This denial of the possibility of Jewish power is evident in the so-called right wing commentators who keep harping on about the aid that Israel gets from the US. They complain endlessly about how their taxes are propping up Israel, as though without it Israel would disappear.
They fail to grasp that it’s not a one-way street but a mutually beneficial relationship. In fact, the US gets a bargain for its investment.
Intersectionalism is intellectually and morally bankrupt.
That said, I do want to add something. We should beware of over-generalised statements about "how the world sees Israel".
The author asks: "How can you explain the selective outrage?" Two points, if I may. First, many people look at the relative casualty figures between Israelis and Palestinians, which admittedly for decades have been very disproportionate. (Yes, we know Hamas’ Gaza figures are wildly unreliable and propagandistic.)
Second, the often-outrageous statements of Jewish extremists such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are broadcast far and wide in the international news media and interpreted as something tantamount to an official Israeli position. It is a major problem that PM Netanyahu neither corrects nor condemns their utterances, nor orders them to refrain from such extremist rhetoric.
While Israel has been militarily successful, especially against Hezbollah and Iran, Israel has until recently all but neglected a major front in the war: namely information and public messaging. It’s malpractice to cede that vital front to Hamas propagandists and their sympathisers! Moreover, Bibi inexplicably got rid of one of Israel’s most effective English-speaking voices, Eylon Levy – without even bothering to find a good replacement.
PS I would, however, like to acknowledge that Israel’s information to the international community improved markedly during the recent preemptive war against Iran. This should be an example to emulate.
Netanyahu will not do anything about these two people and their inflammatory outbursts because without their support his government collapses. So he must (at least on the surface) tone down any critical statements he might really want to exhibit in public. When you have such a plethora of political parties in Israeli politics, it makes for some strange partnerships to get a functioning government in motion.
Yes. A large slice of the weaknesses of the West, of the Democracies, of the Churches, and - of the Left (including a LOT of Jewish individuals/groups/organizations and certain Left obsessed Democrat/Labor rabbis etc) - are all driven to dribble by being believers in such trite dogma as 'turn the other cheek' while loosing all your power. There's a definite Xtian Dribble Drive that plays a much bigger part in undermining the West, Civilisation, Democracies than is ever discussed. The Jewish people who become obsessed with 'peace' and 'love' are mentally frozen on one side of the Tree of Life and stuck in one sefirot and one myopic 'vision'. Whereas the Tree of Life ALWAYS encourages parallel and paradox and dichotomy and overall harmony throughout rather than one obsessive 'ideal'.
Yes, as Einat Wilf has said, in the West, Christian values have been secularized and still prevail, even amongst non-believers. Lately I have been wanting to tell people, “turn the other cheek” isn’t Jewish, so don’t expect us to do it. And “the meek shall inherit the earth? Sure, six feet of earth above them. We’ll pass, thanks.”
“Israel is not viewed by progressive activists as the world’s embodiment of evil because of settlements or policies or any of the other red herrings that are thrown up to justify the hysterical condemnations. It is viewed as the embodiment of evil because Jews have traditionally been the empty vessel upon which humans have projected their sins — and the Jewish state is both the national embodiment of the Jewish people and the natural inheritor of centuries of projection and vilification of Jews.
Jews worldwide are not targeted because of Israel’s existence. On the contrary, Israel is targeted because of Jews’ existence. At a minimum, it is the Jewish people’s insistence on existing as a self-determined people that sets off the haters.
It is not, fundamentally, the existence or actions of Israel that lead to global condemnations and acts of hate against Jews around the world. No, we’ve got this exactly backward. It is the hatred of Jews around the world that leads to the military and rhetorical assaults against Israel. Global antisemitism is not a byproduct of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a byproduct of global antisemitism.”
Bravo........But I do agree the messaging/social media/public messaging coming from Israel pertaining to facts has been worse than woeful. In an information age when falsehoods race around the world in seconds, it behooves a more forceful and immediate response from Israel. Military strength is 100 percent necessary. Psychological warfare/rebuttal just as much. And in that the Arabs have been masters. That MUST change for Israel.
