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Reality is often more interesting than fiction. In the fable, the villagers give up on believing the silly boy. In the real world, the villagers continue to believe in the little Netanyahu.
MOGAMAT REDERWAAN CRAAYENSTEIN
Netanyahu claims that Israel had to bomb Iran because the IAEA, the UN nuclear oversight body, found Iran to be in breach of its obligations under the NPT. The irony is that no one has appointed Israel to be the enforcer of IAEA concerns. Israel itself, an undeclared yet undisputed nuclear power, is the embodiment of non-compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Benjamin Netanyahu has been obsessed with Iranian nuclear expertise for about 35 years. He started in 1992. For him, Iran was always close to nuclear capability: three to five years from atomic capability, months away from nuclear weapons capability, racing to nuclear capability, one to two years from atomic capability, able to produce a nuclear weapon.
Now we all know the classic fable from Aesop, ‘The boy who cried wolf’. This boy was a shepherd who repeatedly lied about the presence of a wolf. His calls led to the villagers leaving everything and coming to his aid. There was no wolf threat. When a wolf did appear, the community did not believe the shepherd, and they suffered losses. In this straightforward story, we see a dynamic interplay between integrity, honesty, critical thinking, being prepared, and not taking the world for granted.
The boy who cried wolf and lied
When we read the story, the assumption is that the boy is innocent. However, being truthful and facing consequences for lying are important. The repeated false alarms by the boy had catastrophic consequences. Netanyahu has cried nuclear and atomic wolf for 33 years. He has not been held accountable for his dishonesty, nor has he been reminded of the importance of treating others with respect and not taking advantage of them.
Netanyahu has lied for 33 years
For 33 years, Netanyahu has lied about the Iranian nuclear programme without facing any consequences. Much of the global north has listened to the little Netanyahu who cried wolf. The lies of Netanyahu have led to a loss. The IAEA and the NPT are in tatters. Instead of holding the lying Netanyahu to account, the world believed him that Israel was in imminent danger of nuclear annihilation. What we are seeing is the graver danger of the consequences of lying, and the liar is thought to be honest. The innocent is guilty until proven innocent. We are back in the arena of Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction.
A classic fable in an era of fake news
This is a classic fable, but it has significant consequences in an era when fake news is often mistaken for truth. Nietzsche might have been a prophet for this time because for him, there was no truth. There are only perspectives. In a post-truth, fake news echo chamber society, Netanyahu has spread false alarms about the Iranian nuclear programme since 1992.
The villagers in the story establish a society that responds to the boy’s false alarms. It is natural to respond to those in need. One can understand if the need of Israel were as existential as Netanyahu has falsely claimed for 33 years. In this case, there is a twist in the tale. There is no real wolf that comes. The world remains as fake as the boy had claimed all along. Netanyahu used the 33-year indulgence where he governed with the benefit of the doubt, imposing his lies on the world and forcing the global north to come to Israel’s defence.
Reality is more interesting than the fable
Reality is often more interesting than fiction. In the fable, the villagers give up on believing the silly boy. In the real world, the villagers continue to believe in the little Netanyahu. In the story, when the wolf arrives, the villagers do not respond to the boy’s cries. In the real world, the villagers always react to a lying Netanyahu. The villagers in the real world suffer a catastrophe because there is no actual wolf. Iran has never posed an existential threat to Israel. The reverse has always been true. Israel is always the attack dog of imperialist and global financial capitalist interests in the Middle East. Israel has also conducted operations in Africa and Latin America on behalf of the empire.
In the story, the villagers are society at its best. In the real world, we have society at its worst.
In the story, the villagers represent society at its best. It responds to those in need. Response fatigue, when it steps in, can be understandable, but it has catastrophic consequences. In the real world, Iran was always at risk of being attacked by Israel, not the other way around. Israel knew that it only had to start the war. Then it could count on the help from the other incredulous villagers – the USA, UK, France and Germany, with a few others tagging along for the ride.
In the classic story, the boy was lying not only to have a bit of fun. On the contrary, there might have been deep psychological reasons for his false cry. He might have needed validation and recognition from the villagers. He could have been deeply insecure. By creating a false sense of danger, he could have sought to control the narrative in the community.
