Scapegoating

          What race of people, more than any other people, has been used over and over again as a scapegoat?  The answer comes easily – the Jews.  Defending that assertion shouldn’t be necessary, but in light of the current situation with Israel and our President a concise summery may be in order.

            Hitler’s persecution of Jews helped unite the Nazis.  Those Jews that survived the Holocaust found themselves to be persona non grata – THE UNWANTED.  They were the emaciated, walking skeletons with minds incomprehensible.  Not even the United States Government, the epitome of democracy really wanted them.  After all, what would you do with them?  How could you absorb them?  What diseases, physical and mental, would they bring with them?

            But there was a people who wanted them, the Sabras – meaning the Jews born in what was then called Palestine.  These Jews were also Zionists, meaning Jews who sought to make Palestine, once again, their  “natural” homeland. 

            Anti-Semitics accuse the Israelis of being occupiers and that the Muslim who call themselves Palestinians are the rightful heirs of the “land.”  This is not true.  Biblical history, confirmed by archeology, places the Jews in Palestine since Moses and David.  They were scattered in what is referred to as the Diaspora after the destruction of the First Temple in the 6^th Century BC. 

            In spite of the scattering and intermarriage the Jews maintained their identity through their religious beliefs – synonymous with a “way of life” outlined by the Torah or first five books of the Old Testament.  Because of intermarriage and the scattering among diverse cultures it could be argued that Jewish is not a race, but a culture or result of a name like Levy that is labeled Jewish.  So we can’t say that an individual necessarily looks Jewish because it is more belief than looks that identify the Jew.  Yet, there are many Zionists who are not necessarily religious but are Jewish.  So in a sense, Jewish or more accurately Israeli has come to be a credo or philosophy of ethics – “a critical study of fundamental beliefs and the grounds for them.”  In that sense I suppose I am Israeli for I am in concord with the same standards that created the State of Israel and their right to exist.  An enemy of Israel is my enemy and the friend of Israel is my friend, for the mission of Israel is synonymous with the mission of the America that I grew up in.    

             This philosophy, way of life and cohesiveness has made them different and “suspect” where ever they settled and established communities. 

            The Jews were subject to Pogroms, especially in Russia.  This mode of violent, mob persecution was adeptly portrayed in the movie, Fiddler on the Roof.  It was the Pogroms that ultimately induced Jews to return to Eretz Yisrael, or Eretz Israel, the Promised Land.

            The Jews did not take the land from the Arabs, they purchased it, most of which was thought by the sellers to be useless swamps.  But being an industrious, innovative people they drained the swamps and made the desert bloom.

            After WWI the League of Nations granted Britain a Mandate over Palestine which at the time included Trans Jordan.   A preamble to the Mandate stated:

Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

            In 1939 Britain issued their infamous White Paper, also called the MacDonald White Paper after the Colonial Secretary who authored it.  The White Paper restricted Jewish Immigration to Palestine.  Thereafter British policy favored the Arabs who were in the majority.

            A little known axiom predicts that if you bring three Jews together you will get three different opinions.  And so it was during the Mandate.  The Jews split into three separate underground paramilitary groups dedicated towards resisting and combating the White Paper.  They were the Haganah (The Defense), Irgun (National Military Organization in the Land of Israel) and the Stern Gang or Lehi (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel). 

            The Haganah was primarily interested in (Aliya Bet) smuggling into Palestine as many European Jews as possible. The British would intercept the renegade ships and intern the Jewish refugees in “concentration camps” on Cyprus.  The Irgun and Lehi were “terrorist groups,” at least by British standards.  It was the Irgun who in 1947 dynamited and destroyed the south wing of the King David Hotel which was the British Military Headquarters.

            That period of Jewish history, the British Mandate, (1939 – 1948) is some of the most fascinating reading I have experienced, especially the years following World War II.  It was not the finest years of the British Empire, however, it was in my opinion among the finest Jewish years since the era of the Maccabees.  Against all odds, and in the face of British persecution the Irgun and Lehi were instrumental in driving the pro Arab, British tyrants out of Palestine.

            The Irgun attempted to conduct themselves military-like, giving ample and fair warning before an attack.  But the Lehi, as gutsy and courageous as their members were, their deadly methods were controversial.

            In 1948 the League of Nations voted to grant the State of Israel sovereignty.  The Arab nations rejected the vote and the day after (5-18-48) six Arab nations (Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon) attacked the nascent State with the objective of exterminating all the Jews. 

            The Haganah, Irgun and Lehi combined to form the Israeli Defense Forces, IDF.  The IDF fought four wars, which includes the War of Independence, against enemy aggressors (1948, 1956, 1967,and 1973) that outnumbered and out gunned them, winning each time.

            I have visited Israel, Egypt and Jordan on three occasions, the last trip our group was hosted by Joseph Ginet, an Israeli anthropologist who showed us parts of modern and historical Israel off the beaten tourist path.  Joseph took us to the top of the Golan Heights where we saw with our own eyes the remnants of trenches, pill boxes and rusty canons of the Syrian invaders during Six Day War.  You don’t have to be a general, politician or historian to see the precarious position of tiny Israel in relation to their hostile Arabic neighbors. And even to the novice eye the contrast between the modern industrial and agrarian Israel and its Arab neighbors, the West Bank and Gaza Palestinians, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt is remarkable - like the difference between a 2010 Taurus and a Model-A Ford.

            The accomplishments of the Israeli people stands as a beacon in the Middle East.  Except for the War of Independence after each war it has been Israel who has given up captured land and compromised for the sake of peace.  It has only been due to Israel’s effective and well trained military that it exists today – a truism President Obama should take to heart. 

            Over the throngs of years Israel has been persecuted by the Babylonians, Persians, Egyptians, Syrians, Turks, Russians, Poles, Germans, English, Muslims and now as Israel stands tall and resolute to the chagrin of its persecutors, it is once again being made a scapegoat.

            Just exactly what is a scapegoat?  Merriam Webster defines it as “one who bears the blame for others.”  A more comprehensive definition follows, taken from the Internet:

            A medical definition of scapegoating is:

"Process in which the mechanisms of projection or displacement are utilised in focusing feelings of aggression, hostility, frustration, etc., upon another individual or group; the amount of blame being unwarranted."

Unwanted thoughts and feelings can be unconsciously projected onto another who becomes a scapegoat for one's own problems. This concept can be extended to projection by groups.

In psychopathology, projection is an especially commonly used defense mechanism in people with the following personality disorders:

• antisocial personality disorder
• borderline personality disorder
• narcissistic personality disorder
• paranoid personality disorder
• psychopathy

                Many years ago while pheasant hunting, one of my friends who happened to be the owner of the property we were hunting on, out of frustration, suddenly kicked my other friend’s hunting dog in the ribs.  The poor dog, a Pointer, doubled up in pain.  The owner of the dog and myself were so stunned that we didn’t know what to say, as the kicker stomped of cussing to himself, over what, we wasn’t sure.         

                I readily discerned that the kicker was frustrated with us and took it out on the innocent dog – the dog being a scapegoat.  Needless to say, it was the last time I went hunting or had anything to do with the kicker.  In fact, I was so sickened over the violent impulsiveness of the kicker, an act I hadn’t dreamed he was capable of,  it was the last time I went bird hunting at all. 

                With the Jews, the persecutors have made up absurd stories like the “blood libel” or “Protocols of the Elders” to justify their oppression and harassment.  But with the Pointer, he was an old dog and loving pet, there was simply no way projection could be rationalized or justified. 

                The animosity of today’s Arabs reaches back to Abraham.  According to Mohammad it was Ishmael  and not Isaac that Abraham was about to sacrifice, and it was Esau, not Jacob who received the birthright. 

                Mohammad, like Joseph Smith, took passages from the Torah, distorted it and fashioned a religion to build up the esteem of the Arabs - a powerful  authoritative religion that Arabs could use to compete with Judaism and Christianity.   In my opinion Islam and the power derived there from is a product of envy.  But the animosity runs much deeper than envy. 

                Jews, the dregs of the earth, had the audacity to take worthless swamps and desert and make it valuable.  While the Bedouin sat smug in their skin and canvas tents sipping super strong coffee the Jews, which included the Jewish women, were toiling in the fields.  The Zionists set aside the archaic Hasidic traditions and instead of waiting for God to build up Zion, took matter in their own hands.

                Jewish assiduity was not designed to embarrass the Arabs but that is apparently what happened.  How dare the wretched Jews turn worthless property into silver and gold, making their Arabs neighbors look bad. 

                Projection is definitely an instrument of scapegoating, therefore, what personality disorders articulated above applies to those Arabs who advocate the extermination of Israel, for example,   could it be narcissism? 

                Is it possible that a group, a State like Jordan or Syria, or a whole culture like Islam can be subject to narcissism?  I suspect that Muammar Gaddafi is a narcissist, but then there are those that are convinced Barak Hussein Obama is also a narcissist.  Many dictators are narcissistic and a characteristic of a narcissistic personality is to blame others for their own failures or mistakes. 

                Islam purports to be the one and only true religion.  Infidels are inferior and unless they convert or submit to Islam may be put to death.  Many Muslims are taught that Judaism is the archenemy of Islam.  It seems that in the Middle Ages when Arabs or Muslims made meaningful contributions  to science in such things as chemistry, architecture, mathematics, pottery and coffee drinking, they were more tolerant towards the Jews, and less envious of others.  The more stable and “actualized” an individual or culture the less envious they become.

