The list of Israeli paranoiac notions about Iran has just grown one item longer: but this one’s a doozy. The Jerusalem Report notes:
Even if the Iranians don’t use the bomb, he [Bibi Netanyahu] fears the very fact that they have it, could lead to a mass exodus of Jews from an Israel under nuclear threat, weakening the state and compromising the Zionist dream…
Let’s stop a moment to parse this. First, we are asked to believe that if Iran got the bomb but didn’t use it, that it would drive Israelis in terror to the exits, fleeing to safer climes abroad. But the fact that Israel has had nuclear weapons since 1967 but hasn’t caused a single soul to flee the Arab world is supposed to make this theory seem plausible? Oh of course, the implication is that the Iranians are wild-eyed Islamist fanatics prepared to immolate the world in a mushroom cloud for the greater glory of Allah, while Israel is the picture of a sensible, rational nation, of whom no Arab and no Arab state could possibly be frightened. Not to mention that Indian and Pakistani nukes don’t seem to have caused anyone to flee from either of those countries. Nor has a North Korean nuke caused any South Korean to head for the hills.
Second, would Bibi have us believe that the commitment of Israelis to their homeland is so tenuous that the mere threat of a nuclear weapon would make them abandon it? Is this what Bibi’s Zionism is made out of? For over 100 years, Jews have fled pogroms and Holocausts, making their way to Israel to find a new life. An Iranian bomb would turn the Jewish blood in their veins to ice?
With almost every word from Bibi’s mouth you have to judge whether it’s spoken for effect or from the heart. Most of his words are pure manipulative bulls(^t. But even if he doesn’t believe a word in the passage above, merely the fact that he would say it is proof positive that he is a cynical fool. If, on the other hand, anyone wishes to argue that Bibi does believe his words then both you and he and in deep trouble. His Zionist dream appears to be skin-deep.
There is a Jewish concept: al tiftah peh la’Satan (“don’t open your mouth for Satan to rush in”). What Bibi has done is expose the naked fear and paranoia beating inside the body of the Israeli ultra-nationalist Jew.
This is silly.
If I were a Zionist I would secretly hope that fate will take care of this moron called Bibi…
Why “secretly”?
you know who/ what this dramatic, manipulative narrative this reminds me of? Rabbi Eckstein. i wonder if Bibi and Rabbi Eckstein graduated from the same film/ cinematic arts school.
this is pure consumption for the Evangelical, philo-semitic, consumer. it is the i read my bible in one hand and read up on beloved Bibi in the other end times drama to drum up support for political Israel, perfectly timed on the tail end of CUFI and Chosen People church/ Christian university campaigns.
Very good point.
It’s almost as if he was worried about property prices more than the survival of the state.
Yes, always consider the audience, including the USA’s the-Bible-is-inerrant (but never consider who translated it and who over many years has interpreted it — are they also inerrant?) pro-Israel-lets-bring-on-Armaggedon who-needs-this-world-anyway-Im-tired-of-it “Christians”.
But perhaps there is a tad of truth in the idea of “the naked fear and paranoia beating inside the body of the Israeli ultra-nationalist Jew” is that anyone can see that the claims (territorial, anti-human-rights-ical) of the ultras run counter to the world’s expressed opinions so that an ultra can always fear that some day, one day, even some day soon, the weight of the world will drop on Israel and end these dreams. In that case, from their fears to G-d’s ears, but don’t hold your breath. The world has shown no tendency to put its money where its mouth is.
I really think that the fear of comeuppance is the source of much of Israel’s policies and practices. I think this persuasive fear (not of nukes, but of having to account!) explains some of stupid and confused things the state does (and says), such as redoubling its caution (the airport fiasco), using more violence, not less, …these sorts of things reflect utter confusion and fear. They can’t imagine doing anything but what they have been doing, only more. It is hysteria. They know they will be “found out” but they just don’t know how or when. Imagine trying to function normally under such neurotic anxiety. The favorite defense of last resort, “anti-Semitism”, is a joke already.
RE: “I really think that the fear of comeuppance is the source of much of Israel’s policies and practices. I think this persuasive fear (not of nukes, but of having to account!) explains some of stupid and confused things the state does (and says)…” ~ David
FROM WIKIPEDIA [Defence mechanism]:
SOURCE – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_mechanism
P.S. I sometimes (only half-jokingly) refer to The Dissociative State of Israel™!
