Foot in mouth outbreaks

A “foot in mouth” award is presented each year by the Plain English Campaign in the UK for the best baffling comment by a public figure.

Surveying the current outbreak of such rhetoric one could nominate an infinite number of nominees for this prestigious prize. In fact the sheer numbers who shoot off their mouths about Israel and Jews would necessitate more than one award.

Several different categories would need to be created in order to cater for the tsunami of inane pronouncements gushing forth from not only public figures but also media editors and presenters.

It is not just unhinged and uninformed pontifications which might qualify. There would have to be special recognition for self haters and loathers. Politicians would be in a class of their own because their “double speak” vocabulary needs to be translated.

A special prize for communal leaders and spokespersons is a must as quite often these individuals in a frantic endeavour to remain politically correct make the most horrendous blunders.

The possibilities are endless as a small sample of the latest offerings should testify.

British news channels, mainly BBC and SKY News UK, seem to delight in presenting distorted reports and commentaries on events in the Middle East and specifically concerning Israel. The former should receive first prize for its tendentious commentaries. Israel’s President, Yitzhak Herzog, issued a strongly worded reprimand protesting the BBC’s disgusting equivalence of emaciated Israeli hostages being released with exchanged Palestinian Arab terrorists.

One of SKY News UK favourite commentators, Alistair Bunkall, trotted out the old narrative about hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were “displaced” during the 1948 war. Without any context whatsoever and pointedly omitting any reference to the ethnic cleansing of entire Jewish communities in Arab countries in 1948, Bunkall succeeded in rewriting history. Missing was any background as to what exactly this 1948 war was all about. No mention of the rejection of a Jewish presence and refusal by Arabs of Mandated Palestine to create their own nation. Completely omitted were the genocidal aims of the Arabs. No wonder viewers and readers of SKY and BBC are indoctrinated with fake and false fiction.

It is pertinent to point out that SKY Australia, in direct contrast, is a beacon of light when it comes to reporting and commentaries about Israel and events in the region. What a refreshing contrast.

Anyone hoping for any sort of honest and truthful statements from the United Nations and its associated bodies would continue to be sorely disappointed. This irredeemably corrupt organization is mired in anti-Israel activities. It is beyond redemption which is why the USA and now Israel have resigned from the UN Human Rights Council.

The Secretary General of the UN, who should be setting an example but instead acquiesces in the hypocritical charades of his organization, demonstrated yet again why the UN’s “use by date” has long expired. His conspicuous silence about the shocking emaciated conditions of the latest released Israeli hostages is a glaring example. His refusal to condemn Hamas and demand its exclusion from Gaza while admonishing Israel must surely earn him a golden “foot in mouth” award.

Iran qualifies for a special award in duplicity. It has been reported that Baha’i women were arrested for illegal proselytizing. This is part of an ongoing campaign of harassment and persecution of a religious minority which the rest of the world continues to ignore.

Instead of making Iran a pariah regime the opposite in fact occurs. Last month Iran was elected to chair the Asia-Pacific Group of the UN Human Rights Council. Did you by any remote chance hear expressions of disgust and condemnation about this travesty? Instead of democratic countries shunning this farcical UN body it has been business as usual. Shades of the doomed League of Nations spring to mind.

The EU is in the running for hypocritical appeaser champion prize. As reported by NGO Monitor they are funding an Arab Christian organization in Jerusalem which equates Israeli military operations with the crucifixion of Jesus. For good measure they also accuse Israel of genocide and apartheid.

Germany’s Foreign Minister meanwhile declared that Gaza, the “West Bank” and East Jerusalem belong to the Palestinians. No doubt hoping to garner votes in the forthcoming elections he rewrites historical facts. While professing sympathy with dead Jews he simultaneously lays the ground for the establishment of a terror entity in Israel’s heartland. He remains silent about the stated intentions of PLO, Fatah. Hamas, Hezbollah and others to perpetrate another “final solution” in the future.

To be fair, his rhetoric is no different to that issuing forth from Canberra, Wellington and other capitals.

A startling headline recently caught my attention. SKY News UK posted this: “We are no longer living in peacetime. Germany’s race to be ready for war.”  The thrust of the report was the necessity for Germany to counter and face up to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and other parts of Europe. This necessitates a massive German bolstering of its military with all that it might imply. If any country can claim a prize for past re-arming and militaristic disasters Germany would be in first place.

The aspiring Ottoman Sultan can always be relied upon to open his mouth and spew forth invective against Israel. This week he demanded that “Israel must rebuild Gaza and pay for the privilege to the tune of US$100 billion.” For good measure, no doubt in case his enmity was not clear enough, he added “two million Palestinians have been subjected to one of the most brutal acts of genocide in history.”

This latter slanderous accusation has become the standard mantra of not only deranged political pontificators but also the default position of the UN and its ancillary bodies. Circulated by a mendacious media it is no wonder that this brazen untruth has become the modern version of the old medieval blood libels. It does not take much for this venomous poison to infect whole sectors of society from respected religious leaders to brain dead students only too eager to latch on to a Jew bashing cause.

That is why the mobs demonstrating and disrupting in the streets and universities and vandalizing buildings use the “genocide” libel as one of their favourite themes.

It is incumbent on Jewish communal leaders and spokespersons to clearly and unambiguously squash this particular anti-Jewish accusation.

Make no mistake; it is as potent as the old “deicide” charge was.

Back in the not so long ago “old days” in Europe the Roman Catholic Church used this rallying cry as an annual ritual to unleash the mobs against Jewish communities. This resulted in death and destruction of Jews and their homes and Synagogues. The same tried and trusted methods are being employed today.

In the face of these realities, I was horrified to read a headline on the New Zealand STUFF website which read: “School not to blame for Israel Government’s actions Jewish Council says after Auckland graffiti attack.”  According to the news report an unknown person had defaced the wall of the now vacated Jewish community centre which had housed a Jewish school. The word genocide was scrawled and the implication was unmistakable. Several persons were quoted in the body of the report all of whom condemned this vandalism.

However, and most unfortunately, the response of the spokesperson for the representative body of NZ Jews that garnered headlines was seemingly shameful. Assuming that the media report was accurate, the immediate and only impression left in the minds of uninformed readers was that, in fact, Israel is guilty of genocide, but you can’t blame NZ Jews for the alleged Israeli Government’s “despicable crimes.”

It is important to remember that headlines stick and that the majority of people would not bother to read any further. Therefore the claim that “the crime of genocide is nothing to do with us” immediately proves the Jewish State’s guilt. Instead of trying to prove that NZ Jews are not guilty by association, it is imperative to nip these lies in the bud right from the beginning.

This sort of “own goal” response makes rebutting tendentious lies nearly impossible, especially when the media love to distort and blame Israel at every opportunity.

Exposing the fallacies and hate behind these criminal actions and rhetoric must be hard-hitting and unrelenting. Hoping to garner sympathy by being politically correct and deflecting any connection to Israel is a failed and shameful strategy.