Anti-Semitism is on the increase around the world

by €=deselby=iosaf off his head = ipsiphi = o as if Sat Apr 26, 2003 12:08

but you generally are on the other extreme.
we need neither anti arabs or anti jews.
just pro-humanity.

That would be the best memory for Wiesenthal, that neither the Holocaust or the Warsaw ghetto would happen again.

Shalom = Saleem.

by Mike Sat Apr 26, 2003 13:44 stepbystepfarm at shaysnet dot com

Humans simply living together without ethnic conflict. What a simple solution for the Israeli - Palestinian conflict. But I think the folks there need help, they need advice, they need examples to show them how it's done. So......

Why don't you folks from THIS site explain to the Israelis and Palestinians how you managed to be all living peacefully together on YOUR island. Not divided any more, not every so often killing each other.

Are you SURE that the Israelis and Palestinians won't manage to learn how to live together in peace before you do? Maybe you'll need to be taking THEIR advice on how to do it.

by . Sat Apr 26, 2003 14:11

Maybe all this anti-semitism is caused by people getting sick of being called anti-semites all the time?
I think Israel are bullies, terrorists and have no right to kill innocent palastinians. According to most vocal Jews, this makes me an anti-semite, apparently.

by Mark Sat Apr 26, 2003 14:32 Haifa, Israel

Unfortunately, there is more than little truth in what Avi says. Some people seem not to be intelligent enough to understand that the very thing we oppose in Israeli policy is another incarnation of mindless hate, as in all other forms of racist and ethnic hate, such as antisemitism.

It greatly saddens me, to some extent as a Jew, but most importantly as a human being and a humanist, that people abuse the just struggle against the crimes of the Israeli state to commit crimes against other innocent people, perhaps in the same way that the Zionist movement abused and abuse the memory of the Holocaust to "justify" their criminal actions.
Yes, it is difficult to be just and not allow oneself the luxury of stereotyping and hate. But it is a difficulty a fighter for peace and justice must overcome to deserve her title.

I sincerely hope that those who commit hate-crimes of any sort, and specifically hate-crimes "inspired" by other people's hate-crimes (since that is what we are now talking about) will turn around and understand that what they are doing is wrong. Not only wrong but also advantageous to the cynical and criminal leadership of the Zionist Israel that has a long history of capitalising on the suffering of the people to further its own interests.

by ipsiphi Sat Apr 26, 2003 14:35

i really like your nudge at the British Irish conflict, the most researched conflict in history.

I really appreciate how you identified it as an "ethnic" conflict, very good, where were you when the Joint Declaration was being cooked up?
Martin Mansergh would have liked that I'm sure.

Isn't it interesting that no-one ever uses the ethnic label for that conflict, normally the ignorant say it's religious.

So Israeli christians serving in the Army and there are many are subject to the same cultural conditioning as Palestinian christians of which there are many, hmmmm. ethnicity is difficult Mike, I think that is why "no.-one" not even Martin Mansergh went near it in 1993.

Perhaps you could suggest a new Good Friday Agreement? like you are on top of the issues no?

Now using your insightful ethnic label, we can perhaps wonder what would have occured if Britain had been protected by Veto at the UN level and the British Irish conflict left to grassroot groups which in the face of sustained illegal military campaigns against them turned to "armed struggle", though as we all know the UN played it's part in conflict resolution without being vetoed didn't it?
hmmm, yes and what is the difference between a British ethnic and an Ulster Scots ethnic?
hmmm. Are Scots catholics and nationalists subject to the same ethnicity conditioning as Ulster loyalists who are still British nationalists?
who is more ethnically British? the Queen, a Jamaican descendent third generation Brixtonian or a Short strand road lambeg drummer?

And as for the Israeli and Palestinians learning to live together in peace, well Mr Bush has visited the little island recently to give everyone his version of peace and will be supporting mr Aznar later this year in a peace conference for the Isreali-Palestinian people.

Perhaps the solution will be the illegalisation of the Palestinians?

and finally but not so least who divided the island?

by iosaf Sat Apr 26, 2003 14:37

Enoch Powell?
he of the ethnic theory and sometime MP for the UUP?
was he party to an ethnic conflict?

by Mark Sat Apr 26, 2003 14:37

In case anyone didn't understand, I was referring to actual hate-crimes, like burning synagogues or attacking people, not the ridiculous accusations of antisemitism thrown at peace activists and other people opposing criminal Israeli policy (myself included)...

by iosaf=ipsiphi= o as if Sat Apr 26, 2003 16:29

toda! shalom.
which is why i generally try and change the wall grafitti that shows "swastika = star of david" into something else, i suggest a "star of david = heart"

by Penny Sat Apr 26, 2003 17:44 stepbystepfarm at shaysnet dot com

It is not absurd for Jewish people to point to the Peace Movement here in the States as being anti-semitic. Why is it that although the frequent mass-murders on the Israel side are such that had they happened to your people, in your home nation, your hometown, you each would have been shocked and horrified -- but because these are happening to Israelis, it's really just fine? That is obviously the position of those who organised the Living Shields/Peace Shields program. I was involved with a leftist-activist group for about six months prior to the Passover Bombing after which the reprisals against the Palestinians. The sheer volume of hate-think and irrational delight at the excuse to let their bigotry roam free was sickening.

