In a 26 March 2015 article, The Jewish Press writes that
"Rhetoric plays a major role in the demonization of Israel. The dissemination of false arguments is prevalent among the major demonization techniques. It is thus important that those who publicly defend Israel be trained to see through such tactics.
One technique used against Israel is false moral equivalence. It is based on the deceitful claim that there is no difference between two greatly dissimilar actions. Examples abound and only some of the most frequent ones can be mentioned here.
A prominent one is the perverse claim that Israel’s behavior is equivalent to that of the Nazis. This example of false moral equivalence is widespread throughout Europe. Five studies covering nine European countries show that about 40 percent of Europeans think Israel is a Nazi state."
Source: Demonizing Israel With False Moral Equivalence | The Jewish Press
http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/demonizing-israel-with-false-moral-equivalence/2015/03/26/
Let me repeat that:
"Five studies covering nine European countries show that about 40 percent of Europeans think Israel is a Nazi state."
Seventy years after the end of World War Two; seventy years after the end of the Holocaust that killed over six million innocent Jewish men, women and children, some forty percent of Europeans believe that Israel is a Nazi state.
The author of this particular blog post lives in Europe and can confirm that many here see Israel as a country where apartheid reigns and where Arabs / Muslims are mistreated and discriminated against. That there are Arabs who are not Muslim is something many here are unaware of or simply ignore. That there are many Palestinians who are not Muslim and many Israelis who are not Jewish is often similarly 'forgotten'. As for reality on the ground - It is easier to yell and scream about the 'horrible Israelis' who 'should know better after the Holocaust' and thus, 'should stop occupying the poor, innocent Palestinians' than to actually investigate the facts as they stand.
There are two main groups and lots of smaller ones who all want to claim the same piece of land as theirs, all want the same city to be the capital of their land. However there is only one side who wants to destroy the other, only one side who is willing (and I fear, eager) to claim the land by force. Only one side as bas as that other group that is so much like it, which we know as ISIS. When one asks people about the role armed terrorist groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah play, these fundamentalist murderers are written off as 'freedom fighters' who are battling oppression by 'the Zionist occupiers'. Hamas propaganda seems to be working over here - many people actually believe that violent, murderous terrorists - Hamas, the chosen government in Gaza - are freedom fighters working to liberate their country and their people instead of terrorists and murderers wanting to destroy Israel and kill as many innocent Jewish people as possible.
Do I agree with every decision the Israeli government makes or every move the IDF makes? Certainly not. Do I agree with Israeli policy 100%? Again - certainly not. However I do very much support Israel's right to defend itself from terrorist attacks against all its citizens. Supporting Israel's right to self-defence does not mean that I do not support the Palestinian people and their struggle to live in freedom and safety in their own ancestral homeland. It does mean that I stand with Israelis and Palestinians of all faiths and creeds against terrorists who wish to destroy all of Israel and Palestine, by whatever name one may want to call the region. It is my belief that the only way forward for all the people of the Promised Land is peace and for peace to have a chance, groups such as Hamas need to stop terrorising innocents. Only when the pen and the word are mightier than the sword will true and lasting peace be possible.
"Rhetoric plays a major role in the demonization of Israel. The dissemination of false arguments is prevalent among the major demonization techniques. It is thus important that those who publicly defend Israel be trained to see through such tactics.
One technique used against Israel is false moral equivalence. It is based on the deceitful claim that there is no difference between two greatly dissimilar actions. Examples abound and only some of the most frequent ones can be mentioned here.
A prominent one is the perverse claim that Israel’s behavior is equivalent to that of the Nazis. This example of false moral equivalence is widespread throughout Europe. Five studies covering nine European countries show that about 40 percent of Europeans think Israel is a Nazi state."
Source: Demonizing Israel With False Moral Equivalence | The Jewish Press
http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/demonizing-israel-with-false-moral-equivalence/2015/03/26/
Let me repeat that:
"Five studies covering nine European countries show that about 40 percent of Europeans think Israel is a Nazi state."
Seventy years after the end of World War Two; seventy years after the end of the Holocaust that killed over six million innocent Jewish men, women and children, some forty percent of Europeans believe that Israel is a Nazi state.
The author of this particular blog post lives in Europe and can confirm that many here see Israel as a country where apartheid reigns and where Arabs / Muslims are mistreated and discriminated against. That there are Arabs who are not Muslim is something many here are unaware of or simply ignore. That there are many Palestinians who are not Muslim and many Israelis who are not Jewish is often similarly 'forgotten'. As for reality on the ground - It is easier to yell and scream about the 'horrible Israelis' who 'should know better after the Holocaust' and thus, 'should stop occupying the poor, innocent Palestinians' than to actually investigate the facts as they stand.
There are two main groups and lots of smaller ones who all want to claim the same piece of land as theirs, all want the same city to be the capital of their land. However there is only one side who wants to destroy the other, only one side who is willing (and I fear, eager) to claim the land by force. Only one side as bas as that other group that is so much like it, which we know as ISIS. When one asks people about the role armed terrorist groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah play, these fundamentalist murderers are written off as 'freedom fighters' who are battling oppression by 'the Zionist occupiers'. Hamas propaganda seems to be working over here - many people actually believe that violent, murderous terrorists - Hamas, the chosen government in Gaza - are freedom fighters working to liberate their country and their people instead of terrorists and murderers wanting to destroy Israel and kill as many innocent Jewish people as possible.
The Hamas Covenant 1988, known as the "The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement" makes it very clear what Hamas' hopes and dreams are for Israel. Even before the introduction, one finds the following:
"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory)."
Do I agree with every decision the Israeli government makes or every move the IDF makes? Certainly not. Do I agree with Israeli policy 100%? Again - certainly not. However I do very much support Israel's right to defend itself from terrorist attacks against all its citizens. Supporting Israel's right to self-defence does not mean that I do not support the Palestinian people and their struggle to live in freedom and safety in their own ancestral homeland. It does mean that I stand with Israelis and Palestinians of all faiths and creeds against terrorists who wish to destroy all of Israel and Palestine, by whatever name one may want to call the region. It is my belief that the only way forward for all the people of the Promised Land is peace and for peace to have a chance, groups such as Hamas need to stop terrorising innocents. Only when the pen and the word are mightier than the sword will true and lasting peace be possible.
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