ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA OP-ED   Melanie Phillips: When "Equality" Becomes A Killer, False & Malicious Criticism of Ben-Gvir The West's core doctrine is a recipe for moral bankruptcy. By Melanie Phillips (AUGUST 27, 2023 / SUBSTACK.COM) For years, the doctrine of “equality” has been synonymous with conscience and morality in the west. Anyone who dissents from this dogma is tarred and feathered as a knuckle-dragging troglodyte. In fact, this interpretation of “equality” dissolves morality as surely as acid dissolves limestone. This “equality” creates injustice and leads to bullying and intimidation. Worse still, it enables terrorism and mass murder. Worse again, this is being actively promoted by western politicians and “liberals”. Thus it dominates and poisons public discourse. Israel’s controversial National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, provoked yet another tsunami of condemnation when, discussing on TV whether more stringent measures were needed to curb the current surge of Palestinian Arab terrorism against Israelis, he declared: My right, the right of my wife and my children to move around Judea and Samaria is more important than freedom of movement for the Arabs. The right to life comes before freedom of movement. Cue instant meltdown — and instant distortion and defamation. Most media sources quoted the first sentence but not the last. They thus decontextualised what Ben-Gvir had said, falsely and maliciously misrepresenting his observation as the quintessence of racism by placing Israeli interests above Palestinian Arab interests. Does one really need to point out that, however much one may revile a public figure, demonisation through distortion and malice turns such finger-pointers themselves into promoters of malicious hatred? In fact, what Ben-Gvir was actually saying was that the right of innocent citizens to live their lives free of attack should be given precedence over the right of Palestinian Arabs to enjoy the freedom that allows them to murder Israelis. Those who have called him a racist for these remarks must therefore be presumed to believe that freedom of movement for Palestinian Arabs should be given a higher priority than preventing Israelis being murdered by them. And this is supposed to be the voice of western principle? Well, it’s certainly the voice of the Biden administration. Last Friday, it duly piled in. The State Department said: We strongly condemn Minister Ben-Gvir’s inflammatory comments on the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents of the West Bank. We condemn all racist rhetoric; as such messages are particularly damaging when amplified by those in leadership positions and are incongruent with advancing respect for human rights for all.     CONTINUE READING     Share This Email Share This Email VISIT OUR WEBSITE   Founded in 1897, ZOA played a key role in the Jewish State's re-establishment. Today, ZOA is the leading major American Jewish organization courageously defending Israel and the Jewish people; fighting against all forms of antisemitism, including anti-Jewish boycotts; and promoting the Jewish people's lawful right to live in and settle historic Jewish lands. ZOA exposes that a Palestinian state would endanger Israel's existence; presents the facts about the Arab/Islamic war against Israel; and combats the anti-Israel lie that Israel is an "occupier" of her own land. ZOA spearheaded long battles to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and apply civil rights protections to Jewish students. ZOA provides free legal assistance and programs to pro-Israel students at numerous college campuses. ZOA's bold, unapologetic voice has a significant impact on public discourse and policy. DONATE NOW Copyright © Zionist Organization of America 2023, All rights reserved. Zionist Organization of America | 633 Third Ave, 31 B, New York, NY 10017 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]