By Iqbal Jassat
As Israel reels from successive blows to its image as a ‘civilized democracy’ its supporters have in another desperate attempt to salvage this bruised profile come up with a rescue plan.
This time the Simon Wiesenthal Center has produced a brochure titled “2010 Top Ten Anti-Israel Lies” that they plan to distribute to millions of people worldwide.
It’s a multi-million dollar propaganda exercise that they hope will counter what they perceive to be “a worldwide frenzy of intimidation” and “threats” directed against Israel “that has backed its supporters into a corner”.
It’s an exercise that they believe will help to restore normalcy in the relations between the United States and Israel which many commentators acknowledge are severely strained and tense. They allude to this by admitting that it’s no secret that these ties reflect a new reality and not what they once were!
Apart from being a reaction to the battering that Israel has undergone in the court of public opinion especially following its horrific violations during the Gaza massacre and since then with the inhumane blockade of Gaza’s occupied people, the new propaganda blitz is also designed to equip Zionist groups with stock responses.
The ten themes it covers reflect some of the most difficult charges Israel has had to endure and overcome. Though the Wiesenthal PR exercise attempts to rebuff the validity of these varied charges, their responses remain unconvincing.
In an age wherein information has overwhelmed the globe and the ability provided by technology to ordinary people, students and researchers to not only filter fact from fiction but also to authenticate news, has made it extremely tough for the Zionist enterprise to continue peddling its lies.
In addition to this battle of ideas in the public domain wherein great strides have been made with the proliferation of news gathering agencies and mediums reflecting a diversity of opinions, it’s also a fact that civil society activism championing human rights causes is intensifying by the day.
And this harsh fact about the Palestinian cause being embraced by societies globally as a major human rights issue deserving solidarity and actively pursuing the isolation of Israel via boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns is the ultimate reality no amount of white-washing will overcome.
Let’s take a look at some of the so-called “lies” and the responses by the Wiesenthal Center:
1] Israel was created by European guilt over the Nazi Holocaust. Why Should Palestinians pay the price?
Response: Three thousand years before the Holocaust, before there was a Roman Empire, Israel’s kings and prophets walked the streets of Jerusalem …
2] Had Israel withdrawn to its June 1967 borders, peace would have come long ago.
Response: Since 1967, Israel repeatedly has conceded, “land for peace” ….
3] Israel is the main stumbling block to achieving a two-state solution.
Response: The Palestinians themselves are the only stumbling block to achieving a two-state solution. With whom should Israel negotiate? …
4] Nuclear Israel, not Iran, is the greatest threat to peace and stability.
Response: The US and Europe can afford to wait to see what the Iranian regime does with its nuclear ambitions, but Israel cannot …
5] Israel is an apartheid state deserving of international boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns.
Response: In fact, Israel is a democratic state …
6] Plans to build 1,600 more homes in East Jerusalem prove Israel is “Judaizing” the Holy City.
Response: Ramat Shlomo was not about Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem …
7] Israeli policies endanger U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Response: An imposed return to what Abba Eban called “1967 Auschwitz borders” would endanger Israel’s survival and ultimately be disastrous for American interests …
8] Israeli policies are the cause of worldwide anti-Semitism.
Response: From the Inquisition to the pogroms, to the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis, history proves that Jew hatred existed…
9] Israel, not Hamas, is responsible for the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza. Goldstone was right when he charged that Israel was guilty of war crimes against civilians.
Response: The UNHRC is obsessed with false anti-Israel resolutions …
10] The only hope for peace is a single, binational state eliminating the Jewish State of Israel.
Response: The one-state solution is a non-starter because it would eliminate the Jewish homeland …
It is apparent from the above that the Wiesenthal Center, as an integral cog in Zionism’s myth-making outfit, is facing enormous pressure to mount a fresh global campaign of misinformation at a huge financial and moral cost.
In essence the responses seek to convey a narrative that fortunately has been debunked quite convincingly by many eminent Jewish historians and human rights activists.
For instance, the Israeli sociologist and peace activist Jeff Halper concludes about the Zionist narrative: “Although the ancient Israelites and Judeans had sovereignty over the country for only 1,300 of its 10,000 years of recorded history [and a third of which was under Babylonian, Greek or Roman suzerainty], in Zionist thought our claims trump any others, including the 1,300 years of Muslim rule.”
Like the Wiesenthal bigotry, many of pro-Israeli flag-wavers are anxious to ensure that their beloved colonial-settler state succeeds in erasing Palestine from historical memory.
– Iqbal Jassat is chairperson of the Media Review Network (MRN), an advocacy group based in Pretoria, South Africa. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Visit: www.mediareviewnet.com.
