Lionising A Trojan Horse

Like the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) views the world, and therefore Israel, through a distorted lens of leftwing Guardian-type bias.  And, as in the case of the BBC, this bias is blatant.

On the ABC current affairs blog The Drum, the latest contribution by a Jewish leftist called Michael Brull is entitled "Israel doesn't deserve unconditional loyalty". Focusing on the recent unrest in south Tel Aviv regarding mass illegal immigration from Africa (and downplaying the crime, including rapes, by immigrants, incidents which helped to fuel anger), this regrettable piece has attracted numerous comments, and I'm impressed with those which have tackled in masterly fashion  the demonisation of Israel therein.

Inter alia, and in support of his argument, Brull quotes 'Liberal American Zionist Peter Beinart': 

'If someone who considers himself a devoted lover of Israel can write, "Was this a government sponsored pogrom? No... But", then something has gone seriously wrong. Beinart also notes the familiarity of the language.'

The lionisation of Peter Beinart in certain Australian Jewish circles is a phenomenon that has emerged over the last eighteen months, or so; it is not, I feel, a development to be welcomed.

Isi Leibler has recently written, regarding Beinart and his ilk:

'When they [Diaspora Jews] call for global boycotts of Israeli settlements, they are effectively promoting delegitimization and paving the way for broader boycotts. Besides, unlike their delusional Israeli counterparts, they are mere observers, physically unaffected by the negative repercussions of their actions....

A Diaspora Jew engaging in a campaign to boycott any sector of Israel society is indulging in a harmful and “pernicious” act. It reflects an indifference to the double standards employed against Israel and will unquestionably be exploited by those seeking to boycott and delegitimize Israel in general.

....However, to legitimize and describe as a Zionist, a Jew calling for a boycott of Israeli settlements, gives credence to activities which have the potential of impacting disastrously on Israel. There must be red lines. Many of us have reservations about diaspora Jews publicly condemning the democratically elected Israeli government on security issues but we recognize that in a democracy they are entitled to their views. But that surely does not apply to those directly calling for boycotts against sectors of Israeli society.'

Middle East analysts Rachel Neuwirth and John Landau are also perplexed and disturbed by the superstar staus of Mr Beinart, whom they liken to a Trojan Horse:

'..... Why are we Jews laying out the red carpet to this man? And why, in general, are we Jews so friendly and deferential to our worst enemies?....

Beinart professes at every opportunity to love Israel and to even be a "Zionist."....His principal tactic is to make so many false or misleading statements all at once that it is impossible to reply to or even to keep track of them all. Inevitably, some of them will sink subliminally into the minds of his audience, if they are the least bit open to suggestion. Also in his arsenal of debating tactics are distortions by omission and false assumptions implied by his tone and the drift of his argument. These methods are especially insidious since they do not require the "lie direct" and make it difficult for the audience to examine the implied assumptions on which they are based....

But as outrageous as Beinart’s outright falsehoods are, his omission-distortions and false implied assumptions are more damaging because the listener may not even be aware of them.

Beinart repeatedly denounces Israel for denying the Palestinians equal rights with Israelis, without mentioning that the Palestinians are waging war on Israel, and have been doing so continuously for the past 65 years. No nation has ever granted equal rights to members of a nation at war with them. Nor can any nation that is being subjected to armed aggression and siege afford to do so. The Palestinians have been waging a relentless war against Israelis for at least 92 years, even before the independent state of Israel was established. The conflict has been an extraordinarily brutal war replete with war crimes such as blowing up civilians on buses, street corners and restaurants, executing children as hostages, and beating infants to death. That war is still very much in progress, as Beinart and everyone who reads the daily newspapers knows full well.

 Beinart’s assumption that a state is undemocratic unless it grants equality of rights to everyone who lives under its jurisdiction is not valid even in relation to peaceful communities. Puerto Ricans living in their own country cannot vote for president or elect voting members of Congress, although they are subjected to the rule of the U.S government and to U.S.military "occupation." .... If Peter Beinart really believes that the right to vote and all other citizenship rights must be extended to every one living under a nation’s jurisdiction, why doesn’t he tour the country demanding these rights for Puerto Ricans, Virgin Islanders, Samoans, and Micronesians subject to American "occupation"?....'

 Read the entire article here