Common Sense for the Twenty-First Century

Cheap Shots

165 Cheap Shots February 5, 2004 Opponents to Israel’s occupation of Palestine are sometimes called AntiSemites . But the vast majority of such opposition is not related to ethnicity or religion; it is related to behavior. If the actions of the Israeli Defense Forces were carried out by young Christians from Dubuque Iowa, the same opposition would be in order. Think of how many U.S. citizens were called Anti-American during their rightful opposition to our failed policies in Korea, Vietnam, Central America, Panama, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq. I would hope that not one more Israeli ever be a victim of suicide bombing. I would hope that not one more Iraqi civilian or member of the U.S. military ever be a victim of suicide bombing. For the protection of citizens of Israel and Palestine and for the protection of our troops and Iraqi citizens, I think the following formula is necessary: • It is not O.K. to destroy someone’s home if their child throws stones. • It is not O.K. to torture captives. • It is not O.K. to send out assassination teams. • It is not O.K. to attack and capture the families of suspected subversives. • It is not O.K. to build apartheid walls. • It is not O.K. to bomb buildings that might possibly house a suspect. 166 • It is not O.K. to permit settlers to illegally occupy substantial areas of Palestine. • It is not O.K. to cut off water and electricity from civilians as a form of collective punishment. • It is not O.K. to endlessly humiliate people because of their ethnicity. There is a long history of failed theocracies. Many such polities have been Christian, some have been Islamic. Personally I see no future for such states. Madison and Jefferson knew that if our constitution declared the United States to be Christian, our nation would have and endlessly conflictive future. This is not a matter of religion or ethnicity, it is a matter of political science. States with second class citizens cannot stand. The horrors of our Civil War bear testimony to this fact and we will not be whole until we can eliminate the second class citizenship of poverty in the United States. So, let’s understand that it is a cheap shot to call the hundreds of millions of people who are opposed to the occupation of Palestine AntiSemites . It is also a cheap shot to call the hundred of millions of people who are opposed to the occupation of Iraq “Anti-American.” I recommend an article in this week’s Nation: The Myth of the New Anti-Semitism, by Brian Klug. ...