Insanity Is Expecting The World To Care This Time That Hamas Shot First

By Albert Einstein

I never said the original quote, you know. It first appeared in a 1983 mystery novel by Rita Mae Brown, attributed to a nonexistent Jane Fulton. But since in the popular mind I mouthed those words, let’s run with it. It’s as fine an example as any other of the phenomenon in question, however: the world has made up its mind that anything Israel does is bad, and therefore elides, excuses, or chooses not to notice what provoked those “bad” actions.

Specious as the attribution to yours truly may be, it rings true. Genocidal antisemites have been targeting Jews for violence much longer than Hamas has existed, and the world barely whispers its objections except for the eighteen seconds or so each day when opposing murderous ideologies is in fashion, or when stating such opposition provides political advantage. The hue and cry emerging from Twitter, official Israeli press statements, and other partisans over Hamas firing rockets and mortar shells at Israeli towns give the impression that they expect the world to care this time. It never has. It’s insane to think otherwise.

Mainstream outlets such as the BBC certainly haven’t change the tone of their coverage, for example. A cursory check of their headlines over the last several months indicates no awareness that the rocket and mortar fire they see fit to mention as an afterthought in their story about Israel striking targets in Gaza has been taking place continually that whole time. All the tweets, press statements, and blog tirades during that period changed nothing, just as Jews objecting to being subject to violence never changes anything. It’s when we defend ourselves that they decide to notice.

That’s been true at least since Hellenistic times. Expecting it to shift because you tweeted a clip of a mortar shell hitting a playground in Sderot, following years of tweets about Hamas rockets hitting Israeli communities and no one lifting a finger or changing their tune as a result is… insanity.

But you can keep doing that, I suppose. I’m dead, so your impotent social media efforts affect me quite a bit less than they affect you. Any skin I had in the game decomposed decades ago. At least that means I won’t be the crazy one, tweeting my outrage and expecting a Jew-hating world to care. The probability of the outcome you expect is lower than that of people suddenly attributing “my” insanity quote correctly.

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