Chutzpah Pro-Israel Hypocrisy And Double Standards
by William Hanna, 6 April 2017. “When I saw pictures of babies suffocating from a chemical attack
in Syria, I was shocked and outraged.” — Benjamin Netanyahu, a man who is never
shocked or outraged by Israel’s deliberate targeting and slaughter of
Palestinian children.
Following the chemical attack in Syria
which Western leaders and the mainstream media immediately blamed — without any
significant evidence — on the government of President Bashar al-Assad, Israeli leaders jackbooted their
way to the moral high ground and loudly pontificated about the need for the
world to act “against the chemical massacre in Syria.” Such righteous
condemnation, however, appeared somewhat hypocritical considering the fact that
Israel has in its past attacks on Gaza had no qualms about using prohibited
white phosphorus munitions (http://www.jmcc.org/fastfactspag.aspx?tname=71)
and flechette shells that
spray out thousands of tiny and potentially lethal metal darts which Human Rights
Watch has described as indiscriminate and (evidence
of war crimes.)
which Western leaders and the mainstream media immediately blamed — without any
significant evidence — on the government of President Bashar al-Assad, Israeli leaders jackbooted their
way to the moral high ground and loudly pontificated about the need for the
world to act “against the chemical massacre in Syria.” Such righteous
condemnation, however, appeared somewhat hypocritical considering the fact that
Israel has in its past attacks on Gaza had no qualms about using prohibited
white phosphorus munitions (http://www.jmcc.org/fastfactspag.aspx?tname=71)
and flechette shells that
spray out thousands of tiny and potentially lethal metal darts which Human Rights
Watch has described as indiscriminate and (evidence
of war crimes.)
Meanwhile in the UK, Ken Livingstone —
London’s former mayor who had in the past charged that for decades in the UK
there had been a “well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear
anybody who criticises Israel policy as anti-Semitic” — avoided expulsion from
the Labour Party after a disciplinary panel suspended him for another year for
bringing the party into disrepute over his comment that “Adolf Hitler was
initially a supporter of Zionism, before he went mad and ended up
killing 6 million Jews.”
London’s former mayor who had in the past charged that for decades in the UK
there had been a “well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear
anybody who criticises Israel policy as anti-Semitic” — avoided expulsion from
the Labour Party after a disciplinary panel suspended him for another year for
bringing the party into disrepute over his comment that “Adolf Hitler was
initially a supporter of Zionism, before he went mad and ended up
killing 6 million Jews.”
The disciplinary panel’s decision prompted
a host of Jewish vigilante groups to express outrage with the UK’s Chief Rabbi
Ephraim Mirvis asserting that “this was a chance for the Labour Party to show
that it would not tolerate wilful and unapologetic baiting of the Jewish
community, by shamefully using the Holocaust as a tool with which to inflict
the maximum amount of offence . . . Worryingly, the party has yet again failed
to show that it is sufficiently serious about tackling the scourge of anti-Semitism
. . . The Labour Party has failed the Jewish community, it has failed its
members and it has failed all those who believe in zero tolerance of
anti-Semitism.” All of which while sounding very noble, also raised the
question of what about those of us who believe in zero tolerance of crimes
against humanity such as those committed with arrogant impunity by Israel
against the indigenous Palestinian population.
a host of Jewish vigilante groups to express outrage with the UK’s Chief Rabbi
Ephraim Mirvis asserting that “this was a chance for the Labour Party to show
that it would not tolerate wilful and unapologetic baiting of the Jewish
community, by shamefully using the Holocaust as a tool with which to inflict
the maximum amount of offence . . . Worryingly, the party has yet again failed
to show that it is sufficiently serious about tackling the scourge of anti-Semitism
. . . The Labour Party has failed the Jewish community, it has failed its
members and it has failed all those who believe in zero tolerance of
anti-Semitism.” All of which while sounding very noble, also raised the
question of what about those of us who believe in zero tolerance of crimes
against humanity such as those committed with arrogant impunity by Israel
against the indigenous Palestinian population.
