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The new year has started off, as predicted, in spectacular fashion with more inflammatory rhetoric against Israel.
For those who naively believed that 2020 would usher in an era of peace, goodwill and fraternal love the latest manifestations of hate should come as a rude wake-up call. Unfortunately as so often happened in the past there will still be far too many who will prefer to pretend that it is all vastly exaggerated. If hate happens once you can be forgiven for believing that it is an aberration. If it reoccurs there may even be an excuse for thinking it was a mistake. However when delegitimization of Israel is a regular almost daily event then there is no possible excuse for either ignoring or minimizing its malign intent.
One of the favourite tactics of sceptics is to blame the whistleblowers as purveyors of panic and guilty of sowing exaggerated accusations. Conspiracy peddlers love it when self-loathing individuals and groups jump on the bandwagon and make common cause with those defaming and spreading lies about the Jewish State. We witness NGO’s, liberally funded by the European Union and gullible private donors, getting into bed with some of the nastiest Israel-haters and embracing the likes of the International Criminal Court and the UN Human Rights Council.
The time for tut-tutting is long past. It is imperative that all of us now speak up loudly and clearly so that the haters finally feel the heat and learn that their overt or covert activities will no longer get a free pass.
For those who are still not entirely convinced that there is a serious problem perhaps the following examples which surfaced this past week will strip the blinkers from their eyes.
First prize for fictitious lies must without a doubt be awarded to the Secretary-General of the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs. This worthy individual published a piece in a Jordanian newspaper which leaves one breathless at its audacious ability to distort and twist facts and which serves as a textbook example of how peace between Jordan and Israel is viewed in the highest circles in Amman. Make no mistake – this “masterpiece” could not have seen the light of day without the express permission and sanction of the Hashemite Royal Court. It could have been taken straight out of the pages of any Nazi publication circulated in the 1930s. It is headlined “Hanukkah: A colonial Zionist Ritual.”
“The current Israeli colonial policy in Palestine and Jerusalem is based on false religious excuses and justifications aimed at misleading international public opinion and winning sympathy for Israel at the expense of the Palestinians. These so called religious rituals allow the Israeli Government to continue its systematic judaization of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The article then continues with a fairly accurate description of the story of Hannukkah as it relates to the miracle of the oil burning in the Temple for 8 days. It then continues:
“This holiday is considered one of the most dangerous Jewish holidays for Islamic and Christian sanctities as it is the only one linked according to their lies and traditions to an alleged structure that stood where the blessed al Aqsa Mosque stands today. It is one of the most popular Jewish holidays for political organizations which invite Zionist settlers to participate extensively in the intense and continuous incursions into the Mosque.
Politically the Israeli Government is taking advantage of this holiday to continue its systematic Judaization project in Palestine and Jerusalem based on daily attacks and crimes.
The Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs which monitors the events on the ground in Jerusalem strongly condemns these rituals which under religious pretext are used to increase Israeli attacks on Muslim and Christian holy sites in the city. Genuine religious observance revolves around the spread of peace and love among peoples; not what Israel and its right-wing organizations are doing to spread the ideas of hatred.”
This is how the Hashemite Kingdom, the illegal occupier of Judea, Samaria and half of Jerusalem and ethnic cleanser of Jews from 1948 to 1967, defines its relationships with Israel and Judaism. The self-proclaimed “guardian of Islamic and Christian holy sites” is very clear and unambiguous. It does not take too much imagination to predict what would happen if we were ever to succumb to the international community’s demand that we hand this territory back to the Jordanian surrogates, namely the Arabs currently called the Palestinian Authority.
Please note that the garbage quoted above emanates from so-called “moderates.” What hope of genuine peace can there be when the masses are exposed to these pontifications?
Meanwhile, you can revel in the latest manifestations of tolerance and historical distortion as reported by MEMRI. These irrational rantings, unreported by the media, are ignored by the UN and ICC because they do not fit the politically correct narrative which has seduced a large number of Governments.
Lest anyone thinks that “moderate” Abbas and his “peace-loving” Fatah movement are still partners for any sort of co-existence take a peek at this courtesy of PMW: https://palwatch.org/page/17188
Meanwhile, in Spain the new deputy Prime Minister is the leader of a far-left party who is on record as calling Israel an illegal country.
Welcome to 2020 which promises to be yet another vintage year where anti-Israel rhetoric of the vilest kind increases. Listening to the pathetic antics of US Democratic candidates and the muted or non-existent responses from those who call themselves friends we can fairly accurately predict the rocky road ahead.
Currently performing at a Jerusalem theatre is a play entitled “Rothschild and Sons.” It tells a history of the beginnings of this famous Jewish family in Frankfurt. The punch line at the end sticks in my memory because it is so true and apt to today’s situation.
As the five sons prepare to travel to five far-flung destinations their mother tells them:” never forget who you are.” Their response is succinct: “how can we ever forget who we are? They will never let us forget it.”
“They” of course refers to all the countries and societies among whom Jews may reside.
Nothing changes.
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.
