Leon de Winter: Anti-Semitism Is Salonfähig Again
[Mr. de Winter is a Dutch novelist. His latest book is "The Right of Return."]
It's a fascinating phenomenon: Why do people and organizations that present themselves as progressive team up with reactionary Muslims?
The Free Gaza group is just such a Leftist-Islamist alliance. Well, Gaza is already free. Israel withdrew from the narrow strip five years ago. And there is also no need for any humanitarian aid. Well over a million tons of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza from Israel over the last 18 months, equaling nearly a ton of aid for every man, woman and child in Gaza.
But Gaza's population voted in democratic elections to be ruled by a party whose hatred of Jews is the cornerstone of its existence. Anyone who doubts this should read the Hamas manifesto on the Internet. The fact that Gaza is completely "judenrein" isn't enough for Hamas. It wants Israel to be "judenrein" too. The Israeli blockade for "strategic goods" is therefore not designed to punish ordinary Palestinians but to prevent Hamas from obtaining heavy weapons and building bunkers. It's as simple as that.
Contrary to Gaza, Chechnya, for example, isn't free. The Russians have crushed the struggle for independence of the Chechens by carpet-bombing their capital. And what about a Kurdish state? The Turks and Iraqis have inflicted unspeakable horrors on the Kurds. And yet, there are no Free Kurdistan flotillas sailing toward Turkey, and Russian officials don't have to fear to be arrested in European capitals for war crimes.
Here are some more facts—lousy, stubborn facts. Let's look at the infant mortality rate in Gaza. It is a key number that says a lot about the state of hygiene, nutrition, and health care. In Israel the infant mortality rate is 4.17 per 1,000 births, which is about the same as in Western countries. In Sudan the rate is 78.1, that is, one in 13 infants die at birth. In Gaza, infant mortality per 1,000 births is 17.71. Yes, that's higher than in Israel, but much lower than in Sudan. And Turkey's infant mortality rate? Well, that's 24.84. Yes, more infants die at birth in Turkey than in Gaza.
Here is another fact. Life expectancy at birth is 73.68 years in Gaza. And in Turkey, Gaza's new protector, life expectancy is only 72.23 years. If the Israelis really wanted to make the lives of Palestinians short and nasty, then they are obviously doing something wrong.
The progressives don't care for any other group of poor or suppressed Muslims. They only cry for the "victims" of the Jews. Why is that so?..
Read entire article at WSJ
It's a fascinating phenomenon: Why do people and organizations that present themselves as progressive team up with reactionary Muslims?
The Free Gaza group is just such a Leftist-Islamist alliance. Well, Gaza is already free. Israel withdrew from the narrow strip five years ago. And there is also no need for any humanitarian aid. Well over a million tons of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza from Israel over the last 18 months, equaling nearly a ton of aid for every man, woman and child in Gaza.
But Gaza's population voted in democratic elections to be ruled by a party whose hatred of Jews is the cornerstone of its existence. Anyone who doubts this should read the Hamas manifesto on the Internet. The fact that Gaza is completely "judenrein" isn't enough for Hamas. It wants Israel to be "judenrein" too. The Israeli blockade for "strategic goods" is therefore not designed to punish ordinary Palestinians but to prevent Hamas from obtaining heavy weapons and building bunkers. It's as simple as that.
Contrary to Gaza, Chechnya, for example, isn't free. The Russians have crushed the struggle for independence of the Chechens by carpet-bombing their capital. And what about a Kurdish state? The Turks and Iraqis have inflicted unspeakable horrors on the Kurds. And yet, there are no Free Kurdistan flotillas sailing toward Turkey, and Russian officials don't have to fear to be arrested in European capitals for war crimes.
Here are some more facts—lousy, stubborn facts. Let's look at the infant mortality rate in Gaza. It is a key number that says a lot about the state of hygiene, nutrition, and health care. In Israel the infant mortality rate is 4.17 per 1,000 births, which is about the same as in Western countries. In Sudan the rate is 78.1, that is, one in 13 infants die at birth. In Gaza, infant mortality per 1,000 births is 17.71. Yes, that's higher than in Israel, but much lower than in Sudan. And Turkey's infant mortality rate? Well, that's 24.84. Yes, more infants die at birth in Turkey than in Gaza.
Here is another fact. Life expectancy at birth is 73.68 years in Gaza. And in Turkey, Gaza's new protector, life expectancy is only 72.23 years. If the Israelis really wanted to make the lives of Palestinians short and nasty, then they are obviously doing something wrong.
The progressives don't care for any other group of poor or suppressed Muslims. They only cry for the "victims" of the Jews. Why is that so?..