US Ambassador Under Fire for Comments on Anti-Semitism*

[Judi Lynn]

Source: ABC News

US Ambassador Under Fire for Comments on Anti-Semitism*
By Jake Tapper | ABC News – 6 hrs ago..

The US Ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman, finds himself under fire this morning for comments he made about the roots of some Muslim anti-Semitism, comments from which the White House distanced itself.

Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli newspaper, reported Friday that Gutman told a Jewish conference on anti-Semitism organized by the European Jewish Union that — as the newspaper described it — “a distinction should be made between traditional anti-Semitism, which should be condemned and Muslim hatred for Jews, which stems from the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”

According to the prepared remarks of his speech, Gutman distinguished between “anti-Semitism, of hatred and violence against Jews, from a small sector of the population who hate others who may be different or perceived to be different, largely for the sake of hating” from what he perceived to be a different phenomenon tied to Israeli policies.

“What I do see as growing, as gaining much more attention in the newspapers and among politicians and communities, is a different phenomena,” Gutman said. “It is the phenomena that led Jacques Brotchi to quit his position on the university committee a couple of months ago and that led to the massive attention last week when the Jewish female student was beaten up. It is the problem within Europe of tension, hatred and sometimes even violence between some members of Muslim communities or Arab immigrant groups and Jews. It is a tension and perhaps hatred largely born of and reflecting the tension between Israel, the Palestinian Territories and neighboring Arab states in the Middle East over the continuing Israeli-Palestinian problem.”



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/us-ambassador-under-fire-comments-anti-semitism-141017664.html

[crim son]

1. He's right.

Shhhhhhhhhh!

[krucial]

2. Anti Semites

I see the same thing.The problem is many here,see anti zionism and anti Semites as the same,in fact as long as one disagrees with any faction of any Israeli policy,it is regarded as hatred of Jews and anti sometime by most Christian American believers even more so than most Jews themselves.

When i lived in New york in the 70s I worked at Merrill Lynch at wall st.myself and some co workers including Jewish co workers were discussing the Palestinian Israeli issue,this was back when the Palestinians were put in jail for waving or displaying a Palestinian flag,and i said the Palestinian deserves some rights,such as displaying their own flag if they wanted to without it being a crime,I was called a Jew hater,a hater of Israel and an Anti semite just because I said I believed that the Palestinians at least deserve those rights

[loudsue]

4. I agree. The rightwing government of Israel (same as the bush regime in the US)

have caused as much hate toward Israel's policies as the bush crime family caused when in control of the USA toward American policies. Their policies are STOOOOOOPID, and there is no way anyone can have peace as long as nobody with power is willing to make it happen.

[defendandprotect]

6. True ... and it begins when Nixon arms . . .

RW Fundi Israel ....burying liberal-peace-loving Israelis...!

[Chef Eric]

9. It's true that some confuse anti-semitism with disapproval of Israel's policies.

It's also true that some anti-semites hide their anti-semitism behind "anti-Zionism."

And Gutman is being reckless in drawing a distinction between any anti-semitism that is rooted in a disapproval of Israel and the "traditional" form of anti-semitism.

[Mojorabbit]

3. It is like the freeper

tactic of calling anyone who disagreed with Bush policies unpatriotic. Not true.

[Poll_Blind]

5. In a neo-nazi's wildest dreams, they could never have imagined anything so beneficial...

..to them as the dilution of the meaning of the label "anti-Semite". Such has occurred by malicious use of the term to stifle criticism of the Israeli government, including criticism by Jews which has been covered by the "self-loathing" label. And certainly by the convenient arithmetic of "the 'new' anti-Semitism", which you can read more about in my signature line.

If you take a moment to really think about how much damage misappropriation of that term has done and will continue to do in the future, it's mind-boggling.

Hiding behind the aegis of anti-Semitism in order to stifle discourse and avoid responsibility for political decisions is a double-edged sword and as one side gets duller the other side, sharper.

PB

[Kolesar]

7. Haj Mohammed Effendi Amin el-Husseini

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haj_Amin_al-Husseini

[boppers]

8. Okay, this is unacceptable:

"White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said, “We condemn anti-semitism in all its forms and believe there is never any justification for prejudice against the Jewish people or Israel.”"

Yeah, we "condemn" calling out the Vatican, for enabling child abuse, because it's anti-christian to do so?

Uh, no.

Anti-semitism has its roots in hating a people, not a political entity. Israel is not a people, it's a political entity.

[alp227]

10. WaPo: Romney, Gingrich call for firing of U.S. ambassador after anti-Semitism remarks

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-gingrich-call-for-firing-of-us-ambassador-after-anti-semitism-remarks/2011/12/04/gIQA2cK0TO_story.html

“President Obama must fire his ambassador to Belgium for rationalizing and downplaying anti-Semitism and linking it to Israeli policy toward the Palestinians,” former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said in a statement Sunday.

