18 nov 2015
Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallstrom gives a statement to media regarding the attacks in Paris, in Stockholm, Sweden November 14, 2015
Following the Paris attacks on Friday, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom made a connection between Islamic State extremism and the Israeli occupation, causing a feud between the two governments, that the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned its Swedish envoy on Monday.
In an interview with a Swedish TV channel, following the Paris attack, Wallstron said she is concerned that Swedish youth will be radicalized to fight for the so called Islamic State group (Daesh or ISIS), and that the situation reminds her of Palestinians who resort to violence because they see no future for themselves.
“Of course we have cause for concern, not just in Sweden but throughout the world, because there are so many being radicalized, and again, it reminds us of the situation in the Middle East, where the Palestinians see that there is no future for them and have to either accept a desperate situation or resort to violence.”
Wallstrom later released an official response condemning the Paris attacks, which claimed the lives of at least 129 people and wounded hundreds.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded to Wallstrom’s comments by saying that her statements were “hostile” and “appallingly imprudent,” then summoned their Swedish envoy.
Sweden was the first European Union member to recognize Palestinian statehood in October of last year.
Following the Paris attacks on Friday, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom made a connection between Islamic State extremism and the Israeli occupation, causing a feud between the two governments, that the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned its Swedish envoy on Monday.
In an interview with a Swedish TV channel, following the Paris attack, Wallstron said she is concerned that Swedish youth will be radicalized to fight for the so called Islamic State group (Daesh or ISIS), and that the situation reminds her of Palestinians who resort to violence because they see no future for themselves.
“Of course we have cause for concern, not just in Sweden but throughout the world, because there are so many being radicalized, and again, it reminds us of the situation in the Middle East, where the Palestinians see that there is no future for them and have to either accept a desperate situation or resort to violence.”
Wallstrom later released an official response condemning the Paris attacks, which claimed the lives of at least 129 people and wounded hundreds.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded to Wallstrom’s comments by saying that her statements were “hostile” and “appallingly imprudent,” then summoned their Swedish envoy.
Sweden was the first European Union member to recognize Palestinian statehood in October of last year.
7 may 2015
By Alon Ben-Meir
Horrific outbursts against the Jews are on the rise all over Europe – exclamations like "gas the Jews" and "Jews burn best" are being heard at soccer games and similar social gatherings. While there is nothing to excuse or justify such hateful speech, some effort still needs to be made to understand why this is taking place now, and to such a degree that has not been seen for decades. That means coming to grips with the ways in which Israeli leaders have directly, and Jews in general inadvertently, contributed to this alarming development.
Although the term anti-Semitism did not become commonly used until the end of the 19th century – when Germany popularized it as a scientific-sounding name for Judenhass (Jew-hatred) – in a sense, Jews have been experiencing it at least as early as the 3rd century BC. The current rise of anti-Semitism across much of Western Europe, and to a lesser extent in the Americas, cannot be explained, however, by merely referencing its historical persistence.
It is tempting to revert to ready and familiar explanations for anti-Semitism. One such hypothesis – which astonishingly is still entertained – is the "scapegoat theory," according to which the Jews have always been a convenient group to blame for the intractable social/political conflicts of the time.
In her seminal study The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt points out the obvious problem with this view – namely, that it "implies that the scapegoat might have been anyone else as well" – and as soon as we begin to "explain why a specific scapegoat was so well suited to his role," we have to put the theory aside and get "involved in the usual historical research – where nothing is ever discovered except that history is made by many groups and that for certain reasons one group was singled out."
The opposite, but no less popular, theory is the doctrine of "eternal antisemitism," where "Jew-hatred is a normal and natural reaction to which history gives only more or less opportunity." That is, the surge of anti-Semitism is not instigated by a special occurrence or event because it is a natural outcome of an undying phenomenon.
What is surprising is that even Jews themselves share this notion; just as the anti-Semite does not want to take responsibility for his actions, many Jews understandably do not want to consider or "discuss their share of responsibility."
