Who Died and Made You King?

The Israeli government continues to try to co-opt Judaism and world Jewry to its purposes. This is nothing new. But never has an Israeli PM been as chutzpadik in this regard as the current Israeli PM. He is now claiming to be the official Leader of the Jewish People.

As reported by the French news agency AFP, Netanyahu made the claim in a recent speech at Auschwitz, on the occasion of International Holocaust Memorial Day.

Sirens wailed as Auschwitz survivors, Soviet veterans and leaders including Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday marked the 65th anniversary of the notorious Nazi German death camp's liberation.

"From this place, I swear as the leader of the Jewish people, never again shall we allow evil to hurt our people," Netanyahu said in a keynote address at the commemoration.

This conflating of Israel with World Jewry, and of political Zionism with Judaism has been gaining traction - both among the Zionist right and the anti-Zionist left. In the end it can only lead to antisemitism from without and an erosion of Jewish values from within. And, of course it is used to justify and re-enforce the discrimination against non-Jews within Israel and under her control.

The last three people who made claim to be the leader of the Jews - Shabtai Zvi, Shimon Bar Koziva, and Jesus Christ - all brought disaster on the Jewish people. Let's hope Netantahu is not as effective.