The True Meaning of Civilization; and the Backwardness of Anti-Semitism Accusations

"“The more I see of what you call civilization, the more highly I think of what you call savagery!”

Metaphors for Civilization

This morning I opened my Instagram to see a clip of a man in Gaza, setting free a Kingfisher that had become trapped in some netting, to the accompaniment of a meditation upon lives lost, the souls of his martyred loved ones ascending to heaven; this celestial ascendance captured somehow in the arc of the kingfishers trajectory, the sweep of its wing, its flash of blue as it flew upwards in freedom.

The first comment I saw underneath this clip was: “and meanwhile “Israeli’s” throw kittens off balconies” in reference to the group of “Israeli” teenage boys who casually tossed a kitten from a balcony - mere afternoon entertainment for their bored, privileged group of typical “Israeli” teenagers.

Palestinians look upwards – to the divine, celestial, spiritual and elevated – while the “Israeli’s” in contrast, are tied to the lowly, base, ignoble and mean-spirited in life. This is just one example of a trend that we have seen countless times over the past 19 months, as both societies have been exposed; both frequently characterized, through the propaganda machine of Western media, in ways that contradict what we see with our own eyes.

Despite the Zionist lobby having almost unfettered control over the media institutions of the West and not allowing unbiased journalists into “Israel”, and despite us constantly being told that Palestinians are terrorists and worse – the evidence on our screens has sharply contradicted this.

The representatives of “Israel” on our TV screens from Tzipi Hotovely to Avi Hyman, Fleur Hassan to Sharren Haskel, are seen arguing in the crudest of terms, employing the most basic language and shouting over as well as cutting off other guests; in contrast, the Palestinian representatives have shown a dignified restraint – despite many of them having had multiple family members slaughtered by “Israel” - from Mustafa Barghouti to Mohammed El-Kurd, from Diana Buttu to Husam Zomlot, you will see calm, measured, civilized discourse.

If you have not observed this difference, I forgive you - there is still time to make an assessment and use your own brain rather than the lines you are fed. Two contrasting attitudes towards discourse and debate, towards meaning and discussion - and towards life and creation itself. One encapsulating respect, dignity and humanity; the other filled with invective, violence, ugliness and accusation – even when the accusation should be all on the Palestinians side.

Gaza, which has been under a watertight siege for 2 months, allowing in no food or medical supplies while undergoing a bombardment that is the heaviest in history, with the equivalent of two nuclear weapons over an area of 360 square kilometres which is the size of the tiny besieged area of land known as the Gaza Strip (Hiroshima was 900 square km). Its population is 50% children.

“Israel’s” military campaign that is covered over by the flimsiest web of lies about Hamas, but that is really about pure bloodlust, revenge and colonial land grab - has reduced Gaza to rubble and devastation, and brutalized its population in myriad ways, which have escalated beyond imagination even in recent days.

Yet amongst all this we constantly see glimpses of a bittersweet beauty and depth of feeling in its people that can only be described as the true manifestation of “civilization” – in its purest form. For what is civilization?

It is described in the Oxford online dictionary as: “the stage of human social and cultural development and organization that is considered most advanced” and of course this is somewhat subjective because “advanced” could mean anything from advanced and sophisticated weaponry and military development to economic growth and expansion, even if it comes at the expense of others.

But really, we know what civilization is – because we recognize it in others. It is the internalization of learning to advance our inner development and become better people; it is the tempering of our souls. It isn’t violence using more sophisticated weaponry, because violence is the most primitive and unevolved form of human behaviour and “communication”.

“Israel”, as an expert in violence – dropping 200 lb bombs on a civilian population – is the most antithetical to civilization that you will find on this planet, closely seconded by the US with its penchant for glossy and slick, manufactured image management even whilst it supplies the bombs to decimate a tiny defenceless population and blusters about the world like the swaggering school bully, ever desperate to lay its greedy hands on the resources of other countries.

Palestinian art is replete with images of oppression and symbols depicting a longing for freedom

Civilization and Anti-semitism

I have written about this dubious equation elsewhere but the recent statement by “Netanhayhu” and the ongoing disingenuous alignment of “Israel” with civilization through the conflation with Judaism, by some Western establishment “intellectuals” compels me to unpick it here once again.

Recently, award winning journalist and writer Jonathan Cook wrote a piece on how “acclaimed” public intellectuals e.g. historians and writers like Simon Schama, Simon Sebag Montefiore and Howard Jacobson have been platformed by Western media to smear those who oppose genocide, as “anti-semitic”.

“Israel” has been accused of genocide by the ICJ and “Israeli” historians such as Amos Goldberg have unambiguously stated that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide, and yet these supposedly “acclaimed” historians have appeared on public platforms not to condemn the genocide but to deflect from it with false narratives on how the “taboo” on anti-semitism is in danger of being broken. Anti-genocide activists who are mobilized into speaking out by livestreamed images of children being killed, are apparently anti-semitic and guilty of “blood libel”.