Dissociation (psychology) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociation_(psychology)
� LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Like Stuart Smalley, I am a caring nurturer, a member of several 12-step programs, but NOT a licensed therapist. Any observations, suggestions, recommendations, utterances, etc. made by me are strictly intended as entertainment, and should not be considered professional advice.
In the event you and/or your nation-state are suffering from mental problems, please consult a licensed professional of your choosing.
And whatever you do, don’t go into a “shame spiral”!
“Second, would Bibi have us believe that the commitment of Israelis to their homeland is so tenuous that the mere threat of a nuclear weapon would make them abandon it? ”
This coming from the comfort of someone home located in lake Seattle is more then hypocritical. You stated many times that the fear of war is what makes you stay in Seattle and not immigrate to Israel. You you out of all people have no right to criticize other people motives.
No, you’re wrong once again in characterizing my real views. It is not the “fear of war” which made me reject aliyah. It was my refusal to participate in Israel’s permanent war against its neighbors. If Israel was a state whose ideals & principles I agreed with I would live there regardless of whether any neighbor had a nuclear weapon.
Sorry, but I have every right to criticize the policies of the state with which I disagree & to criticize you as well.
I haven’t read your blog long enough, but why do you think Israel has a permanent war against its neighbors? Is it solely because they are an aggressive, paranoid country? Is it because some of Israel’s neighbors claim to want destroy the country? Some of both?
I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago called something like Israel: the Permanent War State. Look it up using Google & it should answer some of yr questions.
Thank you.
Even though I detest Neyanyahoo and all that he stands for, I have to admire this unbelievably successful diversion campaign – the media focuses on his incessant BS about Iran’s nonexistent nuclear weapons program and Holocaust and not a word is spoken about settlements, the brutal maltreatment of the Palestinians or their striving for statehood.
You hit the nail on its head, the whole Iran hoohaa is a diversion tactic to buy time (and free hand) on the Palestinian front.
There is a diversion campaign, I agree, because Israels (!) real targets are Lebenanon and Syria. Stateless chaos there will be last opportunity to make room for the deportation of non-jewish West-Bank population and this is clearly the goal of settlement and oppressive occupational forces.
For once, I believe Netanyahu. Israel is the only country in the world that has to pay it’s citizens to live there. Israeli Jews have foreign passports, dual citizenship, language skills, and access to kinship networks overseas. More to the point, they have a four thousand year tradition of bugging out when the going gets tough. I would not be surprised to see the Zionist dream end with a stampede to the airport, and it would not take much to start that stampede: an Iranian nuke, or a few Hezbollah rockets landing in Tel Aviv. The only surprise here is that Netanyahu was willing to say this in public. It’s the 800-pound gorilla that nobody in Israel is willing to talk about. Until now.
RE: “. . .the implication is that the Iranians are wild-eyed Islamist fanatics prepared to immolate the world in a mushroom cloud for the greater glory of Allah, while Israel is the picture of a sensible, rational nation. . .” ~ R.S.
MY COMMENT: Imagine having some Israeli like Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner (or even Avigdor Lieberman) with his finger on the Israel’s nuclear launch button!
FROM WIKIPEDIA [Samson Option]:
SOURCE – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_Option
RE: “If…anyone wishes to argue that Bibi does believe his words then both you and he and in deep trouble.” ~ R.S.
I.F. STONE (1967): “All governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out.” ~ from In a Time of Torment, 1961-1967 (1967), p. 317
SOURCE – http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/I._F._Stone
Since Bibi has shot his syphilitic, lipped mouth off, its a fair guess the fears the prevaricator is summoning are bullshit. If such were true the fool would never utter them.
What he refuses to acknowledge is a peaceful solution to the I/P question by endorsing a sovereign, Palestinian state, which in failing to accomplish will result in one state (if not already) with a mass out-Aliyah endgame of fleeing Israelis.
Israel cannot remain a Jewish theocratic, fascist, apartheid regime forever. Ultimately, the slaves will do more than just throw stones or rockets, they’ll demand their civil rights and liberties. A phenomenon now developing among Palestinians on the W/B, Gaza and within the Green Line.
The horror ripping apart the minds of Israeli’s aren’t Iranian nukes. Its the thought of the oppressed evening up the score. Jefferson summarized slavery;
“…we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go…”
And fearful of the vengeance of Providence exclaimed:
“I tremble for my country when I remember that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
You would think Zionists would know their theology inside out, that their own religious books have their God severely crushing them several times over for their barbarisms and murderous behavior against the weak, orphans, widows and strangers among them. According to their own beliefs another holocaustal reckoning is coming if they don’t change their bestial ways.