Ethan Bronner reports in After Gaza, Israel Grapples With Crisis of Isolation.
But in the weeks since its Gaza war, and as it prepares to inaugurate a hawkish right-wing government, it is facing its worst diplomatic crisis in two decades.
Examples abound. Its sports teams have met hostility and violent protests in Sweden, Spain and Turkey. Mauritania has closed Israel’s embassy.
Relations with Turkey, an important Muslim ally, have suffered severely. A group of top international judges and human rights investigators recently called for an inquiry into Israel’s actions in Gaza. “Israel Apartheid Week” drew participants in 54 cities around the world this month, twice the number of last year, according to its organizers. And even in the American Jewish community, albeit in its liberal wing, there is a chill.
Bronner, of course, provides some reasons:
Of course, for Israel’s critics, including those who firmly support the existence of a Jewish state, the problem is not one of image but of policy. They point to four decades of occupation, the settling of half a million Israeli Jews on land captured in 1967, the economic strangling of Gaza for the past few years and the society’s growing indifference toward the creation of a Palestinian state as reasons Israel has lost favor abroad, and they say that no amount of image buffing will change that.
Israel’s use of enormous force in the Gaza war in January crystallized much of this criticism.
The issue of a Palestinian state is central to Israel’s reputation abroad, because so many governments and international organizations favor its establishment in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. And while the departing government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert negotiated for such a state, the incoming one of Benjamin Netanyahu says that item is not on its immediate agenda.
This is a phony argument. Israel has ceded land to the Palestinians and has done more to create a Palestinian state than any Arab government and is still faulted for the failure to create such a state. Arafat, who never gave up terror, led the Palestinians for 11 years after Oslo was signed never was interested in creating a state. And now Israel has a mini state on its border that’s ruled by Hamas. This, in fact has been a consistent result of Israeli withdrawals and giving land over to terrorists: whether it was Tulkarm, Bethlehem, Kalkilyeh, Nablus, Ramallah and Jenin in 1995; southern Lebanon in 2000; or Gaza in 2005, Israeli withdrawals have strengthened terrorists not made peace more likely.
Fatah has made it clear that it doesn’t really accept Israel’s right to exist. And yet much of the world is appalled that Avigdor Lieberman – who believes in a two state solution – will be joining the Israeli government.
It is not the Israeli failure to create a Palestinian state that is behind Israel’s isolation. It is the uncritical acceptance of the Palestinian (and Arab) grievance against Israel. The more it is tolerated, the less effort the Arabs must expend in seeking coexistence.
And Bronner fails to mention many of the factors involved. While he can cite the anti-Israel activities in Europe he assumes that they’re a reaction to Israel, not based in antisemitism. But as Muslims in Europe flex their political muscles the antisemitism comes into the open. They use the pretext that it’s a reaction Israeli actions and Bronner doesn’t question their motives.
And there’s the selective applicability of international law, the advocacy of NGO’s for the Palestinians and a media that is all too willing to distort the news to Israel’s detriment. These are many of the forces arrayed against Israel, seeking to undermine its legitimacy, but Bronner doesn’t really illuminate these forces.
Another complicating factor is that eight years ago, under similar circumstances, Israel had a strong advocate in the American government. The current administration is not as likely to defend Israel as its predecessor. So yes, after Israel has spent fifteen years making concessions and being rewarded with terror, it’s now being isolated. But to pin it on Israel’s defense of its southern population is to miss the big picture.
Anti-Zionism (and antisemitism) is gaining even more acceptability – it’s the elephant in the room of international relations – and the paper of record looks the other way.
Please also see Israel Matzav’s take.
UPDATE: Barry Rubin has a different perspective, but is also critical of the Times.
Again, I am not arguing there is nothing to deal with or nothing to worry about. Yet a firm distinction should always be made between government policies and anti-Israel protests. The Turkish and Spanish governments are more anti-Israel. The American, Australian, British, Canadian, French, German, Italian, all the Central European, and many other governments are friendlier than they have often been. Compare the level of Israeli relations with China, India, and Russia in the past.
But why were there all those big and sometimes violent demonstrations in Europe? Could they have something to do with the fact that there are all those large Muslim and often Arab emigrant communities who have brought their hatred of Israel with them? No, that’s a story the Times fears to tell.
As for American Jews, if the Times stopped promoting tiny anti-Israel groups posing as liberal pro-Israel groups that have no serious base of their own, perhaps it wouldn’t be under such illusions.
