Fault lines

For as many years as I can remember experts have been predicting that we are overdue for “the big one.”

New Zealand sits on the Pacific ring of fire and Israel straddles a fault line that runs up through the Jordan Valley. In the past, both countries have suffered major damage and casualties as a result of major earthquakes and according to the law of averages, the next one could strike at any time in the immediate or near future.

When I researched the definition of “fault lines” I discovered that there are two possibilities.

The first is a geological fault and the second explanation is a divisive issue or difference of opinion that is likely to have serious consequences.

The former certainly applies to both countries while the latter meaning is most apt as far as Israel is concerned.

In actuality, serious fault lines have marked the Jewish struggle for national rebirth from the time that the Zionist movement was launched. Tremors of a major nature have occurred ever since and constitute a life-threatening challenge at this very time in our historic journey towards restored sovereignty in our ancient Land.

Geological signs of danger are usually clearly demarcated. The only unknown is when they will shift and move thus causing damage and potential loss of life. Based on the law of averages over many generations, experts can more or less guess when the next “big one” will likely occur which is why in the case of both New Zealand and Israel they predict that we are overdue.

A certain amount of precautions such as strengthening building codes, improved infrastructure and civil defence training can possibly mitigate damage but as we all know from bitter experience when the earth moves we can only hope for the best and take cover.

The fault lines which Jews, in general, have faced over the millennia and Israel faced and still faces today are also easily discernable to those who are aware. Unfortunately in our long history, too many preferred to avert their eyes from reality and then found that they were swallowed up by life-threatening tremors. Even when precautions were taken more often than not the magnitude of the earthquakes of Jew-hatred overwhelmed entire communities. Fleeing from the dangers was also no guarantee of safety because quite frequently the destructive forces generated by Judeophobia rumbled on in places perceived to be safe from such phenomena.

Thus, today we are confronted once again with another swarm of earth-shaking threats which preventative measures seem to be impotent against. Jews in the Diaspora may have attained full civil rights, be entitled to vote and ostensibly accepted as equal members of society but lurking and not so very hard to identify are signs that all is not hunky-dory. In Communist China for example, Judaism is not recognized as an “official” faith with all the negative implications that this implies. In the democracies of Europe, including the UK, Jews are facing an increasing threat of being denied access to kosher meat and being able to circumcise their baby boys. Some countries have already banned these basic precepts, others are on the cusp of doing so, while yet others are considering the possibility.

Physical violence against Jews is on the rise and combined with anti-Zionist/Israel incitement threatens the viability of many communities.

In the Promised Land itself, the threat of a destructive earthquake has finally convinced those in charge that preparations must be accelerated. However, there are multiple rumblings which portend a range of potentially devastating earthquakes ahead. They have nothing to do with geological features and everything to do with political and security threats.

Take our coalition of eight disparate parties spanning the entire spectrum from extreme left to nationalist right as a perfect example of unstable governance. This is a Government which rests on a wafer-thin majority of one and is open to extortion from all and sundry. Not that the previous Likud coalition was any better. It may have had a larger majority but it owed its longevity to buying off the Haredi parties and submitting to their every outrageous demand. The tremors created by the deadline to pass a budget reverberate on a daily basis and threaten to undermine the fragile coalition structure. If by some miracle of Biblical proportions a budget is approved it can be guaranteed that the fault lines so far remaining relatively dormant will awake with a vengeance and register well over the maximum on the Richter scale. That will set the scene for yet another period of political brinkmanship and instability just at the precise time when we need cool heads and forceful action to counter the accumulating threats which are lurking.

Iran is situated in an area very prone to devastating movements of the earth which raises the question as to why it has built nuclear facilities and manufacturing facilities of mass destruction in such an unstable environment. When, rather than if, Iran’s deadly desire to eradicate Israel and its citizens are thwarted the Mullahs will have nobody else to blame other than themselves.

Any self-induced disaster however will be blamed on others, primarily the Zionist bogeymen in cahoots with other designated villains.

This is how the twisted minds of those who rule over millions of brainwashed subjects operate. It is instructive to see how the rejectionists of any Jewish presence in their ancient homeland have always reacted. Instead of accepting offers of partition, cooperation and reconciliation, the Arabs of Mandated Palestine rejected each and every plan, putting their trust instead in the goal of murdering Jews and aborting any attempt at Jewish sovereignty. The result has been an utter disaster but rather than learning from past mistakes, today’s Arabs who reinvented themselves as Palestinians prefer to blame their Nakba on everyone else.

The art of blaming others for self-induced stupidity has become standard behaviour for the corrupt PA because the lies are swallowed without protest by the international community and many of our own politically correct politicians.

Here are the two latest examples which have raised nary a tremor.

At the Glasgow climate conference, the PA Prime Minister asserted that “the Israeli occupation is the greatest threat to the Palestinian environment.” This boldfaced slander was heard by the participants, none of whom raised their voices in protest. As usual, this claim which will be recycled and endlessly regurgitated will take on a life of its own and be adopted as a divinely inspired fact by the usual BDS groupies from Wellington to Washington.

Tuesday 2 November is, in addition to being Melbourne Cup Day, also the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. This historic declaration which for the first time since the Persian Monarch, Cyrus, promised a restoration of Jewish sovereignty, has now been designated as another one of those “disasters” to be mourned. President for life, Abbas, declared this week that in order to condemn and vilify the perfidious British document, all PA flags will be flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning. Just in case the message is not clear enough the following pearls of wisdom were published in the official PA media. As reported by courtesy of PMW:

“Today, after 104 years, the world is still incapable of correcting this historical mistake and this severe injustice by putting an end to the colonialist Zionist project… After 104 years the conflict is still continuing, and it will not stop until this promise and its consequences are cancelled.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 28, 2021]

The Balfour Promise will remain a living headline for our tragedy that will not end, except with the end of the occupation state – the racist apartheid state”

[Facebook page of the Fatah Movement – Nablus Branch, Nov. 1, 2021

These expressions of fraternal peace and tolerance by our internationally designated “peace partners” expose the gaping fault lines permeating our immediate vicinity.

Like all disasters waiting to happen, unless we take serious preventative measures the fallout will result in mayhem.

The “big one” is just around the corner.

Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.