Labelling Jews Again…writes Michael Kuttner
During the last 2,000 years Jews have at various times been forced to wear distinctive clothing marking us as Jews plus badges or labels usually of the yellow variety.
Michael Kuttner
Sometimes our dwellings have been daubed and of course we also have been boycotted. All these enduring gestures of brotherly and sisterly “love” were usually accompanied by acts of violence, pogroms, expulsions and delegitimisation. These labeling laws occurred mainly in Europe and there has been hardly any country on that blighted continent which did not at some stage legislate to identify their Jews in some form.
The last mass example of this occurred from 1933 to 1945. Anybody who has studied European treatment of their Jewish communities will therefore not be surprised to learn that in the year 2013 the European Union is actively investigating reintroducing this ancient tradition. Of course apologists will insist that they are only talking about labeling goods produced by Jewish communities in erroneously termed “occupied” Palestinian territories. Those of us however who have studied Jewish history know only too well that what starts with labeling goods very soon mutates into labeling people which then rapidly degenerates into violently targeting them. After all if Jewish goods are illegitimate it then follows that those Jews who produced them are also illegitimate and therefore any violence perpetrated against them is their own fault. That’s how it has always worked and today is no different.
It is ironic but not exactly surprising that politicians from the German Greens Party are leading the charge. With all the history of experience at their disposal no doubt they will be able to offer others in the EU the benefit of their expertise.
There are several aspects to this labeling frenzy which calls for harsh comments generally absent from diplomatic or political dialogue on the subject. As I am neither a diplomat nor a politician and have not developed the fine art of speaking out of both sides of my mouth here are some pertinent facts.
The EU ambassador to Israel in trying to explain or rather excuse the proposed scheme stated that …..”It was for CONSUMER PROTECTION…” I actually had to read his statement a couple of times in order to make sure I had read it correctly but sure enough that is what he meant. There you have it in a nut shell folks. This idea to label goods produced in selected Jewish communities is really designed to protect the hapless European consumers from presumably being infected and tainted by produce and manufactured items emanating from parts of the Jewish State. Of course that is why back in the “old days” Jews were confined to European ghettos, excluded from professions and trades and generally made pariahs. It was no doubt for “consumer protection” because as everyone knows, the Jews poisoned wells and made unleavened bread from you know what. The only way to protect the rest of the population was to isolate and boycott those horrible Jews thus ensuring that their contaminated presence would not harm others. One can ask, what has changed if European countries today are heading down the same well worn path?
Do you realise that the labeling campaign for goods from misnamed “occupied territories” also includes half of Jerusalem, many of its suburbs and places like Latrun which Abbas now claims is “occupied”? This means that anything produced in Israel’s capital is suspect and we all know where this can lead.
Another aspect is ignored but is in actual fact critically important. Thousands of Palestinian Arabs are employed in Jewish owned factories and other facilities in those areas which the EU calls illegitimate. They work together with Israeli Jews in complete harmony and the money they earn helps them and their families to break out of a poverty cycle they would otherwise be trapped in for ever. The logical end result of the labeling proposed by the Europeans could well be the transfer of the enterprises concerned to other parts of Israel which would mean the mass sacking of those Palestinian Arabs and their return to the unemployment ranks. Moreover the money which they earned would no longer be spent in the shops of the Palestinian controlled territories thus also impoverishing the very people whom the delegitimisers purport to support.
Several conclusions can thus be deduced.
The reluctance to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation as opposed to the enthusiasm to label goods from the Jewish State demonstrates a hypocritical mind set which is revealing and disturbing.
Blatantly ignoring the illegal occupation of North Cyprus by Turkey and in fact working towards integrating that country into the EU at some stage as well as ignoring other glaring occupations in the world while focusing solely on Israel highlights a hang up of immense proportions.
Ignoring the fact that between 1948 and 1967 Judea and Samaria was illegally occupied by Jordan and that at no stage was there a Palestinian Arab State with Jerusalem as its capital, merely confirms the real agenda of the EU and its friends.
As the Middle East erupts and hundreds of thousands of Arabs are murdered, maimed and denied civil rights, the EU and fellow travelers obsess over how to protect European consumers from being harmed by items emanating from the Middle East’s only true democracy.
How should consumers in other countries react?
Jewish communities should be at the forefront of a counter campaign to purchase the duly labeled goods in bulk so that sales figures soar and those selling the products can see that labeling in fact is beneficial. A well organized programme can easily result in the exact opposite objective to that intended by those promoting it.
If however apathy and disinterest prevails then you can guarantee that these labels, most probably coloured yellow, will only be the first step on the slippery slope to a place we have all been in the recent past.
