State Dept: Criticism of Israel = Anti-Semitism?

Friday, March 14th, 2008 in News by Jim Lobe| Comment |

In the most recent edition of its annual “Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism” released Thursday, the State Department — and hence the U.S. government — moves ever more closely to a long-standing neo-conservative tenet: that criticism of Israel or Israeli policies often, if not always, equals anti-Semitism. The report also suggests that comparing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories to South African apartheid — as former President Jimmy Carter did in his 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid — also amounts to anti-Semitism. And it focuses on the United Nations as a breeding ground for anti-Semitism as expressed through criticism of Israel, another major neo-conservative theme that has intensified sharply over the past five years, notably through the efforts of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, the National Review Online and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page.

Here’s the argument as laid out in the introductory section of the report entitled Contemporary Forms of Anti-Semitism”:

“Anti-Semitism has proven to be an adaptive phenomenon. New forms of anti-Semitism have evolved. They often incorporate elements of traditional anti-Semitism. However, the distinguishing feature of the new anti-Semitism is criticism of Zionism or Israeli policy that — whether intentionally or unintentionally — has the effect of promoting prejudice against all Jews by demonizing Israel and Israelis and attributing Israel’s perceived faults to its Jewish character.

Huh? Imagine if we couldn’t criticize Hitler in our fight against Nazism. Or that we couldn’t criticize Communism. The day massacres, Apartheid, genocide, terrorism by Settlers and bombing civilians and children to smithereens is acceptable or cannot be criticized, is the day when Justice has died!

This sort of thing is exactly what creates anti-Semitism. Now more and more around the world’s 6.6 Billion inhabitants hate Israelis policies and Nazi-like actions. Well, this must make the whole world anti-Semitic then, right?

Hogwash!

Watch Dr. Norman Finkelstien video on this topic (other parts listed on Youtube or at the link provided by The Sphinx )

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