What has added potency to the substantial rise in anti-Semitism in recent years is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel's defiance of international norms of conduct, its leaders' sense of righteousness and arrogance, and the image they project to the outside world.
The philosopher Slavoj Žižek has observed how, in order to justify its expansionist policies, Israel has been playing a dangerous game with potentially catastrophic consequences. Radical Zionists claim that a multi-culturist Israel cannot survive – that apartheid, or something like it, is the only viable alternative – essentially acknowledging the argument which was used in earlier European history against the Jews themselves.
It suggests that Israeli extremists on the right are ready to ignore Western European intolerance towards the influx of other cultures, such as Islam, if their prerogative not to tolerate Palestinians is accepted. We might add that Israeli discrimination is not confined to the Palestinians, but extends even to Middle Eastern and Ethiopian Jews as well.
Žižek is right to point out that Israel is making a tragic miscalculation in deciding "to downplay... the so-called 'old' (traditional European) anti-Semitism...when the old anti-Semitism is returning all around Europe."
It is in this light that we can also understand the strange alliance between the radical Israeli right and US Christian fundamentalists, who are historically anti-Semitic but passionately support Israel's expansionistic politics: "Jewish critics of the State of Israel are regularly dismissed as self-hating Jews; however, ...the true self-hating Jews, those who secretly hate the true greatness of the Jewish nation [are] precisely the Zionists making a pact with [Western conservative] anti-Semites."
Many Jews still believe that they are the "chosen people," chosen to be in a covenant with God. But what does "chosenness" signify? The philosopher Emmanuel Levinas described it most aptly: "The chosenness of the Jewish people...is always considered as a surplus of responsibility... very often it takes on an attitude of excellence, a pretension to aristocracy in the bad sense of the term, the right to privileges. In authentic thinking, however, it means a surplus of obligations."
This idea that one is chosen places an extraordinary moral responsibility on the individual. Israel failed miserably as it did not attempt to reconcile between its moral obligation toward the Palestinians and the Jews' presumed sense of "chosenness."
Israel's political leadership has managed to feed the flames of anti-Semitism through obnoxious and irresponsible statements, race-baiting, etc. Such leadership provokes more hatred; Israeli leaders continue to use clichés and stale talking points that their enemies reject and their friends no longer respect.
Using national security to justify its racist policies, including the mistreatment of the Palestinians and the expansion of settlements, became the mantra of Israel's domestic policy and provided anti-Semites with a daily dose of venom against Israel and its people.
One would think that those who suffered persecution as much as the Jews would treat others with care and sensitivity. That the victim can become a victimizer is painful to face, but it is a reality nonetheless. It is as if having suffered so much gives one the license to do things he would not have done otherwise. I maintain that the continuing occupation remains the single most potent cause behind the rise of anti-Semitism.
There is a common failing shared between anti-Semites, Islamic militants, and radical Zionists; namely, an epistemic failure – a belief in their own moral infallibility, which leads to arrogance, indifference, complacency, and a sense that one does not need to provide a justification for one's words and deeds. It also can lead to ruthless acts of violence.
H. L. Mencken wisely stated that "Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority... All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them."
It is unlikely that anti-Semitism will be eradicated someday, as there will always be bigots who derive perverse satisfaction in divesting themselves of moral responsibility, for whom hatred of the Jews has an almost intoxicating, delirious effect.
However, the current rise of anti-Semitism can be curbed. Israeli leaders and the public must return and recommit themselves to the moral principles that gave birth to the state of Israel.
They must begin by engaging in an honest public narrative based on the reality of coexistence with the Palestinians in which Israel finds itself, and not a fictional, self-indulgent narrative that distorts the truth about the rights of the Palestinians which even a fool can discern. Israel's poor public relations projects the country as conceited, and the old and tired talking points are dismissed as empty, self-convincing gospel.
