There used to be major stigma unjustly attached to rape victims. While this stigma still exists in much of the world and while it remains to a lesser extent in the West, it has generally become accepted that the sole barer of responsibility for such horrible crimes is the rapist himself.
Any talk of a woman “asking for it” or “bringing it on herself” because of what she was wearing or where she was walking has, rightly, been cast aside as victim-blaming.
However, there is another crime that continues to this day in which the criminals are absolved of responsibility and the victims are blamed for their own fate. We are of course talking about terrorism against Jews. Whether it is justifying suicide bombings or stabbing attacks “because of the occupation” or saying that burning a synagogue is a legitimate form of protest against Israeli government policy, the idea that the Jews somehow deserve the violent hatred that targets them is nothing new.
So when MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad – Joint List) recently said that “the increase in Jews who go up [to the Temple Mount] will cause the third intifada to break out,” he was not exactly breaking new ground. He even openly called on Palestinians to take action while placing all blame on the Jews, saying, “In light of the daily increase of (Jewish) ascent to the al-Aqsa Mosque, it is up to us to stop it in any way possible.”
According to the “honorable” Member of Knesset Zahalka, seeing a Jew visit his third holiest site (the other two aren’t in Israel) is such an offense to his honor that he cannot be held responsible for his own actions. Not only that, but these irrepressible actions are in fact a Palestinian right because “our people have the right to the mosque, and we must protect it with all of our power. The Palestinian nation is the guardian of the mosque.” It doesn’t matter that Jordan is officially the custodian of al-Aqsa or there have never been any Jewish attacks on the mosque or even any attempts to change Palestinian access to it. According to Zahalka, the sight of a Jews treading their dirty feet on the holy mountain is enough to warrant violent action.
So let us make this abundantly clear:
If seeing a Jew visiting a holy site gets you angry and makes you want to riot, you are the one with the problem, not the Jew. If the sight of a Jew visiting her holiest site causes you to erupt and shout “This is not yours, get out of here, go home, you’re not wanted,” while being restrained by police, you are the one with the problem, not the Jew. If hearing about those who died while trying to murder Jews makes you feel the need to hold a moment of silence, you are the one with the problem, not the Jews.
Jews are not asking for it by dressing in a certain way or visiting certain areas. Jews are not bringing hatred on themselves by making pilgrimage to their own holy sites.
Any attempt to say otherwise is Jew-hating victim-blaming, pure and simple.
