The Big Lie About the Israel "Delegitimization" Threat

Barry Rubin
GLORIA Center
13 June '10


Golda Meir, Israel's prime minister, once memorably said, "Better a bad press than a good epitaph." In the Western world, where a cushioned elite increasingly mistakes headlines or academic studies for the real world, the difference between the material world and words is often lost. At the same time, we are getting something along these lines: "Joe [Israel] is a stupid, lazy, dishonest, lying, no-good criminal who deserves to be punished. And you know what his main problem is? People saying stuff like that about him."

Let me give two examples and then point out why this tells us a great deal about the Western world's malaise and why Israel should ignore such advice. Keep reading because the last point is the most important of all.

One can always depend on Roger Cohen for a good quote since he never seems able to open his mouth without saying something stupid that he thinks his wisdom. Here's how he begins his latest column:

"I took a short break for my daughter's bat mitzvah, Israel killed nine activists on a Gaza-bound ship in international waters, and its bungled raid prompted international uproar and Jewish soul-searching."

He couldn't be more obvious. First, he lets us know that he's a Jew (bat mitzvah) and then he let's forth with no less than five anti-Israel points in 21 words:

Killed nine (no mention of the attack on the soldiers) activists (no mention of lots of evidence that they were radical Islamist Jihadists seeking martyrdom), international waters (implication this is some kind of piratical aggressive act and no mention that this is how blockades are conducted, international law experts point out it was legal, see Cuban Missile Crisis, British operation in the Falklands, etc.), bungled raid (it is Israel's fault that it went in without lethal force and faced greater violence than expected), Jewish soul-searching (Oy! Where have we gone wrong! We used to let people beat us up and murder us and now Israel-gasp!-defends itself).

There is an Arab proverb to the effect that the guy hits me and then runs off screaming that he was assaulted.

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The Italian job: How one of Israel’s closest friends in Europe is helping arm Iran

Robin Shepherd
Robin Shepherd Online
15 January '10

A depressing and extraordinary piece of writing in today’s Wall Street Journal details how Italy has for years been involved in developing a trade and technology relationship with Iran, including contracts with the Revolutionary Guard and other organs of the Iranian regime which could aid its nuclear weapons programme.

The author, Giulio Meotti, illustrates his broader theme with a quotation from the website of the Italian-Iranian Chamber of Commerce which says: “Iran and Italy were rivals and two great powerhouses in ancient times, but in the contemporary world they are great partners.”

Such flagrant disregard for the implications of this relationship is echoed by both senior politicians and leading companies and is especially worrying because Italy is widely seen as a strong supporter of Israel, a country which the Iranian regime aims to destroy.

As a sign of how problematic the relationship is likely to be, the author quotes Foreign Minister Franco Frattini making the extraordinary assertion that the West should “avoid those [sanctions against Iran] that are connected with Iranian national pride.”

He also explains the context of such remarks as follows:

“Despite international sanctions against Iran, Italian exports to the Islamic Republic rose almost 17% in 2008 to €2.17 billion, according to the Italian statistical office. During that same year, overall trade also rose almost 17% to €7 billion, representing more than a quarter of the European Union’s total trade with Iran. For the past three years, Italy has been Iran’s No. 1 European trading partner.”

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