Netanyahu's claim that he represents world Jewry is a false claim and only implicates the Jews as partners to the repugnant occupation and the ill treatment of the Palestinians. Israel's provocative actions need to be curtailed – first and foremost by ending the expansion of settlements and halting the annexation of yet more land.
Israel's conduct in the territories does nothing but add fuel to the expanding fire of anti-Semitism. Israel is the only country that has maintained a military occupation for nearly 50 years, in defiance of the international community. The Holocaust, incomparable to any catastrophic event in human history, must not be used to justify oppression of the Palestinians. The Israelis' complacency about the occupation damns Jews all over the world and as long as the occupation lingers, anti-Semitism will continue to rise.
Israeli leaders and the public in particular must look inward. The Zionist dream of creating a vibrant, just, moral, and caring Jewish state is quickly fading.
Today's Israel is consumed by corruption at the top; the poor are becoming poorer and the country's wealth is concentrated in the hands of a handful of families. Hundreds of millions of dollars are siphoned off to spend on illegal settlements, while impoverished towns with mostly Middle Eastern Jews are left to rot.
The discrimination against Sephardic Jews is still present four generations after the establishment of the State of Israel. The recent violent clashes with Jews of Ethiopian origin only reveal the depth of Israel's social dislocation.
Israel's President could not have put it more succinctly and painfully than when he stated that "Protesters in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv revealed an open and bloody wound in the heart of Israeli society. This is a wound of a community sounding the alarm at what they feel is discrimination, racism and disregard of their needs. We must take a good hard look at this wound."
The same can be said about the racist policies directed against Israeli Arabs, whose loyalty to the state is ironically questioned, when in fact the government's policy of deliberate discrimination only galvanizes anti-Jewish sentiments among Israeli Arabs, who constitute 20 percent of the population.
Israel has no friends left and it can no longer rely even on the US to provide it with the political cover it has been accustomed to. Anti-Semitism is on the rise not only in Europe but in the US as well, which provides the last bastion of public support for Israel.
Israel must not conveniently dismiss anti-Semitism simply as an incurable disease when in reality it is practicing "anti-Semitism" against a large segment of its own population. The responsibility of diminishing anti-Semitism falls squarely on the shoulders of the Israeli political leaders and the public.
Israel must embrace the moral values on which it was founded; its future, if not its very survival, may well depend on it.
Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. Click here to visit his website.
Horrific outbursts against the Jews are on the rise all over Europe – exclamations like "gas the Jews" and "Jews burn best" are being heard at soccer games and similar social gatherings. While there is nothing to excuse or justify such hateful speech, some effort still needs to be made to understand why this is taking place now, and to such a degree that has not been seen for decades. That means coming to grips with the ways in which Israeli leaders have directly, and Jews in general inadvertently, contributed to this alarming development.
Although the term anti-Semitism did not become commonly used until the end of the 19th century – when Germany popularized it as a scientific-sounding name for Judenhass (Jew-hatred) – in a sense, Jews have been experiencing it at least as early as the 3rd century BC. The current rise of anti-Semitism across much of Western Europe, and to a lesser extent in the Americas, cannot be explained, however, by merely referencing its historical persistence.
It is tempting to revert to ready and familiar explanations for anti-Semitism. One such hypothesis – which astonishingly is still entertained – is the "scapegoat theory," according to which the Jews have always been a convenient group to blame for the intractable social/political conflicts of the time.
In her seminal study The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt points out the obvious problem with this view – namely, that it "implies that the scapegoat might have been anyone else as well" – and as soon as we begin to "explain why a specific scapegoat was so well suited to his role," we have to put the theory aside and get "involved in the usual historical research – where nothing is ever discovered except that history is made by many groups and that for certain reasons one group was singled out."
The opposite, but no less popular, theory is the doctrine of "eternal antisemitism," where "Jew-hatred is a normal and natural reaction to which history gives only more or less opportunity." That is, the surge of anti-Semitism is not instigated by a special occurrence or event because it is a natural outcome of an undying phenomenon.
