Michael Douglas Defends Zionist Apartheid.

Douglas and family in Israel. Great times, great food. No Palestinians please.

By Richard Mellor

Afscme Local 444, retired

I read the LA Times Op Ed piece that Michael Douglas wrote after his son was harassed by an anti-Semite in Southern Europe.  Apparently Douglas’ son went to the hotel swimming pool and was wearing a Star of David necklace. One report I read had him wearing a Star of David tee shirt I’m not sure which it was.

Either way, Douglas said he went to the pool and an attendant pointed out the individual who had insulted his boy. Douglas had words with the man, “It was not a pleasant discussion,” he writes.

I have not been able to find out what the man said to Douglas’ son as Douglas doesn’t mention it and after an attempt to find it I gave up.  I have no idea whether it was anti-Semitic or not.

Douglas goes on to condemn anti-Semitism and gives reasons for why it arises.  One of the root causes of anti-Semitism he writes, “ …..derives from an irrational and misplaced hatred of Israel. Far too many people see Israel as an apartheid state and blame the people of an entire religion for what, in truth, are internal national-policy decisions.”

Firstly, it is not anti-Semitic to criticize Israel. Douglas has his son wear a symbol that is associated with one of the most brutal, racist regimes in the world that is indeed an Apartheid state.  His son is a victim of Douglas’ own failures.

Defenders of the Zionist regime like Douglas (I would bet he donates cash too) like to equate anger and disgust at its brutal policies with the traditional anti-Semitism that was so prominent in Europe for centuries. He points to the large Muslim population in Europe and how they have an extremist fringe that is fueling European anti-Semitism rather than teaching “respect, tolerance and love”.  But the European Muslim’s anger at Jews is not the same as traditional European anti-Semitism.
Check out the former Israeli soldier on video here

Douglas correctly points to the innocent victims in the” kosher shop” in Paris and of course such acts should be condemned.  What do they have to do, “….with Israeli-Palestinian policies or the building of settlements 2,000 miles away?”

In any situation like this, those that hate Jews simply because they are Jews will use the Zionists regime’s brutality as cover for their anti-Semitism, and some others simply confuse the two and blame all Jews regardless. 

But Douglas has some responsibility here.  Unfortunately, the Star of David has been tainted, has been made dirty as a symbol of the Zionists, their racism, ethnic cleansing and theft of land, just as the Swastika, an historic symbol of peace, good luck and other such things has been tainted by Nazism. I grew up in England, I would not have received hugs and kisses wandering around with a Union Jack tee shirt in some Catholic areas during the troubles in Northern Ireland.  This symbol has a history as the symbol of the colonizers; the Irish Republicans referred to it as the Butchers Apron such was the violence committed by those who wore it. Zionism, once a fringe movement, runs counter to centuries of progressive Jewish history.

I wonder would Douglas have suggested Nazi or Stalinist or the South African Apartheid regime’s polices were simply, “internal national-policy decisions.”

The problem here is Douglas.  It is a shame that the Star of David has become the symbol of a repressive racist regime.  Douglas, took his son to Jerusalem for his bar mitzvah last year. Perhaps Douglas should take him to the Occupied Territories or Gaza, or see if he can take him to see the Israeli prisons full of Palestinian children. He visits such a regime and keeps his mouth shut about its activities. There are many Jews inside Israel and outside it that condemn the regime’s policies and it seems that finally after the last slaughter in Gaza there are some cracks opening up among British and US Jews around support for Israel.  Israel acts in all their names and if people like Douglas want to allow that then he must accept the consequences. Douglas comes from Eastern European family and is American.  He has no defensible claim to land in the Middle East.

Unfortunately, too many powerful and influential Jews openly support and finance this regime (along with the US taxpayer) or remain silent in the face of its atrocities.  The best way to safeguard Jews in Europe and the US and throughout the world is to condemn the Zionists and their practices.  Unfortunately, silence when it comes to the Zionist regime’s practices or providing support for it or legitimizing it does have something to do with the settlements, the murder of Palestinian children and occupation of their lands.

Technically, neither Michael Douglas nor his son is Jewish as their mothers are not Jewish according to Orthodox tradition  The Nazi’s don’t make such a distinction.  But perhaps Douglas and others like him would consider some other symbol of Jewishness that doesn’t link directly to the Zionist regime.  You want to hitch yourself to that wagon you have to share the blame.

Of course, if the offender was or is a raving anti-Semite, that’s wrong. But if he were a Palestinian who had lost half of his family or lost his land to some immigrant from South Africa who took the land with god’s authority then that would be different, his anger should be understood although, in either case, it would be best not to approach a child, or approach them in a friendly and informative way.  Mind you, being in the same hotel as Douglas means you have money unless it was a worker.

Michael Douglas cannot be silent when it comes to the Zionist’s slaughter of the Palestinians, he cannot refer to its racist policies as “internal national-policy decisions.” , and not expect consequences for that posture. His son knows no better; he has been misinformed by his dad.

A couple of years ago Douglas claimed his throat cancer was caused by oral sex.  Perhaps he should stick to sex education and stay clear of politics.