“Today I will invite Israel’s prime minister, Mr. Netanyahu, for a visit to Hungary and in that invite, I will guarantee him that if he comes, the ICC ruling will have no effect in Hungary, and we will not follow its contents” (Prime Minister Victor Orban).
Many were disappointed with Prime Minister Victor Orban’s eager support for Benjamin Netanyahu, after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Netanyahu has joyful taken up the role of becoming the latter-day Herod, intent on slaughtering as many of the innocent as he possibly can, since for such tyrants the amount of blood spilled is directly proportional to their self-esteem and they no doubt sleep better at night knowing that children have been blown apart by their bombs.
Only politicians protecting “democracy” and “freedom” can get away with such mass murder in this day and age. Notice those they accuse of being “barbarians” and “savage” do not conduct genocide. Why is that?
To some, it seemed that Hungary was on a path to sovereignty, especially given its opposition to the many mad schemes of the EU concerning the war in Ukraine. Then, there was Orban’s visits to Moscow and Beijing, and his party’s general stance against Wokeism. All this becomes meaningless in the face of genocide. Notice Orban has made no such effort for the people of Gaza; they simply do not concern him. But Israel does. For Orban and all other Western polticians, Israel is special and thus can do no wrong.
The conflicts in Ukraine and in Israel have come to clarify a very important point about the West—that it is ruled by politicians who collectively comprise a “fifth column” that serves an agenda which will defeat their own people, by various means.
The eyes of the general public are finally beginning to open to this reality—that there is no connection whatsoever between the people and their politicians.
So, what’s going on here with Orban? He wants peace in Ukraine, but nary a peep about the slaughter of children in Gaza?
Few seem to know or understand that the Western right (conservatism) is thoroughly Zionist, and thus blindly “Israel first.” That is just the nature of the beast. It was long hijacked by the Zionist lobby (money), and became closely aligned with various strains of Jewish supremacism which work under the label of “Zionism.” For example, there is the deep influence of the Koholet Policy Forum, the Conservative Friends of Israel, and the entire Evangelical-Zionist-Judeo-Christian complex, all of which orchestrate what is commonly called the “right-wing,’ or “extreme right” in the West. Of course, the “left” and “liberalism” is similarly and thoroughly Zionist.
As for Victor Orban, his éminence grise, his “guru” is an Israeli named Yoram Hazony, who is euphemistically referred to as a “philosopher” of “nationalism” and “conservatism” (a Zionist apologist would be fairer). Hazony is the jet-fuel to Orban’s entire political project, the ideological architect of what Orban wants Hungary to become. We’ll leave aside the influence of another Israeli, Shabtai Michaeli, who figures prominently in various business ventures associated with Orban’s political party, Fidesz–Hungarian Civic Alliance, and the roles therein of Arpad Habony and Arthur Finkelstein.
But let us stay focused on Yoram Hazony. He was born in Israel and studied at Princeton and Rutgers (where he received his PhD). He went on to found the conservative think tank, the Shalem Center, in Jerusalem, which has now become the Zionist Shalem College. At one time, he was speechwriter for Benjamin Netanyahu. He is now the president of the Herzl Institute, which is dedicated to reviving Zionism, and he’s the chairman of the Burke Society, from where he runs the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon).
On April 17, 2024, NatCon held its conference in Brussels, where the luminaries were the triumvirate Nigel Farage, Suella Braverman, and Victor Orban. The less said, the better. At this venue, Hazony interviewed Orban, in which the topics of migration, cultural identity and a critique of liberalism figured prominently. These are “safe” topics that are now the bread-and-butter of any self-respecting “conservative” discourse. What was left off the menu was the deep influence of Jewish supremacism (commonly called, “Zionism”) upon the Western “right.” For that, we need to look at Hazony’s ideas more carefully, for it is these ideas which provide a philosophical framework for Orban’s project, which is a combination of nationalism and cultural identity, packaged as “Christianity.”
Hazony has written four books, two of which deserve closer scrutiny. One is The Virtue of Nationalism and the other is Conservatism: A Rediscovery. The other two are The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel’s Soul and God and Politics in Esther, which are simply Zionist tracts—vague “theology” exuberantly politicized (a strategy close to Hazony’s heart). “Ham-fisted” comes to mind, but such a description may be deemed inappropriate, given the context.
