Pablo Kapusta '05
"The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy…Jews invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy so that persecuting them would appear to be wrong, so that they can enjoy equal rights with others." – Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, Malaysian Prime Minister, 16 October 2003
This statement seemed to borrow its argument from the pages of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, by accusing the Jews of conspiring to conquer the world. Even more disturbingly, these anti-Semitic comments were met with a standing ovation from the 57 heads of Muslim states at the annual Organization of the Islamic Conference Summit, reminding many of the Nazi rallies of the 1930s. This statement and its welcome by Muslim leaders reflect the pre-eminence that anti-Semitism continues to have in parts of the world. In this article, I will show that certain attacks on Israel and generalized attacks on Zionists are merely a repackaged form of classic anti-Semitism.
It is important to start with a definition. Anti-Semitism is a disproportionate and irrational hatred of the Jewish people. This irrational loathing can manifest itself in many ways. Here is an example: If John were to step on Bill's toes and Bill were to threaten to kill John, this incident shows Bill's irrational and disproportionate hatred of John. If both John and Moshe (a Jew) step on Bill's toes, but Bill picks on Moshe and threatens to kill him, while saying that Bill's transgression is negligible, this shows that Bill holds Moshe to a different standard simply because he is Jewish. A typical bigot would consider Moshe's action as typical of the Jews. This is anti-Semitism.
I realize that this is a simple example, but unfortunately, this is exactly what happens too often in discussion of Israel. Consider: there are many armed separatist movements in the world. These include, among others, Kurds in Turkey, Chechens in Russia, Basques in Spain, Muslims in the Philipines, and the Palestinians. In my everyday interactions, I often hear people spontaneously express disgust with how the Israelis treat the Palestinians, while during my time at Princeton I have never heard anyone mention the oppression of the Tibetans by the Chinese. In more concrete terms, Israel was recently the target of a divestment campaign on college campuses around the country. Only the Palestinians have a permanent representative in the United Nations. Israel is the Only the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is mentioned in sessions of the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Economic and Social Council. What makes Israel so special that it merits condemnation in 25% of the resolutions passed by the Human Rights Council? Many critics of Israel go so far as to accuse it of being as bad to the Palestinians as the Nazi regime was to the Jews.
Given this attention and condemnation, it would seem that this is a truly historic oppression, unique in its scope. However, this simply is not the case. Since the intifada started in September 2000, approximately 800 Israelis and 2600 Palestinians have been killed, or roughly 1200 people per year. Although these numbers are appalling and show the real tragedy of the Middle East, they are small when compared to other major conflicts that are going on around the world. There have been recent conflicts that were unique in their scale. As a point of comparison in 1994 in Rwanda, one million civilians were brutally murdered in eight weeks. From 1994-1996, 80,000 died in Chechnya. In both these cases, the international community did not intervene. There have been no committees of solidarity with the people of Rwanda, and no UN condemnation of the war in Chechnya. Clearly, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not exceptional in terms of its magnitude, only in terms of the attention that it receives.
Another common argument is that this conflict is the final case of colonialism. I question the accuracy of this analogy, as it ignores any facts pertinent to the conflict. Israel is not a European power that occupied the territories in order to exploit it for its financial resources. The original conquest of the West Bank and Gaza Strip was made in 1967 after Israel had been attacked by seven Arab countries in 1948 and faced continual existential threat. This can hardly be lumped into the same category as economic colonialism. Beyond that, few remember that Jordan and Egypt also occupied Palestinian territory in 1948 and refused to renounce its claim until it became clear that Israel had a firm grasp on the territories. Again, there are double standards at play here, as the Arab League did not condemn Egypt or Jordan for occupying Palestine in 1948 while they are vociferous opponents of Israel's occupation today.
Let me emphasize again here that I do not believe that Israel has a perfect record of dealing with these issues, in fact few advocates for Israel's existence do. However, this fact does not warrant unrestrained political attacks on Israel. Criticism and condemnation must be proportional to the crime. Because it is examined under such strict scrutiny, Israel has made major attempts to raise its standards of human rights, far surpassing any country in its region. No other country in the Middle East is a democracy, has assurances of civil and political rights, and has addressed women's rights. Saudi Arabia has just announced known that it plans to hold its first ever elections next year. Few Jews are allowed to live in peace Arab states, compared to Israel, which has a 20% Arab population. Even if one believes that these facts are negligible compared to Israel's oppression of the Palestinians, I challenge them to produce any way that the Israel-Palestinian conflict is absolutely worse by such a magnitude the other modern day movements. This double standard is despicable and deplorable.
Anti-Semites do not stop at merely attacking Israel politically. They equate Israel's actions with those of the Jewish people. This sort of attack is often made in the form of thinly veiled anti-Zionist statements. To clarify the definition, according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Zionism is "an international movement originally for the establishment of a Jewish national or religious community in Palestine and later for the support of modern Israel." By this definition, the vast majority of Jews would be defined as Zionists. The incitement of violence and hatred towards Zionists is simply a new code-name for Anti-Semitism.
A common technique used is to blame the Zionists (read Jews) for every unpopular American policy in the Middle East. In the spring, there was an outpouring of articles, blaming the Zionists for creating the war in Iraq. Dr. Y. Alaridi wrote in the Syria Times on 20 March 2003, "Those who planned the war [in Iraq] in the American administration…are ultra extremist and Zionist Jews whose main interest and whose basic legality is not to the U.S. but to Israel and the enemies of peace where ever and however they see fit." Conspiracy theories abound about the subversive influence of Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz, two high-ranking American officials. These theories reach the highest level of some government, as exemplified by Dr. Mohathir speech to the OIC in October. The result of this incitement of hatred towards Jews and Zionists is violence and terrorism. On 15 November 2003, two bombs targeting synagogues in Istanbul killed 24 civilians in a clearly anti-Semitic attack. The French government has called for urgent measures to stop a wave of anti-Semitism and attack against Jews, committed mainly by youths of North African descent. Even in usually tolerant Holland, there has been a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents mostly directed or committed by Moroccan youths under the excuse of “…solidarity with the Palestinian people”, as reported by the Volkskrant on 02 November 2003.
Martin Luther King once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." The threat of anti-Semitism is real and it is growing. As long as double standards are applied on Israel in the realm of international law and every Jew is held accountable for the acts of the Israeli government, extremism and violence will continue to thrive. Tolerance begins at home. Fair and proportional criticism of Israel should be welcomed and encouraged, while ludicrous comments comparing Israelis with Nazis should be condemned outright. It is in the best interest of every one, especially those who support the cause of Palestinian statehood, to reflect deeply on the issue.
In sum, I am simply asking for an equal application of international law. Anti-Semitism is a scourge that has raised its head in every generation. It is in the best interest of every one, especially those who support the cause of Palestinian statehood, to reflect deeply on the issue.