'Do you honestly believe that Israel is always right?'

That’s what an internet friend asked me this week. Doubtless the question was sparked by the allegedly “disproportionate” Israeli response to the misnamed “peace boat” with Turkish terrorists on board last week. But the incident which specifically caused it was the display of anti-Semitism by Helen Thomas, venerable matron of the Washington press corps, abruptly retired.

Thomas is now “history,” but her swan song revealed much about the world’s media regarding Israel. Permit me, readers, to entertain the subversive thought that Thomas gave open expression to what is believed by much of the world’s journalists. When asked what Israel should do, she said that “they should get the Hell out of Palestine,” emphasizing that the former are occupying the latter’s land. Asked where they should go, she said, “Home,” which turns out to be Germany and Poland.

One does not have to be well versed in modern history to know that when the Jews were “home” in Germany and Poland they were put to death by the millions in the Holocaust. The website that posted the Thomas video reminded readers that the Jews were living in “Palestine” for thousands of years before their European mass murder.

Is Thomas just a crazy old aunt in the attic? Consider that the overwhelming slant in the so-called mainstream media has been on Israel’s lethal response to the violent attack, rather than the attack itself, which it did not expect from the “peace-loving” passengers. Or in some cases, the causus belli in international waters were ignored or buried deep in the media accounts.

Fortunately, a Rassmussen poll finds that by a 49 to 19 percent margin, voters blame “activists” on board the Mavi Marmara, rather than Israel, for the violence that accompanied the boarding of that ship. The remaining 32 percent are undecided. Given the long history of Americans’ support for Israel and their increasing determination to treat news reports skeptically, Israel’s side is getting through.

But as encouraging as that is, we have to be concerned about what Israel’s enemies are doing, and planning to do, and what, if anything, our President, Barack Obama, will do to help Israel survive this crisis. For the opposition to Israel is not only growing but steeped in hatred which appears boundless, and our commander-in-chief is steeped in moral relativism, which inhibits moral clarity.

Why do so many of the world’s nations hate, or at least, care not a fig for, Israel? As to the hatred, it is based on two things. First, with few exceptions the Arab and Muslim world reflexively hates Israel because, however secular a government it may have, it is grounded in the faith of the Torah and thus an “enemy” of Islam. The fact that the Jews returned to their ancient homeland after thousands of years of diaspora and persecution makes matters even worse. This is visceral hatred, to which the only effective response is superior military power.

Second, Israel has a democratic form of government, a rare bird in the Middle East and not that common elsewhere. Israel has adequately armed itself and thus has survived, but it is small and vulnerable. The world’s bullies have contempt for little upstarts that defy them.

Now all those bullies have some form of oppressive government, which cannot abide free governments. This gives rise to a hatred, akin to anti-Semitism, which has to be bridled in the face of overwhelming military superiority but not against a nation the size of New Jersey.

The European nations that are joining the anti Israel bandwagon at the moment are vulnerable on two counts. Their history is ugly, as the Nazi regime in Germany 70 years ago, with its collaborators in conquered countries, murdered six million Jews. And today, their populations are increasingly Muslim, so European politicians temporize with them.

As to President Obama, early on he made it clear that he thought that the necessary condition for peace between Israel and the Palestinians was to treat the two parties as moral equivalents. That is, Israel’s building new homes in the West Bank was on a par with Palestinians raining rockets on Israeli cities and towns.

This combination of unbridled hatred of Israel and an American president’s moral blindness could be the breeding ground of another Mideast war. Bullies strike when their prey is vulnerable, not when they are well-armed and confident. Right now a worthy ally is in danger, and the free world’s leader is sending the wrong signal.

ABOUT THE WRITER 

Richard Reeb taught political science, philosophy and journalism at Barstow College from 1970 to 2003. He is the author of “ Taking Journalism Seriously: ‘Objectivity’ as a Partisan Cause”  (University Press of America, 1999). He can be contacted at rhreeb@verizon.net.