Thread by @ZlazlojZlizlek, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀 [...]

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰.

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: I am not talking about old school communism of the 20th century. I am not talking about totalitarianism. Nor am I talking about a new utopian form of government. I write about what’s happening in the here and now.

If last year someone had classified the policies of [Chancellor of Germany] Angela Merkel and [President of France] Emmanuel Macron in the time of the epidemic as a socio-political working plan, they’d have faced these accusations: “You’re a Communist!

You’re crazy! You’re out of your mind!” Boris Johnson temporarily nationalized the railroads. There are those who classify this as a social-democratic policy.

No. It’s much more that. Even [US President Donald] Trump transferred billions of dollars to the public.

He issued calls to take over the private sector insofar as medical supplies are concerned. If [former president Barack] Obama would have made that sort of statement, the Republicans would have exploded in anger.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: When governments decide to purchase ventilators and distribute masks and support citizens with billions of dollars — this is a new situation, uncharted waters. These funds will never be returned to the government and everyone knows it.

Governments have realized that they can’t ignore their citizens and continue on with the existing system.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺.

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: A capitalist system that believes the situation is temporary and requires unique actions, but believes that soon enough we will revert to the old policies, is mistaken.

The “new normal” is going to be different. We’ll have to live more fragile lives, accompanied by constant threat.

I agree with the philosopher Bruno Latour who has argued that the present health crisis is not rooted in its own independent crisis, but rather is part of a continuing and irreversible process of ecological change.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘂𝘀, 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸,

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀?

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: The cooperation that I’m talking about does not come from a naïve place, but from the egotistical interests of each country. Solidarity as a means of survival. Even America can be saved only if it cooperates with the rest of the world.

I heard that a textile factory in Gaza has started mass producing face masks and that some of the products are being sold in Israel. This is a win-win for both sides.

My friend [Israeli filmmaker] Udi Aloni told me that leaders among Palestinian citizens of Israel were being viewed favorably by the Israeli public because they, unlike the government, advocated openly for humanitarian solidarity.

They looked out for workers, small businesses, and the privacy and rights of the individual that were trampled by the measures put in place to combat corona — and they did so irrespective of the individual’s ethnicity and national identity.

And the incredible thing is that the leadership, [head of the Joint List MK] Ayman Odeh and [Hadash MK] Aida Touma-Sliman, come from a decidedly communist background. It made me very happy that they could take the old communism to a new place.

The best example these days is to check out Udi Aloni’s brilliant film, “Why Is We Americans?” on the black Marxist family of Amiri Baraka as a background for the current demonstrations. There you can see loud and clear the evolution of revolutionary ideas from 1967 to 2020.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗼-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸?

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: How did communism survive after the 20th century and reinvent itself?

Let’s remove from the equation the strange forms that have manifested in North Korea and Cuba, and what remains is a unique blend of authoritarian communism and capitalism at its most ruthless. For instance, Vietnam and China. For me, this sort of communism is over and done.

So don’t talk to me about this communism.

The epidemic is a variation of the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique. We need catastrophe in order to be able to think anew about the society in which we live.

Since I first mentioned this in writing, the simile has become more realistic. When nations need to end the quarantines and to open up society again, they have no idea what to do.

𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘡𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘬’𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 “𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦,” 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 “𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 2,”

𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦, 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 (𝘜𝘮𝘢 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 (𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘦) 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘪 𝘔𝘦𝘪,

𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯, 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 — 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴

, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘵. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴.

A few days ago my wife and I saw a British TV series called “Doc Martin.” I almost cried. You know why? The daily routine — of leaving the house, of meeting people freely, is almost impossible nowadays. Basic human relations cannot be taken for granted.

Ask yourself how will they make films nowadays? Will they abide by distancing rules? What we think of now as daily routine will change to nostalgia.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗳𝘂𝗹.

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: We are in the midst of a unique historical moment. We will have to invent a new way of life, new rituals. I did not only criticize the American demonstrators who called for the end of the closures, which may cost lives, but also understood their distress.

They are in a tragic position. The life that they knew will not return. Both the left and the right don’t understand the reality of the epidemic, and refuse to accept the full consequences of it.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂?