Why aren't there Living Shields in Israel, protecting school buses, markets, movie theatres? Can it be only because the terrorists would not respect their special identifying jackets? Both sides have been savaged by the terrorists insistance that there can be no Peace unless Israel is destroyed. If the Peace Movement worked honestly with both sides instead of treating it like a football game and picking a team to side with then their involvement might have some meaning for actual Peace!

by Come on Avi Sat Apr 26, 2003 18:00

more from Avi's info war!
Avi what about the strom troops blitz in palastian last week?

by Mark Sat Apr 26, 2003 22:06 Haifa, Israel

Again, people often find it easier, when supporting a certain side in a conflict - for example, the Palestinian side - to give in, as you said, to a football game mentality. I am nonetheless certain that a person honest to himself (or herself, of course) would understand that the innocents on both "sides" don't really belong to any side at all.
The matter with the human shields is that, after all, Israel is the one occupying and terrorising the Palestinians. The heavy artillery, in both metaphoric and literal terms is on "our" side (although I would never consider myself on Israel's side, or vice versa...). Therefore, people go to stand against the soldiers of an occupying army. They do not ride buses in Israel because they have no business there - Israel is "defending" these buses well enough (let's ignore causes and motives for a moment) and also, while there is a certain certainty of defending someone when standing in front of a tank, there is no need to man all the thousands of Israeli buses when one gets bombed every once in a while. The level of destruction that terrorists cause in Israel cannot be compared at all to the incredible carnage that Israel causes in the Occupied Territories. Not that I am justifying any terrorist actions - I believe that you have noticed that I am against the killing of innocents, and I also know people who have died in terrorist attacks and have several friends who lost relatives and/or best friends in terrorist attacks - I am simply trying to put things into proportion.
It is true that many, probably most, individuals serving in the Israeli Army do not do so out of a conviction and desire to terrorise and abuse the Palestinian people. But the command decisions of that army and the policies of that state cause them to do so - while manipulating their feelings, thier resolve and judgment already weakened or even destroyed by an incredibly efficient system of torture and brainwashing into submission of the soldiers. The result is an entire state geared into conquest, war and a nearly ruthless campaign of terror and nearly an entire people following blindly, while many, even most of them sincerely believe in peace and humanity. It is a frightening prospect that something like this can even exist.
But I digress. The "new" antisemitism is a result of the actions of the Israeli state, actions perhaps made unavoidable by its very existence (I believe so), that transforms into something ugly in the minds of those who do not always stop to think and reflect.
The reality is that people die. Not thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of Israelis. But one person, and then another person, and then another. Not soldiers or terrorists or guerilla fighters, or even innocent civilians. But this person, and that person, and my neighbor, and my friend's sister, and then some other person I do not know at all. But he also was once alive and now he is dead. Emperors and bishops and peasants, and Jews and Israelis and Palestinians - they all take exactly the same room in the grave. And we, as fighters for peace and life, and as human beings, must not forget that.

by Avi H. Sun Apr 27, 2003 06:48

Israel is not waging a war of conquest, merely one of self-defence. The fact that the Palestinian territories have had to be kept in lockdown since the start of the Intifada is simply a function of the murderous intent and anarchy prevailing there. If Israel was indeed bent on conquest it would never have given back the Sinai to Egypt and would have driven the Arab populations from the West Bank and Gaza already, something which militarily it is perfectly capable of doing.

You're sadly deluded about anti-Semitism. It is alive and well and, sadly, seems to be resurging as memories of the holocaust fade. Anti-Semitism arises of itself, and not in response to any actions that Jews or Israel may or may not take. There is nothing whatever you can do to placate a true anti-Semite. He or she just wants to harm you because you are a Jew, and for no other reason. As such, anti-Semitism has been endemic in the Arab world for many hundreds of years. The conflict with the Palestinians is just a manifestation of it, as it could have been settled by negotiation long ago, if the Arabs had wanted it. The fact that the conflict is misreported in terms that goad anti-Semites is another manifestation.

by Penny Sun Apr 27, 2003 15:30

Please do not misunderstand me. I was trying to point to the rise in antisemitism. The Living Shields are not physically stopping the Israeli incursions, they are MORALLY acting as barriers to the best of their ability.

By ignoring Israel's pain, by trivialising it by only having a presence in the Palestinian territories, they are making a statement of an ethical nature. They are putting the deaths, the individual and highly personal tragedies of Israelis in a null category while dramatising and validating the pain and sorrow of the Palestinians. Their action is nothing more than an international act of symbolism. To treat their decision as if it were simply one of strategic practical significance is not acceptable to me. An equal concern for all and a push for real Peace which says NO to violence from all sides would be much clearer and more meaningful.

