JOURNALfor the STUDYof ANTISEMITISM
JOURNALfor the STUDYof ANTISEMITISM
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JOURNAL for <strong>the</strong><br />
STUDY of<br />
<strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong><br />
Volume 3 Issue #1 2011
JOURNAL for <strong>the</strong><br />
STUDY of<br />
<strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong><br />
Volume 3, Issue #1, 2011<br />
Latin American Antisemitism<br />
Guest Editor, Shimon T. Samuels
Dedicated to those who perished in <strong>the</strong> Buenos Aires bombings of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Israeli Embassy, March 17, 1992,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina, July 18, 1994,<br />
and all victims of antisemitism and terrorism across <strong>the</strong> globe.
Journal for <strong>the</strong> Study of Antisemitism (JSA)<br />
Steven K. Baum and Neal E. Rosenberg, Editors, Marlton, NJ<br />
Steven L. Jacobs, Associate Editor; Judaic Studies, University of Alabama<br />
Lesley Klaff, Associate Editor/Book Review Editor; Sheffield Hallam Univ., UK<br />
Shimon Samuels, Guest Editor; Chair, Simon Wiesenthal Centre, Paris<br />
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, AHA Foundation, AEI, Washington, DC<br />
Paul Bartrop, Historian, Bialik College, Melbourne, Australia<br />
Hadassah Ben-Itto, Author/Judge (Ret.), Tel Aviv<br />
Michael Berenbaum, Sigi Ziering Institute, Los Angeles<br />
Andrew Bostom, Brown University, Providence, RI<br />
Jonathan Boyd, Jewish Policy Research, London<br />
Israel W. Charny, Encyclopedia of Genocide, Jerusalem<br />
Florette Cohen, Social Psychology, College of Staten Island<br />
Richard L Cravatts, Education, Boston University<br />
Bernie Farber, Canadian Jewish Congress, Toronto<br />
Robert Fine, Sociology, University of Warwick, UK<br />
Manfred Gerstenfeld, JCPA, Jerusalem<br />
Sander Gilman, Humanities, Emory University, Atlanta<br />
Ari Goldberg, AIPAC, Washington DC<br />
Clemens Heni, Political Science—MEF Funded, Berlin<br />
Paul Iganski, Sociology, Lancaster University, UK<br />
Dennis L. Jackson, Statistics, University of Windsor<br />
Andras Kovacs, Sociology, Central European University, Budapest<br />
Neil J. Kressel, Psychology, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ<br />
Richard Landes, Department of History, Boston University<br />
Walter Laqueur, Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University, Washington, DC<br />
Kenneth Lasson, Law, University of Baltimore<br />
Marcia Littell, Holocaust Studies, Stockton College of NJ<br />
Hubert G. Locke, University of Washington, Seattle<br />
Kenneth L. Marcus, Inst. for Jewish & Community Research, Washington, DC<br />
David Matas, Hon Counsel-B’nai B’rith Canada, Winnipeg<br />
Joanna B. Michlic, HBI, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA<br />
Fiamma Nirenstein, Italian Chamber of Deputies, Rome<br />
Darren O’Brien, Australian Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Sydney<br />
Andrei Oisteanu, Institute History of Religions, Bucharest<br />
John Pawlikowski, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago<br />
Winston Pickett, Communications, Brighton, UK<br />
Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum, Philadelphia<br />
Dina Porat, Stephen Roth Institute, Tel Aviv University<br />
Lars Rensmann, Political Science, University of Michigan<br />
Richard L. Rubenstein, President Emeritus, University of Bridgeport<br />
Frederick Schweitzer, Manhattan College, NYC<br />
Milton Shain, History, University of Cape Town, South Africa<br />
Marc I. Sherman, Index/Bibliography, Jerusalem<br />
Philip J. Spencer, Helen Bamber Center, Kingston University, UK<br />
Pierre-Andre Taguieff, CNRS (Sciences Po), Paris<br />
Dina Siegel Vann, American Jewish Committee, Washington, DC<br />
James E. Waller, Cohen Chair, Keene State College, NH<br />
Shalva Weil, Hebrew University of Jerusalem<br />
Robert Wistrich, Sassoon Center/SICSA Hebrew University of Jerusalem<br />
Bat Ye’or, Independent Scholar, Switzerland
JSA Submission Guidelines<br />
The Journal for <strong>the</strong> Study of Antisemitism (JSA) is <strong>the</strong> peer-reviewed work<br />
of a select group of independent scholars who examine antisemitism in<br />
traditional and emerging forms. This group is not affiliated with any<br />
institution or financially dependent on a single source of funding. We have<br />
in common an understanding of antisemitism as a social pathology that<br />
must be eradicated. We are an educationally based concern.<br />
E-mail submissions should be original, ei<strong>the</strong>r on hard copy or an electronic<br />
copy in MS Word format. Citations should be in Chicago Manual of Style<br />
format. Send submissions and questions to <strong>the</strong> editors of <strong>the</strong> JSA via mail,<br />
telephone, or e-mail.<br />
Mailing address:<br />
Editors, JSA<br />
P.O. Box 726<br />
Marlboro, NJ 08053<br />
Telephone (856) 983-3247<br />
Electronic journal submissions: jsantisemitism@gmail.com<br />
Electronic book reviews:<br />
Send book reviews, between 500-1000 words, to<br />
c/o Book Review Editor: jsantisemitism@gmail.com.<br />
The ideas represented in <strong>the</strong> JSA are those of <strong>the</strong> contributing authors, and<br />
not reflective of <strong>the</strong> JSA, its board members, or <strong>the</strong> author’s institution. The<br />
JSA welcomes unsolicited manuscripts.
TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
Volume 3 Number 1<br />
Guest Editor.................................. Shimon T. Samuels 1<br />
A Note from <strong>the</strong> Editors ......................... Steven K. Baum 3<br />
and Neal E. Rosenberg<br />
Special Envoy, U.S. State Department ..........Hannah Rosenthal 7<br />
Antisemitism in Latin America:<br />
Regional and Global Trends .....................Dina Siegel Vann 13<br />
Antisemitic Incidents from Around <strong>the</strong> World:<br />
January–June 2011 .......................................Editors 19<br />
Articles<br />
Mexico in a Region under Change.......... Judit Bokser Liwerant 27<br />
México, en una Región bajo Cambio ............................. 39<br />
Latin America and <strong>the</strong> Middle East:<br />
The Political Background ...................Julián Schvindlerman 51<br />
América Latina y El Oriente Medio: El Trasfondo Político ........ 61<br />
The New Judeophobia on <strong>the</strong> Left ............... Patricio Brodsky 71<br />
La Neojudeofobia en la Izquierda ................................ 99<br />
The Conversos ........................................Seth Ward 129<br />
El Conversos .................................................... 135<br />
Latin America and Iranian Terror Networks .........Sergio Widder 141<br />
América Latina y las Redes del Terror Iraní ...................... 149<br />
Antisemitism in Brazil ..........................Alberto Milkewitz 157<br />
Antisemitsmo en Brasil .......................................... 167<br />
Postcard from Venezuela ............................Sammy Eppel 179<br />
Tarjeta Postal de Venezuela ...................................... 181
Essays<br />
A French Intifada................................... Nidra Poller 183<br />
Israel’s Intent ..................................... Yehuda Bauer 199<br />
Delegitimizing <strong>the</strong> Jewish State ........................ Bat Ye’or 203<br />
Doing <strong>the</strong> Yale Flip-Flop ..........................Amitai Etzioni 219<br />
Arab Spring Sprung .......................... Fiamma Nirenstein 221<br />
The Murder of Hugo Bettauer .....................Martin Kitchen 225<br />
Antisemitism in Wagnerian Opera .................... Dan Leeson 243<br />
The Mosque at Rachel’s Tomb ....................... Shalva Weil 263<br />
Journal of Contemporary Leftist<br />
Antisemitism? .....................................Mark Gardner 267<br />
Reviews<br />
Schnabel’s Miral ..................Joanne Intrator and Scott Rose 271<br />
Fatah’s The Jew Is Not My Enemy ............Khaleel Mohammed 275<br />
Lindemann and Levy’s Antisemitism .............. Leon Rosenberg 281<br />
Patterson’s A Geneology of Evil .................. Steven K. Baum 285<br />
Dekel-Chen et al.’s Anti-Jewish Violence ......... Paul R. Bartrop 289<br />
Bard’s The Arab Lobby ...................... Samuel M. Edelman 293<br />
Mallman and Cüppers’ Nazi Palestine ................David Sokol 295<br />
Deutsch’s Crossing Borders, Claiming a Nation ....... Donna Guy 305<br />
From <strong>the</strong> Conference Floor.....................Neal E. Rosenberg 309<br />
Antisemitica..................................................... 313
Déme su reparten de las profundidades sembradas por sus dolores.<br />
Give me your hand, out of <strong>the</strong> depths sown by your sorrows.<br />
—Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet (1904-1973)
Special Issue: Latin American Antisemitism<br />
Guest Editor, Shimon T. Samuels*<br />
As a British-born honorary Latino by marriage with four decades of<br />
affection and interaction with Latin America, I feel privileged to have <strong>the</strong><br />
opportunity of editing this special edition of <strong>the</strong> JSA.<br />
A watershed experience, in <strong>the</strong> region, began in 1971 with a visit to<br />
Sosua, <strong>the</strong> moshav-style cooperative founded by <strong>the</strong> JDC for fugitives from<br />
Nazi Germany in 1940. Recall that at <strong>the</strong> 1938 Evian Conference, <strong>the</strong><br />
Dominican Republic was <strong>the</strong> only voice to welcome desperate Jews. From<br />
<strong>the</strong> north coast of Sosua I was invited to Azua, <strong>the</strong> Israeli rural settlement<br />
assistance project, 50 miles to <strong>the</strong> south. Watching <strong>the</strong> Israeli team build a<br />
small Catholic church for Dominican peasants sharpened <strong>the</strong> poignancy of<br />
<strong>the</strong> moment—those 50 miles represented <strong>the</strong> decade from utter powerlessness<br />
in 1938 to <strong>the</strong> Jewish return to sovereignty in 1948.<br />
Post World War II, Latin America figured on our radar screen as <strong>the</strong><br />
principal haven for Nazi war criminals, marked by <strong>the</strong> abduction of Adolf<br />
Eichmann in 1960. It was followed less than two decades later by <strong>the</strong> disproportionate<br />
number of disappeared Jews—victims of <strong>the</strong> junta and<br />
Argentina’s military dictatorship.<br />
This ended with <strong>the</strong> Falklands War in 1982. The politics of <strong>the</strong> day<br />
interrupted our routine as my ten-year-old granddaughter posed a moral<br />
dilemma to my Argentine-born wife and me: “What happens if grandpa’s<br />
planes in London bomb Grandma’s house in Buenos Aires?”—a concern<br />
characteristic of Jewish history but not posed since World War I.<br />
The 1990s brought <strong>the</strong> greatest post-Holocaust pogrom to <strong>the</strong> South<br />
American continent: <strong>the</strong> 1994 Buenos Aires Jewish Centre (AMIA) bombing,<br />
leaving 85 dead and over 300 maimed. The Iranian perpetrators, identified<br />
by Interpol, are still at large; <strong>the</strong> atrocity served as <strong>the</strong> prelude to <strong>the</strong><br />
seeds of Hizbollah sowed from Venezuela to <strong>the</strong> Argentina–Brazil–Paraguay<br />
triple frontier. As this issue goes to press, former<br />
U.S. Under-Secretary for <strong>the</strong> Western Hemisphere Roger Noriega reported<br />
to a congressional committee on <strong>the</strong> “80 operative Hizbollah cells in <strong>the</strong><br />
region.” In addition to those active cells, a Shahab-3 Iranian missile base is<br />
being built on <strong>the</strong> Venezuelan coast with a range of 2,000 km.<br />
Iran states that it wishes to cooperate with all investigations of AMIA.<br />
If Iran wishes to cooperate, it must agree to dismantle its terror and arms<br />
networks in Latin America. Its only duty regarding <strong>the</strong> AMIA must be to<br />
hand over its implicated citizens for trial under Argentine rule of law. As I<br />
told a senior Argentine official at <strong>the</strong> AMIA commemoration, quoting Win-<br />
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2 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:1<br />
ston Churchill on appeasing tyranny: “Democracies feed <strong>the</strong> beast, hoping<br />
to be eaten last.” In <strong>the</strong> case of Iran, <strong>the</strong> beast is alive and living among us.<br />
The collection of pieces delineates a broad sweep of antisemitism<br />
across <strong>the</strong> Americas, from Mexico to <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Cone, from Seth Ward’s<br />
focus on <strong>the</strong> conversos to <strong>the</strong> terrorism nexus and hostility to Israel<br />
addressed by Julian Schvindlerman and Sergio Widder. Country profiles by<br />
Judit Liwerant on Mexico, Alberto Milkewitz on Brazil, Patricio Brodsky<br />
on Argentine intellectuals, and Sammy Eppel’s Postcard from Venezuela<br />
attest to national specificities and commonalities. Dina Siegel Vann’s message<br />
brings <strong>the</strong>se strands toge<strong>the</strong>r.<br />
May this special edition of <strong>the</strong> JSA be <strong>the</strong> first in a series of regional<br />
analyses and that <strong>the</strong> voices of Latin American Jews be heard.<br />
*Shimon T. Samuels is <strong>the</strong> director of international relations for <strong>the</strong> Simon<br />
Wiesenthal Foundation, Paris, and a Board member of <strong>the</strong> Journal for <strong>the</strong> Study of<br />
Antisemitism.
A Note from <strong>the</strong> Editors<br />
There is clear joy that <strong>the</strong> JSA has finally put Latin American<br />
antisemitism on <strong>the</strong> map. This joy is juxtaposed against <strong>the</strong> advances<br />
extremist Islam has made throughout Latin America. It is also joyless<br />
against people who support anti-Israel agendas. Lately, it’s UK’s Sue<br />
Blackwell who tries to have <strong>the</strong> EUMC definition of antisemitism rejected<br />
from <strong>the</strong> University and College Union (UCU). The focus is to have <strong>the</strong><br />
anti-Israeli provision removed from antisemitism. That definition, she said,<br />
was “created by Zionist organizations in order to conflate anti-Zionism with<br />
antisemitism.” Perhaps <strong>the</strong> Zionist elders did ga<strong>the</strong>r and force <strong>the</strong> EUMC’s<br />
hand to include anti-Israeli rhetoric. Possibly <strong>the</strong>ir tentacles twisted Martin<br />
L. King’s as well when he said: “So know also this: Anti-Zionist is inherently<br />
antisemitic, and ever will be so.” Why is this? “You know that Zionism<br />
is nothing less than <strong>the</strong> dream and ideal of <strong>the</strong> Jewish people returning<br />
to live in <strong>the</strong>ir own land.”<br />
But forget Dr. King. Forget that Israel Arabs are never targeted and <strong>the</strong><br />
objects of such derision. Forget as well that non-Israeli Jewish students are<br />
intimidated and threatened and physically assaulted on campuses around <strong>the</strong><br />
globe by Muslim activists. Forget that British Jewish professors are leaving<br />
<strong>the</strong> universities and college unions, including JSA associate editor Lesley<br />
Klaff and o<strong>the</strong>rs. (See <strong>the</strong> last page of this issue for Ronnie Fraser’s<br />
resignation.)<br />
Recall instead that Islamic jihad existed well before <strong>the</strong> State of Israel<br />
and continues with two Arab states marginally recognizing Israel’s right to<br />
exist. Now take a look at <strong>the</strong> above photo and <strong>the</strong>n read what Jewish scholars<br />
in Latin America are trying to tell us about <strong>the</strong> problem.<br />
3
4 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:3<br />
The Latin American scholars are concerned that Islamist ideology has<br />
become so well entrenched that when a synagogue is desecrated, it is seen<br />
as justified for Israel’s conflict with <strong>the</strong> Palestinians. Yet, fear of militant<br />
Islam is what <strong>the</strong>se scholars are writing about, and <strong>the</strong>y should know—<strong>the</strong>y<br />
live with it. In Caracas, <strong>the</strong>y witnessed <strong>the</strong> city’s main synagogue vandalized<br />
with spray-painted messages that read “Death to <strong>the</strong> Jews,” and “Jews<br />
Get Out.” In Buenos Aires, <strong>the</strong>y knew <strong>the</strong> 29 who were killed and <strong>the</strong> 85<br />
who died at <strong>the</strong> hands of Iranians two years later. In Santiago, <strong>the</strong>y knew<br />
that Chile’s Jewish community president, Gabriel Zaliasnik, was afforded<br />
police protection when a spate of eight antisemitic attacks occurred last<br />
year. “I am 43 years old, and I don’t recall something like this,” Zaliasnik<br />
said. Nei<strong>the</strong>r does anyone else—except perhaps those who lived in Berlin in<br />
1933.<br />
This is a large volume, guest edited by Shimon Samuels, with <strong>the</strong> articles<br />
in both Spanish and English. The content of <strong>the</strong> essays are large as<br />
well. We have contributions from Italian minister <strong>the</strong> Honorable Fiamma<br />
Nirenstein on <strong>the</strong> Arab Spring, Amitai Etzioni on Yale’s politics and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
closing <strong>the</strong> antisemitism program, Yehuda Bauer on Israel’s intentions, and<br />
Bat Ye’or’s notions of delegitimization. Nidra Poller’s essay tracks thorny<br />
Middle East politics as <strong>the</strong>y arrive in France, and Shalva Weil observes <strong>the</strong><br />
politics of shrines in Israel. And just when you thought it was safe to swim<br />
in <strong>the</strong> academy’s politics, Routledge announces <strong>the</strong> creation of a new journal<br />
dedicated to leftist anti-Zionist ideology; Mark Gardner of Britain’s key<br />
antisemitism monitoring group, <strong>the</strong> Community Security Trust (CST),<br />
ponders <strong>the</strong> new journal’s purpose.<br />
From a historical perspective, we have essays by musician Dan Leeson<br />
re-examining Wagnerian antisemitism. There is Martin Kitchen, Simon Fraser<br />
University, exploring <strong>the</strong> mystery surrounding German journalist Hugo<br />
Bettauer.<br />
New York reviewers Joanne Intrator and Scott Rose take ano<strong>the</strong>r look<br />
at Julian Schnabel’s film Miral. San Diego State’s Khaleel Mohammed<br />
examines Tarek Fatah’s The Jew Is Not My Enemy. SPME’s Sam Edelman<br />
explains why Mitchell Bard’s The Arab Lobby is so worthwhile. From<br />
down under, Paul Bartrop tells us more about pogroms than we probably<br />
knew from his review of Dekel-Chen et al.’s Anti-Jewish Violence. There<br />
are Jersey shore psychiatrist Leon Rosenberg on Lindermann and Levy’s<br />
Antisemitism: A History, and Steve Baum’s examination of David Patterson’s<br />
fine work and his concern for academic incivility for all things Israeli.<br />
Finally, and in keeping with <strong>the</strong> Latin American <strong>the</strong>me, Ohio State historian<br />
Donna Guy reviews Sandra Deutsch’s Crossing Borders, Claiming a<br />
Nation—a book documenting Argentina’s pioneering Jewish women.<br />
A word about resources. The original seven manuscripts were com-
2011] A NOTE FROM THE EDITORS 5<br />
pleted in Spanish and translated into English. Some of <strong>the</strong> footnotes did not<br />
transfer into English well, and I ask <strong>the</strong> reader’s indulgence and to contact<br />
<strong>the</strong> author for original references. In terms of book references and<br />
expanding <strong>the</strong> reader’s knowledge, good resources are <strong>the</strong> Web page for <strong>the</strong><br />
Latin American Jewish Studies Association, http://www.utexas.edu/cola/<br />
orgs/lajsa/, and <strong>the</strong>ir annual congress as well; Raanan Rein’s Argentine<br />
Jews or Jewish Argentines? (Brill, 2010) and Judit Bokser Liwerant,<br />
Eliezer Ben-Rafael, Yosef Gorny, and Raanan Rein (Eds.), Identities in an<br />
Era of Globalization and Multiculturalism (Brill, 2008).<br />
We welcome our Latin American readership and want to encourage<br />
future scholarly papers and extend our appreciation to our contributors.<br />
Whe<strong>the</strong>r it’s Latin America antisemitism or any o<strong>the</strong>r place in <strong>the</strong> world, let<br />
<strong>the</strong> scholars get busy; <strong>the</strong>re is much work to be done.<br />
Steven K. Baum<br />
Neal E. Rosenberg, Editors
Special Envoy, U.S. State Department<br />
Hannah Rosenthal*<br />
I want to share with you <strong>the</strong> strong commitment of <strong>the</strong> Obama administration<br />
to combat hate and promote tolerance in our world. The president<br />
began his administration speaking out against intolerance as a global ill. In<br />
his historic speech in Cairo, he talked about a new beginning and a vision of<br />
a world based on mutual interest and mutual respect, a world that honors<br />
<strong>the</strong> dignity of all human beings.<br />
We are attempting through diplomacy, public messaging, and on-<strong>the</strong>ground<br />
programs all over <strong>the</strong> world to confront and combat hatred in all its<br />
ugly forms—whe<strong>the</strong>r it is hatred directed against people on account of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
religion, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, differences of political opinion,<br />
or due to <strong>the</strong>ir country of origin. Antisemitism is one such form of hatred.<br />
As a child of a Holocaust survivor, antisemitism is something very personal<br />
to me. My fa<strong>the</strong>r was arrested—on Kristalnacht, <strong>the</strong> unofficial pogrom that<br />
many think started <strong>the</strong> Holocaust—and sent with many of his congregants<br />
to prison and <strong>the</strong>n to Buchenwald. He was <strong>the</strong> lucky one—every o<strong>the</strong>r person<br />
in his family perished at Auschwitz. I have dedicated my life to eradicating<br />
antisemitism and intolerance with a sense of urgency and passion<br />
that only my fa<strong>the</strong>r could give me.<br />
President Obama and Secretary Clinton have honored me with this<br />
appointment and have elevated my office and integrated it into <strong>the</strong> workings<br />
of all o<strong>the</strong>r parts of <strong>the</strong> State Department. I have been on <strong>the</strong> job for more<br />
than a year now—and I have seen six significant trends in antisemitism<br />
around <strong>the</strong> world:<br />
Antisemitism is not history; it is today’s news. I run into people who<br />
think antisemitism ended when Hitler killed himself. More than six decades<br />
after <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> Second World War, antisemitism is still alive and well,<br />
and evolving into new, contemporary forms of religious hatred, racism, and<br />
political, social, and cultural bigotry.<br />
FORMS OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong><br />
Traditional forms of antisemitism persist in societies worldwide,<br />
passed from one generation to <strong>the</strong> next, and updated to reflect current<br />
events. The first manifestations are <strong>the</strong> ongoing hostile acts such as <strong>the</strong><br />
defacing of property and desecration of cemeteries with antisemitic graffiti.<br />
There are still accusations of blood libel, which are morphing from <strong>the</strong> centuries-old<br />
Church accusations that Jews killed Christian children to use <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
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8 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:7<br />
blood for rituals, to accusations that Jews kidnap children to steal <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
organs. Conspiracy <strong>the</strong>ories continue to flourish, such as supposed Jewish<br />
control of <strong>the</strong> U.S. media and <strong>the</strong> world banking system, or that Jews were<br />
involved in executing <strong>the</strong> September 11 attacks. The Protocols of <strong>the</strong> Elders<br />
of Zion continues to be a best-seller in many, many countries, and taught to<br />
religious students as truth. The “old fashioned” antisemitism is alive and<br />
well. On a visit to Chile in 2010, I saw swastikas spray-painted on university<br />
campuses. When I addressed an American Jewish Committee ga<strong>the</strong>ring<br />
of Jews from Latin America, Chileans present told me <strong>the</strong>y feel uncomfortable<br />
wearing kippot and o<strong>the</strong>r outward symbols of Judiasm. And despite an<br />
Interpol Red Notice since 2007 that Argentina is seeking to arrest <strong>the</strong> Iranian<br />
Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi for <strong>the</strong> 1994 bombing of AMIA,<br />
Bolivia ignored Interpol and hosted Vahidi in early June. In April, <strong>the</strong> staterun<br />
radio in Venezuela urged everyone to buy and read The Protocols of <strong>the</strong><br />
Elders of Zion. In May, <strong>the</strong> official was fired, a positive outcome.<br />
A second phenomenon is Holocaust denial. It is coming from religious<br />
leaders in some places, including some heads of state, such as in Iran; in<br />
academic institutions in some places; and is a standard on hateful Web sites<br />
and o<strong>the</strong>r media outlets. As <strong>the</strong> generation of Holocaust survivors and death<br />
camp liberators reaches <strong>the</strong>ir eighties and nineties, <strong>the</strong> window is closing on<br />
those able to provide live, eyewitness accounts and a heightened urgency to<br />
promote Holocaust education, create museums and memorials, and carry<br />
<strong>the</strong> memory and lessons of <strong>the</strong> Holocaust forward.<br />
A third disturbing trend is Holocaust glorification—which can be seen,<br />
for example, in parades honoring soldiers who fought in <strong>the</strong> Waffen SS—<br />
which glorifies Nazism under <strong>the</strong> guise of fighting <strong>the</strong> Soviets and obscures<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir roles in <strong>the</strong> Holocaust. After that March commemoration in Latvia, a<br />
notorious neo-Nazi made blatantly antisemitic statements, including incitements<br />
to violence against Jews, on a television talk show. Holocaust glorification<br />
and <strong>the</strong> growth of neo-Nazi groups is especially virulent in Middle<br />
East media—including some that are state owned and operated—calling for<br />
a new Holocaust to finish <strong>the</strong> job. Truly bone-chilling.<br />
A fourth concern is Holocaust relativism, in which some governments,<br />
museums, academic research, and <strong>the</strong> like are conflating <strong>the</strong> Holocaust with<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r terrible events that entailed great human suffering, like <strong>the</strong> Dirty War<br />
or <strong>the</strong> Soviet regime. No one wants to get into dueling atrocities. But to<br />
lump toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>se horrific chapters of history is not only historically inaccurate,<br />
but also misses opportunities to learn important lessons from each<br />
historic event even as we reflect on universal truths about <strong>the</strong> need to<br />
defend human rights and combat hatred in all of its forms. History must be<br />
precise: it must instruct, it must warn, and it must inspire us to learn <strong>the</strong><br />
particular and universal values as we prepare to mend this fractured world.
2011] SPECIAL ENVOY 9<br />
The fifth trend is <strong>the</strong> increasing tendency of opposition to <strong>the</strong> policies<br />
of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel to cross <strong>the</strong> line into antisemitism. In what I hear from<br />
our diplomatic missions around <strong>the</strong> world, and our close relationships with<br />
NGOs in <strong>the</strong> United States and in o<strong>the</strong>r nations, we know that this happens<br />
easily and often. I want to be clear: criticism of policies of <strong>the</strong> State of<br />
Israel is not antisemitism. But we record huge increases in antisemitism<br />
whenever <strong>the</strong>re are hostilities in <strong>the</strong> Middle East. This form of antisemitism<br />
is more difficult for many to identify. But if all Jews are held responsible<br />
for <strong>the</strong> decisions of <strong>the</strong> sovereign State of Israel, when governments like<br />
Venezuela call upon and intimidate <strong>the</strong>ir Jewish communities to condemn<br />
Israeli actions—this is not objecting to a policy, it is antisemitism. When<br />
individual Jews are held responsible for Israeli policy, this is not objecting<br />
to a policy, it is antisemitism. Natan Sharansky identified <strong>the</strong> “three Ds”<br />
that cross <strong>the</strong> line: “It is antisemitic when Israel is demonized, held to different<br />
standards, or delegitimized.” The United States is often <strong>the</strong> only “no”<br />
vote in international bodies where countries seem to have an obsession with<br />
singling out Israel for disproportionate condemnation.<br />
The sixth trend is <strong>the</strong> growing nationalistic movements that target “<strong>the</strong><br />
o<strong>the</strong>r”—be <strong>the</strong>y immigrants or religious and ethnic minorities—in <strong>the</strong> name<br />
of protecting <strong>the</strong> identity and “purity” of <strong>the</strong>ir nation. When this fear or<br />
hatred of <strong>the</strong> “o<strong>the</strong>r” occurs or when people try to find a scapegoat for <strong>the</strong><br />
instability around <strong>the</strong>m, it is never good for <strong>the</strong> Jews. The history of<br />
Europe, with Russian pogroms and Nazism, provides sufficient evidence.<br />
And when government officials talk about protecting a country’s purity,<br />
we’ve watched that scenario before.<br />
The State Department monitors <strong>the</strong>se trends and activities and reports<br />
on <strong>the</strong>m in 194 countries—in two major annual reports: International Religious<br />
Freedom and Human Rights. I am now involved in developing a major<br />
training initiative for State Department employees so <strong>the</strong>y can better monitor<br />
what is happening in <strong>the</strong>ir countries, and sensitize <strong>the</strong>m to <strong>the</strong> various<br />
forms of antisemitism; this will make our annual reports more comprehensive,<br />
and allow us to do an even better job of monitoring and confronting<br />
antisemitism in all its forms. If we don’t chronicle it, if we don’t name it,<br />
we can’t fight it.<br />
ACTIVE RESISTANCE TO <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong><br />
Of course, it isn’t enough to study and monitor <strong>the</strong>se deeply troubling<br />
trends. It is critical that we act to reverse <strong>the</strong>m.<br />
My approach to combating antisemitism is not just to preach to <strong>the</strong><br />
choir, so to speak, but to join in partnership with non-Jews in condemning
10 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:7<br />
it—government, civil society, international institutions, business leaders,<br />
labor unions, and media—in condemning it.<br />
Last summer, Secretary Clinton launched an initiative to streng<strong>the</strong>n<br />
civil society across <strong>the</strong> globe, instructing all of us in <strong>the</strong> State Department<br />
and all our overseas posts to treat civil society as strategic partners. Partnering<br />
with opinion leaders from civil society and government—as well as<br />
building bridges among ethnic and religious groups—is <strong>the</strong> way to change a<br />
culture from fear and negative stereotyping to acceptance and understanding,<br />
from narrow-mindedness to an embrace of diversity, from hate to<br />
tolerance.<br />
Educating our young is a priority. They are our future; <strong>the</strong>ir values and<br />
opinions form at a very early age. No government should produce materials<br />
that are intolerant of members of any religious, racial, or ethnic group, or<br />
teach such intolerance as part of its educational curriculum. The State<br />
Department continues to focus on this important issue and express our concern<br />
to <strong>the</strong> governments about using such hateful lessons and textbooks,<br />
calling Jews <strong>the</strong> children of apes and pigs or promoting <strong>the</strong> Protocols of <strong>the</strong><br />
Elders of Zion. Around <strong>the</strong> time of this journal’s publication, I am scheduled<br />
to travel to Saudi Arabia to discuss that issue. We sponsor teacher<br />
training on <strong>the</strong> Holocaust through <strong>the</strong> Organization for Security and Cooperation<br />
in Europe—both its uniqueness and its universal lessons.<br />
The United States provides training to foreign law enforcement officials<br />
that covers crimes against vulnerable groups, including Jews, because<br />
<strong>the</strong>se issues are of prominent concern in this country. We use old and new<br />
technologies to communicate with <strong>the</strong> public about human rights, tolerance,<br />
and democracy. We strongly support <strong>the</strong> freedoms for all people to express<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir views, even distasteful ones, both offline and online—but we also<br />
work to promote tolerance and to eradicate ignorance. We are enhancing<br />
our cultural and educational exchanges to showcase our civil society organizations,<br />
and to learn from <strong>the</strong> successes of o<strong>the</strong>r countries in confronting<br />
and combating hate in all of its forms.<br />
I want to mention two examples of efforts I am engaged in to combat<br />
<strong>the</strong> forms of antisemitism I have mentioned.<br />
BRINGING IMAMS TO THE DEATH CAMPS<br />
To combat <strong>the</strong> Holocaust denial, I went with eight leading imams, two<br />
of whom had been deniers, to Dachau and Auschwitz. My goal was to have<br />
<strong>the</strong>m issue a statement condemning Holocaust denial. When we arrived at<br />
Dachau, Germany’s first concentration camp, <strong>the</strong> imams were overcome<br />
with <strong>the</strong> pictures <strong>the</strong>y saw and immediately went to <strong>the</strong> ground in prayer at<br />
<strong>the</strong> sculpture commemorating <strong>the</strong> six million Jews exterminated. At that
2011] SPECIAL ENVOY 11<br />
moment, I knew I was watching history being made. All passers-by—tourists,<br />
docents—stopped in <strong>the</strong>ir tracks to witness this spontaneous prayer of<br />
<strong>the</strong>se leading imams. And when we got to Auschwitz, it was overwhelming<br />
for <strong>the</strong>m, and for some transformational. We were walking amid ash and<br />
bone fragments from <strong>the</strong> 900,000 Jews exterminated <strong>the</strong>re—solely because<br />
of who <strong>the</strong>y were. We were facing <strong>the</strong> fact that unfettered and unanswered<br />
hatred can indeed create an Auschwitz. All <strong>the</strong> imams had <strong>the</strong>ir own catharsis<br />
<strong>the</strong>re, and toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y produced a statement strongly condemning Holocaust<br />
denial and all o<strong>the</strong>r forms of antisemitism. They are now urging<br />
colleagues and schools to join <strong>the</strong>ir statement. Some are planning to take<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir youth on <strong>the</strong> same trip, to become witness to history, to teach <strong>the</strong><br />
power of hatred, and <strong>the</strong> power that condemnation can have to stop <strong>the</strong><br />
hatred.<br />
INVOLVING YOUNG PEOPLE<br />
My colleague Farah Pandith, <strong>the</strong> special representative to Muslim<br />
communities, and I have just launched a virtual campaign called “2011<br />
Hours Against Hate.” We are asking young people around <strong>the</strong> world to<br />
pledge a number of hours to volunteer to help or serve a population different<br />
from <strong>the</strong>ir own. We ask <strong>the</strong>m to work with people who may look different,<br />
or pray differently, or live differently. For example, a young Jew might<br />
volunteer time to read books at a Muslim pre-school, or to Russian Orthodox<br />
at a Jewish clinic, or to a Muslim at a Baha’i food pantry. It is important<br />
to walk in ano<strong>the</strong>r person’s shoes.<br />
We are using Facebook (<strong>the</strong> third largest country in <strong>the</strong> world) and<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r social media to connect <strong>the</strong> youth globally, and to engage <strong>the</strong>m to go<br />
beyond words, speeches, or even lectures—providing a vehicle to do something<br />
to promote tolerance and practice mutual respect.<br />
We began meeting with hundreds of young people—students and<br />
young professionals—in Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Spain—countries that in<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir histories celebrated Jews and Muslims co-existing and thriving<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r. These countries are seeing a different culture <strong>the</strong>se days and <strong>the</strong><br />
youth we met with don’t like <strong>the</strong> direction in which things are going. They<br />
want to do something. They embraced <strong>the</strong> campaign, and we have already<br />
reached our goal of 2011 hours pledged against hate many times over. And<br />
we really have just begun.<br />
FIGHTING HATE<br />
So while I fight antisemitism, I am also aware that hate is hate. Nothing<br />
justifies it—not economic instability, not international events, not an
12 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:7<br />
isolated pastor burning a Koran. Toge<strong>the</strong>r, we must confront and combat<br />
<strong>the</strong> many forms of hatred in our world today. Where <strong>the</strong>re is hatred born of<br />
ignorance, we must teach and inspire. Where <strong>the</strong>re is hatred born of blindness,<br />
we must expose people to a larger world of ideas and reach out, especially<br />
to youth, so <strong>the</strong>y can see beyond <strong>the</strong>ir immediate circumstances.<br />
Where <strong>the</strong>re is hatred whipped up by irresponsible leaders, we must call<br />
<strong>the</strong>m out and answer as strongly as we can—and make <strong>the</strong>ir message totally<br />
unacceptable to all people of conscience.<br />
When history records this chapter, I hope it will reflect our efforts to<br />
build a peaceful, fair, just, free world where people defend universal human<br />
rights and dignity. This is not a vision to be dismissed as kumbaya or naïve<br />
idealism—it is a real goal that should never be far from our thoughts.<br />
Hate has been around since <strong>the</strong> beginning of humankind, but since<br />
<strong>the</strong>n, too, good people of all faiths and backgrounds have striven to combat<br />
it. The Jewish tradition tells us that “you are not required to complete <strong>the</strong><br />
task, but nei<strong>the</strong>r are you free to desist from it.”<br />
*Hannah Rosenthal is <strong>the</strong> special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism,<br />
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State.
Antisemitism in Latin America:<br />
Regional and Global Trends<br />
Dina Siegel Vann*<br />
Most Latin American countries today are full-fledged democracies,<br />
embracing a culture of human rights, diversity, and inclusiveness. Many<br />
key Latin American countries, such as Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, have<br />
adopted forward-looking anti-racist legislation to curb hate speech and violence<br />
against minorities. Jewish communities were able to act as catalysts<br />
of <strong>the</strong>se initiatives. Toge<strong>the</strong>r with o<strong>the</strong>r segments of society, <strong>the</strong>y worked to<br />
have <strong>the</strong>m introduced and ratified by national legislatures and remain as<br />
watchdogs to ensure that <strong>the</strong>y are implemented when warranted. Not long<br />
ago, <strong>the</strong> expression of antisemitism was allowed in public circles. Today,<br />
barring Venezuela, not only has antisemitism become “politically incorrect”<br />
but also is characterized as a crime sanctioned by law. Unfortunately, cyber<br />
antisemitism continues to be a problem in <strong>the</strong> region with <strong>the</strong> proliferation<br />
of Web sites in Spanish. Because of its global nature, however, this issue<br />
requires a global solution.<br />
The Organization of American States (OAS), <strong>the</strong> main multilateral<br />
regional forum, is in <strong>the</strong> process of adopting an Inter-American Convention<br />
against Racism to include antisemitism. This tool will aim to discourage<br />
those who insist on using prejudice to sow <strong>the</strong> seeds of discord among peoples<br />
and nations in <strong>the</strong> hemisphere.<br />
The Latin American Catholic Church, despite its conservative bent,<br />
has adopted <strong>the</strong> conclusions emanating from <strong>the</strong> Second Vatican Council<br />
and slowly but surely has introduced transformation in its teachings regarding<br />
attitudes toward Jews and in its relations with local Jewish communities.<br />
In addition, interfaith programs that involve outreach to <strong>the</strong> growing<br />
evangelical denominations and are sympa<strong>the</strong>tic in general terms to Jews<br />
and to Israel, and more limited to Moslems, have multiplied.<br />
World War II and <strong>the</strong> Holocaust are hardly perceived as a central chapter<br />
in Latin America’s contemporary history, although Bolivia, El Salvador,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Dominican Republic opened <strong>the</strong>ir doors to Jewish refugees, and<br />
<strong>the</strong>re are even a few cases of Latin American “righteous among <strong>the</strong><br />
nations.” Holocaust awareness has increased over <strong>the</strong> last 20 years through<br />
institutional activity, <strong>the</strong> establishment of new memorials and museums,<br />
international days of remembrance, and growth in media coverage.<br />
In Argentina and Ecuador, <strong>the</strong> topic of <strong>the</strong> Holocaust is being taught in<br />
depth in public and private schools. Argentina remains to date <strong>the</strong> only<br />
Latin American country on <strong>the</strong> UN International Holocaust Task Force,<br />
13
14 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:13<br />
although <strong>the</strong>re are attempts to expand regional membership. The two terrorist<br />
attacks against Jewish targets in 1992 and 1994 in Buenos Aires<br />
increased <strong>the</strong> topic’s relevance. The issue of <strong>the</strong> articulation of memory is<br />
seen not only as a Jewish, but also as a national, imperative to recall Argentina’s<br />
own dark, authoritarian chapters<br />
As part of a global trend, Jews generally seem to be losing <strong>the</strong>ir status<br />
as a persecuted minority subject to historical discrimination. Paradoxically,<br />
<strong>the</strong>re seems to be a diminishing empathy or understanding of <strong>the</strong> pernicious<br />
and ingrained nature of antisemitism concurrently with a generalized recognition<br />
of <strong>the</strong> horror of <strong>the</strong> Holocaust as a pillar of <strong>the</strong> Jewish and universal<br />
contemporary collective experience. In some extreme cases, <strong>the</strong> victims<br />
become victimizers and Holocaust images and terminology become associated<br />
with Israel’s alleged treatment of Palestinians as part of ongoing efforts<br />
to question Israel’s moral compass.<br />
In contrast to o<strong>the</strong>r parts of <strong>the</strong> world, most antisemitic expressions<br />
and episodes in Latin America are tied mainly to <strong>the</strong> Middle East conflict.<br />
Chapters of violence in <strong>the</strong> region have been capitalized by <strong>the</strong> radical left<br />
and marginal groups that espouse rabid anti-American positions and seek to<br />
delegitimize Israel. Latin America’s historic ambivalence toward <strong>the</strong> United<br />
States—and Israel as its main ally—were streng<strong>the</strong>ned by <strong>the</strong> Iraq War.<br />
During <strong>the</strong> 2006 Lebanon War and <strong>the</strong> 2009 Gaza Operation <strong>the</strong> quantity<br />
and intensity of anti-American/anti-Zionist rhetoric significantly increased,<br />
more in <strong>the</strong> published ra<strong>the</strong>r than in public opinion.<br />
During <strong>the</strong>se instances, Latin American media was rife with negative<br />
anti-Israel coverage and with biased editorial comments reflecting a clear<br />
black-and-white attitude and little concern for <strong>the</strong> nuances of a most complex<br />
confrontation. Classic antisemitic stereotypes and prejudices were part<br />
of <strong>the</strong> narrative. Language, cartoons, and images that alluded to <strong>the</strong> analogy<br />
between Nazi behavior under <strong>the</strong> Holocaust and Israel’s were prevalent.<br />
Political parties and groups in civil society reacted according to <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
traditional positions and alignments. The most disturbing development was<br />
<strong>the</strong> confrontation between members of local Arab and Jewish communities<br />
and <strong>the</strong> ensuing fractures in society as a whole, importing a political conflict<br />
alien to regional and national agendas. The growing presence of Iran<br />
and its proxies, underestimated by many and heavily supported by Venezuela<br />
and its allies, contributed much to this heated climate.<br />
In general terms, though, physical violence is practically absent in <strong>the</strong><br />
region, although threats of violence and vandalism of Jewish institutions do<br />
occur. This was recently <strong>the</strong> case with <strong>the</strong> Mariperez synagogue in Caracas,<br />
which was sprayed with antisemitic slogans during a demonstration <strong>the</strong> first<br />
week in June 2011 by ultra-leftists and President Húgo Chávez’s supporters.<br />
Two attacks against Caracas’ Hebraica Jewish community center in
2011] TRENDS IN LATIN AMERICAN <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> 15<br />
2004 and 2007 also took place on <strong>the</strong> eve of popular referendums. In February<br />
2009, <strong>the</strong> Tiferet Israel synagogue in Caracas was vandalized as a side<br />
effect of Chávez’s virulent anti-Israel/antisemitic rhetoric, which nurtured a<br />
permissive climate leading to <strong>the</strong> attack.<br />
Shortly after, at an OAS special session, several countries denounced<br />
<strong>the</strong>se troublesome developments and several key countries played an important<br />
role in conveying to Chávez that he should refrain from attacking <strong>the</strong><br />
Jewish community. Lately, Venezuela’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs<br />
Temir Porras tweeted that “it’s alien for revolutionaries to attack religious<br />
institutions,” editorializing on <strong>the</strong> vandalism against <strong>the</strong> Mariperez synagogue<br />
and echoing Fidel Castro’s comments on antisemitism during an<br />
interview with American Jewish journalist Jeffrey Goldberg.<br />
Latin American Jewish communities remain deeply traumatized after<br />
<strong>the</strong> two unresolved attacks in Argentina in 1992 and 1994, sanctioned and<br />
executed by Iran and Hezbollah. These feelings of vulnerability and outrage<br />
became streng<strong>the</strong>ned after <strong>the</strong> government of Evo Morales welcomed <strong>the</strong><br />
current Iranian Minister of Defense Ahmad Vahidi in La Paz at <strong>the</strong> beginning<br />
of June 2011. Vahidi has an Interpol red alert for his capture; he is<br />
accused of masterminding <strong>the</strong> 1994 attack against <strong>the</strong> AMIA Jewish community<br />
center in Buenos Aires. After protestations from <strong>the</strong> government of<br />
President Cristina Kirchner, Vahidi left <strong>the</strong> country without being extradited<br />
to stand trial in Argentina.<br />
President Húgo Chávez’s use of antisemitism/anti-Zionism as a political<br />
tool has certainly acted as <strong>the</strong> prime catalyst for <strong>the</strong> expression of<br />
antisemitism at <strong>the</strong> regional level. He has also worked systematically to<br />
import <strong>the</strong> Middle East conflict into <strong>the</strong> region. The attacks in <strong>the</strong> official<br />
media—70% of which is owned by <strong>the</strong> government—facilitating permanent<br />
and systematic channeling of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish diatribes, <strong>the</strong><br />
mobilization of state and political structures, and vandalism against Jewish<br />
institutions as measures of intimidation, and of course his growing alliance<br />
with Iran and <strong>the</strong> latter’s expansion in <strong>the</strong> region, are of grave concern.<br />
Venezuela’s and Bolivia’s severing of relations with Israel in 2009 brought<br />
this chapter to new lows. Venezuela remains today one of a few countries<br />
worldwide with state-sanctioned antisemitism. Until Chávez’s arrival,<br />
antisemitism was negligible.<br />
A crucial element that should be front and center in assessing <strong>the</strong> current<br />
state and future trends of antisemitism in Latin America is <strong>the</strong> growth<br />
of Iranian presence and influence, with Húgo Chávez as its chief patron.<br />
In 2005, <strong>the</strong> Venezuelan president established a strategic alliance with<br />
Iran that became an important turning point not only for Israel and for local<br />
Jewish communities but for <strong>the</strong> hemisphere as a whole. For <strong>the</strong> first time,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Middle East conflict is introduced and positioned as part of <strong>the</strong> regional
16 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:13<br />
and national agendas and as an indicator of <strong>the</strong> desire for an independent<br />
foreign policy vis-à-vis <strong>the</strong> United States. Chávez has traveled to Iran many<br />
times; Iranian President Ahmanidejad has also visited on several occasions.<br />
This partnership and shared world views, including Ahmadinejad’s perspective<br />
on Israel, have undoubtedly played a role on <strong>the</strong> state of affairs in <strong>the</strong><br />
region.<br />
Aided and abetted by Venezuela, Iran has pursued an aggressive policy<br />
of outreach to o<strong>the</strong>r countries in Latin America, particularly Nicaragua,<br />
Bolivia, and Ecuador, exploiting anti-American sentiment and offering<br />
sorely needed funding. Iran’s activities in <strong>the</strong> region are not confined to<br />
economic investment but extend to cooperation in <strong>the</strong> political, military,<br />
and cultural arenas.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> past several years, <strong>the</strong> Iranians inaugurated, reestablished, and<br />
increased <strong>the</strong>ir diplomatic representation in eleven nations. Some of <strong>the</strong> latter<br />
have streng<strong>the</strong>ned <strong>the</strong>ir political ties with Iran despite its continued pursuit<br />
of nuclear weapons in defiance of <strong>the</strong> UN Security Council’s sanctions<br />
and <strong>the</strong> pleas of <strong>the</strong> international community, its grim human rights record,<br />
and its unequivocal involvement in planning and supporting two terrorist<br />
attacks against Latin Americans on Latin American soil. Brazil, Uruguay,<br />
and Chile exhibit outstanding regional and international profiles; all of <strong>the</strong>m<br />
have positioned <strong>the</strong> issue of human rights as most relevant on <strong>the</strong>ir national<br />
agendas.<br />
Finally, in <strong>the</strong> last few months, Latin America has been on <strong>the</strong> global<br />
and Jewish radar screens more than usual not only due to news coming out<br />
from Venezuela and <strong>the</strong> tense dynamics that have been established between<br />
<strong>the</strong> Chávez administration and <strong>the</strong> local Jewish community, but also<br />
because <strong>the</strong>re has been a spate of unilateral recognitions of an independent<br />
Palestinian state by several countries. As mentioned, <strong>the</strong> Middle East peace<br />
process is today very much part of <strong>the</strong> regional and national agendas and<br />
local constituencies are vying for influence. The global campaign is<br />
targeted to culminate at <strong>the</strong> UN General Assembly this coming September,<br />
where <strong>the</strong> Palestinians will ask <strong>the</strong> world community to accept <strong>the</strong>ir membership<br />
in this body, a step that will thwart future bilateral peace negotiations<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Middle East. This will probably affect Israel’s legitimacy and<br />
image significantly and as usual will be reflected in <strong>the</strong> regional media.<br />
This wave of recognitions was initiated by Brazil, <strong>the</strong> unquestioned<br />
South American leader, who is seeking an increased role as a global player.<br />
Several of <strong>the</strong> countries from <strong>the</strong> Mercosur trade block followed suit.<br />
Bolivia and Ecuador, both members of <strong>the</strong> Alba block led by Venezuela,<br />
made a pronouncement. Guyana, a close ally of President Chávez, joined<br />
<strong>the</strong> crowd.<br />
Chile is <strong>the</strong> most dramatic example. The media—mostly owned by
2011] TRENDS IN LATIN AMERICAN <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> 17<br />
local Palestinians—widely reflected <strong>the</strong> debate. The Chilean Congress, with<br />
vocal Palestinian and Jewish legislators, also witnessed this confrontation.<br />
There were attacks by an influential Palestinian legislator labeling <strong>the</strong> president<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Jewish community, Gabriel Zaliasnik, and Chile’s Interior Minister<br />
Rodrigo Hinzpeter, who happens to be Jewish, as Israeli agents.<br />
Important hemispheric leaders such as Mexico and Colombia, plus<br />
most of <strong>the</strong> Central American countries, have refused to join this group,<br />
reaffirming <strong>the</strong>ir support for multilateral resolutions at <strong>the</strong> UN and different<br />
agreements upholding direct negotiations as <strong>the</strong> only realistic road to peace.<br />
Pressure by local Palestinian and Arab communities is also felt<br />
strongly in Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and Central American countries<br />
such as El Salvador. This is a new reality <strong>the</strong> region will increasingly be<br />
facing in <strong>the</strong> coming years—one that can translate into <strong>the</strong> expression of<br />
anti-Zionist <strong>the</strong>mes in Latin America’s published and public opinion.<br />
*Dina Siegel Vann is director of AJC’s Latino and Latin American Institute. She<br />
can be contacted at siegelvannd@ajc.org.
Antisemitic Incidents from Around <strong>the</strong> World—<br />
A Partial List<br />
January–June 2011<br />
JANUARY<br />
Montreal, January 18: Jewish community leaders say <strong>the</strong>y are alarmed by<br />
six attacks on Jewish institutions over <strong>the</strong> weekend, emphasizing that <strong>the</strong><br />
incidents can’t be dismissed as simple acts of vandalism. “This [is not] vandalism<br />
perpetrated by teenagers out on a Saturday night binge,” said Rabbi<br />
Reuben Poupko, who serves as chairman of <strong>the</strong> Jewish Community Security<br />
Coordinating Committee. “This is a concentrated assault, not just on <strong>the</strong><br />
Jewish community, but on <strong>the</strong> diversity and harmony of <strong>the</strong> city of Montreal.<br />
All Montrealers should take this seriously.” Five synagogues and a<br />
Jewish school were targeted by vandals, who hurled rocks through windows<br />
between 2 and 3 a.m. Sunday. Beth Rambam, Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem,<br />
and Beth Zion synagogues in Cote St. Luc, Dorshei Emet synagogue in<br />
Hampstead, and Congregation Shaare Zedek in Notre Dame de Grace were<br />
targeted. The Academie Yavne in Cote St. Luc was also hit.<br />
FEBRUARY<br />
Tunis, February 1: A synagogue was set on fire in Tunisia overnight and<br />
gangs rampaged through schools in <strong>the</strong> capital on Tuesday, prompting <strong>the</strong><br />
army to fan out to calm fears of chaos after <strong>the</strong> revolt that toppled Zine al-<br />
Abdine Ben Ali. Major street protests have dried up in Tunisia in recent<br />
days, after a reshuffle purged <strong>the</strong> interim government of most Ben Ali loyalists<br />
and appeased public opinion. But sporadic acts of intimidation and<br />
sabotage have broken out after weeks of protests forced Ben Ali to flee <strong>the</strong><br />
country on January 14, ending 23 years of strict police rule. Peres Trabelsi,<br />
<strong>the</strong> spokesman for Tunisia’s Jewish community, said he did not know who<br />
was behind <strong>the</strong> attack on <strong>the</strong> synagogue, which is in <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn city of<br />
Gabes. “I condemn this action and I believe those who did it want to create<br />
divisions between Jews and Muslims in Tunisia who have lived for decades<br />
in peace,” Trabelsi said. Muslim Tunisia has one of <strong>the</strong> largest Jewish communities<br />
in North Africa, but attacks are rare. The last attack came in 2002,<br />
when al Qaeda killed 21 people in a synagogue attack on <strong>the</strong> island of<br />
Djerba. In a fur<strong>the</strong>r sign of deteriorating security, witnesses said gangs<br />
marauded through several schools in Tunis, terrifying students. The army<br />
fired in <strong>the</strong> air in Carthage to disperse gangs that stormed two schools, <strong>the</strong>y<br />
said. On Monday, youths armed with knives and sticks marauded through<br />
<strong>the</strong> streets of Gassrine, burning government buildings and intimidating<br />
residents, <strong>the</strong> state news agency said.<br />
19
20 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:19<br />
London, February 3: A total of 21 antisemitic incidents were recorded in<br />
Leeds last year, a Jewish security charity has said. More than 639 reports of<br />
bigoted violence and abuse were received in total by <strong>the</strong> charity. They<br />
included street attacks, hate mail, threats, and <strong>the</strong> vandalism and desecration<br />
of Jewish property. The charity, which monitors antisemitism in Britain,<br />
said <strong>the</strong> figures marked <strong>the</strong> second worst year since records began in 1984.<br />
They were a significant fall on 2009, when 926 antisemitic incidents were<br />
recorded, fueled by <strong>the</strong> ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli forces. But<br />
researchers said <strong>the</strong> incidents continued a long-term trend of rising numbers<br />
of physical and verbal attacks against Jews. There were 219 incidents in<br />
London, 216 in Manchester, and 40 in Hertfordshire.<br />
MARCH<br />
Tokyo, March 2: Sony Music and MTV Japan have issued apologies after a<br />
Japanese pop group sported Nazi uniforms during a prime-time television<br />
appearance in <strong>the</strong> country. The all-male band, Kishidan, which is known for<br />
wearing motorcycle-gang-inspired schoolboy uniforms, donned <strong>the</strong> SS gear<br />
during an interview on MTV Japan’s Mega Vector show last month. The<br />
appearance prompted backlash from <strong>the</strong> Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los<br />
Angeles-based organization that monitors antisemitic activity. “There is no<br />
excuse for such an outrage,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean at<br />
<strong>the</strong> SWC, in a statement issued last week. “I am fully aware that many<br />
young Japanese are woefully uneducated about <strong>the</strong> crimes against humanity<br />
committed during World War II by Imperial Japan in occupied Asia, let<br />
alone about Nazi Germany’s genocidal ‘Final Solution’ against <strong>the</strong> Jews in<br />
Europe. But global entities like MTV and Sony Music should know better.”<br />
MTV Japan issued an apology on Monday, promising not to broadcast<br />
images or clips from <strong>the</strong> offending broadcast. “We have duly received <strong>the</strong><br />
words of advice from <strong>the</strong> Simon Wiesenthal Center and take <strong>the</strong>m very<br />
seriously. Kishidan will never again use this costume and it will be disposed<br />
of immediately,” states a letter, signed by Sony Music Artists chairman<br />
Kimikazu Harada and president Akira Takahashi, on behalf of <strong>the</strong> company<br />
and <strong>the</strong> band. They said Kishidan’s costume “was not meant to carry any<br />
ideological meaning whatsoever.” MTV also apologized and removed <strong>the</strong><br />
images from its Web site.<br />
London, March 3: Private Eye editor Ian Hislop has written that he received<br />
a rambling phone call from Wikileak’s boss Julian Assange, claiming that<br />
British journalists, including <strong>the</strong> editor of The Guardian, Alan Rusbridger,<br />
were engaged in a Jewish-led conspiracy to smear WikiLeaks. The Guardian<br />
reports on it here. Hislop said that Assange was especially angry about a<br />
Private Eye report that Israel Shamir was a Holocaust denier, and com-
2011] ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 21<br />
plained that <strong>the</strong> article was part of a campaign by Jewish reporters in<br />
London to smear WikiLeaks. Assange told Hislop he should be ashamed of<br />
himself for joining in <strong>the</strong> international conspiracy to smear WikiLeaks. He<br />
claimed that <strong>the</strong> article was an obvious attempt to deprive him and his<br />
organization of Jewish support and donations. When Hislop pointed out that<br />
Rusbridger was not Jewish, Assange backtracked and said that Rusbridger<br />
was ‘”sort of Jewish” because he and Leigh, who is Jewish, were bro<strong>the</strong>rsin-law.<br />
Ottawa, March 3: Pro-Israel students at Carleton University say <strong>the</strong>y were<br />
harassed and intimidated by Students Against Israeli Apar<strong>the</strong>id (SAIA)<br />
members after <strong>the</strong> group’s anti-Israel motion was shelved at a student council<br />
meeting last month. “People were banging on <strong>the</strong> doors, screaming, calling<br />
us names . . . We had to wait until campus [security] sent more officers<br />
to make sure students could get safely from <strong>the</strong> council room out to <strong>the</strong><br />
elevators,” said Emile Scheffel, 21, a fourth-year political science student<br />
who isn’t Jewish but is involved in <strong>the</strong> Israel Awareness Committee (IAC)<br />
at Carleton.<br />
London, March 10: “A few months ago,” recalls historian Ian Johnson, “I<br />
observed a fatwa council meeting and heard a Syrian-born German speaker<br />
explain <strong>the</strong> perceived moral lapses of young European Muslims by quoting<br />
from <strong>the</strong> Protocols of <strong>the</strong> Elders of Zion, believing that <strong>the</strong> antisemitic tract<br />
was a reputable source. No one hooted him down; instead, his speech was<br />
published as one of <strong>the</strong> council’s working papers.” (See Ian Johnson, “Our<br />
Secret Connections with <strong>the</strong> Muslim Bro<strong>the</strong>rhood,” The New York Review<br />
of Books [March 10, 2011, 15]).<br />
Jerusalem, March 13: The Simon Wiesenthal Center has labeled a neo-Nazi<br />
march of approximately 1,000 participants held this past Friday in <strong>the</strong> heart<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Lithuanian capital of Vilnius “<strong>the</strong> worst type of antisemitic and xenophobic<br />
incitement against Lithuania’s minorities” and harshly criticized <strong>the</strong><br />
failure of <strong>the</strong> country’s political, intellectual, and religious leadership to<br />
condemn <strong>the</strong> march unequivocally. In a statement issued here today by its<br />
Israel director, Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff, <strong>the</strong> center called<br />
upon Lithuanian elected officials to denounce such demonstrations and<br />
upon <strong>the</strong> leaders of <strong>the</strong> ruling Homeland Union party to sanction <strong>the</strong>ir MP,<br />
Kazimieras Uoka, who was among <strong>the</strong> marchers.<br />
Montreal, March 16: A McGill University student is under investigation by<br />
police after he allegedly made death threats using his Twitter account. The<br />
student, Haaris Khan, was watching a documentary screened by <strong>the</strong> Con-
22 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:19<br />
servative Party’s campus arm, Conservative McGill, when he appeared to<br />
become increasingly agitated and expressed himself on Twitter using his<br />
BlackBerry. “I’ve infiltrated a Zionist meeting. I feel like I’m at a Satanist<br />
ritual,” he allegedly wrote at <strong>the</strong> March 8 screening. “I want to shoot everyone<br />
in this room,” ano<strong>the</strong>r tweet said. “Never been this angry.” The tweets<br />
call <strong>the</strong> documentary a “Zionist/Conservative propaganda film” and <strong>the</strong><br />
ga<strong>the</strong>ring, which attracted about 20 students, “a secret Zionist convention.”<br />
Then: “I should have brought an M16.” A spokesperson for <strong>the</strong> Montreal<br />
Police Service said <strong>the</strong> force is still investigating. It’s not clear what charges<br />
could be laid, if any. “We take <strong>the</strong> case very seriously,” <strong>the</strong> spokesperson<br />
said. “We don’t go with half-measures on this.”<br />
London, March 20: A pro-Israel protester has been taken to <strong>the</strong> hospital<br />
after being bitten on <strong>the</strong> cheek outside <strong>the</strong> School of Oriental and African<br />
Studies (SOAS) today. Police arrested two men on suspicion of public<br />
fighting. They have been bailed without charges for dates in April. Four<br />
activists had decided to go to SOAS after learning that a Celebrate Palestine<br />
event was taking place as part of Israel Apar<strong>the</strong>id Week. Two of <strong>the</strong>m,<br />
Tony Coren and Gili Brenner (of Stand with Us), went inside <strong>the</strong> university<br />
and had a number of conversations with <strong>the</strong> student participants. Coren<br />
said: “We had placards and some information packs, and we had some very<br />
interesting and civilized discussions.”<br />
Cairo, March 21: Accident, prophetic, or wishful thinking? Those are <strong>the</strong><br />
questions swirling after it was discovered Egyptian airline Egypt Air does<br />
not include Israel on a destination map on its Web site. According to <strong>the</strong><br />
outlet, looking past Israel’s existence is odd considering one of its subsidiaries,<br />
Air Sinai, regularly flies to <strong>the</strong> tiny country. “On <strong>the</strong> map are <strong>the</strong><br />
names of <strong>the</strong> Mideast capitals—Amman, Beirut, and Damascus—but Israel<br />
is nowhere to be found,” <strong>the</strong> Israeli Web site YNet says. “The omission is<br />
especially odd seeing as <strong>the</strong> company continues to fly to Israel four times a<br />
week.”<br />
London, March 31: Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman has apologized for<br />
saying “Here we are, <strong>the</strong> Jews again” when a fellow Labour MP stood up in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Commons. He made <strong>the</strong> remark when Louise Ellman rose to make an<br />
intervention during <strong>the</strong> report stage of <strong>the</strong> Police Reform and Social<br />
Responsibility Bill. Mrs. Ellman and Sir Gerald are both Jewish but hold<br />
differing views on <strong>the</strong> Israel-Palestinian conflict. The Manchester Gorton<br />
MP said he was sorry for any offense he had caused. Mrs. Ellman has not<br />
publicly commented on <strong>the</strong> remark, but <strong>the</strong> Conservative MP for Hendon,<br />
Mat<strong>the</strong>w Offord, said he intended to make a complaint about <strong>the</strong> use of
2011] ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 23<br />
“unparliamentary language.” In a statement released by <strong>the</strong> Labour Party,<br />
Kaufman said: “I regret if any remarks I made in <strong>the</strong> chamber caused<br />
offense. If <strong>the</strong>y did, I apologize.” The comments were made during a debate<br />
over plans to change <strong>the</strong> law on universal jurisdiction.<br />
APRIL<br />
Los Angeles, April 14: Police in Hollywood are looking for a suspect after<br />
a fire was intentionally set in a classroom at a temple and Jewish school.<br />
The incident is being investigated as a hate crime because it took place at a<br />
place of worship, fire officials said. Police arrived at Temple Israel of<br />
Hollywood shortly before school started Thursday morning after receiving<br />
reports of a suspicious package. School officials were forced to notify parents<br />
and evacuate <strong>the</strong> school for several hours. While parents and students<br />
were asked to refrain from speaking to <strong>the</strong> media, one young boy told<br />
KTLA he was scared and that “we were thinking that we might die or that<br />
<strong>the</strong> school might burn down.” Authorities swept <strong>the</strong> school for evidence and<br />
carried out <strong>the</strong> suspicious package in a brown paper bag.<br />
Pew Poll, April 26: Most Egyptians are in favor of annulling a peace treaty<br />
with Israel, according to a Pew Research Center poll released on Monday.<br />
The U.S.-based think tank polled 1,000 adults throughout Egypt between<br />
March 24 and April 7, finding that only 36 percent would maintain <strong>the</strong><br />
treaty, while 82% of Egyptians view <strong>the</strong> United States unfavorably; <strong>the</strong> poll<br />
also noted that military leader Mohamed Tantawi is most popular man in<br />
Egypt. The percentage of Egyptians who support annulling <strong>the</strong> treaty (54%)<br />
does not vary among those who sympathize with Islamic fundamentalists<br />
and those who do not. Those with lower incomes, however, are less likely<br />
to support <strong>the</strong> peace with Israel than are those with higher incomes.<br />
MAY<br />
Buenos Aires, May 9: An Argentinian man is to be prosecuted to <strong>the</strong> fullest<br />
extent following <strong>the</strong> brutal assault on a headmaster of an Orthodox Jewish<br />
school in Buenos Aires. Moshe Cohen, director of Heichal Hatora, was hit<br />
in <strong>the</strong> head with an iron bar on May 9 as he was leaving <strong>the</strong> school. He was<br />
hospitalized with a serious head injury. The assailant, who was arrested a<br />
few blocks from <strong>the</strong> scene, allegedly shouted “Jew, Jew” during <strong>the</strong> assault.<br />
The incident took place on <strong>the</strong> eve of Israel’s Independence Day.<br />
New York, May 12: Two men allegedly trying to buy weapons, including<br />
three pistols and hand grenades, as part of a plot to attack Manhattan synagogues<br />
were arrested in New York City, averting a terror threat, law<br />
enforcement sources said. This is <strong>the</strong> 13th plot against <strong>the</strong> city thwarted
24 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:19<br />
since <strong>the</strong> Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. The men were arrested as part of a<br />
police operation that had begun prior to Osama bin Laden’s death and was<br />
not a result of any retaliatory plan, sources said.<br />
Glasgow, May 24: A Scottish municipality has banned from its libraries<br />
books by Israeli authors and that were printed or published in Israel. The<br />
West Dunbartonshire Council, consisting of towns and villages west of<br />
Glasgow, ordered new books by Israeli authors to be banned from <strong>the</strong> council’s<br />
libraries, according to reports. “A place that boycotts books is not far<br />
from a place that burns <strong>the</strong>m,” said Israel’s ambassador to <strong>the</strong> UK, Ron<br />
Prosor. European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor called <strong>the</strong> banning<br />
of Israeli books and <strong>the</strong> marking of Israeli products in Scotland “eerily<br />
reminiscent of darker times, and perhaps <strong>the</strong>re is a level of hatred that connects<br />
<strong>the</strong>m.” In a statement released Tuesday, Kantor noted that “While<br />
those behind <strong>the</strong> boycott will claim that this is not antisemitic, targeting <strong>the</strong><br />
only Jewish state, a democracy, while ignoring serial human rights-abusing<br />
nations tells us that this is indeed antisemitic in intent and in effect.”<br />
Leicester, UK, May 26: The house and car of <strong>the</strong> rabbi of <strong>the</strong> Leicester<br />
Hebrew Congregation have been targeted by antisemitic vandals in three<br />
nocturnal attacks over <strong>the</strong> past three weeks. Bricks twice shattered windows<br />
of Rabbi Schmuli Pink’s shul-owned property, half a mile from <strong>the</strong> citycenter<br />
synagogue. On ano<strong>the</strong>r occasion, a brick was thrown through his car<br />
window. Rabbi Pink said that although no one was injured, “this was not a<br />
pleasant experience. However, we are remaining strong.” The rabbi, who<br />
lives with his wife, Rifki, and <strong>the</strong>ir seven children, praised <strong>the</strong> efforts of <strong>the</strong><br />
local police. “We are very happy with what <strong>the</strong> police are doing. They are<br />
responding excellently,” he said. Rabbi Pink has served <strong>the</strong> Midlands community<br />
for nearly 10 years.<br />
JUNE<br />
San Francisco, June 6: A cartoon called “Foreskin Man” has gained notoriety<br />
after an anti-male circumcision proposition was brought to San Francisco’s<br />
November ballot. The cartoon, created by Mat<strong>the</strong>w Hess, president<br />
of <strong>the</strong> MGMbill.org group against what it calls male genital mutilation, features<br />
<strong>the</strong> handsome young Foreskin Man doing battle with Monster Mohel,<br />
an old, hook-nosed character, over a baby laid out on a blanket on a pool<br />
table in a billiard hall. The comic has been around for at least a year. A<br />
Foreskin Ma“ card set also is also being sold on <strong>the</strong> Internet.<br />
Channel Islands, UK, June 10: A legislator on Jersey, a British crown<br />
dependency off <strong>the</strong> coast of France, will not run for reelection because of
2011] ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 25<br />
antisemitic threats. “My family have been very upset by recent events and I<br />
feel that it would <strong>the</strong>refore be better not to stand for re-election at <strong>the</strong> end of<br />
<strong>the</strong> year,” said Sen. Freddie Cohen, who is also <strong>the</strong> island’s planning minister;<br />
he was quoted on June 7 by <strong>the</strong> London Jewish Chronicle. Cohen and<br />
his family received antisemitic threats after <strong>the</strong> Jersey Evening Post criticized<br />
one of his decisions. Cohen is a past president of <strong>the</strong> island’s 65family<br />
Jewish community. Jersey was <strong>the</strong> sole British territory occupied by<br />
Nazis during World War II.<br />
Rome, June 14: On <strong>the</strong> day of Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Rome, a<br />
member of <strong>the</strong> capital’s Jewish community, Raffi Coen, was stabbed<br />
through <strong>the</strong> heart. Coen was 74 years old and well loved in <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
community. The murderer did not steal his money, so <strong>the</strong>re must be some<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r motive for <strong>the</strong> crime. Over <strong>the</strong> last few days in Italy <strong>the</strong>re have been<br />
some disturbing episodes of propaganda against Jews and Israel, over<br />
Netanyahu’s visit, but also because of <strong>the</strong> “Unexpected Israel” festival in<br />
Milan. There may well be antisemitic motives surrounding this tragedy, and<br />
it is feared that <strong>the</strong> authorities will not take into account <strong>the</strong> hypo<strong>the</strong>sis of<br />
racist murder, because that is <strong>the</strong>ir usual policy when such crimes are suspected.<br />
We believe a commitment against antisemitism (often in <strong>the</strong> form of<br />
exasperated anti-Zionism) is one of <strong>the</strong> top priorities in Italy and throughout<br />
<strong>the</strong> EU.<br />
Jerusalem, June 22: Jews and Israelis, or passengers carrying any non-<br />
Islamic article of faith, will not be able to fly code-share flights from <strong>the</strong><br />
United States to Saudi Arabia under Delta Air Line’s new partnership with<br />
Saudi Arabian Airlines, which is set to begin in 2012. Although Delta<br />
announced in January that <strong>the</strong> Saudi airline would join its SkyTeam network<br />
next year, <strong>the</strong> implications of <strong>the</strong> deal only came to light recently,<br />
according to people who have scrutinized <strong>the</strong> details. Saudi Arabia bans<br />
anyone with an Israeli stamp in his or her passport from entering <strong>the</strong> country,<br />
even in transit. Many Jews believe <strong>the</strong> kingdom has also withheld visas<br />
from travelers with Jewish-sounding names.<br />
Oslo, June 22: Earlier this month, a survey by <strong>the</strong> Oslo municipality found<br />
that 33% of Jewish students in <strong>the</strong> town are physically threatened or abused<br />
by o<strong>the</strong>r high school teens at least two to three times a month. The group<br />
that suffered <strong>the</strong> next highest amount of bullying was Buddhists at 10%.<br />
“O<strong>the</strong>rs” were at 7% and Muslims at 5.3%. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, <strong>the</strong> survey found<br />
that 51% of high school students consider “Jew” a negative expression and<br />
60% had heard o<strong>the</strong>r students use <strong>the</strong> term.
26 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:19<br />
Turin, June 22. It could be a picture from a Nazi textbook, but this hooknosed<br />
caricature of Israeli President Shimon Peres, with hands clasped<br />
around a Magen David and a pocketful of bleeding babies, was part of an<br />
Italian “cultural festival” last month. The sinister funfair game, in which<br />
Turin students paid one euro to throw shoes at <strong>the</strong> gurning (distorting one’s<br />
face) puppet, is one of a recent catalogue of incidents causing a climate of<br />
fear among Italy’s Jews.<br />
Cupertino, California, June 22: Apple pulled an app called “The Third<br />
Intifada” from its App Store. The app encouraged attacks on Israel and<br />
highlighted anti-Israeli news and opinion from around <strong>the</strong> Web. On Tuesday,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a statement urging Apple to<br />
immediately withdraw <strong>the</strong> app from its collection. Apple complied, citing a<br />
policy that apps that are “defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited or likely to<br />
expose <strong>the</strong> targeted group to harm or violence will be rejected.”<br />
Courtesy of ADL, www.adl.org<br />
Please send your nominations for Book of <strong>the</strong> Year to<br />
Lesley Klaff, Book Editor—l.d.klaff@shu.ac.uk
Mexico in a Region under Change<br />
Judit Bokser Liwerant*<br />
Latin America is a region undergoing radical and contradictory changes:<br />
an increasingly expansive force of democracy amid global cycles of economic<br />
crises and social conflicts and <strong>the</strong> emergence of new political and<br />
cultural scenarios that account for diversified outcomes. The recognition<br />
of differences, <strong>the</strong> politics of identity, and <strong>the</strong> emphasis on heterogeneity<br />
as well as <strong>the</strong> search for civic commonalities act as a substratum that<br />
widens <strong>the</strong> scope of <strong>the</strong> public sphere. Democratization has created<br />
favorable conditions for greater legitimation and visibility of <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
communities. However, channels for civic participation are accompanied<br />
by changing expressions of antisemitism. This article argues that<br />
antisemitism in Mexico, like most of <strong>the</strong> countries in <strong>the</strong> region, has seldom<br />
manifested itself through physical violence. It can be traced basically<br />
to <strong>the</strong> level of <strong>the</strong> narrative and <strong>the</strong> discursive realm. It is mainly<br />
through media discourses that negative representations are built, transmitted,<br />
and recreated. Classical expressions of antisemitism, anti-Israelism,<br />
and anti-Zionism converge and overlap through complex axes of argumentative<br />
articulation and chains of meanings.<br />
Key Words: Mexico, Jews, Latin America<br />
TRENDS AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN LATIN AMERICA<br />
Changes follow non-linear trends. When noting commonalities that cut<br />
across <strong>the</strong> different Latin America societies, one should be aware of <strong>the</strong><br />
inner differentiations within <strong>the</strong> continent. Neo-liberal and growing institutionalized<br />
citizenship regimes coexist with corporatist political forms, popular<br />
mobilization, and plebiscitary democracy. Both <strong>the</strong> prevalence of<br />
historically complex relations with <strong>the</strong> United States and <strong>the</strong> widespread<br />
dissatisfaction with <strong>the</strong> effects of globalization opened new opportunities<br />
for radical movements in <strong>the</strong> region, including <strong>the</strong> neo-populist versions of<br />
Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. Thus, <strong>the</strong> region experiences<br />
contradictory trends: increasing civic participation of social and political<br />
actors coexists with <strong>the</strong> tendency of hegemonic sectors to substitute grassroot<br />
democratic participation. Processes of democratization develop along<br />
with trends of de-democratization.<br />
Pluralism today is related to culture as well as to political and institutional<br />
arrangements that provide <strong>the</strong> framework to resolve differences and<br />
to build consensus. The widening of <strong>the</strong> public sphere and <strong>the</strong> consolidation<br />
27
28 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:27<br />
of civil society have allowed <strong>the</strong> emergence of new actors and unprecedented<br />
forms of participation. Opportunities for collective recognition and<br />
new interactions between majorities and minorities are part of <strong>the</strong> prevailing<br />
scenarios. Different social movements attract vast middle-class sectors,<br />
including Jews and <strong>the</strong> Jewish community, as civic participants of <strong>the</strong><br />
national arena. Jewish individuals have increasingly entered <strong>the</strong> political<br />
sphere by assuming high-ranking public roles. Simultaneously, Jewish communities<br />
have acquired more visibility and legitimacy, derived from a twofold<br />
complex process: <strong>the</strong> erosion of a national ethnic narrative, which<br />
provided <strong>the</strong> criteria for national belonging, and <strong>the</strong> increased recognition<br />
of minorities on religious grounds. Liberal policies have acknowledged <strong>the</strong><br />
relevance of middle- and high-class social sectors as players in <strong>the</strong> public<br />
arena, thus creating favorable conditions for a stronger presence of Jewish<br />
communities in <strong>the</strong> national landscape. 1<br />
Paralleling <strong>the</strong>se processes in countries like Mexico, in <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn<br />
Cone, changes have enhanced <strong>the</strong> search for civic commonalities through a<br />
shift from <strong>the</strong> automatic valorization of cultural and ethnic differences to a<br />
renewed concern with integration into civil society and <strong>the</strong> public sphere.<br />
However, one cannot dismiss <strong>the</strong> centrality of <strong>the</strong> bombing of <strong>the</strong> communal<br />
building AMIA in Buenos Aires, Argentina; it brought to <strong>the</strong> forefront<br />
<strong>the</strong> convergence of old and new expressions of antisemitism. It also fostered<br />
<strong>the</strong> visibility of transnational Jewish links and solidarity and <strong>the</strong> affirmation<br />
of collective identity. New institutional channels of participation<br />
point to new sources and expression of <strong>the</strong> dynamics of acceptance and<br />
rejection and <strong>the</strong>refore to equally changing expressions of antisemitism.<br />
Thus, one has to approach antisemitism as part of a broader parameter of<br />
inclusion-exclusion.<br />
The overall picture in Latin America of democratization as well as<br />
economic crises, political instability, high levels of public violence, and<br />
lack of security has increasingly exposed <strong>the</strong> region and its Jewish communities<br />
to waves of migration. Although Latin American Jewry has historically<br />
grown out of large-scale immigration, during <strong>the</strong> last decades,<br />
migration patterns have tended to be outward. The number of Jews in Latin<br />
America dropped from 514,000 in <strong>the</strong> 1970s to 390,000 in 2010. Mexico’s<br />
community has maintained a stable demographic profile, due mainly to a<br />
relative equilibrium of emigration and immigration coming from o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
1. Judit Bokser Liwerant, “Los judíos de América Latina. Los signos de las<br />
tendencias: juegos y contrajuegos,” en Haim Avni et al. (eds.), Pertenencia y Alteridad.<br />
Judíos en/de América Latina: cuarenta años de cambios (Madrid-Berlin:<br />
Iberoamericana), 2011:115-164.
2011] MEXICO IN A REGION UNDER CHANGE 29<br />
countries in <strong>the</strong> region. Its current Jewish population totals 39,500. 2 In a<br />
country with a population of 112, 336,538 people, <strong>the</strong> Jewish community<br />
has a visible presence that outreaches its numbers. 3<br />
When analyzing antisemitism, one has to take into account that concern<br />
has been voiced about an excessive focus on it as <strong>the</strong> primary characteristic<br />
of <strong>the</strong> region, warning against a simplistic and reductionist<br />
identification of Latin America with intolerance and anti-Jewish expression.<br />
This concern has led to calls for balance, demanding more nuanced distinctions<br />
between different times, places, and modalities of expression.<br />
Certainly, <strong>the</strong> interfacing between national, regional, and global<br />
antisemitism, its inner differentiation, and contemporary expressions have<br />
to be considered. Diffuse and latent prejudices, veiled and structural, as<br />
well as those rejected in <strong>the</strong> official semantics but evident in <strong>the</strong> rhetoric of<br />
individuals and of collective sectors are part of new, complex societies both<br />
in Latin America and elsewhere. The historical course of this rhetoric,<br />
which does not necessarily translate into discriminatory practices, needs to<br />
be contextualized within each country’s political culture and status of<br />
human rights. Understanding its manifestations emerges as a sine qua non<br />
when attempting to account for <strong>the</strong> actual extent of antisemitic danger as<br />
opposed to <strong>the</strong> symbolic violence of its expressions in <strong>the</strong> media.<br />
Antisemitism can be seen as a phenomenon that to a large extent is produced<br />
and reproduced discursively. 4<br />
Both at <strong>the</strong> level of attitudes, stereotypes, and prejudices on <strong>the</strong> one<br />
hand, and at <strong>the</strong> behavioral level manifest in acts, practices, and actual normative<br />
arrangement on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r, antisemitism had and has a broad impact<br />
on <strong>the</strong> representation of <strong>the</strong> “o<strong>the</strong>r.” It is precisely this dimension that<br />
acquires new relevance amid <strong>the</strong> changing trends of cultures that historically<br />
had expressed serious difficulties facing heterogeneity. This question<br />
is directly related to <strong>the</strong> dimension of <strong>the</strong> public sphere as <strong>the</strong> space for<br />
constructing shared civic-national foundations for <strong>the</strong> legitimate expression<br />
of difference.<br />
2. Sergio DellaPergola, “¿Cuántos somos hoy? Investigación y narrativa sobre<br />
población judía en América Latina,” Ibid.:305-340.<br />
3. 2010 Total Population, “México en Cifras” (Mexico in Numbers). INEGI<br />
(Mexican National Institute for Statistics and Geography), http://<br />
www.inegi.org.mx/sistemas/mexicocifras/MexicoCifras.aspx?e=0&m=0&sec=M.<br />
4. See Martin Reisigl and Ruth Wodak, Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetoric<br />
of Racism and Antisemitism (New York: Routledge), 2001.
30 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:27<br />
ANALYZING <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong><br />
We still face <strong>the</strong> challenge of linking indicators and formalized criteria<br />
to comprehensive approaches that can account for <strong>the</strong> changing meanings<br />
of <strong>the</strong> phenomenon. This challenge becomes even more urgent in light of<br />
<strong>the</strong> new significance and connotations of antisemitism that are constructed<br />
in Latin America as well as in <strong>the</strong> Jewish world. By this we mean <strong>the</strong> convergences<br />
of its classic expressions with processes such as criticism of <strong>the</strong><br />
Israeli government’s dealing with <strong>the</strong> Israel-Palestinian conflict and of<br />
Israel as a whole—beyond particular governments—<strong>the</strong> framing of an anti-<br />
Zionist language with antisemitic content.<br />
There are differences between antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and anti-<br />
Israelism; simultaneously, though, <strong>the</strong>y overlap, carrying mutually referring<br />
meanings and significance. The socio-political, religious-cultural, and economic<br />
historical dimensions of antisemitism interact with <strong>the</strong> current political<br />
and ideological contexts. Latin America’s historical and ideational<br />
trajectory has articulated through <strong>the</strong> components of anti-Americanism,<br />
anti-colonialism, and anti-imperialism a specific dynamic that reinforces <strong>the</strong><br />
mutually referring meanings. 5 The fluid overlapping acts as a “cultural<br />
code” that identifies wide sectors of public thought and media. 6<br />
ECONOMICS AND DEMOCRACY IN MEXICO<br />
Mexico’s integration into <strong>the</strong> international economic system has been<br />
fragmented. In <strong>the</strong> framework of growing inequalities, <strong>the</strong> search for inclusive<br />
political forms parallels strong and persistent trends of exclusion, thus<br />
hindering democracy itself. The impact of economic crises on <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
community in Mexico, while not as acute as in <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Cone (e.g.,<br />
Argentina), has also been a determinant of radical changes concerning<br />
organized Jewish life. Globalization processes, while deteriorating <strong>the</strong> economic<br />
standing of various sectors, have brought different segments of <strong>the</strong><br />
higher- to-middle classes into <strong>the</strong> most dynamic venues and advantageous<br />
positions for tapping into transnational commerce, high technology, services,<br />
<strong>the</strong> sciences, academia and its institutions, and <strong>the</strong> financial sectors.<br />
Thus, Jews’ interaction with diverse sectors of society widens.<br />
5. Cf. Robert S. Wistrich, Antisemitism: The Longest Hatred (London: Thames<br />
Methuen), 1991; Bernard Lewis, Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into Conflict<br />
and Prejudice (New York: Norton), 1986.<br />
6. Shulamit Volkov, “Readjusting Cultural Codes: Reflections on Antisemitism<br />
and Anti-Zionism,” in Jeffrey Herf (ed.), Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism in<br />
Historical Perspective: Convergence and Difference (New York: Routledge), 2007:<br />
39-43.
2011] MEXICO IN A REGION UNDER CHANGE 31<br />
Mexico’s transition to democracy was signed by <strong>the</strong> end of seven<br />
decades of <strong>the</strong> ruling PRI party (Institutional Revolutionary Party) in 2000,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> arrival to power of <strong>the</strong> center-right PAN (National Action Party).<br />
The country’s consolidation of democracy is still an ongoing process. Vectors<br />
as essential as rule of law, transparency, and accountability still need to<br />
be fully established. In <strong>the</strong> realm of human rights, Mexico experienced both<br />
significant progress and setbacks. The National Commission of Human<br />
Rights (federal and state) has gained a progressive presence. In April 2010,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Mexican senate unanimously approved reforms that give human rights a<br />
constitutional status, widen <strong>the</strong>ir recognition and protection, and provide <strong>the</strong><br />
commission with <strong>the</strong> resources to investigate serious violations to individual<br />
rights. According to <strong>the</strong> commission, however, a high percentage of its<br />
recommendations were not implemented within <strong>the</strong> deadlines specified and/<br />
or were not accepted by public officials because of weaknesses endemic in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Mexican judicial system. The World Economic Forum warned that <strong>the</strong><br />
cost of corruption in Mexico equals 9% of <strong>the</strong> national gross domestic product<br />
(PIB), while businesses need to spend 10% of <strong>the</strong>ir income on bribes.<br />
The so-called war against drugs and organized crime has resulted in a spiral<br />
of violence that has not been directly connected to ethnic or religious<br />
motives.<br />
<strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN MEXICO<br />
While historically <strong>the</strong> national culture has faced difficulties dealing<br />
with <strong>the</strong> “o<strong>the</strong>r,” antisemitism has been mainly associated ei<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong><br />
most conservative forces or with extreme left-wing actors.<br />
In contemporary Mexico, antisemitism was initially prompted by<br />
debates surrounding immigration policies during <strong>the</strong> late 1920s. Groups<br />
such as <strong>the</strong> Anti-Chinese and <strong>the</strong> Anti-Jewish National League, founded in<br />
1930, and <strong>the</strong> Honourable Traders, Industrialists and Professionals lobbied<br />
<strong>the</strong> government to restrict <strong>the</strong> immigration of Jews. 7<br />
In <strong>the</strong> 1930s, Mexico experienced outbursts of antisemitism focused<br />
on economic and racial grounds. Gradually, <strong>the</strong> racial <strong>the</strong>me became dominant<br />
amid right-wing groups. Among <strong>the</strong>m, Mexican Revolutionary Action,<br />
founded in 1934, operated through its paramilitary units, <strong>the</strong> Golden Shirts.<br />
The antisemitic Pro-Race Committee and <strong>the</strong> Middle Class Confederation<br />
exerted pressure on <strong>the</strong> government and waged antisemitic campaigns,<br />
7. Judit Bokser Liwerant, “El México de los años treinta: cardenismo, inmigración<br />
judía y antisemitismo,” en Xenofobias y Xenofilia en la Historia de México<br />
Siglos XVIII y XIX, Delia Salazar (Coordinadora), Dirección de Estudios Históricos,<br />
México, 2006: 379-416.
