Take care with criticism

Letters

Editor: In the Jan. 25 issue of the Bulletin, Pat Johnson's cover story called for a widening of critical discussion of Israel in our community, while Ted Lew, in a letter to the Bulletin Feb. 1, draws attention to the destructive nature of the criticism voiced by unidentified Jews, who have become "pawns of militant Arab/Islamic doctrine" and attack the very Jewish character of Israel. I believe that the following words penned in 1983 by the French publicist Jean-Francois Revel, author of books on contemporary political issues, including the Shoah, should be meditated upon by Israelis as well as Diaspora Jews:

"Exaggerated self-criticism would be a harmless luxury of civilization, if there were no enemies at the gate. But if it is repeated often enough, it is finally believed. Where will the citizens of democratic societies find reasons to resist the enemy outside if they are persuaded from childhood that their civilization is merely an accumulation of failures and a monstrous imposture?"

Israel, like every nation, has its social and political problems. It is a vibrant democracy that allows no-holds-barred criticism of these and more. One cannot deny that it is healthy to criticize issues such as the absurd character of Israel's electoral system, which allows an obnoxious minority of ultra-Orthodox to blackmail the nation, or the disparity between rich and poor. However, discussion of Israel's relationships with the Arab-Islamic world, where any expression of understanding for Israel is stamped out, requires a common sense degree of care, lest criticism, whether uttered by Israelis or Diaspora Jews, turns demoralizing and destructive, as is so often the case these days. No democratic country at war has ever allowed itself the luxury of wallowing in destructive self-criticism the way Israel does; none has allowed foreign correspondents, most of whom are ill-intentioned, to roam where they please and even engage in subversive activities, such as staging riots for television.

During the Second World War, the British government imprisoned Oswald Mosley and other fascist sympathizers; during the Vietnam and Algeria conflicts, the French government penalized journalists guilty of "demoralizing the army and the nation." Yet, those powerful countries were not struggling for their very physical survival the way Israel has been compelled to do since its birth.

We Diaspora Jews also suffer consequences from the relentless slandering of Israel in the media: suffice it here to mention the more than 300 physical attacks against Jewish institutions and individuals that have taken place in France since October 2000, or the current antics of the Belgian government. Contrary to what a recent Bulletin editorial stated, the European Union is not naive: even the once-civilized British press has descended to the scatological level in its reviling of Israel. It is reprehensible that some Jews should be so blinded by ideology that they willingly echo the destructive slandering of Israel.

Rene Goldman
North Vancouver

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