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The NEW Anti-Semitism
...an End Time Factor?
The Deep Roots of Antisemitism in
European Society
By Manfred Gerstenfeld
IHC Abstract
“Traditional anti-Semitism denied Jews the right to live as equal
members of society, but the new anti-Jewishness denies the right of the
Jewish people to live as an equal member of the family of nations,”
observed Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler. In this article,
Gerstenfeld explores the close links between the rise of new
anti-Semitism in Europe and undue political criticism of Israel. Thus,
while the phenomenon of anti-Semitism has featured in European society
for millennia, it is nevertheless continually mutating and is presently
manifest in senseless condemnation of Israel. According to Gerstenfeld,
who alludes to Cotler, criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism are
indistinguishable when the accusations 1) publicly call for the
destruction of Israel and the Jewish people; 2) deny the Jewish people’s
right to self-determination; 3) Nazify Israel; 4) characterize Israel as
the perfidious enemy of Islam; 5) attribute to Israel a mix of evil
qualities; 6) call for boycotts against Israel; 7) deny the Holocaust;
8) support terrorism against Israel; or 9) single out Israel for
discriminatory treatment and deny it equality before the law.
| In this article, Gerstenfeld
explores the close links between the rise of new anti-Semitism
in Europe and undue political criticism of Israel. |
The diseased state of arrogant democracies in Europe, who will all but
acknowledge that anti-Semitism is thriving under their noses, is
explored in the statements of politicians, the actions of the
populations and the pan-European efforts to address this misnomer. For
while there may be some growing awareness of the problem, and
conferences have been convened to address the problem, the fact remains
very little has been done on the ground. Europe - France and Greece most
notably - continues to remain a hotbed of anti-Jewish, anti-Israel
racist ideology. European delegates and educational systems have adopted
“a technique of paying honor to dead Jews, criticizing Israel and
ignoring or belittling [their] own country’s major delinquencies toward
living Jews.” Europeans are clearly reluctant to deal with anti-Semitism
as a topical issue, preferring instead to address it under the
“politically correct” headings of racism, xenophobia and discrimination.
Though the chances of utterly reversing this deep-seated cultural,
religious and ideological phenomenon are slim, Europe can still take
steps to curb its present impetus. It must endeavor to develop sound
data and information about anti-Semitic phenomena, encourage civil
society to undertake dialogue, severely punish hate crimes and bring to
a halt discriminatory statements against Israel. With growing signs of
an impending mass exodus of Jews from Europe, it is in Europe’s best
interest to treat and expunge this form of moral decay.
See full article at
http://jcpa.org/phas/phas-gerstenfeld-s05.htm
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