The President said: "America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied. Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust." (my emphasis)
Many commentators have interpreted this passage as meaning that Israel came into being as a result of the Holocaust. I am not entirely sure that that is what the passage means, but I do agree that it is a possible interpretation. And that ambiguity concerns me, as those who believe in that interpretation (i.e. - the vast majority of Palestinians and the Arab world) will use that passage as justifying their position that they should not pay the price for European guilt over the Holocaust.Which brings me to a theory about the creation of the State of Israel that goes like this (which I read in "Those Who Forget the Past", edited by Ron Rosenbaum (pages 172-174) and which I hope I recount correctly).
All of the European countries realized how deeply complicit they were in the events of the Holocaust. So after the Second World War, to assuage their guilt, they supported the creation of the State of Israel, creating a destination for the pitiful remnants of the Jews of Europe. The by-product of this was that by and large, the Europeans would be rid of their Jews (with a further bonus of allowing them to steal or confiscate whatever Jewish property remained that the Nazis had not already stolen). Unspoken of course, was that no one expected the nascent State of Israel to survive the attacks that were sure to come from the Arab neighbors of the new State. The whole thing would finally solve the "Jewish Problem" in Europe as a supplement to the already rather thorough work done by the Nazi regime, but no one could blame the Europeans because after all - they had simply given the Jews what they wanted - a homeland in Palestine - so what if some Arabs were inconvenienced for a while and the new Jewish state was wiped out?This underpinning of this theory, which I think has a lot of merit, also serves to undermine the legitimacy of Israel's existence. Further it is easily expanded into explaining why Europeans take so easily to categorizing Israel and especially the IDF as "Nazis" regarding their treatment of the Palestinians - this allows apologists to " ...sanitize Germany's immense crimes and those of other European countries by accusing Israel of acting similarly."
For what is no doubt a much better overview, here is an excellent overview of the theory of Holocaust inversion penned by Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
2. Here's a sick one from the supposed partners for peace - women trained to be martyrs. Are they running out of children? Perhaps they are - here's a companion sick story from today's Jerusalem Post.
3. And now, on a lighter note - those of you with dogs will especially understand this - from The New Yorker:
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