If Israel faces threats, they are real ones stemming from Iran and its nuclear weapons’ drive, Hamas, and Hizballah. They may arise from Western policies—which the Times favors—of ending any attempt to isolate Iran and Syria.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
Update from Meryl
Attention readers coming here from Yahoo! News: I know many of you are not used to seeing such a pro-Israel site, and the culture shock may be a lot to take. Let me put my comments policy in a nutshell: If I think your comment is too stupid for words, it won’t get approved. Things that I think are too stupid for words: Comments that claim Arabs are Semites, so they can’t be anti-Semites. A tip for you: Look up Wilhelm Marr. Also, any moron who brings up the usual anti-Semitic tropes like the Khazars. As the Brits say: Piss off. And while I have lifted the No Israel-Bashing rule for this post, a comment deemed overly Israel-bashing—by me, not by you—will not be approved. If you have any problems with the above, feel free to complain to the blogger who runs this site. I have never pretended to be objective, and never will. I am, however, proudly Zionist.
Why was it wrong in South Africa, but is OK to continue the Apartheid manifest in Palestine.
Shame on Israel, Arab Nations and the U.S.
It seems it is to both Israels and the Arab nations for this to continue so as not to deal with the real socioeconomic issues, or is that no one really cares.
So, everytime someone disagrees with something Israel does, that is considered antisemitism? What kind of precident is that?!?
I approved the above two comments to show you just how much people do not read or respond to the arguments being made. If you can find me either comment discussing an actual point made by Soccer Dad, I’ll print out this post and eat it.
This is rather typical of the comments I usually don’t bother to approve.
Have at them.
Even an anti-Zionist elephant is no match for a Zionist mouse which is armed with 200+ nuclear weapons.
The only successful thing about the Gaza offensive last December was that it proved that there are no more heroes in this conflict.
Being against Israel’s government decisions has nothing to do with being Anti-Israel or antisemite. A huge proportion of Israelis are totally against the current treatment of Palestinians and the hawkish tone of the new leaders.
Israel is at the front of a proxy war between East and West, or more specifically, the Muslim world and everyone else.
If Israel had been in the sphere of the old Soviet Union, or aligned with a Leftist 3rd world, non-democratic country (but one that had first world weapons), they would never be criticized to the extent that they are. Look at China and their treatment of Tibet as an example. Israel should throw their hat in the ring with all the peoples who hate the United States and presto – all their negative media coverage would magically disappear.
The situations in Israel and South Africa are not now nor were they ever identical. It is a mistake to try and say otherwise.
old tired cliches been thrown around by these comments here. Apartheid and Israel? prove that… *crickets* just like goebbels said:
“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly – it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”
repeat reapeat repeat your propaganda of apartheid and occupation, those two words dont even have any meaning anymore, just emotion… eventually they wont have that either.
Typical, thoughtless blather from people who never bothered to learn history (real history, not the oft-repeated party line), and who are rooting for the side that wants them enslaved or dead.
“This, in fact has been a consistent result of Israeli withdrawals and giving land over to terrorists”
So you think Palestinians are terrorists? Have you no shame? You are just an arab bashing racist. So i guess not.
You are all dumkopfs.
Meryl says: “But as Muslims in Europe flex their political muscles the antisemitism comes into the open. They use the pretext that it’s a reaction Israeli actions and Bronner doesn’t question their motives.”
You seem to be implying that antisemitism is intrinsic to the Muslim–itself a near racist accusation. I think 1300 years of pre-Israeli history would debunk that.
There may have been millennia of antisemitism in Europe but you cannot automatically ascribe the European experience to the Islamic experience which was clearly much different.
If antisemitism is not intrinsic to the Muslim, then what, if not her policies, could be the cause of Muslim anger toward Israel?
Let’s call a spade a spade. Most of the anti-Isreal noise IS antisemitism. The same Jew-hating nonsense that allows the Protocols of the Elders of Zion to remain in print. How can you intellectually attack the Isrealis for invading Gaza, but have not criticism for the missile attacks that cause it? At least be honest and say you hate Jews.
I think it’s true that anti-Semitism drives a lot of the opposition to Israel, and that needs to be reckoned with for sure, both in the MIddle East where it is both vile and prolific and in Europe and the US where it tends to be more covert.
It’s also true that Israel can’t help the situation by bombing Gaza into the stone age. You can’t just kill all the people who hate you.
First, John, I didn’t say it. Soccerdad did. Check the “Posted by” label.
Secondly, there was Muslim anti-semitism before the modern state of Israel.
