If I am not for myself, who will be? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when? (Hillel, Pirkei Avot 1:14)
You’ve heard the claim that anti-Semitism is on the rise, just like in the 1930s. You’ve heard people call Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad another Hitler. But you turn away from these hotheads, more disturbed by the alarmist tone than by their message.
Times are good for Jews in America. The “gentleman’s agreement” that excluded us from businesses, universities, clubs, and politics, started to fade in the 1960s. Jews are now part of mainstream America.
But stop, and listen carefully. Globally, and even here, this trend toward acceptance has reversed. Anti-Semitism has gradually slipped back in, catching us unaware.
Yes, that claim needs proof, and a yardstick. Start with the ever-sharper attacks on Israel. When do they cross the line?
New York Times columnist Tom Friedman wrote: “Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic, and saying so is vile. But singling out Israel for opprobrium and international sanction — out of all proportion to any other party in the Middle East — is anti-Semitic, and not saying so is dishonest.”
Israeli cabinet minister (and former Soviet refusenik) Natan Sharansky offers a similar “3D test”: legitimate criticism crosses into anti-Semitism when it descends into demonization, double standards, and deligitimization.
Now that we have a grading policy, let’s score our students on this test.
We’ve certainly seen problems in Europe. For example, the British National Union of Journalists voted to boycott Israeli goods. There was no corresponding criticism of any Palestinian group or action.
And this took place while a BBC reporter was held hostage for weeks in the Gaza Strip, leaving foreign journalists afraid to enter Gaza.
Where did they go instead? Jerusalem, of course, where they were safe and free to criticize.
We should no longer expect even a pretense of journalistic objectivity from the British press. Grade: F.
America’s grade
But what about America? George Orwell’s “1984” taught that ideas are shaped by the words used to express them. Former President. Jimmy Carter’s book puts demonization right in his title, by legitimizing the application of “apartheid” to Israel.
For Israel to deny the claim of apartheid is akin to the husband faced with the question, “When did you stop beating your wife?” To many, the barrier between Jewish and Arab populations is proof of apartheid.
But Israel did not want this barrier until West Bank towns sent suicide bombers to kill Jews and made the murderers into “martyrs.”
What would America do in response to such attacks? The wall on the Mexican border is bigger (yes, really), and it merely keeps out people who want jobs.
Think about the double standard: Israel has many Arab citizens, but no Jew can be a Jordanian, no Jew could live in a future Palestine, and no Jew is allowed even to visit Saudi Arabia. Where’s the apartheid?
Carter certainly has earned his F.
Professors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer’s book, “The Israel Lobby,” highlights the anti-Israel movement on campus and accuses Israel supporters of controlling foreign policy. How could that work?
Jews, only 2 percent of the population, ask Congress to support Israel. But Jewish groups do not fund election campaigns for members of Congress.
Couldn’t it be, just perhaps, that the Congress listens to the arguments presented and agrees that Israel deserves support? But why does the book get a nodding “of course” from the punditry and the academics? It revives the familiar story about Jews being disloyal foreigners in our midst, a fear as old as the Pharaoh of the Exodus. More professors with failing grades.
Next, turn to the Muslim world. No test needed, since we already know the grade, but can an F be too high?
The “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and “Mein Kampf” are best sellers. Iran has a President who denies Hitler’s Holocaust but wants nuclear weapons for the next one, when he will be able to “wipe Israel off the map.”
Hamas has a charter that cites the Hadith: “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say, ‘O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’”
Hezbollah’s leader Nasrallah said in 2002: “If they [Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.”
No, it’s not about “occupation.” It’s about us.
The High Holiday prayerbook teaches that the shofar blasts of Rosh HaShanah send a message: Wake up!
Gary Acheatel is founder of Advocates for Israel, a grassroots advocacy organization headquartered in Ashland, Ore. He works with the local groups, Advocates for Israel in Milwaukee and The Committee for Truth and Justice.
Loading ...