Ynet, the favorite reference source for our "friends" at GIYUS, is reporting a
"Dramatic rise in anti-Semitic incidents worldwide attributed to fighting in North". It has another report that
There has been a dramatic increase in anti-Semitism in Holland in recent weeks". (Before you open these pages, read my second note immediately after the jump, they have very annoying code on them.)
While this may be predictable or even understandable, I think we would all agree that any act of violence or vandalism or threat of violence against anyone solely because of their race or ethnic or religious background (and several other factors) must be deplored unconditionally and the offenders prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It is however worthwhile taking a much closer look at these two articles to reveal what they unwittingly show about Israel and anti-semitism.
Notes:To avoid the usual discussion about the term, I am using it in the commonly used sense of "anti-Jewish", hence the non-capital S to distinguish it from discrimination against the Semitic ethnic group as a whole. Some quotes use the capital.
I should also add a warning that my browser shows constant loading activity on the ynet pages which is probably to do with the flash ads rather than anything sinister but can tie up resources if you do not "stop" the pages. I also recommend opening them in a separate window or tab and closing the page immediately after you have read them or the site will force you to an advertisement even if you have stopped the page loading.
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As the begining is a very good place to start, let's look at the justification for the sub-headline claim on the worldwide article, especially as it is what prompted this diary. I have concentrated on this due to time and space constraints.
Dramatic rise in anti-Semitic incidents worldwide attributed to fighting in North: During the past two weeks, at least 50 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded around the world, ten of which were violent. The most extreme incident occurred July 28th, when a Muslim-American of Pakistani origin went on a shooting spree in a Jewish Federation building in Seattle, killing one woman and wounding five more.
The killing and wounding is completely unjustifiable and obviously an aggravated murder charge must be brought. Take a second look though. The conventional wisdom is that Jews worldwide are constantly the subject of this and lower level attacks throughout the world. It is, after all, the final justification for the state of Israel that it provides a place of safety for any Jew to flee to. The article therefore begs the question if "at least 50 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded around the world" in two weeks, what base are those 50 a "dramatic rise" on?
It may well be argued that 50 is a minimum but the source of the information, the Jewish Agency (JA) does have rather good sources of its own who presumable pay close attention to collecting the data:
The JA collects most of its reports on anti-Semitic incidents from the Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism, a joint forum headed by the Prime Minister's Bureau and the Jewish Agency.
That presumably means it has the full resources of the Israeli government and its network of embassies to call upon.
Within the article itself, there is a recognition that this increase was entirely predictable:
The Jewish Agency said that the character of recent events was particularly reminiscent of the time around the outbreak of the Intifada in 2000, and included physical damage to Jewish facilities and attacks on Jews identified by their kippahs and beards.
Such distinctive clothing and beards do of course immediately identify the wearer as Jewish. Some sects have even more unique identifiers like the hats and ringlets worn by the Hassidic. That, incidentally was how I could tell the religion of a carful of young men who seemed to take great delight that they nearly ran me off the road while I was on my motorbike in London a few years ago. The only reason for that attack I could fathom was that I was wearing a cotton scarf for neck and mouth protection that was printed in the check design used by Arabs. Idiotcy is not confined to Gentiles apparently.
The very limited on-line edition of the of the Oxford English Dictionary defines "anti-Semitism" as "hostility to or prejudice against Jews". It is of course an accusation laden with the history of centuries, the last in particular. Perhaps like charges of Hitler-like behaviour it should be used sparingly as the article uses the usual extension of the definition employed by supporters of Israel. That is the conflation that any action objecting to action or policies of the Israeli government is "anti-Semitism". Note the proximity of the two in the third paragraph "anti-Semitic incidents. Many mass demonstrations worldwide against Israeli policy in Lebanon...." To be fair the article does justify this use so, unlike those who selectively quote sometimes very old statements by Muslim politicians in support of Israeli actions, it reads on:
Many mass demonstrations worldwide against Israeli policy in Lebanon have descended into violence and unruly incitement against local Jewish communities. Most of the incidents occurred in countries with large populations of Lebanese, Arab and Muslim immigrants.
Now examine that more carefully. True, the incidents are probably more likely to occur in countries where there are people with Lebanese, Arab and Muslim backgrounds for the simple reason that they will be able to organise and take part in them. Duh!! Why though use "immigrants"? Not only is that insulting to those who were born in those countries who happen to be Muslim or "natives" who converted to Islam, it perpetuates the notion of Muslims as "other". Should we refer to all Jews living anywhere other than Israel as "immigrants"? This sort of alienation of a group by the casual or deliberate misuse of language is exactly the tactic used by those whose successors would later facilitate the demonisation of the group and discrimination against them. People like perhaps "Nose" who posts in the boards on GIYUS who made this repost to those who suggested his views were extremist was:
If Israel's march to liberty so pains you that you must deceive yourself as to her true motive; that you know of the exquisite destruction being wrought upon her enemies and yet are so squeamish as to pretend that her soldiers are unguarded and wanton in there actions then perhaps there is no place for you in the promised land?
Perhaps a person who has not the stomach for this blessed war does not deserve to share in the bountiful rewards?
That you shame our beloved soldiers by suggesting that they are so clumsy in action as to coincidentally destroy our enemy!
The accusation of extremism arose in discussion on Qana in which he wrote:
To argue over whether there were rockets in that G_dless place [Qana, the place where Jesus' conversion of water into wine is traditionally located] is to argue whether there is salt water on the beach. There have been rockets there, and there would once again be rockets there.
Please brothers and sisters, let us not be drawn into squabbles over the merest details of the ascendance of Israel. What is a dead Arab here, or a broken Ambulance there, but an insignificance compared to the righteous march of our beloved Israel.
Nose it has to be said is the most extreme so far on GIYUS but I have quoted him as indicative of what is probably a small minority (I hope). So extreme are his views that more regular posters feel (s)he does not look Jewish at all, let alone Israeli. Darian commented
To be honest, I'm not sure he is Israeli or Jewish - he seems to be trying too hard to be an extremist.
That was to concur with "Fair"(sic) who wrote:
I hope that nobody reading your comments will take them to be the serious views of all Israelis - you come across as ignorant in the same way that the islamo-fascists do.
Unfortunately "Fair" rather blotted his copy book by preceeding that with:
I believe that the Israeli government is doing what it must in order to protect Israel not just right now but for the future also, whether or not this goal is achieved is yet to be seen, since the main difference between Jews and Arabs are that the Jews value life above all else and the Arab extremist seem all to willing to give it up freely, this is Israels weakness - its hard to win against a people who dont mind dying.
I would say that his comment shows the effect of some particularly nasty anti-Islamic propaganda which would wish to show Muslims as inhumane if not inhuman.
Jews would be offended if I likened the characterisation of Arabs as the Islamophobic version of the blood libel. Certainly there are no matzos involved although some Arabs are Christian but the only virgins are the ones who are supposed to be awaiting Martyrs, in a misquote of the Koran (and they would be rather more mature than the babies in the original blood libel). Comparisons of actions by the Israeli governments to those who previously oppressed Jews, especially the Nazis, are particularly sensitive as the strength of Nose's response to comparison with "islamo-fascists" indicates. The JA certainly automatically assumes that such comparisons indicate anti-semitism for in thier article they state.
At many of the anti-Israeli protests, demonstrators have waved Hizbullah flags and swastikas and called out slogans comparing IDF soldiers to Nazi storm troopers. The JA further noted that the offices of numerous Jewish communities have reported receiving threatening emails.
Here in one sentence we have a two-for-one (in British stores known as "buy one, get one free" or BOGOF, pronounced as if there were a second F). Not only is the anti-semitism shown by the demonstrators comparing the IDF to stormtroopers but they were waving "Hizbullah flags and swastikas". By using the linkage they are reversing the accusation and likening Hezbullah to Nazism. This is a constant reference and is most frequently shown in the references to Arabs wanting to "drive Israel into the sea" to make an allusion to the Holocaust. The second sentence is about unrelated hate emails but again the juxtaposition is interesting as it re-inforces the implied suggestion that any anti-Israeli government protests must be anti-semitic.
The sensitivity to charges of Nazi-like behaviour are also shown a little later
He (Amos Hermon, Chairman of the Education Committee of the Jewish Agency)cited the example of Brazil, where a demonstration organized Monday was attended by 800,000 people. At the protest, photos were shown of Palestinian areas under siege by IDF soldiers alongside photos of the Nazi siege of the Warsaw Ghetto. Protestors charged that whoever protected the honor of the Jewish people during the Holocaust era, now needed to rally in support of the residents of south Lebanon. According to Hermon, heretofore anti-Semitic activity had never been reported from Brazil.
I presume the "Palestinian areas" are Gaza as the comparison with Warsaw is often made. I freely admit that I hold the view that very strong comparisons can be made even if the Israeli "final solution" is for Palestinians to be couped up in their own Bhantustans. (Now watch the flames on that one spread like a Californian brush fire.)
