By James Pogue -NEW YORK – A plethora of media reports claim that “anti-Semitism is on the rise” and who do the Jews have to thank for that, other than the spiteful narcissistic Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While Netanyahu continues to proclaim Israel is a “democracy” many observers and analysts beg to differ. In what ‘democracy’ does the leader of the country get to create an authoritarian law that gives him and his communications minister sole decision-making on banning foreign networks. The only reason a leader bans news channels, domestic or foreign is because of the need for total control of the narrative. This is nothing new with Netanyahu, a man brought up and indicted on corruption charges along with this wife but who is still permitted to run the country. In Netanyahu’s world where the Jewish far-right inhabit the largest space, it’s perfectly OK in his mind, to diss an entire population to the point where genocide isn’t on speculation but an all too painful obvious reality.
Here’s the deal, Netanyahu was warned in advance that Hamas was planning an incursion on Israel’s southern border. Netanyahu and his government provided no security for the music festival held mere kilometers from the Gaza border. One must surmise one of two things: Either Netanyahu and his far-right cronies purposely ignored the warnings as an excuse for a war or their security dropped the ball. The problem with the second option is that Israel has some of the toughest security in the world – drop the ball? Highly unlikely. The former assumption would mean that Netanyahu is directly responsible for the deaths of 1,200 Israelis, the kidnappings of close to 200 more and any murders, rapes or assaults committed by Hamas on those held captive in Gaza.
Revisiting the rise in anti-Semitism, the attitude that Netanyahu reiterates constantly – one of absolute narcissistic and xenophobic disdain for Palestinians. Couple that along with Jewish far-right settlers attacking, torturing and kicking Palestinians out of their homes -even resorting to murder – can you blame anyone for becoming anti-Semitic in the face of such a grim reality? Some, albeit even many progressive, liberal Jews who sympathize with the plight of the Palestinians, feel ashamed to identify as a Jew because as one orthodox Jewish rabbi told TRT World International, months ago, “This is not what Judaism stands for.” It certainly isn’t, and what’s worse is that conservative, orthodox and ultra-orthodox Jews have squarely pitted themselves against the humanitarian voice of reason that progressive and liberal Jews like Senator Bernie Sanders and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, espouse. It’s a sad day in the world when compassionate Jews who support the Palestinians and a two-state solution are spat upon by their fellow Jews who refuse to see and tell the truth. That unfortunate truth is that Israel under Netanyahu is not a democracy but an autocracy where the ruling leader will do anything to control the narrative as well as the outcome.
There’s just one tiny thing that Netanyahu’s gargantuan ego forgot: No one can ever really control the narrative when it comes to Hamas and the Palestinians. Two realities are a fact: the first is that Netanyahu can never fully destroy Hamas. The second is that the Palestinian people are not disappearing, however much Netanyahu tries to wish them away. Despite every attempt from Netanyahu to annihilate the Palestinians, the world has spoken out as evidenced by mass protests on university campuses worldwide even by Israelis themselves, who have repeatedly called for Netanyahu’s resignation. As one wise analyst pointed out two weeks ago, Netanyahu needs an excuse to extend the war because if the war ends, his political career is over. That brings us to the harshest of all sickening realities: Netanyahu gives not one damn about the hostages or about the fact that each day that passes with a female hostage in captivity – her captor is repeatedly sexually abusing her on some level or another not to mention the sick, the elderly, the children and the broken spirits of male captives.
But the final straw to break the camel’s back is the U.S. response to all of this which as three top ranking human rights officials who quit because of what they said are top U.S. diplomats purposely ignoring the truth in front of them, said – they could not in good conscience do their jobs knowing their bosses were lying to the world at large. A tragic example is the convoy aid driver who Israeli military fired on recently, as his truck entered Gaza along with a line of other aid convoy. There has been no public response from the Biden administration, who a month ago claimed their outrage at seven aid workers from the U.S.-based World Central Kitchen (WCK) who were as its founder said ,“purposely targeted” and fired upon three times. All Israel said was that “it happens in war” and that it was “unintentional.” Ironically, the U.S has continued to supply Israel with arms, to continue a war that is not about Hamas but about one man’s small-minded egotistical need to brag on himself to the world while U.S. officials and spokespeople look on as John Kirby does, claiming to the press that the U.S. “has found no evidence of genocide” by Israel.
This author of this article begs to differ.
Just last week and earlier this week, a U.S. investigation claimed that there is evidence of violation of international law on Israel’s part and a possible war crime or war crimes. Turkiye has now joined South Africa in its case against Israel, of genocidal acts in Gaza against the Palestinian people and you only have to read and watch the heartrending accounts of former Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers who on camera, with their own words, admitted that Israel has long held a policy of apartheid and racist, violent intentions and acts toward Palestinians. These former IDF soldiers said on camera that they were told to disregard Palestinians as humans and to treat them as harshly as possible.
This author asks you, is that evidence of a ‘democracy’ in Israel?
When innocent Palestinians who are neither affiliated with Hamas and who are apolitical and who may even despise Hamas, have their homes bulldozed by Israeli soldiers, attacked by far-right Jewish settlers who themselves are mostly from the U.S. and not Israeli-born – is that a democracy that any decent, law-abiding, spiritual person would want to be a part of? But most especially when those who have read the news that two prominent far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet, one of them named Bezalel Smotrich, announces that a portion of Gaza land is already allotted to a real estate agency to build luxury homes on the sea – on a place where a mass genocide was committed – what in the world can anyone say!
The outrage that this author feels can’t adequately be expressed in words. What’s more telling in this conflict is the Palestinians themselves who one would expect to display a hateful look to any news camera thrust in their face – when instead – they passionately plead for their lives with the type of resilience, bravery and sensitivity that inspires compassion, heartbreak and admiration for a people who only have a journalist and a camera to the world to share their utter disbelief and shock as Netanyahu’s relentless killing spree continues.
Let’s not forget that Netanyahu claimed his army killed 10 Hamas terrorists in six months, 10! But neither Netanyahu nor his generals or his soldiers ever mentioned, the by now, more than 35,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, who died senseless deaths for NOTHING, absolutely nothing in the face of sheer degradation, horrific abuse where Palestinian men and women were stripped naked in front of their captors. Let’s not forget that after the discovery of mass graves under hospitals in Gaza, the eyewitness and video reports of torture. There have even been credible reports of Israeli soldiers stealing the organs of dead Palestinians.
Stealing the organs of dead Palestinians with some Palestinian women claiming Israeli soldiers sexually abused them, no less.
The only question this author has is the same one that an innocent Palestinian whose home had just been bombed, asked a foreign network on camera, months ago – “When will this end?”
When, indeed.
