An ill wind blows

 Email this story

Print

2 Comments

An old proverb accurately foretells: “it’s an ill wind that blows no one any good.”

Michael Kuttner

As we wind down towards the end of the secular year, the ill winds have reached gale-force proportions. Anyone who has lived in places where storm-force conditions are a regular occurrence will know only too well how destructive these forces of nature can be.

Jews over the millennia have experienced more than their fair share of the lethal effects that exposure to damaging ill winds can cause. That is why we should have by now developed an early warning system that would enable us to avoid the worst effects of such phenomena.

Unfortunately, this is not the case, and as we survey the international scene, the same old mistakes keep repeating themselves.

Take the recent FIFA world cup soccer fiesta that just concluded in Qatar as an example of how naivety can overrule common sense.

Qatar, which is a prime funder and sponsor of Hamas and its terror activities in Gaza, had to reluctantly allow Israelis to attend the competition even though there are no diplomatic relations between Israel & Qatar. The immediate reaction of soccer-mad Israelis was one of ecstatic delight at the prospect of not only attending this sporting extravaganza but also of visiting a country that normally is off-limits to them. Despite the fact that no direct airline connections were possible, this did not deter fans from taking circuitous routes in order to get to Qatar.

Recent reports from many of those visiting Qatar speak of outright hostility and hate shown by individuals there once they had discovered the ethnicity and country of origin of the visitors. Comments such as “you are not welcome here, we hate you and your country” were common epithets hurled at Israeli fans. An Israeli soccer star, now retired, was told by his unsuspecting taxi driver that he would refuse to carry any Israeli in his taxi and would expel any who might try to ride in his vehicle. The most telling example of political naivety was the comment of an Israeli sports journalist whose encounter with Israeli-hating locals and visitors from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere shattered his hitherto illusions about peace. Describing himself as a “centrist liberal,” his expectations of being embraced in the supposedly new era of Abrahamic fraternity evaporated as quickly as a desert mirage. Interestingly, he described how fans from Saudi Arabia smiled and accepted him once his nationality was discovered.

These experiences on the part of many may have been a personal shock for them but should not have come as any dramatic surprise to anyone whose vision had not been clouded by unrealistic expectations. It is the euphoric and unrealistic snake oil messages sold to us by the purveyors of such disasters as Oslo and the two-state illusions which have contributed to ignoring the ill winds blowing in our direction.

Citizens of the Gulf States and Morocco, whose Governments have now made a determined effort to distance themselves from the demonisation and delegitimisation of Israel, have discovered that the previous lies they were brainwashed with are fake. However, this is not the case with Egypt and Jordan, where the truth has not trickled down to the masses. Although there is a cold peace, Jordanian incitement about the Temple Mount and Jerusalem continues to fan the foul winds of hate. As far as the rejectionist countries are concerned of which Qatar is a prominent cheerleader, the inculcation of historical and current slanders continues unabated.

It is, therefore, unsurprising that the locals in these places are riddled with the worst conspiracy theories and believe the most outrageous fables about Jews and Israelis, hence the behaviour of the Qataris when encountering someone from the Jewish State.

All this is really self-evident but still ignored by the lemmings of the left and the progressive wokes of the international community.

Ill winds are also brewing and already blowing from other quarters.

While Iran persecutes its Baha’i citizens, oppresses women, shoots protesters against human rights violations and hangs opponents of the regime from cranes, the United Nations prefers to turn a blind eye and instead concentrate its venom against Israel.

Thus, following a convicted Palestinian Arab terrorist with French nationality being expelled to France, uproar ensued. The UN Human Rights office huffed and puffed and declared that the expulsion constituted a “war crime.”  This theme, of course, was picked up by the Ramallah-based PA. Joining the chorus was the French branch of Amnesty International, which called it “a crime of apartheid”, and unsurprisingly also the French Foreign Ministry. They stated that Israel had no right to expel a resident of “occupied east Jerusalem.” The US State Dept has also felt the urge to question Israel’s revocation of a terrorist’s residency and send him packing.

A jailed Palestinian Arab, incarcerated for having murdered Israelis, died of cancer. Needless to say, his demise was blamed on Israel and once again, the winds of deliberate disinformation are blowing forth with predictable reactions from the usual quarters.

Wouldn’t you think that the Biden Administration, which purports to fight Jew hate and wants us to believe that it has our best interests at heart, might somehow find it appropriate actually to follow through with some positive action?

Well, they actually have, but it certainly does not qualify as anything resembling reality.

Two Palestinian Arabs were killed in a car accident in Samaria when on a dark, unlit road, their stationary vehicle was hit by an Israeli-driven car. Without any hesitation or proof whatsoever, the PA accused Israel of a deliberate “assassination.”  This baseless claim was given the White House a kosher stamp of approval, with the Americans demanding that a thorough investigation be made by Israeli authorities. As is standard practice with any accident, the traffic police are already investigating. All the US demand does is reinforce the universally accepted libel that Israel is engaged in a deliberate campaign of killing Arabs.

Contrast this situation with the two following incidents.

As reported by PMW, PA President for life and his partners have glorified the “martyr” prisoner and other “martyrs” who have intentionally murdered Israelis.  Has the US demanded that the PA cease such adulation and instigate an investigation as to who authorises such incitement to be printed and broadcast? Not a peep is forthcoming from either the recently appointed special US envoy to the Palestinians or the US Ambassador to Israel, who has recently asserted that one of his priorities is to make sure that PA interests are protected.

An Irish UN “peacekeeper” was killed, and several were seriously injured by deliberate gunfire in South Lebanon, which as everybody knows, is under the direct control of the proscribed terror group, Hezbollah. Did anyone by some chance hear whether the UN had been called into an emergency session with Hezbollah and Lebanon condemned and referred to the ICC for war crimes? Did the Irish Government demand accountability and sever diplomatic relations? None of these events occurred, and the incident has sunk below the radar of all the human rights and anti-Israel groups.

Just imagine if this would have happened in Judea or Samaria. The whole world would be in an uproar, and the convulsions would have engulfed every conceivable protest group. Israel would have been pilloried and made an eternal scapegoat. Does this not smell of a stinking foul wind?

Is it any wonder that the Israeli electorate has voted for a more forceful reaction to this international hypocrisy and double standards?

 Batten down the hatches as more ill winds of hurricane force are guaranteed to batter us in the coming year.

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.