Middle East: Protests For Democracy Amid Expressions Of Antisemitism

The current protest movement may or may not represent the advent of liberty and democracy and all things good for Egyptians. This remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: it represents the advent of the complete banalization of anti-Semitism as far as the Western media is concerned.
John Rosenthal, "Anti-Semitic Imagery at Egypt Protests Draws Yawns from Western Media"

In addition to the article quoted above, John Rosenthal wrote a followup article: Democracy or Jew-Hatred? More Evidence of Anti-Semitism at the Egypt Protests.

He even goes one step further, documenting in a third article instances of anti-Semitism that were supposedly instigated by the Mubarak government, but in reality such antisemtism was a product of the same independent media that brought down the Mubarak regime--quoting Martin Kramer that the instances of antisemitism "actually surfaced precisely in those parts of the media that were allowed to operate with greater freedom".


Funny thing--in the midst of these protests for democracy that seem to be all the rage in the Middle East, we find outbreaks of antisemitism among the people, with no help necessary from the government.

In Tunisia, which started it all, modern-looking Muslims converged on the Great Synagogue of Tunis with chants of "Allahua Akbar!" and "Khaybar Khaybar ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad saya'ud," which means "Jews, remember Khyabar, the army of Mohammed is returning"--a reference to the seventh century massacre of the Jews in the town of Khaybar by the Muslims.



Then there is the example of Iraq, which is further along on the road to true democracy--so democratic in fact, that in 2008 Mithal al-Alusi's fellow lawmakers voted to strip him of his immunity so that he could be prosecuted for visiting Israel, a crime punishable by death under a law from the 1950's.

Over in Jordan, the only Arab nation other than Egypt to have signed a peace treaty with the Jewish state, the Jordanian justice minister called for the release of the murderer of Israeli schoolgirls:

Jordan minister dubs Israel girls killer hero

Jordan's justice minister on Monday described a Jordanian soldier serving a life sentence for killing seven Israeli schoolgirls in 1997 as a "hero," drawing an expression of "revulsion" from Israel.

"I support the demonstrators' demand to free Ahmad Dakamseh. He's a hero. He does not deserve prison," Hussein Mujalli, who was named minister last week, told AFP after taking part in the sit-in held by trade unions.

Considering the fact that the media has no problem calling Abbas a moderate when he allows the incitement of hatred against Israel, it is to be expected that the media has ignored the antisemitism in evidence at the protests.

But the fact remains that a visceral hatred exists and is openly exhibited--by these Muslim protesters as well as in democratic Iraq and 'moderate' Jordan.

Forgive me if I do not share the media's enthusiasm.

Technorati Tag: Antisemitism and Middle East and Egypt and Tunisia.