What is surprising is that even Jews themselves share this notion; just as the anti-Semite does not want to take responsibility for his actions, many Jews understandably do not want to consider or "discuss their share of responsibility."
What has added potency to the substantial rise in anti-Semitism in recent years is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel's defiance of international norms of conduct, its leaders' sense of righteousness and arrogance, and the image they project to the outside world.
The philosopher Slavoj Žižek has observed how, in order to justify its expansionist policies, Israel has been playing a dangerous game with potentially catastrophic consequences. Radical Zionists claim that a multi-culturist Israel cannot survive – that apartheid, or something like it, is the only viable alternative – essentially acknowledging the argument which was used in earlier European history against the Jews themselves.
It suggests that Israeli extremists on the right are ready to ignore Western European intolerance towards the influx of other cultures, such as Islam, if their prerogative not to tolerate Palestinians is accepted. We might add that Israeli discrimination is not confined to the Palestinians, but extends even to Middle Eastern and Ethiopian Jews as well.
Žižek is right to point out that Israel is making a tragic miscalculation in deciding "to downplay... the so-called 'old' (traditional European) anti-Semitism...when the old anti-Semitism is returning all around Europe."
It is in this light that we can also understand the strange alliance between the radical Israeli right and US Christian fundamentalists, who are historically anti-Semitic but passionately support Israel's expansionistic politics: "Jewish critics of the State of Israel are regularly dismissed as self-hating Jews; however, ...the true self-hating Jews, those who secretly hate the true greatness of the Jewish nation [are] precisely the Zionists making a pact with [Western conservative] anti-Semites."
Many Jews still believe that they are the "chosen people," chosen to be in a covenant with God. But what does "chosenness" signify? The philosopher Emmanuel Levinas described it most aptly: "The chosenness of the Jewish people...is always considered as a surplus of responsibility... very often it takes on an attitude of excellence, a pretension to aristocracy in the bad sense of the term, the right to privileges. In authentic thinking, however, it means a surplus of obligations."
This idea that one is chosen places an extraordinary moral responsibility on the individual. Israel failed miserably as it did not attempt to reconcile between its moral obligation toward the Palestinians and the Jews' presumed sense of "chosenness."
Israel's political leadership has managed to feed the flames of anti-Semitism through obnoxious and irresponsible statements, race-baiting, etc. Such leadership provokes more hatred; Israeli leaders continue to use clichés and stale talking points that their enemies reject and their friends no longer respect.
Using national security to justify its racist policies, including the mistreatment of the Palestinians and the expansion of settlements, became the mantra of Israel's domestic policy and provided anti-Semites with a daily dose of venom against Israel and its people.
One would think that those who suffered persecution as much as the Jews would treat others with care and sensitivity. That the victim can become a victimizer is painful to face, but it is a reality nonetheless. It is as if having suffered so much gives one the license to do things he would not have done otherwise. I maintain that the continuing occupation remains the single most potent cause behind the rise of anti-Semitism.
There is a common failing shared between anti-Semites, Islamic militants, and radical Zionists; namely, an epistemic failure – a belief in their own moral infallibility, which leads to arrogance, indifference, complacency, and a sense that one does not need to provide a justification for one's words and deeds. It also can lead to ruthless acts of violence.
H. L. Mencken wisely stated that "Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority... All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them."
It is unlikely that anti-Semitism will be eradicated someday, as there will always be bigots who derive perverse satisfaction in divesting themselves of moral responsibility, for whom hatred of the Jews has an almost intoxicating, delirious effect.
However, the current rise of anti-Semitism can be curbed. Israeli leaders and the public must return and recommit themselves to the moral principles that gave birth to the state of Israel.
They must begin by engaging in an honest public narrative based on the reality of coexistence with the Palestinians in which Israel finds itself, and not a fictional, self-indulgent narrative that distorts the truth about the rights of the Palestinians which even a fool can discern. Israel's poor public relations projects the country as conceited, and the old and tired talking points are dismissed as empty, self-convincing gospel.