As it is, their process has been to further polarise and harden the positions of the militant and violent from both sides. They have not only failed, they have made things worse.

And, you are not out here. You do not see the absolute glee with which the antisemites are using this.

by Lance - ObservingIsraeliDisInformationSpreaders Sun Apr 27, 2003 19:21 lance at graffiti dot net

Israeli: "Oh - We can't stop assassignation Missling whole apartment buildings and missle-destroying whole vans with some people in them whom we SUSPECT are violently trying to drive us out of Occupation of their land - UNTIL they stop trying to get us out of THEIR LAND by killing us; just as we have killed them in order to Invade and to KEEP and STAY in THEIR land."

"The Palestinians who are trying to drive us Out of THEIR land by killing us - just as we killed them to Invade their land and now kill them to STAY in OCCUPATION of their land - are Evil. We the Israelis, the Occupiers of the Palestinian's land - are good, honest, decent killing Occupiers."

"The Palestinians Rebels trying to FREE THEIR LAND by killing us, the 35 year Occupiers of their land, are Evil killers. WE the Israeli Occupiers are the Good killers."

"And we have to keep cutting down their olive orchards too - and crushing their homes with bulldozers. And killing any Foreign witnesses to these acts of ours, by crushing their heads with bulldozers if they get in the way or shooting them through the eye if they try to take pictures. This is just what good, decent people like us Israelis do. All decent people should do things like this and find 'good excuses' for it like we do."

"Anyone who says otherwise is an "Antisemite". And we will shut them up by having OUR supporters around the world call criticism of Israeli Take Over of Palestine 'Anti-semites'. This Anti-semite card has always worked pretty well to discredit anyone who criticises us."

THE PALESTINIAN SIMPLY SAYS: "Israelis: Get out of my land that you took by killing and violence - or I will keep trying to drive you out by killing and violence - the same way you Stole My land."

There are no 'two sides' to this Israeli conquest and murderous Land robbery: Not unless there are two sides to Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler.

Your own Jewish academics have designated you Israeli supporters 'Nazis resurected'. It's not me who says that but Norman Finklestein
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/id128.htm

Noam Chomsky and your own soldiers! at

http://www.couragetorefuse.org

Go ahead and call these holocaust survivor Jews 'Anti-semites'.

Your anti-semite card truncheon is expired.

by Avi Sun Apr 27, 2003 21:41

It doesn't really matter what justification anti-Semites give to their hatred: it used to be that we were the killers of Christ, now it is that we are the killers of the Palestinians. However, the list is endless. The point is that this is a form of racism that dare not speak its name, especially among left-wing people.

by lance Sun Apr 27, 2003 23:37

So if we mention that it is Israeli policy to kill Palestinians in their own land of Palestine that Israel holds in bondage- by killing suspects with missiles, by assasinating suspects, by destroying whole families homes with bulldozers, by crushing the skulls of those who stand in the way with bulldozers, by destroying their olive orchards::

If we say any of that which happens to be the truth - the truth then is anti-semitic

Yes, you have done well to make even speaking the truth anti-semitic -- just if that truth happens to be about Israel

by Avi H. Mon Apr 28, 2003 04:52

Reasoned criticism is not anti-Semitic; ranting is.

by ipsiphi Mon Apr 28, 2003 10:11

look at this report.
just appeared on NYC IMC.
a feature article.
it is not the first time that International Peace Activists have reported use of gas or nerve agents in the Palestinian areas.
Several times in the last years the Israeli authorities have been accused by activists and the Palestinian Authority to have used such ·illegal· means of control.
I shall not rant.
Shalom=Saleem.

by € Mon Apr 28, 2003 10:13 Radhika 00 972 475 663

and offers the number and name...
Radhika 00 972 475 663
why not call them?
put a +00 1 before the 972 475 663.
its a NYC number.
will I find an Israeli number?
shalom = saleem.

less ranting more humanity.

by jewboy Mon Apr 28, 2003 11:57

www.israelshamir.net is talking about zog now

zog is a fact

wake up

www.ihr.org

by Jim Monaghan Mon Apr 28, 2003 12:31

Why cannot Ari accept the right of return of the people, Palestinian, both Moslem and Christian driven out of the State of Israel and now being driven out of parts of the occupied territories. Would that not provide a basis for democracy if they were given the right to vote. But that would upset the zionist applecart. Israeli "democracy" is based on having an inbuilt sectarian and racist majority and that is why they cannot allow a right of return.
Anti-semetism should be opposed as should all forms of discrimination. Making people stateless is a nasty variation of same

by kokomero Mon Apr 28, 2003 12:42

Call me what you like but it will never excuse what Israel is doing to the Palestinians, and I have plenty of company from Jews, Israelis and other right thinking people who are not afraid to speak out against Israeli abuses:

http://shamir.mediamonitors.net/may162002.html

If you are called an anti-Semite, it does not mean too much: even Wolfowitz, the Jewish Zionist bigot hawk and supporter of Sharon, was booed as anti-Semite by even more fervent American Jews. Even Ariel Sharon, the mass murderer of Sabra and Shatila, of Qibya and Jenin, was relegated into ‘anti-Semite lefties’ by the bloody-minded supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu.

