We have to wonder whether our public officials really think Malaysians are naïve enough to swallow all that junk about Israel being the secret hand that moves all kinds of forces against the beleaguered Putrajaya administration.

There is no doubt that Israel is at the heart of one of the most horrifying human rights abuses of the century, and that only lends credibility to the image of a powerful oppressor that seeks to undermine Muslim rule all over the world. The issue of Palestine and the issue of the Zionist takeover of Jerusalem have long been bugbears for many good Muslims and others. The traditional support for Israel worldwide has been eroded by the more progressive views of the youth and the widespread availability of information regarding its abuses.

But now we come to Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi’s recent pronouncement that DAP is under investigation by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. The alleged crime? Accepting RM1.2 billion in funding from Tel Aviv for GE13 on the condition that Israel would be allowed to open a naval base in Port Dickson should the opposition win the election.

Let’s look at the maths for a moment. BN spent RM1.5 billion on the election, and it won 133 of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat. With just RM0.3 billion less, you would have imagined that DAP would have won much more seats than it did. But all this is beside the point.

Clearly, if Zahid’s claim is true, DAP must be sternly reminded that it is not acceptable to take political funding from foreign countries to influence the outcome of an election. But as we now know, there is nothing wrong in accepting an even much bigger amount – RM2.6 billion, to be precise – to influence an election’s outcome. So, DAP may want to reconsider the semantics of its messaging on the issue to prevent confusion over technical terms like “funding,” “donation” and “investment,” which is the same problem currently plaguing BN.

Now, in all seriousness, to the man on the street, the only difference between the RM2.6 billion donation scandal and the alleged funding of DAP is the antagonistic party involved, in this case Israel. Clearly, to a majority-Muslim country, Israel is the ultimate enemy. What better friend for my enemy to have than the people’s biggest enemy?

Putrajaya must be cautious against treading too far in directions that may take it further from public goodwill. There may, of course, be a segment of the public that buys into stories of DAP’s collusion with Israel. But the large majority is suspicious, to put it mildly. Unless there is undeniable, documented proof that there was indeed a DAP agreement with Tel Aviv, this allegation will be treated with disgust. It will be seen as just another attempt to create something for the public to fight over.

The Israel scapegoat is getting old, and it is more than likely the government is shooting itself in the foot again. There are indeed legitimate worries about DAP, but all this talk of a hidden bogeyman will only worsen the revulsion against BN.