Netanyahu's claim that he represents world Jewry is a false claim and only implicates the Jews as partners to the repugnant occupation and the ill treatment of the Palestinians. Israel's provocative actions need to be curtailed – first and foremost by ending the expansion of settlements and halting the annexation of yet more land.
Israel's conduct in the territories does nothing but add fuel to the expanding fire of anti-Semitism. Israel is the only country that has maintained a military occupation for nearly 50 years, in defiance of the international community. The Holocaust, incomparable to any catastrophic event in human history, must not be used to justify oppression of the Palestinians. The Israelis' complacency about the occupation damns Jews all over the world and as long as the occupation lingers, anti-Semitism will continue to rise.
Israeli leaders and the public in particular must look inward. The Zionist dream of creating a vibrant, just, moral, and caring Jewish state is quickly fading.
Today's Israel is consumed by corruption at the top; the poor are becoming poorer and the country's wealth is concentrated in the hands of a handful of families. Hundreds of millions of dollars are siphoned off to spend on illegal settlements, while impoverished towns with mostly Middle Eastern Jews are left to rot.
The discrimination against Sephardic Jews is still present four generations after the establishment of the State of Israel. The recent violent clashes with Jews of Ethiopian origin only reveal the depth of Israel's social dislocation.
Israel's President could not have put it more succinctly and painfully than when he stated that "Protesters in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv revealed an open and bloody wound in the heart of Israeli society. This is a wound of a community sounding the alarm at what they feel is discrimination, racism and disregard of their needs. We must take a good hard look at this wound."
The same can be said about the racist policies directed against Israeli Arabs, whose loyalty to the state is ironically questioned, when in fact the government's policy of deliberate discrimination only galvanizes anti-Jewish sentiments among Israeli Arabs, who constitute 20 percent of the population.
Israel has no friends left and it can no longer rely even on the US to provide it with the political cover it has been accustomed to. Anti-Semitism is on the rise not only in Europe but in the US as well, which provides the last bastion of public support for Israel.
Israel must not conveniently dismiss anti-Semitism simply as an incurable disease when in reality it is practicing "anti-Semitism" against a large segment of its own population. The responsibility of diminishing anti-Semitism falls squarely on the shoulders of the Israeli political leaders and the public.
Israel must embrace the moral values on which it was founded; its future, if not its very survival, may well depend on it.
Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. Click here to visit his website.
9 feb 2015
All-party report says country must tackle 'disturbing' rise in anti-Semitism, including measures to deal with growing 'cyber hate' on social media.
Urgent action is needed to tackle a "disturbing" rise in anti-Semitism in Britain, including measures to deal with growing "cyber hate" on social media, the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism said Monday.
Last week, the Community Security Trust - which advises Britain's estimated 260,000 Jews on security - reported that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had risen to a record level last year.
Many of those incidents were sparked by the 50-day conflict in Gaza that ended in August. Israel launched its Gaza offensive with the declared aim of halting rocket attacks by Hamas. The rise in incidents prompted the parliamentary inquiry into anti-Semitism.
"Whilst the Jewish community is diverse and multi-faceted there is a palpable concern, insecurity, loneliness and fear following the summer's rise in incidents and subsequent world events," the report by the cross-party group of lawmakers said.
"A more sophisticated understanding of anti-Semitism is needed, together with better defined boundaries of acceptable discourse." Across Europe, Jews have warned of a growing under-current of anti-Semitism, fuelled by anger at Israeli policy in the Middle East and social tensions over immigration and increasing economic hardship under austerity policies that have helped far-right movements gain popularity. Those fears have been exacerbated after an Islamist militant gunman killed four people in a Jewish supermarket in Paris last month.
The British lawmakers said the government, police and prosecutors needed to take action "to ensure Jewish communities have the necessary protection from the continuous terrorist threat they face". Amongst their 34 recommendations was a call for a governmental fund to pay for security at synagogues and an independent council to be created to monitor trends in anti-Semitism.