32 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:27<br />
which reached <strong>the</strong>ir peak in 1938-9. But <strong>the</strong>y were not <strong>the</strong> only antisemitic<br />
protestors; trade unions and left-wing labor organizations also became a<br />
platform for antisemitic expressions that were related mainly to immigration<br />
and exile policies. 8<br />
Thereafter, expressions of antisemitism associated mainly with economic-<br />
and class-related stereotypes were incorporated into political codes<br />
related to Israel and Zionism. The latter reached its maximal expression in<br />
1975, when Mexico supported UN Resolution 3379, equating Zionism with<br />
Racism, condemning Zionism as a form of racism and discrimination while<br />
entering <strong>the</strong> international dynamics of delegitimization of Israel; due to <strong>the</strong><br />
local circumstances, it also projected <strong>the</strong> stereotype of <strong>the</strong> Jewish community<br />
as lacking national loyalties. 9 (The resolution was revoked in December<br />
1991.)<br />
In <strong>the</strong> early 1990s, <strong>the</strong> Gulf War consolidated an intellectual atmosphere<br />
censoring Israel as an instigator of <strong>the</strong> war and a spearhead of Western<br />
imperialism. Moreover, <strong>the</strong> inversion of <strong>the</strong> victimizer-victim argument<br />
that was widespread in <strong>the</strong> seventies was fur<strong>the</strong>r reinforced. 10 Its dynamics<br />
continued to be closely associated with <strong>the</strong> gap between a bilateral relationship<br />
with <strong>the</strong> United States and <strong>the</strong> multilateral forum of ascription. In<br />
December 1991, changes in <strong>the</strong> bilateral relationship led to <strong>the</strong> revocation<br />
of <strong>the</strong> 1975 resolution.<br />
Progressively, <strong>the</strong> anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli discourse gained argumentative<br />
weight, as it was essentially connected to <strong>the</strong> ups and downs of<br />
<strong>the</strong> peace process in <strong>the</strong> Middle East. As such, it reflected a number of<br />
issues: <strong>the</strong> First and Second Intifada, <strong>the</strong> Gulf War, <strong>the</strong> Lebanon Wars,<br />
Operation Cast Lead, or <strong>the</strong> Gaza War, as well as <strong>the</strong> Oslo Accords, <strong>the</strong><br />
Camp David Summit, and <strong>the</strong> Road Map for Peace negotiations.<br />
Antisemitism has not been a central issue for political parties and<br />
movements in Mexico’s modern history. The diversified organizational pattern<br />
within <strong>the</strong> extreme right has diminished in its public visibility and <strong>the</strong><br />
intensity of its activities. Organizations such as <strong>the</strong> LaRouche-inspired Partido<br />
Laboral Mexicano (Mexican Labor Party), <strong>the</strong> Federación Mexicana<br />
Anticomunista (Anti-Communist Federation), and Los Tecos have taken a<br />
8. Ibid.<br />
9. Judit Bokser Liwerant, “Fuentes de legitimación de la presencia judía en<br />
México: El voto positivo de México a la ecuación sionismo = racismo y su impacto<br />
sobre la comunidad judía,” Judaica Latinoamericana, No. III (Jerusalem: AMILAT<br />
and Magnes Press), 1997: 319.<br />
10. Luis Roniger, “Latin American Jews and Processes of Transnational Legitimization<br />
and De-Legitimization,” Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, 9 no. 2 (July<br />
2010).
2011] MEXICO IN A REGION UNDER CHANGE 33<br />
back role. The exception to this low-key approach has been <strong>the</strong> former Partido<br />
de las Águilas Mexicanas (Party of <strong>the</strong> Mexican Eagles), which in 1996<br />
changed its name to Consejo del Pueblo de las Águilas Mexicanas (The<br />
People’s Council of Mexican Eagles). Its ideology, dubbed as “neo-Mexicanism,”<br />
promotes an idealized image of Mexico’s Indian past and scorns<br />
Europe’s role in forging <strong>the</strong> national identity. Its open activity declined and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Tribunal Federal Electoral (Federal Electoral Tribunal) denied its petition<br />
to be registered. The Instituto Federal Electoral (Federal Electoral Institute)<br />
issued an open letter condemning <strong>the</strong> group’s antisemitic, racist, and<br />
intolerant views.<br />
Mexican antisemitism, which has seldom manifested itself through<br />
physical violence, can be traced basically to <strong>the</strong> level of <strong>the</strong> narrative and<br />
<strong>the</strong> discursive realm. It is through media discourses that negative representations<br />
are built, transmitted, and recreated.<br />
The yearly report by Tribuna Israelita 11 shows a significant decline<br />
from 2009 to 2010 in Mexico in <strong>the</strong> number of published notes (from<br />
10,721 to 6,624, or –38.21%), including news reports, op eds, and newspaper<br />
editorials related to Jewish and Israeli issues. When looking at each<br />
classified category separately, only <strong>the</strong> number of cartoons increased (from<br />
12 in 2009 to 64 in 2010). 12<br />
This pattern seems to be related to <strong>the</strong> decreased impact on Mexican<br />
public opinion that <strong>the</strong> “Flotilla Affair” had in comparison to <strong>the</strong> impact of<br />
Operation Cast Lead, which appears to be consistent with <strong>the</strong> 2010 World<br />
Report by <strong>the</strong> Stephen Roth Center at Tel Aviv University. 13<br />
According to <strong>the</strong> criteria developed by Tribuna Israelita, 11.37% of <strong>the</strong><br />
classified published notes in 2010 were negative. 14 In contrast, only 1.23%<br />
were positive (while 87.65% were considered neutral). The percentage of<br />
negative news in <strong>the</strong> corresponding section was far lower than <strong>the</strong> percentage<br />
of negative editorials (including opinion and newspaper editorials),<br />
cartoons, and letters (1.54% for news compared to 46.54% for editorials,<br />
23.44% for cartoons. and 47.92% for letters). Here again <strong>the</strong>re is a gap<br />
between <strong>the</strong> percentage of negative news reported and <strong>the</strong> percentage of<br />
11. I thank Yael Siman for her valuable collaboration, Renée Dayán and<br />
Tribuna Israelita for <strong>the</strong> data provided.<br />
12. Report on Antisemitism, 2010, México, Tribuna Israelita. 2010.<br />
13. Cf. “General Analysis. Overview” in Antisemitism Worldwide 2010. General<br />
Analysis. The Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities, The Stephen Roth<br />
Institute for <strong>the</strong> Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism, and The Kantor<br />
Center for <strong>the</strong> Study of Contemporary European Jewry. Tel Aviv University, European<br />
Jewish Congress. http://www.tau.ac.il/Antisemitism/.<br />
14. In this classification, <strong>the</strong>re is no explicit differentiation between antisemite,<br />
anti-Israeli, and anti-Zionist arguments.
34 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:27<br />
negative editorials, cartoons, and letters—that is, few negative news regarding<br />
Jews and/or Israel have a significant, and disproportional, impact on<br />
Mexican public opinion.<br />
Regarding <strong>the</strong> contents of <strong>the</strong> media discourse, 2010 has shown both a<br />
continuation of previous patterns as well as changing trends. Zionism,<br />
which, as stated, has been identified with racism, colonialism, and imperialism,<br />
became an incorporated and implicit argument of <strong>the</strong> major focus—<br />
i.e., <strong>the</strong> State of Israel portrayed as a belligerent and war-prone state,<br />
oppressive and genocidal. The axis of human rights violation has gained an<br />
increased presence among <strong>the</strong> critical arguments; <strong>the</strong> Arab-Israeli conflict<br />
continued to be portrayed as part of <strong>the</strong> clash between <strong>the</strong> imperialist West<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Arab and Muslim Third World.<br />
Editorials published in <strong>the</strong> Mexican press in 2010 put emphasis on<br />
Israel’s conduction of “war crimes” in Lebanon and Gaza; Israel’s “terrorist”<br />
traits, and its implementation of “massacre,” “genocide,” and “collective<br />
punishment” in Gaza to a million and a half Palestinians; <strong>the</strong> building<br />
of a wall in <strong>the</strong> West Bank that seeks to “exterminate” 4.5 million Palestinians;<br />
Israel’s “violation” of international law in <strong>the</strong> occupied territories and<br />
worldwide; <strong>the</strong> Zionist Jewish state as a racist one on nationality and citizenship<br />
issues; and Israel as an “apar<strong>the</strong>id” state. 15<br />
Prejudice also may be found or revealed by omission of relevant information<br />
that could show Israel’s perspective as an actor/active player. While<br />
this omission differs from explicit prejudice association, it also has a meaningful<br />
impact.<br />
Insofar as <strong>the</strong> State of Israel became <strong>the</strong> main focus of <strong>the</strong> arguments,<br />
<strong>the</strong> fluid interconnections established between anti-Israelism and historical<br />
antisemitism, ra<strong>the</strong>r than between anti-Israelism and dilution of <strong>the</strong> Holocaust,<br />
became <strong>the</strong> radicalized point of departure of <strong>the</strong> dispute.<br />
To exemplify fluid interconnections of meanings, we may point to <strong>the</strong><br />
overlapping of anti-Israelism/<strong>the</strong> Holocaust through analogies, parallels,<br />
15. Andres Pascoe Pierce, “La década del terror” (A Decade of Terror), Crónica,<br />
January 2, 2010; Xavier Caño Tamayo, “Sobre una bomba de violaciones de<br />
derechos humanos” (About a human rights violations bomb), Rumbo de México,<br />
January 4, 2010; José Steinsleger, “¿Cuándo caerá el muro?” (When will <strong>the</strong> wall<br />
fall?), La Jornada. January 6, 2010; Héctor Delgado, “ONU monosabia, ignora la<br />
autodeterminación” (Mono-wise United Nations ignores self-determination), Uno<br />
más uno, February 11, 2010; Manu Dorberier (newspaper editorial), “El que se<br />
somete a la infamia, se convierte en infame” (He who puts himself under infamy<br />
becomes infamous), El Sol de México, February 20, 2010; “Lula en Israel” (Lula in<br />
Israel), La Jornada, March 16, 2010; José Steinsleger, “¿Israelíes o judíos?” (Israelis<br />
or Jews?), La Jornada, April 21, 2010; Juan Gelman, “Prohibido y ya” (Forbidden,<br />
that’s it), Milenio Diario, May 29, 2010.
2011] MEXICO IN A REGION UNDER CHANGE 35<br />
and metaphors: according to José Steinsleger, <strong>the</strong> West Bank Wall was conceived<br />
out of a great strategic plan, <strong>the</strong> slow and sustained “extermination;<br />
. . . this time, without gas chambers.” 16 The naqba, Steinsleger says, Israel’s<br />
“expulsion” of 700,000 Palestinians—which was preceded by “ethnic<br />
cleansing”—has a straightforward parallel with <strong>the</strong> Holocaust: <strong>the</strong> word<br />
naqba denotes <strong>the</strong> “oldest and most prolonged Holocaust” in contemporary<br />
history as a result of <strong>the</strong> creation of an “illegal Zionist State.” 17 In his<br />
words, “Nazi-fascist wall, locked up alive Palestinians in ‘ghettos.’ ”<br />
Intermingled with <strong>the</strong> national/regional anti-American and anti-imperialist<br />
discourse that recurrently emphasizes <strong>the</strong> alliance between <strong>the</strong> United<br />
States and Israel, both <strong>the</strong> wall at <strong>the</strong> West Bank and at USA-Mexico border,<br />
were equated, yet differentiated: only <strong>the</strong> former was seen as a “genocide<br />
wall.” 18<br />
As stated, <strong>the</strong> Flotilla Affair reflected <strong>the</strong> ebb and flow of <strong>the</strong> conflict<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Middle East and its implications for antisemitic expressions. 19 Its<br />
negative image reached an apex in this episode, which conveyed its “genocidal”<br />
and “anti-humanitarian” nature and an illegitimate code of action. 20<br />
One must also assess <strong>the</strong> impact on <strong>the</strong> national media of <strong>the</strong> transnational<br />
dynamics that feed information. Specifically, La Jornada and Uno<br />
más Uno—newspapers of <strong>the</strong> left—systematically reproduced editorial articles<br />
of The Guardian and Independent, and <strong>the</strong>ir own editorial perspective<br />
reinforced this stand.<br />
Also in <strong>the</strong> mainstream press—particularly in Milenio, El Financiero,<br />
and Excélsior—<strong>the</strong>re has been an increased presence of articles critical of<br />
Israeli actions, mainly of Benjamin Netanyahu’s settlement policy. 21 This<br />
heightened criticism certainly points to varying degrees of symbolic violence<br />
and its implications through <strong>the</strong> interplay of meanings and motivations<br />
(prejudice vs. critical voice).<br />
In contrast, <strong>the</strong> links of <strong>the</strong> Jewish community with Israel and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
Jewish centers have gained legitimacy in <strong>the</strong> public sphere—reinforced by<br />
16. José Steinsleger, “¿Cuándo caerá el muro?” (When Will <strong>the</strong> Wall Fall?), La<br />
Jornada, January 6, 2010.<br />
17. José Steinsleger, “Palestina: orígenes de la nakba” (Palestine: origins of <strong>the</strong><br />
nakaba) La Jornada, May 5, 2010.<br />
18. Héctor Delgado, “¡Bienvenida Señora Michelle Obama!” (Welcome, Ms.<br />
Michelle Obama), Uno más uno, April 15, 2010.<br />
19. Esteban Beltrán (director, Amnesty International, Spain), “El asfixiante bloqueo<br />
de Gaza” (The suffocating blockade of Gaza), El País, June 1, 2010.<br />
20. Héctor Delgado, “Israel asesina marinos civiles en Gaza” (Israel assasinates<br />
civil marines in Gaza), Uno más uno, June 1, 2010.<br />
21. Emilio Menéndez del Valle, “Imponer la paz en Palestina” (Imposing peace<br />
in Palestine), April 9, 2010. Milenio and El Financiero have o<strong>the</strong>r examples.
36 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:27<br />
<strong>the</strong> visible recognition of <strong>the</strong> existence of a Mexican diaspora—and have<br />
thus diminished <strong>the</strong> questioning of <strong>the</strong> transnational character of Jewish life.<br />
Arguments critical of <strong>the</strong> nexus between <strong>the</strong> Jewish community and Israel<br />
or <strong>the</strong> North American Jewish community have been largely absent in <strong>the</strong><br />
public discourse.<br />
Though concrete political episodes awakened <strong>the</strong> argument of <strong>the</strong> particular<br />
interest over <strong>the</strong> national well-being, traditional stereotypes such as<br />
<strong>the</strong> control of <strong>the</strong> national or international financial system or <strong>the</strong> self-segregated<br />
group tropes have been minimal.<br />
As stated, antisemitism in Mexico has not reflected violence. While<br />
<strong>the</strong>re were 67 antisemitic incidents in 2010 (mostly consisting of harassment<br />
actions: verbal threats and insults), <strong>the</strong>re were only two incidents of<br />
physical aggression and one bomb threat.<br />
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS<br />
Anti-Zionism and anti-Israelism and <strong>the</strong>ir interconnection of meanings<br />
with antisemitism are components of a “cultural code” around which influent<br />
exponents of <strong>the</strong> progressive camp and leftist intellectuals identify. This<br />
<strong>the</strong>oretical and practical convergence fluctuates in consonance with <strong>the</strong> Palestinian-Israeli<br />
conflict.<br />
The globalization of this conflict reveals an interplay of international,<br />
regional, national, and local circumstances. The process involving <strong>the</strong> problematic<br />
social representation of Israel has acquired a new shared pattern in<br />
Latin America, although with national variations.<br />
In early December 2010, several Latin American countries announced<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir formal recognition of a Palestinian state based on borders in existence<br />
prior to <strong>the</strong> 1967 war. Brazil took <strong>the</strong> initiative, followed shortly by Argentina,<br />
Bolivia, and Ecuador. Mahmoud Abbas, president of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian<br />
Authority, laid <strong>the</strong> cornerstone for a Palestinian embassy in Brasilia on<br />
December 31, 2010. On January 28, 2011, Paraguay also announced its<br />
recognition of Palestine. Earlier that month, Chile and Peru stated that <strong>the</strong>y<br />
would recognize a Palestinian state but that borders had to be mutually<br />
agreed upon by both sides of <strong>the</strong> conflict. Chile’s position followed strong<br />
pressure from its powerful Palestinian community, as revealed by motions<br />
introduced in <strong>the</strong> Senate and <strong>the</strong> Chamber of Deputies at <strong>the</strong> end of 2010<br />
and <strong>the</strong> conduction of top-level meetings in <strong>the</strong> presidential palace with<br />
Palestinian diplomats, representatives of <strong>the</strong> Arab League in Chile, and<br />
members of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian communities and congressional groups. In its<br />
declaration, however, <strong>the</strong>re was no formal reference to <strong>the</strong> 1967 borders.<br />
Colombia has said it will not recognize a Palestinian state until a<br />
mutual peace agreement is reached. Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala,
2011] MEXICO IN A REGION UNDER CHANGE 37<br />
Panama, and Belize have not indicated <strong>the</strong>ir positions. Several Latin American<br />
countries, including Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, had<br />
already recognized a Palestinian state prior to <strong>the</strong> most recent lobbying<br />
efforts. Mexico has not yet taken an official stand on this matter.<br />
It is likely, however, that <strong>the</strong> globalization of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian-Israeli<br />
conflict will continue if <strong>the</strong>se conditions are present: <strong>the</strong> stagnation of <strong>the</strong><br />
peace process; <strong>the</strong> eruption of new cycles of violence in <strong>the</strong> Middle East;<br />
<strong>the</strong> streng<strong>the</strong>ning of Islamic radical groups in countries that now experience<br />
political turmoil; <strong>the</strong> presence of neo-populist governments in <strong>the</strong> region;<br />
and <strong>the</strong> particular interaction between strategic decisions of international,<br />
regional, national, and local activists.<br />
*Judit Bokser Liwerant is a professor of political science at <strong>the</strong> Universidad<br />
Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), where she is <strong>the</strong> director of <strong>the</strong> Graduate<br />
School of Political and Social Sciences. She has published numerous books as<br />
author and editor and many scientific articles and chapters in <strong>the</strong> field of political<br />
<strong>the</strong>ory, collective identities, and contemporary Latin American Jewry. She is a<br />
member of <strong>the</strong> Mexican Academy of Science.
México, en una Región bajo Cambio<br />
Judit Bokser Liwerant*<br />
México, al igual que la mayoría de los países de América Latina, está<br />
experimentando profundas transformaciones de signo contradictorio: la<br />
creciente fuerza expansiva de la democracia convive con ciclos globales<br />
de crisis económicas y conflictos sociales y la aparición de nuevos<br />
escenarios políticos y culturales diversificados. El reconocimiento de las<br />
diferencias, la política de la identidad y el énfasis en la heterogeneidad<br />
actúan como un sustrato que amplía el ámbito de la esfera pública.<br />
Simultáneamente, nuevas expresiones de esencialismos y de identidades<br />
primordiales actúan como fuente de exclusión.<br />
Los cambios siguen tendencias no lineales. Al tiempo que hay claros<br />
denominadores comunes que atraviesan las diferentes sociedades de<br />
América Latina, resulta evidente la diferenciación interna dentro del continente.<br />
Regímenes neoliberales y crecientemente institucionalizados coexisten<br />
con formas políticas corporativistas, movilizaciones populares y<br />
democracias plebiscitarias. Tanto la trayectoria de las relaciones históricas<br />
con los Estados Unidos, que han sido complejas, como la insatisfacción<br />
generalizada con los efectos de la globalización han abierto nuevas oportunidades<br />
para los movimientos radicales de la región, incluyendo las versiones<br />
neo-populistas de Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador y Nicaragua. Por lo<br />
tanto, la región experimenta tendencias contradictorias: el aumento de la<br />
participación cívica de los actores sociales y políticos se junto a la<br />
tendencia de los sectores hegemónicos de sustituir la participación<br />
democrática de base. Los procesos de democratización se desarrollan junto<br />
con tendencias de des-democratización.<br />
La transición de México a la democracia fue marcada por el fin de<br />
siete décadas de gobierno del PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) en<br />
el año 2000 y la llegada al poder del PAN (Partido Acción Nacional), de<br />
centro-derecha. La alternancia y el pluralismo han incidido en la cultura, así<br />
como en los ordenamientos políticos e institucionales que constituyen el<br />
marco en cuyo seno se busca canalizar las diferencias y construir consensos.<br />
La ampliación de la esfera pública y el fortalecimiento de la sociedad civil<br />
han permitido el surgimiento de nuevos actores y formas de participación<br />
sin precedentes. Nuevas oportunidades para el reconocimiento colectivo y<br />
nuevas interacciones entre las mayorías y las minorías forman parte de los<br />
escenarios actuales, al tiempo que diferentes movimientos sociales atraen a<br />
sectores de la clase media, entre los que se ubica la comunidad judía como<br />
39
40 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:39<br />
actor del ámbito nacional. A su vez, sus miembros han incursionado de<br />
manera creciente en la esfera pública asumiendo cargos públicos.<br />
La comunidad judía ha adquirido una mayor visibilidad y legitimidad<br />
derivadas de un complejo proceso: por una parte, de la erosión de una narrativa<br />
nacional que definió la pertenencia nacional a partir de criterios étnicos<br />
y, por la otra, de un creciente reconocimiento de las minorías en términos<br />
tanto religiosos como étnicos. El reconocimiento constitucional a la personalidad<br />
jurídica de las iglesias y la tradición clerical del partido<br />
gobernante, aún en un contexto público de laicidad, explican en parte este<br />
proceso. También la necesidad del nuevo régimen de entablar relaciones<br />
con importantes sectores de la sociedad—grupos empresariales, industriales,<br />
comerciales y profesionales- no mediadas por las estructuras en las<br />
cuales el PRI era hegemónico operó en este sentido. De este modo, y en el<br />
marco del proceso de ciudadanización que acompañó la transición política,<br />
las comunidades organizadas, entre ellas la judía, asumieron un nuevo<br />
protagonismo. A su vez, las políticas neo-liberales le han conferido<br />
importancia pública a las clases medias y altas como actores de la escena<br />
nacional, todo lo cual ha creado condiciones favorables para una mayor<br />
presencia de la comunidad judía en la esfera pública. 1<br />
Nuevos canales institucionales de participación apuntan a nuevas fuentes<br />
de expresión de la dinámica de aceptación y rechazo y, por tanto, a<br />
manifestaciones igualmente cambiantes del antisemitismo. Este, por tanto,<br />
debe abordarse como parte de un parámetro más amplio de relaciones de<br />
inclusión-exclusión.<br />
El panorama general de la democratización en América Latina así<br />
como las crisis económicas, la inestabilidad política, altos niveles de<br />
violencia pública y la falta de seguridad han expuesto cada vez más a la<br />
región y a sus comunidades judías a flujos de emigración. A pesar de que<br />
las comunidades judías del continente han tenido su origen en la inmigración,<br />
en las últimas décadas los patrones migratorios han revertido su dirección<br />
y has sido hacia el exterior. La población judía de América Latina se<br />
redujo de 514.000 en 1970 a 390.000 en el 2010. La comunidad de México<br />
ha mantenido un perfil demográfico estable, debido principalmente a un<br />
equilibrio relativo entre la emigración y la inmigración procedente de otros<br />
países de la región. Su población actual asciende a 39.500 judíos. 2 En un<br />
1. Judit Bokser Liwerant, “Los judíos de América Latina. Los signos de las<br />
tendencias: juegos y contrajuegos”, Pertenencia y Alteridad. Judíos en/de América<br />
Latina: cuarenta años de cambios, Haim Avni et al (eds), Madrid-Berlin, Iberoamericana,<br />
2011: 115-164.<br />
2. Sergio DellaPergola, “¿Cuántos somos hoy? Investigación y narrativa sobre<br />
población judía en América Latina”, en Ibid.:305-340.
2011] MÉXICO, EN UNA REGIÓN BAJO CAMBIO 41<br />
país con una población de 112, 336 538 personas, su presencia, que es<br />
significativa, rebasa su alcance numérico. 3 La representación social que de<br />
ella tiene la sociedad le confiere l la imagen y refuerza la percepción de ser<br />
sensiblemente más numerosa.<br />
Por su parte, la integración de México en el sistema económico internacional<br />
ha sido fragmentada. En el marco de crecientes desigualdades, la<br />
búsqueda de formas políticas inclusivas se ha dado de manera paralela a<br />
fuertes y persistentes tendencias de exclusión, lo que dificulta los procesos<br />
de construcción democrática. El impacto de la crisis económica en la<br />
comunidad judía en México, aunque no tan agudo como en el Cono Sur<br />
(Argentina), también ha sido un factor determinante de cambios radicales<br />
en el perfil de la vida comunitaria. Paralelamente al deterioro de la situación<br />
económica de diversos sectores sociales, los procesos de globalización<br />
han llevado a que diferentes segmentos de las clases altas y medias a posiciones<br />
que les permiten insertarse en los ámbitos más dinámicos del comercio<br />
transnacional, la alta tecnología, los servicios, las ciencias, la academia<br />
y sus instituciones y los sectores financieros. Por lo tanto, junto a su diferenciación<br />
interna, las interacciones de la comunidad judía con diversos<br />
sectores de la sociedad también se diversifica.<br />
La consolidación de la democracia en México sigue siendo parte de un<br />
proceso en marcha. Vectores tan esenciales como la vigencia del derecho, la<br />
transparencia y la rendición de cuentas distan todavía de ser plenamente<br />
establecidos. En el ámbito de los Derechos Humanos, México ha experimentado<br />
importantes avances así como retrocesos. Las Comisiones de Derechos<br />
Humanos (nacional y estatales) han ganado presencia progresiva. En<br />
abril de 2010, el Senado de la República aprobó por unanimidad las<br />
reformas que les confieren a los Derechos Humanos un rango constitucional,<br />
amplían su reconocimiento y protección y le dan a la Comisión<br />
Nacional de Derechos Humanos las facultades para investigar violaciones<br />
graves a los derechos individuales. Sin embargo, de acuerdo a esta última,<br />
un alto porcentaje de sus recomendaciones no se llevaron a cabo en los<br />
plazos previstos y/o no fueron aceptadas por los funcionarios públicos,<br />
debido a las deficiencias mismas que caracterizan al sistema judicial. El<br />
Foro Económico Mundial advirtió que el costo de la corrupción en México<br />
es igual al 9% del Producto Interno Bruto (PIB), mientras que las empresas<br />
deben gastar el 10% de sus ingresos en sobornos. La llamada guerra contra<br />
las drogas y el crimen organizado se ha traducido en una espiral de<br />
3. 2010 Total Population , “México en Cifras” (Mexico in Numbers). INEGI<br />
(Mexican National Institute for Statistics and Geography). http://<br />
www.inegi.org.mx/sistemas/mexicocifras/MexicoCifras.aspx?e=0&m=0&sec=M
42 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:39<br />
violencia que, por otra parte, no se ha visto relacionado directamente con<br />
motivos étnicos o religiosos.<br />
Al analizar el antisemitismo, es necesario tomar en cuenta que voces<br />
muy serias han expresado la preocupación de que se ha puesto un énfasis<br />
excesivo en éste en lo que pretendidamente sería la principal característica<br />
de la región, advirtiendo los riesgos de una identificación simplista y reduccionista<br />
de América Latina con la intolerancia y con expresiones antijudías.<br />
Esta preocupación ha llamado a mantener un equilibrio analítico,<br />
con deslindes y distinciones más matizada entre los diferentes tiempos,<br />
lugares y modalidades.<br />
Ciertamente, hay que considerar la interconexión entre las expresiones<br />
nacionales, regionales y globales del antisemitismo, su diferenciación<br />
interna y sus expresiones contemporáneas. Prejuicios difusos y latentes,<br />
velados y estructurales, así como los rechazados en la semántica oficial,<br />
pero evidentes en la retórica de los individuos y de sectores sociales son<br />
parte de las nuevas sociedades complejas, tanto en América Latina como en<br />
otras regiones del mundo. El curso histórico de esta retórica, que no<br />
necesariamente se traduce en prácticas discriminatorias, tiene que ser contextualizado<br />
en la cultura política de cada país y la situación de los derechos<br />
humanos. La comprensión de sus manifestaciones aparece como un<br />
requisito sine qua non cuando se trata de dar cuenta de la magnitud real del<br />
peligro antisemita de frente a la violencia simbólica de sus expresiones en<br />
los medios de comunicación. El antisemitismo puede ser visto como un<br />
fenómeno que en gran medida se produce y reproduce discursivamente. 4<br />
Tanto en el ámbito de las actitudes, estereotipos y prejuicios, por una<br />
parte, como en el nivel de comportamiento manifiesto en actos, prácticas y<br />
los marcos normativamente, por el otro, el antisemitismo ha tenido y tiene<br />
un gran impacto en la representación de “Otro.” Es esta dimensión precisamente<br />
la que adquiere nueva relevancia en el marco de los cambios en los<br />
patrones de culturas que históricamente han enfrentado serias dificultades<br />
par dar cuenta de la diversidad y de la heterogeneidad. Ello está directamente<br />
relacionado con la concepción de la esfera pública como espacio para<br />
la construcción compartida de bases cívico-nacionales que permitan la<br />
expresión legítima de la diferencia.<br />
Aún nos enfrentamos al desafío de vincular los indicadores y criterios<br />
formales de medición del antisemitismo con enfoques integrales que den<br />
cuenta de sus significados cambiantes. Este desafío se hace aún más urgente<br />
a la luz de los nuevos significados y las connotaciones del antisemitismo<br />
que se construyen hoy en América Latina, así como en el resto del mundo.<br />
4. See Martin Reisigl and Ruth Wodak, Discourse and discrimination: rhetoric<br />
of racism and anti-Semitism. New York: Routledge, 2001.
2011] MÉXICO, EN UNA REGIÓN BAJO CAMBIO 43<br />
Con esto nos referimos a la convergencia de sus expresiones clásicas con<br />
procesos tales como la crítica al gobierno israelí por su manejo del conflicto<br />
Israel-Palestina, a la crítica de Israel como un todo-más allá de tal o cual<br />
gobierno particular, y el enmarcar un lenguaje anti-sionista con contenidos<br />
antisemitas.<br />
Existen diferencias entre el antisemitismo, el antisionismo y antiisraelismo;<br />
simultáneamente, se superponen y traslapan en un proceso de<br />
reenvíos de sentidos y significados. Las dimensiones históricas socio-política,<br />
religiosa, cultural y económica del antisemitismo interactúan con las<br />
actuales dimensiones políticas e ideológicas. En este sentido, la trayectoria<br />
histórica e ideológica de América Latina ha configurado alrededor de los<br />
ejes del anti-americanismo, el anti-colonialismo y el anti-imperialismo una<br />
dinámica específica en la cual se ha visto reforzado el reenvío de significados<br />
de uno a otro. 5 Este traslape fluido actúa como un “código cultural”,<br />
que identifica a amplios sectores del pensamiento público y de los medios<br />
de comunicación. 6<br />
EL <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>O EN MÉXICO, PASADO Y PRESENTE<br />
Si bien históricamente la cultura nacional se ha enfrentado a<br />
dificultades para lidiar con el “Otro”, el antisemitismo ha estado asociado<br />
principalmente con las fuerzas más conservadoras o con actores de extrema<br />
izquierda.<br />
En el México contemporáneo, el antisemitismo se vio inicialmente<br />
impulsado por los debates en torno a las políticas de inmigración durante la<br />
década de 1920. Grupos como La Liga Nacional Anti-China y Anit-Judía,<br />
fundada en 1930, y la Agrupación de Honarables Comerciantes, Industriales<br />
y Profesionales presionaron al gobierno para restringir la inmigración judía<br />
al país. 7<br />
5. Cfr. Robert S. Wistrich, Antisemitism. The Longest Hatred (London:<br />
Thames Methuen, 1991); Bernard Lewis, Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into<br />
Conflict and Prejudice. New York: Norton, 1986.<br />
6. Shulamit Volkov, “Readjusting Cultural codes: Reflections on Antisemitism<br />
and Anti-Zionism” in Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism in Historical Perspective:<br />
Convergence and Difference, edited by Jeffrey Herf (New York, Routledge, 2007),<br />
39-43; Orly Haimovich, “Between Local and Global Representations: Israel and<br />
Diaspora Jewish Communities . . .” Propuesta de Investigación Doctoral, Universidad<br />
Hebrea de Jerusalén, 2011.<br />
7. Judit Bokser Liwerant, “El México de los años Treinta: Cardenismo,<br />
Inmigración Judía y Antisemitismo” en Xenofobias y Xenofilia en la historia de<br />
México siglos XVIII y XIX, Delia Salazar (Coordinadora), Dirección de Estudios<br />
Históricos, México, 2006: 379-416.
44 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:39<br />
En la década de 1930, México experimentó brotes de antisemitismo<br />
con móviles y argumentaciones que se focalizaron en el terreno económico<br />
y racial. Poco a poco, el tema racial se convirtió en dominante entre los<br />
grupos de derecha. Entre ellos, Acción Revolucionaria Mexicana, fundada<br />
en 1934, operó a través de sus unidades paramilitares, las Camisas Doradas;<br />
Comité Pro-Raza y Confederación de la Clase Media ejercieron presión<br />
sobre el gobierno y llevaron a cabo campañas antisemitas que alcanzaron su<br />
pico en 1938-9. Pero no sólo ellos actuaron así. También sindicatos y<br />
organizaciones sindicales del ala izquierda se convirtieron en plataformas<br />
para las expresiones antisemitas relacionadas principalmente, como<br />
señalamos, con las políticas de inmigración y de exilio. 8<br />
En una mirada panorámica, las expresiones de antisemitismo posteriores<br />
han estado asociadas principalmente con estereotipos económicos y de<br />
clase y progresivamente se catalizaron a través de códigos políticos relacionados<br />
con Israel y el sionismo. Este último alcanzó su máxima expresión<br />
en 1975, cuando México dio su voto positivo en la ONU a la equiparación<br />
de sionismo con el racismo. La resolución 3379 que condenó al sionismo<br />
como una forma de racismo y discriminación, al tiempo que formó parte de<br />
la dinámica internacional de la deslegitimación de Israel, debido a las circunstancias<br />
locales, esencialmente relacionadas con las relaciones con el<br />
vecino del norte y el boicot turístico, también proyectó sobre la comunidad<br />
judía argumentos de falta de lealtad nacional, reforzando estereotipos de<br />
extranjería. 9<br />
En la década de 1990, la Guerra del Golfo consolidó una atmósfera<br />
intelectual de censura a Israel como un instigador de la guerra y una punta<br />
de lanza del imperialismo occidental. Más aún, la inversión del argumento<br />
de víctima- victimario, que comenzó a extenderse en los años setenta, se vio<br />
reforzada. 10 Su dinámica continuó asociada a la brecha y tensión existentes<br />
entre la relación bilateral con los Estados Unidos y los foros multilaterales<br />
en los que México gravita.<br />
Progresivamente, el discurso anti-sionista y anti-israelí ganó peso, ya<br />
que estaba conectado a los altibajos del proceso de paz en el Medio Oriente.<br />
Como tal, reflejó los proceso y episodios de la región: la primera y la<br />
segunda Intifada, la guerra del Golfo, las guerras del Líbano, la Operación<br />
8. Ibid.<br />
9. Judit Bokser Liwerant, “Fuentes de legitimación de la presencia judía en<br />
México: El voto positivo de México a la ecuación sionismo=racismo y su impacto<br />
sobre la comunidad judía,” Judaica Latinoamericana, No. III. Jerusalem: AMILAT<br />
and Magnes Press, 1997, 319.<br />
10. Luis Roniger, “Latin American Jews and Processes of Transnational Legitimization<br />
and De-Legitimization,” Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, vol. 9 No. 2<br />
(July 2010).
2011] MÉXICO, EN UNA REGIÓN BAJO CAMBIO 45<br />
Plomo Fundido o la guerra de Gaza, así como los Acuerdos de Oslo, la<br />
Cumbre de Camp David y la Hoja de Ruta para las negociaciones de paz.<br />
En la historia del México moderno, el antisemitismo no ha sido un<br />
tema central para los partidos y movimientos políticos. La extrema derecha,<br />
con su patrón de su organización diferenciada, ha disminuido en su<br />
visibilidad pública y en la intensidad de sus actividades. Organizaciones<br />
como el Partido Laboral Mexicano, inspirado en LaRouche, la Federación<br />
Mexicana Anticomunista y Los Tecos han asumido una existencia latente.<br />
La excepción a este patrón de bajo perfil ha sido el ex Partido de las Águilas<br />
Mexicanas, que cambió en 1996 su nombre por el de Consejo del<br />
Pueblo de las Águilas Mexicanas. Su ideología, apodada como “neo-mexicanismo”<br />
promueve una imagen idealizada del pasado indígena de México<br />
y cuestiona el papel de Europa en la formación de la identidad nacional. Sin<br />
embargo, su actividad abierta se redujo y el Tribunal Federal Electoral le<br />
negó su solicitud de registro. El Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE) ha condenando<br />
el grupo por sus opiniones antisemitas, racistas e intolerantes.<br />
El antisemitismo en México raras veces se ha manifestado a través de<br />
la violencia física, y su desarrollo puede verse fundamentalmente a través<br />
de su narrativa. Es en el ámbito discursivo, principalmente a través de los<br />
discursos mediáticos, que las representaciones negativas se construyen,<br />
transmiten y recrean.<br />
El Informe Anual sobre Antisemitismo en México-2010 elaborado por<br />
Tribuna Israelita, muestra una disminución significativa en el número de<br />
notas de prensa publicadas del 2009 al 2010 en relación con temas judíos e<br />
israelíes, (de 10.721 a 6.624 o –38,21%), incluyendo informes, artículos de<br />
opinión y editoriales de los periódicos Cuando se observa cada categoría<br />
clasificada por separado, sólo el número de dibujos animados ha aumentado<br />
(de 12 en 2009 a 64 en 2010). 11 Este patrón parece estar relacionado con el<br />
menor impacto en la opinión pública mexicana que el “asunto de Flotilla de<br />
la Paz” tuvo, en comparación con el impacto de la “Operación Plomo<br />
Fundido”, tendencia que parece ser consistente con el Informe Mundial para<br />
el 2010 del Centro Stephen Roth de la Universidad de Tel Aviv. 12<br />
De acuerdo con los criterios desarrollados por Tribuna Israelita, el<br />
11. Reporte sobre el Antisemitismo-2010, México, Tribuna Israelita.<br />
12. Cfr. “General Analysis. Overview” in Antisemitism Worldwide 2010. General<br />
Analysis. The Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities, The Stephen Roth<br />
Institute for <strong>the</strong> Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism and The Kantor<br />
Center for <strong>the</strong> Study of Contemporary European Jewry. Tel Aviv University, European<br />
Jewish Congress. http://www.tau.ac.il/Anti-Semitism/
46 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:39<br />
11,37% de las notas publicadas en el 2010 fueron “negativas”. 13 En contraste,<br />
sólo el 1.23% era “positivo” mientras que un 87,65% son clasificadas<br />
como “neutrales”. El porcentaje de noticias negativas en el apartado correspondiente<br />
fue mucho menor que el porcentaje de editoriales negativos<br />
(incluyendo la opinión y editoriales de los periódicos), dibujos animados y<br />
las cartas (1,54% para las noticias en comparación con el 46,54% de los<br />
editoriales, 23,44% de los dibujos animados y 47,92% para las cartas). Una<br />
vez más, existe una brecha entre el porcentaje de noticias negativas<br />
reportadas y el porcentaje de editoriales, caricaturas y cartas negativas. Es<br />
decir, pocas noticias negativas relacionadas con Judíos y o Israel tienen un<br />
impacto significativo y desproporcionado sobre la opinión pública<br />
mexicana.<br />
En cuanto al contenido del discurso de los medios de comunicación,<br />
2010 se ha caracterizado por una continuación de las pautas anteriores, así<br />
como ciertas tendencias de cambio. El sionismo, que, como se dijo, se ha<br />
identificado con el racismo, el colonialismo y el imperialismo se convirtió<br />
en un argumento implícito y dependiente del foco temático principal, que es<br />
el Estado de Israel, mismo que es presentado como un Estado beligerante y<br />
propenso a la guerra, opresivo y genocida. El eje de la violación de los<br />
derechos humanos ha adquirido una mayor presencia entre los argumentos<br />
críticos. El conflicto árabe-israelí sigue siendo presentado como parte del<br />
enfrentamiento entre el Occidente imperialista y el Tercer Mundo árabe y<br />
musulmán.<br />
Editoriales publicados en la prensa mexicana a lo largo del año han<br />
utilizado argumentos como los “crímenes de guerra” perpetrados por Israel<br />
en Líbano y Gaza; el carácter “terrorista” de Israel; en su puesta en práctica<br />
de la “masacre”, “genocidio” y “castigo colectivo” en Gaza a un millón y<br />
un medio de palestinos; la construcción del muro en la Margen Occidental,<br />
que trata de “exterminar” a 4,5 millones de palestinos; la “violación” del<br />
derecho internacional en los territorios ocupados; y el Estado sionista judío<br />
como un Estado racista en materia de nacionalidad y ciudadanía, y como un<br />
Estado de “apar<strong>the</strong>id”. 14<br />
El prejuicio también se puede revelar por la omisión de información<br />
13. En esta clasificación no hay una diferenciación explícita entre los argumentos<br />
antisemitas, anti-sionistas y anti-israelíes.<br />
14. Pascoe Pierce, Andrés. “La década del Terror”, en Crónica. 2 de enero,<br />
2010; Caño Tamayo, Xavier. “Sobre una bomba de violaciones de derechos humanos”<br />
en Rumbo de México. 4 de enero; Steinsleger, José. “¿Cuándo caerá el muro?”<br />
en La Jornada. 6, Delgado, Héctor. “ONU monosabia, ignora la autodeterminación”<br />
en Uno más uno. 11 de febrero; Dorberier, Manu. “El que se somete a la<br />
infamia, se convierte en infame” en El Sol de México. 20 de febrero,; Editorial<br />
“Lula en Israel” en La Jornada. 16 de marzo; Steinsleger, José. “¿Israelíes o
2011] MÉXICO, EN UNA REGIÓN BAJO CAMBIO 47<br />
relevante que podría mostrar la perspectiva de Israel como un actor y<br />
jugador activo. Mientras que este recurso difiere de la asociación explícita<br />
de prejuicios, tiene también un impacto significativo.<br />
En la medida en que el Estado de Israel se convirtió en el foco principal<br />
de la argumentación, las interconexiones fluidas entre el anti-israelismo<br />
y el antisemitismo histórico, o entre el anti-israelismo y la dilución del<br />
Holocausto, se dieron a partir de él Las conexiones de sentido y los reenvíos<br />
de significado pueden ser ejemplificados en la superposición y traslape<br />
entre anti-Israelismo y Holocausto a través de analogías, metáforas y<br />
paralelismos: el Muro de Cisjordania habría sido concebido como parte de<br />
un gran plan estratégico que persigue el “extermino” lento y sostenido del<br />
pueblo palestino “exterminio”, “Esta vez, sin cámaras de gas”. 15 La Nakba<br />
es concebida como la expulsión por parte de Israel “de los 700.000 palestinos,<br />
precedida por l “limpieza étnica”, lo que tiene un paralelo directo con<br />
el Holocausto: la palabra Nakba denota el “Holocausto más antiguo y prolongado”<br />
de la historia contemporánea, como resultado de la creación de un<br />
“Estado ilegal sionista”. 16 El muro nazi-fascista habría sido un recurso para<br />
encerrar a los palestinos en “guetos”.<br />
Entrelazado con el discurso nacional/regional anti-estadounidense y<br />
anti-imperialista que recurrentemente hace hincapié en la alianza entre los<br />
EE.UU e Israel, el muro construído por Israel ha sido equiparado con el<br />
que divide la frontera de Estados Unidos con México pero también diferenciado:<br />
sólo el primero es calificado como un “muro de genocidio”. 17<br />
Tal como hemos afirmado, el episodio de la Flotilla refleja el modo<br />
como las expresiones anti-israelíes y antisemitas fluctúan acorde a los<br />
altibajos del conflicto en Oriente Medio. 18 La imagen negativa de Israel<br />
llegó al pico durante este episodio que transmitió y reforzó una imagen de<br />
un Estado cuya naturaleza es “genocida” y “anti-humanitaria” y su código<br />
de acción, ilegítimo. 19<br />
También se debe evaluar el impacto en los medios de comunicación<br />
judíos?” en La Jornada. 21 de abril, Gelman, Juan. “Prohibido y ya” en Milenio<br />
Diario. 29 de mayo, 2010.<br />
15. Steinsleger, José. “¿Cuándo caerá el muro?” en La Jornada. 6 de enero,<br />
2010.<br />
16. Steinsleger, José. “Palestina: orígenes de la nakba” en La Jornada. 5 de<br />
mayo, 2010.<br />
17. Delgado, Héctor. “¡Bienvenida Señora Michelle Obama!”en Uno más uno.<br />
15 de abril, 2010.<br />
18. Beltrán, Esteban (Director de Amnistía Internacional en España). “El asfixiante<br />
bloqueo de Gaza”, en El País. 1 de junio, 2010.<br />
19. Delgado, Héctor. “Israel asesina marinos civiles en Gaza”, en Uno más uno.<br />
1 de junio, 2010.
48 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:39<br />
nacional de la dinámica transnacional que alimenta y hace fluir la información.<br />
En concreto, La Jornada y Unomás Uno—periódicos de la<br />
izquierda—reproducen regularmente los artículos editoriales de The Guardian<br />
y The Independent y sus propios artículos de opinión refuerzan esta<br />
posición.<br />
También en la prensa mainstream—especialmente en Milenio, El<br />
Financiero y Excélsior—ha habido una mayor presencia de artículos críticos<br />
de las acciones israelíes, principalmente la política de asentamientos<br />
del gobierno de Benjamin Netanyahu. 20 Ciertamente refleja el mayor o<br />
menor grado en que las posturas de análisis interactúan con la violencia<br />
simbólica y sus consecuencias a través del juego de significados y motivaciones<br />
( voces críticas vis-a-vis prejuicio).<br />
Por el contrario, los vínculos de la comunidad judía con Israel y con<br />
otros centros judíos han ganado legitimidad en la esfera pública - reforzada<br />
por el reconocimiento y visibilidad de la existencia de una diáspora mexicana,<br />
negada en el pasado, y, por tanto, ha disminuido el cuestionamiento<br />
del carácter transnacional de la vida judía. Argumentos críticos de los nexos<br />
entre la comunidad judía e Israel o la comunidad judía de América del<br />
Norte han estado ausentes en el discurso público.<br />
Estereotipos tradicionales, como el control del sistema financiero<br />
nacional o internacional o el tropos de grupo auto-segregado han sido<br />
mínimos, a pesar de que episodios políticos concretos despertaron el argumento<br />
del interés particular o grupal por sobre el bienestar nacional.<br />
Como se ha dicho, el antisemitismo en México no ha reflejado<br />
violencia. Mientras que hubo 67 incidentes antisemitas en 2010 (en su<br />
mayoría compuesto por acciones de acoso: amenazas verbales e insultos),<br />
sólo hubo dos incidentes de agresión física y una amenaza de bomba.<br />
CONSIDERACIONES FINALES<br />
El anti-sionsimo y al anti-Israelismo y su conexión de significados con<br />
el antisemitismo son componentes de un “código cultural” en torno al cual<br />
exponentes del campo progresista y los intelectuales de izquierda se identifican.<br />
Esta convergencia teórica y práctica fluctúa en consonancia con los<br />
altibajos del conflicto palestino-israelí.<br />
La globalización de este conflicto pone de manifiesto la interacción de<br />
las circunstancias internacionales, regionales, nacionales y locales. El<br />
proceso de la representación social de Israel ha adquirido un nuevo patrón<br />
común en América Latina, aunque con variaciones nacionales.<br />
20. Menéndez del Valle, Emilio. “Imponer la paz en Palestina”, 9 de abril 2010.
2011] MÉXICO, EN UNA REGIÓN BAJO CAMBIO 49<br />
A principios de diciembre de 2010, varios países de América Latina<br />
anunciaron su reconocimiento formal de un Estado palestino basado en las<br />
fronteras existentes antes de la guerra de 1967. Brasil tomó la iniciativa y<br />
fue seguido poco después por Argentina, Bolivia y Ecuador. El presidente<br />
de la Autoridad Palestina, Mahmoud Abbas, puso la primera piedra de una<br />
embajada palestina en Brasilia el 31 de diciembre de 2010. El 28 de enero<br />
2011 Paraguay también anunció su reconocimiento de Palestina. A<br />
principios de ese mes de enero, Chile y Perú manifestaron que reconocerían<br />
un Estado palestino, aunque explicitando que las fronteras puedan ser<br />
negociados y pactadas por ambas partes del conflicto. La posición de Chile<br />
fue seguida por una fuerte presión de la comunidad palestina que es muy<br />
amplia en ese país, tal como se dejar ver en las mociones presentadas en el<br />
Senado y la Cámara de Diputados a finales de 2010 y la realización de<br />
reuniones de alto nivel con diplomáticos palestinos, representantes de la<br />
Liga Árabe en Chile, y miembros de las comunidades palestinas. Sin<br />
embargo, en su declaración no hubo referencia explícita a las fronteras de<br />
1967.<br />
Colombia ha dicho que no va a reconocer un Estado palestino hasta<br />
que un mutuo acuerdo de paz sea alcanzado. Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala,<br />
Panamá y Belice no se han pronunciado. Cabe recordar que varios<br />
países de América Latina ya habían reconocido un Estado palestino con<br />
anterioridad a los recientes esfuerzos, entre ellos Cuba, Venezuela (2009),<br />
Nicaragua y Costa Rica (2008). México aún no ha tomado una posición<br />
oficial.<br />
Es probable que la globalización del conflicto palestino-israelí, continúe<br />
expandiéndose y seguirá siendo así se es que permanecen ciertas condiciones,<br />
tales como el estancamiento del proceso de paz, la irrupción de<br />
nuevos ciclos de violencia en el Medio Oriente, el fortalecimiento de los<br />
grupos islámicos radicales en los países que ahora experimentan agitación<br />
política, la presencia de neo-populista de los gobiernos de la región y la<br />
interacción particular entre las decisiones estratégicas de las organizaciones<br />
internacionales y regionales y actores políticos nacionales y locales.<br />
*Agradezco a Yael Siman su valiosa colaboración y a René Dayan, por el acceso a<br />
la información de Tribuna Israelita.
Latin America and <strong>the</strong> Middle East:<br />
The Political Background<br />
Julián Schvindlerman*<br />
Latin America does not have a geostrategic weight hitting strongly globally.<br />
With <strong>the</strong> exception of Brazil, it can leave its mark in <strong>the</strong> international<br />
community through votes. In <strong>the</strong> Western hemisphere, however,<br />
Latin America strives to expand its ideologies, to receive problematic<br />
countries and questioned groupings, and to affect <strong>the</strong> political climate and<br />
regional security. Latin America contains very different ideologies, and<br />
its destiny will depend much on <strong>the</strong> direction that, collectively, <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
inhabitants permit <strong>the</strong>ir leaders to give.<br />
Key Words: Latin America, Antisemitism, Hizbullah, Jews, Arabs, Iran<br />
Throughout Latin America, <strong>the</strong> flood of participation in oriental subjects<br />
was recently in evidence with <strong>the</strong> several expressions of formal support<br />
granted by all South America, minus Colombia, to a possible unilateral<br />
declaration of a Palestinian state. Brazil, by surprise, started up <strong>the</strong> response<br />
to a Palestinian key interest in obtaining formal recognition to a hypo<strong>the</strong>tical<br />
reality that arose like fruit out of <strong>the</strong> bilateral negotiations. “I always<br />
have <strong>the</strong> hope of having <strong>the</strong> best form to solve <strong>the</strong> problems between <strong>the</strong><br />
negotiating countries,” said <strong>the</strong> Argentine chancellor, Héctor Timerman,<br />
when explaining his justification for taking an action—facilitating <strong>the</strong><br />
attainment of a political objective for <strong>the</strong> Palestine Authority but eluding<br />
<strong>the</strong> dialogue with <strong>the</strong> government of Israel—that in fact caused <strong>the</strong><br />
opposite.<br />
Although <strong>the</strong> diverse official notices varied in some degree in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
content—essentially about <strong>the</strong> stipulation of <strong>the</strong> final borders of <strong>the</strong><br />
future—<strong>the</strong> certain thing is that altoge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y constituted an important<br />
Latin American endorsement of <strong>the</strong> Palestine diplomacy. For February initially,<br />
soon delayed until March or April, and finally postponed indefinitely<br />
due to <strong>the</strong> massive protests in <strong>the</strong> Arab world, <strong>the</strong> Summit of Government<br />
and Chiefs of State was due to be held in Lima III of <strong>the</strong> America Forum of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Arab South-Countries (ASPA), where it was considered a collective<br />
expression of recognition of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian state. By <strong>the</strong> end of March, a<br />
meeting under <strong>the</strong> auspices of <strong>the</strong> UN “in support of La Paz Palestinian-<br />
Israeli,” attended by delegates of Latin America and <strong>the</strong> Caribbean,<br />
occurred in Montevideo, in which Palestinian representatives announced<br />
51
52 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:51<br />
that <strong>the</strong>y will present/display for consideration in <strong>the</strong> General Assembly<br />
next September <strong>the</strong> approval of a resolution in favor of a Palestinian state.<br />
The official notices surely foretell <strong>the</strong> strategy that <strong>the</strong> Latin American<br />
nations in <strong>the</strong> UN will use if <strong>the</strong> Palestinians carry out <strong>the</strong>ir ambition.<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r recent event that showed <strong>the</strong> regional involvement in Middle<br />
East concerns was <strong>the</strong> response of <strong>the</strong> Latin American nations to <strong>the</strong> crisis<br />
in Libya. Peru not only assumed a role of exemplary leadership when cutting<br />
diplomatic ties with <strong>the</strong> regime of Muammar Gaddafi, going ahead not<br />
only of its Latin bro<strong>the</strong>rs but also most of <strong>the</strong> entire world. If in this way<br />
Lima longed to produce a dominating effect, however, it did not obtain it.<br />
Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Paraguay, among o<strong>the</strong>rs, quickly condemned<br />
<strong>the</strong> repression of <strong>the</strong> Libyan government but didn’t do much more than that.<br />
The Argentine Republic delayed its pronouncement, finally issuing a<br />
laconic official notice in a restrained judicial tone, later reinforced by a<br />
message in Twitter sent by <strong>the</strong> chancellor: “Libya: Deep preoccupation of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Argentine government. Official notice.”<br />
Once <strong>the</strong> rebel military action against Libya began, it was endorsed by<br />
Liga Arab (<strong>the</strong> Arab League) and validated by a resolution of <strong>the</strong> Security<br />
Council of <strong>the</strong> United Nations, Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de<br />
Kirchner revealed her opposition when affirming “<strong>the</strong> great centers of presumed<br />
civilization continue solving differences with explosions and with<br />
violence.” De Kirchner chose <strong>the</strong> occasion of a reception given to <strong>the</strong> president<br />
of Venezuela, when he visited Argentina, to make her statement. (During<br />
a trip to Libya, in November 2008, <strong>the</strong> Venezuelan president had<br />
indicated his admiration of <strong>the</strong> Libyan leader, saying that “we have<br />
embraced very strong ideas and convictions . . .”).<br />
As anticipated, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua supported Colonel<br />
Gaddafi. It was even speculated that <strong>the</strong> Libyan dictator would flee to<br />
Caracas. It must be remembered that presidents Daniel Grouse, Húgo Chávez,<br />
Fidel Castro, and Evo Morales were recipients of <strong>the</strong> Al-Gaddafi International<br />
Prize for Human Rights ($250,000 US) granted by Tripoli in recent<br />
years. While Gaddafi sent tanks and airplanes to repress <strong>the</strong> population—<br />
which, according to him, loved it and was prepared to die in <strong>the</strong> defense of<br />
its country, and alleged that Al-Qaeda was behind <strong>the</strong> protests—Húgo Chávez<br />
chanted “<strong>the</strong> alive Libya and lives Gaddafi”; Daniel Grouse telephoned<br />
<strong>the</strong> colonel to support him; and Fidel Castro accused NATO, not Gaddafi,<br />
of causing <strong>the</strong> violence. With Gaddafi blaming Islamists and castrating<br />
forces of <strong>the</strong> North Atlantic, <strong>the</strong> commentator Moisés Naím ironically<br />
lamented <strong>the</strong> dilemma of <strong>the</strong> presidents of Nicaragua and Venezuela, saying<br />
that “To avoid having Fidel or Muammar taking over <strong>the</strong> party, <strong>the</strong> conclusion<br />
must be that <strong>the</strong> destabilization of Libya is a combined-arms operation<br />
of NATO and Al-Qaeda.”
2011] THE POLITICAL BACKGROUND 53<br />
Even if Latin American attention to <strong>the</strong> Middle East were restricted to<br />
<strong>the</strong> scope of diplomacy, <strong>the</strong> impact of <strong>the</strong> occasional patetismo would still<br />
be felt. There are many moments when <strong>the</strong> interrelation between <strong>the</strong>se two<br />
zones shines real and dangerous.<br />
At <strong>the</strong> beginning of April, a note published in <strong>the</strong> Brazilian magazine<br />
Veja achieved world-wide notoriety. The note denounced <strong>the</strong> presence of<br />
members of Muslim extremist groups in Brazil. According to <strong>the</strong> publication,<br />
members of Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hizbullah operate on Brazilian<br />
ground, collect money, spread propaganda, recruit militants, and plan<br />
attacks. Based on documents of <strong>the</strong> local police, Interpol, and Veja, one of<br />
<strong>the</strong> people in charge of <strong>the</strong> propaganda apparatus of Al-Qaeda stated that<br />
Lebanese commander Khaled Hussein Alí has resided in Brazil for two<br />
decades.<br />
From San Pablo, Veja coordinates members in seventeen countries<br />
through <strong>the</strong> Mediatic Battalion Jihad and translates messages from Al-<br />
Qaeda. The magazine accounts for <strong>the</strong> presence of Hesham Amhed Mahmoud<br />
Eltrabily and Mohamed Alí Abou Elezz Ibrahim Soliman, both<br />
wanted by <strong>the</strong> Egyptian authorities for colluding in <strong>the</strong> Luxor tourist attack<br />
of 1997, which left sixty-two dead. One Lebanese and two Egyptians were<br />
taken into custody and later released. The Supreme Federal Court also<br />
denied <strong>the</strong> Egyptian extradition orders, alleging that <strong>the</strong> tests were insufficient<br />
and that errors of translation blocked <strong>the</strong> extradition.<br />
Veja indicated that in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, <strong>the</strong>re are<br />
Hizbullah and Hamas cells that falsify passports for militants who arrived<br />
from <strong>the</strong> Middle East. They note that two Brazilians, Alan Cheidde and<br />
Anuar Pechliye, were Islamists trained in Afghanistan and returned to Brazil<br />
for passport falsification. In 2005, <strong>the</strong> federal police arrested twenty Foz<br />
do Iguaçu extremists and confiscated thousand two hundred false passports.<br />
Led by <strong>the</strong> Lebanese Chaim Baalbaki and <strong>the</strong> Jordanian Sael Basheer<br />
Yahya Najib Atari, <strong>the</strong> group also had fixed marriages of Arab terrorists<br />
with Brazilian single mo<strong>the</strong>rs for $500 US, which, by recognizing <strong>the</strong> children,<br />
allowed <strong>the</strong> terrorists to avoid extradition.<br />
The magazine also denounced <strong>the</strong> frequent trips to Brazil by Mohsen<br />
Rabbani, former cultural advisor to <strong>the</strong> Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires.<br />
Interpol’s “red notification” includes participation in <strong>the</strong> AMIA massacre of<br />
1994, which killed and maimed Jews. Rabbani is believed to have recruited<br />
twenty young people from San Pablo, Pernambuco, and Parana for religious<br />
indoctrination in Tehran. The general solicitor of Brazil has apparently not<br />
noticed that “without anybody perceiving this, a generation is arising from<br />
Islamic extremists in <strong>the</strong> country.”<br />
Veja’s expose has not done more than adding a drumbeat of legitimate
54 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:51<br />
alarm to <strong>the</strong> existing preoccupation with <strong>the</strong> noticeable Iranian presence in<br />
<strong>the</strong> zone. The Israeli academic Ely Karmon has been a pioneer in documenting<br />
<strong>the</strong> strong ties of <strong>the</strong> Islamic Republic of Iran with Latin America.<br />
Although Iran and <strong>the</strong> region enjoyed previous cordial relations, it was from<br />
<strong>the</strong> ascent of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power that <strong>the</strong>se bonds were<br />
streng<strong>the</strong>ned, especially with countries that conform to <strong>the</strong> armor-piercing<br />
core of populism and of anti-occidentalism—but not only with <strong>the</strong>m. As of<br />
2005, Iranian foreign policy favors a regional approach to Latin America,<br />
expanding from <strong>the</strong> bilateral. In his article “The Mideast Axis of<br />
Destabilization,” Karmon talks about <strong>the</strong> bond between “Tehran and<br />
Damascus” and cites its agenda: propagating Shi’ism (<strong>the</strong> Wayuu tribe in<br />
Venezuela and <strong>the</strong> Totxiles in Mexico were recruited), extending <strong>the</strong> operational<br />
base of Hizbullah (from <strong>the</strong> Opposite Triple toward Bolivia, Venezuela,<br />
Brazil, and o<strong>the</strong>r places); gaining diplomatic support in international<br />
forums for its illicit nuclear program (e.g., some Latin American nations<br />
have abstained or favored Iranian interests in UN votes); obtaining uranium,<br />
an essential raw material for its nuclear development (in May of 2009, The<br />
New York Times reproduced an Associated Press cable referring to Israeli<br />
denunciation of <strong>the</strong> provision of uranium from La Paz and Caracas to Iran);<br />
limiting <strong>the</strong> impact of worldwide economic sanctions when creating an<br />
alternative market (as it can be assessed from <strong>the</strong> multiple joint ventures<br />
between Iran and several countries of <strong>the</strong> region); and, generally, erecting a<br />
counterbalance to <strong>the</strong> United States—i.e., installing troops in border countries<br />
of Iran in a zone in retaliation for U.S. presence in <strong>the</strong> Middle East.<br />
Forums, congresses, and conferences have been focus points for <strong>the</strong> interrelation.<br />
Thus, <strong>the</strong> 2007 International Conference on Latin America in<br />
Tehran, titled “Development in Latin America: Its paper and its status in <strong>the</strong><br />
future international system,” counted on <strong>the</strong> participation of Argentina, Brazil,<br />
Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Uruguay, and Venezuela (two children of<br />
Ernesto “Che” Guevara were invited). The same year <strong>the</strong> conference took<br />
place, <strong>the</strong> International Conference of Latin American Literature was held<br />
in Iran, in which <strong>the</strong> Iranian chancellor announced <strong>the</strong> opening or re-opening<br />
of Iranian embassies in several Latin American nations. In 2009, <strong>the</strong><br />
forum was realized via <strong>the</strong> International Forum for Resistance, Anti-Imperialism,<br />
Solidarity between Peoples and Alternatives, which was held in January<br />
2009.<br />
The event, organized by Hizbullah, included four hundred Latin American<br />
delegates. The forum may have been inspired by anti-globalization<br />
assemblies held in Jakarta, Bombay, Beirut, and Porto Alegre between 2003<br />
and 2005; 2005 marks <strong>the</strong> first time that Hizbullah was invited to a meeting<br />
of this type. The Iranian president has also visited Venezuela, Bolivia, Nic-
2011] THE POLITICAL BACKGROUND 55<br />
aragua, Ecuador, and Brazil. High-ranking Latin American civil servants<br />
traveled to Tehran reciprocally.<br />
Of all <strong>the</strong> Latin American nations, Venezuela has been <strong>the</strong> most hospitable<br />
host of Iran. In addition to <strong>the</strong> hundreds of signed economic agreements<br />
throughout <strong>the</strong> years, it is possible to mention o<strong>the</strong>r areas of<br />
cooperation. A transoceanic flight between Tehran and Caracas exists, with<br />
stops in Damascus. The flight is not commercially profitable, does not<br />
admit ordinary passengers, and is not subject to regular customs control.<br />
Some Venezuelan universities teach Farsi. Iranian factories, clearly dedicated<br />
to bicycles and tractor manufacture or to uranium processing, were<br />
built in <strong>the</strong> remote countryside and are guarded by Iranians. Recall that<br />
Chávez intended to support <strong>the</strong> nuclear program of ayatollahas and Hizbullah,<br />
while <strong>the</strong> extremist groups like <strong>the</strong> CRAF and Spain’s ETA receive<br />
Venezuelan state sponsorship.<br />
Last year, leaders of Hamas, Hizbullah, and <strong>the</strong> Islamic Jihad Palestine<br />
met with Húgo Chávez in Caracas’s Venezuelan military intelligence<br />
center. Hizbullah’s Tarek el-Aissami was placed in charge of <strong>the</strong> Venezuelan<br />
passport agency and named its minister of justice and interior and vice<br />
chancellor; his fa<strong>the</strong>r has praised Sadam Hussein and Osama Bin-Laden<br />
publicly, and his bro<strong>the</strong>r is linked to Walid Makled, a Syrian-Venezuelan<br />
dealer. In 2008, Washington identified <strong>the</strong> Venezuelan diplomat in Damascus<br />
and Beirut, Ghazi Nasr al-Din, as an agent of Hizbullah, whereas Nawaf<br />
Musawi, director of international relations of <strong>the</strong> Party of Allah, participated<br />
that same year in <strong>the</strong> Venezuelan embassy in Beirut commemorating<br />
<strong>the</strong> failure of a coup d’etat against Chávez. (Recall that Chávez was <strong>the</strong> first<br />
world leader to congratulate Ahmadinejad’s electoral victory in 2009.) The<br />
island of Daisy, once a tourist paradise, has become a zone for training<br />
Islamist operatives. By <strong>the</strong> end of last April, The Arab Times reported that<br />
citizens of Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia are being trained in Venezuela<br />
in armed violence, committing murders, kidnappings, and transporting<br />
hostages by members of <strong>the</strong> Iranian Revolutionary Guards.<br />
Venezuela, which has expelled ambassadors from <strong>the</strong> United States<br />
and Israel, officially promotes antisemitism and anti-Zionism; close to 50<br />
anti-Zionist or antisemitic items can be found daily in <strong>the</strong> Venezuelan press.<br />
“Damn you, State of Israel!” Chávez said on television just a short time<br />
back. In 2006, he accused Israel of being Nazi, called Colombia “<strong>the</strong> Israel<br />
of Latin America” in 2009, and in 2005, speaking to on an anniversary of<br />
<strong>the</strong> discovery of America, proclaimed that “You were expelled from your<br />
mo<strong>the</strong>r country like <strong>the</strong> heroic Palestinian town.” The Venezuelan Jewish<br />
community, lacking access or o<strong>the</strong>rwise ignored by <strong>the</strong> government, has<br />
suffered <strong>the</strong> harassment of <strong>the</strong> chavista regime. In Caracas, a major Hebrew
56 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:51<br />
institution in <strong>the</strong> capital was entered and searched under <strong>the</strong> pretext of looking<br />
for arms, and Tiferet Israel synagogue was profaned.<br />
In June 2008, <strong>the</strong> Venezuelan ambassador in Moscow denounced a<br />
coup d’etat against his government and blamed <strong>the</strong> Mossad and “Venezuelan<br />
but Jewish citizens” as participants in <strong>the</strong> plot. On Christmas 2005, Chávez<br />
expressed public regret that “some minorities, among <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong><br />
descendants of <strong>the</strong> assassins of Christ, have seized <strong>the</strong> wealth of this<br />
world.” Ever since Chávez assumed power, nearly 50 percent of <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
community has emigrated from Venezuela.<br />
The relationship of Brazil with Iran has caused great surprise in some<br />
corners. Like o<strong>the</strong>r emergent world-wide regional powers, such as China,<br />
India, Russia, and South Africa, Brazil has positioned itself as a nexus<br />
between <strong>the</strong> First and Third Worlds, able to play a constructive global role.<br />
Between 2005 and 2010, Brazil gave millions in worldwide aid: million in<br />
loans and cancellations of debt to poor countries and millions in humanitarian<br />
aid, scholarships for study and technical qualification, and o<strong>the</strong>r supportive<br />
acts. Domestically, it has reaped appreciable profits: Brazil will host<br />
<strong>the</strong> 2014 World Cup, <strong>the</strong> world’s most highly anticipated and watched tournament,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> 2016 Olympic Games; its economy has grown remarkably,<br />
and Lula da Silva and his successor Dilma Rousseff have enjoyed high<br />
approval ratings (Lula had 80% of popular support when leaving office, and<br />
Rousseff, <strong>the</strong> first woman president of <strong>the</strong> country, is endorsed by 73% of<br />
Brazilians). Walt Disney Company even set one of his last animated<br />
films—River in Brazil—in this prospering environment!<br />
Never<strong>the</strong>less, toward <strong>the</strong> end of his second mandate, President Lula<br />
seemed to defy <strong>the</strong> interests of <strong>the</strong> United States in <strong>the</strong> region in several<br />
areas and consolidating a bond with Iran that seemed inconceivable just a<br />
short time before. Like Chávez, Lula endorsed <strong>the</strong> doubtful electoral results<br />
of Iran, invited <strong>the</strong> Iranian president to its country, and he himself visited<br />
Tehran. In addition, he supported <strong>the</strong> right of Iran to have a civil nuclear<br />
program. The ayatollah opposed <strong>the</strong> application of sanctions against <strong>the</strong><br />
regime and opened a dialogue with Tehran that was seriously questioned by<br />
several global leaders. During <strong>the</strong> meeting of <strong>the</strong> Annual Assembly of<br />
Interpol in Morocco, in 2007, Brazil abstained in <strong>the</strong> voting that validated<br />
<strong>the</strong> emission of “red notifications” against prominent figures of <strong>the</strong> Iranian<br />
government for its role in <strong>the</strong> attack against <strong>the</strong> AMIA in Argentina, bro<strong>the</strong>r<br />
republic of Brazil, which had initiated <strong>the</strong> order.<br />
Again Brazil abstained, in <strong>the</strong> 2009 International Atomic Energy<br />
Agency (IAEA) conference in Vienna, when <strong>the</strong> Iranian nuclear question<br />
came up about <strong>the</strong> favorable votes of Argentina; <strong>the</strong> United States struggled<br />
with Russia, China, and <strong>the</strong> European Union. In May 2010, Brazil joined<br />
Turkey in an attempt to protect Iran, through diplomacy, from <strong>the</strong> imminent
2011] THE POLITICAL BACKGROUND 57<br />
adoption of international sanctions sponsored by Washington. Even in symbolic<br />
aspects, <strong>the</strong>re were broken ties with <strong>the</strong> Iranian question, such as visiting<br />
<strong>the</strong> tomb of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah, but refusing to visit <strong>the</strong> tomb of<br />
Theodor Herzl in Jerusalem, during a visit to <strong>the</strong> region in 2010. The ideological<br />
direction that Lula had given its foreign policy can be inferred. Brazil,<br />
through Lula, had also abstained in voting in <strong>the</strong> Commission of Human<br />
Rights against Sri Lanka, Congo, and North Korea, although it had voted<br />
against Sudan in <strong>the</strong> Security Council.<br />
Lula described Chávez as “without a doubt <strong>the</strong> best Venezuelan president<br />
in one hundred years.” His last visit to Fidel Castro was remembered<br />
as a great shame when he agreed with <strong>the</strong> death of an opponent jailed in a<br />
hunger strike. Lula, creator of <strong>the</strong> social forum Antiglobalización de Porto<br />
Alegre, avoided receiving <strong>the</strong> Global Statesmanship Award in Davos by<br />
alleging at <strong>the</strong> last moment that a medical impediment prevented him from<br />
traveling. In addition, Lula was in opposition to <strong>the</strong> White House when he<br />
supported <strong>the</strong> restoration of Cuba to <strong>the</strong> Organization of American States<br />
(OAS), whose explicit charter stated that only democracies can be a member;<br />
he gave diplomatic shelter to <strong>the</strong> demoted president of Honduras and<br />
Chávez ally Manuel Zelaya; he protested <strong>the</strong> agreement between <strong>the</strong> United<br />
States and Colombia for <strong>the</strong> American use of military bases in <strong>the</strong> Central<br />
American country; and he adopted a more intense, Third World tone in<br />
public that contrasted with his more moderate previous image.<br />
When assuming <strong>the</strong> presidency at <strong>the</strong> beginning of 2011, Dilma Rousseff<br />
aroused doubts given her guerrilla and Marxist past. Her closeness with<br />
Lula, who chose her as his successor, could suggest a continuation of <strong>the</strong><br />
controversial policies of her mentor. But her first ventures in <strong>the</strong> international<br />
sand have turned out to be much more centrist than those of her<br />
predecessor, at least for <strong>the</strong> moment. Her past history of feminist commitment<br />
and being tortured as a guerilla moved her to condemn <strong>the</strong> practices of<br />
human rights in Cuba and Iran. In <strong>the</strong> last UN voting, Rousseff led Brazil to<br />
vote in favor of creating a representative of human rights for Iran, naming<br />
Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, a former and respected ambassador to Washington,<br />
as <strong>the</strong> minister of external relations. For its part, <strong>the</strong> United States<br />
indicated that it no longer had an interest in restoring Lula’s legacy in Brazil.<br />
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was present in <strong>the</strong> January 1 ceremony<br />
marking Rousseff as president, which surely meant that New Year<br />
celebrations were limited.<br />
President Barack Obama traveled to Brazil in <strong>the</strong> middle of March,<br />
even though <strong>the</strong> warlike fight in Libya was already initiated. The visit, part<br />
of a program that also included Chile and El Salvador, was interpreted as a<br />
sign of <strong>the</strong> friendliness of Washington toward Brasilia, Brazil’s capital.<br />
Lula, incidentally, was unique as a former Brazilian president in not attend-
58 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:51<br />
ing <strong>the</strong> lunch in honor of Obama in Itamary Palace. Rousseff condemned<br />
<strong>the</strong> bombing of NATO on Libya, and Obama did not support <strong>the</strong> Brazilian<br />
aspiration to obtain a permanent seat in <strong>the</strong> Security Council, which<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r with pending commercial disagreements suggest that <strong>the</strong>re will be<br />
tension in <strong>the</strong> relationship. It is evident, however, that Rousseff has separated<br />
from <strong>the</strong> whistle-blowing, populist diplomacy of last year, particularly<br />
around Tehran.<br />
Argentina as well has maintained an ambivalent policy toward Iran. Its<br />
relationship with <strong>the</strong> Islamic <strong>the</strong>ocracy changed considerably from earlier<br />
times, when Hizbullah agents perpetrated <strong>the</strong> first Islamist attack in Latin<br />
America (<strong>the</strong> blast of <strong>the</strong> Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, in 1992; 29 died)<br />
and <strong>the</strong> worst antisemitic attack in <strong>the</strong> diaspora from <strong>the</strong> time of World War<br />
II—<strong>the</strong> AMIA attack, two years later, in which 85 died. Taking its direction<br />
from <strong>the</strong> government of Carlos Menem, who obstructed <strong>the</strong> progress of <strong>the</strong><br />
investigation; <strong>the</strong> marriage of Néstor and Christina Férnandez de Kirchner<br />
gave a considerable impulse to <strong>the</strong> same, by denouncing Iran in international<br />
forums, asking for Interpol to capture Iranian suspects, and designating<br />
a Jewish public prosecutor, equipping him to make an effective judicial<br />
investigation.<br />
Some facts, however, have created a frame of doubt about <strong>the</strong> positioning<br />
of bureaucracy before Tehran, i.e.:<br />
a) The ideological proximity of Kirchner with countries allied to<br />
Iran—Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua especially;<br />
b) The suspicions of <strong>the</strong> political use of <strong>the</strong> AMIA attack to insult <strong>the</strong><br />
Kirshner predecessor, Carlos Nemen—although Menem supporters<br />
and Kirchner supporters belong to <strong>the</strong> same political movement of<br />
Peronism, <strong>the</strong> little mutual love is public knowledge;<br />
c) The peculiar relationship of government officials with Luis D’Elía,<br />
<strong>the</strong> popular anti-Zionist leader situated extremely near <strong>the</strong> Iranian<br />
embassy;<br />
d) The fact that under <strong>the</strong> presidency of Cristina Kirchner bilateral<br />
commerce has grown 10,000 percent in less than a year;<br />
e) The Argentine delegation before <strong>the</strong> UN in Geneva had not left <strong>the</strong><br />
room when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began to speak within <strong>the</strong><br />
framework of <strong>the</strong> denominated meeting Durban II, in April of 2009;<br />
f) The lack of government support for Argentine diplomat Rogelio<br />
Pfirter in his nomination for an appointment in <strong>the</strong> Foreign Ministry;<br />
Washington was in favor, but Tehran was not.<br />
By <strong>the</strong> end of last March, <strong>the</strong> Argentinian daily Profile published a<br />
story that generated widespread controversy. One of its leading columnists,<br />
mentioning secret documents, denounced <strong>the</strong> existence of negotiations con-
2011] THE POLITICAL BACKGROUND 59<br />
ducted by Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman between Buenos<br />
Aires and Tehran that would set aside investigations into <strong>the</strong> embassy and<br />
AMIA attacks in exchange for increased commercial ties with Iran. The<br />
Israeli government reacted angrily, labeling this news as “very serious” and<br />
warning that <strong>the</strong> Argentine conduct would constitute “a manifestation of<br />
infinite cynicism and dishonor to <strong>the</strong> dead,” thus putting in doubt <strong>the</strong> invitation<br />
previously extended to Timerman to visit Jerusalem.<br />
The public prosecutor of <strong>the</strong> AMIA cause, Dr. Alberto Nisman, joined<br />
by prominent Argentinians, denied <strong>the</strong> Profile story, but <strong>the</strong> government<br />
remained silent. The Israeli ambassador in Buenos Aires, Daniel Gazit,<br />
requested explanations from <strong>the</strong> Argentinian Ministry of Foreign Relations,<br />
but ten days later, he informed <strong>the</strong> Jerusalem Post, he had not received an<br />
official answer. Interrogated by <strong>the</strong> press, Timerman initially eluded <strong>the</strong><br />
entire topic, invoking Talmudic rules and invoking <strong>the</strong> memory of his<br />
fa<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong> famous journalist Jacobo Timerman. Finally, however, Timerman<br />
issued <strong>the</strong> following statement as a refutation of <strong>the</strong> Profile story:<br />
“There is no evidence that Argentina has changed its course of action,<br />
which began in 2003 with <strong>the</strong> election of Néstor Kirchner and in which <strong>the</strong><br />
objective of our country is to investigate <strong>the</strong> attacks to <strong>the</strong> AMIA and <strong>the</strong><br />
Israeli embassy.”<br />
Profile, by denying access to <strong>the</strong> documentation it used, fur<strong>the</strong>r compromised<br />
<strong>the</strong> story. The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued an order to release<br />
<strong>the</strong> documentation, but Profile did not comply. In this atmosphere of doubts<br />
and serious denunciations, it was a situation that called for <strong>the</strong> written text,<br />
which would eliminate all ambiguity. Unfortunately, this text was never<br />
provided.<br />
The government also kept silent about ano<strong>the</strong>r, related serious denunciation.<br />
Federal judge Daniel Rafecas revealed that <strong>the</strong> repeated attacks in<br />
front of <strong>the</strong> Israeli embassy were being organized by Luis D’Elía with<br />
financing from <strong>the</strong> Iranian embassy. Despite <strong>the</strong> profound implications of<br />
such a denunciation, <strong>the</strong> government chose not to comment on <strong>the</strong> matter;<br />
in fact, it made a video endorsement of <strong>the</strong> launching of a demonstration in<br />
Luna Park led by D’Elía. D’Elía had conducted a radio interview with Mohsen<br />
Rabbani, who is on Interpol’s list of terrorists, thus giving him—a fugitive<br />
from Argentine justice—a public platform to deny his trips to Brazil on<br />
a false passport.<br />
The Argentina of <strong>the</strong> Kirchners also disturbs in o<strong>the</strong>r ways. Néstor was<br />
able to organize a competing summit in 2005 with a U.S. president, George<br />
W. Bush, during his official visit (45,000 leftist activists crowded <strong>the</strong> stage<br />
for <strong>the</strong> occasion); Cristina ordered an “operation sweepings” when North<br />
American authorities indicated <strong>the</strong> existence of a chavista clandestine<br />
financing of her electoral campaign; <strong>the</strong> chancellor can preach to <strong>the</strong> United
60 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:51<br />
States to bomb Libya at <strong>the</strong> same time as <strong>the</strong> official Argentinian news<br />
agency Télam makes an agreement to exchange information with <strong>the</strong> Syrian<br />
Arab News Agency while <strong>the</strong> regime of Bashar el-Assad militarily<br />
represses pro-democracy demonstrators; and <strong>the</strong> government can applaud a<br />
freedom of <strong>the</strong> press award given to Húgo Chávez by <strong>the</strong> University of La<br />
Plata—when Chávez is fiercely combatting freedom of expression in his<br />
country.<br />
These facts give an account of <strong>the</strong> ideological vision of a government<br />
for whom, benignly, <strong>the</strong> foreigner usually is characterized as<br />
“unclassifiable.”<br />
*Julian Schvindlerman is a political analyst and <strong>the</strong> author of Rome and Jerusalem<br />
(Random House Mondadori/Debate, 2010) and Land by Peace, Land by War<br />
(Ensayos del sud, 2002). He has spoken at conferences on contemporary political<br />
subjects throughout Latin America and is regularly interviewed in <strong>the</strong> region. His<br />
commentary can be read in Communities and heard on Radio Jai.
América Latina y el Oriente Medio:<br />
El Trasfondo Político<br />
Julián Schvindlerman*<br />
América Latina no tiene un peso geoestratégico golpear fuertemente a<br />
nivel mundial. Con la excepción de Brasil, puede dejar su marca en la<br />
comunidad internacional a través de los votos. Sin embargo, en el hemisferio<br />
occidental, América Latina ejerce para expandir sus ideologías, para<br />
recibir los países problemáticos y agrupaciones cuestionadas y afectar a<br />
todo el clima político y de seguridad regional. América Latina alberga<br />
muy diferentes ideologías y su destino dependerá mucho de la dirección<br />
que, colectivamente, sus habitantes permite a sus dirigentes a dar.<br />
Palabras Clave: Latinoamérica, Antisemitismo, Hezbolá, Judíos, Árabes,<br />
Irán; Primero: America Latina, Judio, Israel<br />
América Latina la participación de las inundaciones en temas<br />
orientales fue recientemente en evidencia con las varias expresiones de<br />
apoyo formal concedida por toda América del Sur, menos Colombia, a una<br />
posible declaración unilateral de un Estado palestino. Brasil, por sorpresa,<br />
puso en marcha la corriente que responde a un interés clave palestino en<br />
obtener reconocimiento formal a una hipotética realidad que tuvo que<br />
surgen como fruto de las negociaciones bilaterales. “Siempre tengo la<br />
esperanza de que se está negociando la mejor forma para resolver los<br />
problemas entre los países,” explicó el canciller argentino Héctor Timerman<br />
al querer extrañamente para justificar una acción que causó, en realidad,<br />
todo lo contrario, al facilitar a la Autoridad Palestina la obtención de un<br />
objetivo político eludir el diálogo con el Gobierno de Israel.<br />
Aunque los diversos comunicados variaban en cierto grado en su contenido—esencialmente<br />
sobre la estipulación de las fronteras finales del<br />
futuro Estado lo cierto es que, en conjunto, constituyen un importante<br />
respaldo a América Latina a la diplomacia Palestina. Para febrero inicialmente,<br />
pronto retrasaron para marzo o abril, y finalmente pospuesto<br />
indefinidamente debido a las masivas protestas en el mundo árabe, la Cumbre<br />
de Gobierno y jefes de estado fue debido a realizado en Lima III del<br />
Foro América del sur-países árabes (ASPA) donde se consideró que ser<br />
incluidos en la declaración final una expresión colectiva de reconocimiento<br />
del Estado palestino. A finales de marzo una reunión bajo el auspicio de las<br />
Naciones Unidas “en favor de La Paz israelo-palestino” con asistencia de<br />
61
62 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:61<br />
delegados de América Latina y el Caribe tuvo lugar en Montevideo, en que<br />
representantes palestinos anunciaron que se presentan a consideración de la<br />
Asamblea General el próximo mes de septiembre la aprobación de una<br />
resolución en favor de un Estado palestino. El funcionario avisos seguramente<br />
presagiar el papel que desempeñarán las Naciones de América Latina<br />
en la ONU si los palestinos realizan su ambición.<br />
Otro acontecimiento reciente que mostró la participación regional en<br />
temas de Oriente Medio, fue la respuesta de las Naciones de América<br />
Latina a la crisis en Libia. Perú no sólo asumió un rol de liderazgo ejemplar<br />
al cortar lazos diplomáticos con el régimen de Muammar Gaddafi, seguir<br />
adelante a sus hermanos latinos pero prácticamente a todo el mundo. Si de<br />
esta manera Lima anhelado para generar un efecto dominado, no consiguieron<br />
lo. Brasil, Chile, Costa Rica y Paraguay, entre otros, rápidamente<br />
condenaron la represión del Gobierno Libia, pero no eran mucho más allí.<br />
La República Argentina retrasa su pronunciamiento finalmente a emitir un<br />
comunicado lacónico y de tono judicial, posteriormente reforzada por un<br />
mensaje en Twitter enviada por el Canciller: “Libia: profunda preocupación<br />
del Gobierno argentino. Notificación oficial.”<br />
Una vez que la acción militar contra Libia comenzó a pedido de los<br />
rebeldes libios, con aval de la Liga Árabe y validado por una resolución del<br />
Consejo de seguridad de las Naciones Unidas, el presidente argentino Cristina<br />
Fernández de Kirchner deja entrever su oposición al afirmar “los<br />
grandes centros de civilización presunto continúan le resolver las diferencias<br />
de las explosiones y con violencia.” El Presidente escogió la ocasión<br />
de una recepción dada al Presidente de Venezuela, de visita en el país, para<br />
llevar a cabo su declaración de condena. (Durante un viaje a Libia, en<br />
noviembre de 2008, el Presidente indicó su admiración por el líder libio<br />
cuando diciendo que ambos “hemos abrazado ideas muy fuertes y convictions<br />
. . .”).<br />
Como se preveía, Venezuela, Cuba y Nicaragua apoyaron a coronel<br />
Gaddafi. Incluso se especuló con Caracas como destino de posible vuelo de<br />
dictador libio. Hay que recordar que los presidentes Daniel Grouse, Húgo<br />
Chávez, Fidel Castro y Evo Morales fueron los destinatarios del Premio<br />
Gadafi internacional para los derechos humanos ($250.000 dólares) concedida<br />
por Trípoli en los últimos años. Mientras que Gaddafi envió tanques<br />
y aviones para reprimir a la población—lo que según él amaba, y estaba<br />
preparado para morir en su defensa y afirmó que Al-Qaeda estaba detrás de<br />
las protestas—Húgo Chávez coreaba “Libia vivo y vidas Gaddafi” Daniel<br />
Grouse telefoneó el coronel en su apoyo a él y Fidel Castro acusó a la<br />
OTAN, no a Gaddafi, en relación con la violencia. Con Gaddafi culpar a los<br />
islamistas y castró fuerzas del Atlántico Norte, el comentarista Moisés<br />
Naím irónicamente lamentó el dilema de los presidentes de Nicaragua y
2011] EL TRASFONDO POLÍTICO 63<br />
Venezuela, “para evitar tener que tomar partido por Fidel o Muammar, concluirá<br />
que la desestabilización de Libia es una operación combinada de<br />
armas de la OTAN y Al-Qaeda.”<br />
Si la atención de América Latina a Oriente Medio se limitan al ámbito<br />
de la diplomacia, el impacto de su patetismo ocasional todavía podría<br />
anotarse. Por momentos, la interrelación entre estas dos zonas brilla incluso<br />
real y peligroso.<br />
A principios de abril, una nota publicada en el brasileño revista Veja<br />
tomó notoriedad en todo el mundo y denunció la presencia de miembros de<br />
grupos extremistas musulmanes en Brasil. Según la publicación, los miembros<br />
de Al-Qaida, Hamas y Hezbolá operan en suelo brasileño, recaudan<br />
dinero, propagación y reclutan militantes y planean ataques. Según documentos<br />
de la policía local y la Interpol, Veja, una de las personas a cargo<br />
del aparato de propaganda de Al-Qaeda informó que libanés Khaled Hussein<br />
Alí resida allí durante dos décadas.<br />
Desde San Pablo coordinates miembros en 17 países a través de la<br />
Yihad mediática de batallón y traduce el mensaje de Al-Qaeda. La revista<br />
representa la presencia de Hesham Amhed Mahmoud Eltrabily y Mohamed<br />
Ali Abou Elezz Ibrahim Soliman, buscado por las autoridades egipcias por<br />
colusión en el ataque de turística de Luxor de 1997, que dejó 62 muertos.<br />
Una dos egipcios y libaneses fueron detenidos y posteriormente puesto en<br />
libertad. La Corte Suprema Federal negó también los pedidos de extradición<br />
de Egipto alegando que las pruebas eran insuficientes y errores de traducción<br />
bloquearon la extradición.<br />
Veja indicó que en Argentina, Brasil y Paraguay, existen células de<br />
Hezbolá y Hamas que falsifiquen pasaportes para militantes llegados del<br />
Medio Oriente. Tenga en cuenta que dos brasileños Alan Cheidde y Anuar<br />
Pechliye fueron los islamistas entrenados en Afganistán y regresó a Brasil<br />
por falsificación de pasaporte. En 2005, la policía federal detuvo a veinte<br />
Foz do Iguaçu extremistas y decomisados pasaportes falsos de doscientos<br />
mil. Liderados por el Baalbaki Chaim libanés y el jordano saele Basheer<br />
Yahya Najib Atari, el grupo también había fijado los matrimonios de terroristas<br />
árabes con las madres de la mujer brasileña, por 500 dólares y<br />
pronto reconoció los niños evitando así la extradición.<br />
La revista también denunció los frecuentes viajes a Brasil por Mohsen<br />
Rabbani, ex Consejero cultural de la embajada iraní en Buenos Aires.<br />
Interpol’s “notificación roja” incluye la participación en la masacre de la<br />
AMIA de 1994, que asesinado y había mutilado a los judíos. Rabbani se<br />
cree que han contratado veinte jóvenes de San Pablo, Pernambuco y Paraná<br />
para el adoctrinamiento religioso en Teherán. Por nada, el procurador general<br />
de Brasil no ha notado que “sin que percibe a nadie, una generación es<br />
derivadas de los extremistas islámicos en el país.”
64 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:61<br />
Exposición de Veja no ha hecho más que para ya agregar una cuota de<br />
alarma legítimo a la preocupación existente por la apreciable presencia iraní<br />
en la zona. El académico Karmon Ely israelí ha sido pionera en documentar<br />
los arcos fuertes de la República Islámica de Irán con América Latina. Aunque<br />
Irán y la región disfrutan de relaciones anteriores, fue desde el ascenso<br />
de Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a la potencia que se fortalecieron los lazos,<br />
sobre todo con los países que conforman el núcleo perforante del populismo<br />
y de anti-occidentalism; VUT no sólo con ellos. En el 2005, la política<br />
exterior iraní asiente hacia América Latina bajo un enfoque regional, ya no<br />
sólo bilateral. Entre Teherán, Karmon menciona su interés en la propagación<br />
del chiísmo (tribus wayuu en Venezuela y totxiles en México colectivamente<br />
se volcaron), ampliar la base de operaciones del Hezbolá (de la<br />
Triple opuesto hacia Bolivia, Venezuela, Brasil y otros lugares), para<br />
obtener el apoyo diplomático en foros internacionales para su programa<br />
nuclear ilícito (por ej., algunos naciones de América Latina se han<br />
abstenido o favorecidos los intereses iraníes en Naciones Unidas vota), para<br />
obtener uranio, la materia prima esencial para su desarrollo nuclear (en<br />
mayo de 2009, El New York Times reproduce un cable de la Associated<br />
Press que denuncia israelí para el suministro de uranio a Irán por parte de<br />
La Paz y Caracas), para limitar el impacto de todo el mundo las sanciones<br />
económicas, al crear un mercado alternativo (como puede apreciarse por<br />
varias empresas conjuntas entre Irán y varios países de la región), y generalmente<br />
para erigir un contrapeso a Estados Unidos—que tiene tropas en los<br />
países fronterizos de Irán en una zona de tradicional influencia de Washington<br />
ya ha sido históricamente Latino América.<br />
Foros, congresos y conferencias han sido marcas para la interrelación.<br />
Así, en el acuerdo de investigación israelí ha indicado al este, la Conferencia<br />
Internacional sobre América Latina en Teherán, titulado “desarrollo<br />
en América Latina: su papel y su estado en el futuro sistema internacional”<br />
en 2007, contó con colaboradores de Argentina, Cuba de Brasil, Colombia,<br />
Ecuador, Uruguay y Venezuela (dos hijos de Ernesto “Che” Guevara fueron<br />
invitados). El mismo año el primer Congreso tuvo lugar, el internacional de<br />
literatura latinoamericana en Irán, ocasión en que el Canciller iraní anunció<br />
la apertura o reapertura de las embajadas de su país en varias naciones de<br />
América Latina. En 2009 el Foro se realizó a través de la Internacional de<br />
Beirut de la resistencia, el antiimperialismo, la solidaridad entre pueblos y<br />
alternativas.<br />
El evento, organizado por Hezbolá, incluidos a 400 delegados de<br />
América Latina. Estos encuentros pueden tener Asambleas de antiglobalización<br />
inspirados celebradas en Yakarta, Bombay, Beirut y Porto Alegre,<br />
entre 2003 y 2005—2005 marca la primera vez que Hezbolá fue invitado a<br />
una reunión de este tipo. Así, el Presidente iraní ha visitado Venezuela,
2011] EL TRASFONDO POLÍTICO 65<br />
Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador y Brasil. Alto ranking funcionarios de Latinoamericano<br />
viajó a Teherán mutuamente.<br />
De todas las Naciones de América Latina, Venezuela ha sido un mejor<br />
host de Irán. Agregado a los cientos de acuerdos económicos suscritos a lo<br />
largo de los años, es posible mencionar otras áreas de cooperación. Existe<br />
un vuelo transoceánico entre Teherán y Caracas, con escala en Damasco. El<br />
vuelo no es rentable comercialmente, no admite a pasajeros comunes y no<br />
está sujeto a control aduanero regular. Algunas universidades venezolanas<br />
enseñan Farsi. Fábricas iraníes fueron montadas en zonas rurales remotas y<br />
estarán protegidas por Irán. Obviamente, dedicada a la fabricación de<br />
bicicletas, tractores o uranio. Recordemos que fue Chávez apoyar el<br />
programa nuclear de ayatollahas y Hezbolá, mientras los grupos extremistas<br />
como el CRAF y ETA de España reciben patrocinio del Estado venezolano.<br />
De todas las Naciones de América Latina, Venezuela ha sido un mejor host<br />
de Irán. Agregado a los cientos de acuerdos económicos suscritos a lo largo<br />
de los años, es posible mencionar otras áreas de cooperación. Existe un<br />
vuelo transoceánico entre Teherán y Caracas, con escala en Damasco. El<br />
vuelo no es rentable comercialmente, no admite a pasajeros comunes y no<br />
está sujeto a control aduanero regular. Algunas universidades venezolanas<br />
enseñan Farsi. Fábricas iraníes fueron montadas en zonas rurales remotas y<br />
estarán protegidas por Irán. Obviamente, dedicada a la fabricación de<br />
bicicletas, tractores o uranio. Recordemos que fue Chávez apoyar el<br />
programa nuclear de ayatollahas y Hezbolá, mientras los grupos extremistas<br />
como el CRAF y ETA de España reciben patrocinio del Estado venezolano.<br />
El año pasado, los líderes de Hamas, Hezbollah y la Palestina Yihad<br />
Islámica se reunieron con Húgo Chávez en el centro de inteligencia militar<br />
venezolano de Caracas. Tarek el-Aissami de Hezbolá fue puesto a cargo de<br />
la Agencia venezolana de pasaportes, Ministro de Justicia e interior y vice<br />
canciller; su padre ha elogiado públicamente a Sadam Hussein y Osama Bin<br />
Laden y está vinculado a su hermano Walid Makled, un distribuidor de<br />
Siria-venezolano. En 2008, Washington solicitó al diplomático venezolano<br />
en Damasco y Beirut, Ghazi Nasr al-DIN, como agente del Hezbolá, mientras<br />
que Nawaf Musawi, director de relaciones internacionales del partido<br />
de Alá, participó ese mismo año en la Embajada de Venezuela en Beirut<br />
conmemorando el fracaso de un golpe de Estado contra Chávez. (Destitución<br />
de Chávez fue el primer líder mundial para felicitar a la victoria electoral<br />
de Ahmadinejad en el 2009. La isla Margarita, una vez paraíso turístico<br />
se ha convertido en zona de entrenamiento de islamistas parte dispositiva. A<br />
finales de abril pasado, el Times árabe informó que el ciudadano de Kuwait,<br />
Bahrein y Arabia Saudita están siendo entrenados en Venezuela en el<br />
armado de bombas, la Comisión de asesinatos, secuestros y transporte de<br />
rehenes por miembros de la Guardia Revolucionaria iraní.
66 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:61<br />
En Venezuela, se promueve que años expulsadas a los embajadores<br />
copia de América y el israelí, el antisemitismo y antiZionism oficialmente.<br />
Alrededor de cuarenta y cinco antiZionist o menciones antisemitas pueden<br />
ser diariamente en la prensa venezolana. “Joder que son Estado de Israel” el<br />
propio Presidente dijo poco tiempo atrás por televisión. Chávez etiquetados<br />
a Israel como un Nazi en el 2006 castigar a los definió a Colombia como “el<br />
Israel de América Latina” en el 2009 y en 2005, va a los nativos en ocasión<br />
de un aniversario del descubrimiento de América, Chávez afirmó “lo que<br />
fueron expulsados de su patria como el heroico pueblo palestino.” La propia<br />
comunidad judía, de acceso limitado o nulo para el Gobierno, ha sufrido el<br />
acoso del régimen chavista. Dos veces se suaviza una institución central de<br />
hebrea, en el calor de la capital, bajo el pretexto de la búsqueda de armas.<br />
La sinagoga Tiferet Israel fue profana.<br />
En junio de 2008, el embajador venezolano en Moscú denunció un<br />
golpe de Estado contra su Gobierno y culpó de la Mossad y “ciudadanos<br />
venezolanos pero judíos” a participar en el complot. En la Navidad de 2005,<br />
Chávez fue perdón públicamente que algunas minorías, entre ellas los<br />
descendientes de los asesinos de Cristo, han incautado de las riquezas de<br />
este mundo.” Desde que Chávez asumió el poder, cerca del 50% de la<br />
comunidad judía emigraron de Venezuela. La relación de Brasil con Irán ha<br />
causado una gran sorpresa en algunas esquinas. Como emergente mundial<br />
regional y refiriéndose poder junto a China, India, Rusia y Sudáfrica, Brasil<br />
han posicionado como un nexo entre el primero y el tercer mundo capaz de<br />
un constructivo papel global.<br />
Sólo entre 2005-2010, Brasil dio millones en asistencia de todo el<br />
mundo: millones en préstamos y la cancelación de la deuda a los países<br />
pobres y millones en ayuda humanitaria de ayuda, becas de estudio y<br />
capacitación técnica. En el país ha cosechado beneficios apreciables: Brasil<br />
será sede del Mundial de fútbol en 2014 y de los Juegos Olímpicos de 2016,<br />
su economía ha crecido notablemente, y tanto Lula da Silva como su<br />
sucesora Dilma Rousseff ha disfrutado levantó los índices de aprobación<br />
popular (Lula tenía un 80% de apoyo popular al dejar el poder que la<br />
primera mujer Presidente del país es visada por el 73% de los brasileños).<br />
Walt Disney Company incluso una de sus últimas películas animadas—ha<br />
aclimatados río en Brasil!<br />
Sin embargo, durante las secciones finales de su segundo mandato,<br />
Presidente Lula parece girar en O, a desafiar a los intereses de los Estados<br />
Unidos en la región en varias áreas y consolidar un vínculo con Irán que<br />
poco tiempo antes parecía inconcebible. Al igual que Chávez, Lula hizo<br />
suya los dudosos resultados electorales de Irán, invitada al Presidente iraní<br />
para su país y él mismo visitó Teherán. También apoya el derecho de Irán a<br />
tener un programa nuclear civil, ayatolá fue contra la aplicación de san-
2011] EL TRASFONDO POLÍTICO 67<br />
ciones contra el régimen y abrió un diálogo con Teherán que fue seriamente<br />
cuestionada por varios actores globales. Durante la reunión de la Asamblea<br />
anual de Interpol en Marruecos, en 2007, Brasil se abstuvo en la votación<br />
que valida la emisión de “notificaciones rojos” con prominentes figuras del<br />
Gobierno iraní por su relación con el ataque contra la AMIA en Argentina,<br />
hermano República del Brasil que había iniciado el orden.<br />
Otra vez Brasil se abstuvo, en el 2009, la Agencia Internacional de<br />
Energía Atómica (OIEA), en Viena, cuando surgió la cuestión nuclear iraní<br />
de los votos favorables de Argentina, Estados Unidos luchó, Rusia, China y<br />
la Unión Europea. En mayo de 2010, Brasil se unió a Turquía en un intento<br />
de proteger diplomáticamente a Irán de la inminente aprobación de las sanciones<br />
internacionales, patrocinado por Washington. Incluso en aspectos<br />
simbólicos roto lazos con la cuestión iraní, que sea para visitar la tumba de<br />
Yasser Arafat en Ramallah, pero negándose a visitar la tumba de Theodor<br />
Herzl, en Jerusalén, durante una visita a la región en 2010, la dirección<br />
ideológica puede apreciarse que Lula había dado a su política exterior. Brasil<br />
de Lula también abstenido en las votaciones en la Comisión de derechos<br />
humanos contra Sri Lanka, el Congo y Corea del Norte, aunque votó contra<br />
Sudán en el Consejo de seguridad.<br />
Lula describió a Chávez como “sin duda el mejor presidente venezolano<br />
cien años.” Su última visita a Fidel Castro fue recordada como una<br />
gran vergüenza al llegar a un acuerdo con la muerte de un opositor encarcelado<br />
en huelga de hambre. Lula, creador del Foro Antiglobalización de<br />
Porto Alegre, evita el premio en Davos, alegando un impedimento médico<br />
para viajar a último momento. Además, Lula en oposición a la Casa Blanca<br />
al apoyo a la restauración de Cuba a la organización de Estados Americanos<br />
(OEA), cuya Carta Magna explícita que las democracias sólo pueden ser<br />
miembros; dio refugio diplomático el Presidente degradado de Honduras y<br />
chavista aliado Manuel Zelaya; protestaron por el acuerdo entre Estados<br />
Unidos y Colombia para el uso estadounidense de bases militares en el país<br />
centroamericano. y adoptó un tono público del tercer mundo que contrasta<br />
con su imagen anterior más moderado.<br />
Al asumir la Presidencia a principios de 2011, Dilma Rousseff<br />
despertó dudas dadas su guerrilla y pasado marxista. Su proximidad con<br />
Lula, que eligió como sucesor, podría sugerir una continuación de las controvertidas<br />
políticas de su mentor. Pero sus primeros pasos en la arena internacional<br />
han resultado para ser mucho más centristas que las de su<br />
predecesor, hasta el momento al menos. Su pasado feminista y de militante<br />
torturado por la llevó a los militares a condenar las prácticas de los derechos<br />
humanos en Cuba e Irán y en un giro con respecto a la última votaciones en<br />
las Naciones Unidas, Dilma causó que su país votaron a favor de la creación<br />
de un relator de derechos humanos de Irán. Se nombró como Canciller a
68 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:61<br />
Antonio Patriótico, un buen famoso ex-Embajador en Washington. Por otra<br />
parte Estados Unidos marcó claramente su interés por rescatar a Brasil de la<br />
herencia de Lula. La Secretaria de Estado Hillary Clinton estuvo presente<br />
en la Asunción de Dilma como Presidente, un 1 de enero, lo que seguramente<br />
obligó a limitar las celebraciones del año nuevo.<br />
Presidente Barack Obama ha viajado a Brasil a mediados de marzo, a<br />
pesar de que ya se inició la lucha guerrera en Libia. Fue interpretado como<br />
un signo de acercamiento de Washington a Brasilia, primera capital visitada<br />
en un programa que incluía sólo a Chile y El Salvador además. Por cierto,<br />
Lula fue el único ex presidente brasileño en no asistir al almuerzo ofrecido<br />
en honor de Obama en el Palacio de Itamary. Dilma condenó el bombardeo<br />
de la OTAN a Libia y Obama no apoyaba las aspiraciones brasileñas para<br />
obtener un banco permanente en el Consejo de seguridad, que junto con<br />
pendientes desacuerdos comerciales sugiere será la tensión en la relación.<br />
Sin embargo, es evidente que Brasil de Rousseff se ha separado de la<br />
diplomacia populista de da silbidos de su último año, sobre todo en<br />
Teherán.<br />
Así, Argentina, ha mantenido una política ambivalente con respecto a<br />
Irán. Su relación con la teocracia islámica cambiado considerablemente<br />
desde épocas anteriores cuando agentes del Hezbolá perpetraron el primer<br />
ataque islamista en América Latina (explosión de la Embajada de Israel en<br />
Buenos Aires, en 1992, 29 murieron) y atacar la peor antisemita en la diáspora<br />
desde el fin de la Guerra Mundial atacar—<strong>the</strong> AMIA, dos años más<br />
tarde, en el que murieron 85. Tomando distancia del Gobierno de Carlos<br />
Menem, acusado de obstaculizar el progreso en la causa de la investigación,<br />
los Kirchner matrimonio dio un impulso considerable de los mismos,<br />
denunciando a Irán en los foros internacionales, pidiendo a la Interpol la<br />
captura de los sospechosos iraníes y designar a un judío fiscal y equipar con<br />
los medios para poder llevar adelante una investigación judicial efectiva.<br />
Sin embargo, algunos hechos han creado un marco de duda con<br />
respecto a la posición de la burocracia antes de Teherán, es decir: un) la<br />
cercanía ideológica de Kirchner con los países aliados a Irán—Venezuela,<br />
Bolivia, Ecuador y Nicaragua especialmente; b) las sospechas del uso político<br />
de la causa AMIA insultar a predecesor—aunque el menemismo y el<br />
kirchnerismo pertenecen al mismo movimiento político, el peronismo, el<br />
poco amor mutuo es de conocimiento público; c) la peculiar relación de<br />
figuras del Gobierno con Luis D’Elía, el líder popular de antiZionist muy<br />
cerca de la embajada iraní; d) el hecho de que bajo el Gobierno de Cristina<br />
el comercio bilateral ha crecido en apenas un año el % de 10.000; e) que la<br />
delegación Argentina ante la ONU en Ginebra no ha retirado de la sala<br />
cuando Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comenzó a hablar en el marco de la<br />
denominada reunión Durban II, en abril de 2009; y e) que el Gobierno no
2011] EL TRASFONDO POLÍTICO 69<br />
apoya al diplomático argentino Rogelio Pfirter en su nominación como<br />
Director General del OIEA, finalmente siendo él entonces vista favorablemente<br />
por Washington y desfavorablemente por Teherán, entre otras<br />
consideraciones.<br />
A finales de marzo pasado, el diario perfil publica la noticia que<br />
generó una controversia de propagación. Uno de sus principales columnistas,<br />
mencionando un documento secreto, denunció la existencia de negociaciones<br />
en curso entre Buenos Aires y Teherán donde primero dejaría la<br />
causa judicial abierta contra el segundo a cambio de mejoras en el intercambio<br />
comercial. El Gobierno israelí reaccionó airadamente, etiquetado<br />
como “muy grave” a la noticia, advirtiendo que, para confirmar, el Argentina<br />
conducta constituiría “una manifestación de cinismo infinito y<br />
deshonor a muertos” y poniendo en duda la invitación extendida previamente<br />
el canciller argentino a visitar Jerusalén.<br />
El fiscal de la causa AMIA, Dr. Alberto Nisman, negó la petición periodística<br />
plenamente y líderes comunitarios añadió a la denegación. El<br />
Gobierno, sin embargo, permaneció en silencio. El embajador israelí en<br />
Buenos Aires, Daniel Gazit, pidió explicaciones al Ministerio de Relaciones<br />
Exteriores del país, pero todavía diez días más tarde, informó el Jerusalem<br />
Post, “no recibió ninguna respuesta oficial.” La primera reacción pública<br />
dio el canciller argentino desde Israel. Interrogado por la prensa, inicialmente<br />
eludió tocar el espinoso tema invocar las reglas de la Torá y apelando<br />
a la memoria de la murió el padre, el famoso periodista Jacobo, en parábolas<br />
inusuales que trajeron acerca de desacuerdo. Por último, Timerman<br />
afirmó lo siguiente repudia lo, que fue interpretada como el informe de<br />
perfil: “No hay ninguna prueba de que Argentina ha cambiado su curso de<br />
acción, que comenzó en 2003 con la elección de Néstor Kirchner, en el que<br />
el objetivo de nuestro país es investigar el tema de los atentados a la AMIA<br />
y la Embajada de Israel.”<br />
Por otra parte, perfil no contribuyó a aclarar las cosas cuando se<br />
deniega el acceso a la documentación que se utilizó básica para la noticia<br />
antes de un pedido del Centro Simon Wiesenthal, que llevó a esta organización<br />
internacional judía al lamentar la decisión del diario porque ella<br />
“puede desacreditar la validez de las señales.” En esta atmósfera de dudas y<br />
ante una denuncia tan grave, era expectable oficial denegado contundente,<br />
acreditado en un comunicado cuyo texto escrito podría disipar toda<br />
ambigüedad. Lamentablemente nunca sucedió.<br />
El Gobierno también mantiene silencio antes otro relacionado con la<br />
grave denuncia. El juez federal Daniel Rafecas reveló que las repetidas<br />
manifestaciones que se producen delante de la Embajada de Israel pueden<br />
ser organizadas por D’Elía con financiación de la embajada iraní. A pesar<br />
de las graves consecuencias de la denuncia, el Gobierno prefirió no
70 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:61<br />
comentar el asunto. Es posible observe en ocasión del lanzamiento de un<br />
movimiento que conduce a D’Elía, en el Luna Park, el Presidente ofreció su<br />
respaldo en un video. Entre los contendientes la ley era el representante de<br />
Irán en Argentina, y para esos mismos días, D’Elía había entrevistado radialmente<br />
a Mohsen Rabbani, le ha dado una plataforma pública a un fugitivo<br />
de la justicia Argentina para negar sus presuntas viajes a Brasil.<br />
La Argentina de los Kirchner también perturba en otras áreas. Néstor<br />
fue capaz de organizar una Cumbre concurrentes a un Presidente estadounidense<br />
de visita oficial en el país, como ocurrió con el Presidente George<br />
W. Bush en 2005 (45.000 activistas de izquierda hacinados en un escenario<br />
para la ocasión); Cristina llegó a acusar a la empresa para llevar a cabo una<br />
“basura de operación” cuando las autoridades norteamericanas indicaron la<br />
existencia de un chavista clandestinos financiación de su campaña electoral;<br />
el Canciller puede predicar a EE.UU a bombardear Libia a la vez que la<br />
agencia oficial de noticias Télam suscribe un acuerdo de información con la<br />
Agencia árabe de la noticias de Siria (SANA), mientras que el régimen de<br />
Bashar el-Assad militarmente reprime a manifestantes pro democracia; y el<br />
Gobierno puede aplaudir un premio periodístico dado por la Universidad de<br />
la Plata a Húgo Chávez, mientras este un combate ferozmente a la libertad<br />
de expresión en su país. Estos hechos dan cuenta de la visión ideológica de<br />
un Gobierno a quien, obediencia, desde el extranjero suele ser caracterizado<br />
como “inclasificable.”<br />
*Julián Schvindlerman es un analista político internacional y autor de Roma y<br />
Jerusalén (Random House/Debate: 2010) y De la Tierra de Tierra de Paz para la<br />
Guerra (Ensayos del Sud, 2002) y la introducción para el nuevo antisemitismo<br />
(B’nai Brith Latinoamérica 2010). Sus columnas han aparecido en las<br />
comunidades, Miami Herald, Oriente trimestral, así como Jai Radio. http://<br />
www.julianschvindlerman.com.ar/index-entrevistas.html.
The New Judeophobia on <strong>the</strong> Left 1<br />
Patricio Brodsky*<br />
Brodsky investigates <strong>the</strong> left’s merging of anti-Zionism with Latin American<br />
antisemitism.<br />
Key Words: Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, Israel, Judeophobia<br />
Argentine intellectuals Sergio Bagu, Gregorio Klimovsky, Ernesto<br />
Sabato, Leon Rozitchner, David Viñas, Noe Jitrik, Bernardo Verbitsky,<br />
Inda Ledesma, Gregory Selser, Abelardo Castillo, and Cesar Tiempo<br />
endorsed <strong>the</strong> 1967 manifesto. The manifesto stated:<br />
. . . [It] is <strong>the</strong> unquestionable right of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel to its existence.<br />
The independence of <strong>the</strong> Jewish people in Israel was <strong>the</strong> result of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
effort of <strong>the</strong>ir sectors’ pioneers and Vanguard was a response to <strong>the</strong><br />
inability of <strong>the</strong> world to solve <strong>the</strong> Jewish problem; it responds to <strong>the</strong><br />
legitimate aspirations of national liberation, and was supported in this<br />
opportunity for worldwide progressive . . .<br />
I am from Argentina. I am Jewish. And I want to reflect on some<br />
events in this country and region. There is a long tradition of Judeophobia/<br />
antisemitism dating back almost to <strong>the</strong> origins of <strong>the</strong> Jewish immigration to<br />
Argentina.<br />
Antisemitism was deeply rooted in <strong>the</strong> upper classes at that time. Some<br />
examples: In 1890, a furious antisemitic novel by Julián Martel called The<br />
Bag appeared; in January 1888 (only eight months before dying), Domingo<br />
Faustino Sarmiento published several anti-Jewish articles in The National;<br />
<strong>the</strong> newspaper La Prensa, on various occasions, expressed its opposition to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jews’ forming agricultural communes in Entre Ríos and Santa Fe; and,<br />
above all, <strong>the</strong> “action” of May 15, 1910, ten days before <strong>the</strong> Centennial,<br />
when upper-class young people, coming out of <strong>the</strong> very exclusive “society<br />
Sportive Argentina” under <strong>the</strong> leadership of Baron Demarchi, stormed <strong>the</strong><br />
headquarters of <strong>the</strong> Avangard, <strong>the</strong> body of <strong>the</strong> Bund, <strong>the</strong> Jewish Socialist<br />
Workers Group, and <strong>the</strong> so-called “Russian library,” <strong>the</strong>n burning its books<br />
1. I’ve decided to explicitly avoid working on <strong>the</strong> speeches of President Húgo<br />
Chávez and Fidel Castro because <strong>the</strong>y are <strong>the</strong> most well known. Instead, I have<br />
focused, above all, though not exclusively, on intellectual referents and political<br />
speeches of <strong>the</strong> Argentinian radical left.<br />
71
72 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
at Congress Plaza. Referring to <strong>the</strong> antisemitic phenomenon of <strong>the</strong> repressors<br />
of <strong>the</strong> “tragic week,” <strong>the</strong> writer Juan José Sebreli (in <strong>the</strong> book The<br />
Jewish Question in Argentina, published in 1968 by Modern Times)<br />
presented an interesting thought to explain <strong>the</strong> xenophobia of <strong>the</strong> oligarchy<br />
of that time: <strong>the</strong> same racial hatred that <strong>the</strong> liberal bourgeoisie felt toward<br />
<strong>the</strong> mestizo, who tried to replace <strong>the</strong> European immigrant, later turned<br />
toward that immigrant when he unexpectedly revealed a dynamic element<br />
of social unrest. 2<br />
Among <strong>the</strong> direct background of <strong>the</strong> facts we could list, <strong>the</strong>re are some<br />
that stand out for <strong>the</strong>ir qualitative importance:<br />
• During <strong>the</strong> tragic week of January 1919 until today, in <strong>the</strong> only<br />
pogroms of America, <strong>the</strong>re were attacks on <strong>the</strong> Jewish neighborhoods<br />
in Buenos Aires, leaving dozens of dead and a large number<br />
of injured; this kind of violent event did not occur in any o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
country on our continent.<br />
• Identity cards issued to Jews by Argentina Federal Police during<br />
<strong>the</strong> 1910s and 1920s were stamped with a Star of David.<br />
• In 1937, Marcos Savon, Argentine Consul in Gdynia, Poland, sent<br />
several notes to Consul Carlos Saavedra Lamas under <strong>the</strong> title<br />
“Cemita problem.” In <strong>the</strong> note of July 14, 1937, on <strong>the</strong> eve of <strong>the</strong><br />
Nazi invasion, Savon wrote: “The attacks on people and Jewish<br />
property continue . . . On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, and along <strong>the</strong> lines of<br />
what you style in Germany, a conference of professionals will meet<br />
next September and discuss <strong>the</strong> inclusion of a clause in <strong>the</strong> statutes<br />
prohibiting Jews from entry into Christian associations. All <strong>the</strong>se<br />
measures fester tempers, and reach <strong>the</strong> pogroms against war.<br />
Harassed, <strong>the</strong> Jew is driven to emigrate . . . I am of <strong>the</strong> opinion that<br />
it would oppose more barriers to immigration from that part of<br />
Poland animated by <strong>the</strong> deepest grudge against <strong>the</strong> Christian, and<br />
willing to commit <strong>the</strong> greatest excesses. In addition, no week<br />
passes without <strong>the</strong> Polish government finding centers of Communist<br />
organizations in which <strong>the</strong> majority are Jewish, which keeps<br />
alarming <strong>the</strong> authorities . . .”<br />
• The existence of a “secret instruction” prohibiting entry into Argentina<br />
for anyone persecuted by <strong>the</strong> Nazis (almost all of <strong>the</strong>m Jews).<br />
In fact, <strong>the</strong> discovery of secret circular No. 11, signed by <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>n<br />
Argentinian Minister for Foreign Affairs José María Cantilo on<br />
July 12, 1938, is a clear example of how <strong>the</strong> Foreign Ministry handled<br />
<strong>the</strong>se requests, by requiring that <strong>the</strong> consuls, without prejudice<br />
2. Herman Schiller, “The First Pogrom in Argentina.” Published January 3,<br />
1999; see http://www.salta21.com/+El-primer-pogrom-en-la-Argentina+.html.
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 73<br />
to o<strong>the</strong>r provisions laid down for <strong>the</strong> selection of <strong>the</strong> travelers that<br />
come to this country, and with “special orders” from <strong>the</strong> Ministry<br />
of Foreign Affairs, were to “deny visas to tourists or transit passenger<br />
to any person reasonably believed to have left his or her country<br />
of origin as undesirable or banned, whatever <strong>the</strong> reason for <strong>the</strong><br />
expulsion.” (Then, after <strong>the</strong> war, <strong>the</strong> policy of “closed borders” to<br />
<strong>the</strong> survivors of <strong>the</strong> Shoah and <strong>the</strong> massive entry of Nazi war<br />
criminals and accomplices, i.e., Adolf Eichmann, Joseph Mengele,<br />
Erich Priebke, Ante Pavelic, Josef Schwammberger, Gerhard<br />
Bohne, Walter Kutschmann, Dinko Sakic, Radislaw Ostrowsky,<br />
Ferdinand Durcansky, Albert Ganzenmueller, and Hans<br />
Fischboeck.)<br />
• Subsequent to <strong>the</strong> capture of Eichmann in Argentina, a wave of<br />
antisemitic attacks (carried out primarily by <strong>the</strong> right-wing terrorist<br />
organization and <strong>the</strong> Tacuara nationalist movement; <strong>the</strong> two most<br />
serious cases of antisemitism from Tacuara were: 1) The abduction<br />
of Graciela Sirota, June 21, 1962. The 19-year-old girl was beaten,<br />
dumped into a car when she expected <strong>the</strong> group to go to <strong>the</strong> Faculty<br />
Lounge, grossly tortured with cigarette burns all over her body, and<br />
had a swastika carved on her chest (this case caused great indignation<br />
in society and many reviews on <strong>the</strong> impunity with which<br />
Tacuara had acted); and 2) In 1964, as revenge for <strong>the</strong> deaths of<br />
two militants of <strong>the</strong> MNRT and for one of <strong>the</strong> Peronist youth in a<br />
confusing incident of association with <strong>the</strong> whole of <strong>the</strong> CGT in<br />
Rosario, Raul Alterman, a young militant Jewish leftist, was killed<br />
at <strong>the</strong> door of his home. It was never very clear why Alterman was<br />
chosen as <strong>the</strong> target of <strong>the</strong> attack, although it is assumed that his<br />
selection was because he was both a Jew and a socialist. After <strong>the</strong><br />
murder, <strong>the</strong> Tacuara Organization sent a letter to Alterman’s parents,<br />
saying: “No one just kills without a reason; your son was<br />
killed because he was a Communist Jewish dog. If all dogs and<br />
Jewish exploiters do not return to <strong>the</strong>ir native Judea, what do <strong>the</strong>y<br />
do in our country?”<br />
• Argentina is <strong>the</strong> only country in <strong>the</strong> world that was “fabricated”—a<br />
Creole version of <strong>the</strong> infamous myth of <strong>the</strong> “Jewish conspiracy for<br />
universal domination.” I refer to <strong>the</strong> “Andean Plan,” a vernacular<br />
fantasy built on <strong>the</strong> infamous Protocols of <strong>the</strong> Elders of Zion.<br />
• Then, during <strong>the</strong> military dictatorship of 1976, as reported in Never<br />
Again, <strong>the</strong> missing Jews had endured a heightened round of torture<br />
and humiliation by <strong>the</strong> profoundly antisemitic character of Argentine<br />
torturers.<br />
• Finally, in <strong>the</strong> early 1990s, Argentina suffered two of <strong>the</strong> worst
74 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
antisemitic attacks of <strong>the</strong> postwar period—<strong>the</strong> attacks against <strong>the</strong><br />
Embassy of Israel (1992) and <strong>the</strong> headquarters of <strong>the</strong> AMIA<br />
(1994). In both cases, <strong>the</strong> perpetrators could not have acted without<br />
local support, and would remain unpunished helped by <strong>the</strong> concealment<br />
provided by certain sectors of <strong>the</strong> state.<br />
Antisemitism is characterized by a perennial process of adapting<br />
beliefs and prejudices to changing situations, ra<strong>the</strong>r than analysis, and<br />
results in blaming <strong>the</strong> Jews for <strong>the</strong>ir failures. For example:<br />
The messianic eschatology of Christianity from <strong>the</strong> first century of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Common Era postulated that in a few years <strong>the</strong> Messiah would return<br />
and begin <strong>the</strong> messianic era of <strong>the</strong> redemption of mankind. When this<br />
prophecy failed to come to pass through several centuries, <strong>the</strong> leaders of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Catholic Church began to blame <strong>the</strong> “uncompromising stubbornness”<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Jews, who do not recognize Jesus as <strong>the</strong> Messiah, as <strong>the</strong> main<br />
cause for <strong>the</strong> postponement of <strong>the</strong> return of Jesus. Similarly, some of <strong>the</strong><br />
founding fa<strong>the</strong>rs of socialism hoped that Judaism would disappear by<br />
melting into <strong>the</strong> internationalist Socialist humanism. On <strong>the</strong> contrary,<br />
however; instead of disappearing, Jewish identity revitalized with <strong>the</strong><br />
development of <strong>the</strong> movement of Jewish national identity. Zionism, at its<br />
birth, developed and streng<strong>the</strong>ned <strong>the</strong> Jewish people’s national liberation<br />
movement, a party of <strong>the</strong> left-wing attitude is boycotting him, and finally<br />
(instead of following <strong>the</strong> rest of <strong>the</strong> movements of national liberation)<br />
end up unfairly accusing him of being racist and genocidal.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> 19th and 20th centuries, some saw <strong>the</strong> Jews as creators of capitalism;<br />
<strong>the</strong>y understood this social system as <strong>the</strong> triumph of a supposed<br />
“mercantilist spirit” of <strong>the</strong> Jew who would have migrated to Christianity<br />
(Marx)—a virtual “judenization” of Christianity. Today, o<strong>the</strong>rs (heirs and<br />
later descendants of <strong>the</strong> first) changed <strong>the</strong>ir views and understand <strong>the</strong> Jews<br />
(embodied in Israel) as <strong>the</strong> power driver of globalization through <strong>the</strong> Jewish-American<br />
lobby (Petras), and o<strong>the</strong>rs understand that <strong>the</strong> normalization<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Jews through <strong>the</strong> Israeli state and <strong>the</strong> government of that state’s adoption<br />
of neoliberal policies in <strong>the</strong> economic sector to be a Christianization of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jews (Rozitchner). As you can see, <strong>the</strong> essence of <strong>the</strong> process is <strong>the</strong><br />
same but <strong>the</strong> meaning of <strong>the</strong> equation is <strong>the</strong> reverse; <strong>the</strong> evil is that in both<br />
equations <strong>the</strong> Jews are placed as evil and holding conspiratorial attitudes.<br />
We see that this mechanism is repeated over and over again in Argentina.<br />
Yesterday, <strong>the</strong> Jews were convicted in <strong>the</strong> same way that Israel is<br />
convicted <strong>the</strong>re today (regardless of its actions). What characterize <strong>the</strong> critical<br />
judeophobia are hubris, its disproportion, and its injustice. Today, anything<br />
is valid and credible in <strong>the</strong> case of Israel (<strong>the</strong> Jews); yesterday, it was<br />
said that Jews killed Christian children to knead bread for Easter, now,
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 75<br />
Israel is a murderer of women and children. They said yesterday that <strong>the</strong><br />
Jew had horns and a tail; today <strong>the</strong>y argue that Israel is a colonialist and<br />
genocidal state. So we see that Argentina is a leading country when we<br />
draw <strong>the</strong> roadmap of antisemitism. It is a country with a particular importance<br />
in this regard.<br />
THE CURRENT JUDEOPHOBIA<br />
Four decades after <strong>the</strong> Declaration that I quote at <strong>the</strong> beginning of this<br />
article, <strong>the</strong> vision of its signers has varied substantially; today, some of<br />
<strong>the</strong>m, as for example León Rozitchner, have had a radical change in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
sights on Israel. What has happened so that <strong>the</strong> general progressive climate<br />
has become so hostile to Israel?<br />
This change of position comes at <strong>the</strong> point that everywhere we see <strong>the</strong><br />
rise of statements and manifestos of famous intellectuals condemning Israel<br />
and appeals calling for sporting, social, political, academic, artistic, and cultural<br />
boycotts against <strong>the</strong> Jewish State, invoking, in many cases, <strong>the</strong> boycotts<br />
that were held during <strong>the</strong> 1970s and 1980s against <strong>the</strong> racist apar<strong>the</strong>id<br />
regime in South Africa, implying that Israel would be heir to <strong>the</strong> segregationist<br />
policies.<br />
In extreme cases, we are faced with <strong>the</strong> unusual reappearance of atavistic<br />
hatred, e.g., <strong>the</strong> religious myth of <strong>the</strong> Deicide, recycled as a political<br />
tool from Israel. An example of this is <strong>the</strong> use by <strong>the</strong> prestigious Marxist<br />
sociologist James Petras of <strong>the</strong> myth of <strong>the</strong> Deicide 3 in a story of December<br />
21, 2001, called “Christmas in <strong>the</strong> Occupied Territories”:<br />
Israeli radio announced that three suspected Arab terrorists who fled<br />
Afghanistan had been killed in a hideout in Bethlehem after having<br />
crossed <strong>the</strong> border. The Israeli Government apologized that <strong>the</strong>re had<br />
been no civilian victim. The media in <strong>the</strong> United States repeated <strong>the</strong> same<br />
story at <strong>the</strong> time that Washington welcomed <strong>the</strong> Israeli government for its<br />
role in <strong>the</strong> fight against international terrorism. Jesus had lived only a<br />
day. 4<br />
Even renowned and respected Jewish intellectuals of <strong>the</strong> left, e.g., Hermann<br />
Schiller—who make statements explaining <strong>the</strong>y do not demonstrate<br />
3. In <strong>the</strong> Vatican II encyclical Nostra Aetate it was determined that <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
people did not have responsibility for <strong>the</strong> death of Christ, but <strong>the</strong> positions of <strong>the</strong><br />
Marxist Petrás are as reactionary as Catholics.<br />
4. See CSCA Web site, http://www.nodo50.org/CSCA/palestina/petras-21-12-<br />
01.html.
76 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
to repudiate <strong>the</strong> actions of Israel in <strong>the</strong> Gaza Strip—are by nature<br />
antisemitic.<br />
Again and again, I repudiate <strong>the</strong> Gaza massacre. But I am not going to<br />
go with those who wield <strong>the</strong> same arguments (e.g., “international Judaism,”<br />
“rats,” “stateless”) used by Felipe Romero in El Caudillo and very soon<br />
<strong>the</strong>reafter by <strong>the</strong> military dictatorship when it tortures many Jews via <strong>the</strong><br />
ERP and Montoneros and o<strong>the</strong>r organizations’ combatants. 5<br />
The key question that could be asked here is what could be <strong>the</strong> reason<br />
a rational a<strong>the</strong>ist Marxist sociologist such as Petras calls for an irrational<br />
myth as that of <strong>the</strong> Deicide—which has only served to justify hundreds of<br />
massacres of Jews throughout history—as a political tool against Israel?<br />
The brutal and honest answer is that it is a consciously assumed radical<br />
hatred, and Petras has become what <strong>the</strong> sociologist Gino Germani termed<br />
an ideological antisemite.<br />
This is <strong>the</strong> route we have traveled since <strong>the</strong> outbreak of <strong>the</strong> Second<br />
Intifada. During <strong>the</strong> 2006 war between Israel and Hezbolla, Argentina produced<br />
a series of incidents that marked <strong>the</strong> streng<strong>the</strong>ning of this trend: some<br />
demonstrations by <strong>the</strong> radical left with <strong>the</strong> insignia of Hezbolla; <strong>the</strong> threat<br />
of violence against Jewish youngsters who wanted to speak out against <strong>the</strong><br />
Iranian Embassy from <strong>the</strong> patriotic revolutionary Quebracho movement 6 ;<br />
and <strong>the</strong> appearance of “Stop <strong>the</strong> genocide of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel,” which was<br />
endorsed by León Rozitchner, Alejandro Horowicz, and Elsa Drucaroff and<br />
affirmed by dozens of intellectuals, including José Pablo Feinmann, Juan<br />
Gelman, Beatriz Sarlo, Horacio Verbitsky, Eduardo Grüner, Atilio Boron,<br />
Abelardo Castillo, and Eliseo Subiela, among o<strong>the</strong>rs, stating that:<br />
The current massacre exceeds all known. Data are not with its overwhelming<br />
evidence, but <strong>the</strong> repetition in <strong>the</strong> midst of <strong>the</strong> silent accomplice<br />
of <strong>the</strong> so-called civilized world. It is necessary to stop that Jew and<br />
butcher did not become synonyms . . . Need to make <strong>the</strong> democratic,<br />
popular, and progressive forces around <strong>the</strong> world know that sooner or<br />
later <strong>the</strong> crimes against humanity will not go unpunished, that <strong>the</strong> military<br />
victory over <strong>the</strong> Palestinian people has an unambiguous name: genocide<br />
and <strong>the</strong> massacres only opened <strong>the</strong> new massacres . . . 7<br />
5. Herman Schiller, The o<strong>the</strong>r Israel. See EUTSI–left Anti-authoritarian–Palestinian<br />
http://eutsi.org/kea/pueblos/ page/<strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r–Israel.html.<br />
6. Despite <strong>the</strong> flagrant contradiction between self-definition as a “revolutionary<br />
Patriot” and objectively, act as “shock strength” of a reactionary <strong>the</strong>ocracy.<br />
7. Argentine Jewish intellectuals appeal: stop <strong>the</strong> genocide of <strong>the</strong> State of<br />
Israel. Initiative of León Rozitchner, Elsa Drucaroff, and Alexander Horowicz,<br />
Buenos Aires, 07/20/06. Published online 9-8-2006 at http://www.iade.org.ar/<br />
modules/noticias/article page.dophp?storyid=829.
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 77<br />
As we shall see below, <strong>the</strong>re in this statement and in similar positions<br />
an evident overstatement of Palestinian suffering that is nothing more than<br />
<strong>the</strong> indicator of a high degree of irrationality in <strong>the</strong> treatment of this issue.<br />
This trend has been even stronger and more in depth during <strong>the</strong> war<br />
between Israel and Hamas that ended in 2008 and early 2009. The indicators<br />
that alerted us were several social and trade union organizations, articles<br />
and statements of intellectuals, and, for <strong>the</strong> first time, mobilizations of<br />
repudiation of Israel toward <strong>the</strong> Jewish community—institutions showing<br />
that, despite denying <strong>the</strong> relationship between Judaism and Zionism, in<br />
practice <strong>the</strong>ir speeches are binding and indivisible.<br />
What happens is that intellectuals who study social phenomena use in<br />
an arbitrary fashion concepts <strong>the</strong>y are well aware ignore manipulating and<br />
trivializing categories—historical, sociological, political, and economic.<br />
And why is it that this arbitrary use happens when you analyze <strong>the</strong> Middle<br />
East conflict and only when it refers to Israel?<br />
What could be happening are two things: a) a prejudiced view that<br />
distorts <strong>the</strong> image of Israel; or b) a conscious choice to trivialize in order to<br />
delegitimize <strong>the</strong> state. In both cases, <strong>the</strong> objective result is a discriminatory<br />
situation against Israel, which ends up being considered unfairly (in relation<br />
to <strong>the</strong> facts produced by o<strong>the</strong>r states and social groups) and disproportionately<br />
(under facts for which this state is responsible).<br />
These two forms of undeserved treatment can be linked to <strong>the</strong> two<br />
forms of antisemitism that sociologist Gino Germani addressed: <strong>the</strong> first<br />
relates to unconscious antisemitism and implies a traditional antisemitism,<br />
while <strong>the</strong> second is more a voluntary and conscious disqualification and not<br />
merely a mechanical reproduction of stereotypes, and refers to what<br />
Germani defined as ideological antisemitism.<br />
If a part of <strong>the</strong> intelligentsia—supposedly <strong>the</strong> most critical social<br />
group—uncritically used concepts whose significance <strong>the</strong>y know perfectly<br />
and without considering <strong>the</strong> consequences decides to use <strong>the</strong>m to produce a<br />
banal distortion of its true meaning with <strong>the</strong> intention of forcing <strong>the</strong> interpretation<br />
of certain historical fact, <strong>the</strong>n something profound is happening. If<br />
<strong>the</strong> criticism is one of <strong>the</strong> central intellectual characteristics, it makes a<br />
powerful call to <strong>the</strong> fact that academics, scientific enterprises, and social<br />
companies used Manichaean reductionism analysis techniques, messianic<br />
polar dualism, and <strong>the</strong> same uncritical thinking, creating as a result a<br />
demonization of Israel, shaping an image of this tranquilized, unconscious<br />
state of functioning (I hate Israel not because I am antisemitic but because<br />
Israel does “bad” or “evil” things) and creating a mental representation of<br />
Israel that needs to be justified. It is a before-<strong>the</strong>-event condemnation that<br />
works like self-justification.
78 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
Certainly, it is surprising to see renowned specialists in <strong>the</strong> social sciences—academics<br />
extremely serious and rigorous in <strong>the</strong>ir analyses and<br />
studies—but when <strong>the</strong>y have to apply <strong>the</strong>ir knowledge to explain <strong>the</strong> conflict<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Middle East, employ instead badly used categories of emptied<br />
meaning, using <strong>the</strong>m uncritically as jargon in <strong>the</strong> sense proposed by Theodor<br />
Adorno 8 in his criticism of <strong>the</strong> Nazi philosopher Martin Heidegger,<br />
using this conceptual language in a sense that it is intended with <strong>the</strong> clear<br />
purpose of generating political effects instead of o<strong>the</strong>r, more appropriate<br />
categories that can be used to describe a situation objectively. There is an<br />
implicit code that sets <strong>the</strong> politically correct in <strong>the</strong> thinking of <strong>the</strong> progressive<br />
intelligentsia. This code has crystallized a number of clichés that form<br />
a monopoly in representing <strong>the</strong> space formerly occupied by reflective<br />
praxis—<strong>the</strong> coherence between <strong>the</strong>ory and practice (Gramsci). This standardized<br />
thought is expressed in two clearly defined axes:<br />
The Intertwined Interests of Israel and <strong>the</strong> United States<br />
This is due to <strong>the</strong> close political and commercial relationship between<br />
<strong>the</strong> two states (although this relationship is between us and many o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
states in <strong>the</strong> world, only Israel is linked indivisibly to that state). This axis<br />
will be presented in two ways: to (a) <strong>the</strong> heirs of <strong>the</strong> worst paranoid traditions<br />
of classic antisemitism (<strong>the</strong> explicit vision in <strong>the</strong> myth of <strong>the</strong> so-called<br />
“Jewish conspiracy” to <strong>the</strong> domination of <strong>the</strong> world, today expressed in <strong>the</strong><br />
denunciation of <strong>the</strong> alleged “Jewish lobby” that would dominate <strong>the</strong> United<br />
States through its partnership with evangelists; and (b) <strong>the</strong> modern and progressive,<br />
who must subscribe to <strong>the</strong> myth that “Israel is <strong>the</strong> advanced imperialist<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Middle East.” These forms of expression are conflicting and<br />
mutually exclusive. While at first <strong>the</strong> dominant factor in <strong>the</strong> equation are<br />
Jews (Zionism, Israel), <strong>the</strong> second key factor would be <strong>the</strong> United States—<br />
and Israel a mere puppet of <strong>the</strong> designs of such a power.<br />
The Urgent Need to Break <strong>the</strong> Jewish Association of Jews as Victim<br />
This step is essential to produce a rupture of empathy with <strong>the</strong> Jews<br />
and power, which would allow living without guilt and hatred against “<strong>the</strong><br />
Jew,” especially before his state and <strong>the</strong> ideology behind it (Israel and Zion-<br />
8. “. . . <strong>the</strong> nature of slang would be extremely formal: it is responsible for<br />
what you want is felt and accepted by his exhibition, largely without taking into<br />
account <strong>the</strong> words’ content. Preconception and Mimetic element of language takes<br />
her under his direction, for <strong>the</strong> desired effect by it . . . .” Theodore Adorno, The<br />
Ideology as a Language. Taurus editorial: Madrid, 1992, 12, 13, 14.
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 79<br />
ism). This axis has two components: (a) minimizing <strong>the</strong> true dimension of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Shoah through banal comparison; in this respect, remember <strong>the</strong> words<br />
of <strong>the</strong> winner of <strong>the</strong> Nobel Prize for literature, José Saramago, who<br />
affirmed that Ramallah is Auschwitz, or <strong>the</strong> comparison of <strong>the</strong> anti-terrorist<br />
fence with <strong>the</strong> wall of <strong>the</strong> Warsaw Ghetto, etc.; and (b) comparing <strong>the</strong><br />
“Nazi car” to Israel; this is a technical discursive developed in <strong>the</strong> North to<br />
not only break <strong>the</strong> association of Jews as victims, but also to move toward<br />
<strong>the</strong> opposite, motivating <strong>the</strong> perpetrator to generate a reverse of his alleged<br />
victims—Arab movement of Palestinians—to <strong>the</strong> place of absolute radical<br />
evil, causing a reinforcement of <strong>the</strong> empathy with <strong>the</strong> victims of a contemporary<br />
Nazi state. In reality, this partnership that makes <strong>the</strong> link between<br />
Jew/Israel on one side and Nazism on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r a rhetorical device and<br />
oxymoron. 9<br />
These two axes, <strong>the</strong>n, set up a series of discursive myths that this “reality”<br />
is built from mere rhetoric and that it would constitute <strong>the</strong> jargon of <strong>the</strong><br />
“politically correct” intellectual. This is expressed in many empty slogans,<br />
such as: 10<br />
• Israel is colonialist • Israel is <strong>the</strong> imperialist in <strong>the</strong> Middle East • Israel<br />
is racist, e.g., Zionism = racism • Israel is a Nazi state • Israel is a terrorist<br />
state • Israel is warmongering and expansionistic<br />
All <strong>the</strong>se so-called “revealed truths” operate under <strong>the</strong> mode of religious<br />
dogma and progressive welfare. These categories were constructed to<br />
explain o<strong>the</strong>r social relations. The use of mechanical force banalizes <strong>the</strong>m<br />
and empties <strong>the</strong>m of content. Today, many intellectuals embark on this<br />
“adventure” with <strong>the</strong> intention of demonizing Israel and Zionism. The<br />
objective result of this is a double crime, because it not only assumes<br />
clearly antisemitic positions—something that undoubtedly does not worry<br />
<strong>the</strong> intellectuals—but that also goes against <strong>the</strong> historical memory of <strong>the</strong><br />
crimes committed against <strong>the</strong> peoples really colonized, exploited, segregated,<br />
and subject to genocide.<br />
Intellectuals, particularly <strong>the</strong> progressives on <strong>the</strong> left, have always<br />
acted as <strong>the</strong> moral conscience of society, denouncing abuses and injustices<br />
of <strong>the</strong> powerful to <strong>the</strong> most vulnerable; Today, at least in relation to Israel,<br />
this mission seems to be modified. In Israel, in <strong>the</strong> speeches of <strong>the</strong> “politically<br />
correct,” progressivism is shifted to <strong>the</strong> place of “sinister,” a field of<br />
radical evil; this is apparent in <strong>the</strong> categories assigned to it. The categories<br />
9. Footnote translation missing.<br />
10. For amplification of this concept, see Patricio Brodsky, “Los Mantras del<br />
Antisionismo” (The Mantras of Anti-Zionism).
80 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
are <strong>the</strong> representation of all <strong>the</strong> bad things of modernity—e.g., colonialism,<br />
imperialism, racism, Nazism—that haunt <strong>the</strong> progressive fantasy.<br />
But not all <strong>the</strong> criticism of Israel should be considered part of <strong>the</strong> new<br />
Judeophobia. We must avoid falling into a position equivalent to <strong>the</strong> intellectuals<br />
here, criticizing and trivializing <strong>the</strong> antisemitic concept. We must<br />
avoid using criticism flippantly because, in <strong>the</strong> long run, this category loses<br />
its effectiveness to account for real-life situations. If you are using <strong>the</strong><br />
antisemitic concept as a tool to avoid any criticism, it becomes meaningless<br />
in that if everything is antisemitism, <strong>the</strong>n nothing is.<br />
In certain hard-core attacks, <strong>the</strong>re is a tendency to label antisemitic<br />
criticism as anti-Israeli, but not all is. There are certain conditions that must<br />
be met for a valid criticism to become an open declaration of prejudice.<br />
Several authors raise <strong>the</strong>se conditions that help us to draw <strong>the</strong> boundaries<br />
between <strong>the</strong> two. We must weigh each statement carefully to avoid falling<br />
into banal generalizations that render both as equally critical.<br />
To avoid <strong>the</strong>se counterproductive accusations, we should establish<br />
clearly that Jew phobias, whatever <strong>the</strong>ir origin, have common qualitative<br />
elements that can syn<strong>the</strong>size a number of characteristics that define,<br />
namely:<br />
a) The “objective” nature: The Judeophobe will always find an excuse<br />
to make a hatred appear objective (detach from it and live it not as<br />
himself but as something objective—i.e., a bad thing in Jews that<br />
legitimizes <strong>the</strong> bitterness toward <strong>the</strong>m). It is a mental process that<br />
sits <strong>the</strong> quality of <strong>the</strong> hatred in <strong>the</strong> hated object, leading to hatred is<br />
experienced as something generated by <strong>the</strong> object of hatred (“The<br />
Jew” “El Zionism” “Israel”) because of some objective fact—e.g.,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Deicide, <strong>the</strong> desecration of <strong>the</strong> body of Christ, <strong>the</strong> global domination<br />
conspiracy, <strong>the</strong> cosmopolitan betrayal, racial pollution, Palestinian<br />
genocide.<br />
b) The unconscious character: Rarely and only in extreme cases does<br />
Jew phobia appear as a conscious element. It will generally form as<br />
hidden (repressed) consciousness and discomfort that generates as<br />
an unconscious manifestation; as such, it competes to emerge in<br />
consciousness through “flashes” that will assume an increasingly<br />
violent nature and become increasingly difficult to suppress.<br />
c) Suffering: A characteristic of <strong>the</strong> presence of Jew phobia is <strong>the</strong><br />
compulsive obsession with those who suffer. The Jewish problem,<br />
e.g., an obsession with Israel, grows to occupy all space with its<br />
reasoning; <strong>the</strong>re are only anti-Israel demonstrations, and solidarity<br />
is not motivated to confront tremendous humanitarian tragedies.<br />
d) The obsessiveness: It follows from <strong>the</strong> above that Jew phobia
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 81<br />
reaches <strong>the</strong> degree of being a unhealthy obsession that atrophies<br />
and blurs <strong>the</strong> rational capacity.<br />
e) Their Manichaean character: The reality is seen in mutually exclusive<br />
polar oppositions—on <strong>the</strong> one hand <strong>the</strong> object of hatred as evil<br />
and on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong> collective to which it belongs, such as <strong>the</strong><br />
heavenly representation of <strong>the</strong> good.<br />
All of <strong>the</strong>se features indicate <strong>the</strong> presence of a strong and deeply<br />
rooted prejudice; <strong>the</strong>refore, it will be hostile to any empirical evidence.<br />
Speeches in which you can see how <strong>the</strong>se intellectuals operate is shown in<br />
this example:<br />
The Jewish people in Israel still bend to <strong>the</strong> strategy of <strong>the</strong> Empire whose<br />
model implemented in all aspects of life. Now <strong>the</strong> Palestinians do what<br />
Western Christendom did with us. . . . To do what <strong>the</strong>y are doing in<br />
Palestine, Jews who are in power must maintain <strong>the</strong> moral secret of <strong>the</strong><br />
origin of its right to a homeland and prolong <strong>the</strong>ir inhumane values of<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir own ancient pursuers. Hide, for example, that began with <strong>the</strong> Christian<br />
cross—ended with <strong>the</strong> European Shoah. They must hide <strong>the</strong> truth<br />
about <strong>the</strong> historical experience of his life in <strong>the</strong> West. To become accomplices<br />
of <strong>the</strong>ir murderers, not denounce <strong>the</strong>m, already not say more than<br />
Christianity and capitalism were never <strong>the</strong>ir exterminators because now<br />
<strong>the</strong>y had become his model and its allies. In <strong>the</strong> religious fundamentalists<br />
were made and ecumenical; economically, became globalizing capitalists;<br />
in politics, became a <strong>the</strong>ocratic state colonialist; in <strong>the</strong> scientific<br />
field, <strong>the</strong>y took as a model neutral logic of objectivity without <strong>the</strong> struggle<br />
enlightenment subject and in international, argue with <strong>the</strong>ir services<br />
<strong>the</strong> most sinister causes of Christian and imperial oppressors. 11<br />
Barbarism perpetrated by <strong>the</strong> Tel Aviv regime recognizes few in recent<br />
times: <strong>the</strong> American bombardment with napalm to <strong>the</strong> village’s peasant<br />
Vietnamese, “ethnic cleansing” of Milosevic, and o<strong>the</strong>r aberrations. It is<br />
difficult to find similar examples. What looks like more is <strong>the</strong> description of<br />
<strong>the</strong> infamous and cowardly aggression of <strong>the</strong> Nazi regime and its fascist<br />
ally in Italy downloaded on Guernica. In a small Basque town, Gaza produces<br />
an indiscriminate killing of women and children, under <strong>the</strong> false<br />
accusation that <strong>the</strong>y were all terrorists, denied a thousand times; <strong>the</strong><br />
thousands of photographs that afterward circulated around <strong>the</strong> world produced<br />
eternal condemnation of <strong>the</strong>ir perpetrators. Note that <strong>the</strong> Israeli<br />
regime learned very well <strong>the</strong> American pattern and art of lies and <strong>the</strong><br />
tricks. . . . It is not an exaggeration to qualify evil and unworthy rulers of<br />
Israel as genuine heirs of Nazi barbarity, which also killed indiscriminately<br />
to terrorize <strong>the</strong> population. It also sought to ensure its “vital space” to<br />
11. Footnote translation missing.
82 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
ensure impunity for <strong>the</strong>ir actions; <strong>the</strong>y slaughtered defenseless populations<br />
with <strong>the</strong>ir superior military to and also lied, as Göring recommended<br />
(SIC!), 12 because both do believe those lies become truths. . . . It is painful<br />
to observe <strong>the</strong> evolution of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel so far from <strong>the</strong> dreams of<br />
great Jewish thinkers, such as Martin Buber, who envisioned it as <strong>the</strong> completion<br />
of an original socialist model. A state whose illegitimacy of origin is<br />
now added to an illegitimacy even greater, emanating from <strong>the</strong> practiced<br />
carnage on a defenseless civilian population, elicits doubts about how democratic<br />
a state that perpetrated such crimes can be. Illegitimacy of origin, it<br />
is said—not because <strong>the</strong> Jewish people have no right to <strong>the</strong>ir state, since<br />
that right is unquestionable and Hamas must recognize it without fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />
delay—but illegitimacy because it was stealing land from people who also<br />
claim it. The agreement between British colonialism and American imperialism<br />
that in <strong>the</strong> final days of WW II resulted in <strong>the</strong> creation of <strong>the</strong> State of<br />
Israel was possible because it was done before <strong>the</strong> Arab world could take<br />
over an Israeli territory that was claimed by both <strong>the</strong> Israelis and <strong>the</strong> Palestinians<br />
. . . <strong>the</strong>se cowardly hawks, pa<strong>the</strong>tic disciples of Hitler, are <strong>the</strong> worst<br />
enemies of <strong>the</strong> Jewish people. 13<br />
A good example to illustrate <strong>the</strong> irrational and contradictory features<br />
of common sense in terms of <strong>the</strong> criticism Israel receives can be seen in <strong>the</strong><br />
quote from <strong>the</strong> economist Claudio Katz:<br />
Those who exalt <strong>the</strong> existing religious tolerance in this country against<br />
<strong>the</strong> closed <strong>the</strong> Hamas Islamic tend to forget <strong>the</strong> denominational character<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Jewish State. Also omitted <strong>the</strong> biblical basis, used to justify <strong>the</strong><br />
extent of <strong>the</strong> territory to <strong>the</strong> sacred boundaries of Samaria and Judea . . .<br />
The painful legacy of <strong>the</strong> Holocaust is often used to silence <strong>the</strong> denunciation<br />
of a militarist state that humiliates <strong>the</strong> neighboring peoples. This censorship<br />
is exercised in identifying Judaism with Zionism and Israel, or in<br />
performing any criticism as an act of antisemitism. In reality, <strong>the</strong>se three<br />
concepts differ significantly. Judaism is a religion, culture, or tradition of<br />
a people spread around many countries, whose tenure as a differential<br />
segment has varied in each time and region. Israel is a state built on <strong>the</strong><br />
explicit primacy of <strong>the</strong> Hebrews, but currently includes several groups<br />
disconnected from that origin. Anti-Zionism is an ideology of colonial<br />
appropriation based on ancient and pragmatic bases. These differences<br />
allow us to distinguish <strong>the</strong> anti-Israeli, anti-Zionist, and anti-Jewish positions.<br />
The first attitude is racist, <strong>the</strong> second anticolonial, and <strong>the</strong> third<br />
does not present a sharp meaning. As <strong>the</strong> only anti-Americanism<br />
12. Footnote translation missing.<br />
13. Footnote translation missing.
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 83<br />
expresses a generic rejection of imperialist oppression. 14<br />
This statement not only shows a capricious interpretation of Judaism<br />
(<strong>the</strong>re is a Judaism, but that <strong>the</strong>re are in Judaism rites of religion, culture,<br />
and traditions that are not <strong>the</strong> same among Ashkenazi Jews, <strong>the</strong> sefardim,<br />
<strong>the</strong> mitzrahim, etc.) and Zionism (which has nothing to do with colonialism<br />
but on <strong>the</strong> contrary is a political-ideological movement that assumes <strong>the</strong><br />
representation of national interests of <strong>the</strong> Jewish people, and <strong>the</strong>refore has<br />
perspectives ranging from <strong>the</strong> Zionism Marxist borojoviano to right-wing<br />
jabotinskiano, passing through expressions of religious Zionism—and even<br />
taking politico-military shapes such as those assumed during <strong>the</strong> fighting<br />
for national liberation against <strong>the</strong> British colonial occupation of Israel first<br />
and <strong>the</strong>n against <strong>the</strong> Arab invasion during <strong>the</strong> War of Independence). It is<br />
also a clear example of what he is capable of mobilizing at this conflict<br />
level, without being aware of <strong>the</strong> flagrant break with tradition that occurred<br />
between two different paragraphs from this same text. This inconsistent and<br />
insurmountable contradiction holds, on <strong>the</strong> one hand, that Israel is a state of<br />
a Jewish denominational character and uses a biblical basis to justify <strong>the</strong><br />
occupation, but on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, <strong>the</strong>n conflates Judaism with Zionism and<br />
Israel identification (or perhaps Katz does not endorse this identification to<br />
characterize Israel as a Jewish state?). This contradiction on <strong>the</strong> one hand<br />
criticizes Israel as a religious state (undoubtedly <strong>the</strong> author sees <strong>the</strong> religion<br />
with a negative connotation, so its description seeks to bestow negative<br />
meaning to <strong>the</strong> Jewish state), while on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand tries to divide Jewish<br />
Zionism and Israel (to neutralize a possible critique of antisemitism). So<br />
serious is this that Katz (similar to many o<strong>the</strong>rs today) is not aware of this<br />
contradiction. For him it is coherent: both schemes co-exist on <strong>the</strong> same<br />
plane (this is an indicator of <strong>the</strong> lack of critical reflection as he assumes <strong>the</strong><br />
contradictory characteristics in <strong>the</strong>mselves that Gramsci gives to “common<br />
sense” by opposition here to <strong>the</strong> good sense and <strong>the</strong> philosophy of praxis).<br />
Katz also addresses a crucial issue when he says that any criticism<br />
against Israel is interpreted as an act of antisemitism. This is a common one<br />
to use with those who know that <strong>the</strong>ir criticisms against Israel, in many<br />
cases, are unfounded and lacking an empirical basis, and that <strong>the</strong>y comply<br />
with <strong>the</strong> conditions that we have stated as inherent to <strong>the</strong> basic thoughts of<br />
antisemitism.<br />
The fact is that <strong>the</strong>y can’t be categorized as antisemitic because <strong>the</strong>y<br />
criticize Israel, not even because <strong>the</strong>y distort historical categories to demon-<br />
14. Claudio Katz, Raids to Bury <strong>the</strong> Peace. Published January 19, 2009, on <strong>the</strong><br />
Internet: http://www.lahaine.org/index.dophp?p=35547.
84 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
ize this state; <strong>the</strong>y have earned that distinction because <strong>the</strong>y do this exclusively<br />
with Israel.<br />
Katz’s humanism, his solidarity, and his concern for <strong>the</strong> weak only<br />
occurs with <strong>the</strong> alleged victims of Israel. The result of this is <strong>the</strong> jump of<br />
this conflict to o<strong>the</strong>r conflicts where <strong>the</strong>re is infinitely greater killings.<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r collateral outcome, as mentioned above, is <strong>the</strong> exaggeration of Palestinian<br />
suffering, his elevation to <strong>the</strong> rank of “universal victim,” <strong>the</strong> paradigm<br />
of suffering (and all this “effort” is just a mere game of discursive<br />
representations that deform <strong>the</strong> real dimension of <strong>the</strong> conflict).<br />
An example as brutal as it is meaningless in this sense is <strong>the</strong> afirmation,<br />
assumed today as a “truth revealed,” that Jews (Israel) would do to <strong>the</strong><br />
Palestinians what <strong>the</strong> Nazis did to <strong>the</strong> Jews. An example of this is <strong>the</strong> intellectuals’<br />
urgent demand to “Stop <strong>the</strong> genocide of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel,” which<br />
we refer to above.<br />
When we contrast this empty rhetoric with historical facts comparing<br />
<strong>the</strong>m both (<strong>the</strong> Shoah and <strong>the</strong> situation of <strong>the</strong> Palestinians under Israeli<br />
“occupation”), we found that during <strong>the</strong> six years of Nazi occupation <strong>the</strong><br />
Jewish population of Europe, according to <strong>the</strong> estimates of Karady, 15<br />
declined from 9,480,000 people in 1939 to 3,780,000 afterward. This<br />
implies that during this period 5,700,000 Jews perished—60.1% of pre-war<br />
Jews. If we make an apportionment of <strong>the</strong> number of murders, we see that<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jewish victims totaled 950,000 per year; 79,166 per month; 2,602.7 per<br />
day; 108.5 per hour; 1.8 per minute. This represents a –10.5% negative<br />
demographic rate, a relative loss of 10.1% of <strong>the</strong> Jewish population of<br />
Europe during each year of war. In contrast, look at <strong>the</strong> status of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian<br />
population of <strong>the</strong> “occupied territories” by Israel, which, according to<br />
claims of some of <strong>the</strong>se banalizing intellectuals, would represent a genocide<br />
(at least) equivalent (if not worse) to that suffered by European Jews. We<br />
find that <strong>the</strong> Palestinian population in <strong>the</strong> “occupied territories” (Gaza Strip<br />
and West Bank—a.k.a. Judea and Samaria), according to Palestinian<br />
sources, was 1,045,000 people around 2967, 16 while in <strong>the</strong> year 2007,<br />
according to Palestinian sources, <strong>the</strong> population of <strong>the</strong> “occupied territories”<br />
was estimated at 4,000,000. 17 These figures show a population growth<br />
15. Victor Karady, The Jews in European Modernism. Madrid: Editors Spain<br />
21st century. 2000, 294-295.<br />
16. Source: http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/<br />
story559.html.<br />
17. Source: http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/<br />
story559.html. #table 1; some estimates raise this figure up to 5,000,000 (data for<br />
year 2001 of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian academic society for <strong>the</strong> study of international affairs,<br />
which resulted in one greater number, cited in <strong>the</strong> article demographics of Palestine<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Wikipedia Encyclopedia: http://www.es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demografia-de-
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 85<br />
of 2,955,000 over a period of 40 years between 1967 and 2007—a growth<br />
of 73,875 new settlers every year; 6,156.25 new settlers per month; 205.21<br />
new settlers per day; 8.5 new people per hour. The population of <strong>the</strong> “occupied<br />
territories” multiplied by 400% in 40 years; this involves a monthly<br />
growth rate of 10% per year during <strong>the</strong>se 40 years. It’s really amazing to<br />
find such immeasurable blindness; an example of someone (an intellectual<br />
yet) comes to mind who doesn’t see a problem with both situations (<strong>the</strong><br />
killing of 10% per year from a population against a growth rate of 10% per<br />
annum of o<strong>the</strong>r populations).<br />
For ano<strong>the</strong>r example, we can still say that if Europe’s Jewish population<br />
had grown at <strong>the</strong> same rate as <strong>the</strong> Palestinian demographic (10% for <strong>the</strong><br />
past 64 years), today this population would be 70,280,000 people, while <strong>the</strong><br />
current world Jewish population is just over 13,000,000 people. If <strong>the</strong><br />
Palestinians had suffered an extermination equivalent to that suffered by<br />
European Jews (a population decrease of 10% a year), <strong>the</strong>y would have<br />
completely disappeared by 1977.<br />
Adolf Eichmann states that 100 deaths are a tragedy, while 100,000<br />
dead only are statistical. In view of <strong>the</strong> data compared above, <strong>the</strong> true progressive<br />
intellectual sector asserts that an average annual population growth<br />
of 73,000 new people in <strong>the</strong> Palestinian territories is a genocide. Truly<br />
absurd.<br />
There is no doubt that both situations are unique in a mental exercise<br />
of <strong>the</strong> virtualization of historical facts (worthless, as counterfactual exercises<br />
are nonsense). Despite this, too many intellectuals fall into <strong>the</strong> trap of<br />
uncritically repeating <strong>the</strong> propaganda slogan raised by Jews, who impose on<br />
<strong>the</strong> Palestinians what <strong>the</strong> Nazis previously did to <strong>the</strong>m; moreover, it is even<br />
true that Israelis are implementing a genocide of Palestinians as <strong>the</strong>y face<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir detractors. We need to understand genocide, as defined in 1948 at <strong>the</strong><br />
convention for <strong>the</strong> prevention and punishment of <strong>the</strong> crime of genocide in a<br />
resolution, adopted under <strong>the</strong> number 260 (III), that was approved by <strong>the</strong><br />
General Assembly of <strong>the</strong> United Nations on December 9, 1948, and came<br />
into force on January 12, 1951.<br />
Article II says:<br />
In <strong>the</strong> present Convention, genocide any of <strong>the</strong> acts referred to below<br />
means perpetrated with <strong>the</strong> intention to destroy, in whole or in part, a<br />
national, ethnic, racial or religious group as such: • Massacre of members<br />
Palestina), and even 5,500,000 (according to <strong>the</strong> article: Palestinians Se Han Multiplicado<br />
Por 7 times from <strong>the</strong> Nakba [catastrophe] of 1948.) Internet: http://<br />
www.palestinalibre.org/articulo(php?a=8171). We decided to take <strong>the</strong> most conservative<br />
estimate, which is enough to show <strong>the</strong> absurdity of <strong>the</strong> comparison<br />
between two historical facts.
86 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
of <strong>the</strong> group; • Serious injury to <strong>the</strong> physical or mental integrity of members<br />
of <strong>the</strong> group; • Intentional submission of <strong>the</strong> group conditions of life<br />
and have calculated to bring about its physical destruction, total or partial;<br />
• Measures intended to prevent births within <strong>the</strong> group; • Transfer of<br />
children of <strong>the</strong> group to ano<strong>the</strong>r group<br />
Those who do address <strong>the</strong>se types of statements do not know what<br />
<strong>the</strong>y are talking about; <strong>the</strong>y do not speak from ignorance but from <strong>the</strong> irrationality<br />
of prejudice, not knowing <strong>the</strong> meaning of <strong>the</strong> concepts that arbitrarily<br />
distort meaning when applied capriciously; most of <strong>the</strong>m not users<br />
with <strong>the</strong> explicit intention of demonizing Israel, but because <strong>the</strong>y have a<br />
prejudiced view in <strong>the</strong>ir mental representations that deforms only <strong>the</strong> state<br />
of Israel. Despite this particular manifestation of <strong>the</strong> Jew phobia in some<br />
intellectuals, <strong>the</strong> majority of <strong>the</strong> intellectuals who think in this way can be<br />
considered antisemitic.<br />
And we speak not only of intellectuals who are not specialists in <strong>the</strong><br />
field, as <strong>the</strong> example of <strong>the</strong> comparison between Ramallah and Auschwitz<br />
that caught <strong>the</strong> attention of <strong>the</strong> Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, but also<br />
of academic specialists in contemporary history who should know better but<br />
do this same kind of disproportionate and unfair comparison.<br />
It is distressing that in <strong>the</strong> beginning of <strong>the</strong> 21st century, we observe a<br />
similar situation to <strong>the</strong> one <strong>the</strong> Jews fought against <strong>the</strong> Nazis in <strong>the</strong> Warsaw<br />
ghetto, but on this occasion, <strong>the</strong> victims are Palestinians isolated in camps<br />
surrounded by Israelis, where <strong>the</strong>re are many descendants of <strong>the</strong><br />
Holocaust. 18<br />
. . . We are with <strong>the</strong> people of Palestine, at a time when Zionism exerts<br />
<strong>the</strong> most brutal campaign of military aggression that mankind can imagine,<br />
comparable only with <strong>the</strong> atrocities of Nazism and its racial policy of<br />
extermination against non-Aryans, during <strong>the</strong> Government of Adolf<br />
Hitler. 19<br />
. . . What terrible irony of history that <strong>the</strong> survivors and descendents of <strong>the</strong><br />
victims of <strong>the</strong> Holocaust who carried out <strong>the</strong> Nazi-fascist dictatorship in<br />
18. Beinusz Szmukler and Vanessa Ramos, Statement of <strong>the</strong> American Association<br />
of Jurists before <strong>the</strong> Israel mass attacks against <strong>the</strong> Palestinian people published<br />
on 3/18/2002 on <strong>the</strong> WebIslam.com Web site: http://www.webislam.com/<br />
?idt=2491.<br />
19. In a statement called <strong>the</strong> Declaration of Principles and Solidarity with Venezuelan<br />
Palestine of Artists and Intellectuals, signed by more than 100 Venezuelan<br />
intellectuals. Published on <strong>the</strong> Internet 1/13/2009 at <strong>the</strong> LaClase site. Info at http://<br />
laclase.Info/national/statement-of-principles-and-solidarity-with-Palestinian-of-<strong>the</strong>artists-e-intellectuals.
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 87<br />
Europe and <strong>the</strong> former Soviet Union played <strong>the</strong> sinister methods of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
tormentors, for decades in Palestine, and now again in Lebanon. 20<br />
. . . Once again, as always, those who condemn <strong>the</strong> atrocities of Israel are<br />
accused by <strong>the</strong> Zionists as being antisemitic. Since <strong>the</strong> glorious bourgeois<br />
liberal revolution of 1789, <strong>the</strong> right to freedom of expression is sacred,<br />
but <strong>the</strong> Zionist movement would establish a rigid censorship to avoid<br />
convicting <strong>the</strong> Jews-Nazi Israel government. Poor devils. This evil prevents<br />
<strong>the</strong>m from seeing who <strong>the</strong> new Nazis are, and to <strong>the</strong> horror of<br />
Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Sobibor, <strong>the</strong>re is need to add <strong>the</strong> names of<br />
Sabra, Shatila, and Qana, among o<strong>the</strong>rs. Citizens, who defend liberal values,<br />
human rights, and respect for international legality, on top of any<br />
ideology, religion, nationality or ethnic group, have an obligation to condemn<br />
<strong>the</strong> German-Nazi horror on <strong>the</strong> Jews and <strong>the</strong> Israel-Nazi [horror] on<br />
<strong>the</strong> Palestinians. 21<br />
The quotes from <strong>the</strong>se speeches is not knowledge or reason; on <strong>the</strong><br />
contrary, this kind of arbitrary comparison is a symptom of a deep-rooted<br />
prejudice that “generated” a monster called Israel. It is a historical atrocity<br />
(which, I confess, I never thought to see) that a historian accused Israel of<br />
being a Nazi state (absurd contradiction, because <strong>the</strong> definition of Nazism<br />
was its radical antisemitism).<br />
There are intellectuals who build an anti-Israeli common sense with<br />
“subtlety,” and try to visualize <strong>the</strong> story creating “alternative realities” from<br />
<strong>the</strong> speeches that should be decoded between <strong>the</strong> lines; an example is <strong>the</strong><br />
quote from Osvaldo Bayer: “From <strong>the</strong> first Israel war against Lebanese and<br />
Syrians, in May 1948, <strong>the</strong>re is but <strong>the</strong> search for solutions through<br />
weapons.” 22<br />
Bayer’s statement is against <strong>the</strong> facts. He speaks of a first Israel war<br />
against <strong>the</strong> Syrians and Lebanese, but it seems to deliberately ignore that<br />
war broke out on <strong>the</strong> same day of <strong>the</strong> British withdrawal, May 15, 1948,<br />
when <strong>the</strong> armies of five countries (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan)—backed<br />
by Libyan volunteers, Saudis, and Yemenis—began <strong>the</strong> invasion<br />
of <strong>the</strong> newly proclaimed state of Israel. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, it seems a<br />
joke in bad taste when he says that <strong>the</strong>re was no search for solutions that<br />
20. Gilberto López y Rivas, Israel: State Terrorist, La Jornada of UNAM, July<br />
28, 2006, http://www.jornada.UNAM.MX/2006/07/28/026a1pol.PHP.<br />
21. José Girón Garrote (professor of contemporary history, University of Oviedo):<br />
The Nazi Government of Israel, August 17, 2006, WebIslam http://<br />
www.webislam.com/?idt=5521.<br />
22. Osvaldo Bayer, If You Want Peace . . . Fight for It. Posted July 29, 2006, in<br />
Diario, 12; see http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/contratapa/index-2006-07-<br />
29.html.
88 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
were not armed, since <strong>the</strong> call for coexistence in <strong>the</strong> Declaration of <strong>the</strong><br />
independence of Israel through <strong>the</strong> 1967 Khartun Conference, when <strong>the</strong><br />
Arab League, as a response to <strong>the</strong> Israel peace proposal, launched <strong>the</strong> slogan<br />
of <strong>the</strong> triple no (no to <strong>the</strong> recognition, no to <strong>the</strong> negotiation, no to<br />
peace), linking with <strong>the</strong> treaties of peace with Egypt, Jordan, and <strong>the</strong>ir own<br />
Palestinian national authority.<br />
Only someone very alienated in his prejudices can deny Israel’s negotiations.<br />
Peace will not be achieved through actions that lead to <strong>the</strong> destruction<br />
and slaughter of a people struggling to regain <strong>the</strong> land that was<br />
stripped by force and caught in a lock between <strong>the</strong> sea and an inhumane<br />
wall that isolates it from <strong>the</strong> world, deprives it of essential subsistence<br />
goods, prevents <strong>the</strong> free exercise of <strong>the</strong>ir sovereignty. 23<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r sample of interventions from ignorance is <strong>the</strong> fragment of <strong>the</strong><br />
statement cited above, in which <strong>the</strong> members of <strong>the</strong> South project say that:<br />
. . . <strong>the</strong>y will not reach peace with actions that led to <strong>the</strong> destruction and<br />
slaughter of a people struggling to regain <strong>the</strong> land taken from <strong>the</strong>m. What<br />
is referred to is <strong>the</strong> conflict in 2009 after more than 1,000 missile attacks<br />
on Israeli territory from a territory that Israel yielded in August 2005<br />
(unless you consider that Israel must be removed from Israel, <strong>the</strong> statement<br />
doesn’t make sense). On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, a claim that being subject<br />
to a lock between <strong>the</strong> sea and an inhumane wall isolates it from <strong>the</strong> world<br />
and deprives it of essential subsistence goods is more enigmatic, especially<br />
if we bear in mind that <strong>the</strong> war was in <strong>the</strong> Gaza Strip, which borders<br />
<strong>the</strong> Mediterranean Sea, Israel, and Egypt (a country that also<br />
maintains a blockade, which nobody is talking about). It not only wasn’t<br />
deprived of any goods, but on <strong>the</strong> contrary, despite <strong>the</strong> war, it received<br />
energy, water, medicines, food, etc.; o<strong>the</strong>rwise, not clear who had died<br />
from starvation in a territory in which <strong>the</strong> only product is terrorists.<br />
Finally, we must say that preventing <strong>the</strong> free exercise of its sovereignty ts<br />
a claim that you have to make of Hamas, who took power in January<br />
2006 after a bloody coup and imposed an Islamic dictatorship on <strong>the</strong><br />
population by preventing democratic exercises. All such statements are<br />
flawed with prejudices and commonplaces that are clear indicators of <strong>the</strong><br />
degree of superficiality in opinion on <strong>the</strong>se issues. Some try to use subtle<br />
techniques, e.g., disqualification, in an attempt to portray Gaza as genocidal.<br />
In this respect, we can see <strong>the</strong> example of Jeanette Becerra-Acosta,<br />
who in her article “300 million dead, victims of power,” makes a point in<br />
referring to <strong>the</strong> classification of <strong>the</strong> types of genocide made by Professor<br />
Rudolf Rummel:<br />
23. Claudio Lozano, Fernando Solanas, and Mario Mazzitelli, Fragment of a<br />
statement issued by <strong>the</strong> three members of <strong>the</strong> South project during <strong>the</strong> 2009 war<br />
against Hamas in Gaza.
