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Naomi Klein's disingenuous Israel-bashing tarnishes her brand [1]

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Date: 2023-10-24  

Speaking of which, Klein never expressly states in her article that it was Hamas which committed the massacre. But she has no compunction naming Israel as a supposedly immoral, ultra-violent actor. She breathlessly claims that Israel is engaged in a "murderous leveling of Gaza" and "unspeakably horrific" acts. Indeed, fighting a just war against bloodthirsty fiends, while doing everything possible to avoid inflicting civilian casualties - this is unspeakably horrific.

Is Klein troubled by the massacre committed by Hamas in and of itself? Apparently not. The real problem, she says, is that callous reactions to the atrocity "are a gift to militant Zionism."

Why? Because one of the beliefs of "militant Zionism" is that "antisemitism is a... primordial force." Fortunately Klein is not fooled by events over the past two thousand years or so, which might trick the gullible into wondering whether "militant Zionism" has a point.

According to Klein, "Zionist believers" are convinced that "force alone is... the only conceivable response to any and all threats." In other words, Israel has never taken any significant steps to make peace with its enemies. For example, Israel did not give back the Sinai Peninsula (three times the size of the tiny Jewish state) to Egypt in order to enter into a peace treaty with its previously sworn enemy. This must be a Zionist lie.

But Klein does profess sympathy for Israel: "We can recognize that when Israeli Jews are killed in their homes and it is celebrated by people who claim to be anti-racists and anti-fascists, that is experienced as antisemitism by a great many Jews."

Observe the delicate language employed by Klein. "We can recognize..." Not that we should recognize or must recognize... in fact, isn't the essential point here so goddamned obvious that no prefatory language is required?

How about the phrase "experienced as antisemitism"? Notice how this language somehow manages to create the illusion that outraged revulsion is just one of many valid responses to grotesque antisemitism.

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