Israel, Eugenics, The Past and Future

For years they wandered, desperate to be at home in their God-given land.  Despite constantly being at the mercy of cruel, tyrannical leaders, they tried to live lives of dignity.  Above all else, they were certain that they were God’s chosen people and that eventually, the land they loved would belong to them.  The trials were nearly insurmountable – the cruelty, the massacres, the camps – but finally, these people got their nation.  Finally, they were free.

Unfortunately, that freedom came at the expense of their neighbors.  And instead of empathizing with their newfound subjects, the people who had so longed for their own nation became the very thing they most despised: the oppressors, the occupying force.

Does any of this sound familiar?

While I’m speaking of South Africa’s Afrikaaner community now, this description could just as easily suffice for Israel’s Jews, their unparalleled hardships followed soon after by their own suppression of Palestinians.  Throughout history in fact, there seems to be a nasty tendency amongst victimized groups to react to their newfound liberation not with grace and humility, but rather with oppression, hostility, and often brutality. The examples are everywhere: the Hutu of Rwanda, Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party in Iraq, and of course, the Afrikaaners of South Africa, the authors of Apartheid legislation.

So, where does Israel stand in this equation?  Surely, they’re not as ruthless as the perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide (understatement of the year) or Saddam’s murderous regime, but are they on par with South Africa’s Afrikaaners?  Has their victimhood been twisted and manipulated so badly that it’s now they who are the racist oppressors?

The short answer: No.

However, they may be headed in that direction, especially if wackos like this guy get their way.  Scarier than what he says is the fact that, although I call him a wacko, most people call him Professor Kramer.  At Harvard.

What he’s dispensing is purely eugenics.  If you’re unfamiliar with the dogma, let me put it this way: Josef Mengele was a big fan.  It’s a disgusting sociopolitical philosophy that goes against everything people have been taught regarding equality and social decency.

Sadly, that hasn’t perturbed Kramer or those of his ilk.  And don’t forget that Kramer gave these remarks at February’s Herzliya Conference, Israel’s preeminent political soiree.  As Cole writes, “Kramer is after all not nobody.”  He’s a respected and connected American agent of the Israeli far-right, and as it turns out, his racist views are growing ever popular, especially among the next generation.

Consider this poll.  In early March, it revealed that half of all Israeli teens opposed equal rights for Israeli Arabs.  That’s right, they felt fellow citizens of Israel should have reduced rights in the country they share.  (Cut to South Africa…)  21 percent even felt “Death to Arabs” was a perfectly legitimate expression.

In short, I worry if Israel will continue on this road.  There is a deep undercurrent of hate and racism lying beneath the surface in this country, and I fear it will only lead to more pain, more deaths, and more war.

I’ll leave you with one final note.  As a wide-eyed new arrival on Taglit-Birthright, I overheard one of our accompanying soldiers recite an Arabic phrase.  Ever eager, I asked him to repeat it – pen in hand – hoping to learn a useful phrase or possibly obtain some much-needed wisdom.  Laughing, he turned to me, repeated the phrase and then went on to state its English equivalent.  As he did, my grip loosened, my smile faded, and I felt sick.  “Every dog has its day,” he said to laughter.

Sam Melamed is a Masa participant, participating in Career Israel, one of Masa Israel‘s 160 programs.