Victor Davis Hanson: The new anti-Semitism

[furman]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0609290336sep29,0,525229.story?coll=chi-newsopinioncommentary-hed

The new anti-Semitism
Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow and historian at the Hoover Institution
at Stanford University
Tribune Media Services
Published September 29, 2006

<snip>

The state-run, and thus government-authorized, newspapers of the Middle East slander Jews in barbaric fashion. "Mein Kampf" (translated, of course, as "Jihadi") sells briskly in the region. Hamas and Hezbollah militias on parade emulate the style of brownshirts. In response, much of the Western public snoozes. In the last two decades, Islamic terrorists have bombed and murdered thousands inside Europe and the United States. Their state supporters in the Middle East have raked in billions in petro-windfall profits from energy-hungry Western economies. For many in Europe and the U.S., supporting Israel--the Middle East's only stable democracy--or even its allies in the West has become viewed as dangerous and costly.

In addition, Israel is no longer weak but proud and ready to defend itself. So when its terrorist enemies like Hezbollah and Hamas brilliantly married their own fascist creed with popular left-wing multiculturalism in the West, there was an eerie union: yet another supposed Third World victim of a Western oppressor thinking it could earn a pass for its murderous agenda.

We're accustomed to associating hatred of Jews with the ridiculed Neanderthal right of those in sheets and jackboots. But this new venom, at least in its Western form, is mostly a left-wing, and often an academic, enterprise. It's also far more insidious, given the left's moral pretensions and its influence in the prestigious media and universities. The renewed hatred of Jews in the Middle East--and the indifference to it in the West--is a sort of "post anti-Semitism." Islamic zealots supply the old venomous hatred, while affluent and timid Westerners provide the new necessary indifference--if punctuated by the occasional off-the-cuff "Amen" in the manner of a Louis Farrakhan or Mel Gibson outburst.

The dangers of this post anti-Semitism is not just that Jews are shot in Europe and America--or that a drunken celebrity or demagogue mouths off. Instead, ever so insidiously, radical Islam's hatred of Jews is becoming normalized.

The result is that the world's politicians and media are talking seriously with those who not merely want back the West Bank, but rather want an end to Israel altogether and everyone inside it.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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

[bemildred]

2. This sort of drivel is not new here.

And it is a matter of principle to allow everyone to have a say. I think this sort of thing speaks for itself, and I am more than willing to allow as much as you like to be posted here.

[geek tragedy]

3. Victor Davis Hanson said that Rumsfeld is the "greatest Secretary

of Defense in American history."

[Tom Joad]

4. It goes without saying Hanson is therefore a right-wing nut.

um, thanks for the post. good to hear what idiots (like Hanson) are saying these days.

edited for clarification.

[geek tragedy]

5. Pardon me?

I'm sure you didn't mean to insult me there.

[Tom Joad]

6. No geek, the insult is all on Hanson. I am thankful for the Original

Post, so we know what the pushers of war (hanson) are sayin' is all. Hanson and his fellow neocons are just catapulting the hate, is all, and folks like you are exposing them for the fools they are.
Greatest secretary of state in history. I would laugh but it is just too scary to think that anyone serious would say that.

[furman]

7. I posted this because left-wing antisemitism is a reality here on DU

I think the author is dead on in this article.

The anti-Israel and antisemitic remarks on this board and the far-left in general do nothing to help the Democratic party here in the U.S.

In fact, I fear it will end up hurting the Democratic party come election time.

For example, I am a resident of Connecticut, and I voted for Ned Lamont in the primary on August 8.
However, I now feel very disenchanted with much of the anti-Israel sentiment expressed in this forum.
I do not want my leaders to be heavily influenced by these types of views.
Although Ned Lamont has expressed opinions in favor of Israeli interests,
I still sometimes consider voting for Lieberman in the upcoming election
mainly because of things I read here in I/P.

Below are some excerpts containing more information about American public opinion towards Israel and party affiliation of Jews.

American Attitudes Toward Israel
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/potoc.html

Support for Israel is not restricted to the Jewish community. Americans of all ages, races and religions sympathize with Israel. This support is also nonpartisan, with a majority of Democrats and Republicans consistently favoring Israel by large margins over the Arabs.

The best indication of Americans' attitude toward Israel is found in the response to the most consistently asked question about the Middle East: “In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with Israel or with the Arab nations?” The organization that has conducted the most surveys is Gallup. Support for Israel in Gallup Polls has remained consistently around the 50 percent mark since 1967. Some people have the misperception that sympathy for Israel was once much higher, but the truth is that before the Gulf War the peak had been 56 percent, reached just after the Six-Day War. In January 1991, sympathy for Israel reached a record high of 64 percent, according to Gallup. Meanwhile, support for the Arabs dropped to 8 percent and the margin was a record 56 points.

Party Identification of Jews
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/partyid.html

Jews are substantially more likely to identify themselves as Democrats than are members of any other major religious group in the country. Data for 2004 shows that 50% of Jews say they are Democrats, compared with 34% who say they are independents and only 16% who say they are Republicans. These patterns have remained extremely stable since the early 1990s. The national average for partisanship is 33% Republican, 36% independent, and 31% Democrat.

[nicoll]

8. Statistics on the Israel/Palestinian are so important

every time someone starts saying about Anti-semitism it makes me feel like I am banking my head against a brick wall. What is important in the Middle East in determining who is the most at fault - both side are at fault in this and there is no innocent party. Why can't people just deal with each situation and judge it accordingly - below are just a few of some interesting stats -

a) 1 Israeli is being held prisoner by Palestinians, while 9,599 Palestinians are currently imprisoned by Israel.

b) 60+ new Jewish-only settlements have been built on confiscated Palestinian land between March 2001 and July 11, 2003. There have been 0 cases of Palestinians confiscating Israeli land and building settlements.

c) 0 Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians and 4,170 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since September 29, 2000.

d) Israel has been targeted by at least 65 UN resolutions and the Palestinians have been targeted by none.

e) 7,633 Israelis and 30,670 Palestinians have been injured since September 29, 2000.

f) 1,084 Israelis and 4,171 Palestinians have been killed since September 29, 2000.

g) 121 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians and 779 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis since September 29, 2000.

forget Anti-semitism and deal with the facts on a situation with a clear and unbiased mind.

[newyorican]

9. Is this the "new" or the "new-new"...

I lose track.

It might be the "new-new-new" or even newer.

For reference see: The boy who cried wolf