Using a Movie to Bash Israel

I am not a naïve Jew. I am only too aware that if Jews ceased to exist, most of the world would shrug its shoulders, and, in fact, many would silently say "good riddance." I am quite cognizant that the very existence of Israel is a bane to a majority of the world's nations despite Israel's medical contributions, which have made the lives of so many of the world's people infinitely better. I am acutely mindful of the latent as well as overt anti-Semitism that rears its ugly head at American universities. But when I was given a list of readings that students were to use, I realized I needed to speak out.

A February 24, 2018 article by Lux Alptraum, titled "The Defeat of Killmonger in 'Black Panther' holds lessons for Israel," is filled with factually inaccurate assertions and a decidedly anti-Israel tone. Alptraum, a left-wing Jew who claims universalism at the expense of the one Jewish nation in the world, exploits the Holocaust to make his point. He does it with no qualms. Alptraum asserts that "Israel was founded as a kind of reparation for the survivors of Europe's attempted genocide." First off, this was not an "attempted genocide" – it was a chillingly successful genocide. Secondly, Alptraum, a grandson of Holocaust-survivors, apparently does not know of the constant presence of Jews in Israel and the idea of Jewish nationalism known as Zionism, which has existed for centuries. Alptraum conveniently forgets that Jews purchased land outright from Arabs who also lived on the land. He neglects to mention the outright bigotry and discrimination that describe the Arab world, which stands in stark contrast to the elevation of human rights that Israel demonstrates, often against great odds. In fact, the Palestinian people do deserve better. But in Egypt, Palestinians cannot own a house, own land, or get a loan from the bank. In Lebanon and Syria, Palestinians have no right to become citizens or have legal status. And in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority has done nothing to improve the living conditions of Palestinians. Instead. Alptraum maintains that "the story of Israel is less a triumphant tale of survival and restoration than a cautionary example of what can happen when a history of victimization is used to fuel tribalism rather than empathy. In its current incarnation, the Israeli government enforces a tiered system of citizenship, where the personhood and rights of Jews are valued above all others." Not even close to the truth. An examination of the writings of Khaled Abu Toameh, an Arab-Muslim Israeli citizen, suffice to show that it is the Arab world and not Israel that silences Palestinians, engages in apartheid, and destroys the dreams Palestinians have. Furthermore, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Israel are the most tolerant in the Middle East, whereas in the Arab world, gays fear for their lives. Does Alptraum know that "unlike [in] Israel, Lebanese public hospitals do not admit Palestinians for medical treatment or surgery"? Can somebody imagine the outcry of the international community if Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed a law today prohibiting Arabs from working in certain professions or receiving medical treatment? Ironically, the Arab citizens of Israel enjoy more rights in the Jewish state than their Palestinians brothers do in any Arab country. The same applies to Palestinians living in most of the Arab countries. While Israel has never stripped its Arab citizens of their citizenship, Jordan has begun revoking the Jordanian citizenship of thousands of its citizens who are of Palestinian descent. Bassam Tawil, an Arab Muslim based in the Middle East, highlights the beatings of female journalists by Palestinian leaders. This stands in total contrast to the open society of Israel. The fact is that the Arab world has exploited the Palestinian issue for decades in a never-ending desire to obliterate Israel. Israel's numerous offers of a peaceful two-state solution have been repeatedly rejected. Instead, the screeds about purported Israeli human rights abuses are constantly used even when the facts prove otherwise. Alptraum either deliberately ignores or is uneducated about the fact that the Palestinians living side by side with Israel continue to teach their children to work toward the extermination of Israel. Palestinian children as young as three years old are trained to use weapons as part of an effort to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. Despite this, "Arab Israelis, are Israeli citizens whose primary language or linguistic heritage is Arabic. Many identify as Palestinian and commonly self-designate themselves as Palestinian citizens of Israel or Israeli Palestinians. Most of the Arabs living in East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights ... were offered Israeli citizenship, but most have refused, not wanting to recognize Israel's claim to sovereignty. They became permanent residents instead. They have the right to apply for citizenship, are entitled to municipal services and have municipal voting rights." Moreover, "Ten Deadly Lies about Israel" seeks to highlight the truth about Israel's respect for Muslim houses of worship and the hard fact that "Palestinian terrorism is a product of [Palestinian] incitement which inculcates a culture of hatred and violence in successive generations." In fact, when Alptraum maintains that Israeli "imperialist tactics will never mend the damage wrought by oppression and imperialism," it is patently obvious that he knows nothing of the Muslim desire to create an Islamic global caliphate – the most imperialist undertaking in the world. Islam has, for centuries, subordinated "huge numbers of non-Arab converts and their offspring to 'Arab cultural hegemony' ... making them permanent allies for the Arab cause." Far too many are either willing or unwittingly going to "cremate themselves on the flame of Arab imperialism." When a group of people calls for the extermination of Israel, its members need to be dealt with – it is not "violent oppression" to defend a country from her avowed enemies. David Horowitz in The Black Book of the American Left, Volume IV, emphasizes that "refraining from identifying Israel's enemies and their supporters with the genocidal intentions they hold actually weakens the case for Israel's defense. The Left understands that demonizing one's adversary as a 'colonial occupier' is the most effective argument even though it requires disregarding the facts." So what does this actually have to do with next term's class of mostly minority students? It is unlikely that they will ever read any of the factually based information on Israel. In addition, it will fuel the already burgeoning anti-Semitism coming from the black community. Most recently, James Kirchick writes that "[a]ttitudinal surveys conducted by the ADL consistently show that African Americans harbor 'anti-Semitic proclivities' at a rate significantly higher than the general population (23 percent and 14 percent respectively in 2016)." Many of these students will vote in upcoming elections. Will they and their fellow Jewish students ignore the anti-Semitism that is given a pass by the Democratic Party and the media? Mark Pocan, Hank Johnson, Keith Ellison, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Melissa Harris-Perry, and others are on the record for their antipathy toward Israel and their deliberate obfuscations of the truth. In fact, the tribalism being created is a "political racial tribalism" that has anti-Semitism at its core. Thus, students will be indoctrinated with these horrible lies, and the left's growing anti-Semitism will continue to metastasize. If Alptraum were truly interested in assisting Palestinian aspirations, he would be railing against the financial corruption and abuse of human rights by Fatah and Hamas. He would be a "part of the delegation to the Gaza Strip (no longer under Israeli control) to monitor human rights violations by the Hamas authorities. He could demand an end to Israel Apartheid Week and substitute Palestine Democracy Week where Palestinians would be urged to demand an end to financial corruption and bad government" and not worry they will be murdered for speaking their minds. I am but one instructor who will try to tell the truth about Israel and her standing in the world of liars, thieves, and corrupt politicians. But I need help. Find out what your children or students are learning; see what they are reading; speak up and demand accountability for the misleading information they are being taught. Check the library databases they are asked to access, and note the decidedly left-wing sources that give only one side of a story – and often a misleading one. Demand a more comprehensive slate of credible sources. Speak up in your churches and synagogues, and don't whitewash the anti-Semitism that clearly permeates the Democratic Party these days. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com.