Opinion Anti-Semitism: the hatred of Jewish people merely because of who they are. It’s obscene, dark, multi-faceted, complex in origin and impossible to properly define in a column but, as I say, it simply will not die. Its earlier form was religious, its more modern was racial, and now it has become political. In Europe in particular, Jew-hatred has been enabled by the debate around Israel and Palestine and here is where the discussion becomes acutely difficult…but absolutely essential: isolating and condemning the anti-Semite, but acknowledging and allowing the concerned critic of Israeli policy. In Britain the Labour Party, the official opposition and in government for decades, has been experiencing internal paroxysms as it investigates and sometimes expels members, some of them relatively senior, for comments about Jews that go far beyond anti-Zionism. In Canada, it may well be that the post-Mulcair NDP will have its own challenges, with the left sometimes losing its sense of balance over the Middle East. So how do we know, how should we respond and how do we react to the irrational? The first reality we need to embrace is that the last people who should be held responsible for anti-Semitism are the Palestinians. In spite of the contrived narrative around the repugnant Mufti of Jerusalem in the 1930s and 40s and his support for Hitler, the vast majority of Palestinians had absolutely nothing to do with the European genocide of the Jews. The anti-Semitic lunacy that culminated in the Holocaust was, to the shame of the church, a gruesome mingling of perverted Christianity, forest tribalism and political instability. Remember that for most Palestinians, the Jews were not victims begging simply to be left alone but strong, determined, bellicose young pioneers who wanted Palestine as their reborn homeland. A Palestinian hating Israelis is nothing at all like a moronic fascist hating Jews, and to confuse the two is unfair to Palestinians and dilutes the sheer horror of authentic anti-Semitism. While we should absolutely understand Palestinian agony, however, it’s a little more challenging to simply forgive some of the hysterical statements made by Europeans and North Americans. Whatever may have been done in the name of Zionism, the reality is that Israel was not some colonial or academic project but, to a large extent, an act of desperation by a people who had worked to be accepted in Germany, Poland, Russia and pretty much everywhere else. It’s simply too facile to condemn Israel without at least some empathy with the Jewish experience. But then, of course, we have the downright Jew-haters using Palestine as an excuse to perpetuate their racism. There aren’t as many of these crazed monomaniacs as some would have us believe, but they are certainly out there. They should be exposed by everyone, whatever their views on the Middle East. But in dismissing the racists, it’s important not to demonize those who have no hostility to Jews but who do believe that Israel acts unjustly and that the Palestinians have both an historic and contemporary grievance. Nor can it be denied that for decades, the label of antiSemite was thrown at pretty much anyone who criticized Israel. It was a short-sighted and unethical ploy and was so overused that today, tragically, the accusation is sometimes ignored even when entirely appropriate. It’s a dilemma. Pakistanis who have no knowledge of Israel or the Arab world screaming at Jews out of a misguided sense of Islamic solidarity, while saying nothing when Pakistan enforces its vile blasphemy laws. American Christian Zionists applauding every Israeli action out of an obsession with the end times, but dismissing the cries of fellow Christians who are Palestinian. White leftists comparing Israelis to Nazis, but admiring Iran even though it murders young gay men. And so on. Paradox, blood-thick confusion, hypocrisy, inconsistency and exploitation. The Arab rulers continue to oppress, the world powers continue to fight wars vicariously and Israel does pretty much what it wants to do. Yet the Palestinians continue to suffer and ordinary Israelis continue to wonder why they can’t just put down their guns and party. If there is to be genuine peace in the Middle East and if the stain of anti-Semitism is to be wiped from the map, people of goodwill from all sides have to come together. God willing it will happen. But, in all honesty, it won’t be at all easy. with Michael Coren CSANews | SUMMER 2016 | 17
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