But For How Long?
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So, let me understand this.
If an Israeli diplomat visits a European country and the Foreign Ministry decides to protect him (even though he is not the Prime or Foreign Minister), then that exceptional Israeli is not vulnerable to being arrested as an alleged “war criminal.”
So far, so good. But, what if an ordinary Israeli (everyone serves in the army, everyone is in the reserves) visits, let’s say, Londonistan, might he or she be arrested and shipped to the Hague on Goldstone-exacerbated “war crime” charges? I raised this question here before and have since discussed it with a number of Israeli friends. Outrageous as it seems, they believe this possibility must be taken seriously. After all, where Jews are concerned reality is surreal.
I’ve been writing about the war against the Jews for eight years now. Increasingly, I am outraged, frustrated, by how viral Jew-hatred has become, how synchronized it now is: Just like the coordinated attacks by jihadic homicidal mass murderers.
And, by the way: Why call them “suicide” bombers? The first word already has our sympathy, (“poor guy, he is so unhappy he wants to kill himself”) when in fact we are talking about vicious mass murderers.
The hijacking of language deserves some kind of anti-Nobel prize—the latest example of which is President Obama’s craven approval of restricting free speech at the United Nations, a decision which is so well coordinated with the upcoming trial of Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders for exercising free speech when it comes to telling the truth about jihadic Islam, and with Yale University Press’s removal of the Danish “Mohammed” cartoons from the book they’ve just published on the very subject.
Folks: It’s even bigger than the Jews. But I digress.
Thus, back to the hijacking of language and the Blood Libels against the Jews. Israel has been demonized as a “Nazi, Apartheid” state which has built an “apartheid” wall. Talk about Apartheid Walls indeed! It seems to me that Israel as a Jewish state is being ghettoized even more fatefully than Jews once were in the capital cities of Europe. Daily, hourly, the good name of Israel is besmirched in the halls of the United Nations; daily, new instruments which legalize Jew hatred are passed, the Saudi funding keeps pouring in to all those pro-boycott and Nuke Israel groups whose Palestinianization is now complete. Please pay attention to who is funding J Street. Lenny Ben David has done so in these pages. The foot soldiers are completely hypnotized; I do not know what will awaken them. Their Jewish leaders? That’s the subject of another piece.
Look: Once, the Jews had Hitler at their throats; Hitler, a man who feared he himself was “tainted” by Jewish blood. The historical evidence suggests that his paranoia may have been founded in fact, that Hitler may indeed have had a Jewish ancestor. Now, we’ve been told (at least by the British media) that Ahmadinejad’s family converted from Judaism to Islam when Ahmadinejad was four years old. However, an Iranian confidante assures me that this cannot be true, that Ahmadinejad grew up in the slums of Teheran and his family’s name was never “Sabourjian,” apparently a Jewish-Persian name.
So, on the one hand, at my worst moment, I see Israel being potentially walled up, walled in, its back to the wall, facing a nuclear holocaust. But I also see something else, namely, the increased likelihood that if Israelis travel (see my opening two paragraphs), they might be arrested. Or refused lodgings. Or forced to hide their religious insignia. Or cursed on the street. These days, both Israelis and Jews can’t visit many Muslim countries: Not allowed, too dangerous. Well, that’s true now for Christians too.
On the other hand, if Israelis just stay put, they find themselves stoned when they gather to peacefully pray on a holy day at their own most sacred spot for worship—as just happened yesterday at the Western Wall (Kotel). And, let’s not forget (Mr. Goldstone, are you listening?): Between 2001-2004, Israelis were under incessant attack and in danger of being blown up by homicidal mass murderers; for seven years, those who live in Sderot found themselves going crazy with seven years of non-stop Kassam rocket attacks– attacks which Hamas directed towards civilians, including children, schools, and hospitals, a fact which Mr. Goldstone did not find all that serious a provocation.
