Various foreign policy elites – to say nothing of a certain former editor of a leading Jewish American newspaper – insist that Muslim states have gotten past their neurotic and pathological hatred of all things Israeli. Umm:
The Paris Book Fair opens on Thursday under the cloud of a boycott by seven Muslim countries in protest against the choice of Israel as guest of honour at the French-speaking world’s largest literary event. The international fair, featuring 39 Israeli writers and publishers, was due to be officially opened by visiting Israeli President Shimon Peres, who described the boycott as “the most ridiculous thing I have heard in my life”. Algeria, Iran, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Yemen announced in advance they would shun the fair in response to a call from the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO)… Among Israeli writers expected to take part were Amos Oz, David Grossman and Haaretz columnist Sayed Kashua, an Israeli Arab who writes in Hebrew… She added all the countries that had withdrawn were aware Israel was being honoured when they signed up and many of the Israeli writers taking part favoured a Palestinian state.
Of the many differences between Nazi and Soviet mass executions, some commentators have insisted that this is the most salient: the Soviets declared defendants guilty – at least ostensibly – because of their actions or “objective” beliefs. Ergo Stalin’s surreal and horrific show trials, where defendants tearfully confessed to myriad crimes against the State. For the Nazis, on the other hand, Jews were ipso facto guilty. Nothing a Jew could ever do could – even in theory – could overcome this basic “crime.” When lifelong peace activists like Amos Oz, David Grossman, and Sayed Kashua get savaged and ostracized for being anti-Palestinian – it does seem disturbingly reminiscent. But for the cringe-inducing melodrama of the phrase, we’d be tempted to call it a metaphorical book burning.
References:
* Arab states boycott Paris book fair over Israel honor [Ha'aretz]
Previously:
* Decades Of Internationally Sanctioned Vicious Resentment Have Turned Inward
* Arab World Too Pathologically Anti-Semitic To Accept Israeli Water Tech And Expertise
* Hey Gals, Check This Out – Pathological Islamism in Germany