As to this:
Well, 1300 years of pre-Israeli history would predate the existence of Islam. Islam started in the seventh century. Israel has been around for several thousand years. Granted, the modern State of Israel is only 61 years old, but go look up the Muslim pogroms of Hebron in 1929 to see how Muslim anti-Semitism existed without the modern State of Israel.
Christina, true, but if you want to survive, you’ll kill all the people who attempt to kill you.
When I read messages such as those of Disappointed, Dalene, Mo, and Chuck, I get the feeling that if each of them was forced to add one more sentence to his/her message, in order to guarantee publication, it would be, “Some of my best friends are Jews.”
All this talk about Israel and nothing about the vast Arab World. A world with no democracy to speak of, where women can’t drive cars, where ruthless leaders treat their own like dogs. Go ahead talk about the dirt in the Israeli kitchen but the Arab kitchen is filthy to say the least. The Arabs, What a bunch.
Christina Honey, The Arabs have and will be violent for many years to come. You can take that to the bank. Violence, violence and more violence is the Arab motto. Nothing more and nothing less. While the Israelis are selling microchips the Arabs are selling potato chips. Nothing to offer humanity that is the Arab world we see today.
Christina, I guess 9/11 is not enough for you. Killing 3000 men, women and children at the hands of the Arabs in less than 2 hours is something you don’t see or you have forgotten.
End the illegal arab occupation of Israel (and EUROPE).
I really don’t care about most of the world’s opinions. It seems that in order for Israel to be given respect Jews must die. The same people who condemn Israel only yawn about Daphur. Europe is lost, it is only one big sheikdom.
I ask how would any other country respond to terrorism and the constant threat of terrorism. I ask how would any other country respond to not being given the right to existence?
The more or less continual war between Israel and Palestinians is so old that its hard to say who fired the first shot, but this much is true. When Israel calls a ceasefire and stops waging war, Hamas breaks the ceasefire and keeps firing rockets. We can see who wants peace and who wants war, simple as that. Human rights are stomped on throughout the Arab world, but since we buy oil from them we should just keep our mouths shut. Its certainly cheaper to insult Israel, and its good for business. When they fight wars, we can sell them more guns. Capitalism at its finest. Nothing personal, just business.
It seems the religious aspect of this conflict is being ignored, which really is the crux of the issue. Most hard-line Jews believe that Israel and specific lands were ordained to them by God as described in the bible. To give up this land would be to defy God. Muslims believe that any land they ruled before should be ruled by them for eternity (watch out Southern Spain). So you have two devout groups believing they are doing God’s work, and they have conflicting missions. “Killing in the name of the Lord”.
I agree with Betsy. What is Israel supposed to do? Sit back and take it? No doubt all Israelis would like nothing more than to live in peace, but their neighbors will never allow that to happen. When even leaders of legimate countries state that they want Israel destroyed, what do we expect from them? Restraint? They are fighting for their lives here.
I disagree DavidRK, Israel has a secular government, as do quite a few Arab states.
The Israelis did the right thing in humiliating Hamas and killing many.Screw the world and don,t give in to the killers.And I don,t even like the Israelis.
Fact 1: Anti-Israel = Anti-Semetism.
Fact 2: Most Arab governments are NOT secular or democratic.
Fact 3: Israel is clearly the homeland of the Jews. What more do the Muslims want? They have 1/3 of the world and begrudge one Jewish state? One sliver of the world. I mean, the third most important site in Islam stands on the MOST important site to Jews.
Clearly, Israel is in the right. This isn’t rocket science.
Radical Islam is the 21st century equivalent of National Socialism. To paraphrase Golda Meir, when the Palestinians desire their own homeland as much as they want to destroy Israel, then there will be peace.
Norm,
That’s as dumb as saying
Fact: Anti-Bush = Anti-American
You know, there is some real critisism over Israel, but the majority is fake, Leftist/Fascist style Propaganda. I don’t think Israel should be destroyed. Israel’s Army never does wrong to others, but there are isolated incidents where there is problems. What I am sick of is BBC or ABC7 posting anti-Israeli (caugh) Anti- Semetic (caugh) biased coverage. It shames me that people from otherwise civilized nations like “Norvay”, “Spain” or “Sveden” are going to the streets. And some claim that Israel’s existance can not play the Holocaust Card. Well, you know what I have to say is that it’s NEARLY all shit the critics are throwing. As long as there are Holocaust Survivors, and their very far decendants are around, Israel will be guaranteed to stay.
But, just as an extra, I personally think Finland, Denmark and major parts of South Korea/India (other than the muslims there)are the only Non-Jewish nations to succesfully put Anti-Semetism in Critical Conditions, like that skiier… ( Trust me, I feel very bad since she passed away, but this is different.)
