|
by Alan M. Dershowitz • May 31,
2019 at 5:00 am
- The nationalist
leaders of central and eastern Europe are a mixed picture when
it comes to Israel. They strongly support Jewish nationalism,
Zionism, and the nation state of the Jewish people. But their
attitude toward Jews and the Holocaust is often highly
questionable.
- The prime minister
of Israel must put the interests of his country before
ideological purity or attitude toward Jews in general. In a
world in which so few nations support Israel and in which so
many vote routinely to condemn it at the United Nations,
Israel must not easily give up support from right-wing
nationalists.
- So let us condemn
European nationalists when their actions warrant condemnation,
but let us welcome their support for Israel at a time when
such support is becoming more and more essential.
Pictured:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference
with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Jerusalem, Israel on
July 19, 2018. (Image source: Kobi Gideon, Israel Government Press
Office)
Critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argue
that he should never speak to European nationalists because
European nationalism often goes hand in hand with anti-Semitism.
Ironically (or perhaps hypocritically) many of these
same critics urged Israeli prime ministers to speak to Yasser
Arafat and other terrorist leaders who have advocated and practiced
the murder of Jews. What is the difference? In both cases elected
leaders have to hold their collective noses to speak to other
leaders of whose ideologies and actions they strongly disapprove.
But when you are the leader of a country, pragmatic realpolitik
must often prevail over pure ideology.
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment