The 70 Year (Failed) Experiment of Zionism

The 70 Year (Failed) Experiment of Zionism - Judaism and Zionism Are Diametrically Opposed

Today was the 70th anniversary of a grand experiment. Many Jews had long wanted their own land and they fought for it. Many of them were terrorists in the cause — though you will never hear that on the television news in America. But after World War II, a Jewish homeland was founded. After all: Nazis.

I Supported Zionism for a Long Time

Not only would I have been on board then, I was on board most of my life. Even over the last decades I continued to support Zionism because I though the Jews, as a group, really did have something to fear. And they do!

Even in the US (a very Jew-friendly country), according to the FBI, over half of reported religious-based hate crimes are committed against Jews. But the fact that Jews are hated by many, I don’t support a Jewish state. Indeed, I believe that Israel has made antisemitism worse.

Israel Has Lost Legitimacy

What Israel has shown is that just because you have been oppressed in the past, does not mean that you will not turn into an oppressor yourself. Indeed, we accept on the individual level that abused children usually grow up to be abusers. So, I’m afraid, it is with countries. And so it seems to be with Israel.

It’s been clear for decades that Israel has no interest in making peace with the Palestinians. In an earlier time, Israel would have simply committed a mass genocide and taken over all of the remaining Palestinian land. (See, for example, the Old Testament.)

But with modern media, they can’t do that, so they’ve done it inch by inch — both through murder and by simply stealing land.

The American “Honest Broker” Lie Is Clearly Exposed

There is one good thing to come out of this, however. The US has moved its embassy to Jerusalem. And in so doing has shown, in a way that even the most rapid Israeli apologists cannot rationally dispute, that the US is not an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and haven’t been for at least the 37 years.

If Israel did simply march into the West Bank and killed everyone outside of all the Jewish Settlements (most illegal), the US government would report that it was provoked and a necessary step to keep the people of Isreal safe. And the media would present it that way, noting that some disagree.

Israel Has Nothing to Fear

Israel has by far the most powerful military of any country in the region. Other states may grumble about them, but they would not willingly go to war against Israel. They are the only nuclear state. And are they nuclear! They have an estimated 200 to 400 warheads.

The only threat to Israel are are rockets from Gaza. It is often reported that in the last two decades there have been thousands of such attacks. But that number includes mortars as well — which have a very short range. Still, there is a lot of firing. But they are mostly impotent. Over the last two decades, fewer than 30 people have been killed. Israel should probably worry more about people texting and driving.

And it isn’t like the Palestinians don’t have some cause. I’m not in favor of violence under any circumstances. And I think the people firing these rockets are making a tactical mistake. But it is the case that at least the attacks get covered in the US media. The countless peace protests are completely blacked-out of mainstream television coverage, and almost never covered anywhere in the mainstream press.

How Long Will the Apologetics Go On?

Regardless, the fact is that while the Palestinians kill almost no Israelis, the Israelis kill a lot of Palestinians. I wrote the following analogy on Facebook this morning:

If the US media reported on playground incidents like they do the Israel-Palestine conflict. “A teacher killed a first-grader on the playground of Monroe Elementary School. But it must be remembered that the child intentionally scratched the teacher, requiring a band-aid. Also, the teacher killed the student’s parents and took over their house. Governmental authorities have questioned Whether this wasn’t an overreaction. But no legal sanctions are currently being considered by the district attorney.”

I’m Sick of Israeli and American Disingenuousness

And that’s how I feel. And I’m sick to death of reading in the US press it would all be over if the Palestinians would just stop launching those rockets. It sickens me that Palestinian peace protests are all but ignored in this country. I’m tired of the apologetics for decades illegal Israeli settlements, clearly designed to make any peace impossible. I’m sick of it all.

Call me antisemitic if you like. That’s the great trump card of Israeli fanatics: if you are against Israel, you are against Jews. That couldn’t be further from the truth for me. And I would just refer you to the image above.

So many people have died because the US allows Israel to behave even worse than it does.

