ELKAN’S VIEW 4^th February 2015

I belong to the Jerusalem branch of the Jewish Historical Society of England. This has some very good and extremely interesting lectures, and last week we were treated to an address by the well-known columnist Melanie Phillips. Her subject dealt with the breakdown of relations between British Jews and the Left Wing in politics, and in a wide ranging survey she traced how the left had gradually begun to make common cause with the extreme Islamic movement. As she put it quite succinctly a group that supported gay rights, women’s rights, human rights and freedom of speech has become closely associated with a group that violently opposes all of these things.

Both groups look forward to the creation of a utopian world and it does not occur to them, especially to the left-wing who are prepared to be used by Muslim extremists, that the two versions of Utopia are diametrically opposed.

There is in the left-wing, despite its theoretical embracing of religious tolerance, a deep vein of anti-Semitism. This comes out in unexpected ways. Melanie Phillips disclosed that when she was a leader writer for the Guardian Newspaper (and how far that newspaper has travelled – when it was the Manchester Guardian under the legendary C P Scott it was the main protagonist of political Zionism) she was not a Zionist, had never been to Israel, and had no desire to do so. A number of things clearly shook her badly including a view that since the Jews claimed to be morally superior they could be judged by impossibly high standards, and that any considerations of logic or factual accuracy were not important. When one of the editors described an Israeli incursion into Lebanon as “your little war” she realised how deep this is, and her political position gradually moved to the right.

ELKAN’S VIEW 28th January 2015

Over the last few days I have been watching “The Eichmann Show” the docudrama on BBC television about the filming of the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem in 1961. You will remember that Eichmann was regarded as being the brains and the organisational skill behind the Holocaust which required a great deal of logistical expertise and administrative planning. In 1937 he had spent a day in Haifa, and is also believed to have acquired a smattering of Hebrew and Yiddish.

On the basis of this he had become “an expert” in Jewish matters. When the war broke out he took over the Bnai Brith offices in the middle of Berlin and from there began to organise and administer the systematic murder of millions of Jews.

The story of how the Israelis tracked him down in Argentina under the assumed name of Ricardo Clement, how they captured him and smuggled him back to Israel, and his trial in Jerusalem in 1961 is well-known. He was found guilty and in due course executed and his ashes scattered out at sea.

This brought back to me a lot of memories. I was in Jerusalem in 1961 on my gap year, and obtained a ticket for one afternoon of the trial. Eichmann was an insignificant looking man sitting in a bullet-proof glass box. Gideon Hausner was cross-examining him about the details of a deportation – how the transport was arranged, when and where it left, what was its destination. Eichmann answered in a matter-of-fact voice, denying some of the accusations and correcting some of the details. The thing I do remember very clearly was listening to a simultaneous translation of the proceedings – Hausner spoke in Hebrew and Eichmann answered in German – and hearing him plead as justification that he was merely following orders.

The trial caused enormous interest both in Israel and around the world. It was relayed live all over Israel – I remember hearing it broadcast on a bus in Tel Aviv. Suddenly details of the Holocaust became public knowledge. Without the filming and broadcast of the trial events such as International Holocaust Day might never have happened.

ELKAN’S VIEW 21st January 2015

 Is this how the media would have reported this week’s Sedrah?

ISRAELITES CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES – EGYPTIAN CIVILIANS SUFFER AS ISRAELITES DANCE AT THE RED SEA

The Royal Press Officer for Pharaoh has accused the Israelites of serious war crimes. “Their leader Moses attacked and murdered one of our senior civil servants who was encouraging increased productivity among his workforce. Moses and his brother Aaron have brought terrible plagues, poisoning water, afflicting cattle and finally murdering many thousands of blameless firstborns. The plagues that they brought spared no one. Millions of innocent civilians suffered unbelievable hardship and privation. As they left our hospitable country the Israelites stole valuable Egyptian property and caused many of our bravest soldiers to drown in the Red Sea.

“The Children of Israel have shown themselves to be murderers and thieves. By their deeds of malice and violence they have betrayed the trust and honour showed to them by the whole Egyptian people. We demand justice!”

The following statement was issued on behalf of Moses and the Children of Israel but has not appeared in the press.

“The Egyptians enslaved tortured and brutalised the Israelite people. They ordered that firstborn be cast into the river to die, and taught their children to hate and disparage us. Our people first came to Egypt because our ancestor Joseph saved the whole nation from famine and starvation. It is true that the Almighty brought plagues upon Egypt, but Pharaoh could have stopped these at any time had he wished. As we were finally leaving Egypt, Egyptian well-wishers handed us gold and silver. Pharaoh wanted to bring us back into slavery and sent heavy armour and artillery against our defenceless civilians. He was only defeated by divine intervention at the last minute.”

ELKAN’S VIEW 14th January 2015

Last week’s events in Paris have possibly changed the world we live in, although my cynical reluctance to admit that the nations of the West have any real concept of what they are facing leads me to wonder. Of course it was predictable; there have been enough signs in France to say nothing of the rest of Western Europe for people to understand that this is a major clash of civilisations.

It is not even merely an attack on the Jews, although almost every major outrage has a parallel Jewish attack. Shared by almost every other government in Western Europe, it is actually a significant failing on the part of the French government to take the threat of Islamic Jihadists seriously. It is easy to blame any government for a lack of police, troops on the ground, security people, whatever. The struggle against Islamic extremism must be taken forward by all available means, and governments have to be very proactive (as has the Israeli government for many years) if this dangerous threat to freedom is to be defeated.

Arguably it is now more dangerous for a European Jew, especially in France, to live outside Israel. If 7,000 French Jews made Aliyah last year, the figure this year will be undoubtedly much higher to Israel’s benefit and France’s loss.

That the latest addition of the magazine “Charlie Hebdo” sold out within minutes of coming on sale, despite the fact that its usual print run was vastly increased, gives a clear indication of what the average Frenchman thinks. But would have been quite as interested in the attack on the Jewish supermarket if it had not followed so closely the attack on the satirical magazine?

In the meantime quite how long will it take the British government to bring in necessary legislation to enable them to fight terror? The bleating of woolly minded liberals, that identity cards are an attack on liberty, is self-evident nonsense and must be derided as such. Liberty of thought and freedom of speech are wonderful things, but there are times when we have to fight, vigorously, actively, and with all available resources, if they are not to be destroyed by the liberties that they themselves profess to protect.

ELKAN’S VIEW 7^th January 2015

 Israel is beginning to warm up for the elections on 17 March, which sadly offer no clear possibility of a radical change in leadership. Bibi is a Prime Minister who is increasingly viewed as having run his time. A change is badly needed but there are no exciting alternatives.

While Britain is now beginning to discover the reality of the problems that coalition government can bring, Israel is stuck with a proportional representation system that might have been a good idea in 1948, but which always produces coalitions. The effect of raising the proportion of the vote needed to secure a member of the Knesset to 3.25% does not seem to be having any particular effect.

To our shame, political scandals are the daily currency of Israeli life. The fact that a former president, a former prime minister and several ministers and officials are either in prison or appealing sentences is a tribute to the rule of law in this country. In the Middle East context this is unique, but it says many sad things about the ethical standards of the Jewish state.

The recent primaries within the Likud party have strengthened Netanyahu’s grip. The scandals within Avigdor Lieberman’s party Yisrael Beitenu have seriously diminished his influence, and the biggest political winner could well be the American Naftali Bennett and his right-wing party HaBayit Hayehudi. The Labour Party under Isaac Hertzog does not seem to be a serious contender, especially since he has teamed up with the political gadfly Tzipi Livni. She changes her political party frequently, and is one of the leading Israeli advocates of the two state solution, a policy which is increasingly seen here as being unattainable with the present Palestinian leadership.

However “a week is a long time in politics” and there are currently almost 10 weeks to the election and anything could happen.

And by the way, New Year’s Eve at the Dead Sea was delightful – strawberries, sparkling wine, and a magnificent firework display brought in 2015 in the traditional way!