Victor Davis Hanson wonders why Israel is considered differently from every other nation:
What explains this preexisting hatred, which ensures denunciation of Israel in the most rabid – or, to use the politically correct parlance, “disproportionate,” terms? It is not about “occupied land,” given the millions of square miles worldwide that are presently occupied, from Georgia to Cyprus to Tibet. It is not a divided capital — Nicosia is walled off. It is not an overreaction in the use of force per se — the Russians flattened Grozny and killed tens of thousands while the world snoozed. And it cannot be the scale of violence, given what we see hourly in Pakistan, Darfur, and the Congo. And, given the Armenian, Greek, and Kurdish histories (and reactions to them), the currently outraged Turkish government is surely not a credible referent on the topic of disproportionate violence.
Perhaps the outrage reflects simple realpolitik — 350 million Arab Muslims versus 7 million Israelis. Perhaps it is oil: half the world’s reserves versus Israel’s nada. Perhaps it is the fear of terror: draw a cartoon or write a novel offending Islam, and you must go into hiding; defame Jews and earn accolades. Perhaps it is anti-Semitism, which is as fashionable on the academic Left as it used to be among the neanderthal Right.
It’s good to consider alternative possibilities, but they don’t really wash. Realpolitik doesn’t make sense: the Arab Muslims may be more numerous, but the Israelis are more powerful. If it were oil, you would expect that countries with net oil exports would be more favorable toward Israel, since they have no need to curry favor with oil-rich nations. You see no such thing. Terror doesn’t wash either. Fear of the head-hackers is largely a recent thing, much more recent than hatred of Israel. Also, you don’t need to condemn Israel to stay safe from the head-hackers; silence will do fine.
That leaves just the one thing that truly sets Israel apart from every other nation.
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