[MVictorP]

Good news! the definition of anti-semitism has just been broadened -again. Double plus good!

State Dept. cites new forms of anti-Semitism

WASHINGTON (AP) — New forms of anti-Semitism are emerging around the world, promoting prejudice against Jews by attacking Israeli policy and Zionism, the philosophic underpinning of a Jewish state, the State Department reported Thursday. (...)

For example, the report cited frequent requests to the United Nations to commission investigations of reports of alleged atrocities and other human rights violations by Israel.

Unremitting criticism of Israel is mounting, the report said, and Israeli policy is sometimes likened to the Nazis. At the same time, the report to Congress said, there is a failure to pay attention to regimes guilty of grave violations.

So, as long as there is worse, attacking Israel's policies is an anti-semitic gesture.

This has the effect of reinforcing the notion that the Jewish state is one of the greatest sources of abuse of the rights of others "and thus, unintentionally or not, encourages anti-Semitism," the report said.

While Israel's policies and practices must be subject to criticism and scrutiny to the same degree as other countries', "those criticizing Israel have a responsibility to consider the effect their actions may have in promoting hatred of Jews," the report said.

Well, I would say that Israel carries more responsability for the outlook the rest of the world has on Jews... But that would be anti-semitism from my part, isn't it?

Complete USA Today article

[QatzelOk]

Perhaps Jesus Christ actually killed himself (like Kurt) but pinned it on the Jews because he was also anti-semitic?

Is this possible? Was Jesus a self-hating Jew?

[Meistro1]

Amongst the new forms of anti-semitism are reading Chomsky, subscribing to leftist rags and mentioning Godwin's Law.

[keso]

Meistro1, what was Chomsky's upbringing...

[Maas]

Anybody can write a report....
they guy who pays for it gives the angle of aproach for his own agenda. That's how the 2nd gulfwar happened.

[naked_turk]

LOL -- "new forms of anti-semitism found" -- What are they trying to liken it to, some sort of mutating virus?

Anti-semitism is blindly hating Jews simply for the fact that they were born Jewish, is it not? I hardly find that critising a criminal state, which happens to claim to be founded on Jewish principles, qualifies as anti-semitism at all. Should Israel be immune to prosecution and criticism simply because it claims to be a "Jewish state"?

The source of criticism isn't that this criminal entity is a "Jewish state", but rather that this state is responsible for thousands of wrongful deaths of innocent civillians each year, and that for decades it has insisted on administring its own law, punishments, bullets and bombs on a population which it refuses to assimilate into its own and treats inhumanely.

While Israel's policies and practices must be subject to criticism and scrutiny to the same degree as other countries', "those criticizing Israel have a responsibility to consider the effect their actions may have in promoting hatred of Jews," the report said.

This is the best part, isn't it? If the world was required to abide by this, there couldn't be any criticism of ANY country's actions -- no matter how criminal and inhumane. If the above was stated about any other country, the only response from readers would certainly be either laughter, sobbing, or deep questioning about the horribly skewed mental state of those responsible for the report.

[War Angel]

LOL -- "new forms of anti-semitism found" -- What are they trying to liken it to, some sort of mutating virus?

Heheh, that's exactly what I was thinking.

Anyway, I don't agree with this. Indeed, many people who fervently criticise Israel are anti-Semites, but certainly not all of them. You've got to know the source. Are they doing it because it's the popular thing to do? Are they TRULY the humane kind, in which case, they'd be against the Palestinians too? Are they just a bit mis-guided, looking for something to oppose? Rebels without a cause or a brain?

And, it's also possible that many centuries of Jew-hatred have seeped into their brains. It's not that hard to spot - you just have to squeeze it out. For example, some posters here on PoFo that oppose are indeed Jew-haters, and myself and others have managed to expose them, while others don't really hate Jews, they just really don't like Israel, anything linked with the USA, democracy, or maybe they're doing it for fun, because everyone does it.. there are plenty of reasons. Hatred of Jews isn't always the reason.

[naked_turk]

I agree with you to some extent. If it wasn't for the human rights issues, I'd seriously consider immigrating to Israel later on in life. There's something quite admirable about some aspects of the country and it certainly has a lot of potential.

But most politically aware people outside of the USA and Israel (understrandably) turn a blind eye to that, and will continue to do so, until someone in Israel decides to implement one of two easy (comparative to the current situation) solutions to Israel/Palestine's current problems:

1) Decide, "Fuck it, some symbolic piece of land isn't worth all this death and destruction," and leave the Arabs to their own state without any Israeli restrictions.

OR

2) Annex Palestine and give the residents full Israeli citizenship and voting rights.

If Israeli politicians find the balls to do that, then suddenly, 95% of Israel's detractors would shut up, and the remaining 5% would be ridiculed for being foolish, racist, or living in the past (pre-division).

Terrorism or not, the power is in the hands of Israel as a functioning state (as opposed to the collapsed Palestinian Authority). I believe Israel holds the key to make it happen, and once it decides for it, relative peace will ensue in the blink of an eye, figuratively speaking.

[Tonic]

naked_turk

There's something quite admirable about some aspects of the country and it certainly has a lot of potential.

What do you admire about Israel?