That is why there is no reason to incessantly apologise for offending sensibilities. The Left can accept the offered definition and to reply with a shrug while being called ‘anti-Semitic’, as it would certainly respond to accusations of ‘anti-British’ or ‘anti-aristocratic’ behaviour. The Jews are not Les Misérables any more; after 1960s, they occupy (in the US and Europe) a position similar to that of Brahmins in India. The Left should try to undo their supremacy, while preserving and using their talents and abilities.

http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/id129.htm

The criticism leveled against Israeli policy is valid. In private conversation (as I've discovered) they freely admit to this. They profess to fear that, if Jewish abuses become public knowledge, it will unleash a tidal wave of anti-Semitism. Is there really any likelihood of this happening in Germany today? And isn't vigorous and candid debate the best means to stem an anti-Semitic tide: exposing the abuses of the Jewish establishment as well as the demagogues who exploit these abuses for nefarious ends? What politically correct Germans really fear, I suspect, is the loss of power and privilege attendant on challenging the uncritical support of all things Jewish. Indeed, their public defense of the indefensible not only breeds cynicism in political life but, far from combating anti-Semitism among Germans, actually engenders it. Isn't this duplicity typically credited to a dread of, or a desire to curry favor with, a presumed all-powerful Jewry? One also can't help but wonder what thoughts run through the heads of politically correct Germans about Jews when the ones they typically consort with, prostrate themselves before in unctuous penance, and publicly laud are known to be the worst sort of hucksters.

by Avi H. Mon Apr 28, 2003 13:06

To deny the mere possibility of anti-Semitism is to be an anti-Semite.

by Aunty Mon Apr 28, 2003 13:08

Perhaps you would like to explain why there is no mention of anti-semitic attacks in the US Avi?

Why aren't you concerned that in the US such attacks are running at 9 times the level of attacks in France?

ADL Releases New Figures on Anti-Semitic Incidents: More Than 1,500 Acts Reported Across U.S. in 2002. Campus Figures Up 24 Percent

by Ali Habibi Mon Apr 28, 2003 14:52

As a self-confessed murderer of Palestinian women and children, apologist for Ethnic-cleansing and Race-hater Avi knows what he is talking about when he uses labels.

Good on you Avi, use your credibility, and let those Anti-Semites have it!

by Avi H. Mon Apr 28, 2003 15:29

The previous post is a good example of what I mean by ranting.

by corporal clegg Mon Apr 28, 2003 16:00

Attack helicopters and armoured bulldozers may break my bones, but words like ANTISEMITE will never justify israels crime.

by Ali Habibi Mon Apr 28, 2003 17:14

Everybody, listen to the words of Avi, which are pearls of wisdom, and make sure to take him seriously, you all must understand that he is the greatest authority, completely unbiased and the most credible poster on this race-hate filled site.

by COC Mon Apr 28, 2003 17:55

Israel is to blame for the rise in Antisemetism.Jews sharing power with each other and being racist towards non jews is causing antisemetism.Their control of the american congress is causing antisemitism.They even control the oscars.Make a film about a poor oul Yid in a concentration camp and your sure to get an oscar.You'd swear they were the only race that ever suffered before."Poor us we control; half the world and thats not enough.The holocaust blah blah blah".
Long live the PLO.

by Mark Mon Apr 28, 2003 18:56

The problem with trying to argue that antisemitism today is not what paranoid/interested Israeli authorities make it out to be, is that there is an almost absolute certainty for a real antisemite (or otherwise extremely stupid person) to show up and totally massacre the above argument by example.
I certainly hope that nonetheless the less intelligent and more bigoted and prejudiced responses here are the exception rather than the rule. Will it be safe for me, as a Jew, to emigrate to Ireland one day, as I have long dreamed of doing?

by Maubere Mon Apr 28, 2003 20:16

Avi, what the difference between "reasoned criticism" and "ranting"

Given that Arabs are a Semetic people its true to say that anti-semetism is on the rise, hatred of Arabs is very strong in Israel,
what do you think of Israelis chanting "Death to the Arabs", it sounds very similar to the chants the Nazi used in the 1930s
Do you object to the Holocaust because 6 million people were murderd or because 6 million Jewish people were murdered,
we should all show solidarity to victims of persecution no matter what their religion or national group and not just because they are part of "our" group

by gargoyle Mon Apr 28, 2003 23:49

The people that argue for this know it will destroy Israel. If the palestinians gained control of the government, they slaughter Israelis like never before; it would make the holocaust pale in comparison.