                But I think it is “paranoia” more than any other “disorder” that plagues the anti Semitic mind.  The following definition of paranoia is taken from Wikipedia: 

Paranoia is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. Historically, this characterization was used to describe any delusional state.

                I don’t think the anti Semitic necessarily fears the Jew, although he may pretend too.  It’s just that he needs to somehow vent his frustration.   It’s a defense mechanism that at times we all resort too. 

                While in Israel our group was invited to the home of a Muslim where we were served snacks.   We were invited into the tent of a Bedouin where we were served very strong coffee (the texture of syrup) while sitting in a circle, cross-legged.  In both cases where in our culture it would be the wife and daughters serving the guests, in the Muslim cases it was the sons.  In Israel the women participate in the work force and military, much like in the USA.  The women are valuable contributors to the Israeli economy.  But in Jordan and other stanch Muslim cultures, the women are out of sight doing what, I’m not sure – maybe weaving, cooking, cleaning and making up the beds.  They don’t work, at least in public. 

                I’m afraid the die is set - tradition, custom  or habits will always hold the Jew in reserve as a scapegoat when the need arises.  It’s not right, but it is a fact of human nature.  At times there are substitutes like the Irish, women, Welch, Mexicans, Negros, Mormons, homosexuals, etc.  but currently with Israel there is more at stake than projecting  frustrations.  If Israel should ever be exterminated the terroristic might of Islam will be unanimously directed at the USA.  

                The politically correct attitude of our political leaders is that Islam is a peaceable religion, but a study of the Koran, Hadith and Sharia law proves otherwise.  While politicians attempt to placate the Muslim, reliable sources warn us that the Muslim is surreptitiously building  up strength to strike.   The goal of theocratic or political Islam is to take over and rule the world.  ( See Islam, What the West Needs to Know, a DVD)

                President Obama is a pretty bright guy, but I don’t think he realizes how important Israel is to the national security of the USA.  It’s not imagination or hyperbole that Obama shows an exorbitant difference to the Arab nations and indifference to Israel.  This President, when it comes to Israel, speaks out of both sides of his mouth.  On one side of the mouth he reaffirms American support towards Israel’s right to exist, and the other side of the mouth suggests Israel should give up all conquered land since 1948.  In Obama’s case,  actions are more telling than words.  His actions appear to be pro Muslim and anti Israel.   Liberal critics of Israel complain about the amount of money we have given Israel which in reality is a drop in the bucket compared to the aid and money given to Arab Nations.

                      Today, 6-20-11, I read an “opinion” in The Salt Lake Tribune of a guy who accuses Israel of  “a series of aggressive and defensive action” and bullying the Palestinians by continuing to build settlements “near” the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  This is typical disguised anti-Semitic rhetoric.  He advocates discontinuing financial support for Israel. 

                What does he and the many other “liberal” Americans think Israel ought to do, stop having babies, stop growing, stop modernizing, stop living?  The plight of the Palestinian Arabs is nothing more than an excuse for scapegoating Israel.   The logical, geographical solution for the Palestinian plight is for them to move into Jordan with their Muslim cousins where there is plenty of room and the religious ideology is the same.  But no, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, most of Egypt and the rest of Islam are using their Muslim brothers, the Palestinians, as fodder to provoke conflict with Israel and turn world opinion against Israel.  The Muslim movement to conquer and exterminate Israel is just another step in Islam’s mission to dominate the world. 

                  The only peace treaty of sorts that a Middle East nation has made with Israel was Egypt in 1979, brokered by Jimmy Carter between Sadat and Begin.  But since the recent revolution in Egypt and the ousting of Mubarak it is suspected that the new regime will no longer honor Sadat’s treaty.  As far as Jordan, Syria and the other Arab antagonists are concerned, they are still in a state war with Israel.  By any measure, Israel stands alone in a hostile Muslim dominated Middle East.  Because we are an ally of Israel it no doubt helps keeps Israel’s enemies at bay.  Make no mistake, as soon as the enemies of Israel feel they are ready, they will attack.

                But that could be sometime in the future unless Iran’s nuclear aspirations become imminent.  At the moment the dictators of Syria, Jordan, Libya, etc. have their hands full with civil unrest and are hoping that the Palestine issue will generate public opinion against Israel, something the Arabs could not do militarily. 

                The Jew or Israel is only one example of scapegoating behavior, albeit a monumental example.  To project blame and take out our frustrations on a scapegoat is common human behavior.  It is a defense mechanism conjured by the “mind” and common to all mankind.  The more “self actualized” we are as individuals, the less apt we are of resorting to scapegoating.