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The Politics of Anti-Semitism

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Excellent book that explores the differences between race based hatred of Jews and legitate criticism of Israel and Zionism. Half of the authors are Jewish, also known as "self hating Jews" to the Israel can do no wrong crowd who dismiss this book, and anyone who questions or criticizes Israel, as racist and anti-Semitic.

By refusing to differentiate between legitmate criticism of Israel's racist, apartheid policies (which are openly discussed in the mainstream Israeli press but not in the mainstream U.S. press)(...), these short sighted critics are giving a good name to anti-Semitism.

18 various essays from astute writers explore the recent claim that Anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide. Without a doubt it is clear that most of the authors attribute the new claims of anti-Semitism in response to the heightened worldwide awareness and moral criticism of Israeli policy in the West Bank and Gaza, along with its special nation status the world's only superpower has bestowed upon it.
The essays are in no way meant to trivialize true anti-Semitism, and the book does not ignore that true anti-Semitism exists.The real thing is explored and deplored in this book, but the focus is on what should constitute true anti-Semitism with what is merely a convenient way to silence anyone who criticizes Israeli policy, thus threatening open debate and democracy.

This is not a book you will just breeze through. I had to read several of the essays multiple times because of the varying philosophical and moral perspectives offered. Some were better than others and made very sound arguments.

A Jewish professor of philosophy inflates the definition of anti-Semitism to include just about anything a philo-Semite could ever hope for, then through a brilliant moral narrative shows us that in doing so, only cheapens and trivializes the real thing.

A BBC journalist wants to know why a certain actor wants to kill him, and why numerous people who engage in factual journalism are suddenly the object of hate mail so vile it far exceeds any crime they are supposedly guilty of.

A SUNY upstate professor pulls the curtain away exposing the myth that the right-wing noise machine speaks for the majority of American Jews and writes that ever increasing Jewish organizations are forming to counter the vocal militant minority that manages to bully not only non-Jews, but moderate and left leaning Jews as well.

A Taayush member in Tel Aviv takes us into a refugee camp in Beit Jalla to remind us what all the fuss is about, lest we start believing that all this supposedly unwarranted and frivolous criticism for humanity's sake is after all true anti-Semitism.

One essay explores why philo-Semites are no better than anti-Semites, because they hold one group higher in esteem and value than the rest of humanity.

Perhaps the frivolous slur of anti-Semite aimed at legitimate moral criticism of Israeli policy, is no different than the unwarranted slur of "anti-American" or "unpatriotic" that are hurled at people in this country who either question, criticize, or oppose the morality or soundness of the current US administration's foreign policy. In either case, it is at worst, a blind nationalistic allegiance to a government - right or wrong... and at the very least a departure from thoughtful debate and a sad decline into two-dimensional thinking.

And finally, a former Israeli Knesset member points his finger squarely at the Sharon government calling it "a giant laboratory for growing the anti-Semitism virus" and claims, that with its crimes in the West Bank and Gaza, is the biggest generator of anti-Semitic feelings today, which implicates not only itself, but its entire Jewish population along with it.

Finally an honest discussion about a controversial topic! Each chapter is written by a different contributor, and about half of the writers are Jewish - in fact, prominent Jews. There is so much misinformation and mudslinging regarding this word (anti-semiticism) that its refreshing to have some truth and reality come back to the debate. The problem is that there are essentially two kinds of people who say negative things about Israel - genuine crazy Jew-haters and normal, thoughtful people who care about injustice all over the world. Supporters of Israel, either through stupidity or more likely on purpose lump these two groups together as if they were one. If you speak up when Israel violates the Geneva Conventions, about 100 UN resolutions, agreements with the US on the use of cluster bombs, etc - it doesn't mean you hate all Jews. There is "right" and "wrong" no matter if the war criminal is Christian, Jewish, Muslim or other. And in the case of Israel, since its inception by terrorist thugs who killed British peacekeepers and Arab civilians, this has been going on for almost 60 years. Its actually in the interest of all Jews to stop this criminal behaviour by Israel because it casts a negative shadow on all Jews all over the world. When justice comes to Palestine, the world will be a better place for everyone - including Jews. The first step is to read this book, and get a balanced viewpoint.

