[Warning: sarcasm contained within.]
When a progressive diarist writes words that contain even the faintest hints of criticism toward the only safe haven for Jews in the world (outside of Brooklyn, Mets games and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream parlors), you know one thing: that person is an anti-Semite.
When a progressive rebukes Democratic lawmakers for undermining our current Democratic president by drafting a "pro-Israel" resolution, you know one thing: that person is an anti-Semite.
When a progressive expresses concern about the words and deeds of a certain hawkish Israeli prime minister's while on U.S. soil, you know one thing: that person is an anti-semite.
Oh, you know who they are. They proliferate, both here and in the most important stations, both Jews and non-Jews alike. Shall I name names?
Yes, I shall. Over the fold.
Avi Dichter, an Israeli Jew, "a former head of the Shin Bet internal security service and a Parliament member from the centrist Kadima Party," is an anti-Semite. Don't believe me?
Listen for yourself as he speaks about Netanyahu's speeches in America:
“My fear is that this round of speeches in the United States may leave us and the Palestinians with a closed door.” He added, “It is impossible that in the present reality in the Middle East and here between the sea and the Jordan River we have no next step. I very much hope that the prime minister is returning with a plan.”
Nahum Barnea, perhaps the most widely respected Israeli political commentator, is an anti-Semite. Don't believe me? Just listen to the critical tone embedded in his words, as reported by The New York Times:
Nahum Barnea, a widely read columnist for Yediot Aharonot, who accompanied Mr. Netanyahu to Washington, wrote that while the prime minister spoke well, the visit’s results were worrying. He listed them as “a president whom the Israelis suspect and the Arab world scorns for having yielded to the dictate of the Israelis; negotiations that had a slim chance of being renewed before the visit and now have no chance at all; a Palestinian Authority and an Arab League that are more determined than in the past to reach a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly on a state within the 1967 borders, which is a resolution that has quite dangerous consequences for Israel.”
While I'm compelled to continue naming names of the living, I cannot help but invoke the names of those who have long since passed, those who themselves were secret anti-Semites.
David Ben Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, was a rabid anti-Semite. Don't believe me? Seriously? Just listen to this quote from Gershom Gorenberg's The Accidental Empire:
If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been antisemitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?
The list, of course, goes on and on, progressive and even centrist Jews, Israelis even, who have revealed themselves to be anti-Semites. Yitzhak Rabin. Ariel Sharon. Jon Stewart.
I could continue naming, but I can't stomach to type any more names. Please, dear defenders of freedom and occupation, I mean, liberty. Please continue the list in the comments section.