I'm Tired of Defending Israel 

by David Pfeffer
February 11, 2016

All my Zionist life Israel has faced angry, haughty accusations of racism, 
apartheid, occupation and genocide - and ceaseless demands for democratic 
reform, dismantling defenses, disastrous withdrawals and ostracizing punishment 
while the rest of the world gets off scot-free. It's time for our accusers to explain a thing or two.

For example, Spain: Why do you recognize a state of "Palestine" that doesn't exist? 
Palestine was the name imposed on the land of Israel by conquering Romans and 
used by conquering British. In all of history, there never was a state of Palestine 
nor is there one today. Except for the Kingdom of Jerusalem imposed by conquering 
Crusaders, the only state here was, and is, Israel.

For the US State Department: Why do you prevent an American born in Jerusalem 
from listing Israel as his place of birth on his US passport? Should an American born 
in Washington not be allowed to list the United States as his place of birth?

For the New York Times: Why do you refer to Israeli Arab citizens as Palestinians? 
If some young Israeli Arabs consider themselves to be more Palestinian, does that 
mean they're not Israeli? Why are Israeli Jews, many of whom were actually born 
in pre-state British Mandate Palestine, not also Palestinians?

For the Associated Press: Why do you report Palestinian-sourced allegation 
as fact and Israeli-sourced fact as allegation? Why do you routinely qualify 
Israeli police accounts as claims?

For facebook: Why did you immediately shut down an anti-Palestinian hate page 
while letting an identical anti-Israeli hate page remain up and running for days afterward? 
Why do you allow hate pages at all?

For the South African BDS: Why do you diminish your own history by claiming 
Israel is apartheid? Israeli Arabs vote and Arab parties constitute a significant 
portion of the Knesset. The last election review commission was headed by an 
Arab supreme court justice. My physician is Arab, my dentist is Arab, public restrooms 
are not segregated, nor are buses, schools, universities, restaurants, libraries, movie 
theaters nor any other public places, yet you identify with a Palestinian statehood 
movement that would forcibly remove all Jews from its territory. Why do you demean 
your own painful past?

For China: When will you recognize the right of self-determination for Tibet?

For the United States: Why did you forcibly drive the plains Indians to Oklahoma 
and then drive them into restricted reservations as you took over Oklahoma for 
white settlement? When will you end the illegal occupation of Oklahoma?

For Great Britain: When will you withdraw from Las Malvinas, which you call 
the Falklands, thousands of miles from the UK? Because of your settlements, 
you waged war to stop Argentina from taking the islands back, yet you express 
concern over Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the heart of ancient Israel. 
When will you withdraw from Gibraltar and return this occupied territory to Spain?

For the European Union: How does labeling Israeli products from the West Bank 
as "not from Israel" differ from labeling businesses in Nazi Germany as "Jewish"? 
How does such labeling protect consumers, as you claim? Given your history 
concerning Jews, does it surprise you that Israel views this action as deeply offensive?

For the New Israel Fund: Why does Israel's incredible success as a modern, tolerant, 
eco-friendly, environmentally-conscious democratic state in the middle of the most 
backward, anti-gay, misogynistic, autocratic region of the world discomfit you?

For the UN Human Rights Commission: In this savage world why do you spend 
so much time on Israel? Why don't you have time to address the dictatorial suppression, 
especially of women, in Arab states?

For Breaking the Silence: Why do you not use Israeli courts to address your allegations 
of war crimes? Other groups put cases before the courts, not infrequently meeting success. 
Why don't you keep your dirty laundry at home?

For Students for Justice in Palestine: If Israel, having "occupied" the West Bank for 
forty-eight years, commits genocide, why is the Palestinian population growing? 
What's taking so long to do the job?

For the whole world: Why can't a Jew pray on the Temple Mount? The Muslim Waqf 
has near absolute sway over the ancient site of the Jewish temples; the slightest 
movement of a Jew's lip runs the risk of riot. But the Quran says Israel belongs to 
the Jews. (http://www.templemount.org/quranland.html). 
So why can't a Jew pray on the Temple Mount?

I'm tired of defending Israel. It's time for the hypocrites to defend themselves.