The Virtue of Nationalism is much admired by what is known as “the right,” because it provides a degree of “philosophical” grounding to what is often nothing more than a whine-fest (“Look what the liberals did now!”). But to any serious reader, the book is simply boring, because it is utterly shallow, hence its popularity among the likes of Orban, who are conditioned to seek out the “sola scriptura” in order to think. And the book has spawned that other strange creature: “Christian nationalism”… the Kingdom of God twisted into political activism. Heresy is all about shattering the truth.
Needless to say, Orban deeply admires Hazony: “Through the presence of the Bible, Jewish-Christian culture has always supported the idea of self-determination and independent nations.” So, Jewish first, Christian second, because in Hazony’s schema, Christianity is simply Judaism’s afterthought, and therefore unimportant on its own.
The main arguments of The Virtue of Nationalism go as follows. The West was wallowing in misery until this brilliant event called “the Protestant Reformation” happened, which is when nationalism came into existence—because the Reformers brought back the Old Testament’s definition of nationalism. Who knew that the Old Testament was all about defining modern-day “nationalism?” It cannot be said that Hazony has a strong grasp of history, but he is right about one thing—Protestantism is inveterate Judaizing; that is its steampower. Protestants love playing third fiddle to Judaism. One wonders whether Hazony says what he does because he knows what Protestants truly desire, since for them modern-day Jews are the “people of God.”
And never mind that Protestantism left a wake of destruction throughout Europe, the scars of which are visible even today—and never you mind that Protestantism only succeeded as a project because of Islamic funding, because it was agreed that both had a common enemy which needed defeating: Catholicism.
History is a bitch…
Hazony then describes this “biblical” nationalism. It is the absolute right of self-government, free from any external criticism. He defines a nation as “a number of tribes with a shared heritage,” namely, language, laws, religious traditions, and a common enemy, so that a people are bound together by cultural and social bonds—and common hatred for the Other. For Hazony, the perfect nation was ancient Israel, which is the model for modern Israel, and the perfect “civilization” Judiac. And, thus, true “nationalism” means working to become “Israel.” That is the true destiny of the West—to become “Israel.” And this is what the Old Testament is all about, and this is what “real” Christianity is all about, all per Hazony.
As you might have guessed, people who like to wax lyrical about the “Judeo-Christian heritage” of the West lap this stuff up for whom Jews are, after all, the “Chosen people” who can do no wrong on this planet.
But Hazony is not done. It has long been the ploy of the shallow argument to have a foil to make your own dull fabrications shine. And since, for Hazony, the Protestant Reformation was the bee’s knees, he also knows that he needs to trundle out the good-old Black Legend, about just how awful and evil Roman Catholicism was back then and still is. Ergo, Hazony, with a straight face, tells us that Roman Catholicism is pagan and anti-biblical and therefore imperialist and thus the mortal enemy of “nationalism.” And if the West is to have any future at all, then it has to make sure that Roman Catholicism is kept on a short leash, so that Protestantism can continue to build the better West. The true destiny of the West is Protestant so that it can become “Israel.” Who knew that it’s up to the likes of Hazony to “define” what is “correct” Christianity? But people like Orban are eager beavers for this stuff, because they are true believers in Zionism, because it is “biblical.”
Ergo, Roman Catholicism is “globalism,” because it is “pagan” and “imperialist,” while Protestantism and Judaism are both anti-globalist and nationalist because they are “biblical.” Foils are so much fun, aren’t they!
There is no point in correcting Hazony. He needs this foil so he can forge ahead with his project of planting and nurturing many “Israels” in the good soil of “the Protestant West,” via the “Bible.” The entire West in order to be nationalist must become “Israel” via Protestantism. That is what Orban means when he speaks of “Christian civilization.” Such simplistic formulations greatly appeal to the conservatives, for various reasons. Here it might be worth pointing out that Orban began as an atheist and is now a Calvinist (the history of Calvinism in Hungary is old). The less said about Calvin, the better.