The world really does not hold Palestinian terrorists accountable for their barbaric crimes against civilian Jews, or for their hate speech and propaganda against Jews and Israel, nor does the world hold Arab and Muslim countries accountable for their genocidal lust against Israel and for their considerable crimes against their own people.
Yes, Goldstone mentioned that Hamas was guilty too—but no one cares about this verdict; only the indictment of The Jew matters.
The same Iran that has called for a nuclear genocide against Israel; that has tortured and murdered its own citizens with brazen impunity; that has, through Hezbollah, murdered countless Lebanese, Iraqis, Israelis, and Argentinian Jews (for starters), and has now even infected Venezuela and possibly Honduras with its own special brand of Jew-hatred (Honduran ex-President Manuel Zelaya believes that “Israelis are attacking his brain with mind rays”); the same Iran that is deceiving the world, now on the American dime, as it builds its nuclear reactors—that very Iran: Who will take it on and take it down?
Are the smart, sweet, talented, ethical, but all-too-human-and therefore-imperfect inhabitants of the Jewish ghetto the only volunteer heroes in town? And is that why everyone is so very quiet about Israel’s nuclear capacity?
A SOBER AFTERWORD:
This morning, a good friend, Dr. Morris Platt, called and told me to read Brett Stephens’s column in today’s Wall Street Journal. It is titled
“How Israel Was Disarmed.” The dateline is set in the future, but only by four months. Stephens imagines that all the demands to stop Iran’s nuclear proliferation soon lead to the Security Council’s unanimous demand that, in the interests of even-handedness and fairness, that Israel also give up its nuclear weapons. Stephens also imagines that America “abstains” in this vote which is tantamount to allowing the vote to proceed. America is no longer watching Israel’s back. Stephens futher imagines that America will actively “stand in the way” of any Israeli pre-emptive strike. This imaginary (but easily believable) vote takes place on January 20th, the 60th anniversary of the Wannsee conference.
Thus, perhaps I spoke too soon. Stephens is also thinking about Israel and nuclear weapons and his dystopian vision smacks of the very surreal reality which I mentiond, above.
BREAKING NEWS FROM CARL IN JERUSALEM FOR ISRAEL/MATZAV
According to Israel Matzav, YNet reports that there are some 1,000 cases pending against IDF personnel overseas, and only three lawyers – including attorney general Manny Mazuz – are capable of handling them.
The most recent case involved Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya’alon who canceled a trip to London next month for a conference being held by England’s Jewish National Fund to raise funds for a house intended for lone soldiers. Ya’alon’s office reported Monday, “Minister Ya’alon has avoided visiting England in recent years in light of a legal recommendation so as not to play into the hands of propaganda against Israel, its leaders, and its officers.”
Ya’alon accepted the recommendation made by the legal team subordinate to the attorney general that is made up of three lawyers alone: the attorney general himself, Menachem Mazuz, his deputy, Danny Taub, and Attorney Adi Scheiman…..
A long list of current and former ministers and officers cannot travel to many destinations in the world without first conferring with a special team appointed for assessing threats to senior officials. Among those on this dubious list are former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, MK Shaul Mofaz, MK Avi Dichter, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Minister Ben Eliezer, Ya’alon, and Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai.
The military officials who must take extra precautions include Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and all the senior officers below him, including the military prosecution officers who accompanied Operation Cast Lead.
A senior official in the political establishment said to Ynet on Monday that the Israeli government is broadly prepared for dealing with the phenomenon, but agreed that the current situation following the publication of the Goldstone Report is intolerable.
By the way, Haaretz indicates that the Barak case was not dismissed as had been previously reported.
In 2004, when pro-Palestinian groups sought the arrest of then-defense minister Shaul Mofaz during a visit to London, a judge ultimately ruled that he did have diplomatic immunity, and could therefore not be arrested.
During last week’s incident with Barak, Britain’s Foreign Office asked the court to uphold this precedent. But since the hearing was postponed, whether it will do so remains unknown.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:52 PM
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