Moreover, if as some people seem to think that anti-Semitism is on the rise, to the extent this might be true then there can be little doubt much of it, if not most, is fuelled by the policies of the very country that purports to act in the interests of all Jews. For his part Steven Spielberg is one such notable who recently mused on his own naivety in thinking that anti-Semitism was a thing of the past. Yet on this point, we might have all thought apartheid was also similarly consigned.
But as the record shows, it is in Palestine under Israeli occupation that that other "A-word" -- a brand of discrimination equally repulsive as it is loaded as is anti-Semitism -- is alive and kicking as it were. It's uncertain if the acclaimed director of Schindler's List reflected much on the latter consideration before he publicly aired his misgivings.
If anti-Semitism is any more pernicious, or for that matter more prevalent, than any other form of racial, ethnic or religious bigotry, intolerance, prejudice and/or animus (and this writer is not one inclined to this view), then right-thinking Jews -- in particular those with a strong sense of individual morality and common decency towards those not just of their own ethnic, racial, cultural or religious persuasion, but to the people who've been mercilessly and relentlessly hounded out of their homes and homelands and upon whom extraordinary injustices have been perpetrated and atrocities visited in their name -- have an inarguable obligation to stand up and be counted.
More than that, as the presumptive representative of the interests and ostensible defender of the rights of Jewish people generally, Israel had an historical opportunity to present itself as such and truly act accordingly. The benefits of doing so would've been incalculable to its prestige and stature as a nation and as a people, [to] the Middle East region, [to] America itself, to say nothing of the rest of the world. From there then we might well opine that anti-Semitism, to all intents and purposes, may have finally been -- and rightly so -- consigned to history's dust bin.
And whilst it may not stop the spread of terrorism in its tracks, few would argue that doing so would take the wind out of the sails of many a jihadist -- potential or active -- bent on suicidal retribution against Israel, its principal benefactor America, and the West in general. Yet it seems tragically on all the above counts, that 'train' has already left the station.
If Israel cannot make a "clean break" from its past and present policies, then America -- along with those nations broadly supportive of said policies and approving of their conduct -- needs to make a "clean break" from them. This will I believe be the only way the country is ever likely to come to its senses, and from there begin the long hard process of recognition, renunciation, reconciliation and restitution.
By necessity and by definition, this should involve the following:
1. a recognition their actions, behavior and conduct defies all legal, moral and ethical standards and norms and that it is not longer acceptable to the international community;2. a renunciation of the hegemonic goals and ambitions identified in the Clean Break strategy, the Oded Yinon Plan, and similar manifestos such as The Likud Charter;
3. a reconciliation with not just the Palestinians but their neighbors in and across the Greater Middle East; and
4. a restitution of sorts that fully compensates those who have lost the most from this conflict and redresses the sins and transgressions of the past.
I can think of no more fitting coda to the narrative herein than to quote from an acceptance speech the English playwright Harold Pinter delivered when he received his Nobel Prize in literature in 2005, one that as it turns out takes our narrative 'full circle'.
In reference to the lies we were told about the Iraq invasion, and from there intoning that 'the truth is something entirely different, [which] is to do with how the United States understands its role in the world and how it chooses to embody it', he continued with the following:
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