Knee-jerk response unavoidable with idiotic protest

Terence Ossin, Johannesburg

The response from those in support of that conduct (such as the unnamed parent quoted in Tali Feinberg’s article, and Julie Leibowitz’ article in the SA Jewish Report of 15 November) is that the boys are merely (and “courageously”) exercising freedom of speech and conscience.

When the freedom-of-speech card (a pillar of any democracy, with people being entitled to criticise particular actions or omissions as they see fit) is played, who can argue against it? And then I realise why those responses are an inappropriate and misguided justification for the conduct in question: context is everything!

As reported, these boys are at pains to point out that they are Zionists, and believe in the existence of the state of Israel, but are protesting certain actions by the current Israeli government. And therein lies the answer. Hatikvah, like the Israeli flag, is an official symbol and representation not of any particular Israeli government, but of the state of Israel, an entity that exists above and beyond the government that happens to be in power at any given time.

At this time, the state of Israel finds itself having to deal with international bodies and organisations who question its very existence. In the context of the present matter, the headline grabbing “taking the knee” during the singing of the national anthem of the state of Israel (in a country thousands of kilometres from Israel) gives rise to a more than probable inference that the knee taker is, in fact, protesting the very existence of the state of Israel (as would the burning of the Israeli flag), as opposed to a particular government policy in force at the time.

The latter inference the boys and their parents obviously feel is valid, for otherwise why point out that they are Zionists and believe in the state’s existence? That this conduct required explanation by the boys afterwards about what they intended points to the stupidity of the “taking the knee” movement as a whole.

So, if you want to criticise the Israeli government, by all means do so; if you want to be a free thinker, by all means be one. But, please do not think for a moment that this type of staged conduct will be seen by those working towards the destruction of the state of Israel as anything other than confirmation that there are Jews who make common cause with them.