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Jeffrey St. Clair

The Politics of Anti-Semitism Paperback – October 1, 2003

by Alexander Cockburn (Editor), Jeffrey St. Clair (Editor)

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How did a term, once used accurately to describe the most virulent evil, become a charge flung at the mildest critic of Israel, particularly concerning its atrocious treatment of Palestinians?

Edited by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, the print and online journal CounterPunch has become a must read for hundreds of thousands a month who no longer believe anything they read in the mainstream press beyond the sports scores. On the subject of Israel and Palestine, the Israeli lobby in the U.S., the current Middle East crisis, and its ramifications at home and abroad, CounterPunch has been unrivaled.

Herein, you’ll find CounterPunch’s most compelling reporting and commentary on this topic.

Contributors include: former U.S. Representative -Cynthia McKinney, famed British foreign correspon-dent Robert Fisk, former seniorCIA analysts Bill and Kathy Christison, the trenchant and witty philosopher Michael Neumann, seasoned Capitol Hill staffer "George Sutherland," Norman Finkelstein, the leading Israeli dissident Yuri Avneri, Shaheed Alam (who became a target of the fanatical Daniel Pipes), and Israeli journalists Neve Gordon and Yigal Bronner.

In addition are: Will Yeoman's path-breaking essay on Israel and divestment, >Kurt Nimmo on the hysterical attacks on AmiriBaraka for his poem on 9-11, Anne Pettifer’s Zionism Unbound, Jeffrey St. Clair on the (Israeli) attack on the USS Liberty and the suppression of the investigation, and >Alexander Cockburn’s caustic and lightheartedmemoir of his own experiences of being attacked as an anti-Semite, consequent upon his criticisms of Israel.

This first book in the new CounterPunch series, is a timely anthology on the compulsion of silence and complicity in crimes against a betrayed people.

Nationally syndicated journalists Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair have co-authored numerous bestsellers, including Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs And The Press, Washington Babylon and Al Gore: A User’s Manual.

Print length

160 pages
Language

English
Publisher

AK Press
Publication date

October 1, 2003
Dimensions

5 x 0.5 x 7.5 inches
ISBN-10

1902593774
ISBN-13

978-1902593777
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About the Author

Alexander Cockburn is a syndicated national columnist, whose work appears regularly in the Nation, NY Free Press, and LA Times, amongst others. Together with Jeffrey St. Clair, he is the editor of the online journal Alexander Cockburn is co-editor of the online journal Counterpunch and has authored and edited numerous books, including the best-selling Whiteout. Award-winning investigative journalist Jeffrey St. Clair is co-editor of CounterPunch and author of 11 books, including the best sellers Whiteout: the CIA, Drugs and the Press; Al Gore: a User's Manual; and Five Days That Shook the World. He lives in Oregon City, Oregon.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ AK Press; 1st Paperback Edition (October 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1902593774
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1902593777
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.9 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.5 x 7.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #727,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #399 in Canadian Politics
- #452 in Jewish Social Studies
- #528 in Colonialism & Post-Colonialism

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Lifting the embargo...

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2014

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Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair has assembled this collection of 18 essays for the purpose of "lifting the embargo" on the discussion of the manner in which the casual charge of "Anti-Semitism" is used to deflect legitimate criticism of Israel in particular, and the Zionist enterprise in general. (Interestingly, my Microsoft spell checker indicates a misspelling unless I capitalize A-S). I've previously read some of the authors, such as Uri Avnery, Robert Fisk, Norman Finkelstein and Edward Said. Each has demonstrated strong moral character in addressing the immense wrongs that have been inflicted on the Palestinians by the State of Israeli, and its Jewish supporters, primarily in the United States. As for the other authors, it was a first-time experience. Overall the collection was nominally tied together by the title's theme, but the quality, perhaps of necessity, is variable. The collection was issued in 2003, as the neo-cons had finally achieved a cherished goal: using the 9-11 attacks as a pretext for invading Iraq.

The first essay is by Michael Neumann, who raises numerous "taboo" issues, including the most fundamental: Is Jewish identity fundamentally religious, racial, or a `cultural entity'? He addresses overall Jewish complicity in Israel's crimes against the Palestinians. In Cockburn's essay, I found an aside, concerning the application of moral standards, informative, and it had nothing to do with Israel. Billy Graham had apparently given his imprimatur to the killing of a million Vietnamese by bombing the dikes in northern Vietnam; for bombing the dikes in Holland in World War II, the German high commissioner in Holland, Seyss-Inquart, was sentenced to death at Nuremberg.

