This short piece by Eric Hoffer was published in the LA times in 1968! I am amazed and also saddened by how well it has aged.
"The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.
Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russian did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it, Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchman. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese-and no one says a word about refugees. But in the case of Israel the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees.
Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single Arab. Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis.
Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms. But when Israel is victorious it must sue for peace. Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.
Other nations when they are defeated survive and recover but should Israelbe defeated it would be destroyed. Had Nasser triumphed last June he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews.
No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on. There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Negroes are executed in Rhodesia. But when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one remonstrated with him.
The Swedes, who are ready to break of diplomatic relations with America because of what we do in Vietnam, did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troop trains to Norway.
The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources. Yet at this moment Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally. We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us. And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war to realize how vital the survival of Israel is toAmerica and the West in general.
I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish the holocaust will be upon us.
That’s a perfect encapsulation of the double standard we operate in. I’ve always been fascinated at how different rules are implemented onto the Jews than for everyone else. Why? It’s a puzzle I can’t figure out.
Because it's completely unnecessary now. You keep bringing up horrors of the past to justify the present. The ground truth is more Jews in the United States then there are Native Americans. Well integrated and vastly punching above their weight in influence and wealth. There's more of you in Canada then Inuit. Times change, morals have changed, expectations have changed and I keep getting beat on the head with 1945.
If Israeli dies it will be of its own hand, transformed into a global pariah state completely drained of its best and brightest for greener pastures because it can't admit to creating an underclass it screams at the whole world that it exemplifies against all observable facts. I don't want a dime of my money or a single American life to be wasted on that bizarre juxtaposition.
"Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally." USS Liberty attack. PROMIS-Inslaw case. The tacit stealing of US nuclear tech. Not to mention whatever security agency Epstein belonged to. Are these the actions of an ally? What exactly does the US get out of this alliance?
This short piece by Eric Hoffer was published in the LA times in 1968! I am amazed and also saddened by how well it has aged.
"The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.
Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russian did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it, Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchman. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese-and no one says a word about refugees. But in the case of Israel the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees.
Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single Arab. Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis.
Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms. But when Israel is victorious it must sue for peace. Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.
Other nations when they are defeated survive and recover but should Israelbe defeated it would be destroyed. Had Nasser triumphed last June he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews.
No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on. There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Negroes are executed in Rhodesia. But when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one remonstrated with him.
The Swedes, who are ready to break of diplomatic relations with America because of what we do in Vietnam, did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troop trains to Norway.
The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources. Yet at this moment Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally. We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us. And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war to realize how vital the survival of Israel is toAmerica and the West in general.
I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish the holocaust will be upon us.
That’s a perfect encapsulation of the double standard we operate in. I’ve always been fascinated at how different rules are implemented onto the Jews than for everyone else. Why? It’s a puzzle I can’t figure out.
Because it's completely unnecessary now. You keep bringing up horrors of the past to justify the present. The ground truth is more Jews in the United States then there are Native Americans. Well integrated and vastly punching above their weight in influence and wealth. There's more of you in Canada then Inuit. Times change, morals have changed, expectations have changed and I keep getting beat on the head with 1945.
If Israeli dies it will be of its own hand, transformed into a global pariah state completely drained of its best and brightest for greener pastures because it can't admit to creating an underclass it screams at the whole world that it exemplifies against all observable facts. I don't want a dime of my money or a single American life to be wasted on that bizarre juxtaposition.
"Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally." USS Liberty attack. PROMIS-Inslaw case. The tacit stealing of US nuclear tech. Not to mention whatever security agency Epstein belonged to. Are these the actions of an ally? What exactly does the US get out of this alliance?
Forgot about Operation Susanna.