Between the lines
The definition of reading between the lines is “to understand what someone really means or what is really happening in a situation, even though it is not said openly.”
Michael Kuttner
The ability to discern what someone means especially when their intentions are cloaked in ambiguity is particularly useful especially when trying to unravel pontifications uttered by politicians and reported by the general media.
Those who resort to waffling and speaking in riddles work on the assumption that listeners or readers will be mesmerized into believing their pronouncements and thus will not be prepared to dig deeper in order to elicit real intentions.
After more than half a century of confronting this phenomenon, I believe that I have managed to see through the fog of deliberately deceptive language employed by those who use it to confuse the unsuspecting public.
Perhaps some examples will explain the latest attempts at fooling the masses.
The current situation concerning Iran is a classic case of how official pontifications seek to muddy the facts and lull an ignorant, or should we say deliberately naïve, public into believing the unbelievable.
Biden Administration Official: “we have lost nothing by keeping the door open to a deal with Iran.”
Biden: “we are discussing restraining Iran with the EU.”
EU spokesperson: “the USA is likely to support the latest Iran nuclear deal proposals.”
US State Department: “the US is encouraged by the latest Iranian offer. A deal with Iran is now closer than it was two weeks ago.”
Between the lines: Only a fool or someone decidedly dense cannot see the escalating narrative in these official pronouncements. Take careful note of the phrase “restraining Iran” because this definite non-slip of the tongue has now replaced the hitherto “we will prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.” As Iran has already proudly announced that it already has the capability to produce these weapons restraining the Mullah regime is a farce.
It is patently obvious to all but serial appeasers that Iran is well on the way to joining North Korea in obtaining the means to blackmail and threaten all its neighbours, develop missiles to deliver its weapons and create instability and chaos far and wide. All the Mullahs of Tehran need to do is listen to the pathetic prattling from Washington and the EU and draw the inevitable conclusions. You can be sure that they have internalized how Russia, China and North Korea have successfully thumbed their collective noses at the international community. No doubt they have also recalled how 1930’s capitulation to terror, refusal of the democracies to act and abandonment of the Jews demonstrated that where there is a lack of will, evil can triumph.
In the United Kingdom at present, a battle for the leadership of the Conservative Party and therefore Prime Minister is taking place. Having narrowed the crowded field down to two candidates these aspiring politicians are frantically vying for the votes of Party members who will decide the outcome. In an all-out effort to secure the support of Jewish members both the Foreign Secretary and the former Chancellor of the Exchequer have promised to counter Iran’s nuclear ambitions, secure a UK-Israel free trade deal and fight BDS.
In a sign that desperation is rampant, both have also issued cautious support for moving the UK Embassy to Jerusalem.
Between the lines: No doubt some may be stampeded into joyfully believing these politically dubious promises but a closer examination reveals their fragile façade. Fighting BDS is a no-brainer because that is already policy. Since the UK’s Brexit, securing free trade agreements with other countries is normal and therefore one with Israel is nothing exceptional. Exactly how either Truss or Sunak could counter Iran’s nuclear ambitions, especially in the face of determined USA, European, Chinese and Russian appeasement, has not been disclosed and is therefore just another one of those amorphous slogans designed for gullible consumption.
The biggest blooper of them all however is the assertion that these two politicians will work towards the relocation of the UK Embassy to Israel’s Capital. You would have to be totally ignorant of the UK’s sordid history post-Balfour in trying to thwart Jewish sovereignty to actually swallow this. The ingrained antipathy of the Foreign Office towards Jewish sovereignty which saw the deliberate creation of the Hashemite Kingdom on territory guaranteed for Jewish settlement and subsequent acts by the Mandatory power to prevent Jewish immigration may have failed to prevent Israel’s re-establishment. It has not however dissipated the continuing refusal by the Foreign Office to recognize Jerusalem as our Capital nor is this deeply ingrained prejudice likely to change.
Why there should be any sort of euphoric ecstasy over these meaningless pledges is symptomatic of a refusal to read between the lines.
If ever you needed a better example of how easy it is to fool some people most of the time just read what one of the architects of the Oslo disaster claimed this week.
Following the “foot in mouth” performance of PA President for life, Abbas in Germany, all but the most ideologically befuddled know that any sort of peace with this sort of inciter is a non-starter. However, this did not stop one of the architects (Yossi Beilin) of the disastrous Oslo sell-out deal from proclaiming: “there won’t be a more pragmatic or moderate Palestinian leader than Mahmoud Abbas.”
Between the lines: Given half a chance the lemmings of the extreme left championed by post-Zionist media and academic “experts” are ready to sell sovereignty to even the most vile of Holocaust slanderers. Their narrative is that there is nobody else better placed to appease and therefore we had better hasten to sell our birthright before Abbas departs. Reading between the lines makes it clear that the choice, as always, is really up to us. Do we abandon all self-respect and throw ourselves at the mercy of those who in every generation rise up to murder us or do we finally assert our historic and legal right to sovereignty?
When Saudi Arabia announced it would allow Israeli planes to overfly their territory great jubilation ensued and one could have been forgiven for believing that the messianic age had already dawned.
Between the lines: I cautioned at the time that it might be prudent to await developments because in this part of the world the gap between euphoria and reality can change in the blink of an eye. Well, Iran, the intended recipient of international largesse has put a spanner in the works. Oman, which needs to also give permission for overflights, has succumbed to Iranian blackmail. This is the perfect example of how a neighbourhood bully and terror-promoting regime can successfully intimidate and get away with it.
Meanwhile, the online booking site for the forthcoming World Cup in Qatar replaced Israel with Palestinian Occupied territory and then renamed it Palestine.
Between the lines: Obviously there is a major gulf (pun intended) between Abraham Accord signatories and those who continue to cleave to the PLO/Iranian-sponsored rejectionist camp. From the lack of outraged response, it seems that most have yet to understand this.
Reading the small print and understanding exactly what lies behind overinflated rhetoric is indispensable to keeping several steps ahead of disastrous outcomes.
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.
