Politicians on both the left and right have parroted his message that European Jews know “in their hearts that they have only one country”. Israel apparently persuaded the families of the four Jewish victims of that: they were flown to Israel to be buried in Jerusalem. In contrast, the burial in Paris of Ahmed Merabet, a Muslim policeman also killed by the gunmen, sent a message of French unity, noted a French Jewish leader. This was the moment, he added, for his community to say: “We will be buried here, just like everyone else. We are French and we have not given up”. Netanyahu, however, has other ideas. At a time when the number of Jewish immigrants from France is already rocketing, he has established a ministerial committee to find ways to induce yet more to come to Israel. It was widely reported in Israel that the French president, Francois Hollande, had appealed to Netanyahu not to participate in the solidarity rally in Paris a week ago, fearful that he would use the occasion to exacerbate tensions in France. Netanyahu ignored the request. He had good reason to want to be there, not least to grandstand with world leaders during Israel’s election campaign. In addition, proselytising for his claim that the so-called Judeo-Christian West is on a collision course with Islam usefully places him on the side of the angels as he tries to build a Greater Israel, crushing Palestinian ambitions for statehood. But it would be wrong to view Netanyahu’s argument as solely opportunistic. It is underpinned by an authentic worldview, even if one with very ugly and paradoxical antecedents. His approach is embodied in recent efforts – delayed because of the election – to pass a basic law defining Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. That would crown Netanyahu leader of Jews worldwide rather than of Israeli citizens, a fifth of whom are Palestinian.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 01:57:20 +0000
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