Can I say I have never liked John Lyons, the long time resident anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, antisemitic denying journalist at The Australian? I don't think it is just what he writes that revolts me. There is something about his face. There is something about him that raises hairs and sends a shiver down the spine. As I have read pretty much everything he has written in quite a few years I am certain he does not give a damn whether I like him or not. He would reckon he has done his job. We should be grateful for small mercies I suppose. At least at The Australian there is only the one. At ABC/Fairfax they drop from the trees like coconuts.
In this morning's The Weekend Australian there is perhaps the most mendacious attack on Israel and Australian Jews I have ever read. You need to read his piece before reading on. This is something you have to do yourself. For saying that, I have not a shadow of doubt that Lyons would accuse me of accusing him of being an antisemite. That is the way people like Lyons operate. They want to dismiss criticism of them with what can only be described as the pre-emptive offensive denial. We have all seen this. The denial of something that has not been alleged. They always do that.
For the record Lyons has never been accused of antisemitism by any Australian Jewish group or to my knowledge any Jewish person. This has however been strongly inferred by Greg Sheridan, also of The Australian, about an ABC 4 Corners program that Lyons fronted in a very rare joint venture between News Limited and the ABC. Sheridan is probably the finest Australian journalist of his generation and as it happens an observant Catholic.
Lyons is an antisemitic pre-emptive denier. The world is full of them. It is about time they stood up for what they believe. Seriously, what do they believe is the best out come for the Israel/Arab conflict?
Lyons has numerous questions that he demands of the Israelis but has not a shred of respect for what is asked of him. People like him never have. Here are just a few questions for him.
- Why is it that in the many years of writing about this relatively minor conflict, in terms of lives lost and land at issue, you have never mentioned Arab Muslim violent antagonism to Israel as the Jewish state as perhaps something that might be close to the root of the problem? Not even once?
- Do you accept that the Jewish state is a legitimate expression of the general human aspiration and within any reasonable definition of human rights at this point in time and space? Yes or no? If yes, why have you never said so?
- When you complain about the treatment of "Palestinian" "children" why is that you never mention the truth that Arab Muslim kids in Judea and Samaria, what you call the West Bank, are the safest Arab kids in the Middle East outside of Israel? You boast about how close you are to the scene. In terms of freedom from violence, war and oppressive cultural structures and access to health, education, housing and free social services, these kids you cry for get it better than all the rest. Surely you must have observed this? Why have you never written about it?
- Do you seriously expect anyone but the most disgusting racist to believe that IDF soldiers strung an Arab Muslim kid from a "cross like structure" while "interrogating" him? Do you believe this evil and deeply untrue slander? Have you any idea of the meaning of the phrase "blood libel"? Do you accept that you are a retailer of blood libels by not even making the slightest effort to verify these mangy lies before writing about them as if this has in all of history ever happened?
- Do you accept the truth that the overwhelming majority of Israelis would cede land for peace in an instant if they could be confident it was a genuine deal? You must know this fact. Why do you never mention it?
- Do you have any idea how Arab kids are treated in the rest of the Arab world? Not to mention the women. Can you explain please that when pontificating on the moral standards of other countries you have never once mentioned the vile bigoted racist sexist treatment that prevails over the Arab/Muslim world, and Iran, that might fairly be engaged in the struggle for human progress and civilisation?
- Why are you so insistent that the "settlements" are "illegal" when in fact the overwhelming consensus of informed legal opinion is that they are not:"?
- Do you believe that a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria is an obstacle to peace? Why?
- What are you afraid of when you ignore all of these things and instead attack the Jews? Do you think the Jews are a threat to you?
- What would you have Israel do? Withdraw unilaterally to the the Green Line? Out with it please. What do you want the Jews of Israel and Australia to do in the face of all this medieval ideology which most of all afflicts the Arab world ? Out with it please. Be specific.
Geoff,
ReplyDelete"the pre-emptive offensive denial. "
That's a very interesting phenomenon within Arab-Israel conflict discourse.
Not long ago I had something of a falling out with a fellow blogger who writes about politics, but who does not write about the Arab-Israel conflict. She accused me of accusing her of being an anti-Semite, which I had never done.
The accusation was entirely false and it made me wonder why she wanted it to be true.
What benefit could she possibly gain from telling people that I had accused her of anti-Semitism when I had done no such thing?
It was very odd and, in truth, I'm still not sure what to make of it.
One thing that I am certain of, however, is that her accusation was not cynical. That is, she largely believed it, despite the fact that it was entirely false.
In a sense it is a little frightening because one comes to realize that people will believe pretty much anything that they want to believe on matters large and small.
I know that people would readily accuse me of believing anything negative about Barack Obama and that is precisely why I remind people that I voted for the guy the first time around. I did not want him to fail.
I wanted him to succeed.