Thread by @cvaldary

Here's a thread on Marwan Barghouti, and why you should never ever, ever, ever, ever defend or make excuses for his behavior. @jstreetdotorg, @PeterBeinart , & @IfNotNowOrg especially: please pay attention.

For a primer, let's visit @Disney for a lesson on the human condition.

In @Disney 's The Little Mermaid, the villain is a nefarious octopus named Ursula; Ursula has a bone to pick with Ariel's father and, because she is not in power, she spends her time exploiting the mermen and merwomen who come to her wanting to overcome their own insecurities.

After Ariel visits Ursula to get the prince, Ursula sings'Poor Unfortunate Souls'- one of the greatest villain songs ever written by Alan Menken. This song is a textbook example of how pimps & terror orgs exploit the insecurities of the vulnerable. Let's take a look at the lyrics

Poor unfortunate souls//In pain, in need//This one longing to be thinner//That one wants to get the girl//And do I help them//Yes, indeed//Those poor unfortunate souls//So sad, so true//They come flocking to my cauldron//Crying,"Spells, Ursula, please!//And I help them//Yes I do

Now it's happened once or twice//Someone couldn't pay the price//And I'm afraid I had to rake 'em 'cross the coals//Yes I've had the odd complaint//But on the whole I've been a saint//To those poor unfortunate souls

It really is worth watching the entire clip. Ursula is an exploitative, incredibly evil character and it really comes across in the way she sings this song. She says its a joy to help "poor souls with no one else to turn to." Watch:

Now, as I said, this is textbook. It is the process by which gang leaders, terrorists organizations, & pimps exploit the vulnerabilities of the weak, the poor, and "unfortunate."

*AND THIS IS WHO MARWAN BARGHOUTI IS & WHAT HE DID AS A TERRORIST.*
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION.

Marwan Barghouti was the leader of the Tanzim brigade -- a brigade responsible for inciting violence against Israelis during the 2nd intifada. Tanzim is notorious for a lot but what is unknown by most is how it exploited young vulnerable Palestinians in its attacks on Israelis.

For example Tanzim **deliberately targeted young Palestinian women, got them into illicit relationships w/ Palestinian men after which some of them became pregnant. Tanzim then blackmailed those same women into committing suicide bombings against Israelis.

Read that again.

This is who Marwan Barghouti is and this is what he was the leadership of. He is evil, manipulative and represents one of the worst abusers of women specifically and Palestinians in general. When you put him up on a pedestal, you are praising an abuser of women.

This is a picture of Andalib Suleiman Takata. She was 21 when she was blackmailed by Tanzim. She committed a terror attack near a bus stop outside of Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem. Never forget her name or her face: Marwan Barghouti abused her.

This also happened to other women, including Ayat al-akrhas, who was the third female Palestinian suicide bomber. This is the way these terrorist orgs work and this is the way Barghouti did his dirty business: by seeking out "Poor unfortunate souls" and exploiting them.

He is no "Mandela" which is just one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. He is Ursula: conniving, abusive, and manipulative. And we need to be smart enough to not let his attempt to have a fake image as freedom fighter work.

Fin.