The fascist Left

It is not only the Palestinians and the wider Arab world that is to blame for the Middle East crisis. Western complicity in the form of left-wing fascism  has to shoulder its portion of blame.

It would be easy to write a diatribe against Islamists and jihadists. Of course, such fundamentalists are anti-Semitic and are outraged that the Jews have built a nation in their midst. I am not underestimating these radicals: they are dangerous and fanatical, and are completely lacking in the values that underpin democracy and human rights. But what is more worrying is the fact that such people have found a willing audience in the West, particularly Europe.

The Left, since the 1960s and the decline of Stalinism, has struggled to find a narrative. This crisis became even more evident following the collapse of communism and the Berlin wall. With the exception of the Left’s curious obsession with Cuba, the Palestinian cause has become the main focus of the socialists, which has led to the exclusion of every other geo-political issue. The Left has effectively joined forces with reactionary Muslims and what binds them together is violence and anti-Semitism.

The Left in its current form is nothing short of fascist. It is the kind of fascism that promotes street violence and the boycotting of Jewish shops. Left-wing fascism is a violent and revolutionary phenomenon  that is sweeping across campuses in the UK, Europe, the US and other Western nations. Its main preoccupation is the demonization and delegitimization of Israel, although the USA and the UK government are subject to unfair criticism too. Tellingly, despotic and cruel regimes in the Muslim world are of no interest to the Left (except when they are forced to defend them e.g. the Stop the War coalition/Iraq). Nor does it interest the fascist Left that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East where gay culture is normalised, where there is gender equality and where Israeli Arabs have full citizenship rights.

What is truly mind-boggling is that the Left and fundamentalist Islam have found so much common ground. It can only be the fact that both movements  are inherently anti-Semitic and anti-American. And violent. Otherwise, they are polar opposites in term of their respective approaches to human rights, gay rights and gender equality.

The fascist Left in Europe has a stranglehold over global public discourse on Israel and is killing fair and balanced reporting in the media.  Indeed, it could be argued that Israel’s biggest problem is not Iran or the Palestinians, but the horrific media assault on the Jewish state. On top of this is the malicious boycott and divestment campaign, where even individual Israelis are targeted. Worse still is the “apartheid” slur, which is not only erroneous and inapplicable, but an insult to the true victims of South African apartheid. Indeed, some South Africans, along with many African-Americans and Israeli Arabs, have spoken out against the “Israel=apartheid” slur.

Although the Palestinians and the wider Arab world are historically to blame for  the crisis in the Holy Land, the fascist Left’s flirtation with anti-Semitic Islamist movements has seriously jeopardised peaceful relations between Jews and Arabs, and soured relations between the Israeli Left and the European Left. The Left-Islamist alliance is not about creating peaceful conditions on the ground but destroying Israel’s reputation and morale, in the hope of overturning the “Zionist entity” completely.

Has the Left thought through the consequences of its unholy alliance? Is it a partnership that is here to stay? Or is it a short-term marriage of convenience? I think it is the latter. It is fairly obvious that the Islamists and the Left are using each other to further their sordid agendas. As things stand, the Left may want to consider what life would be like if the Islamists had their way, not only in Israel, but in Europe. How do gay rights and gender equality share the same political space as Sharia law? (Take note, Queers for Palestine). So I say to those who condemn gay-friendly Israel and support Hamas and its ilk: “Every man that is to live under a government ought first by his own consent to put himself under that government." (This is a quotation from Rainborough who spoke in the Putney Debates of 1647).

Of course, not every individual on the Left is anti-Semitic but they are certainly guilty of ignorance and extreme bias, and collectively they form an anti-Semitic grouping. By singling out Israel for condemnation and alleviating the Arab world of accountability, they have helped destroy the Jewish people's faith in the gentile media. However well-meaning some of these left-wingers are, good intentions "do not make good deeds"; neither can good intentions "prevent the consequences of bad deeds from being bad”. (John Milton).