Selective outrage…writes Michael Kuttner
This week has seen a dazzling outburst of self-righteous outrage by all and sundry against Israel.
Michael Kuttner
The common denominator is a knee jerk allergic reaction to anything the Jewish State may have done or is planning to do. Opposition to political decisions is often marred by barely concealed ulterior motives. Lurking near the surface in many cases is a potent hatred for anything and everything that Israel represents.
Some examples should serve to demonstrate the double standards and hypocrisy being employed.
One of the loudest outbursts of the week has been the reaction to the Knesset passing a law which legalises a large number of homes previously built on Arab contested land. One can question the wisdom of such a move but the hysterical reaction from local and international sources overlooks one very vital reality. It is more than likely that the Supreme Court will invalidate this law. This fact is conveniently ignored by those expressing outrage as is the truth that Israel is a country where Courts are independent and their rulings prevail. A bigger contrast between us and our neighbours would be hard to find.
The UN, EU, PA and associated usual suspects refuse to acknowledge the independence of the Israeli judiciary and therein resides the answer as to why they continue to condemn and lecture us ad nauseum. Their obsessive and never-ending fits of outrage against Israel and their virtual silence on real threats to world peace makes one wonder as to their real agenda.
Released this week was a horrifying report from Amnesty International which details mass hangings, torture and murder undertaken by the Syrian regime over the last few years. The muted reaction by the international community to this revelation of systematic slaughter is in marked contrast to the chorus of righteous outrage which is flung at Israel on a daily basis. Where are the demonstrations and mass marches? Where are the demands to boycott, divest and sanction? Apparently these punishments are solely reserved for the only democratic State in the Middle East.
If you think that perhaps the crimes being perpetrated by Syria are mere trifles compared to the alleged misdemeanors blamed on Israel take a look at the Amnesty report and judge for yourselves:
Iran this week reiterated its intention to obliterate Israel and, thumbing its nose at the UN, launched missiles designed to do exactly that. Once again most countries remained mute in the face of this blatant display of evil intent. When President Trump declared that serious consequences would follow he was derided by the usual “progressive” voices of those who prefer to give Iran a free pass. No expressions of outrage could be heard from those who love to delegitimise anything Israel initiates. Apparently building homes for Jews is far more dangerous to world peace than efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction by terror supporting States.
The new UN Secretary General managed to put himself offside with our “peace” partners by having the temerity to declare that it was clear the Temple destroyed by the Romans over 19 centuries ago was a Jewish place of worship and holy site. Following this self-evident admission of fact, the wrath of the Palestinian Authority and the Islamic world descended. The Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Revolutionary Council appeared on PA television and declared that the Secretary General’s statement was “infuriating” and “unjustified” from “ethical, humanitarian and political standpoints.” He went further and warned that such remarks are a”direct attack on the Palestinian nation in Jerusalem” and are a”display of admiration for the occupying power.”
This further display of delegitimisation of Jews and Judaism no longer seems to cause any outburst of outrage from all those peddling the myth of two democratic States for two People living in peace and tolerance. How anyone can still advocate this garbage is beyond belief especially when all evidence points to the exact opposite result.
Talking about offside and an own goal reminds me of a somewhat bizarre piece of news which broke this week. Having previously expressed outrage at Jews building homes in parts of their homeland, Germany then announced it had signed a sports agreement with the Palestinian Arab official who heads the Olympic committee and is in charge of sport. This individual is a well known promoter of terror and has described murderers of Israelis as “heroes and a crown on our heads.” Further manifestations of peace and tolerance include the Palestinian Arab Football Association supervising an annual sporting event named after terrorist Abu Jihad.
As further proof of how the Two State disaster would look if it ever came to fruition is the fact that joint sports activities between Palestinian Arabs and Israelis is officially banned and a joint match in which Israeli and Arab boys participated was condemned as “a crime against humanity.”
Despite all this evidence of hate and incitement, Germany will pay all expenses and fees for an expert to join the PA Football Association and help it to “advance the football sector.” The German representative in Ramallah stated that he was proud of this agreement.
To round off a record week of selective outrage we need look no further than the NZ Herald which published an open letter written by what it called “leading NZ academics on conflict resolution” to the NZ Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade. Slamming the NZ Government’s “dangerous double standards” on the Israel/Palestinian problem I thought at first that finally some common sense had entered the halls of academia. However it transpires that these touted experts not only support New Zealand’s recent disastrous attempt to censure Israel at the UN but actually advocate far more than that. Their real desire is for Israel to be boycotted, delegitimised and sanctioned. Trotting out well-worn mistruths and distortions of reality the NZ Herald gave them the opportunity to spread their assertions to a wide audience.
I looked in vain for these individuals to condemn the barbarity which is playing out on a daily basis amongst the Arab and Islamic nations in our neighbourhood. Missing was any sort of recognition that terror and terrorists pose a major threat to democratic societies. Their one-sided obsession once again demonstrates that when it comes to Israel, outrage is unlimited and selective.
Fuelled by a generally unbalanced media we can expect even more eruptions of outrage to occur. Israel’s Prime Minister is shortly to meet President Trump. The outbursts of rage and hate from the “enlightened ones” will once again be on display.
Our task is to expose them for what they really are – hypocrites of the first order.
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.
