(Ha'aretz) Gideon D. Sylvester - Today's anti-Zionism is frequently merely anti-Semitism in a new guise. Zionism is an outstandingly successful human rights movement. It has restored the dignity of the world's most persecuted people by returning us to our historic homeland, building a sanctuary for our survival and a country where we can flourish in a liberal democracy. In the decades leading up to Israel's establishment, Arabs convinced the world that this land could only support several hundred thousand people, so Jewish immigration had to be curtailed and our national rights crushed. Currently, this land comfortably accommodates over eight million people and there's room for plenty more. But the Palestinian campaign led the British to blockade the shores of Palestine, preventing Jews fleeing the Holocaust from finding refuge here. As a result, millions of Jews who might otherwise have found respite were murdered in Nazi concentration camps. Israel's leadership was willing to accept partition in 1947 and live side by side with a Palestinian state, meaning that no one had to die and no one had to leave. It was the Arab refusal to accept the existence of Israel within any borders at all that led them to send in their armies to massacre Jews wherever they could. Israel courageously withstood the attacks and won. They have never forgiven us. Roadblocks, the security fence, and travel restrictions, which are presented as human rights infringements, are undoubtedly inconvenient for Palestinians, but after years of suicide bombers, knifers, kidnappers and missile attacks from Hamas and Hizbullah, they are simply part of a reasonable effort Israel makes to prevent Palestinian terrorists from murdering Jews. Rabbi Gideon Sylvester is the British United Synagogue's rabbi in Israel.
2016-04-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive