The horrendous Hanukkah shooting in Sydney, Australia the other day deserves to be treated very carefully. Nerves are frayed and tensions are high. Yes, it seems to be a targeted act of terrorism by two Muslims on a Jewish group. They were driven by Islamic state ideology, but (like so many IS attacks) were essentially lone wolf actors. And yes, this is antisemitism; there seems little doubt of that.
But trust Benjamin Netayahu to stir the flames higher and to milk the situation for his own political ends. No-one does that better than he. The Israeli Prime Minister blamed the episode squarely on the shoulders of Australian Prime Minster Anthony Albanese for formally recognizing a Palestinian state. "Your call for a Palestinia state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire".
Exactly how this was supposed to have triggered such an atrocity was not explained. I have tried, and failed, to imagine his logic. But, of course, logic doesn't come into it. This is just Netanyahu doing his usual "everybody is antisemitic, but I can do no wrong" schtick. The man has no shame.
I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking that Netanyahu's own actions in his excessive and genocidal reaction to Hamas' terrorist attack is as likely as anything to have been the catalyst behind the cowardly Sydney massacre. But that is not the stuff of official public comments. (I don't count this blog, as next to no-one reads it.)
And can we also take a moment to register that the hero of the day, the man who singlehandedly disarmed the gunman and probably saved many lives, was Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year old fruit shop owner and an Australian Muslim originally from Syria. I'm not suggesting that his actions somehow cancel out the actions of the two Muslim gunmen, but credit where credit is due. Not all Muslims are crazy, violent extremists.
No comments:
Post a Comment