Thorne Dreyer : While Opposing Israeli Aggression, We Must Also Fight Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism is for cowards. We believe Israel as it positions itself in the world to be a reactionary force, a rogue state. But that has nothing to do with the Jewish people or their rich history of dignity and struggle.By Thorne Dreyer / The Rag Blog / January 10, 2009
In the world press we are learning about a sharp rise in anti-Semitic activity and Nazi imagery that have accompanied Israel’s assault on and incursion into Gaza. This has occurred in the media and in the streets, not only in the Middle East but in Europe and elsewhere in the world.See 'Nazi Imagery, Anti-Semitism Rampant In Arab Media As Gaza Crisis Unfolds,' Below.
At the same time, we are witnessing a consistent stereotyping and villianizing of Palestinians and Arabs, and of those of the Islamic faith – and see this as a serious and growing problem.
The Rag Blog strongly opposes Israel’s inhumane occupation of Palestine and its current operation in Gaza.
We believe Israel’s actions – and those of its loyal and uncritical sponsor, the United States -- to be cynical, immoral and in stark violation of international law. And we observe among many of Israel’s supporters a keen and hypocritical ability to ignore facts, to react in a knee-jerk fashion to any criticism of Israel and to label it anti-Semitic.
At the same time, we must recognize that the situation in the Middle East is far from simple, the product of centuries of history involving ethnic and religious fear and hatred. And we hold no truck for terrorism in any form, whether individual or state-sponsored, and find religious fundamentalism, and especially state religion, to be anathema in all its incarnations. We must add, however, that the policies of Israel and of the United States, with all the lip service to fighting terrorism and spreading democracy, are all about markets and politics and territory, and serve, in the face of all the pretty rhetoric, to create and invigorate fundamentalism and terrorism.
But we also must put ourselves on the record in the strongest words possible as opposing racism wherever it rears its horrific head.
Anti-Semitism is for cowards. We believe Israel as it positions itself in the world to be a reactionary force, a rogue state. But that has nothing to do with the Jewish people or their rich history of dignity and struggle.
One can and, we believe, should in all conscience oppose the unconscionable actions of the Israeli state. (While offering a nod to the growing peace movement in Israel and to the courageous resistance of the refuseniks in the Israeli army. )
At the same time, we should never ever allow ourselves to fall for the easy trick of racism and anti-Semitism. We must, in fact, always decry it, never allowing our response to be that of silence.
We can never become the evil that we oppose.
Nazi Imagery, Anti-Semitism Rampant In Arab Media As Gaza Crisis UnfoldsThe Rag Blog
January 8, 2008
New York -- As Israel's operation against the Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza continues, expressions of anti-Semitism and offensive Holocaust imagery have "reached a fever pitch" in the Arab press, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Newspapers across the Arab and Muslim world have published editorial cartoons, articles and opinion pieces laced with age-old anti-Semitic themes, including blood-libel accusations and ugly stereotypical depictions of demonic large-nosed, bearded Jews plotting to rule the world. The articles and editorial cartoons have appeared in mainstream newspapers from Egypt and Jordan, to Syria, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
ADL has released an online slide show of anti-Semitic cartoons on Gaza and a compilation of selected articles from the Arab press.
"The Arab press serves both as a powerful influencer of opinion and as mirror of the larger society, and as the conflict between Israel and Hamas plays out in the daily newspapers, anti-Semitism and Nazi comparisons have reached a fever pitch," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor. "In this incendiary environment, where anger at Israel already seethes in the Arab street, cartoonists and editors are doing more than heaping invective on Israel. They are fueling a toxic mix of hatred -- for Israel, for America, for Jews, for the West – by dredging up anti-Semitism in its most lethal and virulent form."
From Riyadh to Damascus and beyond, readers of Arab newspapers are more likely to encounter swastikas and headlines declaiming a Palestinian Holocaust than they are to encounter balanced news, according to ADL, which monitors and translates the Arab and Muslim press from its offices in Israel. Editorial cartoons and banner headlines on the Gaza operation repeatedly draw on analogies to the Holocaust, both by accusing Israel of carrying out a Nazi-like campaign of extermination in Gaza, and by comparing Israelis and Jews to Nazis.
One of the most vicious cartoons, published January 7 in newspapers in Jordan and the U.K., depicted three Israeli leaders in full Nazi regalia under the headline "Israel Has the Reich to Defend Itself." A menorah above the cabal of leaders is emblazoned with a swastika.
Other cartoons show harshly stereotypical Jews dreaming of taking over the world, or controlling the United States government or the United Nations.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
Source / Anti-Defamation League
