Israel is sweltering in an annual summer heat wave, while temperatures on the local political and international fronts threaten to break all previous records.
As predicted in my last op-ed, we have been visited by Mary Robinson and Helen Clark representing the “elders” group.
Just in time for Tisha B’Av, when Jews mourn the destruction of the two Temples and the loss of sovereignty, these two representatives issued their own series of “lamentations.” Instead of lamenting the pogroms inflicted on Jews and Israelis by today’s versions of the ancient Babylonians, Romans and subsequent persecutors, they expressed solidarity with those plotting more pogroms.
Their advocacy for a fake “Palestine” in the heartland of Israel as the only solution and their admonitions against Israel are so out of touch with reality. The continued chorus of criticism and condemnation by them while ignoring the growing jihadist threats are symptomatic of the blind obsessiveness currently prevailing.
Mary Robinson represents everything that is rotten in Ireland’s relationship with Israel. Helen Clark represents everything that will be rotten if her friends in the Labour Party and Greens win the forthcoming New Zealand elections.
Meanwhile in the USA, the political temperature is reaching boiling point.
The Democratic Party lurches further to the extreme progressive left with candidates for the midterms being selected on their anti Israel/Zionist credentials. The shrinking moderates are too scared to speak up as they are slowly but surely being decimated by a generation which knows nothing about history. Singing from the same Israel hate hymnal, these latter-day haters of Jewish sovereignty will sooner rather than later take over a party which American Jews still uncomprehendingly support.
A sign of things to come is New York Mayor Mamdani’s desire to arrest Israel’s Prime Minister when he comes to address the UN General Assembly.
At some stage in the near future, when these politicians gain power, the result will be dire.
At the same time as the lunatic left lurches ever more extreme, their compatriots on the right are making inroads into the Republican Party. Traditional Jew haters and isolationist conspiracy peddlers are infiltrating the political right. If this trend continues unchallenged, the only other party presenting an alternative to the demented left will also be a no-man’s land for Jewish Americans of voting age.
An early glimpse of what could be in the future was afforded by J.D. Vance’s outbursts recently when appearing on a podcast.
His “memorandum of understanding” with the Iranian Mullahs was always going to be a disaster. Touted as the “beginning of a glorious deal,” this worthless piece of paper was destined to end up in the garbage. Nevertheless, all those who believed that the Iranians could be trusted prevailed.
Now that this MOU is no more, someone has to get the blame.
Who is more suited to be the scapegoat?
The American Vice President provided the answer when he blamed some unnamed Israelis as having worked to undermine this glorious fiasco. Rather than admit his own failings, he instead recycled the ancient narratives of some behind-the-scenes plotters. For added spice, he also threw in a suggestion that there had been some sort of connection between Epstein and Mossad.
Vance vehemently denied that he is a Jew-hater, and we should take his word. However, the rhetoric is fairly close to borderline, and it will not take much for others to embellish facts with fantasy.
The bottom line is that American Jews, or at least those who have not yet been seduced by self-loathing and assimilationist tendencies, face a future that is fraught with danger.
They will have a choice between a party which has been captured by knee-jerk Zionist haters on the left and one which has been subverted by old-fashioned conspiracy idiots on the right. Unlike most other democratic systems of government, there is no other choice.
As the political heat reaches unprecedented highs, their future in the “goldene medina” is becoming tenuous. Ignoring the threats will not make them vanish.
Adding to this toxic mix are the results of a survey released last week.
Its overall conclusions found widespread and increasingly prevalent hostility to Jews and Israel among young Americans alongside general apathy toward taking action on Jew hate.
Polls have repeatedly found that anti-Jewish sentiment is more common among younger Americans than older generations. This should come as no major surprise because the lack of historical knowledge and understanding, thanks to educational deficiencies and social media, is more rampant among this part of the population.
What should give cause for increased alarm is the fact that, for respondents aged 18 to 44, nearly one third – 28% – viewed Jews as a “threat to the unity of American society,” compared to 13% of those over the age of 60.
Among respondents aged 18 to 29, about 13% said Jewish people “cause problems in the world,” compared to 3% of those aged over 60.
For Generation Z respondents aged 18 to 29, only 52% replied that Israel has a right to exist.
These revelations are most probably not unique to the United States and are likely to be more or less replicated in any similar poll which might be taken in Australia and New Zealand. I suspect that results in countries like the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and the European Union would follow a similar, if not worse, pattern.
The bottom line is that as the numbers of university and social media-induced brainwashed individuals increase, so will animosity towards Jews and Israel.
As these ignoramuses of the extreme left and right enter the political mainstream, the probability is that their malign and naïve beliefs will negatively impact not only relations with Israel but inevitably also local Jewish communities.
After all, if Israel has no right to exist, then anyone who supports its existence can be branded as a criminal Zionist with all the inevitable results that would follow.
Once identified as a supporter of the rights of Jews to reclaim sovereignty in their historic homeland, it becomes easy to target individuals and communities.
The age-old Jewish conspiracy libels are still alive and will be resurrected, especially when support for anything to do with Israel becomes suspect and inevitably outlawed.
A perfect example of how this happens can be seen in the actions of the UK Anglican Synod, which at its recent meeting voted to “hear” a report about Israel that is one-sided and condemnatory. Its adoption has shattered years of inter faith work and sent Jewish – Christian relations hurtling back to darker days.
When Jews and Israel are perceived as the source of all evil in the world, we know from previous bitter experiences where that is sure to lead.
It’s not rocket science and is ignored and minimised at our peril.
That is why if Governments and authorities continue to hide behind commissions of inquiry and purely declaratory gestures, the virus will spread unchecked and become even more virulent.
An example of how Israel/Zionist/Jew hate becomes normalised is the reaction of the Malaysian Prime Minister to reports that some Israelis had travelled to the country. His declaration that “any Israelis found in the country would be expelled immediately” was met by a shattering silence. As a member of the British Commonwealth, the silence from London and other member countries proves that this sort of hate is acceptable.
Like its Islamic counterpart, Turkey, a valued member of NATO, incitement against Israel & Jews has been ignored.
This is the tip of an iceberg which, as the heat rises, will reveal a vast reservoir of poisonous policies waiting to be released.
We need to be forewarned and ready, willing and able to counterattack.
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 and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.