Netanyahu using Auschwitz to feed Israeli anxiety
Op-ed: Purpose of bringing up Holocaust is to remind us that we are an eternal victim; but that will not stop any parliament from recognizing Palestine.
And we, few versus many, have nothing left to do but to get ready, like the Palmach which prepared a fortress in the Carmel which was meant to serve as Masada against the German armies. As if nothing has changed here since author Yosef Haim Brenner cried out 100 years ago that we are "the last ones on the wall."
Netanyahu's attempt to link between our unsettled score with the creators of the Holocaust and European parliaments' decision to recognize the Palestinians' right to a state of their own is unfounded. There is not a single European Parliament member who is in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state who played an active part in the Holocaust.
Netanyahu's Pavlovian use of Auschwitz every time the issue of advancing the peace negotiations is raised has been over-discussed. The effort to push the Holocaust again and again into the consciousness is not meant for the European parliament members and public opinion, and definitely not for the Muslims in the world, whose role in the crime that took place in Europe 70 years ago was negligible.
Mentioning the Holocaust in the context of recognizing a Palestinian state alongside the declaration that Europe has forgotten the Holocaust is aimed at infiltrating our consciousness.
Netanyahu knows more than anyone else that the Israeli society is split into different groups, which are moving away from each other and from the dream of "the unity of Israel." There is only one hoop connecting the Israelis, and that is the fear of the enemy at the gate – our unity at times of war. And this unifying fear must be fed persistently.
During Operation Protective Edge, we discovered that our mighty Air Force, which controls the sky, is incapable of solving the problem of the tunnels in Gaza. This surprising disappointment led us to question our threat to attack Iran's nuclear bases. Was it a empty threat?
Since the failure n Gaza, Netanyahu has minimized his use of the Iranian nuclear program as a tool for feeding the fear. Using the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and the Taliban to nurture fear is problematic as well. The fundamentalist Islam threatens the entire world.
Threatening the entire world does not serve our national anxiety. Uniting the nation requires distinguishing ourselves from all nations and being "a people that will dwell alone," few versus many.
Even Netanyahu, who is an expert on global terror, can't appropriate Islamic terror solely for Israel's needs. The Holocaust, on the other hand, is only ours, and that's why it is featured in his speeches. The purpose of using it is to remind us that we are an eternal victim. But using it will not stop any parliament from recognizing the state of Palestine.
The irony of history is that the European discourse about recognizing the Palestinians demand for an independent state mentions the Zionist argument in our demand for an independent Jewish state – the right to self-determination of nations. This was a crucial reason for the European states' support for the establishment of the State of Israel.
Being Zionist, we should lead those supporting the Palestinians' right to a state of their own.
Prof. Ze'ev Tzahor is the founder and former president of the Sapir Academic College.
