Ayoon Wa Azan (Why Would An Englishman Hate Jews?)

During the Liverpool Music Awards last year, one of the audience approached MP Luciana Berger, who is Jewish, and told her that he hated Jews and insulted her, and then started talking about the situation in the Gaza Strip. The man continued his attacks by alluding to a known lawyer in Liverpool who he said was Jewish, and made further insults. He told the MP that her real prime minister was that of Israel, but she responded angrily that David Cameron was her prime minister. The man ended up before a local judge, who sentenced him to a fine of 120 pounds. I noticed that the man’s defense lawyer said that his client had been inebriated. But as they say, a drunken tongue reveals the truth. So why would an Englishman hate the Jews? He is not a Palestinian that Jews had occupied his country, and I am fairly certain that no Jews had stolen his job, his wife, or his girlfriend. The incident left me thinking about the reasons for the hatred of the Jews around the world. Once again, I did not find a reason other than Israel. Indeed, the occupation of Palestinian land, the murder and the destruction, and the rejection of all reasonable solutions is no longer a secret to anyone in the world. All the Jews are paying the price for this, although their overwhelming majority has nothing to do with the occupation and its crimes. Likudnik-leaning websites around the world, particularly in the United States, often complain about the ill-treatment of Jews in this or that country and provide many examples. However, they never seem to ask themselves why, and do not make the connection between the resurgence of anti-Semitism and the presence of a neo-Nazi government in Israel that destroys, occupies, and murders women and children. Recently, I read in one such website that the Israeli ambassador in Denmark and the head of the Jewish community in Copenhagen cautioned Jews in the city against attacks by anti-Semitic gangs. They advised the Jewish community there not to wear any clothing that indicates they are Jews, and to speak in a low voice so that the anti-Semites do not hear them speaking Hebrew and attack them. But the problem is not just about an Englishman here, or racists there, in Copenhagen. To be sure, I also read that a Jewish religious school in Potsdam advised rabbis not to wear yarmulkes in public, and that the students of a Jewish school in Berlin were told to speak German and not Hebrew, and to wear baseball caps, over their yarmulkes. In addition, Jews at the main synagogue in Rome and also in Malmo, Sweden, now take off their yarmulkes when they finish their prayers so people do not know they are Jews. Meanwhile, a Jewish teacher in Kristiansand, Sweden, was told not to wear the Star of David so as not to hurt the feelings of the many Muslims who live in the city. The material on the subject is nearly overwhelming, and I also read about problems facing the Jews in France where anti-Semitism has increased dramatically, and about a rabbi who, accompanied by an Imam, visits Muslims in France to convince them to tone down their hostility to the Jews – but the Muslims often respond by referring to Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians. One Likudnik American website alleged that those crimes are rumors or lies, and denied what is otherwise documented in video and audio, with the names of both the killers and the victims. This only means that the wave of anti-Semitism will continue and intensify, and once again, the only logical reason for this is Israel, now effectively the number one enemy of Jews around the world. Perhaps it is easy to accuse one Englishman of anti-Semitism, or even the people of an entire European city. But no one will ever believe that the Western Christian churches are anti-Semitic, because they are engaged in a BDS, or boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. These churches have advised their members not to invest in Israel, and boycotted imports from settlements in the West Bank. How did the American Likudniks respond to the worldwide consensus that there is a racist criminal government in Israel? Well, they put up ads on the subway stations in New York accusing Muslims of terrorism or of supporting terrorism, and recently put more of these ads around the clocks inside these stations. Israel is the mother of all terrorism. Its government is fascistic and racist and murders women and children. All those who support this state are like it, and resisting it is legitimate in all the laws of heaven and Earth. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.