THE WAYS OF A BULLY

An assessment of Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin by drama critic Michael Handelzalts states: "He dissected Israeli society and described it in detail: the crudeness, the insensitivity, the interpersonal violence, the oppression, the gluttony, the intolerance and the cruelty. He wrote about people who enjoy feeling superior and causing pain, who thrive on this and who love to harass their interlocutors and haggle with them for the sake of the haggling".

It looks like the nation of legend turning desert into paradise is nothing more than a lousy bit of cheap fiction. This may come as a bit of an eye-opener for anyone with a blind spot for Israel. Mainstream commentators always report unfolding events involving Israel at face value, as though that nation is committed to some kind of constructive process involving others besides itself. Whereas for anyone following the behaviour of Israel as reported by uncensored media this asseessment gives some understanding of the nature of this particular bully in the global playground.

In that playgrond the United States and Israel stick close together. One is the major bully roaming about insisting upon being in charge of everything and in control of everyone. The other is the little devil of a lieutenant tripping around him, goading him to do things, telling tales about others and getting permission and protection do do his own bullying. It seems to be his mission to keep trouble and hatred alive. Why?

The answer seems to be that this particular bully enjoys feeling superior and causing pain, and thriving on this for its own sake. There is a truly malevolent intent in his psychology. He likes being a bully; he wants to be a bully; to glory and gloat in being a top dog. Apologist commentators harass and haggle any evidence or justified criticism as though everything is a playgound game.

A bully of course expects others to change. Israel went into Gaza and massacred 1400 people. There were no consequences for the bully. When Netanyahu visits Gordon Brown some months later there is not a word about this and continuing behaviour. Instead they jointly voice what others (Palestinians, Arabs, Persians) must do and what Israel will not do.

Between serious bouts of violence against the weak the bully is continually harassing them. An example: Israel sends low-flying aircraft over Gaza creating sonic booms instead of dropping bombs. This is described as educational and almost humanitarian, gently reminding the residents who is top dog. This is like holding a replica gun to a person's head instead of a real one, the terrorising effect is pretty much the same. And it is a real hoot for the bully.

Another example: Palestinian children near a settlement have to be escorted to school by Israeli soldiers to protect them from settler harassment, including the shooting of firearms, but the soldiers often fail to show up or when they do are themselves guilty of harassment, such as driving along beside the children so fast that the little ones cannot keep up. For the bullying soldiers a great way to start the day.

There is a psychological sickness behind such behaviours, the sickness of the torturer. The fine line - if there is one - between the bully and the torturer does not exist in the case of this little devil of a nation.

The bully's denial of wrongdoing is often reinforced by a technique of suffocating the victim by presuming to speak for him. This is an Israeli habit. On the surface this may appear as no more than an insufferable patronising superiority. An example: a Jew from multi-cultural New Zealand "returns" to apartheid Israel and tells us that Palestinians - some of whom are working on his new house under armed guard - prefer to live apart. The victim is reponsible for the apartheid.

Another example: while Israel is busy killing the 1400 people in Gaza and deliberately destroying more of their infrastructure senior politician Livni appears on screen to inform us that her country is helping the people of Gaza against Hamas ( the party they democratically elected).

There is a further strange quality to this particular bully. Witness Livni in the United States, while busy thrashing Gaza, literally sobbing that "we" have had enough, "we" cannot take any more. Immediately a cartoon came into my mind of a large adult beating a child while expressing such sentiments. We cannot hope that Israel will drive itself mad because it already is mad. Decades ago Golda Meir also felt sorry for herself because the Palestinians were making her do violence toward them. It is a very puzzling psychopathic condition, but there can be no excuse for it.

Unfortunately the mad psychopathic bully in the playground is a ticking time-bomb, a danger to everyone, and not a ready candidate for rehabilitation.