According to a State Department spokesman, anti-Zionism can be a manifestation of Anti-Semitism:
The report is thematic in nature and, using illustrative examples of contemporary forms of anti-Semitism, provides a broad overview of anti-Semitic incidents, discourse and trends. The report documents traditional forms of anti-Semitism such as those associated with Nazism, but also discusses new manifestations of anti-Semitism, including instances when criticism of Israel and Zionism crosses the line into anti-Semitism. The report covers anti-Semitism in both government and private media, and within the United Nations system. It concludes with a review of governmental and nongovernmental efforts to combat the problem.That being the case, what do we find in Appendix I: Examples of Anti-Semitic Incidents (Section I: 77)? Two and a half pages of examples of Violence, Abuse/Intimidation, Property Damage, and Cemetery Desecrations from Europe and Russian--but nothing from the Arab world. The introduction to the section does point out:
Most examples report on incidents that occur in Western democratic countries, which allow transparent monitoring of societal conditions. Information about anti-Semitic incidents in closed societies (e.g., Iran) is largely unavailable; the lack of reports of anti-Semitic incidents in such societies should not be construed as an absence of anti-Semitism.That ignores the fact that there is no end of Anti-Semitic cartoons coming out--and there is always Ahmadinejad threatening to wipe Israel off the map or comparing it to a bacteria.
Still, the admission that anti-Zionism can be a form of Anti-Semitism is a step in the right direction. I guess it would be too much to hope that the report would quote from the Fatah and Hamas Charters.
[Hat tip: NRO Web Briefing ]
Technorati Tag: Israel and Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism.
Of course when Secretary Rice says of Abbas
ReplyDelete“We have all had the experience of perhaps saying things that we wish we hadn’t said, and I can just tell you that this is somebody who for many, many years now has rejected violence as a means to statehood,” Rice said, noting that Abbas had later said the comments were taken out of context. “I can’t account for his comments. I think they were extremely unfortunate. We made that very clear to him.”
and when Sean McCormack brushes off the "ethnic cleansing" comment with
MR. MCCORMACK:Yeah. I’ve looked into this and I don’t think at this point we have a definitive translation of what he said. I think the Palestinian officials can probably talk to you a little bit more about that. But going with the idea that news reports have an accurate translation of what he said, certainly we would not use that term to describe the situation. I think it is probably an example of some overheated political rhetoric. What it is and what we have is a political dispute. And we understand very clearly that there are two sides to this. And the way to resolve this dispute is through the political process, which is now underway. This cuts to a lot of different issues with respect to borders and a lot of fundamental issues that exist between the Israelis and the Palestinians. So there are processes to deal with this. We would urge both sides, both the Israelis and the Palestinians, to keep their focus on the political process and also to adhere to their roadmap obligations. That’s where the focus is -- should be.
If you recognize it as a problem don't ignore it, when it comes up.
NO WORD CAN DESCRIBE HOW BRUTAL ISRAEL TREAT PEOPLE IN GAZZA AND YET WE CANNOT BE ANTI SEMITIC?
ReplyDeleteI JUST DONT UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC.
WITH THE BRUTAL TREATMENT EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE MUST BE ANTISEMITIC>
Considering how more Palestinian Arabs in Gaza have been killed by fellow Palestinians than by Israelis, I guess I don't understand your logic either.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is, left to their own, Hamas and the Palestinian Arabs give us a good idea of what to expect should they be given an actual state.
Palestinian Arabs have never had a state of their own. Based on how viciously Palestinians act toward their fellow Arabs--now is obviously not the time to start.