The twilight zone
from Voice for Justice UK:
On 28 November, the Oxford Union debated a motion, entitled, “This house believes Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide.” It was passed by a massive 278 votes to 59. In itself, of course, the vote indicates nothing beyond a difference of views, but it is the tenor of the debate that is of concern. From the start, there appears to have been hostility expressed towards the four opposition speakers to the motion, who, when it was their turn to speak, were reportedly shouted down by loudly chanted anti-Israel slogans, including, ‘Zionists are not welcome in Oxford.’ In his handling of the debate, accusations of bias were subsequently made against the president, Ebrahim Osman-Mowafy, with complaints of anti-Semitic intimidation and what was described as ‘mob rule’. At one point the audience was asked if they would have reported the 7 October attacks to the authorities if they had known about them in advance. This was apparently greeted by jeers and catcalls, with the vast majority saying that they wouldn’t.
Really?
What has happened to the UK, that the right to free speech should be treated in so cavalier a fashion? And how is it that one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world will no longer allow genuine debate, becoming instead a tool for the spreading of racial hate? And make no mistake, that is what we are confronting here – naked and violent hatred for a demonised ethnic group.
The truth pro-Palestinian activists so actively seek to suppress is that, on 7 October, Hamas embarked on a murderous course of action specifically designed to provoke war. Murdering and raping 1,200 innocent Israeli citizens and taking a further 240 (including babies and children) hostage, they then cold-bloodedly sacrificed Palestinians living in Gaza, refusing to provide any kind of shelter or defence against Israel’s inevitable response, and indeed increasing the civilian casualty and death rate by deliberately placing command centres and weapons in hospitals and schools – which they knew would become a target that could be exploited for propaganda purposes. And yet, in all of this, Israel is unremittingly presented as the aggressor and accused of genocide – with the result that Jews in Britain are now afraid openly to walk the streets.
This horrifying kind of anti-Semitism is without precedent in the UK. Without doubt we have fallen victim to an ideological war being perpetrated by terrorist groups, who want the total annihilation of Israel and the Jewish state, and the death of all Jews.
But, even given the pressure of propaganda, how is it that supposedly intelligent people here in the UK can so easily ignore the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas, and sanitise their demands to wipe Israel off the face of the map? The war in the Middle East is, on any scale, alarming, but we need to recognise that Israel is fighting for its survival, against an aggressor that says openly its one aim is to destroy all Jews.
Though secularists will vehemently deny it, what we are actually seeing here is the outworking of a spiritual battle that began way back in Eden – between God on the one hand, and the devil on the other; between good and evil. The irrational hatred of Jews was birthed when, as they wandered the earth, God chose and set apart Abraham and his offspring to become, in time, His conduit for redemption. So Jesus, sent into the world to save mankind from sin, was born a Jew. And that is why, down the centuries, the Jewish people have been an especial target for hatred, vilification, and attempted obliteration. Many Jews have still to recognise for themselves, of course, that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah – and some Christians today argue that, for their part in the crucifixion, the Jewish people have lost God’s favour. But that is misplaced. The Jewish nation, as God’s chosen people, still remain crucial to His plan for salvation and it’s foretold in Scripture that, when the Lord returns, it will be first to the holy city, to Jerusalem. At which point, they will recognise for themselves who Christ is.
Spiritually, therefore, we should defend Israel against unprovoked aggression, taking action where needed and standing without compromise against the lies put out by those who openly plot their downfall. But, for those without religious conviction, it is equally true that common decency demands that we stand against the lies and deliberate distortions of those in unholy alliance to deny the Jews a homeland, and who wish to destroy the Jewish state. And let us not forget that it is Hamas, not Israel, that has consistently vetoed a two-state solution!
But perhaps most important of all, it is vital here in the UK that we defend without fear or favour the right to free speech. For all. And that we stand against anti-Semitism wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head. Where there is offence caused … let us deal with it! But let us not attempt to silence and intimidate by violence those with whom we disagree.
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