They also said prosecutors should review possible action to prevent the spreading of hate online, noting that "Hitler" and the "Holocaust" were amongst the top 35 key words used on Twitter during the summer months of 2014.
The hashtags "Hitler" and "genocide" appeared with "high frequency", the prosecutors added. The hashtag "Hitler Was Right" trended worldwide in July 2014.
Some members of parliament suggested that lawmakers consider preventative orders such as having restrictions to internet access for certain individuals, similar to restrictions for sex offender's internet use.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday's report was "hugely important". "No disagreements over foreign policy or politics can ever be allowed to justify anti-Semitism or any other form of racism, prejudice or extremism," he said. According to a survey last month, a quarter of Jews have considered leaving Britain in the last two years and well over half feel they have no long term future in Europe. "The threat against the Jewish community is real and anxiety remains high," said Britain's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
Following the Paris attack, the police said it had stepped up patrols at synagogues and other Jewish venues.
Urgent action is needed to tackle a "disturbing" rise in anti-Semitism in Britain, including measures to deal with growing "cyber hate" on social media, the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism said Monday.
Last week, the Community Security Trust - which advises Britain's estimated 260,000 Jews on security - reported that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had risen to a record level last year.
Many of those incidents were sparked by the 50-day conflict in Gaza that ended in August. Israel launched its Gaza offensive with the declared aim of halting rocket attacks by Hamas. The rise in incidents prompted the parliamentary inquiry into anti-Semitism.
"Whilst the Jewish community is diverse and multi-faceted there is a palpable concern, insecurity, loneliness and fear following the summer's rise in incidents and subsequent world events," the report by the cross-party group of lawmakers said.
"A more sophisticated understanding of anti-Semitism is needed, together with better defined boundaries of acceptable discourse." Across Europe, Jews have warned of a growing under-current of anti-Semitism, fuelled by anger at Israeli policy in the Middle East and social tensions over immigration and increasing economic hardship under austerity policies that have helped far-right movements gain popularity. Those fears have been exacerbated after an Islamist militant gunman killed four people in a Jewish supermarket in Paris last month.
The British lawmakers said the government, police and prosecutors needed to take action "to ensure Jewish communities have the necessary protection from the continuous terrorist threat they face". Amongst their 34 recommendations was a call for a governmental fund to pay for security at synagogues and an independent council to be created to monitor trends in anti-Semitism.
They also said prosecutors should review possible action to prevent the spreading of hate online, noting that "Hitler" and the "Holocaust" were amongst the top 35 key words used on Twitter during the summer months of 2014.
The hashtags "Hitler" and "genocide" appeared with "high frequency", the prosecutors added. The hashtag "Hitler Was Right" trended worldwide in July 2014.
Some members of parliament suggested that lawmakers consider preventative orders such as having restrictions to internet access for certain individuals, similar to restrictions for sex offender's internet use.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday's report was "hugely important". "No disagreements over foreign policy or politics can ever be allowed to justify anti-Semitism or any other form of racism, prejudice or extremism," he said. According to a survey last month, a quarter of Jews have considered leaving Britain in the last two years and well over half feel they have no long term future in Europe. "The threat against the Jewish community is real and anxiety remains high," said Britain's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
Following the Paris attack, the police said it had stepped up patrols at synagogues and other Jewish venues.
27 jan 2015
By Khalid Amayreh in Occupied Palestine
It has been repeatedly claimed that Anti-Semitism is the other side of Zionism. In fact, this claim contains a preponderant amount of truth.
Zionism can't survive without anti-Semitism, or hate of Jews. Zionism and anti-Semitism are inextricably entwined. Anti-Semitism is a sine-qua-non for the survival and prosperity of Zionism.
Anti-Semitism strengthens and justifies Zionism and constantly renews its life. Indeed, the erosion, let alone demise of anti-Semitism, would pose a serious threat to Zionism.
