1/ Events in Amsterdam and their aftermath are important because they present the world with a glimpse at mainstream Israeli discourse, what in the eyes of most Israelis is the bonding agent between various Israeli factions. We are these marauding, beaten fans. --->
2/ The behavior of Maccabi Tel Aviv's hooligans should not be seen as, well, hooliganism. Following your team on am away game is an exercise in belonging. You build on the tropes most immediately accessible to you in order to present a united front, to project faith. --->
3/ What were those tropes? First, violent removal from our sight of anything Palestinian (and Arab; we don't care to differentiate). Palestinian flags must be torn off and ripped. Arab agency and humanity must be mocked and violently disparaged. --->
4/ Second, complete and utter disrespect for anything but ourselves. We don't observe moments of silence. We invade others' property. We attack and yell out racist murderous songs. We fully expect to get away with it. We are right, after all. We are good. And we don't care. --->
5/ Third, assuming the position of the perennial victim and exaggerating it to mythical proportions. It's kristalnacht! It's a holocaust! Jews are once again being slaughtered on the streets of Europe. But most importantly (impunity), it is never our fault. We suffer.
6/ Fourth, mostly in the aftermath, we can tell you weak Europeans and Americans what to do. We are the experts. We will not, of course, tell you how to make it better. As oracles, we only forecast doom. More accurately, we become the hate against which we preach. --->
7/ Israeli reporters are now explaining Europe's immigration issues to Europeans. They are also warning Europeans against taking in Gazan refugees, because they are all criminal Muslims even if you don't care they kill Jews. We are not just killers and victims. We are wise! --->
8/ We stand alone. We are the complete package. We kill and we are killed and we already know everything about to happen. But actually, in non-solipsistic terms, we hate and we fear. That is what makes us Israelis right now. These are the ties that bind us.
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