Amen, Joshua! This is so true. The outcome: we can never go back to shrinking violets. 1948/5708 is literally hidden in the Song of Moses, Deuteronomy 30, precisely where he foretells that we will be ‘brought back to the land our father's possessed and we shall possess it and multiply.’ Great article.
Another home run essay, Joshua. We have seen since October 8th, that whoever Israel has had to fight, Hezbollah, Houthis, Hamas, Iran, have all become the Left's "heroes." When Israel was making enormous headway at the onset of the war, the Biden administration had to slow it down. How could they let Israel "win" the war, when the Islamists were protesting and Michigan had been calling? The same recently happened in Iran. Israel was told they had to go home, after successfully destroying important parts of Iran and eliminating top IRGC officials. (this was reported in US news). As your essay explains, the world is perfectly fine with weak, and better yet, dead Jews. Teaching the Holocaust and Anne Frank, they get the green light. Although in today's curriculum in the US, influenced by Islamists and Marxists, that is disappearing from classes. Dara Horn said it perfectly in her book, "People Love Dead Jews." You have concisely identified why weak Jews are a safe space for antisemites/antiZionists.
The bigger picture of Far Right white racism is the hatred of non whites who gain their sovereignty through independence and military strength. It is widely believed in The Far Right that only white countries are actually sovereign and therefore free. This is actually spoken in the Far Right, but is also the racism in The West’s Left Liberal Elite as well, unadmitted and therefore projected racism onto Israel and Jewish People, in the Left which makes it so much more Shrill. And just as racist.
"Why does Israel (the only liberal democracy in its region, with rights for minorities, LGBTQ citizens, and an independent press) get portrayed as the villain in virtually every Western activist's fantasy?
The answer is projection."
Actually, the answer is scapegoat-ism,a role the non-Jewish world has imposed on Jews since forever.
As Hoffman wrote, "it’s not just politics; it’s psychology. There is a long history of people projecting their own fears, insecurities, and unresolved guilt onto Jews. In the case of Israel, this projection takes the form of obsession."
In his 1959 book "Life and Fate," Vassily Grossman said "Tell me what you accuse the Jews of and I will tell you what you are guilty of."
Perhaps a more accurate statement would be "Tell me what you accuse the Jews of and I will SHOW you what you are guilty of."
Consider this, the outrage you feel over Jewish autonomy, sovereignty, and "agency," arises from because a people you considered sub-human now rises up to independence, claiming parity with you. Oh the shame! Oh the humiliation!
This is denialism. No, many people are simply disgusted that a powerful nation is channeling its innovation and resources into ethnic cleansing. Many individuals and groups have many kinds of ties to Israel and Jewish people. No-one I know or speak to is upset about a strong Israel, they are upset that Israel is committing ethnic cleansing, then making up stories and delusions about why those people are upset, rather than acknowledging the reality on the ground. The lack of acknowledgment of that reality and it's effects on a militarily occupied people get us into this weird place where you simply cannot look at that reality because the story of perpetual victimization means Israel will not see itself as responsible. It's brutal bullying, and that cannot be hidden, and telling others what they think, instead of actually acknowledging the truth of why they are speaking up, shows you are either not listening, or are being disingenuous.
