Tweet
NO HOLDS BARRED: OPEN SEASON ON THE JEWISH STATE
By SHMULEY BOTEACH
The Jerusalem Post
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=177764
June 7 2010
The Jews who were murdered in Germany and Poland cannot speak out. The
rest of us, however, have absolutely no excuse.
Helen Thomas's stomach-turning comments about the Jews returning to
Germany and Poland, where six million were killed, are striking for
their racism and insensitivity. Whether she said them out of senility
or anti-Semitism is beside the point. Either way she has no business
working for any respectable media organization or sitting as the
senior White House correspondent directly in front of the president
of the United States. When Don Imus made racially charged statements
against a woman's basketball team, candidate Barack Obama demanded
he be fired. It will be interesting to see how President Obama,
who could not offer a single word of support for Israel since the
flotilla affair, will react.
One can only imagine the uproar against Thomas had she said that all
blacks should go home to Africa, or illegal immigrants to Tijuana. It
seems that Jews are the only group that you can attack with impunity,
because they are the only ones unwise enough to tolerate it. Better
yet, we're the only group often filled with so much self-loathing
that we actually initiate many of the attacks.
FEW OF us are surprised that it is a coterie of Jewish advisers
to Obama who have joined him in condemnations of Israel over Jews
building in Jerusalem. This week The New York Times published an
article by Michael Chabon arguing that many Jews are "blockheads"
and notions of Jewish intelligence are highly overrated. He may be
correct. But as I read this strange screed from one of America's most
celebrated Jewish novelists, I wondered if, say, Maya Angelou would
ever pen an article about how many black dumbbells there are. Attacks
on one's own seems to be an art form perfected specifically by Jews.
Helene Cooper wrote a column in the Times asking whether Israel has
become a strategic liability to the US. She quoted many senior Jewish
political advisers to the Democratic Party who advised that if Israel
continues to embarrass the US, it might be time for the superpower
to distance itself from the little Jewish irritant.
The criticism made for interesting reading, implying as it did that
while Israel is an embarrassment to the US, its relationship with
such great human rights exemplars as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey
ought to be sources of downright pride.
Turkey merits special mention because not only does its media accuse
the American military of harvesting organs from helpless Iraqis,
which they cite as one of the reasons for the American invasion, but
because Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sees fit to call Israel
barbarous, lecture Jews about not murdering and refers to Hamas as
freedom fighters. Curiously, at the same time he was spewing his
venom toward the Jewish state this past week, the pope was in Cyprus
where he was being publicly begged by Archbishop Chrysostomos II, the
leader of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, to stop the illegal Turkish
occupation of Cyprus, now in its 34th year, and protect Christians
from growing attacks by Turks.
Just prior to the pope's visit, a Christian bishop had been stabbed
to death outside his home in the port of Iskenderun. The archbishop
said that Turkey had "barbarously invaded" Cyprus and "continues to
carry out its obscure plan, which includes the annexation of the lands
now under military occupation and then conquest of the whole of Cyprus.
They wish to make everything Greek and Christian disappear from
occupied Cyprus." Of course, Turkey won't even acknowledge its genocide
of the Armenians, a position that Obama has shamefully supported in
order not to offend Turkey's belligerent leader.
Of course, Cooper's article quotes J Street head Jeremy Ben-Ami whom
journalists have come to appreciate because of his consistency and
reliability in always saying something disparaging about Israel. In
this case he is quoted as saying "he represents Jews who... are raising
the issue of Israeli government actions as a strategic liability for
the United States."
I LIVED in England for 11 years and was sickened by the regular
abandonment of Israel by some of the most high-profile Anglo-Jews
whenever Israel's actions became controversial. For those wondering
why a floodgate of anti-Semitism has opened in Britain over the last
few years, look no further than the fact that Israel's greatest haters
can often point to Jewish critics as being much more strident than
them. And still it continues, with even high profile Jewish leaders
like Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks remaining mum on Israel even
while it was assailed by countless countries for enforcing a blockade
against a terror organization that has fired 10,000 rockets against it.
Still, I never believed that American Jewry would emulate this
cowardice. But Obama's public abandonment of Israel is directly
traceable to the small price he pays among American Jews. On my radio
show, many callers contend that Obama is an anti-Semite. I condemn
such character assassination in the strongest possible terms. Obama
has elevated Jews to some of the highest positions, including his
most recent nominee for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan.
Rather, the president's inability to condemn Hamas and support Israel,
which is a stain on his presidency, results from his considerable
moral confusion and a misguided sense of right and wrong. Under Obama,
America has retreated substantially from president George W. Bush's
policies of promoting democracy and human rights and has reverted to
Kissingerian realpolitik, ready to make deals with tyrants so long
as it promotes an artificial sense of peace.
But Obama can get away with it because American Jewry has become so
silent and so weak.
Whenever Israel undertakes controversial action, American Jews begin
writing op-eds in The Atlantic and The New Yorker about how the
oncemoral nation has lost its way. Funny how those same writers do
not condemn Obama's policy of Predator drone strikes against Taliban
leaders that inevitably involve considerable civilian casualties.
Sorry guys. Israel is going to remain controversial, as one might
expect from any country under a constant existential assault from
nearly all its neighbors. When threatened by Hitler, Britain leveled
whole German cities. The US did the same to the Japanese. Israel has
never even pondered such actions, even as thousands of its citizens
have been blown to smithereens.
The Jews who were murdered in Germany and Poland cannot speak out in
support of a Jewish state.
The rest of us, however, have absolutely no excuse.
The writer is founder of This World: The Values Network
His new book, Renewal: A Guide to the Values-Filled Life, has just
been published by Basic Books.