This is why, Zionist leaders strive to keep up a certain level of anti-Semitism alive and kicking, especially in Europe. In the words of one Zionist leader, the survival of anti-Semitism reminds Jews of who they are and prevents assimilation.
An elderly friend of mine intimated to me a few years ago that a Jewish mother in Hebron used to give Arab kids inducements, e.g. a little money, to hurt and curse her own kids.
"I didn't understand the logic behind her behavior until I grew up," said my elderly friend from Hebron. "She wanted to make her kids feel hated and resented by non-Jews which would bolster their Jewish identity."
Today, Israel's evil behaviors, such as murdering Palestinian civilians, including children, in large numbers by way of dropping huge bombs on their multi-story apartment buildings, do generate indignation and resentment around the world.
But it would be a scandalous abuse of language and misrepresentation of truth to call the indignation and resentment an expression of anti-Semitism.
In the final analysis, people don't hate Israel because Israel is Jewish, whatever "Jewish" is supposed to mean.
The plain truth which Israel is doggedly trying to withhold from the eyes of humanity is that people around the world, including Israel's premier victims, the Palestinians, don't hate Israel because Israel is Jewish. They rather despise Israel's manifestly murderous behavior.
Indeed, when Jews or Arabs or anyone else, think, behave and act like the Nazis thought, behaved and acted, then the harshest epithets can be used to describe them. This is not anti-Arab or anti-Jewish or anti-Martian. This is simply telling the truth, it is calling the spade a spade.
I have been more or less a vigilant observer of Israeli behavior since I was a little boy. And in all honesty, I can say that Israel adopts a modus operandi based on mendacity, prevarication and disinformation as well as murder and terror.
Today Israel is effectively telling Europe to unhesitatingly back and support the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as a proof of European resolve against anti-Semitism. Israel would simply like to morph Europe into a full-fledged political whore, very much like the American Congress, which is at Israel's beck and call. Israel wants to eviscerate Europe of any remaining vestiges of morality, humanity, decency, justice and honesty.
This is nothing short of scandalous and criminal. Europe must not allow itself to be duped by the Jewish Golem to fall into the bottomless pit.
Needless to say, an ethnic cleansing of a given people is nothing short of a holocaust against that people. Hence, Israel is effectively demanding that Europe give Israel a green light to complete its decades-old holocaust against the Palestinians so that Europe would finally atone for its own crimes against Jews.
And in case Europe said "No" to Israel's bullying and incessant demands, then the barking dogs of Israeli hasbara-from Sydney to California, would, in unison, accuse the Old Continent of harboring venomous anti-Semitism, succumbing to "Islamic terror" and even "wanting to complete what Hitler started."
To be sure, anti-Semitism, and all other forms of racism and bigotry, including this wanton hatred for Muslims, ought to be condemned without ifs or buts.
However, employing "anti-Semitism" to justify ethnic cleansing and other forms of pornographic oppression meted out to helpless and unprotected Palestinians must be viewed as an expression of malicious and criminal intent.
That is why European states, including governments and parliaments, must forcefully reject this hateful blackmail by the Nazis of our time.
(I know many people might think it is too much to describe some Jews as Nazis. But I am not alluding to Jews who want to live and let live. These are our natural partners for peace and I salute them from my heart.)
I am actually alluding to the likes of Benjamin Netanyahu who don't stop shouting "Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen Belsen, and Mauthausen" while mercilessly murdering Palestinian children in the thousands, starving and tormenting innocent civilians and destroying their homes.
I am really convinced Israel is a cancer on the conscience of Moses, the Torah and Judaism…not the Judaism of Naftali Bennet and Meir Kahana, but the Judaism of the Prophets and the Ten Commandments.
It has been repeatedly claimed that Anti-Semitism is the other side of Zionism. In fact, this claim contains a preponderant amount of truth.
Zionism can't survive without anti-Semitism, or hate of Jews. Zionism and anti-Semitism are inextricably entwined. Anti-Semitism is a sine-qua-non for the survival and prosperity of Zionism.
