The unfathomable killing of George and the protests and then riots that it triggered are about America, and about deep-seated American fissures and unresolved issues.
By HERB KEINONA demonstrator holds a placard while protesters gather around an on fire entrance of a police station, as demonstrations continue after a white police officer was caught on a bystander's video pressing his knee into the neck of African-American man George Floyd, who later died at a hospital, in Minn(photo credit: REUTERS)
There are some countries out there – Iran, China, and Russia – likely taking joy in seeing American cities in flames.Some countries around the world who see the US as a hated rival, who view it as arrogant and too powerful and dream of seeing it brought down a notch, will look at Saturday night’s chilling images from Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New York and Washington with a degree of pleasure, a welcome sign of America’s decay. And that is what they wish for: America’s decay and decline.In some other countries – countries in the West who are traditional American allies but detest US President Donald Trump – there are certainly leaders who while they are certainly not glad to see this happen to America, are thinking that it was just a matter of time before the US would implode under this president. Though not happy about what is happening, they are unsurprised and even hopeful that the events will doom the president’s re-election chances in November.Israel fits neither of those categories.Rather, the Jewish state is looking at the recent developments in the US – from the massive toll taken by the coronavirus, to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, to the rioting in the streets – with the sadness one feels for a close friend battling a bad illness. You feel very bad for the suffering of your close friend, and wonder what – if anything – will change in that relationship when and if your friend gets better.Israel wants and needs a strong America. Israel wants and needs an America that is healthy at home and respected abroad. Israel does not want to see an America bleeding and torn apart internally. It doesn’t want to see this because Israel – unlike other actors in the world – genuinely wants to see America succeed, flourish and prosper.The US is Israel’s greatest friend. Friends wish for the other’s well being. Besides, a strong America, one overcoming rifts at home, and one whose economy is humming, will have the ability to be involved overseas. And it is definitely in Israel’s interest that America is involved overseas and in the Middle East. Because if the US is not there, other actors – far less benevolent than the US – will fill the vacuum.The unfathomable killing of Floyd and the waves of protests and then riots that it triggered are about America, and about deep-seated American fissures and unresolved issues.And while there are already those out there among the intersectionality set – those who see a link between injustice in one place and perceived injustices everywhere else – who will want to connect the dots between Minneapolis and Jerusalem, there is no connection. And any attempts to compare the situation of black Americans with that of the Palestinians need to be shot down immediately.And here is how the dots are connected: The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) tweeted on Thursday, “The Israeli military trains US police in racist and repressive policing tactics, which systematically targets black and brown bodies.”
Joint List MK Aida Touma-Sliman said, “For all those who are outraged about the murder in the United States, look closely — an entire nation is suffocating under occupation without being able to breathe.”And her colleague MK Ahmad Tibi, linking the Floyd killing to the tragic shooting death Saturday in Jerusalem of Iyad al-Halak, a 32-year old Palestinian student with special needs, whom Border Police apparently mistook for a terrorist, said “Minneapolis is here.”But, no, Minneapolis is not here. The situations are completely different. American blacks, unlike many Palestinians, do not see whites as usurpers on the American continent whom they hope, and actively struggle, to displace. Nor have American blacks rejected plan after plan that would have provided them with independence; nor have American blacks embarked on a wave of terror against whites; nor have the mainstream leaders of American blacks incited for terror against whites.There will be efforts to conflate the plight of African-Americans – the racism they face there – with the plight of the Palestinians, but the situations bear no similarity. And in the coming days Israeli spokespeople need to keep Palestinian supporters from usurping and hijacking the Floyd tragedy to bash Israel.One of the ways the Floyd tragedy and the events of the last few days could impact Israel would be if this intersectionality narrative – already popular with many on the radical Left – gains a significant foothold in the Democratic party.Another way in which the events unfolding right now in the US could impact Israel is whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will now want to go ahead with plans to extend Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.With the president now dealing with a pandemic, 40 million people out of work, a faltering economy, China threatening Hong Kong, and now American racial fissures erupting in riots across the country, does Netanyahu want to add this to issues the president will have to deal with?And make no mistake, if Israel does extend sovereignty, the president will be involved as he will be asked to defend Israel from international censure, and may have to deal with a diplomatic fallout from America’s Arab allies in the Middle East – such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia – as well as any ricochets from possible Palestinian violence.Trump is not going to have the bandwidth to deal with all that in the run-up to the November election. And, as such, will Netanyahu want to push the issue knowing that he might not be able to get the president’s focus?What is happening right now on the streets of America’s cities is not about Israel. But because America is such an important friend and ally, when it sneezes – to paraphrase the well-known saying – Israel may also get the shivers.
