The Peculiar Case of the State of Israel

A man who died at age 80 and who worked most of his life up until the time he died as a longshoreman has been called one of America’s greatest philosophers. I have not read his work in many years but one thing that stood out in my mind was when he wrote that once a man (or woman) sees a better way of life he will always want that. In other words if you want to keep people down don’t let them up.

I  do have to get his book from the library since it is not on my book shelves where I thought I had last seen it. He had a few thoughts on Israel which I did not remember from my past reading but found them looking into some of his works. I find them most relevant at this time.

“The Jews are a peculiar people: Things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.

Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people, and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it. Poland and Czechoslovakia did it. Turkey threw out a million Greeks and Algeria a million Frenchmen. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese–and no one says a word about refugees.

But in the case of Israel, the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single Arab. Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis. Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms. But when Israel is victorious it must sue for peace.

Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.”

Reading that what came to mind was the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz proclaiming: “ain’t it the truth, ain’t it the truth!”

I suggest that should be self-evident because of the wars going on all over the world yet no one seems to get exercised over them as they do when Israel is involved. Right now there is “a war that has already caused thousands of deaths, displaced at least two million people and led to charges of ethnic cleansing.” The leader of the side that is doing most of the killing and the ethnic cleansing is, now get this, a winner of the Novel Peace Prize.

You do not read any op-eds in the New York Times by Bernie Sanders about that war like you did about Israel. The people under attack there represent about 6 -7 million people. It is reported: “Churches have been the scenes of massacres — one deacon in Axum has told the AP he believes some 800 people were killed in a November weekend at the church and around the city . . . .”  “The head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in his first public comments on the war in the country’s Tigray region is sharply criticizing Ethiopia’s actions, saying he believes it’s genocide: “They want to destroy the people of Tigray.””

People could talk about the 20 million Uighurs being religiously cleansed in China; the slaughter by the Myanmah army of its people; the seven year old war in Yemen; and others but whenever Israel gets into it oft repeated war with the Palestinians that  brings out the loudest outcry.

Yes, I know we give and unconscionable amount of money to Israel every year unlike every other country in the world. I am aware of the massive influence Israel has in America.  Even given all that, it does seem the world demands of Israel which it does not demand of others. Why is that?