Anti-Semitism strengthens and justifies Zionism and constantly renews its life. Indeed, the erosion, let alone demise of anti-Semitism, would pose a serious threat to Zionism.
This is why, Zionist leaders strive to keep up a certain level of anti-Semitism alive and kicking, especially in Europe. In the words of one Zionist leader, the survival of anti-Semitism reminds Jews of who they are and prevents assimilation.
An elderly friend of mine intimated to me a few years ago that a Jewish mother in Hebron used to give Arab kids inducements, e.g. a little money, to hurt and curse her own kids.
"I didn't understand the logic behind her behavior until I grew up," said my elderly friend from Hebron. "She wanted to make her kids feel hated and resented by non-Jews which would bolster their Jewish identity."
Today, Israel's evil behaviors, such as murdering Palestinian civilians, including children, in large numbers by way of dropping huge bombs on their multi-story apartment buildings, do generate indignation and resentment around the world.
But it would be a scandalous abuse of language and misrepresentation of truth to call the indignation and resentment an expression of anti-Semitism.
In the final analysis, people don't hate Israel because Israel is Jewish, whatever "Jewish" is supposed to mean.
The plain truth which Israel is doggedly trying to withhold from the eyes of humanity is that people around the world, including Israel's premier victims, the Palestinians, don't hate Israel because Israel is Jewish. They rather despise Israel's manifestly murderous behavior.
Indeed, when Jews or Arabs or anyone else, think, behave and act like the Nazis thought, behaved and acted, then the harshest epithets can be used to describe them. This is not anti-Arab or anti-Jewish or anti-Martian. This is simply telling the truth, it is calling the spade a spade.
I have been more or less a vigilant observer of Israeli behavior since I was a little boy. And in all honesty, I can say that Israel adopts a modus operandi based on mendacity, prevarication and disinformation as well as murder and terror.
Today Israel is effectively telling Europe to unhesitatingly back and support the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as a proof of European resolve against anti-Semitism. Israel would simply like to morph Europe into a full-fledged political whore, very much like the American Congress, which is at Israel's beck and call. Israel wants to eviscerate Europe of any remaining vestiges of morality, humanity, decency, justice and honesty.
This is nothing short of scandalous and criminal. Europe must not allow itself to be duped by the Jewish Golem to fall into the bottomless pit.
Needless to say, an ethnic cleansing of a given people is nothing short of a holocaust against that people. Hence, Israel is effectively demanding that Europe give Israel a green light to complete its decades-old holocaust against the Palestinians so that Europe would finally atone for its own crimes against Jews.
And in case Europe said "No" to Israel's bullying and incessant demands, then the barking dogs of Israeli hasbara-from Sydney to California, would, in unison, accuse the Old Continent of harboring venomous anti-Semitism, succumbing to "Islamic terror" and even "wanting to complete what Hitler started."
To be sure, anti-Semitism, and all other forms of racism and bigotry, including this wanton hatred for Muslims, ought to be condemned without ifs or buts.
However, employing "anti-Semitism" to justify ethnic cleansing and other forms of pornographic oppression meted out to helpless and unprotected Palestinians must be viewed as an expression of malicious and criminal intent.
That is why European states, including governments and parliaments, must forcefully reject this hateful blackmail by the Nazis of our time.
(I know many people might think it is too much to describe some Jews as Nazis. But I am not alluding to Jews who want to live and let live. These are our natural partners for peace and I salute them from my heart.)
I am actually alluding to the likes of Benjamin Netanyahu who don't stop shouting "Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen Belsen, and Mauthausen" while mercilessly murdering Palestinian children in the thousands, starving and tormenting innocent civilians and destroying their homes.
I am really convinced Israel is a cancer on the conscience of Moses, the Torah and Judaism…not the Judaism of Naftali Bennet and Meir Kahana, but the Judaism of the Prophets and the Ten Commandments.
