19. Nadia Gould, author of “Hitler made me a Jew”, smells anti-Semitism
23rd April 2006
Posting 19. to The Jewish-Israeli Lobby category, Nadia Gould’s request for clarity
Oaxaca, Sunday, 23 April 2006
Dear Nadia,
This is in answer to your e-mail, namely
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Subject: Re: Jeffrey Blankfort’s article in Counterpunch
From: Nadia Gould <>
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2006 10:27:24 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
To: George Salzman <>
Dear George,
Have you seen my book Hitler made me a Jew (Boson Book sold at Barnes and Noble or Amazon)? I started to read your enclosed email correspondance and I couldn’t continue — it scared me I am now 77 — if you read my small (84 pages) book you will understand all the emotions it brings back – 6 millions Jews were systematically killed when the world stood still doing NOTHING and let it happen and I was a lucky one to escape through Spain and Portugal – I know ANTISEMITISM I can smell like the gas from my stove – How many Jews are left in this world today? You (or the people with whom you discusss) are telling me that Israel is imperialist - racist - elitist … etc… Please write you or
whoever is writing you — write it all in CLEARER language EXPLAIN what you are really saying because if you say what I began to smell I feel sick —
Nadia
—–Original Message—–
From: George Salzman
Sent: Apr 21, 2006 12:53 AM
To: Jeffrey Blankfort
Subject: Re: Jeffrey Blankfort’s article in Counterpunch
Oaxaca, Thursday, 20 April 2006
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for writing. Glad to hear from you, and that you can accept my appreciation of your work in spite of my previous criticism. The articles that Manuel Garcia referred to in his latest two notes, the ones by Gabriel Ash, are for me not such easy reading, but I think he’s doing something that completely escaped me, especially the second article, which ends with . . .
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Nadia, I’m sorry that the writing in the e-mail correspondence is not clearer and easier to understand. I urge people to use straightforward everyday language, but many academics seem reluctant to do that. Separately from the question of clear language, there is the problem that the issues are fairly complex. No one with even only the most basic acquaintance with the 20th century does not know of the horror of the Nazi slaughter of European Jews. It was a genocide against Jews by Christian nations, not by Islamic nations. The major powers decided to “provide a homeland” for Jews — in Palestine — which was inhabited by people who had lived there for ages. The founding Zionists were well aware they would have to push out the Palestinians.
If you have not read the research paper by Mearsheim and Walt, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy”, you can glance at their clear discussion (on pp. 9-10 of the full version at papers.ssrn.com/abstract=891198) of the Zionists’ awareness that their project would entail much suffering by Arabs.
For example, they write,
The mainstream Zionist leadership was not interested in establishing a bi-national state or accepting a permanent partition of Palestine. The Zionist leadership was sometimes willing to accept partition as a first step, but this was a tactical maneuver and not their real objective. As David Ben-Gurion put it in the late 1930s, “After the formation of a large army in the wake of the establishment of the state, we shall abolish partition and expand to the whole of Palestine.” 32
To achieve this goal, the Zionists had to expel large numbers of Arabs from the territory that would eventually become Israel. There was simply no other way to accomplish their objective. Ben-Gurion saw the problem clearly, writing in 1941 that “it is impossible to imagine general evacuation [of the Arab population] without compulsion, and brutal compulsion.” 33 Or as Israeli historian Benny Morris puts it, “the idea of transfer is as old as modern Zionism and has accompanied its evolution and praxis during the past century.” 34
. . . Ben-Gurion told Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress, “If I were an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. . . . We come from Israel, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?” 37
I think that’s about as clear writing as you’ll find anywhere, and it’s all carefully referenced. When I got your note I went to look at our earlier correspondence. The first note, about 2 and 1/2 years ago, was
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Subject: regarding your last message
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 10:03:05 -0500
From: Nadia Gould <>
To: George Salzman <>
Dear George ,
I thank you for sending me your last message even though I had asked you to stop sending me your newsletter - this last one was very interesting and I appreciated getting the website address of the Shalom people - it is a funny coincidence that I had received a day earlier the address of website of Hamas (located in Holland) - I have traveled in Muslim countries for many years and I have lived in the homes of great wonderful warm people - the best - I love many things about the culture believe me- I personally, am not religious but I, barely, escaped the Holocaust at the very end of 1942 read my book!!!
my dear George, PLEASE show me websites from the Muslim world that could be compared to the Shalom in Muslim countries – if you can — I will maybe change my mind for the moment I am not convinced that the Palestinians are not the pawns of the extremists Muslims who hold the Moderates everywhere in the Muslim world hostages-
sincerely ,
Nadia
NADIA GOULD
212 666 7553
LOOK FOR MY BOOK
IN BOSON BOOKS
NON-FICTION
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I have not seen your book, which you promised to mail me but apparently forgot to do. There are two excellent groups in Palestine I happen to know of offhand, The Palestine National Initiative (Al Mubadara) which has a website at http://www.almubadara.org/en/ (somewhat out of date), and The Gaza Community Mental Health Center. In a recent paper, at http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/Strate/2006-02-18.htm, I wrote,
Among the many responses to Hamas’s sweeping electoral victory is the relatively brief assessment of Dr. Eyad El Sarraj, psychiatrist and founder and director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Center (GCMHC). It is not among those many articles cited by Bill Templer, possibly because it was published after Templer completed his article. I got it by e-mail from the GCMHC on February 12. It is available at http://www.gcmhp.net/File_files/onvictorhamas.html.
The Gaza Community Mental Health Center is first rate. You might also contact a friend, Laurie White <>, a Jewish woman from Ann Arbor who is part of an organization, Zeitouna <, of Arab and Jewish women who are soon going to Israel-Palestine and who are devoted to achieving real peace, peace with justice and dignity for all people. The main point is to recognize our common humanity. The horrors of the past cannot be undone, but we can try to use our intelligence and compassion to change the course of history to bring an end to such horrors.
Sincerely, and with best wishes,
George