The cynical exploitation of the antisemitic attack in Sydney by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a moral abomination. Even more serious, it is a political mistake that in no way helps the fight against the scourge of antisemitism around the world.
Barely had the blood of the victims of the antisemitic massacre dried when Netanyahu denounced the responsibility of the Australian government in the Sydney attack. That responsibility is real, given that it downplayed warnings from the Mossad, ignored calls from the Jewish community to increase security at their gathering places, and showed excessive leniency toward antisemitic remarks made during pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
But it takes boundless audacity for Netanyahu to directly blame a government – however ineffective it may be – for an attack when he himself has never assumed the slightest responsibility for the October 7, 2023, attack, the largest murder of Jews since the Second World War, instead placing the blame (to this day) on the heads of the army and security services who were in office that day.
Netanyahu's exploitation of a tragedy
There is something even more serious than this audacity. Netanyahu did not limit himself to criticizing the Australian government’s failings; he directly linked Australia’s recognition of the state of Palestine to this massacre. The attack is thus shamelessly exploited by Netanyahu to defend his own policy and attack those who oppose it.
It is perfectly possible to criticize the recognition of Palestine in principle or in its timing. But attributing the massacre to that recognition is blatant bad faith. Worse still, it provides arguments to radical anti-Zionists and antisemites who do not understand – or do not wish to understand – that there is a difference between criticizing a policy and launching an ontological critique of a country and those who support it, in Israel or in the Diaspora.
Yet Netanyahu does the same thing, drawing an equivalence between criticism of a country’s policy and a call to violence. In his logic, supporting a Palestinian state is to encourage antisemitism and to desire the destruction of the State of Israel.
No room for nuance
There is a parallel between these approaches. For the radical anti-Zionists, the policy of the Israeli government is not merely open to criticism; it embodies the “genocidal” nature of an entire country, possibly of an entire people. For Netanyahu, opposition to his policy is not legitimate criticism but criminal, leading to the murder of Jews.
In both cases, there is no room for nuance. One must “choose a side” – to be pro- or anti-Israel. This approach silences all rational criticism and thus strengthens Israel’s most extreme detractors.
The recognition of Palestine may be mistaken, but it is not criminal. Just as the war in Gaza has been brutal without being genocidal.
Netanyahu seeks to prevent any reasonable discussion and any possibility of rationally criticizing his country’s policy, forcing people into a binary choice: Are you with Netanyahu or with the anti-Zionists and the antisemites?
This binary injunction could become the most detestable legacy of the Netanyahu era.
Born and raised in France, the writer is the correspondent of French Jewish radio, Radio J, in the US, where he has been living for 15 years. He also holds US and Israeli citizenships. His opinions are his alone.