Striking Jews at their pockets -- a failed idea

I am so grateful this could not happen again. In 1946, General Sir Evelyn Hugh Barker was appointed general officer commanding of the British forces in Palestine, some two years before Israel was founded. On July 25 of that year, after the Jewish insurgency reached a peak, he issued a prohibition on making transactions with Jews. His order was succinct and to the point, owing to his stature. "These measures ... will be punishing the Jews in a way the race dislikes as much as any, by striking at their pockets and showing our contempt of them."

As the order smacked of familiar anti-Semitic vitriol, it generated a firestorm in the British House of Commons. The English know how to call a spade a spade. In this case, the spade was anti-Semitism. The British high command, having realized that Barker's conduct was unacceptable, would ultimately have him stationed elsewhere.

Luckily, a similar order would be unthinkable in our era.

To be clear, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is no anti-Semite. Far from it. Perhaps his recent comments about the boycott on Israel were not meant as a threat. Maybe he just wanted to "commentate." But he is U.S. President Barack Obama's secretary of state and his words carry extra meaning.

Ostensibly, he just offered his own take on the unfolding reality. But by doing so, he entered a minefield rampant with imagery of Jews feeling the pinch in their pockets because of their independent policies; how dare they cater to their own interests. To put it mildly, Kerry was like a hippopotamus who decided to stretch in a glassmaker's workshop. Moreover, he stopped short of disavowing the efforts to boycott Israel.

The Obama administration would probably concede that Israel knows better than anyone else what's best for it and that Israelis should decide on their own fate, even if the White House has a different agenda. (Let's not forget Obama's stellar record on Mideast issues as of late.)

The bottom line is that the government of Israel is the one who has to call the shots when it comes to our lives. Threatening to hurt Jewish pockets -- Israelis believe this is reminiscent of some of the most unpleasant chapters in history -- shows a certain level of wrongheadedness. If this is any indication of U.S. officials' judgment, it is quite troubling to think what they have in mind on other issues.

The fact that the Americans are carrying a big stick as they seek to make progress on the peace process might come off as extortion, even though that is not their intention. "A gun to the head," as one minister said. Of course, this is a misperception, but such behavior on the part of the highest authority should set off alarm bells. If a certain Israeli minister were in the Obama cabinet, he probably would have said that the president has lost his moral marbles.

טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו