Commentary
You can always rely on the radical Left to be inconsistent, can’t you. They make an art of it.
We know how strongly they feel about the claim of Aboriginal people to be the original owners of our land.
That bold clarion cry, “Always was, always will be,” has become very familiar to all of us.
What a strange thing it is, then, to find that the claim of the Jewish people to Jerusalem and the land of Israel is not upheld by the Left with the same vigour.
In fact, ask the average Leftie, and you'll not only get a firm denial of any Jewish title to the land, but probably also a very immoderately expressed imprecation against Jews in general.
That’s an understatement, because the radical Left hates Jews.
Their hatred is usually partly concealed by the use of such limiting terms as “anti-zionist” or “anti-Semitic,” but the loathing behind the widespread celebration of the bestial savagery of Hamas in October has sadly been plain to see.
They do have a case, admittedly—and the Western media are determined to make the most of it.
Israel partly contributed to modern terrorism.
The bombings and other violent activities of the Stern Gang in the 1940s were deeply shocking to Western sensibilities. And it appears that Israel’s use of force in the current conflict has been excessive on occasion.
But that’s war for you. If you think it can be sanitised, and that soldiers—any soldiers—never get frenzied or cruel in the heat of battle, you’re dreaming.
The Media Bias
But if you watch the coverage of this war on “our” ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) you'll conclude that Israeli soldiers alone offend against the agreed “decencies” of war.They will show you the bloodied bodies of Gazan civilians being brought into what’s left of the hospital emergency rooms. And the shocked and weeping relatives. You will share some of the anger.
But wait a minute.
Are the Israelis gratuitously and pointlessly bombing and hammering an inert, defenceless civilian population? Is that all that’s going on?
Is the fighting over? Are they persevering in violence just for the heck of it, as a form of spiteful payback, or maybe just to test the power of their weapons? That is absurdly implausible. Hamas is still fully engaged in the conflict, and they too are sending their victims to hospital.
The only way Hamas will give up their fight—for the complete destruction of Israel, let’s remind ourselves—is if they are well and truly eliminated.
An Israeli tank maneuvers near Israel's border with southern Gaza, in Israel, on Dec. 4, 2023. Amir Cohen/Reuters
That’s why the fighting continues. Hamas doesn’t know the meaning of surrender.
But don’t expect clarity on that from mainstream media. If you watch the news on ABC or SBS (you’re probably wasting your time, but it’s your choice) you'll notice that almost every time Hamas is mentioned it is accompanied by a kind of mantra—“Hamas, regarded as a terrorist organisation by many countries, including Australia.”
This terminology makes it clear that most of the ABC’s correspondents do not share that view. Their bias is palpable.
Picking and Choosing What to Report
That said, they cannot rationally explain their affection for the Arab cause because they are blind to both the best and the worst qualities of Islam.For example, the secular Left in the West cannot appreciate, just cannot get its head around, the genuine Muslim’s prayerful devotion to Allah, the merciful and compassionate.
The spirituality of Islam, and of Christianity too, is a completely closed book to the almost wholly secularised West.
Sure, the Left appears or pretends to understand Aboriginals’ spirituality, and their “connection to the country” (whatever that means), but that’s just an excuse to further their agenda.
Being told by a modern secular thinker that he respects your religion is a bit like being told by a crocodile that he loves your humanity. Here’s another big inconsistency. They ignore one of Islam’s grimmer aspects, namely its intolerance towards homosexuality.
Intolerance is an understatement: Israel is probably the only country in the Middle East in which homosexuality is legal.
In many, it is not only illegal but actively persecuted—and the penalties can be heavy indeed.
Radical Islam’s tendency (let’s say no more than that) to undervalue women’s education is another matter on which Western secular feminism is mysteriously silent.
If you’re looking for examples of inconsistency you can hardly do better than the West’s heartfelt sympathy for the muscular goals of Islam, while turning a blind eye to its less attractive prejudices, and its refusal to countenance the legitimate territorial claims of democratic Israel.
Relatives, friends and supporters of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel, hold the Israeli flag, placards and images of those taken during a protest calling for their release as they march towards Jerusalem on Nov. 17, 2023. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images
Legitimate claims? Well, if any claims to hereditary and historical land rights deserve respect, Israel’s surely do. You couldn’t make up a better pedigree.
Jerusalem, the ancient capital of Judea, is one of the world’s oldest continuously occupied cities, founded at least four millennia ago.
Israel’s city of peace was already ancient when Jesus walked its streets.
Another six centuries passed before Muhammed appeared on the scene.
The persecution and expulsion of the Jews by more powerful neighbours such as Egypt and Babylon, then by the Romans, then by so many others, and their subsequent diaspora throughout the world, are as well documented as any events in history.
The Jewish claim to be the original owners of their land is impeccable. They want their land back, not the whole of the Middle East, but that which originally was their home.
Many of their neighbours, on the other hand, especially the Shiites, are less conciliatory: they want it all.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
