MARTIN AMIS ON ISRAEL
In an interview in the Independent, British writer Martin Amis makes some noteworthy observations about Israel, Palestinians and the British Left: I know it’s a great tradition of the British left to support Palestine, but when you come up against this question, you can feel the intelligence and balance leaving the hall with a shriek, and people getting into this endocrinal state about Israel. I just don’t understand it. The Jews have a much, much worse history than the Palestinians, and in living memory. But there’s just no impulse of sympathy for that . . . I know we’re supposed to be grown up about it and not fling around accusations of anti-Semitism, but I don’t see any other explanation. It’s a secularised anti-Semitism. For a writer who’s supposed to be too obsessed with dazzling word-play to make a point, Amis gets to the heart of this matter with surgical legibility. And for a public figure who’s been excoriated for supposedly racist remarks, he seems to have a pretty firm grasp on the insidious pathways of genuine prejudice. In fact, Amis’ great gift to the discussion of culture and religion in a post-9/11 world is his ability to expose the moral tourism of the left and redirect their accusations at the proper solid targets.Martin Amis on Israel (Commentary)
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