The Huge Lie

I'm marking this post on Engage as potentially very important in the discourse around Israel/Palestine conflict. I'm not in the mood to talk about it now and maybe the urge that compelled me to note this post will have been gone by the time I do feel like talking and writing but still, I think it is worthwhile to keep a log entry.

Here is the passage that made me pay attention:

"From reading Vally’s answer to Berman, you’d never know there was such a thing as Hamas (never mentioned), nor Iran, nor Hizbollah, nor terrorism of any kind. You’d never know that Israel has been repeated attacked, invaded and threatened with destruction — and as a result has genuine security concerns.

All of that is left out, as if it doesn’t matter. And as a result, in a world in which there is no Hamas, no fascist regime in Iran seeking to build nuclear weapons to destroy the Jewish state — in that world, and only in that world, Vally’s article makes sense.

He accuses Israel of “violent occupation, apartheid, genocide and gross human rights abuse” — no less. The Palestinians, of course, are just victims. The Israelis — the aggressors.

I’m arguing for the importance of context, of seeing Israel as an embattled state with genuine security concerns. The vast majority of Israelis want a two-state solution and an end to decades of conflict. Probably most Palestinians want this as well. Labelling one side as perpetrators of apartheid and genocide hardly helps matters.

Calling Israel an apartheid state is the core of the problem, because it’s a lie.

It’s a potent lie, particularly in South Africa — and it must be challenged, every day, everywhere it is used."

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I left comment here quoting this passage.