Post by Matter on Aug 5, 2004 5:04:23 GMT -5
Note: this piece is from an excellent German blogsite.
medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/
In a superb essay Henryk Broder addresses German leftists’ sanctimonious protest of the “wall” in Israel that is intended to, and in point of fact does, keep Palestinian terrorists from conducting further attacks.
medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/
In a superb essay Henryk Broder addresses German leftists’ sanctimonious protest of the “wall” in Israel that is intended to, and in point of fact does, keep Palestinian terrorists from conducting further attacks.
Never in the 28 years during which a wall divided Germany and people who only wanted to move from Radebeul to Regensburg were hunted down and mercilessly shot like so many rabid dogs there was there ever – in Cologne or anywhere else – a conference held under the slogan “Stop the Wall.” On the contrary; anyone who thought the wall was not entirely a good thing and the GDR, as a whole, was less than perfect was a reactionary, a revisionist, a fascist. And there was no talk anywhere of a “barrier wall” that reduced peoples’ freedom of movement and led to Apartheid. In the Bonn republic’s leftist and progressive milieu there was respectful and sympathetic reference to the “anti-Fascist protective wall” that would ensure the GDR’s continued existence. And when the wall fell, mourning and distress spread through the leftist and progressive milieu. Not about the more that 1,000 people who had died along that border, but rather about the end of the ‘socialist utopia.’
The first wall that these fools, who were approvingly silent about the Berlin Wall, demand be torn down is between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Why? Because this wall makes it more difficult for Palestinians to kill Jews. And that’s a violation of basic human rights that leftists and progressives, who like to wrap themselves in the PACE flag, cannot accept. Israel is the first, and to date the only country in the world being asked to expose its people to terrorism so that another people’s freedom of movement not be constrained and their quality of life not be negatively affected. I call that a fair, sober, sensible comparison of conflicting goods. It obviously would be even better if Israel would build welcome centers along the Green Line, greet terrorists with goodies from the neighborhood welcome wagon and then escort them to their targets. That would not only be perfect service, but also a signal that Israel is really taking the UN General Assembly’s resolutions and the International Court’s expert opinions very seriously indeed. …<br>
That’s why Europe needs a scapegoat, someone who can be held responsible for everything. If the Arabs turn off our oil, then it’s because of Israel. If the Third World War breaks out, it’s because of Israel. If the Americans attack Iraq, it’s because of Israel. Not long ago the Berliner Morgenpost, which belongs to Springer Publishing, printed a cute little cartoon called “Pulling Ariel’s Cart.” It shows a happily grinning Sharon sitting comfortably in the driver’s seat and a huge sack labeled “Palestinian Territories” in the cargo bay. Sharon has the reins in his hands, but the cart is not being pulled by a horse. It’s being pulled by George W. Bush. It’s the Jew who’s got the American on a leash.
What does that remind us of? When did we last see such cartoons? Was it in the Nazi Stürmer or in the communist Neues Deutschland? (our translation)
The first wall that these fools, who were approvingly silent about the Berlin Wall, demand be torn down is between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Why? Because this wall makes it more difficult for Palestinians to kill Jews. And that’s a violation of basic human rights that leftists and progressives, who like to wrap themselves in the PACE flag, cannot accept. Israel is the first, and to date the only country in the world being asked to expose its people to terrorism so that another people’s freedom of movement not be constrained and their quality of life not be negatively affected. I call that a fair, sober, sensible comparison of conflicting goods. It obviously would be even better if Israel would build welcome centers along the Green Line, greet terrorists with goodies from the neighborhood welcome wagon and then escort them to their targets. That would not only be perfect service, but also a signal that Israel is really taking the UN General Assembly’s resolutions and the International Court’s expert opinions very seriously indeed. …<br>
That’s why Europe needs a scapegoat, someone who can be held responsible for everything. If the Arabs turn off our oil, then it’s because of Israel. If the Third World War breaks out, it’s because of Israel. If the Americans attack Iraq, it’s because of Israel. Not long ago the Berliner Morgenpost, which belongs to Springer Publishing, printed a cute little cartoon called “Pulling Ariel’s Cart.” It shows a happily grinning Sharon sitting comfortably in the driver’s seat and a huge sack labeled “Palestinian Territories” in the cargo bay. Sharon has the reins in his hands, but the cart is not being pulled by a horse. It’s being pulled by George W. Bush. It’s the Jew who’s got the American on a leash.
What does that remind us of? When did we last see such cartoons? Was it in the Nazi Stürmer or in the communist Neues Deutschland? (our translation)