Violence Causes Fear Causes Violence

Albert Einstein never said, “It would be my greatest sadness to see Zionists do to Palestinian Arabs much of what Nazis did to Jews.” But I’ve never been that into Einstein quotes anyway. I know his science, that is enough. He wasn’t a moral philosopher. But I like the fake quote, because I think it is largely true. A great trauma was wreaked upon a group. It is not at all surprising that many of that group’s survivors would, out of fear, take on the role of the oppressor, even if they are doing it step by step rather than with the Nazi’s brutal swiftness.

I’m afraid it is long past time to have bombed Isreal’s nuclear silos. At this point, I fear that Israel is at least as likely to use one or more of its nukes as India, Pakistan, or North Korea. How can we stop this failed experiment now? I don’t know. I do know this though: the fault lies with the US, just as if North Korea kills millions with its nukes, blame ultimately belongs to China.

Afterword

I remember that Bill Maher, in his movie Religulous, interviewed a guy who believed much as the men in the picture above. Maher listened to him for a bit and then just walked out. The implication was that he was just a crazy man spouting nonsense. But even though I was a Zionist at the time, it was clear to me that he wasn’t spouting nonsense. It’s just that Maher, like the vast majority of Americans can brook no one who thinks that Israel isn’t some fragile country surrounded by powerful enemies and thus must be protected.

I didn’t agree with the guy and I don’t. Why would I. It is based on a very conservative reading of the Torah. But it isn’t an insane or stupid belief. And they are right: Israel is a highly nationalist state. It strikes me as having as much to do with Jewish roots as Utah has to do with Mormon roots. Bill Maher was so much better when he was just a comedian and before he thought he was smart.

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About Frank Moraes

Frank Moraes is a freelance writer and editor online and in print. He is educated as a scientist with a PhD in Atmospheric Physics. He has worked in climate science, remote sensing, throughout the computer industry, and as a college physics instructor. Find out more at About Frank Moraes.

8 thoughts on “The 70 Year (Failed) Experiment of Zionism

  1. In my fantasy world, America opens its door to any and all Palestinian refugees (as we should have, but didn’t, for Jewish refugees before WWII). Then we cut off every penny of military aid to Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the whole damn mess. Not in my lifetime, though.

    Maher, like Hitchens before him, ignores how his gag-reflex loathing of religion puts him in exactly the same spot as American fundamentalists. They love cruelty towards Gazans, too.

    • I’ve always thought we should just give Florida to the Israelis and be done with it. But we can’t do that because God promised them the land (as though any of those fucktards in power care about religion).

      It’s much worse than you indicate with Maher and Hitchens. Yes, they hate religion. But they are racists when it comes to Muslims. There’s no doubt about it. I had a major falling with a supposed liberal blogger. But I remember the same day on the 3rd anniversary of Hitchen’s death, I wrote a celebration of it and he wrote a mournful article. Why? Hitchens was just a self-promoter and turned against his socialist path the minute it was helpful to his career. He’s Donald Trump but with a decent brain and a good writing style.

      • Hitchens had a book called “Letters To A Young Contrarian” (I never read it), and that sums up both his and Maher’s approach, to me. (You’ll recall the name of Maher’s first Comedy Central show.)

        It’s wanting to seem daring, above all. Without pushing the boundaries too far. Because New York got attacked, by Saudis who drank heavily the night before, it’s now considered daring-yet-acceptable on the atheist/left circuit to openly call for the overthrow of all Islam. (As if that was possible.) It’s no accident that Milo fool was a guest on Maher’s show; they do the same bit, from different directions. (Maher is much more of a skilled comic, though.)

  2. Hi. I am writing from Toronto Canada. I am curious about your statement that Israel’s behavior has resulted in its losing its legitimacy. You don’t really say by what metric you are making that judgement, and why that particular metric is the relevant one. I have visited the US and Israel often, and have studied their history, and that of my own beloved Canada. I would be hard pressed to come up with any examples of bad behaviour by this or that Israeli government that haven’t been exhibited on a much larger scale by the US or even my own beloved Canada. And in many of the obvious metrics Israel compares favorably to the US and Canada. (I won’t even throw into the mix the behavior of either its Arab neighbors, or is more distant Turkish and Iranian neighbors.
    Could you please clarify the metrics you are using, that would render Israel illegitimate, but render Canada and the US legitimate?

