by Gerald M. Steinberg
The line between reasonable criticism and obsessive hostility and hate speech toward Israel and Israelis is being crossed with increasing frequency
It has become
politically fashionable to claim that attacks against Israel are simply a
form of reasonable criticism and that allegations of anti-Semitism seek
to censor this legitimate discussion. Or that the virulent attacks
result from the post-1967 "occupation," and that a return to the
previous armistice lines would end this demonization.
But the line between
reasonable criticism and obsessive hostility and hate speech toward
Israel and Israelis is being crossed with increasing frequency at
universities, the United Nations, political institutions (such as the
British Labour Party), the media, "progressive" churches and elsewhere.
Through campaigns such as BDS (boycotts, divestment and sanctions) and
the free use of terms such as "war crimes," apartheid, racism and
similar labels, the demonization of Jewish sovereign equality has moved
into high gear. The facade of merely opposing Israeli policies is no
longer necessary, as shown in the recent Harvard Law School incident in
which a student and leader of a Palestinian activist group asked Knesset
member Tzipi Livni why she, as a Jew, was "so smelly."
In the past, many
academics have ignored such blatant hatred and the violent attacks to
which it contributes around the world (and some also participate in the
hate), but this is changing. An increasing number of scholars are now
turning their attention to what is recognized, at least by some, as a
major problem.
The University of
Indiana at Bloomington recently held a large conference under the
heading of "Anti-Zionism, Anti-Semitism, and the Dynamics of
Delegitimization." This path-breaking event, led by Prof. Alvin
Rosenfeld, who heads the Institute for the Study of Contemporary
Anti-Semitism, brought 70 scholars from 16 countries throughout the
world (including India) together to present their research and discuss
the implications.
By creating a critical
mass from different disciplines and locations, the participants overcame
many of the obstacles to the systematic academic analysis of the
anti-Zionist form of anti-Semitism. A proper investigation of this
complex phenomenon requires perspectives from politics, history, Middle
East studies, human rights, international law, economics and other
disciplines.
The issues that were
debated in Bloomington include the question of whether this demonization
and political warfare directed at Israel, including BDS and lawfare,
are unique, or perhaps can be compared to other forms of collective
hatred. The consensus among the participants supported the view that
hostility towards Israel, particularly among Europeans and other
Westerners with no direct involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict, has
no serious parallel.
As the late Prof.
Robert Wistrich observed, "The common denominator of the new
anti-Zionism has been the systematic effort to criminalize Israeli and
Jewish behavior, so as to place it beyond the pale of civilized and
acceptable conduct." Wistrich documented the process by which left-wing
anti-Semitism developed to parallel what was once a monopoly of the
ideological Right. In his opening remarks, Rosenfeld dedicated the
conference to his memory.
The anti-Zionist form
of anti-Semitism, and the singling out of Israel through the use of
double standards and patently false accusations, is often referred to as
the "new" anti-Semitism. In the words of Prof. Irwin Cotler, the
conference's keynote speaker, while the old anti-Semitism attacked Jews
as individuals, political anti-Semitism targets the collective Jewish
identity -- in other words, Israel.
Far from the pejorative
"ivory tower" stereotype, the conference participants were focused on
the real world. Detailed papers were presented documenting and analyzing
anti-Zionist anti-Semitism in the U.K., Poland, Germany, Holland and
France, from the governments of Iran (blended with a steady dose of
Holocaust denial) and Turkey, among radicals on U.S. campuses, and in
churches, where "liberation theology and BDS" are presented as "a
Christian Act of Love," analyzed by Dr. Giovanni Matteo Quer. In
parallel, a number of scholars examined the overlapping demonization of
Israel and Jews in propaganda prevalent among Moslems and Arabs. And
regarding the secular mirror image, Dr. Richard Landes analyzed the
religion of anti-Zionism that pervades "the global progressive Left."
The discussions
following each panel focused on finding points of commonality, as well
as differences that would enable researchers to make sense of this
hatred. In the West, anti-Zionism is often couched and justified in the
language of human rights and international law, and self-appointed
"experts" from the United Nations and powerful nongovernmental
organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty give the facade of
legitimacy to this process.
For all of these
reasons, the Indiana conference was an important milestone in examining
the factors and forces driving the intense anti-Zionism, and the points
where it meets the old far-right version. A community of scholars,
reflecting different views and disciplines, has been formed, and many
more such meetings and resulting publications are planned.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=15943
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment