Maybe you saw that a top minister in Israel’s government accused John Kerry, the US secretary of state, of anti-Semitism? John Kerry made the mistake of saying that if only Israel made peace with the Palestinians, that would cut down on extremism in the region. From Haaretz:
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett attacked U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over his comments Friday connecting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and extremism in the Middle East.
“It turns out that even when a British Muslim decapitates a British Christian, there will always be someone to blame the Jew,” he said.
Here are Kerry’s original remarks, on Thursday:
As I went around and met with people in the course of our discussions about the ISIL coalition, the truth is we – there wasn’t a leader I met with in the region who didn’t raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation that they felt – and I see a lot of heads nodding – they had to respond to. And people need to understand the connection of that. And it has something to do with humiliation and denial and absence of dignity
Bennett’s accusation is not singular. As Israel grows more isolated in world opinion in the wake of the Gaza slaughter, the anti-Semitism charge is being thrown around in a new way, at a new crowd. It’s now slung whenever westerners are too critical of Israel.
Ari Shavit, the writer who’s a darling of liberal Zionists, accused westerners of anti-Semitism at the end of the Gaza onslaught:
“In the final week of the war in Gaza this summer that took the lives of 72 Israelis and more than 2100 Palestinians, Shavit wrote that strong objection to Israeli conduct was illegitimate and amounted to anti-Semitic bigotry: ‘We’re a tiny minority nation under attack, and sweeping criticism of this nation is like sweeping criticism of the black, gay or Yazidi minority.’” —Nathan Thrall in the London Review of Books.
A very similar charge was made by Matti Friedman, a former AP reporter in Jerusalem, who accused international media, including American outlets, of anti-Semitism for the way they told the story of the Gaza onslaught, as being Israel’s fault, when the real story was that Israel was taking on Hamas just as the US is taking on ISIS. At On the Media (minute 5):
What we’re seeing is extremely critical coverage of the actions of the Israeli government, and I would argue that this [alleged media] interest in the holy land– I think that there’s a very thin line between that and development of a hostile obsession with the moral failings of Jews, which as we know is a very deep thought pattern in the west.
Also in the context of Gaza, Human Rights Watch director Ken Roth was accused of a “deepseated hostility to the Jewish state” and an “immoral anti-Israel obsession.” Roth (whose father escaped Nazi Germany) has said that the charge is a charge of anti-Semitism.
Also in the context of Gaza, religion writer Mark Oppenheimer wrote at Tablet that liberal Protestants who support Palestinian rights seem to him to be anti-Semitic because they have a caricature of Jews as the Israel lobby and
“feel that there are no good Jews left. Except the ones that are entirely secular and anti-Zionist.”
I do wonder if the anti-Semitism charge is being exhausted by this extensive service, that it’s losing its sting. More wild accusations of anti-Semitism:
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has accused Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem of being anti-Semites, in the Jerusalem Post, for saying that the Gaza slaughter amounted to a “genocide.”
David Horowitz has said that Barack Obama is anti-Semitic because he supports the Palestinian Authority, which includes Hamas.
Mike Huckabee said that Obama is anti-Semitic in his response to violence in the West Bank last summer.
Einat Wilf, a former member of the Israeli Knesset, accused former British foreign secretary Jack Straw of anti-semitism for stating that the Israel lobby has too much control over US policymaking. Chuck Hagel and John Mearsheimer and Steve Walt were all meretriciously accused of anti-Semitism for that allegation.
Had enough?
If you can’t criticize Israel after killing children in a hospital, what’s left? That’s right, there is apparently no plausible reason for criticizing Israel without it being anti-Semitic at its base. A pretty neat trick.
We are always reminded by Israeli supporters that they want Israel treated like any other country, then when that standard is applied, it’s cast as “singling out” Israel because some other event in the world was worse (although $3 billion of my tax money isn’t going to fund (insert outrage de jour here) and every presidential candidate doesn’t genuflect before the (insert previous outrage de jour’s American political lobby, if there even is one) claiming 110% support running up to each election, regardless of party affiliation or political outlook.
It’s a weird mindset, a seeming disengagement with human nature, common sense and cause and effect. To cast all criticism as anti-Semitism only serves to mask the real thing, but maybe that’s the only card Zionists have left to play.
I’m reminded of the behavior of the bully psychology:
The worst way to deal with a bully is to appease him. Making excuses for, accommodating, or attempting to reason with the bully gives him psychological visibility and validation that he’s somehow worthwhile. This in turn leads to more bullying.
The best way to deal with a bully is to ignore him, thus giving him psychological invisibility and invalidation. But if you’re small and 11 years old and you can’t ignore the bully, you must confront him. Be strong, assertive and take care of yourself. Say something like, “This is not acceptable. I don’t treat people this way and I won’t allow people to treat me this way.” Be prepared to do strong things like defending yourself, hanging up the phone, refusing to talk until civility is restored, or simply walking away. It all depends on the age and the situation, but behaviors that are too easily excused end up being reinforced, while behaviors that you refuse to tolerate will tend to stop.
Entire article here
Instead of hanging up the phone, I’d recommend instead going to the ICC.
RE: “Mike Huckabee said that Obama is anti-Semitic in his response to violence in the West Bank last summer.” ~ Weiss
THAT REMINDS ME: I wonder how much progress Israel has made in the “thorough and transparent investigation” the US State Department said it expects Israel to make* into the videotaped shooting/murder by the Israeli military of the two Palestinian teenagers (Nadim Nuwwara and Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Salameh) during the Nakba Day protests outside Ofer prison in the West Bank back on May 15 (more than six months ago).
* SEE – “US to Israel: Investigate killing of Palestinian teens”, by Yitzhak Benhorin, ynetnews.com, 5/21/14
Following release of footage documenting killing of two Palestinians near Ramallah, US State Department spokesperson says US expects Israel to ‘conduct a thorough and transparent investigation’.
LINK – http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4521979,00.html
ah the power of the ad hominem. it’ really their favorite fall back position. or forwarding position, or whatever. the positioning of victimhood is so valuable some people just can’t and won’t let go.
why not add, ‘or the occupy movement criticizing the 1%’ after all , they’re a minority too aren’t they? (snark). face it, all minorities are not equal guys! this kind of ‘logic’ is just not going to fly in todays world.
read this one example, just one – not even the most outrageous or unusual in the least – of one man who had his home destroyed by israel in the most recent gaza slaughter. again, this is by no means the most extreme example we’ve published here.
Reborn from the womb of my destroyed house by Dr. Hassan El-Nabih https://mondoweiss.mystagingwebsite.com/2014/09/reborn-destroyed-house
if this doesn’t make it abundantly clear israel is not the victim here, you’re crazy. this is not anti semitism, it’s wrong, what israel does is wrong and collective punishment. it’s grotesque.
The charge of anti-Semitism has become boring and meaningless, but it still works its magic on people who get spooked easily.
Also in the context of Gaza, religion writer Mark Oppenheimer wrote at Tablet that liberal Protestants who support Palestinian rights seem to him to be anti-Semitic because they have a caricature of Jews as the Israel lobby and “feel that there are no good Jews left. Except the ones that are entirely secular and anti-Zionist.”
That’s trying to sound as though the good Jews (per Oppenheimer’s description) are very small in number, insignificant. But in reality, aren’t there quite a number of “entirely secular and anti-Zionist Jews” and that is very good!
Also the picture of Ari Shavit creeps me way out – isn’t he the writer of some trash about how “sexy” israelis are (having sexual encounters in public restrooms – so 1980s but brand new to Shavit apparently)? Maybe he should just stick to the sexy israeli theme.