How about considering the following:
Traditionally ( in fact a very recent “tradition” ) the palestinian “struggle”, so complexly and dynamically concocted , has been one that carried out and constantly implied violence par excellence. The international network asserved to the palestinian identity has reached the status of unavoidable menace. Of late, we must admit, the specific palestinian terrorist presence in Europe ( bcs we are talking now EU ) has changes in appearance into one of “political sophistication”. In cynical terms the palestinian ideological/strategical aparatus has agreed to chage tactics. We shall abandon – for the time being – our physical ativism – see terrorism of the tangible kind – in exchange for “ideological” support from the terified Europen governments. The trade off is , perhaps, more than what a failed EU would have dreamt of. Can you all imagine, just mere statements from the EU Parliament “pacifying” a vicious un-expellable presence in all European civilised urbs !! The price is minimal. Certain goods ( maybe 0.0001% of all trade figures in EU ) shall not find their right place on the European supermarek shelves !!
The palestinian presence in EU, whatever direct or indirect way, cannot be ignored. In actual numbers they are overwhelming the Jews. In actual civilised mannerism they MOST definitely, overwhelm the Jews. One may say that this is anti Semitism revisited AND on blood-stained guilty soil. Do EU strategists care !!! Their replies will be a redirection at the stable diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, the presence of all manner of Jewish cultural, religious presence in all Europen countries, NO racist laws etc. Conversely they would be entitled to say : We, just like YOU, are incredibly aware that the palestinian presence, pernicious as it is, is causing reasons for political adjustments and those adjustments should concern you in as far as PROTECTING you as well, by virtue of “stabilising” the known latent dangers inherent in the palestinian character etc. ” .
True we, Australians, have achieved the highest form of political REAL correctness. Think: both our major political parties condemn the BDS. An incredible acheivement. This could have been possible in Europe ( I SUPPOSE !!!) if the local Jewish communities would have been as active as the Aussie chaverim.
More to be said about the differences in the demographics etc., but I would not go as far as saying that EU’s decision is tantamount to an expression of an increase in anti Semitism, local and all over the place Jews being broyges about it notwithstanding.
David,
Your argument against Paul’s position is misguided.
The Gaza withdrawal was supposed to have resulted in Arabs honouring the commitment to act responsibly in governing the area in peace. What a pipe dream.
The unilateral withdrawal both Paul and I have been advocating is in respect to Israel drawing borders that take care of its historic and security concerns and if Arabs don’t like it, then so be it.
History has shown us time and time again that the signature of any of Israel’s adversaries is not worth the paper it is written on. When will we ever wake up?
Unfortunately, what afflicts Jews is their incessant delight in doing the same thing again and again and hoping for a different result each time. Something different is required and that something is for Israel to take unilateral action on borders and leave the “Palestinians” out to dry. They’ve had numerous chances to be reasonable and now it should be over for them.
Michael is perfectly right, but a part of the fault lies at the feet of Israeli politicians, military and police leadership, the High Court and its elites in the media and in academia. Instead of pussyfooting around trying to find some way of co-existing peacefully with the Palestinian Arabs, they should have been transferred to Jordan or isolated in their major areas of habitation and areas outside there should have been declared as Israeli land; if Kuwait could expel Palestinian Arabs and be supported in doing so by the Saudis on the basis that no nation can tolerate a fifth column, Israel should have done the same.
The Arabs started several times and lost. Israel has the same right to seize land gained in defensive wars as any other nation. When the Arabs don’t accept Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, engage in warlike acts against her and refuse to abide by agreements that call for negotiations, Israeli leaders were stupid ad derelict in their duties in failing to act unilaterally. The Israeli failure to act as a sovereign nation that respects itself has nurtured the disrespect now directed against her and increasingly towards Jews in the Diaspora.
In our global world it is a very difficult proposition indeed to do something unilaterally without the support of other nations. Somehow Paul you believe if Israel had been more assertive we would have achieved a different result – sadly I don’t think so.
Israel acted unilaterally when it gave back Gaza and where did that get it.
The problem is intrinsically tied into the Muslim-Arab culture which ultimately aims for a position of ethnic superiority. Everything was ‘fine’ as long as Christians and Jews were dhimmis. To have a little Jewish state strutting its stuff in their very midst is too humiliating for them to bear.
Dear Michael,
Thank you for your excellent articles.
It is incredible that the Palestinians have never had a state and then they have the
audacity to claim Jerusalem as their capital.
The Arabs know how much Jerusalem means to the Jews so this demand they are making can only be put down to pure nastiness and spite.
Yours sincerely,