I’m trying to write in a more naive and popular way than in the past. I think it is now time to turn to people.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆?

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: Humanism was always a part of me. When people talked about revolution, I said that the moment when hundreds of thousands of protestors stood on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul or in Syntagma Square in Athens doesn’t interest me.

What does interest me is the way that lives of ordinary people will change after such events.

That has been my main focus, to respect the ordinary person — one who is immersed in the daily struggle to survive: looking for work, for money to pay school tuition for his children. His problems are not communism or any other ideology.

When I speak of the changes in our lives due to the epidemic, those topics can cause me to panic. Will there be enough food in the world, for everyone? When a famine does occur, how will we work together?

We are only at the beginning of the climate crisis, in which there will be huge consequences. What will the morning after look like?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿.

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: I don’t think that the primary threat is a regression to barbarism and survivalist violence.

I fear a “human-faced barbarism” — a survival through inhuman means forced upon us regretfully and even with sympathy, based upon the advice of experts, along with messages that undermine the cornerstone of our social ethics.

For example, how do we deal with the elderly and the feeble? They must be helped without terms and without consideration of the costs.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀

“𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵”;

𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵; 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀?

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: Then we live in despair.

You know what I’m afraid of? To live many years in complete isolation, a world in which you dream all the time, watch Netflix for hours, and lose all sense of time. This will be a real possibility if we do not find a way of coping with the situation.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗜𝗻 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗-𝟭𝟵,

𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆’𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘂𝘀.

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: Intelligence agencies don’t need the corona virus as an excuse to keep tabs on us. They do it anyway. We live in a digital age, smartphones, internet. That world has control over us. It has to be regulated by the public.

I will tell you something that may sound absurd: the dominance already exists; it just has to undergo a transformation. It must be made transparent, so that people know when they are being followed.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁, 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗕𝗗𝗦) 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗨𝗞 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗝𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗺𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗯𝘆𝗻,

𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰. 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆,

𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗷𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗱 “𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲.”

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: He sent off a tweet in which he compared the closure of Gaza to the concentration camps, and now he wants to shirk it and direct the fire at me and blame me. That’s absurd!

This is a manipulative reading of my text by an anti-Semitic right-wing populist leader. Of course, the comparison is unreasonable, a continuum of lies.

I wrote that “Work Makes You Free” is a good motto that was distorted by the Nazis. When they put those words on the gates to Auschwitz, it was brutal sarcasm.

Yes, creative work can free you, help you realize your potential. But the Nazis used this motto to justify the most inhuman of actions.

I do not see in the closures that countries have put in place as a form of totalitarianism. Today you self-quarantine in order to protect your life and that of others. In Auschwitz you were forcefully imprisoned and then they killed you.

What does he think, that they told the Jews, “Work and then you’ll go home,” and the Jews said, “No, we’re staying here in Auschwitz?”

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹: 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿.

𝗭𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗸: To accuse me of anti-Semitism is a pure manipulation of racist, right-wing propaganda in order to silence our support of progressive Jews.

Starting with my first book I devoted dozens of pages to the examination of all sorts of anti-Semitism as a form and model of racism. My fight against anti-Semitism is one and the same with my battle for the rights of the Palestinians.

I’ve always underscored that in Europe anti-Semitism is alive and kicking. The extreme right-wing parties in Europe, which support Israel in its fight against the Palestinians, want the Jews to live in Israel and not in Europe.

Even the terrible Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik said, “I support Israel against the Arabs, but here there are too many Jews and they have to get out of here.”

The odds are that someone who supports Israel has a far greater chance of being an anti-Semite than the opposite.

Down through the ages, Judaism was perceived as an almost radical idea. As opposed to other peoples who had a homeland, the Jews had no territory for hundreds of years.

The model of a people drawn together and defined by a system of values, by culture and not by land — in my eyes this is a humanist idea.

Therefore, the Jews had a great role in the Enlightenment in Europe and also in the socialist and communist revolutions. Without them Europe would not have achieved what it did.

Instead of us becoming like the Jews, the Zionist Jews have become just like us.

In other words, the identity of Israeli Jews is connected absolutely to territory and as things stand now, this identity is defined by a territory in which they see themselves — as per Israeli law — as a race enjoying privileges over the natives.

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