateur who betrayed the agency by not reporting the planned attack, was indirectly involved.
* The double agent who exposed the Soviet spy Markus Klingberg is Israeli influential lobbyist Boris Krasny.
* “Prisoner X2”, a senior Mossad operative, spied for Iran and was secretly sentenced in 2004 to 14 years in prison.

Now, I’m asking you, in this season of giving, to give back.  To support the invaluable work done here.  I have to be frank.  Very few readers respond to these appeals.  A few generous donors once gave $5,000.  The rest come in smaller donations.  All of them are valued and appreciated. But there are so few of them.

You are the only ones who support what I do.  Unlike the two other major progressive I-P blogs, I have neither major media sponsors or major foundations underwriting Tikun Olam (though of course I’d welcome it).  It’s just me.

Think about what it takes to do this.  The hours it takes to work with sources, research stories, confirm facts, interview informants.  Think about the hours of social media promotion I invest to offer these stories to a wider audience.  This is a labor of love inspired by a passion for justice.  I know  you appreciate this or you wouldn’t be here.

All the major religious traditions uphold the value of charity.  In Judaism, it’s called tzedakah.  It’s different than giving in many other traditions.  Tzedakah is something everyone must do.  Even those of lesser means.  It is not a burden, but a spiritual gift to the giver.  I hope you’ll see your gift to support Tikun Olam in the same way.

Please, make your commitment now.  Help me make the Middle East a slightly better place by donating now.  Give as much as you can.

I’ve worked hard to offer donors several different ways to donate according to their own needs.

I would have actually pointed out to anyone thinking of donating to this unemployed basement blogger that he does no service whatsoever. He is a nasty, racist and unreliable blogger as I have documented comprehensively (and continue to do so). Alas, I need not mention it because I think the way Dickie has gone about begging for – no, demanding – donations, makes a strong case why he doesn’t deserve even a penny for his thoughts (The only thing more disturbing than the manner in which he has gone about demanding money is the fact people have donated up to $5000!)

And I am not alone. One commenter at his blog had this to say:

To which the Dickster pretty much proved her point about disrepectful treatment of commenters.

And there’s more from where that came from.

A reminder: This is not satire.