My Kind Of Zionism

[mothandrust]

he is his father's son -

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Road to Zion</div>

[Easy Skanking]

I'll second that one.
Great music, great smoke and great people that care about people.
Damien was excellent at Bonnaroo last year.

[mothandrust]

yeah, people that care about people - treating everyone with equal value

and on that note, off to bed (it's 6 a.m.) with a rather generous smoke for company

[Phil999]

haven't watched it yet (I always have to shut down the torrent client when I want to watch or download Utube stuff), but I like reggae. But I have absolutely no clue about the rastafari religion, Ethiopian kings, Jamaica and - Zion. Can an expert give me a short introduction?

[MC David]

Quote:haven't watched it yet (I always have to shut down the torrent client when I want to watch or download Utube stuff), but I like reggae. But I have absolutely no clue about the rastafari religion, Ethiopian kings, Jamaica and - Zion. Can an expert give me a short introduction?

Basically from what I gathered, Rastafarians believe in Christ though they also beleive that corrupted forces manipulated some aspects of the bible. But they also believe that a prophesy I think in Revelation came to pass when Haile Selassie I became emperor of Ethiopia that basically he was Christ returned. They believe Ethiopia is Zion, not the land that's Israel. & Rastas are advised to return to Ethiopia but they promote a liberated Ethiopia where other races are allowed as opposed to Jewish Zionism's apartheid state of Israel. Zion is also a state of mind in Rastafari like when you smoke herb you reach Zion. There's a lot of abstract stuff & encouragement to "reason" & draw your own conclusions so Rastafari is referred to as a spiritual movement by Rastas rather than a religion. They also believe that black people are the true Israelites. Also eating an "Ital", completely vegan diet is highly encouraged.

Since they believe in 'Zion' & use the star of david (in green, yellow & red colors rather than blue & white) there's some confusion like the punk band Propaghandi for example has this song where they're like fuck you Rastas, look at the West Bank look what your religion has done. But overall it's actually a positive culture. Rastas don't view Zionists very highly I don't think, for example this is a great song by Don Carlos, it's anti-zionist I think:

HARVEST TIME
(Don Carlos / Euvin Spencer)

Don Carlos


Worry Onto Those That Shed Innocent Blood Of Jah People

Jah shall clean out the bad weeds
and seperate them from the good
cause the day of harvest is near

Worry unto those that say they're of Israel (and they are not)
Worry unto those that say they're Jews (and they are not)
Cause they shall be cast away
like chaff that the wind driveth away I say

Jah shall clean out the bad weeds
and seperate them from the good
cause the day of harvest is near

Death to the black and white opressors
who have oppressed Jah Children innocently
I throw my word without partiality - Listen to I
Let it fall, and let it fall, let Babylon fall

Jah shall clean out the bad weeds
and seperate them from the good
cause the day of harvest is near

Worry unto those that say they're of Israel (and they are not)
Worry unto those that say they're Jews (and they are not)
Cause Jah shall have them in his region
They're half the season (?)
Cause they shall be cast away
like chaff that the wind driveth away I say

Jah shall clean out the bad weeds
and seperate them from the good
cause the day of harvest is near

[kam]

I worked in Shashamane for nearly a year, quite a few years ago.
Its a wonderful place, with some really nice friendly people.
Plus the smoke aint bad either!!! :dazed:


Some links, if you wanna find out more on rastafarianism, shashamane, and Haile Selassie I




Rastafarianism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasta
Rasta Homeland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shashamane
Emperor Haile Selassie I http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Selas...f_Ethiopia
Shashamane http://www.shashamane.org/ http://shashamane.net/

[mothandrust]

Quote:haven't watched it yet (I always have to shut down the torrent client when I want to watch or download Utube stuff), but I like reggae. But I have absolutely no clue about the rastafari religion, Ethiopian kings, Jamaica and - Zion. Can an expert give me a short introduction?

don't think i can add much to the two previous posts. i'm no expert on Rastafarianism, just like the general philosophy and inbuilt equality and rejection of politics and attitude towards all Jah creations. really it is the antithesis of Zionism.

although not exactly, directly about Rastafarianism, there are a couple of really great documentaries out there on Marley, which give an insight into his life, work and belief:

'Time will tell' - no commentary, just the words and music of Bob, inter cut with headlines to give a little structure.

'Rebel Music' - still lots of Bob's words and music but also with a narrative and interviews, including Rita, Bunny, Lee Perry...

both docs are about one and a half hours long. and i cannot recommend them highly enough.