Netanyahu lied, not having fun
Netanyahu has been lying for over 33 years about the Iranian nuclear programme, not because he seeks validation and recognition. No, he uses the complicity of Europe in the ‘Destruction of European Jews’ to extract their acceptance of his false claims. He and Israel have manipulated public and establishment opinion on the Iranian nuclear programme because the Holocaust gives Israel a certain power over white people in the global north. The Zionist evangelical Christian villagers do not need much persuasion. They need him to succeed so that Jesus could return and force Jews to decide to become Christians or be destroyed for rejecting the Messiah.
Truth, honesty and integrity
In the classic story, the importance of honesty, integrity and reputation cannot be over-emphasised. These matters influence people when they form their opinions about one’s character. In the story, the boy’s reputation is undermined by his repeated lies. Netanyahu’s reputation has been enhanced by 32 years of manifest dishonesty. Having a good reputation was never a requirement for Netanyahu. In the establishment circles, establishment media and online platforms, he has never been required to be honest. The truth has always been that which Netanyahu could get away with.
Netanyahu’s lies about the Iranian nuclear programme have never caught up with him. There have been no consequences for his lies. He was never required to tell the truth. His claims were never tested. The IAEA never contradicted Netanyahu’s lies. The villagers in the story have greater maturity than the establishment of the global north.
The shepherd grows up. Netanyahu remains a liar.
In the story, the boy grows up from a playful shepherd who exploits the community’s fears and uses the sheep as a means to garner attention. He initially shows no concern for the sheep. Later in the story, he comes to realise the importance of the sheep in the community’s life and the responsibility he bears to both the sheep and the community. He ultimately comes to regret his past irresponsibility and tries to make amends for his mistakes. He learns about trust, truth, honesty, responsibility and a duty of care.
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Real life is more bizarre than the story. Netanyahu has never accepted, or been required to take, his duty of care to the Israeli people, the Middle East region, the international community, the NPT and to the threat of nuclear annihilation. Netanyahu never grows up. He has lied since 1992 and has never been held accountable for his lies. The international community is more naïve than the villagers in the story. The allies of Israel continue to believe his lies, even to the point of bringing the Middle East to the brink of war. The cause is not the sheep or nuclear enrichment in Iran. It is Netanyahu and his gullible followers who do not mature.
The villagers cared about the boy’s safety
In the story, when the boy cries ‘wolf’ and lies because there is no wolf, the villagers care for his safety and rush to his rescue. As he repeatedly lies, their concern for him turns to anger and indifference. His lies caused division in the community and a breakdown in trust and solidarity. Instead of standing together to face a common threat, they turned on one another and suffered loss as a result.
One can understand that when Netanyahu in 1992 said that Iran was making a bomb, or was close to making a bomb, and it was true. The international community in the global north never split on Netanyahu and the lies from Israel. Honesty, integrity and decency were never required from Netanyahu. There have been no consequences to his and Israel’s lies.
In the story lies have serious consequences
In the fable, the boy learns that his repeated lies have consequences. He had violated the requirements for truth and trust in our interactions with others. What is strange is that in every case when Netanyahu lied, he was believed. The big powers of the world enabled him. The consequences include the unravelling of the integrity of the nuclear non-proliferation architecture.
How can the world indulge a leader and his country that have lied about nuclear programmes to their neighbours since the 1980s? They have killed scientists, bombed nuclear installations and reactors in three countries. Even the latest IAEA report did not say that Iran was making a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu had prepared this attack on Iran for the past 33 years. He knew that no matter how many times he or Israel lied, they would always have the benefit of the doubt over their neighbours. He knew that a white, European settler colonial Apartheid enterprise in the Middle East could lie for decades, and it would still be believed. Now it is being given the weapons to bomb Iran.
Israel has stood for 78 years. Iran has stood for over 2500 years. It is pretty clear who will prevail. Just the sheer weight of history is in favour of Iran. When we place integrity over oppression, truth over lies, honesty over deception, decency over insult and virtue over brute force, then even God cannot save Netanyahu and Israel.
