Saturday, January 1, 2011
Lynn points out this excellent essay in the JPost, a message from Israel's Jews to the diaspora's: The gloves are off. Where is criticism OK, and where does the line get stepped over? Green has some advice. Here's a snip, but read it all:
...What is the motivation behind this need for public criticism? This is a very important factor in the debate. I can castigate a friend or sibling if I believe her behavior to be selfish or unreasonable, but if I do so in public, I will only humiliate and wound her. I would be mad to think that making her look ridiculous in front of others, and permanently damaging their perception of her is going to produce good results. In fact, I would only do such a thing if my friend's wellbeing were not the primary object. I might want to hurt her and put her down for complicated reasons of my own.
I speak for myself and many other Israelis when I say that for us, public criticism by UK Jews is suspect. For one, your call for "openness" has escalated at exactly the same rate as the delegitimization and demonization of Israel by the British establishment. This vindictive ostracizing of Israel has resulted in an extreme lowering of comfort levels for the Jewish community, as we've agreed. But should it result in your shouting to join that vindictiveness? And if you join in, does it increase your status and respectability in British society? My feeling is that it certainly does. So you'll forgive me if I doubt the integrity of your backing the shrill accusations of the British government and media...
...if you would like to criticize Israel as much as you like, then I, by the same token, will feel free to criticize you as much as I like. We will call this new way of relating "tough love."
We will use the two-directional model, instead of Diaspora Jews behaving as if their criticism is a lifesaving antibiotic, which Israel, the ever truculent child, refuses to swallow...
There is the element of cowardice involved by the inability of those to repudiate the centuries old Collective Guilt libel aimed at Jews and face their accusers who are ignorant or maliciously ignoring fact and context.
That's why the alter Jews always cautioned against making a noise, hoping whatever it was would not notice and go away.
So much for the purported control and sway the Jews have over the media and society at large.
Reading some of the comments to Katie G's post one can at only marvel at how stupidly informed some people are, for example one Fred #34 says:
Iran was not an enemy it became an enemy. Hizballah was provoked by a cruel invasion and occupation of Southern Lebanon.
Obviously completely oblivious to the facts of the past 40 years.