No doubt as a result of the Leftist bias of the mainstream media, I was long under the impression that the Jews were interlopers in what we presently know as Israel, that History in fact validated Hamas’ claim that it rightfully belonged to the Palestinians. In the aftermath of Oct. 7, Canada’s National Post published a number of articles on the subject which left little doubt as to Israel’s moral right to defend itself from future attacks. Two of the articles to which I shall briefly allude were published on Oct. 14, one by Danielle Kubes and the other by Conrad Black who produced yet another on Nov. 4.
According to Black, the historical record shows the Jews to have been present in the territory under dispute approximately 5,700 years ago, whereas the Arabs did not arrive ’til the 7th Century A.D.. Ancient Israel and Judah existed as a united Kingdom there which went into decline after the death of Solomon in approximately 930 B.C., almost 3000 years ago. Equally significant is the fact that the Turks and Persians were the historical enemies of the Arabs, and not the Jews. Indeed the Turks held present day Jerusalem from the 16th C. ’til the end of W.W. 1 when the English and French ended their rule. This is not to say that Jews and Arabs have not clashed in the past, but it is the Iranians who seem to be the main instigators behind Hamas’ attempt to destroy Israel. Hence Donald Trump’s ability to negotiate the Abraham Accords which saw several Arab nations [The United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Sudan, etc.] acknowledge Israel’s right to exist, a right that had in fact been endorsed by Egypt’s Anwar Sadat in 1978!
Danielle Kubes cites the multiple persecutions to which the Jews have been submitted over the millennia, including several of which few people know. In 12th C. England, “Christian” fanatics slaughtered approximately 150 Jews, including women and children. Twenty years before the Holocaust, 100,000 were massacred in the Ukraine! This of course pales in comparison to the 6 million dispatched by Hitler. In addition to other such atrocities, the Jews have been expelled from multiple countries throughout the ages, including Ancient Rome in the 2nd Century B.C., as well as England, Spain, Hungary, etc. in the ensuing centuries. It is as a haven from such atrocities, Kubes argues, that the Jews must have a homeland of their own. Indeed the title of her Post article is: “This is why Israel exists.”
Since its inception in 1948, Israel has done most everything it could to assure its Palestinian neighbors that it was perfectly comfortable living side by side with them in peaceful accord. Over the last 25 years it has proposed several separate-state solutions, none of which has met with the approval of Hamas and company. The wonder of contemporary Israel, Danielle Kubes contends, is that rather than being rife with natural resources which give the Jews a distinct advantage over their neighbors, it is actually devoid of any such and, indeed, depends even for its fresh water on its technological expertise. Present day Israel, unlike various Arab nations which are blessed with vast deposits of oil, is prospering as a modern Democratic state because of the Jews’ historically self-evident propensity for hard work and achievement. Gee, is it possible they have been persecuted throughout history because they are amongst the most intelligent and creative sectors of our species? Such generalizations, of course, entitle no one to pre-judge any individual on the basis of their race, but studies have shown certain ethnic groups, including Ashkenazi Jews, to be genetically endowed with superior intellectual capabilities. It is no mere accident that Marx, Freud and Einstein, 3 of the most influential forces in Western Culture over the last 200 years, were Jews!
It is ironic, I realize, that I cited Marx whose world-view I find both simplistic and destructive. But even more ironic is the fact that the Left’s Neo-Marxist disdain for Merit, its inclination to see all human disparities as a matter of oppression rather than achievement, would seem to explain the very sort of resentment that has led to the persecution of the Jews throughout history. Israel is the most evolved, civilized, and indeed the only truly Democratic nation in the Middle East. While clearly trying not to kill innocent Palestinians in the present conflict, it inevitably does so because Hamas militants cynically choose to hide amongst them, actually hoping the deaths of their own people will turn world opinion against the Jews!
Is it surprising that the simpleton who may very well be the Democrats’ candidate in the upcoming Presidential election, refused to attend a speech given by Netanyahu in Washington a few days ago? Of course not! For Kamala, the Jews are the villains in this present conflict. Insisting that Netanyahu make peace with Hamas, she is oblivious to the fact that this will inevitably result in future unprovoked attacks and Israeli deaths. History proves it!
My point is simply that Anti-Semitism is a predictable byproduct of the Leftist narrative which implicitly incites its adherents to empathize with those it considers “victims,” with no consideration whatsoever of the moral-intellectual status and achievements of the parties involved. Hence, for example, the Left’s widespread disgust with the Western European Colonialists who came to the Americas 500 years ago and had the audacity to conclude that their Civilization, which had produced Socrates, Shakespeare, The Enlightenment, etc. was somehow more civilized than the Indigenous of the Americas who appeared to be stuck in the Stone Age!
It is July 29 as I conclude my comments, and I of course learned yesterday of the assault on the Golan Heights by Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist group also backed by Iran, which killed approximately 12 Israelis, mostly children, in a rocket attack on a playground. Those who would equate such abominations to Israel’s perfectly justified attempts to destroy Hamas, would seem to be both morally and intellectually stunted. But then again, isn’t that a basic requirement of the Left’s devotion to Inclusiveness, which insists we simply ignore the very real Moral and Intellectual diversity of the species?