The quoting of Amos Hermon is not only to show how the demostrators link Israel and Nazism because of their anti-semitism. In itself it could be considered anti-government as it reports a large demostration opposed to their policy but it actually feeds into another theme that runs through Israeli propaganda It is under a sub-heading "Few facing many". The lesson for Israelis is
it was important to remember that Jewish communities were much smaller than Muslim communities abroad
The paragraph then goes on to list how much bigger the Muslim minorities are than the Jewish in third countries and then ends a comment to re-inforce the Muslim = Nazi = Second Holocaust line.
He noted that Chile was a breeding ground for anti-Semitism, and many Muslims were seeking out neo-Nazi movements
The real theme of the section though is to repeat the line that Israel is a small country surrounded by vastly larger numbers intent on its destruction - remember "Few facing many". Here in the "world is against us" line of an embattled state which appears often in that form but is also re-inforced in the "surrounding countries are so much larger than tiny overcrowded Israel that they should absorb the Palestinians" theme.
Having examined how the article links echoes the themes developed by pro-Israeli government protagonists, let's look at what it reveals about at Government. We have seen GIYUS opening up under their sponsorship with the intention to recruit 100,000 Jewish students worldwide to flood blogs with their talking points and how other web sites provide much more extensive briefing papers to prosthetise Israel. Here we have a clear statement that the Jewish Agency is part of this Israeli government propaganda effort. Not only does the JA get its information from a joint committee it has with the Prime Minister's office, Hermon reveals further links.
We are readying for an anti-Semitic onslaught, and we are sending PR materials to Jewish communities across the world, Hermon said. He added that the JA was "flooding" Jewish communities with informative materials, pictures and films from the IDF spokespeople, to aid them in handling malicious and fallacious criticism in the media.
He added that JA envoys were working with Foriegn Ministry officials on this plane.
So the JA is part and parcel of the Israeli government's propaganda machine. This might come as a surprise for those who might innocently think it is merely an organisation to promote the virtues of Judaism. This impression might easily be gleaned from the site for its US arm's "about us" page.
Our mission is to intensify the unique and multi-dimensional significance of Israel in connecting the next generation to its heritage, people and homeland.
Connecting the next generation is central to securing the jewish future. First and foremost at the Jewish Agency, our job is connecting them to Israel. This single action has the power to build Jewish identity even for young people not previously connected. We build the sense of jewish peoplehood through Israel.
Some 2.5 million young people are losing their connection to Judaism as they gradually distance themselves from their communities, their heritage and our people. Around the world, this connection literally hangs in the balance. And if they are at risk, so is the Jewish future.
So fair enough it is an organisation which seeks to reconnect young Jews with their heritage exemplified by the state of Israel. That is until you look at the same "about us" page on the Israeli site. There you find the real meaning of "connecting" and "Jewish future" (their bold).
The Jewish Agency is a global partnership committed to the Jewish future that stands on a history-making track record. Together, our partnership has brought 3 million people to Israel; we have built a nation. Not by the daring acts of a few, but by the power of our collective commitment and action. And together, we can meet the challenges of today - and our aspirations for the future.
At the Jewish Agency, we believe that Israel
stands at the heart of the Jewish future.
That's why we're partnering in communities around the world with dual purpose: to keep the promise to every Jew who, for any reason, at any time, chooses to come home to Israel; and to put Israel into the lives of the Jewish world's next generation. Connecting, engaging and inspiring them to lead our people into the future.
The first "Mission Area" on their "mission" page gives a somewhat different impression to the US site which is exactly the same as the "about us" page including the sole heading "Education".
Aliyah
Bringing a substantial number of Jews to live in Israel and ensure their successful integration.
Jewish-Zionist Education
Connecting the next generation with Israel and Jewish peoplehood as a core part of Jewish identity.
Partnerships with Israel
Involving world Jewry with Israelis in shaping the future character of Israeli society.
These are even more explicit in what seems to be either an older or alternative site which uses the initial of its full name "The Jewish Agency for Israeli" in its web name rather than "jewishagency". I cannot copy from that page but the introduction includes "the Jewish Agency is committed to assuring the future of the Jewish people with a strong Israel at its centre". Aliyah is downplayed by placing immigration after "The rescue of Jews in distress".
Aliyah is certainly mentioned on the US site page - in a tab marked "Aliyah and Integration" though the casual non-Jewish visitor might well miss the connection and certainly the primary mission on the Israeli site (to which it bears a remarkable similarity) is downplayed.