    • (1) The US is explicitly based on being a racist state.

      (2) When did I ever say that the US is a legitimate country? It is the most dangerous and hypocritical nation on the planet.

      (3) I know of nothing that Canada has done that compares to the many atrocities committed by the US and Israel.

      (4) You can’t possibly have studied the history of Israel very well and make this statement.

      (5) This is not “Intro to Israeli History.” If you don’t know, it is because what you think is history is just Israeli propaganda. Go read a book.

      PS: I just read the article, and I did answer that question. You just don’t want to hear it. Hooray! Israel is the greatest state in the world! We shouldn’t worry about all their nukes! We shouldn’t worry about all their illegal actions designed to steal Palestinian land! We shouldn’t care about its collective retribution (a war crime)! Israel should be allowed to do whatever it wants because it is such a weak and fragile country!

      Just to be clear: I have nothing against Israel per se. I do have a problem with it as a Zionist state.

      • I wouldn’t come down too hard on the fellow. I have a (worthless) history/political science degree, and the only reason I got any intellectual joy from my studies was by intentionally seeking out courses which were out of the norm. It’s entirely possible to read up on Israeli (or US) history in good faith, seeking more thorough information, and wind up with respected authorities who don’t challenge the Good Country narrative. (Biographers of US politicians still don’t, and it wasn’t until recently that US history textbooks took a more serious line on Reconstruction or Vietnam).

        My brothers are all intelligent, compassionate people, curious about the world, who get their info from Ted Talks types. All of whom are respected individuals with top credentials. I wouldn’t tell someone who thinks Israel is white as snow that they’re ignorant, but I would suggest reading something like “I Shall Not Hate” or watching “Five Broken Cameras” from the other side’s perspective.

        What’s particularly insidious about professional academics/intellectuals who stand up for military brutality is they are very good at giving off the impression that they do look at both sides. In their minds, they probably think this is true, as Dr. Noam has pointed out often.

        • He said he had been to Israel several times. It isn’t a common tourist destination for people. He clearly has an ax to grind and is just smart about it.

          I understand the issue. Go online and try to find objective information about guns. It’s hard. But if you really just want to know the truth, the data is out there to find. On Israel, you can find good information much more easily. If you support Israel, you have to believe that collective retribution is acceptable. And it is not. It is a war crime. It is just that Israel is protected by the US. Since the US is crumbling, Israel might see itself crumble.

          And finally, he mostly annoyed me because he clearly didn’t read the whole article. I had answered his question. Hell, the whole article was answering his question. But it didn’t answer it for him because literally nothing will change his mind because he’s an ideologue. And as I predicted, he never came back and engaged. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he weren’t paid by AIPAC to go around and post “reasonable” responses to any attack on Israel. I have as little tolerance for Israel as I do the US. I mean, what is Israel’s one big ally in the region? Saudi Arabia — probably the worst country in the region (other than Israel). Israel has nothing to do with Judaism and everything to do with nationalism.

          • Fair enough. I suppose I’d give someone a pass if they’d been to Israel several times because they had friends there. I’m going to Denmark in a few weeks, because my wife has friends there, even though Denmark is quickly becoming a hideously racist country. My brother lives in Ireland, I haven’t seen him in years or met his wife, and if I’m in Ireland, I have no excuse to skip my wife’s friends in Denmark.

            My wife knew these people 20 years ago, back before Denmark went dark. Of the three families she knows, only one has swallowed the racist poison, and we’re spending a day with them (10 days with the others). Gotta at least pretend she still likes them, for old times’ sake.

            Funny thing is, the family we’re spending the most time with is stridently anti-racist — and they’re Jehovah’s Witnesses! (Pretty serious, too, they won’t accept blood transfusions.) The racist ones have been in church exactly once in their adult lives, for their wedding. Yet they scream bloody murder about how Muslims in Denmark “spit on Bibles.” While the Jehovah’s Witnesses arrange community food feasts with local mosques. Go figure.

            Oh, well, I don’t know why this is. Looking forward to Ireland, though, a land I hear has absolutely no religious tensions whatsoever.

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