St. Clair's essay on the Israeli attack on the American warship, USS Liberty, in 1967, which left 34 US sailors dead, and 174 wounded, needs to be read by every American, particularly those who have a predilection for wearing the flag in their lapel. The actual attack was one horrendous crime, but the efforts to cover it up within the United States were at least a magnitude worse. As St. Clair says: "For the first time in history, an attack on an American ship was not subjected to a public investigation by Congress." From the highest level, to the smallest, far more than normal human pathos was operative: "When a small town in Wisconsin decided to name its library in honor of the USS Liberty crewmen, a campaign claiming it was anti-Semitic was launched... and when the town went ahead, the U.S. government ordered no Navy personnel to attend, and sent no messages."

Norman Finkelstein, who lost almost his entire family in the Holocaust, has been a long-standing critic of the misuse of Jewish suffering to support Jewish wrong-doing, in particular against the Palestinians. His book, The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, New Edition 2nd Edition is an essential read. In his essay, "Counterfeit Courage," which is in this collection, he concludes by addressing the German people: "The challenge in Germany today is to defend the memory of the Nazi holocaust and to condemn its abuse by American Jewish elites; to defend Jews from malice and to condemn their overwhelmingly blind support for Israel's brutal occupation. But to do this requires real moral courage- not the operatic kind that politically correct Germans so love.

Much is this book is imminently quotable. The 1-star reviews underscore the importance of lifting the embargo. 4-stars.

6 people found this helpful

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Silverstein

Good review of Jewish identity politics

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2007

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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?

11 people found this helpful

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Beach Books and Music

Honest, Varied, and a Must-Read

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2007

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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.

17 people found this helpful

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Red

Great condition, what I expected . Thanks

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2021

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Grear

S Wood

Crying Wolf

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 27, 2010

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I've lost count of the amount of times I've been accused of being an anti-Semite when debating the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is the standard issue response so called "supporters" of Israel, no matter what, use against arguments and facts that are for them disturbing. There is some variety in how the abuse is delivered, ranging from it "pains me to say but my gut feeling is you are anti-Semitic" to the more frothy mouthed Zionists who accuse you of desiring a second holocaust, and wishing to drive every Israeli Jew into the Med without so much as a pair of water wings between them. The purpose is always the same: to head off legitimate criticism.

The charge of "anti-Semitism" relies on falsely conflating being Jewish with being Zionist in order to link the actions of Israel with a whole race and religion. Once that fallacious premise is accepted the illogical becomes "logical" (ie. legitimate criticism of the Israeli state becomes illegitimate criticism of Jewish people everywhere). That this tactic in actual fact devalues the horrors of centuries of real anti-Semitism including the monstrous, murderous barbarities of Nazi holocaust is of no concern, as long as the "supporters" of Israel can intimidate, marginalize, smear and defame those who are speaking in a rational and moral manner about the brutal realities of Israeli policies in annexed Golan and East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank, and blockaded Gaza. There is something morally repugnant about this abuse of past suffering of Jews in order to dismiss those who speak up about the current suffering of Palestinians.

Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair of CounterPunch are the editors of "The Politics of Anti-Semitism": a collection of essays and short pieces that deal with this phenomenon from a variety of points of view. Aptly enough the editors, with long years of service with CounterPunch, contribute a couple of pugnacious pieces; Cockburn dealing with his experience in the U.S. entitled "My Life as an `Anti-Semite'" and St. Clair, in one of number of the pieces that stray from the main topic, with an account of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty in the early stages of the June 1967 war (people within the Navy who tried to get to the truth of the Israeli attack were labelled anti-Semites, as was the library built as a memorial to the 34 dead sailors).

Other highlights include Edward Said's concluding essay, a robust and principled re-stating of the Palestinian question; Economics professor M.Shalid Alim's account of his experiences writing and speaking critically of Israel in the US; the journalist and former Knesset member Uri Avnery's piece "Manufacturing Anti-Semites"; and not just for its title Robert Fisk's "Why Does John Malkovich Want To Kill Me?". On the down side Kurt Nimmo's "Poetry as Treason?" with it's defence of Amiri Baraka pernicious and pathetic poem on 9/11 is a waste of space; and Jeffrey Blankfort's "The Israeli Lobby and the Left" makes some valid points, not least in his criticism of Noam Chomsky's view of the lobbies influence as being marginal, but he does labour the point somewhat.

"The Politics of Anti-Semitism" is a reasonable introduction into the insidious abuse of the term "Anti-Semite" in debates that effect Israel. As with all such collections the quality is mixed, though many of the pieces are of a high quality and offer an introduction to a number of writers such as Norman Finkelstein and Edward Said who have written impressively on the subject; and even with a couple of disappointing contributions it is a book that is worth reading.

