That Sporting Life
You know things are bad when you can't even please some of the people some of the time. Israel is in one of those unenviable positions. Not too many are pleased with Israel. It's a nation of majority-Jewish population, but rainbow enough to include Chinese and African Jews, as well as Arab Palestinians and Kurds and Greek and Armenian Christians, and a smattering of American evangelicals trying to convert Jews to Jesus.
Oh right, Israel has its own seemingly unbridgeable gap with its own fundamentalists, Jews whose interpretation of Judaism pits them against the reality of the existence of the State of Israel, which they view as a blasphemy against Holy Scriptures solemnly teaching that only with the return of the Messiah may Israel rise from its ashes. Now, they really do have something in common with Iran's Ayatollahs, come to think of it.
The Hidden Imam, seen as Iran's own Messiah with its Shia interpretation of Islam, when the world as it is known will be destroyed and only the righteous will inhabit it, those believers and worshippers of Allah (not including the apostates who worship other, false versions of Islam and Sunni Muslims need not apply, among others). Precisely because the appearance of the 13th Imam is imminent, annihilating Israel into nuclear night is feasible.
Roman Catholic Spain launched its Inquisition against those who eschewed Christian belief. And during that time fraught with everpresent danger of auto-da-fes it became a life-and-death decision to become a converso. This was six centuries of persecution of Jews, heretics and apostates, from Rome, to France, Spain to Portugal. The Malleus Maleficarum expressing the need and the protocol, prefacing Russia's production of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Just something about those Jews, always gets into someone's craw. Israel, alone among the countries in the Middle East does not persecute gays and lesbians, who live openly and unfettered by fear of discovery. Gay Pride parades are an accepted celebration in Tel Aviv. Gays serve openly and with distinction in the IDF. Gay marriages are recognized as legal in Israel (albeit performed elsewhere).
But in Toronto, the Gay Pride parade allows its QueersQontingent to slander and belittle Israel, declaring it a barbaric, human-rights-offending state. Madrid too had its annual gay pride festival, considered the largest in Europe, where the usual calls for societal tolerance and explicit and raunchy sexuality is displayed, and where the organizers, Spain's Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transgenders and Bisexuals, disallowed Israeli gays' participation.
Israel just plays the wrong kinds of games. Games that utterly pervert what world opinion will tolerate. Setting it apart, aside and well beyond the moral pale. Unions, academics, state legislators, student groups, and even international sport organizations decry the mendacity and offensive behaviour of a country seeking to protect itself from violent assault by Zionist-haters.
There is a huge culture that has evolved within the international community. And on a scale of pro- and -con, the weights are balanced heavily to disfavour the State of Israel. (And just a teeny-weeny bit weighted toward virulent anti-Semitism in the guise of anti-Zionism, to call a spade what it really is; deep-thrusting and black). On the other hand, it isn't just the outside world of non-Jews who deplore and detest Israel.
The free-for-all has extended to Jews themselves, those who hold themselves to be 'enlightened' and dedicated to 'freedom' and who lean so far left on the liberal-democratic scale it's a wonder they aren't in a continual prone position - well, damn! they are, so to speak. The greater the calls for censure toward Israel, the more self-hating Jews appear to align themselves with the wholesale opposition to Judaism.
Medieval-minded, aggressive, armed and dangerous Israel pitted against sadly afflicted Arab Palestinians whose sixty years in the wilderness of refugee-dom has allied the international community toward their rescue from !Occupation! The Palestinian Authority which speaks gently of the search for peace, while teaching its young through vested curricula that Jews are the enemy who must be defeated, and land Israel squats upon must be reclaimed.
Ferocious, damning anti-Israel propaganda reaches ears eager to believe all the bloody tropes of Jews kidnapping Arab (or Christian) children to drain their blood for Passover matzos. It's such a gruesomely alluring tale, it must be true, since Jews are involved, and nothing is too grim and horrible to ascribe to that miserable race of malefactors-against-the-world. There are no games innocent of the intent to dominate and to humiliate, on the part of Jews.
Even a volleyball game with Israel playing Serbia taking place in Turkey is rife with opportunity to unfurl Palestinian flags and hurl hate-ridden invective at the disgusting presence of Jewish athletes among the legitimate players. Replete with smuggled signage recalling to memory the Munich Olympics massacre of Jewish athletes. Whose slaughter Allah is thought to have viewed with satisfaction, obviously.
Demonstrators showed up for the game despite that the match, as a security precaution, had been closed to the public. Jewish and Israeli groups, public speakers, intellectuals, sport groups, cannot appear anywhere without the inevitable show of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters. The European Volleyball League is just simply a whole lot better off without being besmirched by the presence of Jews.
"Don't be dogs of Zionism. G-d will hold you to account!" was the refrain, with demonstrators hurling bottles at police, rapping with PA flagpoles on the police shields. And the police? Very nicely behaved. "Esteemed friends, please don't cause trouble", a police commander appealed to the increasingly more hostile crowd.
Very civilized, very sporting in the best traditions of internationalism. Emailed messages had advised protesters to hide their Palestinian Authority flags and banners, and refrain from shouting slogans. They were apprehended by sharp-eyed security personnel, caught and their entry to the stadium blocked.
The game was lost by Israel, 3-0. The Israeli team is now scheduled to play Turkey. The Israeli coach's opinion was that the loss to Serbia by Israel represented a "good experience" for his team. Stimulating them to play harder? To overlook the mortal slights and slings and stones, and ignore the detestation displayed? Lest they forget they are Jews?
