Why Does the Left Seemingly Hate Israel?

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times

With more than 3,000 rockets having been fired into Israel by Hamas recently, the Democratic Party seems paralyzed over how to respond to the latest Middle East war.

It’s not just that they fear that “The Squad,” Black Lives Matter, the shock troops of Antifa, and woke institutions such as academia and the media are now unapologetically anti-Israel. They are also terrified that anti-Israelism is becoming synonymous with rank anti-Semitism. And soon, the Democratic Party will end up as disdained as the British Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.

The new core of the Democrats, as emblemized by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, has in the past questioned the patriotism of American Jews who support Israel, and occasionally has had to apologize for puerile anti-Semitic rants.

The left in general believes we should judge harshly even the distant past without exemptions. Why then, in venomous, knee-jerk fashion, does it fixate on a nation born from the Holocaust while favoring Israel’s enemies, who were on the side of the Nazis in World War II?

It wasn’t just that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, was a Nazi sympathizer. Egypt, for example, welcomed ex-Nazis for their hatred of Jews and their military expertise, including infamous death camp doctor Aribert Ferdinand Heim and Waffen-SS henchman Otto Skorzeny. The Hamas charter still reads like it is cribbed from Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.”

The left claims it champions consensual government and believes the United States must use its soft-power clout to isolate autocracies. But the Palestinian Authority and Hamas refuse to hold free and regularly scheduled elections. If an Israeli strongman ever suspended free elections and ruled through brutality, U.S. aid would be severed within days.

If history and democratic values can’t fully explain the apparent hatred of Israel on the left, perhaps human rights violations do. But here, too, there is another example of radical asymmetry. Arab citizens of Israel enjoy far greater constitutional protections than do Arabs living under either the Palestinian Authority or Hamas.

Is the left bothered by the allies of Hamas? After all, most are autocracies such as Iran and North Korea.

We return, then, to other reasons for the woke contempt directed toward Israel.

In part, the Western left always despises the unapologetically successful—as if they are inevitably beneficiaries of unfair privilege. Underdog Israel was not so hated from 1947 to 1967. Then, it was poorer, more socialist, and in danger of being extinguished by its many neighboring enemies.

But after the victories in the 1967 and 1973 wars, the Israeli military proved unconquerable in the region, no matter how large the numbers, wealth, and armaments of its many enemies.

For the left, Israel’s current strength, confidence, and success mean it cannot be seen as a victim, but only as a victimizer. As its Iron Dome missile defenses knock down the flurry of Hamas rockets, and as its planes take out the military installations that launched those rockets, the left bizarrely believes Israel wins too easily and acts “disproportionately.”

The left also has a strange idea of current “imperialism” and “colonialism.” The general rule is that Westerners cannot settle in numbers in the non-West. But the reversal is certainly not true. Millions of Middle Easterners are welcomed into Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, and the United States. Yet, Jews have been in what is now Israel since nearly the dawn of civilization. And their 1947 borders only grew after they were attacked and threatened with extinction.

The left claims that its anti-Israelism has had nothing to do with anti-Semitism. But it is almost impossible now to make that distinction, when woke criticism obsesses over democratic Israel and ignores far greater oppressors and oppressed elsewhere.

Why are there no demonstrations in major Western cities damning the Chinese government for putting 1 million Muslim Uyghurs in camps? Why are the world’s millions of former refugees—the Volga Germans, the East Prussians, the Cypriot Greeks—long forgotten, and yet the Palestinians alone are deified for being perpetually displaced?

Our formal NATO ally, Turkey, received little global pushback for its treatment of the Kurds, or its frequent intolerance of religious minorities. Why does Israel alone always earn such venom?

Hating democratic Israel while it’s under attack is not just a reflection of the new woke and ethically bankrupt left. It is also a symptom of a deeper pathology in the West, one of moral equivalence, amoral relativism, and self-loathing.

Hating Israel has become the surrogate Western way of hating oneself.

Victor Davis Hanson is a conservative commentator, classicist, and military historian. He is a professor of classics emeritus at California State University, a senior fellow in classics and military history at Stanford University, a fellow of Hillsdale College, and a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness. Hanson has written 16 books, including “The Western Way of War,” “Fields Without Dreams,” and “The Case for Trump.”

By Victor Davis Hanson

Read Original Article on TheEpochTimes.com

Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hansonhttp://victorhanson.com/
Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in Residence in Classics and Military History at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, a professor of Classics Emeritus at California State University, Fresno, and a nationally syndicated columnist for Tribune Media Services.

The Kirk Assassination Narrative is Falling Apart

New footage challenges the FBI’s claim that Tyler Robinson shot Charlie Kirk from a UVU rooftop with a .30-06 rifle, casting doubt on the official narrative.

A self-inflicted wound

Leftist propaganda from media, unions, bureaucrats, and schools has indoctrinated the marginalized with an idealized view of socialism and communism.

Katie Porter Syndrome: Toxic Feminism 101

“Katie Porter Syndrome” is a pathology inflicted upon Congressional staffers, the media, and, if the patient gets herself elected governor, all of CA.

The Unique European Social Contract: Effectiveness Over Values

American conservatives often ground their political stances on social issues. The European conversation centers on an effectiveness assessment.

Trump’s Middle East Triumph is Worth Celebrating Even As Peace Remains Elusive 

President Trump’s bold foreign policy defies globalist appeasement, showcasing unwavering American strength and decisive leadership on the world stage.

Trump Set to Become 4th President to Address Israel’s Parliament–What to Know

‘The visit of the U.S. president ... is accompanied by great emotion and expectation,’ an Israeli Ministry of Defense official said.

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Project Veritas Challenge to State Law Blocking Secret Recording

U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a First Amendment challenge from investigative journalism group against Oregon’s ban on secret recordings.

Katie Porter Syndrome: Toxic Feminism 101

“Katie Porter Syndrome” is a pathology inflicted upon Congressional staffers, the media, and, if the patient gets herself elected governor, all of CA.

Biden Undergoing Radiation, Hormone Treatment for Prostate Cancer

Former President Biden has begun receiving a combination of radiation and hormone treatments for prostate cancer, spokesperson announced.

Trump Names Longtime Adviser Dan Scavino to Key Personnel Position

One of President Trump’s longtime advisers, Dan Scavino, is going to be in charge of selecting and appointing key positions within the executive branch.

First Lady’s Effort Helped Reunite 8 War-Displaced Children With Their Families

First lady Melania Trump said 8 children impacted by the fighting between Ukraine and Russia were reunited with their families on Oct. 9.

Trump Admin Agrees to $20 Billion Rescue Plan for Argentina

The U.S. government has finalized a $20 billion economic rescue plan for Argentina, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Oct. 9.

Trump Says He May Invoke Insurrection Act in Portland If Necessary

President Donald Trump on Oct. 6 said he may consider invoking the Insurrection Act in Portland, Oregon, if necessary.
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

MAGA Business Central