Treading on Israeli Eggshells.

I read today that Israel has introduced new laws to control – and presumably strongly discourage – romantic relationships between Israelis and Palestinians. This is a clear case of discrimination based on ethnicity, and is, therefore, definitively an equivalent of apartheid. When apartheid was applied in South Africa the west was rightly indignant and applied sanctions to that state. So why no sanctions against Israel?

And let’s take another example. Israel bases its claim to sovereignty over the West Bank on their own reading of history. Putin used the same claim of historical validity when justifying his invasion of Ukraine, and the west applied sanctions. So I ask the same question: why no sanctions against Israel? Why does the west constantly pussyfoot around Israel while throwing everything but the kitchen sink at other malefactors?

No doubt part of the reason is the fact that Israel is strategically important to western interests, which might be convenient but is it ethical? But there’s also the fact that any criticism of Israel – even when their abusive treatment of the Palestinians is clear for all to see – is immediately greeted with the howling accusation of anti-Semitism.

Which is absurd; utterly so. We all know it’s absurd, but everyone is so afraid of that neat little phrase that they will back down like frightened puppies rather than hit it for six where it rightly belongs. And so abuse and absurdity prevails, and innocent people continue to suffer, and I don’t like it.