It is well-known that when they do not get their way, supporters of Israel scream with ease “anti-Semitism!” It is their cheap manner of seeking to silence debate and criticism of the state of Israel. But it has been so overused that it is now dismissed as the tool of a demagogue.
Everybody knows that Zionists accuse all of their critics of being anti-Semitic and reasonable people now see this for what it is: a childish attempt at censorship. This is why when the fanatically pro-Israeli The New Republic magazine accused noted writer and pundit Andrew Sullivan of being an anti-Semite, barely anyone cared what TNR had to say. A decade ago this would have been a career ending reality for Sullivan, but now people now that this is a gimmick.
The unfortunate thing about this is that it debases real anti-Semitism. If everyone from Jimmy Carter to Andrew Sullivan is accused of anti-Semitism it makes it appear, if one is to believe the charge, that anti-Semitism really isn’t such an offense if so many mainstream and prominent subscribe to it. Furthermore, there are genuine anti-Semites who only criticize Israel not out of any concern for the Palestinians and their rights but simply because they despise Jews. And in this case the constant use of anti-Semitism against even honest critics (or “self-hating Jews” for Jewish dissidents) leads to the “crying Wolf” reality where a charge of prejudice against a real anti-Semite fails to stick because people almost become conditioned to dismiss it in league with past unfounded cases.
Supporters of Israel are contributing to this debasing by their constant charge of anti-Semitism. They seem incapable of ever disagreeing with someone on anything related to Israel without accusing them of anti-Semitism. Even when it comes to an iPhone.
East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in 1967, but every nation in the world – including the United States – considers East Jerusalem occupied Palestinian land. Israel claims Jerusalem, both West and East, as its undivided capital, but Palestinians seek the majority-Arab eastern half as their future capital in a claim supported by the international community including the United States.
In recognizing this reality, Apple and Yahoo decided that for the iPhone weather app (provided by Yahoo) they would have two options for Jerusalem: West and East. If you’re an Israel, you may object because your government considers Jerusalem to be an undivided whole. But that it just the Israeli perspective. Why should Apple agree to Israeli labeling when the rest of the world, including the home of Apple and Yahoo, recognizing two Jerusalems as West and East and refuses to build their embassies in Jerusalem precisely in opposition to Israeli annexation? It seems obvious that Apple and Yahoo should agree to the international standard rather than the Israeli exception.
If you’re a Zionist you may disagree in good faith. But Zionists do not know how to do that. They have little faith in their ability in winning a honest and measured debate, and for good reason since their [il]logic is unconvincing. So their tactic is to scream anti-Semitism and raise hell in the hopes that the firms will opt to appease them quickly rather than defend themselves against the charge of prejudice. And so that’s what took place now:
Right-leaning Israeli politicians like to refer to Jerusalem as their “undivided capital.” But iPhone users here and around the world found recently that the storied, disputed city had been split in two.
In the smart phone’s weather application, the listing for “Jerusalem” disappeared earlier this month and was replaced by “West Jerusalem” and “East Jerusalem.”
Both Israelis, who dominate the west part of the city, and Palestinians, the majority in the east, claim Jerusalem as their capital. Israel annexed East Jerusalem after the 1967 Middle East War, though Palestinians (and most of the international community) never accepted it.
The debate over how, or whether, to divide Jerusalem is still one of the thorniest issues in Mideast peace talks.
Perhaps frustrated with the lack of progress in the peace process, iPhone engineers apparently decided to impose their own mini-version of a two-state solution by partitioning the city and, in essence, forcing users to pick sides.
A similar change took place on Yahoo’s weather site, which gave users the option of checking the temperature in “Jerusalem, West Bank, Palestine” or “Jerusalem, Israel.”
Reaction was mixed. A few Israelis and Palestinians got a kick out of the option, even though temperature information and other data were identical for East and West Jerusalem.
But many Israelis, here and in the U.S., took deep offense and accused Apple, the company that makes the iPhone, of “political propaganda.”
One Jewish advocacy group, American Israeli Action Coalition, called the changes “extremely hurtful to the American Israeli community” and said they “smack of anti-Semitism.” Israel’s U.S. ambassador reportedly sent a letter of protest to Apple chief Steve Jobs and Yahoo chief Carol Bartz.
By Sunday, Apple and Yahoo appeared to have quickly signed a peace deal of their own. Jerusalem was magically reunified — at least on the iPhone.
These Zionist hoodlums won this round, but in the end these type of tactics are so off-putting that they will only continue to alienate Americans and the world. And undermine the very nation they claim to support.
