Solomon2
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Nazi Palestine: The Plan for the Extermination of the Jews in Palestine, was first published in German in 2005 and was translated into English a few years ago. The book documents the efforts of Nazi Germany to eliminate Palestine's Jews, including its cooperation with Arab leaders and their militias. While the Nazis were defeated, their Arab allies escaped post-war prosecution with the help of the French and British. These men and their organizations formed the nucleus of anti-Israel terror groups that targeted both Arabs and Jews in their quest to expand tyranny in the Middle East:
"...Years after the German defeat in the war, anti-Jewish riots occurred in numerous locations...as a result, mass emigration took place...of the once 300,000 Jews in Morocco, only 18,000 remained. Of 135,000 Algerian, 125,000 Iraq, and 75,000 Egyptian Jews, only a few hundred -
"Whenever the Middle East's open admiration for National Socialism is historiographically proven, the immediate response is the excuse that support for National Socialism merely corresponded with the wish for national liberation. Such reasoning undoubtedly falls short -
The German authors conclude:
"What is worth highlighting...is the categorical insistence on defending the state of Israel. The authors have repeatedly emphasized a broader connection that has been demonstrated time and again in the decades since the end of World War II, including in the Middle East: all chances of understanding are destroyed when the principles of civilized cooperation are abandoned in favor of action founded on irrational mind-sets aimed at stigmatizing human individuals or social gruops based on supposed inherent characteristics. Nazi Germany and parts of the Arab world saw themselves in a common struggle against "imperialist" England, and the Jews were denounced as instigators and accomplices. Because no rational negotiation was possible in the face of such delusional thinking, the descent into disaster was already looming.
"In such a context, it is totally beside the point to introduce the view of different cultural practices as a form of absolution for the Arabs. Such an argument means nothing less than reducing individuals and their actions to different rigid cultural circles and thus excusing them, and also denying the subjects any serious reflection on human action...this issue has nothing to do with Eurocentrism; in this case, universalism is of essential importance in reaching a verdict on the Arabs' collaboration with Nazi Germany.
"Western thinking would be impossible without the achievements of the Enlightenment, which enabled the acceptance of the universal value of all human beings beyond the limits of religion, economic wealth, or gender...such a civilizing ideal does not yet exist in some communities, and some nations, such as Germany, even voluntarily renounced it...In no way can this lead to declarations of understanding for Arab societies that...were prepared to realizing...[independence] through an alliance with Nazi Germany and through the commission of mass crimes. It is precisely because of the universality of the human condition that no one can be released from such responsibility.
"When scholarship no longer strives to distinguish between thoroughly legitimate aspirations of national independence and the recourse to prejudice-based ideologies such as anti-imperialism, anti-Zionism, and anti-Semitism, the danger arises that the difference between englightened thinking and the alternative road to barbarism may be lost. The full awareness of the 20th century's crimes against humanity resides precisely in this ability to differentiate, which should be defended at all costs."
This thread isn't about begging sympathy for Jews or Israelis. This thread is a warning to Pakistanis: what happened to the Germans and Jews is happening to you now. The same mindset that gears you towards Israel- and Jew-hatred fuels the Taliban, intolerance of provincial differences, decay of human rights, and the decline of the rule of law and the elimination of civil society. Everyone who isn't a Talib is in danger of being labelled a despised Jew. Every politician can be demonized by his opponent by labeling him or her a Zionist. Murderers of politicians who seek to uphold civil rights are celebrated for their irrationality.
I doubt Pakistanis will get over their - ahem - distaste for Jews, Judaism, or Israel (or myself) any time soon. That doesn't matter. Every one of you can see the choice is between supporting Israel in your home and community or else submitting to growing tyranny. Unless you are rich and have a lot of protection, there isn't any way out of the hole unless you are prepared to defend being pro-Israel, lest you be accused of being pro-Israel anyway - Imran Khan - no lover of Israel - is the prime example.
Perhaps there are Pakistani politicians who would be willing to change their attitude towards Israel. However, I've studied Pakistani politics enough to know that no Pakistani politician will take a public stand unless he or she can point to some sort of grass roots support, however small.
The path ahead for each freedom-loving Pakistani here should now be obvious.