Schama has attacked Louis Theroux for simply allowing the West Bank settlers to express who they really are on camera, which reminds me of social media platforms like Linkedin banning any posts that expose Zionist hate filled rants for all to see, as “hate speech”. Yes - if you showcase the “Israeli” behaviours of murderous, psychotic sociopathy for others to see, you are guilty of “hate speech” and blood libel. If you feel angry about children being slaughtered in Gaza, you are anti-semitic – so you had better shut up about it.

Not only are you being antisemitic, but you are aligned with terrorists, and your indignation and moral rebuke is a mistake and sign of being “uncivilized’ by Western standards as defined by these esteemed intellectuals, rightly called “moral ghouls” by Cook. Indeed, if you point out that there has been a siege on Gaza since 2005, a very clever man like Schama will tell you that Gaza has not been occupied since 2005.

Maybe it’s time to stop trusting Western establishment “intellectuals” and use your own brain to figure out the truth. People like Jacobson, Schama and Montefiore lazily use accusations of anti-semitism, blood libel and the conflation of “Israel” with civilization, in order to justify the mass killing of children, so their credentials of intellect mean absolutely fuck all if they haven’t internalized their knowledge in order to understand right from wrong, to become morally discerning and thus to be truly civilized – and the benchmark of that civilization is categorically not the West, no matter what you might like to think.

“Netanyahu’s” statement was: ““This is a war of civilisation over barbarism. Israel will continue to defend itself by just means until total victory is achieved”. The continued wholesale slaughter of men, women, children; lining them up in streets to be killed, raping and sodomizing them in prison - is all defined by “Israel” as not only self-defence, but as representing the values of “civilization” over barbarism.

The false equation of civilization with any action by “Israel” just because of the Holocaust seventy years ago, that the BBC still likes to prioritize over footage of what is happening in Gaza right now, is one that must be unpicked and challenged at every turn.

It has in fact become profoundly regressive to cry anti-semitism – at every turn; it is backward and lazy, and equivalent today, to saying: “I support genocide”.

A New World Order of True Civilization

It is the dinosaurs of today who cling to the outdated models of colonialism and imperialism. Even Trump, disruptor of narratives, a “leader” who lurches about the world stage making contradictory statements and amassing billions for his Trump family fund, making deals left, right and centre, clamping down on free speech and anything critical of “Israel”, and yet dealmaking with those maligned by the West, somehow understands this as he attempts to portray himself as a man who can speak with anybody, and who can bring peace to the Middle East.

There is something potentially progressive and radical about making deals with entities formerly maligned as terrorists by the West (such as Hamas and the Houthi’s) and publicly snubbing “Israel” – however, seen within the broader context of Trumps aggressive, authoritarian dictatorship stance with respect to silencing any dissent at home, his approach is far from progressive, it is as backward as his predecessors, his “deals” serving only to amass personal wealth and bolster his ego (he has expressed a desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize).

This blend of aggression, duplicity and pretensions to being a peacemaker are as regressive as the “Israeli’s” who like to showcase LGBT rights while bombing women and children in refugee tents, who similarly nominate the likes of sociopathic West Bank settler “Godmother” Daniella Weiss for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The democrats with their pretence of adhering to the rule-based order whilst facilitating “Israel’s” uncivilized and brutal conduct in the Gaza, were not much better, they were also dinosaurs of colonialism and imperialism, a world order based on brute force and domination of other countries.

No, the truly progressive and deserving of the title of civilized within the tumultuous times we are living in, are the Yemeni Houthi’s who attacked Red Sea shipping lanes whilst minimising any human casualties, in order to make a stand for Palestine, exhibiting dignity, pride and courage.

The harbingers of a new world order are men like Ibrahim Traore, the leader of Burkina Faso (who rightly referred to Africa as the “cradle of civilization”). These are people who stand up for their people, throw off the shackles of the West and state categorically that they will not kneel, they will take control of their destiny and they will stand up to Western military power on principle.

We need a world order that is multi-polar, decentralized and free of dictatorships and media strangleholds on the truth; one that does not bow to the military might of the US that has dominated the world stage for decades, brutalizing other countries with relentless aggression, and with the help of their imperialist partners the UK, France, Germany and Canada amongst others.

The world order that would represent a real turning of the tide and a truly global shift in consciousness, one that represents a better world for the young people of today, is one where the West is no longer seen as arbiter of all meaning; and one where the countries of the Global South reclaim their independence, assert their regional power and use their own resources for their people. It is a world of equality, respect and value. It is true civilization.