And why are the same people not asking for right of return for all the Jews forcefully expelled from their land in arab countries?

by Penny Tue Apr 29, 2003 02:36

Some of these writers cannot tell the difference between valid objections to actions and those flights of fancy which demonize all individuals of an ethnic category, all over the world because of the actions of a few.

Some political thinkers cannot look at the world and recognise that there are many worse events and governments and atrocities happening in places other than Israel. They have no heart for the people of Somalia, Nicaragua, the Kurds -- all those people are not important enough to fuss over. And why? Because our so-called "radical" community is blinded by their prejudices so that they see only one place in all the world which fulfills their need to hate deeply.

It is completely valid to even-handedly expose the atrocities of every hell-hole on the planet. And there is nothing wrong with grieving for ALL the victims of mass murder and community anihilation. This is not prejudice. This is a just vision.

But do you hate and bitterly persecute every Chinese person in your community because of Tibet? Do you assume that all Chinese are monsters because of Tibet? I hope you have more wisdom than this.

Please. If you are capable of honesty, if you actually want to help create a better world, learn to cleanse yourself of this deep-seated bigotry.

by R Isible - 1 of IMC Tue Apr 29, 2003 04:23

Anti-Jewish anti-semitism is wrong!
by NZ Herald contributor Tue, Apr 29 2003, 12:54am

It seems that for every valid debate issue regarding Israel and the middle east, countless anti-semites come out of the woodword to spew ridiculous anti-Israel nonsense, often ranting about "the Jews" in the process, ruining what could be valid discussions among realistic, educated, non-racist people.

New Zealand Herald

Is it anti-Semitic to criticise Israel?

No one will deny the historical existence of anti-Jewish hatred and persecution, but few want to believe that it is still prevalent in the modern, post-Holocaust world.

However, the establishment of the state of Israel, a Jewish state, has seen the development of newly disguised anti-Semitism (meaning, in this case, being anti the Jewish people) which takes the form of political criticism of Israel.

In itself, political criticism is a free right reserved by citizens of democracies, and it is irresponsible to label it otherwise. To condemn the political actions of the Israeli state is not, of itself, to be anti-Semitic. Israel's policies, as regards settlements and targeted killings, are legitimate targets for criticism and should be subject to scrutiny as the actions of other countries are.

But if it is complained (as it is) that some Jews are unable to distinguish between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism, it would seem that this is a widespread phenomenon that non-Jews suffer as well.

After all, why should anti-Israel protest necessitate the defilement of Jewish graveyards, the burning of synagogues, fresh Nazi-themed graffiti at Holocaust camps and memorial sites, or verbal and physical assaults on Jews in Paris and Berlin? How do these acts advance political discourse?

Since the Israel-Palestine peace process collapsed in 2000, and the second Palestinian Intifada began, anti-Semitic incidents in Britain, Canada, Australia and Western Europe have been at their highest level since the Holocaust.

Acts of anti-Semitism reached such proportions in Europe last year that Time magazine felt prompted to devote a cover issue to its resurgence, and a British daily, The Sun, published a full-page article headed "The Jewish faith is not an evil religion".

A June 2002 survey by the Anti-Defamation League revealed that more than a quarter of Europeans were "fairly unconcerned" or "not concerned at all" about this outbreak of anti-Jewish violence.

In addition, 62 per cent of Europeans believed such violence was not a demonstration of anti-Semitism, but rather "anti-Israel sentiment".

This suggests a refusal to accept that European anti-Semitism is enjoying a revival, only 60 years after the Holocaust. Yet European officials have warned their Jewish populations to avoid public displays of Jewishness, instead of promising to protect their Jewish communities.

At the same time, anti-Semitism is alive and well in Israel's Arab neighbour-states, where it is easier to turn a blind eye because almost all Jews were expelled when Israel was established in 1948.

Common themes in the Middle Eastern media, schools and mosques are the infamous "blood libel" (accusing Jews of using the blood of non-Jewish children to make Passover matzahs), the belief in a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world, and the vicious fraud that 4000 Jews were absent from the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, because they had been warned to stay at home by the Israeli Mossad.

Tishreen, the government-owned Syrian daily, once claimed that "Zionism created the Holocaust myth to blackmail and terrorize the world's intellectuals and politicians", while Mein Kampf remains a best-seller in the Middle East.

It seems ironic that there is so much concern these days to avoid anti-Muslim or Arab prejudice, including in New Zealand, and yet anti-Semitism receives scant attention.

In the March 2003 report of the UN Human Rights Commission on contemporary forms of racism, 57 paragraphs are devoted to anti-Muslim and Arab prejudice. Anti-Semitism received one paragraph.

In such times, it is important to ask whether the distinction between being anti-Israel and being anti-Semitic has been blurred, and to consider that on occasions, in fact, they are the same thing.

