Douglas Murray: Why are Jewish people ‘wandering’ again?
Like many other Jews, it is the discovery that anti-Semitism has crept up on them from the political Left that is one of the propelling factors for such a move. It is one of the cruellest ironies of our day that the place of last resort for Jews worldwide should have become the primary focus of hatred by people who – among other things – like to think of themselves as ‘progressive’ and on the side of minority groups.
However, the most heart-breaking comment – which should be widely heard across Britain and Europe – is what Lewis said as he arrived in Israel. “We’re a wandering people, and it’s time to wander again,” he said. “People just don’t want to see it.” He also knows other people considering the same path.
Perhaps they will see it in due course. One of the most haunting phrases in fiction in recent years is the moment in Michel Houellebecq’s novel Submission in which the French law professor learns that his student, and lover (who is Jewish) is planning to leave France and go to Israel to live. As she mentions it, Houellebecq’s character reflects that “I don’t have an Israel”.
To that haunting phrase of Houellebecq’s invention can now be added Lewis’s terrible one. There are many things that people can say are emblematic of an era. But that statement, “It’s time to wander again”, is as sobering and disturbing a phrase as I have heard. With implications that go deep as well as wide.
Whether words mean anything in the current era (where they often seem to mean whatever anyone wants them to) is one matter. Whether actions count for much in an era deluged by unprecedented noise and images, is another. But it seems to me that the words and actions last week of this one Jewish man and his partner should count for something. And should be thought upon by anybody who still cares to think.
Melanie Phillips: Is the State of Israel supping with the devil
The visit to Israel this week by Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini has provoked criticism and dismay within the Jewish world.MEMRI: Former Hamas Leader Khaled Mashal Calls For West Bank 'Guerrilla Warfare,' States: 'I Resist, Therefore I Am'
Salvini, who heads Italy’s right-wing “populist” Lega party, is controversial because of his anti-immigration stance.
Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin declined to meet him, citing “scheduling issues.” Rivlin’s view of political parties such as Lega were made clear, however, when he told CNN that the whole world needed to work against xenophobia, discrimination and antisemitism.
“There are neo-fascist movements today that have considerable and very dangerous influence, and sometimes they also express their strong support for the State of Israel,” he said.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would seem to disagree. Indeed, he has gone out of his way to embrace leaders who, although some insist they are just conservative nationalists, are described by others as neo-fascists.
Among such politicians are Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán, who has introduced what he calls an “illiberal democracy”; the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, who heads a coalition including a party whose first two leaders were former SS officers; the Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who supports extra-judicial killing for drug-users and other criminals; and the new president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who opposes just about everything on the progressive agenda.
So what’s going on? Well obviously, Israel needs all the friends it can get. Its overarching goal is to ensure its survival. If it were too fastidious about its allies, it would place itself in far greater danger.
Netanyahu’s calculation is that the new “populist” parties, which overwhelmingly support Israel, can be encouraged to shatter the monolithic animosity against it in both the European Union and the United Nations.
Moreover, when it comes to supporting Israel, these “authoritarian” leaders are putting liberal Western Europe to shame.
Former chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau Khaled Mashal said that resistance is the basis of day-to-day life for people under occupation, and that just as people say "I think, therefore I am," the Palestinians say: "I resist, therefore I am." Explaining that the abandonment of Jihad leads to humiliation and death, Mashal said that resistance is the pinnacle of life. He criticized Fatah for not engaging in "resistance" and added: "The West Bank, which spans over 5,600 square kilometers, and which has mountains and valleys... has everything necessary for guerrilla warfare." Mashal's comments aired on Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) on December 2, 2018.
To view the clip of Khaled Mashal on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
"The Quran Goes Even Further Than That By Defining Jihad, Resistance, And Self-Defense As The Essence Of Life"
Khaled Mashal: "For peoples under occupation, resistance is the natural way of life. It is the basis of day-to-day life. This is because it is inconceivable that we live under daily suffering and all of its implications under occupation, without living our daily lives with the resistance. It is the natural and reciprocal response. Just like they say: 'I think, therefore I am, as Palestinians and as a great nation that is creative when it comes to resisting, we say: 'I resist, therefore I am.'
"The Quran goes even further than that by defining Jihad, resistance, and self-defense as the essence of life. 'Oh you who believe, respond to Allah and to the Messenger, when he calls you to that which gives you life.' Indeed, this is the case. The abandonment of Jihad leads to humiliation and death. Hence, resistance is the pinnacle of life. A person who lives under occupation, and who does not resist, is in fact dead.
"A country cannot be liberated and rights cannot be restored without resistance. It is not possible. Without resistance, the occupation cannot be defeated or forced to retreat. Every means of power must be put to use.
"[The West Bank] Has Everything Necessary For Guerilla Warfare – Why Are We Not Preparing For That?"
Former Hamas Leader Khaled Mashal Calls for West Bank "Guerrilla Warfare," States: "I Resist, Therefore I Am" pic.twitter.com/OyZr0Ehc0q
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) December 14, 2018