< Here's my latest blog, on an issue (anti-Semitism from both the Left and Right) that is "hot" right now. Will be interested to get your feedback. -- Bernard Weiner, Co-Editor (www.crisispapers.org) >
Click here to see my websiteBernard Weiner's Blog, The Crisis Papers Round 2: Anti-Semitism & The New "Jews"
As I guess I should have anticipated, my recent "Anti-Semitism and the New 'Jews'" essay
Click here to see my website stirred up a lot of dust. You can't write an article that touches on religion and expect otherwise, I suppose. When you fold in politics and mention of Jews, the mixture goes combustible.
For those who missed last week's piece, here's a quick summary. In times of crisis, scapegoats are needed; Jews historically have served that role, and, given the increasing tensions in the Middle East, continue to do so these days as anti-Semitism blossoms again both from the Right and the Left.
Sometimes it's difficult to detect the fine line between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, but it's possible to do so if you pay attention to the overall thrust of the writings.
REACTIONS ALL OVER THE PLACEThe reactions to my article ran the gamut: I was too pro-Palestine, I was too pro-Israel; I was too hard on the Zionist neo-cons, I was a stooge of the Zionist neo-cons; I was a courageous Jewish liberal for bringing this anti-Semitism-on-the-Left issue out in the open, I was a "self-hating Jew" for criticizing Israeli policy; U.S. governments are ruled by Israel, the U.S. is constantly telling Israel what to do, and it doesn't always obey; all Muslims want to wipe out all Jews and so Islam must be smashed now while they're weak, most Muslims could live in peace with Israel if the Occupation were to end and a viable Palestine state were to be accepted by Israel; and so on.
I learned several lessons from this experience.
First, since both extremes denounced me, I figured that maybe I had written a pretty decent piece. Zionist Jews thought I was a sell-out because I support Palestinians having their own viable state, anti-Zionists thought me a stooge of the Likud Party in Israel, perhaps even a Mossad agent; anti-Semites uncorked their filthy mouths just because they are overflowing with bilious hate.
Second, I learned that readers often don't actually read what they see in front of them, especially when religion and politics are involved; instead, they see through a lens of their own biases and think they've read something that the authors never wrote.
Third, I learned that even though I believe Zionism and Judaism should be thought of as two separate issues, that appears to be extremely difficult to pull off for some critics because of the very nature of Israel as a Jewish State to which many Jews have at least an emotional connection.
USING AND ABUSINGIn a powerful 2003 article, "Anti-Semitism, Israel & the Left," Philip Green talked about how anti-Semites use and abuse that connection:
"A fair-minded person, in short, looks for explanations of phenomena; the racist 'explains' them by attaching them to his favorite race. So to 'explain' American policy solely as the result of machinations of 'the Jewish lobby,' without mentioning oil, water, or expansionism; or the interests of the military-industrial sector; or the electoral and ideological utility of substituting guns for butter; or the way in which permanent crisis serves the interests of the Republican Party, is indeed to engage in anti-Semitism. Conversely, it is misleading to mention all those factors and then, for fear of appearing anti-Semitic, omit all mention of 'the Jewish lobby' or of the right-wing ideologues, who are also strong supporters of Israel, in key policy-making positions in the Bush Administration."
In short, criticizing Israeli policy, or even its Zionist roots and reason for existence, is an excruciatingly ticklish situation for many writers, especially if they're Jewish.
But, even conceding that difficulty, it's clear that what cannot be countenanced in denunciations of Israel or Israeli policy is when those critiques slide over the line into out-and-out anti-Semitism directed against "the Jews." Similarly, as Green points out, single-focus denunciations of "Zionist neo-cons," without also mentioning the multi-faceted complexities of public-policy making, can easily slide into anti-Semitism.
What is also clear is that anti-Semitic expressions, whether they come from the Left or from the Right, are despicable and bring nothing to the table of rational discourse. Indeed, they poison the well of respectful discussion.
AUTHOR OF THE ANTI-JEWISH ARTICLESFinally, I should note that a number of readers wondered why I didn't name the author of the anti-Semitic articles that engendered my essay.
I didn't supply that name because I wanted readers to focus not on the writer but on the issue of anti-Semitism coming from both the Left and the Right. (Perhaps my logic was mistaken.) Several readers guessed right away that the author in question was one John Kaminski, since they too had run across his problematic articles at a wide variety of legitimate and suspect websites.
His article that I had mentioned first, the one suggesting the existence of a conspiracy by Jews, was "The Setup to Destroy America," which I originally saw at the popular LovearthNews.net website. The article also can be found at a host of lesser-known websites, such as Signs-of-the-Times.org, and ThePeoplesVoice.org, as well as at his own website. (Interestingly, I no longer can locate the article at Lovearth; it was #49 on the listing of 100 top stories the day I read it.)
Kaminski has written many strong, non-controversial articles over the past few years -- for such respected websites as ZMag.org, Scoop.co.nz, Antiwar.com, OnlineJournal.com, FreeSpeechRadio.net, et al. -- which may make it easier for him to be published at a wide variety of Left-leaning or at least anti-Bush sites. A number of his more distressing essays often begin with well-written attacks on the Bush Administration, the Iraq War, and the government's 9/11 scenario, then drop in a few rants about "the Jews" -- usually located toward the end of the pieces.
So I wondered if maybe editors at some alternative-press websites had read only the opening anti-Bush and anti-Iraq War paragraphs, and didn't realize the inclusion of hate commentary buried further down; I figured that they had either read or published his mostly "clean" political analyses earlier and thus weren't paying much attention to the totality of the articles, and the "dirty" stuff that was contained therein.
What was scarier to contemplate was whether any of those editors actually agreed with the anti-Semitic stuff -- or simply didn't care. (See Thomas McCullock's important letter below where he quotes some of those editors to whom he complained about Kaminski's raging anti-Semitism as saying, "Yes, but this article is OK.")
On occasion, Kaminski's openly anti-Semitic essays -- usually published at the large number of hate or fringe sites where extreme Right and extreme Left overlap -- were devoted almost entirely to scathing attacks on "the Jews." For just one revolting example, see "The Jewish War on Freedom of Speech", which was reposted widely at the extremist sites; it'll make you hear stormtrooper jackboots on the cobblestones.
I continue to assert any author's right to publish whatever reasoned or cockamamie analyses he or she come up with. It's our responsibility as intelligent readers to accord those essays our approval or disdain, to advocate for those moving humanity forward in the light, and to warn against those taking us backwards to a darker age. We find both types of writing these days about the complex affairs in the Middle East and America. Keep your eyes and minds alert for bamboozlement and demagoguery.
MAY I HAVE THE ENVELOPES, PLEASE?I found the emails reacting to my article most fascinating and useful; I learned a lot, as I think you may also when you peruse them. In some instances, you'll note, I responded back, and a kind of mini-debate ensued. Since there were so many letters, I've put together a sampler plate that reflects the wide range of opinions in that deluge of correspondence; my thanks to all those who wrote in, and apologies to those whose letters weren't able to be reproduced below. (Note: to read the letters, go to the URL at the head of this blog. thanks.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(22 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