Anti-Semitism can express itself in more subtle forms than the jack-booted persecution or Russian pogroms of the past, and the vandalism and arson of "Jewish property", as well as physical assaults on Jewish people, of recent years.

Is it possible to be prejudiced without even knowing that you are?

Perhaps the most rampant form of the new anti-Semitism is Holocaust inversion; where Israelis are demonised as Nazis and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is compared with Adolf Hitler.

Israel is accused of genocide, despite the fact that it is the Palestinians who dance in the streets when Israelis and Americans are killed by terrorists.

Swastika-covered Israeli flags were on display in recent Aotea Square and Queen Street anti-war parades. Booklets and posters, endorsed by Members of Parliament, are available throughout our universities, parading pictures of terrorists and asking that New Zealanders participate in the "final demise of apartheid Israel".

It is also fashionable, once again, to blame all the world's social ills on the Jews and Israel; including the war on Iraq (Michael Lerner, a left-leaning Jewish activist, was recently prevented from participating in an anti-war demonstration in California because he is Jewish) and worldwide Muslim agitation. According to this view, Israel is to blame for Muslim killings of Hindus in Kashmir, Christians in Southern Sudan and Catholics in the Phillipines.

Today, we witness a distinct tendency towards acceptance of this new anti-Semitism in "polite society", under the guise of political comment. To identify it is to be accused of suppression, as Robert Fisk writes in his article, "How to shut up your critics with the anti-Semitic word".

According to Fisk, the Israeli Government is running "a vicious campaign of slander ... against any journalist or activist who dares to criticise Israeli policies". Israel, he claims, uses the term anti-Semitism "with ever-increasing promiscuity against anyone ... in an attempt to shut them up".

Meanwhile, political and intellectual circles are contributing towards a climate of anti-Jewish antipathy in which it quickly becomes legitimate to hate Jews.

This begs the question: how does one distinguish between anti-Semitism and political comment?

The distinction: Ask yourself, is it fair political comment to single out Israel for a divestment campaign, to call it a pariah state and have it permanently denied a seat on the UN Security Council, but ignore the occupation by Syria (which currently chairs the Security Council) of Lebanon, Tibet by China, Northern Cyprus by Turkey, and Chechnya by Russia?

How many signs have you seen calling for freedom for these occupied lands, or indeed for independent Kurdish or Armenian states, in the recent anti-war marches?

Even drawing parallels with these occupations fails to recognise that Israel acquired the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and the West Bank from Jordan - not through aggressive expansionism, but when it was attacked by those and other Arab states in 1967.

(That is why, contrary to popular belief, there is no UN Security Council resolution requiring Israel to unilaterally withdraw from these lands.)

Nor do such parallels recognise that this territory has been repeatedly offered as an independent state for the Palestinians (as early as the UN Partition Plan of 1947) but that such offers have always been rejected by the Arab states and the Palestinian Authority.

Now ask yourself this: How can the lie that Israel massacred civilians in the Jenin refugee camp (of which Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International found no evidence), and Israel's handling of the second Intifada generally, have brought Israel more vilification than the perpetrators of the massacre of 8000 Palestinians in Jordan on one day in 1970; over a million Tutsis in 100 days in Rwanda in 1994; and 7000 Muslims by Bosnian Serbs in Srebrenica in a couple of hours in 1995?

Why is it that Israel is accused of apartheid when Israeli Arabs (both men and women) have more rights than those living anywhere else in the Middle East?

Apartheid connotes separate development without universal suffrage. Yet Israeli Arabs have members in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), and have equal rights to healthcare, land acquisition, business opportunity and freedom of expression as do other Israelis. The ingredients of apartheid simply do not exist within Israel.

And how should one understand that the Palestinians are so desperate that they resort to suicide bombing, when hundreds of other groups around the world who believe they are being colonised (including the Maori) do not resort to the same means?

Do these facts necessarily make Israel right? No. But it is a double-standard to ignore or condone in one state what Israel is vilified for.

And where a double-standard differentiates between racial or religious groups, it is called prejudice.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3451582&thesection=news&thesubsection=dialogue

add your comments
COMMENTS

Thank You
by Penny Tue, Apr 29 2003, 1:15am

When those who cry Peace! Peace! behave in ways which fan the flames of hatred and bigotry then there is some deeply disturbing force welling up within those very people who should be trustworthy models of conscience. Those of you who cannot look within and detect the dirty steriotypes of Hitler's mythos guiding this incredible world-wide outbreak of prejudice and irrational hatred have no right any more to see yourselves as true radicals -- and no right to think of yourselves as included in the bright dream of "Another World Is Possible". This bigotry and irrational hatred taints everything the new radicalism might have been.

Two points
by R Isible - 1 of IMC Tue, Apr 29 2003, 3:21am

1. This "story" is a reproduction from a mainstream news source. You should write a summary and provide the link.

2. More importantly this story is actually better placed as a comment to the earlier story posted about anti-semitism.

As a result I'm moving this thread as a comment to the earlier story so that the newswire remains compact, vital and relevant.

