From Isi Leibler, 28 May 2013:
Participants at the fourth conference of the
Global Forum for Combating anti-Semitism, held under the auspices of the
Foreign Ministry this week in Jerusalem, will be provided with data
highlighting the accelerated global erosion of the status of Jews and Israel.
(The Forum will be screened in its entirety via a live
online feed which can be viewed here)
In the post-Holocaust era, many had predicted,
mistakenly, that the world’s oldest hatred would recede, even anticipating that
anti-Semites would soon become an extinct species. Instead, defaming Jews has
emerged as the greatest global political growth industry - a virtual tsunami.
In fact we are witnessing a resurrection of the medieval paranoia which
effectively blamed Jews for all the disasters of mankind.
The most concentrated venom is relentlessly
directed against ‘the state of the Jews’ (anti-Israelism) which is now the
principal vehicle employed to demonize Jews. It dominates debates at the UN and
other international organizations where rogue states and barbaric regimes seek
to delegitimize the state of the Jews.
The escalation of Jew hatred over recent years
has been greatly accelerated by the economic meltdown and surge in unemployment
throughout Europe. Such an environment breeds xenophobia which, since time
immemorial, was always directed against Jews, exploiting them as scapegoats.
The era of the internet and electronic global
communications has been a boon to Jew baiters, enabling them to globally
disseminate their hatred instantly and effectively.
New varieties of Judeophobia have emerged and
integrated with the traditional anti-Semitism which had been temporarily muted
due to revulsion at the horrors of the Holocaust. The new blend fuses
traditional right wing religious, racial and economically inspired hatred of
Jews with leftist varieties which now dominates indigenous Western anti-Semites.
Ironically, the left bases its demonization of the Jewish state on bogus
Israeli human rights violations whilst avoiding condemnations of Arab
anti-Semitism and abdicating its traditional long standing role of purporting
to champion rights of the oppressed and condemning human rights violations – an
area in which the Arab world excels.
The greatest outpouring of anti-Jewish hatred
emanates from the newly empowered Moslem countries with its combined population
of 1.6 billion. In conjunction with their diasporas in Western countries, they
frenziedly promote a devilish brew of unique Islamic anti-Semitism combined
with the traditional Western varieties. They depict Jews as vampires;
descendants of apes and pigs; evil creatures disseminating AIDS; the masterminds
behind 9/11; etc. Their incitement is at least as potent as the worst
Jew-hatred promoted during the Nazi era. In addition, the Jihadist component
has been the principal element stoking the escalation of global violence,
terror and murder against Jews.
We also witnessed the emergence of Jewish
anti-Semites, who are now increasingly promoted to the forefront by our enemies
as representing “decent” Jews. They legitimize Holocaust inversion as a vehicle
to besmirch their kinsmen – comparing Israelis to Nazis and Palestinians to
Jews during the Holocaust.
The hatred has reached epic levels in Europe, the
continent whose soil was drenched in Jewish blood only 70 years ago and
ironically today commemorates an annual Holocaust Memorial.
Incredibly, European Jewish communities probably
face greater anti-Semitism today than prior to the Holocaust. Then, at least
liberals and much of the left were willing to condemn the Nazis and speak out
on behalf of Jews. Today, under the guise of promoting human rights, the left
is usually heading the anti-Jewish pack.
This is cogently summarized in the introduction
to Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld’s new book “Demonizing Israel and the Jews” where he
states “today well over 100 million Europeans embrace a satanic view of the state
of Israel. They believe that Israel is exterminating the Palestinians… This
current widespread demonic view of Israel is an imitation of the diabolical
beliefs about Jews which many held in the Middle Ages, and those promoted more
recently by the Nazis and their allies”.
Opinion polls confirm that nearly 50% of
Europeans regard Israel as a greater threat to the peace and stability of
mankind than North Korea, Iran or Syria.
There is also increasing anti-Jewish street
violence in European cities, much of which is understated as hooliganism. In
many cities Jews are advised not to wear kippot (Jewish skullcaps) or other
signs of Jewish identification.
In France, the aggressive approach of sectors of
Islamic migrant communities has resulted in murders.
Attitudes in the UK have also dramatically
changed as reflected in the frenetic and shameful hostility and bias towards
Israel and the Jews expressed by the bulk of the media.
These attitudes even permeate the British
judiciary, with one judge acquitting a group which had vandalized products
designed for Israel on the grounds that it was engaging in justified opposition
to the “occupation”. More recently a judge upholding the right of UK Teachers
Union to boycott Israel condemned the plaintiff for behaving inappropriately by
suggesting that Israel was relevant to the Jewish religion. The UK Protestant
Churches have reverted to their former hostility to the Jews with some even
challenging Israel’s legitimacy.
Even Germany, despite its special relationship
with the Jews, has been displaying signs of growing anti-Semitism and Holocaust
fatigue.
Other European countries are witnessing a
resurgence of xenophobia and neo-Nazism. The situation in Hungary is especially
stark where Jobbik, the Nazi party whose supporters proudly chant Heil Hitler
and other Nazi slogans, gained 17% of the vote. In Greece its Neo-Nazi
counterpart “Golden Dawn” recently polled 12% of the vote.
Belgium, Holland and the Scandinavian countries,
especially those hosting substantial Muslim immigrant communities with
electoral clout, have also registered major upsurges in anti-Semitism.
In these communities, many Jews are in denial.
Leading somewhat cloistered lives and not personally encountering
anti-Semitism, they refuse to acknowledge the intense hostility saturating
their societies.
The greatest impact is on the younger Jewish
generation whose parents grew up in an environment in which they took pride in
their Judaism and association with Israel. But in a climate in which the media
and society continuously bombard them with defamatory reports about Israel
Jewish pride and dignity is undermined and increasing numbers of younger Jews
seek anonymity. Some even engage in anti-Israeli rhetoric to attain social
acceptability.
Such a pariah lifestyle is not an environment
likely to inculcate a positive Jewish identity and there is now serious concern
about the long-term survival of many established Jewish communities.
Some read the writing on the wall and recognize
that there is no future for their children in Europe, and contemplate
emigration or encourage their children to leave.
There is no denying the fact that the government
of Israel has badly mishandled the situation. It has merely paid lip service to
the problem and its diplomats abroad ceremoniously condemn anti-Semitism. But
there has been no real effort to coordinate a global campaign to confront the
hostility and systematically promote our position in the battle of ideas in
which the struggle against anti-Semitism should have been a priority.
The Israeli government’s hosting of a global
conference with endless speeches on anti-Semitism every three years is surely
not the answer. What is required is the creation of a global operating center
to coordinate an ongoing campaign to combat the plague. However, there is no
indication of any intention to create a permanent Secretariat to deal with the
issue.
There are many talented diaspora Jews and
non-Jewish friends willing to cooperate with us in such a project. This is one
area in which the resources of major US Jewish agencies like the
Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, with numerous years
of experience and engagement in this arena, could provide considerable
assistance.
Yet, to date we have failed to take effective
action to confront this scourge which in the long run extends beyond Jew hatred
and will damage Israel no less than diaspora Jews. Many Israeli leaders fail to
appreciate that the battle for the mind, which we are losing, is an extension
of the military conflict.
