By Khalid Amayreh, Occupied Jerusalem

Jewish settler Dr. Baruch Goldstein Massacres 29 Palestinians at a mosque in Hebron after opening fire as people gathered for Friday morning prayers in 1994

It is one of the paradoxes of Israel that the Jewish state has a lot of support amongst right-wing and fascist groups in the West. The common factor appears to be hostility towards Islam and Muslims; in short, Islamophobia. Israel’s belligerence against the Palestinians (the Christians amongst whom are overlooked by the extreme right) is championed.

However, a closer examination suggests that extreme right-wing ideology and extreme interpretations of Zionism go hand in hand. As the government coalition in Israel moves ever more to the right, it is worth considering the residual influence of the Kach Party, banned in Israel in 1988 for its extreme racist views.

Kach was formed in the early 1970s by an American-Israeli rabbi, Meir Kahane, who wrote a book called “They Must Go” in which he called for the ethnic cleansing of all non-Jews from mandatory Palestine, including Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem; voluntarily if possible, by force if necessary. When his openly racist ideology was attacked as anti-democratic by mainly leftist circles in Israel, Kahane fought back, arguing that democracy was incompatible with Judaism and that faithful Jews ought to discard democracy and adopt Jewish law as the law of the land. According to his Orthodox interpretation, Jewish law treats non-Jews as slaves, and those refusing to settle for the status of slaves have to be expelled or killed.

Kahane’s party was banned after he had been elected to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, mostly in order to save Israel the public relations disaster he and his party were causing the Jewish state, especially in the West. However, Kahanist ideology continued to grow in Israel, so much so that the current coalition government in Israel, headed by Benyamin Netanyahu, has been described as a fulfilment of Kahane’s vision.

The rise of Kahanism in Israel has been matched by a rise in Jewish extremism in Europe and North America. Baruch Goldstein, the settlers’ “hero” of the Ibrahimi (Hebron) Mosque massacre in 1994, was an American citizen who, like Kahane, migrated to occupied Palestine.

It is not so long ago that European and American Jewry was at the forefront of liberal forces in their respective countries, fighting for the cause of human rights and civil liberties. Indeed, until very recently, Jews were among the fiercest opponents of the forces of racism and xenophobia around the world. It is disturbing, therefore, to see Israeli flags carried by members of the so-called English Defence League (EDL) in Britain, a group of fascist Islamophobes devoted to incitement against anything and everything Islamic or Muslim. These English Kahanists are adopting Nazi ideology with the exception of hostility towards the Jews.

The afore-mentioned shift to the extreme right in Israeli politics and the muted, if any, condemnation of the racist antics of the EDL by Jewish representative bodies in the West has prompted suggestions that increasing numbers of Jews now do not view fascism, even in its most virulent form, as anything distasteful, as long as it doesn’t target Jews. That this should be the case, given Jewish history in the 20th century, is astonishing, although those brave Jewish voices which speak out against all forms of racism and fascism are to be applauded.

In the United States, even Jewish organizations with a track record of anti-racism, such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), are signaling support for right-wing opponents of an Islamic community centre in New York City, criticism of which borders on racist Islamophobia. Abraham Foxman, the ADL’s Director, has conceded that there is no legal justification for opposing the Islamic Centre for which the authorities have given approval two blocks away from Ground Zero in Manhattan. Foxman, who has supported consistently every conceivable Israeli war crime against the peoples of the Middle East, believes that it is not right to build the centre, which would include a mosque, since doing so would hurt the feelings of racist, anti-Islam fanatics.

Unfortunately, some Jews are at the forefront of opposition to building the Islamic Centre, which is intended to be a bridge between communities in the city. Some of these Jews have likened plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero to erecting a memorial for Adolf Hitler near Auschwitz.

Of course, such statements should be treated with the contempt they deserve. After all, Hitler and his right-wing fanatics were responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Russia; 20 million Russians died in World War Two alone. To compare the planned Islamic Centre with such death and destruction is scandalous, but it is a reflection of the rightward drift in politics, even within Jewish communities which really ought to know better.

A few years ago, the Israeli government invited the leader of Dutch fascism, Geert Wilders, to Jerusalem in order to spew forth his venom against Islam and Muslims. Mr. Wilders is noted for his desire to ban the Qur’an, as Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf” has been banned. During Ariel Sharon’s term of office, the head of the Italian fascists, Gianfranco Fini, was given a warm welcome in Israel. An anti-Islam statement by Fini was enough to turn him from a supposed persona non grata into a great friend of the Jewish state to be afforded VIP treatment.

There are many examples of Zionist Jews embracing fascist and extreme right-wing leaders in the West as long as the latter have shown their credentials by maligning Islam and standing with Zionism against the legitimate Palestinian cause. This appears to vindicate those who see in Zionism an opportunistic, immoral and racist ideology that uses and abuses Judaism and those Jews – “Torah Jews” – who practice it. The latest connections with fascist movements do not suggest that this is likely to change any time soon.(end)

Khalid Amayreh

Khalid Amayreh is a Journalist living in Dura, Hebron District, West Bank, occupied Palestine . He has BA in journalism: University of Oklahoma , 1981 MA in journalism, University of Southern Illinois , 1983

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Editors Note:  See this  video obtained by Ynet depicts Jewish residents of east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood during their Purim celebrations singing songs of praise for Baruch Goldstein, a Jewish terrorist who murdered 29 Palestinians 16 years ago at the Cave of the Patriarchs : Click here for link Editor E.H.

Avigdor Lieberman was once a member of outlawed Kach Party, The Kach party was branded a terrorist organization by the Israeli Government and banned from the Israeli elections. The Yisrael Beitunei Party ,which Mr. Lieberman is chairman is really the Kach party but with a different name. During the recent murderous onslaught on Gaza , Mr. Lieberman proposed dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza. The Yisrael Beitunei party came in third place in the recent Israeli elections.
Administrador.

Opinion

Germany-1933 vs. Israel-2009

By Khalid Amayreh

Journalist — Occupied Palestine

Editor’s note: The rise of the rightwing in Israel through the recent Knesset elections that was preceded by the bloody war on Gaza, that left more than 1,300 dead most of them are women and children, has aroused a lot of criticism among Palestinians. Khalid Amayreh opines about the rise of Lieberman.

“The ‘main surprise’ of the recent Israeli elections Avigdor Lieberman is a man who really has much in common with Adolph Hitler.”

In the early 1930s, many in Germany saw the Nazis as the wave for the future. Thousands of new members joined the Nazi party, giving absolute allegiance to the Fuhrer, Adolph Hitler. In the spring of 1932, with six million unemployed, chaos in Berlin, starvation and ruin as well as the threat of Marxism, and a very uncertain future, the masses turned to Hitler by the millions.
In the German presidential elections, which took place on March 13, 1932, Hitler received over 11 million votes or 30 percent of the total. His opponent, President Hindenburg, received more than 18 million votes or 49 percent.

With Hindenburg failing to get the absolute majority he needed, Hitler seized the opportunity and immediately embarked on a frantic campaign, arousing national feelings and promising something for everyone. In the Third Reich, he said, every German girl would find a husband.

Eventually, on a dark, rainy Sunday, April 10, 1932, the people voted, giving Hitler nearly 13.5 million votes, or 36 percent of the total, with Hindenburg receiving 19.3 million votes. After some political changes, in January 1933, Hitler took the reins of the German republic, being appointed as Chancellor.

We all know the rest of the story.

Now, a similar story is being worked out in Israel, with Nazi-minded Israeli leaders, triumphing in the recent elections which came at the heel of a genocidal blitzkrieg that destroyed the bulk of the Gaza Strip and killed and maimed thousands of innocent Palestinians, including hundreds of children.

Towards Full-fledged Fascism

The outcome of the elections, which took place on February 10, proves beyond doubt that the Israeli Jewish society is drifting toward full-fledged fascism.
True, Zionism has always been inherently fascist since it embodies racism in its ugliest forms. However, the new breed of Zionist leaders are quite unapologetic about their genocidal propensities.

Take for example, Avigdor Lieberman, the “main surprise,” of the recent elections. This is a man who really has much in common with Adolph Hitler. He is ambitious, calculating, and very manipulative. He is also racist to the core, anti-democratic, and especially genocidal in his views and political thoughts. He combines the ruthlessness of Joseph Stalin and the jingoism of the Nazi Fuhrer.

During the recent murderous onslaught on Gaza, Lieberman proposed dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza. He was not speaking facetiously; he says what he means and he means what he says.

Lieberman’s other ideas include flooding Egypt by bombing the Aswan Dam, blanket-bombing Palestinian population centers, throwing thousands of Palestinian prisoners into the Dead Sea, and destroying Tehran with nuclear bombs.

Now Lieberman, whose manifestly fascist party has become the third largest in Israel, is the rising star of Israeli politics very much as Adolph Hitler was the rising star of German politics in the late 1920s and 1930s.

And as German political leaders sought to endear themselves to Hitler, most Israeli politicians on the right and left (the Israeli left is actually more right-wing than the most right-wing party in the Western world) are now currying favor with Lieberman and imploring him to join them in a coalition government.

But Lieberman’s ambitions go far beyond becoming merely an important component of the Israeli political system. His eyes are focused on one thing: Becoming leader of Israel.

Not the Black Sheep of Israeli Politics

Unlike the Germans, many of whom did not really know where they were being led to, most Israelis seem quite aware that fascism, or more correctly, Jewish Nazism, represents the modus operandi in Israel today.
Despite his repulsive notoriety, Lieberman is not really the black sheep of Israeli politics. In fact, Lieberman, notwithstanding his Nazi propensity, the former Moldovan immigrant may be considered “moderate” when compared against a plethora of other fascist parties in Israel such as Ichud Leumi (National Union), Habayit Hayehudi (the Jewish Home) which advocates or stops short of advocating biblical-style genocidal annihilation of all Palestinians “because God says so.”
However, Lieberman’s pubic appeal and ability to arouse the rabble makes him far more dangerous than any other political party in Israel. He is a man who is capable of leading Israelis to the same destination that Adolph Hitler took Germans to nearly 80 years ago.

On Thursday, February 12, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz quoted Rabi Dr. Michael Ben-Ari as saying that the outcome of the Israeli elections proved that Israelis in general accepted the racist views of Rabbi Meir Kahane.

“Rabbi Kahane made long inroads and I think the Israeli public in these elections gave an unequivocal answer as to where it is turning,” Ben-Ari said in an interview with Galli Tzahal, the Israeli Army Radio.

Kahane advocated the genocidal ethnic cleansing of non-Jews in Israel-Palestine. He put his evil ideas into a book entitled “They Must Go.”

Ben-Ari, a self-confessed Kahane disciple, had declared that Palestinians in Israel-Palestine should be expelled to places like Venezuela and Turkey.

He declared that he would want to be Interior Security Minister, presumably in order to ethnically cleanse non-Jews in Israel.

“Someone has to create order with regard to a few matters!!. And I wouldn’t object to filling those shoes.”

Committing the Unthinkable

The gloomy portents coming from Israel these days must be taken seriously, or else humanity would allow the repetition of the events that led to the massive atrocities of the Second World War.
The criminal, psychotic, and megalomaniac political class in Israel is simply capable of committing the unthinkable.

They are armed to the teeth, nearly immune from external pressure, and firmly confide
in that the Jewish lobby or lobbies is in tight control of America from California to New York and that all America’s leaders, from Nancy Pelosi to Barack Obama are deep in the Jewish pockets.

Hence, the world must not allow this menacing bellicosity to go unchecked.

I know that some of those languishing under the influence of Zionist hasbara, especially in Europe and North America, may dismiss my warnings as far-fetched or highly exaggerated.

Well, those I want to ask a simple question: Who would have thought in 1933 that Hitler would ever do what he did?

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