by Barry Rubin
At a time when antisemitism is at the highest point in the West and the world generally since 1945, the battle against it faces a terrible obstacle.
To a very large extent, the driving force of this hatred is revolutionary Islamism, whether it be in the form of attitudes promoted by many Muslim immigrants to the West, or from anti-Israel propaganda generated by Islamist groups and their (usually) leftist allies in the West (directly or indirectly), or from Iran or Arabic-language media in the Middle East.
The information in the above paragraph should not be surprising. Yet large sectors of Western society are in denial about these realities. To speak of it would require them to do something. Criticism of the left can be portrayed as right-wing. Criticism of powerful sectors in academia, media, and intellectual life can be costly to one's career. Criticism of insane slanders of Israel can be portrayed as cynically branding all criticism of Israel as antisemitic. And criticism of radical Islamists can be portrayed as some kind of "racist" bigotry.
I wrote "can be portrayed" but, of course, the correct phrase should be: is so portrayed on a daily basis.
Nobody wants to be portrayed as racist or bigoted; most people in academia, media, and intellectual life view being called "right-wing" as an equally horrifying assault; and the kind of people who could fight this battle are usually also engaged in building their careers.
Checkmate. Reality distorted. People shut up. Problem grows like a fertilized weed.
And, of course, that is the goal of the anti-Israel often anti-Jewish strategy that creates such responses to silence correction, complaint, or criticism.
Barry Rubin
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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