by Omer Dostri
When the leaders of the Left here even partially blame Israel as the rest of the world continues to carry out crimes against humanity, genocide, occupation and oppression, the world listens carefully and uses the information to strengthen its hypocritical and demagogic arguments in favor of boycotts.
Opposition Leader Isaac
Herzog claimed last week during the boycott uproar that "the serious
actions taken by the Israeli government led by [Prime Minister Benjamin]
Netanyahu fuel, grow and strengthen the boycott trend and the hatred
toward us in the world." Before him, Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On
declared that "the boycott serves Netanyahu and Netanyahu serves the
boycott," and added that framing the boycott in terms of anti-Semitism
is something the Right has dreamed up.
These claims are
dangerous and testify more than anything to the moral rot that has
spread through the Left in recent decades, and even more so in recent
years. It seems that the opposition to the government and the irrational
and inexplicable hatred for its leader have been mixed up with an
opposition to the state itself, without any consideration for the basic
differences between them.
As Israel fights
boycotts from around the world (by the way, a small, almost irrelevant,
number of boycotts that have been blown way out of proportion), senior
Israeli officials are working against the state from within, against the
tremendous efforts to stop the boycott. All this, while omitting the
legitimacy of the moral claims made by the State of Israel and its
leaders, which goes right to the roots of the international boycotts.
It must be said aloud
-- in the most clear, confident voice that can be mustered -- that
boycotting Israel, whether the settlements or the country in general, is
anti-Semitism in every way. Those who hate the Jewish people have
always used boycotts and discrimination against us. Actually, boycotts
have always been a central part of the tactics used by Israeli Arabs
against Jews. As early as 1921, there was a boycott against Jewish
business owners, and in 1945, there was a general boycott of Jews in
Israel by the Arab League.
The new anti-Semitism,
unlike classic anti-Semitism, is making headway in Israel and among its
citizens. The hatred of the big-nosed people was traded for the hatred
of the "occupying, criminal and cruel" State of Israel. The
humiliations, the oppression and the massacres experienced by Jews for
generations have been replaced (actually, they've been added to, as Jews
around the world still experience anti-Semitic violence and
humiliation) with the tactic of boycotting the State of Israel and
causing it to disappear via diplomatic and economic measures and under
the facade of "enlightenment" and "academic freedom."
When the leaders of the
Left here even partially blame Israel as the rest of the world
continues to carry out crimes against humanity, genocide, occupation and
oppression, the world listens carefully and uses the information to
strengthen its hypocritical and demagogic arguments in favor of
boycotts. And when Israelis stand in line with the biggest
Israel-haters, who really needs the BDS movement?
Unfortunately, the actions of the
Opposition leave no room for doubt regarding the moral fibre of its
members. It seems as though they are trying to invite external pressure
in order to hurt the current government, and, by the way, to hurt all of
Israel. "A fighting opposition," as it aspires to be, does not mean
automatically opposing government policies, not to mention official
foreign policy. There are times when you simply have to unite against
attempts to harm the country. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Omer Dostri
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=12815
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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