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Or sign-in if you have an account.A Basque police officer charges a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla upon their arrival at Bilbao airport on May 23. Photo by Idurre ETXABURU/AFP via Getty ImagesThe recent Gaza flotilla controversy has exposed, once again, the grotesque double standard that now passes for diplomacy.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorIsrael detained and deported activists who tried to breach a naval blockade in a war zone. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Israel’s handling of the incident, the reaction was immediate, theatrical and global. Governments condemned Israel. Ambassadors were summoned. Israel was accused of violating human dignity and international law.But when Spanish police were filmed at Bilbao airport beating, dragging and handcuffing Gaza flotilla activists — with reports of batons used against people already on the ground — the diplomatic thunder vanished. Four people were reportedly detained. Yet the same voices that found instant moral clarity against Israel suddenly discovered complexity, context and silence.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againPrime Minister Mark Carney, for example, called Israel’s actions “abominable” and “unacceptable.” Yet he has said nothing about the clubbing of flotilla activists by Spanish police. This double standard gives antisemitism license. The only difference between Israel and Spain is that Israel is a Jewish state. The test is not whether Israel should be immune from criticism. It should not be. No democracy is. The test is whether Israel is judged by the same standards as everyone else. When the Jewish state detains activists, it is treated as an international outrage. When a European country’s police visibly club those same activists, nothing is said.This is the world’s oldest prejudice in modern diplomatic dress: the Jew, and now the Jewish state, as uniquely guilty.The Gaza flotilla was a political provocation designed to create confrontation, headlines and martyrs for the cameras. In its war with Hamas, Israel has security obligations that no responsible state can ignore.Deporting foreign activists attempting to break a blockade is hardly unprecedented conduct. And the activists’ claims of being beaten and tased have been firmly denied by the Israeli Prison Service. The fact is that in the case of Spain, we have video evidence of police misconduct. When it comes to Israel, all we have is the word of people whose sole mission was to make the Jewish state look bad.The fact is that the reaction to Israel is never proportional. It’s liturgical. Condemnation comes before facts. Accusation before inquiry. Sanctions before standards.Spain’s conduct should have produced the same outrage from those who claim to care about flotilla activists. It did not, because the flotilla members are useful to the international left only when Israel is the accused. When the batons are Spanish, the moral performance ends.This hypocrisy tells us everything. A world that condemns Israel for detaining and deporting activists but shrugs when Spanish police beat them is not defending human rights. It is singling out the Jewish state for special opprobrium. And that, by any honest name, is antisemitism masquerading as foreign policy.National PostBeryl P. Wajsman is president of the Institute for Public Affairs of Montreal. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.