Since August Bebel is dead, I feel oddly compelled to respond to the contortionist posting by Charles Brown.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Charles Brown [mailto:cbrown at michiganlegal.org]
> Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 12:23 PM
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Subject: [lbo-talk] Blind, or a coward / antisemitism?/RACISM
>
>
> Is this part of that race/racism discussion that y'all were having?
>
> Martin
>
> ^^^^^
> CB: Yes it is. One thing that has not been said very
> explicitly here is that those accusing Joseph Wanzala of
> anti-semitism haven't been accused of racism themselves for
> their defense of Zionism; or shielding Zionism and Israel of
> critcism by use of phony anti-Semitism claims.
Those who have actually been reading the discussion will note that it is the distinction between the Dreyfuss criticism of Zionism (Jewish, Israeli, Christian, etc., and the "xymphora" criticsm, that is at issue.
This is what I previously posted:
>>>Bob Drefuss tried real hard to construct a criticism of Christian
Zionism, Israel, and the Bush Administration--and the failure of Moore
to address these issues in his film--in a way that avoided antisemitism.
Dreyfus did a good job of this, which is remarkable and to be praised
because it is tricky terrain.
>>>The post by "xymphora" is peppered with historic antisemitic language
about tribal loyalties and Jewish financial power and Israeli
manipulation, etc. etc.--all stirred together into a toxic stew of
bigotry.
So this is not about defending Zionism.
> The vast
> majority of the nations of the world accused Zionists and
> Israel of racism in a UN reso a number of years back, and
> Joseph's accusers have ignored that. The representatives of
> the vast majority of peoples of the world who are the main
> victims of historical racism cannot be so blithely accused of "racism"
> (anti-Semitism) by a few white people. So, let me score the
> defenders of Israel on this thread for defending racism.
Who has done this on this list? No one. It is an imaginary claim. Furthermore, while antisemitism can be based on the false claim that Jews are a race, it has its own historic dynamic independent of White racism against people of color.
Brown:
>
> Application of "Anti-Semitism" should be restricted to those
> who are prejudice against Jews in the context and tradition
> of Europe. To label "anti-Semitic" antagonism against Jews by
> non-Europeans rooted in the history and conduct of the
> recently established country of Israel is not only off the
> mark, but in this context, a racist and perverted defense of
> a racist ideology and practice. It fails to make the
> distinction between oppressor and oppressed
> nation/nationality. In the context of the European tradition,
> Jews are an oppresssed nationality. In the context of the
> modern "Middle East" , Israel and the Zionists are an
> oppressor nation and nationality. To try to cover and defend
> Israel based on the European historical context is
> ...well...unprintable. Also, Jews in the U.S., who as a group
> overall have integrated as American whites, are part of an
> oppressor nation too, relative to the nations and
> nationalities that the U.S. is dissing in that region now. To
> categorize, especially people of color, i.e. non-Europeans
> who criticize American Zionists as the same as old time
> ,_white_ anti-Semites, is not only dishonest but racist.
While very creative, Brown's claims fail to take into consideration several points:
1). By shifting to the spelling "antisemitism," many progressive critics of bigoted conspiracist claims about Jewish power seek to show they are aware of the contradictions in the forging of the original term "Anti-Semite" by bigots in Europe.
2). In his post, Brown manages to conflate:
The state of Israel
The current Israeli government
Historic Zionism
Curent forms of Zionism
Jews
American Zionists
Jewish Zionists in the U.S.
Jewish Zionists in Israel
Christian Zionists in the U.S.
This is a serious anlytical problem.
3). Some Arabs and Muslims who are critical of Zionism or Israeli policies have also urged that pro-Palestinian activists avoid antisemitism. See for example this letter from Ali Abunimah & Hussein Ibish criticizing Israel Shamir for crossing the line from anti-Zionism to antisemitism in his defense of Palestinians:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~hfc/mideast/abuibish.htm
Some excerpts:
>>> "From early on, some of Shamir's writings struck us as straying
beyond criticism of Israel and Zionism, and crossing into the territory
of implicit anti-Semitism."
>>> "What could be more counterproductive to building the community of
conscience, the powerful moral stance, which is and must be the goal of
those of us in the United States who support Palestinian rights, than
the introduction of this kind of rhetoric into our conversation? How
could we do more to discredit ourselves than by allowing such ideas to
proliferate in behalf of a movement that has no need whatever to stoop
to vilifying others to justify itself?"
>>> "Perhaps some are ready to overlook statements that appeal to
anti-Semitic sentiments because the person making them identifies
himself as a Jew. But the identity of the speaker makes such statements
no less odious and harmful. We do not have any need for some of what
Israel Shamir is introducing into the discourse on behalf of Palestinian
rights, which increasingly includes elements of traditional European
anti-Semitic rhetoric. Such sentiments will harm, not help, the cause.
We urge all our friends in the movement for Palestinian rights to
seriously consider the long-term effects this rhetoric will have on the
cause, and act accordingly."
Brown:
> I'd like to identify with Joanna's remarks ,and note that my
> first draft of a post on this was also unprintable. I can see
> why Joseph bursts out with eight posts going over the limit
> in response.
>
> The twisting of the accusation "anti-Semitism" against
> critics of Israeli racism is analogous to the pernicious
> reverse discrimination doctrine prominent in the U.S. now.
It is true that some people use the claim of antisemitism to shield Israel and Zionism from legitimate criticism. This does not mean that every time someone points out examples of antisemitism they are engaged in an apologia. Sometimes it's a cigar. Brown's claim fails because it employs a fallacy of logic.
Consider the following from an article by Esther Kaplan in The Public Eye:
http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v16n2/AntisemitismAfter.html
>>> "As this article goes to press, Israeli aggression in the West Bank,
and Palestinian suicide attacks against Israeli civilians, continue,
with the horrible, lopsided death toll growing weekly. So, too, have
attacks on Jews and Jewish religious institutions continued to escalate
in France and Germany, and new reports have emerged of anti-Jewish
attacks in Russia. One critical challenge for the Jewish community, and
progressives everywhere, in responding to these situations in the months
ahead is to reject fear-mongering by pro-Israeli sectors in the face of
increasingly harsh international criticism of Israeli actions; to assert
the distinction-rather than the identity-between Jews everywhere and the
Israeli State; and yet to forcefully challenge truly antisemitic acts
and statements wherever they occur. An end to the occupation would
certainly clarify matters. As Klein said recently, "When a political
solution for the Middle East conflict can be found, and a viable
Palestinian state coexists with Israel, then we shall see that the
Muslim community in no way cherishes the anti-Semitic hatred that
characterized the Fascist movement in France and Europe before
1950."[73] If he is wrong, and attacks against Jews continue, then at
least their nature will be abundantly clear."
This is an example of how to be critical of Israeli government policies without slipping into antisemitism.
>
> Anyway, back at y'all. I accuse you. I accuse you of fake and
> historically distorted use of "anti-semitism", and in that
> you are racist.
>
As August Bebel pointed out, Anti-Semitism is the socialism of fools.
A modern essay that looks at how this works in current politics is:
Should We Be Worried About Anti-Semitism on the Left? By Norman Markowitz Norman Markowitz is an associate professor of history at Rutgers University and sits on the Editorial Board of Political Affairs, which is a journal of Marxist opinion affiliated with the Communist Party, USA. http://hnn.us/articles/printfriendly/1323.html
I like the way Naomi Klein said that antisemitism on the left was Sharon's best weapon.