For this Hazony-nationalism to work, there also has to be a mortal enemy that the civilized “tribe” has to fight, to better build its identity. Build back better, indeed! And, here begins the construction of another foil—the evil Muslim horde that just can’t wait to wreak havoc in the “civilized” space known as “the West.” This Hazonyan fabrication deeply informs the many narratives about mass migration. Never mind that the Western “tribe” long decided to stop having babies, nurtured and promoted self-hatred (anti-white theories), fell in love with anti-human lifestyles to express “freedom” (trans-genderism, motherhood as evil, etc), and has no clue what to do about an aging population that will need looking after in the years ahead—with very few doctors and nurses available, etc. And imagines that it can continue to exist. But it’s all the fault of the Muslims, since they keep pouring into the West, which is busy emptying out its own population. And never mind that the leader of the West (aka, the United States) has been busy bombing the once-peaceful Muslim lands back into the Stone Age for many, many decades.
But what does that have anything to do with the cost of potatoes? “They hate us for who we are.” No, their hatred stems from being bombed and vilified for countless decades—and Islamophobia still reigns supreme in the Western “right.” Which is as Hazony would have it. The “tribe” needs an enemy to hate. The “right” needs Islamophobia, otherwise its own existence becomes pointless. Hatred builds identity.
Mr. Orban, a quick question… how many Hungarians will you have left in a hundred years? We’ll leave aside the issue of why so many young Hungarians emigrate.
Then, there is Hazony’s magnum opus, entitled, Conservatism: A Rediscovery, which purports to lay out a post-liberal vision of the West by returning to “traditional values” and “national identity.” (See “biblical” above).
The root of this book is the idea that the Enlightenment brought much evil into the West (see Catholicism above), namely, rationalism which nurtured individualism, which then undermined this thing called “community.” Hazony will turn the tide via conservatism, which he defines as empiricism, namely, “tradition,” “identity,” and “moral values” via “religion.” In this book, the foil is “Enlightenment” which gave the West rationalism and abstract universal principles, says Hazony, as he tries to universalize his version of “conservatism.” And never mind that in his first book, he was extolling the beauties of the Protestant Reformation because it created self-determination, which can only happen via individualism and rationalism. But let’s not get technical here. There is a Utopia to be won. Suddenly individualism is bad because Hazony says so, in order to link it with the current whipping boy, “Enlightenment.”
Conservatism: A Rediscovery is an overwrought book, filled with caricaturizes of history. For example, he would have us believe, that America’s Founding Fathers were divided into two groups—there’s that duality again—one gung-ho Enlightenment radicals, the other calm conservatives, which for some strange reason suggests 21st century caricatures of the two American political parties. In the whole of Hazony’s project, there is the inclusion-exclusion strategy, wherein the in-crowd is the best, while the outsiders are little better than demons. Much like how Jews prefer their marriages to be. But let’s not launch into a full-fledged book review here.
So, let us contend with the elephants in the room, which are Hazony, Zionism and Jewish supremacism and Orban’s connection with all that, and Hazony’s view of Palestinians and Muslims generally. It is quite instructive and informative.
As noted, Hazony is an Israeli, and so he must contend with the fact that he is living on land that once belonged to another people, who are still around but have been shoved off into concentration camps, and ordinary Israelis love to vilify them and regard them as subhumans. So, here’s the thing. It’s fine and dandy to talk about nationalism and its virtues of identity and tradition and religion and community for the West and for Israel—it’s quite another to talk of the same things for Palestinians. Why is that?
And how does Hazony handle the Palestinians? In the usual way—by using them as a foil. They are Muslims, and in his system Muslims have long been relegated to the role of being enemies of civilization. Muslims simply are not capable of living in “civilization,” because they are forever outsiders, because Islam “conditions” the mind to be “uncivilized.”
You see, in Hazony’s grand scheme of bringing about the Great Conservative Utopia (Israel), you have to make sure that you erase those that might undermine your careful fabrication.
Hazony first got religion in his university days, when he discovered and was greatly influenced by one Meir Kahane, who is best described as the godfather of modern-day Jewish supremacism and general Israeli genocidal behavior. But for Hazony, Kahane was someone who taught him how to be Jewish. In the context of what Kahane stood for, and still stands for, what was this “identity taught” to Hazony? It should be noted that Kahane advocated forcefully removing Arabs from Israel and Palestine, and if they didn’t leave, well, “forcefully removing them,” i.e., murder. Hazony wrote an admiring farewell piece when someone shot and killed Kahane. Such godfathers always exit this way.
