Presents For Bibi

And for Doomsday Donald

In House of the Dragon, the successor/prequel series to HBO’s Game of Thrones, a leading character reaps a political bonus, then throws it away in a mad desire for vengeance. This is roughly what is happening now with the most visible protests against Israel’s unconscionable brutalization of Palestinians, in Gaza and on the West Bank. Under current political trends, the fascist Zionist dream of “transfer” of non-Jews out of the West Bank, Gaza, and who knows, maybe Israel proper, is on track within our lifetime. The political damage Israel has been suffering for its Gaza blitzkrieg, among other crimes, is now being erased by an anti-Zionist fanaticism that takes few pains to distinguish itself from anti-Semitism.

Item One: In New York City, a memorial to Jewish victims of Hamas on last October 7th drew a protest from outfits named “Within Our Lifetime” and the “Palestinian Youth Movement.” These organizations have some support from the student groups doing the protest encampments. I was not there, so I cannot vouch for the veracity of this report:

Protesters set off flares, flew flags of Hamas’s armed al-Qassam Brigades terror wing and of the Hezbollah terror group, and carried banners with slogans such as “Long live October 7” and “The Zionists are not Jews and not humans.”

The point is not so much how accurate or biased it is, since the heavily-censored Israeli media lie like crazy, but that it is probably close enough for politics. This is, after all, a political struggle, not least for Israel itself. The balance of firepower is not in question. In other words, the protest was a gift to expansionist Zionism.

Item Two. In Los Angeles, a protest was held outside a synagogue that was said to be sponsoring a real estate auction for land inside Israel. Of course any such land probably has been stolen. In any case, it got rowdy. One could delve into the ethics of whatever event was staged inside the synagogue, but the politics of this once again are very simple: protests should never be staged outside synagogues, churches, or mosques. Another present for Bibi.

In both cases, the excesses of the protests, either perceived or legitimately described, supported denunciations across the entire political spectrum, including members of “The Squad.” If you give Hakeem Jeffries a stick to beat you with, you’re doing it wrong.

I think I’ve been supportive of the student encampments and critical of Israel. I write under my real name, and my substack provides an unexpurgated paper trail. I have no ethical problems with BDS. I would not call Hezbollah a “terror group”; it’s practically a government. Hamas actually is a government, even though it does awful things. For all that, the milk of the moral advantage of anti-Israel protest is curdling fast.

Another depressing bellwether is the spectacle inside Democratic Socialists of America, which is working itself into the position of denouncing every last one of its potential allies in the U.S. Congress, especially those most critical of Israel. Of course, these same leaders are subjected to oceans of money financing attack ads (none of which mention Israel) from organizations and personalities allied with the U.S. Right and with Israel itself. Could there be any doubt who benefits from the suppression of progressives who are just the least bit critical of Israeli policies? (Hint: it’s not Palestine.)

You can declare that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism ad nauseum. I certainly have. But when events, institutions, and persons are perceived as being attacked merely for being Jewish, all your nuanced arguments wash away.

You can assert a superior moral stand, even an unimpeachable one. It don’t mean shit! Politics does not hinge on morality. It entails engaging with those who disagree with you, or who don’t care about what you care about, and contesting effectively for public support. Moral suasion is only one piece of that puzzle. We could wish it was the most important, overriding one, but it isn’t.

Yelling genocide doesn’t do it either. That notion actually debunks itself. If you like to say “Genocide Joe,” there will still be “Doomsday Don.” The prospects for greater carnage against Muslims increase if Biden leaves the White House. Spoiler alert: his replacement will not be Jill Stein or Cornel West.

A few days back I read a piece about the vulnerability of Israeli infrastructure, basic stuff like electricity and water, Hezbollah and Iranian attack. An attack could render the country unlivable. The big missing piece, of course, is Israel’s retaliatory capability, which constitutes a formidable deterrent. Iran doesn’t want to end up like Ukraine. Hezbollah might be dug in and just as hard to dislodge as Hamas with its tunnels, but neither side wants to go there either.

To repeat, this is a political struggle, and the peace camp is blowing it, big time.