How many times can one be fooled?

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Spoiler alert: If you are averse to politically incorrect thoughts it might be a good idea to stop reading.

Michael Kuttner

The insanity which prevails among so-called “enlightened progressives” these days when confronted with terror tactics brings to mind an old yet nevertheless true quote:

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us.” 

In the thirty years we have now lived in Israel I have noticed a clear pattern which emerges and erupts like clockwork when Ramadan is celebrated. On delving further it becomes clear that this is not a new phenomenon but has been repeated in endless cycles over the years.

Ramadan is an Islamic religious month-long observance during which devout Muslims throughout the world fast, pray and gather together for fellowship. It is something religious Jews and Christians can easily relate to because it has so many elements common to the three Monotheistic religions. In recent times as interfaith gatherings have gained popularity in certain circles the opportunity for honest discourse has increased. Theoretically, this should lead to a better understanding of our mutual beliefs and one would think perhaps honest discussions on where we differ and why this is so.

For the majority of Muslims this is a time of peace and prayer. Unfortunately for a significant number of others it is an annual excuse to indulge in terror and mayhem. It’s not just infidels who are targeted and murdered but also members of various Islamic sects. This year, as in the past several years the fanatics and fundamentalists have hijacked Ramadan and used it as a cover for their dastardly deeds. France is experiencing a pandemic of Islamic violence alongside its pandemic of corona. In both cases the authorities seem incapable of mustering an effective and coherent response. When it comes to the murder of Jews it is obvious that a fear of upsetting the Islamic militants prevents justice being enacted. Empty slogans and rhetoric cannot disguise cowardice in the face of intimidation and violence. Naming a street in Paris after a murdered Jewish woman while the perpetrator gets a free pass from the French justice system hardly qualifies as combating Islamic terror.

Nothing exemplifies the annual Ramadan subversion better than the Oscar-winning performance of Abbas and his cohorts in Ramallah and Gaza.

Like Swiss clocks every year without fail our so-called “peace partners” use this religious period to instigate terror and mayhem. With pavlovian automatic responses the usual progressive suspects spring into action and a barrage of condemnations is launched even quicker than the rockets from Gaza and the riots from Ramallah. There is no point in protesting the mendacious hypocrisy of the United Nations and its associated groups because no amount of logic would ever convince them that Israel and Israelis were under terror attack.

The current situation provides the best example of how those who want to be endlessly fooled are only too willing to be suckered each and every time.

One did not have to be any sort of genius to predict the scenario now being enacted. For as long as most people can remember the incitement against Jews allegedly storming the Temple Mount has been used as an excuse to launch terror. Ramadan provides the perfect opportunity to stir up the masses with incendiary claims and good old fashioned lies and slander. It works every time. The incredible refusal of the international community to call it out and our own authorities’ timidity in nipping it in the bud merely emboldens the terror instigators to further outrages.

This year there has been a tailor-made excuse for mayhem.

After fifteen years and countless aborted fake attempts at proving that democracy actually is a genuine objective, Abbas and his corrupt crew decided that now was the moment to give their long suffering citizens a choice at choosing a President and legislative assembly. Mind you this only came about because the Biden Administration dropped hints that if elections were held then the money taps and support would be turned on at full blast. Conveniently ignored of course by Washington and the rest of the world was the “small” fact that murderers of Israelis were standing and that the majority of parties participating denied Israel’s right to exist. Lo and behold imagine the panic in Ramallah when it became apparent that Hamas is likely to defeat the incumbent corrupt crew.

How to cancel or postpone for the umpteenth time scheduled elections while simultaneously placing the entire blame for this charade on Israel is the conundrum faced by Abbas. Like manna from heaven, Ramadan and Jerusalem descended to provide the perfect opportunity. Safe in the knowledge that the media and the rest of the world will excuse any perversion of the truth the wheels were set in motion to scuttle this latest exercise of Palestinian Arab style democracy.

Accusing Israel of blasphemous behaviour and threatening the sanctity of the Mosque on the site of our destroyed Temples, the PA joined by their brothers in arms in Gaza, launched violence and a barrage of rockets on Israeli communities in the south. As an added bonus and knowing that this was failsafe, Israel’s refusal to agree to surrender sovereignty in half of its Capital, provides the perfect cover. The ostensible reason is the refusal (so far) of Israel to acknowledge PLO sovereignty in the eastern part of the city.

There you have it in a nutshell. If after 15 plus years you see that your time is up all you have to do is postpone elections and pin the blame on Israel. For good measure the PA “foreign minister” is swanning around Europe in an effort to convince them that it’s our entire fault. This should not prove to be a difficult task and the pressure to surrender to extortion is pre-ordained. With Bernie and Elizabeth in Washington rounding up the far-left progressive forces the PA can be confident of getting away with this latest confidence trick.

My non politically correct questions in the face of such blatant conjuring acts are as follows.

Why the deafening silence on the part of Jewish leaders in the Diaspora?

Why are most Israeli politicians semi mute and not raising hell in world forums and the media?

During all the mutual admiration interfaith gatherings why do we not hear any public condemnation of how Ramadan is being hijacked?

If Muslims who believe in mutual tolerance and non-violence are silent because they fear militant reactions how will this annual hate-fest ever be eliminated?

Those who excuse Islamic violence often blame militant Jews. In actual fact terror incidents initiated by Jews are the exception rather than the rule and are roundly condemned by Jewish authorities. Contrast that with the incitement orchestrated by Abbas, the PA, the PLO, Hamas, Iran and a myriad of others. Courtesy of PMW here is just a small sample: https://www.palwatch.org/page/20711

We have two choices.

Either we can continue to be fooled and cheer on those advocating double standards or we can screw up our courage and expose the continuing farce.

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.