Israel/Palestine
In reply to the discussion: Comparing Nazis to Israelis is unacceptable [View all]Behind the Aegis
(53,956 posts)You will be hard pressed to find so-called progressives and liberals commenting in the affirmative, too many actually approve of this type of rhetoric and use it (see post #1 in this very thread!). I also don't like when Jews and/or Israelis use this type of rhetoric when discussing the Israeli-Arab conflicts. I find it counter-productive, but it is the only time other liberals and progressives will come to my side in agreement. I view this situation the same way I do when it comes to the "war of words" in regards to sexist, racist, and homophobic remarks. There is a difference between calling a black person a "nigger" and a white person a "cracker." Both are racist terms, but the former carries much more gravitas than the latter. Why? One word: HISTORY.
So how do the two situations relate? Using Holocaust imagery by those who were affected is much different, then using said imagery against those affected or Israel, itself. So, while I was not impressed by Lieberman's (of Israel) comments about the EU, I find what Leunig (and those like him) massively more offensive. The situation in Israel doesn't even remotely approach Nazi Germany's actions, anymore then Ahmadinejad is the equal of Hitler. But, the latter is less offensive then the former for the same reason in the above racist word analogy: history!