an we distinguish between the horrendous murder of 8 students in a Yeshiva and the behavior of the KKK during the Old south?  I am afraid not.  For Hezbollah, Hamas, and the like: Jews are niggers.  I shall say more about this presently.  To begin, though, let me say that if I had to offer a succinct characterization of the difference between Muslim Arabs and Jews in the Middle East, it would be the extent to which Muslim Arabs shamelessly celebrate the death of Jewish people.  There is no denying that Jews have killed Muslims Arabs and I am more than prepared to concede for the sake of argument that some of these deaths were unnecessary.  But I have never witnessed a public celebration on the part of Jews over the death of Muslim Arabs. 

It has certainly been said by Jews that the death of this or that Muslim Arab was a good thing, given the history of murderous behavior on the part of that particular person.  But the rejoicing here has always had far more to do with the relief that the person in question would not be committing any more murders of Jews than with taking delight in his death proper.  While there may be exceptions in this regard, these exceptions prove the rule.  I know this from what I seen in the media and from what I have witnessed personally, on three different continents, in one Jewish home after another. 

As I reviewed the availability of photos available on Yahoo News regarding the murder of 8 Yeshiva students, by Alaa Abu Dheim, I was simply not prepared to come across photos of Muslim Arabs celebrating the death of these 8 Yeshiva students.  And it is difficult to find words to express just how barbaric I found this to be.  This is the face of unqualified hatred and I compare it to the hatred of blacks that was personified by the Klu Klux Klan.  And it is this reality that makes it manifestly clear to me that folks like Norman Finkelstein are simply mistaken in their support of Hezbollah.

You will recall that the KKK took pure delight in the abuse and degradation of blacks—any black, no matter how old or young.  And no abuse or form of degradation was off-limits.  This delight had its own life and was independent of any benefits that might accrue to KKK members who mistreated blacks.

For Hezbollah, Jews are niggers.  You will recall that nothing pleased the KKK more than a good excuse to lynch a black.  And the same can be said for Hezbollah and its supporters.  And this truth that shows that Norman Finkelstein and his ilk are utterly misguided.

I understand political victories.  And I further understand that war sometimes necessitates death.  Not only that, I grasp that there is a deep, deep dispute between Palestinians and Israelis.  Alas, none of this would explain, let alone justify, taking unabashed delight in the killing of 8 young Jews at a Yeshiva.  None of this could explain unabashedly parading through the streets in glee over their deaths. 

I understand that Jewish soldiers have been accused of attacking Muslim women and children.  I also understand that Muslim women and children have been used as shields in a public relations ploy.  This is simply fact.  I have drawn attention to this because no such explanation is available for the murder of these 8 Jewish teenagers.  They were actually studying.  And the Yeshiva was not serving as a repository for weapons or a training ground for soldiers. 

The idea that for Hezbollah, and its supporters, the Jew is nothing but a Nigger is extremely illuminating; for it brings into sharp relief something that we have been overlooking, namely that for Hezbollah, Jews are to be in a subordinate position to Muslims because Jews are the apes of the Semitic peoples.  Even with the murderous attack of 8 Yeshiva students, Israel is still interested in peace talks with the Palestinians.  For Hezbollah, however, negotiating with Israel simply makes no sense because this would constitute acknowledging their humanity. 

We have been supposing that the issue is one of credibility.  But this misses the mark: Animals cannot have credibility; Jews are animals; hence, Jews cannot have credibility. Thus, killing a Jew is rather like skewering an animal, and so demands parading through the streets in celebration.  This is how KKK folks behaved when they lynched a black.  Notice that not even Nazis were disposed so to behave.  Thus, in terms of public behavior, Hezbollah is far more KKK like than Nazi like.  I do not mean to be ranking one group over the other.  Rather, I am drawing attention to structural differences between the two. 

Now, it is significant that I can make the claim that Hezbollah, Hamas, and the like treat Jews as if they are niggers without having to claim, on the one hand, that Jews are right about everything pertaining to the Middle East conflict and, on the other, Hezbollah and the like are wrong about everything pertaining to the conflict.  I suppose no such thing.  I suppose only that the moral posture of Hezbollah and the like is that of taking Jews to be the apes of Semitic peoples. 

Finally, the issue is not to discard the Nazi paradigm of evil.  That paradigm is powerful and real enough.  However, it does not exhaust the ways in which human beings can be horrendously evil.  It is a poignant fact that the way in which Arab Muslims take to the streets to celebrate the death of Jews calls to mind the lynching of blacks by the Klu Klux Klan in the Old South.  And while this may not be Nazi-like behavior, a fact which is a source of comfort for those who support Hezbollah, it is surely morally reprehensible behavior nonetheless of a most despicable kind.  I suspect that people like Norman Finkelstein are self-deceived; for they use the fact that the behavior of Hezbollah is not all akin to the Nazi paradigm as a way of excusing Hezbollah’s behavior.  I suggest that Finkelstein and the like need only open their eyes and look beyond the Nazi paradigm to the KKK model of evil in order to see that the behavior Hezbollah, Hamas, and so forth cannot possibly be excused. 

There is much in the world about which we are understandably unclear.  At this point in time, however: If there are any moral precepts, surely one of them is that there can be no excuse whatsoever for celebrating the death of 8 teenagers earnestly studying scripture, be they Muslims or Christians or Jews.  Treating Jews as niggers, there can be no question but that in the 3rd Millenium Hezbollah specializes in mocking the very idea righteousness.