8 people found this helpful

Amigo Paulo

The Politics of Crying Wolf

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2003

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"There's no more explosive topic in American public life today than the issue of Israel, its treatment of the Palestinians and its influence on American politics. Yet the topic is one that is so hedged with anxiety, fury and fear that honest discussion is often impossible."
--Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair
There has been a concerted effort in the United States to block critical debate about what is happening in Israel-Palestine, and a pervasive last-ditch attempt to stifle criticism of Israel by smearing those who dare to raise their voices. This book is a collection of articles dealing with the means that the insidious slur of "anti-Semitism" has been used for political ends. The articles range from a philosophical examination of the term "anti-Semitism" to a survey of the topics that are not covered in US discourse because of self-censorship induced by fear, fear of being labeled an anti-Semite or fear of being targeted by pro-Israeli groups. The consequences of this are evident for all to see: an uncritical acceptance of interminable US wars, the generalized misery of the Palestinian people, bloated armaments budgets, and massive US resources siphoned off to Israel. To break the silence and allay fear over these topics requires critical appraisal of what anti-Semitism actually means and to tackle the taboo that it represents.
The philosopher Michael Neumann analyzes the term, discussing alternative definitions and examining the implications of these alternatives. Making the definition too broad cheapens the term, creating its own problems, while if the definition is too narrow, the accusation loses its political significance. Neumann points out: "... there is a choice to be made. You can use anti-Semitism to fit your political agenda, or you can use it as a term of condemnation, but you cannot do both." This is a superlative discussion, with important lessons for all.
Scott Handleman criticizes the way "anti-Semitism" has been portrayed in recent books, that is, the claim that anti-Semitism is something evil out there, irrational, and the responsibility of others. He offers an alternative appraisal of anti-Semitism by suggesting that the responsibility of its victim should also be taken into account. Again, this is an important discussion to place the various sanctimonious books on the topic into perspective.
There are several Israeli perspectives on the issue, including an important one by Uri Avnery. Avnery points out several Zionist myths and discusses how Israeli actions contradict those myths. Whereas Zionists claimed that Israel was needed as a refuge from anti-Semitism, the contradiction has arisen that Israel's policies are actually causing much anti-Semitism. "For Jews, this creates a dangerous vicious circle. Sharon's actions create revulsion and opposition throughout the world. These reinforce anti-Semitism. Faced with this danger, Jewish organizations are pushed into defending Israel and giving it unqualified support. This support enables the anti-Semites to attack not only the government of Israel but the local Jews, too." Avnery also makes the important point that Zionists should consider the implications of their actions taking into account that their project may go awry.
The self-censorship also affects people from whom one would not otherwise have expected it. Jeffrey Blankfort catalogs the unwillingness of many left activist groups to take a stance critical of Israel. He provides a series of amazing examples: the organizers of demonstrations against the US-Iraq war and their unwillingness to take a critical stance vis-à-vis Israel; unions barely willing to utter the word Israel in their literature or posters, and relegating a mildly critical comment about the condition of the Palestinians to the backside of a poster! For a critical assessment of the anti-war movement and what passes for domestic opposition to the neo-imperial US role, it is important to read this essay. It suggests that, for these resistance movements to be effective, they need to have a critical view of Israel. Unfortunately, such groups are reticent about starting this debate.
Kathy and Bill Christison offer an amazing overview of the power and influence of the neocons. They show that these rightwing zealots are inextricably bonded with Israel. However, it is surprising that questioning the loyalty of such policymakers is suppressed in the media discourse. In many cases, the neocons demonstrate clear contradictions between their "Israel first" proclivities and their presumed loyalty to the United States - the country currently employing them.
This book is important for all those concerned with peace and justice in the Middle East, and those wanting to change the US foreign policy agenda. It is also important for those seeking to understand the American political system and find ways of influencing it. The book addresses an issue that has caused much anxiety in the past. A discussion of "anti-Semitism" is important, to undo the pernicious political effects of its usage as a slur; the book also provides a basis for countering the slur. Finally, the book also surveys a range of important taboo topics in American discourse. Knowing what issues are sensitive, and why, should spur an opening up of the debate -- perhaps the greatest value of this book. The supporters of Israel may also want to read the book because it highlights an unintended effect of their attempts to block debate. That is, overuse of the anti-Semitic slur has devalued the coin, reducing its worth to that of crying wolf.
Many of the essays in this book have appeared on the CounterPunch website - an important online magazine which is edited by the editors of this book. Cockburn, St. Clair and the other authors must be commended for addressing this important topic with this collection of excellent essays. Unfortunately, criticism of Israel is still a taboo topic, and the first ones to raise questions will probably attract a significant amount of abuse. One must remember this when appreciating the courage of those who have produced this important book.

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