Two young men posed a
real threat to Israeli soldiers during a Nakba Day demonstration and
were killed. The U.N., U.S. and Europe are demanding an investigation.
On numerous occasions,
the Palestinian propaganda machine has produced edited or staged films
to incriminate Israeli soldiers. But even though we have seen this
script before, the Israel Defense Forces has an obligation to conduct a
thorough probe to uncover the facts, as in past similar incidents. Such
is the case when human lives are cut short.
The world is
hypocritical when it comes to the desire of the Jews to live in peace
and security. In Syria, hundreds of people, women and children among
them, are being killed every day. Since the Syrian uprising began three
years ago, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been slaughtered,
including by chemical weapons, but the world is silent. In Nigeria,
Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, east Asia and many other places around
the globe, heinous crimes are committed, and the world says nothing.
But when Israeli soldiers try to protect themselves from violent
rioters, the world cries out.
Anyone who has studied
Jewish history, particularly from the Middle Ages onward, knows one
basic fact. The Jews have always been accused of being responsible for
all sorts of crimes and social ills. At first, this was done by the
Catholic Church, which encouraged the persecution of Jews as punishment
for the crucifixion of Jesus. Over the years, various political entities
adopted this practice. This terrible propaganda campaign dehumanized
the Jews and led to the extermination of one third of the Jewish people
in the Holocaust.
Hypocrisy and hatred
toward Israel are a continuation of this age-old anti-Semitism. The new
form of anti-Semitism places Israel at the center of most of the world's
troubles. In numerous countries, including ones considered to be
enlightened, many people believe that if only Israel would disappear or
return to indefensible borders, world peace would break out. Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei would sit down for a cup of English tea with Queen
Elizabeth, while U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President
Vladimir Putin would do a Ukrainian folk dance together as the Red Army
Choir sings in background. Time and time again, it has been proved that
lies and delusions, if repeated often enough, become perceived as
truths.
It is very difficult to
cope with this new form of anti-Semitism. It is hard to sway someone
who has a fixed mindset. Why do we blame the foreign media for its
hostility toward Israel when there are those among us who for years have
supplied it with the most potent ammunition? There is no type of hatred
that is juicier or more interesting than self-hatred.
The establishment of
Israel changed the course of Jewish history. For thousands of years, the
Jews had been written out of history. They were a passive group whose
sole purpose in life was to survive. The chosen people, talented and
moral, had become a nation of survivalists, paying a tough price to
maintain their faith and will to live. Dying a sacred death became ideal
due to the conditions in exile. Israel brought the Jews back to
history. We returned to being an independent, active, living, vibrant
and, sometimes, kicking nation. It seems that the world pays more
attention to Israel than it does to the U.S. and China together.
Our desire to live is the basis
of our willingness to fight to hold on to our homeland. This is our
home. Here, we were born, and we have no other place. The hypocritical
world can establish investigative committees, send emissaries and write
false and biased opinions. In response, Israel must strengthen itself,
believe in its mission and path, and give all the necessary backing to
the soldiers defending our homeland.
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