There might be an Anti-Zionist Elephant there in Saudi Arabia or Iran, but even it, and all the extreme Leftists out there in God’s Universe are not enough to even Mame the Pro-Zionist/Israeli Turtle out there. The Jews (I am Catholic) may be small in number, but they have the power of 15 million Hydrogen Bombs.
I simply cannot fathom most people’s inability to tell the difference between the arsonist and the fireman (after all, they are both at the fire and smell like smoke). Israel is a tiny part of the world trying to fend off anilation. The Arabs are clearly bent on the distruction of Israel and the conquering of Europe. Wake up!
Why are Syria, Jordan and Egypt not offering land to the palestinians? The pre-1948 middle east had what are now called ‘palestinians’ (actually jordanian and syrian arabs) living in those countries too. Why have people bought into this fake ‘palestinian’ nationality? What is there separate language? What is there separate culture? food? music? etc. They are arabs, plain and simple. The whole idea of calling them ‘palestinians’ was a ruse in the first place to ‘invent’ a new people where none existed before. Why don’t the arab states just take their own people back? The answer…to use them as pawns to get rid of israel…plain and simple.
sorry, their, not there.
It is unfortunate that the Jews were deprived of their homeland in the first place.
It is additionally unfortunate that Palestinians were deprived of their homeland (mostly) in order to right the first wrong.
It is true that the Arab world has little experience with democracy or empowerment of women, and appears to have no taste for either. This is completely unacceptable to me and probably is not sustainable. I hope it is not.
It is also true that Zionist methods have been overly violent at times and the movement has even used terrorism to advance its goals. The blowing up of that hotel in the 1940’s is a prime example. The 9/11 of its day.
Any person or people, individually or collectively, who accept the sanctity of the individual person, will find me a pleasant neighbor to have. I embrace all such people.
Both Arab culture and Jewish culture have enriched the world, with Jewish culture having had the greatest positive impact, I would say, on Western culture, at least in the past 200 years.
The only problem is that both groups are willing to kill to reach their goals; and the goals are often too inflexible and extreme in both cases.
They are neighors and brothers and endlessly valuable to the world. It is sad that they cannot reach some accomadation. This obviously must begin with both the guarantee of the existence of the state of Israel as well as the creation of a stable Palestinian state. Or so it seems to me.
Just my 2 cents. If I was a praying man, I would pray for them both.
Wow. After seeing some of the mindless comments that get posted on this blog, I understand why comments are moderated.
Soccerdad is correct in that there’s more to Israel’s recent diplomatic isolation than simple opposition by foreign governments to Israeli policies. But he misses the two most important factors: post-colonial outrage on the part of 3rd world governments like Mauritania, and post-colonial guilt on the part of Western European governments.
Post-colonial outrage/guilt is perhaps the most important factor in all this, for it colors many people’s views of Palestinian terrorism. It’s pretty clear that much of the world views Hamas and the PLO as not much different from other national liberation groups like the FNLA or IRA. So there’s a common belief that the violence is mostly Israel’s fault, and that Israel could quickly end it by offering better terms to the Palestinians.
(I write this as someone who thinks Israel should unilaterally withdraw to the ’67 boundaries. But I don’t pretend it would bring instant peace to the region.)
violence breeds counter violence. Follow Gandhi example. Peace and patience are virtues.
Leslie David,
New Delhi
India
I just dont understand how so many people can sit idly by and watch the world be slowly eaten away. My nightmare as a father would be for my daughter to have to wear a burkha one day and not be allowed to go to school. I do not hate Arabs for thier skin color, or thier culture, but I do fear them for thier religious beliefs. People accuse others of fear mongering, however I think all free Americans have a very real fear. Muslims want the world, they dont even hide that fact, however we refuse to listen. It only starts with the jews. Once all the jews are gone the christians are next. Islam is not a tolerant religion despite what the media will tell you. If you think it is go to any Muslim “republic” and see how many people openly practice a religion that is not muslim. I will die before I allow Islam or any other group of idiots to prosper in my country. I wil die for it, and so should you. Europe is going the way of the dodo, and they welcome thier own extinction with open arms.
Leslie David, your heart is in the right place, but I think Gandhi was fortunate he was dealing with the UK, and not Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan.
When someone sets out to kill you, peace and patience on your part are not virtues.
