Hate Waves

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Climatologists insist that the world is probably experiencing an increase in temperatures with frequent bouts of heat waves.

Michael Kuttner

Climate sceptics maintain that periodic warming and cooling cycles have always existed and that the current heat is merely part of that phenomenon. Other experts explain that our increased emissions of polluting fuels contribute to the current situation.

Those monitoring the Jewish scene can testify to the irrefutable fact that Jews worldwide, and Israel in particular, are facing hate waves not experienced since the Shoah years.

As far as Jewish history is concerned, it is an irrefutable fact that for three thousand years, Jews have, in one form or another, faced cyclical bouts of hostility and threats to their very existence. Whether as dispersed minorities in lands of exile or settlers in their own indigenous homeland, the waves of hate have relentlessly caused fatal outcomes.

Like those blaming each and every climate disaster on mankind’s malign activities there are some on the fringes of Jewish identification today who revel in the opportunity to pin the source of hate on the activities of Zionists and Israel. This sort of self-flagellation has always existed and, of course, has never either diminished animosity or saved the apostates from suffering the same fates as their accused brethren.

As righteous hypocrites worldwide raise their collective voices once again, we need to counter them in the clearest and most forceful way possible.

One of the most important strategies is to first acknowledge that a serious problem actually exists and then to devise ways of combating this.

Despite the rising tsunami of vile lies which in turn leads to hateful boycotts, delegitimisation and physical violence, there are still far too many living in denial. One would have thought that given the realities of the last century, burying one’s head in the sand and pretending nothing was amiss might be a futile gesture of the past.

Alas, this is not the case, as can be seen in various countries where Jewish life and communal safety are becoming increasingly fraught. I discovered this in a recent conversation with one of our ex-French neighbours. Although Aliyah from France is on the rise, he bemoaned the fact that far too many of his compatriots refused to see the writing on the wall. Despite rapidly rising levels of lethal threats, the dangers are dismissed. When the Rabbi of one of the most prestigious Synagogues in Paris advised young people in his congregation that there was no future any more in France, he was reproached by one of his board members who maintained that as patriotic French citizens, there was, in fact, a great future.

Closing eyes to impending threats and hoping that it will all blow over is a guaranteed failed strategy. It is even more so when the governing authorities tasked with guaranteeing your safety and welfare prefer instead to pander and appease those groups threatening your lives. This is the case in far too many countries yet the warning signs are being ignored.

At present, all eyes are on Chicago, where the Democratic National Convention is taking place, and where Kamala Harris will be “crowned” as the unopposed Presidential candidate. If anyone needs confirmation that “hate waves” are indeed reaching full intensity, this gathering should provide ample proof. Extremists, embracing communists, anarchists, unhinged socialists and every imaginable anti-Israel groupies, have joined together to send a clear message to delegates and supporters.

“Either support our visceral hate of the Jewish State or suffer the consequences.”

Joe Biden, who was unceremoniously dumped by his own party, has given a farewell oration in which he bizarrely claimed major victories in foreign and domestic policies. For good measure, he also said “that the anti Israel protesters had a point.”  Of course, they have a point, and it is unambiguously one of hate against Zionists and Israel. However, Biden did not make that clear and preferred, like Harris, to appear to pander to the lies of the jihadist supporters. Kamala’s appointment of a far-left Obama acolyte as “liaison to the Jewish community” and an adviser on Middle East affairs clearly points as to which direction the White House would go if she was to be elected. This adviser is an ex-Israeli who has renounced his citizenship, supported the Obama nuclear deal with Iran, opposed the US Embassy shift to Jerusalem, believes a Jewish presence over the “holy” 1967 non-existent borders is illegal and venerates Abbas as a peace partner. What more proof does one need to foresee that a potential Harris/Walz ticket, combined with a progressive animosity against Israel will spell a disastrous relationship?

One should be very wary when Bernie Sanders and AOC squad cheerleaders, together with self-loathers, combine to endorse this potentially nightmarish ticket. Unfortunately, it is symptomatic of the malaise afflicting American Jews that a majority will still, lemming-like, cast their ballots for a party that is steadily ditching any serious semblance of support for Israel’s lone fight against Islamic terror extremism and Iranian plans of annihilation.

The US House Intelligence Chair maintains that Iran could very well become a nuclear state by the end of the year. This chilling prediction raises nary a ripple at the DNC or, indeed, at the State Department. It certainly doesn’t concern the myriad assortment of Jewish misfits who collectively issue disconnected messages against Israeli and Jewish self-defence in the face of increasing waves of hate.

Illustrating just how far these US progressive types have drifted from any connection to Judaism and Jewish history is the recent farce perpetrated by the anti-Zionist group known ironically as “Jewish Voice for Peace” (JVP). On Tisha B’Av they issued a guide which stated: “Hearing Hebrew language can be deeply traumatizing for Palestinians. Therefore, prayers are best said in English or Arabic, rather than in Hebrew. It is not our place to redeem our tradition on the backs of Palestinians. Enough has been taken. As anti Zionist Jews, we release any attachment to the Temple and instead, invoke the spiritual power of the day in service of the liberation of Palestine.”

As the former director of speechwriting at the Israel Mission to the UN responded, “JVP declares Hebrew is triggering. They are anti Zionist, anti Jewish, anti Hebrew and yet call themselves Jewish Voice for Peace.”

The rot that has infected US universities continues to spread. It now transpires that those students from Columbia University who were suspended because of their violent anti-Israel/Jewish demonstrations have had their suspensions dropped. With the commencement of a new academic year, pro-terror Palestinian supporters, faculty and students alike are preparing to make life intolerable for Jewish students. This should not come as any surprise because they take their lead from the weak response of an Administration which is terrified of ascribing any malign intentions to an increasingly militant bloc of potential voters.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, the tide of hate is rapidly bringing the flotsam and jetsam of irrational behaviour to the surface.

The spectacle of Jews visiting and praying at their holiest site is too much for the rest of the world. When the German Foreign Minister can sanctimoniously condemn Jews praying on the Temple Mount, one knows that rock bottom has been reached. This farce is made worse by the knee-bending contortions of some of our own politicians.

It seems that the Irish are not the only ones whose irrational anti-Israel bias cancels any sort of common sense or decency. The Scottish Government has now issued a decree that henceforth no meetings with an Israeli diplomatic representative will take place.

To cap off another farcical week, we had the UK and French Foreign Ministers pay a hasty one-day visit. Their ostensible purpose was to push for a Gaza ceasefire and the release of unlimited terrorists in exchange for an unspecified number of dead or alive Israeli kidnapped hostages. This was always going to be an exercise in duplicitous diplomatic futility. The new UK Government has dropped its opposition to the ICC issuing an arrest warrant for Israel’s PM. Therefore it was no great surprise when Netanyahu refused to meet the British FM.

The best proof that this diplomatic mission was nothing more than a hypocritical performance was revealed when these two Ministers made a pilgrimage to Ramallah. When meeting with Israeli officials, they wore a pin on their suit lapels, symbolizing support for the Israeli hostages. However, when they met the President for life, Abbas, these pins disappeared. Presumably, when meeting with this fervent Hamas supporter and funder of murderers’ of Israelis, it was not deemed appropriate to display any sort of solidarity with the hostages.

This is how international double standards and kowtowing to appeasement works.

Given current trends we can look forward to further increases in hate waves and resultant devastating consequences.

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.