Please, think before you post, show respect for fellow newswire users and save the editors the time wasted on shifting your outpourings about.

Thanks.

by Avi H. Tue Apr 29, 2003 05:59

It's a not a reproduction from a mainstream news source.

by Avi H. Tue Apr 29, 2003 06:01

Obviously, the quote from the NZ Herald is.

by Gaillimhed Tue Apr 29, 2003 11:44

SPIN SPIN SPIN....more of the same ..trying to turn criticism of israel into an anti-jewish hate crime.
The story begins with:
"newly disguised anti-Semitism... which takes the form of political criticism of Israel".
and then goes on to link protest against israeli policy with the desescration of graveyards.
Fuck off
PROPAGANDA

I constantly criticise Israel, I dont give a damn what religion they lay claim to, or what race they belong to. Am I an Anti-semite? Why should my abhorrence of Iraeli war crimes put me in the same boat as skin-head grave smashers.
PROPAGANDA

2+2=5

by David Landy Tue Apr 29, 2003 11:51

It's fair to say that there has been a increase in anti-Jewish incidents in the last few years. To say that these attacks are motivated by hatred of Israel rather than hatred of Jews is mere semantics - it doesn't matter to the victims.

But the increase has been a mild one. Taking the case of the UK - in the 1990s there was an average of 260 anti-semitic incidents per year. Then the amount jumped to 410 in 2000 before going back to 305 in 2001, and I think about the same for last year.

However, what has increased massively has been the fear of anti-semitism by Jews. Ridiculous statements like Wiesenthal's are common and have helped fan a climate of fear. The ADL is especially notorious for its widely inflated claims of anti-semitism. To them virtually anyone is an anti-semite.

These claims are made for two reasons - as noted above to deflect criticism from Israel. But they're also made to keep Jews in line as supporters of the Zionist project - if behind every anti-Israeli is an anti-semite then Jews have no option but to support Israel.

Also, all these claims of near-universal anti-semitism make it hard to isolate and deal with the real anti-semites. Give it a break

David Landy

by kokomero Tue Apr 29, 2003 11:55

Your posting may be "original" but as usual Avi you are DELIBERATELY missing the important point.

Why don't you treat the other users of this site with the respect they deserve by posting responsibly, and post your "new" information as a comment to your earlier posts on anti-semitism?

If you want to your posts to be taken seriously you should also pay other users the courtesy of posting your sources!

If you do not post sources and claim all of your posts to be your own original work you must be a very busy man with very deep pockets, and a huge number of frequent flyer miles scouring every corner of the globe for material?

In this case you should clearly state who your patron is!

by Dagda Tue Apr 29, 2003 12:13

To accuse of anti-Semitism on patheticically tenuous or irrelevant grounds is to be a Zio-Nazi!

by Avi H. Tue Apr 29, 2003 12:57

There's plenty, plenty of it in Arab countries even as we speak. And a lot of it is the kind of stuff we've seen before - in Tsarist Russian and Nazi Germany. Check out the link.

by haha Tue Apr 29, 2003 13:44

It's kinda funny watching the anti-Israel people rant and rave screaming stuff like:

(1) anti-semitism is because of how israel acts

MY RESPONSE: Uh, see, CIVILIZED, INTELLIGENT, PEOPLE who are NOT anti-semitic are NOT going to start blaming "all the jews" for the alleged actins of SOME OTHER jews.

See, if I'm not racist against black people, and some black country in africa does bad things, I'm not going to suddenly go around beating up black people around me. Because I'm normal and not an idiot. Whereas, the sick idiots around the world have contempt for "the jews" in any location because they don't like how SOME OTHER jewish people choose to deal with lunatic terrorist extremists.

an (2) Israel does (insert bad stuff here)

MY RESPONSE: it's always funny when people accuse Israel of doing X, and X may or may not be happening, yet there are countless other countries were X is DEFINITELY happening, yet those same people have no problem with it elsewhere.

In Israel, they have an annual gay pride parade.

In Egypt, it's illegal to be gay.

In Israel, all israeli citizens of every religion (almost 1 million israelis are muslim) vote and work and there are arabs/muslims in teh actual israeli government.

In Saudia Arabia, it's illegal to even BE a Jew, let alone be a jew and work or vote.

In Israel, everyone votes for the government representatives.

In neighboring countries, the governemtn representives are crazed dictators who kill anyone who opposes them.

It is RIDICULOUS to single Israel out the way some people do.

