As a capitalist of the big-government persuasion I found Naomi Klein’s 2007 book Shock Doctrine groundbreaking. Her thesis of Disaster Capitalism—the milking of natural crises for profit—has influenced my thoughts about greed, neoliberalism and globalisation since.

Over the weekend, Guardian published an article of hers titled: “How Israel has Made Trauma a Weapon of War” in which Klein attacked Israel for feigning post-October 7 victimhood using the memories of the Holocaust as its crutch. In it I could see her trying to apply her shock doctrine to Israel’s military campaign against Hamas as one of premeditated political corruption. Unfortunately the only corruption was her legitimacy’s.

The Holocaust did happen. For any Jew to believe today that their socialism will excuse them from a spot on a future train to a death camp is ignorance. Like many left wingers, Klein seems to believe that shilling for the other side will earn her a “get out of hell free” card when her turn at the hands of the Communists, Nazis or Islamists arrives. No Naomi, they gassed collaborators in the 1940s too.

The only thing stopping the next Jewish Holocaust then, is the State of Israel. More so, an Israel with a nuclear weapons arsenal and a defence force that speaks the unique language of the Levant and the Middle East: Force.

Jesus—both Rabbi and King of the Jews—may have said “turn the other cheek”, a way of divine peace that I appreciate (though I actually prefer Sun Tzu who gave it more nuance in “you don’t have to fight everyone”). But life in Arab lands remains “an eye for an eye”—if a bully hits you, you hit them back harder. It’s a spiral of pragmatism, and yes it sucks.

Yet rape, misogyny, kidnapping and incitement to hate based on religion, race, sexual preference or disability are never “acts of resistance”. They are crimes against humanity. Lying to incite hate, a Palestinian forte, is a crime against the freedom to speak. Speaking to incite fear, a tactic of all antisemites, is a crime against morality. Doing any of the above for social media “fame” or grift is simply cowardice.

Hamas’s pogrom from Gaza into Israel on October 7 2023, was therefore a crime against humanity. Israel’s response to eradicate Hamas and now Hezbollah since, while indeed disproportionate when viewed from the West, is the way of life in the Middle East. For this reason, Islamist Extremists preach martyrdom rewarded by 72 virgins to soften the pain. “Free Palestine” is a suicidal death cult. Arab states have wanted it that way since 1948: it keeps their Palestinian riffraff out of the way and the honour of tit for tat rolling.

No Naomi, the “victimhood of trauma” is a Palestinian and Arab trait. It’s part of the eye for an eye spiral. It rouses the blood for throwing the harder blow to follow, and as the Arabs have found it plays on the weakness of the West which includes you.

The Holocaust is beyond trauma. It takes a depraved mind from the luxury of post-WW2 comfort to think otherwise.

The Holocaust was industrial-level antisemitism. Take a look around Naomi. The hatred that underpinned it is incorporated now. They’ve given it a Red Triangle.

© 2024 Adam Parker.