White Noise and the Haters of Israel | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com – Algemeiner
Posted By admin on November 30, 2021
The late atheist writer Christopher Hitchens used to refer to the theological arguments of his critics as white noise. As a non-believer, claims about the true nature of God, the legitimacy of prophetic revelation, or the problem of evil were simply meaningless to him an irritating buzz in his ears.
Hitchens white noise is often what I hear when leftist or progressive critics of Israel make their arguments against the Jewish state. It is not only that their accusations of ethnic cleansing, colonialism, and genocide are often blood libels. It is also a question of standing. That is, by what right do these people presume to judge Israel and the Jewish people and declare them guilty of the most heinous crimes?
In his treatise on the art of rhetoric, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle described three primary methods of persuasion: Pathos is the appeal to emotion. Logos is the appeal to reason. Ethos is the appeal to the moral character of the speaker. We are all familiar with these methods as employed by the Israel-haters: logos is usually absent, while pathos is ubiquitous, in the shrieking rage and hate directed against the Jewish state and the Jewish people. But this pathos is, in the end, just a cheap attempt at emotional blackmail and abuse. What makes their arguments white noise is ethos.
Judgement inherently contains within it an assertion of moral rectitude. One can only judge if one has the right to judge. And this is a right that must be earned. The Israel-haters, especially on the progressive left, believe this quite strongly: they are quite certain that they are a caste of saints, the finest and most moral people who have ever existed. As such, they consider their ethos infinitely superior to that of anyone else.
November 29, 2021 11:10 am
In the face of such a claim, we are entitled to a certain skepticism. It is, after all, ludicrous on its face. For me, however, it is discredited by one mans life story: my best friend Shanis grandfather, Israel Mazor.
When the USSR conquered half of Poland after the Hitler-Stalin pact, Mazor was arrested due to his Zionist activism which was seen as a threat to the workers state and shuttled between gulags in Siberia. There he almost died of exposure, malnutrition, torture, and the conditions of slave labor. Several times, he was thrown into solitary confinement in a concrete cell in sub-zero weather. Once he ran in place for nine hours to avoid losing his legs to frostbite.
After the war, he was released and began to demand the right to make aliyah. The Soviet regime refused him for over a decade, until he finally packed up his family and they made their way without proper travel papers to Austria. From there, the Jewish Agency brought them to Israel. Eventually, he was recognized by the government for his heroism and received a medal from Israels president.
To me, this story of horror and triumph is Israels ethos, encapsulated within a single life. When Israelis and Jews speak, they speak as people who have been chewed up and spit out by history; as people who have crawled out of history by their fingernails. When they invoke morality, it is as people with the most intimate knowledge of the horrors of life. And they know what these horrors have to teach us about how tenuous and compromised morality can be, and what it means to live in the absence of morality. They can speak to its inherent complications, compromises, and desperations. They know, in other words, of what they speak. They possess an ethos their enemies cannot, because they have earned it.
The saints, on the other hand, believe that one can simply assert ones morality and be done with it that by claiming to be moral, they become moral. The horrors of life are not just irrelevant but inconceivable to them, because they have never known these horrors. Nor can they conceive of the inevitable consequences of these horrors, because as a sheltered and privileged class, they have always lived without consequences. They will never have to pay the cost of what they demand of Israel and the Jewish people. This is how they can not only advocate hurling the Jews back into statelessness and exile, but actually claim it is the moral thing to do. It is how they can justify and even praise the wanton violence they and their allies incite. It is how they can remain blissfully ignorant of what all this says about their morality and their ethos.
What it says is quite clear: the saints have no ethos. They are a morally bankrupt privileged caste who, in their fantasies of rectitude, presume to judge a people who have known horrors of which they cannot begin to conceive. These are people who weep when Whole Foods runs out of kale, and then condemn those who have survived the gulag. And in a supreme act of hubris, the saints not only judge these refugees from history, but consider themselves their moral superiors. The admonitions of such people can, in the end, never be anything more than white noise.