Now, as for Palestinians (who are NOT israeli citizens, but living next door), Palestins have been led by the SAME CRAZED ASSHOLE for 35 years now, Yasser Arafat. While Israel has had lots of leaders with different views, Israel has had leftist leaders, righty leaders, hardline leaders, leaders willing to negotiate almost everything, Israel has tried peace, Israel has tried war, Israel has tried EVERYTHING, but Palestinians have been led by the same jackass this whole time. Arafat in the 60's, 70's and 80's called for israel's destruction. In the 1990's, he finally gave up and agreed that he no longer wanted israel destroyed, so in return for that, israel armed him and about 10,000 of his police. For most of the 1990's, arafat controlled over 90% of the west bank and gaza strip. What did this get Israel? Nothing but continued terrorist attacks.

3 years ago, israel offered to remove all settlements, give palestinians the west bank and gaza strip, AND share east jerusalem! How did arafat and palestinians respond to this? By rejecting it and starting terrorism up full steam with yet another idiotic self-destructive intifada.

See, the way it works with occupation is that FIRST, the occupied people have to agree to stop being lunatic terrorist extremist nutcases, and to not support nuts like hamas who think if they blow themselves up, Allah will reward them.. AND THEN, AFTER THEY ACT CIVIL AND NORMAL, israel should then offer a land for peace deal again.

And for the historically ignorant, Israel and egypt were able to make a real peace deal, and it WORKED.

And for the historically ignorant, Israel and jordan were able to make a real peace deal, and it WORKED.

ALso for the historically ignorant, arafat and the PLO fought with israel AND jordan AND lebanon AND kuwait in the past. Read about "Black September" (look it up) when King Hussein of jordan was so sick of palestinian terrorists messing with Jordan (YES, with JORDAN) that attacked and killed like 10,000 palestinians in ONE MONTH. WHy did that happen? Because arafat was leading the palestinians.

It's one thing to yell about specific isolated incidents that israel does, but THE BIG PICTURE is what matters, and in the BIG PICTURE, had palestinians had responsible leaders instead of terrorist loons making decisions for them, they'd have had their own state by now.

THE SOLUTION is for (1) palestinians to call off their idiotic infidada, get rid of hamas (or else israel has to do it for them), and replace arafat with RESPONSIBLE LEADERS, AND THEN (2) israel will respond with another land for peace offer.

It makes NO SENSE for israel to just hand over tons of land control to palestinians if arafat (PA) and hamas are going to be the most influential leaders. If that happens, palestine will just be yet another terrorist state that will eventually attack israel, and maybe israel might have to respond with HUGE weapons that kills thousands at a time. That would be bad! But if palestinans are lead by NORMAL SANE HUMANS who won't attack israel, then once they set their state up, they won't attack israel, so israel won't attack them.

by Aunty Tue Apr 29, 2003 15:15

How about Avi ... is that a rant or what? In fact I'd say its the mother of all rants.

Haha, Jews dont have a monopoly on persecution because of their religion or ethnicity. Take for example the treatment meeted out to obvious Muslims in pretty much any Western country as an example. This is not restricted to the period since 9/11 either as anybody living where there is a Turkish minority in Europe will tell you.

Their crime ... wearing headscarves etc. I've had to defend Muslims on the streets of Dublin from being called black bastards etc.

Of course you and Avi, are only too happy to foment this anti-Muslim feeling as it serves your mission to disenfranchise and ethnically cleanse Muslims from those portions of the middle east you believe belong exclusively to you.

by Avi H. Tue Apr 29, 2003 20:38

Contributors who can't see the difference between pointing out race hatred and stirring up race hatred have a serious problem.

by Aunty Wed Apr 30, 2003 10:05

Correct me if I'm wrong Avi but aren't you the guy who called Palestinians animals etc. on this site on several occaisions in the past?

You have jumped at every opportunity to discredit Arabs and Muslims as primitive, intolerant, incapable of self-government etc.

YOU are arrogant and have the nerve to lecture others on racial intolerance as YOUR activities make YOU guilty of stirring up race hatred, on this site and elsewhere I'm sure.

I dare you to deny it!

by Avi H. Wed Apr 30, 2003 15:05

I never called the Palestinians animals. I said they act like animals. This was in reference to bestial way their police forces and militias treat Jews.

by Avi H. Wed Apr 30, 2003 15:12

I have said on a number of occasions that there is nothing wrong with Muslims or Arabs intrinsically as human beings. What I have said is that in my view their culture is both sick and primitive. This is evidenced by the appalling race hate that is very common, if not mainstream, in those countries, not just for Jews but for blacks and other minorities as well, by their intolerant attitudes to homosexuals, by their appalling treatment of women for the most part, by the squalor of their prisons and mental hospitals, by their lamentable - and virtually non-existent - record of scientific and technological endeavour, by their non-democratic political culture, and on and on and on. These are objectively verifiable facts that have nothing whatever to do with racism.

I have travelled all over the Arab world - one way or another. I always have to hide my identity as a Jew in case I get lynched: No such necessity for a muslim in Israel.

by Peter Newman Mon May 05, 2003 19:52

The answer is to be found on THE ROAD TO BALLYSEEDY CROSS.
--Peter Newman