[sploop!]

I'm not sure if what has been discovered are newly defined forms of anti-semitism.

More accurately, they are newly defined forms of anti-anti-Israeli-atrocityisms, but I completely get why they went for the shorter version...

[Nets]

I think the report is trying to point out the disproportionate criticism of Israel. Sure, Israel has a lot to be criticized for, but the single minded obsession with Israel by many people and many leftist organizations can only be explained by anti-Semitism. The Human Rights Commission (or whatever the UN Org calls itself these days) obsession with, and only with, Israel, is anti-Semitism pure and simple.

I have zero problem with criticism of Israeli policy if it is educated and balanced, what I cannot stomach is criticism only directed at Israel while every other country gets a pass.

I also agree with War Angel here.

As for Naked_Turk, I think what you say is basically correct. I think the logical underpinning for anti-Israeli obsession would collapse if Palestine got its state, but based on past experience I have the feeling it doesn't matter how the Jews act there will always be some reason for Europe to hate them.

I agree, they are the stronger player here and they should just man up and get the hell out of the WB already, (it would be best for them in the long run), but at the same time I understand Israelis' hesitance to narrow the country's waist to 9 mi near Tel Aviv. I agree with your (1) solution, sharing the land is a good solution, but easy...no.

and leave the Arabs to their own state without any Israeli restrictions.

I just like the way you phrased this...as if Palestine will be the Arabs finally getting their state and not already having 22 other states.

[Pleb]

I just like the way you phrased this...as if Palestine will be the Arabs finally getting their state and not already having 22 other states.

If there was such a thing as a Pan Arab identity, there wouldn't be a refugee problem. That's like denying Scottish independence because there's already a state in Celtic Ireland.

[Nets]

If there was such a thing as a Pan Arab identity, there wouldn't be a refugee problem. That's like denying Scottish independence because there's already a state in Celtic Ireland.

This isn't really the same situation. The Scots and Irish have been pretty distinct for a while now, whereas the Arabs were railing about Pan-Arabism at least until the mid 1970s. The Arab Gov'ts try to have it both ways with their Pan-Arab identity and invoke it when it is beneficial.

Also, where did I deny Palestinian independence in my post, I just said it was funny the way he phrased it.

[Pleb]

It's not a rail against you specifically, but plenty of people invoke the Arab identity to deny Palestinian independence.

Pan Arabism was just a means to a post colonial security and pride. It was an elitist idea that couldn't break down the inter-Arab divisions.

[sploop!]

but the single minded obsession with Israel by many people and many leftist organizations can only be explained by anti-Semitism.

Nonsense. Unless you have some sort of evidence to back it up?

Widespread condemnation (or single minded obsession, if you must) of Israel can also be explained by the perception by many of a socialist complexion, that Israel is behaving very badly indeed.

I have zero problem with criticism of Israeli policy if it is educated and balanced

and obviously (although you never said as much) your opinion is more balanced than the opinion of the obsessives?

[Truth-a-naut]

I have found that a lot of Jew baiters and neo-nazi hammerskin types do bitch and moan about Israeli policies in public and around conventional forms of authority - they never mention the term "Jew" though, which is always hilarious. But get them alone and whoo-boy you're in for some steamy rhetoric straight out of the 30s.

I am quite sure it's true of our own MVictorP.

[sploop!]

Have you just completely given up on even trying to put an argument together, Truth-a-naut? Maybe if you're just going to do smears of one sort or the other, you should think about changing your name to 'Character-assassination-o-naut'?

[Truth-a-naut]

I would change it to that if they'd let me.

A few members here have met the accused in question in Montreal. And according to him he just hates jews. He'll try to hide it under policy-wonkery (as he does it here) but in person he's apparently something far more fascinating.

Aren't you my Quebecois friend?

Also - Politics is simply about character assassination. The drole, weak, ugly and half-witted needed to be herded out before any actual debate can get done. You pick your malformed politics, it doesn't pick you. Seems personal enough. Eh mate?

*Knows exactly what sploop will say next...

[Private]

If the criticism of Israel and its current government) appears to be "unremitting", perhaps it is the price Israel must pay in the court of world opinion regarding its treatment of the Palestinians.

Before the days of cell phone cameras and laptops, much of this was talked about, but never documented.

Now it is impossible not to know about the daily struggle of Palestinians (and particularly, Gazan Palestinians) to merely stay alive.

The UN Human Rights Commissioner, and even Israeli human rights organizations, do not document these abuses because they don't exist: they document them because they do.

60 odd years ago, a certain group of people in Germany decided to enslave and abuse all who didn't live up to their definitions of "pure" , and classified them as sub-human, not to be afforded any of the rights and privileges they kept for themselves.

and here is the tremendous and terrible irony.

It is the children and grandchildren of those who were persecuted and died during the Holocaust who are driving the policies which are creating the glaringly negative attention that Israel absolutely doesn't want.

[sploop!]

*Knows exactly what sploop will say next...

When the Master Sergeant tells a lower-ranking Marine to complete a task, one who is new would likely shout "oorah!" to sound motivated. But a Marine who has been in longer may likely shout "Yut!" instead to show his motivation.



[/quote]