Benjamin Kerstein is a columnist and the Israel Correspondent for the Algemeiner. Hiswebsite can be viewed hereand hisbooks purchased at Amazon.com.
Link:
White Noise and the Haters of Israel | Jewish & Israel News Algemeiner.com - Algemeiner
- Jews assaulted during a pro-Israel protest in Toronto - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- 'A very different tone this time': Canadian Jewish leaders warn of spike in anti-Semitic violence - National Post [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Ohio supporter of ISIS pleads guilty in attempted attack on Jewish synagogue - cleveland.com [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Operation Solomon: Thirty years since the rescue of the Jews of Ethiopia - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Can Arab-Jewish peace survive the ongoing violence in Israel? - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women are bucking the patriarchal, authoritarian stereotype of their community - The Conversation US [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- The making of the Jewish extremist Meir Kahane - TRT World [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- The total collapse of Jewish and Israeli PR - opinion - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Most US kids of intermarriage raised Jewish; parents want institutions to notice - The Times of Israel [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Are the Jews being attacked in Israels mixed cities victims of pogroms - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Rise in antisemitic incidents in Florida prompts Jewish groups to spend thousands on security - WTXL ABC 27 [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- There are more American Jews and they're staying Jewish - thejewishchronicle.net [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Members of Jewish synagogue come together after act of vandalism - KVOA Tucson News [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Fact Check-Video of people tearing clothes in Jerusalem shows a Jewish custom and is not linked to the 2021 Hamas-Israel conflict - Reuters [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Charles Grodin and the Jewish question - Religion News Service [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Rise in antisemitic incidents in South Florida prompts Jewish groups to spend thousands on security - WPTV.com [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- No, 'Minions' weren't inspired by Jewish children who endured the Holocaust - PolitiFact [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Lod counts its losses: Torched synagogues and coexistence in this Jewish-Arab city - Haaretz [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- The Wawa Foundation Selects Jewish Family Service to Receive $15000 Grant - InsiderNJ [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Non-Jewish man assaulted in Munich and called a 'Jewish pig' - Cleveland Jewish News [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- The moral imperative behind the Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest - Yale Climate Connections [Last Updated On: May 20th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 20th, 2021]
- Can America Be America When Jews Are Beaten in the Streets? - The Dispatch [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Essay: The Four Absurd Criticisms of Israel's War Conduct Detroit Jewish News - The Jewish News [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Joseph Borgen, Brutally Beaten By Group Of Suspects In Manhattans Diamond District, Speaks Out: My Whole Face Felt Like It Was On Fire For Hours - CBS... [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- The American Jewry demographic is only growing and becoming more diverse - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- As trust between Israeli Jews and Arabs reaches new lows, Netanyahu rises again - The Conversation US [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- The Tensions Inside a Mixed Jewish-Arab City in Israel - The New Yorker [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Organs of Arab teen allegedly shot by police save Arab and Jewish lives - The Times of Israel [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Heartwarming WWII Film 'Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog' Screens at the Virtual KCET Cinema Series on May 26th - KCET [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Young American Jews Have Reached a Tipping Point With Israel - Rolling Stone [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Jews and Muslims find common ground in German city - DW (English) [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Jews Who Leave the Faith Are Still Treated as Jewish - The Wall Street Journal [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Police investigating attacks on Jewish business, synagogue in N. Ireland - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Marjorie Taylor Greene Insists Any Rational Jewish Person Thinks Mask Mandates Are as Bad as the Holocaust - Vanity Fair [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- A second person was arrested in the gang assault of a Jewish man in New York during protests - CNN [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Officials Say Hate Crimes Against Jews Are Growing In The Aftermath Of Gaza Violence - NPR [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Police Investigate Possible Jewish Hate Crime Attack At Beverly Grove Restaurant - CBS Los Angeles [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Jew | History, Beliefs, & Facts | Britannica [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Judaism: Founder, Beliefs & Facts - HISTORY [Last Updated On: May 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: May 25th, 2021]
