My German relatives are outraged at the behavior of Israel towards the Palestinians.
They honestly believe that the Israelis are Nazis and the Palestinians are "more sinned against than sinning". They want Israel to return to the pre-1948 borders.
I sometimes remind them that the Germans of Konigsberg (Kaliningrad) have at least as good a claim to their historical homeland.
Germans pooh pooh that suggestion saying that Germany was the aggressor and deserved to pay a price for its defeat.
And there in a nutshell is one of the consequences of not knowing history.
But I suspect that if they knew the facts, Germans would still find a reason to blame the Jews.
We shouldn't forget the fellow travelers of the left-wing antisemitic bigots; the New York Times, CNN and too many mainstream media outlets. They've knowingly amplified the message of the bigots. They've done so because they've been infiltrated by graduates of journalism schools and other programs at elite universities where the hatred of Jews and their homelands (mostly Israel and the United States) is gestated.
Yes, it has been atrocious and its atrocious for a reason. The mainstream media no longer views impartial presentation of the news as either virtuous or an attractive business model. Instead, advocacy journalism is their new model and the positions they advocate for are the positions that their recent hires learned to cherish at the knees of their professors at elite American universities.
There are only two ways to solve this problem, or only two that I can think of. Journalism needs to return to its historical roots as mostly a working class profession pursued by gum-shoed reporters as opposed to highly educated Ivy League brats. The transition began after Watergate when Woodward and Bernstein were hailed as heroes which motivated highly educated college kids to seek to emulate them.
Alternatively the political orientation of American institutions of higher education needs to change. Trump is trying to accomplish that but it's not pretty and, as in all wars, there will be collateral damage. These institutions will fight him tooth and nail. If the colleges and universities win, they will continue to graduate too many kids who are taught to hate Jews and Israel. If Trump wins, things may evolve in a better way.
My German relatives are outraged at the behavior of Israel towards the Palestinians.
They honestly believe that the Israelis are Nazis and the Palestinians are "more sinned against than sinning". They want Israel to return to the pre-1948 borders.
I sometimes remind them that the Germans of Konigsberg (Kaliningrad) have at least as good a claim to their historical homeland.
Germans pooh pooh that suggestion saying that Germany was the aggressor and deserved to pay a price for its defeat.
And there in a nutshell is one of the consequences of not knowing history.
But I suspect that if they knew the facts, Germans would still find a reason to blame the Jews.
I don’t doubt that.
We shouldn't forget the fellow travelers of the left-wing antisemitic bigots; the New York Times, CNN and too many mainstream media outlets. They've knowingly amplified the message of the bigots. They've done so because they've been infiltrated by graduates of journalism schools and other programs at elite universities where the hatred of Jews and their homelands (mostly Israel and the United States) is gestated.
That’s definitely a valid point. For instance, their coverage of the Gaza War has been atrocious.
Yes, it has been atrocious and its atrocious for a reason. The mainstream media no longer views impartial presentation of the news as either virtuous or an attractive business model. Instead, advocacy journalism is their new model and the positions they advocate for are the positions that their recent hires learned to cherish at the knees of their professors at elite American universities.
There are only two ways to solve this problem, or only two that I can think of. Journalism needs to return to its historical roots as mostly a working class profession pursued by gum-shoed reporters as opposed to highly educated Ivy League brats. The transition began after Watergate when Woodward and Bernstein were hailed as heroes which motivated highly educated college kids to seek to emulate them.
Alternatively the political orientation of American institutions of higher education needs to change. Trump is trying to accomplish that but it's not pretty and, as in all wars, there will be collateral damage. These institutions will fight him tooth and nail. If the colleges and universities win, they will continue to graduate too many kids who are taught to hate Jews and Israel. If Trump wins, things may evolve in a better way.