Thank you Joshua! I keep re-reading your piece and it resonates more and more deeply. Somewhere along the 5700+ year history of Judaism, antisemitism made its way into the genetically-embedded collective unconscious described by Carl Jung. I suspect that disentangling that from humankind's collective minds would likely take another 5700+ years. Since USSR Intelligence Services brought awareness to President Nasser and the United Arab Republic before the June 1967 War, Muslim-majority neighbor States have been aware that their war with Israel is an asymmetric conflict with Israel in the dominant position. Leaders of Arab and Muslim States having only one strategic advantage over Israel--numbers of citizens. The ratio of Muslims:Jews in the region stretching from Israel to India is approximately 80:1. Israeli science and technology PLUS military offensive and defensive assets have matured steadily since the 1960s. Thus, Israel's strategic nuclear arsenal has multiple layers of sophistication useful for deterring and damaging aggressors--tactical nuclear weapons, high-flux neutron emitting devices, electromagnetic pulse devices, cyberspace penetration-disruption-monitoring capabilities. Israeli alliances continue to expand along the "reverse Silk Road" from Israel-to-Golan Heights-to As-Suweyda (Syria)-to-Kurdish Syria-to-Kurdish Iraq-to-Kurdish Iran-to-Azerbaijan-to-Turkmenistan-to-Uzbekistan-to-Tajikistan-to-Kyrgystan-to-India. This strategic airspace meets Israeli needs and coincidentally meets USA-pivot-to-Asia needs. The combination of (1) Israeli technological, computational, and military transactions with India, (2) US Air Force and Naval assets in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Diego Garcia PLUS Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan PLUS Eastern Europe, and (3) recent US activation of Greenland-based Air- and Space-Force asserts (under the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement between the US and Denmark) has created a remarkably advantaged position vis a vis US-Russia and US-China relations. Israel's "breakout" from post-Holocaust Nationhood to Middle East-Central Asia nuclear power is beyond remarkable. The selective and growing outrage against Israel and Diaspora Jewry centering upon activation "Pro-Hamas and Pro-Hezbollah" youth and adults in Western Civilized nations is symptomatic of Israel's successful asymmetric dominance over its neighbors. Israel's adversaries have less sophisticated weaponry with the sole exception of numbers of citizens. As in WWII, Emperor Hirohito had to rely upon kamikaze pilots and battlefield samurais in the waning days of the Japanese Empire as Japan became increasingly an asymmetrically weaker power versus the US and Allies. Your outstanding essay is MUST READING for those seeking a 2025 update to "Guide for the Perplexed".
"For thus saith the Lord of Hosts; After the glory hath sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye" (Zechariah 2:8); " For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her" (Zechariah 2:5); "And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee" (Jeremiah 1:19). "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed " (Genesis 23:3). AMEN 🙏
This denial of the possibility of Jewish power is evident in the so-called right wing commentators who keep harping on about the aid that Israel gets from the US. They complain endlessly about how their taxes are propping up Israel, as though without it Israel would disappear.
They fail to grasp that it’s not a one-way street but a mutually beneficial relationship. In fact, the US gets a bargain for its investment.
Intersectionalism is intellectually and morally bankrupt.
That said, I do want to add something. We should beware of over-generalised statements about "how the world sees Israel".
The author asks: "How can you explain the selective outrage?" Two points, if I may. First, many people look at the relative casualty figures between Israelis and Palestinians, which admittedly for decades have been very disproportionate. (Yes, we know Hamas’ Gaza figures are wildly unreliable and propagandistic.)
Second, the often-outrageous statements of Jewish extremists such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are broadcast far and wide in the international news media and interpreted as something tantamount to an official Israeli position. It is a major problem that PM Netanyahu neither corrects nor condemns their utterances, nor orders them to refrain from such extremist rhetoric.
While Israel has been militarily successful, especially against Hezbollah and Iran, Israel has until recently all but neglected a major front in the war: namely information and public messaging. It’s malpractice to cede that vital front to Hamas propagandists and their sympathisers! Moreover, Bibi inexplicably got rid of one of Israel’s most effective English-speaking voices, Eylon Levy – without even bothering to find a good replacement.
PS I would, however, like to acknowledge that Israel’s information to the international community improved markedly during the recent preemptive war against Iran. This should be an example to emulate.
Netanyahu will not do anything about these two people and their inflammatory outbursts because without their support his government collapses. So he must (at least on the surface) tone down any critical statements he might really want to exhibit in public. When you have such a plethora of political parties in Israeli politics, it makes for some strange partnerships to get a functioning government in motion.
Excellent! They hate Jews without guns, but cannot tolerate Jews with guns.
Yes. A large slice of the weaknesses of the West, of the Democracies, of the Churches, and - of the Left (including a LOT of Jewish individuals/groups/organizations and certain Left obsessed Democrat/Labor rabbis etc) - are all driven to dribble by being believers in such trite dogma as 'turn the other cheek' while loosing all your power. There's a definite Xtian Dribble Drive that plays a much bigger part in undermining the West, Civilisation, Democracies than is ever discussed. The Jewish people who become obsessed with 'peace' and 'love' are mentally frozen on one side of the Tree of Life and stuck in one sefirot and one myopic 'vision'. Whereas the Tree of Life ALWAYS encourages parallel and paradox and dichotomy and overall harmony throughout rather than one obsessive 'ideal'.
