Predictability

There are some things in life so predictable and invariable that when they occur, there should be no sense of surprise.

It is therefore amazing that many people are still unaware of when the inevitable occurs.

Jewish history provides endless examples of predictable enmity and animosity. Ambushes over three thousand years should have, by now, inculcated a genetic warning system whereby impending dangers and behaviour can be foreseen.

Current events provide boundless examples and should serve as a guide as to how to prepare and react.

The Houthis have been firing missiles from Yemen at Israeli civilian targets for quite some time. Almost every week, sirens warn of incoming projectiles, sending everyone scrambling for the nearest reinforced safe room, air raid shelter or stairwell. Those unlucky enough to be caught in the open or in vehicles on the road are supposed to lie down and cover their heads with their hands.

I was reading an excellent op-ed on the Israel Institute of NZ website bemoaning the complete lack of response by NZ Government spokespersons or indeed any political leader to the incessant barrage of missiles. Coincidentally, in the midst of reading this piece, the sirens blared forth again, and we traipsed to our local communal shelter. In due course, we heard the loud booms as the Israeli missile interceptors did their job. Protocol dictates that we wait 10 minutes after the all clear in case stray debris from the interception falls.

The glaringly transparent silence of NZ politicians comes as no surprise. It is entirely predictable given past history. Like a stuck record repeating the same worn-out song, all one can hear is the clueless chorus mouthing the same old inanities. The stark reality that the Houthis, their Iranian patrons, Hamas and all the other terror groups have as their primary objective the elimination of Israel seems not to register with decision makers. To be fair, New Zealand is not unique in this respect. Across the Tasman, the new Australian Government is poised to embrace further UN resolutions against Israel while ignoring malevolent machinations on the part of the terror facilitators.

As we sat in the shelter, I also pondered the fate of the hostages still held in Gaza. President Trump obviously pressured Hamas into releasing a dual Israeli/American hostage. I wonder what the NZ or Australian Prime Ministers would have done if a dual Israel/NZ/Australia citizen had been kidnapped. I am positive that silence would ensue given the current obsession with moral equivalency and a fear of upsetting certain electoral sectors.

Perhaps a few mealy-mouthed expressions of anxiety might have been forthcoming, but certainly not a sustained campaign vigorous enough to get results. The NZ Ambassador is ensconced in Turkey and causes nary a ripple on the local Israeli scene. In fact, if one were to conduct a street survey, I can guarantee that 99.9% of Israelis have never heard of such a person. Has she/he visited the site of the Nova Festival pogrom? The NZ Foreign Minister has not visited Israel since 7 October 2023 although he has been in the region.

Showing genuine solidarity with the Middle East’s only functioning democracy is obviously not a priority. Refusing to be confused by the facts is patently preferable.

The Eurovision annual spectacle has concluded.

Basel, the city where modern Zionism was born, came alive not only to the sound of music but also to the resounding raucous baying of the hate mobs. Despite threats of boycotts and violence, Israeli singer and survivor of the Nova Festival massacre, Yuval Raphael, defied all the odds and pollsters by reaching second place in the final. The votes from the public were overwhelmingly for her in contrast to the votes from the various countries’ juries which displayed the expected bias. It has since been reported that the Spanish public broadcaster has demanded an audited recount of the public votes.

Unsurprisingly, the Spanish Prime Minister has now called for the expulsion of Israel from next year’s Eurovision.

How predictable.

Presumably, they will next demand the expulsion of all Israelis and Zionists from Spain, thus continuing a long tradition initiated in 1492.

Not to be outdone, the Austrian winner condemned Israel’s 2^nd placing and expressed the hope that it would be excluded from next year’s competition. It brings back memories of demands from the recent past of “raus raus” to all Jews.

The annual hate fest called Nakba Day which recalls the “calamitous rebirth of Jewish sovereignty” has once again demonstrated how deliberate lies and historical distortions have now become totally embedded in the fetid minds of the haters. In scenes reminiscent of recent darker times, city streets were witness to inciting mobs carrying defamatory slogans and screaming threats and venom against Israel, Zionists and Jews.

It needs to be repeated by every Jewish communal representative, loud and clear, that each and every nakba following Israel’s rebirth was and continues to be the result of Arab, jihadist and Islamic fanatic rejection of the Jewish right to sovereignty. Claims of colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing by Jews require a robust rebuttal. No apologies by supine communal leaders are necessary for disasters which are self-inflicted. It’s time to clearly state that the so-called Arab refugees and fake Palestinian claims of historical authenticity are the result of jihadist rejectionist actions. The fact that the international community has swallowed these fables does not make them true.

Predictability, the big lies have become accepted as revealed holy script.

Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) which commemorates the reunification of our eternal Capital in 1967 is being celebrated this coming week.

Once again, it is an opportunity for all the deniers, haters and revisionists to vent their animosity.

How many politicians who will be condemning this occasion realise that Jerusalem was the Capital of a sovereign Jewish country well before the advent of Christians and Muslims?

Who will ask which country illegally occupied the divided city between 1948 and 1967? The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an artificially created entity of the colonial British, banned Jews from accessing and praying at the Kotel (Western Wall) during that period. They also randomly fired at Israeli civilians from the walls of the Old City.

Why was an Arab “Palestine” not created during the years that Jordan was illegally in control of the “west bank?” The answer is very simple. Not one Arab country wanted such a fictitious entity. Neither did those living in the areas concerned. They preferred Jordanian citizenship. The real preference was to destroy Israel which they tried to carry out again in 1967. Failure to wipe out the Jews resulted in the commencement of diplomatic terror and the creation of a fake history of “Palestinian” indigenousness.

The silence of the United Nations, the Vatican (which refused to acknowledge Israeli sovereignty) and other international organisations during those years stands in sharp contrast to the collective chorus of anti-Israel condemnations today.

With the liberation of Jerusalem from illegal Jordanian occupation, the world woke up from its self-induced slumber and since 1967 has refused to acknowledge its status as the Capital of the Jewish State.

The shameful silence of all and sundry is evident when Islamic claims of “Judaization” are made and the old hoary libels of Jewish plans to destroy the mosque on the Temple Mount are hurled.

Instead of championing reclaimed sovereignty in Israel’s capital and protection of all faiths, many Jewish advocates tend to apologise and stutter at the sight of Jews celebrating. It is exactly this hesitancy to openly stand up for our legitimate rights that has led to the current shambolic and shameful situation.

We should not be taken by surprise when our enemies and their willing supporters sense our own hesitations and witness self-loathers rubbishing the restoration of Jewish sovereignty.

The media love the spectacle of internal conflict and disaffected individuals and groups denouncing the rebuilding of our Land.

Short of complete surrender to the dictates of those who plot our demise, there is very little that can mitigate the age-old virus.

Guaranteeing Jewish continuity by reinforcing our faith and commitment to its eternal mission is a proven strategy for survival.

Speaking up and fighting back is another tool we should be employing.

If we learn from the past and do our part, we will not be taken by surprise today or in the future.

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.