Middle of the East Road?

The prism of politics has shifted very squarely to focus on the Middle East like the Eye of Sauron on the little ring bearer. One of the people in the focus is an complete innocent thrust into duty by his uncle, one is his blindly loyal friend who is literally following his friend to doom. The other is a social reject/pariah who everyone else wants to blame for their problems. Never mind that right next door, the forces of good are fighting the forces of evil for control over something else entirely.

There is little doubt that the positions taken by the leaders of the world have little to do with what is right or wrong, but is rooted squarely in domestic politics. The US hates terror as the most overt victim in recent memory. The United Kingdom sides with the US because of the troubles over there. Domestic politics drive foreign policy. It is rare that principled foreign policy will change the mindset of the people. In Canada, for example, editorials are raging about the likelihood of a shift in Jewish voting allegiances, which is nothing short of absurd. But ultimately, our domestic pressure comes from being aligned with our two closets allies, which in this particular case happen to be aligned with each other. France and Quebec, however.

It is my sincere belief that leaders refuse to take a position that is even partially critical of the state of Israel out of fear of being labeled an anti-Semite. By way of example, about three years ago in a letter to the editor, I noted that reported voter turnout in the last Israeli election were not entirely accurate because of the incomplete census of the Arab population. I concluded that in order to participate in the electoral process, Palestinians had to tacitly acknowledge the existence of a state which they did not believe should be recognized. For this, I was labeled by three major Jewish organizations as an anti-Semite; three organizations which all received space on a letters page to respond to a letter from a drunken law student. Privileged access indeed.

Wthout saying too much, let's just say that I am a lover of Semites. In fact, I have my own J-Date profile. That said, I can laugh off being labeled an anti-Semite. The Prime Minister or President does not have the same luxury. That is a label that can haunt you in public life and if you have to waste one second defending yourself against that label, you are already falling down. As such, even the hint of anti-Semitism has to be avoided at all costs. The result is a policy to a) say nothing b) say something that Israel will agree with or c) say something so convoluted and nuanced that it is effectively re-slotted into the first category.

The end result is that there can be no lasting peace, or even a discussion of it, because of domestic pressures lording over the best would-be negotiators. Not the alleged power, control or the money that the Jews possess, but the irrefutable label. As long as London and Washington (and Ottawa) are unwilling to objectively mediate the discussion, nothing will ever happen. It is not just Hezbollah that needs to "cut out this shit."

That said, if I had lauded Rabin for his land for peace deal maybe I would have gotten shot as well. I would like to remind everyone that Rabin was killed by a Jew. Not a suicide bomber. A Jew. In all honesty, it is possible that middle of the road opinions are precluded from forming in Israel because of the same label: Uncle Shalom's Cabin on the West bank? Tolerated until they are implemented and then quickly, ahem, removed from office.

You will notice, however, that in Scandinavia "anti-Semitism" is rampant. Is it because Scandinavia was over-run by Germany? Is it because that they do not take a larger world view and don't care what other countries think. Is it because of the significant Saudi investment into their respective economies? Or is it just fair comment in truly open liberal democratic society where the key voting issue is the age state-funded daycare begins and foreign policy is pegged to the price of oil?

Similarly, Paris is the new Mecca (pardon the pun) of pro-Arab thought. That is not because the President's name has an Arab country in it, and it is not because of its historic ties to the region because the French are as racist against Arabs as the rest of the world (see L'Etranger by Camus). It is because being labeled as an anti-semite in a country with very few Semites is nothing when compared to being anti-American in a country full of anti-Americans. Charte devant le cheval.