OTHER, VIEWS The Versatility Of Bigots o ne can't help but be impressed by the versatility of the bigots of the world. The old canards — blaming the Jews for the killing of Christ; for using Christian children's blood to make matzot at Passover; for causing bubonic plague; for killing themselves while in cahoots with Adolf Hitler to gain world sym- pathy while the Holocaust never occurred — just don't sell anymore. Even the most uninformed, the most dedicated bigot doesn't buy that garbage. So, let's invent some new garbage, a new Hate-the-Jew message to rekindle the fires of rabid anti- Semitism and in the process, help to destroy the State of Israel and curry favor and probably hard cash from our Arab friends. Let's round up some of our old tried and true anti-Semites — the dedicated liars and professional Arabists, many evidently, already on the Saudi Jerome S. Kaufman is a Bloomfield Hills resident. Arabian pension plan to proclaim the new message. You have seen them all over the news media pouring out their venom unencumbered by truth or logic. But, what's the new Hate-the-Jew message? Why, of course, it is that the Jews of the world that are the ones causing the war against Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the problems with the rest of the Muslim friends in the world. The Jews and the Israelis with their settlements that constitute less than 2 percent of the land of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) are the ones at fault. If it weren't for the Jews and the State of Israel, we would be all liv- ing happily ever after. What with anti-Semitism resurgent all over Europe and naturally in the countries containing 1.3 billion Muslims and with the enthusiastic support of the confused political far left and confused far right, this is not a hard sell. Anti-Semitism, in its most crass form, has become politically cor- Indochina, Bosnia, Nigeria, rect. Emily Post and Miss Sudan, etc. You name it. The Manners, as usual, don't apply list is virtually endless. • to Jews. Hating the Jew is Also, never mind the fact totally permissible and even to that the American Jewish be admired. community and the Israelis But what are the facts? In themselves have mixed feel- fact, there are. conflicts going ings about the war of Iraq. on all over the world between JERO ME S. There are many Jews and Muslims and the West that KAUF MAN Israelis, comfortably at the have absolutely nothing to do forefront of so-called "peace Comm unity with Jews or Israelis. There are movements," who don't even Vi ews approximately 30 major world welcome their participation conflicts going on right now any more. And there are many less and 27 of them are between Muslims bubbly-minded Jews who wholeheart- attempting to regain their glory of the edly support the actions of President 7th-11th century and Christians or George W. Bush and the Congress of other ethnic groups that have no the United States of America. desire to return to or become newly a But so what! Hating Jews has always part of Muslim domination. Nevertheless, somehow it is the Jews been a favorite indoor sport. And now with Passover just around the corner that are the ones to blame for the cen- and a shortage of Christian children turies-old wars between Muslims and disappearing to make all that matzot, Hindis in India, Pakistan, Kashmir; for the insurrections of Muslims, in the we have to find a new outrageous lie. Let's blame the Jews for the war in South Philippines, for the reversion to Iraq. That should sell easily. recidivism in Armenia, Chechnya, ❑ Israelis Celebrate Freedom Ramat Gan, Israel he saying that "freedom is most valued after it has been lost and recovered" may be a cliche, but from the perspective of 5,000 years of Jewish history, it remains current. From the Exodus from Egyptian slavery through the creation of the State of Israel, we have repeatedly lost and then fought tenaciously to regain our freedom, and the struggle contin- ues. In each Passover season, Jews tradi- tionally review the accomplishments in recovering and preserving our inde- pendence, as well as the continuing dangers. Last year, pre-Pesach shopping for Israelis was more like a military opera- tion than preparation for a holiday. With suicide bombings conducted almost daily, each foray to the shuk or mall was carefully planned. We would check out the level of security in the area, dash into the store to make our purchases, and speed home to relative T Professor Gerald M. Steinberg is director of the Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University. His e- mail address is gerald@vms.huji.ac.il 4/ 4 2003 36 safety. In other words, we had essentially lost our independence. Instead of the usual nature hikes and other activities, children were kept close to home. The sounds of bomb- ings echoed eerily, followed by the screaming of ambulances. Most Israelis recognized the names and faces of vic- tims, and in the neighborhoods of Jerusalem we heard the gunfire from the attacks against homes and schools in Gilo. While we were sitting down for the seder, 29 Israelis were slaughtered at the Park Hotel in Netanya. This and other attacks during the Passover week led to the beginning of the long- delayed Israeli counterattack to regain our freedom. Iraq Parallel In Operation Defensive Shield and its successors, the Israel Defense Forces moved to destroy the Palestinian terror networks which turned schools, hospi- tals and ordinary houses into explosives laboratories and terrorist training facili- ties. The unwillingness to risk civilian casualties led to some tragic mistakes, in which groups of soldiers were killed by Palestinian explosives, but over the following weeks and months, the goals were achieved. forced to appoint a prime Since then, Palestinian efforts minister who declared the ter- to launch suicide bombings ror campaign to have been a against Israelis have not mistake. Mahmoud Abbas stopped entirely, but their abili- may or may not mark a break ty to reach the cities and buses • with the past — it is too early has eroded significantly, and to tell — but regime change the attacks are now averaging has started. less than once a month. Perhaps Palestinians will And, after gaining an initial GERALD M. begin to value freedom and foothold through the other STEINBERG tolerance over the fanatic "axis of evil" — Israel-bashing Special hatred of Israel that has led to journalists, "human rights Commentary 55 years of death and disaster. activists," diplomats and aca- demics -- the lies about mas- sacres were exposed. In the propaganda Creating Freedom war to end the hatred directed against Life for Israelis is still far from "nor- Israel, some progress is being made. mal." We still look over our shoulders Now, one year later, Israelis go shop- as we stand in line to be frisked at ping and ride the busses with much shopping centers, and some suicide less fear and greater security from ter- bombers continue to get through. And rorist attacks. These ordinary actions now, Israelis are carrying gas masks and have become small daily celebrations of have sealed rooms in their houses, in freedom and survival against a bitter case Saddam tries to use his chemical and cruel enemy. and biological terror weapons against Some Palestinians also recognize that the hated "Zionist entity" before being the campaign of hatred and terrorism removed from the stage. has failed and has cost them dearly. But despite these dangers, the actions Last year at this time, Yasser Arafat was of tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers courted by diplomats and political have restored our independence and leaders from around the world. Since control over own lives. The centrality then, he has been under "house arrest" of freedom and of the celebration of in what is left of his compound in Passover and the Exodus is as impor- Ramallah. tant for us as it was when Moses took His visitors consist of minor officials the Jews out of Egypt. ❑ from "old Europe," and he has been