Stable doors and bolting horses
This well known expression is generally understood as “to be so late in taking action to prevent something bad happening that the bad event has already happened.”
Michael Kuttner
Surveying the local and international scene, one could well and truly understand that multiple horses have already bolted from open stable doors.
Whether the horses can ever be returned to their stables is a questionable matter and one which all of us, no matter where we may reside, will have to confront sooner rather than later.
There are two main threats that, having been left unchallenged for far too long, have resulted in them reaching almost uncontrollable levels.
The first situation revolves around the corruption of the United Nations and its subservience to the bully tactics of the immoral majority of member states. Concurrently the collapse of any sort of meaningful leadership on the part of the few genuine democratic nations means that those now planning and preparing to bully and threaten other countries have no fear that their nefarious ambitions will ever be thwarted.
The second example of bolting horses is the return in full force of that most ancient and endemic of viruses, namely Jew hate or Judeophobia, disguised these days as anti-Zionism and hatred of Jewish sovereignty.
In the first scenario, the moral collapse and cowardice of democracies are preparing the ground for a rerun of the 1930s when the same lack of will gave the green light for the implementation of the genocidal war against Jews.
In the second scenario, a refusal until recent times to recognise and tackle the resurrected anti-Jewish virus has resulted in too many fighting a rear guard action or minimising the extent of the threat. Rose-tinted spectacles worn by some communal leaders in certain countries hypnotise far too many in believing that given time it will all go away.
Where did we hear that before, and with what disastrous results?
North Korea and Iran, together with their sponsors, China and Russia, are preparing the ground for catastrophes in the near future. Thumbing their collective noses at the international community while they bully and threaten others is now commonplace. China’s successful extinguishing of Tibetan independence and national identity, plus their persecution of Moslem minorities, is a classic example of how to get away literally with murder. Is it any wonder therefore when North Korea, a despotic regime if ever there was one, advances its nuclear ambitions and boasts as it did the other day that it intends to create the world’s most lethal nuclear option?
As increasingly lethal missiles are tested and the rhetoric ramps up all North Korea can expect is some expressions of meaningless cant from Washington and complete indifference from the UN which is far too busy focusing on the evil crimes of Israel. If anyone in South Korea still naively believes that the democracies will gallop to their defence when North Korea decides to invade they are suffering from a severe case of irredeemable amnesia.
Likewise, in Taiwan as China prepares for the day when it will incorporate this democracy into the Communist mainland. By the time the UN meets and waffles, it will be all over, and another rerun of too little too late will have ensued.
Meanwhile, Iran is advancing at full speed to fulfil its ambition of eliminating the Zionist entity knowing full well that it has the backing of Russia. Just as the international community, including the IOC, the Vatican and the Red Cross did nothing to thwart the persecution of Jews in Germany so these same groups will do nothing to save those being persecuted and executed in Iran today.
The tragedy of Jews caught up in these situations is exemplified by a statement issued by the leaders of the community in Iran wherein they proclaimed their undying allegiance to the Mullah regime and condemned those protesting the denial of human rights. Some will excuse this by explaining that communal leaders have no choice given the circumstances existing in Iran. This sorry spectacle, of course, is yet another example of how once the horses bolted, inaction and gross oblivion to reality trapped the community in a situation they could have avoided by leaving in time. Once again, like in pre-war Europe, refusing to face hard facts has resulted in tragedy. Claims that life for Jews in Iran today is wonderful and that the practice of Judaism is tolerated, highlight that the lessons of the past have been ignored, and the prognosis will be dire.
The situation in Iran is merely one example of myopic optimism.
The situation in Europe, the USA, the UK and yes, even in Australia is a glaring case of a gathering storm where in many cases, the horses have already bolted and, in others, are straining to escape from stable doors.
A month or so ago, it was claimed by some Ukrainian Jews that no Nazis existed in Ukraine. Given recent past history and the endemic nature of the virus, one has to marvel at where exactly previously infected groups disappeared to.
Russian Jews who continue to live on the edge of a volcano are sitting ducks for inevitable targeting once current events turn sour and scapegoats are called for.
The German Jewish communal leader in the German State of Brandenburg, facing a growing threat from neo-Nazis and Islamic Israel haters, has thrown in the towel and decided to leave. His statement that there is no future for Jews in Germany was greeted with denial by the German Jewish establishment. In addition, there was indifference by the majority of Israelis and Russians who have made the Fatherland their new home. Does this not echo an eerie script of the recent past?
Whether it is a rising tide of anti-Israel/Zionist/Jew delegitimisation in Scandinavia and bans on Shechita and possibly Brit Mila, the outlook for Jews there is bleak.
French Jews have already had a taste of what the future holds and some are moving out. Trying to recreate dead communities in places like Poland is a lost cause but millions of dollars keep being spent to do exactly that as though klezmer and food festivals will somehow resuscitate life as it was before the Shoah.
I talked the other day with a South African Jewish man who assured me that life for Jews in that country had never been better. Communities were thriving and Jewish life was fantastic. Nothing I said could convince him that it was all transient. Rising anti-Israel Government policies and crime waves notwithstanding, the future, according to him for Jews there was full of promise.
In the UK and the USA, physical violence against Jews is on the rise, and the number of those who believe that Israel and Jews have no legitimacy is increasing. In New York alone, Jews are being assaulted on a daily basis, and synagogues are targeted. A recent survey uncovered that 25% of US hiring managers believe that anti-Jewish discrimination is acceptable. When a past President and future candidate for the position can entertain known Jew-haters and profess ignorance of their views, warning bells should be ringing. As groups such as Black Hebrew Israelites claim that they are the real Jews and we are fakes, the Jewish establishment should be in full cry. Instead, wokeism, assimilation and denial are crippling any meaningful response.
From South America to Australia, the cesspools of Jew hate are starting to overflow.
Rearguard actions of education outreach and anti-hate legislation may temporarily help to stem the onslaught, but so long as democracies for electoral reasons refuse to tackle the haters nothing will help. Every time countries abstain or vote in favour of condemning Israel for every conceivable sin known to humanity and pour millions of their taxpayers’ funds into supporting those who promote terror, the level of hate ratchets up.
At the end of the day, it is up to each Jewish family, individual and community to decide whether to wait until the horses have bolted or whether to take preventative action in anticipation.
Going down with the ship has proven to be a fatal decision.
Never again should be the watchword.
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.`
Spot on, Michael Kuttner. Excellent reminder and forecast of doom for those with their heads in the sand.
When you’re speaking of that past President, Trump, though it does well to remind yourself that his brain works differently to most, his perceptions always in line with his huge ego, and his ignorance overall massive. Sure he did some good things for Israel while in power, however, in a way they can be considered accidental, as they relied on motivations peculiar to him. So, it’s difficult to fit him into this kind of discussion.
A new problem for Jews in the Diaspora will be in considering aliyah they will now have to reflect on the type of State Israel will become under a more autocratic religious-informed government that could erode democracy, especially if it curtails the justice system, and limit the lives of women, minority groups and religious Jews who are not Orthodox. This is shaping up to be a very big problem indeed. What are Jews in the Diaspora who are not the ‘right kind of Jews’ to do?
Thank you, Liat.
I wouldn’t get too worked up about what the new coalition may or may not do. There is a big difference between election rhetoric and actual cold hard reality. All the dire predictions now descending like autumn leaves are more the product of embittered election losers of the left.
As to what Diaspora Jews can do. This is very simple. All they need to do is make aliyah and then they can have a direct influence on what sort of Government is elected. If they stay in the Diaspora and moan and groan then they are not going to have any meaningful say in how Israel is governed.
A lot of it always boils down to cowardice.