Foreign Affairs

Hatred of Israel prevails
By Gayle S. Fixler

The December 2010 catastrophic wildfire in Israel was unprecedented in more ways than one: it claimed 43 lives, ravaged 12,500 acres of forestland and 5 million trees, precipitated thousands of evacuations and caused an estimated $120 million in damages in northern Israel. Thankfully, the Israeli request for assistance in fighting the historic inferno was answered quickly by foreign governments— both allies and adversaries.

A country slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey and with a population of approximately 7.5 million, Israel is fiercely independent–a nation of immense national pride of its resourcefulness, advanced technology and self-sufficiency.  So when its worldwide plea for aid—monetary and onsite assistance—resulted in support from unlikely governments like Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Egypt, Jordan and even the Palestinian Authority, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that, "The international response to our call was exceptional.  It demonstrates that there is affection for Israel and identification with it from all corners of the earth," and that the international community's response was "important and would have positive repercussions for Israel."

Also encouraged was West Bank resident Ibrahim Ayish, who led the 21-man Palestinian Authority firefighting team that fought in the multi-national effort.  "I hope it could be a good opening for cooperation, more humanitarian assistance and peace,” he said optimistically.  Two weeks later, when honoring those same firefighters, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas remarked that “Our neighbors (Israel) faced a tragedy and it was our duty to do our humanitarian work toward our neighbors to protect the environment and human life.”

And remarkably, just days after the fire was extinguished and in the absence of politics, media coverage and scrutiny, both Jews and Arabs offered evacuees—regardless of ethnicity–much-needed shelter.

Sadly, the outpouring of goodwill and camaraderie amidst the “apocalypse”—as it was called in the Israeli press—may have ended just as suddenly as it began.  It is difficult to avoid reading contradiction into reports that representatives of Muslim countries were not in attendance at the December 7 Israeli-hosted “farewell” luncheon in Jerusalem to thank the foreign teams who assisted in fighting the four-day blaze.  More than 200 members from the United States, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Cyprus, Switzerland, Azerbaijan and Croatia attended. But according to All Headline News (AHN), no one from Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority was present.

Most disturbing in the disaster’s aftermath was a deluge of blatant anti-Israel hostility that erupted online and in the Arab press calling for Israel's annihilation and attributing the fire to divine retribution for Palestinian grievances.  Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called the blaze a "strike from Allah," and JihadWatch.org reported that “Many Arab media outlets have been taking advantage of Israel's fire disaster to disparage the Jewish state and rejoice over its misfortune.”

Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority were condemned for their assistance in fighting the blaze and publications including The Journal of Turkish Weekly and The Jerusalem Post reported comments such as: “Thank God for this new Holocaust and shame on the Egyptian authorities who rushed to save the Zionists while continuing to lay siege against our brothers in the Gaza Strip;” “May Allah take revenge against them and displace them together with our corrupt (Arab) governments; ” and “To Hezbollah, Hamas and all Arabs: This is a golden opportunity to get rid of Israel. The sea and fire are in front of the Jews and weapons are behind them.”

Founded in 1948 as a homeland for the Jewish people, Israel has literally fought for its existence since that time. It is surrounded by unfriendly neighbors—22 Arab states occupying 99.5 percent of the land in the Middle East—many routinely calling for its destruction.

Supporters of Israel argue that the Jewish State and its people are held to different standards than other nations.  Even the United Nations has a longstanding, consistent history of Israel-bashing.  As recently as November, the UN Human Rights Council adopted nine anti-Israel resolutions while the U.S. delegation opposed none of them, virtually condemning the Israeli people to diplomatic isolation.

But despite being a perpetual target for hatred, this is a nation of tenacious yet generous people. Although not trumpeted by Israel itself or the media, Israel is often forefront in offering indiscriminate disaster relief to populations in need.  In addition to government relief, nonprofit organizations like Israeli Flying Aid (IFA) provide humanitarian support to international communities where governments prevent the entry of emergency response organizations like the UN and the Red Cross. Included in those target communities—regardless of race, nationality and religion–are countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Even so, on occasion, Israeli assistance has been rejected as a result of the anti-Israel sentiments of various foreign governments—sacrificing people in need in the name of politics and religious beliefs.  Following Iran’s 2003 6.5-magnitude earthquake that resulted in an estimated 30,000 deaths, Iranian officials accepted all international offers of aid except from Israel calling it a “Zionist regime” and illegitimate government.

We can agree with Pittsburgh’s Jewish Chronicle that “much of what is reported by the Arab media is meant for public consumption while very different things are said and done away from the cameras.” But The Jerusalem Post’s Khaled Abu Toameh, an Arab Muslim journalist who writes on Palestinian affairs may have summed it up best, writing that “There is good reason to believe that the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish attitudes expressed in these comments reflect the views of many Arabs and Muslims.  With attitudes like these, it is hard to see how real peace can be achieved in the Middle East in the near future.  Unless this incitement stops, the prospects of moving forward with the ‘peace process’ between Israelis and Arabs are as bleak as ever.”

-Gayle S. Fixler has a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Arizona State University, is a Washington, DC freelance writer and a regular contributor to Reflections.