By Weekly Worker
March 11, 2022:
Information Clearing House
-- Some errors,
such as Freudian slips, are instructive and
thought-provoking. On February 24, the day
Russia began its full-scale, barbarous invasion
of Ukraine, USA Today discovered that a
photo circulating widely in the social media,
and purporting to show a fiery blast and smoke
behind a pair of high-rise buildings near
Kharkiv, was not quite genuine.
The photo was real enough, but it was shot in
the Gaza Strip, during the May 2021 Israeli
bombardment of that besieged ghetto.1
This revealing mix-up (or hoax?) is used by the
Israeli-British leftwing historian, Ilan Pappé,
as an introduction to his excellent article
exposing the hypocrisy of the west’s political
elites and tame media.2
He draws “four lessons from Ukraine” under the
following sarcastic headings:
- White refugees are welcome; others less
so.
- You can invade Iraq, but not the
Ukraine.
- Sometimes neo-Nazism can be tolerated.
- Hitting high-rises is only a war crime
in Europe.
Among the ironic facts he mentions the
following two stand out:
- One of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s
first acts [in office] was to withdraw the
Ukraine from the United Nations Committee on
the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of
the Palestinian People - the only
international tribunal that makes sure the
Nakba is not denied or forgotten.
- The decision was initiated by the
Ukrainian president; he had no sympathy for
the plight of the Palestinian refugees, nor
did he consider them to be victims of any
crime. In his interviews after the last
barbaric Israeli bombardment of the Gaza
Strip in May 2021, he stated that the only
tragedy in Gaza was the one suffered by the
Israelis. If this is so, then it is only the
Russians who suffer in the Ukraine.
Let me add that, under a previous pro-Nato
government, Ukraine took part in the devastation
of Iraq.3
None of this is meant or should be allowed to
justify the mega-criminal Russian invasion. In
any case, our full solidarity is extended to
Ukraine’s people, not to its politicians. The
point is that condemning aggression and
oppression is hollow when it is selective.
Having drawn attention to Pappé’s article, I
would like to add here a few remarks regarding
Israel’s political conduct during the present
crisis.
Refugees
Israel makes a strict distinction between
Jewish and non-Jewish Ukrainians who arrive and
request to be let in. The former are admitted
according to the racist Law of Return, which
entitles them automatically to Israeli
citizenship.
In contrast, non-Jews are faced with
formidable hurdles. They are not granted refugee
status, but given short-term tourist visas. On
top of this, they are required to prove that
they have an Israeli relative who invited them;
if there is no such relative, they must prove
they would not settle in Israel. Moreover, the
host is required to deposit a surety of 10,000
shekels (£2,322) on the applicant’s behalf and,
if the latter is not a first-degree relative,
promise that they would leave the country within
a month. Unsurprisingly, very few have managed
to get through these barriers. (Following wide
criticism, the deposit requirement is currently
being reviewed.)
The reason behind this policy was made clear
by interior minister Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s
double-plus version of Priti Patel. She has
noted with alarm that over 90% of Ukrainians
arriving at Israel’s borders are not Jewish and
that the influx of non-Jewish refugees “cannot
go on”. The Israeli Immigration Policy Centre
has warned that an intake of non-Jewish refugees
threatens the Jewish state with a “ticking
demographic time bomb” - a persistent Zionist
nightmare.4
This anxiety is, however, relieved by the
prospect of an influx of between 100,000 and
200,000 Jewish immigrants from Ukraine and
Russia.
Cosy relations
Western observers have noted that Israel has
been dragging its feet in the matter of
condemnation of Russia’s aggression and the
sanctions imposed on it by the US and its camp
followers. In fact, Israel’s relationship with
Putin’s Russia has been quite cosy for the last
20 years - which may seem surprising, given
Israel’s position as a close ally and protégé of
the US.
This relationship is no doubt smoothed by the
large Israeli community of immigrants from
Russia, who have kept strong personal and
cultural ties with their country of origin.
Among them are some oligarchs - most notably
Putin’s confidant, Roman Abramovich, who is an
Israeli citizen and one of its top billionaires
(he holds Portuguese as well as Russian
citizenship).
But the main motive for Israel’s almost
friendly relations with Russia is strategic. It
has to do with Russia’s strong presence in
Syria, where it has helped the Assad regime to
stay in power and suppress its opponents: first
the leftwing opposition and then the various
reactionary Islamist insurgents. For Israeli
strategy, the most important aspect of Russia’
presence is its control of Syria’s airspace. For
many years, Israel has been conducting what it
calls a “campaign between the wars” (CBW): a
series of assassinations, intelligence raids and
low-level military operations short of a
full-scale war, designed to sustain and enhance
Israel’s regional strategic hegemony.
Among the main targets of the CBW are Iran
and its allies, especially the Lebanese
Hezbollah. An important part of these operations
are frequent raids by the Israeli airforce
against targets in Syria that include Iranian
troops and supply lines of military materials
and equipment to Hezbollah. But Israeli
incursions into Syria’s airspace require not
only Russia’s consent, but detailed
coordination.
This has been made perfectly evident by an
incident in September 2018, when Syrian defences
accidentally shot down a Russian IL-20 military
intelligence plane. The Syrians were attempting
to hit four Israeli Lockheed Martin F-16
fighters that were attacking Syrian targets; the
Russian plane got in the way, because its pilot
was unaware of the Israeli planes’ presence in
that vicinity.
Since then, Russia requires precise Israeli
notification of its intended raids into Syria.
(A good question: why does Russia allow Israel
to do as it pleases in Syria? The answer is that
Russia is concerned to preserve the Assad
regime; but it is not too keen on allowing Iran
too much influence in Syria, which could rival
its own.)
Following the Russian assault on Ukraine,
Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett, has
been able to leverage his unique position as a
close ally of the US, as well as a regular
interlocutor with Russia: he has volunteered to
serve as peace mediator. This is a somewhat
risky gamble: it may raise his domestic and
international profile and prestige, but it could
attract criticism for cosying up to Putin.
Bennett is no doubt aware of the risks and he
will keep the Americans closely informed of his
talks with Putin.
He will continue so long as Biden and his
advisors are interested in keeping open this
side channel of communication with their Russian
adversary.
-
eu.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/02/24/fact-check-gaza-strip-not-ukraine-pictured-explosion-photo/6922317001.↩︎
- ‘Navigating our humanity: Ilan
Pappé on the four lessons from Ukraine’
Palestine Chronicle March 4 2022:
www.palestinechronicle.com/navigating-our-humanity-ilan-pappe-on-the-four-lessons-from-ukraine.↩︎
- There were up to 1,650
Ukrainian soldiers in Iraq from 2003 to
2008. See Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-National_Force_–_Iraq.↩︎
- Ha’aretz March 6 2022:
www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium-israeli-minister-90-of-ukrainians-refugees-are-non-jews-situation-cannot-go-on-1.10655497.↩︎
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