PHOTOGRAPHS: ILAN OSSENDRYVER
trained to avoid the ‘Jew’ word, which
would be an unpardonably destructive word
to use. Curse the Zionists all you like, but
don’t call them Jews. Protect our prime asset, that human rights halo. Remember our
halo, and keep it shining brightly, warn the
script writers. Brandish the halo while we
curse Israel out of existence.
The club of cursers is led by the Big Five:
Amnesty, Oxfam, Human Rights Watch,
Christian Aid, and the UN Human Rights
Council. Nominally, these entities are humanitarian, not-for-profit and apolitical.
Really, they are none of those things. And
there are hundreds of second-tier badmouthers of Israel, a bewildering number
of them in tiny Israel. Entities like
B’Tselem; Committee against House Demolitions; Jewish Voices for Peace; and so
on, compete fiercely to badmouth Israel.
After all, with publicity comes money, and
ultimately that is what the human rights
business is all about. There is a load of cash
out there for anyone with a bad word to
say about Israel. Enormous amounts of
European money comes to such organisations if they portray Israel as a perpetrator
of war crimes, delegitimising the country
in the process. Individual moneybags like
George Soros cough up hundreds of millions per year. Trade is brisk, the money
big and the players earnest. For the rights
activist, Israeli crimes represent the goose
that lays the golden egg.
So, war by other means was born in
Durban. And on its heels tumbled the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
movement. BDS sets out to paralyse Israel to the point where it stands alone and
vulnerable among the nations, a meek
prey for waiting wolves. Negative people
(awake to faults, real or not); arrogant
people (presuming to know better than
the Palestinians what’s good for them);
greedy people (earning good money and
benefits for their cursing), they are progeny of the patriarchal curser, Balaam.
Will modern-day cursers meet the fate
of the wily wizard? When the Almighty
told Balaam to hold his tongue, he should
have listened. But feted celebrity-hood
beckoned like a pot of gold. Ill will in human form, he ransacked his whole bag of
tricks. But the Almighty had other plans
for Balaam. Stymied, he rode from pillar to
post. Immortal Balaam would be, though
for reasons he would not have foretold. At
the moment of truth, wrong words tripped
off his tongue, that mouth organ of militant curses, bridge to a grubby soul, gadget
of fortune and misfortune, master of talking donkey. Born to curse, Balaam uttered
the most sublime blessings in human annals, and would have departed this life
with the hurt rioting and rotting in his
head.
How beautiful are your tents, oh Jacob,
your dwelling places, oh Israel!
For the tribute recited in synagogues to
this day, thank a pagan prophet for hire.
Odder yet, thank a lifetime antagonist of
the Jews. Oddest of all, thank a curser by
trade. JL
Steve Apfel is a management accountant, lecturer, columnist and author. His books include
Hadrian’s Echo: The whys and wherefores
of Israel’s critics (2012), and War by other
means (Contributor, Israel Affairs 2012). His
new book, Balaam’s Curse: Enemies of modern Zion will be published this year. He has a
blog on the Jerusalem Post. Steve is a member
of Mizrachi Shul, West Street, in Houghton.
Would you like to buy property in
Israel but need someone reliable to
guide you?
Do you already own property but
you’re concerned about it being
properly looked after?
#1 for Hands-on property
management in RAMAT BET
SHEMESH and JERUSALEM
PROPERTY
MANAGEMENTINVESTMENTS.
ONE STOP
SHOP!
Yechiel Hager
Email [email protected]
or call +972-54-5589402 for more
information.