The Poisonous Plague Continues [Part 2]…from Michael Kuttner
Almost as if in confirmation of my last op-ed, the torrent of poison against the Jewish State continues unabated, not only spread by our supposed “peace partners” but also manufactured and disseminated by others.
Michael Kuttner
This continuous drip feed fuels the delegitimisation process along a well trodden path. The reason that it has already reached such epidemic proportions is testimony to the failure of successive Israeli Governments and policy makers to tackle this plague head on with no holds barred responses as well as the weak kneed reaction or non reaction of Diaspora organizations. This has left the field wide open to those spreading the poison and thus guaranteeing that those exposed to its constant exposure remain susceptible to its toxic effects.
Here are the latest examples of what I am talking about.
It was bound to happen sooner or later and true to a well worn script the allegation that Arafat was poisoned has surfaced again. Initiated by Arafat’s widow, who incidentally is living in grand style on the millions salted away over the years, and Abbas, whose mandate to be President expired more than five years ago, the commission which investigated Arafat’s death determined that he had most probably been poisoned. Interestingly enough the Russians have cast doubts on the findings but this did not stop the PA from asserting without a shred of evidence that it was the Israelis (aka Jews) who carried out this deed. Not content with the result of this inquiry the rulers in Ramallah have now set up their own committee to delve further. We already know the result before they have even met because the PA leadership has declared in advance that Israel is the culprit and therefore they will make sure to haul the Jewish State in front of some UN sponsored kangaroo court in order that yet more farcical resolutions of condemnation can be passed.
Within the last few days a former member of the Palestinian Arab security establishment claimed that Arafat had been poisoned by those around him and actually pointed the finger at Abbas himself. Needless to say this has been effectively swept under the carpet because it does not agree with the pre ordained script. Just as the fictitious but lethal well poisoning accusations against the Jews in the Middle Ages spread like wild fire throughout Europe and resulted in pogroms of devastating proportions, so too this latest libel will spread and poison the minds of countless individuals, young and old, throughout the Arab and Moslem world with the same disastrous results.
As if to prove my assertion, within days of the polonium poisoning accusation, the PA Minister of Religious Affairs announced that it must have been the Jews who did it because it was well known, according to him, that the Jews had poisoned Mohammed. Quoting various sources to back up the claim his pronouncements now give a theological stamp of approval and thus guarantees an even wider spread for this lie. Once again the well worn path of harnessing theological Judeophobia to the political sewer of delegitimisation is a tried and true recipe for the rapid spread of hatred.
In case you think that this poisonous hatred is confined to the Arab and Islamic world let me demonstrate how it has already spread most effectively beyond the confines of those with whom we are being pressured to make a fake peace. The soil of Europe which germinated and cultivated this poisonous virus of Jew hatred and plots continues to incubate and spread its own updated version these days.
Recently a newspaper in Germany published a cartoon depicting a snail and a dove heading in the direction of a signpost indicating Iranian talks. Standing on the road was Netanyahu speaking into his mobile and requesting snail and bird poison. The obvious assertion of course was that the Israeli Prime Minister needed this poison in order to kill the talks or those engaged in talks with Iran. As an added insult this classic depiction of Jews wanting to poison others was published on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Could anything be more illustrative of how far this poisonous virus of Jew hatred has spread among the so called enlightened media in Europe? This was not the first time such a Nazi era type cartoon has been published as a similar Judeophobic cartoon portraying Jews as poisonous man eating monsters appeared in another German newspaper awhile ago. In today’s internet world cartoons like these go viral instantly and their evil messages are internalized by millions.
Meanwhile the poisonous campaign to ban religious circumcision as well as other Jewish ritual observances gathers pace in Europe and Scandinavia.
Poisoning plots can take many forms and not all of them are as crude or blatant as the examples above. In fact the more sophisticated they are the greater the chance there is that the authors will hide behind the façade of anti Israel not anti Jewish excuses or “some of my best friends are Jews”. John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, apparently told a recent briefing in Washington to ignore anything the Israelis say on Iran. In other words, the Israelis are liars and trying to poison the atmosphere so that the indecent rush to appease them cannot succeed.
The spectacle of this year’s UN General Assembly passing as at this date nine resolutions of condemnation against Israel whilst ignoring massacres, mayhem and gross violations of human rights in the rest of the world is in effect sending a message that it is the Jewish State alone which poisons the international community. If ever one needed a better example of how past labeling of Jews engaged in poisoning plots has morphed into labeling the Jewish State, this is it.
A final example for now of how far and effectively this poison spreads is the news that the supposedly “bankrupt” Palestinian Authority is granting US$50,000 to each released terrorist, a promotion to a senior Government position and a large monthly salary of 14,000 shekels. The fact that donor nations have raised not a peep of protest or reconsidered suspending their taxpayers’ funded aid to this fraudulent “peace partner” and budding terror State, demonstrates the potent effects that drip feeds of poison can have.
Poisoning takes many forms and has a cumulative effect. We should know only too well that ignoring or belittling those who label Jews and Israel as poisoners and dismissing as harmless the destructive quality of the poisoning is dangerous and fatal.
How much longer must we wait until Jewish leaders in Israel and the Diaspora demand an end to this ongoing poisonous campaign of delegitimisation and proclaim loudly and clearly that enough is enough?
If not now then when?
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel where he is J-Wire’s regional correspondent.
Michael, I’m so glad you’re continuing with your articles on the poisoning process taking place worldwide against Israel, which of course is tied hand in hand to Jews everywhere. It is just as you say, and I also write about it and draw attention to it at every opportunity.
It is with feelings of great misgiving that one realises the poisoning is accelerating and snowballing, becoming accepted unthinkingly by so many, in just the same way it did in medieval times and for hundreds of years after that.