John Voight

I'm so bewildered by what I've read about John Voight I'm stuffed for a headline. Here's Ynet:

American actor Jon Voight arrived in Israel on Tuesday for a tour with Chabad’s Children of Chernobyl’s (CCOC). Voight is known best for the Oscar he received for "Coming Home," and for being the father of superstar Angelina Jolie.

His visit to Sderot began at the municipality with an entourage of Chabad representatives from the US and Sderot where they met and spoke with Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal.

Ok, Voight goes to Israel. Probably a rite of passage for Hollywood types but he's old and can't have much career left and why get involved with Chabad? Ignorance maybe. But check out more of the article:

Voight expressed his deep concern regarding the abnormal environment in which Israeli children are being raised. He also stated his views pertaining to the hatred instilled in the hearts of Palestinian children, who he believes are being instilled with values of war.

Ok, this is still fairly standard stuff that any careerist actor might come out with and the rest of the article is in similar vein.

We could take him at face value, assume that this is what he really believes and meditate on how he feels about connecting with the Palestinians so as to maybe persuade them out of "being instilled with values of war" but then we might stumble on the Jewish News coverage of the same visit:

"The Jewish people must not appease the barbarians in any way. They are facing a force which is relentless and its only looking to destroy," Voight said. "To give in to terror, to try to appease terror is not the answer, you have to be strong."

He added that he would not be visiting any Palestinian NGOs or charities "because I believe that the Jewish people have made every attempt to make peace and every attempt has been spat upon."

How clever that it is organisations he is denouncing. But it's all Palestinian organisations. He is saying that all Palestinians have "spat upon" every prospect of peace. (Oh yeah, which ones?) And they have rejected "every attempt to make peace" and by the "Jewish people" too. This is hardly true of any Palestinians but to accuse all Palestinians of this is beyond disgusting. It moves into Palestinians as Amalekites territory. But what's John Voight's beef exactly? Like I said, I am genuinely bewildered by his racism. It borders on sheer lunacy.

Let's recap on this. John Voight visits Israel. He equates the State of Israel with the, er, children of Israel (the Jewish people). He refuses to visit any Palestinian NGO or charity, not a school, hospital, clinic or nursery. And this because the Palestinians are barbarians. Be afraid, be very afraid. A worse shoah is going to hit Gaza and Hollywood is already writing the script.

Jews sans frontieres