More joy for Jew-haters

Though an enthusiastic supporter of Israel’s right not just to exist but to thrive and prosper in peace, I’m outraged by its assault on Gaza.

Just as it did in its all-out war on Hezbollah in South Lebanon back in 2006, it is murdering and maiming innocent people along with the terrorists it is targeting. And it is creating even more resentment and militancy, if possible, among its many mortal enemies around the Muslim world.

Far from killing and otherwise victimising the largely helpless and blameless people of Gaza and the West Bank, the territories it has occupied since the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel should long ago have helped them establish the sovereign state of Palestine.

There’s a considerable body of opinion in both Israel and around the world that supports this proposition. But not the Israeli ultra-Zionists and the hawks in the US, and certainly not those devoted to the total destruction of Israel, like the regimes in Iran and Syria.

And, for that matter, the Barisan Nasional (BN) regime in Malaysia. Israel is the only nation on earth, as far as I’m aware, whose existence Malaysia refuses to recognise.

I’m not sure why, as Malaysia is half a world away from the disputed territories of the Holy Land, but I presume it’s a gesture of sympathy and support for other Jew-hating nations in the Middle-East, Africa and Asia.

But whatever the reason for this stance on Malaysia’s part, I’m personally all for it. Because the only shred of satisfaction I get from Israel’s acts of overkill in its defence is witnessing the spectacle of BN leaders and supporters in fits of mock moral outrage.

What a great if grim joke it is to have Abdullah Ahmad Badawi declaring that the United Nations has a “moral duty” to end the violence in Gaza, when he has so ingloriously failed in his moral duty to give Malaysia the clean, fair government and honest judiciary he’s been promising for the past five years.

What a spectacle Abdullah makes of himself, calling for an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly to resolve the Israel/Palestine situation when his own nation has friendly and co-operative relations with regimes as criminal and murderous as those of Burma, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

And how laughably hypocritical he is, stating “the US has the capacity to and can stop the atrocities but they have chosen other options”, hoping we’ll forget that his own government has the capacity to and can stop atrocities like official corruption, cronyism and detention under the ISA and has likewise “chosen other options”.

Dr M in full cry

But as ridiculous as Abdullah’s moral posturing may be, it is nothing compared to the antics of Malaysia’s supreme anti-semite, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

You’ll recall that he accused George Soros and the Jewish conspiracy of causing the Asian Financial Crisis, and Anwar Ibrahim of being a Zionist stooge; and now he is blaming the US, where “there are many voters who are Jews”, for backing Israel in its attack on Gaza.

And then, according to Bernama as quoted in Malaysiakini , he embarked on one of his trademark flights of fancy, calling for a “global boycott of the US dollar and US-made products, including Coca-Cola”.

Why he singled out Coca-Cola as his example of products to boycott, rather than McDonald’s, say, or Microsoft, I have no earthly idea. Coca-Cola headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia, historically a hotbed of racism rather than Zionist support. But that didn’t give him pause.

“People won’t die if they don’t drink Coca-Cola. If the people don’t want to drink Coca-Cola, governments can’t force people to drink Coca-Cola.”

Having slaked his thirst for expounding on the banning of Coke, he then turned his attention the US dollar.

“Don’t use the US dollar. The dollar has got nothing to back it and the only reason it is still being used is because people still accept the dollar as legal tender. If we stop accepting the US currency, the US can’t trade and can’t make any money..it will become very poor.”

Claiming that money spent on American goods is largely re-invested in “the invention, production and manufacturing of weapons that kill people”, he urged that Malaysia stop purchasing weaponry from the US.

“We can buy weapons from the Russians as an alternative, like the MiGs and Sukhoi fighter jets,” he declared.

Like everything Mahathir says, this latest diatribe has enough truth in it to appear plausible, but is also riddled with lies and omissions. One matter he fails to mention is that, despite his oft-voiced contempt for the US and all its works, back when he was prime minister, US$1.2 million was paid on his behalf to get him an audience with George Bush.

So he went not only cap in hand to a president he publicly pretended to despise, but cash in hand.

And the cash went not to Bush, who for all his failings has never to my knowledge been accused of bribery, but to the notorious Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. A Jew, if ever there was one, to judge by his name, who was subsequently convicted of corruption.

As for Mahathir’s assertion that Malaysia “can buy” weapons from Russia, what’s he talking about? The Sorkoi fighters are long a done deal, complete with the usual alleged massive ‘commissions’ and a ‘free’ trip to space for Malaysia’s first ‘astronaut’.

And while we’re on the topic of arms purchases, I wonder where Malaysia sourced its supplies of C4 explosives, some of which were mysteriously employed in the killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu, the interpreter suspected of involvement in Russian, French or other weapons deals?

In any event, with his powerful and perhaps even pecuniary interest in arms purchases, who does Mahathir think he’s kidding with his Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War?

During his 22 years as premier of Malaysia he didn’t even bother to try criminalising crime. As long as it was for the purpose of keeping himself in power and his cronies in clover, he condoned and encouraged every crime in the book, from ‘money politics’ through corruption of the police, judiciary and civil service to the wholesale looting of public funds.

None of this makes him mistaken in his assertion that Israel should get out of Gaza, and the West Bank into the bargain.

But let’s not kid ourselves that he’s motivated by compassion for the Palestinian people, or a new-found respect for freedom, justice and humanity. Or any other sentiment more noble than a burning hatred for Jewmanity.