Osama Bin Gibson?

By Kanrei I am not sure what is worse: Mel Gibson’s “freak out” or everyone’s apparent lack of caring. His slurs are nothing new to me or any other Jewish person. Jewish jokes are considered harmless. Even Jews tell them and usually better. What bothers me is a growing global attitude towards anti-Semitic things. The problem did not start as being anti-Jew, but rather started as being anti-Israel. Israel is simply a nation, and they do good things and do horrible things. People will support them, and people will oppose them. Opposing Israel should not mean opposing Jews. One is a faith and the other is a country. Those on left will yell that anyone who opposes Israel is labeled an anti-Semite. They take great offense to the label inspite of the fact that they address their anger towards Jews and not Israelis. I am not saying they are anti-Semitic at all, but they need to realize the impression they create. I oppose Bush and support gay marriage, but I always respond with “just as you label anyone against gay marriage a homophobe or anyone who supports Bush a fascist”. Hypocrisy knows no sides. One can turn on the news any day of the last few weeks and see a subtle anti-Israeli slant occurring. For example, it is fairly easy to hear about Lebanese victims (this information is usually in the head lines of a story), but there is only mention of rockets being launched into Israel. The Israeli innocents are given less value than the Lebanese innocent victims. The media has, in an attempt to seem fair and balanced, forgotten there are innocents on both sides. It is all Israel’s fault, and Lebanon is completely innocent in the matter. However, I am not justifying Israel’s actions at all. I have felt they have gone too far and, much like Bush as done in Iraq, Israel has created circumstances that will only strengthen Hezbollah. The report today of sixty dead innocent people in Lebanon probably just created 120 new recruits. Israel started off correctly. They were invaded, had soldiers killed, and two others kidnapped. They had to respond and one or two days of rockets in the very southern part of Lebanon was a message. They should have let Lebanon try and do something about Hezbollah. If Beirut was unable or unwilling, then Israel could invade. This current path they are on just appears like bullying. While not defending Israel’s actions, because I am Jewish, I am expected to. While not defending Israel’s actions, statements like "F*****g Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." only serve to put people like me on the defensive. We suddenly find ourselves defending Israel because we have been lumped in with the Israelis based on our common faith. Are all Christians represented by the Vatican? Then why should all Jews be held accountable for Israel’s actions? I am American and Jewish. I have no loyalty to Israel. I have been there. There was no “home” feeling there. All my thirteen-year-old eyes could see were guys with guns everywhere: guns bigger than I was. We even went to the Lebanese border. Everywhere you looked, you knew you were in a country that was not only constantly in war, but it was their national past time. I was turned off right then and there. It takes two sides to make a fight. Both sides have to be really into it for a fight to grow as this one has. If the press is stressing that the terrorists do not represent most Muslims, where is the same statement defending those non-Israeli Jews? Mel Gibson is blaming his outburst on the fact that he was drunk. The problem with that is that being drunk does not make you say things you do not believe: it only makes it easier to say those things you think, but never say. I personally do not care if Gibson is anti-Semitic or not. My issues with him as a film maker are that I do not enjoy torture. His views on my faith mean nothing to me. Try and think of a Gibson movie that does not have a major torture scene. (Lethal Weapon? Mad Max? Payback? Braveheart? Passions?) However, blaming the Jews for “all the wars in the world” is nothing more than justification of prior hate. Everyone else who has said something similar should examine their own biases.