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 89<br />
. . . The mega-genocide: <strong>the</strong> former Soviet Union, China and Nazi<br />
Germany, responsible for <strong>the</strong> extermination of more than 150 million<br />
people; under <strong>the</strong> genocidal seven Governments with a balance of 22<br />
dead in set millions; <strong>the</strong> suspects Korea North, Mexico and Tsarist<br />
Russia with 4 million 145 thousand victims, and those accused of murdering<br />
less than a million people, as is <strong>the</strong> case of Israel, which since<br />
1948 realized thousands of Palestinians in Shabra and Shatila, killing is<br />
16 years.” 24<br />
In this paragraph, on <strong>the</strong> one hand, <strong>the</strong> author defines, when it concerns<br />
<strong>the</strong> 40,000 25 or 59,000 26 Arabs killed by Israel, <strong>the</strong>se 54,900 victims<br />
(averaging two figures) and alchemy transforms <strong>the</strong>m, in his own words,<br />
into “centiasesinos,” accused of murdering less than a million people, as it<br />
is <strong>the</strong> case of Israel, of course missing <strong>the</strong> truth that 54,900, less than one<br />
million people, represent exactly 5.49% of <strong>the</strong> million; clearly that is not<br />
<strong>the</strong> same, politically, as claiming that 54,900 is “less than a million.” In<br />
addition, he asserts <strong>the</strong> open, shameless, and infamous libel that “ . . . Israel,<br />
which since 1948 realized thousands of Palestinians in Shabra and Shatila,<br />
killing is 16 years”—an apparent act of propaganda, lying about <strong>the</strong> massacres<br />
in <strong>the</strong> refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila in 1982 in Lebanon, which<br />
were not carried out by Israel but by <strong>the</strong> Maronite Christian Falangist<br />
militia.<br />
These things said in passing, lightly and with impunity, will be incorporated<br />
into <strong>the</strong> imagination as if <strong>the</strong>y were real and true; <strong>the</strong> collection and<br />
iteration ad infinitum of this propaganda technique eventually manages to<br />
affect <strong>the</strong> image of Israel presented to <strong>the</strong> public. Some authors need to<br />
build a Palestinian movement that justifies <strong>the</strong>ir positions, full of hollow<br />
rhetoric that has no basis in reality; an example of this is <strong>the</strong> following<br />
quote from Néstor Kohan, who asks:<br />
Why do <strong>the</strong> Palestinians hate us so [to <strong>the</strong> Jews, NB]? It is not true. It is a<br />
grave mistake to confuse Judaism with Zionism. Confusion is obviously<br />
false, if it wields in defense of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel as if makes it against<br />
Israel. The Palestinian resistance—at least on its slopes and more lucid<br />
organizations, which comes from a secular and socialist anti-imperialist<br />
24. Jeanette Becerra-Acosta, 300 million dead, victims of power, originally<br />
published in El Excelsior Mexico, January 31, 1999, and reproduced on <strong>the</strong> Internet<br />
site analytics weekly. Venezuela analytical publications, at http://www.analitica<br />
.com/VAS/1999.02.1/Internacional/06.htm.<br />
25. Gunnar Heinsohn and Daniel Pipes, The Verdadera Dimension of <strong>the</strong> Arab-<br />
Israeli War. October 23, 2007.<br />
26. Piero Scaruffi, Wars and Genocides of <strong>the</strong> 20th Century. http://<br />
www.scaruffi.com/politics/massacre.html.
90 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
branch—fights against <strong>the</strong> policy of State Israel, not against all <strong>the</strong> Jews<br />
in general. 27<br />
Then look at statements by some of <strong>the</strong> leaders that Kohan defines as:<br />
“. . . Palestinian resistance—at least on its slopes and more lucid organizations,<br />
which comes from a secular and socialist anti-imperialist branch.”<br />
The best way to dismantle <strong>the</strong>se speeches of fantasy is to confront <strong>the</strong>m<br />
with <strong>the</strong> direct words of <strong>the</strong> protagonists, and any development of fiction is<br />
disrupted. The following statements are by Anwar Raja, a representative of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Popular Front for <strong>the</strong> liberation of Palestine in Lebanon. 28 Raja claims<br />
that:<br />
Let’s be realistic—Jews have been able to falsify <strong>the</strong> story, using a<br />
shameless mentality that sees <strong>the</strong> story according to <strong>the</strong> interests of one.<br />
Jews have been able to put pressure on <strong>the</strong> world, to bring history back to<br />
write as <strong>the</strong>y wish. They extorted to <strong>the</strong> Pope during his recent visit to<br />
Palestine, mentioning <strong>the</strong> figure of six million of Palestinians . . . Jews in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Holocaust. I do not know who was standing at <strong>the</strong> gates of <strong>the</strong> crematorium<br />
and counted. I don’t know who proposed this figure. All that <strong>the</strong><br />
facts point to is inflated, forged, and exaggerated. 29<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong> abundant examples of academics recklessly expressing<br />
an opinion on this subject from <strong>the</strong> place of <strong>the</strong> no-saber is found in Emilio<br />
Cafassi, who, speaking of <strong>the</strong> conflict in <strong>the</strong> Middle East, is of <strong>the</strong> view<br />
that:<br />
In <strong>the</strong> current ghetto of <strong>the</strong> Gaza Strip, <strong>the</strong> most important of all time by<br />
27. Néstor Kohan: Antisemitism? To <strong>the</strong> memory of Simón Radowitzky and<br />
Raymundo Gleyzer. May 23, 2009, http://www.otromadrid.org/articulo/7814/<br />
antisemitismo-memoria-simonradowitzky/.<br />
28. The Popular Front for <strong>the</strong> Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is a political<br />
organization and military Marxist-Leninist, secular, nationalist Palestinian movement<br />
founded in 1967 by George Habash, also <strong>the</strong> founder of <strong>the</strong> Arab nationalist<br />
movement. PFLP had usually been <strong>the</strong> second organization of size of <strong>the</strong> Organization<br />
for <strong>the</strong> liberation of Palestine (<strong>the</strong> largest being Fatah). Today PFLP is a political<br />
party in <strong>the</strong> Palestinian national authority. Usually, PFLP has hard-line policies<br />
with respect to <strong>the</strong> national aspirations of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian Arabs, in contrast to <strong>the</strong><br />
more moderate Fatah. He opposed <strong>the</strong> Oslo accords, and for a long time opposed<br />
<strong>the</strong> proposal for resolving <strong>the</strong> Arab-Israeli conflict through <strong>the</strong> creation of two<br />
states, but in 1999, he made an agreement with <strong>the</strong> PLO leaders giving <strong>the</strong>ir agreement<br />
to negotiate with Israel.<br />
29. Anwar Raja, Fragments of an interview broadcast by Al-Alam TV on May<br />
15, 2009. May 28, 28, 2009, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3319.htm<br />
(10/17/2009).
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 91<br />
<strong>the</strong> magnitude of <strong>the</strong> concentration population, after his monumental wall<br />
guarded by compulsory militia of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel, <strong>the</strong> defenseless Palestinian<br />
population is again massacred in <strong>the</strong> name of peace and <strong>the</strong><br />
future coexistence. “Some of <strong>the</strong> successors of <strong>the</strong> ancient inhabitants of<br />
<strong>the</strong> ignominious ghettos of Nazism have believed, as <strong>the</strong>ir former torturers,<br />
<strong>the</strong> solution for peace would be first in <strong>the</strong> running of <strong>the</strong> bulls and<br />
later extermination and terror.” 30<br />
Cafassi shows an absolute ignorance of reality when he starts<br />
affirming a prejudice established as truth when he says that: “in <strong>the</strong> current<br />
ghetto of Gaza Strip, <strong>the</strong> most important of all time by <strong>the</strong> magnitude of <strong>the</strong><br />
concentration population . . .” 31<br />
If we proceed to distort <strong>the</strong> facts, we make a dubious assumption that<br />
<strong>the</strong> Gaza Strip is a ghetto in which approximately 1,551,859 people live<br />
(July 2009 estimate). 32 The total surface of <strong>the</strong> Gaza Strip is 360 square<br />
kilometers, which gives an approximate figure of a population density of<br />
4,310 people per square kilometer. In <strong>the</strong> Warsaw ghetto 33 more than<br />
400,000 Jews lived in an area of 3.37 Km 2 , which makes it a population<br />
density of 118.694 inhabitants per Km 2 , a population density 27,54 times<br />
greater than that of <strong>the</strong> Gaza Strip; in <strong>the</strong> Lodz ghetto, 34 a population of<br />
164,000 Jews was overcrowded in an area 10.36 Km 2 , of which only 2.4<br />
Km 2 was developed and habitable 35 —a population density of 15,830 persons<br />
per Km 2 , or 68,333 persons per Km 2 if you look at only <strong>the</strong> habitable<br />
area. This is 3.67 (15.86) times <strong>the</strong> density of <strong>the</strong> Gaza Strip. We quote<br />
<strong>the</strong>se examples as a sign of a system of institutions of confinement of Nazi<br />
Germany covering more than 400 ghettos. These places of confinement<br />
were designed with <strong>the</strong> aim of annihilating <strong>the</strong> majority of its population<br />
through hunger, cold, and disease; hence, <strong>the</strong> trivialization that makes<br />
Cafassi relate, from <strong>the</strong> left, with <strong>the</strong> denial of <strong>the</strong> Shoah. It has nothing to<br />
do with <strong>the</strong> historical facts. Then, to continue with Cafassi: “In <strong>the</strong> current<br />
ghetto of Gaza . . . Strip after his monumental wall guarded by compulsory<br />
militia of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel, <strong>the</strong> defenseless Palestinian population is again<br />
30. Emilio Cafassi, Extermination After <strong>the</strong> Wall. The Republic, January 11,<br />
2009, http://www.larepublica.com.uy/contratapa/348506-el-exterminio-tras-elmuro.<br />
31. Emilio Cafassi, Extermination After <strong>the</strong> Wall.<br />
32. Data source: http://www.indexmundi.com/gaza_strip/population.html.<br />
33. Data source: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=<br />
10005069.<br />
34. Data source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodz_ghetto http://en.wikipedia.<br />
org/wiki/Lodz_ghetto<br />
35. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodz_ghetto.
92 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
massacred in <strong>the</strong> name of peace and <strong>the</strong> future coexistence.” 36<br />
It is really surprising that someone is issuing opinions so superficial<br />
about this conflict or any o<strong>the</strong>r social event. Talk about <strong>the</strong> wall of Gaza<br />
and ignoring that <strong>the</strong>re are no walls in Gaza—<strong>the</strong>re is a woven wire fence at<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r borders and <strong>the</strong> wall referred to is located in <strong>the</strong> West Bank. Only an<br />
ignoramus can issue such nonsense. But against Israel it is easy to say; it is<br />
free and gives “prestige.” On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, calling <strong>the</strong> Defense Army of<br />
Israel (EDI) “compulsory militia” is a crude attempt to lower <strong>the</strong> category<br />
to delegitimize it, because in a consolidated statement, <strong>the</strong> use of <strong>the</strong> “militia”<br />
concept refers to a situation opposite an army of regular (as is <strong>the</strong> case<br />
of EDI) paramilitary types (armed civilians). As a contradiction, an example<br />
of <strong>the</strong> double standard of “Palestinian militias” is one of <strong>the</strong> euphemisms<br />
that critics of Israel use to “legitimize” murderous terrorists of<br />
civilians, because <strong>the</strong> absence of a state justifies <strong>the</strong> existence of armed<br />
“civilians” who “fight against ‘occupation’ and its ‘national liberation.’ ”<br />
Finally, Cafassi concludes that: “Some of <strong>the</strong> successors of <strong>the</strong> old<br />
inhabitants of <strong>the</strong> ignominious ghettos of Nazism have believed, as <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
former torturers, <strong>the</strong> solution for peace would be first in <strong>the</strong> running of <strong>the</strong><br />
bulls and later extermination and terror,” 37 which is <strong>the</strong> logical extension of<br />
his willful exaggeration about <strong>the</strong> alleged ghetto of <strong>the</strong> Gaza Strip, that this<br />
territory is “<strong>the</strong> largest Ghetto of history.” Then it is logical to blame <strong>the</strong><br />
Jews (successors to <strong>the</strong> ancient inhabitants of <strong>the</strong> ignominious ghettos of<br />
Nazism) to be (or think) as <strong>the</strong> Nazis (have believed, as <strong>the</strong>ir former torturers),<br />
that <strong>the</strong> solution for peace would be first in <strong>the</strong> “running of <strong>the</strong> bulls”<br />
(and later in extermination and terror). This is simply illiteracy or malicious<br />
intention (whatever <strong>the</strong> situation is <strong>the</strong> militant year of <strong>the</strong> bias).<br />
This criticism of Israel quickly exaggerates and goes beyond <strong>the</strong> limits<br />
of <strong>the</strong> rational. In an interesting article, which I quote an excerpt from<br />
below, a professor at <strong>the</strong> Autonomous National University of Mexico<br />
described as “ideological discourse” <strong>the</strong> process that attends a part of <strong>the</strong><br />
intelligentsia in relation to <strong>the</strong> actions of Israel:<br />
. . . I am concerned that, in <strong>the</strong> spirit of defending <strong>the</strong> Palestinian people,<br />
our intellectuals of <strong>the</strong> left end up supporting <strong>the</strong> Islamic fundamentalists.<br />
He does not, <strong>the</strong>n, accept <strong>the</strong> bombardment or invasion of <strong>the</strong> Gaza Strip,<br />
nor much less justify <strong>the</strong> deaths of civilians. This is, to my taste, not<br />
forgetting <strong>the</strong> international and regional context in which <strong>the</strong>se actions<br />
involved and not to fall into <strong>the</strong> ingenuity in <strong>the</strong> analysis . . . It is natural<br />
that <strong>the</strong> abuse in <strong>the</strong> use of force is sentenced. It is also natural that if one<br />
sees shelled unarmed populations and innocent victims, <strong>the</strong> first thing<br />
36. Emilio Cafassi, Extermination After <strong>the</strong> Wall.<br />
37. Emilio Cafassi, Extermination After <strong>the</strong> Wall.
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 93<br />
that comes to mind is an immediate condemnation and unquestionable<br />
. . . The sentence is also easily overblown. He immediately speaks of<br />
“genocide” and even intellectuals in beginning serious reveal assumptions<br />
plans to empty <strong>the</strong> West Bank and Gaza of Palestinians. The issue<br />
reaches antisemitic dyes with equal ease. Our leftist intellectuals can only<br />
see one side to <strong>the</strong> shameful state of Israel and <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r to <strong>the</strong> unarmed<br />
victimized Palestinian people . . . The problem is that Hamas, like Iran,<br />
has vowed to take to <strong>the</strong> sea of Israel Jews and disappear from <strong>the</strong> map.<br />
That is, <strong>the</strong>y did preach genocide and it is not difficult to know what you<br />
would do if <strong>the</strong>y had <strong>the</strong> strength to carry out <strong>the</strong>ir plans . . . Many<br />
intellectuals of <strong>the</strong> left dislike <strong>the</strong> American imperialism that doesn’t care<br />
that it is aligned with whoever is opposed, even if <strong>the</strong>se are octogenarian<br />
dictators with 50 years in power, populists bordering on insanity or<br />
Islamic fundamentalists. In any case, some positions end up defending<br />
Hamas, in order to oppose <strong>the</strong> United States and Israel. This mixes <strong>the</strong><br />
just demands of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian people with <strong>the</strong> claims of Muslim extremists.<br />
They forget that <strong>the</strong> ideal of <strong>the</strong>se groups is not <strong>the</strong> formal states that<br />
are democratic, tolerant, and peaceful; <strong>the</strong>se intellectuals, secularized<br />
generally, would not survive even a month in a regime of this. Israel may<br />
have many flaws, but at least is a democracy, that defends <strong>the</strong> same values<br />
as we do. In his Parliament <strong>the</strong>re are Arab representatives that speak<br />
for <strong>the</strong> million and a half of Israeli Arabs, and <strong>the</strong> press has freedom of<br />
expression. Its intellectuals may or may not be according to what <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
Government is doing and are free to say so. This is impossible in most of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Arab countries and Iran. Indeed, Israel is a piece of <strong>the</strong> West, with all<br />
its values, in <strong>the</strong> Middle East. That does not mean, of course, that we<br />
have to be in agreement and justified car what does <strong>the</strong> Israeli government,<br />
which holds a majority in favor of <strong>the</strong>ir acts of war. But at least this<br />
circumstance we should prevent a naive support of groups of Islamic<br />
fundamentalists. 38<br />
Israel, in <strong>the</strong> constructs of some intellectuals, would seem to be<br />
equivalent to <strong>the</strong> black hole in physics as a place with laws that may not be<br />
governed by <strong>the</strong> same universal laws that apply to <strong>the</strong> rest of <strong>the</strong> universe of<br />
<strong>the</strong> nations. There, everything acquires its own dimension and deserves a<br />
unique status. When we see this exclusive irrational obsession in relation to<br />
<strong>the</strong> conduct of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel, along with demands for its pristine conduct<br />
and monitored closely for its actions and unequal treatment in relation<br />
to what it gives to <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r 200 nations of <strong>the</strong> world, we are led to <strong>the</strong> idea<br />
that <strong>the</strong> cause of antisemitism not must be sought in <strong>the</strong> Jew but in <strong>the</strong><br />
antisemite.<br />
Israel is thus transformed into one of <strong>the</strong> most criminal states of history<br />
by an exercise in rhetoric that assigns adjectives to concepts that pro-<br />
38. Roberto Blancarte, Politically incorrect; Hamas and Israel. iglhrc January<br />
13, 2009, http://www.milenio.com/node/146603.
94 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
gressive discourse considers <strong>the</strong> embodiment of radical evil (Nazi,<br />
genocidal, colonialist, imperialist, terrorist state, racist, segregationist, etc.).<br />
But this cannot magically materialize <strong>the</strong>se social relationships (even<br />
though for <strong>the</strong> “progressive,” Jew phobia has as much reality as did <strong>the</strong><br />
“Jewish threat” to <strong>the</strong> Nazi or <strong>the</strong> “Jew-vampire” consumer ritual of human<br />
blood perpetrated by <strong>the</strong> medieval Jew phobia).<br />
“Christ killers” to “murderous rituals”; “murderous rituals” to<br />
“genocidaires,” collective fantasies about <strong>the</strong> Jews have <strong>the</strong> power to<br />
“translate,” and to assume a “credible” appearance. The fact is that <strong>the</strong> irrational<br />
fantasies of Jew phobia are reproduced and recycled. “Conspirators to<br />
kill Christ” to “plotters to betray <strong>the</strong> nation that <strong>the</strong> blanket”; “plotters to<br />
betray <strong>the</strong> nation that <strong>the</strong> blanket” to “conspirators to dominate <strong>the</strong> world”;<br />
“usurers” to “stars of <strong>the</strong> Holocaust.” These discursive axes are maintained<br />
throughout history and are recycled and adapted according to <strong>the</strong> new social<br />
conditions. The main characteristic of <strong>the</strong> new Judeophobia is <strong>the</strong> confluence<br />
of <strong>the</strong> three main antisemitic groups: radical left, Islamic fundamentalism,<br />
and extreme right wing, all present at a discursive level.<br />
THE “JEW-ZIONIST CONSPIRACY” MYTH<br />
According to U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz: “It<br />
is marked as <strong>the</strong> operator of <strong>the</strong> companies of <strong>the</strong> Jewish lobby in <strong>the</strong> business<br />
of <strong>the</strong> wars and <strong>the</strong> ‘reconstruction,’ and so union as <strong>the</strong> main introducer<br />
of <strong>the</strong> techniques of torture in Iraqi prisons of <strong>the</strong> occupation.” 39<br />
“Bush won and so did <strong>the</strong> Zionist lobby, which keeps him in each of<br />
its actions in support of <strong>the</strong> criminal Israeli premier Sharon”; “Lost Kerry<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Zionist lobby, which also handed out millions of dollars in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
electoral basket, knows that he has an ally of iron to hinder any departure of<br />
self-determination of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian people, at <strong>the</strong> time <strong>the</strong> invaded, <strong>the</strong><br />
attacked, <strong>the</strong> exile, but never defeated . . .” 40<br />
Personal current fundamentalism, among which is Zionism or Jewish<br />
fundamentalism interested in pushing through its Jew American lobby to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Bush administration, which carried out <strong>the</strong> war of imperialist aggression<br />
39. Anonymous, Wolfowitz: Jewish Lobby “to <strong>the</strong> World Bank,” on <strong>the</strong> Web<br />
site of <strong>the</strong> Communist Party of Peru, http://www.patriaroja.org.pe/html/colaboraciones/wolfowitz_del_lobby_judio_al_banco_mundial.htm<br />
40. Carlos Aznárez, When Bush and nearly 60 million reasons to not sleep<br />
peacefully on <strong>the</strong> web site of Gramma (official organ of <strong>the</strong> Communist Party of<br />
Cuba), http://www.granma.cu/espanol/2004/noviembre/sabado6/razones-e.html on<br />
January 22, 2002.
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 95<br />
against Iraq to make this <strong>the</strong> Palestinian Holocaust background . . . 41<br />
The Israeli lobby, through <strong>the</strong> media that controls in <strong>the</strong> United States<br />
and o<strong>the</strong>r “Western” countries, tries to hide what a professor at <strong>the</strong> University<br />
of Jerusalem, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, expressed starkly as “<strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
fist force comes from <strong>the</strong> glove of steel which covers, and <strong>the</strong> money to<br />
quilting.” 42<br />
The ambiguity in <strong>the</strong> application by <strong>the</strong> United States military means<br />
that in Somalia or Haiti, Panama or Iraq, for <strong>the</strong> exit policy negotiated,<br />
recalls largely—saving joints—<strong>the</strong> episode of Vietnam. Not reached many<br />
times to be <strong>the</strong> “strongest” to overcome. And this is especially true in this<br />
phase of total hegemony of <strong>the</strong> Jew American lobby. His extraordinary<br />
apparent power is his great weakness, since <strong>the</strong> foreign policy of this sui<br />
generis rule depends on <strong>the</strong> viability of a microstate: that of Israel. There is<br />
no possible analogy with Rome. The absence of strategic clarity is undoubtedly<br />
<strong>the</strong> greatest current enemy of <strong>the</strong> American nation. 43<br />
The Israeli lobby has many think tanks, which provide future advisers<br />
in various administrations, Republican and Democrats . . . It was a constant<br />
policy—part of <strong>the</strong> Israeli state and long before its independence as a state<br />
in May 1948—to maintain various pressure groups within us, and based on<br />
a large and often wealthy, Jewish collectivity. 44<br />
DENIAL/TRIVIALIZATION OF THE HOLOCAUST<br />
“Holocaust” is a word of biblical connotations that serves very well to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Zionist purposes, although it misrepresents <strong>the</strong> historical meaning of<br />
Nazi barbarism. Despite <strong>the</strong> apocryphal of much of <strong>the</strong> diary of Anne<br />
Frank, still presenting it as “historical documents.” As <strong>the</strong> Nazi repression<br />
against <strong>the</strong> Jews, “genocide” (“genocide” means <strong>the</strong> extermination of a people<br />
or an ethnic community, and <strong>the</strong> Jewish community was not exterminated<br />
but from 1945, met an extraordinary boom), and talk of <strong>the</strong> “greatest<br />
genocide in history” is used to delete <strong>the</strong> attention of major genocide that<br />
41. Edward Nuñez, The Criminal State of Israel: A danger for <strong>the</strong> peace of <strong>the</strong><br />
world, http://ecuador.indymedia.org/es/2003/07/3114.shtml 7 22, 2003.<br />
42. Article philosopher Roger Garaudy alleged Zionist collaboration with <strong>the</strong><br />
Nazi regime. Document of <strong>the</strong> “national left,” http://www.geocities.com/<br />
izquierda_nacional/mundo004.html.<br />
43. Norberto Ceresole (Argentine neo-Nazi now deceased; was advisor to <strong>the</strong><br />
Jew-phobic Venezuelan President Húgo Chávez), Jewish Power in <strong>the</strong> West and<br />
East, Radio Islam, http://abbc2.com/islam/spanish/sion/poder/poder1.html.<br />
44. Horacio Ricchiardelli, Report on Condor, May 2003, published on a Web<br />
site linked to <strong>the</strong> coup leader Mohammed Ali Seineld, http://documentos.seineldin.<br />
8m.com/cn06052003.html.
96 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:71<br />
pollutes <strong>the</strong> memory of <strong>the</strong> victors of <strong>the</strong> war: <strong>the</strong> decimated Indian in<br />
America, <strong>the</strong> killing of African slaves, <strong>the</strong> savage repressions of Stalin . . .<br />
60 million indigenous people (out of a total of 80 million) were killed in<br />
South America since <strong>the</strong> conquest. And <strong>the</strong> second world war itself caused<br />
50 million dead, 20 of whom were Soviet and almost 10 million German!<br />
Who remembers today <strong>the</strong> killing of Dresden on February 13, 1945, when<br />
Anglo-American phosphorus bombs claimed 200,000 civilian casualties in<br />
a few hours? 45<br />
Maneuvers that seem almost science fiction, especially to stifle any<br />
serious attempt to demonstrate <strong>the</strong>ir falsity, have been used to protect <strong>the</strong><br />
sacred six million lie. Thus, when in 1995 <strong>the</strong> Japanese economy and business<br />
magazine Marcopolo published an innocent comment pointing out that<br />
“each time were less reason to believe that <strong>the</strong> Nazi Germany would have<br />
occurred in a Holocaust” of Jews and Gypsies, <strong>the</strong> all-powerful world of<br />
Judaism moved its threads and won. Both <strong>the</strong> magazine and <strong>the</strong> respective<br />
journalist were punished without invoking any existing legislation, and<br />
Marcopolo can cite, for <strong>the</strong> rest of its existence, any o<strong>the</strong>r reference on <strong>the</strong><br />
Holocaust . . . 46<br />
THE “NAZIFICATION” OF ISRAEL<br />
Israel is behaving (with <strong>the</strong> Palestinians, I have to say), as Nazi Germany<br />
behaved in its time with <strong>the</strong> Jews. And I am not referring only to <strong>the</strong><br />
Israeli government, presided over by <strong>the</strong> military right-wing Ariel Sharon—<br />
but also to <strong>the</strong> Israel people as a whole. 47<br />
“The Israel State is a State criminal, genocidal and terrorist, and <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
very existence is a problem for world peace.” 48<br />
“They can never claim Jews around <strong>the</strong> world, as well as his sponsor,<br />
did not know what was happening.” It’s Holocaust-like ancestors who suffered<br />
by <strong>the</strong> fact of belonging to a people. Palestinian citizens suffer this<br />
extermination today. The silence of people who hold to <strong>the</strong> Israeli state<br />
make <strong>the</strong>m accomplices of a system of death with terrible consequences. 49<br />
45. Roger Garaudy, Denouncing Zionist Collaboration.<br />
46. Anonymous, The evidence that <strong>the</strong> Holocaust Jew is a fantasy, http://<br />
www.resistenciaria.org/revisionismo/MENTIRAS.htm.<br />
47. Antonio Caballero, Human Nature, Semana.com Internet, http://<br />
semana.terra.com.co/opencms/opencms/semana/articulo.html?id=74630.<br />
48. Edward Nuñez, The Criminal State of Israel: A danger for <strong>the</strong> peace of <strong>the</strong><br />
world, http://ecuador.indymedia.org/es/2003/07/3114.shtml 7 22, 2003.<br />
49. José Carlos García Fajardo, Holocaust of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian people, published<br />
on <strong>the</strong> page of <strong>the</strong> Complutense University of Madrid, in http://www.ucm.es/info/<br />
solidarios/ccs/articulos/oriente_med/holocausto_del_pueblo_palestino.htm
2011] THE NEW JUDEOPHOBIA 97<br />
“It is sad to see <strong>the</strong> almost parallel similarity between <strong>the</strong> treatment of<br />
Nazis dispensed to <strong>the</strong> Jews and that Jews dispense today ‘to <strong>the</strong> Palestinians<br />
and Arabs in general.’” 50<br />
“Israel is a militarized and genocidal people that want <strong>the</strong> expulsion of<br />
all Palestinians: a terminator attitude of <strong>the</strong>se neo-Nazis with kaftan, that in<br />
spite of this new ‘road map’ is not vigilant in its efforts to seize <strong>the</strong> territory<br />
is continuing.” 51<br />
This discursive confluence, expression of <strong>the</strong> emergence, and consolidation<br />
of a common political space (anti-globalization movement) have<br />
delivered a new form of Judeophobia, giving form to what we might call<br />
neo-Judeophobia.<br />
The current situation between antisemitic groups gives reason to<br />
assert, paraphrasing Marx and Engels, in view of <strong>the</strong> events in recent years,<br />
that it seems as if “a ghost travels <strong>the</strong> world”—<strong>the</strong> Phantom of <strong>the</strong> Jew<br />
phobia. Antisemites of <strong>the</strong> world, unite!<br />
*Patricio Brodsky (b. 1962) is an Argentinian sociologist and former professor and<br />
researcher at <strong>the</strong> Universidad de Buenos Aires. A scholar in genocide, antisemitism,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Shoah, and discrimination, he is a contributor to several periodicals,<br />
including <strong>the</strong> Spanish Israeli daily Aurora, and <strong>the</strong> author of five books, <strong>the</strong> latest<br />
entitled Deconstruyendo la (Neo) Judeofobia (Deconstructing <strong>the</strong> New Judeophobia).<br />
Brodsky is completing doctoral studies at <strong>the</strong> Universidad de General<br />
Sarmiento, Argentina, with a dissertation, Social Representations of Jews in <strong>the</strong><br />
Argentinian Print Media (1947-2007).<br />
50. Anonymous, The False Hebrew Democracy, http://diosesdeburja.iespana.es/<br />
la_falsa_democracia_hebrea.htm.<br />
51. Anonymous, Freedom for Palestine, http://diosesdeburja.iespana.es/<br />
libertad_para_palestina.htm.
La Neojudeofobia en la Izquierda de América<br />
Latina: Algunos Elementos Para la Reflexión 1<br />
Patricio Brodsky<br />
De un manifiesto de Intelectuales Argentinos de 1967 firmado entre otros<br />
por: Sergio Bagú, Gregorio Klimovsky, Ernesto Sábato, León<br />
Rozitchner, David Viñas, Noe Jitrik, Bernardo Verbitsky, Inda Ledesma,<br />
Gregorio Selser, Abelardo Castillo y César Tiempo.<br />
“ . . . es incuestionable el derecho del Estado de Israel a su existencia.<br />
La independencia del pueblo judío en Israel fue resultado del<br />
esfuerzo de sus sectores pioneros y de vanguardia, fue respuesta a la<br />
incapacidad del mundo de resolver el problema judío; responde a legítimos<br />
anhelos de liberación nacional, y fue respaldada en su oportunidad<br />
por todo el mundo progresista . . .”<br />
Soy de Argentina, soy judío, y para iniciar una reflexión acerca de<br />
algunos acontecimientos en este país (y en esta región) no puedo eludir que<br />
existe una larga tradición de antisemitismo/judeofobia que se remonta prácticamente<br />
a los orígenes de la inmigración judía a la Argentina.<br />
El antisemitismo estaba muy arraigado en las clases altas de entonces.<br />
Algunos ejemplos: en 1890 apareció en La Nación, en forma de folletín,<br />
una furiosa novela antisemita llamada La bolsa de Julián Martel; en enero<br />
de 1888 (apenas ocho meses antes de morirse), el mismísimo Domingo<br />
Faustino Sarmiento publicó varios artículos antijudíos en El Nacional; el<br />
diario La Prensa, en distintas oportunidades, manifestó su oposición a que<br />
los judíos formen comunas agrarias en Entre Ríos y Santa Fe; y, sobre todo,<br />
la “acción” del 15 de mayo de 1910, diez días antes del Centenario, cuando<br />
jóvenes de clase alta, salidos de la muy exclusiva “Sociedad Sportiva<br />
Argentina” bajo la conducción del barón Demarchi, asaltaron las sedes del<br />
Avangard, órgano del Bund, agrupación obrera socialista judía, y la<br />
denominada Biblioteca Rusa, para quemar luego sus libros en la xenofobia<br />
de la oligarquía de aquélla época: “El mismo odio racial que la burguesía<br />
liberal sentía por el mestizo, al que trató de sustituir por el inmigrante<br />
europeo, se volcó después hacia el propio inmigrante cuando éste se reveló<br />
1. He decidido expresamente evitar trabajar sobre el discurso de Hugo Chávez<br />
y de Fidel Castro pues son los más conocidos, me he enfocado, sobre todo, aunque<br />
no exclusivamente en los discursos de intelectuales, referentes y políticos de la<br />
izquierda radical argentina.<br />
99
100 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
inesperadamente con un dinámico elemento de agitación social.” 2<br />
Entre los antecedentes directos de los hechos que podríamos enumerar,<br />
hay algunos que se destacan por su importancia cualitativa:<br />
• Durante la Semana Trágica de Enero de 1919 se produjeron los,<br />
hasta hoy en día, únicos pogromos de América, hubo ataques a los<br />
barrios judíos en Buenos Aires dejando varias decenas de muertos<br />
y un número grande de heridos; en ningún otro país de nuestro<br />
continente se produjeron este tipo de asaltos.<br />
• Las cédulas de identidad emitidas a judíos por la Policía Federal<br />
Argentina en las décadas de 1910 y 1920 llevaban estampada una<br />
Estrella de David.<br />
• En 1937, Marcos Savon cónsul argentino en Gdynia, Polonia, envió<br />
varias notas al Cónsul Carlos Saavedra Lamas, bajo el título<br />
“Problema Semita”. En la nota del 14 de julio de 1937, en vísperas<br />
de la invasión nazi, escribió: Los ataques a personas y propiedades<br />
judías, continúan . . . Por otra parte, y a semejanza de lo que se<br />
estila en Alemania, se reunirá en setiembre próximo, un congreso<br />
de profesionales, en el que se discutirá la inclusión de una cláusula<br />
en los estatutos, por la que se prohíba a los judíos la entrada a las<br />
asociaciones de cristianos. Debo agregar que en los trenes el judío<br />
tiene lugar reservado. Todas estas medidas enconan los ánimos, y<br />
fatalmente se llegará a los pogroms de ante guerra. Acosado, el<br />
judío trata de emigrar . . . soy de opinión que convendría que se<br />
opusieran más trabas a la inmigración de esa raza, que parte de<br />
Polonia animada del más profundo rencor hacia el cristiano, y dispuesto<br />
a cometer los mayores excesos. Además, no pasa semana sin<br />
que el gobierno polaco no allane centros de organizaciones<br />
comunistas, en las que la mayoría son judíos, cosa que mantiene en<br />
alarma a las autoridades.<br />
• La existencia de “instrucciones secretas” vedando el ingreso a<br />
Argentina a perseguidos por el nazismo (la casi totalidad de ellos<br />
judíos), en efecto, el descubrimiento de la circular secreta N° 11<br />
firmada por el entonces Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores José<br />
María Cantilo el 12 de julio de 1938, es un claro ejemplo de ello,<br />
en esta circular se instruía a los funcionarios de Cancillería que:<br />
“sin perjuicio de las demás disposiciones establecidas para la<br />
selección de los viajeros” que venían a este país, y “salvo orden<br />
especial” de la Cancillería, los cónsules debían “negar la visa aún<br />
2. Schiller, Herman: El primer “Pogrom” en la Argentina. Publicado el 3 de<br />
enero de 1999 en el diario Página 12. Reproducido en Internet http://www.salta<br />
21.com/+El-primer-pogrom-en-la-Argentina+.html.
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 101<br />
a título de turista o pasajero de tránsito a toda persona que<br />
fundadamente se considere que abandona o ha abandonado su país<br />
de origen como indeseable o expulsado, cualquiera sea el motivo<br />
de su expulsión.”<br />
• Luego en la postguerra la política de “fronteras cerradas” a los<br />
sobrevivientes de la Shoá y el ingreso masivo de criminales de<br />
guerra nazis y cómplices como por ejemplo Adolf Eichmann,<br />
Joseph Mengele, Erich Priebke, Ante Pavelic, Josef<br />
Schwammberger, Gerhard Bohne, Walter Kutschmann, Dinko<br />
Sakic, Radislaw Ostrowsky, Ferdinand Durcansky, Albert<br />
Ganzenmueller y Hans Fischboeck<br />
• Con posterioridad a la captura de Eichmann se vivió en Argentina<br />
una ola de atentados antisemitas (realizados fundamentalmente por<br />
la organización terrorista ultraderechista y “nazionalista” el<br />
Movimiento Nacionalista Tacuara; los dos casos más graves de<br />
antisemitismo de Tacuara fueron: 1) el secuestro de Graciela Sirota,<br />
el 21 de junio de 1962. La joven de 19 años fue golpeada, subida a<br />
un auto cuando esperaba el colectivo para ir a la facultad y torturada<br />
groseramente con quemaduras de cigarrillos por todo el<br />
cuerpo. Para terminar, le grabaron con una navaja una esvástica en<br />
el pecho. Este caso provocó gran indignación en la sociedad y<br />
muchas criticas por la impunidad con la que contaba Tacuara y 2)<br />
En 1964, como venganza por la muerte de dos militantes del<br />
MNRT y uno de la Juventud Peronista en un confuso incidente<br />
sindical en el Plenario de la CGT en Rosario, fue asesinado en la<br />
puerta de su casa Raul Alterman, un joven militante judío de<br />
izquierda. Nunca quedó muy claro por qué fue elegido Alterman<br />
como blanco del ataque, aunque se supone que su elección, fue solo<br />
por su condición de judío y socialista. Luego del asesinato, la<br />
organización Tacuara envió una carta a los padres de Alterman,<br />
diciendo: Nadie mata porque sí nomás; a su hijo lo han matado<br />
porque era un perro judío comunista. Si no están conformes que se<br />
retiren todos los perros y explotadores judíos a su Judea natal<br />
¿Qué hacen en nuestro país?.<br />
• Argentina es el único país del mundo en el que se “fabricó” una<br />
versión criolla del infame mito del “complot judío para la dominación<br />
universal”, me refiero al “Plan Andina”, fantasía vernácula<br />
construida sobre los infames “Protocolos de los Sabios de Sión”.<br />
• Luego durante la Dictadura Militar de 1976, como se relata en el<br />
Nunca Más, los desaparecidos judíos, tuvieron que soportar un<br />
“plus” de torturas y humillaciones debido al carácter profundamente<br />
antisemita de los torturadores argentinos.
102 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
• Finalmente, en la década de 1990, Argentina sufrió dos de los<br />
peores atentados antisemitas de la postguerra; los atentados contra<br />
la Embajada de Israel (1992) y contra la sede de la AMIA (1994),<br />
en ambos casos no se hubieran podido realizar sin apoyo local, y no<br />
permanecerían impunes sin el encubrimiento brindado desde ciertos<br />
estamentos del estado.<br />
El antisemitismo se caracteriza por una mutación perenne adecuando<br />
las creencias y los prejuicios a situaciones cambiantes, en vez de adaptar el<br />
análisis, terminan por culpar a los judíos de sus fracasos, por ejemplo:<br />
La escatología mesiánica del cristianismo del siglo I de la era común<br />
postulaba que en pocos años se produciría el retorno del mesías y<br />
comenzaría la era mesiánica de redención de la humanidad. Al transcurrir<br />
los siglos y ver fracasada esta profecía, los dirigentes de la iglesia<br />
católica comenzaron a culpar a la “tozudez intransigente” de los judíos en<br />
no reconocer a Jesús como el mesías como principal causa de postergación<br />
del retorno de Jesús. En forma análoga algunos de los padres<br />
fundadores del socialismo pronosticaron que la “cuestión judía” sería<br />
resuelta el día que los judíos se asimilaran y el judaísmo desapareciera;<br />
esperaba que el judaísmo desapareciera fundiéndose en el humanismo<br />
socialista internacionalista. Cuando, por el contrario, en vez de<br />
desaparecer, la identidad judía se revitaliza con el desarrollo del<br />
movimiento de identidad nacional judía: el sionismo, al nacer, desarrollarse<br />
y fortalecerse el movimiento de liberación nacional del pueblo<br />
judío, la actitud de una parte de las izquierdas es oponérsele y, finalmente<br />
(en vez de sostenerlo como al resto de los movimientos de liberación<br />
nacional) terminan acusándolo injustamente de ser racista y genocida.<br />
En los siglos XIX y XX hubo algunos pensadores que veían a los<br />
judíos como los “responsables” del capitalismo, mientras que entendían a<br />
este sistema social como el triunfo de un supuesto “espíritu mercantilista”<br />
del judío que habría impregnado al cristianismo (Marx), una virtual<br />
“judeización” del cristianismo. Hoy en día, otros (herederos y tributarios de<br />
los primeros) modificaron su mirada y entienden a los judíos (encarnados<br />
en Israel) como el poder impulsor de la globalización a través del lobby<br />
judeo-norteamericano (Petras), y otros entienden que la “normalización” de<br />
los judíos a través del estado de Israel y la adopción (por parte del gobierno<br />
de dicho estado) de políticas neoliberales en lo económico serían una virtual<br />
“cristianización” de los judíos (Rozitchner). Como se ve, la esencia del<br />
proceso es la misma pero el sentido de la ecuación es inverso; lo perverso<br />
es que en ambas ecuaciones se coloca a los judíos en el lugar del mal y en<br />
actitud conspirativa.<br />
Vemos que este mecanismo se repite una y otra vez ya que ayer los<br />
judíos eran condenados por existir de igual manera que hoy Israel es con-
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 103<br />
denado por existir (independientemente de sus acciones). Lo que caracteriza<br />
a las críticas judeófobas es su desmesura, su desproporción y su injusticia.<br />
Cualquier cosa es válida y creíble tratándose de Israel (los judíos); ayer se<br />
decía que los judíos asesinaban niños cristianos para amasar pan ácimo para<br />
pascuas, hoy plantean que Israel es un estado asesino de mujeres y niños.<br />
Ayer decían que el judío tenía cuernos y cola, hoy plantean que Israel es un<br />
estado genocida y colonialista.<br />
Por lo tanto vemos que Argentina es un país destacado cuando<br />
trazamos la “hoja de ruta” del antisemitismo, es un país con una<br />
importancia particular al respecto. Aclarado este punto pasaré a desarrollar<br />
el tema de la judeofobia actual.<br />
Cuatro décadas después de la declaración que cito a modo de epígrafe<br />
el imaginario de algunos de los firmantes de estos manifiestos ha variado<br />
sustancialmente, hoy algunos de ellos, como por ejemplo León Rozitchner<br />
ha tenido un cambio radical en su mirada sobre Israel. ¿Qué es lo que ha<br />
ocurrido para que el clima general de la intelectualidad progresista hacia<br />
Israel se haya vuelto tan manifiestamente hostil?<br />
Este cambio de postura llega a tal punto que por todos lados vemos<br />
aflorar declaraciones y manifiestos de renombrados intelectuales condenando<br />
a Israel y llamamientos convocando al boicot deportivo, social, político,<br />
académico, artístico y cultural contra el estado judío invocando, en<br />
muchos casos, la campaña de boicot que se realizara durante los ’70 y los<br />
’80 contra el régimen racista de apar<strong>the</strong>id en Sudáfrica (dando así por<br />
sentado, implícitamente, que Israel sería el heredero de sus políticas<br />
segregacionistas).<br />
En casos más extremos e irracionales nos hallamos con la insólita<br />
aparición de odios atávicos, mitos de origen religioso (como la acusación de<br />
deicidio) reciclados como “herramienta política” de descalificación de<br />
Israel. Ejemplo de esto que decimos es la utilización por parte de un<br />
prestigioso sociólogo marxista, James Petrás, del mito del deicidio 3 (los<br />
judíos asesinos de Cristo), en un cuento fechado el 21 de diciembre de 2001<br />
llamado “Navidad en los Territorios Ocupados” afirma:<br />
La radio israelí anunció que tres supuestos terroristas árabes que habían<br />
huido de Afganistán habían sido asesinados en un escondite de Belén<br />
tras haber cruzado la frontera. El gobierno israelí pidió disculpas en<br />
caso de que hubiera habido alguna víctima civil. Los medios de comunicación<br />
en EE.UU. repitieron la misma historia, al tiempo que Washing-<br />
3. Dado que en la Encíclica “Nostra Aetate” el Concilio Vaticano II, deslindó a<br />
la totalidad del pueblo judío de responsabilidad por la muerte de Cristo, posturas<br />
como la del “marxista” Petrás son tan reaccionarias como la de los católicos<br />
preconciliares.
104 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
ton felicitaba al gobierno israelí por su papel en la lucha contra el<br />
terrorismo internacional. Jesús había vivido solamente un día. 4<br />
Inclusive en nuestro medio, renombrados y respetados intelectuales<br />
judíos de la izquierda progresista como Hermann Schiller han llegado a<br />
tener que hacer declaraciones explicando que no participan de las manifestaciones<br />
de repudio a las acciones de Israel en la Franja de Gaza por el<br />
carácter marcadamente antisemita que asumieron algunos de los actores<br />
involucrados.<br />
Repudio una y otra vez la masacre de Gaza. Pero no voy a marchar<br />
con quienes esgrimen los mismos argumentos (“ judaísmo internacional”,<br />
“sinarquía”, “ratas”, “apátridas”) que utilizaba Felipe Romero en la<br />
revista “El Caudillo” (órgano de la Triple A) y que muy poco tiempo<br />
después usaron los militares de la dictadura cuando torturaban a los<br />
muchos judíos que pertenecían a ERP, Montoneros y demás organizaciones<br />
combatientes. 5<br />
La pregunta clave que cabría hacerse aquí es ¿cuál es el motivo por el<br />
cual un sociólogo como Petras (por lo tanto racionalista) marxista (por lo<br />
tanto ateo) apela a un mito (por lo tanto irracional) como el del deicidio<br />
(por lo tanto de carácter religioso)—que ha servido para justificar cientos<br />
de matanzas de judíos a lo largo de la historia—como una “herramienta<br />
política” en su “cruzada’ = “ contra Israel? La respuesta más honesta y<br />
“brutal” que podemos dar es que si alguien como este autor utiliza argumentos<br />
antisemitas no seremos tan ingenuos de creer que no sabe de lo que<br />
habla. Por el contrario, lo hace pues, concientemente asume un odio radical,<br />
se ha tornado en lo que Gino Germani llamó un antisemita “ideológico”.<br />
Sin llegar a este extremo este es el derrotero que vemos recorrer, al<br />
menos desde el estallido de la Segunda Intifada, parte de la intelectualidad<br />
“progresista”. Durante la guerra entre Israel y Hezbolla del año 2006 en<br />
Argentina se produjeron una serie de incidentes que marcaron el<br />
fortalecimiento de esta tendencia, como algunas movilizaciones de la<br />
izquierda radical con presencia de insignias de Hezbolla, la amenaza de<br />
violencia contra jóvenes judíos que querían manifestarse frente a la<br />
Embajada de Irán por parte del Movimiento “Patriótico Revolucionario”<br />
Quebracho 6 ; y finalmente, la aparición de una solicitada que se llamó:<br />
4. Petras, James: Navidad en los Territorios Ocupados en la página de<br />
Internet: CSCA Web, http://www.nodo50.org/CSCA/palestina/petras-21-12-01<br />
.html<br />
5. Schiller, Herman: La Otra Israel. Artículo publicado en Internet el 10/2/<br />
2009 disponible en el sitio EUTSI—Página de Izquierda Antiautoritaria, http://<br />
eutsi.org/kea/pueblos/palestina/la-otra-israel.html.<br />
6. A pesar de la contradicción ?agrante entre autode?nirse como “patriota
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 105<br />
“Paremos el genocidio del Estado de Israel” que fue redactada por León<br />
Rozitchner, Alejandro Horowicz y Elsa Drucaroff y que fue firmada por<br />
decenas de intelectuales, entre los que se encuentran José Pablo Feinmann,<br />
Juan Gelman, Beatriz Sarlo, Horacio Verbitsky, Eduardo Grüner, Atilio<br />
Borón, Abelardo Castillo y Eliseo Subiela que entre otras cosas dice:<br />
La masacre actual excede todo lo conocido. No son los datos con su<br />
abrumadora evidencia los que horripilan, sino la repetición en medio del<br />
silencio cómplice del mundo llamado civilizado. Es preciso detenerla<br />
para que judío y masacrador no se vuelven sinónimos . . . Es preciso que<br />
las fuerzas democráticas, populares y progresistas del mundo entero<br />
hagan saber que más tarde o más temprano los crímenes contra la<br />
humanidad no quedarán impunes, que la victoria militar sobre el pueblo<br />
palestino tiene un nombre inequívoco: genocidio, y que las masacres<br />
solo abren el curso de nuevas masacres . . . 7<br />
Como veremos abajo existe en esta frase y en posturas similares, un<br />
evidente sobredimensionamiento del sufrimiento palestino el cual no es más<br />
que el indicador de un alto grado de irracionalidad en el tratamiento de esta<br />
cuestión.<br />
Esta tendencia se ha visto aún más fortalecida y profundizada durante<br />
la guerra entre Israel y Hamas a fines de 2008 y principios de 2009. Los<br />
indicadores que apreciamos de esto fueron varias solicitadas de organizaciones<br />
sociales y gremiales, artículos y declaraciones de intelectuales, y, por<br />
vez primera movilizaciones de repudio a Israel encolumnadas hacia instituciones<br />
de la colectividad judía mostrando como, a pesar de negar en sus<br />
discursos la relación entre judaísmo y sionismo, en la práctica, los ligan<br />
inescindiblemente.<br />
Qué es lo que ocurre para que intelectuales que estudian los fenómenos<br />
sociales, utilicen en forma arbitraria conceptos que conocen perfectamente,<br />
desvirtuando, manipulando y banalizando categorías históricas, sociológicas,<br />
políticas y económicas. Y a qué se debe que este uso arbitrario ÚNICA-<br />
MENTE acontece cuando analizan el conflicto de Medio Oriente,<br />
SÓLAMENTE cuando se refieren a Israel. Lo que podría estar aconteciendo<br />
son dos cosas: a) o bien tienen una visión prejuiciosa que deforma la<br />
imagen de Israel ante sus ojos, b) o bien apelan a la banalización en forma<br />
revolucionario” y, objetivamente, actuar como “fuerza de choque” de una teocracia<br />
reaccionaria.<br />
7. Llamamiento de intelectuales judíos argentinos: Paremos el genocidio del<br />
Estado de Israel. Iniciativa de León Rozitchner, Elsa Drucaroff y Alejandro<br />
Horowicz, Buenos Aires, 20/07/06. Publicado en Internet el 9/8/2006 en la página<br />
http://www.iade.org.ar/modules/noticias/article.php?storyid=829.
106 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
consciente con el objetivo de deslegitimar a ese estado. En ambos casos<br />
objetivamente se produce una situación discriminatoria contra Israel, el cual<br />
termina recibiendo un trato injusto (en relación a los hechos producidos por<br />
otros estados y grupos sociales) y desproporcionado (en virtud de los<br />
propios hechos por los que este estado es responsable.) Estas dos formas de<br />
tratamiento inmerecido pueden ser ligados a las dos formas de antisemitismo<br />
de las que habló el sociólogo Gino Germani ya que el primero—la<br />
visión prejuiciosa—se relaciona con las formas de judeofobia más insconcientes<br />
esto implica una remisión a lo definido por este autor como<br />
“antisemitismo tradicional” mientras que la segunda—la banalización consciente—al<br />
tratarse de una descalificación voluntaria y consciente (y no la<br />
mera y mecánica reproducción de estereotipos) nos remite a lo que Germani<br />
definió como “antisemitismo ideológico”.<br />
Si una parte de la intelectualidad—supuestamente el grupo social más<br />
crítico—utiliza acríticamente conceptos cuyo signifi cado conoce perfectamente<br />
y, sin medir las consecuencias, decide darles un uso banal, desvirtuando<br />
su verdadero sentido con la intención de forzar la interpretación de<br />
determinado hecho histórico, entonces algo profundo está sucediendo. Si la<br />
crítica es una de las características centrales del intelectual, entonces llama<br />
poderosamente la atención el hecho que académicos, científi cos sociales,<br />
empleen como técnicas de análisis el reduccionismo maniqueísta, el dualismo<br />
polar mesiánico y el simplismo acrítico creando como resultado una<br />
demonización de Israel perfilando una imagen de este estado que funcione a<br />
modo de bálsamo “tranquilizador” de sus inconcientes (no odio a Israel<br />
porque soy antisemita, sino porque Israel es “malo” o hace cosas<br />
“malvadas”). Crean la representación mental de Israel que necesitan para<br />
justificarse. Una condena “ex-ante” que funciona como autojustificación.<br />
Sinceramente es sorprendente ver a reputados especialistas de las<br />
ciencias sociales, académicos sumamente serios y rigurosos en sus análisis<br />
y estudios pero que cuando tienen que aplicar sus saberes para explicar el<br />
conflicto de Medio Oriente, mal emplean categorías vaciándolas de contenido,<br />
empleándolas acríticamente como una “jerga”—en el sentido<br />
propuesto por Theodor Adorno 8 en su crítica del filósofo nazi Martin<br />
Heidegger—utilizando este lenguaje conceptual en un sentido forzado con<br />
8. . . . el carácter de la jerga sería sobremanera formal: ella se encarga de<br />
que lo que desea sea sentido y aceptado por su exposición, en gran parte sin tener<br />
en cuenta el contenido de las palabras. El elemento preconceptual y mimético del<br />
lenguaje lo toma ella bajo su dirección, a favor de los efectos por ella deseados . . .<br />
Adorno, Theodore: La Ideología como lenguaje. Editorial Taurus: Madrid, 1992,<br />
Págs. 12, 13 y 14.
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 107<br />
el evidente propósito de generar efectos políticos en lugar de utilizar otras<br />
categorías más adecuadas para describir una situación objetiva.<br />
Existe un código implícito que marca lo ‘políticamente correcto’ en el<br />
pensamiento de la intelectualidad progresista. Este código ha cristalizado<br />
una cantidad de clichés (frases hechas) que asumen monopólicamente la<br />
representación del espacio que antes ocupaba la reflexión praxística (Gramsci).<br />
Este pensamiento estandarizado se expresa en dos ejes discursivos<br />
claramente definidos:<br />
Inescindibilidad del “Tandem” Sionismo (Israel)—EE.UU.<br />
Esto se debe a la estrecha relación comercial y política entre ambos<br />
estados (a pesar que esta relación existe entre EE.UU. y muchos otros<br />
estados en el mundo sólo Israel es ligado inescindiblemente a dicho estado).<br />
Este eje se presentará de dos maneras: a) la heredera de las peores tradiciones<br />
paranoicas del antisemitismo clásico (la visión explícita en el mito<br />
de la supuesta “conjura judía” para la dominación del mundo, hoy<br />
expresada en la denuncia del supuesto “lobby judío” que dominaría los<br />
EE.UU. mediante su alianza con sectores evangelistas) y b) la “moderna” y<br />
“progresista” que se expresará en el mito que “Israel es la avanzada imperialista<br />
en Oriente Medio”. Estas formas de expresión son contrapuestas y<br />
excluyentes, ya que mientras en la primera el factor dominante en la ecuación<br />
son los judíos (el sionismo, Israel), en la segunda el factor dominante<br />
sería EE.UU. mientras que Israel apenas sería un mero títere de los<br />
designios de dicha potencia.<br />
Apremiante Necesidad de Romper la Asociación Judío = Víctima<br />
Este paso es indispensable para que se produzca la “ruptura” de la<br />
empatía con los judíos y poder, entonces, vivir sin culpa el odio ante “lo<br />
judío”—en especial ante su estado y la ideología que lo sustenta (Israel y el<br />
sionismo). Para la ruptura de esta asociación se deben construir dos mitos<br />
contrapuestos pero complementarios: a) Minimizar La Verdadera Dimensión<br />
De La Shoá Mediante Su Comparación Banal: Al respecto debemos<br />
recordar los dichos del Premio Nóbel de Literatura José Saramago cuando<br />
afirmó que Ramalá es Auschwitz, o la comparación de la valla antiterrorista<br />
con el muro del Ghetto de Varsovia, etc. y b) “Nazificar” a Israel: Esta es<br />
una técnica discursiva desarrollada con el norte de generar repulsa sobre<br />
dicho estado y por el otro, no sólo quebrar la asociación judío-víctima, sino<br />
ir mucho más allá y desplazarlo hacia lo opuesto, colocándolo en el lugar<br />
del victimario (lo que por oposición genera un movimiento inverso de sus<br />
supuestas víctimas—los árabes palestinos—al lugar de las víctimas
108 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
absolutas—del mal radical—provocando un reforzamiento de la empatía<br />
con las “víctimas” del “estado nazi” contemporáneo). En realidad esta<br />
asociación que se hace (entre judío, Israel o sionismo por un lado, y nazismo<br />
por el otro) es un recurso retórico llamado oxímoron 9 .<br />
Sobre estos dos ejes, luego, se montarán una serie de mitos discursivos<br />
que actuarán retroalimentando esta “realidad” construida desde la mera<br />
retórica y que constituirán la “jerga” del intelectual “políticamente correcto”.<br />
Esta se expresará en muchas consignas vacías, algunas de ellas las<br />
colocaremos a continuación 10 :<br />
° Israel es Colonialista;<br />
° Israel es la “avanzada imperialista” en Oriente Medio;<br />
° Israel es racista (sionismo = racismo);<br />
° Israel es un estado nazi;<br />
° Israel es un estado terrorista;<br />
° Israel es una potencia belicista y expansionista.<br />
Todas estas “verdades reveladas” operan a modo de “dogma religioso”<br />
del progresista “bienpensante”. Estas categorías fueron construidas para<br />
explicar otras relaciones sociales. Su uso forzado y mecánico las banaliza y<br />
vacía de contenido. Hoy muchos intelectuales se embarcan en esta “aventura”<br />
con la intención de demonizar a Israel y al sionismo. El resultado<br />
objetivo de esto es un doble crimen pues no sólo asumen posturas evidentemente<br />
antisemitas (cosa que indudablemente no les preocupa) sino que<br />
además atentan contra la memoria histórica de los crímenes cometidos contra<br />
los pueblos realmente colonizados, explotados, segregados y<br />
genocidados.<br />
Los intelectuales, particularmente los progresistas de izquierda siempre<br />
han actuado como la “conciencia moral” de la sociedad denunciando los<br />
abusos y las injusticias de los poderosos hacia los más débiles; hoy la cosa,<br />
al menos en relación con Israel, la cosa parece haberse modificado. Israel,<br />
en los discursos del progresismo “políticamente correcto” es desplazado al<br />
lugar de “lo siniestro”, ámbito del mal radical; esto se aprecia claramente en<br />
las categorías que se le asignan a modo de adjetivo calificativo. Ellas son la<br />
9. Oxímoron es un recurso retórico-literario que consiste en armonizar dos<br />
conceptos opuestos en una sola expresión, formando así un tercer concepto. Dado<br />
que el sentido literal de un oxímoron es “absurdo” (por ejemplo, «silencio<br />
atronador»), se fuerza al lector a buscar un sentido metafórico.<br />
10. Para ampliar este concepto ver mi artículo “Los Mantras del Antisionismo”<br />
en Brodsky, Patricio: Deconstruyendo la (Neo)Judeofobia. Crítica A Los Fundamentos<br />
Del Antisemitismo Actual (Mitos Y Realidades De Un Odio Reciclado).<br />
Buenos Aires: Editorial Dunken, 2010.
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 109<br />
representación de todo lo malo de la modernidad (colonialismo, imperialismo,<br />
racismo, nazismo) y que fantasmagóricamente atormenta al<br />
progresista.<br />
Pero no todas las críticas a Israel deben ser consideradas parte de la<br />
neojudeofobia. Debemos evitar caer en una postura equivalente a la de los<br />
intelectuales que aquí criticamos banalizando el concepto “antisemita”. Hay<br />
que evitar utilizarlo frívolamente ante cualquier crítica que no sea de nuestro<br />
agrado ya que al hacerlo esta categoría, a la larga, pierde su eficacia para<br />
dar cuenta de situaciones reales. Si se utiliza el concepto “antisemita” como<br />
una “herramienta” para eludir toda crítica el mismo se vuelve banal ya que<br />
si “todo” es antisemitismo, finalmente “nada” lo es ya que no se puede<br />
distinguir situaciones en forma objetiva y todo termina siendo cuestión de<br />
interpretación.<br />
En ciertos “núcleos duros” existe esta tendencia a rotular de antisemita<br />
cualquier crítica a Israel, pero no todas lo son. Existen ciertas condiciones<br />
que se deben cumplir para que una crítica válida se transforme en una<br />
descalificación abierta. Varios autores plantean estas condiciones que nos<br />
ayudan a trazar los límites entre ambas. Hay que sopesar cuidadosamente<br />
cada declaración para evitar caer en las generalizaciones banalistas que<br />
tanto criticamos.<br />
Para evitar caer en estas canalizaciones contraproducentes debemos<br />
establecer claramente que la judeofobia, cualquiera sea su origen, tiene elementos<br />
cualitativos comunes que se pueden sintetizar una serie de características<br />
que la definen, a saber:<br />
a. Su carácter “Objetivo”: Los judeófobos siempre hallarán una<br />
excusa “válida” para “objetivar” su odio (despréndelo de sí y<br />
vivirlo no como algo propio sino como algo “objetivo”, algo negativo<br />
en los judíos que legitime el encono hacia ellos). Es un<br />
proceso mental mediante el cual se “coloca” la cualidad del odio<br />
en el objeto odiado, esto conduce a que el odio sea vivido como<br />
algo generado por el propio objeto de odio (“El Judío”, “El Sionismo”,<br />
“Israel”) a causa de algún “hecho objetivo” (el “asesinato”<br />
de Jesús, la “profanación” del cuerpo de Cristo—a través de las<br />
hostias—la conspiración global para la dominación, la traición<br />
cosmopolita, la contaminación racial, el genocidio palestino, etc.).<br />
b. Su carácter inconsciente: Raramente (sólo en casos extremos) la<br />
judeofobia se le aparece al judeófobo como un elemento consciente.<br />
Generalmente aparecerá como oculta a la consciencia<br />
(reprimida) y por el malestar que genera al ser una manifestación<br />
del inconsciente—que como tal pugna por aflorar a la consciencia<br />
a través de retoños—asumirá un carácter cada vez más violento en<br />
los crecientes e infructuosos esfuerzos por reprimir dichos retoños.
110 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
c. Su sobredimensionamiento: Una característica de la presencia de<br />
la judeofobia es la obsesión compulsiva que posee quien la sufre.<br />
El “problema judío” (la obsesión con el sionismo e Israel) “crece”<br />
hasta ocupar todo espacio de su raciocinio; de allí que sólo se<br />
hagan movilizaciones antiisraelíes y su solidaridad no se vea<br />
motivada ante tremendas tragedias humanitarias.<br />
d. Su obsesividad: De lo anterior se desprende que la judeofobia<br />
llega al grado de ser una obsesión malsana que atrofia y obnubila<br />
la capacidad racional.<br />
e. Su carácter maniqueo: La realidad es vista en oposiciones polares<br />
mutuamente excluyentes, de un lado el objeto de odio (como<br />
encarnadura del mal) y del otro el colectivo al que se pertenece<br />
(como representación “celestial” del bien).<br />
Todas estas características indican la presencia de un fuerte y arraigado<br />
prejuicio, por lo tanto será refractario a cualquier evidencia empírica.<br />
A continuación mostraremos algunos discursos en los que se puede<br />
apreciar cómo operan estas características en la palabra de algunos intelectuales,<br />
de igual forma el lector puede acudir a ver los discursos que<br />
exponemos:<br />
El pueblo judío en Israel sigue doblegado en su mayoría a la estrategia<br />
del Imperio cuyo modelo han aplicado en todos los órdenes de la vida.<br />
Hace ahora a los palestinos aquello que la cristiandad occidental hizo<br />
con nosotros . . . Para hacer lo que hacen en Palestina los judíos que<br />
están en el poder deben mantener el secreto moral del origen de su derecho<br />
a una patria y prolongar allí los valores inhumanos de sus propios<br />
perseguidores milenarios. Ocultar, por ejemplo, que lo que comenzó con<br />
la Cruz cristiana terminó con la Shoá europea. Deben esconder la<br />
verdad sobre la experiencia histórica de su vida en Occidente. Debieron<br />
convertirse en cómplices de sus asesinos, no denunciarlos, ya no decir<br />
nunca más que el cristianismo y el capitalismo fueron sus<br />
exterminadores porque ahora ambos se habían convertido en su modelo<br />
y en sus aliados. En lo religioso, se hicieron fundamentalistas y ecuménicos;<br />
en lo económico, se hicieron capitalistas globalizadores; en lo<br />
político, se hicieron un Estado teocrático colonialista; en lo científi co,<br />
tomaron como modelo la lógica neutral de la objetividad sin sujeto del<br />
iluminismo antijudío y, en lo internacional, sostienen con sus servicios<br />
las causas más siniestras de los opresores cristianos e imperiales. 11<br />
La barbarie perpetrada por el régimen de Tel Aviv reconoce pocos<br />
11. Rozitchner, León: ¿Podemos seguir siendo judíos? Artículo publicado en<br />
Diario Página 12 el 23/7/2006, disponible en Internet: http://www.pagina12.com<br />
.ar/diario/elmundo/470359-2006-07-23.html
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 111<br />
antecedentes en los últimos tiempos: el bombardeo estadounidense con<br />
napalm a las aldeas campesinas vietnamitas, la “limpieza étnica” de<br />
Milosevic y algunas pocas aberraciones más. Es difícil encontrar ejemplos<br />
parecidos. A lo que más se parece es a la infame y cobarde agresión que el<br />
régimen nazi y su aliado fascista en Italia descargaron sobre Guernica.<br />
Como en esa pequeña ciudad vasca, en Gaza se produce una matanza<br />
indiscriminada de mujeres y niños, bajo la falsa acusación de que eran<br />
todos terroristas, desmentida una y mil veces, para eterna condena de sus<br />
perpetradores, por las miles de fotografías que circulan por todo el mundo.<br />
Se nota que el régimen israelí aprendió muy bien de su patrón estadounidense<br />
las malas artes de las mentiras y los engaños . . . No es exagerado<br />
calificar a los indignos y malignos gobernantes de Israel como auténticos<br />
herederos de la barbarie nazi, que también asesinaban indiscriminadamente<br />
para aterrorizar a la población; que también buscaban asegurarse<br />
su “espacio vital” para garantizar la impunidad de sus acciones; que<br />
también masacraban con su superioridad militar a poblaciones indefensas,<br />
y que también mentían, como recomendaba Goering (¡SIC!) 12 , porque de<br />
tanto hacerlo creían que esas mentiras se convertirían en verdades . . . Es<br />
doloroso constatar la involución del Estado israelí, tan lejos hoy de los<br />
sueños de grandes pensadores judíos, como Martín Buber, que lo<br />
imaginaron como la realización de un original modelo socialista. Un<br />
Estado a cuya ilegitimidad de origen se le agrega ahora una ilegitimidad<br />
aún mayor, emanada de la carnicería practicada sobre una población civil<br />
indefensa que obliga a preguntarse cuán democrático puede ser un Estado<br />
que perpetra tales crímenes. Ilegitimidad de origen, decíamos, no porque el<br />
pueblo judío no tenga derecho a tener su Estado, pues ese derecho es indiscutible<br />
y Hamas debe reconocerlo sin más dilaciones. Pero ilegitimidad<br />
porque se erigió robando tierras a otro pueblo al que también le asiste el<br />
mismo derecho. El acuerdo entre el colonialismo británico y el imperialismo<br />
norteamericano que al final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial se tradujo<br />
en la creación del Estado de Israel fue posible porque, ante la debilidad del<br />
mundo árabe, pudo apropiarse para Israel de un territorio que no era sólo<br />
suyo sino que se compartía con los palestinos . . . sus cobardes halcones,<br />
patéticos discípulos de Hitler, son los peores enemigos del pueblo judío. 13<br />
Un buen ejemplo para ilustrar lo irracional y contradictorio (carácterísticas<br />
del sentido común en términos gramscianos) de las críticas que recibe<br />
12. Suponemos aquí que se re?ere al Ministro de Propaganda de Hitler (Joseph<br />
Goebbels) y no a su lugarteniente (Hermann Göering).<br />
13. Borón, Atilio: Gaza es Guernica. Artículo publicado en Diario Página 12 el<br />
16/1/2009. Disponible en Internet: http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elmundo/4-<br />
118324-2009-01-16.html.
112 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
Israel lo podemos apreciar en la cita del economista Claudio Katz que<br />
coloco debajo; dice Katz:<br />
Quienes exaltan la tolerancia religiosa vigente en ese país frente al cerrado<br />
islamismo del Hamas suelen olvidar el carácter confesional del<br />
estado judío. También omiten el fundamento bíblico, utilizado para justificar<br />
la extensión del territorio a los sagrados límites de Samaria y<br />
Judea . . . El doloroso legado del holocausto es frecuentemente utilizado<br />
para acallar la denuncia de un estado militarista que humilla a los pueblos<br />
vecinos. Esta censura se ejerce identificando al judaísmo con el<br />
sionismo e Israel, o interpretando cualquier crítica como un acto de<br />
antisemitismo. En realidad esos tres conceptos difi eren significativamente.<br />
. . El judaísmo es una religión, una cultura o una tradición de un<br />
pueblo diseminado por muchos países, cuya permanencia como segmento<br />
diferenciado ha variado en cada época y región. Israel es un estado construido<br />
con la explícita preeminencia de los hebreos, pero actualmente<br />
incluye varios grupos desconectados de ese origen. El sionismo es una<br />
ideología de apropiación colonial basada en fundamentos milenarios y<br />
pragmáticos. Estas diferencias permiten distinguir las posturas antijudías,<br />
anti-sionistas y anti-israelíes. La primera actitud es racista, la<br />
segunda anticolonialista y la tercera no presenta un significado nítido. Al<br />
igual que el antinorteamericanismo solo expresa un genérico rechazo de<br />
la opresión imperialista. 14<br />
No sólo muestra una interpretación caprichosa de judaísmo (no existe<br />
un judaísmo, sino que existen judaísmos ya que los ritos religiosos, la cultura<br />
y las tradiciones no son las mismas entre los judíos ashkenazim, los<br />
sefaradim, los mitzrahim, etc.) y del sionismo (el cual nada tiene que ver<br />
con el colonialismo sino que por el contrario, es un movimiento políticoideológico<br />
que asume la representación de los intereses nacionales del<br />
pueblo judío—y por ello tiene expresiones que van desde el sionismo marxista<br />
borojoviano hasta el derechismo jabotinskiano pasando por expresiones<br />
del sionismo religioso—y teniendo inclusive formas político-militares<br />
como las asumidas durante los combates por la liberación nacional de Israel<br />
contra la ocupación colonial británica primero y luego contra la invasión<br />
árabe durante la guerra de independencia). Además es un claro ejemplo de<br />
lo que es capaz de movilizar este conflicto a nivel inconsciente ya que, sin<br />
darse cuenta de la flagrante contradicción en la que incurre entre dos párrafos<br />
diferentes de este mismo texto, plantea la incoherente e insalvable<br />
contradicción que, por un lado, Israel es un estado que tiene un carácter<br />
confesional judío y que tiene un fundamento bíblico utilizado para justifi-<br />
14. Katz, Claudio: Incursiones para sepultar la paz. Publicado el 19/1/2009 en<br />
Internet: http://www.lahaine.org/index.php?p=35547 (los destacados son míos<br />
P.A.B.).
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 113<br />
car la ocupación pero, por otro lado, luego critica la identificación del judaísmo<br />
con el sionismo e Israel (¿acaso el mismo autor no avala esta<br />
identificación al caracterizar a Israel como un estado confesional judío?).<br />
Esta contradicción nace, por un lado de criticar a Israel como un estado<br />
religioso (indudablemente el autor ve a la religión con una connotación<br />
negativa por lo tanto su adjetivación busca investir de sentido negativo al<br />
estado judío) mientras que por otro intenta escindir judaísmo de sionismo e<br />
Israel (esto lo haría para neutralizar una posible crítica de antisemitismo), lo<br />
grave de esto es que este autor (al igual que muchos otros hoy) no es consciente<br />
de esta contradicción y para él es coherente que ambos planteos<br />
coexistan en un mismo plano (este es un indicador de la falta de una reflexión<br />
crítica ya que asume las características contradictorias en sí mismas que<br />
Gramsci le asigna al “sentido común” por oposición, en este punto, al buen<br />
sentido y la Filosofía de la Praxis).<br />
Katz aborda también un tema crucial cuando afirma que cualquier crítica<br />
contra Israel es interpretada como un acto de antisemitismo, este es un<br />
lugar común que utilizan quienes saben que sus críticas contra Israel, en<br />
muchos casos, son desmedidas y carentes de base empírica y que cumplen<br />
con las condiciones que enunciamos más arriba como inherentes al pensamiento<br />
de base antisemita.<br />
El hecho concreto es que no se los cataloga de antisemitas porque critican<br />
a Israel, ni siquiera porque desvirtúan categorías históricas para<br />
demonizar a este estado, sino que se han hecho acreedores de esa “distinción”<br />
porque hacen esto EXCLUSIVAMENTE con Israel. Todo su humanismo,<br />
toda su solidaridad y su preocupación por los débiles se da sólo con<br />
las supuestas víctimas de Israel. El resultado de esto es el sobredimensionamiento<br />
de este conflicto en relación a otros conflictos donde hay matanzas<br />
in?nitamente mayores.<br />
Otro resultado colateral, al cual nos referimos más arriba es la exageración<br />
del sufrimiento palestino, su elevación a la categoría de “víctima universal”,<br />
el paradigma del sufrimiento (y todo este “esfuerzo” se realiza sólo<br />
por un mero juego de representaciones discursivas que deforman la dimensión<br />
real del conflicto).<br />
Un ejemplo tan brutal como carente de sentido de esto que venimos<br />
sosteniendo es la afirmación, asumida hoy como una “verdad revelada” que<br />
los judíos (Israel) le harían a los palestinos lo que los nazis, antaño, le<br />
hacían a los propios judíos. Ejemplo de esto es la solicitada de intelectuales<br />
llamada “Paremos el genocidio del estado de Israel” a la que nos referimos<br />
arriba.<br />
Cuando contrastamos esta retórica vacía con los hechos históricos<br />
comparando vis a vis ambos hechos históricos (la Shoá y la situación de los<br />
palestinos bajo la “ocupación” israelí), hallamos que durante los 6 años de
114 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
ocupación nazi la población judía de Europa—según las estimaciones de<br />
Karady 15 —descendió de 9.480.000 personas en 1939 a 3.780.000 luego de<br />
la misma, esto implica que en este período perecieron 5.700.000 judíos. Un<br />
60,1% de los judíos de la preguerra. Si hacemos un prorrateo de la cantidad<br />
de asesinatos, vemos que las víctimas judías ascendieron a 950.000 por año;<br />
79.166 por mes; 2.602,7 por día; 108,5 por hora; 1,8 por minuto. Esto<br />
representa una tasa demográfica negativa del orden del –10,1%; esto es una<br />
pérdida relativa del 10,1% de la población judía de Europa durante cada año<br />
de guerra. En contraste, veamos cual es la situación de la población palestina<br />
de los “territorios ocupados” por Israel, la cual, según afirmaciones de<br />
algunos de estos intelectuales banalistas, estaría viviendo un genocidio<br />
(como mínimo) equivalente (sino peor) al sufrido por los judíos europeos.<br />
Hallamos que la población palestina de los “territorios ocupados” (Franja<br />
de Gaza y Cisjordania—a.k.a. Judea y Samari—), según fuentes palestinas,<br />
alrededor de 1967 era de 1.045.000 personas. 16 Mientras que en el año<br />
2007, también según fuentes palestinas, la población de los “territorios<br />
ocupados” se estimaba en 4.000.000. 17 Estas cifras indican un crecimiento<br />
poblacional de 2.955.000 en el lapso de los 40 años transcurridos entre<br />
1967 y 2007, esto implica un crecimiento de 73.875 nuevos pobladores<br />
cada año; 6.156,25 nuevos pobladores por mes; 205,21 nuevos pobladores<br />
diarios; 8,5 nuevos pobladores por hora. La población de los “territorios<br />
ocupados” se multiplicó en 400% en 40 años; esto implica una tasa mensual<br />
de crecimiento demográfico del 10% anual durante estos 40 años. Es realmente<br />
increíble, síntoma de una ceguera inconmensurable, que a alguien (y<br />
a un intelectual más aún) se le ocurra establecer equivalencias entre ambas<br />
situaciones (la matanza del 10% anual de una población con una tasa de<br />
crecimiento del 10% anual en otra población).<br />
Para mayor ilustración aún podemos decir que si la población judía<br />
15. Karady, Víctor: Los Judíos En la modernidad Europea. Madrid: Siglo XXI<br />
de España Editores. 2000. Pág. 294-295.<br />
16. Fuente: http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/<br />
story559.html#table1<br />
17. Fuente: http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Palestine-Remembered/<br />
story559.html#table1; algunas estimaciones elevan esta cifra hasta 5.000.000 (datos<br />
para el año 2001 de la Sociedad Académica Palestina para el Estudio de Asuntos<br />
Internacionales—lo cual resultaría en una cifra mayor—citados en el artículo<br />
Demografía de Palestina en la Enciclopedia Wikipedia: http://www.es.wikipedia<br />
.org/wiki/Demogra?a-de-Palestina), y hasta 5.500.000 (según el artículo: Palestinos<br />
Se Han Multiplicado Por 7 Veces Desde La Nakba (Catástrofe) de 1948. En<br />
Internet: http://www.palestinalibre.org/articulo. php?a=8171). Decidimos tomar la<br />
estimación más conservadora ya que de todas formas ella basta para mostrar el<br />
absurdo de la comparación entre ambos hechos históricos.
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 115<br />
europea hubiese crecido al mismo ritmo de crecimiento demográfico de los<br />
palestinos (10% anual durante los últimos 64 años), hoy esta población<br />
sería de 70.280.000 personas, mientras que la población judía mundial<br />
actual apenas supera los 13.000.000 de personas. En oposición, si los palestinos<br />
hubieran sufrido un exterminio equivalente al sufrido por los judíos<br />
europeos (un decrecimiento poblacional del 10% anual) hubiesen<br />
desaparecido por completo en 1977.<br />
Adolf Eichmann afirmó que 100 muertos son una tragedia, mientras<br />
que 100.000 muertos sólo son estadística, en vistas a los datos comparados<br />
de más arriba debiéramos afirmar que para cierto sector de la intelectualidad<br />
progresista un promedio anual de crecimiento poblacional de<br />
73.000 nuevas personas en los territorios palestinos “ES” un<br />
“GENOCIDIO”. Un verdadero absurdo.<br />
No cabe ninguna duda que ambas situaciones sólo tienen parangón en<br />
un ejercicio mental de virtualización de los hechos históricos (sin valor<br />
alguno ya que los ejercicios contrafácticos son un sinsentido). A pesar de<br />
ello muchos (demasiados) intelectuales “caen en la trampa” de repetir acríticamente<br />
la consigna propagandística que plantea que los judíos le “hacen” a<br />
los palestinos lo que antes los nazis le hicieron a ellos; más aún, ni siquiera<br />
es cierto que los israelíes estén implementando un genocidio de palestinos<br />
como plantean sus detractores. No al menos si entendemos por genocidio la<br />
definición que en el año 1948 la Convención para la Prevención y la Sanción<br />
del Delito de Genocidio aprobó en una resolución que, bajo el número<br />
260 (III) A, fue aprobada por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas<br />
el 9 de diciembre de 1948 y que entró en vigencia el 12 de enero de 1951.<br />
En su Artículo II dice:<br />
“Artículo II: En la presente convención, se entiende por genocidio<br />
cualquiera de los actos mencionados a continuación, perpetrados con la<br />
intención de destruir, total o parcialmente, a un grupo nacional, étnico,<br />
racial o religioso, como tal:<br />
Matanza de miembros del grupo;<br />
• Lesión grave a la integridad física o mental de los miembros del<br />
grupo;<br />
• Sometimiento intencional del grupo a condiciones de existencia e<br />
que hayan de acarrear su destrucción física, total o parcial;<br />
• Medidas destinadas a impedir los nacimientos en el seno del<br />
grupo;<br />
• Traslado por la fuerza de niños del grupo a otro grupo”.<br />
No se puede afirmar que intelectuales como los que realizan este tipo<br />
de declaraciones forzando conceptos no saben de lo que hablan; no hablan<br />
desde la ignorancia sino desde la irracionalidad del prejuicio pues ellos no
116 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
desconocen el significado de los conceptos que utilizan arbitrariamente<br />
tergiversando su significado en su caprichosa aplicación, más—la mayoría<br />
de ellos—no los utilizan con la intención explícita de demonizar a Israel,<br />
sino porque tienen una mirada prejuiciosa la cual en sus representaciones<br />
mentales deforma a Israel y sólo a este estado. A pesar de la judeofobia<br />
presente en esta permanente segregación que sufre este estado, en el caso de<br />
la mayoría de los intelectuales que opinan de esta manera, uno no puede<br />
afirmar que se ha tornado antisemita, sino que más bien sería más correcto<br />
afirmar que han perdido el pudor en expresarlo (o han hallado una justificación<br />
“valida” para ejercerlo desembozadamente).<br />
Y no hablamos sólo de intelectuales que no son especialistas en el<br />
tema como el ejemplo de la comparación entre Ramalá y Auschwitz que<br />
realizó el Premio Nóbel de Literatura José Saramago, sino que hoy<br />
podemos hallar que académicos especialistas en historia contemporánea que<br />
se supone saben del tema realizan este mismo tipo de desproporcionada y<br />
abusiva comparación.<br />
Es desolador que en los comienzos del siglo XXI, observemos una<br />
situación similar a la que los judíos enfrentaron contra los nazis en el<br />
guetto de Varsovia, pero en esta ocasión, las víctimas son los palestinos<br />
aislados en campos de refugiados rodeados por israelíes, en muchos casos<br />
descendientes del holocausto. 18<br />
. . . NOS SOLIDARIZAMOS CON EL PUEBLO DE PALESTINA, en<br />
momentos que el sionismo ejerce la más brutal campaña de agresión<br />
militar que la humanidad pueda imaginar, comparable solo con las<br />
atrocidades cometidas por el nazismo y su política racial de exterminio<br />
contra los no arios, durante el gobierno de Adolfo Hitler . . . 19<br />
Qué terrible ironía de la historia que los sobrevivientes y<br />
descendientes de las víctimas del Holocausto que llevó a cabo la dictadura<br />
nazi-fascista en Europa y la antigua Unión Soviética reproduzcan los<br />
métodos siniestros de sus victimarios, por décadas en Palestina, y ahora<br />
otra vez en Líbano. 20<br />
18. Szmukler, Beinusz y Ramos, Vanesa: Declaración de la Asociación Americana<br />
de Juristas ante los ataques masivos de Israel contra el pueblo palestino<br />
publicada el 18/3/2002 en el sitio WebIslam.com en Internet: http://www.web<br />
islam.com/?idt=2491<br />
19. De una declaración llamada Declaración de Principios y Solidaridad con<br />
Palestina de los Artistas e Intelectuales venezolanos rubricada por más de 100<br />
intelectuales venezolanos. Publicada en Internet el 13/1/2009 en el sitio LaClase.<br />
info en http://laclase. info/nacionales/declaracion-de-principios-y-solidaridad-conpalestina-de-los-artistas-e-intelectuales-ven<br />
20. López y Rivas, Gilberto: Israel: Estado Terrorista, publicado el 28 de julio
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 117<br />
. . . Una vez más, como siempre, los que condenamos las atrocidades de<br />
Israel somos acusados por los sionistas como antisemitas. Desde la<br />
gloriosa revolución liberal burguesa de 1789, el derecho a la libertad de<br />
expresión es sagrada, pero el movimiento sionista desearía establecer<br />
una rígida censura para evitar que el Gobierno judío-nazi de Israel sea<br />
condenado. Pobres diablos. Su maldad les impide ver que ahora los<br />
nuevos nazis son ellos y que al horror de Auschwitz, Treblinka, y<br />
Sobibor, hay que añadir los nombres de Sabra, Chatila, y Qana, entre<br />
otros. Los ciudadanos que defendemos los valores liberales, los derechos<br />
humanos, y el respeto a la legalidad internacional, por encima, de cualquier<br />
ideología, religión, nacionalidad o etnia, tenemos la obligación de<br />
condenar el horror alemán-nazi sobre los judíos, y también el israelí-nazi<br />
sobre los palestinos. 21<br />
Lo que “habla” en los discursos de las citas arriba no es el saber, la<br />
razón; sino que, por el contrario, este tipo de comparación arbitraria es<br />
síntoma de un profundo y arraigado prejuicio que “genera” un monstruo<br />
llamado Israel. Es una barbaridad histórica (que, confieso, nunca creí llegar<br />
a ver) que un historiador acuse a Israel de ser un estado nazi (contradicción<br />
absurda ya que lo definitorio del nazismo fue su antisemitismo radical).<br />
Hay intelectuales que construyen un sentido común antiisraelí con<br />
“sutileza”, intentan virtualizar la historia creando “realidades alternativas”<br />
desde los discursos que deben ser decodificados entrelineas, un ejemplo es<br />
la cita de debajo de Osvaldo Bayer: “Desde aquella primera guerra de Israel<br />
contra sirios y libaneses, en mayo de 1948 no hubo sino la búsqueda de<br />
soluciones por medio de las armas.” 22<br />
Esta frase de Bayer es, por un lado, contrafáctica pues habla de una<br />
primera guerra de Israel contra sirios y libaneses, parece ignorar deliberadamente<br />
que la guerra se desata el mismo día de la retirada británica, el 15 de<br />
mayo de 1948, cuando los ejércitos de cinco países (El Líbano, Siria, Irak,<br />
Egipto y la Legión Árabe de Transjordania—hoy Jordania—apoyadas por<br />
voluntarios libios, saudíes y yemeníes, comenzaron la invasión del recién<br />
proclamado Estado de Israel; mientras que por otro lado parece una broma<br />
de mal gusto cuando dice que no hubo búsqueda de soluciones que no<br />
fueran armadas, desde el llamamiento a la convivencia en la propia declara-<br />
de 2006 en el periódico La Jornada de la UNAM http://www.jornada.unam.mx/<br />
2006/07/28/026a1pol.php<br />
21. Girón Garrote, José (profesor titular de Historia Contemporánea de la<br />
Universidad de Oviedo): El Gobierno nazi de Israel, publicado en WebIslam el 17<br />
de agosto de 2006 http://www.webislam.com/?idt=5521<br />
22. Bayer, Osvaldo: Si Quieres La Paz . . . Lucha Por Ella. Publicado en Diario<br />
Página12 el 29 de julio de 2006, disponible en http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/<br />
contratapa/index-2006-07-29.html
118 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
ción de Independencia de Israel pasando por la Conferencia de Khartun<br />
cuando la Liga Árabe en 1967 como respuesta a la propuesta de paz de<br />
Israel lanzó la consigna del triple no (no al reconocimiento, no a la negociación,<br />
no a la paz) pasando por los tratados de paz con Egipto, Jordania y la<br />
propia Autoridad Nacional Palestina, sólo alguien muy alienado en sus<br />
prejuicios puede negar la vocación negociadora de Israel.<br />
No se alcanzará la paz con acciones que llevan a la destrucción y<br />
masacre de un pueblo que lucha por recuperar la tierra de la cual fue<br />
despojado por la fuerza, sometido a un bloqueo entre el mar y un muro<br />
inhumano que lo aísla del mundo privándolo de los bienes esenciales para<br />
la subsistencia, que lo encierran y que se le impide el libre ejercicio de su<br />
soberanía. 23<br />
Otra muestra de las intervenciones desde el desconocimiento es el<br />
fragmento de declaración que reproducimos arriba, en ella los diputados del<br />
Proyecto Sur afirman que:<br />
No se alcanzará la paz con acciones que llevan a la destrucción y<br />
masacre de un pueblo que lucha por recuperar la tierra de la cual fue<br />
despojado por la fuerza a qué tierra se refieren si el conflicto de 2009 se<br />
produce luego de más de 1.000 ataques con misiles sobre territorio israelí<br />
desde un territorio del cual Israel se retiró en agosto de 2005 (a menos<br />
que consideren que Israel debe retirarse de Israel no se entiende su<br />
declaración). Por otro lado afirman que: sometido a un bloqueo entre el<br />
mar y un muro inhumano que lo aísla del mundo privándolo de los bienes<br />
esenciales para la subsistencia esta frase es de lo más enigmático, sobre<br />
todo si tenemos en cuenta que la guerra fue en la Franja de Gaza, lindante<br />
con el Mar Mediterráneo, Israel y Egipto (país que también mantiene un<br />
bloqueo del que nadie habla), que no lo priva de ningún bien, sino que<br />
por el contrario, a pesar de la guerra le provee energía, agua, medicamentos,<br />
alimentos, etc.; de lo contrario hace rato que hubieran<br />
desaparecido muertos por inanición en un territorio que lo único que produce<br />
es terroristas, y por último afirman: que se le impide el libre<br />
ejercicio de su soberanía ese es un reclamo que le tienen que hacer a<br />
Hamas, quien tomó el poder en enero de 2006 luego de un cruento golpe<br />
de estado e impuso una dictadura islámica a la población impidiendo el<br />
ejercicio democrático. Todo este tipo de declaraciones están viciadas con<br />
este tipo de prejuicios y de lugares comunes que son claros indicadores<br />
del grado de liviandad con que se opina sobre estas cuestiones.<br />
Algunos intentan utilizar técnicas muy “sutiles” de descalificación de<br />
Israel en su intento de construirlo (discursivamente) como genocida (o<br />
23. Lozano, Claudio; Solanas, Fernando; Mazzitelli, Mario: Fragmento de una<br />
Declaración emitida por los tres diputados del Proyecto Sur durante la guerra de<br />
2009 contra Hamas en Gaza.
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 119<br />
democida), al respecto podemos ver el ejemplo de Jeanette Becerra Acosta,<br />
quien en su artículo “300 Millones de Muertos, Víctimas del Poder”, hace<br />
un “sutil’=” comentario refiriéndose a la clasificación de los tipos de<br />
genocidios que realizó el Profesor Rudolf Rummel:<br />
Los “mega-genocidas”: la ex Unión Soviética, China y la Alemania nazi,<br />
responsables del exterminio de más de 150 millones de personas; los<br />
“genocidas menores”: siete gobiernos con un saldo de alrededor de 22<br />
millones de muertos en conjunto; los “sospechosos”: Corea del Norte,<br />
México y la Rusia zarista con 4 millones 145 mil víctimas, y los “centiasesinos”,<br />
acusados de asesinar a menos de un millón de personas,<br />
como es el caso de Israel, que desde 1948 dio cuenta de miles de palestinos<br />
en matanzas como las de Shabra y Chatila, hace 16 años. 24<br />
En este párrafo, por un lado, la autora hace toda una definición cuando<br />
se refiere a los 40.000 25 ó 59.000 26 árabes muertos por Israel, estos 54.900<br />
víctimas (promediando ambas cifras) y por alquimia las transforma, según<br />
sus propias palabras, en ““centiasesinos”, acusados de asesinar a menos de<br />
un millón de personas, como es el caso de Israel”, claro, no falta a la<br />
verdad, 54.900 son menos que un millón de personas, representan exactamente<br />
el 5,49% de ese millón, claro que no es lo mismo, políticamente,<br />
afirmar 54.900 que “menos de un millón”; asimismo, afirma la abierta,<br />
desvergonzada e infame calumnia que “. . . Israel, que desde 1948 dio<br />
cuenta de miles de palestinos en matanzas como las de Shabra y Chatila,<br />
hace 16 años.”, en un evidente acto de propaganda goebelsiana, miente<br />
acerca de las matanzas de los Campos de Refugiados de Sabra y Chatila de<br />
1982 en El Líbano las cuales no fueron llevadas a cabo por Israel sino por<br />
las milicias falangistas de cristianos maronitas.<br />
Estas cosas dichas al pasar, a la ligera e impunemente van a quedar<br />
incorporadas al imaginario como si fueran reales, la acumulación, la iteración<br />
ad-infinitum de esta técnica de propaganda, logra, a la larga, afectar la<br />
imagen de Israel ante la opinión pública.<br />
Algunos autores necesitan construirse un movimiento palestino que<br />
justifique sus posturas, plenos de una retórica hueca que no tiene asidero en<br />
24. Jeannette Becerra Acosta: 300 Millones de Muertos, Víctimas del Poder.<br />
Publicado originalmente en El Excelsior de México, el 31 de enero de 1999 y<br />
reproducido en Internet en el sitio Analítica Semanal. Venezuela Analítica Publicaciones,<br />
en http://www.analitica.com/vas/1999.02.1/internacional/06.htm.<br />
25. Según Gunnar Heinsohn y Daniel Pipes: La Verdadera Dimensión de la<br />
Guerra Árabe-Israelí. Publicado el 23 de octubre de 2007 en http://www.gees.org/<br />
imprimir.php?id=4612.<br />
26. Según Piero Scaruf?: Wars and Genocides of <strong>the</strong> 20th Century. http://<br />
www.scaruf?.com/politics/massacre.html.
120 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
la realidad, sino que son fantasías necesarias para justificar sus posturas,<br />
ejemplo de esto es la frase siguiente de Néstor Kohan, quien afirma que:<br />
¿Los palestinos nos odian? [a los judíos, N.B.] No es cierto. Gravísimo<br />
error confundir judaísmo con sionismo. Confusión que resulta falsa a<br />
todas luces, si se la esgrime en defensa del estado de Israel como si se lo<br />
hace en contra de Israel. La resistencia palestina —al menos en sus vertientes<br />
y organizaciones más lúcidas, las que provienen de un tronco<br />
antiimperialista laico y socialista—lucha contra la política de estado de<br />
Israel, no contra todos los judíos en general. 27<br />
A continuación veamos declaraciones de algunos de los líderes de lo<br />
que Kohan mismo define como: “. . . resistencia palestin —al menos en sus<br />
vertientes y organizaciones más lúcidas, las que provienen de un tronco<br />
antiimperialista laico y socialista”, la mejor forma de desarticular estos discursos<br />
de fantasía es confrontarlos con las palabras directas de los<br />
protagonistas, con esta prueba cualquier elaboración ficticia es desbaratada.<br />
Las siguientes declaraciones son de Anwar Raja, representante del Frente<br />
Popular para la Liberación de Palestina 28 en el Líbano, este político afirmó<br />
que:<br />
“Seamos realistas—los judíos han podido falsificar la historia, usando la<br />
desvergonzada mentalidad que ve a la historia según los intereses de<br />
uno. Los judíos han podido ejercer presión sobre el mundo, para que la<br />
historia se vuelva a escribir tal como lo deseen. Ellos extorsionaron al<br />
papa durante su reciente visita a Palestina, para que mencione la cifra<br />
de seis millones de palestinos . . . judíos en el Holocausto. Yo no sé quién<br />
estuvo de pie a las puertas del crematorio y contó. Yo no sé quién<br />
propuso esta cifra. Todos los hechos apuntan a que es infiada, a la fal-<br />
27. Kohan, Néstor: ¿Antisemitismo? A la memoria de Simón Radowitzky y<br />
Raymundo Gleyzer. Publicado el 23 de mayo de 2009 en Internet http://www.otro<br />
madrid.org/articulo/7814/antisemitismo-memoria-simon-radowitzky/(17/10/2009).<br />
28. El Frente Popular para la Liberación de Palestina es una organización política<br />
y militar marxista-leninista, secular, nacionalista palestina fundada en 1967 por<br />
George Habash, también fundador del Movimiento Nacionalista Árabe. FPLP había<br />
sido habitualmente la segunda organización de tamaño de la Organización para la<br />
Liberación de Palestina (Fatah siendo la más grande). Hoy en día FPLP es un partido<br />
político en la Autoridad Nacional Palestina. Generalmente FPLP tiene políticas<br />
de línea dura en respecto a las aspiraciones nacionales de los árabes palestinos, en<br />
contraste de la tendencia más moderada de Fatah. Se opuso a los Acuerdos de Oslo,<br />
y por mucho tiempo se opuso a la propuesta de solucionar el Con?icto árabe-israelí<br />
mediante la creación de dos estados, pero en 1999 hizo un acuerdo con los líderes<br />
de la OLP dando su acuerdo en negociar con Israel. De la de?nición de Wikipedia,<br />
en Internet: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frente_Popular_para_la_Liberaci%C3%<br />
B3n_de_Palestina) (17/10/2009)
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 121<br />
sificación y la exageración.” 29<br />
Otro de los abundantes ejemplos de académicos que temerariamente se<br />
lanzan a opinar sobre este tema desde el lugar del no-saber, desde los<br />
prejuicios, lo hallamos en la pluma de Emilio Cafassi, quien, hablando del<br />
conflicto en Medio Oriente opina que:<br />
En el ghetto actual de la Franja de Gaza, el más importante de toda la<br />
historia por la magnitud de la concentración poblacional, tras su monumental<br />
muro custodiado por las milicias obligatorias del Estado de<br />
Israel, la población palestina indefensa es nuevamente masacrada en<br />
nombre de la paz y la futura—convivencia. Algunos de los sucesores de<br />
los antiguos habitantes de los ghettos ignominiosos del nazismo han<br />
creído, como sus antiguos verdugos, que la solución para la paz se<br />
encontraría primero en el encierro y posteriormente en el exterminio y el<br />
terror.” 30<br />
Cafassi, haciendo gala de una desconocimiento absoluto de la realidad<br />
cuando comienza afirmando, un prejuicio establecido como verdad cuando<br />
dice que: “En el ghetto actual de la Franja de Gaza, el más importante de<br />
toda la historia por la magnitud de la concentración poblacional . . . 31<br />
Si procedemos a desvirtuar los hechos suponiendo, como afirma<br />
temerariamente, que la Franja de Gaza es un Ghetto, allí viven aproximadamente<br />
1.551.859 personas (estimación de julio de 2009) 32 . La superficie<br />
total de la Franja de Gaza son 360 kilómetros cuadrados, lo que da una cifra<br />
aproximada de una densidad poblacional de 4.310 personas por kilómetro<br />
cuadrado. En el Ghetto de Varsovia 33 vivían más de 400.000 judíos en un<br />
área de 3,37 Km 2 , lo que hace una densidad poblacional de 118.694 habitantes<br />
por Km 2 , esto es una densidad poblacional (un hacinamiento) 27,54<br />
29. Raja, Anwar: Fragmentos de una entrevista emitida por Al-Alam TV el 15<br />
de Mayo de 2009. Publicada el 28/5/2009 en http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/<br />
0/0/0/0/3319.htm (17/10/2009).<br />
30. Cafassi, Emilio: Exterminio Tras El Muro publicado en el Diario La República<br />
AÑO 1—Nro. 3146, Montevideo, Uruguay el 11 de enero de 2009, disponible<br />
en Internet: http://www.larepublica.com.uy/contratapa/348506-el-exterminio-trasel-muro.<br />
31. Cafassi, Emilio: Exterminio Tras El Muro publicado en el Diario La República<br />
AÑO 11—Nro. 3146, Montevideo, Uruguay el 11 de enero de 2009, disponible<br />
en Internet: http://www.larepublica.com.uy/contratapa/348506-el-exterminio-trasel-muro.<br />
32. Fuente de los datos: http://www.indexmundi.com/gaza_strip/population<br />
.html.<br />
33. Fuente de los datos: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=<br />
10005069.
122 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
veces mayor que la de la Franja de Gaza; en el Ghetto de Lodz 34 una<br />
población de 164.000 judíos fue hacinada en un área de 10,36 Km 2 , “de los<br />
cuales sólo 2,4Km 2 estaban desarrollados y habitables” 35 , lo que hará una<br />
densidad poblacional de 15.830 personas por Km 2 (ó 68.333 personas por<br />
Km 2 si contemplamos sólo el área habitable), esto es 3,67 (15,86) veces la<br />
densidad de la Franja de Gaza; citamos estos dos ejemplos como muestra de<br />
un sistema de instituciones de encierro de la Alemania nazi que abarcó más<br />
de 400 ghettos, estos lugares de encierro estaban pensados con el objetivo<br />
de aniquilar a la mayoría de su población, de hambre, de frío y de<br />
enfermedades, de allí que la banalización que hace Cafassi se relaciona, por<br />
izquierda, con el negacionismo de la Shoá, no tiene nada que ver con los<br />
hechos históricos.<br />
Luego seguirá Cafassi: “En el ghetto actual de la Franja de Gaza . . .<br />
tras su monumental muro custodiado por las milicias obligatorias del<br />
Estado de Israel, la población palestina indefensa es nuevamente<br />
masacrada en nombre de la paz y la futura-convivencia.” 36 .<br />
Es realmente sorprendente que alguien que se lance a emitir opiniones<br />
tan superficiales sobre este conflicto o sobre cualquier otro hecho social.<br />
Hablar del Muro de Gaza ignorando que en Gaza no hay ningún muro, hay<br />
un cerco de alambre tejido como en otras fronteras y que el muro al que se<br />
refiere se encuentra en Cisjordania. Sólo un ignorante puede emitir semejante<br />
disparate. Pero contra Israel es fácil opinar, es gratis y da “prestigio”.<br />
Por otro lado, llama “milicias obligatorias” al Ejército de Defensa de Israel<br />
en un burdo intento de rebajar la categoría del Ejército de Defensa de Israel<br />
(EDI), de des-legitimarlo, ya que en un estado consolidado, el uso del concepto<br />
“milicia” refiere a una situación opuesta a un ejército regular (como<br />
es el caso del EDI) de tipo paramilitar (civiles armados). Contradictoriamente,<br />
y como ejemplo del doble estándar “Milicias palestinas” es uno de<br />
los eufemismos que los detractores de Israel utilizan para “legitimar” a los<br />
terroristas asesinos de civiles, ya que al no existir un estado se justifica la<br />
existencia de “civiles” armados que “luchan contra la ‘ocupación’ y por su<br />
‘liberación’ nacional”.<br />
Finalmente Cafassi concluye que: “Algunos de los sucesores de los<br />
antiguos habitantes de los ghettos ignominiosos del nazismo han creído,<br />
como sus antiguos verdugos, que la solución para la paz se encontraría<br />
34. Fuente de los datos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodz_ghetto.<br />
35. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodz_ghetto.<br />
36. Cafassi, Emilio: Exterminio Tras El Muro publicado en el Diario La República<br />
AÑO 11—Nro. 3146, Montevideo, Uruguay el 11 de enero de 2009, disponible<br />
en Internet: http://www.larepublica.com.uy/contratapa/348506-el-exterminio-trasel-muro
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 123<br />
primero en el encierro y posteriormente en el exterminio y el terror” 37 . Lo<br />
que no es más que la prolongación lógica de su intencionada exageración<br />
acerca del supuesto carácter ghéttico de la Franja de Gaza, si este territorio<br />
es “el mayor Ghetto de la historia”, entonces es lógico acusar a los judíos<br />
(sucesores de los antiguos habitantes de los ghettos ignominiosos del nazismo)<br />
de ser (o pensar) como los nazis (han creído, como sus antiguos<br />
verdugos, que la solución para la paz se encontraría primero en el encierro<br />
y posteriormente en el exterminio y el terror) esto es lisa y llanamente<br />
analfabetismo o malintención (sea cual fuere la situación es el ejecicio militante<br />
de los prejuicios).<br />
La crítica a Israel rápidamente se sobredimensiona y cruza los límites<br />
de lo racional. En un interesante artículo—del cual cito una parte abajo—un<br />
profesor de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México describe correcta<br />
mente cual es el proceso “ideológico-discursivo” que recorre una parte de la<br />
intelectualidad en relación a las acciones de Israel:<br />
. . . me preocupa que, en el ánimo de defender al pueblo palestino, nuestros<br />
intelectuales de izquierda terminen apoyando a los fundamentalistas<br />
islámicos. No se trata, entonces, de aceptar el bombardeo o la invasión<br />
de la Franja de Gaza, ni mucho menos de justificar las muertes de<br />
civiles. Se trata, para mi gusto, de no olvidar el contexto internacional y<br />
regional en el que estas acciones se desenvuelven y de no caer en la<br />
ingenuidad en el análisis . . . Es natural que el abuso en el uso de la<br />
fuerza sea condenado. Es natural también que si uno ve a poblaciones<br />
inermes bombardeadas y víctimas inocentes, lo primero que venga a la<br />
mente sea una condena inmediata e incuestionable . . . La condena es<br />
además fácilmente exagerada. Se habla inmediatamente de “genocidio”<br />
e incluso intelectuales en principio serios develan supuestos planes para<br />
vaciar Cisjordania y Gaza de palestinos. El asunto alcanza con igual<br />
facilidad tintes antisemitas. Nuestros intelectuales de izquierda sólo<br />
alcanzan a ver de un lado al oprobioso Estado de Israel y del otro al<br />
inerme y victimado pueblo palestino . . . El problema es que Hamas, al<br />
igual que Irán, ha jurado echar al mar a los judíos de Israel y<br />
desaparecerlos del mapa. O sea, ellos sí predican el genocidio y no es<br />
difícil saber lo que harían si tuvieran la fuerza necesaria para llevar a<br />
cabo sus planes . . . A muchos intelectuales de izquierda les disgusta<br />
tanto el imperialismo estadounidense que no les importa terminar<br />
alineados con quien sea que se le oponga, aún si éstos son dictadores<br />
octogenarios con 50 años en el poder, populistas rayando en la locura o<br />
fundamentalistas islámicos. En el caso que nos ocupa, algunas posi-<br />
37. Cafassi, Emilio: Exterminio Tras El Muro publicado en el Diario La República<br />
AÑO 11—Nro. 3146, Montevideo, Uruguay el 11 de enero de 2009, disponible<br />
en Internet: http://www.larepublica.com.uy/contratapa/348506-el-exterminio-trasel-muro.
124 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
ciones terminan defendiendo a Hamas, con tal de oponerse a Estados<br />
Unidos e Israel. Se mezclan así las justas demandas del pueblo palestino<br />
con las pretensiones de los extremistas musulmanes. Se les olvida que el<br />
ideal de estos grupos no es el de constituir Estados democráticos, tolerantes<br />
y pacíficos; que ellos (estos intelectuales, generalmente secularizados)<br />
no sobrevivirían ni un mes en un régimen de ese tipo . . . Israel<br />
puede tener muchos defectos, pero por lo menos es una democracia, que<br />
defiende los mismos valores que nosotros. En su parlamento hay<br />
representantes árabes, que hablan por el millón y medio de árabes israelíes,<br />
y la prensa tiene libertad de expresión. Sus intelectuales pueden<br />
estar o no de acuerdo con lo que su gobierno está haciendo y tienen<br />
libertad para decirlo. Eso es imposible en la mayor parte de los países<br />
árabes y en Irán. Israel es, en efecto, un pedazo de Occidente, con todos<br />
sus valores, en el Medio Oriente. Eso no quiere decir, por supuesto, que<br />
tengamos que estar de acuerdo y justificar todo lo que hace el gobierno<br />
israelí, el cual se sostiene en una mayoría favorable a sus actos de<br />
guerra. Pero por lo menos esta circunstancia nos debería prevenir contra<br />
un apoyo ingenuo a los grupos fundamentalistas islámicos. 38<br />
Israel, en el imaginario de cierta intelectualidad, parecería asumir un<br />
topos equivalente al del agujero negro en la física, esto es, un lugar con<br />
leyes propias que no puede ser aprehendido por las mismas leyes universales<br />
que se aplica al resto del “universo” de las naciones. Allí todo<br />
adquiere una dimensión propia, merece un estatus único. Cuando vemos<br />
esta exclusiva obsesión irracional en relación a las conductas del estado de<br />
Israel, las exigencias de una conducta prístina, el monitores estrecho de sus<br />
acciones y el tratamiento desigual en relación al que se le brinda a los otras<br />
200 naciones del mundo nos remite necesariamente a aquella idea que la<br />
causa del antisemitismo no hay que buscarla en el judío sino en el<br />
antisemita<br />
Israel es transformado en uno de los estados más criminales de la historia<br />
por un ejercicio de retórica consistente en asignarle a modo de adjetivos<br />
los conceptos que el discurso progresista considera la ‘encarnación’<br />
del mal radical (nazi, genocida, colonialista, imperialista, terrorista de<br />
estado, racista, segregacionista, etc.) Pero esto no logra mágicamente que se<br />
materialicen esas relaciones sociales (a pesar que para el judeófobo<br />
‘progresista’ tienen tanta realidad como lo tenía la ‘amenaza judía’ para el<br />
nazi o el ‘judío-vampiro’ consumidor ritual de sangre humana para el judeófobo<br />
medieval).<br />
De “asesinos de Cristo” a “asesinos rituales”; “de asesinos rituales” a<br />
38. Blancarte, Roberto: Políticamente Incorrecto; Hamas e Israel. Publicado en<br />
el sitio de Internet Milenio.com el 13/1/2009 en http://www.milenio.com/node/<br />
146603.
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 125<br />
“genocidas”, las fantasías colectivas acerca de los judíos tienen el poder de<br />
“materializarse”, de “asumir” una apariencia “creíble”. El hecho es que las<br />
fantasías irracionales de los judeófobos se reproducen y se reciclan. De<br />
“conspiradores para asesinar a Cristo” a “conspiradores para traicionar a la<br />
nación que los cobija”; de “conspiradores para traicionar a la nación que los<br />
cobija” a “conspiradores para dominar al mundo”. De “usureros” a “rentistas<br />
del Holocausto”. Estos ejes discursivos se mantienen a lo largo de la<br />
historia y se reciclan y adaptan según las nuevas condiciones sociales. La<br />
base de estos mitos siempre es la misma: la perenne judeofobia.<br />
La principal característica de la neojudeofobia es la confluencia de los<br />
tres principales grupos antisemitas de la actualidad (izquierda radical,<br />
integrismo islámico y extrema derecha) en espacios comunes a nivel discursivo<br />
(tres ejes judeofóbicos).<br />
MITO DE LA “CONSPIRACIÓN JUDEO-SIONISTA”<br />
El subsecretario de Defensa de Estados Unidos, Paúl Wolfowitz: “Está<br />
señalado como el operador de las empresas del lobby judío que actúan en<br />
el negocio de las guerras y de la “reconstrucción”, y se lo sindica como el<br />
principal introductor de la técnicas de tortura en la prisiones iraquíes de la<br />
ocupación.” 39<br />
Ganó Bush y también lo hizo el lobby sionista que lo sostiene en cada<br />
una de sus acciones de apoyo al criminal premier israelí Sharon. Perdió<br />
Kerry y el lobby sionista que también repartió millones de dólares en su<br />
canasta electoral, sabe que cuenta con un aliado de hierro a la hora de<br />
entorpecer cualquier salida de autodeterminación del pueblo palestino, a la<br />
sazón el invadido, el agredido, el desterrado, pero jamás el vencido . . .” 40<br />
. . . las corrientes fundamentalistas, entre las cuales está el sionismo o<br />
fundamentalismo judío interesado en presionar mediante su “lobby”<br />
judeoamericano a la Administración Bush en que lleve a cabo la guerra de<br />
agresión imperialista contra Irak para que así el holocausto palestino pase a<br />
un segundo plano . . . 41<br />
39. Anónimo: Wolfowitz: del lobby judío “al Banco Mundial” en el sitio web<br />
del Partido Comunista del Perú http://www.patriaroja.org.pe/html/colaboraciones/<br />
wolfowitz_del_lobby_judio_al_banco_mundial.htm.<br />
40. Aznárez, Carlos: Cuando Bush y casi 60 millones de razones para no<br />
dormir tranquilos en el sitio web del periódico Gramma (órgano oficial del Partido<br />
Comunista de Cuba) en http://www.granma.cu/espanol/2004/noviembre/sabado6/<br />
razones-e.html el 22 de enero de 2002.<br />
41. Nuñez, Eduardo: El Estado Criminal De Israel: Un Peligro Para La Paz<br />
Del Mundo, publicado en http://ecuador.indymedia.org/es/2003/07/3114.shtml el<br />
22/7/2003.
126 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
. . . el lobby israelí, a través de los medios de comunicación que controla<br />
en EEUU y otros países “occidentales”, pretende ocultar lo que el<br />
profesor de la Universidad de Jerusalén Yeshayahou Leibowitz expresó<br />
descarnadamente: “La fuerza del puño judío proviene del guante de acero<br />
que le recubre, y de los dólares que le acolchan.” 42<br />
El equívoco en la aplicación por parte de los EEUU de la vía militar en<br />
Somalía o en Haití, en Panamá o Irak, por sobre la salida política<br />
negociada, recuerda en buena medida—salvando coyunturas—el episodio<br />
de Vietnam. No alcanza muchas veces con ser el “más fuerte” para vencer.<br />
Y ello es especialmente cierto en esta fase de total hegemonía del lobby<br />
judío-norteamericano. Su extraordinaria potencia aparente es su gran<br />
debilidad, ya que la política exterior de este imperio sui generis depende de<br />
la viabilidad de un micro-Estado: el de Israel. No hay ninguna analogía<br />
posible con Roma. La ausencia de claridad estratégica es, sin dudas, el<br />
mayor enemigo actual de la misma nación norteamericana. 43<br />
El lobby israelita tiene muchos “tanques de pensadores” que proveen<br />
los futuros consejeros a las varias administraciones, republicanas y<br />
demócratas . . . Fue una política constante—por parte del Estado de Israel y<br />
desde mucho antes de su independencia como Estado en May.48, el<br />
mantener distintos grupos de presión dentro de EEUU, y con base en una<br />
numerosa, y muchas veces adinerada, colectividad judía. 44<br />
NEGACIÓN/BANALIZACIÓN DEL HOLOCAUSTO<br />
“Holocausto” es una palabra de connotaciones bíblicas que sirve muy<br />
bien a los propósitos sionistas, aunque tergiversa el sentido histórico de la<br />
barbarie nazifascista. A pesar del carácter apócrifo de gran parte del Diario<br />
de Ana Frank, sigue presentándoselo como “documento histórico”.<br />
Presentar como “genocidio” a la represión nazi contra los judíos<br />
(“genocidio” significa el exterminio de un pueblo o una comunidad étnica,<br />
y la comunidad judía no fue exterminada sino que a partir de 1945 conoció<br />
un auge extraordinario), y hablar del “mayor genocidio de la historia”, sirve<br />
42. Del artículo El filósofo Roger Garaudy denuncia la colaboración del Sionismo<br />
con el régimen Nazi. Documento de la “Izquierda Nacional” en http://www.<br />
geocities.com/izquierda_nacional/mundo004.html<br />
43. Ceresole, Norberto (neonazi argentino ya fallecido, fue asesor del judeófobo<br />
presidente venezolano Hugo Chavez): El poder judío en Occidente y en Oriente<br />
publicado en un sitio neonazi de Internet llamado Radio Islam en la dirección http:/<br />
/abbc2.com/islam/spanish/sion/poder/poder1.htm.<br />
44. Ricchiardelli, Horacio: Informe Cóndor Mayo 2003 publicado en un sitio<br />
web vinculado al golpista Mohammed Alí Seineldín http://documentos.seineldin<br />
.8m.com/cn06052003.htm.
2011] LA NEOJUDEOPHOBIA 127<br />
para borrar la atención de los grandes genocidios que ensucian la memoria<br />
de los vencedores de la guerra: la diezma de indios en América, la matanza<br />
de esclavos africanos, las represiones salvajes de Stalin . . . ¡60 millones de<br />
indígenas (sobre un total de 80 millones) fueron asesinados en Sudamérica<br />
desde la conquista! ¡Y la propia segunda guerra mundial causó 50 millones<br />
de muertos, 20 de los cuales eran soviéticos y casi 10 millones alemanes!<br />
¿Quién se acuerda hoy de la matanza de Dresde del 13 de febrero de 1945,<br />
cuando las bombas de fósforo anglonorteamericanas se cobraron 200.000<br />
víctimas civiles en pocas horas? 45<br />
Para proteger la sagrada mentira de los seis millones, se ha utilizado<br />
maniobras que parecen casi de ciencia ficción, especialmente para ahogar<br />
cualquier intento serio de demostrar su falsedad. Así, cuando en 1995 la<br />
revista japonesa de economía y negocios “Marcopolo” publico un inocente<br />
comentario señalando que “cada vez eran menos las razones para creer que<br />
en la Alemania Nazi habría tenido lugar un Holocausto” de judíos y gitanos,<br />
el todopoderoso judaísmo mundial movió sus hilos y consiguió que tanto la<br />
revista como el periodista respectivo fueran sancionados sin ajuste a<br />
ninguna legislación existente, y que la revista Marcopolo no pueda hacer<br />
por el resto de su existencia, cualquier otra referencia sobre el<br />
Holocausto . . . 46<br />
“NAZIFICACIÓN” DE ISRAEL<br />
Israel se está comportando con los palestinos, siento tener que volverlo<br />
a decir, tal como la Alemania nazi se comportó en su tiempo con los judíos.<br />
Y no me refiero sólo al gobierno de Israel, presidido por ese militar<br />
ultraderechista que es Ariel Sharon. Sino también al pueblo de Israel en su<br />
conjunto. 47 “El Estado de Israel es un Estado criminal, genocida y terrorista,<br />
y su misma existencia es un problema para la paz mundial.” 48<br />
“Nunca podrán alegar los judíos del mundo entero, así como su<br />
45. Del artículo El filósofo Roger Garaudy denuncia la colaboración del Sionismo<br />
con el régimen Nazi. Documento de la “Izquierda Nacional” en http://<br />
www.geocities.com/izquierda_nacional/mundo004.html.<br />
46. Anónimo: Las Pruebas De Que El Holocausto Judío Es Una Fantasía publicado<br />
en el sitio neonazi Resistencia Aria, http://www.resistenciaria.org/revisionismo/MENTIRAS.htm.<br />
47. Caballero, Antonio: La Naturaleza Humana publicado en el sitio de Internet<br />
de La Semana.com, dirección en la red http://semana.terra.com.co/opencms/<br />
opencms/semana/articulo.html?id=74630.<br />
48. Nuñez, Eduardo: El Estado Criminal De Israel: Un Peligro Para La Paz<br />
Del Mundo, publicado en http://ecuador.indymedia.org/es/2003/07/3114.shtml el<br />
22/7/2003.
128 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:99<br />
patrocinador EEUU, que no sabían lo que estaba sucediendo. Se trata de un<br />
holocausto semejante al que padecieron sus antepasados por el hecho de<br />
pertenecer a un pueblo. Como hoy padecen ese exterminio los ciudadanos<br />
palestinos. El silencio de las personas que sostengan al Estado de Israel los<br />
hará cómplices de un sistema de muerte con terribles consecuencias.” 49<br />
“Es triste ver la similitud casi paralela entre el trato que los nazis dispensaron<br />
a los judíos y el que dispensan hoy los judíos a los palestinos y<br />
árabes en general.” 50<br />
“Israel es un pueblo militarizado y genocida que quiere la expulsión de<br />
todo palestino: es continua la actitud exterminadora de estos neonazis con<br />
caftán, que a pesar de esta nueva “hoja de ruta” no cejan en su empeño de<br />
apoderarse de todo el territorio.” 51<br />
Esta confluencia discursiva, expresión del surgimiento y consolidación<br />
de un espacio político común (el movimiento antiglobalización), han parido<br />
una nueva forma de odio judeofóbico, han dado entidad a lo que podríamos<br />
llamar neojudeofobia.<br />
La situación actual de afluencia entre los grupos antisemitas nos da pie<br />
para afirmar, parafraseando a Marx y a Engels, que en vistas de los hechos<br />
acontecidos en los últimos años parecería que: “un fantasma recorre el<br />
mundo”, el fantasma de la judeofobia . . . ¡Antisemitas del mundo, uníos!<br />
49. García Fajardo, José Carlos: Holocausto Del Pueblo Palestino, publicado en<br />
la página de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, http://www.ucm.es/info/<br />
solidarios/ccs/articulos/oriente_med/holocausto_del_pueblo_palestino.htm.<br />
50. Anónimo: La Falsa Democracia Hebrea, http://diosesdeburja.iespana.es/<br />
la_falsa_democracia_hebrea.htm.<br />
51. Anónimo: Libertad Para Palestina en el sitio, http://diosesdeburja.<br />
iespana.es/libertad_para_palestina.htm.
The Conversos<br />
Seth Ward*<br />
In <strong>the</strong> 14th and 15th centuries, many Iberian Jews were forced to convert<br />
to Catholicism. These Jews, called conversos, were loyal to <strong>the</strong>ir new<br />
faith, although some retained Jewish beliefs or practices and passed <strong>the</strong>m<br />
along to <strong>the</strong>ir descendants. While memory of Jewish ancestry faded, <strong>the</strong>re<br />
was a reawakening of interest in Judaism, including what was seen as a<br />
return to <strong>the</strong> Judaism of <strong>the</strong>ir ancestors in <strong>the</strong> late 20th century. Three<br />
elements are key to understanding <strong>the</strong> conversos phenomenon: genetic<br />
and genealogical considerations, <strong>the</strong> canon of evidence of survival of<br />
crypto-Judaic practices and beliefs, and a major shift in attitudes toward<br />
Judaism, which includes identification with <strong>the</strong> Judaic past.<br />
Key Words: Converso, Jew, Catholic, Spain<br />
Judaism flourished in medieval Spain, but after <strong>the</strong> riots of 1391, Jews<br />
came under increasing pressure to convert to Christianity. When Ferdinand<br />
and Isabella expelled <strong>the</strong>ir Jewish populations from Aragon and Castile in<br />
1492, many chose to convert to Christianity; o<strong>the</strong>rs moved to Portugal,<br />
where <strong>the</strong>y essentially were forced to accept Christianity in 1497. Many<br />
persons in <strong>the</strong> Iberian peninsula in 1500 had Jewish ancestry, although it is<br />
hard to assess how many of <strong>the</strong>m were forcibly baptized, and how many<br />
had freely chosen Christianity or had ancestors who had. 1 More to <strong>the</strong> point,<br />
it is not possible to ascertain how many were ardent, believing Catholics. In<br />
some cases, Catholics who were confirmed Christians, rejecting Jewish<br />
belief and practice, never<strong>the</strong>less were proud of <strong>the</strong>ir Jewish heritage, by<br />
which <strong>the</strong>y were linked to Christ in <strong>the</strong> flesh, as well as in faith. Never<strong>the</strong>less,<br />
Spanish anti-Jewish sentiment was extended to <strong>the</strong> New Christians,<br />
and Spain adopted blood purity laws, e.g., limpieza de sangre, requiring<br />
proof of pure Christian ancestry, increasing <strong>the</strong> likelihood of Spaniards suppressing<br />
any knowledge of <strong>the</strong>ir Jewish roots.<br />
1. Estimates range from 100,000-200,000 of Jews converted to Christianity in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Iberian Peninsula.<br />
129
130 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:129<br />
Moshe Maimon’s The Marranos (1893)<br />
In <strong>the</strong> 16th and 17th centuries, <strong>the</strong>re were opportunities for converso<br />
descendants to live openly as Jews—in <strong>the</strong> Americas, in <strong>the</strong> Ottoman<br />
Empire, and in some European countries. In some of <strong>the</strong>se places, <strong>the</strong>se<br />
returnees to Judaism were often called Spanish-Portuguese Jews. But open<br />
practice of Judaism was not possible in Spain or Portugal or areas controlled<br />
by <strong>the</strong>m. Indeed, <strong>the</strong> Spanish Inquisition, adopted in 1480, and <strong>the</strong><br />
Portuguese Inquisition, founded in <strong>the</strong> 1530s, were often particularly vigilant<br />
about Judaizing among persons known to have converso ancestry.<br />
These inquisitions were perhaps most concerned with Judaizing in <strong>the</strong> first<br />
decades of <strong>the</strong>ir existence. Although later <strong>the</strong>y more often prosecuted Protestants,<br />
blasphemers, and o<strong>the</strong>r heretics, <strong>the</strong>y turned <strong>the</strong>ir attention to Jews<br />
from time to time; in New Spain, for example, most notably in 1591 and<br />
1640. The last Spanish Inquisition persecution for secret Jewish practices<br />
was in <strong>the</strong> 19th century. Except in isolated communities, practices among<br />
New Christians and <strong>the</strong>ir descendants reflecting ancient Jewish customs or<br />
strategies adopted to avoid inquisitorial suspicion vanished; those that differed<br />
in any way from <strong>the</strong> typical Catholic practice of <strong>the</strong> region were kept<br />
private and generally were maintained without specific reference to any<br />
connection to Judaism.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> first three quarters of <strong>the</strong> 20th century, <strong>the</strong>re were a few reports<br />
of Jewish identity retention among converso descendants, and some<br />
attempts to revive some form of Judaism. Among <strong>the</strong> more notable of such<br />
campaigns was that of Portugal’s Barros Bastro. 2 Indeed, a few remote<br />
communities in Portugal retained distinctive elements of belief, liturgy, and<br />
practice from <strong>the</strong>ir Jewish heritage, although Barros’ endeavors did not<br />
meet with much success. In North and South America <strong>the</strong>re were individual<br />
families of largely Spanish colonial or mestizo heritage who maintained<br />
2. Capt. Artur Carlos de Barros Basto (1887-1961) was a decorated Portuguese<br />
military hero and leader of <strong>the</strong> return to Judaism movement for <strong>the</strong> crypto-Jews.
2011] THE CONVERSOS 131<br />
<strong>the</strong>y had Jewish ancestry, had practices considered consistent with a Jewish<br />
heritage, or reported traditions about only marrying with certain families<br />
(historian Cecil Roth, for example, was aware of only faint echoes and individual<br />
persons who claimed Marrano ancestry).<br />
For <strong>the</strong> most part, persons of converso heritage were unaware of any<br />
Jewish practices or beliefs in <strong>the</strong>ir families, and if <strong>the</strong>y had unusual practices<br />
would not have described <strong>the</strong>m as Jewish, at least in public, nor did<br />
<strong>the</strong>y establish formal communities. Venta Prieta in Mexico was a rare<br />
exception. Raphael Patai published two important studies on <strong>the</strong> Indian<br />
Jews of Venta Prieta; he discounted converso heritage in his first published<br />
study, although he modified his views in a later study. O<strong>the</strong>rwise, <strong>the</strong>re was<br />
little general awareness of <strong>the</strong> survival of any Jewish elements of belief,<br />
practice, or identity among populations that might have included descendants<br />
of conversos.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> final quarter of <strong>the</strong> 20th century, persons of Hispanic heritage in<br />
general came into more contact with Jews and more into <strong>the</strong> American<br />
mainstream. There was a growing acceptance of multiculturalism in<br />
America, television programs such as Roots emphasized <strong>the</strong> search for heritage,<br />
and, perhaps most relevant for readers of this journal, <strong>the</strong> level of<br />
antisemitism appears to have declined among Hispanos and everyone<br />
else—at least in <strong>the</strong> United States. It is hardly surprising that <strong>the</strong>re was a<br />
major change in attitudes and openness: The persistence of Jewish heritage<br />
among persons of Hispanic heritage began to be discussed more frequently<br />
with outsiders, at first only behind closed doors, and appeared in popular<br />
accounts and in research. Hispanos who came into contact with Jewish families<br />
wondered whe<strong>the</strong>r some of <strong>the</strong>ir own family practices had a Jewish<br />
source. 3<br />
One component of this phenomenon involves <strong>the</strong> discovery or determination<br />
of Jewish ancestry. It seems to me that <strong>the</strong> sheer number of conversos<br />
and <strong>the</strong>ir descendants’ eventual intermarriage with all ranks of Spanish<br />
society make it statistically improbable that any person of predominantly<br />
Spanish heritage alive today is totally devoid of Jewish ancestors. This<br />
fact—or at least <strong>the</strong> high likelihood of common ancestry between modern<br />
Jews and Spaniards or Hispanos—is not only indicated by research suggesting<br />
a high preponderance of common Y-chromosome haplotypes, but<br />
also somewhat obscured by this research. Suppose <strong>the</strong>re are some 20 generations<br />
since <strong>the</strong> late 1300s—and thus 2 20 , or over one million, distinct possi-<br />
3. I discussed <strong>the</strong> literature up to <strong>the</strong> mid-1990s and noted its growth elsewhere.<br />
See Seth Ward, “Converso Descendants in <strong>the</strong> American Southwest: A<br />
Report on Research, Resources, and <strong>the</strong> Changing Search for Identity,” Proceedings<br />
of <strong>the</strong> 6th EAJS Toledo, 1998.
132 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:129<br />
ble strands; male-only genetic heritage examines only one of <strong>the</strong>se lineages.<br />
Interest in crypto-Judaism has also been sparked by advances in <strong>the</strong> availability<br />
of genealogical resources, making it easier to trace ancestry to specific<br />
persons of known Jewish heritage. There has also been research<br />
suggesting some possible converso-descendant communities have a higher<br />
incidence of genetic defects often associated with Jewish communities,<br />
such as <strong>the</strong> autoimmune Pemphigus vulgaris and <strong>the</strong> breast cancer gene<br />
mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2.<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r issue sparking much debate is what may be termed <strong>the</strong> canon<br />
of evidence of practices said to reflect Jewish ancestry in such populations.<br />
These include reports about lighting candles on Friday nights, avoidance of<br />
pork (in some cases only on special occasions), prayer meetings on Saturdays,<br />
objects or symbols thought to be Jewish, or even <strong>the</strong> transmission of<br />
family traditions that “we are Jews.” In most cases, it is possible to explain<br />
<strong>the</strong>se traditions in various ways—even <strong>the</strong> transmission of Jewish family<br />
identification. Never<strong>the</strong>less, <strong>the</strong>se practices, symbols, and transmissions<br />
occur in a well-defined population, which has been demonstrated to have at<br />
least some crypto-Jewish ancestry.<br />
A third component—to this author <strong>the</strong> most important—is a sense of<br />
increased identification with a Jewish heritage among Hispano populations.<br />
Until <strong>the</strong> first generation born after World War II came of age, <strong>the</strong>re was<br />
little interest in claiming this heritage. On <strong>the</strong> contrary, more frequently <strong>the</strong><br />
foundation story was that Jews and Muslims were intruders who were<br />
active in Spain for eight centuries, and, thankfully, expelled or converted<br />
without a trace. In Jewish circles, also, it was usually assumed that <strong>the</strong><br />
descendants of conversos who had not managed to escape to places such as<br />
Amsterdam, Salonica, or New York had lost any traces of <strong>the</strong> memory of a<br />
Jewish past. The publication and broadcast of accounts of crypto-Judaism<br />
starting in <strong>the</strong> 1970s, increasing substantially in <strong>the</strong> 1980s, changed this<br />
assumption both among Jews and Hispanos. Jews were fascinated by stories<br />
of Jewish persistence in <strong>the</strong> face of antisemitism, assimilation, and<br />
prejudice. Individuals of Spanish ancestry, having more contact with Jews,<br />
a more positive attitude toward <strong>the</strong>m, and becoming part of a society that<br />
valued multiculturalism, also were drawn to consider <strong>the</strong> possibility that<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir heritage was more complex than <strong>the</strong>y might have thought.<br />
Some converso descendants have chosen to practice Judaism openly.<br />
In some populations, rabbinic authorities have decided to <strong>the</strong> communities<br />
were sufficiently endogamous to allow those wishing to live as Jews to be<br />
accepted as such without worrying about conversion or ceremonies of<br />
return; such a decision has been rendered about <strong>the</strong> Chuetas of Majorca,<br />
according to news reported as this article is being written. In o<strong>the</strong>r cases,<br />
converso descendants have chosen to formally convert to Judaism, or to
2011] THE CONVERSOS 133<br />
identify as Jews without <strong>the</strong> conversion requested by rabbinic authorities. In<br />
some communities, Spanish speakers in Mexico and <strong>the</strong> United States have<br />
chosen to identify with Messianic congregations, explaining <strong>the</strong>ir mixture<br />
of Jewish and Christian beliefs and customs as reflecting <strong>the</strong>ir converso<br />
heritage.<br />
CONCLUSION<br />
Recently, Latin American and Hispano-American identity has included<br />
<strong>the</strong> “return” of Judaism. Studies by anthropologists and sociologists preserve<br />
<strong>the</strong> anonymity of <strong>the</strong> statements of <strong>the</strong>ir subjects, so sometimes it is<br />
difficult to assess <strong>the</strong> extent to which <strong>the</strong> attitudes and choices expressed in<br />
<strong>the</strong> studies reflect a small number of respondents or <strong>the</strong> views of a larger<br />
group. But <strong>the</strong>re seems little doubt that many persons of Hispanic background<br />
have been attracted to Jewish beliefs and practices, and in some<br />
cases have undergone formal conversions, in o<strong>the</strong>rs asserting that <strong>the</strong>ir families<br />
have always been Jewish—and thus <strong>the</strong>y identify as Jews and have<br />
adopted lifestyles based on Judaism. Some communities have sought<br />
rabbinic guidance, adopting practices more like those of mainstream Judaism.<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r communities adopted a crypto-Jewish tradition, reflecting primarily<br />
practices reported in <strong>the</strong>se communities, or have asserted an identity<br />
<strong>the</strong>y see as both Jewish and Christian by joining messianic congregations.<br />
In many more cases, <strong>the</strong>re is an openness to <strong>the</strong> element of Jewish and<br />
Islamic heritage among Hispanics, even when this is not <strong>the</strong>ir primary religious<br />
or community identity.<br />
Half a century ago, persons of Hispanic heritage would have argued<br />
that <strong>the</strong> Jewish and Muslim presence on <strong>the</strong> Iberian peninsula was an 800year<br />
aberration. They might have acknowledged some mestizo or European<br />
ancestors but would have made antisemitic statements. Today, it would<br />
seem that many of those with an Hispanic heritage are proud of Jewish<br />
contributions to Spain and value this contribution as part of <strong>the</strong>ir own heritage.<br />
They openly identify <strong>the</strong>mselves as descendants of conversos, in ways<br />
unthinkable a generation or two ago.<br />
*Seth Ward teaches in <strong>the</strong> religious studies at <strong>the</strong> University of Wyoming, Laramie.<br />
He is a research associate of <strong>the</strong> Institute for <strong>the</strong> Study of Israel in <strong>the</strong> Middle East<br />
at <strong>the</strong> Graduate School of International Studies at <strong>the</strong> University of Denver, a Coolidge<br />
Fellow at <strong>the</strong> Association for Religion and Intellectual Life, and vice president<br />
for programs of <strong>the</strong> Society for Crypto Jewish Studies.
134 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:129<br />
REFERENCES<br />
Carvajal, Doreen, “Majorcan Descendants of Spanish Jews Who Converted Are<br />
Recognized as Jews,” New York Times, July 10, 2011, http://www.nytimes.<br />
com/2011/07/11/world/europe/11iht-conversos11.html.<br />
Hordes, Stanley M., To <strong>the</strong> Ends of <strong>the</strong> Earth. New York: Columbia University<br />
Press, 2005.<br />
Patai, Raphael, “The Jewish Indians of Mexico” [originally published 1950], Jewish<br />
Folklore and Ethnology Review 18 1-2 (1996): 2-12, and “Venta Prieta<br />
Revisited” [originally published 1965], Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Review<br />
18:1-2 (1996): 13-18.<br />
Roth, Cecil, A History of <strong>the</strong> Marranos, Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society,<br />
1975.<br />
Ward, Seth, “Converso Descendants in <strong>the</strong> U.S. Southwest: A Report on Research,<br />
Resources, and <strong>the</strong> Changing Search for Identity,” Proceedings of <strong>the</strong> 1998<br />
Conference of <strong>the</strong> European Association for Jewish Studies, ed. Angel Saenz-<br />
Badillos. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1999, 677-86.
El Conversos<br />
Seth Ward*<br />
Los judíos y el judaísmo florecieron en la España Medieval, pero<br />
judíos llegaron bajo una creciente presión para convertir al cristianismo,<br />
especialmente después de disturbios en varias ciudades en 1391. Cuando<br />
Fernando e Isabel expulsaron a sus poblaciones judías de Aragón y Castilla<br />
en 1492, muchos decidieron convertirse al cristianismo. Muchos se trasladaron<br />
a Portugal, donde esencialmente fueron obligados a aceptar el cristianismo<br />
en 1497. Muchas personas en la Península Ibérica en 1500 han<br />
tenido ascendencia judía, aunque es difícil evaluar cuántos de ellos por la<br />
fuerza fueron bautizados y cuántos habían elegido libremente cristianismo,<br />
o tenían antepasados que tenían. Más al punto, no es posible determinar<br />
cuántos eran ardientes, creyendo que los católicos. En algunos casos,<br />
católicos que fueron confirmaron a cristianos, rechazando la creencia y la<br />
práctica, sin embargo fueron orgullosos de su herencia judía, por que ellos<br />
estaban vinculados a Cristo “de carne y hueso”, así como en la fe. Sin<br />
embargo, sentimiento antisemita español se extendió a los cristianos<br />
nuevos, y España una serie de normas sobre limpieza de sangre “pureza de<br />
sangre,” que requieren prueba de puro viejo cristiano ascendencia, y que<br />
hizo españoles más probable serían suprimir conocimiento de raíces judías.<br />
Moshe Maimon’s The Marranos 1893<br />
En los siglos XVI y XVII, hay oportunidades para descendientes de<br />
conversos a vivir abiertamente como los judíos, en las Américas, en el<br />
Imperio Otomano y en algunos países europeos. En algunos de estos<br />
lugares, estos repatriados al judaísmo se denominaban a “Hispano-portugués”<br />
judíos. Pero no fue posible práctica abierta del judaísmo en España<br />
o Portugal o en zonas controladas por ellos. De hecho, la Inquisición española,<br />
aprobada en 1480 y la Inquisición portuguesa, fundada en 1530, eran a<br />
135
136 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:135<br />
menudo preocupa particularmente “Judaizar” entre las personas que tienen<br />
ascendencia de conversos. Estas inquisiciones tal vez estaban más preocupados<br />
por judaizar en las primeras décadas de su existencia; Aunque<br />
procesa a los protestantes, blasfemos y otros herejes, dirigieron su atención<br />
a los judíos de vez en cuando; en la Nueva España, por ejemplo, sobre todo<br />
en 1591 y 1640, tratada en detalle por hordas de Stan; el último<br />
enjuiciamiento Inquisición española prácticas secretas de judíos fue en el<br />
siglo XIX. Por lo tanto, excepto en las comunidades muy aisladas, las prácticas<br />
de los nuevos cristianos y sus descendientes que refleja la antigua<br />
costumbre judía o estrategias adoptadas para evitar sospechas inquisitoriales<br />
desaparecieron; los que difieren en absoluto la práctica católica típica<br />
de la región se mantienen en privado y generalmente se mantuvieron sin<br />
referencia específica a cualquier conexión con el judaísmo.<br />
En los primeros tres trimestres del siglo 20th, había pocos informes de<br />
retención de la identidad judía entre los descendientes de conversos y algunos<br />
intentos de revivir de alguna forma del judaísmo. Entre los más notables<br />
de estas campañas fue la de Barros Bastro en Portugal. de hecho,<br />
algunas comunidades remotas en Portugal mantuvo elementos distintivos de<br />
la creencia, la liturgia y la práctica de su herencia judía, aunque los esfuerzos<br />
de Barros no tuvieron mucho éxito. En América del Norte y del Sur<br />
había familias individuales de en gran medida española colonial o<br />
patrimonio mestizo, quien mantuvo tenían ascendencia judía, o habían prácticas<br />
considera coherente con una herencia judía, o informó tradiciones<br />
acerca de casarse sólo con algunas familias. Cecil Roth conocía sólo ecos<br />
débiles y las personas individuales que reclamó la ascendencia de Marrano.<br />
En su mayor parte personas de conversos patrimonio desconocen cualquier<br />
judías prácticas o creencias en sus familias, y si tenían prácticas inusuales<br />
no habría describió como judío, al menos en público, ni establecen<br />
comunidades formales. Venta Prieta en México fue una rara excepción.<br />
Raphael Patai publicado dos estudios importantes sobre los “judíos de<br />
India” de Venta Prieta; descontó conversos patrimonio en su primer estudio<br />
publicado, aunque modificó sus puntos de vista en un estudio posterior.<br />
De lo contrario, fue poco conocimiento general de la supervivencia de<br />
cualquier judíos elementos de convicción, práctica o identidad entre la<br />
población que podría incluir a descendientes de conversos.<br />
En el último trimestre del siglo 20th, especialmente en los Estados<br />
Unidos, las personas de la herencia hispana en general llegaron en más contacto<br />
con los judíos y más en la corriente estadounidense. Había una<br />
creciente aceptación del multiculturalismo en América, programas de televisión<br />
como raíces hizo hincapié en la búsqueda de patrimonio y, quizá más<br />
relevante para los lectores de este diario, el nivel de antisemitismo parece<br />
disminuyeron entre Hispanos y todos los demás, al menos en los Estados
2011] EL CONVERSOS 137<br />
Unidos. No es nada sorprendente que hubo un gran cambio en las actitudes<br />
y la apertura: la persistencia de la herencia judía entre personas de herencia<br />
hispana comenzó a discutir con más frecuencia con los de afuera, al<br />
principio sólo a puerta cerrada y apareció en las cuentas de populares y en<br />
la investigación. Hispanos que entraron en contacto con familias judías se<br />
pregunta si algunas de sus prácticas de familia tenían un origen judío.<br />
Examinó la literatura hasta mediados de la década de 1990 y señaló su<br />
crecimiento en un artículo publicado en el procedimiento de EAJS.<br />
Uno de los componentes de este fenómeno implica el descubrimiento o<br />
la determinación de ascendencia judía. Me parece que el número de conversos<br />
y matrimonios eventual de sus descendientes con todos los rangos de la<br />
sociedad española hace estadísticamente subsidiada que cualquier persona<br />
de patrimonio predominantemente español vivo hoy es totalmente carente<br />
de antepasados judíos. Este hecho, o al menos la alta probabilidad de<br />
ascendencia común entre los judíos y españoles o Hispanos moderno: se<br />
indica no sólo por la investigación, lo que sugiere una alta preponderancia<br />
de haplotypes común de cromosoma Y, pero también algo oscurecida por<br />
esta investigación. Supongamos que hay unos 20 generaciones desde los<br />
finales del siglo XIV y así 2 20 o un millón distintas hebras posibles;<br />
patrimonio genético sólo macho examina sólo uno de estos linajes. Interés<br />
en crypto-judaísmo también ha sido provocado por avances en la disponibilidad<br />
de recursos genealógicos, haciendo más fácil su ascendencia de<br />
seguimiento a personas específicas del patrimonio judío conocido. También<br />
ha habido investigación sugerir que algunas posibles comunidades de<br />
descendientes de conversos tienen una mayor incidencia de ciertos defectos<br />
genéticos asociados a menudo con las comunidades judías, como el Pénfigo<br />
vulgar y las “Judío” mutaciones de gen de cáncer de mama en BRCA1 y<br />
BRCA2.<br />
Otra cuestión provocando mucho debate es lo que puede llamarse el<br />
“canon de pruebas” de prácticas para reflejar en esas poblaciones de<br />
ascendencia judía, dijo. Estos incluyen informes acerca de iluminación<br />
velas el viernes por la noche, evitar la carne de cerdo, en algunos casos sólo<br />
en ocasiones especiales, reuniones de oración los sábados, objetos o<br />
símbolos que piensa que es judío, o incluso la transmisión de las tradiciones<br />
familiares que “somos judíos”. En la mayoría de los casos, es posible explicar<br />
estas tradiciones de diversas maneras, incluso la transmisión de identificación<br />
familiar judía. Sin embargo, estas prácticas, los símbolos y las<br />
transmisiones se producen en una población bien definida, que se ha<br />
demostrado que tienen al menos algunas ascendencia judía crypto.<br />
Un tercer componente, este autor más importante—es una sensación<br />
de mayor identificación con una herencia judía entre las poblaciones de<br />
Hispano. Hasta la primera generación nacida después de la Segunda Guerra
138 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:135<br />
Mundial la mayoría de edad, hubo poco interés al reclamar este patrimonio<br />
de la humanidad. Por el contrario, más frecuentemente, la “historia de la<br />
Fundación” fue que los judíos y los musulmanes eran intrusos que estaban<br />
activos en España durante ocho siglos y afortunadamente, expulsados o<br />
convierten sin dejar rastro. También, en círculos judíos, normalmente se<br />
asumió que los descendientes de conversos que no habían conseguido<br />
escapar a lugares como Amsterdam, Salónica o Nueva York habían perdido<br />
cualquier rastro de la memoria de un pasado judío. La publicación y difusión<br />
de las cuentas de crypto-judaísmo, a partir de la década de 1970,<br />
aumentando sustancialmente en la década de 1980, cambian esto tanto entre<br />
los judíos y los Hispanos. Los judíos estaban fascinados por las historias de<br />
judío persistencia de asimilación, antisemitismo y los prejuicios. Personas<br />
de ascendencia española, tener más contacto con los judíos, una actitud más<br />
positiva hacia ellos y formar parte de una sociedad que valora la multiculturalidad,<br />
se señalan también a considerar la posibilidad de que su<br />
patrimonio fue más compleja de lo que podrían haber pensado.<br />
Algunos descendientes de conversos han elegido práctica judaísmo<br />
abiertamente. En algunas poblaciones, decidieron las autoridades rabínicas<br />
las comunidades fueron endógamos suficientemente como para permitir que<br />
aquellos que desean vivir como judíos para ser aceptado como tal sin preocuparse<br />
de conversión o ceremonias de retorno; esa decisión ha quedado<br />
sobre los Chuetas de Mallorca, segun noticias informados que se está<br />
escribiendo este ensayo. En otros casos, los descendientes de conversos han<br />
elegido formalmente convertir al judaísmo o identificar como judíos sin la<br />
conversión solicitada por las autoridades rabínicas. En algunas<br />
comunidades hispanohablantes en México y Estados Unidos han optado por<br />
identificar con congregaciones mesiánicas, explicando su mezcla de creencias<br />
judías y cristianas y costumbres como el reflejo de su herencia de<br />
conversos.<br />
CONCLUSIÓN<br />
Muy final del siglo XX (20th) y principios del XXI (21st), esto ha<br />
llevado a una mayor conciencia de un componente judía en América Latina<br />
y el hispanoamericano de identidad e incluso a un movimiento de<br />
“regreso”. Estudios realizados por antropólogos y sociólogos tienden a<br />
ocultar las declaraciones de sus súbditos, por lo que a veces es difícil<br />
evaluar la medida en que las actitudes y decisiones expresadas en los<br />
estudios reflejan un pequeño número de encuestados o las opiniones de un<br />
grupo más grande. Pero parece que hay pocas dudas de que muchas personas<br />
de origen Hispano han sido atraídas por las prácticas y creencias<br />
judías y en algunos casos han sido sometidos a conversiones formales, en<br />
otros afirmando que sus familias han sido siempre judíos—y así identificar
2011] EL CONVERSOS 139<br />
como judíos y han adoptado el estilo de vida basado en el judaísmo.<br />
Algunas comunidades han buscado orientación rabínica, adopción de prácticas<br />
más como las del judaísmo principal; otros han afirmado una especie de<br />
tradición “Cripto-judío”, que refleja principalmente las prácticas en estas<br />
comunidades, o han afirmado una identidad ven como judíos y cristianos<br />
uniéndose a congregaciones mesiánicas. En muchos casos más, hay una<br />
apertura para el elemento del patrimonio judío (y Islámica) entre los hispanos,<br />
incluso cuando no es su principal identidad religiosa o comunidad.<br />
Hace medio siglo la mayoría de las personas de herencia hispana<br />
habría argumentó que la presencia judía y musulmana en la Península Ibérica<br />
fue una aberración del año 800, y aunque podría han indicado algunos<br />
mestizos o antepasados europeos, no habría reconocido a cualquier<br />
antepasados como judío y probablemente hubiera anotado alto sobre índices<br />
de antisemitismo. Hoy, sin embargo, parece que muchas personas del<br />
patrimonio hispano están orgullosos de las contribuciones de los judíos de<br />
que España lo que era y esta contribución como parte de su propio<br />
patrimonio de valor y abiertamente identificar como descendientes de conversos,<br />
de manera impensable una generación o dos hace.<br />
*Seth Ward se enseña en los estudios religiosos en la Universidad de Wyoming en<br />
Laramie. Es un investigador asociado del Instituto para el estudio de Israel en el<br />
Medio Oriente en la escuela de posgrado de estudios internacionales en la Universidad<br />
de Denver.<br />
REFERENCES<br />
Doreen Carvajal, “Majorcan Descendants of Spanish Jews Who Converted<br />
Are Recognized as Jews,” New York Times, July 10, 2011 http://<br />
www.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/world/europe/11iht-conversos11.html.<br />
Stanley M. Hordes, To <strong>the</strong> Ends of <strong>the</strong> Earth. New York: Columbia University<br />
Press, 2005.<br />
Raphael Patai, “The Jewish Indians of Mexico” [originally published 1950],<br />
Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Review 18 1-2 (1996), 2-12, and<br />
“Venta Prieta Revisited” [originally published 1965] 555518:1-2<br />
(1996), 13-18.<br />
Cecil Roth, A History of <strong>the</strong> Marranos. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication<br />
Society, 1975.<br />
Seth Ward, “Converso Descendants in <strong>the</strong> U.S. Southwest: A Report on<br />
Research, Resources, and <strong>the</strong> Changing Search for Identity,” Proceedings<br />
of <strong>the</strong> 1998 Conference of <strong>the</strong> European Association for Jewish<br />
Studies, ed. Angel Saenz-Badillos. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1999, pp. 677-<br />
86.
Latin America and Iranian Terror Networks—<br />
Land of Opportunity<br />
Sergio Widder*<br />
The New Antisemitism has found ways to express itself in Latin<br />
America. This renewed hostility is expressed by political coalitions that<br />
bring toge<strong>the</strong>r radical left-wing elements and religious fundamentalist<br />
groups, which are <strong>the</strong> main voices that promote ancient antisemitic rhetoric<br />
and conspiracy <strong>the</strong>ories about Jewish and/or Zionist control of <strong>the</strong><br />
world.<br />
Key Words: Jews, Antisemitism, Argentina, Latin America, Iran<br />
A FERTILE ARENA<br />
The main regional hub for antisemitic groups is <strong>the</strong> Brazil-based<br />
World Social Forum (WSF). Ga<strong>the</strong>red under <strong>the</strong> slogan “Ano<strong>the</strong>r world is<br />
possible,” <strong>the</strong> WSF was founded in 2001 by leaders from <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>n-opposite,<br />
now ruling Partido dos Trabalhadores (Laborers Party, currently undergoing<br />
its third consecutive presidential term). The founding purpose was to provide<br />
a kind of response to <strong>the</strong> “neo-liberal, economic globalization,” promoting<br />
a “globalization of international solidarity” instead. The WSF holds<br />
annual meetings, but regional forums are scheduled throughout <strong>the</strong> year.<br />
Several legitimate grievances are addressed at those meetings (e.g., environment<br />
care policies, sexual exploitation, child labor), but a quick look at a<br />
program shows that no less than 10 to 15 percent of <strong>the</strong> activities are<br />
devoted to <strong>the</strong> Middle East and particularly “<strong>the</strong> Palestinian cause,” <strong>the</strong><br />
delegitimization of Israel, and <strong>the</strong> justification of terrorism as “legitimate<br />
resistance.”<br />
Whatever happens in <strong>the</strong> main meeting of <strong>the</strong> WSF has an impact in<br />
<strong>the</strong> regional forums, and contributes to shape <strong>the</strong> agenda of radical leftwing<br />
groups all over <strong>the</strong> world. To offer just one example, it was <strong>the</strong>re that<br />
<strong>the</strong> Simon Wiesenthal Center learned about <strong>the</strong> patterns of <strong>the</strong> initiative by<br />
pro-Palestinian groups against <strong>the</strong> Israeli security fence, half a year before<br />
its actual presentation at The Hague. The WSF also provides <strong>the</strong> framework<br />
for <strong>the</strong> coordination of <strong>the</strong> global “Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions” (BDS)<br />
campaign against Israel.<br />
The impact in Latin America was visible during <strong>the</strong> 2006 Israel-<br />
141
142 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:141<br />
Hizbollah and <strong>the</strong> 2009 Israel-Hamas wars, when virulent antisemitic hostility,<br />
disguised as “anti-Zionism,” reached its peak.<br />
This context is providing an appealing opportunity for <strong>the</strong> radical Iranian<br />
regime in its search for new allies that could help to combat its<br />
isolation.<br />
“21ST-CENTURY SOCIALISM”—OR <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>?<br />
Most of <strong>the</strong> Latin American groups active at <strong>the</strong> forums find <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
political reference in <strong>the</strong> ALBA (Bolivian Alternative for <strong>the</strong> Americas) 1<br />
bloc, led by Venezuela’s Húgo Chávez and joined by Evo Morales<br />
(Bolivia), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), and Fidel<br />
and Raul Castro (Cuba). This bloc is also <strong>the</strong> main partner for <strong>the</strong> growing<br />
Iranian penetration in Latin America.<br />
It is interesting that all of <strong>the</strong>se leaders have reached power by building<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir legitimacy from outside <strong>the</strong> traditional political systems and/or in<br />
connection to institutional crisis in <strong>the</strong>ir countries: Chávez is an army colonel<br />
whose first attempt to get to <strong>the</strong> presidency was a failed coup d’etat;<br />
Morales was a leader of indigenous peasants working at coca plantations;<br />
Correa is <strong>the</strong> first stable Ecuadorian president in years; Ortega and <strong>the</strong> Castro<br />
bro<strong>the</strong>rs were leaders of armed revolutions, although Ortega later ran for<br />
and won free elections. All of <strong>the</strong>m have also provided a warm reception to<br />
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and have established diverse<br />
cooperation initiatives.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> case of Bolivia, beyond <strong>the</strong> common interests regarding energy<br />
resources, Iran has also financed humanitarian projects. A new hospital,<br />
named “Islamic Republic of Iran—The Red Crescent Society,” was inaugurated<br />
by presidents Morales and Ahmadinejad in November 2009. The hospital<br />
provides health services for over 800,000 people of El Alto, a modest<br />
neighborhood, 40 minutes away from <strong>the</strong> capital city, La Paz, and home to<br />
a wide constituency of President Morales. 2 But beyond Iran’s generosity, a<br />
controversy arose with <strong>the</strong> suggestion that nurses and o<strong>the</strong>r female staff<br />
wear a veil while on duty. 3<br />
1. The acronym ALBA was created by Húgo Chávez as a counter to <strong>the</strong> ALCA<br />
(Área de Libre Comercio de las Américas—FTAA, <strong>the</strong> U.S. initiative for a Free<br />
Trade Agreement of <strong>the</strong> Americas). In Spanish, <strong>the</strong> word “alba” means “dawn,” so<br />
<strong>the</strong> bloc’s name is intended to proclaim a “new era” for Latin America.<br />
2. “Se afianzan los vínculos con Irán,” La Nación, December 6, 2009, http://<br />
www.lanacion.com.ar/1208421-se-afianzan-los-vinculos-con-iran.<br />
3. “Velo islámico en Bolivia,” http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/america_latina/<br />
2009/11/091126_2328_bolivia_islam_gm.shtml.
2011] TERROR NETWORKS 143<br />
We should remember that Evo Morales’ decision to expel <strong>the</strong> Israeli<br />
ambassador under <strong>the</strong> pretext of <strong>the</strong> war in Gaza was made prior to Venezuela’s<br />
decision for <strong>the</strong> same reason. Morales’ anti-Israeli rhetoric is permanent,<br />
and he uses it as a starting point to criticize o<strong>the</strong>r “enemies”: prior to<br />
being elected president, he had labeled Chile “<strong>the</strong> Israel of Latin America,”<br />
referring to <strong>the</strong> neighboring country’s alleged “expansionism.” Having said<br />
this, it is also fair to say that, so far, <strong>the</strong> small Bolivian Jewish community<br />
has not suffered a direct impact from this situation.<br />
The case of Venezuela is different. There, it is evident that antisemitism<br />
has become a state policy. Attacks against Jewish targets have become<br />
usual and remain uninvestigated and, of course, unpunished.<br />
Some relevant incidents include:<br />
• Two police raids against <strong>the</strong> Hebraica Jewish Center of Caracas.<br />
The pretext was that judicial authorities were looking for hidden<br />
weapons and explosives. In January 2009, Tiferet Israel synagogue<br />
was vandalized.<br />
• On Christmas Eve 2005, President Chávez delivered a long speech.<br />
during which he said that “<strong>the</strong> world has wealth for all, but some<br />
minorities, among <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong> descendants of <strong>the</strong> murderers of Christ,<br />
have seized <strong>the</strong> wealth of <strong>the</strong> world.” 4<br />
• Frequent attacks from state-sponsored media, notably from a TV<br />
show, The Razor Blade, and a Web site, “Aporrea.org.” 5 During <strong>the</strong><br />
2009 Israel-Hamas war, Aporrea published a “plan of action”<br />
against <strong>the</strong> Venezuelan Jewish community, which included <strong>the</strong><br />
“confiscation of Jewish properties” and boycotts of supermarkets<br />
where kosher food could be bought. Aporrea’s editors later disassociated<br />
from <strong>the</strong> content of <strong>the</strong> article, but this step was taken only<br />
after <strong>the</strong>y received strong criticism.<br />
• A close advisor to Chávez in his early days was <strong>the</strong> late Argentine<br />
sociologist Norberto Ceresole, an antisemitic propagandist, Holocaust<br />
denier, and author of Terrorismo fundamentalista judío (Jewish<br />
Fundamentalist Terrorism), in which he blames Jews for <strong>the</strong><br />
bombing of <strong>the</strong> AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, in 1994.<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r advisor was <strong>the</strong> late Argentine Colonel Mohammed Ali<br />
Seineldin, a far-right nationalist who used to say to his troops that<br />
“green horses do not exist, nor decent Jews.”<br />
The scope of <strong>the</strong> attacks against <strong>the</strong> Jewish community led to an<br />
4. The French newspaper Liberation harshly criticized Chávez for this speech,<br />
in an article titled “Le credo antisémite de Hugo Chávez,” http://www.liberation.fr/<br />
monde/010134744-l3-credo-de-hugo-ch-vez.<br />
5. The word aporrea means “beat” in English.
144 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:141<br />
unprecedented criticism from <strong>the</strong> Inter-American Commission of Human<br />
Rights (IACHR), a body of <strong>the</strong> Organization of American States (OAS). In<br />
February 2010, <strong>the</strong> IACHR issued <strong>the</strong> report “Democracy and Human<br />
Rights in Venezuela,” which describes <strong>the</strong> current status quo in that country,<br />
including references to antisemitic incidents 6 :<br />
• Paragraph 780: “. . . <strong>the</strong> Commission is concerned by reports claiming<br />
that <strong>the</strong> Jewish community in Venezuela is being especially<br />
affected by violent incidents, including antisemitic statements and<br />
incidents in various media outlets, toge<strong>the</strong>r with graffiti painted on<br />
<strong>the</strong> walls of various Jewish institutions and homes.”<br />
• Paragraph 781: “( . . . ) on December 2, 2007, police officers<br />
raided <strong>the</strong> headquarters of <strong>the</strong> Hebrew Social, Cultural and Sports<br />
Center (“La Hebraica”) in Caracas. . . . [S]ome 30 officers of <strong>the</strong><br />
Intelligence and Prevention Services Directorate forced <strong>the</strong>ir way<br />
into <strong>the</strong> Center . . . [A]bsent a prosecutor from <strong>the</strong> Attorney General’s<br />
Office, <strong>the</strong> police officers presented an order ( . . . ) that<br />
allegedly gave no grounds for <strong>the</strong> operation . . .”<br />
• Paragraph 782: “In response to <strong>the</strong> situation ( . . . ) <strong>the</strong> Commission<br />
asked <strong>the</strong> State to submit information on <strong>the</strong> incident and on <strong>the</strong><br />
reasons for <strong>the</strong> operation carried out at La Hebraica. ( . . . ) [T]he<br />
State told <strong>the</strong> Commission that “<strong>the</strong> operation in question was<br />
intended to conduct a detailed search of all <strong>the</strong> facility’s rooms in<br />
order to locate evidence of criminalistic interest related to <strong>the</strong><br />
alleged commission of a crime against public order . . .” ( . . . ) The<br />
IACHR believes that <strong>the</strong> information furnished by <strong>the</strong> state regarding<br />
<strong>the</strong> operation at <strong>the</strong> Hebrew Center is inadequate to explain <strong>the</strong><br />
incident that occurred at <strong>the</strong> institution’s headquarters.<br />
• The report also refers to <strong>the</strong> desecration of <strong>the</strong> Tiferet Israel synagogue<br />
in January 2009, as well as <strong>the</strong> series of incidents that happened<br />
in that month (Paragraph 783). It also mentions, as a<br />
precedent, <strong>the</strong> speech given by President Chávez on Christmas Eve<br />
in 2005, in which he stated that “<strong>the</strong> world has enough for everyone,<br />
indeed, but it happens that some minorities, <strong>the</strong> descendants of<br />
those who crucified Christ ( . . . ) seized <strong>the</strong> world’s riches” (Paragraph<br />
784).<br />
The Caracas–Tehran axis is also trying to influence regional politics.<br />
In June 2010, <strong>the</strong> ALBA bloc proposed to pass a condemnation against<br />
Israel at <strong>the</strong> 2010 OAS General Assembly in Lima, Peru. This initiative was<br />
presented at <strong>the</strong> opening of <strong>the</strong> first plenary and was voiced by Ecuador, a<br />
6. The complete report can be found at http://www.cidh.oas.org/pdf%20files/<br />
VENEZUELA%202009%20ENG.pdf.
2011] TERROR NETWORKS 145<br />
few days after <strong>the</strong> “Gaza Flotilla” incident. The proposal was rejected, but<br />
almost one third of <strong>the</strong> member states supported it.<br />
Even more sensitive—and, indeed, a threat to regional stability—is <strong>the</strong><br />
permission granted by Chávez for <strong>the</strong> construction of an Iranian missile<br />
base on Venezuelan soil. According to a report originally published by <strong>the</strong><br />
German daily Die Welt in November 2010, <strong>the</strong> facilities will include <strong>the</strong><br />
deployment of platforms for storage of missiles with diverse ranges, plus<br />
four mobile platforms, which will be operated by <strong>the</strong> Iranian Revolutionary<br />
Guard. The agreement grants permission to Iran to open fire “in case of<br />
emergency.” The installations are scheduled for activation by <strong>the</strong> end of<br />
2011.<br />
NAZI SAFE HAVEN FOR TERRORISTS<br />
Opposite ALBA’s partnership with Iran is Argentina’s judicial case<br />
against a group of high-level Iranian officials for <strong>the</strong>ir alleged responsibility<br />
in <strong>the</strong> bombing of <strong>the</strong> AMIA Jewish Center on July 18, 1994, which left 85<br />
people dead and hundreds injured. A special investigation unit, led by Chief<br />
Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, has concluded that <strong>the</strong> attack was decided by<br />
<strong>the</strong> highest Iranian political leadership, including former president Hashemi<br />
Rafsanjani and former foreign minister Alí Akbar Velayati. A key role was<br />
played by <strong>the</strong> former cultural attaché to Argentina, Sheikh Mohsen Rabbani,<br />
who played <strong>the</strong> part of a field commander. The warrants were<br />
endorsed by Interpol with “Red Notice” status, with <strong>the</strong> exception of Rafsanjani,<br />
Velayati, and Hadi Soleimanpour (former Iranian ambassador to<br />
Argentina), because <strong>the</strong>y were considered “high authorities.” This does not<br />
diminish <strong>the</strong>ir alleged responsibility. 7<br />
The Argentine government backed <strong>the</strong> judicial case actively. Both <strong>the</strong><br />
late former president Néstor Kirchner and current president Cristina Kirchner<br />
condemned Iran’s protection to <strong>the</strong> suspects at successive editions of <strong>the</strong><br />
UN General Assembly, and demanded that <strong>the</strong>y be submitted to a court<br />
trial.<br />
These initiatives from <strong>the</strong> Argentine authorities have caused a reaction<br />
from Iran: <strong>the</strong>y of course dismissed <strong>the</strong> charges, started to co-opt Argentine<br />
7. According to <strong>the</strong> prosecutor’s indictment, <strong>the</strong> AMIA attack was decided on<br />
August 13, 1993, in Mashad (Iran). In addition to <strong>the</strong> names mentioned above,<br />
warrants were issued against Mohsen Rezai (commander of <strong>the</strong> Pasdaran–Iranian<br />
revolutionary guard), Ahmad Vahidi (commander of <strong>the</strong> Al Quds force), Ali Fallahijan<br />
(former intelligence and security minister), Ahmad Reza Asghari (third secretary<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Iranian Embassy to Argentina, between 1991 and 1994), and Imad<br />
Mougnieh (Hizbollah security chief, murdered February 2008).
146 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:141<br />
activists, and eventually selected scholars to advocate in <strong>the</strong>ir favor. A radical<br />
left-wing leader, Luis D’Elía, has become an actual spokesman for Iran,<br />
and has publicly endorsed <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ory that “<strong>the</strong> AMIA Center might have<br />
been bombed by ‘<strong>the</strong> Jewish far right’; remember that <strong>the</strong>y were <strong>the</strong> ones<br />
who murdered [Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin.” D’Elía has recently<br />
launched his campaign for <strong>the</strong> 2011 Parliamentary elections; joining him<br />
was <strong>the</strong> Iranian chargé d’affaires. He has also led solidarity missions to<br />
Tehran. Although his constituency is not very wide, D’Elía has a very high<br />
profile in <strong>the</strong> media, and has been an ally of both Néstor and Cristina<br />
Kirchner.<br />
When <strong>the</strong> Argentine justice issued <strong>the</strong> indictment against Iranian officials,<br />
in 2006, <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>n Venezuelan Ambassador to Argentina instructed<br />
D’Elia to organize in Buenos Aires a demonstration in support of Iran. 8 The<br />
incident ended with Argentina requesting that Venezuela changed its<br />
ambassador (Chávez had no o<strong>the</strong>r option than accepting).<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r example of Iran’s counter action in Argentina is an academic<br />
agreement between <strong>the</strong> University of La Plata (a public university, 40 miles<br />
away from Buenos Aires), and <strong>the</strong> University of Tehran, whose chairman,<br />
Farhad Rahbar, is a former deputy minister of intelligence of <strong>the</strong> Iranian<br />
regime. The agreement was fostered by <strong>the</strong> Asociación Argentina Islámica<br />
(Argentine Islamic Association).<br />
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THE “MODERATES”<br />
If Venezuela is <strong>the</strong> closest ally for Iran in Latin America and Argentina<br />
is currently <strong>the</strong> country holding coldest relations with it, <strong>the</strong>re are<br />
o<strong>the</strong>rs who are playing a more ambiguous role.<br />
In this sense, probably <strong>the</strong> most disturbing and worrying situation was<br />
<strong>the</strong> warm reception by former Brazilian president Lula da Silva to Mahmoud<br />
Ahmadinejad, a fantastic PR opportunity for Ahmadinejad and Iran.<br />
Lula even praised <strong>the</strong> “legitimate elections” won by Iran’s president in 2009<br />
(we only need to remember <strong>the</strong> brutal oppression against dissidents in<br />
Tehran’s streets). The motivations were not only economic—Iran is an<br />
interesting market for Brazilian goods—but also political: Lula had<br />
explained that he wanted to “bring Iran to <strong>the</strong> negotiations table and help<br />
building bridges for dialogue” with <strong>the</strong> Western world. The businesses continue;<br />
<strong>the</strong> mediation initiative was a fiasco.<br />
We must add that <strong>the</strong>re is a Brazilian connection to <strong>the</strong> AMIA attack:<br />
according to <strong>the</strong> investigation, Samuel Salman El Reda, a Colombian of<br />
Lebanese origin accused of being <strong>the</strong> local leader of <strong>the</strong> operative terrorist<br />
8. See http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2006/11/15/elpais/p-00315.htm.
2011] TERROR NETWORKS 147<br />
cell, had an apartment—a safe house—in Foz do Iguaçu, on <strong>the</strong> Brazilian<br />
side of <strong>the</strong> Triple Frontier (Argentina–Brazil–Paraguay).<br />
The new president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, has stated that her government<br />
will consider <strong>the</strong> respect for human rights as a guideline for her<br />
foreign policy. Although it is still early for a deep analysis (she took office<br />
on January 1, 2011), <strong>the</strong>re are some alarming signals: in a series of articles<br />
published in April 2011 issue of Veja magazine, a weekly with <strong>the</strong> widest<br />
circulation in Brazil, denounced <strong>the</strong> existence of a “terrorist network” in <strong>the</strong><br />
country. Such network includes elements from al Qaeda’s “Jihad Media<br />
Battalion,” as well as some twenty “militants” from al Qaeda, Hizbollah,<br />
Hamas, <strong>the</strong> Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, and <strong>the</strong> Egyptian Gama’a<br />
al-Islamiyya.<br />
Veja also denounced frequent visits to Brazil of Sheikh Mohsen Rabbani,<br />
for whom <strong>the</strong>re is an Interpol “red notice” as a suspect for <strong>the</strong> AMIA<br />
Jewish Center bombing. Rabbani was also exposed as a host for at least<br />
eight Brazilians who went to Qom (Iran) for a “religious studies seminar.”<br />
Beyond its own borders and interests, Brazil’s relations with Iran also<br />
provide legitimacy for o<strong>the</strong>r countries to follow this path. The governments<br />
of Uruguay and Chile already expressed <strong>the</strong>ir interest in fostering commercial<br />
relations, without a proper evaluation of <strong>the</strong> political implications.<br />
CONCLUSION<br />
Iran’s network is likely to continue growing in Latin America, based<br />
on its relationship with <strong>the</strong> ALBA bloc but, more strategically, connected to<br />
an eventual partnership with Brazil.<br />
Dilma Rousseff has stated that her foreign policy will not automatically<br />
follow <strong>the</strong> patterns built by her predecessor, Lula Da Silva; at <strong>the</strong><br />
same time, observers should also pay attention to <strong>the</strong> actual “Itamaraty”<br />
(<strong>the</strong> Foreign Ministry Palace) guidelines. Brazil has gradually become a<br />
relevant global player, and wants to streng<strong>the</strong>n this position. It would be<br />
legitimate to suggest that such role demands a dose of responsibility.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> meantime, Caracas is providing a window for Iranian radical<br />
elements to enter <strong>the</strong> region via Venezuela and <strong>the</strong>n move freely throughout<br />
<strong>the</strong> continent. The experience proves that <strong>the</strong>ir freedom of movement was<br />
<strong>the</strong> antechamber for terror.<br />
*Sergio Widder is <strong>the</strong> director for Latin America of <strong>the</strong> Simon Wiesenthal Center.<br />
He has been active in confronting neo-Nazi activity in Latin America: proposing<br />
regional legislation to government officials in Chile and Bolivia; stopping <strong>the</strong> International<br />
neo-Nazi Congress from convening in Chile in 2000, testifying against a
148 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:141<br />
hate video and book publisher that promoted its catalog online, resulting in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
prosecution; and identifying an Uruguayan neo-Nazi group, “Orgullo Skinhead”<br />
(“Skinhead Pride”).
América Latina y las Redes del Terror Iraní—<br />
Una Tierra de Oportunidades<br />
Sergio Widder*<br />
El “Nuevo antisemitismo” ha encontrado su vía de expresión en América<br />
Latina. Esta renovada hostilidad se expresa a través de coaliciones políticas<br />
que reúnen a grupos de la izquierda radicalizada con elementos religiosos<br />
fundamentalistas, quienes son los principales voceros de una<br />
retórica antisemita clásica y de teorías conspirativas acerca del control<br />
mundial por parte de un “poder judío o sionista”.<br />
UN CAMPO FÉRTIL<br />
Uno de los ámbitos regionales más destacados para la circulación de estos<br />
grupos es el Foro Social Mundial (FSM), con sede en Brasil. Bajo la consigna<br />
“Otro mundo es posible”, el Foro fue fundado en 2001 por líderes del<br />
Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT—entonces en la oposición y hoy<br />
atravesando su tercer período consecutivo en el gobierno. en el gobierno).<br />
El propósito fundacional era dar una respuesta a la “globalización<br />
económica neoliberal”, y proponer, en cambio, una especie de “globalización<br />
de la solidaridad internacional”. Los encuentros del FSM tienen lugar<br />
una vez al año, pero a lo largo del año se suceden diversos foros regionales.<br />
El FSM engloba una amplia agenda de reclamos, algunos de ellos absolutamente<br />
legítimos (políticas que preserven el medio ambiente, luchar contra<br />
la explotación sexual o laboral infantil, etc.); pero dentro del programa de<br />
actividades, un porcentaje de entre el 10 y el 15 % está dedicado al conflicto<br />
en Medio Oriente, a la “causa palestina” en particular, a la deslegitimación<br />
del Estado de Israel, y a la justificación el terrorismo como<br />
“resistencia legítima”.<br />
Todo lo que ocurre en el encuentro central del FSM tiene impacto en<br />
los foros regionales, y contribuye a moldear la agenda de los grupos radicalizados<br />
alrededor del mundo. A modo de ejemplo, fue allí donde el Centro<br />
Simon Wiesenthal tuvo acceso a los parámetros de la presentación que<br />
harían los grupos pro-palestinos ante La Haya, en relación con la cerca de<br />
seguridad israelí, con seis meses de anticipación a que la presentación se<br />
hiciera efectiva. El FSM provee también el encuadre apropiado para la<br />
coordinación de la campaña mundial de “Boicot – Desinversión – Sanciones”<br />
(BDS) contra Israel.<br />
El impacto fue muy visible en América Latina durante la guerra entre<br />
149
150 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:149<br />
Israel y Hezbollah (2006) y entre Israel y Hamas (2009), cuando la<br />
virulencia de la hostilidad antisemita presentada como “antisionismo”<br />
alcanzó su punto máximo. Este contexto ofrece una oportunidad muy atractiva<br />
para el régimen radicalizado iraní en su búsqueda de nuevos aliados<br />
que lo ayuden a combatir su aislamiento.<br />
VENEZUELA: ¿“SOCIALISMO DEL S XXI” O “<strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>O DEL S XXI”?<br />
EL BLOQUE ALBA COMO SOCIO IDEAL PARA IRÁN<br />
La mayoría de los grupos latinoamericanos que participan en el FSM<br />
tienen como referente político el bloque ALBA, 1 liderado por Hugo Chávez<br />
(Venezuela), acompañado por Evo Morales (Bolivia), Rafael Correa (Ecuador),<br />
Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), y Fidel y Raúl Castro (Cuba). Este bloque<br />
es también el socio principal para la creciente penetración iraní en América<br />
Latina.<br />
Es interesante señalar que, para llegar al poder, todos estos líderes construyeron<br />
su legitimidad desde fuera de los sistemas politicos tradicionales<br />
de sus países, o en relación con procesos de crisis institucionales: Chávez es<br />
un coronel del ejército cuya primera intención de llegar a la presidencia fue<br />
a través de un fallido golpe de estado; Morales era un líder sindical de un<br />
grupo de campesinos cocaleros; Correa es el primer presidente ecuatorianoque<br />
se mantiene estable en años; Ortega y los hermanos Castro fueron<br />
líderes de revoluciones armadas, si bien Ortega se presentó luego como<br />
candidato y ganó en elecciones libres. Todos ellos han ofrecido cálidas<br />
bienvenidas al presidente iraní Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, con quien han establecido<br />
diversas iniciativas de cooperación.<br />
En el caso de Bolivia, más allá de los intereses compartidos en el<br />
campo de los recursos energéticos, Irán también ha financiado iniciativas<br />
sociales. En noviembre de 2009, los presidentes Morales y Ahmadinejad<br />
inauguraron el hospital “República Islámica de Irán—Sociedad de la Media<br />
Luna Roja”, que atiende las necesidades de salud de una población de<br />
800.000 personas en El Alto, cerca de la ciudad capital La Paz, una zona<br />
donde abunda la pobreza y la popularidad de Morales es abrumadora. 2 Este<br />
generoso aporte de Irán estuvo acompañado de una controversia, cuando las<br />
enfermeras y otro personal femenino recibieron la sugerencia de utilizar un<br />
1. Alternativa Bolivariana para las Américas, surgido como oposición a la<br />
inciativa estadounidense del Area de Libre Comercio de las Américas—ALCA.<br />
2. “Se afianzan los vínculos con Irán”, La Nación, December 6, 2009, http://<br />
www.lanacion.com.ar/1208421-se-afianzan-los-vinculos-con-iran
2011] REDES DEL TERROR 151<br />
velo mientras se encontraran en servicio. 3<br />
Es importante recordar que la decision de Evo Morales de expulsar al<br />
embajador israelí utilizando como pretexto la guerra en Gaza fue previa a la<br />
decisión que tomó Venezuela en ese mismo sentido. Su retórica anti-israelí<br />
es permanente: en vísperas de ser electo presidente, había calificado a Chile<br />
como “el Israel de América Latina”, en referencia a la política supuestamente<br />
“expansionista” del país vecino. Dicho todo esto, es justo decir,<br />
también, que hasta el momento la comunidad judía boliviana no ha sufrido<br />
un impacto directo como resultado de esta situación.<br />
El caso venezolano es muy distinto. Resulta evidente que allí el<br />
antisemitismo forma parte de la política del Estado. Los ataques contra<br />
objetivos judíos son usuales, y no se investigan ni se castigan.<br />
Esta es apenas una lista acotada de incidentes:<br />
• Dos allanamientos policiales contra la Hebraica de Caracas. El<br />
pretexto fue que las autoridades judiciales estaban buscando armas<br />
y explosivos que podrían haberse escondido allí. En enero de 2009,<br />
fue profanada la sinagoga Tiferet Israel.<br />
• En la víspera de la Navidad de 2005, el presidente Chávez dio un<br />
extenso discurso, durante el cual dijo que “el mundo tiene riquezas<br />
para todos, pero algunas minorías, entre ellos los descendientes de<br />
los asesinos de Cristo, se han apoderado de las riquezas”. 4<br />
• Ataques frecuentes a través de medios de comunicación estatales,<br />
entre ellos un programa televisivo, “La Hojilla” (en referencia a<br />
una hoja de afeitar), y un sitio web, “Aporrea.org”. Durante la<br />
guerra entre Israel y Hamas, en 2009, Aporrea publicó un “plan de<br />
acción” contra la comunidad judía venezolana, que promovía “la<br />
confiscación de propiedades de judíos” y boicots contra supermercados<br />
que vendieran productos kosher. Los editores de Aporrea se<br />
desasociaron del contenido del artículo, pero eso ocurrió recién<br />
después de haber recibido duras críticas.<br />
• En los inicios de su presidencia, Chávez tuvo como asesor a<br />
Norberto Ceresole, un fallecido sociólogo argentino, negador del<br />
Holocausto y promotor del antisemitismo, autor del libro Terrorismo<br />
fundamentalista judío, en el que sostuvo que el ataque terrorista<br />
contra la Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) fue<br />
perpetrado por judíos. Otro de sus asesores fue el difunto coronel<br />
3. “Velo islámico en Bolivia”, http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/america_latina/<br />
2009/11/091126_2328_bolivia_islam_gm.shtml<br />
4. El diario francés “Liberation” criticó enérgicamente a Chávez por este discurso,<br />
en un artículo titulado “Le credo antisémite de Hugo Chávez”, http://<br />
www.liberation.fr/monde/010134744-le-credo-antisemite-de-hugo-ch-vez
152 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:149<br />
argentino Mohammed Ali Seineldin, un ultranacionalista a quien se<br />
atribuía arengar a sus tropas con la consigna “no existen caballos<br />
verdes ni judíos decentes”.<br />
El alcance de los ataques contra la comunidad judía provocó una crítica<br />
sin precedentes por parte de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos<br />
Humanos (CIDH), que forma parte de la Organización de los Estados<br />
Americanos (OEA). En febrero de 2010, la Comisión publicó el informe<br />
“Democracia y Derechos Humanos en Venezuela”, que describe el actual<br />
status quo en ese país, incluyendo referencias a incidentes antisemitas: 5<br />
• Parágrafo 780: “. . . la Comisión considera preocupante la información<br />
según la cual la comunidad judía estaría siendo particularmente<br />
afectada por incidentes de violencia en Venezuela. La<br />
información recibida por la CIDH hace referencia a<br />
pronunciamientos e incidentes antisemitas por parte de diversos<br />
medios de comunicación, como así también sobre la inscripción de<br />
graffiti en las paredes de diversas instituciones y residencias de la<br />
religión judía”.<br />
• P. 781: “( . . . ) el 2 de diciembre de 2007, funcionarios policiales<br />
habrían llevado a cabo un allanamiento en la sede del Centro Social<br />
Cultural y Deportivo Hebraica de Caracas. Conforme se indicó,<br />
aproximadamente 30 funcionarios de la Dirección de los Servicios<br />
de Inteligencia y Prevención habrían forzado la puerta de acceso de<br />
la mencionada sede ( . . . ) [S]in la presencia del Fiscal del Ministerio<br />
Público, los efectivos policiales habrían presentado una orden<br />
( . . . ) presuntamente carente de motivación . . .”<br />
• P. 782: “Ante la mencionada situación, la CIDH ( . . . ) solicitó<br />
información al Estado con relación a los hechos descritos y los<br />
motivos del procedimiento llevado a cabo en la sede de Hebraica<br />
( . . . ) [E]l Estado informó a la CIDH que ‘el referido allanamiento<br />
tenía por finalidad realizar un rastreo minucioso en todos los<br />
ambientes del lugar, con el objeto de ubicar evidencias de interés<br />
criminalístico que guardan relación con la presunta comisión de<br />
uno de los delitos contra el Orden Público . . .’ ( . . . ) La Comisión<br />
considera que la información aportada por el Estado respecto al<br />
procedimiento llevado a cabo en la sede Hebraica resulta<br />
insuficiente para aclarar las circunstancias suscitadas en la sede de<br />
esa institución”.<br />
• El informe también hace referencia a la profanación de la sinagoga<br />
Tiferet Israel, en enero de 2009, y a otros incidentes ocurridos<br />
5. El informe complete está publicado en http://www.cidh.oas.org/pdf%20<br />
files/VENEZUELA.2009.ESP.pdf.
2011] REDES DEL TERROR 153<br />
durante ese mismo mes (P. 783). Asimismo, menciona como un<br />
precedente el discurso de Chávez en la víspera de la Navidad de<br />
2005, en el cual manifesto que “el mundo tiene para todos, pues,<br />
pero resulta que unas minorías, los descendientes de los mismos<br />
que crucificaron a Cristo ( . . . ) se adueñó de las riquezas del<br />
mundo . . .” (P. 784).<br />
El eje Caracas—Teherán también pretende influir en la política<br />
regional. En junio de 2010, el bloque del ALBA propuso que la Asamblea<br />
General de la OEA reunida en Lima, Perú, aprobara una resolución de condena<br />
contra Israel, a pocos días del incidente con la “flotilla de Gaza”. La<br />
propuesta fue rechazada, pero contó con el apoyo de casi un tercio de los<br />
estados miembros.<br />
Más preocupante y, de hecho, una amenaza contra la estabilidad de la<br />
región, es el permiso otorgado por Chávez para la construcción de una base<br />
misilística iraní en suelo venezolano. Según un informe publicado originalmente<br />
por el periódico Die Welt, en noviembre de 2010, dicha infraestructura<br />
permitirá el emplazamiento de misiles de diverso alcance, más cuatro<br />
plataformas móviles que serán operadas por miembros de la Guardia<br />
Revolucionaria iraní. El acuerdo permite a Irán abrir fuego “en caso de<br />
emergencia”. Se prevé que estas instalaciones comiencen a estar activas<br />
hacia fines de 2011.<br />
LA TRANSFORMACIÓN: DE PARAÍSO PROTECTOR DE NAZIS A LIDERAR<br />
UNA ACUSACIÓN CONTRA EL TERRORISMO FUNDAMENTALISTA<br />
En las antípodas de la sociedad del bloque ALBA con Irán encontramos<br />
la acusación contra un grupo de altos funcionarios iraníes por su<br />
aparente responsabilidad en el ataque terrorista contra la AMIA, el 18 de<br />
julio de 1994. que provocó la muerte de 85 personas y centenares de heridos.<br />
La Unidad Especial de Investigación, a cargo del fiscal Alberto Nisman,<br />
concluyó que la decision de ejecutar el atentado fue tomada por<br />
funcionarios de muy elevado rango del gobierno iraní, incluyendo el expresidente<br />
Hashemi Rafsanjani y el excanciller Alí Akbar Velayati. Otro personaje<br />
clave fue el entonces Agregado Cultural de la embajada iraní en<br />
Argentina, sheij, Mohsen Rabbani, acusado de haber coordinado la operación.<br />
Los pedidos de captura fueron refrendados por Interpol con el grado<br />
de “circulares rojas”, excepto para los casos de Rafsanjani, Velayati y Hadi<br />
Soleimanpour (exembajador iraní en Argentina), por tratarse de “altas<br />
autoridades”. Esto no disminuye en modo alguno su supuesta<br />
responsabilidad. 6<br />
6. Según el dictamen del fiscal, la decisión de atacar la AMIA se tomó durante
154 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:149<br />
El gobierno argentino ha apoyado activamente la investigación judicial.<br />
Tanto el fallecido expresidente, Néstor Kirchner, como la actual presidenta,<br />
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, formularon enérgicas condenas<br />
contra Irán durante sucesivas ediciones de la Asamblea General de las<br />
Naciones Unidas, reclamaron que los sospechosos fueran entregados a la<br />
justicia.<br />
Estas iniciativas de las autoridades argentinas provocaron una reacción<br />
por parte del régimen iraní: además de rechazar las acusaciones, comenzó a<br />
cooptar a activistas argentinos así como a algunos académicos para que se<br />
pronunciaran en su apoyo. Uno de estos individuos es Luis D’Elía, un<br />
dirigente social que se ha transformado, de hecho, en vocero de Irán, y ha<br />
sostenido públicamente la teoría según la cual “la AMIA pudo haber sido<br />
atacada por ‘la derecha judía’; recuerden que ellos fueron los que<br />
asesinaron a [Primer Ministro israelí Yitzhak] Rabin”. D’Elía inició<br />
recientemente su campaña para las elecciones parlamentarias de 2011, en<br />
presencia del Encargado de Negocios iraní. Ha encabezado delegaciones<br />
solidarias que viajaron a Teherán. Aunque su base electoral es limitada,<br />
D’Elía adopta un alto perfil en la prensa, y ha sido un aliado tanto de Néstor<br />
como de Cristina Kirchner.<br />
Cuando la justicia argentina emitió el dictamen contra los funcionarios<br />
iraníes, en 2006, el entonces embajador venezolano en argentina instruyó a<br />
D’Elía para que organizara una manifestación en apoyo a Irán. 7 Esto<br />
provocó un incidente entre Argentina y Venezuela y el reclamo por parte<br />
del gobierno argentino para que Caracas cambiara su embajador (cosa que<br />
Chávez debió conceder).<br />
Otro ejemplo de las acciones de Irán en Argentina es un convenio suscripto<br />
entre la Universidad de La Plata (ciudad situada a 60 km de Buenos<br />
Aires) y la Universidad de Teheran, cuyo Presidente, Farhad Rahbar fue<br />
anteriormente viceministro de Inteligencia. El acuerdo fue promovido por la<br />
Asociación Argentina Islámica—ASAI.<br />
CON UNA PEQUEÑA AYUDITA DE LOS “MODERADOS”<br />
Si Venezuela es el aliado más próximo a Irán en América Latina, y<br />
una reunión en Mashad (Irán), el 13 de agosto de 1993. Además de las personas<br />
mencionadas más arriba, se libraron pedidos de captura contra Mohsen Rezai<br />
(Comandante de los Pasdaran—-Guardia Revolucionaria Iraní) Ahmad Vahidi<br />
(Comandante de las fuerzas Al Quds, y actualmente ministro de Defensa de Irán),<br />
Ali Fallahijan (exministro de Inteligencia y Seguridad), Ahmad Reza Asghari<br />
(Tercer secretario de la embajada de Irán en Argentina entre 1991 y 1994) e Imad<br />
Mougnieh (Jefe de Seguridad de Hezbollah, muerto en febrero de 2008).<br />
7. Ver http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2006/11/15/elpais/p-00315.htm.
2011] REDES DEL TERROR 155<br />
Argentina es el país que mantiene las relaciones más frías, hay otros que<br />
juegan un papel más ambiguo. En este sentido, la situación que quizás<br />
resulte más preocupante es la cálida bienvenida que brindó el expresidentes<br />
brasileño Lula da Silva a Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, una maravillosa operación<br />
de relaciones públicas para el presidente iraní. Lula llegó a elogiar las<br />
“elecciones legítimas” que consagraron la reelección de Ahmadinejad en<br />
2009. (recordemos la brutal represión contra los disidentes en las calles de<br />
Teherán). Las motivaciones fueron, por una parte, económicas: Irán es un<br />
mercado muy atractivo para los productos brasileros. Pero también políticas:<br />
Lula explicó que pretendía “acercar a Irán a la mesa de negociaciones y<br />
ayudar a construir puentes de diálogo” con el mundo occidental. Los<br />
negocios se mantienen; la iniciativa de mediación resultó un fiasco.<br />
Debemos agregar que existe una conexión brasilera en el atentado contra<br />
la AMIA: según la investigación judicial, Samuel Salman El Reda, un<br />
colombiano de origen libanés acusado de ser el líder local del grupo operativo,<br />
tenía un departamento—refugio—en Foz do Iguaçu, sobre el lado<br />
brasilero de la Triple Frontera (Argentina–Brasil–Paraguay).<br />
La nueva presidenta, Dilma Rousseff, ha dicho que su gobierno tomará<br />
en consideración el respeto por los derechos humanos como un lineamiento<br />
de su política exterior. Aunque todavía es temprano para un análisis<br />
profundo (asumió el 1˚ de enero de 2011), ya hay algunas señales de<br />
alarma. La revista Veja, el semanario de mayor circulación en Brasil, publicó<br />
en abril último una serie de artículos que denunciaban la existencia de<br />
una “red terrorista” en el país. La red incluiría elementos del “Jihad Media<br />
Battalion” de al Qaeda, otros veinte integrantes de al Qaeda, Hezbollah,<br />
Hamas, el Grupo Combatiente Islámico de Marruecos y el grupo Gama’a<br />
al-Islamiyya, de Egipto. Veja denunció también que un visitante frecuente<br />
de Brasil es el sheij Mohsen Rabbani, sobre quien pesa una “circular roja”<br />
de Interpol como sospechoso por el ataque contra la AMIA. Según la<br />
revista, Rabbani ofició de anfitrión para al menos ocho brasileros que<br />
viajaron a Qom (Irán) para “estudiar en un seminario religioso”.<br />
Más allá de sus propios intereses y fronteras, las relaciones de Brasil<br />
con Irán ofrecen una legitimación para que otros países de la región sigan<br />
sus pasos. Los gobiernos de Uruguay y de Chile ya han manifestado su<br />
interés en fortalecer relaciones comerciales con Teherán, sin considerar las<br />
implicaciones políticas de tales vínculos.<br />
CONCLUSIÓN<br />
Es muy probable que la red iraní en América Latina siga creciendo,<br />
apoyada en sus relaciones con el bloque ALBA pero, de modo más<br />
estratégico, a partir de su eventual sociedad con Brasil.
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La presidenta Rousseff ha dicho que su política exterior no se guiará<br />
automáticamente por los mismos parámetros fijados por su predecesor, Lula<br />
da Silva; al mismo tiempo, los observadores más experimentados sugieren<br />
prestar atención a los lineamientos que fije Itamaraty (la sede de la Cancillería).<br />
Brasil se ha convertido gradualmente en un jugador a escala global, y<br />
anhela fortalecer esa posición. Sería legítimo sugerir que tal rol requiere una<br />
dosis de responsabilidad.<br />
Entretanto, Caracas ofrece una ventana de oportunidad para los elementos<br />
radicalizados iraníes para penetrar en la región a través de Venezuela<br />
y dispersarse por todo el continente. La experiencia indica que su<br />
libertad de circulación ha sido la antecámara del terror.<br />
*Director para América Latina del Centro Simon Wiesenthal.
Antisemitism in Brazil<br />
Alberto Milkewitz*<br />
Brazil, a nation with 190 million people, has grown in <strong>the</strong> last years to be<br />
an emerging global leader with influence and participation in key global<br />
issues. This article presents <strong>the</strong> current state of antisemitic affairs in that<br />
country.<br />
Key Words: Jews, Antisemitism, Brazil<br />
Sao Paulo is one of <strong>the</strong> three largest cities in <strong>the</strong> world, and <strong>the</strong> most<br />
populated of Brazil and South America. It is home to a very active Jewish<br />
community, comprising more than 60,000 people; <strong>the</strong> total size of <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
community in Brazil is estimated at 110,000. The country is a democracy,<br />
an open and free society with a stable currency, and is making a quiet<br />
and peaceful transition from <strong>the</strong> government of Luiz Inácio (Lula) da Silva<br />
to his successor, Mrs. Dilma Rousseff, who is from <strong>the</strong> same party, <strong>the</strong><br />
Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT)—<strong>the</strong> Workers Party.<br />
During <strong>the</strong> last eight years of Lula’s tenure, <strong>the</strong> Brazilian government<br />
looked for a place in <strong>the</strong> Security Council of <strong>the</strong> UN. Lula was very vocal<br />
in pursuing a special place for Brazil in <strong>the</strong> international community arena.<br />
In that regard, he tried to show that Brazil became a serious partner in <strong>the</strong><br />
discussion of international security issues—pointing out that Brazil helped<br />
Haiti and pursued a special role when <strong>the</strong> Portuguese-speaking African<br />
countries needed help. Lula’s foreign policy looked for an international role<br />
through placing dialogue as a top strategy to manage critical issues and<br />
disputes. That was <strong>the</strong> case in regard to Iran and to Venezuela. At <strong>the</strong> same<br />
time, to establish a balance with <strong>the</strong> Jewish community, Lula was first to<br />
sign for <strong>the</strong> creation of <strong>the</strong> UN International Holocaust Day. Lula is not<br />
considered an antisemite, but his party and <strong>the</strong>ir allies of <strong>the</strong> government<br />
coalition have adopted a permanently critical position against Israel. That is<br />
consistent with <strong>the</strong> traditional Brazilian anti-Israel vote in UN forums and<br />
committees. Itamaraty, <strong>the</strong> Brazilian Chancellery, systematically maintains<br />
a critical attitude to <strong>the</strong> Jewish state, even before President Lula’s tenure.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> past, <strong>the</strong> 1930s were a decade where <strong>the</strong> Integralists, <strong>the</strong> Brazilian<br />
fascists, generated in Brazil a climate of anti-Jewish hostility by creating<br />
<strong>the</strong> metaphor of <strong>the</strong> Jew who threatens Brazil and “equating Jews with<br />
157
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Communists.” 1 It was <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong> Getulio Vargas government, and at<br />
those times, Brazilian official diplomacy told to <strong>the</strong> American authorities<br />
<strong>the</strong>y would help <strong>the</strong> Jewish refugees, but used secret documents to forbid<br />
<strong>the</strong> entrance of Jews fleeing from Europe. During those times, Brazil<br />
reduced its immigration quotas and explicitly ordered its consuls in Europe<br />
to deny entry visas to anyone of “Semitic origin.” 2 The background of Brazilian<br />
politics related to Jews shows that <strong>the</strong>re is a need to look deeper into<br />
<strong>the</strong> situation in order to better understand about antisemitism in our country.<br />
UNDERGROUND AND NOT SO UNDERGROUND<br />
Even though this might sound strange to some Brazilians, intolerance<br />
and antisemitism can also flourish or show its face in <strong>the</strong> country in times<br />
of democracy and freedom. Most Brazilian citizens and politicians, however,<br />
think that racism and antisemitism are not serious problems in <strong>the</strong><br />
country. Immigrant Jews who arrived in Brazil after being persecuted in<br />
Europe and <strong>the</strong> Arab countries thought that <strong>the</strong> country would always be<br />
friendly to <strong>the</strong> Jews. In this scenario, <strong>the</strong> issue of handling antisemitism<br />
becomes very complex. The Jewish community knows that underground<br />
movements can change a country and that some new geopolitical arrangements<br />
like <strong>the</strong> situation in Venezuela can be <strong>the</strong> breeding ground for<br />
antisemitism but don’t feel this in <strong>the</strong>ir daily lives, and sometimes don’t<br />
want to admit <strong>the</strong> risks.<br />
Until recently, independent Jewish organizations and rabbis worked in<br />
a quiet and isolated way against antisemitism. But as an answer to <strong>the</strong><br />
demand of <strong>the</strong> community leaders, antisemitism and all kinds of discrimination<br />
and bigotry began to be a priority for <strong>the</strong> Jewish Federation of <strong>the</strong> state<br />
of Sao Paulo, <strong>the</strong> umbrella organization of <strong>the</strong> biggest Jewish community in<br />
<strong>the</strong> country.<br />
RIGHT-WING ACTIVITY<br />
Let’s reveal some facts. Favored by <strong>the</strong> opening afforded by democracy,<br />
violence and intolerance began to flourish and grow stronger, as some<br />
events in <strong>the</strong> last few years show. In 2009 in Sao Paulo, during <strong>the</strong> Gay<br />
Parade, a bomb was dropped, wounding 21. Young neo-Nazis were <strong>the</strong><br />
instigators.<br />
1. Hélgio Trindade, Integralismo, o fascismo brasileiro na década de 30 (Sao<br />
Paulo: Difel, 1979).<br />
2. Graciela Ben Dror, The Catholic Elites in Brazil and Their Attitude Toward<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jews, 1933-1939 (Shoah Resource Center, www.yadvashem.org).
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN BRAZIL 159<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r example of what is happening is a recent series of controversies<br />
involving a right-wing congressman in a television show, answering a<br />
famous black singer, daughter of <strong>the</strong> renowned musician Gilberto Gil, who<br />
asked him: “If your child were to fall in love with a black person, what<br />
would you do?” The congressman answered: “I will not discuss promiscuity<br />
with anyone. I do not run that risk. My children are educated people and<br />
<strong>the</strong>y did not live in environments as unfortunate as yours.” Since this hostile<br />
and racist episode, this congressman gave a series of interviews in which he<br />
criticized homosexuals openly. A demonstration in support of that congressman<br />
was released through a forum with <strong>the</strong> name of “Stormfront.org,”<br />
administered by <strong>the</strong> neo-Nazi movement White Pride World Wide, that<br />
ends its messages with <strong>the</strong> numbers “14/88,” Nazi symbolism that refers to<br />
Hitler and <strong>the</strong> American white supremacists. O<strong>the</strong>r events show that violence<br />
against blacks, homosexuals, and Jews in Sao Paulo is increasing. In<br />
its central region, <strong>the</strong>re is <strong>the</strong> highest risk with racist groups. Two hundred<br />
people from 25 different gangs have been identified by <strong>the</strong> staff of <strong>the</strong> special<br />
police force on crimes of intolerance.<br />
The reasons for concern are not only in Sao Paulo, as stated by <strong>the</strong><br />
members of ano<strong>the</strong>r police group. As mentioned above, a fascist Brazilian<br />
party, <strong>the</strong> Integralist movement, was born in <strong>the</strong> 1930s in <strong>the</strong> Brazilian state<br />
of Rio Grande do Sul.<br />
In Parana, ano<strong>the</strong>r Brazilian state in <strong>the</strong> south of <strong>the</strong> country, two<br />
young men of Curitiba were sentenced to two years of prison for racist<br />
statements against blacks and Jews on a Web site, already taken off <strong>the</strong> air.<br />
The punishment, as always, was community services and a monetary penalty.<br />
The defense attorney said his clients expressed only an “opinion”; it<br />
was only “free speech, granted by <strong>the</strong> Brazilian Constitution.”<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r concern in a huge and multifaceted country like Brazil is <strong>the</strong><br />
possibility of a connection between neo-Nazis and o<strong>the</strong>r types of criminals,<br />
like <strong>the</strong> Red Commando, a famous crime organization that operates in Rio<br />
de Janeiro.<br />
THE DANGER OF MUSLIM EXTREMISM<br />
The antisemitic risks don’t come only from <strong>the</strong> right. According to <strong>the</strong><br />
Federal Police, seven Islamic terrorist organizations operate in Brazil,<br />
among <strong>the</strong>m Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. In <strong>the</strong> country,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y fund operations, recruit militants, and plan attacks. This denunciation<br />
has recently been made by <strong>the</strong> respected magazine Veja, which has <strong>the</strong><br />
biggest circulation in South America. The Muslim population is also growing,<br />
particularly in <strong>the</strong> region of <strong>the</strong> frontiers between Brazil, Argentina,<br />
and Paraguay, where <strong>the</strong> Jewish presence is quite small. Until now, <strong>the</strong>re is
160 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:157<br />
no report of any kind of problem between <strong>the</strong>m and <strong>the</strong> Jews of Sao Paulo,<br />
Rio, and <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r Jewish communities.<br />
There is also information showing that Muslims are trying to approach<br />
poor people and are doing mass conversions in some favelas (slums) to<br />
bring <strong>the</strong>m to Islam. That also happens inside Brazilian prisons, where<br />
Muslims try to occupy <strong>the</strong> place of <strong>the</strong> evangelic church, and quickly recruit<br />
and convert those people for Islam.<br />
From <strong>the</strong> political point of view, it is important to know that Christian<br />
Arabs have elected members in every parliament of <strong>the</strong> states of Brazil; this<br />
helps <strong>the</strong> Arab Muslims to have more influence or protection if needed. In<br />
this context, it is difficult to advocate for Israel, and sometimes condemnation<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Jewish state is automatic.<br />
CATHOLIC ROOTS<br />
As in any place of <strong>the</strong> world where <strong>the</strong>re was and <strong>the</strong>re is a strong<br />
Catholic presence, <strong>the</strong> Church contributed in <strong>the</strong> past to make antisemitic<br />
myths part of Brazilian Catholic culture. After <strong>the</strong> encyclical document<br />
Nostra Aetate (Second Vatican Council), when <strong>the</strong> Catholic Church recommended<br />
<strong>the</strong> dialogue with <strong>the</strong> Jews and o<strong>the</strong>r religions, <strong>the</strong> Church and<br />
some members of <strong>the</strong> Jewish community began to approach each o<strong>the</strong>r and<br />
<strong>the</strong> situation changed. Today, <strong>the</strong>re are groups of dialogue and fraternity<br />
that work toge<strong>the</strong>r to educate <strong>the</strong>ir communities. The best allies to combat<br />
<strong>the</strong> antisemitism with Catholic roots are inside <strong>the</strong> same church.<br />
However, a big number of Catholic clergymen, laypersons, priests, and<br />
activists were educated before <strong>the</strong> Second Vatican Council. Those Catholics<br />
haven’t changed <strong>the</strong>ir way of thinking about <strong>the</strong> Jews and are not shy in<br />
expressing <strong>the</strong>ir opinions. Therefore, even though Jews and Catholics do<br />
work toge<strong>the</strong>r, it will take a long time to heal <strong>the</strong> wounds between <strong>the</strong> two<br />
communities. Jewish leaders now avoid being naïve, as what happened in<br />
<strong>the</strong> past with some local rabbis, who thought that a good relationship with<br />
<strong>the</strong> high echelons of <strong>the</strong> Church will be enough to counter Brazilian Catholic<br />
antisemitism.<br />
In Brazil, <strong>the</strong> Catholic Church struggles against <strong>the</strong> evangelic church<br />
and also with religions that descended from Africa for <strong>the</strong> faiths of Brazilian<br />
people, so <strong>the</strong>ir authorities don’t want to also have a “Jewish front.” The<br />
evangelic church is <strong>the</strong> fastest growing religious group in a country with 26<br />
states (<strong>the</strong>re is a parliament in each state) and a Federal District (<strong>the</strong><br />
National Parliament is in Brasilia D.F.), where <strong>the</strong>y have increasing power.<br />
There is a very good link between Jewish authorities and some evangelic<br />
authorities. These groups are strong supporters of Israel and potential allies.<br />
When <strong>the</strong> Jewish Federation organized rallies in favor of Israel and against
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN BRAZIL 161<br />
Ahmadinejad’s visit to Brazil, <strong>the</strong> evangelic groups were <strong>the</strong> main partners<br />
on this kind of initiative.<br />
ANTISEMITIC MYTHS OF THE LEFT<br />
Traditional Jewish stereotypes are part of Brazilian culture. Before her<br />
election, Rousseff told a group of leaders in <strong>the</strong> Jewish community that she<br />
thinks her family was crypto-Jewish because all of her uncles had a<br />
“hooked nose.” So <strong>the</strong>re is a lot of educational work to do, particularly in<br />
<strong>the</strong> higher echelons.<br />
The left is very strong in <strong>the</strong> country. Most of its members think <strong>the</strong><br />
Palestinians are <strong>the</strong> “victims.” Israel, <strong>the</strong> Jews, and <strong>the</strong> United States are<br />
perceived as <strong>the</strong> same group, and are <strong>the</strong> “perpetrators,” <strong>the</strong> Empire, <strong>the</strong><br />
colonialists, and <strong>the</strong> genocides. The general Brazilian public follows <strong>the</strong><br />
global population in <strong>the</strong> process of considering Israel <strong>the</strong> villain and <strong>the</strong><br />
Palestinians <strong>the</strong> weak and frail people, an oppressed minority. The community<br />
leadership agrees that everybody has <strong>the</strong> right to criticize Israel, and<br />
lots of Jews do this, but when we analyze some positions it becomes clear<br />
that <strong>the</strong> border between anti-Zionism, being against Israel and its government<br />
and antisemitic point of views, is blurred. And this applies especially<br />
to <strong>the</strong> critics that come from <strong>the</strong> left.<br />
In Sao Paulo, <strong>the</strong> Jewish Federation went to Justice against a union of<br />
workers in <strong>the</strong> University of Sao Paulo that accused Israel of genocide<br />
against <strong>the</strong> Palestinian people, and <strong>the</strong> legal way was to show that <strong>the</strong>y<br />
publicly made this accusation against <strong>the</strong> Jews, and this for Brazilian law is<br />
discrimination. To say this against a country is protected by <strong>the</strong> right to free<br />
speech and is seen as a political expression. Therefore, <strong>the</strong> discussion<br />
becomes very tough when <strong>the</strong> more leftist groups in <strong>the</strong> government party<br />
or some unions need something to unite <strong>the</strong>ir workers against a common<br />
enemy—and <strong>the</strong> Jews are always <strong>the</strong> best candidates. But <strong>the</strong> understanding<br />
of <strong>the</strong>se kinds of mechanisms between those who work against antisemitism<br />
or study it is not enough to avoid <strong>the</strong> use of <strong>the</strong>m.<br />
Dilma Rousseff said recently, in a meeting in <strong>the</strong> Jewish Federation of<br />
<strong>the</strong> State of Sao Paulo, that her government will continue Lula’s foreign<br />
policy—which means to be friendly to Iran and to Venezuela. But Rousseff<br />
shows an independent way of thinking and because of this, Brazil began to<br />
separate <strong>the</strong> Iranian nuclear aspirations from <strong>the</strong> human rights situation in<br />
Iran.<br />
CLOUDY BORDERS<br />
There are cloudy borders between <strong>the</strong> critics to Israel and antisemitism
162 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:157<br />
on campuses, in <strong>the</strong> press, and on <strong>the</strong> Internet. Brazil has a huge network of<br />
public and private universities all over <strong>the</strong> country. In <strong>the</strong> university culture,<br />
it is politically correct to be on <strong>the</strong> left; being supportive of Israel now<br />
means to be with <strong>the</strong> right wing from <strong>the</strong> political point of view. On university<br />
campuses, it became “cool” between scholars to be against “imperialist<br />
Israel.” It is not easy to be a Jewish student in a Brazilian university and<br />
defend Israel. In most of <strong>the</strong> universities, <strong>the</strong> Jewish students are a very<br />
small minority. Anti-Zionism is as real in Brazil as it is all over <strong>the</strong> world.<br />
ANTI-ZIONISM AND THE PRESS<br />
The campaign against Israel in our country has found expression in <strong>the</strong><br />
press. Most of <strong>the</strong> journalistic programs use news agencies with a strong<br />
bias against Israel.<br />
Foreign policy is not <strong>the</strong> main interest of <strong>the</strong> largest part of Brazilian<br />
public; <strong>the</strong>refore, <strong>the</strong> space in <strong>the</strong> open media for that issue is pretty<br />
reduced. Israel typically is mentioned only when something bad happened.<br />
The strategy used to face this situation is to stress <strong>the</strong> fact that Israel is a<br />
democratic country with essential contributions to humanity in fields like<br />
life sciences, technology, business, arts, and many o<strong>the</strong>r vital human concerns.<br />
The Jewish Federation works permanently to build good will for<br />
Israel. At every Jewish holiday, <strong>the</strong> public finds helpful interviews and<br />
explanations in <strong>the</strong> press about <strong>the</strong> meaning of each Jewish celebration.<br />
THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA<br />
As in every part of <strong>the</strong> world, <strong>the</strong>re is in Brazil a growing use and<br />
influence not only of <strong>the</strong> traditional sites in <strong>the</strong> Internet but also of <strong>the</strong><br />
social network in places like Twitter, Linkedin, Orkut, Facebook, and<br />
o<strong>the</strong>rs. This is <strong>the</strong> way of communication for an increasing number of Brazilian<br />
youth and young adults, bringing a style of communication that uses<br />
very short messages, almost no explanations, and telegraphic discussion.<br />
Analysis of this kind of underground media shows that a relevant part of <strong>the</strong><br />
public opinion is against Israel, and this also brings toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> Jews as a<br />
group. In <strong>the</strong> social network sites where most of <strong>the</strong> young Jews navigate,<br />
<strong>the</strong> search for words like Israel, Jew, Flotilla, Gaza, and similar terms<br />
shows a lot of critical messages that slide in some cases immediately to<br />
antisemitic commentaries. The Jewish community is trying to learn how to<br />
deal with this and continue to fight this battle.<br />
The government of <strong>the</strong> state of Sao Paulo recently announced a location<br />
for a new underground station in a neighborhood known for its Jewish<br />
population. The neighbors’ association filed a complaint to <strong>the</strong> official
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN BRAZIL 163<br />
authorities requesting a relocation because of concerns about potential<br />
security issues connected with an underground station. This issue became a<br />
big argument between those in favor and those opposed, with a strong<br />
amplification through social networks. A self-styled “humorist” posted on<br />
Twitter a heavily antisemitic comment—“The Jews are opposed to <strong>the</strong> station<br />
because <strong>the</strong> last time <strong>the</strong>y got close to a train was on <strong>the</strong> way to<br />
Auschwitz”—claiming that <strong>the</strong> Jews of <strong>the</strong> area were opponents of <strong>the</strong> poor<br />
population, who actually would be <strong>the</strong> beneficiaries of <strong>the</strong> new underground<br />
station. He twitted a phrase that provoked both a heavy traffic of additional<br />
antisemitic postings as well as intense reaction from <strong>the</strong> Jewish community<br />
and <strong>the</strong> general public.<br />
IRANIAN INFLUENCE<br />
Lula was warm with <strong>the</strong> Iranians, as part of his aspiration for a place in<br />
<strong>the</strong> UN’s Security Council.<br />
The visit of Iran’s president in 2010 generated tensions between him<br />
and <strong>the</strong> authorities of <strong>the</strong> Jewish community. Lula’s declaration saying that<br />
Iran had “free elections” was much criticized.<br />
With Rousseff, <strong>the</strong>re are some indications of slight changes in <strong>the</strong> Brazilian<br />
position related to Iran. She criticized in <strong>the</strong> press <strong>the</strong> execution of<br />
women by Iranians. In <strong>the</strong> past, she herself suffered human rights abuses<br />
during <strong>the</strong> times of dictatorship in Brazil, so she is actually sensitive to this<br />
issue.<br />
Recently, Brazil’s new government for <strong>the</strong> first time did not agree to<br />
participate in an international mission to monitor Iranian nuclear installations.<br />
Rousseff said that her administration is going to segregate between<br />
Brazilian position on <strong>the</strong> nuclear issue with Iran and on <strong>the</strong> human rights<br />
issue.<br />
Brazilian borders are huge and very open and we have frontiers with<br />
Venezuela, where Iranians can enter freely. This worries <strong>the</strong> Jewish community.<br />
Húgo Chávez, <strong>the</strong> president of Venezuela, was a good friend of<br />
Lula. The concerns with <strong>the</strong> free entrance to his neighbor country for Iranian<br />
terrorists is serious for <strong>the</strong> Jewish communities, but it is not <strong>the</strong> point<br />
of view of Brazilian authorities, and most Brazilian politicians find very<br />
difficult to accept that terrorism can happen in our country. Jewish authorities<br />
in Sao Paulo are working very hard to show to <strong>the</strong> security command of<br />
<strong>the</strong> state that <strong>the</strong>re are increasing risks of having problems during <strong>the</strong> next<br />
Olympic Games and <strong>the</strong> World Cup.
164 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:157<br />
BRAZILIAN JEWISH IDENTITY<br />
Contemporary Brazilian Jews do not suffer any restriction about <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
Jewish identities, but Judaism is not necessarily <strong>the</strong>ir priority. Identity, in<br />
all its facets, is something that does not happen in <strong>the</strong> air or in a vacuum.<br />
Since <strong>the</strong> Holocaust and <strong>the</strong> establishment of <strong>the</strong> state of Israel, <strong>the</strong> unity of<br />
<strong>the</strong> people and <strong>the</strong> Jewish identity of <strong>the</strong> biggest part of <strong>the</strong> Jews in Israel<br />
and o<strong>the</strong>r places have been based on a shared memory of national tragedy, a<br />
sense of a tribal bond, and a mutual interest in <strong>the</strong> building and future of<br />
Israel. But not enough on <strong>the</strong> study and knowledge of original Jewish<br />
sources like Torah, Talmud, Midrash, and <strong>the</strong> commentaries and contributions<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Sages; not on <strong>the</strong> study of Torah for its own sake (Torah<br />
Lishmah); and also on a daily Jewish life. Synagogues, Jewish daily<br />
schools, community centers, young-people movements, women’s institutions,<br />
and o<strong>the</strong>r organizations concentrate all <strong>the</strong> responsibility for <strong>the</strong> transmission<br />
of Judaism. They try to transmit Judaism and Zionism, but <strong>the</strong>re is<br />
an increasing number of marriages where one of <strong>the</strong> members was not born<br />
a Jew.<br />
In Sao Paulo, most Jews go to <strong>the</strong> synagogue two days a year and<br />
don’t speak Hebrew, so <strong>the</strong>ir self-image as Jews depends a lot of what <strong>the</strong><br />
press and <strong>the</strong> non-Jews say about Israel. Therefore, our diagnosis is that in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Brazilian Jewish community <strong>the</strong> Jewish illiteracy that brings inner erosion<br />
and assimilation is a more serious danger than antisemitism.<br />
THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISRAEL<br />
Delegitimization is not new for <strong>the</strong> Jewish people, for Israel, or for <strong>the</strong><br />
memory of a Jewish community. The ultimate difference nowadays seems<br />
to be that this campaign aims to destroy <strong>the</strong> right of Israel to exist.<br />
This campaign against Israel directly affects its young people, particularly<br />
<strong>the</strong> university students. Sao Paulo does not have vital Jewish student<br />
centers inside <strong>the</strong> universities like Hillel in <strong>the</strong> United States. Hillel Rio and<br />
a similar organization in Sao Paulo work with <strong>the</strong> same segment of <strong>the</strong><br />
population but <strong>the</strong>ir headquarters are located in Jewish neighborhoods, not<br />
on campus.<br />
In order to meet this situation, <strong>the</strong> Jewish Federation works with information<br />
and education in support of Jewish schools and Jewish organizations<br />
as well. The Federation also takes responsibility for launching campaigns<br />
and information initiatives to <strong>the</strong> general public, developing two programs,<br />
Lifnei HaMashber (Before <strong>the</strong> Crisis Arrives), and Esser Dakot (Ten Minutes).<br />
Through Lifnei HaMashber, experts are invited to explain and discuss<br />
deeply important issues like Iran, Hezbolla, Hamas, and o<strong>the</strong>rs. The Esser
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN BRAZIL 165<br />
Dakot program takes Hasbara 3 professionals for a short talk (<strong>the</strong>refore <strong>the</strong><br />
program name) with university students about <strong>the</strong> campaign against Israel<br />
in <strong>the</strong> media. Both programs aim at helping <strong>the</strong> young people develop an<br />
effective response to <strong>the</strong> challenges <strong>the</strong>y face in <strong>the</strong>ir university lives by<br />
providing students with facts and strategies to counter false allegations<br />
against Israel.<br />
LAST BUT NOT LEAST<br />
Our country may not exhibit violent antisemitism, but Jewish community<br />
leaders are worried when <strong>the</strong> Jewish authorities show <strong>the</strong>m that what is<br />
actually happening is not so nice. Because of this, <strong>the</strong> work of <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
leadership is to show <strong>the</strong> problems to <strong>the</strong> government authorities, <strong>the</strong> politicians,<br />
and to its own community. It is very important to prepare Brazilians<br />
to criticize and condemn racism, and how to respond to a demagogueinspired<br />
dissemination of hatred against Jews.<br />
In this context, it is essential for Israel to enhance its communication<br />
channels with <strong>the</strong> diaspora and to better balance its focus to places like<br />
Brazil. A first step in that direction was taken with <strong>the</strong> reopening of <strong>the</strong><br />
Israel consulate in Sao Paulo.<br />
One part of <strong>the</strong> strategy in facing this situation is to stress <strong>the</strong> fact that<br />
Israel is a democratic country with essential contributions in fields like life<br />
sciences, technology, business, arts and many o<strong>the</strong>rs. The Jewish Federation<br />
works permanently to build good will for Israel. As an example, in every<br />
Jewish holiday <strong>the</strong> public finds interviews and explanations about <strong>the</strong><br />
meaning of each Jewish celebration. And when necessary, especially when<br />
Israel receives strong criticism, <strong>the</strong> leadership tries to provide a consensual<br />
answer.<br />
The Jewish leadership has a universal approach against bigotry, and<br />
not a parochial one. In this way, we battle antisemitism toge<strong>the</strong>r with allies<br />
of o<strong>the</strong>r groups with whom we worked before, combating racism and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
forms of discrimination. We don’t think that we can eliminate or obliterate<br />
antisemitism. We try to manage it through <strong>the</strong> democratic and legal ways<br />
and mechanisms.<br />
As policy advisor Stuart Eizenstat has said about <strong>the</strong> issue of <strong>the</strong> new<br />
antisemitism: “It is important to keep all of this in context and not overreact.”<br />
There are very few antisemitic acts in Brazil, but community leaders<br />
must be prepared to react and specially be proactive in supporting Israel.<br />
This is also highly relevant for Jewish identity in times where <strong>the</strong> funda-<br />
3. Hasbara, from <strong>the</strong> Hebrew verb lehasbir, explain. Can be used to mean<br />
“diplomacy, explanations and information in favor of Israel.”
166 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:157<br />
mentals are being challenged and <strong>the</strong> winds are against Israel and <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
people.<br />
*Alberto Milkewitz is <strong>the</strong> executive director of <strong>the</strong> Jewish Federation of <strong>the</strong> state of<br />
Sao Paulo, <strong>the</strong> umbrella organization of <strong>the</strong> biggest Jewish community in Brazil.<br />
Toge<strong>the</strong>r with Mario Fleck, he coordinates <strong>the</strong> Working Group for Combating<br />
Antisemitism. He is pursuing a PhD in education at <strong>the</strong> University of Sao Paulo.<br />
BIBLIOGRAPHY<br />
Carneiro, Maria Luiza Tucci. O Antisemitismo na Era Vargas. São Paulo: Editorial<br />
Brasiliense, 1988.<br />
Lesser, Jeffrey. Brazil and <strong>the</strong> “Jewish Question”: Immigration, Diplomacy and<br />
Prejudice. Tel Aviv: University Enterprises, 1998.
Una aproximación al tema de la intolerancia y del<br />
antisemitismo en tiempos de libertad y<br />
democracia en Brasil<br />
Alberto Milkewitz*<br />
Brasil, un país con 190 millones de habitantes, ha crecido en los últimos<br />
años transformándose en un nuevo líder mundial, con influencia y participación<br />
en algunos de los principales problemas globales.<br />
LA SITUACIÓN DE BRASIL: UNA VISIÓN GENERAL<br />
San Pablo, desde donde se escribe este texto, es una de las tres<br />
ciudades más grandes del mundo, y es la más poblada de Brasil y de<br />
América del Sur. Es el hogar de una muy activa comunidad judía, que<br />
abarca unas 60.000 personas. El tamaño total de la comunidad judía en<br />
Brasil se estima en 110.000. El país es una sociedad abierta y libre, con<br />
moneda estable y está haciendo, como ha sido habitual en los últimos veinticinco<br />
años de democracia, una transición tranquila y pacífica del gobierno<br />
de Lula a su sucesora, la Sra. Dilma Rousseff, del mismo partido (PT—<br />
Partido de los Trabajadores).<br />
Durante los últimos ocho años de su mandato, Lula, el presidente anterior,<br />
buscó para el Brasil un lugar en el Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU.<br />
Lula fue muy activo en la búsqueda de un espacio destacado para Brasil en<br />
el ámbito de la comunidad internacional. En ese sentido, trató de mostrar<br />
que Brasil se convirtió en un socio serio en la discusión de cuestiones de<br />
seguridad internacional. Brasil ha ayudado a Haití y tuvo una función especial<br />
cuando los países africanos de habla portuguesa precisaron ayuda. La<br />
política exterior de Lula buscó su inclusión internacional a través de colocar<br />
el diálogo como una estrategia prioritaria para administrar las cuestiones<br />
críticas y controversiales del panorama mundial. Ese fue el caso con<br />
respecto a Irán y Venezuela. Al mismo tiempo, para establecer un equilibrio<br />
con la comunidad judía, Lula fue el primer presidente en firmar el pedido<br />
de creación del Día Internacional del Holocausto de las Naciones Unidas.<br />
Lula no es considerado anti-semita, pero su partido y sus aliados de la coalición<br />
de gobierno han adoptado una posición crítica permanente contra<br />
Israel. Eso es coherente con el voto tradicional de Brasil en contra de Israel<br />
en las Naciones Unidas. Itamaraty, la Cancillería brasileña, sistemática-<br />
167
168 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:167<br />
mente, mantiene una actitud crítica al Estado Judío, incluso desde antes del<br />
mandato del Presidente Lula.<br />
En el pasado, los años 30 fueron una década en la cual los integralistas,<br />
que eran el partido fascista brasileño, generaron en Brasil un clima de hostilidad<br />
contra los judíos mediante la creación de la imagen del judío que<br />
amenaza Brasil y “equiparar a los judíos con los comunistas” 1 que eran el<br />
paradigma del enemigo público del gobierno. Era la época del dictador<br />
Getulio Vargas, y en aquella etapa, la estrategia diplomática brasileña era<br />
decir a las autoridades estadounidenses que Brasil ayudaría a los refugiados<br />
judíos, al mismo tiempo que, a través de documentos secretos, prohibía la<br />
entrada a los judíos que huían de Europa. En aquel periodo el Brasil redujo<br />
sus cuotas de inmigración y explícitamente ordenó a sus cónsules en Europa<br />
que debían negar vistos de entrada a cualquier persona de “origen semita”. 2<br />
Este caso muestra que hay diferencias entre el discurso “oficial” y aspectos<br />
poco visibles de la opinión nacional sobre los judíos. El trasfondo de la<br />
política brasileña relacionada con los judíos muestra que siempre hay que<br />
más allá de la superficie si se quiere comprender el antisemitismo en nuestro<br />
país.<br />
SUBTERRÁNEO Y NO TAN SUBTERRÁNEO<br />
Aunque le suene extraño a algunos brasileños, la intolerancia y el<br />
antisemitismo pueden florecer y mostrar su cara en el Brasil, mismo en<br />
tiempos de democracia y libertad. La mayoría de los ciudadanos y políticos<br />
brasileños piensan que el racismo y el antisemitismo no son un problema<br />
significativo en el país. Inclusive los judíos inmigrantes que llegaron al Brasil<br />
después de haber sido perseguidos en Europa y en los países árabes,<br />
piensan que el país siempre será un “amigo de los judíos”. En este escenario<br />
el tema de cómo tratar el antisemitismo se vuelve muy complejo. La<br />
comunidad judía sabe que los cambios geopolíticos pueden modificar un<br />
país y que algunas nuevas circunstancias regionales como la situación en<br />
Venezuela pueden ser el caldo de cultivo para el antisemitismo, pero no<br />
sienten casi nunca esto en su vida cotidiana y, a veces, no quieren ni<br />
reconocer los riesgos.<br />
Hasta hace poco, unas pocas organizaciones judías independientes y<br />
algunos rabinos trabajaban por su propia cuenta e iniciativa, de una manera<br />
tranquila y aislada, contra el antisemitismo. Pero como respuesta a cambios<br />
1. Hélgio Trindade. Integralismo, o fascismo brasileiro na década de 30; Ed.<br />
DIFEL; S. Paulo:1979.<br />
2. Graciela Ben Dror. La elite católica en Brasil y su actitud hacia los judíos,<br />
1933-1939. Centro de Recursos de la Shoah; www.yadvashem.org.
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>O EN BRASIL 169<br />
de las circunstancias y a la demanda expresada por los líderes de la<br />
comunidad, el antisemitismo y toda forma de discriminación e intolerancia<br />
subieron en el nivel de prioridades de la Federación Judía del Estado de S.<br />
Paulo, la organización que agrupa a la mayor comunidad judía del país.<br />
LA PREOCUPACIÓN CON LAS ACTIVIDADES DEL ALA DERECHA EN BRASIL<br />
Vamos a exponer algunos datos. Favorecidas por la apertura que<br />
ofrece la democracia, la violencia y la intolerancia empezaron a florecer y<br />
crecer más como lo muestran algunos eventos de los últimos años. En 2009<br />
en San Pablo, durante la Parada Gay en una acción atribuida a jóvenes neonazis,<br />
fue explotada una bomba en un ataque que dejó 21 heridos.<br />
Otro ejemplo de lo que está sucediendo es la reciente serie de controversias<br />
provocada por la participación de un congresista de derecha en un<br />
programa de televisión. Respondiendo a una renombrada cantante negra,<br />
hija del famoso Gilberto Gil, que le preguntó: “Que haría usted si su hijo se<br />
enamorase de un negro?”, el congresista respondió: “No voy a discutir<br />
promiscuidad con nadie. Yo no corro ese riesgo. Mis hijos viven entre personas<br />
educadas y no en ambientes tan desafortunados como el suyo”. Desde<br />
este episodio agresivo y racista, este diputado dio varias entrevistas en las<br />
que critica abiertamente la homosexualidad. Una manifestación en apoyo al<br />
congresista fue lanzada a través de un foro con el sugestivo nombre de<br />
“Stormfront.org” administrado por el movimiento neo-nazi “White Pride<br />
World Wide”, que finaliza su mensaje con los números de “14/88”, un<br />
simbolismo nazi que se refiere a Hitler y a la supremacía blanca americana.<br />
Otros eventos confirman también que la intolerancia contra los negros, los<br />
homosexuales y los judíos en San Pablo está en aumento. La región central<br />
de la ciudad es la de más alto riesgo por la presencia de grupos racistas.<br />
Doscientas personas de 25 diferentes pandillas ya han sido identificadas por<br />
el equipo técnico de la Comisaría de Policía Especializada en Delitos de<br />
Intolerancia.<br />
Los motivos de preocupación no se restringen únicamente a San Pablo,<br />
como lo han dicho los miembros de otro grupo de la Policía dedicado a la<br />
lucha contra los movimientos neo-nazis en Río Grande del Sur. En la<br />
década de 1930 el Estado brasileño de Rio Grande do Sul tuvo un partido<br />
nazi, y allí también nació el movimiento integralista, el partido fascista<br />
brasileño, ya mencionado.<br />
En Paraná, otro Estado brasileño en el sur del país, recientemente dos<br />
jóvenes de Curitiba fueron condenados a dos años de prisión por haber<br />
hecho declaraciones racistas contra los negros y los judíos en un sitio web<br />
que ya fue retirado del aire. El castigo, como siempre ha sucedido en el<br />
país, fue substituido por la prestación de servicios comunitarios y una multa
170 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:167<br />
monetaria. El abogado defensor dijo que sus clientes sólo expresaron una<br />
“opinión”, haciendo uso del derecho a la “libertad de expresión”, otorgado<br />
por la Constitución brasileña.<br />
Aún otro motivo de preocupación en un país enorme y multifacético<br />
como es el Brasil son los indicadores de posible conexión entre los neonazis<br />
y otros tipos de criminales, tales como el Comando Rojo, una famosa<br />
organización criminal que opera en Río de Janeiro.<br />
EL PELIGRO DEL EXTREMISMO MUSULMÁN<br />
Los riesgos antisemitas no vienen sólo desde el lado de la derecha. De<br />
acuerdo con la Policía Federal, siete organizaciones terroristas islámicas<br />
operan en Brasil, entre ellas Al Qaeda, Hezbolá, Hamas y la Jihad Islámica.<br />
En el país, estos grupos recaudan fondos, reclutan militantes y planean ataques.<br />
Esta denuncia ha sido hecha recientemente por la prestigiosa revista<br />
Veja, que es la de mayor circulación en América del Sur. La población<br />
musulmana está creciendo, particularmente en la región de la frontera entre<br />
Brasil, Argentina y Paraguay, donde la presencia judía es muy pequeña.<br />
Hasta ahora no hay informes de ningún tipo de problema entre ellos y los<br />
judíos de San Pablo, Río de Janeiro y de las otras comunidades judías.<br />
Se dispone de información que indica que los musulmanes están tratando<br />
de acercarse a los niveles más pobres de la población y están<br />
haciendo conversiones en masa en algunas favelas atrayéndolos para el<br />
Islam. Eso pasa también en el interior de las cárceles brasileñas, donde los<br />
musulmanes tratan de ocupar el lugar de la Iglesia, y reclutar y convertir<br />
para el Islam en una forma muy rápida.<br />
Desde el punto de vista político un dato relevante es que, por muchos<br />
años, los árabes cristianos han conseguido elegir diputados en varios Parlamentos<br />
de los Estados de Brasil, y esto ayuda también a los musulmanes<br />
árabes que, a través de ellos tienen más influencia o protección si les es<br />
necesario. En este contexto en que los judíos son tan minoritarios, es difícil<br />
abogar por y defender Israel, lo que hace que a veces la condena al Estado<br />
Judío sea automática.<br />
RAÍCES CATÓLICAS DEL <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>O BRASILEÑO<br />
Al igual que en cualquier lugar del mundo donde ha habido y hay una<br />
fuerte presencia católica, la Iglesia ha contribuido en el pasado a construir<br />
mitos antisemitas de la cultura católica brasileña. Después de la encíclica<br />
Nostra Aetate (Concilio Vaticano II), en la cual la Iglesia Católica<br />
recomendó el diálogo con los judíos y con otras religiones, la Iglesia y<br />
algunos miembros de la comunidad judía comenzaron a acercarse y la situa-
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>O EN BRASIL 171<br />
ción se modificó. Hoy en día hay grupos de diálogo y fraternidad que<br />
trabajan juntos para educar a sus comunidades. Los mejores aliados para<br />
luchar contra el antisemitismo con raíces católicas están dentro de la propia<br />
Iglesia. Sin embargo, un gran número de clérigos católicos, laicos,<br />
sacerdotes y activistas fueron educados antes del Concilio Vaticano II. Así,<br />
algunas personas católicas no han cambiado su forma de pensar acerca de<br />
los judíos y no se intimidan en expresar sus opiniones. Por lo tanto, a pesar<br />
de que judíos y católicos trabajan juntos, se necesitará un tiempo aún para<br />
sanar las heridas entre las dos comunidades. Hoy en día el liderazgo judío<br />
evita ser naïf como sucedió en el pasado cuando algunos pensaban que una<br />
buena relación con los niveles más altos de la Iglesia sería suficiente para<br />
hacer frente en Brasil al antisemitismo católico.<br />
En Brasil, la Iglesia Católica compite con la Iglesia Evangélica y<br />
también con las religiones de matriz africana, para conquistar la fe del<br />
pueblo brasileño. Ello hace que sus autoridades no quieran agregar también<br />
un “frente judío”. La Iglesia Evangélica es el grupo religioso que más crece<br />
en un país con 26 Estados (existe un Parlamento en cada Estado) y un Distrito<br />
Federal (el Parlamento Nacional se encuentra en Brasilia el Distrito<br />
Federal), donde poseen un poder creciente. Estos grupos son firmes partidarios<br />
de Israel y sus aliados potenciales. Cuando la Federación Judía<br />
organizó manifestaciones en favor de Israel y contra la visita de<br />
Ahmadinejad a Brasil, los grupos evangélicos fueron los principales aliados<br />
en este tipo de iniciativas. Existe una relación muy buena entre las<br />
autoridades judías y algunas autoridades evangélicas, que diferente de la<br />
Iglesia Católica, no poseen una autoridad central.<br />
MITOS ANTISEMITAS, TAMBIÉN DENTRO DE LA IZQUIERDA BRASILEÑA<br />
Los estereotipos tradicionales sobre los judíos forman parte de la cultura<br />
brasileña, inclusive entre la izquierda. Antes de su elección, Dilma dijo<br />
a un grupo de líderes de la comunidad judía que ella piensa que su familia<br />
era cripto-judía 3 porque todos sus tíos tenían una “nariz ganchuda”. Tal<br />
comentario demuestra que aún hay mucho trabajo educativo que debe ser<br />
hecho, comenzando por los niveles más altos del gobierno.<br />
La izquierda es muy fuerte en el país. La mayoría de sus miembros<br />
piensa que los palestinos son las “víctimas”. Israel, los judíos y los Estados<br />
Unidos son percibidos como un mismo y único grupo, y como los<br />
“agresores”, el Imperio, los colonialistas, y también los genocidas. Los<br />
brasileños en general acompañan a la opinión pública mundial en la forma<br />
3. Cripto-judíos, cristianos nuevos o marranos son formas de denominar a los<br />
judíos que aceptaron la conversión forzada al cristianismo.
172 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:167<br />
de ver a Israel como el villano y a los palestinos como un pueblo débil y<br />
frágil, una minoría oprimida. El liderazgo de la comunidad judía está de<br />
acuerdo en que todo el mundo tiene derecho a criticar a Israel, y también<br />
judíos lo hacen, pero cuando se analizan algunas posiciones de grupos de<br />
izquierda se percibe que es poco clara la frontera entre el anti-sionismo, o<br />
sea, estar en contra de posiciones y acciones de Israel y de su gobierno y<br />
perspectivas anti-semitas. Y esto se aplica especialmente a las críticas que<br />
vienen de la izquierda.<br />
En San Pablo, la Federación Judía está procesando legalmente en la<br />
Justicia brasileña un sindicato de trabajadores funcionarios de la Universidad<br />
de San Pablo, que acusó a Israel de genocidio contra el pueblo palestino,<br />
y la forma legal para poder promover esta acción jurídica fue<br />
demostrar que el sindicato hizo públicamente en un diario una acusación<br />
contra los judíos y no contra un país, y esto, para la legislación brasileña, es<br />
considerado discriminación. Hacer críticas contra un país está protegido por<br />
el derecho a la libertad de expresión y es considerado una manifestación<br />
política. Por lo tanto, la discusión se vuelve muy difícil cuando los grupos<br />
más marcadamente de izquierda en el partido de gobierno o de algunos<br />
sindicatos necesitan de argumentos que les sirvan para unir a sus seguidores<br />
en contra de un enemigo común. Los judíos son siempre los mejores<br />
candidatos y un blanco fácil. Pero la comprensión de este tipo de mecanismos<br />
entre los que estudian y trabajan contra el antisemitismo, no es<br />
suficiente para evitar el uso de ellos.<br />
Dilma dijo recientemente en una reunión en la Federación Judía del<br />
Estado de San Pablo, que su gobierno continuará la política externa de Lula.<br />
Eso significa continuar la amistad con Irán y Venezuela. Sin embargo,<br />
Dilma muestra una forma independiente de pensamiento y debido a esto,<br />
recientemente, Brasil comenzó a tratar separadamente las aspiraciones<br />
nucleares iraníes de la situación de los derechos humanos que sufre Irán.<br />
LAS FRONTERAS NUBOSAS ENTRE EL <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>O Y EL ANTISIONISMO<br />
En el Campus, en la prensa y en la Internet hay fronteras nubosas entre<br />
las críticas a Israel y el antisemitismo. Brasil tiene una enorme red de<br />
universidades públicas y privadas, en todo el país. En la cultura universitaria<br />
lo políticamente correcto es situarse a la izquierda. Hoy en día<br />
apoyar a Israel significa estar con la derecha desde el punto de vista político.<br />
En las Universidades, en el Campus, entre los académicos es “cool”<br />
estar en contra del “imperialismo israelí”. No es fácil ser un estudiante judío<br />
y defender a Israel en una universidad brasileña. En la mayoría de las<br />
universidades los estudiantes judíos son una minoría muy pequeña. El antisionismo<br />
es una situación real en Brasil, como lo es en todo el mundo.
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>O EN BRASIL 173<br />
LA SITUACIÓN EN LA PRENSA<br />
La campaña en contra de Israel en nuestro país también se expresa en<br />
la prensa. La mayoría de los programas periodísticos utilizan agencias de<br />
noticias que tienen una fuerte tendencia en contra de Israel.<br />
La política exterior no es el interés principal de la mayor parte del<br />
público brasileño, por lo tanto, el espacio en los medios de comunicación<br />
que es abierto a esta cuestión es bastante reducido. Israel suele aparecer<br />
sólo cuando algo malo ha pasado. La estrategia utilizada para hacer frente a<br />
esta situación es hacer hincapié en el hecho de que Israel es un país<br />
democrático, que hace contribuciones esenciales a la humanidad en campos<br />
como las ciencias de la vida, la tecnología, los negocios, las artes y muchos<br />
otros campos. La Federación Judía trabaja permanentemente para construir<br />
una actitud positiva en relación a Israel. Para aumentar el conocimiento que<br />
la sociedad brasileña tiene sobre Judaísmo, en cada fiesta judía el público<br />
brasileño encuentra en la prensa entrevistas y explicaciones sobre el<br />
significado de cada celebración judía.<br />
EL COMBATE EN LA INTERNET<br />
Al igual que en las cuatro esquinas del mundo, existe en Brasil un uso<br />
cada vez mayor y una influencia creciente no sólo de los sitios tradicionales<br />
de la Internet, sino también en la red social en sitios tales como Twitter,<br />
Linkedin, Orkut, Facebook y otros. Esta es la forma de comunicación de<br />
una parte significativa de la juventud y de los adultos jóvenes brasileños. Y<br />
esto crea un estilo que utiliza mensajes muy cortos, casi sin explicaciones y<br />
una discusión que se puede llamar “telegráfica”. El análisis de este tipo de<br />
medios de comunicación subterráneo muestra que una parte importante de<br />
la opinión pública está en contra de Israel, y esto incluye también a algunos<br />
judíos. En los sitios de la red social donde la mayoría de los judíos jóvenes<br />
navegan, la búsqueda de palabras como Israel, judío, Flotilla, Gaza y similares,<br />
muestran una gran cantidad de mensajes críticos que en algunos casos<br />
se deslizan y se transforman en comentarios antisemitas. La comunidad<br />
judía está tratando aún de aprender a lidiar con esto y enfrentar esta batalla.<br />
En otro caso reciente que muestra la existencia de ciertas corrientes<br />
subterráneas de antisemitismo, el gobierno del Estado de San Pablo anunció<br />
la localización de una nueva estación de Metro en un barrio conocido por<br />
poseer numerosa población judía. La Asociación de Vecinos presentó un<br />
pedido ante las autoridades competentes, solicitando su reubicación ya que<br />
los vecinos miembros de la institución estaban preocupados con potenciales<br />
problemas de seguridad relacionados con una estación de Metro. Este<br />
problema se convirtió en una gran discusión entre los partidarios y los
174 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:167<br />
opositores a la estación, y tuvo fuerte amplificación a través de las redes<br />
sociales. Entonces un conocido humorista publicó un comentario con la pretensión<br />
de ser jocoso, pero con fuertes connotaciones antisemitas. Él<br />
escribió: “Los judíos se oponen a la estación porque la última vez que<br />
subieron a un tren fue en camino a Auschwitz”. Colocado esto en el Twitter<br />
provocó un gran número de frases antisemitas, así como la reacción intensa<br />
de la comunidad judía y público en general. A partir de allí algunos alegaron<br />
que los judíos de la zona se oponen a la población pobre, que en<br />
realidad serían la beneficiaria de la nueva estación de Metro.<br />
LA INFLUENCIA DE IRÁN EN BRASIL Y AMÉRICA LATINA<br />
Lula, durante su gobierno, fue cálido con los iraníes, como parte de su<br />
aspiración a obtener un lugar para el Brasil en el Consejo de Seguridad de<br />
la ONU.<br />
La visita del presidente de Irán al Brasil en 2010 provocó tensiones<br />
entre él y las autoridades nacionales de la comunidad judía, las cuales<br />
fueron explícitas en su cuestionamiento y lo hicieron públicamente. Inclusive<br />
en una declaración Lula llegó a decir que Irán había tenido “elecciones<br />
libres”, y eso también fue muy criticado.<br />
Con Dilma hay algunos indicadores de ligeros cambios en la posición<br />
de Brasil relacionadas con Irán. Dilma critico en la prensa la ejecución de<br />
mujeres en Irán. En el pasado, ella misma sufrió abusos contra los derechos<br />
humanos durante los tiempos de la dictadura en Brasil. Así que ella se ha<br />
mostrado realmente sensible a esta cuestión. Recientemente el nuevo<br />
Gobierno de Dilma, por primera vez, no aceptó participar en una misión<br />
internacional para vigilar las instalaciones nucleares iraníes. Dilma dijo que<br />
a partir de ahora su Administración va a diferenciar entre la posición de<br />
Brasil sobre la cuestión nuclear con Irán y sobre el tema de los Derechos<br />
Humanos en aquella nación.<br />
Brasil es enorme y de fronteras extremamente permeables y el país<br />
tiene límites con Venezuela, país en donde Irán tiene las puertas abiertas.<br />
Esto preocupa a la comunidad judía. Chávez, el presidente de Venezuela es<br />
hasta hoy un buen amigo de Lula. Las preocupaciones con la entrada libre<br />
para los terroristas de Irán a este país vecino son graves para las<br />
comunidades judías. Pero no es ese el punto de vista de las autoridades<br />
brasileñas y para la mayoría de los políticos brasileños que encuentran muy<br />
difícil aceptar que el terrorismo pueda suceder en nuestro país. Las<br />
autoridades judías de San Pablo están trabajando muy duro para mostrar al<br />
comando de Seguridad del Estado que hay cada vez más riesgos de tener<br />
problemas de esta índole durante los próximos Juegos Olímpicos y la Copa<br />
del Mundo.
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>O EN BRASIL 175<br />
LA IDENTIDAD JUDÍA BRASILEÑA<br />
Los judíos brasileños contemporáneos no sufren ninguna restricción<br />
acerca de su identidad judía, pero el judaísmo no es necesariamente su prioridad.<br />
La identidad, en todas sus facetas, es algo que no sucede en el “aire”<br />
ou en el vacío. Desde el Holocausto y el establecimiento del Estado de<br />
Israel, la unidad del pueblo y la identidad judía de la mayor parte de los<br />
judíos en Israel y en otros lugares se han basado en una memoria compartida<br />
de la tragedia nacional, un sentido de unión tribal, y un interés mutuo<br />
en la construcción y en el futuro del Estado de Israel. Pero no se ha apoyado<br />
lo suficiente en el estudio y conocimiento de las “fuentes” originales judías<br />
tales como la Torá, el Talmud, el Midrash y los comentarios y las contribuciones<br />
de los Sabios. Tampoco en el estudio de la Torá por sí misma (Torá<br />
Lishmah). Ni en la vida diaria judía. Sinagogas, escuelas judías, centros<br />
comunitarios, movimientos de jóvenes, instituciones de mujeres y otras<br />
organizaciones cargan buena parte de la responsabilidad por la transmisión<br />
del judaísmo. Estas instituciones tratan de propagar el judaísmo y el sionismo,<br />
pero es creciente en esta comunidad el número de matrimonios en que<br />
uno de los miembros no ha nacido judío.<br />
En San Pablo, la mayoría de los judíos va apenas dos días al año a la<br />
sinagoga (en las grandes fiestas de Año Nuevo y del Día del Perdón) y no<br />
hablan hebreo. La imagen de sí mismos como judíos depende mucho de lo<br />
que la prensa dice de los judíos y de Israel. Por lo tanto nuestro diagnóstico<br />
es que en la comunidad judía de Brasil lo que se llama de analfabetismo<br />
judío, o sea la falta de formación judía de los propios judíos, trae la erosión<br />
interna y la asimilación que en ciertos sentidos es más grave aún que el<br />
antisemitismo.<br />
LA CAMPAÑA EN CONTRA DE ISRAEL EN NUESTRO PAÍS<br />
La deslegitimación no es una novedad para el pueblo judío ni para<br />
Israel y también no lo es para la comunidad judía. La diferencia más marcada<br />
en la actualidad parece ser que esta campaña tiene como objetivo<br />
destruir el derecho de Israel a existir.<br />
Esta campaña en contra de Israel afecta directamente a los jóvenes, en<br />
particular a los estudiantes universitarios. San Pablo no tiene centros para<br />
estudiantes judíos en el estilo de los centros Hillel dentro de las universidades<br />
en Estados Unidos. Hillel Río y una organización similar que<br />
trabaja en San Pablo, con el mismo segmento de edad, tienen sus sedes<br />
ubicadas en los barrios judíos, y no en el Campus.<br />
Para hacer frente a esta situación, la Federación Judía, trabaja buscando<br />
informar y educar, apoyando a las escuelas y a las organizaciones
176 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:167<br />
judías. La Federación también asume la responsabilidad de lanzar campañas<br />
e iniciativas de información al público en general. La Federación ha desarrollado<br />
dos programas, uno es Lifnei HaMashber (Antes de que llegue la<br />
crisis) y el otro es Esser Dakot (Diez Minutos). A través del primero, algunos<br />
especialistas son invitados a explicar y discutir profundamente algunas<br />
cuestiones importantes como Irán, Hezbollah, Hamas y otros. El programa<br />
Esser Dakot lleva profesionales de Hasbará 4 para una breve charla (por ese<br />
motivo es el nombre del programa) con estudiantes universitarios, en los<br />
horarios de recreo entre las clases en sus propias facultades y universidades<br />
y se abordan aspectos relevantes de la campaña en contra de Israel en los<br />
medios de comunicación. Los programas Esser Dakot y Lifnei HaMashber<br />
tienen por objetivo ayudar a los jóvenes a desarrollar una respuesta eficaz a<br />
los desafíos que enfrentan en la vida de su universidad. Los programas se<br />
centran en proporcionar a los estudiantes los hechos y las estrategias para<br />
contrarrestar las acusaciones falsas en contra de Israel.<br />
POR ÚLTIMO PERO NO MENOS IMPORTANTE<br />
La comunidad sabe que nuestro país no sufre antisemitismo violento,<br />
pero se preocupa e incómoda cuando las autoridades judías evidencian que<br />
lo que realmente está sucediendo no es tan agradable. El trabajo de la<br />
dirigencia judía muestra los problemas a las autoridades gubernamentales y<br />
a los políticos bien como a algunos sectores de la propia comunidad. Es<br />
muy importante, preparar a los brasileños para criticar y condenar el<br />
racismo, y sensibilizar a la población para que no sea seducida por manipulaciones<br />
demagógicas en la difusión del odio anti-judío.<br />
En este contexto, es esencial para Israel, mejorar sus vías de comunicación<br />
con la diáspora y prestar más atención a lugares como Brasil. Un primer<br />
paso en esa dirección se dio recientemente con la reapertura del<br />
Consulado de Israel en San Pablo. Una parte de la estrategia para hacer<br />
frente a esta situación especialmente cuando Israel recibe fuertes críticas es<br />
dar una respuesta comunitaria consensuada.<br />
El liderazgo judío tiene un enfoque universal contra la discriminación<br />
y la intolerancia, y no una visión parroquial. De esta manera, la comunidad<br />
lucha sus batallas contra el antisemitismo, junto con aliados de otros grupos<br />
con los que se ha trabajado antes en el combate al racismo y a otras formas<br />
de discriminación. No creemos que podemos eliminar o borrar el antisemitismo.<br />
Tratamos de administrarlo a través de los medios democráticos y los<br />
mecanismos legales disponibles en nuestro país.<br />
4. Hasbará, del verbo hebreo lehasbir que significa explicar. Puede ser<br />
utilizado como “diplomacia, explicaciones e información a favor de Israel”.
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>O EN BRASIL 177<br />
Se busca evitar reacciones exageradas. Hay muy pocos actos<br />
antisemitas en Brasil, pero los líderes de la comunidad deben estar<br />
preparados para reaccionar y especialmente ser pro-activos en el apoyo a<br />
Israel. Esto también es muy significativo para la identidad judía en tiempos<br />
en que los fundamentos están siendo desafiados y los vientos están en contra<br />
de Israel y del pueblo judío.<br />
*Alberto Milkewitz es el Director Ejecutivo de la Federación Judía del Estado de S.<br />
Paulo, organización que agrupa a la mayor comunidad en Brasil y coordina, junto<br />
con Mario Fleck el Grupo de Trabajo para Combatir el Antisemitismo. Psicólogo,<br />
cuenta con una Maestría en Educación y próximamente defenderá su tesis de<br />
Doctorado en Educación en la Universidad de Sao Paulo.<br />
BIBLIOGRAFÍA<br />
Jeffrey Lesser. Brasil y la “cuestión judía,” La inmigración, la diplomacia, y el<br />
prejuicio (en hebreo). Tel Aviv: Empresas Universitarias, 1998.<br />
Maria Luisa Tucci Carneiro. Anti-Semitismo na era Vargas. São Paulo: Brasiliense<br />
Editorial, 1988.
Postcard from Venezuela<br />
Sammy Eppel*<br />
Hi, everyone. Sammy Eppel here. The wea<strong>the</strong>r is great! Let me tell<br />
you a little about how it is to be a Venezuelan Jew. First, <strong>the</strong> history. The<br />
presence of Latin American Jews begins with <strong>the</strong> colonial period, and as <strong>the</strong><br />
region developed so did <strong>the</strong>ir numbers. Some Jews even participated in <strong>the</strong><br />
independence movements of <strong>the</strong> 18th and 19th centuries. In my country,<br />
Venezuela, Mordechai Ricardo, a Jew in <strong>the</strong> Dutch island of Curacao, took<br />
care of <strong>the</strong> family of Simon Bolivar during a period of exile. With time,<br />
Latin America became <strong>the</strong> home of almost a million Jews that in general<br />
got a friendly welcome and were able to establish communities and contribute<br />
to <strong>the</strong> betterment of <strong>the</strong>ir respective countries. The Latin American people<br />
that came out of <strong>the</strong> mixing of <strong>the</strong> native population, black slaves, and<br />
white immigration are known for <strong>the</strong>ir tolerance and respect and are<br />
referred to as <strong>the</strong> “Cosmic Race.” Under such circumstances, antisemitism<br />
was minimal. One noted difference could be Argentina, which is more of a<br />
European-type country that imported some of <strong>the</strong> prejudices of that area.<br />
The Latin American Jews that have lived for generations in <strong>the</strong>ir respective<br />
countries are so well integrated that a Jew from Mexico considers himself<br />
totally and first of all as Mexican—and <strong>the</strong> same goes for <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r countries<br />
of <strong>the</strong> continent.<br />
Having said that, it would seem incongruous that in September 2006,<br />
at <strong>the</strong> Tel Aviv University conference in Budapest, I declared that “for <strong>the</strong><br />
first time in recent history <strong>the</strong>re is government-sponsored antisemitism in a<br />
Western country” in reference to <strong>the</strong> new political antisemitism that has<br />
risen in Venezuela. The hundreds of antisemitic acts sponsored by <strong>the</strong><br />
regime of Húgo Chávez have been duly presented in many international<br />
conferences. One such event took place on January 20, 2009, with <strong>the</strong> publication<br />
in official principal Web sites of a blueprint for attacking <strong>the</strong> Jews<br />
in Venezuela. It was written by Emilio Silva Chapellin, a professor at Venezuelan<br />
Bolivarian University and a prominent member of Chavez’s PSUV<br />
party. In it, he calls for action—and <strong>the</strong> Caracas Synagogue was desecrated<br />
ten days later (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1L34I7TFws). Incredibly,<br />
<strong>the</strong> professor was not called by any investigation team and instead was<br />
treated as a hero of <strong>the</strong> revolution and paraded as such in government radio<br />
and TV media.<br />
But this is even more alarming. On April 4, 2011, <strong>the</strong> director of a<br />
Venezuelan government-owned radio station, Cristina Gonzalez, dedicated<br />
almost all her time on <strong>the</strong> government’s radio station, to <strong>the</strong> reading of The<br />
Protocols of <strong>the</strong> Elders of Zion. She asserted that <strong>the</strong> contents of <strong>the</strong> book<br />
179
180 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:179<br />
were approved by <strong>the</strong> Zionist Congress of 1897 in Basel, and concluded<br />
with <strong>the</strong> statement that all past and present ills are attributed to <strong>the</strong> “world<br />
Jewish conspiracy.” If you add <strong>the</strong> Muslim embracing of Chávez and <strong>the</strong><br />
influence of petro dollars, we obviously have a situation of concern for <strong>the</strong><br />
future of Latin American Jews.<br />
P.S. Come visit! The wea<strong>the</strong>r is great!<br />
*Sammy Eppel (www.eppel.net) is a Venezuela-based journalist who tracks government-sponsored<br />
antisemitism. Eppel was a correspondent for World Press<br />
Review magazine and worldpress.org, and columnist for El Universal. He is <strong>the</strong><br />
founder and president of Madre Maria Luisa Casar (www.madreluisa.org), a member<br />
of Venezuelan Jewish community (CAIV), and director of DDHH of B’nai<br />
B’rith Venezuela.
Tarjeta Postal de Venezuela<br />
Sammy Eppel*<br />
La presencia de judíos en America Latina es de vieja data y comenzó<br />
en el periodo colonial. A medida que la región se desarrollo también los<br />
números de Judíos. Algunos participaron en los movimientos independentistas<br />
de los siglos 18 y 19. En mi país Venezuela, un judío en la isla de<br />
Curazao, Mordechai Ricardo le dio cobijo a la familia de Simon Bolívar<br />
durante un periodo de exilio. Con el paso del tiempo America Latina se<br />
convirtió en el hogar de casi un millón de judíos, donde en general fueron<br />
bien recibidos, tuvieron la oportunidad de fundar comunidades religiosas y<br />
contribuir al desarrollo y mejoramiento de sus respectivos países. El pueblo<br />
Latino Americano que surgió de la mezcla de la población nativa, los<br />
negros esclavos y la inmigración blanca es conocido por su tolerancia y<br />
respeto, por lo tanto no es de extrañar que se le mencione como la Raza<br />
Cósmica. Bajo esas circunstancias el antisemitismo fue mínimo. Una notable<br />
diferencia pudiese ser Argentina que tiene gran similitud con países<br />
Europeos y que importo algunos de los prejuicios del Viejo continente. Los<br />
Judíos Latino Americanos que por generaciones han vivido en sus respectivos<br />
países están tan bien integrados que por ejemplo, un mexicano de fe<br />
Judía se considera primero totalmente mexicano, lo mismo aplica para los<br />
otros países del continente.<br />
Habiendo dicho lo anterior, parecería incongruente que yo hubiese<br />
declarado en septiembre 2006 en Budapest, en la conferencia sobre<br />
antisemitismo de la Universidad de Tel Aviv que “por primera vez en la<br />
historia moderna tenemos antisemitismo de estado en el hemisferio occidental”,<br />
refiriéndome al Nuevo antisemitismo político que ha tomado<br />
forma en Venezuela. No entrare en los detalles de los cientos de actos<br />
antisemitas promovidos por el régimen de Hugo Chávez, ya han sido<br />
profusamente presentados en diferentes conferencias internacionales.<br />
Uno de esos eventos ocurrió el 20 de Enero de 2009 con la publicación<br />
en la principal pagina Web del régimen de una “hoja de ruta” para atacar a<br />
los judíos en Venezuela, escrita por un profesor de la Universidad Bolivariana<br />
y prominente miembro del PSUV, partido político de Chávez. Donde<br />
menciona como “blanco” especial a la sinagoga principal de caracas, la cual<br />
fue desecrada 10 días después (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1L34I7<br />
TFws) Increíblemente esa persona no fue llamada a declarar en las investigaciones,<br />
todo lo contrario, desfilo como un héroe de la revolución por<br />
todos los medios del estado.<br />
Uno de los últimos eventos merece especial atención: El 4 de abril de<br />
181
182 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:181<br />
2011, la directora de una radio oficial del gobierno, Cristina González, le<br />
dedico su programa diario a la lectura y recomendación a los oyentes al<br />
estudio de los “PROTOCOLOS DE LOS SABIOS DE SION”, aseverando<br />
que tal escrito había sido aprobado en Basilea en 1897 durante la<br />
celebración del primer congreso sionista y finalizando con la típica acusación<br />
que presenta a una conspiración judía como los causante de todos los<br />
males del mundo pasados y presentes. Si le sumamos el irrestricto apoyo a<br />
los más radicales países musulmanes y sus grupos terroristas a la gran<br />
influencia vía Petro dólares que Chávez detenta sobre muchos países de<br />
nuestra región, es obvio que los Latino Americanos de fe Judía se enfrentan<br />
a un terrorífico e incierto futuro.<br />
*Sammy Eppel (www.eppel.net) es periodista basado Venezuela. Él era correspondiente<br />
para el compartimiento y worldpress.org, columnista de la revisión de<br />
la prensa del mundo para el universal del El. Él es fundador y presidente de Madre<br />
Maria Luisa Casar (www.madreluisa.org) un miembro de la comunidad judia<br />
venezolana (CAIV) y del director de DDHH de B’nai B’rith Venezuela. Desde<br />
2004 él estudia antisemitismo con apoyo dell Gobierno.
A French Intifada<br />
Nidra Poller*<br />
A process described by some as <strong>the</strong> Islamization of Europe, by o<strong>the</strong>rs<br />
as <strong>the</strong> failure of Europeans to integrate Muslim immigrants, has reached a<br />
breaking point in France. One of <strong>the</strong> most troubling manifestations of this<br />
discord is <strong>the</strong> development of a particular type of violence that is more than<br />
<strong>the</strong> sum of its parts. A sampling of this year’s news reports reads like a<br />
catalogue of stomping, stabbing, shooting, torching, and sacking; attacks on<br />
teachers, policemen, firemen, old ladies, and modest retirees; turf wars, tribal<br />
fights, murder over women, over attitude, over nothing; dead youths,<br />
murderous youths, bodies scattered across a national battlefield.<br />
Is <strong>the</strong>re a connection between <strong>the</strong> endless series of seemingly disparate<br />
criminal incidents and markers openly displayed in insurrectional riots and<br />
demonstrations—keffiyeh face masks, Hezbollah flags, intifada slogans,<br />
Islamic chants? A general French tendency to withhold information and a<br />
deliberate decision to avoid ethnic and religious symbols leads to white<br />
noise coverage of criminality. Names, photos, and background information<br />
about perpetrators, suspects, and victims are usually suppressed, especially<br />
those that might create a negative image of Muslims.<br />
Yet <strong>the</strong>re is ample evidence that immigration has brought specifically<br />
Islamic antipathy to Jews, contempt for Western values, and o<strong>the</strong>r antisocial<br />
attitudes reinforced by religious zeal and aggravated by <strong>the</strong> clash between<br />
an authoritarian family structure and permissive French society. Many second-<br />
and third-generation French-born Muslims, anxious to separate <strong>the</strong>mselves<br />
from a “French” identity <strong>the</strong>y reject, are no less vulnerable to <strong>the</strong>se<br />
influences than recent immigrants.<br />
A supposedly reassuring “it’s not Chicago” occasionally tacked on at<br />
<strong>the</strong> end of a report about a lawless neighborhood adds to <strong>the</strong> confusion. In<br />
fact, it is not Chicago but more like Algiers, Jenin, or Bamako.<br />
GAZA ON THE SEINE<br />
“We don’t want to import <strong>the</strong> Mideast conflict.” These soothing words<br />
were repeated by officials from Left to Right every time Muslim rage over<br />
supposed Zionist persecution of Palestinians was “avenged” by violence<br />
against Jews in France, notably <strong>the</strong> countless attacks against Jews tallied<br />
since <strong>the</strong> outbreak in September 2000 of <strong>the</strong> “al-Aqsa intifada.” Initially<br />
dismissed as “insults and bullying,” <strong>the</strong> worst wave of anti-Jewish aggression<br />
since World War II was subsequently attributed to <strong>the</strong> quirky import of<br />
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184 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:183<br />
a “foreign bug” that troubled harmonious relations between local Jewish<br />
and Muslim communities. Meanwhile, <strong>the</strong> media were importing <strong>the</strong> conflict<br />
with all <strong>the</strong>ir might, pro-Palestinian nongovernmental organizations<br />
were agitating, and peace marches against <strong>the</strong> Iraq war blossomed into<br />
punitive actions against Jews.<br />
Though ethnic and religious statistics are prohibited in France, it is<br />
estimated to have <strong>the</strong> largest populations of Muslims, anywhere from five<br />
to ten million, and Jews, around 550,000, in Western Europe. Over half of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jewish population is Sephardic, mainly refugees from North Africa. The<br />
Muslim population, most of which arrived since <strong>the</strong> early 1970s, is primarily<br />
from <strong>the</strong> Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa with large contingents from<br />
Turkey, smaller communities from <strong>the</strong> rest of <strong>the</strong> Muslim world, and a<br />
growing number of converts. The ethnic or religious identities and underlying<br />
motives of individuals who attack Jews in France are no more mysterious<br />
than those of jihadists who strike elsewhere, from <strong>the</strong> smooth World<br />
Trade Center terrorists to <strong>the</strong> bungling Times Square bomber, and tens of<br />
thousands of <strong>the</strong> same stripe. A French Muslim thug does not bash <strong>the</strong> head<br />
of a French Jew because he cannot vent his rage against anIsraeli: His feet,<br />
fists, iron bar, and knife, in fact, slash <strong>the</strong> false distinction between anti-<br />
Zionism and antisemitism.<br />
In May 2004, tens of thousands of mostly Jewish marchers protesting<br />
terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and assaults on Jews in France<br />
chanted “Synagogues brûlées, République en danger (torched synagogues,<br />
endangered republic).” 1 Today, when <strong>the</strong> situation of French Jews has jelled<br />
into an uneasy truce—with a slow but steady decrease in population, sustained<br />
immigration to Israel, and avoidance when possible of heavily Muslim<br />
neighborhoods—<strong>the</strong> French republic is in danger as <strong>the</strong> anti-Jewish<br />
thuggery has been extended to <strong>the</strong> general population, <strong>the</strong> “dirty Frenchies”<br />
and “filthy whities.” France’s politique arabe (pro-Arab policy) has been<br />
unwittingly transposed to <strong>the</strong> domestic scene. The twisted logic and adulterated<br />
ethics devised to blame Israel for failing to bring peace on earth has<br />
come back to haunt <strong>the</strong> French. A compassionate discourse that excuses<br />
Palestinian atrocities against Israeli civilians as a reaction to “injustice” also<br />
excuses French domestic criminality as payback for colonization, discrimination,<br />
exclusion, unemployment, and police harassment. Confusion<br />
between avowed genocidal intentions and elusive legitimate aspirations—a<br />
Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel—breeds confusion<br />
at home between insurrectional thugs and frustrated but law-abiding immigrants.<br />
The “disproportionate reaction” accusation played like <strong>the</strong> ace of<br />
1. Pierre Birnbaum, “Le recul de l’État fort et la nouvelle mobilisation<br />
antisémite dans la France contemporaine,” Pôle Sud, November 2004, 15-29.
2011] A FRENCH INTIFADA 185<br />
spades against Israel turns into a joker when riot police are portrayed as<br />
Robocops oppressing a “Palestinized” immigrant population. Having expropriated<br />
<strong>the</strong> moral high ground by rough riding over <strong>the</strong> heads of Israeli<br />
soldiers, French authorities are disarmed in confrontations with homegrown<br />
shabab, or youths.<br />
So Palestinian terrorists are called “militants,” Gaza Flotilla jihadists<br />
are presented as “humanitarians,” and <strong>the</strong> young French criminals are<br />
“youths.” This deceivingly generic term, used to mask <strong>the</strong> identity of local<br />
Maghrebi and African thugs, is a paradoxical translation of <strong>the</strong> Arabic<br />
shabab. Indeed, it is not rare to read of a “36-year-old adult youth” involved<br />
in a rumble or suspected of murder.<br />
Have French youngsters become savages? Do <strong>the</strong>y steal handbags<br />
from elderly women and kill a man who will not give <strong>the</strong>m a cigarette? Are<br />
<strong>the</strong>se <strong>the</strong> same youths who join peace marches, live ecologically, hate religion,<br />
and worship diversity? Are French youth running <strong>the</strong> drug traffic while<br />
studying for <strong>the</strong> baccalaureate exam? Do <strong>the</strong>y break into schools to kill<br />
rival dealers or stab uppity teachers? Are <strong>the</strong> French youth who sit in cafes<br />
with <strong>the</strong>ir iPhones and sunba<strong>the</strong> naked on beaches <strong>the</strong> same ones that gang<br />
up twenty to one on a man who looked twice at <strong>the</strong>ir girlfriends or complained<br />
when cut in front of in line at an amusement park? What about <strong>the</strong><br />
youthful French boy couples strolling hand in hand on rue Ste. Croix de la<br />
Bretonnerie in <strong>the</strong> Marais? Do <strong>the</strong>y meet rivals for knife fights at Paris’s<br />
north station? Hardly.<br />
During <strong>the</strong> 2005 uprising, when rioting Muslim youths torched cars<br />
and public buildings in housing projects throughout <strong>the</strong> country and clashed<br />
with <strong>the</strong> security forces trying to restore law and order, Parisians believed<br />
<strong>the</strong>y were safe inside invisible walls as fires burned on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r side of <strong>the</strong><br />
ring road. “It’s just <strong>the</strong> banlieue (working class suburb),” <strong>the</strong>y said. A second<br />
round of discourse about <strong>the</strong> urgent need to improve housing, infrastructure,<br />
transportation, and job opportunities circumscribed <strong>the</strong> problem.<br />
Before <strong>the</strong> year was out, flames were rising in <strong>the</strong> center of <strong>the</strong> city and <strong>the</strong><br />
banlieue problems spread like wildfire. 2<br />
NAKED EYE AND MEDIA EYES<br />
Five years later, as France is being rocked by ano<strong>the</strong>r, if more diffuse<br />
and elusive, wave of violence, <strong>the</strong> discourse is similarly sterile. Newspapers<br />
string out a litany of violent incidents in a repetition of stock phrases and<br />
opaque vocabulary. Honey-voiced newscasters warble little tunes of tribal<br />
violence as if turf wars and fatal stabbings in retaliation for a look, an atti-<br />
2. TCS Daily, Public Broadcasting Service, September 20, 2005.
186 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:183<br />
tude, or a woman were all in a day’s work. Bucolic place names redolent<br />
with memories of Impressionist boating parties are now <strong>the</strong> sites of bloody<br />
murder. Fatal stabbings in schools named after resistance heroes are attributed<br />
to <strong>the</strong> influence of video games and a hunger for consumer products<br />
stimulated by capitalism. A small sample paints <strong>the</strong> grim picture:<br />
• January 14, 2010: Adrien, an 18-year-old from Sannois (Val<br />
d’Oise), is savagely murdered by a gang of youths armed with<br />
sticks, knives, golf clubs, and a Japanese saber. He tried to find<br />
refuge in a car repair shop, but <strong>the</strong> manager, who was ordered out,<br />
stood by helplessly as <strong>the</strong> youths beat and stabbed Adrien to death.<br />
Subsequent reports reveal that <strong>the</strong> murder was <strong>the</strong> last act in a day<br />
of fights between two groups. The victim’s distraught mo<strong>the</strong>r<br />
berates <strong>the</strong> youths for making trouble and giving <strong>the</strong> neighborhood<br />
a bad name, yet blames <strong>the</strong>ir aggression on police harassment. 3<br />
• January 23: A “26-year-old young man” stabbed to death is found<br />
in <strong>the</strong> street in <strong>the</strong> Orgemont project at Epinay-sur-Seine (Seine<br />
Saint-Denis). A suspect turned himself in, yet <strong>the</strong> circumstances<br />
have not been elucidated. That same day, four people are wounded<br />
by BB guns, in a fight in Tremblay en France (Seine Saint-Denis),<br />
again without elucidation. 4 And a 16-year-old girl in Saint Gratien<br />
(Val d’Oise) is severely beaten by her two bro<strong>the</strong>rs and strict Muslim<br />
parents for chatting on <strong>the</strong> Internet; doctors fear she will lose an<br />
eye. 5<br />
• January 31: A gang fight involving a hundred youths, some armed<br />
with knives, takes place in <strong>the</strong> Boissy-Saint-Léger RERcommuter<br />
train station, apparently connected to a hip-hop concert. 6<br />
• February 6: A 17-year-old youth is stabbed to death near <strong>the</strong> Parc<br />
des Princes stadium in <strong>the</strong> sixteenth arrondissement of Paris. 7<br />
• February 7: Youths fight <strong>the</strong> police for two hours in Chantelouples-Vignes<br />
(Yvelines). The next day, two men “of African origin,”<br />
probably gangsters, are shot in <strong>the</strong> ninth arrondissement of Paris,<br />
and on February 20, a man is shot dead in broad daylight on rue des<br />
Pyrénées in <strong>the</strong> twentieth arrondissement. 8<br />
• February 21: In Conteville (Seine-Maritime), a 73-year-old man<br />
visiting a friend, a retired scrap-iron dealer, is killed by robbers,<br />
3. Le Parisien, February 12, 2010.<br />
4. Ibid., January 23, 2010.<br />
5. Ibid., January 23, 2010.<br />
6. Le Figaro (Paris), January 31, 2010.<br />
7. Ibid., February 6, 2010.<br />
8. Ibid., February 20, 2010.
2011] A FRENCH INTIFADA 187<br />
who broke into <strong>the</strong> home. 9<br />
What happened next? Were <strong>the</strong> circumstances elucidated? The perpetrators<br />
apprehended? Convicted? We may never know. Convinced that <strong>the</strong><br />
identity of culprits is withheld for ideological reasons, readers do <strong>the</strong> detective<br />
work with telltale clues and exasperating similarities. Youths, knives,<br />
<strong>the</strong> banlieue? Twenty against one? Drug wars? Turf wars? Gang fights? The<br />
puzzled citizen situates each incident somewhere on a line traced from <strong>the</strong><br />
intimidating rowdiness observed in public to mass revolts seen on<br />
television:<br />
• February 28: An African widow beloved by her neighbors is<br />
stabbed to death in a bank, to <strong>the</strong> horror of helpless customers and<br />
personnel. The next day, a retired couple, aged 76, are brutally<br />
murdered in <strong>the</strong>ir home in Pont-Saint-Maxence (Oise), just north of<br />
Paris. 10<br />
• March 1: A sixteen-year-old boy drowns in <strong>the</strong> Yerres River at Villeneuve-Saint-Georges<br />
(Val de Marne) trying to escape assailants<br />
who chased him as he came out of a hospital after treatmentfor<br />
injuries sustained in an earlier episode. 11<br />
• March 10: Four masked youths armed with knives and a fake gun<br />
sneak through <strong>the</strong> handicapped entrance into an amphi<strong>the</strong>ater at <strong>the</strong><br />
University of Paris XIII Villetaneuse (Seine Saint-Denis) and steal<br />
a total of nine cell phones and C= 40 from <strong>the</strong> students and<br />
professor. 12<br />
• April 3: Fifteen youths are kicked off <strong>the</strong> tramway in <strong>the</strong> center of<br />
Grenoble. Three young men and a woman get off at <strong>the</strong> same stop.<br />
The youths harass <strong>the</strong>m, ask <strong>the</strong> woman for a cigarette; she says she<br />
does not have any more. They knock over one of <strong>the</strong> young men,<br />
stomp his head, bash him senseless, stab him, perforating his lung,<br />
and run, leaving <strong>the</strong> victim, a 24-year-old cartographer identified as<br />
Martin, hovering between life and death. 13<br />
• April 30: A man wearing a yarmulke was attacked in <strong>the</strong> center of<br />
Strasbourg by two Muslims who knocked him down with a heavy<br />
iron bar and stabbed him twice in <strong>the</strong> back. 14<br />
• July 14: Nantes: A 52-year-old handicapped man is beaten to death<br />
by four “African type” youths scrounging for cigarettes and a few<br />
9. Ibid., February 21, 2010.<br />
10. Le Figaro, February 28, 2010.<br />
11. Le Parisien, March 1, 2010.<br />
12. Le Figaro, March 10, 2010.<br />
13. Ibid., April 14, 2010.<br />
14. Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, April 30, 2010.
188 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:183<br />
euros. The police are looking for witnesses. 15<br />
• August 4: A 64-year-old man was kidnapped by three youths in<br />
front of his house, forced into a car, taken to a secluded place,<br />
beaten, and tortured until he told <strong>the</strong>m where he hid his savings—a<br />
few thousand euros. The victim was hospitalized in serious condition,<br />
his face slashed, a piece of a finger chopped off. 16<br />
LOW-INTENSITY WARFARE<br />
Wherever punk jihadists decide to stake out a territory—a street corner,<br />
a park bench, a place in line, or a housing project—<strong>the</strong>y punish intruders<br />
with merciless violence. A young couple living in <strong>the</strong> center of <strong>the</strong><br />
southwestern city of Perpignan who dared to protest <strong>the</strong> ear-splitting noise<br />
of motorcycle rodeos under <strong>the</strong>ir windows in <strong>the</strong> middle of <strong>the</strong> night almost<br />
paid with <strong>the</strong>ir lives. Fifteen youths shouting, “We’re going to kill you,”<br />
broke into <strong>the</strong>ir building, raced up <strong>the</strong> stairs, and pounded on <strong>the</strong>ir door<br />
with such force that <strong>the</strong> adjoining wall started to collapse. They scattered<br />
and ran when <strong>the</strong> police approached. 17 Youths from l’Essonne punished a<br />
family because one of <strong>the</strong> boys made a remark when <strong>the</strong>y pushed ahead of<br />
<strong>the</strong> family in line at <strong>the</strong> Asterix <strong>the</strong>me park, thirty kilometers north of Paris.<br />
They called in reinforcements, caught up with <strong>the</strong> family in <strong>the</strong> parking lot,<br />
beat up <strong>the</strong> boys, and hit <strong>the</strong>ir mo<strong>the</strong>r. 18 July 13, <strong>the</strong> eve of French Independence<br />
Day, is traditionally celebrated with dancing in <strong>the</strong> streets. Youths<br />
shooting prohibited firecracker missiles caused at least forty-seven fires. A<br />
63-year-old woman died when a missile, shot through an open window, set<br />
fire to her modest apartment. The second floor of a nineteenth arrondissement<br />
fire station, hit by missiles, went up in flames as people danced on <strong>the</strong><br />
ground floor. 19 A minor traffic accident on a highway outside Paris ended<br />
in a bloody murder because <strong>the</strong> victim, a young family man named Muhammad,<br />
asked <strong>the</strong> woman responsible for <strong>the</strong> damage to sign an insurance<br />
declaration. “You trying to act French?” she objected, before calling for<br />
help from friends from les Mureaux, a nearby project. The youths, identified<br />
in one article as “black,” arrived in force, shouting, “We’re going to<br />
kill you in front of your mo<strong>the</strong>r,” and proceeded to bash <strong>the</strong> man’s head<br />
with unrestrained savagery, killing him on <strong>the</strong> spot, in front of his family, as<br />
promised. Two of <strong>the</strong> killers were identified by name and Senegalese origin<br />
15. RTL.fr (Paris), July 14, 2010.<br />
16. Le Figaro, August 4, 2010.<br />
17. Ibid., August 3, 2010.<br />
18. Libération (Paris), May 25, 2010.<br />
19. Libération, July 14, 2010; Paris Match, July 22, 2010.
2011] A FRENCH INTIFADA 189<br />
on a Senegalese Web site. 20 Several weeks later, an American journalist<br />
investigating <strong>the</strong> problems of minorities in French housing projects was<br />
assaulted by youths in les Mureaux. Described as a 50-year-old evangelical,<br />
he was taken to a nearby hospital, unconscious. He had been given a head<br />
bashing and robbed of equipment worth more than $15,000. The circumstances<br />
have not yet been elucidated. 21<br />
ECHO CHAMBER<br />
In a transposition of <strong>the</strong> Middle East peace-process mentality, <strong>the</strong> failure<br />
of integration is blamed on France, just as <strong>the</strong> failure to create a Palestinian<br />
state is blamed on Israel. The Palestinian cause is forgiven for sixty<br />
years of aggression; delinquent immigrants are acquitted of responsibility<br />
for <strong>the</strong>ir antisocial behavior and self-destructive strategies. Hamas attacks<br />
Israel for years on end; Israel finally retaliates and gets its nose rubbed in<br />
<strong>the</strong> rubble; housing projects are dilapidated by <strong>the</strong>ir own delinquent<br />
residents, only to be displayed as proof of social injustice. International<br />
opinion looks <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r way as Hamas imposes Shari‘a law in Gaza; <strong>the</strong><br />
media close <strong>the</strong>ir eyes as thugs impose <strong>the</strong>ir law in <strong>the</strong> projects. Banlieue-<br />
Gaza-on-<strong>the</strong>-Seine for <strong>the</strong> domestic insurgents, Banlieue-Gaza-open-airprison<br />
for <strong>the</strong> compassionate choir. No matter how much is done or given, it<br />
is never enough; no matter how wild <strong>the</strong> behavior, it is always explained<br />
away. Here, <strong>the</strong>re, and everywhere, ethical boundaries are erased and logic<br />
surrenders to magical thinking. When mo<strong>the</strong>rs offer <strong>the</strong>ir children to die as<br />
shahids—martyred murderers—<strong>the</strong> very horror of <strong>the</strong>ir vengeance is held<br />
as a measure of <strong>the</strong> degree of oppression <strong>the</strong>y endure. In France, every form<br />
of brutality, including <strong>the</strong> murder of Ilan Halimi—a young French Jew kidnapped<br />
by a banlieue gang in January 2006 and tortured to death over a<br />
period of three weeks 22 —is attributed to some form of “exclusion.” 23 The<br />
unashamed antisemitism of gang leader Youssouf Fofana, a rabid Muslim<br />
Jew hater, was used to mask <strong>the</strong> motives of some twenty gang members of<br />
varied origins who participated in <strong>the</strong> crime. Lawyers for <strong>the</strong> defense organized<br />
press conferences and wrote op-eds to deny banlieue antisemitism and<br />
portray <strong>the</strong>ir clients as misguided underprivileged youths. The same reverse<br />
chronology, explained in <strong>the</strong> first week of <strong>the</strong> al-Aqsa intifada that Palestinians<br />
had gone from throwing stones to shooting guns because Israeli<br />
20. RMC.fr (Paris), June 30, 2010; Xibar (Senegal), July 6, 2010.<br />
21. Libération, July 30, 2010.<br />
22. The New York Sun, February 22, 2006.<br />
23. The Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2006; Nidra Poller, “Paris: Prisoner<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Barbarians,” Standpoint, July/August 2009; Nidra Poller, “French Justice<br />
Goes Easy on <strong>the</strong> Gang of Barbarians,” New English Review, July 11, 2009.
190 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:183<br />
forces overreacted to <strong>the</strong> initial—justified—“revolt,” now explains that<br />
banlieue youth have started shooting at <strong>the</strong> police with automatic weapons<br />
because law enforcement has gone quasi-military. Identification with <strong>the</strong><br />
Palestinian “resistance” emboldens French-born delinquents. Punk jihadists<br />
who drink alcohol, wear sweat suits, hardly ever set foot in a mosque, and<br />
cannot read <strong>the</strong> Qur’an in classic Arabic establish <strong>the</strong>ir dominion as if it<br />
were a waqf (religious endowment). No French outlet would touch <strong>the</strong><br />
“Hamas on <strong>the</strong> Seine” report by photojournalist Jean-Paul Ney, published<br />
by <strong>the</strong> French-language, Israel-based Metula News Agency on May 31,<br />
2010, describing enraged keffiyeh-masked, pro-Palestinians chanting,<br />
“Zionist sellout media,” “Jews to <strong>the</strong> ovens,” “F—k France,” “Sarkozy <strong>the</strong><br />
little Jew,” “Obama <strong>the</strong> Jew’s n___r,” repeatedly breaking police lines,<br />
determined to reach <strong>the</strong> Israeli embassy and vent <strong>the</strong>ir rage over <strong>the</strong> Gaza<br />
flotilla incident. Joined by anarchist “black blocks,” <strong>the</strong> insurgents<br />
destroyed property, threw paving stones at <strong>the</strong> police, and wreaked havoc<br />
for several hours at <strong>the</strong> Champs Elysées Circle. Ney distinctly heard orders<br />
broadcast to <strong>the</strong> riot police: “Don’t try to stop <strong>the</strong>m.” 24 The Marseille<br />
Bondy blog celebrated French Independence Day in its fashion by featuring<br />
a T-shirt emblazoned with an Algerian flag in <strong>the</strong> shape of France—<strong>the</strong><br />
spitting image of a map of Israel covered with a Palestinian flag. “Secondor<br />
third-generation immigrant youths from <strong>the</strong> Maghreb, Comores, etc.,”<br />
says a young woman identified as Sonia, “are trying to find <strong>the</strong>mselves.”<br />
The T-shirt is <strong>the</strong> answer to <strong>the</strong>ir quest. “We really have a double culture;<br />
we are both [French and Algerian].” 25 French media automatically favor <strong>the</strong><br />
o<strong>the</strong>r version of any clash involving Israel. Journalists can write with <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
eyes closed—or simply swallow what <strong>the</strong>y are fed from Agence France-<br />
Presse dispatches. The story of <strong>the</strong> clash in August 2010 on Israel’s border<br />
with Lebanon—when an Israeli officer, three Lebanese soldiers, and one<br />
Lebanese journalist were killed when Lebanese forces opened fire on Israel<br />
Defense Forces soldiers performing routine maintenance work within<br />
Israel—broke in France, of course, with <strong>the</strong> Lebanese narrative. The falsification<br />
was revealed within twenty-four hours and confirmed in full reliable<br />
detail, 26 but media alchemists turned <strong>the</strong> dirty facts into ambiguous gold. 27<br />
Why believe Israeli sources, even when corroborated by U.N. troops on <strong>the</strong><br />
scene?<br />
24. Metula News Agency (Luxembourg), May 31, 2010.<br />
25. Marseille Bondy blog, July 14, 2010.<br />
26. Ha’aretz (Tel Aviv), August 4, 2010.<br />
27. Le Figaro, August 3, 2010; Le Monde (Paris), August 4, 2010.
2011] A FRENCH INTIFADA 191<br />
HALL OF MIRRORS<br />
Given that <strong>the</strong> Muhammad al-Dura hoax—<strong>the</strong> staged death scene and<br />
subsequent martyrization of <strong>the</strong> 12-year-old Gazan allegedly killed in cold<br />
blood by Israeli soldiers on <strong>the</strong> second day of <strong>the</strong> “Aqsa intifada” 28 —was<br />
produced by Charles Enderlin, long-time Jerusalem correspondent of <strong>the</strong><br />
state-owned France 2 television channel, <strong>the</strong> French authorities understandably<br />
live in dread of a real Dura on <strong>the</strong>ir own soil, not least since <strong>the</strong> youths<br />
readily fabricate <strong>the</strong>ir own child martyrs and go on <strong>the</strong> rampage in revenge.<br />
The 2005 riots were triggered by <strong>the</strong> death of two minors who sought refuge<br />
in an electrical substation, allegedly pursued by <strong>the</strong> police, allegedly for<br />
no good reason. 29 In November 2007, several policemen were wounded by<br />
gunfire in a battle with some 200 youths in Villiers le Bel (Val d’Oise) after<br />
two youths without helmets sped down <strong>the</strong> street on a prohibited minicycle,<br />
crashed into a police car, and were killed. 30 There is no way of knowing<br />
if Abu and Adama Kamara, Ibrahim Sow, Maka Kante, and Samuel<br />
Lambalamba, sentenced in July 2010 to prison terms ranging from three to<br />
fifteen years, are innocent as <strong>the</strong>y claim, or fall guys for fellow youths; 31 it<br />
is as if <strong>the</strong> court were judging an incident that occurred in a distant foreign<br />
land. After a similar accident in <strong>the</strong> Woippy banlieue of Metz, gendarmes<br />
were pelted with stones, fourteen vehicles including a bus were torched,<br />
telephone booths and a school were sacked. These are but a few of many<br />
incidents where youths in stolen cars or motorcycles, running away from<br />
<strong>the</strong> police, crash and kill <strong>the</strong>mselves. Yet, no matter how far-fetched <strong>the</strong><br />
version of <strong>the</strong> “aggrieved” party, it always takes precedence over <strong>the</strong> official<br />
version in French media. Any police investigation is, by <strong>the</strong> media’s<br />
definition, suspect. The police, media suggest, should not engage in hot<br />
pursuit. One sympathizer explained in front of TV cameras that <strong>the</strong> police<br />
knew <strong>the</strong> names of <strong>the</strong> joy riders in <strong>the</strong> stolen car and could have let <strong>the</strong>m<br />
go home and <strong>the</strong>n arrested <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong> next day. After all, who cares if <strong>the</strong><br />
boys cause a fatal accident in <strong>the</strong> meantime? The media offered a brief tour<br />
when <strong>the</strong> police raided a housing project in <strong>the</strong> Parisian banlieue of Sevran<br />
(Seine Saint Denis) controlled by drug dealers. Graffiti arrows indicate<br />
“shops”; residents tell how <strong>the</strong>y pass through checkpoints to access <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
buildings, and TV cameramen were lucky to escape with <strong>the</strong>ir footage.<br />
28. Philippe Karsenty, “We Need to Expose <strong>the</strong> Muhammad al-Dura Hoax,”<br />
Middle East Quarterly, Fall 2008, 57-65; Nidra Poller, “Myth, Fact, and <strong>the</strong> Al-<br />
Dura Affair,” Commentary, September 2005.<br />
29. The Guardian (London), November 6, 2005.<br />
30. The New York Times, November 28, 2007.<br />
31. Le Parisien, July 3, 2010.
192 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:183<br />
“Militants” responded to <strong>the</strong> raid with <strong>the</strong> now familiar torching, sacking,<br />
and shooting at policemen. Government promises to enforce <strong>the</strong> law provoke<br />
an outcry from compassionate sociologists, left-wing magistrates and<br />
mayors, and members of do-good associations who protest that “repression<br />
is not <strong>the</strong> solution.” Imposing undue restraint on <strong>the</strong> police has simply<br />
emboldened <strong>the</strong>ir adversaries. Over 5,000 were injured in <strong>the</strong> line of duty in<br />
2009, and in January-February 2010, some 1,100. 32 In recent incidents,<br />
police have been surrounded, pelted with paving stones, kicked, punched,<br />
hit on <strong>the</strong> head with hammers, humiliated, and treated like mugging victims,<br />
not agents of law enforcement. International media, relying heavily on<br />
Agence France-Presse and Associated Press wire services, have shown little<br />
interest in France’s delinquency problem. The November 2005 “intifada”<br />
was mistakenly equated with <strong>the</strong> Watts riots; <strong>the</strong> recent anti-niqab (full-face<br />
veil) law is attributed to intolerance. The grievances of minorities are taken<br />
at face value, and government efforts to enforce <strong>the</strong> law are denounced as<br />
concessions to far right extremism. In fact, and contrary to what has been<br />
written about French society, <strong>the</strong>re is no tradition of segregation or ghettoes.<br />
People are constantly in motion; public transportation carries passengers<br />
from banlieue to city centers, and neighborhoods are mixed. The recent<br />
ghettoization of certain housing projects—always incomplete—is a function<br />
of <strong>the</strong>ir criminalization. When <strong>the</strong> caïds (criminal bosses) rule <strong>the</strong><br />
roost, those who can, leave; those who cannot, submit. It’s a small-time<br />
jihad.<br />
THE GANGSTER AS VICTIM<br />
The holdup of a gambling casino in Uriage on <strong>the</strong> night of July 15,<br />
2010, would have been one more item on <strong>the</strong> long list of unresolved crimes<br />
if <strong>the</strong> police in hot pursuit had not been led deep into <strong>the</strong> gangsters’ turf in<br />
Villeneuve en Isère, a housing project in <strong>the</strong> banlieue of Grenoble. The two<br />
gangsters, wearing bulletproof vests, opened fire with automatic weapons.<br />
The police returned fire, killing one with a shot to <strong>the</strong> head. His accomplice<br />
escaped. All hell broke loose in <strong>the</strong> project. The “victim” this time was not<br />
a youngster on a motorcycle but ra<strong>the</strong>r a 27-year-old repeat offender, Karim<br />
Boudouda, already convicted of three separate incidents of armed robbery<br />
but still on <strong>the</strong> loose. Ninety cars were torched <strong>the</strong> first night, twenty <strong>the</strong><br />
next night. Armored cars, commandoes, and riot police were brought in, but<br />
Boudouda’s friends fired on <strong>the</strong> police while his mo<strong>the</strong>r announced her<br />
intention to sue <strong>the</strong> police. The owner of a bar, said to be Karim<br />
Boudouda’s cousin, was arrested after an arms cache and shooting range<br />
32. Le Figaro, March 30, 2010; L’Express (Paris), August 13, 2010.
2011] A FRENCH INTIFADA 193<br />
were discovered on <strong>the</strong> premises. Several people were detained and released<br />
in connection with <strong>the</strong> search for Boudouda’s accomplice, whose name and<br />
description were not made public. In <strong>the</strong> first week of September, <strong>the</strong><br />
alleged accomplice, repeat offender Monsif Ghabbour, was finally located,<br />
arrested, and arraigned, <strong>the</strong>n immediately released under supervision. The<br />
police are outraged, and <strong>the</strong> prosecutorhas appealed <strong>the</strong> release. Some<br />
officers directly involved in <strong>the</strong> shootout were transferred to o<strong>the</strong>r regions<br />
or sent out to pasture in what looked like a shameful retreat. Heady with<br />
victory, Karim’s men pursued <strong>the</strong>m with personalized death threats. 33<br />
Eleven days later in Saint Aignan, Luigi B. crashed through a barrier,<br />
dragging a gendarme on <strong>the</strong> hood of his car for 500 meters, <strong>the</strong>n pretended<br />
to stop at a second barrier, suddenly sped up, heading straight for two gendarmes.<br />
One of <strong>the</strong>m shot at <strong>the</strong> speeding car as it whizzed by. When<br />
Luigi’s body was found ten kilometers fur<strong>the</strong>r on, his gens du voyage community<br />
(nomads of various origins, some now sedentary) went on <strong>the</strong> rampage.<br />
Vandals sacked a police station, terrified a baker, chopped down a<br />
dozen trees, and attacked public buildings in half a dozen different localities<br />
in <strong>the</strong> following days. Sociologist Michel Wieviorka analyzed <strong>the</strong> two situations<br />
with typical French rhetoric: “The nomads don’t expect anything from<br />
society; <strong>the</strong> banlieue’s expectations are disappointed.” He added, “It’s territorial,<br />
not ethnic or religious.” 34 No one in Saint Aignan expected to be shot<br />
in <strong>the</strong> head as was <strong>the</strong> Israeli officer in a Lebanese incident for cutting<br />
down a dozen trees on <strong>the</strong> Israeli side of <strong>the</strong> border. The familiar pattern of<br />
retreat on <strong>the</strong> home front was matched with reversals in foreign lands. In<br />
August, al-Qaeda in <strong>the</strong> Islamic Maghreb threatened to punish “<strong>the</strong> treasonous<br />
apostates, <strong>the</strong> children and agents of Christian France . . . [and]<br />
Sarkozy—<strong>the</strong> enemy of Allah” for a bungled attempt to rescue a French<br />
hostage—beheaded one week later—in Mali. 35 Two French reporters have<br />
been hostages in Afghanistan since December 2009. Lebanese villagers surrounded,<br />
disarmed, stoned, and threatened to kill members of a French U.N.<br />
contingent as if <strong>the</strong>y were policemen in a French housing project. Contrary<br />
to expectations, <strong>the</strong> government did not slip away for <strong>the</strong> August vacation,<br />
hoping heads would cool in Villeneuve en Isère by September. The president,<br />
flanked by Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux and Immigration Minister<br />
Eric Besson, stepped into <strong>the</strong> ring, announced a series of tough<br />
measures, and dared to link crime with immigration. Not all crime, not all<br />
immigrants. But he broke <strong>the</strong> taboo, simply by stating <strong>the</strong> obvious and followed<br />
with a promise of harsh measures for criminals who shoot at <strong>the</strong><br />
33. Le Figaro, July 19, September 3, 2010.<br />
34. Le Point (Paris), July 19, 2010; France 5 TV, July 20, 2010.<br />
35. Reuters, August 16, 2010; Le Parisien, August 17, 2010.
194 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:183<br />
police. Moreover, naturalized cop killers will lose <strong>the</strong>ir citizenship. Tax<br />
officials will be sent into <strong>the</strong> projects to crack down on people living in<br />
luxury while on <strong>the</strong> dole. The drug market will be dismantled. Severe delinquency,<br />
polygamy, and female circumcision will also be grounds for withdrawal<br />
of nationality (this provision was subsequently withdrawn). Illegal<br />
Roma camps will be dismantled, and illegal residents sent back to Romania,<br />
Bulgaria, etc. 36<br />
Suddenly, <strong>the</strong> media came forth with in-depth reports on Villeneuve en<br />
Isère, developed thirty years ago as a model of social harmony with public<br />
and private housing nestled side by side in a beautifully landscaped setting<br />
outside <strong>the</strong> college town of Grenoble. What went wrong? The crisis, officials<br />
said, caused deterioration; middle-class property owners left. More to<br />
<strong>the</strong> point, it was revealed that Boudouda was a “lieutenant” in one of <strong>the</strong><br />
crime families. The current crop of Maghrebi kingpins are more ruthless<br />
and savage than earlier generations of Grenoble gangsters—Italian Mafiosi<br />
followed by French-Italian neo-Mafiosi. 37 Their operations are all <strong>the</strong> more<br />
brutal for being poorly planned and executed. They settle misunderstandings<br />
with sequestration, torture, or bursts of automatic gunfire.<br />
XENOPHOBIA, “ISLAMOPHOBIA,” OR DHIMMITUDE?<br />
The government’s straight talk has shaken France to <strong>the</strong> timbers. President<br />
Sarkozy was accused of cynically fishing for right-leaning-populist<br />
Front National voters, replaying <strong>the</strong> disgraceful Vichy past collaboration,<br />
separating <strong>the</strong> French-French from <strong>the</strong> foreign-French (akin to death-camp<br />
selections), and trying to draw attention away from his administration’s perfidious<br />
scandals. 38 In <strong>the</strong> rush to condemn <strong>the</strong> government for saying <strong>the</strong><br />
unspeakable, critics have bli<strong>the</strong>ly stampeded over <strong>the</strong> distinction between a<br />
misguided 12-year-old bicycle thief and a 27-year-old repeat offender who<br />
shoots at policemenwith an automatic weapon.<br />
Not a day goes by without a barrage of statements condemning <strong>the</strong><br />
president. Former Socialist prime minister Michel Rocard—remembered<br />
for declaring in <strong>the</strong> early 1980s that “France cannot take in all <strong>the</strong> world’s<br />
misery” 39 —stuck <strong>the</strong> Nazi label on President Sarkozy and accused him of<br />
fomenting civil war. Every opposition leader, big or small, took up <strong>the</strong> keyboard<br />
or microphone to vilify <strong>the</strong> president in <strong>the</strong> most emphatic terms. No<br />
Holocaust metaphor is left unturned. Deporting illegal Romas is equated<br />
36. Nicolas Sarkozy, Public address in Grenoble, July 30, 2010.<br />
37. Le Figaro, August 5, 2010.<br />
38. See, for example, The Herald Scotland (Glasgow), July 25, 2010.<br />
39. Associated Press, November 15, 2002.
2011] A FRENCH INTIFADA 195<br />
with roundups of Jews in <strong>the</strong> 1940s. The rhetoric has come full circle:<br />
“immigrants” (meaning Arab-Muslim and sub-Saharan Africans) are<br />
today’s Jews—when in fact <strong>the</strong> people who are now persecuting Jews<br />
belong to that lawless class loosely defined as “immigrants.”<br />
The media are giving wall-to-wall coverage to <strong>the</strong> president’s most<br />
severe critics while limiting <strong>the</strong> defense of strict law enforcement to officials,<br />
giving <strong>the</strong> impression that <strong>the</strong> government stands alone—<strong>the</strong> 2 percent<br />
increase in approval ratings for <strong>the</strong> president and Prime Minister<br />
François Fillon notwithstanding. Dominique de Villepin, <strong>the</strong> president’s<br />
arch-rival within <strong>the</strong> governing Union for a Popular Movement party,<br />
accused <strong>the</strong> president of “transgression.” 40 With his customary grandiloquence,<br />
Villepin declared that Sarkozy has stained <strong>the</strong> French flag with<br />
shame. 41<br />
Can <strong>the</strong> truth about <strong>the</strong> Maghrebi gangsters of Villeneuve en Isère be<br />
extrapolated to o<strong>the</strong>r banlieues, o<strong>the</strong>r crimes, o<strong>the</strong>r nights of flame and<br />
destruction? Are law-abiding citizens, Muslims included, supposed to grin<br />
and bear it? If this criminality is not strictly delinquent but is ra<strong>the</strong>r allied<br />
with a wider assault on Western values and way of life, French society must<br />
look it in <strong>the</strong> face. Thugs, <strong>the</strong> lumpenproletariat, and juvenile delinquents<br />
are easily enrolled as foot soldiers in totalitarian enterprises. These not-so-<br />
French, lawless youths play <strong>the</strong>ir role in a conflict that radiates outward<br />
from a flash point in <strong>the</strong> Middle East. While disillusioned advocates of law<br />
and order think that none of <strong>the</strong> tough measures announced will ever be<br />
applied, defenders of <strong>the</strong> downtrodden swear that every criminal case<br />
involving immigrants is deliberately highlighted to foment hostility and justify<br />
repression.<br />
Such accusations may seem plausible as long as <strong>the</strong> issues are debated<br />
in <strong>the</strong> abstract. But concrete realities are stubborn. Thirty-five-year-old Lies<br />
Hebbaj came to public attention in April 2010 when he called a press conference<br />
in Nantes to contest a traffic ticket issued to his wife for driving<br />
with obstructed vision in a niqab. 42 He has since been charged with welfare<br />
fraud, financial irregularities, violation of labor law, and rape and assault on<br />
a wife he repudiated in 2007. It is alleged that Hebbaj, who has four niqabclad<br />
wives and sixteen children, has control of annual receipts of more than<br />
C= 300,000 in welfare payments, a third of which is fraudulently granted to<br />
his polygamous wives, declared as single mo<strong>the</strong>rs. Should he be divested of<br />
<strong>the</strong> French nationality he acquired by marrying a Frenchwoman? 43 Two<br />
40. Le Figaro, August 24, 2010.<br />
41. France 3 TV, August 25, 2010.<br />
42. The Daily Telegraph, June 3, 2010.<br />
43. Le Figaro, May 4, June 10, 2010.
196 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:183<br />
veiled women, lost in yards of black fabric, appeared on television to complain<br />
that Hebbaj—<strong>the</strong>ir husband and companion respectively, and <strong>the</strong><br />
fa<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong>ir children—is a scapegoat. Sarkozy’s critics say <strong>the</strong> Hebbaj<br />
case was pulled out of a hat to serve <strong>the</strong> government’s nefarious projects.<br />
But it is Hebbaj who came to public attention with a controversial press<br />
conference. Why, when <strong>the</strong>re is ample evidence of polygamy and welfare<br />
fraud, did he feel invulnerable? Why do <strong>the</strong> bandits of Villeneuve en Isère<br />
think <strong>the</strong>y are more powerful than <strong>the</strong> police?<br />
They feel invulnerable because <strong>the</strong>y are not apprehended or punished<br />
and, fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, <strong>the</strong>y cannot be criticized or identified without raising a<br />
hue and cry. Hundreds of punk jihadists screaming “F__k France” can go<br />
amok, but no one has <strong>the</strong> right to say <strong>the</strong>y belong to a specific group or<br />
current. No one is even allowed to speculate on what <strong>the</strong>y might have in<br />
common with o<strong>the</strong>r lawbreakers—unless one portrays <strong>the</strong>m as hapless victims<br />
of injustice.<br />
CONCLUSION<br />
Does <strong>the</strong> French government have <strong>the</strong> ways and means or will to<br />
impose law and order? Every law enforcement effort entails <strong>the</strong> danger of<br />
igniting a generalized insurrection on an overwhelming scale. It is easy to<br />
scold President Sarkozy as did The New York Times, 44 parroting <strong>the</strong> French<br />
leftists or, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, mocking <strong>the</strong> president with a long list of<br />
unfulfilled law-and-order promises. But it would be wiser to ask why<br />
authorities in this western European nation with so much to lose keep mollifying<br />
antagonistic elements in <strong>the</strong> vain hope of avoiding a confrontation.<br />
And how is this any different from <strong>the</strong> free world hiding under <strong>the</strong><br />
cover of peace processes while Iran moves inexorably to <strong>the</strong> point of no<br />
return? The Islamic factor in both domestic strife and international conflicts<br />
is denied. Genocidal intentions inscribed in <strong>the</strong> charters of Hamas and <strong>the</strong><br />
Palestine Liberation Organization, Muslim Bro<strong>the</strong>rhood documents,<br />
mosque sermons, and statements by Arab and Muslim leaders, as well as<br />
<strong>the</strong> Qur’an and <strong>the</strong> Hadith, are ignored. Criminal acts and jihadist actions<br />
are treated as miscellaneous aberrations. Coherent evidence is smashed into<br />
a thousand pieces and thrown to <strong>the</strong> winds, and thinkers who try to put <strong>the</strong><br />
puzzle toge<strong>the</strong>r are slapped down.<br />
There are no images of <strong>the</strong> brutal attacks cited here, or of <strong>the</strong> hundreds<br />
of o<strong>the</strong>rs committed day in and day out. France’s video surveillance network<br />
is underdeveloped, in part because of opposition from socialist may-<br />
44. “Xenophobia: Casting Out <strong>the</strong> Un-French,” International Herald Tribune,<br />
August 5, 2010.
2011] A FRENCH INTIFADA 197<br />
ors and civil libertarians. But one can find a mirror image of <strong>the</strong> savage<br />
gestures, primitive weapons, and murderous rage of those youths in video<br />
footage from <strong>the</strong> latest Middle East reality show—<strong>the</strong> Gaza flotilla. The<br />
free world’s Everyman is a deliberately unprepared soldier rappelling to <strong>the</strong><br />
decks of <strong>the</strong> Mavi Marmara.<br />
French radio reported that Nicolas Sarkozy urged Benjamin Netanyahu<br />
to exercise restraint after <strong>the</strong> August 2010 sneak attack from Lebanon. Even<br />
if this is false, it remains plausible, and would show that, for all his tough<br />
talk, <strong>the</strong> president has not yet grasped <strong>the</strong> connection between his weakness<br />
against <strong>the</strong> insurgency in France and misguided peacemaking in <strong>the</strong> Middle<br />
East.<br />
*Nidra Poller is an American novelist and journalist who has lived in Paris since<br />
1972. A collection of her short stories, Karimi Hotel et autres nouvelles d’Africa,<br />
will soon be published by l’Harmattan.
Israel’s Intent<br />
Yehuda Bauer*<br />
What happened in Palestine in 1948 was a war between two ethnic/<br />
national groups about a piece of land. A typical ethnic/national fight, one<br />
that humanity has unfortunately witnessed innumerable times. To refer to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Convention 1 (or any o<strong>the</strong>r attempt at defining genocide) in cases like<br />
this creates difficulties. Was <strong>the</strong>re an intent to annihilate <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r group?<br />
On <strong>the</strong> Arab side, certainly yes, and anyone who reads Arabic or has access<br />
to <strong>the</strong> propaganda of <strong>the</strong> time will have to agree. Incitement to genocide is,<br />
according to <strong>the</strong> Convention, part of <strong>the</strong> crime of genocide, as we all know.<br />
But <strong>the</strong> intent was not translated into action, because <strong>the</strong> Arabs lost <strong>the</strong> war.<br />
On <strong>the</strong> Jewish side, <strong>the</strong>re were voices that advocated what we would now<br />
call ethnic cleansing, not with <strong>the</strong> intent to annihilate <strong>the</strong> Palestinian Arab<br />
population (<strong>the</strong> term Palestinians was not <strong>the</strong>n in use) but with <strong>the</strong> intent to<br />
settle Jews instead of <strong>the</strong>m, and thus cause grave physical and mental harm.<br />
Benny Morris and o<strong>the</strong>rs have shown that <strong>the</strong> official Jewish leadership was<br />
of two minds, and issued contradictory orders. Part of <strong>the</strong> Arab population<br />
in what was to become Israel were evicted; an example is Ramlah/Ramle.<br />
Part fled as civilian populations do in times of war—in this case, some in<br />
<strong>the</strong> expectation of returning after victory; some simply in panic and fear of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jews who were presented, in Arab propaganda, as devils in human<br />
form; and some because <strong>the</strong>y were forced by Arab commanders to do so, as<br />
in <strong>the</strong> area around Mishmar Haemek, Beersheva. O<strong>the</strong>rs were asked by <strong>the</strong><br />
Jews to stay, and refused: Tiberias, Haifa, Jaffa. Part were simply left alone,<br />
or were permitted to stay if <strong>the</strong>y chose, and did: Galilee, part of <strong>the</strong> Jaffa<br />
Arab population, part of <strong>the</strong> Haifa Arab population, and <strong>the</strong> same in Lod/<br />
Lydda. In part, <strong>the</strong> intent depended on <strong>the</strong> local Jewish commanders. For<br />
example, a Jewish commander who hailed from South Africa gave an order<br />
to <strong>the</strong> inhabitants of E-Rameh in <strong>the</strong> Lower Galilee to get out; a command<br />
car with an officer sent by <strong>the</strong> commander of <strong>the</strong> “Front” (Brigadier Moshe<br />
Carmel), by <strong>the</strong>n ensconced in Nazareth, threatened to shoot <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
officer if he did not rescind <strong>the</strong> order. But yet ano<strong>the</strong>r officer managed to<br />
evict, brutally, <strong>the</strong> inhabitants of ano<strong>the</strong>r large village, Hunin, in <strong>the</strong> Upper<br />
Galilee. Does all this amount to ethnic cleansing à la Kosovo? Was <strong>the</strong>re an<br />
intent to annihilate a group as such by eviction/deportation/expulsion? Ben<br />
Gurion wanted to have as few Arabs as possible in Israel, but he never<br />
initiated a policy that would lead to that result; a majority of <strong>the</strong> military<br />
1. Convention on <strong>the</strong> Prevention and Punishment of <strong>the</strong> Crime of Genocide,<br />
New York, December 9, 1948.<br />
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commanders (Avidan, Sadeh, Carmel, and <strong>the</strong> CoS Yadin) opposed this.<br />
Some didn’t, and expelled Arabs—Alon, Even. In <strong>the</strong> few cases where<br />
Arabs had <strong>the</strong> upper hand, nothing remained of <strong>the</strong> Jewish villages (Gush<br />
Etzion, Kalia).<br />
I think academics should be careful. There is a difference between conflict<br />
and genocide. Kashmir is a conflict, not a genocide. Sri Lanka could<br />
have become a genocide, but didn’t; it remained a bloody, horrible conflict.<br />
Chechnya is a frightful conflict that could, and did, almost become a genocide,<br />
but caused many thousands of casualties. In Palestine/Israel, <strong>the</strong>re<br />
were two massacres: Deir Yassin, with more than 100 victims (no one has<br />
exact figures), committed by a Jewish group; and <strong>the</strong> medical Jewish convoy<br />
to Mount Scopus, with 46 doctors and nurses, committed by Arabs.<br />
Nei<strong>the</strong>r was a genocidal act. These were massacres, though compared with<br />
Kashmir, for instance, or Zimbabwe, or <strong>the</strong> mass murder in Hama in Syria<br />
in 1982 (some 10.000 civilian dead), or Chechnya, <strong>the</strong>y pale into relative<br />
insignificance. If we are humanists, however, we have to deal with every<br />
case like this, whe<strong>the</strong>r we talk about tens, or hundreds, or thousands; <strong>the</strong>y<br />
were live people who wanted to live. But one has to keep proportions,<br />
never<strong>the</strong>less.<br />
The 1948 war was a war—which is a tautology, but tautologies have<br />
<strong>the</strong> advantage of being true. It was, and continues to be, a bloody conflict.<br />
Israeli invasions of <strong>the</strong> Lebanon in 1982 and 2006 were incursions causing<br />
a large number of civilian casualties on both sides, but mostly on <strong>the</strong> Lebanese<br />
side; you can argue until you are blue in <strong>the</strong> face about who was<br />
responsible, and where right and wrong are. But people were killed, so that<br />
makes it a conflict. Conflicts can, and sometimes do, deteriorate into genocidal<br />
situations; genocidal situations can, and sometimes do, become conflicts.<br />
Conflicts can, sometimes, usually, mostly be settled. Genocides have<br />
to be prevented, stopped. There is a difference. The 1948 war was, in my<br />
view, a typical case of a conflict. It could have become a genocide, on<br />
ei<strong>the</strong>r side. It didn’t.<br />
In a conflict situation, we very rarely have a back-and-white picture. In<br />
<strong>the</strong> Arab-Israeli conflict, I think both sides are absolutely right, and that<br />
both sides are dead wrong. The moment you take one side only, you help<br />
<strong>the</strong> conflict to bleed fur<strong>the</strong>r, and increase <strong>the</strong> danger of its becoming genocidal.<br />
Should genocide scholars become involved in attempts to help settle<br />
conflicts? That, it seems to me, is up to every individual. To say, as some<br />
have implied in this current argument, that Israel is an illegitimate entity<br />
means in fact that as it is illegitimate it should be somehow abolished,<br />
which of course is a genocidal statement, because it means that <strong>the</strong> 6.2<br />
million Jews <strong>the</strong>re should be ei<strong>the</strong>r killed or expelled (or both). When you<br />
say that Palestinians have no right to <strong>the</strong>ir independence, or you want to
2011] ISRAEL’S INTENT 201<br />
perpetuate <strong>the</strong> effective Israeli rule on <strong>the</strong> West Bank, you may not be<br />
implying genocide, but you are exacerbating a conflict and making it even<br />
more insoluble than it already is. Solutions of conflict are usually, almost<br />
inevitably, messy. Different shades of gray fight it out. Nobody is satisfied<br />
at <strong>the</strong> moment when a compromise is reached; satisfaction comes much<br />
later. But messy compromises are better than people losing <strong>the</strong>ir lives.<br />
*Dr. Yehuda Bauer is a professor of Holocaust studies at <strong>the</strong> Avraham Harman<br />
Institute of Contemporary Jewry at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. A world authority<br />
on <strong>the</strong> Holocaust, antisemitism, and Jewish resistance in Nazi Germany, he is<br />
<strong>the</strong> author of many books and articles about <strong>the</strong>se topics. Dr. Bauer was <strong>the</strong> founding<br />
editor of <strong>the</strong> Journal for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and served on <strong>the</strong><br />
editorial board of <strong>the</strong> Encyclopaedia of <strong>the</strong> Holocaust and Genocide Studies. His<br />
awards and honors include <strong>the</strong> Israel Prize and Jerusalem’s Yakir Yerushalayim.<br />
He is a member of <strong>the</strong> Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
Delegitimizing <strong>the</strong> Jewish State<br />
Bat Ye’or*<br />
In a move that caught <strong>the</strong> Israeli government and <strong>the</strong> Jewish world by<br />
complete surprise, on October 21, 2010, <strong>the</strong> United Nations Educational,<br />
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared <strong>the</strong> Tomb of <strong>the</strong><br />
Hebrew Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem (see essay<br />
in this issue by Shalva Weil) “an integral part of <strong>the</strong> occupied Palestinian<br />
territories,” admonishing <strong>the</strong> Israeli decision to add <strong>the</strong>se biblical shrines to<br />
<strong>the</strong> list of Jewish historical and archaeological sites as “a violation of international<br />
law.” 1<br />
What is less known, however, is that <strong>the</strong> driving force behind “<strong>the</strong><br />
attempt to detach <strong>the</strong> Nation of Israel from its heritage” (to use Israeli prime<br />
minister Netanyahu’s words) 2 was <strong>the</strong> Organization of <strong>the</strong> Islamic Conference<br />
(OIC), which pressured UNESCO to issue <strong>the</strong> declaration and drafted<br />
its initial version. 3 United Nations secretary-general Ban Kimoon has<br />
described <strong>the</strong> OIC as “a strategic and important partner of <strong>the</strong> UN.” 4<br />
In fact, it has been <strong>the</strong> OIC that has successfully exploited its marked<br />
preponderance at <strong>the</strong> UN—where it constitutes <strong>the</strong> largest single voting<br />
bloc—to turn <strong>the</strong> world organization and its specialized agencies into effective<br />
tools in <strong>the</strong> attempt to achieve its goals, two of which are to bring about<br />
Israel’s eventual demise and to “galvanize <strong>the</strong> umma [Islamic world] into a<br />
unified body.” 5<br />
THE OIC’S ISRAEL OBSESSION<br />
Established in September 1969 as <strong>the</strong> “collective voice of <strong>the</strong> Muslim<br />
world,” <strong>the</strong> OIC has evolved into <strong>the</strong> second largest intergovernmental<br />
organization after <strong>the</strong> UN, bringing toge<strong>the</strong>r fifty-six Muslim and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
states, as well as <strong>the</strong> Palestinian Authority. 6 Though boasting a global range<br />
1. “Executive Board Adopts Five Decisions Concerning UNESCO’s Work in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Occupied Palestinian and Arab Territories,” UNESCO Media Services, Paris,<br />
October 21, 2010.<br />
2. Jerusalem Post, October 29, 2010.<br />
3. See, for example, International Islamic News Agency (Jeddah), March 3,<br />
2010; “Decisions Adopted by <strong>the</strong> Executive Board at Its 184th Session,” UNESCO,<br />
Paris, May 14, 2010.<br />
4. World Bulletin (Istanbul), September 28, 2010.<br />
5. “About OIC,” Organization of <strong>the</strong> Islamic Conference, Jeddah. Accessed<br />
November 7, 2010.<br />
6. Ibid.<br />
203
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of objectives from <strong>the</strong> “promotion of tolerance and moderation, modernization,<br />
[and] extensive reforms in all spheres of activities,” to <strong>the</strong> cultivation<br />
of “good governance and promotion of human rights in <strong>the</strong> Muslim<br />
world,” 7 this body has constantly and disproportionately focused on Israel<br />
and its supposed misdeeds. It was established in response to an attempt by a<br />
deranged Australian to set fire to <strong>the</strong> al-Aqsamosque, which was duly<br />
blamed on “<strong>the</strong> military occupation by Israel of Al-Quds—<strong>the</strong> Holy City of<br />
Jerusalem.” 8 The “State of Palestine” (i.e., <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>n five-year-old Palestine<br />
Liberation Organization [PLO], established as a tool for promoting <strong>the</strong><br />
expansionist ambitions of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser) was<br />
among <strong>the</strong> OIC’s original twenty-five founding members, and <strong>the</strong> pledge of<br />
“full support to <strong>the</strong> Palestinian people for <strong>the</strong> restitution of <strong>the</strong>ir rights,<br />
which were usurped” 9 —<strong>the</strong> standard Arab euphemism for Israel’s destruction—has<br />
become a central plank of <strong>the</strong> organization’s policy, reiterated in<br />
countless decisions and resolutions on issues that have nothing to do with<br />
questions concerning <strong>the</strong> Palestinians. 10<br />
The Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization<br />
(ISESCO), an OIC organ mandated “to streng<strong>the</strong>n cooperation among<br />
member states in <strong>the</strong> field of education, science, and culture,” 11 has occupied<br />
pride of place in <strong>the</strong> campaign to delegitimize Israel. Since its inception<br />
in 1982, it has run dozens of programs and symposia on <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
state’s supposed desecration of Islamic and Christian holy sites and <strong>the</strong><br />
attendant need to wrest <strong>the</strong>m from <strong>the</strong> Israelis’ control. The most important<br />
of <strong>the</strong>se were <strong>the</strong> international conferences on <strong>the</strong> “Protection of Islamic<br />
and Christian Holy Sites in Palestine,” held in Rabat in 1993 and 2002 and<br />
in Amman in November 2004 respectively under <strong>the</strong> patronage of <strong>the</strong><br />
Moroccan and Jordanian monarchs. An examination of conference activities<br />
reveals a systematic effort to devise an anti-Israeli media strategy that was<br />
to be adopted not only by Arab and Muslim states but also by international<br />
groups and organizations, including some of <strong>the</strong> UN’s most powerful<br />
agencies.<br />
7. Ibid.<br />
8. “Declaration of <strong>the</strong> First Rabat Islamic Conference,” Organization of <strong>the</strong><br />
Islamic Conference (OIC), Rabat, September 1969.<br />
9. Ibid.<br />
10. “Resolutions,” Second Islamic Conference of <strong>the</strong> Ministers of Health, OIC,<br />
Tehran, March 1-4, 2009.<br />
11. “Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO),” Specialized<br />
Institutions and Organs, OIC, Rabat, 2009. Accessed November 7, 2010.
2011] DELEGITIMIZING THE JEWISH STATE 205<br />
UNIFYING THE UMMA, BASHING THE JEWS<br />
In his address to <strong>the</strong> 2002 Rabat conference, King Muhammad VI of<br />
Morocco stated: “The acts of destruction and distortion committed by <strong>the</strong><br />
occupation authorities to distort <strong>the</strong> facts and truths of history cause serious<br />
damage to <strong>the</strong> Islamic and Christian holy sites and violate <strong>the</strong>ir sanctity and<br />
<strong>the</strong> values <strong>the</strong>y embody for all <strong>the</strong> believers of <strong>the</strong> different religions.” 12<br />
For <strong>the</strong> Moroccan monarch, as president of <strong>the</strong> OIC’s al-Quds Committee,<br />
such actions as archaeological excavations and <strong>the</strong> placement of<br />
artifacts in museums constituted an attack against all believers. In fact,<br />
Christian churches that had been reduced to ruins by centuries of Islamic<br />
occupation were restored by successive Israeli governments because, unlike<br />
Shari‘a or Islamic law, <strong>the</strong> Jewish state has no laws prohibiting <strong>the</strong> restoration<br />
or construction of churches. The king could have also benefited from a<br />
measure of introspection: Morocco, like <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r Maghreb states, is a place<br />
where virtually no vestiges of pre-Islamic Christian history have survived.<br />
Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, <strong>the</strong> Saudi-born, University of Oregon<br />
educated ISESCO director general, went a step fur<strong>the</strong>r, asserting that “<strong>the</strong><br />
crimes against humanity committed by Israel have reached an extent of<br />
oppression, injustice, and aggression that humanity has never witnessed,<br />
nei<strong>the</strong>r in this age nor in previous ages.” 13 He amplified this diatribe at <strong>the</strong><br />
Amman conference, where he claimed that Muslim responsibilities toward<br />
<strong>the</strong> Islamic and Christian holy sites in <strong>the</strong> Palestinian territories sprang from<br />
ISESCO’s commitment to <strong>the</strong> Palestinian cause, which in his opinion constituted<br />
<strong>the</strong> essence of all issues and <strong>the</strong> supreme task of both <strong>the</strong> Muslim<br />
world and those Eastern Christian circles that were part of <strong>the</strong> Arab and<br />
Islamic civilization. 14<br />
The proceedings of <strong>the</strong> Rabat and <strong>the</strong> Amman conferences represent a<br />
monument to anti-Jewish hatred and incitement, featuring such assertions as<br />
“Jews are <strong>the</strong> enemies of Allah, <strong>the</strong> enemies of faith, and of <strong>the</strong> worship of<br />
Allah.” 15 They also brim with denials of Jewish attachment to <strong>the</strong> Land of<br />
12. Message of His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, Protection of<br />
Islamic and Christian Holy Sites in Palestine First International Conference, Rabat,<br />
June 7-8, 2002 (Rabat: ISESCO, 2004), 11.<br />
13. Address by Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Protection of Islamic and<br />
Christian Holy Sites in Palestine, First International Conference, Rabat, June 7-8,<br />
2002 (Rabat: ISESCO, 2004), 15.<br />
14. Address by Dr. Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Protection of Islamic and<br />
Christian Holy Sites in Palestine, Second International Conference, Amman,<br />
November 23-25, 2004 (Rabat: ISESCO, 2007), 18.<br />
15. Adnan Ibrahim Hassan al-Subah, “Role of Palestinian Civil Society in <strong>the</strong><br />
Protection of Holy Sites in Palestine,” Protection of Islamic and Christian Holy
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Israel and claims to its Arab (and later Muslim) character since <strong>the</strong> third<br />
millennium BCE. The Jews are accused of having “judaized” <strong>the</strong> biblical<br />
prophets who were in fact Muslim and of having usurped <strong>the</strong> antiquity of<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r peoples since <strong>the</strong>y <strong>the</strong>mselves have no history. In <strong>the</strong> words of Adnan<br />
Ibrahim Hassan al-Subah, president of <strong>the</strong> Jenin Information Center:<br />
People familiar with <strong>the</strong> Torah, which we believe to have been distorted,<br />
know <strong>the</strong> extent of <strong>the</strong> evils <strong>the</strong>y attribute to <strong>the</strong>ir prophets: corruption,<br />
treachery, fornication or approval of it. It is with <strong>the</strong>se facts that we need<br />
to arm ourselves when we confront <strong>the</strong> Zionist propaganda in <strong>the</strong> world<br />
with tangible facts, as part of our defence of <strong>the</strong> faith and <strong>the</strong> faithful on<br />
earth, wherever <strong>the</strong>y may be. 16<br />
These examples of incitement to religious hatred were on display at <strong>the</strong><br />
UN’s Palais des Nations in Geneva at a reception given by <strong>the</strong> OIC on<br />
December 19, 2008, to commemorate <strong>the</strong> sixtieth anniversary of <strong>the</strong> Universal<br />
Declaration of Human Rights. And why not? After all, <strong>the</strong> OIC is not<br />
only “<strong>the</strong> collective voice of <strong>the</strong> Muslim world” 17 but also <strong>the</strong> UN’s largest<br />
single voting bloc and a prominent collaborator with many of its specialized<br />
agencies.<br />
INFLUENCING THE UN<br />
It is hardly surprising, <strong>the</strong>refore, that <strong>the</strong>se conferences did not content<br />
<strong>the</strong>mselves with anti-Jewish diatribes but sought to devise a strategy to harness<br />
<strong>the</strong> international community to <strong>the</strong> anti-Israel campaign in general and<br />
<strong>the</strong> re-Islamization of Jerusalem (al-Quds) in particular. As one of <strong>the</strong><br />
speakers explained, “Jerusalem is <strong>the</strong> cornerstone of <strong>the</strong> spiritual edifice<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Zionist Jewish entity. Were it to be dislodged, <strong>the</strong> whole edifice and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Zionist entity itself would crumble like a deck of cards.” 18<br />
Action plans show a media strategy of employing an attractive style<br />
and scientific language and magnifying Palestinian suffering since <strong>the</strong><br />
establishment of <strong>the</strong> “racist Zionist entity” in 1948. These plans would be<br />
effectively replicated by <strong>the</strong> UN’s Alliance of Civilizations’ Report of <strong>the</strong><br />
Sites in Palestine, Second International Conference, Amman, November 23-25,<br />
2004 (Rabat: ISESCO, 2007), 253.<br />
16. Ibid., 254.<br />
17. “About OIC.”<br />
18. Abdullah Kan’an, “Media Plan for Publicising <strong>the</strong> Cause of Al Quds, Al<br />
Sharif in <strong>the</strong> West and Mechanisms for Its Implementation,” Protection of Islamic<br />
and Christian Holy Sites in Palestine, Second International Conference, Amman,<br />
November 23-25, 2004 (Rabat: ISESCO, 2007), 195.
2011] DELEGITIMIZING THE JEWISH STATE 207<br />
High Level Group (HLG), which would endeavor to “make it clear to <strong>the</strong><br />
Palestinian people that <strong>the</strong> price of decades of occupation, misunderstanding<br />
and stigmatization is being fully acknowledged,” although this “story<br />
had been left untold or deliberately ignored by <strong>the</strong> community of nations.” 19<br />
This assertion is not merely false but <strong>the</strong> inverse of <strong>the</strong> truth. The<br />
Palestinians have benefited like no o<strong>the</strong>r nation from world indulgence.<br />
Europe, for one, has vigorously championed <strong>the</strong>ir cause since 1973, devising<br />
a string of political schemes on <strong>the</strong>ir behalf and pouring immeasurable<br />
sums of money into <strong>the</strong> bottomless Palestinian pit.<br />
If anything, it was <strong>the</strong> expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Jews<br />
from <strong>the</strong> Arab countries during and after <strong>the</strong> 1948 war and <strong>the</strong> expropriation<br />
of <strong>the</strong>ir worldly possessions that was entirely ignored by <strong>the</strong> Alliance of<br />
Civilizations, as was <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>the</strong> Jews in <strong>the</strong>ir ancestral homeland,<br />
where <strong>the</strong>y had suffered ethnic and religious oppression by a long succession<br />
of foreign occupiers.<br />
While claiming to promote peace, <strong>the</strong> HLG report added yet ano<strong>the</strong>r<br />
page to both <strong>the</strong> defamation of Israel and <strong>the</strong> perennial Palestinian sense of<br />
victimization. One wonders what prompted it to begin <strong>the</strong> historical survey<br />
with <strong>the</strong> establishment of <strong>the</strong> state of Israel, ignoring <strong>the</strong> millenarian Jewish<br />
attachment to <strong>the</strong> Land of Israel that had been acknowledged as early a1920<br />
by <strong>the</strong> UN’s predecessor—<strong>the</strong> League of Nations.<br />
Moreover, <strong>the</strong> report sought to rewrite, under <strong>the</strong> UN aegis, <strong>the</strong> story<br />
of <strong>the</strong> nakba (<strong>the</strong> “catastrophe,” as Palestinians and Arabs call <strong>the</strong>ir 1948<br />
failure to destroy Israel at its birth) as a counterweight to <strong>the</strong> Holocaust, and<br />
to impose this narrative on Israel and <strong>the</strong> international community. In <strong>the</strong><br />
words of <strong>the</strong> report, it is “essential for Palestinians as well as for <strong>the</strong> Arab-<br />
Muslim world and Muslims in general to understand and acknowledge <strong>the</strong><br />
fact that we . . . now know and take responsibility for ensuring everyone<br />
knows <strong>the</strong> price and weight of <strong>the</strong>se sixty years of misunderstanding, stigmatization,<br />
as well as veiled and abused truths.” 20 Indeed, while <strong>the</strong> Alliance<br />
was established in 2005 with <strong>the</strong> specific goal “to explore <strong>the</strong> roots of<br />
polarization between societies and cultures today and to recommend a practical<br />
program of action to address this issue,” it has quickly become an anti-<br />
Israel lobbying machine on a global scale. This is evidenced not only from<br />
its implementation plan, which places “a priority on addressing relations<br />
between Western and Muslim societies” 21 at <strong>the</strong> expense of o<strong>the</strong>r faiths and<br />
19. “Report of <strong>the</strong> High Level Group,” Alliance of Civilizations, United<br />
Nations, New York, November 13, 2006, 18, art. 5.7.<br />
20. Ibid., 53.<br />
21. “Implementation Plan, 2007-2009,” Alliance of Civilizations, United<br />
Nations, New York, 2.
208 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:203<br />
civilizations, but also by its close collaboration with numerous anti-Israel<br />
nongovernmental organizations and bodies, notably <strong>the</strong> Organization of <strong>the</strong><br />
Islamic Conference.<br />
The OIC’s influence on <strong>the</strong> Alliance has been manifested in a wide<br />
range of historical and cultural issues, including <strong>the</strong> presentation of Islam as<br />
<strong>the</strong> source of modern Western civilization; <strong>the</strong> contrasting of Islamic tolerance<br />
with European culpability for <strong>the</strong> Crusades, imperialism and colonization;<br />
and <strong>the</strong> whitewashing of jihad’s true nature and its misrepresentation<br />
as a struggle for individual self-improvement. 22<br />
The Alliance’s views on social issues often echo OIC charges about<br />
<strong>the</strong> pervasive discrimination against Muslim migrants in <strong>the</strong> West and <strong>the</strong><br />
Western media’s deliberate dissemination of “Islamophobia.” This state of<br />
affairs required, in <strong>the</strong> words, of <strong>the</strong> HLG report, that “American and European<br />
universities and research centers should expand research into <strong>the</strong> significant<br />
economic, cultural, and social contributions of immigrant<br />
communities to American and European life. Likewise, <strong>the</strong>y should promote<br />
publications coming from <strong>the</strong> Muslim world on a range of subjects related<br />
to Islam and <strong>the</strong> Muslim world.” 23<br />
Such recommendations follow <strong>the</strong> injunctions of <strong>the</strong> religious scholars<br />
(ulema) who attended <strong>the</strong> OIC’s 2005 summit in Mecca. 24<br />
PLOTTING THE ANTI-ISRAEL CAMPAIGN<br />
Speakers at <strong>the</strong> OIC’s Amman conference stressed <strong>the</strong> media’s crucial<br />
role and importance in <strong>the</strong> fight against Israel. They recommended that <strong>the</strong><br />
Islamic world should demonstrate its unwavering commitment to Arab and<br />
Palestinian rights, alongside <strong>the</strong> conviction that <strong>the</strong> re-Islamization of Jerusalem<br />
would restore <strong>the</strong> city’s spiritual preeminence and peaceful religious<br />
coexistence, enable <strong>the</strong> flourishing of faith, and make Jerusalem a worldwide<br />
agent of culture and civilization. 25<br />
In fact, this picture in no way corresponds to <strong>the</strong> actual Islamic history<br />
of Jerusalem, which for most of <strong>the</strong> time was a sleepy and neglected backwater.<br />
Ra<strong>the</strong>r, it is a usurpation of <strong>the</strong> Biblical vision of Jerusalem as “a<br />
light unto <strong>the</strong> nations,” developed by generations of Hebrew prophets more<br />
than a millennium before Muhammad.<br />
22. “Report of <strong>the</strong> High Level Group,” 11, 15.<br />
23. Ibid., 39; italicized in <strong>the</strong> text.<br />
24. “Recommendations of <strong>the</strong> OIC Commission of Eminent Persons (CEP),”<br />
Makkah al-Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia, December 7-8, 2005.<br />
25. Protection of Islamic and Christian Holy Sites in Palestine, Second International<br />
Conference, Amman, November 23-25, 2004 (Rabat: ISESCO, 2007), 175.
2011] DELEGITIMIZING THE JEWISH STATE 209<br />
Abdullah Kan’an, secretary-general of <strong>the</strong> Royal Committee for al-<br />
Quds Affairs in Jordan—whose government signed a peace treaty with<br />
Israel in 1994—presented a comprehensive plan for inculcating Islamic policy<br />
into all Western cultural and media sectors and delegitimizing <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
state, starting with turning <strong>the</strong> Muslim and Christian holy places in<br />
Jerusalem into a central world problem. As a first step, he suggested publicizing<br />
<strong>the</strong> history of Jerusalem as he saw it—from <strong>the</strong> city’s foundation by<br />
<strong>the</strong> “Canaanite Jebusites” to date—so as to negate “<strong>the</strong> Torah-based history.”<br />
He also proposed to popularize Islamic and Christian holy sites in <strong>the</strong><br />
same manner, starting with al-Aqsa mosque, which, “according to <strong>the</strong> noble<br />
Hadith, is only forty years older than <strong>the</strong> first shrine ever created for<br />
humanity, al-Haram mosque in Makkah.” 26<br />
In enumerating <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>mes of ISESCO’s media war against Israel in<br />
<strong>the</strong> West, Kan’an evoked arguments repeated by many Western journalists,<br />
intellectuals, ministers, and heads of state. These included:<br />
• Convincing <strong>the</strong> EU that a solution to <strong>the</strong> Arab-Israeli conflict was<br />
in its vital interest, thus helping Europeans (especially Germans)<br />
free <strong>the</strong>mselves of <strong>the</strong>ir guilt complex vis-à-vis <strong>the</strong> Jews and <strong>the</strong><br />
weight of history more generally.<br />
• Persuading Western leaders that as long as <strong>the</strong> Palestinians did not<br />
have <strong>the</strong>ir own state, relations between <strong>the</strong> EU and <strong>the</strong> Arab world<br />
would remain unstable. Once this goal had been achieved, Europe<br />
could look forward to an expanded partnership with <strong>the</strong> Arab world<br />
and full access to its markets.<br />
• Emphasizing that America’s pro-Israel position was in contravention<br />
of international law, threatened U.S. vital interests as well as<br />
those of Europe, and jeopardized world peace and security. This<br />
argument, consistently inculcated in European leaders and journalists<br />
by <strong>the</strong> OIC, was hammered home by <strong>the</strong> Western media and<br />
became an important catalyst of European hostility toward <strong>the</strong><br />
United States, especially during <strong>the</strong> George W. Bush<br />
administration.<br />
• Underscoring <strong>the</strong> alleged threats to Western interests as a result of<br />
supporting Israel. This support had to be presented as one of <strong>the</strong><br />
foremost causes of anti-Western violence, both in <strong>the</strong> Middle East<br />
and in <strong>the</strong> Western countries <strong>the</strong>mselves, by individuals and groups<br />
who reacted emotionally to personal and collective tragedies. This<br />
argument was frequently used by Romano Prodi, <strong>the</strong>n president of<br />
<strong>the</strong> European Commission, and French president Jacques Chirac,<br />
among o<strong>the</strong>r European politicians, to explain away <strong>the</strong> resurgence<br />
26. Kan’an, “Media Plan,” 201.
210 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:203<br />
of European antisemitism during 2000-2005, and was also invoked<br />
by President Obama in March 2010, when he publicly humiliated<br />
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 27<br />
• Convincing Westerners that peace was only possible through <strong>the</strong><br />
creation of an independent Palestinian state in <strong>the</strong> entire territory<br />
occupied in 1967 with al-Quds as its capital, <strong>the</strong> “return” of Palestinian<br />
refugees, and <strong>the</strong> abandonment of Israel’s “Zionist, racist<br />
character”—standard Arab and Muslim euphemisms for <strong>the</strong><br />
destruction of <strong>the</strong> Jewish state.<br />
• Persuading Westerners that <strong>the</strong>ir shared interests with Arabs and<br />
Muslims far exceeded those <strong>the</strong>y shared with Israel. 28<br />
Kan’an <strong>the</strong>n summarized <strong>the</strong> long-term objectives of <strong>the</strong> media plan,<br />
two of which are of special note:<br />
• Persuading <strong>the</strong> EU to abandon its slavish trailing of Washington<br />
and to form its own independent vision and positions, which<br />
“would be more in harmony with <strong>the</strong> international will vis-à-vis <strong>the</strong><br />
Arab-Israeli conflict, <strong>the</strong> Israeli occupation of Arab territories,<br />
including Jerusalem, and <strong>the</strong> right of <strong>the</strong> Arab Palestinian people to<br />
self-determination and to <strong>the</strong> establishment of its independent state<br />
with Al-Quds as its capital.” 29<br />
• Transforming <strong>the</strong> Palestinian question and <strong>the</strong> Arab-Israeli conflict<br />
from internal U.S. issues to external problems, primarily governed<br />
by <strong>the</strong> mutual interests of Americans, Muslims, and Arabs. This<br />
would break <strong>the</strong> immunity of <strong>the</strong> Israeli policies and force <strong>the</strong><br />
Israeli government to bow to <strong>the</strong> will of <strong>the</strong> international community<br />
and adhere to all of <strong>the</strong> UN resolutions. 30<br />
To achieve <strong>the</strong>se goals, Kan’an recommended obtaining <strong>the</strong> support of<br />
certain intellectuals, literary figures, and influential political movements<br />
that were capable of molding Western public opinion within <strong>the</strong> context of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Arab-Israeli conflict and especially with regard to <strong>the</strong> Jerusalem question.<br />
This campaign would refer to UN resolutions that formed <strong>the</strong> basis for<br />
<strong>the</strong> media plan. Here, too, EU support for <strong>the</strong> UN’s international law<br />
amounted to endorsement of <strong>the</strong> strategy and policies of <strong>the</strong> OIC, whose<br />
position as <strong>the</strong> UN’s largest single voting bloc gave it <strong>the</strong> unrivaled ability<br />
to predominate <strong>the</strong> world organization and its specialized agencies. Ano<strong>the</strong>r<br />
proposed tactic was to infiltrate <strong>the</strong> media as well as influential cultural,<br />
intellectual, and economic circles with a view to exposing <strong>the</strong>m to <strong>the</strong> Arab<br />
27. The Sunday Times (London), March 26, 2010.<br />
28. Kan’an, “Media Plan,” 202-203.<br />
29. Ibid, 205.<br />
30. Ibid.
2011] DELEGITIMIZING THE JEWISH STATE 211<br />
perspective and convincing <strong>the</strong>m that <strong>the</strong>ir countries’ policies were subservient<br />
to “<strong>the</strong> interests of <strong>the</strong> Zionist movement with its various formations<br />
and bodies and not [to] <strong>the</strong> interests of <strong>the</strong>ir own countries.” 31<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>mes included:<br />
• Discreetly and indirectly encouraging trends critical of Zionism and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Israeli government’s “judaization policies” in Jerusalem within<br />
Western circles, so as to make <strong>the</strong>m effective opponents of <strong>the</strong><br />
“Zionist lobby and <strong>the</strong> coalition of Jewish and Christian Zionists”<br />
and defenders of <strong>the</strong>ir countries’ vital interests.<br />
• Delegitimizing laws against antisemitism, such as France’s 1990<br />
Gayssot Act, which made it an offense to question <strong>the</strong> occurrence<br />
or scope of crimes against humanity, 32 and George W. Bush’s 2004<br />
law requiring <strong>the</strong> Department of State to monitor global antisemitism,<br />
33 as laws that have no bearing on Western interests but are<br />
ra<strong>the</strong>r a part of a Zionist ploy to feed Westerners’ guilt feelings to<br />
keep <strong>the</strong>m subservient to Zionist machinations.<br />
MOBILIZING WESTERN MUSLIMS<br />
No less important, <strong>the</strong> ISESCO campaign envisaged <strong>the</strong> mobilization<br />
of members of Arab and Muslim communities in <strong>the</strong> West, especially in <strong>the</strong><br />
United States, who were to be enticed into becoming politically active so as<br />
to end <strong>the</strong>ir marginalization and gain major political weight. This was<br />
believed to be feasible given that <strong>the</strong>se communities, comprising high-quality<br />
populations, including important scientists, intellectuals, and politicians.<br />
Arab and Muslim thinkers, religious scholars, and intellectuals living in<br />
Western societies, ought to recommend to Muslims to reject extremism,<br />
fanaticism, and violence, “as this tends to be detrimental and generates negative<br />
reactions to Arab and Islamic issues.” 34<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r step would involve blocking attempts in Europe and <strong>the</strong><br />
United States to ban Islamist charitable societies, which according to<br />
Kan’an were purely humanitarian organizations but in fact were funneling<br />
funds for jihadist and terrorist groups. 35 Within this framework, he<br />
31. Ibid., 204.<br />
32. “Tendant à réprimer tout acte raciste, antisémite ouxénophobe,” République<br />
Française, Paris, July 13, 1990.<br />
33. Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004, PL 108-332, U.S. Congress,<br />
October 16, 2004; BBC News, October 20, 2004.<br />
34. Kan’an, “Media Plan,” 205-206.<br />
35. See, for example, Daniel Pipes and Sharon Chadha, “CAIR: Islamists Fooling<br />
<strong>the</strong> Establishment,” Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2006, 3-20.
212 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:203<br />
recommended:<br />
• Encouraging <strong>the</strong> investment of Arab and Muslim capital in all<br />
forms of <strong>the</strong> media (written, audio, and visual), especially in <strong>the</strong><br />
United States, thus paving <strong>the</strong> way for breaking <strong>the</strong> alleged Jewish<br />
monopoly in <strong>the</strong> field. Arab radio stations and satellite television<br />
channels such as al-Jazeera and al-Arabia should broadcast<br />
“weekly programs in English [about al-Quds], targeting Western<br />
public opinion, benefiting from media personalities knowledgeable<br />
about <strong>the</strong> Western mentality and capable of influencing it to <strong>the</strong><br />
benefit of <strong>the</strong> issue of al-Quds with <strong>the</strong> help of UN resolutions.”<br />
Programs about al-Quds in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian,<br />
and o<strong>the</strong>r languages should be created, and a multilingual satellite<br />
channel called al-Quds would be created, “staffed with a<br />
media, information, intellectual, and historical team knowledgeable<br />
about <strong>the</strong> question of al-Quds and its various dimensions.” 36<br />
• Encouraging Muslim and Arab investments in modern information<br />
and communication technologies, notably <strong>the</strong> Internet, and filming<br />
television and cinema documentaries with a view to shaping Western<br />
public opinion, which is heavily reliant on this type of educational<br />
and media sources. A special emphasis should be placed on<br />
<strong>the</strong> possibilities of “utilizing modern communication technologies,<br />
especially <strong>the</strong> opening of Web sites dedicated to al-Quds, and<br />
encouraging Muslims to embark on an Internet-supported war for<br />
al-Quds to counterbalance <strong>the</strong> activities of <strong>the</strong> Zionist movement<br />
and its octopuslike formations, <strong>the</strong> most dangerous of which is<br />
Christian Zionism and its mastermind, <strong>the</strong> neo-conservatives.” 37<br />
On a broader level, Kan’an advised Arab and Muslim communities “to<br />
integrate as much as possible within <strong>the</strong> societies where <strong>the</strong>y live, in order<br />
to gain credibility,” especially in universities and institutions of higher<br />
learning. “Friends of al-Quds” associations in U.S. and European universities,<br />
organizations, and working places were to be established to support<br />
those NGOs working for <strong>the</strong> cause of al-Quds. To this would be added <strong>the</strong><br />
worldwide distribution of propaganda materials “issued by Americans,<br />
Europeans, and Jews against Israel, its policies, and Zionism,” including<br />
specifically produced films that “reveal <strong>the</strong> barbarity of Israel, <strong>the</strong> dangers<br />
inherent in <strong>the</strong> policy of demolishing houses, murder, and massacre of <strong>the</strong><br />
Arab Palestinian people, and distributing <strong>the</strong>se films as widely as possible<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Islamic world.” 38<br />
36. Kan’an, “Media Plan,” 206-207.<br />
37. Ibid.<br />
38. Ibid., 207-208.
2011] DELEGITIMIZING THE JEWISH STATE 213<br />
Finally, specialists and experts in Western affairs should be drawn into<br />
“<strong>the</strong> discussion of <strong>the</strong> broad lines of <strong>the</strong> media plan in order to enrich it and<br />
guarantee all conditions of its success.” Such experts would specialize in<br />
Western media, politics, public opinion, psychology, religions, law, and<br />
culture, as well as in history of al-Quds. In two notes that appear in <strong>the</strong><br />
French text but are omitted from <strong>the</strong> English proceedings, <strong>the</strong> lecturer<br />
ridicules <strong>the</strong> “Zionist stories of alleged Nazi slaughters.” 39<br />
THE OIC’S WORLD COLLABORATORS<br />
These were by no means novel, let alone maverick, ideas. The intention<br />
to extend <strong>the</strong> OIC’s influence to Western countries through immigrant<br />
populations and <strong>the</strong>ir growing weight in <strong>the</strong> host societies had been insinuated<br />
on previous occasions, notably by OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin<br />
Ihsanoglu at <strong>the</strong> European parliament in 2005 40 and by <strong>the</strong> founders of <strong>the</strong><br />
Euro- Arab Dialogue, which evolved from a French initiative in <strong>the</strong> late<br />
1960s. 41<br />
According to unpublished sources from <strong>the</strong> Euro-Arab Dialogue<br />
movement, 42 in November 1973, Christopher Mayhew, a member of <strong>the</strong><br />
British parliament, and Raymond Offroy, a member of <strong>the</strong> French national<br />
assembly, envisaged <strong>the</strong> creation of an association for improving Europe’s<br />
relations with <strong>the</strong> Arab world. 43 Its launching coincided with <strong>the</strong> European<br />
Commission (EC)’s Brussels declaration that urged Israel to return to <strong>the</strong><br />
pre-1967 lines and, for <strong>the</strong> first time, recognized <strong>the</strong> PLO. 44 Mayhew and<br />
Offroy, now supported by <strong>the</strong> EC, were <strong>the</strong> first to create a Euro-Arab network,<br />
<strong>the</strong> European Parliamentary Association for Euro-Arab Cooperation<br />
(PAEAC), at a conference in Paris March 23-25, 1975. Its secretary-general,<br />
Robert Swann, a former foreign office diplomat, had been a secretarygeneral<br />
of Amnesty International. The funds for PAEAC came from a<br />
Swiss foundation, ANAF, set up in 1969 and managed by an administrative<br />
committee consisting of European political personalities. PAEAC benefited<br />
from <strong>the</strong> financial aid and support of <strong>the</strong> EC and its networks, in liaison<br />
39. Ibid., 208.<br />
40. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general, Organization of <strong>the</strong> Islamic Conference,<br />
address to Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe, October 4, 2005.<br />
41. Roy H. Ginsberg, The European Union in International Politics: Baptism by<br />
Fire (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2001), 112-113.<br />
42. Association Parlementaire pour la Coopération Euro-Arabe, 1974-1994<br />
association archives, unpublished document in author’s possession, 6-12.<br />
43. Ibid.<br />
44. Joint statement, European Economic Community, Copenhagen, November<br />
6, 1973.
