Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Thursday 21 April 2016

Keziah's Curse

Ah, the curse of naivety!

I mean, just look at the recent comments by Pamela Hardyment I posted yesterday.

And at this further one today.


And at this squalid nastiness:


And then consider the foolishness exemplified by Jewish students who happily support slurs against the Jewish State.
 "Stupid kid. You think you know it all. So did I at your age. But the truth is, you know absolutely nothing about the forces of racist evil you are trying to help unleash."
For that is the bottom line of a comment by one exasperated commenter on an article by Ms Keziah Berelson.in the University of Edinburgh's student magazine earlier this month extolling that univerity's student unions's shameful passage of a pro-BDS motion.

Ms Berelson had proclaimed inter alia: 
"As a Modern Orthodox Jew, a recent graduate from the University of Edinburgh and a former President of the University’s Jewish Society ... I congratulate the student body’s decision to pass a motion of BDS. This is a victory for minority rights and democracy at the University. BDS is a non-violent campaign called for by over 170 Palestinian civil society organisations which use the methods of boycott, divestment and sanctions from institutions and companies who benefit from and contribute to Palestinian oppression in order to pressure the Israeli state to operate within the boundaries set by international law....  This vote shows that EUSA and Edinburgh University students are still committed to liberation politics....
It saddens me that this successful move by BDS campaigners is overshadowed by accusations of anti-Semitism, which detract from the terrifying rise of fascism on UK and European streets. The Zeig Heils and blood-painted swastikas daubed onto vans in Dover earlier this year and the fascist demonstration held in Golders Green this Saturday have been eclipsed by fearmongering of pro-Palestinian successes. We must not let them rise again. I understand why Zionist Jewish students will feel intimidated by this decision but I must ask that you speak to fellow Palestinian students. How has this reaction affected them? How safe do they feel on campus?....
.... Do not assume a political opinion based on my religion or creed, for we are not all the same and we will not be silenced. Not in my name."
Among the justifiably appalled comments beneath her article this one stands out:
"I am currently studying in a University in Israel with a large Arab student body (Uni of Haifa), and I have to comment about how surprised I was at the ignorance of what Apartheid actually was. To describe Israel as an Apartheid state (which you allude to by saying that BDS brought down the Apartheid regime in South Africa) undermines the suffering that the non-whites suffered in SA and maximises the suffering of the Palestinians. There is no law in Israel forbidding an Arab to ride the same bus as a Jew (and such a law would be actively denounced by just about every Israeli, Jew and not), but this was the foundation of the Apartheid State. This goes on, the gist of what I am saying is that Israel does not have the multitude of discriminatory laws that South Africa had, and given the fact that 50% of Israeli Jews were exiled from Arab countries following the creation of the State of Israel, it is nearly impossible to accurately differentiate between Jew and Arab.
On another note, I am interested in the pressure being brought to bear on the State of Israel, what about on the Palestinian Authority and Hamas? Neither of which have held elections in about 10 years? Or to end their incitement to murder Jews, which has seen a 70 year old woman killed, among others. Please tell me if you can how murdering a 70 year old woman advances the creation of the Palestinian state? Hamas rules over Gaza, and instead of building a state, they have committed to shot rockets into Israel? Do you not think that it would be better for the people of Gaza if they built their state instead of trying to kill Jews that have anyway left their land? The follow on from this is that if they did build their state instead of trying to kill us, I think that they would get the freedom that they claim to want. What about the Egyptians who have also restricted the Rafah crossing into Gaza? Why does BDS singularly go after the Jewish State?
In summary, I have to say what you have done is not in my name. I would rather do the hard work on the ground, discussing our differences and working out how we can live together, instead of a one-sided narrative that absolves the other side of any responsibility for their actions. Both sides have a lot of work to do, and as long as you and the BDS movement focusses only on the Israeli transgressions and fails to understand the literal fear for our lives that is an every day reality for many of us, which would only be exacerbated by handing over power to a dysfunctional PA ... with ISIS not too far away (neither Syria nor Sinai are far from the borders of what would be the Palestinian State), is to many of us anti-Semitic. If not in intention, then in what it could well result in with us forced into a suicidal situation. By all means encourage dialogue, encourage reflection, encourage meaningful steps to peace but do not expect us to take kindly to you trying to force us to commit suicide, however well intentioned you may think you are being."
 But nobody has said it better than this great guy.

Meanwhile, some more ravings by Scottish PSC chief Napier:


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