Thursday, April 22, 2004
On criticising Israel
Sanjay had posted a comment some time back on how criticism of Israeli policies is equated with anti-semitism in certain circles. I tend to agree. I have found it annoying that one cannot criticise Israeli policies without being labelled anti-semitic. I dont know if this is a very clever trick to deter criticism, but it sure works, especially in the West. Of course, the West has reason to be *very* cautious about criticism, given the terrible history of the Holocaust. However, I have not understood why that "guilt" needs to be borne by people around the world who not only have never discriminated against Jews but have been rather welcoming of them. After all, I am writing this from Cochin, where Jews have found shelter from around the time of the sack of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and where the Jew Town (right next to the old palace of the King) stands as testament to the incredible tolerance of Hindu society.
I am writing this post after watching today's Hard Talk on the BBC, where Tim Sebastian was interviewing Yosef Tommy Lapid, the Israeli Justice Minister. Tim Sebastian was, as usual, being extremely tough on Mr Lapid. Towards the end of the interview, Mr Lapid actually said something to the effect that it was well known that Tim Sebastian favoured the Palestinians over the Israelis. There you have it -- when Mr Lapid had no answers to Sebastian's tough questioning, he shifted to blaming Sebastian of being anti-Israeli. To Tim Sebastian's credit, he hid his obvious discomfort fairly well and asked Mr Lapid to watch his interviews with the Palestinians before forming any opinions.
Now, one may or may not like Tim Sebastian. But, you certainly cannot accuse him of being unfair. His program is equally tough on just about everyone being interviewed, with a great deal of background research to provide context. So, it seemed absurd to me that he would be accused of being pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli etc. Perhaps its just paranoia? Then again, noone can fault the Israelis for being paranoid, given their history and the environment around them currently.
I am writing this post after watching today's Hard Talk on the BBC, where Tim Sebastian was interviewing Yosef Tommy Lapid, the Israeli Justice Minister. Tim Sebastian was, as usual, being extremely tough on Mr Lapid. Towards the end of the interview, Mr Lapid actually said something to the effect that it was well known that Tim Sebastian favoured the Palestinians over the Israelis. There you have it -- when Mr Lapid had no answers to Sebastian's tough questioning, he shifted to blaming Sebastian of being anti-Israeli. To Tim Sebastian's credit, he hid his obvious discomfort fairly well and asked Mr Lapid to watch his interviews with the Palestinians before forming any opinions.
Now, one may or may not like Tim Sebastian. But, you certainly cannot accuse him of being unfair. His program is equally tough on just about everyone being interviewed, with a great deal of background research to provide context. So, it seemed absurd to me that he would be accused of being pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli etc. Perhaps its just paranoia? Then again, noone can fault the Israelis for being paranoid, given their history and the environment around them currently.