John, when you say that “blowing up of that hotel in the 1940’s is a prime example. The 9/11 of its day” , are you telling me that the US was illegally occupying the Arab homeland, aiding non-Arabs in committing genocide against Arabs, and that the only target was US military headquarters for the region? And that the attackers phoned in a warning first, saying what was being bombed and when, in an attempt to minimize civilian casualties? And that the only part of the building that was bombed is the part that contained the military offices? If so, you are ignorant about what happened on 9/11. If not, you are ignorant about what happened at the King David Hotel.
Meryl, you can go back a lot further than 1929. When Maimonides and his family had to flee Muslim Spain for their lives, it wasn’t because they were feeling the love. And many Jews welcomed the Christian conquest of Spain because of ill treatment by the Muslims. (Okay, they guessed wrong, but then look how many Jews voted for Obama.) Look at the Damascus blood libel of the late 19th Century. For that matter, look at how Muhammed himself treated Jews. Lots more examples than 1929 to unmask the lie that all was well for Jews in the Muslim world until Zioism came along.
Have a good Shabbos.
Lefty makes a good point. The trouble is that the post-colonialism ideology is bunk. And the Arab response to Jewish immigration from at least 1921 onward, was “Kill the Jews”. Muslims’ antisemitism today is an unholy mixture of ancient religious bigotry and modern Nazi-style racist antisemitism, now being enshrined as the conventional wisdom of the transnational elites through the UN and its fake “anti-racism” ideology. Taking the Muslim side is taking the side that aims at genocide. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about that. That’s one of the reasons why anti-Zionism is almost always antisemitism. It apologizes for and supports the wannabe genocideurs.
Israel has been willing to evacuate conquered territory in return for real peace. Look at the Sinai. But with the Palis and Hezbollah Israel has returned land and gotten terrorist attacks form that land. Talking about land return, one should keep this in mind. If you start a war intending to destroy a neighboring state and exterminate its inhabitants (as the Arabs did) and lose (as the Arabs did) you may find that you must give up some land yourself, and be thankful to Allah that you did not lose more. Anybody in any doubt about this should visit what were once East Prussia and Silesia, and look for signs of German habitation there. If Israel kept East Jerusalem (it’s the Jews’ holy City, not the Muslims’) and a bit around the edges, the Arabs should feel lucky the Israelis did not drive the Arabs into the desert, as the Arabs so often scream about driving the Jews into the sea.
Yeah, the lot of the Jews in many (not all) Muslim countries in Medieval times was better than the experience in Christian Europe. That’s not exactly a high bar to set. If this was 1509 and not 2009 I’d probably prefer the rule of the Ottomans to that of the Habsburgs almost everywhere, Valois of France, Tudors of England, or Riurikids of Muscovy (Poland was a comparative haven of tolerance in those days). But this is today and I must judge by the behavior of people today. And the majority of Muslims are behaving like swine to the Jews. They’ll be behaving like swine to the rest of you given half a chance. In fact they already are (cf: Mumbai, 3/11 in Spain, 7/7 in Britain). Keep that in mind.
So, apparently blowing up hotels is not terrorism…if Zionists are doing it? Because they do it “nicer”?
Sheesh. ‘Nuff said.
By the way, 6 Israeli soldiers have come forward and admitted that the attack on Gaza (in retaliation for the Hamas’ rocket attacks which very carefully killed not a single person) targeted civilians and indeed killed them.
So much for how nice the Zionists are when they fight.
Also, given that the rockets did not hurt anyone (and this was by design), shouldn’t Hamas’ attacks receive the same appoval from Yankev as the attack on the King David hotel??
Oh, wait. The attack on the hotel DID kill people! Looks like Hamas, at times, is more humane than the Zionists.
Again, ’nuff said.
Re: #45 – John
What utter bullshit!
As pointed out earlier in these comments, The King David Hotel was British military HQ at the time. At least one warning was phoned in prior to the explosion, but the Brits stubbornly refused to evacuate. As a result, they paid for their stupidity.
The accusations regarding Cast Lead have yet to be verified. For the moment, let’s say they’re confirmed. What do you think happens in war? Innocent people often get hurt or killed. It’s not nice, but it’s often unavoidable. Sometimes it occurs intentionally. Think Dresden, Tokyo, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima. John, at the very least, exhibits the usual double standard.
It’s nice to learn that the Arabs tried to avoid hurting Jews while launching their rockets. I assume that he also thinks that people who set off bombs in restaurants, shopping centres, etc. also are taking great care to avoid civilian casualties.
John may just be a putz. However, I suspect from his use of the word “Zionists”, that he’s just one more garden-variety Jew hater.
’nuff said, John?
Yeah, I expect commenting privileges will soon go back to what they were before I decided to throw them open for a day or so.
John lost his with his comment on the humaneness of Hamas.