"For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe"

Signior Antonio, many a time and oft

In the Rialto you have rated me

About my moneys and my usances:

Still have I borne it with a patient shrug,

For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe.

You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog,

And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine,

And all for use of that which is mine own.

The Merchant of Venice, I.iii

 

Thus spake the malevolent Jew, Shylock, in Shakespeare's least funny 'comedy'.  Well, I should know because I once played the clown character Launcelot Gobbo and I never got so much as a giggle for the entire run - and I heard that, darling!  It came to mind after I read an article by a man I admire immensely, Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi of Britain.

He is rightly worried by the rising levels of anti-Semitism across Europe and particularly in this country.  Now before I go further let me confess that in my opinion, notwithstanding the holocaust and the preceding centuries of virulent anti-Semitism, I do not believe that Jews are somehow fault-free and unblemished by any wrong-doing.  The rights and wrongs of the Jewish 'incursion' back into Palestine, both the original concept and the handling of the current situation, are problems of such complexity as to be far beyond my understanding and indeed, I suspect, beyond anyone's!  We have what we have!

However, one thing is beyond argument, the politics of the State of Israel, a practicing democracy, cannot and should not be laid at the door of Jews in this country.  If the thuggish elements who have, weevil-like, bored their way into the Labour party, student unions and various community groups attempt to emulate their Nazi heroes they should be dealt with severely.  And I should add that my strictures apply equally to Islamic groups based in the UK.  Their spurious claims that their anti-Semitism is confined just to the State of Israel do not fool me!

Comments

[jimmy glesga]

The Jews in Israel have to be relentless in defending themselves against Islam and their apologists.
We here in Glasgow have the Palestinian supporter groups who are mainly white and Christian. I personally know two of them and one in particular is a fanatic anti Zionist who said the history of the world began in 1948 for her.
Of course the idiots do not have an inkling that they are being used as patsies by the Islamists.
Israel should ignore anything said by her so called friends about compromise with Islamists.

[Dom]

A truly excellent post, especially the last comment: "Their spurious claims that their anti-Semitism is confined just to the State of Israel do not fool me!". The late Norm Geras made that same point often.

It's important to keep in mind that Israel is often accused of bad behavior that goes unnoticed in other countries. For example, recently a women's committee with ties to the UN accused Israel of mistreating Palestinian women. Nothing was said of women in surrounding countries, not even Iran, or Pakistan, or Saudi Arabia.

[Whyaxye]

"We have what we have!"

We do indeed, and I suspect that it is very much better than any alternative for the region. Having lived in Israel a long time ago, I have (qualified) admiration and a lot of support for the Jews living there.

The anti-semitism of the UK (and wider) left is often staggering in its hypocrisy. Credit to the two respondents above for their perceptive comments.

[David Duff]

Dom, I still miss the always interesting Norman Geras, a sad loss to Blogdom.

[AussieD]

I am always somewhat surprised at the theory that Jews have replaced Palestinians [read Islamic Arabs] in the part of the world now known as Israel.

Jews have lived continuously in what is now Israel since the 15th Century BC and in my humble view they are entitled to it. It was the Romans that called the place Palestine.

No nation State is without fault but it is difficult to find fault with Israel's actions in defending itself. To my mind they have shown amazing restraint as there is little doubt that the IDF could turn the surrounding hostile areas into rubble. Maybe one day they will have to given the loudly proclaimed aims of militant Islam to kill All Jews.

Kol tuv

[Andrew Duffin]

"I do not believe that Jews are somehow fault-free and unblemished by any wrong-doing"

None of us is.

And I too miss the sainted Norm, despite his many left-wing delusions.

[Dom]

I don't know who Bob Campbell is, but I came across him in a different blog. Here is something he tweeted after Brussels and Pakistan and Paris:

"How many more attacks have to take place before the world fully understands that ISIS is run by Israel".

He calls that statement anti-Israel, but I'm not fooled. It's Jew-hatred, maybe even Jew-jealousy, exactly the sort of thing you're talking about, David.

[jimmy glesga]

Andrew Duffin, when defending your country from those who wish to destroy you fault is not an issue.

[David Duff]

Quite so, Dom, and no doubt Mr. Campbell would tell you that they kill babies, you know, whilst tapping the side of his nose!