Is Arun Gandhi A Hypocrite (UPDATES)

Yesterday I pointed out that the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun, is consistent with his grandfather, who counseled that victims of evil, like Europeans and Jews during World War II, should lay like lambs for the slaughter.

Arun however went beyond his grandfather in not even being able to tell the difference between the lamb and the wolf. Arun wrote in yesterday’s Washington Post that “Israel and the Jews are the biggest players” in creating a “culture of violence” in the Middle East.

I received the following email from a reader, Rachel Lipsky, who found out that Arun does know the difference between the lamb and the wolf and, given Arun’s above statement, Arun sides with the wolf.

Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson was a guest speaker last summer at the Chautauqua Institute, NY. He mainly shared his stories related to his grandfather’s philosophy; following the path of active non-violence. As I suspected that he will stress on this topic, I came prepared with two separate quotes by Mahatma Gandhi (the grandfather) who was speaking to the Jews and to the British people during or before WWII.

I ran to the microphone and this is what I told him;
“ I am a proud Jew and a Yoga practitioner and as such, I try to follow the path of personal non-violence. But I have with me two quotes by your grandfather which with your permission, I would like to share with the audience (there were anywhere between 1,000-2,000 people attending his lecture.)

He agreed and I proceeded and read the quotes. Here they are;
Gandhi's Advice To the Jews of Germany, Gandhi offered the following;
"I am as certain as I am dictating these words that the stoniest German heart will melt [if only the Jews] adopt active non-violence. Human nature... unfailingly responds to the advances of love. I do not despair of his [Hitler's] responding to human suffering even though caused by him."

When it appeared that Nazi Germany would attempt to capture England, Mahatma Gandhi offered the British the following advice:
"I would like you to lay down the arms you have which are useless for saving you or humanity. You will invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini to take what they want of the countries you call your possessions. Let them take possession.... If these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. If they do not give you free passage out, you will allow yourself, man, woman and child, to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to owe allegiance to them."

After I finished reading the quotes, I heard a heavy sigh from the audience. Gandhi’s grandson admitted in his response to me that his grandfather didn’t understand the extend of the evil actions of the Nazis. He mentioned though two examples of active non-violent that helped save some Jews in Europe, but acknowledged that in the big picture it didn’t work.

Now, what makes him think that this self destructive philosophy would work with the enemy we are facing now?

As Rabbi Dov Greenberg mentions in the article from where I retrieved the quotes;
“Had Gandhi convinced the English to lay down their arms and practice non-violence, the Jewish people would have been annihilated, democracy and human rights would have disappeared, and our world would have been plunged into a new Dark Age of unimaginable cruelty. War, while always unfortunate and painful, is not always evil; sometimes, fighting a war is the most moral thing to do.”

Rachel Lipsky is on the faculty at the University of Buffalo teaching Hebrew. She holds a master of humanities from SUNY at Buffalo specializing in media and music and an Artist Diploma in Music performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She is also a certified Yoga teacher.

In a recent interview at the University of Rochester where Arun Gandhi’s peace center resides, Arun said:

Gandhi said that passive violence makes people angry, which leads to physical violence.

"It's actually passive violence that fuels the fire of physical violence," he said. "If we want to put out the fire, we have to stop the fuel supply."

Arun Gandhi needs to take his own advice, as his words are the fuel that fires evil through denying the difference and, even, contradicting it.

UPDATE: What an a—hole is Arun!
Today Arun offered what he calls an apology, but is a repetition that excludes those Jews who might agree with him that Israel is the “biggest player’ in the “culture of violence” in the Middle East.

I do not believe and should not have implied that the policies of the Israeli government are reflective of the views of all Jewish people. Indeed, many are as concerned as I am by the use of violence for state purposes, by Israel and many other governments.

UPDATE 2: R. DelVecchio writes:

Bruce, in all seriousness I am not sure how at least a few people don't stand up and scream at the top of their lungs at this asshole. History has made Gandhi into a total saint (which he may have been personally), but has utterly ignored the fact that the reason nonviolence worked against the Brits was the Judao-Christian foundation of their culture.

People like to think that committing mass slaughter, even genocide, goes against the basic human grain. It does not, and since the recent lessons of Cambodia and Rwanda and Darfur cannot penetrate the armored skulls of such well meaning humanitarians, we can safely conclude they are well beyond any use of reason, logic, common sense, etc. Kind of amazing/depressing, but human animals can be smart, educated, come in from the rain without being called, and still be out of touch with reality in a big way.

Hell, what blew me away was finding out there are actually Israelis who want to dissolve Israel and have a new nation with the Palestinians and let everything sort itself out that way, after which peace and understanding will flow like a torrent through the territory.

Wow... OK, this way to the showers, people!

Del

UPDATE 3:
Mahatma Gandhi was not exactly consistent, nor saintly, nor...most of the things attributed to him. See this 1983 analysis of his beatification in the film "Gandhi". Arun is cut from the same holey cloth as his grandfather.

UPDATE 4: The Anti-Defamation League calls Arun's piece and false apology "outrageous."