Recycling
When one thinks of recycling, the generally accepted definition is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash and turning them into new products.
Michael Kuttner
As Israel is yet again admonished to cease the so-called “cycles” of violence, it seems that the above explanation is nowadays most apt.
After millennia of the same old obsessive fetish about Jews and their supposed malign influence on humanity, it would be logical to think that in the twenty-first century of the civil calendar, these lies and myths could be consigned to the trash. Instead of being discarded and turned into a new and more enlightened reincarnation, unfortunately, they are recycled, albeit in an increased toxic version.
The annual commemoration of the events surrounding the saving of Persian Jews from genocide is upon us.
It is astounding how despite the passage of time, we are still currently faced with the same calamitous challenges and identical machinations. Whether it is plots to eliminate the nation State of the Jews or the age-old virus of virulent collective hate, the aims remain the same.
Every year as we celebrate Purim, the lessons of those events become starker and more relevant. Unfortunately, even when the signs and omens stare us in the face, there are still far too many who refuse to acknowledge the dangers.
Last night at a social event I happened to speak to a friend of mine who made aliyah about four decades ago from South Africa. He was recently back there visiting relations, and he recounted how the country has seriously deteriorated. There are daily power cuts, the water supply is intermittent at times, and crime has skyrocketed. The Government has adopted a virulent anti-Israel policy and, in fact, has these days moved closer to China and Russia. Inevitably the rhetoric about Israel must, at some stage, impact the South African Jewish Community. Past experience should teach us that what follows will not be good for the Jews.
My friend told me with a sense of incredulity that when he asked young Jews why, given the prevailing winds, they did not leave, the responses floored him. Where else, they responded, could they replicate the “wonderful” lifestyle they currently enjoyed? If this is not a recycling of past errors of judgment, I don’t know what else it is. The end result will inevitably be a rerun of historic disasters as the collective hate against Israel inevitably rebounds onto local Jews.
As I mentioned in my last op-ed the Islamic holiday of Ramadan is almost upon us. In past years without fail and as predictable as a Swiss cuckoo clock, this holy period is hijacked by Islamic fanatics in order to perpetrate terror outrages. Once upon a time, Israel’s existence and policies were the excuses for murder and mayhem but now the jihadist hatred of “non-believers” has equal billing.
Thanks to the mendacious hypocrisy and spineless reactions of the international community, the voices of moderate Muslims and interfaith activists are drowned out. All the terror-sponsoring nations and groups need to hear is a condemnation of Israel for actively resisting such mayhem. Sure enough, as is the case every year, Israel has again been admonished by all and sundry to show restraint and not engage in any provocative actions. The clear message is that any subsequent Ramadan murders and outrages are the fault of the victims because they refused to buckle under in the first place.
Thus it has always been, and so it is again this year.
In actual fact, the terrorists never needed to wait for Ramadan as an excuse to murder Jews. It is open season all year around. The trouble is that nobody remembered to tell the UN Secretary-General or his officials or any of the myriad of knee-jerk political commentators and politicians who lose no opportunity to collectively warn Israel.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs pompously pontificated that the “use of force must be in full respect of international law.” He may be a “high” representative, but whatever he is smoking has certainly addled his brain.
The UN Special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (a misnomer if ever there was one) for the umpteenth time exclaimed that he was “deeply disturbed by the continuing cycle of violence.” The obsession with some sort of moral equivalence between murderers and their victims plays right into the hands of the perpetrators.
Once again, the UN Secretary-General managed to display his uncanny ability to skewer Israel. Speaking at a pro-Palestinian event at the UN, he warned against “provocations at Jerusalem holy sites and escalating violence in the West Bank.” In case his message was not clear enough as to who was really responsible, he “decried settlement activity and called for more support for Palestinians.” For the benefit of those still in doubt as to the guilty party, he added that “the situation in the occupied (sic) Palestinian territory is at its most combustible in years. The situation in Jerusalem/Al Quds is becoming more fragile amidst provocations and acts of violence in and around the holy sites. It radiates instability across the region and beyond.”
There you have it in a nutshell. Jews wanting to visit and pray at Judaism’s holiest site are basically responsible for acts of terror that ensue. Not to be outdone, Bernie Sanders blasted Israel for “demeaning the Palestinian people.” Following the same old recycled script, the White House tells us that we must “de-escalate tensions.”
The only additional accusation that our terror-supporting “partners” needed to hear was the affirmation of Israel’s original sin expressed by Jews. Sure enough, this materialised quicker than you can eat Hamantaschen. US Jewish progressives, supported by the likes of J.Street, Peace Now and the New Israel Fund, took to the streets with banners reading “no democracy with occupation” and similar slogans. Their Israeli counterparts followed suit.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that bitter and frustrated Israeli Jews riot after yet more terror attacks? While mob violence and vigilante mayhem cannot be condoned, it is not hard to understand why the accumulated anger was bound to boil over sooner rather than later. Kowtowing to international hypocrisy, political hot air and a refusal to deal firmly once and for all with those who seek our demise have all culminated in a rising tide of rage.
The US State Department has issued a travel advisory and demanded that Israeli authorities arrest and punish the perpetrators of the revenge attack on the Arab village from where the terrorist murderers of two Jewish brothers originated. It is precisely this sort of pompous interference in our affairs that roils many Israelis.
Of course, the authorities will investigate and arrest those responsible. That is what any responsible democratic country would do without having to be prompted.
With mass shootings in the US occurring almost daily, what would be the reaction if Israel issued travel advisories and demanded stern action from the US authorities?
There are several pertinent points to highlight.
Where are the demands for Abbas and his security forces to arrest and deal with the terrorists who are educated and inculcated with Jew hate courtesy of PA schools, media and officials? Why do Biden, Blinken and colleagues not demand the immediate cessation of “pay to slay” stipends for terrorists and their families? Why does the US continue to send millions of US taxpayers’ money to UNRWA?
The spectacle of the German Government lecturing Jews about moral behaviour is worthy of a special Purim shpiel on its own.
Also disseminating skewed reports are the likes of the NY Times, Washington Post, Guardian and others. Taking their cue from our own ultra-left and post-Zionist media, our brethren living in exile and the general public believe it is the whole story.
Instead of recycling failed pious pronouncements, how about actually tackling the root causes? Deal seriously with terror-supporting nations and entities so that their ability to foster murder is eliminated.
That will definitely remove the so-called cycles of violence once and for all.
Perhaps it may also eliminate the endless cycles of idiocy we are forced to face on a daily basis.
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.
