TOH to honestreporting comes an article by Anthony Lipmann, who at the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz wondered whether he would have stood up to the Nazis. Based on what he writes, I'm not sure he would.
Because for Lipmann, Jenin is an example of modern-day Auschwitz. And for me, you can only stand up to oppression and injustice if you have the ability to make moral distinctions. Someone who draws specious comparisons does not make moral distinctions, and Lipmann shamelessly invokes Auschwitz to make a cheap and otherwise untenable political point.
Any reasonable person would know that the battle of Jenin and the unimaginable horrors of Auschwitz can not compare in anything but the most superficial ways. Melanie Phillips points out that such a comparison trivializes the Shoah and distorts the nature of an understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict. But it is all too typical of recent political rhetoric that seeks to malign Israel - and by extension Jews - by equating them to Nazis. If you don't believe me, try to think of a single state that endures more frequent comparisons more often to Nazi Germany than Israel.
As far as Auschwitz is concerned, Lipmann might just as well have peed on the ash marshes that surround the camp. For him, Auschwitz is nothing more than a political device, a means to an undistinguished end. This is customary stuff among the types of demagogues that felt comfortable in the Nazi party.
Offended, Anthony? You should be, as should be the Israelis you malkigned.
Sent wirelessly from my Blackberry.
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