UK cited for 'obsessive' anti-Semitism, J Post 3/9/2006

[Coastie for Truth]

It turns out that joining the EU hasn't been the only thing to draw England closer to continental Europe.

For the first time since the Middle Ages, England is exhibiting classic "obsessive" anti-Semitism until now reserved for its neighbors across the channel, according to a British anti-Semitism expert.

Robert Wistrich, who heads the Hebrew University's Sassoon International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism, pointed to recent characterizations of Jews as the cabal behind the Iraq war and anti-Israel rhetoric leading to activities such as boycotts.

Historically, Wistrich explained at a lecture Wednesday night, British Jew-hatred has been less ideological, less violent and less successful in influencing government policies than in places such as Germany, Russia and Poland.
<<<SNIP>>>

[Poll_Blind]

1. UK racism causing Jews to become self-loathing in some sense? Hrm....

There's a line from "The Crying Game" where Forest Whitaker's character says something akin to "They'll call you n*gger to your face here.". My experiences in London and south of London where I stay when I visit support that allegation on occasion- the dominant white culture has, for decades now, been battling with their own position in a country that has been the recipient of immigrants from many different countries. Instead of considering this hodgepodge an alloy from which to draw strength it is sometimes perceived as an attack, a de facto race-war if you will, from immigrants. However, I would certainly say that more often than not the citizens of the U.K. that I have met have been extremely tolerant and open-minded. Still, having grown up in the poverty of south-east New Orleans in the 70's, I have not seen such comfort at the use of the word n*gger as I have in select pubs and other establishments around London.

Unfortunately, as with the U.S. (and I suspect everywhere), those who live rural or sheltered lives or who have not been exposed to a wide range of ideas are more likely to fall prey to xenophobia.

There is one really odd point in this article which I take exception with. After reading the article I went back and read the selected sections again just to make sure I understood her intonation. I don't like one bit Mrs. Katten's apparent "self-loathing" swipe at diasporic Jews who fail to toe the line for Israel's conservative government.

Note these two passages from the article, bold and italic emphasis are mine:

"We're back to square one," she told the crowd packing the small hall holding Wednesday's symposium on "The New Anti-Semitism? The Case of Great Britain." She said that members of the Jewish community, who face regular anti-Semitism, were beginning to blame themselves.

--SNIP--

Katten lamented that "the victim had suddenly become the perpetrator, and I couldn't help thinking if this is the problem we are facing in the academic world, where so many Jewish professors criticize Israel." She referred to several instances in which Jews and even Israelis lead protests against Israel and boycott drives.

She is conflating anti-semitism with legitimate criticism of the Israeli government, even by Jews, themselves. The accusation of "Self-Loathing Jew" is a tactic which is being brought out more and more and it's a very disturbing trend. I do not know of any racial group who, after being persecuted unfairly, became brainwashed into believing that their persecution was somehow acceptable or warranted.

The two issues covered in the article are A) UK anti-semitism is on the rise and B) there are Jews in the UK who support boycotts or criticize Israel. But these are not related by facts. They are separate situations, especially when her focus is on UK Jewry who support boycotts, etc. She bridges that gap and brings the two facts together fallaciously, indicating that those Jews who so disagree with the current Israeli government are in fact pandering to anti-semitism they are victims of.

Aren't Jews allowed to be displeased with the Israeli government, Mrs. Katten, without being labeled anti-semites or self-loathers?

Does a boycott of Israeli goods equate to anti-semitism? Does criticism of Israel's government equate to anti-semitism?

It's a very easy tool to use to undermine the humanity of your political opponents but such allegations from one Jew at another weaken the solidarity which Jewish culture has relied on so long to fight legitimate oppression and racism.

PB

[Violet_Crumble]

2. I noticed there's a lot of paraphrasing of what Wistrich said...

Which makes me wonder, given the rather shoddy journalism at JPost, whether Wistrich did indeed say that the UK was guilty of 'obsessive anti-Semitism', or if that's a bit of creative and wishful thinking on the writer's part. It's a pity that there's no transcript of the lecture available, as having started reading a book by Wistrich called 'Antisemitism: The Longest Hatred', it surprises me that he'd make a statement like that, when in the introduction of his book he says: 'There is clearly a danger of using antisemitism in this overly generalised way, extending it to all times and places regardless of specific circumstances, differences between historical epochs and cultures, or other factors that might give the term more specificity and critical sharpness. Antisemitism is not a natural, metahistorical or a metaphysical phenomenon whose essense has remained unchanged throughout all its manifestations over the centuries. Nor is it an intrinsic part of the psychic structure of Gentiles, a kind of microbe or virus which invariably attacks non-Jews, provoking the 'eternal hatred' for the 'eternal people'. Such a theory, which has some roots in the Jewish tradition ('Esau hates Jacob', the legacy of Amalek, etc.) and was adopted by early Zionists in Eastern Europe such as Pinsker, Lilienblum and Sokolow, is quite unhistorical'. He may well have actually said 'obsessive anti-Semitism', but it does seem to be the very same sort of use of antisemitism in an overly generalised way that he talked about in the book...


Violet...