Can you imagine a tiny city-state on the periphery of the Greek empire dictating to the mighty forces of Alexander the Great? Is it possible to believe that Julius Caesar or any other powerful Roman Emperor would bow at the door of a fort dominated by plebeians? It is equally impossible for a small tribal confederacy of the Americas to hurl threats at Spain or Portugal, or for the rulers of Mali and Hyderabad Deccan to challenge the French and the British Empire.
But the case of Israel is quite surprising and strange. A small state with a population of 9.974 million and an area of 8,019 square miles is ruling over not only one or two but almost all empires of the past and present – and that too without any mighty military force. It is insignificant on the world map and cannot be detected without a microscope, but its omnipresence can be felt from London to Washington and Brussels to Paris, from Hollywood to Bollywood and from academia to media.
It is the Big Brother of our time. Write a book criticising the brutal policies of Israel, and within no time decrees of heresy would be issued from the power corridors of London, Paris, Washington and Tel Aviv, declaring the author antisemitic. This is not a figment of somebody's imagination but actually happened to former President Jimmy Carter, who was lambasted by Zionist lobbies for writing his famous book 'Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid'. Published in 2006, the book likened the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories to the South African apartheid. A torrent of criticism was unleashed against the late former president.
It is not only authors whose fates were turned upside down after daring to expose Israeli atrocities, but filmmakers, actors, singers, human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, judges and politicians also met the same fate. Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the British Labour Party, faced a steep decline in his political career after he spoke harshly about the Zionist government and its discriminatory policies a few years ago. The doors of premiership were closed to him in an invisible way before the elections of 2017, and he was held responsible for the poor performance in the elections of 2019.
But critics claim that much before that it had already been decided by vested interests that he should not make it to the power corridors of London, given his anti-Israel stance and his opposition to Nato and Trident. They assert that pro-Israeli lobbies’ interests converged with those hating Corbyn for his principled politics. Some political pundits went to the extent of predicting in 2015 that if he won the elections, it could trigger a mutiny in the British army. Many believe it was not only his opposition to Trident that led to his decline but in reality, the allegations of anti-Semitism against the former Labour leader that triggered his unpopularity, despite the fact that he had achieved one of the highest votes in the history of the Labour Party’s internal elections, including a large number of young voters.
R&B singer Kehlani was barred from a Cornell performance in April this year over her pro-Palestine comments. She was also accused of being anti-Semitic. Richard Cowie, known as Wiley, was stripped of his MBE last year, while Palestinian-American supermodel Bella Hadid was also accused of spreading conspiracy theories and lies against the Zionist state.
So, what explains the influence of Zionist lobbies? Some of this influence has its roots in the persecution of the Jewish community and the Holocaust, which triggered a wave of sympathy. According to some historians, Jews as a community knew that they could not wield immense political influence on the basis of their numerical strength. Therefore, they decided to excel in business and education. Today, one-third of the Nobel Prizes in science go to people belonging to this community, while over 200 billionaires are also from the same community. A number of philosophers, scientists, intellectuals, researchers, authors and actors are also of Jewish ancestry, some of whom also criticise Israel, but the majority side with the Zionist state.
Critics claim that the Zionist lobbies use financial clout to defend Israel's interests. Some believe that the Jewish leadership was clever and prescient, flattering the British initially for the creation of Israel but siding with the US after realising that London was not as powerful after World War II as before.
Some other critics think that the financial power is exaggerated. They believe it was the imperial interests of the British that prompted them to create the state of Israel, citing the statement of a British official who asserted that London wanted to create a loyal Ulster among the hostile Arab states. Later on, the US also faced the same hostile states, forcing Washington to side with Israel after opposing Tel Aviv during the Suez Canal crisis.
The Jeffrey Epstein scandal has triggered a new debate. Some people argue that it is not the case of financial leverage of some individual Zionists because the Arabs are far more powerful financially. They assert it is Israeli intelligence that has trapped top executives of global companies, prominent politicians, media barons and other influential people through individuals like Epstein. They suspect that there could be many other Epsteins filming and documenting these global personalities and passing on such information to the Zionist state, which might be using it to blackmail such global luminaries.
The US and UK have had some of the largest trade deals in their history with Arab countries, they argue, asserting that if money were the sole criterion, then Arab states would have had more influence than Israel. While Israel receives aid from the US and some other Western countries, Arab states invest heavily in the West. So, if money is the issue, then they should have had the greatest leverage.
The writer is a freelance journalist who can be reached at:
egalitarianism444gmail.com