One of the most characteristic rhetorical ticks of Israel’s enemies – and even some far-left "Zionists" who post on this site – is their tendency to employ the most careless hyperbole when faced with Israeli legislation or government policies which they don’t support. They’re not content to provide level-headed and thoughtful counter-arguments but, rather, often must impute the worst motives and, often, hysterically characterize the issue as one where Israel’s very democracy is under siege.
While Mya Guarnieri’s CiF piece last year is a perfect illustration of this dynamic – where the Hebrew speaking opponent of the Jewish state’s existence framed the out of context remarks of some rabbis as a sign of a rising tide of “religious fascism” and an indication that “Judaism’s very soul” was on trial - the no less than ten multiferous blogs by Millis over the past two days similarly shows no rhetorical restraint.
Typical of the hysterical style of far left commentary on Israel is the tendency to engage in rhetoric long on the dramatic, being extremely broad, and containing, often vague, accusations, yet woefully short on details to buttress such claims.
In this fashion, Millis began and ended by attempting to frame the anti-BDS legislation as part of a “flood of anti-democratic laws” passed by the Knesset which would have Herzl turning in his grave.
Turning to the anti-BDS law, Millis neglected to even ackowledge that the law only makes active pro-boycott activity “a civil offence that can be punished with a fine”, before jumping straight in and stating "the country that used to be "the only democracy in the Middle East" is stopping being so and is going the way of all paranoid states. And just when people in its neighbouring countries are laying down their lives to create democracies, Israel wants to be Iran- or Syria-lite" - as if.
The law is civil not criminal. If that was not enough he then calls for a boycott of the settlers and the settlements and in case you were in any doubt he tells you later that east Jerusalem i.e. the kotel and the whole of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City is "occupied territory" which presumably means he would not visit them.
Skipping over his next blog where he erroneously mixes up a law which is Israel's defence to the BDS MOvement with the left's pre-occupation with trying to sue Rabbis who are trying to preserve not only the sanctity of the country but its youth from inter-marriage, he then quotes the Yachad (Meretz) chairman who twists the words of the Talmud to suit his agenda. However the lack of reproach against evil which brought about the loss of Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem - a phrase Meretz has trouble saying let alone writing was not living in Judea and Samaria but failing to keep the mitzvot, something which Meretz would deny even exists.
Millis then attacks Israel Education Minister Gidon Saar for having the gall to suggest that Israeli school children are taught the country's anthem and the Ethics of the Fathers - and in an attempt to diminish his Saar's efforts claims that it is an initiative of Im Tirtzu who he terms hard line right wing or to use his language "Zealots".
For he then outrageously claims "At the behest of the zealots, and their wannabe friends abroad, Israel is going fascist by stealth." Even going so far as to say "Perhaps Netanyahu should take back all the words of praise he had for Israeli democracy when he addressed Congress earlier this year". Millis shoud read what Netanyahu, although in favour of the Law, has said since the its passing.
Indeed, such a narrative of what constitutes “hard-line” right-wing thought is the perfect illustration of the failure of left-wing Israelis and their English wannabe friends who post on this website to understand that their increasingly marginal representation in Israeli politics is owed largely to the fact that, unlike the overwhelming majority of Israelis, they’ve failed to learn the lessons and failures of Oslo, and Israeli withdrawals from Gaza and South Lebanon. Stop telling us what Hamas says about driving us into the sea is only rhetoric - that's what they said about Hitler as late as 1938!
Only on the fringes of the Israeli leftist elite can you find suspicion of the Palestinian leadership’s capacity to truly deliver a lasting and genuine peace, and fear over the capacity of Israel to protect itself from within pre-’67 borders, as ideas which are even mildly controversial.
What Millis refers to zealots as “fear mongering” is the sober reality – of hostile neighbors, many of whom still refuse to acknowledge the right of the Jewish state to exist – which most people living in the country have grasped for some time now.
Millis calls in aid hacks from Haaretz which is probably shivering in its corporate boots with the realization that with rights come responsibilities, again setting himself apart from us mere political mortals and our irrational fears, quoting calls for regime change "Our own Captain Ahab is leading the boat and the whales to disaster. Removing him from power is becoming a top global priority" notwithstanding that a poll commisssioned by the Knesset found that a substantail majority of Israelis support this Law notwithstanding that the world won't like us for it.
Finally, Millis is unable even to conclude by expressing optimism that Israel’s democracy will survive, or attest to the Jewish state’s fundamental liberal nature, his inclusion of an hysterical rant by the cage rattler Derfner on an extreme left wing blog site calls for civil disobedience and even worse. Both he and Drefner term anyone who supports the anti-BDS law as representing nothing short of “totalitarian” pity neither of them knows what the word actually means, maybe a short spell in Syria and/or Iran will do the trick.
For Millis, like so many of his fellow far left political allies in and outside of Israel, democratic debates within the Knesset are never merely legitimate disagreements between political adversaries – but battles between progressives and extremists who conspire to destroy Israel’s democracy.
My guess is that it never occurred to Millis that he and his fellow political travellers are often guilty of the same “fear mongering” they’re so quick to impute to their enemies.
(With Apologies to Cif-Watch)
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