Don’t laud Jewish defiance then ignore Israeli abuse

Western liberals prefer to damn ‘Islamofascists’ than make Israel face up to the consequences of its violent behaviour

FIRST POSTED JANUARY 7, 2009

All over Britain this week people will be confronted by the valiant face of Jewish armed resistance to terror; to whit, the rough-hewn - and to my mind, distinctively Anglo-Saxon - features of the actor, Daniel Craig, staring out at them from film posters.

Craig is starring in a new epic, Defiance, which tells the little-known story of a partisan band of Jewish fighters who, during World War Two, fought back against the Nazis from their hide-out deep in the forests of Belarus.

Apparently, after screenings in the Jewish neighbourhoods of Brooklyn, the audience has simultaneously wept and applauded this debunking of the stereotype of Jewish passivity in the face of violence. Yes, six decades on, no Jew need feel ashamed or impotent anymore.

Even our Foreign Secretary calls for a ceasefire with a fatalistic shrug

You don't need to be as English as Daniel Craig to appreciate the irony that just as one army of Jews are being lauded for their principled act of 'defiance', another is engaged in a more morally dubious feat of arms.

Nor do you have to be as much of a conspiracy theorist as some twisted Islamists to imagine that the producers of Defiance may have been encouraged to time the film's release to coincide with the IDF's invasion of Gaza; the Israeli government - and their supporters - have been engaged in a PR offensive for months now, to soften up Western opinion formers and the wider public, so that when the tanks began to roll we'd all accept it as just another scene in the epic tale of Jewish armed resistance to terror.

I'm not primarily concerned with the rights and wrongs of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict here - to my way of thinking the shards of this viciously shattered hall of mirrors will carry on stabbing at us all until the End of Days - but rather with the boundless willingness of so-called liberals here in Britain and in the US to forgive Israel's behaviour.

Coming from any other state, the collective punishment of a civilian population - first with the denial of food and medical treatment, then with bombs and bullets - would be strenuously condemned. Yet even when our Foreign Secretary calls for an immediate ceasefire he does so with a fatalistic shrug of the shoulders, as if to say, 'Well, what can you do?'

Of course, in David 'Helmet Hair' Miliband's case it's absolutely nothing; the impotence of the Quartet powers was

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Surely Israels actions are less severe, and involve many fewer civilian deaths that those of America and Britain when they illegally invaded Iraq - at least Irael is defending itself. We cannot criticise.

Posted by firstdruid at 10:57am on January 7, 2009

What would you do if you were under fire from terrorist rockets for 8 years, where the terrorists use civilians (women and children included) as human shields and fire from mosques, hospitals, schools etc? Even today, as Israel has ceased the fighting for 3 hours for humanitarian purposes the terrorists keep firing rockets.

Posted by philip Schwartzberg at 2:13pm on January 7, 2009

Well said, Will Self

Posted by Linda Dalton at 3:00pm on January 7, 2009

The Jewish people have been trying to survive for thousands of years, a small country the size of Wales surrounded by larger Arab nations who will not let them live in peace and will not be happy until they drive them into the sea. But even though they are small they know how to defend themselves and have God on their side. Israel has every right to defend themselves just like any other country in the world. In all wars innocent people get killed on both sides. I hope Israel will get the peace they want and their southern and northern borders will not ever get attacked again.

Posted by Mark at 7:30pm on January 7, 2009

You have totally misunderstood this film. Having just seen the film the message is very powerful - even when your life is at risk you must retain your morality and not stoop to the savagery of those attacking you.

Posted by Jonni Berger at 11:59pm on January 7, 2009

The EU should bomb Israel until they permanently cease their aggression on the Gaza concentration camp. Their actions are worse than the Germans in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Posted by Peter at 10:51am on January 8, 2009

To firstduid: I would treat the Palestinians with the common decency and respect I expect for myself. Acknowledge their human-ness and allow them to put on the negotiating table the fact of their right-of-return, the fact of the illegal Israeli settlements, the fact of the illegal wall, and other facts that any decent human being would acknowledge. Israel doesn't. Doing so would give the Palestinians bargaining chips; i.e., an alternative to violence. Until both the Israelis and the Palestinians treat each other with dignity and respect, there will never be a negotiated settlement. Israel has never treated the Palestinians with respect at the negotiating table, boldly and publicly denying their basic human rights - rights that have been confirmed by the World Court in the Hague. The Palestinians are thus helpless, forced into a corner, able to only kick once in a while at Israel, despite the terrible beating by Israel. Also, the US behaves with shame, being controlled by the Israel Lobby, granting all political and financial support to Israel, and in the process, growing a monster.

Posted by vconcerned at 2:43am on January 14, 2009