But Hazony is not entirely heartless about Muslims. He has a plan for them, too. Since Islam is incompatible with modern society (again, it’s Hazony who gets to define what Islam is, and gauge the capacity of his “modern society” to hold which groups of people), Islam needs to go through a “reformation”—all Islam has to do is to sit down with Luther and plan out a “religion” that will have the official Hazony stamp of approval, and via said stamp Muslims can then—finally—become “civilized” and live normal lives in the West. Without such a “reformation”—sorry, they will just have to remain as “barbarians,” good only for demonization and exclusion. You see, “civilized” people can do whatever they like to “barbarians.” In other words, Muslims are to be treated like Israel treats Palestinians, until they learn to behave themselves. Only then will Hazony call them “civilized” enough.
But all this raises important questions, which need to be asked of people like Hazony. So, here goes… Which civilization did Judaism ever create? Which empire did Judaism build, and then maintain and sustain? Pointing to a medieval cathedral and uttering “Judeo-Christian” just does not cut it. Europe was and remains a Christian civilization, in which Jews existed in pales of settlement; they did not create Europe, let alone the civilization in it.
However, Islam did build a brilliant civilization, like it or not; and they did fashion an empire, which endured until recent times. To use the language of today—Islam is a pole. Judaim is not.
So, what makes Hazony confer so much importance on ancient Israel, which built nothing? Even the Bible as the West knows it, and which he refers to, is the product of Christian learning and endeavor. The Old Testament only becomes translated into Hebrew at a much later date. And let’s not get into the “invention” of Biblical Hebrew (the language) itself.
So, what makes Jews more “civilized” than Muslims? What makes Jews more worthy of the West than Muslims? Could it be that Hazony suffers from deep-seeded civilization envy? Since Judaism built no civilization, how can Israel then become the model of the perfect modern state, the very epitome of “civilization?” As an Israeli, he is a settler on land that belongs to another older and greater civilization. The “civilization” that he hopes to plant is artificial, because it does not exist outside his own mind.
The only evidence of Judaism running a state is modern-day Israel—and who in their right mind will call this state “civilization?”
This is not about being mean—this is simply following Hazony’s bizarre logic and then asking the consequent questions.
But here’s the test of Hazony’s views—he honestly believes that the genocide being carried out by Israel today is not morally equivalent to what happened on October 7, when Gazans burst out of their concentration camps and attacked their guards. For Hazony, who no doubt believes all the narratives of the “atrocities” (like the babies in ovens, etc.), Israel bombing refugees in their tents and slaughtering thousands of children, and now mass starvation, can never even come close to the “horrors” suffered by Israelis on October 7. Whatever Israelis suffer is always unique and can be experienced by no one else. That is the magic of being Israel.
Orban, well-taught by Hazony, speaks of the West’s Christian “identity,” and he seeks to build a Christian “civilization,” starting with Hungary. This seems praiseworthy enough on the face of it. But there are troubling questions. Who made Christianity merely an “identity?” And what is Orban’s understanding of “civilization?” Missing in all this hoopla about Christianity is the very foundation of what Jesus taught—the love of everyone, especially those whom we perceive as enemies. If we cannot love our enemies, then we cannot be Christian. It’s that simple. Which means that the people Orban views as the enemy of his “tribe,” he must love and which he must serve and honor—which means, for starters, to not demonize Muslims and call them barbarians—which is a form of hatred. And then there’s that inconvenient history of Protestant-Muslim alliance to defeat Catholicism. Where would Orban’s Calvinism be, if Muslims of an earlier century did not fund it and promote and nurture it, so he could come and believe in it?
What kind of “Christian civilization” does Victor Orban speak about, as he ignores, and therefore tacitly approves of, the slaughter of the innocent in the Holy Land?
The poison runs deep in the West, because the West has come to believe that it will find Utopia by following the blind who speak soothing words like “identity,” and “civilization,” and “nationalism,” and “patriotism,” which they are told is their “virtue.” Such words always lead to perdition. And Christ warned his true followers about such preachers—”My Kingdom is not of this earth.” Which means that we must never confuse politics with Holy Faith—we must never agree to build Utopias that seek to destroy others.
And to be Christian means that you do not eagerly reach out and shake the bloody hand of Herod. Orban happily invites Netanyahu. That should tell you everything.
