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The Forum > Article Comments > The 'new world order' is the 'same old order' for Jews > Comments

The 'new world order' is the 'same old order' for Jews : Comments

By Manny Waks, published 18/12/2007

Anti-Semitism has gained momentum in places where respect for freedom and dignity of the individual and ethnic tolerance is ingrained in the fabric of society.

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A thoughtful and scary article. There is no place for anti-semitism or anti-anything in todays shrinking world.
I do take issue with the following sentence from the aticle, however.
"...and a point of comparison (i.e. comparing Jews with Nazis). Those who make these claims, often with references to apartheid and ethnic cleansing, do not seek to criticise Israel but to demonise it as a fascist regime in order to justify its destruction."
Any nation that uses methods used by Nazis and other totalitarian regimes risks the comparison. I refer of course to group reprisals such as bulldozing the home of the family of those suspected of terrorist acts and the ghetto wall being constructed. To me, these are reminiscent of the Nazi era, but I do not seek the demonisation or destruction of Israel. I do seek justice for all peoples, without exception, and if I am judged to be anti-semitic or anti-zionist, then I suspect that those making the accusation have forgotten their history.
Posted by ianbrum, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 10:17:02 AM
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To be anti-Israeli is not to be anti-semitic. It seems to be a key strategy of the Anti-Defamation league to accuse the critics of Israeli aggression and brutality of anti-semitism. Sympathy for the suffering of Jews under the holocaust is being rapidly eroded by the unconscionable behaviour of Israel towards those other semites, the Palestinians. If the world is plunged into WW3 by a US attack on Iran, it will be directly attributable to Israeli paranoia and the amazing power of the AIPAC.
Posted by Johntas, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 10:24:23 AM
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I would suggest that one of the reasons for "the left" having some concentration on Israel is (a) cultural familiarity (b) a desire for success and (c) opposition to colonialism and (d) it's pivotal role in all Middle-East politics.

With regards to cultural familiarity, one of the results of the diaspora is that Judaism is strongly and highly integrated into American and European consciousness and, of course, Israel is in so many ways an Americo-European creation or even satellite state. The Jews have been, as the author points out, targets for the most extraordinary abuse, yet also magnificant contributors to intellectual life (especially, it must be said, the Ashkenazi). It is well-recognised that Israel is the most secular and democratic state in the Middle East, and hence may sincerely wish it to be "a light unto nations". This is also a source of despair when it engages in acts which smack of "hafrada", when it engages in the sort of discrimination which the author notes.

Likewise, the left has always been antithetical to colonialism, even the totalitarian left which split over the Soviet invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia and even made genuine effort to ensure minority cultural rights. Israel certainly smacks of being a colonial state to many. The Sephardic (Semitic) Jews are only a modest percentage of the population of Israel and English is spoken universally and is mandatory in the school system. From an Arabic perspective, what does the author suppose they would make of this? Hence the pivotal role in Mid-Eastern politics - it is not just "Israel" that is at stake here, but also the politics of the entire region.

For these reasons, and contrary to the author's claims, criticism (or support) of Israel do not always constitute anti (or pro) -semitism per se, but rather a topic with familiarity.
Posted by Lev, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 10:35:16 AM
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Funny how Zionism NEEDS anti-semitism in order to survive as a potent political force.

Whenever there is an insufficiency of perceived anti-semitism, the tyres start to go down on the juggernaut.

- uh, oh! Get pumping Manny!
Posted by Chris Shaw, Carisbrook 3464, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 10:40:36 AM
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I have no doubt that Australian Jews are sometimes the victims of anti-Semitic discrimination and violence simply for being Jewish, but I am thoroughly disgusted at the continued smear of "anti-semite" against anyone who questions or criticises Israel.

As a non-Christian, I find the basis of anti-semitism laughably crude and primitive, but apparently I reveal myself as a committed Jew-hater if I condemn Israel's frequent land-grabbing and forced relocation of civilians (which has been called, ironically, "the poor man's genocide").
Posted by Sancho, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 12:00:55 PM
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For generations, the struggle against anti-Semitism has been inseparably linked to the battle against all forms of anti-democratic oppression and particularly against fascism. The anti-Semitism of the 20th century was bound up with anti-communism as Hitler and Mussolini alike branded Marxism and socialism as “Jewish.” Opposing anti-Semitism meant upholding universal democratic rights against all forms of racial and religious discrimination and persecution.
In 2003 the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the organization founded in the United States 90 years ago with the stated aim of fighting anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry, bestowed its Distinguished Statesman Award on a leading European political figure. The recipient of the award, was none other than Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister of Italy who made headlines and sparked wide outrage when he came to the defense of the former fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Berlusconi ruled in a coalition with Mussolini’s political descendants, the “post-fascist” National Alliance. He has consistently denounced his critics at home in terms that are virtually identical to those utilized by the German Nazis and their Italian fascist partners. According to Berlusconi, the judges and prosecutors who have pursued corruption investigations against him are “mentally disturbed,” and communists in disguise. In large part,Israel is a state based on religious and racial exclusivity and oppression, the very same ideology and practices that Jews in America and elsewhere have historically fought in order to defeat anti-Semitism. The Zionist leadership in Israel are based on national and racial exclusivity and they are shifting ground heading to the far right. As well, the Zionists have a real hatred for Jewish workers. Zionism was put forward as an alternative to workers uniting their struggles internationally for socialism.
Posted by johncee1945, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 5:25:04 PM
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