[wordpix]

11. trying to get the Jewish vote, how transparent

[BiggJawn]

12. And the Christian vote, too.

Fundie Christians LUVS themselves some Holy Land.
They wake up in the middle of the night all aroused over the idea of somebody starting a war with Israel and starting this "Armageddon" thing they all hope they live long enough to see.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[zentrum]

14. I agree with him. Right on n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

15. It is a good thing he cleared up his statements.

I agree with much of what he said. Many scoff at the term "new anti-Semitism" because they think it is actually meant to reflect "newness." It is only in a small sense. It doesn't mean anti-Semitism is "new," nor does it mean there are "new" ways of hating Jews or "new" slurs. Rather, it is a two-fold situation; blaming all Jews, everywhere, for the actions of Israel and applying "traditional" anti-Semitism to Israel (or Israelis) as a whole. I am almost positive were we able to have a blind poll at DU (one where no-one could see how anyone voted), more than a few would likely vote anti-Semitism isn't anti-Semitism when applied to Israel or even that it is sometimes "acceptable" to use such bigotry when discussing Israel.

Jews around the world have been attacked for actions (real or imagined) by Israel. But rather than blaming the perpetrators (the attackers), many (especially left of center folks) blame Israel for the anti-Semitic attacks. If they don't come right out and blame Israel, they "understand" why the perpetrators did what they did. It is even worse if a Jew happens to be "pro-Israel," because then the attack can even be seen as the victim's fault! This is also true for pro-Israel/Zionist Jews who criticize others' comments which are critical of Israel, because when they do, they are automatically accused of "charging anti-Semitism." If not all comments "against" Israel are anti-Semitic (which they aren't), then not all responses against said comments are "accusations of anti-Semitism."

Here at DU, there are a handful of anti-Semites. There are even more anti-Semitic comments. The two previous statements not being one and the same.* However, what is the most common is anti-Israel sentiment, and even bigotry. It is possible to be "anti-Israel" (meaning against Israeli actions/policies/what-not) and not be an anti-Semite nor an anti-Israel bigot. It is possible to post "anti-Israel" comments (again, meaning against Israeli actions/policies/what-not) and those comments not be an anti-Semitic nor anti-Israel bigotry. The same possibility exists that being anti-Israel and/or making anti-Israel comments can be the calling card of an anti-Semite (or anti-Semitic) or exemplify anti-Israel bigotry.

Most here can easily identify common anti-Semitism; "Fuck the Jews!", "Those Jewish cunts deserve every bomb dropped on their Zionist heads.", "How many countries have they been kicked out of? Maybe it is time to recognize who the real problem is." (Yes, all of these were comments on DU. All of them made by posters who had been on DU for more than two years. All of them quite vocal against Israel. All three have now been banned.) Of course, even over-the-top comments like those will find others supporting them (+1's, :thumbsup:, and those asking for the poster to "tone it down.") It is the less than obvious anti-Semitism that seems to be more "popular" or more likely to have supporters; "The Jewish lobby...", "Of course that is how JEW Lieberman voted!", "Why are you even in this country? Are you even a real American? Shouldn't you just return to your motherland?", "I have Jewish blood/ancestors/children, so I can't be an anti-Semite and saying (anti-Semitic bullshit) is NOT anti-Semitic because of (see aforementioned Jewish "connection")." When those comments appear, suddenly, anti-Semitism is being "falsely" claimed or the person confronting such bigotry is being "oversensitive" or "always falsely" making accusations of anti-Semitism. It is nothing more than defending anti-Semitism when such comments go unchallenged or are even praised! Then there are those, which would be, IMO, a delight to neo-Nazis and making the originals smile from the grave, who dilute anti-Semitism, especially by the left of center people who are supposedly anti-bigotry, by excusing it and, in some cases, redefining it; i.e. Jews aren't Semites, Arabs are, so they can't be anti-Semitic; anti-Semitism is actually bigotry against Arabs. Redefining anti-Semitism in this way is, IMO, anti-Semitic because it is used as a way to minimize or deny hatred against Jews.

Anti-Semitism in the Arab/Muslim world predates the creation of Israel; however, the creation of Israel seemed to intensify and even excuse it. It is almost as if hating Jews became acceptable because Israel came into existence and refuses to die.

All criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic, or even anti-Israel bigotry (another plague all together). BUT, it doesn't not mean that all criticism is legitimate and devoid of anti-Semitism or anti-Israel bigotry. It is important to learn when they differ!

*"You are an anti-Semite!" is different than "Your post/remark/comment is anti-Semitic!" Some don't seem to be able to tell the difference between those two statements.