Saturday, April 14, 2012

On anti-Semitism. "Not at this level": when Zionists feign fairness

"“It’s absolutely the new anti-Semitism for us.”  “Israel has earned criticism,” he said, “but not on this level.”"  What level is acceptable? Name on critic of Israel who has not been labeled self-hating Jew (like Hannah Arendt) or outright anti-Semite?  Name one.  Name on criticism of Israel that has not been categorized as anti-Semitic? One.  Also, why no one challenges Israel's credentials as the authority on what is and what is not anti-Semitism?  This is a basic flaw in the debate on the subject.  I regard myself (or all progressives) a better authority on anti-Semitism than the lousy state of Israel, because I don't employ political standards in evaluating whether a statement is anti-Semitic or not, and--unlike Israel--I don't shy away from considering ostensible allies of the Palestinian cause as anti-Semitic.  Has Israel ever in its history regarded an ally as anti-Semitic even when he is?  Has Israel and Zionists ever dared to make a fuss about anti-Semitic pronouncements by former member of Congress, Bob Dornan or Pat Robertson?  When Bob Dornan vomited an anti-Semitic diatribe in Congress and labeled a Soviet spokesperson a "Jew boy", there was not one voice of protests from Zionists and Dornan knew how the game is played and simply later explained away his rant by saying that he is a staunch supporter of Israel. Do you know that Zionists never made a fuss about the anti-Semitic rhetoric of Richard Nixon or Harry Truman?