The thesis that arab antisemitism is simply a natural response to Zionist imperialism strikes me as a little bit pat. I notice that virulent anti-semitism exists more or less as state policy in places like Egypt and Iran, over which Zionists never sought hegemony (nothwithstanding territory occupied in essentially defensive wars such as 1967). Perhaps we might perhaps consider another factor: that Islamism is itself a hegemonic religious/poltical system, and the very existence of an independent Jewish state in 'traditional' Islamic territories is an intolerable affront to Islamist clerics.

Sorry to chuck a wet towel sharkfin but Jews in Germany never "numbered in the millions" as you claim. The best estimates for the pre-war Jewish population were between 500,000 to 600,000.The majority of the Jews were in Poland. I agree the Germans were not in the strictest sense anti-semitic but only in the semantics, the important issue is that they were european Christians.

The great German/Christian hero Martin Luther related "Therefore be on your guard against the Jews, knowing that wherever they have their synagogues, nothing is found but a den of devils in which sheer self­glory, conceit, lies, blasphemy, and defaming of God and men are practiced most maliciously and veheming his eyes on them." Adolf Hitler in Mien Kampf said "Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord". The enthusiasm exhibited by other european countries in assisting the rounding up and slaughtering of Jews is testement to how pervassive this religious hatred was.

Nickisname, one of the 'Axis of Evil' countries, Iran, in fact has two members of its parliment who are Jewish and whom represent the 20,000 odd Jews living there now. Such a constitution that mandates representation by religious minorities including Assyrian Christians might be an example to us Australians and push us to accept guarrenteed parlimentary representation for our aboriginal peoples. As to the outlawing of Jews this was Britain's sad legacy for nearly 400 years.

csteele,

It was unfortunate you selected Iran as an example of tolerance - some things are
not as they seem on the surface. I cite in part an article from the Wall Street Journal:

In Mashad, Iran's second most populous city,a crackdown against "anti-Islam hooligans" has been under way for weeks.

The Mashad hangings, broadcast live on local television, are among a series of public executions ordered by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month as part of a campaign to terrorize an increasingly restive populace. Over the past six weeks, at least 118 people have been executed, including four who were stoned to death. According to Saeed Mortazavi, the chief Islamic prosecutor, at least 150 more people, including five women, are scheduled to be hanged or stoned to death in the coming weeks.

The campaign of terror also includes targeted "disappearances" designed to neutralize trade union leaders, student activists, journalists and even mullahs opposed to the regime

Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2007
http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010434

Also, among the Iranian Islamic penal codes, girls as young a 9 years, and boys as young as 15 years can be executed, under this age they are subject to public flogging: see page 4 of the FIDH list of Iranian human rights abuses.

http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/ir_un2005a.pdf

The Druze have their HQ in Israel because of persecusion in Iran.

Hi Danelle, what is just as unfortunate is my inexcusable spelling escaping my checker and being inflicted on you all and for that I apologise. Parliament, guaranteed, and testament damn it!

Yes Iran has a terrible record especially with execution of child offenders now surpassing the USA. Amnesty International reports of the countries engaged in this odious practice, “The USA and Iran have each executed more child offenders than the other seven countries combined and Iran has now exceeded the USA's total since 1990 of 19 child executions.” Thankfully America recently enacted laws to halt this and it can only be hoped that Iran will follow suit, and it appears from your link there are moves within that country to do so.

http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty-children-stats-eng

The behaviour towards its citizens is also deplorable but I’m not sure the examples you have given illustrate an all encompassing religious intolerance that seems to be portrayed in some of the posts.

csteele,

Never mind the written mistakes, we all make them, especially in the heat of the moment.

Whilst I deplore the Islamic Iranian regime, I have the greatest regard and admiration for its citizens. Devout Muslims are calling for a secular democratic state free of human rights abuses.

They are far from blind to the activities of their regime and appal the abuses in their name.
Unlike many other peoples, they don't hesistate, ignore, or try and make excuses for the horrors that are happening in their country. They want change, but not forced from outside, or of military intervention - all they ask is that other peoples support them, especially in the west. These educated Iranians realise that real change can only come from within. They expose their regime and by doing so realise that even this type of regime can become sensitive to criticism if enough people know what they are doing, and support Iranians who detest the regime's abuses.

You might find the following site of interest to you. By setting up this site, these very courageous people are at risk, even those outside the country - as the regime have long arms. The explain issues and answer questions, importantly have a list of petitions which they send to the UN and other world bodies. All they ask is that people support these petitions. In the past, the west has not been good to them; and I think that the very least we can do is help them in their causes.

Free Iran
http://www.activistchat.com/

It is utterly clear to anyone (perhaps, even to the most loud propagandists of a religious education Catholic schools pioneer recently in Australia)that religions divide people - a common point with an author.

Jews and Arabs lived in “hate -and- have a sex sometimes” relationship in the Middle East – a next common point.

And the rest of Zionism, Jewish state’s legislation and following them, as understood from an article, de facto by Jews stipulated Arabs’ anti-Jewishness/anti-Semitism is just a next figure of imagination of a next Australian scholar, because annihilating of the Arabs by Jews and vice versa is as old as a world itself: a list of diplomatic documents, travelers’ testimonies, not speaking of more modern media, is the iron-clad fact regrettably.

Maybe, this story is an excuse for anti-Semitism flourishing in Australia where not Arabs/Muslims exculsively champion in?