Gandhi's Grandson Angers Jewish Community

Comments Critical Of Israel's "Culture Of Violence" Prompt Peace Center Co-Founder To Resign

(AP)  Arun Gandhi said he learned at his grandfather's feet that the world's major conflicts can only be tackled by first solving the little problems.

"It's the little problems that accumulate and become big problems," the fifth grandson of revered pacifist Mahatma Gandhi said when he moved his M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence to the University of Rochester last June.

Now, intemperate remarks about Israel and Jews being "the biggest players" in a global culture of violence have gotten Gandhi removed as president of the peace center he launched in 1991.

"My intention was to generate a healthy discussion on the proliferation of violence," Gandhi said Friday, a day after the institute's board accepted his resignation. "Instead, unintentionally, my words have resulted in pain, anger, confusion and embarrassment. I deeply regret these consequences."

The institute offers courses, workshops and seminars on nonviolence and will "continue its mission" at the University of Rochester, which provides office space and staff support, said the school's president, Joel Seligman.

Gandhi co-founded the center with his wife, Sunanda, at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn., and relocated it to the Rochester campus a few months after her death last February.

Gandhi's resignation "was appropriate" because his remarks "did not reflect the core values" of either the university or the institute, Seligman said in a statement. But a forum will be held later this year to allow Gandhi to discuss issues he raised with Jewish community leaders and other speakers, Seligman said.

"I think it's shameful that a peace institute would be headed up by a bigot," said Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, an international group that opposes anti-Semitism. "One would hope that the grandson of such an illustrious human being would be more sensitive to Jewish history."

Gandhi was on a panel of scholars, writers and clergy who discuss a new topic weekly on the Washington Post's "On Faith" page and his comments, posted Jan. 7, drew a torrent of criticism, much of it unfavorable.

Gandhi wrote that Jewish identity "has been locked into the holocaust experience - a German burden that the Jews have not been able to shed. It is a very good example of (how) a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends.

"The holocaust was the result of the warped mind of an individual who was able to influence his followers into doing something dreadful. ... The world did feel sorry for the episode but when an individual or a nation refuses to forgive and move on, the regret turns into anger."

Describing Israel as "a nation that believes its survival can only be ensured by weapons and bombs," Gandhi asked whether it would "not be better to befriend those who hate you?"

"Apparently, in the modern world so determined to live by the bomb, this is an alien concept," he wrote. "You don't befriend anyone, you dominate them. We have created a culture of violence (Israel and the Jews are the biggest players) and that Culture of Violence is eventually going to destroy humanity."

Gandhi later apologized "for my poorly worded post," saying he shouldn't have implied that Israeli government policies reflected the views of all Jewish people.

"I do believe that when a people hold on to historic grievances too firmly it can lead to bitterness and the loss of support from those who would be friends," he wrote in a follow-up.

While emphasizing that Jewish suffering, particularly in the Holocaust, "was historic in its proportions" and that "it is also important not to forget the past, lest we fail to learn from it," he stood by his criticism of "the use of violence by recent Israeli governments."

"I have criticized the governments of the U.S., India and China in much the same way," he said, adding that "I want to correct statements that I made with insufficient care, and that have inflicted unnecessary hurt and caused anger."

The institute's research library contains multiple photographs, audio and videotapes, and 100 volumes of writings by his grandfather, who led India to independence in 1947 and was assassinated by a Hindu hard-liner in January 1948.

[z1313132]

I wonder if a couple of our fundamental posters here met at one of those pray yourself straight camps and had to listen to ted haggard for too long.

And do any of you christians have a comment on dana jacobson and her f jesus comment .....i see the criticism of Ghandi - isn''t what she said many times worse.....

[missingamerica]

Are we geniuses for having had the foresight to invent religion for those times when we couldn''t think up any other reason to kill each other, or what?

[khubla]

The Jews would like to forever use the holocaust to justify them killing and committing the most heinous crimes. How are they different then the Nazis? Go to Youtube and view some of the videos of Israel settlers and solders treating the Palestinians. We here in the US would be jailed if we treated animals in this manner. The Jews kill children every week for throwing stones at a tank for god sake.

[khubla]

We must not critizie Isreal or Judism, no, no, no. Israel, that *** of a little country as the French embassitor refered to it is the root cause of most of the problems in the Middle East and conductss itself as a terror state in the region, but here in the US they control the politicians and media so this is what happens when someone wants to speak the truty.

[iceman_1960]

"The Hindu Goddess Kali is mythological and never existed."
- Posted by singinrick at 07:28 AM : Jan 28, 2008

Millions have seen her.

Millions.

[terrorislam6]

Breaking News Gunmen Take 30 Students, Teachers Hostage at Pakistan High School After Failed Kidnapping

retarded fascist nazi terrorislamic slavers and murderers repeat beslan

NEVER FORGET THE RAPES OF BESLAN GIRLS!
Terror at Beslan
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1316935651894423094

RAPES IN BESLAN: IN MUHAMMAD%u2019S FOOTSTEPS
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/News/Trifkovic04/NewsST091304.html

Forget Not the Children of Beslan
http://kenlydell.typepad.com/islamic_evil/forget_not_the_children_of_beslan/index.html

Religion of Peace??? More like a cult of death.
http://www.terrorists-suck.org/why_suck/beslan.html

Radical Islamists must be stopped:
comments on the Beslan child slaughter.
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/list.htm

Rapes in Beslan: in Muhammed''s Footsteps
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1214617/posts

[iceman_1960]

"On the day of judgment Floyd will be standing there wondering why he didn"t listen."
- Posted by singinrick at 06:27 AM : Jan 28, 2008

So will singinrick, when Kali the Hindu Goddess demands to know why he failed to worship her.

But then it will be too late.

[iceman_1960]

RE: "If [Gandhi] would have said Muslims do you think he would have been forced to resign? Probably not."

No.

He would have been assassinated.

[terrorislam6]

Posted by FloydZepp at 05:58 AM : Jan 28, 2008

make me a pizza zeppo

[dmhphils]

Gandhi wrote that Jewish identity "has been locked into the holocaust experience - a German burden that the Jews have not been able to shed. It is a very good example of (how) a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends.
===============================================
So, he is saying that Israel is just having a little pity party over six million Jews being incenerated.

So, Ghandi wants to tell them to just "shake it off and let''s move on with our lives"........what a snoof (yeh, I made that up)

[dmhphils]

Describing Israel as "a nation that believes its survival can only be ensured by weapons and bombs," Gandhi asked whether it would "not be better to befriend those who hate you?"
====================================================
Yeh, I''m sure Hamas would jump on that like largemouth bass under a lily pad. Right! What a Bozo.

[terrorislam6]

Posted by closethippy1 at 05:16 AM : Jan 28, 2008

hindus have more to worry about from retarded fascist nazi terrorislamic slavers than israel

Persecution of Hindus in India
Western Historian Francois Gautier once commented

%u201CThe massacres perpetuated by Muslims in India are unparalleled in history, bigger than the Holocaust of the Jews by the Nazis;" source
http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/feb/12rajee1.htm

The American historian Will Durant summed it up like this:

%u201CThe Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precious good, whose delicate complex of order and freedom, culture and peace, can at any moment be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within".source
http://www.swordoftruth.com/

Hindu Kush means Hindu Slaughter
http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/modern/hindu_kush.html
Destruction Of Hindu Temples By Muslims - Part I
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate/temple1.html
Destruction Of Hindu Temples By Muslims - Part II
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate/temple2.html
Destruction Of Hindu Temples By Muslims - Part III
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate/temple3.html
Destruction Of Hindu Temples By Muslims - Part IV (The Epigraphic Evidence)
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate/temple4.html
The 1947 Mulsim League Attacks on Hindus and Sikhs
http://voiceofdharma.com/books/mla/

[terrorislam6]

Posted by closethippy1 at 05:16 AM : Jan 28, 2008

hindus have more to worry about from retarded fascist nazi terrorislamic slavers than israel

Persecution of non-Muslims in Muslim countries

According to Islamic laws, non-Muslims in Islamic Lands should be subdued and be treated like Dhimmis, or second class citizens. They should be coerced and intimidated to convert to Islam, through special humiliating taxes like Jizya imposed on them. This has been happening in the Islamic World since the last 1400 years. While Muslims demand equal rights in non-Muslim countries, non-Muslims are systematically persecuted, terrorized and ethnically cleansed from Islamic Lands.
http://www.wikiislam.com/wiki/Persecution_of_non-Muslims_in_Muslim_countries

[closethippy1]

Posted by terrorislam6 at 02:10 AM : Jan 28, 2008


Sir, the subject matter has nothing to do with Islam. We''re talking about a Hindu who is critical of Israel.

[brianbwb-2009]

"We both almost gave up hope due to herpes/hpv, but just posted our success story to pozgroup.com, where we met each other....Posted by STDdating

Reported.

Again.

[terrorislam6]

ARE YOU WORSHIPPING RETARDISM???

Dutch Politician: Islamic Culture Is ''Retarded''

Dutch Politician Plans to Air Film Criticizing the Koran

A Dutch politician known for his views against Islam plans to air a film he produced that is critical of the Koran, which he likens to Adolf Hitler''s hateful writings.

Parliamentarian Geert Wilders spoke to FOX News about the documentary, insisting the Muslim holy book is dangerous and should be banned.

"I believe the Koran is, indeed, ''Mein Kampf.'' They are the same package," Wilders said. "I believe that our culture is far better than the retarded Islamic culture."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,325305,00.html

Dutch Braced For ''Koran Insult'' Backlash

If I insult you, am I responsible for your violence?

It''s a question being debated in the Netherlands this week as Dutch embassies around the world beef up their security ahead of the release of a film on the internet which allegedly insults the Koran. It''s reported to show the Koran being torn up and otherwise desecrated.
http://martinstanford.typepad.com/foreign_matters/2008/01/dutch-braced-fo.html

[standlee5]

No matter how you spell pacifist it sounds like passive aggressive. It seems to be a cultural thing.

[micma-2009]

Israel is a country that deserves criticism. They do a lot of bad things including dictating American foreign policy in ways that keep us in perpetual conflict in that region.

[closethippy1]

The use of the term "bigoted" to describe Ghandi''s grandson is absolutely outrageous. Especially coming from a man who has been endorsing Israel''s war crimes all along.
Arun Ghandi''s assertion is well thought out and articulated. Nowhere in it do I see an anti-Jewish hint. It''s a study in human psychology that has nothing to do with the nature of the Jewish religion.
But that''s the degree of hostility that some pro-Jewish organizations have been able to dish out without any consequences.
The only unfortunate consequence being that of a curtailment of free speech when it comes to the subject of Israel, right here in the United States of America.
And that''s a freaking shame.

[jncc1701]

Can someone explain to me why we cannot call a spade a spade? and why is any criticism of Israel bigoted?