Perhaps the eminently virtuous Chief Rabbi
should have considered the possibility that it was in fact he who had let down
the Jewish community by failing to uphold the Core Ethical Teachings of Judaism
which at least theoretically obliged him to unreservedly condemn the
contemptuous Israeli disregard for international laws prohibiting the “transfers
of the civilian population of the occupying power into the occupied territory,
regardless whether forcible or voluntary”; the almost seven decades of barbaric
Jewish state ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people; the the Israeli
Apartheid denial of basic human rights to the indigenous Palestinian population
including restrictions on freedom of movement and the import of essential
goods; the brazen theft of Palestinian land and natural resources such as
water; the deliberate obliteration — both above and below ground — of any
Palestinian Arab presence including holy sites and cultural heritage; the
genocidal IDF offensives such as those perpetrated on the imprisoned people of
Gaza; and last but not least, the avaricious embezzlement of most of the aid intended
for the hapless Palestinians. (http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/03/09/how-most-aid-to-the-palestinians-ends-up-in-israels-coffers/)
should have considered the possibility that it was in fact he who had let down
the Jewish community by failing to uphold the Core Ethical Teachings of Judaism
which at least theoretically obliged him to unreservedly condemn the
contemptuous Israeli disregard for international laws prohibiting the “transfers
of the civilian population of the occupying power into the occupied territory,
regardless whether forcible or voluntary”; the almost seven decades of barbaric
Jewish state ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people; the the Israeli
Apartheid denial of basic human rights to the indigenous Palestinian population
including restrictions on freedom of movement and the import of essential
goods; the brazen theft of Palestinian land and natural resources such as
water; the deliberate obliteration — both above and below ground — of any
Palestinian Arab presence including holy sites and cultural heritage; the
genocidal IDF offensives such as those perpetrated on the imprisoned people of
Gaza; and last but not least, the avaricious embezzlement of most of the aid intended
for the hapless Palestinians. (http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/03/09/how-most-aid-to-the-palestinians-ends-up-in-israels-coffers/)
People who share Chief Rabbi Ephraim
Mirvis’ sentiments — Israel right or wrong — within diaspora Jewish communities
unfortunately constitute the majority who while living in blinkered and biased
denial of Israeli violations with impunity, are equally prepared to use the
much dreaded accusation of “anti-Semitism” to silence, and if possible, to
criminalise any criticism of Israel irrespective of how impartial or justified
such criticism may be. Jews everywhere must therefore recognise that their
undying commitment towards the protection of Israel’s tattered reputation not
only serves to deny others the inalienable right to freedom of expression, but
also undermines the Jewish desire for “zero tolerance of anti-Semitism.”
Mirvis’ sentiments — Israel right or wrong — within diaspora Jewish communities
unfortunately constitute the majority who while living in blinkered and biased
denial of Israeli violations with impunity, are equally prepared to use the
much dreaded accusation of “anti-Semitism” to silence, and if possible, to
criminalise any criticism of Israel irrespective of how impartial or justified
such criticism may be. Jews everywhere must therefore recognise that their
undying commitment towards the protection of Israel’s tattered reputation not
only serves to deny others the inalienable right to freedom of expression, but
also undermines the Jewish desire for “zero tolerance of anti-Semitism.”
This fact was recognised by Yehoshafat
Harkabi — Chief of Israeli Military Intelligence (1955-9) and subsequently a
professor of International Relations and Middle East Studies at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem — who in his book Israel’s Fateful Hour, called
for Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories and warned as follows:
Harkabi — Chief of Israeli Military Intelligence (1955-9) and subsequently a
professor of International Relations and Middle East Studies at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem — who in his book Israel’s Fateful Hour, called
for Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories and warned as follows:
“We Israelis must be careful lest we become not a source of pride
for Jews but a distressing burden. Israel is the criterion according to which
all Jews will tend to be judged. Israel as a Jewish state is an example of the
Jewish character, which finds free and concentrated expression within it.
Anti-Semitism has deep and historical roots. Nevertheless, any flaw in Israeli
conduct, which initially is cited as anti-Israelism, is likely to be
transformed into empirical proof of the validity of anti-Semitism. It would be
a tragic irony if the Jewish state, which was intended to solve the problem of
anti-Semitism, was to become a factor in the rise of anti-Semitism. Israelis
must be aware that the price of their misconduct is paid not only by them but
also Jews throughout the world. In the struggle against anti-Semitism, the
frontline begins in Israel.”
for Jews but a distressing burden. Israel is the criterion according to which
all Jews will tend to be judged. Israel as a Jewish state is an example of the
Jewish character, which finds free and concentrated expression within it.
Anti-Semitism has deep and historical roots. Nevertheless, any flaw in Israeli
conduct, which initially is cited as anti-Israelism, is likely to be
transformed into empirical proof of the validity of anti-Semitism. It would be
a tragic irony if the Jewish state, which was intended to solve the problem of
anti-Semitism, was to become a factor in the rise of anti-Semitism. Israelis
must be aware that the price of their misconduct is paid not only by them but
also Jews throughout the world. In the struggle against anti-Semitism, the
frontline begins in Israel.”
William Hanna is a freelance
writer with published books the Hiramic Brotherhood of the Third Temple, TheTragedy of Palestine and its Children, and the forthcoming Hiramic Brotherhood:Ezekiel’s Temple Prophesy. Purchase information, sample chapters, other
articles, and contact details at:
