November 13 , 2007 | Eli E. Hertz
Is antisemitism1 Coming to Annapolis?
"Applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation" is antisemitism.
U.S. Department of State
Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/56589.htm
A case in point: Yardsticks - Turkey versus Israel.
For over 44 years, Turkey has knocked on Europe's door requesting membership in the European Union. The Europeans, however, have been in no rush to invite a Muslim country into their midst, even if it is the most westernized and most democratic Muslim country in the Middle East. To add to it, Turkey is already a strategic partner in NATO and nearly 3 million of its citizens are peaceful and productive immigrants/guest workers in Europe.
Joining the EU, however, demands of Turkey far-reaching political and social reform "on the ground" and "10 to 15 years of negotiations" while the Turks prove democratic changes are "irreversible."2
On the other end, U.S. (and the Quartet) yardsticks for the Palestinian Arabs, a hostile society, demanding acceptance into the Family of Nations, amounts to praise for fabricated non-existent reforms and calls to abandon the required incremental progress as clearly stated in the "goal-driven Roadmap."3
The end to violence and democratic reform, that Palestinians have yet to begin, is tolerable by the U.S. administration - all in order to forge the way for the immediate establishment of a Palestinian state, one which will endanger the very survival of a democratic Israel and the rest of the free world.
Comparison of the goals and the ramifications of each: The Turks' goal is membership in the European Union - a political alliance that the Europeans have already stated will have an iron-clad reversibility clause for Turkey if it fails to live up to its commitments.
The Palestinians' goal is sovereignty as a State - status for which there is no reversibility mechanism if 'Palestine'4 turns into a rogue state - the kind of polity the U.S. is currently grappling with in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, North Korea, and elsewhere.
Logically, the yardsticks of judging readiness and maturity should be at least equal, if not more stringent for the Palestinian Arabs, a society that consciously and purposely sacrifices its own youth for political gain and tactical advantage, with a leadership that champions suicide bombers.5
These "realities on the ground" are totally ignored by the U.S. in its effort to advance immediate Palestinian statehood, come hell or high water.
Requiring Israel to cede parts of its land in favour of the Palestinians' empty promises, while their Charters call for the dismantling of the Jewish State, is "applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation." Clearly, antisemitism comes in many forms...
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1. The term Semite refers broadly to speakers of a language group which includes both Arabs and Jews. However, the term antisemitism is specifically used in reference to attitudes held towards Jews.
2. For EU benchmarks see:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/04/1180&format=HTML&aged=0&language=en&guiLan guage=en.
3. A Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. See U.S. Department of State at:
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2003/20062.htm.
4. Before local Jews began calling themselves Israelis in 1948 (when the name "Israel" was chosen for the newly-established Jewish State), the term "Palestine" applied almost exclusively to Jews and the institutions founded by new Jewish immigrants in the first half of the 20th century, before the state's independence. For more see the "Mandate for Palestine" at:
http://www.mythsandfacts.com/Conflict/mandate_for_palestine/MandateN2%20-%2010-29-07-English.pdf.
5. See Children Dying To Kill at:
http://www.mythsandfacts.com/Conflict/9/childrendyingtokill1.htm#B1.
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