- Bubbys Jewish Soul Food will bring traditional family recipes to North Central San Antonio this fall - San Antonio Current [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Elazar Stern is the most likely Herzog successor at the Jewish Agency - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Opinion | The Jewish History of Israel Is Over 3,000 Years Old. Thats Why Its Complicated. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- When the Mob Came for the Jews of Baghdad - The Wall Street Journal [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Jewish, Arab actors work together to rebuild theatre burnt in Acre riots - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Portland Bagel Shop and Jewish Deli Coming to the College Area - Eater San Diego [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Jewish-Asian college student grieves lost senior year, and so much more J. - The Jewish News of Northern California [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Belgium to return Nazi-looted painting to German Jewish family - The Times of Israel [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh holds rally to bring awareness to increase in 'antisemitic attacks' - WPXI Pittsburgh [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- These Nice Jewish Boys answered John Oliver. YouTube called it hate speech - Haaretz [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Cops release new images of men sought in alleged attack on Jewish man; Islander previously arrested - SILive.com [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Jewish heiress abandons claims over priceless painting stolen by Nazis - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Biden science adviser takes oath on 500-year-old Jewish text - The Times of Israel [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Is it safe to become Jewish? What I tell conversion students - opinion - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- For Jewish immigrants, Boyle Heights was a place for community building and a slice of the American dream - KCRW [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2021]
- Jewish writers with Soviet roots have deep stories to tell J. - The Jewish News of Northern California [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- Stanford therapists allege 'hostile climate' for Jews in the workplace J. - The Jewish News of Northern California [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- Omar seeks to clarify comments after Jewish House Democrats accuse her of comparing US and Israel with Hamas and Taliban - CNN [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- Jewish student group 'SLO Hillel' opens new Pavilion The new gathering space is located at the - KSBY San Luis Obispo News [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- Original source of pound cake recipe in new Athens Jewish cook book remains a mystery - Online Athens [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- Readers Write: Far-right extremists not representative of L.I's Jewish community - Readers Write - The Island Now [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- Our Jewish Israeli writer in Ramallah is ready to reveal who she is - Haaretz [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- Jewish groups in the US and South Africa among recipients of MacKenzie Scott's latest $2.74B in grants - Cleveland Jewish News [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- 'George Soros was an easy target: hes Jewish, wealthy and secretive' - Haaretz [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- John Rathbun of East Longmeadow convicted of attempting to burn Jewish elder care campus after 2nd trial - MassLive.com [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- Here are the top candidates to one of the most prestigious jobs in the Jewish world - Haaretz [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- Jewish Federation Expands Outreach and Education to Counter Increased Antisemitism Detroit Jewish News - The Jewish News [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2021]
- JCF awards more than $140000 in scholarships for Jewish campers - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- What is an egg cream and why is it so Jewish? - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- YC4KF Thanks Jewish Community Foundation for $8,000 Grant - Signals AZ [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- Google criticized by Jewish organization for 'allowing' antisemitism - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- Mission: Volunteer 52 Times in 52 Weeks - Jewish Exponent [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- First German Army rabbi in 100 years takes office - Haaretz [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- Synagogues and camps are getting help to better support LGBTQ youth - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- 'Schitt's Creek': Where 'Jews of no religion,' facing exile, find redemption - The Conversation CA [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- Man arrested after attacking 12-year-old Jewish boy in Los Angeles - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- Jewish congregations gather at Davenport location - New Haven Register [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- Jews are the only minority that tolerates the intolerable - The Jerusalem Post [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- The Jewish mensch who helped fight racial injustice in the Deep South - Haaretz [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- Holocaust Center presents Jews' escape to India and Iran after 1933 - The Oakland Press [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
- Diplomat Turned Educator will Head Local University Detroit Jewish News - The Jewish News [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2021] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2021]
Comments