Lunacy unleashed

Journalists and those working in the mainstream news media are familiar with the expression “the silly season.”

It is a time, usually mid-summer, when, owing to a paucity of serious news, newspapers fill up their columns with exaggerated reports about trivial subjects. This used to be the standard situation every year as the holiday season kicked in, schools closed, and families went on vacation.

In New Zealand, we used to joke that the country closed down from mid-December until February. Parliament is in recess, the bureaucrats have left the Capital and a sense of lethargy descends on those left behind.

With the advent of social media and the internet, the news void that once was common has now largely disappeared. Regardless of what time of the year it may be, slow news days are a thing of the past as breaking developments are flashed around the globe in an instant.

As far as news about Israel is concerned, every day of the year can be classified as a silly season. No matter how trivial and inconsequential, any snippet of news reporting about Zion and Jews is guaranteed to receive maximum exposure. In fact, the more unhinged the subject, the wider the circulation, which is why news outlets strive to outdo each other in their tendentious reporting.

Whether serious or trivial, almost every report about Israel is accompanied by a sense of censure and condemnation. Very rarely, if at all, will the mainstream media highlight positive and groundbreaking news in the fields of innovation, medicine, science and technology. Negative news about Israelis has always been the preferred default option.

The last couple of weeks are no exception.

There are certain countries and nationalities that feature prominently in any roundup of obsessive Israel reporting. Among the front-runners are the Irish and Eire, where anti-Israel lunacy seems to be a normal part of everyday life.

The Dublin City Council voted to erase the name of the Chaim Herzog Park and rename it Free Palestine Park. Apparently, the fact that the late Israeli President and former ambassador to the UN was born in Ireland is of no interest. His greatest sin was that he became an Israeli. In the eyes of the demented inmates now residing in Dublin, this crime outweighs anything else.

In this particular instance, however, the haters massively miscalculated. Faced with an overwhelming accusation of Jew hate, even the Irish Prime Minister and deputy were forced to express their outrage at this Dublin act of insanity. Not being normally any sort of Israel ally, they realised the damage that this ridiculous renaming would generate. Faced with opposition from their own Government, the Dublin authorities rapidly backtracked, albeit still managing to articulate discredited Israel conspiracy theories. No doubt they will soon find another park to baptise as “free Palestine.”

Next to hit the headlines was Ryanair, the Irish budget airline.

Ryanair stopped flying to Israel as soon as the missiles started. Most foreign airlines also ceased flying. Now that more or less normality prevails, the majority of foreign airlines have either recommenced services or are in the process of doing so. Ryanair, however, has erased Israel from its future destinations. Its CEO offers the excuse that disputes with Israel’s aviation authorities over which terminal it can use are the real reason for its permanent withdrawal.

Based on a long history of Irish animosity towards Israel, sceptics detect more poisonous possibilities. Whatever the real reason, it seems suspicious that an Irish company should be the sole boycotter, especially as other airlines are expanding their flights. In fact, another budget airline, WIZZ, has announced plans for a massive investment in creating a hub at Ben Gurion airport and expanding flights via Ramon terminal near Eilat.

Rounding off a trio of Irish lunacy is the news that an Irish actress has rejected an honorary degree from Galway University because of its ties to The Technion. Apparently, the great sin of being associated with one of Israel’s leading centres of technology and cutting-edge innovation is enough to make any degree conferred as “treif.”

Ireland’s allergic reaction to Jews has a sordid history. The Irish government maintained a policy of “cool indifference” and was largely unwelcoming to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. It remained “neutral” during World War 2, and on the death of Hitler in 1945, it sent official condolences to the German representative in Dublin.

In the hypocrisy stakes, the French are up there with all the other suspects.

Amidst much fanfare and blowing of trumpets, President Macron

announced the promotion of Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of Brigadier General. Apparently, this magnanimous gesture is proof that all past State crimes against this Jewish soldier had now been whitewashed. Those who cheered this farcical fake gesture once again failed to see its hypocritical hype.

One hundred and thirty years have elapsed since the original branding of Dreyfus as a traitor and his exile to Devil’s Island. After his eventual rehabilitation, the deadly virus of Jew hate remained embedded in French political life, culminating in the crimes of Vichy. Today, the same hate has resurfaced with a vengeance, fueled by ancient incitement and French Government animosity towards the Jewish State.

A meaningless promotion 130 years in the making cannot disguise the terminal malaise that currently threatens French Jews and which has resulted in rising numbers of them making aliyah.

As the Pope flew to Lebanon on an official visit, Hezbollah urged him to condemn “Israeli aggression.” He avoided this diplomatic trap but offered up his Papal blessing for a “two state solution” as the only path to peace. This is another Vatican gesture Israel can safely ignore. It would be a breath of fresh air if, instead, the Pope honestly condemned the persecution of Christians in Islamic countries, which has seen the Christian presence in PA-controlled Bethlehem dwindle to a tiny minority.

Another anniversary has just been and gone with its original intention hijacked by the distorters of history.

29 November 1947 marked the passing of the Mandated Palestine partition plan at the UN General Assembly. It called for the creation of a Jewish and Arab country of what remained of the original territory promised for Jewish settlement.

As every student of history knows, the Jews accepted this truncated proposal as better than nothing, while the Arab representatives categorically rejected it. Their intention was to attack and destroy the Jewish independent State, which is what they proceeded to carry out. The perfidious British confidentially expected Israel to be stillborn and assisted the Jordanian Legion in this aim. The US State Department warned President Truman not to recognise Israel because it had no chance of surviving the collective might of the surrounding Arab armies.

We now know what eventuated. Given the passage of time, the rise of historical revisionists and the tsunami of ignorance of today’s generation, completely distorted versions now hold sway.

Newly minted “Palestinians” mourn the “Nakba.” The disaster they commemorate is their inability to wipe out the reborn Jewish nation in 1948 and every attempt at repeating this since then. The UN and international community, ignoring reality, give them legitimacy to carry out their ambitions.

That is why Abbas, the PA lifetime President, felt confident in proclaiming a few days ago, his demand for a return to implementation of the 1947 partition plan. In order that there should be no doubt about his intentions, he also demanded a return to the armistice lines of 1948, control of Jerusalem and a return of refugees. Incidentally, the original 700,000 Arab refugees, most of whom had been encouraged by their own leaders to leave, have now multiplied to more than five million. His real agenda is not hard to discern, but given current trends, they likely will be embraced by all the usual suspects.

Just when you think that you have heard it all, something comes along to prove that anti-Israel insanity is infectious.

Israel has participated in Eurovision for 52 years, ever since it joined the competition in 1973. During that time, it won four times and reached the finals on many occasions.

These successes have obviously upset some participating countries.

Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland, the Netherlands and Spain have been leading the charge to have Israel banned from future competitions. They threaten to boycott the next event unless Israel is excluded. A final decision has now been made, and Israel will continue to compete. In a desperate attempt at appeasement, a change of voting rules has been instituted. This will result in Israel never being able to reach a winning spot, which in effect is the same as boycotting the Jewish State. Having failed to get Israel expelled, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia announced that they would not compete in the next competition. They will not be missed.

It is a sign of the depths to which deluded and deranged haters are determined to descend.

Anytime of the year, it seems to be now the silly season in the war against Israel and Jews.

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.