Yes, as Einat Wilf has said, in the West, Christian values have been secularized and still prevail, even amongst non-believers. Lately I have been wanting to tell people, “turn the other cheek” isn’t Jewish, so don’t expect us to do it. And “the meek shall inherit the earth? Sure, six feet of earth above them. We’ll pass, thanks.”
Pat Johnson, substack:
“Israel is not viewed by progressive activists as the world’s embodiment of evil because of settlements or policies or any of the other red herrings that are thrown up to justify the hysterical condemnations. It is viewed as the embodiment of evil because Jews have traditionally been the empty vessel upon which humans have projected their sins — and the Jewish state is both the national embodiment of the Jewish people and the natural inheritor of centuries of projection and vilification of Jews.
Jews worldwide are not targeted because of Israel’s existence. On the contrary, Israel is targeted because of Jews’ existence. At a minimum, it is the Jewish people’s insistence on existing as a self-determined people that sets off the haters.
It is not, fundamentally, the existence or actions of Israel that lead to global condemnations and acts of hate against Jews around the world. No, we’ve got this exactly backward. It is the hatred of Jews around the world that leads to the military and rhetorical assaults against Israel. Global antisemitism is not a byproduct of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a byproduct of global antisemitism.”
Bravo........But I do agree the messaging/social media/public messaging coming from Israel pertaining to facts has been worse than woeful. In an information age when falsehoods race around the world in seconds, it behooves a more forceful and immediate response from Israel. Military strength is 100 percent necessary. Psychological warfare/rebuttal just as much. And in that the Arabs have been masters. That MUST change for Israel.
Amen, Joshua! This is so true. The outcome: we can never go back to shrinking violets. 1948/5708 is literally hidden in the Song of Moses, Deuteronomy 30, precisely where he foretells that we will be ‘brought back to the land our father's possessed and we shall possess it and multiply.’ Great article.
Another home run essay, Joshua. We have seen since October 8th, that whoever Israel has had to fight, Hezbollah, Houthis, Hamas, Iran, have all become the Left's "heroes." When Israel was making enormous headway at the onset of the war, the Biden administration had to slow it down. How could they let Israel "win" the war, when the Islamists were protesting and Michigan had been calling? The same recently happened in Iran. Israel was told they had to go home, after successfully destroying important parts of Iran and eliminating top IRGC officials. (this was reported in US news). As your essay explains, the world is perfectly fine with weak, and better yet, dead Jews. Teaching the Holocaust and Anne Frank, they get the green light. Although in today's curriculum in the US, influenced by Islamists and Marxists, that is disappearing from classes. Dara Horn said it perfectly in her book, "People Love Dead Jews." You have concisely identified why weak Jews are a safe space for antisemites/antiZionists.
With apologies to Dara Horn, if there’s one thing people love more than dead Jews, it is defenseless ones.
The bigger picture of Far Right white racism is the hatred of non whites who gain their sovereignty through independence and military strength. It is widely believed in The Far Right that only white countries are actually sovereign and therefore free. This is actually spoken in the Far Right, but is also the racism in The West’s Left Liberal Elite as well, unadmitted and therefore projected racism onto Israel and Jewish People, in the Left which makes it so much more Shrill. And just as racist.
American Left says Jews are too white. American Right says Jews are not white enough.
"Why does Israel (the only liberal democracy in its region, with rights for minorities, LGBTQ citizens, and an independent press) get portrayed as the villain in virtually every Western activist's fantasy?
The answer is projection."
Actually, the answer is scapegoat-ism,a role the non-Jewish world has imposed on Jews since forever.
As Hoffman wrote, "it’s not just politics; it’s psychology. There is a long history of people projecting their own fears, insecurities, and unresolved guilt onto Jews. In the case of Israel, this projection takes the form of obsession."
