Pick a box

Imagine this.

You really hate someone but then something awful happens to them. As a nominally decent human you begrudgingly have sympathy for them. But as time goes on your sympathy dissipates and  your old feelings of loathing return. Why, you wonder both  to yourself and like-minded bigots, why must they go and on about what happened to them? Why can’t they just get over it? And after all, they are unlikeable and obnoxious anyway. Maybe there’s a good reason why so much, well, shit, happens to them.

And then. That person’s neighbour attacks them. They rape burn murder pillage and commit every barbarism possible upon them.

Once more, your sympathy returns. Briefly. It was after all, pretty bad what went down, as they say.

But. But then. It is true that what happened was awful, but maybe they’re exaggerating a tad. Because of course it couldn’t have been as bad as they claimed. And who know if it actually happened anyway? I mean, really.

And then, well, they are awful people and they did have disputes with their neighbour, so perhaps, bad as it was, or as they claimed, maybe in a way, they had it coming. Yes, that must be it. They must have had it coming. Because there really is no other explanation. And they are really shitty people too. So, too bad. C’est la vie.

And the neighbours, whilst not the people I would want to live next to, well, they need a home too.

So there we are. The old story of Jew hatred that never dies. The goyim who can’t forgive the Jews for being murdered because if they could, they would have to admit some feelings of something other than murderous hatred towards them. And that just won’t do.

The new libels of Israelis being genocidal baby killers are just 11th century reframing of the mediaeval libels of the  Jews killing babies  or poisoning the wells. Because of course Jews are evil who take pleasure in killing babies and poisoning wells. But here’s the thing: in the  Middle Ages and the Inquisition and the Holocaust we knew who our enemies were because they said it straight out: no Jews allowed. Convert them. Expel them. Murder them,.

Today, when it is dressed up in the euphemism of anti -Zionist rhetoric, we understand only too well what that means.  A rose by any other name….

The libels and the hatred are just the same.

And now when there is a US proposal to end the war , a proposal accepted by Israel, the ones shouting about genocide are the ones to reject the deal. Riddle me this-if there is a genocide and there is an opportunity to end it, why would you not take it? Perhaps, let me venture, because not only is there no genocide but also the hatred of and wish to  destroy Israel and kill the  Jews is far greater than the desire to end the war.

Let me be clear. Most people don’t actively call for the the killing of the Jews, because there still exists a certain distaste about saying that aloud, but we know what it means when it is hidden behind the euphemism. We know what it means when “no Zios welcome’ is the norm in share houses. We know what it means when “Zios” are cancelled at universities and book festivals and other public events. We all know . We all understand.

We understand the “ look what you made me do” inversion of victim and perpetrator that has corrupted the psyche of the so -called progressives.  The perpetrator who labels his victim  as crazy is no different from the crazed anti -Zionist purveyor of libels.  But of course, the Jew is so intrinsically hateful that the logic of inversion has an attraction and appeal that is irresistible.  The same logic that condemned Dreyfus because of course the Jew is a traitor feeds into the dual loyalty libel.

The Jew may be tolerated but never actually accepted or liked. The Zionist is worse according to the modern group-think. The Zionist is just the same as   the blood sucking medieval Jew who killed the Christian child for its blood to bake the matzos. These days it intentionally massacres the children of Gaza, not to drink their blood but, according to some, to obtain their organs.  Because that is what Zios do.

The libels haven’t changed in thousands of years.

Today, as we head into Yom Kippur and wait for Hamas to deign to respond to the Trump deal, we will know very soon whether Golda’s statement was right or not. Does Hamas love its children more than war?

I think we all know the answer to that.