Higher Than Me

I know I’m not the only one in recent weeks who has watched the throngs of demonstrators across the so-called-civilised world taking to the streets, demanding the obliteration of Israel, who has felt a deep sense of bewilderment at how on earth we got to this point.

Disagreeing with the policies of the Israeli government is one thing. Most Israelis disagree with the policies of the government in one way or another. But calling for the nation of Israel to be completely wiped off the map is a whole different ball game.

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” These lyrics that are chanted at so many anti-Israel rallies may sound innocent enough until you understand what they really mean. The modern-day State of Israel exists on the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. This little rhyming ditty is calling for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of a one state solution called Palestine.

Other slogans being chanted now in the streets of major cities across Europe and the U.S. are even more overt.

“There is only one solution, intifada revolution.”

“Smash the Zionist settler state”

“Jihad!”

“Long live Palestine! We are Nazis and proud!”

How on earth did we get to the place where hundreds of thousands of seemingly intelligent people passionately believe that another country should simply cease to exist?

No one can be naïve enough to imagine that these demonstrators are calling for a fair political solution that would safeguard the human rights of the seven million Jews currently living in Israel. The brutal massacre carried out by Hamas on 7th October, leaving 1,400 Israelis dead and many more injured or missing, shows us in no uncertain terms what “Free Palestine” would look like for the Jewish population of the land.

This is Europe of the 1930s all over again. On the streets of modern, civilised countries around the world, people are calling for a second Holocaust.

But this time, I believe that the social climate is even more dangerous.

When Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, the country was in a mess. There was an economic crisis and millions were unemployed. The general sense of morale was low after Germany’s humiliating defeat in World War One. The government was weak and no one believed that it could lift the country out of the slump that it had fallen into. People felt hopeless, depressed and afraid.

In this bleak political and economic climate, it wasn’t hard for Hitler to generate enthusiasm for his bold, confident, even if rather extreme ideas. Nor was it hard for him to create a focal point for everyone’s fear and anger, uniting the multitudes behind a single shared scapegoat: the Jews.

The Jewish scapegoat met a psychological need in the German people. They now had someone easy to blame for all their woes. Rather than having to contend with the bleak and complex realities that lay before them, the people could pool their collective energies into fighting and eliminating a common enemy. Whether or not this “enemy” really was the cause of the people’s suffering was beside the point. It united them and gave them a clear sense of direction, which they were desperate for.

Today’s world is probably even more disconnected, disillusioned and afraid than Germany in the 1930s. Anxiety is the hallmark of modern, Western societies. It’s no wonder that everyone is frantically searching for a scapegoat.

The perceived “root of all evil” is different depending on who you ask. Some say that white privilege is to blame. Or the colonialists. Or the anti-trans lobby. Or the pro-trans lobby. Or the globalists. Or the Illuminati. Or the Muslims. Or the Christians. Or the pagans. Or the Left Wing. Or the Right Wing.

Or the Jews.

For some reason, the Jewish scapegoat always seems to trump the others. Across the centuries, and all over the world, antisemitism keeps on rearing its ugly face. Each time, there is a different context, and different reasons given for this virulent hatred of the Jews. But the essence is always the same: The Jews are to blame and need to be eliminated.

The thing that sets scapegoating apart from genuine, honest criticism is that its goal is to tear apart and destroy. Constructive criticism and differences of opinion – even those that are passionately held and emotionally charged – can open the way for dialogue, deeper understanding and positive change if they are addressed openly and respectfully. Scapegoating never leads to reconciliation or redemption.

I have no desire to paint all the Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in this war with the same brush. If I did, I would just be buying into another sort of “us and them.” I am sure that there are many good people taking to the streets right now because their hearts are breaking over the loss of innocent life in Gaza.

And they are right. Even those who support Israel’s war effort should never allow their hearts to be hardened to the tragic reality of Gazan children dying in this terrible conflict. Human life has equal value, whichever side of the border fence it’s on.

But I would like to offer a gentle challenge to all the well-intentioned people taking part in the Pro-Palestinian marches. Not those who are yelling out, “Kill the Jews!” and engaging in acts of sabotage and violence. But those who joined the protests out of a deep sense of compassion for the suffering of their fellow humans and a burden to cry out against injustice.

Could it be that the movement you joined because of your humanity actually lacks humanity itself? Could it be that these demonstrations that claim to expose the truth are actually promulgating lies?

Why are so many key questions left unanswered by the organisers of these demonstrations?

Like why is the Hamas government not doing more to protect the civilian population of Gaza? Hamas fighters are hunkered down in a labyrinth of deep underground tunnels, while the ordinary people don’t even have bomb shelters. Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk answered the question when he said that the Hamas government of Gaza is not responsible for the safety or welfare of its own people. This responsibility, he said, lies with the U.N. This flagrant disregard for the population that Hamas is supposed to serve is, quite simply, criminal.

Or why is Egypt not opening up its border with Gaza to allow Palestinian civilians to take refuge? Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly answered this question last week when he said, “We are prepared to sacrifice millions of lives to ensure that no one encroaches upon our territory.”

Could it be that the “Free Palestine” demonstrations organised in the name of justice and human rights, far from promoting peaceful coexistence, are actually a mass scapegoating of Israel and the Jewish people?

Do the protestors on the streets shouting out angry slogans and smearing fake blood on their clothes really think that the world we’re living in needs any more fury? Do they think that this is going to bring about peace? The world is already saturated with rage. What we really need are people of courage who are prepared to listen to their enemies, to seek and speak out the truth and not bow down to fear.