In his 1959 book "Life and Fate," Vassily Grossman said "Tell me what you accuse the Jews of and I will tell you what you are guilty of."
Perhaps a more accurate statement would be "Tell me what you accuse the Jews of and I will SHOW you what you are guilty of."
Consider this, the outrage you feel over Jewish autonomy, sovereignty, and "agency," arises from because a people you considered sub-human now rises up to independence, claiming parity with you. Oh the shame! Oh the humiliation!
"The way people talk about Israel reveals who they really are." This.
💖
This is denialism. No, many people are simply disgusted that a powerful nation is channeling its innovation and resources into ethnic cleansing. Many individuals and groups have many kinds of ties to Israel and Jewish people. No-one I know or speak to is upset about a strong Israel, they are upset that Israel is committing ethnic cleansing, then making up stories and delusions about why those people are upset, rather than acknowledging the reality on the ground. The lack of acknowledgment of that reality and it's effects on a militarily occupied people get us into this weird place where you simply cannot look at that reality because the story of perpetual victimization means Israel will not see itself as responsible. It's brutal bullying, and that cannot be hidden, and telling others what they think, instead of actually acknowledging the truth of why they are speaking up, shows you are either not listening, or are being disingenuous.
Thank you Joshua! I keep re-reading your piece and it resonates more and more deeply. Somewhere along the 5700+ year history of Judaism, antisemitism made its way into the genetically-embedded collective unconscious described by Carl Jung. I suspect that disentangling that from humankind's collective minds would likely take another 5700+ years. Since USSR Intelligence Services brought awareness to President Nasser and the United Arab Republic before the June 1967 War, Muslim-majority neighbor States have been aware that their war with Israel is an asymmetric conflict with Israel in the dominant position. Leaders of Arab and Muslim States having only one strategic advantage over Israel--numbers of citizens. The ratio of Muslims:Jews in the region stretching from Israel to India is approximately 80:1. Israeli science and technology PLUS military offensive and defensive assets have matured steadily since the 1960s. Thus, Israel's strategic nuclear arsenal has multiple layers of sophistication useful for deterring and damaging aggressors--tactical nuclear weapons, high-flux neutron emitting devices, electromagnetic pulse devices, cyberspace penetration-disruption-monitoring capabilities. Israeli alliances continue to expand along the "reverse Silk Road" from Israel-to-Golan Heights-to As-Suweyda (Syria)-to-Kurdish Syria-to-Kurdish Iraq-to-Kurdish Iran-to-Azerbaijan-to-Turkmenistan-to-Uzbekistan-to-Tajikistan-to-Kyrgystan-to-India. This strategic airspace meets Israeli needs and coincidentally meets USA-pivot-to-Asia needs. The combination of (1) Israeli technological, computational, and military transactions with India, (2) US Air Force and Naval assets in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Diego Garcia PLUS Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan PLUS Eastern Europe, and (3) recent US activation of Greenland-based Air- and Space-Force asserts (under the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement between the US and Denmark) has created a remarkably advantaged position vis a vis US-Russia and US-China relations. Israel's "breakout" from post-Holocaust Nationhood to Middle East-Central Asia nuclear power is beyond remarkable. The selective and growing outrage against Israel and Diaspora Jewry centering upon activation "Pro-Hamas and Pro-Hezbollah" youth and adults in Western Civilized nations is symptomatic of Israel's successful asymmetric dominance over its neighbors. Israel's adversaries have less sophisticated weaponry with the sole exception of numbers of citizens. As in WWII, Emperor Hirohito had to rely upon kamikaze pilots and battlefield samurais in the waning days of the Japanese Empire as Japan became increasingly an asymmetrically weaker power versus the US and Allies. Your outstanding essay is MUST READING for those seeking a 2025 update to "Guide for the Perplexed".
As Golda said, better to be disliked than dead.
"For thus saith the Lord of Hosts; After the glory hath sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye" (Zechariah 2:8); " For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her" (Zechariah 2:5); "And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee" (Jeremiah 1:19). "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed " (Genesis 23:3). AMEN 🙏