ZIONIST HUBRIS AND SELF PITY
By Sathish Raman
Updated: Monday, May 6, 2024
In a resolute address during Israel's solemn Holocaust memorial day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly dismissed global calls to cease hostilities in Gaza. Amidst the backdrop of Yom Hashoah, a day dedicated to remembering the 6 million Jews who perished at the hands of Nazi Germany, Netanyahu's speech took a defiant tone against international criticism of Israel's military actions against Hamas militants. The Prime Minister's stance comes in light of nearly seven months of conflict that has seen a significant toll on both sides.
Netanyahu's declaration, "If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone," underscored his commitment to Israel's defense, despite the heavy casualties resulting from the conflict. The war, ignited by a Hamas attack on October 7, has led to the deaths of more than 34,500 people in Gaza, with local health officials reporting that approximately 80% of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are now displaced. In contrast, the initial attack by Hamas militants claimed around 1,200 lives, marking it as the deadliest violence against Jews since the Holocaust.
The international community has voiced strong opposition to Israel's tactics, particularly the proposed invasion of Rafah—a city in southern Gaza where over a million civilians are reportedly taking refuge. Despite this, Netanyahu remains steadfast, asserting that no international pressure or forum will deter Israel from its self-defense measures. This stance has led to South Africa filing a genocide case against Israel at the UN's world court, an accusation Israel vehemently denies.
Amid these tensions, Netanyahu also criticized those labeling Israel's actions as genocide, emphasizing efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza. The Holocaust remembrance day itself was marked by a ceremony at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem's national Holocaust memorial, highlighting the deep historical wounds that inform Israel's current security policies.
Furthermore, the recent release of the Antisemitism Worldwide Report for 2023 by Tel Aviv University and the Anti-Defamation League has shed light on a disturbing rise in antisemitic incidents globally. The report indicates that antisemitic attacks have surged following the outbreak of war in October, with notable increases in the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada. This uptick in hostility has been described as the worst wave of antisemitic incidents since World War II.
Netanyahu drew parallels between current protests on American campuses and pre-Holocaust sentiments in German universities during the 1930s. He condemned what he termed an "explosion of a volcano of antisemitism," which has led to numerous arrests during student protests across U.S. college campuses. These developments highlight a growing challenge in distinguishing between political speech and antisemitism.
The ongoing conflict and its global repercussions underscore a deeply polarized world struggling to reconcile calls for peace with the realities of entrenched hostilities. As Israel commemorates one of its most somber days by remembering past atrocities, the present conflict serves as a stark reminder of the enduring complexities surrounding national security and historical trauma.
Netanyahu uses Holocaust ceremony to brush off international pressure against Gaza offensive
MELANIE LIDMAN
JERUSALEM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESSOpen this photo in gallery:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on Oct. 28, 2023.
ABIR SULTAN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected international pressure to halt the war in Gaza in a fiery speech marking the country’s annual Holocaust memorial day, declaring: “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”
The message, delivered in a setting that typically avoids politics, was aimed at the growing chorus of world leaders who have criticized the heavy toll caused by Israel’s military offensive against Hamas militants and have urged the sides to agree to a ceasefire.
Netanyahu has said he is open to a deal that would pause nearly seven months of fighting and bring home hostages held by Hamas. But he also says he remains committed to an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite widespread international opposition because of the more than 1 million civilians huddled there.
“I say to the leaders of the world: No amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum will stop Israel from defending itself,” he said, speaking in English. “Never again is now.”
Yom Hashoah, the day Israel observes as a memorial for the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany and its allies in the Holocaust, is one of the most solemn dates on the country’s calendar. Speeches at the ceremony generally avoid politics, though Netanyahu in recent years has used the occasion to lash out at Israel’s arch-enemy Iran.
The ceremony ushered in Israel’s first Holocaust remembrance day since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war, imbuing the already sombre day with additional meaning.
Hamas militants killed some 1,200 people in the attack, making it the deadliest violence against Jews since the Holocaust.
Israel responded with an air and ground offensive in Gaza, where the death toll has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials, and about 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are displaced. The death and destruction has prompted South Africa to file a genocide case against Israel in the U.N.’s world court. Israel strongly rejects the charges.
On Sunday, Netanyahu attacked those accusing Israel of carrying out a genocide against the Palestinians, claiming that Israel was doing everything possible to ensure the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
The 24-hour memorial period began after sundown on Sunday with a ceremony at Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial, in Jerusalem.
There are approximately 245,000 living Holocaust survivors around the world, according to the Claims Conference, an organization that negotiates for material compensation for Holocaust survivors. Approximately half of the survivors live in Israel.
On Sunday, Tel Aviv University and the Anti-Defamation League released an annual Antisemitism Worldwide Report for 2023, which found a sharp increase in antisemitic attacks globally.
It said the number of antisemitic incidents in the United States doubled, from 3,697 in 2022 to 7,523 in 2023.
While most of these incidents occurred after the war erupted in October, the number of antisemitic incidents, which include vandalism, harassment, assault, and bomb threats, from January to September was already significantly higher than the previous year.
The report found an average of three bomb threats per day at synagogues and Jewish institutions in the U.S., more than 10 times the number in 2022.
Other countries tracked similar rises in antisemitic incidents. In France, the number nearly quadrupled, from 436 in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023, while it more than doubled in the United Kingdom and Canada.
“In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 war crimes committed by Hamas, the world has seen the worst wave of antisemitic incidents since the end of the Second World War,” the report stated.
Netanyahu also compared the recent wave of protests on American campuses to German universities in the 1930s, in the runup to the Holocaust. He condemned the “explosion of a volcano of antisemitism spitting out boiling lava of lies against us around the world.”
Nearly 2,500 students have been arrested in a wave of protests at U.S. college campuses, while there have been smaller protests in other countries, including France. Protesters reject antisemitism accusations and say they are criticizing Israel. Campuses and the federal government are struggling to define exactly where political speech crosses into antisemitism.
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