>I vehemently disagree
>with this idea that the non-Jewish Left needs to re-enforce its
>anti-Semiticism creditentials.
<snip>
>For a non-Jew or distinctly non-Jewish lead groups to inject awareness
>of anti-Semiticism in the US political context in relation to the
>Palestinian issue is an absolutely stupid mistake.
Are you very intimately involved in Arab-American and/or Muslim communities in your area? Do you work with them to build up demos and educational events? Do you chat with them in person and/or via e-mail daily? If you are, you must notice that there _is_ a problem of anti-Jewish conspiracy theory* here. I don't want to blow it out of proportion, but I don't want to downplay it either. I think that leftists who work with Arab-American and/or Muslim communities have to size up the problem carefully and confront it honestly. Ideally, it should be Arab-American and/or Muslim activists themselves who speak up on this subject whenever the problem surfaces, but non-Arab and non-Muslim activists who work with them regularly shouldn't be totally silent on it either. Now, I don't know about Naomi Klein, but in my opinion one should confront anti-Jewish conspiracy theory not particularly to reinforce one's anti-anti-Semitic credentials (i.e., to look good in the eyes of others), but to make it possible for more in Arab-American and Muslim communities (also in black nationalist crowds, but that's for another post perhaps) here to grasp the truth of capitalism and imperialism -- the truth obscured by conspiracy theory. The presence of anti-Jewish conspiracy theory is an index of political blind spots, which lead communities afflicted by them to political dead ends.
* What do I mean by "anti-Jewish conspiracy theory"? I mean something like the following excerpt (from an article titled "The Kosher Tax" recently posted to a local activist e-mail list whose main subscribers are Arab Americans of Central Ohio):
>The "Kosher Nostra" protection racket starts when an Orthodox Rabbi
>approaches a company to warn the owners that unless their product is
>certified as kosher, or "fit for a Jew to eat", they will face a
>boycott by every Jew in America. Most, if not all of the food
>companies, succumb to the blackmail because of fear of the Jewish
>dominated media and a boycott that may eventually culminate in
>bankruptcy. Also, the food companies know that the cost can be
>passed on to the consumer anyway. The food companies have kept
>secret from the general consumer the meaning of the (U) and the
>amount of money they have to pay the Jewish Rabbis.
-- Yoshie
* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>