Demonstrating the height of civilized courtesy, the Israeli team's coach expressed his gratitude to the Turkish authorities for the tight security. Which did not prevent his players from feeling the sting of bitter slander, but did protect them from the fate that assailed Israeli athletes in Munich, during the 1972 Olympics.
Oh right, Israel has its own seemingly unbridgeable gap with its own fundamentalists, Jews whose interpretation of Judaism pits them against the reality of the existence of the State of Israel, which they view as a blasphemy against Holy Scriptures solemnly teaching that only with the return of the Messiah may Israel rise from its ashes. Now, they really do have something in common with Iran's Ayatollahs, come to think of it.
The Hidden Imam, seen as Iran's own Messiah with its Shia interpretation of Islam, when the world as it is known will be destroyed and only the righteous will inhabit it, those believers and worshippers of Allah (not including the apostates who worship other, false versions of Islam and Sunni Muslims need not apply, among others). Precisely because the appearance of the 13th Imam is imminent, annihilating Israel into nuclear night is feasible.
Roman Catholic Spain launched its Inquisition against those who eschewed Christian belief. And during that time fraught with everpresent danger of auto-da-fes it became a life-and-death decision to become a converso. This was six centuries of persecution of Jews, heretics and apostates, from Rome, to France, Spain to Portugal. The Malleus Maleficarum expressing the need and the protocol, prefacing Russia's production of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Just something about those Jews, always gets into someone's craw. Israel, alone among the countries in the Middle East does not persecute gays and lesbians, who live openly and unfettered by fear of discovery. Gay Pride parades are an accepted celebration in Tel Aviv. Gays serve openly and with distinction in the IDF. Gay marriages are recognized as legal in Israel (albeit performed elsewhere).
But in Toronto, the Gay Pride parade allows its QueersQontingent to slander and belittle Israel, declaring it a barbaric, human-rights-offending state. Madrid too had its annual gay pride festival, considered the largest in Europe, where the usual calls for societal tolerance and explicit and raunchy sexuality is displayed, and where the organizers, Spain's Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transgenders and Bisexuals, disallowed Israeli gays' participation.
Israel just plays the wrong kinds of games. Games that utterly pervert what world opinion will tolerate. Setting it apart, aside and well beyond the moral pale. Unions, academics, state legislators, student groups, and even international sport organizations decry the mendacity and offensive behaviour of a country seeking to protect itself from violent assault by Zionist-haters.
There is a huge culture that has evolved within the international community. And on a scale of pro- and -con, the weights are balanced heavily to disfavour the State of Israel. (And just a teeny-weeny bit weighted toward virulent anti-Semitism in the guise of anti-Zionism, to call a spade what it really is; deep-thrusting and black). On the other hand, it isn't just the outside world of non-Jews who deplore and detest Israel.
The free-for-all has extended to Jews themselves, those who hold themselves to be 'enlightened' and dedicated to 'freedom' and who lean so far left on the liberal-democratic scale it's a wonder they aren't in a continual prone position - well, damn! they are, so to speak. The greater the calls for censure toward Israel, the more self-hating Jews appear to align themselves with the wholesale opposition to Judaism.
Medieval-minded, aggressive, armed and dangerous Israel pitted against sadly afflicted Arab Palestinians whose sixty years in the wilderness of refugee-dom has allied the international community toward their rescue from !Occupation! The Palestinian Authority which speaks gently of the search for peace, while teaching its young through vested curricula that Jews are the enemy who must be defeated, and land Israel squats upon must be reclaimed.
Ferocious, damning anti-Israel propaganda reaches ears eager to believe all the bloody tropes of Jews kidnapping Arab (or Christian) children to drain their blood for Passover matzos. It's such a gruesomely alluring tale, it must be true, since Jews are involved, and nothing is too grim and horrible to ascribe to that miserable race of malefactors-against-the-world. There are no games innocent of the intent to dominate and to humiliate, on the part of Jews.
Even a volleyball game with Israel playing Serbia taking place in Turkey is rife with opportunity to unfurl Palestinian flags and hurl hate-ridden invective at the disgusting presence of Jewish athletes among the legitimate players. Replete with smuggled signage recalling to memory the Munich Olympics massacre of Jewish athletes. Whose slaughter Allah is thought to have viewed with satisfaction, obviously.
Demonstrators showed up for the game despite that the match, as a security precaution, had been closed to the public. Jewish and Israeli groups, public speakers, intellectuals, sport groups, cannot appear anywhere without the inevitable show of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters. The European Volleyball League is just simply a whole lot better off without being besmirched by the presence of Jews.
"Don't be dogs of Zionism. G-d will hold you to account!" was the refrain, with demonstrators hurling bottles at police, rapping with PA flagpoles on the police shields. And the police? Very nicely behaved. "Esteemed friends, please don't cause trouble", a police commander appealed to the increasingly more hostile crowd.
Very civilized, very sporting in the best traditions of internationalism. Emailed messages had advised protesters to hide their Palestinian Authority flags and banners, and refrain from shouting slogans. They were apprehended by sharp-eyed security personnel, caught and their entry to the stadium blocked.
The game was lost by Israel, 3-0. The Israeli team is now scheduled to play Turkey. The Israeli coach's opinion was that the loss to Serbia by Israel represented a "good experience" for his team. Stimulating them to play harder? To overlook the mortal slights and slings and stones, and ignore the detestation displayed? Lest they forget they are Jews?
Demonstrating the height of civilized courtesy, the Israeli team's coach expressed his gratitude to the Turkish authorities for the tight security. Which did not prevent his players from feeling the sting of bitter slander, but did protect them from the fate that assailed Israeli athletes in Munich, during the 1972 Olympics.
Labels: Anti-Semitism, Israel
posted by Pieface | 1:29 PM
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