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Professor Rose Should Be Ashamed of His Sick Joke
Last uploaded : Wednesday 14th Aug 2002 at 09:49
Contributed by : Jock L Falkson

 

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Editor's Note:
JewishComment is becoming increasingly concerned about the situation in Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe has ordered the confiscation of all farms owned by whites, some of whom have farmed for many generations. Because of ongoing attacks against these farmers, Zimbabwe has gone from being the 'bread basket of Africa' to near-starvation of its own majority black population.

JewishComment feels that the international media have become obsessed with demonisation of the tiny State of Israel, whilst issues such as African AIDS and hunger disasters seem to find their way to the bottom of page 17 of most newspapers, if at all. We therefore question the necessity for further front-page vilification of Israel due to the letter from 45 Jews renouncing their Right of Return.

JewishComment would also like to observe that although the motivation of the 45 Jewish signatories most likely derives from the best in Jewish ethical and moral beliefs, the use of the word 'unsought'to describe the right of return to Eretz Israel felt like a stab in the stomach when we first read it. Do these people, sitting in their homes in Hampstead and Oxford, have any idea how the millions of Jews in Nazi-occupied lands desperately 'sought,' in great anguish, a refuge?

It is unfortunate that this word 'unsought' crept into an otherwise eloquent letter -- do these people, in their ivory towers, understand how little the rest of the world cares about Israel's survival? All one had to do was attend a London dinner party, as we did, on October 12 2000, the day Vadim Norzich and Josef Avrahami were hacked to death on television by crazed Palestinians in Ramallah, waving their bloodied hands in glee. How little our London dinner companions cared about these events. When I tried to discuss the lynching --it had, after all, been covered on every British TV channel -- I was glared at and told to change the subject. These same people would likely care a toss if Professor Rose and colleagues were to be sent off to camps in the next Holocaust -- how will the Professor feel then if Israel is no longer there?
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Professor Rose Should be Ashamed of His Sick Joke
by Jock L Falkson

“We are Jews, born and raised outside Israel, who, under Israel's "law of return", have a legal right to Israeli residence and citizenship. We wish to renounce this unsought "right" . . . ”

Prof. Rose and friends.
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A funny thing happened a few days ago when 45 British academics lost their way looking for an idea to excite media interest to support their decision to excoriate Israel for defending herself against a barbaric wave of Arab terrorism. This has claimed over 500 Jewish lives, and wounded hundreds more.

They came up with the idea of writing a letter to The Guardian (August 8) announcing they would forego their right as Jews to dwell in Israel! What makes this so funny (if not idiotic) is that they had never had any such intention! It was a low-down public relations exercise. A sick joke in bad taste. Only Jewish chutzpah could explain how level-headed academics could have stooped this low.

In any event, how meaningful would it be to renounce your right of free speech? Or the right to be free? How about the right to happiness? You don’t have to exercise your right of free speech of course, but to renounce it would be silly.

Empty Threat

Neither Prof. Rose nor his friends ever had the slightest intention of carrying out their so- called threat. It was empty and devoid of any true intention. It shows up the naivet? of serious academics who venture into the unknown realm of public relations. The one thing they did right was to choose a newspaper like The Guardian to launch their pretentious campaign.

British Jews should have done what comes naturally when this letter appeared. They should have been ashamed and laughed their heads off. For a stupid, silly joke is still silly and stupid even when declaimed by highly educated people.

For Prof. Rose's announcement to carry any weight at all, he and his co—signatories should have at least been on the aliyah list of the British Zionist Federation. (Don’t take the trouble to check.) The cancellation of their intention to immigrate would then have been a genuine shock.

“Israel's policies towards the Palestinians are barbaric - we do not wish to identify ourselves in any way with what Israel is doing.”

Why has Israel been forced to defend its people against frenzied Palestinian barbarism, almost all targeted against our civilians? Here’s the record from September 2000 when Arafat inflamed his followers to launch a maniacal Jew killing intifada. (September 2000 to July 2002.)

13,890 attacks excluding rock throwing.

593 babies, mothers, sons, daughters, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers massacred.
4,379 injured, many becoming invalids, many missing limbs, many walking around with screws and nails in their bodies.

How Would Britain have Reacted?

To translate these figures into UK values we only need multiply by 10. 6 Million Israelis (including over 1million Arabs) compared with 60 million in the UK. Thus the Britain would have faced:

138,900 attacks.

5,930 massacred.

40,790 injured . . . all in less than 2 years.

How would Britain have coped with this kind of barbarism from the IRA? Would Britain have taken a laid back attitude which Rose and friends expect of Israel? Not on your nelly! What would. Rose and company then have said when Britain got tough with such mass murder and mayhem? Would they have threatened Britain with their right to depart . . . perhaps, dare I say it, to Israel?

If they came as tourists (no visa) no one would send them back. Not even as a result of such a viciously intended insult to Israel. No one would force citizenship on them. They could have stayed here for the rest of their lives. Or left whenever so moved. An American tourist was recently reported to have been here 30 years!

Israel Will not Commit Suicide

Israel will not, as Rose and his friends insist, permit the return of up to 3 million or more Arabs who have been kept in refugee status for the last 53 years in their host countries. Since only some 600,00 to 700,000 fled, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of these millions must have been born outside Israel. Israel is the only Jewish State and we have no intention whatever of committing national suicide.

We will not permit our enemies the hospitality of our democracy to commit another Jewish genocide. We well remember that Hitler got into power by means of German democracy. We will not make that mistake. Never again.

And thank God for Israel when diaspora Jews need to leave their domicile for whatever reason. Here in Israel we are defending ourselves against Jewish persecution and slaughter. Jews in Israel are no longer defenseless, professor. You should be proud.

Israel’s “racism”? Ay, There’s the Rub

As for your accusation of Israel’s “racism”, for balance, how do we compare with the policies of the Palestinian Authority in particular? With our Arab neighbors? And with the 54 enlightened countries of Islam in general? Pray tell us, Prof. Rose. And please . . . don’t spare the detail.

********************
Jock Falkson is a journalist and Middle East analyst based in Israel.
falkson@netvision.net.il




















     

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