[Phil999]

Quote:Basically from what I gathered, Rastafarians believe in Christ though they also beleive that corrupted forces manipulated some aspects of the bible.

alright

Quote:But they also believe that a prophesy I think in Revelation came to pass when Haile Selassie I became emperor of Ethiopia that basically he was Christ returned. They believe Ethiopia is Zion, not the land that's Israel. & Rastas are advised to return to Ethiopia but they promote a liberated Ethiopia where other races are allowed as opposed to Jewish Zionism's apartheid state of Israel.

ok. Now I begin to understand.

Quote:They also believe that black people are the true Israelites.

there's an old classic reggae song with that title, and now I understand.

Quote:Also eating an "Ital", completely vegan diet is highly encouraged.

Many things make sense now. Although coming from a different "scene", I used to go from time to time to reggae parties, and the DJ nr.1 in Switzerland was "Papa Ital". He also had a very good radio show, only roots reggae, no ragga. I never understood why that name. Is he Italian or what? I always had to think. He, he, Papa Ital. He was cool, had perfectly adapted the Jamaican slang, enjoyed to start a song, and after 20 seconds or so he lifted the needle and was telling weird stuff, then started again the same song, just to interrupt it again, things like that. Normally very annoying, but he had this special style and that big mouth, so it always was fun and people did not leave the dancefloor.

Well, thanks a lot. I'm glad I asked you people here and did not go to wikipedia, this is exactly what I wanted to know.

Sure Bob Marley is a god and moved many things and many minds, but he was also a human. In an interview he was asked (by a woman), why he had the right to have many women? And all he could do is smile, he could not give a proper response, and that detail I did not forget.

I remember back in school we used to listen to Black Uhuru, smoking joints and playing chess. Over and over.

Thank you all (strange, I get that funny feeling I should roll a joint. I guess next time I go into town I'll get some stuff, he, he).

[mothandrust]

Quote:Sure Bob Marley is a god and moved many things and many minds, but he was also a human. In an interview he was asked (by a woman), why he had the right to have many women? And all he could do is smile, he could not give a proper response, and that detail I did not forget.

I remember back in school we used to listen to Black Uhuru, smoking joints and playing chess. Over and over.

Thank you all (strange, I get that funny feeling I should roll a joint. I guess next time I go into town I'll get some stuff, he, he).

i'm not sure if it's the same interview, but on the 'rebel music' doc Bob is asked (by a woman) about the number of women he has - he replies they are all queens, asked how many queens he wants he replies "all the queens", or something like that. it was/is my biggest problem with Marley as some sort of prophet, but i think also that may be down to my limited and rigid perception of the world.

Black Uhuru and chess - with joints, sounds fantastic! don't you wonder sometimes why you ever grew up?

i'm skinning one up for you now Phil, lets make it a strong one

[MC David]

I found more on the differences between Rastafari & Zionism. This is from an article from the Village Voice:

"Occupation = Babylon

While so many real-life Israelis have been quick to embrace Reggae and Rasta values, Rastas do not necessarily feel the same uncomplicated bond with Israelis. Just about every reggae song references Babylon, shorthand for the Israelites account of brutal subjugation at the hands of the Persians during the Babylonian exile, and which Rastas use as a catch phrase for anything they consider unjust, especially white bureaucracy or trickery. For Rasta stars like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, living in Trenchtown under British "downpression" was occupation; and occupation is Babylon. As early as his 1977 release, Equal Rights, Tosh sang, "Palestinians are fighting for equal rights." As a Jew you may think, ";wow, we got this whole Israel/Zion thing in common," but you're quickly reminded that many Rastas feel that not only are Israelis occupiers, they are imposters too.

Rasta arguments are simple: the people who control the political country known as Israel are white Europeans pretending to be Jews, and their claim to Zion is false, since the Kebra Negast asserts that "King Solomon dreamed that the sun of Zion moved to shine over Ethiopia." Even if it's not as sinister as that, Yossi Fine (the Israeli reggae scene's ubiquitous bass player/producer) simply points out, "the majority of Rastas are very left-wing and object to Israel's politics."

http://www.awakezion.net/press.htm

& I copied this from a myspace account of someone who's Rastafarian:

"Jacob fathered 12 sons.

They are the ancestors of Israel, and the ones who the tribes are named after. They each occupied a separate territory (Except the tribe of Levi, which was set apart to serve the Holy Temple.)

Some rastas only relate to the tribe of Judah. But when Emperor Selassie visited Jamaica 1966 he said in his speech that we all come from different tribes. He wasnt necessarily talking about the tribes of Israel only. But African tribes in General.

When some people hear rastas talk about "the children of Israel" they might get confused and think that rastas sympathize with the European jews who occupies Israel today.

That couldnt be more wrong. Any true rasta will Sympathize with the oppressed people of Palestine. And rastas believe the the original people of israel (the real israelites, who are talked about in the holy scriptures) are african. Matter of fact Israel is considered to be northern africa. (its funny how Israel is counted as a part europe today, only a fool would link it with europe by looking at a map.)"