Thursday, May 22, 2014

We've Seen this Before



by Dr. Haim Shine


Two young men posed a real threat to Israeli soldiers during a Nakba Day demonstration and were killed. The U.N., U.S. and Europe are demanding an investigation.
 
On numerous occasions, the Palestinian propaganda machine has produced edited or staged films to incriminate Israeli soldiers. But even though we have seen this script before, the Israel Defense Forces has an obligation to conduct a thorough probe to uncover the facts, as in past similar incidents. Such is the case when human lives are cut short.
 
The world is hypocritical when it comes to the desire of the Jews to live in peace and security. In Syria, hundreds of people, women and children among them, are being killed every day. Since the Syrian uprising began three years ago, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been slaughtered, including by chemical weapons, but the world is silent. In Nigeria, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, east Asia and many other places around the globe, heinous crimes are committed, and the world says nothing. But when Israeli soldiers try to protect themselves from violent rioters, the world cries out.
 
Anyone who has studied Jewish history, particularly from the Middle Ages onward, knows one basic fact. The Jews have always been accused of being responsible for all sorts of crimes and social ills. At first, this was done by the Catholic Church, which encouraged the persecution of Jews as punishment for the crucifixion of Jesus. Over the years, various political entities adopted this practice. This terrible propaganda campaign dehumanized the Jews and led to the extermination of one third of the Jewish people in the Holocaust.
 
Hypocrisy and hatred toward Israel are a continuation of this age-old anti-Semitism. The new form of anti-Semitism places Israel at the center of most of the world's troubles. In numerous countries, including ones considered to be enlightened, many people believe that if only Israel would disappear or return to indefensible borders, world peace would break out. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would sit down for a cup of English tea with Queen Elizabeth, while U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin would do a Ukrainian folk dance together as the Red Army Choir sings in background. Time and time again, it has been proved that lies and delusions, if repeated often enough, become perceived as truths.
 
It is very difficult to cope with this new form of anti-Semitism. It is hard to sway someone who has a fixed mindset. Why do we blame the foreign media for its hostility toward Israel when there are those among us who for years have supplied it with the most potent ammunition? There is no type of hatred that is juicier or more interesting than self-hatred.
 
The establishment of Israel changed the course of Jewish history. For thousands of years, the Jews had been written out of history. They were a passive group whose sole purpose in life was to survive. The chosen people, talented and moral, had become a nation of survivalists, paying a tough price to maintain their faith and will to live. Dying a sacred death became ideal due to the conditions in exile. Israel brought the Jews back to history. We returned to being an independent, active, living, vibrant and, sometimes, kicking nation. It seems that the world pays more attention to Israel than it does to the U.S. and China together.
 
Our desire to live is the basis of our willingness to fight to hold on to our homeland. This is our home. Here, we were born, and we have no other place. The hypocritical world can establish investigative committees, send emissaries and write false and biased opinions. In response, Israel must strengthen itself, believe in its mission and path, and give all the necessary backing to the soldiers defending our homeland.


Dr. Haim Shine

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=8489

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

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