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Support Israel=92s Government? Linux Mint Developer Says Go Away



Note: Updated with original post retrieved from Google cache, I=92ve

amended my lede to reflect the statement that support from Israel, as

well as those who support the Israeli government, is being rejected.



By Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R.



Clement Lefebvre, the lead developer of Linux Mint, a variant of Ubuntu,>
doesn=92t want support from Israel or of those who back the Israeli

government.



Lefebvre said so on the official blog of Linux Mint this weekend. That

message was removed, but I found it in Google cache (emphasis mine):



This is not the place to talk about this but I am deeply touched by what>
is happening over there. I feel disgust and guilt with us passively

witnessing it and our money and weapons supporting it. I don=92t want

to use my name or this project to push my own ideas about this but I

spend a lot of time working and giving away, sharing and receiving to

and from a lot of people.



I=92m only going to ask for one thing here. If you do not agree I

kindly ask you not to use Linux Mint and not to donate money to it.



I hope for these people to be able to live decently in the future and

for me not to have anything to do with the misery they=92re in at the

moment.



I promise not to talk about this anymore. I don=92t want any money or

help coming from Israel or people who support the action of their

current government.



Thank you for your understanding. This is very important to me.



He later moved the message to his personal blog,:



=93I don=92t want any money or help coming from people who support

the actions of the Israeli government.=94



Well, I support the actions of the Israeli government; if anything it

hasn=92t been strong enough against the terrorists who want to destroy

Israel. But silly me, I never thought of Linux Mint as having anything

to do with Israel or Palestine, except perhaps that Israelis and

Palestinians might work together on the project, bridging the divide.



Not so. If you support Palestine, including Hamas, welcome. Lefebvre

wants your support for Linux Mint. But if you support Israel=92s

defense against Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists, Lefebvre

doesn=92t want you.



One commenter on his personal blog asked:



=93Do you still not want support for Mint from supporters of

Israel=92s government?=94



Lefebvre=92s reply:



=93If I supported terrorists would you accept me to help you, to

finance you and to interact with you?=94



Lefebvre does admit to the existence of Palestinian terrorism, but

doesn=92t reject the support of pro-Palestinians, because =93one is

significantly more empowered to reach a solution to the problem than the>
other one.=94



Lefebvre sees Israelis as the problem.



=93It=92s a moral stand point. You see a lot of people all over the

globe complain about China, Russia, and take individual actions to

dissociate themselves from them. I don=92t agree with what Israel is

doing and although they=92re forced to take action and defend

themselves I don=92t believe they have their back against the wall

without any other possible alternative.=94



Yes, the Israelis could just lay down and die.



=93So people when joining shoulder to shoulder with other people in

making this operating system better and better you suddenly realise some>
of them are actively supporting this, you need to let them know how you

feel.=94



This is not a personal view. Lefebvre is talking about Linux Mint.

He=92s telling those who support Israel=92s actions in self-defense

to go away and not to help him with the project.



I=92m honoring Lefebvre=92s wishes and will no longer use Linux

Mint, which I had come to admire.



Too bad.



(DISCLAIMER: As with everything I write here, this is purely my own

opinion, and not that of my employer, the North County Times.)



Tags: technology