Page 39 - Tales the Maggid Never Told Me

Blood Libel

After the peace party in Israel unexpectedly pushed out the
warmongers, hyper-theocrats and American puppets from the
Knesset and exposed the whole sorry scheme bankrupting the United
States and destroying its security for the benefit of the petroleum
oligarchs, the rulers of our country had to find a new enemy. Or
should I say an old scapegoat? Rather than face the music for their
treason and treachery, the anti-democratic rightwing propaganda mill
had a script ready for primetime: America had been unwittingly
duped by that ancient bugaboo, the international Jewish conspiracy.
All the very real links between our politicians and the Israel lobby
were put on display, and some very high officials in the government
were purged and thrown to the wolves. Would you like to know how
that made me feel?

S: Yes, certainly. Please continue, Mendel.

B: Like I had a big bull’s-eye painted on my back. But I continued to
suffer from the attitude that “it can’t happen here.” In that respect I
was no different from the majority of American Jews who had
become thoughtless supporters of the militarist agenda in the Middle
East on the simple-minded grounds that it was good for Israel. But
when the new Israeli government repudiated decades of
brinkmanship, created a mutual security pact with Egypt, Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Iran, then kicked out the American
missionaries trying to trigger Armageddon, it became impossible for
our politicians to restrain their superstitious and bigoted supporters
in the churches. Out came the anti-Semitic tracts, the millennia-old
fear and hatred of Jews. And as in past times of turmoil, the people in
power found it quite useful to redirect populist rage at yet another
manufactured enemy and turn a blind eye to any blatantly illegal
expressions of that wrath.

S: So you were afraid?

B: How would you feel if—no, I have already made it clear that I am
not conversing with a civilized human being. I will not fall into the
trap of wallowing in self-pity. After the constitution had been
shredded and the population cowed by the phony war on terrorism,

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