From: A. Papazian
By SHMULEY BOTEACH
The Jerusalem Post
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=177764
June 7 2010
The Jews who were murdered in Germany and Poland cannot speak out. The
rest of us, however, have absolutely no excuse.
Helen Thomas's stomach-turning comments about the Jews returning to
Germany and Poland, where six million were killed, are striking for
their racism and insensitivity. Whether she said them out of senility
or anti-Semitism is beside the point. Either way she has no business
working for any respectable media organization or sitting as the
senior White House correspondent directly in front of the president
of the United States. When Don Imus made racially charged statements
against a woman's basketball team, candidate Barack Obama demanded
he be fired. It will be interesting to see how President Obama,
who could not offer a single word of support for Israel since the
flotilla affair, will react.
One can only imagine the uproar against Thomas had she said that all
blacks should go home to Africa, or illegal immigrants to Tijuana. It
seems that Jews are the only group that you can attack with impunity,
because they are the only ones unwise enough to tolerate it. Better
yet, we're the only group often filled with so much self-loathing
that we actually initiate many of the attacks.
FEW OF us are surprised that it is a coterie of Jewish advisers
to Obama who have joined him in condemnations of Israel over Jews
building in Jerusalem. This week The New York Times published an
article by Michael Chabon arguing that many Jews are "blockheads"
and notions of Jewish intelligence are highly overrated. He may be
correct. But as I read this strange screed from one of America's most
celebrated Jewish novelists, I wondered if, say, Maya Angelou would
ever pen an article about how many black dumbbells there are. Attacks
on one's own seems to be an art form perfected specifically by Jews.
Helene Cooper wrote a column in the Times asking whether Israel has
become a strategic liability to the US. She quoted many senior Jewish
political advisers to the Democratic Party who advised that if Israel
continues to embarrass the US, it might be time for the superpower
to distance itself from the little Jewish irritant.
The criticism made for interesting reading, implying as it did that
while Israel is an embarrassment to the US, its relationship with
such great human rights exemplars as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey
ought to be sources of downright pride.
Turkey merits special mention because not only does its media accuse
the American military of harvesting organs from helpless Iraqis,
which they cite as one of the reasons for the American invasion, but
because Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sees fit to call Israel
barbarous, lecture Jews about not murdering and refers to Hamas as
freedom fighters. Curiously, at the same time he was spewing his
venom toward the Jewish state this past week, the pope was in Cyprus
where he was being publicly begged by Archbishop Chrysostomos II, the
leader of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, to stop the illegal Turkish
occupation of Cyprus, now in its 34th year, and protect Christians
from growing attacks by Turks.
Just prior to the pope's visit, a Christian bishop had been stabbed
to death outside his home in the port of Iskenderun. The archbishop
said that Turkey had "barbarously invaded" Cyprus and "continues to
carry out its obscure plan, which includes the annexation of the lands
now under military occupation and then conquest of the whole of Cyprus.
They wish to make everything Greek and Christian disappear from
occupied Cyprus." Of course, Turkey won't even acknowledge its genocide
of the Armenians, a position that Obama has shamefully supported in
order not to offend Turkey's belligerent leader.
Of course, Cooper's article quotes J Street head Jeremy Ben-Ami whom
journalists have come to appreciate because of his consistency and
reliability in always saying something disparaging about Israel. In
this case he is quoted as saying "he represents Jews who... are raising
the issue of Israeli government actions as a strategic liability for
the United States."
I LIVED in England for 11 years and was sickened by the regular
abandonment of Israel by some of the most high-profile Anglo-Jews
whenever Israel's actions became controversial. For those wondering
why a floodgate of anti-Semitism has opened in Britain over the last
few years, look no further than the fact that Israel's greatest haters
can often point to Jewish critics as being much more strident than
them. And still it continues, with even high profile Jewish leaders
like Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks remaining mum on Israel even
while it was assailed by countless countries for enforcing a blockade
against a terror organization that has fired 10,000 rockets against it.
Still, I never believed that American Jewry would emulate this
cowardice. But Obama's public abandonment of Israel is directly
traceable to the small price he pays among American Jews. On my radio
show, many callers contend that Obama is an anti-Semite. I condemn
such character assassination in the strongest possible terms. Obama
has elevated Jews to some of the highest positions, including his
most recent nominee for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan.
Rather, the president's inability to condemn Hamas and support Israel,
which is a stain on his presidency, results from his considerable
moral confusion and a misguided sense of right and wrong. Under Obama,
America has retreated substantially from president George W. Bush's
policies of promoting democracy and human rights and has reverted to
Kissingerian realpolitik, ready to make deals with tyrants so long
as it promotes an artificial sense of peace.
But Obama can get away with it because American Jewry has become so
silent and so weak.
Whenever Israel undertakes controversial action, American Jews begin
writing op-eds in The Atlantic and The New Yorker about how the
oncemoral nation has lost its way. Funny how those same writers do
not condemn Obama's policy of Predator drone strikes against Taliban
leaders that inevitably involve considerable civilian casualties.
Sorry guys. Israel is going to remain controversial, as one might
expect from any country under a constant existential assault from
nearly all its neighbors. When threatened by Hitler, Britain leveled
whole German cities. The US did the same to the Japanese. Israel has
never even pondered such actions, even as thousands of its citizens
have been blown to smithereens.
The Jews who were murdered in Germany and Poland cannot speak out in
support of a Jewish state.
The rest of us, however, have absolutely no excuse.
The writer is founder of This World: The Values Network
His new book, Renewal: A Guide to the Values-Filled Life, has just
been published by Basic Books.
From: A. Papazian