Monday, July 22, 2019
Elder of Ziyon
It dawned on me that all of Israel’s friends and defenders
have been wasting our time over the last several decades.
Instead of writing thoughtful essays that provide facts and perspectives
while making the case for the Jewish state, or organizing talks, educational
programs or other campaigns that present arguments in favor of our cause or
against our foes, we could all have spent that time doing something much
simpler, so simple that it requires almost no thought.
So what could we have been doing, rather than bombarding the
world with longwinded explanations based on facts and logic?
The answer is simplicity itself, and so easy to
implement. For all it would involve
would be to never use the term Palestine or Palestinian without first prefixing
it with the string of pejoratives titling this piece.
We would not have to be mindless robots uttering the same
phrase over and over again. Certainly
whenever we find ourselves in debate, we would make sure the words “racist,
sexist, homophobic, reactionary, totalitarian” precede the use of any reference
to Palestine, Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas (and maybe
their friends and allies throughout the Middle East). But we could get creative with the ways we
slip those words into the discussion over and over and over again. For instance:
Comparative: Yes, there is a difference between the
racist, sexist, homophobic, reactionary, totalitarian, corrupt Palestinian
authority and the racist, sexist, homophobic, reactionary, totalitarian,
religious fanatics in Hamas. But the two
have important things in common: they’re both racist, sexist, homophobic,
reactionary totalitarians.
Generous: You
are free to support all the racist, sexist, homophobic, reactionary,
totalitarian political movements you like, including the racist, sexist,
homophobic, reactionary, totalitarian Palestinian movement. Just don’t also demand to be considered
progressive, much less tell us you get to decide who is anti-racist and who
isn’t.
Voltairian: I will fight to the death for your right
to scream your support for the racist, sexist, homophobic, reactionary,
totalitarian Palestinian movement, and any other racists, sexists, homophobes,
reactionaries and totalitarians you like.
That is your right, just as it is my right to point out your choice to
give racism, sexism, homophobia, and reactionary totalitarians your
full-throated support.
Nostalgic: In my era, progressive politics meant
being against racism, sexism, homophobia, reaction and totalitarianism, so
forgive me if I choose to cling to those principles and fight against the evils
you have decided to embrace.
And on and on (so long as on and on means fusing our five
mantras to any mention of Israel’s enemies and their supporters).
Needless to say, actual political discourse, compromise or
the search for peace would have to be abandoned if this were our strategy. For the purpose of making the name
“Palestinian” synonymous with the worst sins of modernity is to reduce others
to objects of disgust and loathing, with no concern over the consequences.
This is, in fact, the strategy Israel’s enemies have
embraced for decades with their “Israel = Apartheid” smear, one they unleash in
every discussion, regardless of the topic under consideration. So the strategy outlined above is the most
straightforward way to fight fire with fire.
Now we would have to be willing to keep this up for not just
a few weeks or months, but for years and decades and we would have to put great
effort into getting others to follow our lead, or condemn them for their own
refusal to fight against racism, sexism, etc.
In short, we would have to be just as (if not more) ready and willing to
poison politics in order to try to get our rivals to be perceived as utterly
beyond the moral pale.
If both sides started playing the same game, victory would
go to those who could shout the loudest, ignore critics more thoroughly, and be
ready to shut down voices not willing to adhere to our vocabulary (by any means
necessary).
Perhaps it is our general wussiness that keeps us on the
course of dialog, discussion, argument, persuasion and compromise, rather than
jumping into the sewer with those who have made it their life’s work to see the
world’s one Jewish state dismantled.
Although given the state of Israel and the Jewish world – vulnerable
though it might be – versus the hell on earth Israel’s enemies have constructed
for themselves, perhaps hanging on to our humanity is a wise strategic, as well
as a moral choice.
