Irrational ire invoked at Israel
Op-ed: No other nation or people have engendered such a plethora of movements, organizations and views obsessed with boycotting it, dividing it up or destroying it altogether.
With the "peace process" as an ever present backdrop, I pose the following questions: Why are so many people telling Israel what it should and shouldn’t do? What business is it of theirs? Why can’t Jews have a homeland absent of international criticism? There is a fundamental misappropriation of justice at work here.
From a purely practical perspective, it’s difficult to fathom why this tiny country is the center of so much attention. Sadly however, when it comes to the Jews and Israel, history confirms the untypical becomes typical, which contributes to making them unique among the people and nations of the world. A uniqueness which can be a blessing… and in many cases a curse.
For example, they are history’s only people and nation to reappear in their original home after almost two thousand years of disbursement. They are central to the most read book in history – the Bible. A Jew named Jesus who lived and taught there became the messiah to over two billion people. Another 1.5 billion followers of Muḥammad believe he ascended to heaven from there.
Indeed some, if not the most significant event(s) in history have taken place in Israel, with potentially more to come. Thus, this tiny piece of land and its people have become embroiled in controversy which touches one of our most flashpoint issues- what we believe, and said manifestations. Such issues are core to how millions of people define themselves and the purpose of their lives. They invoke passions which cause people to act in ways from the benign to the most bizarre, including murder "in the name of…."
History’s unwelcome scapegoat
Consequently, Jews have often been history’s unwelcome scapegoat. Some say they're responsible for the death of Jesus. This helped spawn supersessionism, or replacement theology, which suggests the Jews have been abandoned by God and replaced by the "Church" for rejecting Jesus. This is essentially a theological form of anti-Semitism, and is embraced by a sizeable percentage of Christians. Couple this with the goal of fundamental Islam which is to destroy the Jews, and you have two huge components of why they and Israel have become targets of hateful movements worldwide.
Some say anti-Semitism is passé. I suggest such people are either naïve, lack a fundamental understanding of it, or might be anti-Semitic themselves. Today it’s simply cloaked behind a variety of masks. For example, how often have you heard it said "Jews are okay, the problem is Zionists." In other words, as long as Jews are scattered, or a minority, they’re acceptable. However, having a state where they are the majority invokes accusations of "racism," or "apartheid." Are similar accusations made against any Muslim nations? Heaven forbid.
No other nation or people have engendered such a plethora of movements, organizations and views, covering political, economic, cultural and theological spectrums, obsessed with boycotting it, dividing it up or destroying it altogether.
Consider these few and their goals:
- UNRWA (United Nations Relief Works Agency) – They run schools and children’s summer camps in the Gaza Strip and Judea/Samaria. Documentary film shows children being taught all of Israel is "occupied Palestine," and needs to be retaken by jihad.
- UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council) – Since 2006 it has passed over 33 resolutions critical of Israel. No more than one has been passed against any other nation. Israel is the only nation on their permanent agenda.
- BDS Movement - An international effort aimed at crippling Israel’s economy by "boycotting" its products, "divesting" financial interests, and implementing "sanctions" against the Jewish state.
- Israel Apartheid Week – A global series of events held in cities and on college campuses, seeking to vilify Israel as a racist state.
- World Council of Churches – An umbrella organization of more than 500 million from mainstream Christian denominations targeting Christian Zionism. Their goal is to delegitimize Israel’s right to protect itself from terrorism. They promote the "Palestinian" church and consider the "occupation" as the root problem, instead of terrorism and the rejection of Israel’s right to exist.
- Christ at the Checkpoint Conference – A series of conferences at Bethlehem Bible College attended by hundreds of international Christian leaders. Its focus is to discredit Christian support for Israel. Jesus is portrayed as a "Palestinian," who if alive today would stand with them against Israel.
- Palestinian mythology – Initiated by Yasser Arafat, this is the renaming of select Arabs as "Palestinians," in order to manufacture a unique ethnic and cultural heritage, aimed at delegitimizing documented historical evidence surrounding the birth of modern Israel, and the subsequent plight of so-called "refugees."
- Iran , Hamas , Hezbollah axis – Mother country of terrorism and its proxies, each acting in accordance with fundamental Islam’s principles which include Israel’s destruction.
- PLO, Fatah
charters – Each of these groups have charters requiring destruction of the entire state of Israel to be replaced by a single Muslim state of "Palestine."
Add the aforementioned replacement theology and is it any wonder the tiny nation of Israel and the Jewish people are the object of irrational international ire which is based on prejudice and fabrication.
These organizations and views exemplify "if you tell a lie often enough people will think it’s true."
Sometimes I wonder how Israel’s enemies would feel if they were prevented from using technology such as cell phones, computer chips, instant messaging, etc. – all of which originated in the Jewish state.
Dan Calic is a writer, history student and speaker. See additional articles on his Facebook page