The book has some relatively brief instructive stuff about the history of anti-semitism, anti-semitism in Europe, the Israeli Disinvestment campaign and a moving article by Yigal Bronner about Palestinian suffering.

One of the longest essays is by Alexander Cockburn. The latter gentleman has been involved in plenty of combat over the years with Zionist intellectuals and their libels, from the Commentary crowd to the New Republic. He discusses an article about him in TNR by an individual named Frank Foer. Comrade Foer discussed Cockburn's recent discussion of various stories circulating around, including that of the Israel Spy Ring and the harassment of an Arab scientist by a Jewish scientist, Dr. Philip Zack. The latter has been suspected in the post 9-11 anthrax scare which he, the scientist, may have perpetrated in order to blame it on Arabs. Foer allowed that Cockburn didn't exactly endorse these stories but since there wasn't even any credibility to them, it proves Cockburn is an anti-Semite because he spread them. Foer claimed to have done a Lexus Nexus search about the allegations against Dr. Zack and found nothing. Cockburn notes that such a search actually reveals articles on the subject from the Hartford Courant, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Salon.com. Anthrax samples and other biological agents had gone missing, about the same time Zack was videotaped sneaking into the lab after hours. He and another scientist voluntarily left Fort Detrick after they constructed and sent a poem to the Arab Scientist, filled with racist stuff and a drawing of a camel with various sexual appendages on it. On the Israeli Spy ring, Foer implied that only the right wing libertarian site Antiwar.com was spreading it, but in fact that story was covered in a four part series by Carl Cameron on FoxNews, also covered by Le Monde, and Jane's Defense Weekly. Cockburn makes an interesting point about the reaction to the 1989 revelations of Billy Graham's conversations with Richard Nixon. In one of them, the two men agree that Jews are bringing down the nation because they are producers of immoral tv shows and movies and incline towards the left. This sparked great outrage but in the same revelations Graham was quoted as arguing for the bombing of all the dikes in North Vietnam, which would completely obliterate the North Vietnamese economy and kill about a million. This advocacy of war crimes gained no outrage. Arthur Seys Inquart was hanged at Nuremburg for implementing such policies in Holland. Of course, Cockburn notes, the U.S. did such a thing during the Korean war, bombing dikes in order to flood rice fields in order to induce starvation.

Jeffery St. Clair writes about the U.S.S. Liberty attack by Israel, of June 8th 1967.. 34 U.S. sailors on that vessel were killed in the attack, and 170 plus wounded, many seriously. That attack was very notable in that Robert McNamara and his lieutenants blocked any plane from the U.S. sixth fleet from coming to defend the ship and it took about twelve or sixteen hours for any U.S. aid to come to the ship, some hours after a Soviet ship offered the crew assistance. James Ennes, one of the survivors in his 1980 memoir, pointed out the fact that the Israelis had jammed the ship's communication was classified as top secret by the initial Navy investigators-obviously the Israelis knew they were attacking an American vessel for one cannot jam the communications of someone of whose identity you are unaware. The initial Pentagon claim that it was all just an unfortunate accident but this caused some bureaucratic murming. The judge Advocate General of the navy and the navy's legal officer both reached the conclusion that Israel had purposely attacked the ship. The last two constructed a report about their conclusions but it was classified as were CIA, NSA, and other agency's reports that the attack had been ordered by Moshe Dayan. The co-leader of the Navy report that claimed it was all just an accident, admitted to the Navy Times in 2002, that he knew that the attack on the Liberty was intentional but that he had covered it up on orders from superiors. Ennes claims that the pilot of the first Israeli plane, Evan Toni, sent to attack the Liberty told him that he had recognized that the Liberty was an American vessel and had informed his superiors of this by radio. They had ordered him to go forward with the attack but he turned around and flew back to base where he was arrested for disobeying orders. Dayan had wanted to kill everyone on the ship and blame it on the Egyptians. Israel also probably didn't want the Liberty, an intelligence ship to discover its plans to break its cease fire and occupy Syria's Golan Heights. Also, in Al Arish on the Sinai Peninsula, the largest tower in which the Liberty was using to coordinate itself, Israel was in the process of executing about 1000 Egyptian and Palestinian POW's. The U.S. for its part already had a close alliance with Israel, and didn't want to offend them. Many powerful people wanted to remove the ban on arm sales to Israel and the Liberty affair was a nuisance. Since then the Pentagon has relentlessly persecuted the survivors of the attack and any effort to remember the victims has been smeared as anti-Semite.

Jeffery Blankfort has a rather clumsy essay where he tries to refute Noam Chomsky's thesis that the power of the Zionist lobby is greatly exaggerated. He implies that the U.S. would not support the oppression of the Palestinians if the Israeli lobby wasn't so vicious towards our politicians. He conveniently misses some of Chomsky's main evidence....He misses how Chomsky shows that both Labor and Likud support the subjugation of Palestinians while Israel controls the best part of the occupied territories. The only difference between them is tactics: Labor has the rational Allon Plan, where Jewish settlements take all the best land and maybe Palestinian population centers can elect their garbagemen; Likud despite its racist rhetoric thinks the same thing but has crazy schemes to build settlements in the most god forsaken places in the territories. The George H.W. Bush-Yitzhak Shamir combat of 1991 was simply about putting the boorish too blatant racist Shamir in his place. It was only about minor issues.. The labor party won the 1992 elections and put into effect the Allon Plan style Oslo accords-not dissimilar to the 1989 Shamir-Peres Plan that Bush supported.

This facts listed in this book clearly illustrate the countless contridictions and complete hypocrisy of the state of Isreal. The biggest travesty is the level of fear of discussion and debate in this country of the Isreali-Palestian "situation." You can say "France Sucks" and receive a hearty pat on the back. Try saying "Isreal Sucks." The ADL will be on you like Bradley tanks on a Palestinian refugee camp.

The term "anti-semite" also gets plenty of attention in this book. The book demonstrates how this term has almost completely lost its meaning due to laborious overuse. It has almost become a compliment to anyone slapped with it who has the "chutzpah" to criticize Isreali's unilateral policies. A badge of honor, if you will.

It's become embarrassing to be an American living in a country which completely stifles debate with regards to Isreal. When did this happen? The book references a number of occasions where politicians made seemingly neutral comments about debating the Middle-Eastern issue only to commit political suicide. They were publicly dressed-down by colleagues from their own parties, then ousted by no-names with the help of AIPAC money.

This type of behavior should put a pit in the stomach of every American.

Poor Howard Dean gets practically called an anti-semite by Joe Lieberman on National TV for daring to suggest America ought to have a 'even-handed' policy toward the Israel/Palestine conflict. And then he gets a nasty letter from Nancy Pelosi warning him NEVER to utter such a remark again. Such is the pathetic nature of the Democratic Party and the American Left.

This is in response to the review by the Jewish-American from New York City who claims he can support Israel without supporting the policies of Israel toward the Palestinans. Such whining hypocrisy is typicial of the double-speak that is really causing the problems.

Such attitudes carry over to the anti-war Left dominated disproportionately by ethnic (but not religious) Jewish "Left-overs". In this context, the 'war for oil' nonsense by the anti-war Left is merely another example of the political correctness of the Democratic Party/American Left (what's the difference?) that NO-ONE can criticise Israel under any circumstance.

In this time of Neo-Conservative control of the Republican Party that is leading us to war and disaster, the Left must break through the self delusion that support for Israel is different from support for Israel's policy of repression of the native people of the land now called "Israel".

Read this book and be armed to challenge the notion that a 'even-handed' policy toward the Israeli/Palestinan problem is 'anti-semitic'.

_The Politics of Anti-Semitism_, published by the anarchist AK Press, consists of a series of essays which first appeared on the website for CounterPunch, edited by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair. This book was published in 2003 and is an attempt to answer the charge of "anti-Semitism" frequently hurled at anti-Zionists by defenders of Israel. The writers of this book maintain that Israel poses a threat to peace and that the Israelis have brutally oppressed the Palestinian population. However, for those who voice such criticism, many American Jews are willing to blindly label as anti-Semitic. Many of the essays ask difficult questions about the nature of American foreign policy and how it relates to the Middle East, as well as the role of a majority of American Jews and Jewish organizations in maintaining such a policy. It should be pointed out though that many of the essayists included in this collection are Jewish themselves and as such it becomes even more difficult to smear all opposition to the Israeli state as "anti-Semitic". The essayists make some important points about historical anti-Semitism, noting that while Jews have born the brunt of oppression in Europe particularly, they cannot fully claim to be entirely innocent in this. It should be pointed out that historically such Jews frequently cozied up to political tyrants, as well as their involvement in banking and usury (something prohibited to the Christian), provoking the anger of the people. While many of the crimes committed against Jews by Europeans cannot be justified by this fact, they certainly can be explained by this. Unfortunately though, some of the essayists appear to still be involved in the "left vs. right" game. Thus, while they defend or excuse much Arab dislike of Jews (as the natural resentment of an oppressed people to its oppressors), they make the necessary and politically correct commentary concerning European, Christian, or "right wing" "anti-Semitism". Thus, they refer to individuals such as Patrick Buchanan and Le Pen as "bigots". This is unfortunate and also hypocritical because it seeks to maintain that only Arabs have a right to defend themselves against such oppression. For example, the hatred of many Jews for Catholicism is well known, and in recent times there have been attempts to smear such Christians with the label of "anti-Semite". It seems only fair that European Christians should have the right to defend themselves from such charges, in the same way that Arabs and Muslims do. The authors of these essays are mostly anarchists and leftists; however, they do occasionally make note of the fact that the beliefs expressed in this book are often shared by paleoconservatives.

The essays included here take a decided stance against the War in Iraq and much of the policy of the neoconservatives. Indeed, these essayists largely maintain that the War in Iraq has been fought to further Israeli interests. They pose the question as to why Israel should have such a powerful influence over United States foreign policy. Other essays deal with such topics as the Jewish response to the immoral activities of the Israeli state and Ariel Sharon in particular, the powerful Israeli lobby and its influence over both major U.S. political parties, the nature of "dual loyalties", the Israeli attack on the U.S.S. Liberty, and the oppression of the Palestinians. It is unfortunate that the mere mention of such realities automatically brings up the charge of "anti-Semitism". In a particularly interesting essay, Norman Finkelstein addresses the topic of how the tragedy of the Holocaust is being exploited to fund the state of Israel in its crusade against the Palestinians. Finkelstein notes the reception his book detailing this fact had in Germany, where a post-war population remains largely artificially contrite and under the sway of political correctness. However, merely by broaching such taboos, the familiar charges have been leveled.

After reading this book, it is clear to the American reader at least that both political parties are hopelessly corrupt. American foreign policy has been largely dictated by a group of elites who care little for either the people of the United States or the necessity of maintaining peace in the world. I think this is the fundamental message of this book for Americans. It should be noted though, that while this book concerns Jews, that many Jews are waking up to the reality of the situation and no longer support the Israeli state to such a degree as they once did. Thus, it is becoming apparent to some that the atrocities of the past cannot be used to justify the atrocities of today.

If you've read the synopsis, you're probably aware that Jewish organizations have a tendency to continually smear critics of their actions/policies as "anti-Semites," as well as to dub legitimate criticism of Jewish ethnocentrism in the media, the government, and Israeli politics as "blood libel." This is incredibly unfortunately for a number of reasons, including (1) it tarnishes the reputations of legitimate critics and victims of Jewish racism, (2) it engenders a phobia toward expressing criticism or asking for assistance, (3) it endangers Israelis and Israeli Americans by desensitizing observers to bona fide violence or prejudice directed at Jews.

This book, a collection of essays from a variety of left-wing Jews, Arabs/Muslims, and (assimilated) Americans, does a decent job of exposing all three dangers, primarily from a Marxian, pro-Palestinian point of view.

For example, both establishment political parties cater to organized Judaism, both from internal pressure by Jewish members, and from immense external pressure from Jewish organizations, giving Israeli Americans disproportionate influence over foreign policy, and they use that dominant position to funnel tens of billions of dollars of American taxpayer -- and borrowed -- monies to Israel, as well as to create Judeo-centric legislation.

Additionally, Jewish dominance in the legal industry enables Israeli Americans to both profit from, and quash, dissent. The threat alone of being sued by powerful Jewish groups and Jewish lawyers is often enough to prevent critics from speaking out.

Jewish ethnocentrism and corporate concentration have allowed Israeli Americans to assume control of every major media and publishing company. The Israeli-American media establishment then shapes coverage of Israel-Palestinian affairs to downplay Israeli atrocities and play up Palestinian bombings, as well as to neutralize criticism and to brand critics (and non-compliant politicians) as "bigots," "Jew-haters," "self-hating Jews," "anti-Semites," "Nazis," and the like. (Fascinatingly, even pointing out that Jews comprise a dominant elite within the media is often enough to get one blacklisted.)

Of course, the New Left in American politics is in fact an outgrowth of Jewish socialism, not European socialism, and Israeli Americans continue to maintain a dominant role on the Left. When those Israeli Americans criticise Israeli politics or actions, however, they are typically branded "self-hating Jews." By trivializing their concerns and labeling them "anti-Semitic," pro-Israeli Jews are able to overcome even the formidable power of the victimization, and class-based, politics of the Jewish Left.

Taken together, the essay authors assert, the three rails of organized Judaism work to continually reinforce Israeli hegemony in both the Middle East and in America, and even subvert the actions of Jewish activists with other leanings. This dominance and bullying engender a (typically) private hatred of all Jews and a contempt for their interests, even when those interests are morally defensible. For example, Israeli atrocities embolden and legitimize global anti-Semitism, and Zionist Jew-hatred divides the Jewish community. If European and American onlookers perceive Jews to be always profiteering via the Holocaust industry, or always existing as a militant, parasitic nation using American lives in the defense of Israel, will they come to the aid of Israel or the world Jewry in the event of another Nazi state?

A couple of years ago, the actor John Malkovich gave a vitriolic speech at Cambridge University in England. He shocked his audience of academics by saying that he "would like to shoot Robert Fisk," who he considered an anti-semite. Who is Robert Fisk and why does he get under the skin of ego-maniacal actor like Malkovich? Well, for starters he is one of the most accomplished reporters in the world. A throwback, who writes serious stories from the frontlines of wars, from Afghanistan to Gaza to Baghdad. Second, he is one of the few reporters who has written honestly about the barbaric treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli government. His reward for this is a death threat by an American actor. In the Politics of Anti-Semitism, a searing new book edited by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair,Fisk writes of his astonishment at being the target of such virulent hatred, not only from Malkovich, but from a UCLA professor of history and a Harvard professor of law. Fisk concludes that it is impossible to write honestly about the rampages of the Israeli Defense Forces without courting the toxic charge of being an anti-semite, perhaps the most potent slur in western politics.

Fisk's account is just one of more than dozen in this provocative volume of essays by American and Israeli Jews, seasoned investigative reporters, academics and historians. The book also includes an eye-popping essay titled Dual Loyalties by Bill and Kathy Christison, two former political analysts for the CIA, who provide a flow chart for how the Israeli lobby permeates nearly every layer of the US government from the Pentagon to the State Department to the National Security Council.

This book isn't about "Jewish control" of American policy, but about how the Israeli government, and its backers in Washington, cynically fling the charge of anti-semitism against its critics, left and right. As Israeli Jew Uri Avnery persuasively argues in his essay Manufacturing Anti-Semities, it's the policies of the Israeli government--apartheid walls, assassinations, illegal settlements, destruction of Palestinian homes--that is creating real anti-semites, ones who blow themselves up along with Israeli citizens. The Israeli government and its blindly loyal supporters in the US would be well served to read and take to heart the writers in this book, rather than attempt to gag them with slurs, threats and character assassination.

In the United States criticism of Israel has been deemed heretical by the high priests of hypocrisy. Anyone who dares to criticize Israel's bulldozing, land expropriations, torture, and gunning down of children is, ludicrously enough, labelled an 'anti-Semite'.

Here is a book that lays out, in scathing and clear-headed terms, the brutal policies and racist behavior of the Israeli state without any waffling or whitewashing of the truth. In line with numerous human rights organizations, growing international opinion, new Israeli historical works, and mountains of evidence, the many authors presented in this book - half of whom are themselves Jewish - point to the undeniable cruelty and injustice of Israel's military occupation of a people they have displaced and incarcerated in what Israeli historian Baruch Kimmerling has called "the world's largest concentration camp."

This is definitely a must-read for anyone interested in lifting the veil of lies that obscures the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the pernicious influence of the pro-Israeli lobby in America itself.