214 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:203<br />
with <strong>the</strong> Council of Europe. The minutes of <strong>the</strong> PAEAC meetings were<br />
published over <strong>the</strong> years in <strong>the</strong> Documents d’Actualité Internationale by <strong>the</strong><br />
French foreign office. These reveal <strong>the</strong> effective extension of OIC strategy<br />
to Europe, combining a policy of immigration with <strong>the</strong> cultural and political<br />
Islamization of Europe. 45<br />
Extensive U.N.-sponsored networks, bringing toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> EU, <strong>the</strong><br />
OIC, and ISESCO, would effectively implement this strategy in all Western<br />
countries. Europe, for example, has lavished millions of Euros on Palestinian<br />
NGOs and organs of “civil society,” which advocate <strong>the</strong> economic,<br />
political, educational, and cultural boycottingof Israel and which have systematically<br />
demonized and delegitimized <strong>the</strong> Jewish state inschools, <strong>the</strong><br />
media, Palestinian publications, and on <strong>the</strong> international scene. 46<br />
Since 2005, a “Palestinian Week against Israeli Apar<strong>the</strong>id” has<br />
become a regular feature on campuses and in major cities throughout<br />
Europe, Canada, and <strong>the</strong> United States, calling for divestments, sanctions,<br />
and boycotts against Israel. According to NGO Monitor, most speakers at<br />
<strong>the</strong>se demonstrations belong to organizations financed by European governments,<br />
<strong>the</strong> European Commission, and <strong>the</strong> New Israel Fund, created following<br />
Obama’s election. 47<br />
To <strong>the</strong>se NGOs must be added “The Elders”—a newly established<br />
“independent group of eminent global leaders brought toge<strong>the</strong>r by Nelson<br />
Mandela, who offer <strong>the</strong>ir collective influence and experience to support<br />
peace building, help address major causes of human suffering, and promote<br />
<strong>the</strong> shared interests of humanity.” 48 Generating much international influence<br />
and considerable funds, <strong>the</strong> group comprises twelve leaders and dignitaries,<br />
quite a few of whom—notably former U.S. president Jimmy Carter<br />
and former Irish president Mary Robinson of Durban conference infamy—<br />
are harsh critics of Israel. It is chaired by former South African archbishop<br />
Desmond Tutu—<strong>the</strong> spiritual instigator of <strong>the</strong> world campaign of cultural<br />
and economic apar<strong>the</strong>id against Israel.<br />
Small wonder that <strong>the</strong> group, in line with <strong>the</strong> former policies of its<br />
members while in power, has consistently misrepresented <strong>the</strong> Israelis as <strong>the</strong><br />
unjust and warlike party and <strong>the</strong> Palestinians as hapless victims of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
45. Bat Ye’or, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis (Cranbury, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson<br />
University Press, 2005), 93-95.<br />
46. Gerald M. Steinberg, “Europe’s Hidden Hand. EU Funding for Political<br />
NGOs in <strong>the</strong> Arab-Israeli Conflict. Analyzing Processes and Impact,” NGO Monitor<br />
Monograph Series, April 2008.<br />
47. “Israeli Apar<strong>the</strong>id Week 2010: NGO Involvement,” NGO Monitor, updated<br />
March 3, 2010.<br />
48. “About <strong>the</strong> Elders,” The Elders Web site. Accessed October 13, 2010.
2011] DELEGITIMIZING THE JEWISH STATE 215<br />
predatory neighbor. For The Elders, <strong>the</strong> Palestinian denial of Israel’s right<br />
to exist embodies natural justice (hence, for example, <strong>the</strong>ir advocacy of<br />
“engaging” Hamas), while Israel’s attempts to protect its citizens from sustained<br />
terror attacks—from <strong>the</strong> erection of <strong>the</strong> security fence, to Operation<br />
Cast Lead, to <strong>the</strong> naval blockade of Hamas—are illegal and disproportionate<br />
uses of force. Tutu congratulated Turkey for having sent its flotilla of<br />
supposed humanitarians in May 2010 while <strong>the</strong> Elders condemned Israel’s<br />
attempt to stop this effort on behalf of Hamas, a terror organization, whose<br />
constitution openly calls for Israel’s destruction. 49 They also urged <strong>the</strong> UN<br />
Security Council “to debate <strong>the</strong> situation with a view to mandating action to<br />
end <strong>the</strong> closure of <strong>the</strong> Gaza Strip.” 50<br />
In what had by now become an instinctive reaction, <strong>the</strong> European parliament<br />
joined <strong>the</strong> Elders and condemned Israel by a crushing majority,<br />
insinuating its massive support for Hamas. Ca<strong>the</strong>rine Ashton, <strong>the</strong> EU’s high<br />
representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of<br />
<strong>the</strong> European Commission, argued that lifting <strong>the</strong> blockade would bring<br />
peace, 51 conveniently overlooking <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> blockade was a defensive<br />
response to Hamas’ genocidal policies ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong>ir catalyst.<br />
EXPLOITING THE PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS<br />
Nor has <strong>the</strong> OIC, toge<strong>the</strong>r with its willing international collaborators,<br />
shied away from exploiting West Bank and Gaza Christians—discriminated<br />
against and oppressed by both Hamas and <strong>the</strong> Palestinian Authority, which<br />
have ruled over <strong>the</strong>m for <strong>the</strong> past fifteen years—for its anti-Israel propaganda<br />
campaign.<br />
Consider <strong>the</strong> document titled Kairos Palestine, drawn up by Palestinian<br />
<strong>the</strong>ologians and published in Bethlehem on December 11, 2009, by <strong>the</strong><br />
Geneva World Council of Churches. 52 In <strong>the</strong> name of love, peace, and justice,<br />
<strong>the</strong> paper portrays Israel as <strong>the</strong> epitome of evil and oppression, urging<br />
all Western churches to initiate a policy of economic strangulation and defamation<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Jewish state. This was followed by a letter from <strong>the</strong> Greek<br />
Catholic patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, Gregorios III, to<br />
49. “Hamas Covenant 1988,” Yale Law School Avalon Project. Accessed<br />
November 4, 2010.<br />
50. “The Elders Condemn Israeli Attack on Gaza Relief Ships,” The Elders,<br />
May 31, 2010.<br />
51. Ca<strong>the</strong>rine Ashton, speech to <strong>the</strong> European Parliament, Strasbourg, June 16,<br />
2010.<br />
52. Kairos Palestine, Bethlehem, December 11, 2009; Al-Jazeerah: Cross-Cultural<br />
Understanding (Dalton, GA), December 15, 2009.
216 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:203<br />
Pope Benedict XVI 53 in preparation for <strong>the</strong> October 2010 Synod, planned to<br />
bring toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> Catholic churches of <strong>the</strong> Middle East to discuss <strong>the</strong><br />
greater problems facing <strong>the</strong> local Christians and to devise ways and means<br />
for stopping <strong>the</strong>ir ongoing flight from <strong>the</strong> region.<br />
Invoking his duty to inform <strong>the</strong> pope on <strong>the</strong> dangers in <strong>the</strong> region, <strong>the</strong><br />
patriarch had no qualms about blaming Israeli actions for <strong>the</strong> surge of militant<br />
Islamism throughout <strong>the</strong> region and its adverse implications for <strong>the</strong><br />
local Christian communities. He wrote:<br />
There is a diffuse but sure rise of Islamic extremism, provoked by <strong>the</strong><br />
threats of <strong>the</strong> Israeli government against Palestinians, Lebanon, Syria,<br />
[and Iran], which is spreading throughout all <strong>the</strong> countries in <strong>the</strong> region.<br />
Even in Syria, where such extremism has been up to now very limited, its<br />
advance has become more and more evident, despite efforts from <strong>the</strong><br />
government against it.<br />
Gregorios lamented <strong>the</strong> widespread terror attacks by <strong>the</strong>se Islamists on<br />
local Christians, especially in Iraq and Egypt. Yet, ra<strong>the</strong>r than ask <strong>the</strong> pope<br />
to help restrain <strong>the</strong> perpetrators of this violence, he begged that <strong>the</strong> Holy<br />
See’s diplomacy redouble its efforts to persuade <strong>the</strong> Tel Aviv government,<br />
despite <strong>the</strong> views of its most intransigent wing—probably via <strong>the</strong> United<br />
States and those European countries that, having sponsored <strong>the</strong> birth of <strong>the</strong><br />
State of Israel and supported it ever since, should be able to exert effective<br />
pressure on it—of <strong>the</strong> grave danger of this development, which in <strong>the</strong><br />
medium and perhaps short term runs against <strong>the</strong> interests and future of <strong>the</strong><br />
State of Israel itself, a country that needs peace in <strong>the</strong> region just as much as<br />
Arab countries do to be able eventually to live normally all toge<strong>the</strong>r. 54<br />
CONCLUSION<br />
Judging by Israel’s growing international isolation, <strong>the</strong> OIC’s sustained<br />
effort to delegitimize <strong>the</strong> Jewish state has borne substantial fruit. Not<br />
only is Israel’s right to exist constantly debated and challenged in Western<br />
public opinion forums, but sixty-three years after establishing <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
state in an internationally recognized act of self-determination, <strong>the</strong> United<br />
Nations has become a foremost purveyor of anti-Israel and antisemitic<br />
incitement.<br />
Time and again, year after year, its Commission on Human Rights<br />
53. Gregorios III, Patriarch to Pope Benedict XVI, Melkite Greek Catholic<br />
Patriarchate of Antioch and All <strong>the</strong> East of Alexandria and of Jerusalem, March 1,<br />
2010.<br />
54. Ibid.
2011] DELEGITIMIZING THE JEWISH STATE 217<br />
discusses Israel’s supposed abuses while turning a blind eye to scores of<br />
actual atrocities around <strong>the</strong> globe. This world organization has 192 member<br />
nations, but its Security Council has devoted about a third of its activity and<br />
criticism to only one of those states—Israel. Nowhere has this obsession<br />
been more starkly demonstrated than in <strong>the</strong> World Conference against<br />
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held<br />
September 2001 in <strong>the</strong> South African town of Durban, where, for eight full<br />
days, delegates from numerous countries and thousands of nongovernmental<br />
organizations indulged in a xenophobic orgy of anti-Israel and<br />
antisemitic incitement that made a mockery of <strong>the</strong> conference’s original<br />
purpose. 55<br />
As UNESCO follows suit by denying <strong>the</strong> Jews some of <strong>the</strong>ir most<br />
cherished historical and religious symbols, <strong>the</strong> OIC scores yet ano<strong>the</strong>r palpable<br />
hit in its ceaseless hate campaign.<br />
*Bat Ye’or is <strong>the</strong> author of Eurabia (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2005).<br />
This article contains extracts from her forthcoming book, Europe, Globalization<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Coming Universal Caliphate (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2011).<br />
55. Gerald M. Steinberg, “NGOs Make War on Israel,” Middle East Quarterly,<br />
Summer 2004, 13-25.
Doing <strong>the</strong> Yale Flip-Flop<br />
Amitai Etzioni*<br />
Yale University announced this month that it would close an institute<br />
dedicated to <strong>the</strong> study of antisemitism, <strong>the</strong> Yale Initiative for <strong>the</strong> Interdisciplinary<br />
Study of Antisemitism. In <strong>the</strong> wake of controversy over that decision,<br />
Yale has now announced that it will open a new center dedicated to<br />
<strong>the</strong> same subject. Between <strong>the</strong> closing and opening lies a telling tale about<br />
research in a politically charged world.<br />
Yale initially stated that it decided to close <strong>the</strong> original center after a<br />
routine five-year review because it “failed to meet high standards for<br />
research and instruction,” and “no core of faculty research or student interest<br />
has developed around <strong>the</strong> center.” Questions were immediately raised<br />
about whe<strong>the</strong>r academic performance was <strong>the</strong> only thing on Yale’s mind.<br />
The institute’s critics charged last year that it was defaming Muslims.<br />
Nobody claims that <strong>the</strong> Yale Initiative for <strong>the</strong> Interdisciplinary Study of<br />
Antisemitism desecrated a holy place, marred a mosque or o<strong>the</strong>rwise acted<br />
inappropriately. The critics merely pointed to papers delivered at a center<br />
conference on topics such as “The Central Role of Palestinian Antisemitism<br />
in Creating <strong>the</strong> Palestinian Identity,” “Lawfare, Human Rights Organizations<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Demonization of Israel,” and “Self Hatred and Contemporary<br />
Antisemitism.” The conference included scholars from more than a dozen<br />
countries.<br />
Maen Rashid Areikat, <strong>the</strong> Palestine Liberation Organization representative<br />
to <strong>the</strong> United States and one of center’s most vocal critics, sent a<br />
letter in August 2010 to Yale’s president, urging him to dissociate <strong>the</strong> university<br />
from <strong>the</strong> institute. Areikat’s letter, however, does not quote from <strong>the</strong><br />
papers <strong>the</strong>mselves but merely expresses disapproval of <strong>the</strong> speakers and of<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir chosen topics. There are many scores of papers in <strong>the</strong> academic world<br />
at large delivered each year, many of <strong>the</strong>m critical of Muslims or of Jews,<br />
that are truly inflammatory, yet — in <strong>the</strong> West — one does not close down<br />
<strong>the</strong> places where <strong>the</strong>y have been delivered.<br />
Defamation is <strong>the</strong> same charge that was leveled against a Danish newspaper<br />
that published cartoons of <strong>the</strong> Prophet Mohammed. Denmark protected<br />
<strong>the</strong> paper, its editors and cartoonists, and o<strong>the</strong>r papers across <strong>the</strong><br />
world continued to publish <strong>the</strong>m. It is <strong>the</strong> same charge leveled against<br />
Salman Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses, only instead of censoring<br />
him, Britain provided him shelter and enabled him to continue publishing.<br />
Yale should not have closed <strong>the</strong> institute if only not to seem even to<br />
yield to such pressures. Imagine what we would have said if Britain<br />
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expelled Rushdie because he did not have a permit to work or some o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
such reason we could not disprove.<br />
Defenders of <strong>the</strong> closure argue that whenever <strong>the</strong>y criticize Israel, <strong>the</strong>y<br />
are charged with antisemitism. As I see it, assuming <strong>the</strong>y are criticizing <strong>the</strong><br />
policies of Israel ra<strong>the</strong>r than seeking to delegitimize it by claiming that <strong>the</strong><br />
Jewish people are not entitled to a homeland, <strong>the</strong>y are free to say all <strong>the</strong>y<br />
want. And <strong>the</strong>y, and all o<strong>the</strong>r critics of <strong>the</strong> Yale center’s papers, are free to<br />
counter speech of which <strong>the</strong>y disapprove with more speech—but not with<br />
closing down one of <strong>the</strong> few institutes dedicated to <strong>the</strong> study of<br />
antisemitism.<br />
In my 50 years on campuses—including at similarly highly regarded<br />
universities such as Harvard, Columbia, and Berkeley—I have seen plenty<br />
of institutes that produced little and are still functioning. Universities that<br />
consider <strong>the</strong> mission of an institute to be an important one, but its output<br />
weak, can and do replace <strong>the</strong> director and beef up <strong>the</strong> faculty. In some<br />
cases, <strong>the</strong>y even put <strong>the</strong> institute in what is called a “receivership,” which<br />
gives <strong>the</strong> university a free hand to reconstitute <strong>the</strong> institute. This is essentially<br />
what Yale finally did—by announcing that it will open a new center<br />
for <strong>the</strong> study of antisemitism this fall.<br />
It matters little to me if Yale acted properly because it responded to a<br />
chorus of criticism or showed particular sensitivity to <strong>the</strong> issue because it<br />
maintained quotas that discriminated against Jewish students into <strong>the</strong> 1960s,<br />
or because it took into account that antisemitism is flourishing in many<br />
parts of <strong>the</strong> world, including in several Muslim nations. It did <strong>the</strong> right<br />
thing. Now it is up to <strong>the</strong> new team to show that <strong>the</strong>y will go wherever <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
research points <strong>the</strong>m, disregarding what critics who have pro-Palestinian or<br />
pro-Jewish agendas demand.<br />
*Amitai Etzioni is a sociologist and professor of international relations at George<br />
Washington University. He was a senior adviser to <strong>the</strong> Carter administration,<br />
founder of <strong>the</strong> Communitarian movement, and <strong>the</strong> author of several books, including<br />
Security First (Yale, 2008). Published as “Yale’s Flip-Flop on Anti-Semitism,”<br />
CNN International June 28, 2011; reprinted here with Etzioni’s permission.
Arab Spring Sprung<br />
Fiamma Nirenstein*<br />
There is something that prevents us from understanding where <strong>the</strong><br />
waves of <strong>the</strong> greatest revolutions since anti-communism will lead. It is a<br />
damn stupid bias that has different colors, incoherent and bombastic tones,<br />
and feeds on Nazi lies, refined pacifist ideologies, or simply cliches. There<br />
is a strategy—to bash Israel and focus on <strong>the</strong> Palestinians.<br />
Not <strong>the</strong> freedom of people, or <strong>the</strong>ir well-being, or <strong>the</strong>ir progress<br />
toward modernity. No—Israel must be “wiped off <strong>the</strong> map.” From Saddam<br />
to Qaddafi, from Assad to Ahmadinejad, this invention has been <strong>the</strong> best<br />
weapon. And now, here we go again. Using Israel as an excuse is again <strong>the</strong><br />
weapon of consensus that can disrupt any process of modernization. The<br />
Muslim Bro<strong>the</strong>rhood, in fact, has presented again its official candidacy in<br />
Egypt when Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi suggested to a million people in Tahrir<br />
Square <strong>the</strong> conquest of Jerusalem. Shouts of joy, to which no one in <strong>the</strong><br />
West raised an eyebrow. Amr Mussa, <strong>the</strong> Arab League’s historic Pharaoh<br />
and <strong>the</strong> main candidate for <strong>the</strong> country presidency, has immediately understood<br />
<strong>the</strong> lesson, which wasn’t difficult for him given his record of anti-<br />
Israel hatred. He opened his campaign by saying that his relationship with<br />
Israel is not that of Mubarak, and that <strong>the</strong> Jewish lobby is conspiring to<br />
prevent him from entering his desired role.<br />
From Yemen comes ano<strong>the</strong>r typical conspiracy <strong>the</strong>ory: President Ali<br />
Abdullah Saleh has accused Israel and <strong>the</strong> United States of fueling <strong>the</strong><br />
revolt against his regime. The crowds regurgitate <strong>the</strong> antisemitic venom—<br />
during <strong>the</strong> protests, leaders were violently accused of collusion with Israel.<br />
Mubarak was portrayed with stars of David and American flags on his forehead.<br />
In Bengasi and Tripoli, crowds shouted “Jew” at Qaddafi(!)—<strong>the</strong> Libyan<br />
dictator who asked “all Arab warriors” to destroy Israel will be<br />
displeased.<br />
The <strong>the</strong>ory goes like this: Anti-Israelism, with lively antisemitic hues<br />
(see www.memri.org, which translates documents from all <strong>the</strong> Arab world),<br />
was <strong>the</strong> main flag behind which Arab suffering has been hiding. Remember<br />
<strong>the</strong> Nasser trade-off—I will starve you, I will use you, I will support crowds<br />
of courtiers who will rob you of your money and police who will block<br />
your ideas—and in return I promise to restore <strong>the</strong> power of <strong>the</strong> Arab and<br />
Muslim world destroyed by Western conspiracy.<br />
The first stage is not one of freedom and justice, but to expel—from<br />
Arab and Muslim Ummah, our community, our land—<strong>the</strong> Jews, sons of<br />
dogs and pigs, and restore justice for our Palestinian bro<strong>the</strong>rs. Many propa-<br />
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222 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:221<br />
gandist inventions were made to support this <strong>the</strong>sis: remote-controlled<br />
Zionist rats and vultures, children killed intentionally, organs of killed<br />
Palestinians explanted by Israeli soldiers and a genuine suicide cult (shahid)<br />
was born. Each and every anti-Western terrorist has been raised and glorified,<br />
in Libya, in Iraq, and in Lebanon or in Syria. The criminalization has<br />
convinced <strong>the</strong> Middle East that Israel is merely <strong>the</strong> result of an imperialist<br />
conspiracy, and that a nation nine miles wide is <strong>the</strong> biggest problem.<br />
And we Europeans don’t know any o<strong>the</strong>r song about freedom than that<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Palestinians. Ah, really, <strong>the</strong> Arab world was oppressed? It was poor?<br />
It was also in great part politically extremist? And now? Help! What to do<br />
with all this freedom that looks inside our house, shouting?<br />
I would say, since I don’t know what to stutter, that it is urgent that<br />
Israel return to its 1967 borders, whatever it takes . . . Mrs. Ca<strong>the</strong>rine Ashton,<br />
<strong>the</strong> foreign minister of <strong>the</strong> European Union, didn’t realize that <strong>the</strong> people<br />
she visited during her recent Middle East tour suffered under <strong>the</strong> heel of<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir tyrants, and so she pronounced <strong>the</strong> word “freedom” only when speaking<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Palestinians. Jean Asselborn, <strong>the</strong> foreign minister of Luxembourg<br />
on an official state visit to Jerusalem repeated like a trained parrot that for<br />
him <strong>the</strong> most crucial problem of <strong>the</strong> Middle East is that of <strong>the</strong> Israeli-Palestinian<br />
conflict, and that only Israel is to blame for its failure to resolve it.<br />
Barack Obama, in a meeting at <strong>the</strong> Conference of Presidents of Major<br />
American Jewish Organizations, seems to continue to think that a few<br />
houses built in Jerusalem are <strong>the</strong> most crucial issue, while <strong>the</strong> Middle East<br />
burns.<br />
Meantime, <strong>the</strong> EU, instead of working on <strong>the</strong> wave of refugees who<br />
are approaching its coasts, or <strong>the</strong> possibility of military intervention in<br />
Libya, or on <strong>the</strong> problems of energy supply or on <strong>the</strong> mullah who are sharpening<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir weapons in preparation for a new conquest of power—instead of<br />
dealing with any of <strong>the</strong>se issues, instead plans for a meeting of <strong>the</strong> Quartet—<strong>the</strong><br />
UN, <strong>the</strong> EU, <strong>the</strong> United States, and Russia—that should choke<br />
Israel and bypass <strong>the</strong> United States (<strong>the</strong> everlasting dream of Europe) is<br />
now in a state of confusion. But does it make sense, a normal person would<br />
ask, to rekindle old obsessions while <strong>the</strong> world burns with a new fire?<br />
Shouldn’t we be suspicious of <strong>the</strong> fact that, in a world indifferent to <strong>the</strong><br />
suffering of hundreds of millions of people, <strong>the</strong> only democracy in <strong>the</strong> Middle<br />
East is depicted with <strong>the</strong> image of oppression? The leader of <strong>the</strong> Nation<br />
of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, has declared on <strong>the</strong> Libyan war: “The Jews and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Zionist lobby, which dominate <strong>the</strong> U.S. government and banks, are<br />
pushing <strong>the</strong> U.S. towards a new war . . . my work is to discover <strong>the</strong> plots of<br />
Satan so <strong>the</strong>y do not deceive you and people all over <strong>the</strong> world again.”<br />
We would respond to <strong>the</strong> usual nonsense of Farrakhan with a yawn of<br />
boredom, but we cannot: his words find listeners, and <strong>the</strong>y become politi-
2011] ARAB SPRING SPRUNG 223<br />
cally acceptable not only by people in <strong>the</strong> Muslim world, but also by liberals<br />
in <strong>the</strong> West. So it was during <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong> war in Iraq, so it is with<br />
Afghanistan. If we permit this Middle East crisis to be tainted by anti-Israel<br />
rhetoric, <strong>the</strong> first to be affected will be us: hundreds of millions of people<br />
have been oppressed for decades, and today <strong>the</strong>y can be guided to extremism<br />
and war.<br />
*Fiamma Nirenstein is a journalist and author and member of <strong>the</strong> Italian Chamber<br />
of Deputies, where she serves as vice president of <strong>the</strong> Committee on Foreign<br />
Affairs and chair of <strong>the</strong> Committee for <strong>the</strong> Inquiry into Antisemitism. A Board<br />
member of Journal for <strong>the</strong> Study of Antisemitism, she blogs regularly on her Web<br />
site: http://fiammanirenstein.com. This essay was originally published March 6,<br />
2011, in Il Giornale daily. Reprinted by permission.
The Murder of Hugo Bettauer<br />
Martin Kitchen*<br />
Hugo Bettauer, a journalist and highly successful author of countless<br />
popular novels, was assassinated on March 26, 1925, by Otto Rothstock, an<br />
Austrian nationalist and a dental technician closely associated with <strong>the</strong> Austrian<br />
Nazi party. The murder was inspired by <strong>the</strong> Nazi press, which had<br />
mounted a relentless campaign against this “scabiesious Talmudic soul,”<br />
this “perverted sewer rat.” calling for him to be “eliminated” or “lynched.” 1<br />
The assassin was ably defended by a prominent Nazi attorney, Dr. Walter<br />
Riehl, who waived his fee and succeeded in getting his client acquitted on a<br />
plea of temporary insanity. Riehl had been <strong>the</strong> leader of <strong>the</strong> German<br />
National Socialist Worker’s Party (DNSAP), founded soon after <strong>the</strong> end of<br />
<strong>the</strong> war, but as an opponent of <strong>the</strong> idea of Austria uniting with Germany and<br />
an advocate of a broadly based people’s party, he had broken with Adolf<br />
Hitler in 1923, and founded a new party—<strong>the</strong> German Social Association<br />
(Deutschsozialen Verein). 2 Riehl’s defense of Rothstock brought him back<br />
into favor among Nazis and o<strong>the</strong>r radical antisemites, but Hitler never forgave<br />
him for his opposition to <strong>the</strong> idea of an Anschluss. He rejoined <strong>the</strong><br />
Austrian Nazi Party in 1930, but remained critical of <strong>the</strong> excesses of <strong>the</strong><br />
leadership. After he was arrested by <strong>the</strong> Gestapo in 1938 and released, he<br />
sank into relative obscurity. Rothstock, a fervent antisemite, having followed<br />
Riehl into <strong>the</strong> wilderness, enjoyed his brief moment of notoriety,<br />
spent eighteen months in a psychiatric institution, and <strong>the</strong>n vanished into<br />
anonymity.<br />
Bettauer, a provocative, disputatious, and publicity-seeking character<br />
with a somewhat murky past, had survived bankruptcy in New York before<br />
being expelled from Prussia, where, as a scandal-mongering journalist, he<br />
had driven <strong>the</strong> director of <strong>the</strong> Hof<strong>the</strong>ater to suicide, before returning to<br />
Vienna in 1910. 3 His novels, most of which were originally published as<br />
serials, were hugely successful, while his journalistic activities gave him an<br />
1. “Über Leichen,” Der Spiegel, February 15, 1982.<br />
2. For details, see F. L. Carsten, The Rise of Fascism, London 1982, and Fascist<br />
Movements in Austria, London 1977; Bruce F. Pauley, From Prejudice to Persecution:<br />
A History of Austrian Anti-Semitism, Chapel Hill 1998; Rudolf<br />
Brandstötter, Dr. Walter Riehl und die Geschichte der nationalsozialen Bewegung,<br />
Vienna 1969.<br />
3. Murray G. Hall, Der Fall Bettauer, Salzburg 1978; Beth Noveck, “Hugo<br />
Bettauer and <strong>the</strong> Political Culture of <strong>the</strong> First Republic,” in Günter Bischoff, Anton<br />
Pelinka, and Rolf Steiniger, Austria in <strong>the</strong> Nineteen Fifties (Contemporary Austrian<br />
Studies, vol. 3), New Brunswick 1995; Magdalena Lueger, Die Funktion der Stadt:<br />
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increasingly hazardous prominence that resulted in his receiving a number<br />
of murder threats. Bettauer’s best-known novels were The City Without<br />
Jews (Stadt ohne Juden), 1922, and The Street of Sorrow (Die freudlose<br />
Gasse), 1924. Both were made into successful motion pictures: <strong>the</strong> former,<br />
a journeyman’s effort by H. K. Breslauer, now only of interest in that it<br />
marks <strong>the</strong> film debut of <strong>the</strong> popular character actor Hans Moser; <strong>the</strong> latter<br />
was made into an impressive effort by G. W. Pabst in which Greta Garbo<br />
made her first appearance in a major production, playing alongside <strong>the</strong><br />
superstar Asta Nielsen. Shortly after finishing <strong>the</strong> film, in September 1925,<br />
Garbo went to Hollywood. Five o<strong>the</strong>r movies were based on Bettauer’s<br />
novels. He was also well known as <strong>the</strong> editor of <strong>the</strong> deliberately provocative<br />
Bettauers Wochenschrift, described as a “weekly for lifestyle and eroticism,”<br />
as well a short-lived weekly Er und Sie (Him and Her), which was<br />
obliged to fold after five issues. 4 In 1924, Bettauer was charged with pimping<br />
on <strong>the</strong> grounds that <strong>the</strong> lonely-hearts column in Er und Sie provided<br />
cover for prostitutes to advertise <strong>the</strong>ir wares. He was acquitted amid howls<br />
of protest from <strong>the</strong> respectable Viennese. The case triggered a heated debate<br />
in City Hall in which insults and even blows were exchanged.<br />
Bettauer was an outspoken and frequently immoderate advocate of<br />
sexual liberation as well as being a leading advocate of rescinding article<br />
144 of <strong>the</strong> criminal code, which banned abortion. He was a tireless advocate<br />
of social reform, addressing such issues as <strong>the</strong> housing crisis, <strong>the</strong> steadily<br />
increasing number of <strong>the</strong> homeless, <strong>the</strong> problems faced by single mo<strong>the</strong>rs,<br />
discrimination against homosexuals, <strong>the</strong> harsh treatment of drug addicts and<br />
prostitutes, and <strong>the</strong> vulgarity of <strong>the</strong> nouveaux riches. In so doing, he fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />
enflamed <strong>the</strong> struggle between <strong>the</strong> arch-reactionary chancellor Ignaz Seipel,<br />
a Catholic priest and leader of <strong>the</strong> Christian Social Party, and <strong>the</strong> Social<br />
Democrat Karl Seitz, <strong>the</strong> mayor of “Red Vienna,” 5 But it was The City<br />
Without Jews that caused <strong>the</strong> greatest outrage and provided Rothstock with<br />
a powerful motive for his crime. The book, designed as a light-hearted satire,<br />
was horribly prescient. It tells <strong>the</strong> tale of an Austria with <strong>the</strong> Christian<br />
Social Party in power led by a fanatical antisemite, Dr. Schwerdtfeger, a<br />
character bearing <strong>the</strong> closest imaginable resemblance to Ignaz Seipel. The<br />
government passed an immensely popular law that called for <strong>the</strong> expulsion<br />
Wien in der Österreichischen Literatur. Theorie, Tradition und Analyse in ausgewählte<br />
Beispiele (master’s <strong>the</strong>sis, Vienna 2010).<br />
4. Melanie Hacker (ed.) “Er und Sie.” Wochenschrift für Lebenskultur und<br />
Erotik: Hugo Bettauers Zeitschrift und die Sexualmoral der 1920er Jahre, Saarbrücken<br />
2009.<br />
5. Seipel resigned as chancellor in 1924 after an assassination attempt, but<br />
remained party chairman. He resumed <strong>the</strong> chancellorship in 1926. In <strong>the</strong> meantime,<br />
a Christian Socialist, Rudolf Ramek, served as acting chancellor.
2011] THE MURDER OF HUGO BETTAUER 227<br />
of all Jews by year’s end. But enthusiasm for this measure soon waned.<br />
Cultural life became insufferably dull. Playgoers soon tired of a meager diet<br />
of <strong>the</strong> alpine idylls of Ludwig Ganghofer and <strong>the</strong> sentimental village sagas<br />
of Ludwig Anzengruber. Deprived of <strong>the</strong>ir Jewish patrons, elegant cafés<br />
were obliged to convert into snack bars selling sausages. Jewelers, couturiers,<br />
and furriers, no longer patronized by wealthy Jews, were forced to<br />
move to Prague and Budapest. Unemployment rose steeply. Inflation was<br />
rampant. The once vibrant and exhilarating Vienna rapidly sank to <strong>the</strong> level<br />
of a dull provincial town. Leo Strakosch, one of <strong>the</strong> Jews who had been<br />
expelled, disguises himself as a French artist and returns to Vienna to visit<br />
his wealthy girlfriend. He immediately starts a poster campaign to repeal<br />
<strong>the</strong> expulsion order. The government is toppled and <strong>the</strong> Jews return amid<br />
general jubilation. The film differs substantially from <strong>the</strong> book, causing a<br />
severe altercation between Bettauer and Breslauer because <strong>the</strong> political<br />
message was blunted. Vienna becomes Utopia, <strong>the</strong> entire story a nightmare<br />
dreamt by an antisemitic member of parliament, whose waking words are:<br />
“Thank heavens that this stupid dream is over! We are all human beings and<br />
do not want hate. We simply want to live toge<strong>the</strong>r in peace and quiet.” Jews<br />
are seen as a necessary evil, <strong>the</strong> “world’s yeast.” The film is fur<strong>the</strong>r distanced<br />
from reality by expressionistic sets in <strong>the</strong> manner of Robert Wiene’s<br />
classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Yet even in this anodyne form, <strong>the</strong> film<br />
caused an outrage. Much of <strong>the</strong> satire backfired. Did <strong>the</strong> novel as well as<br />
<strong>the</strong> film not show that Austria’s culture and economy were dominated by<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jews, just as <strong>the</strong> antisemites claimed? Nazis rioted and threw stink<br />
bombs into cinemas. It was banned in Linz. There were calls for “self-help”<br />
against <strong>the</strong> Jewish pornographer Bettauer, which Otto Rothstock promptly<br />
answered, <strong>the</strong>reby becoming a popular hero.<br />
Amid <strong>the</strong> uproar over <strong>the</strong> Bettauer assassination, a hastily prepared<br />
book appeared that provides remarkable testimony to <strong>the</strong> strength of<br />
antisemitic sentiment in <strong>the</strong> Vienna of <strong>the</strong> 1920s. Herwig Hartner-Hnizdo’s<br />
Erotik und Rasse: eine Untersuchung über gesellschaftliche, sittliche und<br />
geschlechtliche Fragen (Eroticism and Race: A study of <strong>the</strong> social, moral<br />
and sexual question) provides an exhaustive and disturbing justification for<br />
Bettauer’s assassination, by detailing <strong>the</strong> charges laid against him and<br />
Vienna’s Jewish community. 6 The author starts from <strong>the</strong> premise that contemporary<br />
<strong>the</strong>ater and film, both of which were dominated by Jews, emphasized<br />
<strong>the</strong> sexual at <strong>the</strong> expense of <strong>the</strong> intellectual. While both mediums of<br />
entertainment claimed to be realistic <strong>the</strong>y failed, for <strong>the</strong> obvious reason that<br />
all were written by Jews, to take account <strong>the</strong> destructive influence of Jewry.<br />
6. Herwig Hartner-Hnizdo, Erotik und Rasse: eine Untersuchung des gesellschaftliche,<br />
sittliche und geschlechtliche Frage, Munich 1925.
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Contemporary dance comes from primitive “coloured people.” With an<br />
unmistakable reference to Josephine Baker, who had just opened at <strong>the</strong> Théâtre<br />
des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Hartner-Hnizdo claimed that France was<br />
particularly taken by this degenerate Negro culture. Germany was already<br />
following along this path to decline.<br />
A fur<strong>the</strong>r threat to German culture came from bobbed hair, with its<br />
variants <strong>the</strong> Dutch Boy, <strong>the</strong> Eton Crop, and <strong>the</strong> Shingle, all said to have<br />
originated in homosexual circles in New York and enthusiastically taken up<br />
by Jewish women in Europe. Short hair and <strong>the</strong> slightly androgynous style<br />
of dress pioneered by Coco Chanel was, Hartner-Hnizdo argued, part of an<br />
absurd and unnatural attempt to make women more like men, which was<br />
bound to lead to a perverse amorphousness. It was also an expression of an<br />
individualism that was encouraged by Jews in order to destroy non-Jewish<br />
ethnicity, while Jews knew full well that <strong>the</strong>ir strength lay in <strong>the</strong>ir sticking<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r. Hartner-Hnizdo found himself in something of a bind in that he<br />
realized that antisemitism, for which he was a strident advocate, served to<br />
streng<strong>the</strong>n Jewish determination to defend <strong>the</strong>ir identity, <strong>the</strong>reby steeling<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir “racially conscious” religion.<br />
Jews were gradually but relentlessly taking over <strong>the</strong> arts and sciences,<br />
which are in turn <strong>the</strong> “source of all life.” 7 Using Martin Lu<strong>the</strong>r’s misquotation<br />
of Genesis 26:3 to <strong>the</strong> effect that <strong>the</strong> Lord exhorted <strong>the</strong> Jews to be “a<br />
stranger in this country,” Hartner-Hnizdo claimed biblical support for his<br />
conviction that Jews are not only an alien body within Christian society, but<br />
also one that is positively harmful. 8 In former times, Christians were well<br />
aware of <strong>the</strong> danger posed by <strong>the</strong> Jews; canon 78 of <strong>the</strong> Lateran Council of<br />
1215, for example, called for Jews to wear distinctive clothing and exhorted<br />
Christian princes to take strict measures against blasphemies against Jesus<br />
Christ. This measure was necessary, we are confidently told, because Jews<br />
made a habit of dressing as Christians to seduce Christian girls and also<br />
because Jewish moneylenders reduced interest rates when permission was<br />
granted to sleep with <strong>the</strong>ir clients’ wives. 9 Pope Gregory IX was particularly<br />
concerned that Jews were seducing Christian wet nurses and maids,<br />
while Honorius IV was appalled at <strong>the</strong> debauchery that occurred when<br />
Christians and Jews lived in close proximity. Hartner-Hnizdo managed to<br />
convince himself that Jews were an innate danger to Christian society and<br />
that it was simply not possible for <strong>the</strong>m to change <strong>the</strong>ir malicious ways.<br />
7. Erotik und Rasse, 25.<br />
8. Lu<strong>the</strong>r wrote: “Sei ein Fremdling in diesem Land,” which is translated by<br />
The New Jerusalem Bible as: “Remain for <strong>the</strong> present in that country.” The King<br />
James Bible’s version is: “Sojourn in this land.”<br />
9. Erotik und Rasse, 30ff.
2011] THE MURDER OF HUGO BETTAUER 229<br />
“Racial studies” (Rassenkunde) clearly showed that character is inborn and<br />
not affected by surroundings, as was boldly claimed at <strong>the</strong> time of Jewish<br />
emancipation. The notion that nurture was more important than nature was<br />
simply used as an alibi for Jewish malevolence. 10 Race is <strong>the</strong> key determinant<br />
and cannot be overcome, Hartner-Hnizdo contends. Most history is<br />
unscientific in that it does not take account of racial factors, <strong>the</strong>reby disguising<br />
<strong>the</strong> true motive forces determining <strong>the</strong> historical process.<br />
The threat posed by Jews should be as much a concern to contemporaries<br />
as it was to thirteenth-century popes. It is still essentially <strong>the</strong> menace:<br />
an unbridled and perverse sexuality intent on destroying <strong>the</strong> Christian sense<br />
of community and civil virtue. This is clearly evident in contemporary Jewish<br />
literature, <strong>the</strong> essential characteristics of which, Hartner-Hnizdo claims,<br />
are a cynically negative sense of satire, sensationalism, and unrestrained<br />
sexuality. He depicts Bettauer as an exemplary instance of this noxious type<br />
of literary figure. The sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld was ano<strong>the</strong>r of his<br />
bêtes noirs, although he completely misunderstood Hirschfeld’s <strong>the</strong>ory.<br />
Hirschfeld was a eugenicist and member of <strong>the</strong> Society for Racial Hygiene<br />
(Gesellschaft für Rassenhygiene) who believed that homosexuals should not<br />
be permitted to have children, on <strong>the</strong> grounds that <strong>the</strong>ir condition was attributable<br />
to a genetic defect. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, he was a passionate opponent<br />
of article 175 of <strong>the</strong> German criminal code, which banned male homosexual<br />
acts. and he called for a sympa<strong>the</strong>tic understanding of gays and lesbians.<br />
Hartner-Hnizdo attacked Hirschfeld for claiming that since homosexuality<br />
was “natural” and inborn it should <strong>the</strong>refore be permitted. For Hartner-<br />
Hnizdo, homosexuality was blatantly unnatural and had to be stopped,<br />
because if allowed to go rampant it would lead to <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> human<br />
race. Homosexuality, he was convinced, was particularly prevalent in <strong>the</strong><br />
Jewish community and was symptomatic of <strong>the</strong> Jewish emphasis on an individualism<br />
that posed a mortal threat to <strong>the</strong> Christian community and <strong>the</strong><br />
Aryan race. He claimed that <strong>the</strong>re were three times more cases of psychosis<br />
among Jews than non-Jews, hence <strong>the</strong> rise of <strong>the</strong> sex-obsessed Jewish<br />
pseudo-science of psychoanalysis. 11 Throughout <strong>the</strong> Jewish community<br />
<strong>the</strong>re was a neurotic drive toward “planation”—<strong>the</strong> gradual reduction of<br />
intellectual and physical distinctions between <strong>the</strong> sexes—coupled with a<br />
missionary zeal to encourage homosexuality among non-Jews so <strong>the</strong>ir birth<br />
rate would be lowered while <strong>the</strong>y, particularly <strong>the</strong> Ostjuden, bred prolifically.<br />
Here were fur<strong>the</strong>r powerful arguments for a strict apar<strong>the</strong>id between<br />
Jews and non-Jews.<br />
The counter-measures proposed by Hartner-Hnizdo came from <strong>the</strong><br />
10. Erotik und Rasse, 33.<br />
11. Erotik und Rasse, 46.
230 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:225<br />
familiar repertoire of <strong>the</strong> extreme right; some were also advocated by leftwing<br />
eugenicists. Abortions should be performed wherever <strong>the</strong>re was a suggestion<br />
of a genetically determined physical or mental deficiency. The asocial<br />
and criminally inclined should not be permitted to have children. The<br />
imperatives of “racial hygiene” should be rigorously enforced. Sex education<br />
should be taken out of <strong>the</strong> hands of Jews and be entrusted to those who<br />
were clearly aware of “racial necessity.”<br />
Before launching a broadside against Hugo Bettauer, Hartner-Hnizdo<br />
selects a number of Austria Jewish literati for special opprobrium. Studiously<br />
avoiding such important figures as Stefan Zweig and Alfred Döblin,<br />
he fastens instead on obscure writers. First on <strong>the</strong> list was Emmerich<br />
Békessy, publisher of Austria’s first tabloid newspaper Die Stunde (The<br />
Hour). Békessy, a notorious morphine addict, somehow managed to get<br />
Austrian citizenship in 1923, in spite of facing charges of blackmail, libel,<br />
and fraud in his native Hungary. Die Stunde was an appalling scandal sheet,<br />
a pristine example of what was known as “revolver journalism” (“gutter<br />
journalism”), but it was resolutely democratic and initially enjoyed <strong>the</strong> support<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Social Democratic Party. It had some impressive contributors,<br />
including <strong>the</strong> 18-year-old Billy Wilder. In 1924 Békessy founded a <strong>the</strong>atrical<br />
journal, Die Bühne (The Stage).<br />
From <strong>the</strong> very outset, Békessy was a controversial figure. His vicious<br />
attacks on prominent citizens, his unscrupulous gossip mongering and<br />
shameless attention seeking prompted <strong>the</strong> Austrian writer Karl Kraus to<br />
launch a ferocious counterattack in his journal Die Fackel (The Torch).<br />
Kraus’ slogan, “Chuck <strong>the</strong> scoundrel out of Vienna,” was echoed throughout<br />
<strong>the</strong> city. Békessy’s unprincipled methods, which included outright<br />
blackmail, was too much even for <strong>the</strong> paper’s editor, Ernst Spitz, who<br />
revealed all to his colleagues, including young Billy Wilder, who in turn<br />
informed <strong>the</strong> management. An editor was arrested for blackmail, but <strong>the</strong><br />
charges were dropped. Békessy was taking <strong>the</strong> waters in France when his<br />
backers went bankrupt as a result of some hazardous speculation in foreign<br />
currencies. He remained in France before returning to Hungary, where he<br />
was active as a journalist. In 1938 he moved to Switzerland and in 1940 to<br />
<strong>the</strong> United States, returning to Hungary after <strong>the</strong> war. After numerous<br />
botched attempts he finally committed suicide in 1951, alongside his wife,<br />
by a morphine overdose.<br />
Békessy was for Hartner-Hnizdo little more than a typical example of<br />
“Jewish journalism,” with its emphasis on sex and its attacks on <strong>the</strong> “scientifically<br />
based and historically proven” importance of race, all dressed up as<br />
an attack on prejudice and a call for freedom. The intended result would be<br />
an unbridling of <strong>the</strong> sex drive and <strong>the</strong> domination of <strong>the</strong> masses—in o<strong>the</strong>r
2011] THE MURDER OF HUGO BETTAUER 231<br />
words, Bolshevism. 12 There was nothing exceptional <strong>the</strong>refore about Hartner-Hnizdo’s<br />
attack on Békessy, apart from its strident antisemitism and his<br />
denunciation of Békessy’s avid “anti-swastika-ism,” his abortion advocacy,<br />
and his propagation of free love. Hartner-Hnizdo also went on <strong>the</strong> attack<br />
against several prominent anti-racists. Dr. Ignaz Zollschan, a physician and<br />
anthropologist, set out to destroy <strong>the</strong> racist views of British-German philosopher<br />
Houston Stewart Chanberlain, an effort that Hartner-Hnizdo poohpoohed<br />
on <strong>the</strong> grounds that Jews <strong>the</strong>mselves have a genuine and in a certain<br />
sense admirable awareness of racial identity. 13 The gynecologist and<br />
demographer Felix Aaron Theilhaber was ano<strong>the</strong>r target for Hartner-<br />
Hnizdo’s vitriol. Theilhaber bemoaned <strong>the</strong> fact that German Jewry was<br />
gradually disappearing due to emigration to <strong>the</strong> urban centers, intermarriage,<br />
and a drop in <strong>the</strong> birth rate to less than one child per family. 14 As a<br />
passionate Zionist, Theilhaber believed that <strong>the</strong> only solution was a Jewish<br />
state. As a physician, he was a birth control advocate and called for<br />
decriminalization of abortion and homosexuality. He was closely associated<br />
with Magnus Hirschfeld and later with Wilhelm Reich. Ano<strong>the</strong>r intimate<br />
colleague was Arthur Ruppin, a sociologist and Zionist, who was one of <strong>the</strong><br />
founders of Tel Aviv and professor of “Jewish sociology” at Hebrew University.<br />
In addition, Ruppin, a eugenicist who believed that settlers should<br />
meet rigorous “bodily, professional and moral criteria,” was known as <strong>the</strong><br />
“fa<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong> Jewish settler movement.” He insisted that <strong>the</strong> biological singularity<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Jews necessitated strict ethnic separation from <strong>the</strong> Palestinians.<br />
In an outburst of social-Darwinist fervor, he argued that: “It is not<br />
simply that <strong>the</strong> Jews (during <strong>the</strong> Diaspora) preserved <strong>the</strong> exceptional inherited<br />
traits of <strong>the</strong>ir race, <strong>the</strong>y were actually streng<strong>the</strong>ned by a lengthy process<br />
of selection. The exceptionally difficult conditions under which <strong>the</strong> Jews<br />
were forced to live during <strong>the</strong> last five hundred years resulted in a struggle<br />
12. Erotik und Rasse, 62.<br />
13. Erotik und Rasse, 66. Zollschan’s attack on Houston Stewart Chamberlain is<br />
found in Das Rassenproblem unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der <strong>the</strong>oretischen<br />
Grundlagen der jüdischen Rassenfrage, Vienna 1910, reprinted 1925. Zollschan<br />
devoted his life to <strong>the</strong> struggle against racialism, summarizing his thoughts on <strong>the</strong><br />
topic in Racialism against Civilization, London 1942. See Paul J. Weindling, “Central<br />
Europe Confronts German Racial Hygiene: Friedrich Hertz, Hugo Iltis and<br />
Ignaz Zollschan as Critics of German Racial Hygiene,” in Blood and Homeland:<br />
Eugenics and Racial Nationalism in Central and Sou<strong>the</strong>ast Europe, 1900-1940, ed.<br />
Marius Turda and Paul Julian Weindling, Budapest 2006.<br />
14. Felix Aaron Theilhaber, Der Untergang der deutschen Juden: eine volkswirtschaftliche<br />
Studie, Munich 1911. Theilhaber was arrested by <strong>the</strong> Gestapo in<br />
1933 and lost his license to practice medicine. He managed to escape to Palestine in<br />
1935, where he helped organize <strong>the</strong> private medical insurance company Kupat<br />
Cholim Maccabi. He died in 1956.
232 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:225<br />
for existence in which only <strong>the</strong> cleverest and economically shrewd survived.<br />
For this reason today’s Jews can, in a certain sense, be seen as a<br />
particularly valuable human species. O<strong>the</strong>r races may have o<strong>the</strong>r merits, but<br />
as far as intellectual ability is concerned <strong>the</strong>y can hardly outdo <strong>the</strong> Jews.” 15<br />
Ruppin caused fur<strong>the</strong>r embarrassment to liberal Zionists by claiming that<br />
<strong>the</strong> Ashkenazim were superior “with regard to energy, intelligence and scientific<br />
curiosity” to Jews from Yemen, Morocco, and <strong>the</strong> Caucasus. 16 He<br />
asked whe<strong>the</strong>r such inferior material should be permitted to immigrate to<br />
Palestine because “<strong>the</strong> intellectual and cultural level of <strong>the</strong>se Jews is so low<br />
that mass immigration of <strong>the</strong>se elements would lower <strong>the</strong> average cultural<br />
standards of <strong>the</strong> Jews in Palestine.” 17 Ruppin’s insistence that Jewishness<br />
was due to ethnicity ra<strong>the</strong>r than religious affiliation or <strong>the</strong> result of shared<br />
experience excited <strong>the</strong> interest of Hans F. K. Gün<strong>the</strong>r, a prominent Nazi<br />
racial ideologue and expert in “racial hygiene,” who argued that Jews<br />
should be forced to emigrate “to Palestine, or some o<strong>the</strong>r part of <strong>the</strong> world<br />
suited to <strong>the</strong>ir hereditary traits.” 18<br />
Hartner-Hnizdo saw all <strong>the</strong>se efforts to streng<strong>the</strong>n a sense of Jewish<br />
identity as particularly alarming in that <strong>the</strong>y were, particularly in <strong>the</strong> case of<br />
Arthur Ruppin, mirror images of <strong>the</strong> intellectual heritage of Houston Stewart<br />
Chamberlain. Perhaps for this reason he hastily moved on to attack a<br />
series of Austrian Jewish writers before focusing his full attention on Hugo<br />
Bettauer.<br />
First on <strong>the</strong> list was Arthur Schnitzler, whom he characterized, along<br />
with Jakob Wassermann, as leading examples of <strong>the</strong> pernicious species of<br />
assimilated Jew. 19 He was particularly incensed by Schnitzler’s frequent<br />
attacks on <strong>the</strong> antisemites, which he found to be “narrow-minded, spiteful,<br />
and pettily one-sided: now <strong>the</strong> Jew is awake and strikes back.” As a prime<br />
example of this attitude, he pointed to Schnitzler’s sensitive treatment of<br />
antisemitism in his play Professor Bernhardi. Hartner-Hnizdo dismissed <strong>the</strong><br />
rest of Schnitzler’s work as superficially witty and sex-obsessed, in which<br />
<strong>the</strong> concept of public decency was mocked as prejudice, narrow-mindedness,<br />
and intolerance. In spite of this diatribe, he was in danger of coming<br />
under Schnitzler’s irresistible spell and grudgingly admitted that <strong>the</strong> object<br />
15. Arthur Ruppin, Die Juden der Gegenwart, Berlin 1904, reprinted 1920,<br />
p.191ff. Ruppin received <strong>the</strong> Haeckel Prize in 1903 for his social-Darwinist study<br />
Darwinismus und Sozialwissenschaft.<br />
16. Ruppin, Die Juden, 191.<br />
17. Ruppin, Die Juden, 260.<br />
18. Gün<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong> author of Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes (1922), was a<br />
leading light in <strong>the</strong> pseudo science of “Racial Hygiene,” <strong>the</strong>reby earning <strong>the</strong> nicknames<br />
“Rassen-Gün<strong>the</strong>r” and “Rassenpabst.”<br />
19. Erotik und Rasse, 68-83.
2011] THE MURDER OF HUGO BETTAUER 233<br />
of his outrage was an assimilated Jew who had lost much of what made <strong>the</strong><br />
Ostjuden so repulsive.<br />
It is hardly surprising that Hartner-Hnizdo had considerably less to say<br />
about Jakob Wassermann. Wassermann was a paradigmatic example of <strong>the</strong><br />
“collar and tie” assimilated Jew (Krawattenjude) whose novel Die Juden<br />
von Zirndorf was a blistering attack on <strong>the</strong> suffocating monotony, bigotry,<br />
and backwardness of an orthodox Jewish community. Wassermann said of<br />
<strong>the</strong>se Jews that <strong>the</strong>y were “worms, snakes and rubbish,” adding that “our<br />
entire cultural sickness is called Jewry.” He went even fur<strong>the</strong>r by insisting<br />
that Christianity was even worse than Judaism, because it was solidly based<br />
on all that was worst in <strong>the</strong> latter. Therefore, he said, a passionate<br />
antisemite should be even more fanatical in his hatred of Christianity. Hartner-Hnizdo<br />
ra<strong>the</strong>r lamely claimed that Wassermann was not against “German-ness<br />
as such,” merely against “anti-Jewish sentiment.” He argued that<br />
Wassermann was not really a German, but that was not his fault—it was<br />
racially determined.<br />
Next on <strong>the</strong> list came Gustav Meyrink, author of <strong>the</strong> novel Der Golem.<br />
The illegitimate son of Karl von Varnhagen, minister of state in Württemberg,<br />
and a Viennese actress, Maria Meier, he was a restless soul, who<br />
lingered on <strong>the</strong> wilder shores of <strong>the</strong> occult. Gershom Scholem, who had<br />
visited him to discuss details of Der Golem, later said that Mayrink was “at<br />
that time a famous writer, who combined an exceptional ability for antibourgeois<br />
satire with an equally remarkable facility for mystical puffery<br />
that was expressed in hair-raising, often very impressive, but hardly serious<br />
short stories, <strong>the</strong> quality of which today has only been surpassed by Jorge<br />
Luis Borges.” 20 For his part, Borges admired <strong>the</strong> book as a memorable horror<br />
story. Hartner-Hnizdo attributed Meyrink’s obsession with <strong>the</strong> occult to<br />
his affinity with <strong>the</strong> kabala, inherited from his Jewish mo<strong>the</strong>r. Meyrink’s<br />
anti-bourgeois satire, most clearly evident in his collection of short stories,<br />
published in 1913 under <strong>the</strong> title Des deutschen Spiessers Wunderhorn (The<br />
Philistine’s Cornucopia), shows good and bad Jews, but all non-Jews are<br />
represented as evil, apart from a few criminals who are represented as being<br />
decent, sensitive, generous, and unselfish. Hartner-Hnizdo dismisses this<br />
work as “repugnantly coarse” and nothing but “derisive mockery.”<br />
Arnolt Bronnen, author of a successful play, Vatermord (Patricide),<br />
was for Hartner-Hnizdo an exemplary case of a “half-Jew” adopting <strong>the</strong><br />
protective mimicry of assimilation. At <strong>the</strong> time that Erotik und Rasse was<br />
written, Bronnen was on <strong>the</strong> left, cooperating with Brecht and friendly with<br />
Friedrich Murnau. Later he moved sharply to <strong>the</strong> right, joined <strong>the</strong> Nazis,<br />
20. Roland Reuss, “Was man in Gespensterkreisen gerade so trägt,” Frankfurter<br />
Allegemeine Zeitung, September 21, 1910.
234 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:225<br />
and became closely associated with Otto Strasser and Goebbels. For a while<br />
he lived in a ménage à trois with Goebbels and his mistress, a young actress<br />
who also happened to be an NKVD agent. 21 Hartner-Hnizdo denounced<br />
Bronnen as a representative of “<strong>the</strong> victory of <strong>the</strong> vanguard of <strong>the</strong> sexual<br />
revolution over <strong>the</strong> German world of order, intellect and morality”—in<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r words, of Bolshevism. This led him to <strong>the</strong> observation that “we<br />
should not overlook <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong>re is a remarkable resemblance between<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jewish and <strong>the</strong> Mongol-Tartar temperament as far as <strong>the</strong> libidinal is<br />
concerned. Thus we see in <strong>the</strong> Bolshevik revolution in Russia <strong>the</strong> leadership<br />
divided between <strong>the</strong> Jew Trotsky and <strong>the</strong> Mongol Lenin, who incidentally<br />
has Jewish blood in his veins from his mo<strong>the</strong>r’s side.” 22<br />
Hartner-Hnizdo’s final victim before turning to Hugo Bettauer was<br />
Max Glass, author of Die entfesselte Menschheit (Humanity Unchained), a<br />
novel about <strong>the</strong> revolution in Germany in November 1918. All <strong>the</strong> characters<br />
in <strong>the</strong> book are described as violently aggressive, pathologically criminal,<br />
and determined to free <strong>the</strong>mselves from all moral, cultural, and social<br />
restraints. It was a ferocious condemnation of middle-class attitudes toward<br />
<strong>the</strong> “o<strong>the</strong>r”—<strong>the</strong> “November criminals” who had stabbed <strong>the</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>rland in<br />
<strong>the</strong> back, proletarians, and Jews. Glass’ novel was promptly turned into a<br />
successful film, beginning for him a meteoric career as a screenwriter and<br />
producer. 23 It was for Hartner-Hnizdo a prime example of <strong>the</strong> “hair-splitting<br />
philosophy,” “Talmudic writing,” and “purely economic and libidinal attitude”<br />
typical of his race. Such trumpeting of “lack of prejudice” was a<br />
destructive attitude that posed a serious danger to German civilization.<br />
Hartner-Hnizdo’s condemnation of Die entfesselte Menschheit was warmly<br />
endorsed by <strong>the</strong> prominent racist ideologue Franz Schattenfroh in a book<br />
that suggested that mass murder was <strong>the</strong> optimum solution to <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
21. For details of Bronnen’s remarkably checkered career, see Friedbert Aspetsberger,<br />
Arnolt Bronnen, Vienna 1995; Harald Kaas, “Der faschistische Piccolo”<br />
A.B’, in Intellektuelle im Bann des Nationalsozialismus, Karl Corino (ed.),<br />
Hamburg: Hoffmann and Campe, 1980, pp. 136-149.<br />
22. Erotik und Rasse, p. 106.<br />
23. For Die entfesselte Menschheit, see Andy Hahnemann, “ ‘Der Tod jagt<br />
durch die Strassen . . .’ Zur Psychopathologisierung der Revolution” in Max Glass,<br />
Die enfesselter Menschheit (1919), in “Friede, Freiheit, Brot.” Romane zur deutschen<br />
November Revolution, ed. Ulrich Kittstein and Regine Zeller, Amsterdam<br />
2009. Glass founded <strong>the</strong> production companies Terra-Film-Gesellschaft, Max<br />
Glass-Film GmbH, and Kristall-Film GmbH. As a Jew who converted to Catholicism,<br />
he was forced to leave Germany in 1933. After a short but successful career<br />
as a film producer in Paris, he managed to travel to Brazil and <strong>the</strong>n to <strong>the</strong> United<br />
States. He returned to France after <strong>the</strong> war, where he died in 1965. He was <strong>the</strong><br />
stepfa<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong> psychologist Hans Eysenck. See http://www.lips.org/<br />
bio_GlassM.asp.
2011] THE MURDER OF HUGO BETTAUER 235<br />
question. 24<br />
The second half of Erotik und Rasse is devoted to a ferocious attack on<br />
Hugo Bettauer, who is presented as being <strong>the</strong> most pernicious of all <strong>the</strong>se<br />
German-Jewish writers. When <strong>the</strong> police tried to stop <strong>the</strong> sale of Er und Sie<br />
to minors, Karl Sietz, <strong>the</strong> mayor of Vienna whom Hartner-Hnizdo claimed<br />
was <strong>the</strong> illegitimate son of “<strong>the</strong> Jew Pollak,” stepped in to save his Jewish<br />
comrade. 25 This outraged <strong>the</strong> chancellor, Ignaz Seipel, who called for “<strong>the</strong><br />
rehabilitation of souls” (Seelensanierung) and <strong>the</strong> outlawing of publications<br />
such as Er und Sie and Bettauers Wochenschrift, a view that was shared by<br />
<strong>the</strong> Zionist paper Wiener Morgenzeitung, which described Bettauer as “a<br />
professional pimp disguised as a journalist,” whose paper offered “<strong>the</strong> satisfaction<br />
of every imaginable sexual indulgence by people of all ages, even<br />
sixteen-year-olds, on provision of <strong>the</strong> client’s age and due payment.” 26<br />
Hartner-Hnizdo agreed with this judgment, but questioned <strong>the</strong> paper’s<br />
motives. Bettauer had become an embarrassment for <strong>the</strong> Jewish community<br />
and was an anti-Zionist. He asked why <strong>the</strong> Wiener Morgenzeitung did not<br />
also attack Freud, suggesting as an answer—with blissful disregard of <strong>the</strong><br />
fact that Freud was a prominent anti-Zionist—that it was probably because<br />
he was a Zionist. 27 Bettauer was charged on twenty-three counts of attacks<br />
on public decency under paragraph 516 of <strong>the</strong> criminal code, but a jury<br />
court found him not guilty.<br />
Bettauer’s propagation of free love was a constant thorn in <strong>the</strong> side of<br />
<strong>the</strong> respectable right and prompted antisemites like Hartner-Hnizdo into<br />
frenzied outbursts of indignation. His claim that prostitutes voluntarily plied<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir trade, making <strong>the</strong> preposterous accusation that this assertion was cover<br />
for <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> sex trade was firmly in Jewish hands, caused particular<br />
outrage. Bettauer campaigned for <strong>the</strong> rights of women, including prostitutes,<br />
and mounted a campaign against <strong>the</strong> law that denied <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong> right to<br />
vote. 28 He strongly endorsed Magnus Hirschfeld’s efforts to legalize homosexuality.<br />
29 In addition, he supported <strong>the</strong> idea that before a couple could get<br />
24. Franz Schattenfroh, Wille und Rasse, Berlin 1938.<br />
25. Harald Gröller, Karl Seitz, Vienna 2002; Wolfgang Maderthaner, Karl Seitz,<br />
Vienna 2000; Rudolf Spitzer, Karl Seitz: Waisenknabe, Staatspräsident, Bürgermeister,<br />
Vienna 1994. Seitz’s fa<strong>the</strong>r died young, leaving his wife and eight children<br />
destitute. For this reason, and not because he was illegitimate, Seitz was raised in<br />
an orphanage. Seitz was <strong>the</strong> architect of “Red Vienna,” a model of social democratic<br />
town planning.<br />
26. Erotik und Rasse, 135. The Wiener Morgenzeitung was <strong>the</strong> only Germanlanguage<br />
Jewish daily in Europe.<br />
27. Freud abandoned his opposition to Zionism when <strong>the</strong> Nazis came to power.<br />
28. Prostitutes were also disenfranchised in Italy and Spain.<br />
29. Lesbianism was criminalized in Austria, but not in Germany.
236 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:225<br />
married <strong>the</strong>y had to show that <strong>the</strong>y had lived toge<strong>the</strong>r for at least six<br />
months; o<strong>the</strong>r provisos was that <strong>the</strong> relationship could be broken off at any<br />
time during this trial period; <strong>the</strong> man would be made responsible for <strong>the</strong><br />
upkeep of any child conceived during this time if <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r was unemployed<br />
and remained single, and he would also be obliged to compensate<br />
<strong>the</strong> woman for any losses incurred should <strong>the</strong>y not marry; and if <strong>the</strong> experiment<br />
failed, a year had to pass before ano<strong>the</strong>r attempt was made. Only three<br />
such trials should be permitted.<br />
Hartner-Hnizdo was appalled by <strong>the</strong>se ra<strong>the</strong>r impracticable notions,<br />
which he felt would reduce European civilization to a “Negroid level.” He<br />
insisted that a German woman’s greatest wish was to “bring forth new,<br />
healthy German life that was full of hope,” whereas Bettauer saw marriage<br />
purely and simply in terms of mutual sexual compatibility. For Hartner-<br />
Hnizdo, Bettauer showed his true face in his novel The Blue Mark (Das<br />
Blaue Mal). 30 The story, which is set in <strong>the</strong> American Deep South, tells <strong>the</strong><br />
tale of a blonde, blue-eyed botany professor who falls in love with a beautiful<br />
mulatto woman. Were such miscegenation to be encouraged, <strong>the</strong> net<br />
result, Hartner-Hnizdo argued, would be <strong>the</strong> “niggerisation of America.”<br />
For this reason, he strongly endorsed <strong>the</strong> Klu Klux Klan, which lumped<br />
Jews toge<strong>the</strong>r with Negroes. They did so, he asserted, “for perfectly good<br />
reasons, because <strong>the</strong>y (Jews) have a lot of dark, non-Aryan and especially<br />
Nigger blood in <strong>the</strong>ir veins. This can clearly be seen in <strong>the</strong>ir bulging lips<br />
(Nigger lips) and <strong>the</strong>ir curled hair, as well as in <strong>the</strong>ir dark complexion,<br />
which naturally can also come from o<strong>the</strong>r racial mixtures[,] and <strong>the</strong>ir prominent<br />
schnozzles, which is a pretty common characteristic among Jews.” He<br />
agreed wholeheartedly with <strong>the</strong> Klan in his determination to make a clear<br />
distinction between Jews, coloreds, and “us Germans.” This would inevitably<br />
lead to <strong>the</strong> forcing away of Jews from German soil.” Hartner-Hnizdo<br />
had to admit that Bettauer’s portrait of <strong>the</strong> Ostjuden as ‘flat-footed, grafters,<br />
wheelers and dealers, <strong>the</strong>ir hands covered with platinum and diamonds,”<br />
with <strong>the</strong>ir “prurient lust for women” was perfectly accurate, but regretted<br />
that he did not apply this description to <strong>the</strong> rest of his race. 31 On <strong>the</strong> contrary;<br />
Bettauer believed that <strong>the</strong> vast majority of Jews were sensitive, intelligent<br />
human beings, who were open-minded, thoughtful, and mentally<br />
alert. Above all, <strong>the</strong>y had a better understanding of women—particularly<br />
those independent, warm, and sensual women whom he admired—than <strong>the</strong><br />
30. Das Blaue Mal. Der Roman eines Ausgestossenen, Vienna 1922; Erotik und<br />
Rasse, 165-172.<br />
31. The word used for “wheelers and dealers” is Kettenhändler—unnecessary<br />
dealers between producers and consumers. The practice is illegal in present-day<br />
Germany.
2011] THE MURDER OF HUGO BETTAUER 237<br />
average German petit bourgeois. By contrast, <strong>the</strong> crooks in his novels are<br />
almost all exemplary Aryans.<br />
This was all too much for Hartner-Hnizdo. As a passionate antisemite,<br />
convinced that Jews posed a deadly threat to Aryan civilization, he was<br />
outraged that “<strong>the</strong> swastika people,” by whom Bettauer means all those who<br />
have anti-Jewish sentiments, are without exception portrayed in his novels<br />
as “utterly inferior, measly and mean-spirited creatures.” Bettauer’s agenda<br />
was obvious to him: “He clearly shows us where <strong>the</strong> whole movement is<br />
intended to end: in <strong>the</strong> total dissolution of existing conditions, with <strong>the</strong> Jew<br />
as <strong>the</strong> only consciously active and effective element, while <strong>the</strong> German having<br />
been deprived of all intellectual and moral footholds will sink into <strong>the</strong><br />
mud.” 32 At <strong>the</strong> root of <strong>the</strong> problem, in Hartner-Hnizdo’s troubled mind, was<br />
<strong>the</strong> belief that intellectual and instinctual drives differed radically according<br />
to race. Unbridled sexuality is, according to this <strong>the</strong>ory, at <strong>the</strong> basis of <strong>the</strong><br />
Jewish worldview. All that stays in <strong>the</strong> way of pure animal lust—marriage,<br />
<strong>the</strong> family, <strong>the</strong> sense of spiritual and intellectual belonging, even <strong>the</strong> state—<br />
is rejected out of hand. The Jew initially sees in a woman an object of<br />
sexual desire. He is incapable of appreciating beauty without being overcome<br />
by lust. The Aryan, by contrast, looks first for spiritual and intellectual<br />
qualities in <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r sex. Marriage is at <strong>the</strong> very heart of <strong>the</strong> racial idea,<br />
for it is through marriage that <strong>the</strong> race is streng<strong>the</strong>ned, purified, and preserved.<br />
It is for this precise reason that Jews attack <strong>the</strong> institution, while<br />
making sure that marriage within <strong>the</strong>ir own community is kept free from<br />
extraneous racial material. Quotations from Ezra and Nehemiah did not act<br />
as a very successful smokescreen with which to hide <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong><br />
already high degree of exogamy in <strong>the</strong> Jewish community was on <strong>the</strong> rise,<br />
much to <strong>the</strong> alarm of <strong>the</strong> antisemites. 33 Hartner-Hnizdo worked himself up<br />
into a frenzy over this issue: “The racial idea alone can save our young men<br />
from gaining knowledge of life and intellectual sustenance from a foreign<br />
or poisoned source; but women also can only be protected from sinking into<br />
an inferior race and becoming <strong>the</strong> objects of desire of sensually perverse<br />
humans or sexual adventurers by a strong spiritual affinity with <strong>the</strong>ir racial<br />
species. This racial consciousness, which is represented in <strong>the</strong> Old Testament<br />
in an often repulsive form, was made into one of God’s most sacred<br />
commandments by <strong>the</strong> prophets Ezra and Nehemiah, so that <strong>the</strong> Jews, even<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Diaspora, were saved from dissolution among <strong>the</strong> neighbouring peoples<br />
. . . Who teaches our children to have a German sense of race and<br />
identity, that will guide <strong>the</strong>ir lives and save <strong>the</strong>m from being destroyed by a<br />
foreign culture and way of life? Nei<strong>the</strong>r at home nor in <strong>the</strong> schools do <strong>the</strong>y<br />
32. Erotik und Rasse, 212.<br />
33. The relevant passages are in Ezra 10 and Ezekiel 10:31 and 13: 23-31.
238 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:225<br />
learn anything of <strong>the</strong> importance of race, or of <strong>the</strong> spiritual and intellectual<br />
forces that are determined by this factor. The cultural uniqueness and level<br />
of a people is irrevocably linked to its racial composition. It is never made<br />
clear to <strong>the</strong>m that <strong>the</strong>y are Germans and that as Germans <strong>the</strong>y must feel that<br />
<strong>the</strong>y are a vital part of <strong>the</strong> race and that <strong>the</strong>y must order <strong>the</strong>ir lives in a<br />
manner appropriate to <strong>the</strong> intellectual, moral and cultural imperatives of<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir racial origins.” 34<br />
Hartner-Hnizdo made <strong>the</strong> state responsible for Bettauer’s murder. He<br />
had been allowed to publish his pornography, to undermine public order<br />
and decency, and to attack those who were determined to preserve all that<br />
was best in German culture. In such a situation, violence was justified as <strong>the</strong><br />
last resort. At this point, one might well ask why <strong>the</strong> murder of a hack<br />
writer of dubious integrity by a psychologically disturbed fanatic and justified<br />
in a 252-page rant by a racist crank should be worthy of attention. First<br />
of all, Erotik und Rasse was lent to Heinrich Himmler in 1927 by Walter<br />
Buch, <strong>the</strong> man responsible for purges in <strong>the</strong> Nazi party and a prominent<br />
racial ideologue. 35 The prudish Himmler, who was still at <strong>the</strong> age of 27<br />
inexperienced in matters sexual, was enormously impressed by this tirade<br />
against <strong>the</strong> unrestrained sexuality of <strong>the</strong> times encouraged by highly spiced<br />
Jewish literary products. In his judgment, <strong>the</strong> book was “a collection of<br />
appalling products of literature, terrible to read. It is, however, a necessary<br />
collection of evidence and <strong>the</strong>refore valuable.” 36 The book certainly served<br />
fur<strong>the</strong>r to confirm Himmler’s already obsessive antisemitism and<br />
homophobia.<br />
But this alone is hardly enough. Far more important is <strong>the</strong> light it<br />
shines on <strong>the</strong> appalling degree of antisemitism in interwar Austria. Chancellor<br />
Ignaz Seipel’s Christian Social Party was founded by <strong>the</strong> prominent<br />
antisemite Karl Lueger and its program bore a close resemblance to that of<br />
<strong>the</strong> National Socialists, but Seipel was alarmed at <strong>the</strong> socialist elements<br />
within National Socialism and appalled at <strong>the</strong> movement’s rejection of<br />
Christianity. Seipel was what was known at <strong>the</strong> time as a “<strong>the</strong>ological<br />
antisemite,” one who rejected <strong>the</strong> racial antisemitism of <strong>the</strong> Nazis. His<br />
world view was based on <strong>the</strong> Catholic social teaching of Leo XIII’s encyclical<br />
Rerum Novarum of 1891 on <strong>the</strong> rights and duties of capital and labor<br />
that was reaffirmed and extended in 1931 by Pius XI’s Quadragesimo Anno<br />
on <strong>the</strong> reconstruction of <strong>the</strong> social order. It was a reactionary, authoritarian<br />
34. Erotik und Rasse, 237.<br />
35. The “Röhm Putsch” of 1934 was among <strong>the</strong> Säuberungsaktionen (purges) in<br />
which Buch played a prominent role.<br />
36. Geoffrey J. Giles, Why Worry About Homosexuals? Homophobia and Sexual<br />
Politics in Nazi Germany, Washington, D.C. 2001, 6.
2011] THE MURDER OF HUGO BETTAUER 239<br />
Catholicism, similar to that of Franco and Salazar and, mutatis mutandis,<br />
Vargas in his first period as president of Brazil.<br />
Bettauer’s murder, like that of Walter Ra<strong>the</strong>nau, marks a sea change in<br />
European antisemitism. Toward <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> nineteenth century traditional<br />
European antipathy towards Jews, largely for religious motives,<br />
became a codeword for a wide range of attitudes including authoritarianism,<br />
imperialism, ultra-nationalism, racism, militarism, manliness, misogyny,<br />
<strong>the</strong> desire for fellowship in an exclusive community, hatred of all forms of<br />
democracy, particularly liberalism and social democracy. 37 It was an attitude<br />
summed up by <strong>the</strong> historian Heinrich Treitschke in his remark, “The<br />
Jews are our misfortune,” or by Otto Glagau, who wrote “The social question<br />
is <strong>the</strong> Jewish question,” in o<strong>the</strong>r words, “The Jew” was symbolic of all<br />
that is out of joint in <strong>the</strong> modern world—a boo word for boo things. 38 It did<br />
not necessarily imply hatred or even dislike of individual Jews—as Karl<br />
Lueger’s “I decide who is a Jew,” or its later equivalent, “Some of my best<br />
friends are Jews”—clearly indicates. Nor was antisemitism ever transformed<br />
into a systematic ideology, in spite of a series of determined<br />
attempts. It was, instead, a convenient means of explanation for often complex<br />
issues, a blanket rejection of many facets of modernity, a knee-jerk<br />
reaction to an inchoate discontent, anxiety, or unease. It is thus hardly surprising<br />
that Julius Streicher adopted Treitschke’s “Die Juden sind unser<br />
Unglück” as <strong>the</strong> motto for his appalling weekly Der Stürmer (The<br />
Attacker). By <strong>the</strong> same token, an alarming number of professed antiantisemites,<br />
particularly among <strong>the</strong> Social Democrats, let slip many an anti-<br />
Jewish slur and had nei<strong>the</strong>r a particular affection for Jews nor concern for<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir fate. Some Jews even managed to convince <strong>the</strong>mselves that <strong>the</strong>re was<br />
a grain of truth in <strong>the</strong> antisemites’ charges against <strong>the</strong>m.<br />
With <strong>the</strong> rise of violence against Jews, of which Bettauer’s murder is a<br />
37. Shulamit Volkov, Germans, Jews, and Antisemites: Trials in Emancipation,<br />
Cambridge 2006, 113; Volkov, “Antisemitism as a Cultural Code: Reflections on<br />
<strong>the</strong> History and Historiography of Antisemitism in Imperial Germany,” Leo Baeck<br />
Institute Yearbook 23, 1978, 25-46.<br />
38. Daniela Weiland, Otto Glagau und “Der Kulturkämpfer”. Zur Entstehung<br />
des modernen Antisemitismus im frühen Kaiserreich, Berlin 2004. Otto Glagau is<br />
best known for his series of articles in Die Gartenlaube in 1874-5 on Die Borsen<br />
and Gründergeschwindel in Berlin, in which he blames <strong>the</strong> Jews for irregularities<br />
in <strong>the</strong> stock market. Glagau wrote: “The children of Israel multiply in Berlin just as<br />
<strong>the</strong>y once did in Egypt and <strong>the</strong>y are all prosperous and rich people; really poor Jews<br />
are not to be found among <strong>the</strong>m. The climate in Berlin, although lacking ozone,<br />
suits Abraham’s descendents very well. If one wished to assuage <strong>the</strong>ir 1800 years<br />
of suffering and send <strong>the</strong>m back to <strong>the</strong> land of milk and honey, <strong>the</strong>y would say<br />
‘thank you very much.’ ”
240 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:225<br />
striking example, coupled with calls for <strong>the</strong> expulsion of Jews, German<br />
antisemitism had escalated to a new and dangerous level. This prompted <strong>the</strong><br />
anti-antisemitists to take a more principled stand, while those Jews who did<br />
not manage to convince <strong>the</strong>mselves that this new and virulent antisemitism<br />
was directed solely against <strong>the</strong> Ostjuden, that it was purely political, or that<br />
<strong>the</strong> work of cranks and psychopaths had begun to fear what <strong>the</strong> future had<br />
in store. But at that time no one could possibly have imagined <strong>the</strong> full scale<br />
of <strong>the</strong> horrors that lay ahead.<br />
Adolf Hitler published Mein Kampf in 1925, but it attracted little attention.<br />
He was seen as a somewhat ridiculous figure ranting and raving about<br />
Jews, socialists, and democrats, dismissed as a “vegetarian Genghis Khan”<br />
or a “Charlie Chaplin without <strong>the</strong> talent.” 39 Viscount D’Abernon, British<br />
ambassador to <strong>the</strong> Weimar Republic, in his three volumes of memoirs mentioned<br />
Hitler in a footnote as a man who “rose to notoriety” by “exploiting<br />
<strong>the</strong> Semitic and Bolshevik bogies,” who was sentenced to five years’<br />
prison? but “was finally released after six months and bound over for <strong>the</strong><br />
rest of his sentence, <strong>the</strong>reafter fading into oblivion.” 40<br />
The threat of right-wing extremism in Austria had diminished considerably<br />
when <strong>the</strong> Geneva Protocols helped to stabilize <strong>the</strong> economy. But <strong>the</strong><br />
potential was very real, as many shrewd commentators remarked. There<br />
was a steady escalation of violence between Nazis and Social Democrats.<br />
One such clash was over <strong>the</strong> Nazis’ allegation that <strong>the</strong> social democratic<br />
paramilitary organization, <strong>the</strong> Schutzbund, was used to protect <strong>the</strong> delegates<br />
to <strong>the</strong> Zionist congress in Vienna in 1925. This prompted <strong>the</strong> Social Democrats<br />
to make a swift rejoinder that <strong>the</strong>y did not support “bourgeois-nationalist<br />
elements.” Antisemitism was constantly on <strong>the</strong> political agenda and,<br />
once enflamed by <strong>the</strong> demagogic genius of Adolf Hitler, resulted in an even<br />
greater degree of brutality against Jews than in Germany in <strong>the</strong> immediate<br />
aftermath of <strong>the</strong> Anschluss. As early as 1926, when Seipel once again<br />
became chancellor, it became increasingly clear that Austria was heading<br />
toward a civil war, as is reflected in <strong>the</strong> Social Democrats’ Linz Program of<br />
that year. At <strong>the</strong> same time <strong>the</strong> vaguely reformist, staunchly nationalist, and<br />
internally democratic native National Socialism was replaced by <strong>the</strong> “Hitler<br />
Movement,” which placed <strong>the</strong> Austrian Nazis under <strong>the</strong> direct control of <strong>the</strong><br />
German party, <strong>the</strong>reby subordinating its needs and aims totally to those of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Germans. For <strong>the</strong> Nazis, Austria was now simply an administrative dis-<br />
39. Amos Elon, The Pity of It All: A History of Jews in Germany 1743-1933,<br />
New York 2002, 380.<br />
40. Lord D’Abernon, An Ambassador of Peace. Lord D’Abernon’s Diary, Vol.<br />
II: The Years of Crisis June 1922-December 1923, London 1929, 51-52. I am grateful<br />
to Gaynor Johnson for this reference.
2011] THE MURDER OF HUGO BETTAUER 241<br />
trict (Gau) of a greater Germany. In such a context, Bettauer’s murder was<br />
a significant portent.<br />
The murder was soon forgotten, however, as Austria was rent apart<br />
amid escalating violence. The murderer and his defense council vanished<br />
from <strong>the</strong> stage. Hitler never forgave Riehl for his Austrian nationalism and<br />
his refusal to bend to his will. Himmler failed to repay <strong>the</strong> debt he owed to<br />
Herwig Hartner-Hnizdo—who, after <strong>the</strong> Anschluss, found a niche in <strong>the</strong><br />
propaganda ministry’s Institute for <strong>the</strong> Study of <strong>the</strong> Jewish Question in<br />
Frankfurt after publishing a scurrilous book on Jewish swindlers; while at<br />
<strong>the</strong> Institute, worked on a new edition of a standard textbook on <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
question. 41 Bettauer’s novels were placed on <strong>the</strong> Nazi index, but <strong>the</strong>y<br />
enjoyed a modest revival after <strong>the</strong> war, when scholars began to turn <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
interest to trivial literature. In December 2009, <strong>the</strong> crossroads at <strong>the</strong> Lange<br />
Gasse and <strong>the</strong> Josefsgasse in Vienna’s Josefstadt was renamed <strong>the</strong> Hugo-<br />
Bettauer-Platz.<br />
*Martin Kitchen is professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University, Canada. His<br />
most recent books are A History of Modern Germany, 1800-2000, Rommel’s Desert<br />
War: Waging World War II in North Africa, 1941-1943, and The Third Reich:<br />
Charisma and Community.<br />
41. Herwig Hartner-Hnizdo, Das jüdische Gaunertum, Munich 1939; Theodor<br />
Fritsch, Handbuch der Judenfrage, Leipzig 1943.
Antisemitism in Wagnerian Opera 1<br />
Daniel N. Leeson*<br />
Richard Wagner’s Jew hatred is well known. What is less well known<br />
is that his antisemitic utterances are sometimes a hidden part of his operas.<br />
This experience of viewing antisemitic <strong>the</strong>ater may have direct consequences<br />
in terms of perpetuating his vicious and ugly stereotypical beliefs.<br />
Wagner’s intentions and his success in achieving this end are discussed.<br />
An apocryphal story about Wagner’s stage works is attributed to<br />
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), who is alleged to have described Wagner’s<br />
music as having “great moments, but bad quarter hours.” 2 Those of us who<br />
have worked Wagner’s operas in orchestra pits, however, do not agree with<br />
that bit of nineteenth-century wit, for what one plays is sometimes remarkable.<br />
For special moments, such as <strong>the</strong> death of Siegfried in Gotterdammerung<br />
or Wal<strong>the</strong>r’s “Prize Song” in Meistersinger (The Mastersingers of<br />
Nuremberg), it is hard, even for <strong>the</strong> most blasé and bored old-timer who has<br />
played everything, to control <strong>the</strong> emotions, so awe-inspiring is <strong>the</strong> impact of<br />
<strong>the</strong> music.<br />
Unfortunately, playing, singing, and even listening to Wagner’s music<br />
presents internal conflicts for those who reject <strong>the</strong> man’s antisemitic utterances,<br />
as espoused, for example, in his essay “Jewishness in Music.” 3<br />
In this essay, assertions about <strong>the</strong> absence of antisemitism in his music<br />
dramas are said to be unsound at <strong>the</strong> instant of <strong>the</strong>ir utterance. Below <strong>the</strong><br />
surface in some of Wagner’s most creative utterances—particularly though<br />
not exclusively in Meistersinger and The Ring—<strong>the</strong>re are many examples<br />
of coded antisemitic stereotypes, hateful images of Jews, and disguised references<br />
to what Wagner believed were abhorrent Jewish personal and physical<br />
characteristics.<br />
1. This essay is a revision and enlargement of an article on Wagner that<br />
appeared in <strong>the</strong> Zionist publication Midstream, Vol. XXXIV, No. 7, November/<br />
December 1998, 9-12, with relevant letters to <strong>the</strong> editor printed in <strong>the</strong> issue of<br />
February/March 1999.<br />
2. While this quotation is attributed to Rossini, I have been unable to find a<br />
source for <strong>the</strong> attribution.<br />
3. Das Judenthum in der Musik, by Richard Wagner, published under <strong>the</strong> pseudonym<br />
K. Friegedank in <strong>the</strong> Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, Leipzig, September 1850.<br />
The essay attacks Jews in general and <strong>the</strong> composers Giacomo Meyerbeer and<br />
Felix Mendelssohn in particular. The work, which was reissued in a greatly<br />
expanded version under Wagner’s name in 1869, is a landmark in <strong>the</strong> history of<br />
German antisemitism.<br />
243
244 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:243<br />
BEING WAGNER<br />
Wagner’s loathing of Jews is a much-examined topic in <strong>the</strong> vast biographical<br />
literature about <strong>the</strong> composer. A consensus of <strong>the</strong> opinions of<br />
many of those examining <strong>the</strong> subject focus on a seminal phobia in Wagner’s<br />
life: an anxiety responsible for his efforts to distance himself from<br />
Jews, namely, his belief that he was of Jewish origin.<br />
Wagner was not certain of his fa<strong>the</strong>r’s identity, and one possibility was<br />
that <strong>the</strong> actor, poet, and painter Ludwig Geyer, a man who Wagner suspected<br />
of being of Jewish descent, sired him. No proof is available to<br />
resolve <strong>the</strong> biological question, nor does it matter—<strong>the</strong> overriding consideration<br />
being not whose son he was, but who and what Wagner thought his<br />
fa<strong>the</strong>r might have been. So consumed was he with <strong>the</strong> question of his own<br />
heritage that he may have held suspicions of a possible Jewish ancestry for<br />
his mo<strong>the</strong>r, too.<br />
Thus, it is suggested that Wagner became one of <strong>the</strong> most vocal<br />
antisemites in Europe as a means of focusing attention away from his own<br />
ethnicity. Sadly, <strong>the</strong>re are many cases of such extreme examples of selfhatred.<br />
The idea of a fa<strong>the</strong>rless hero appears at least five times in Wagner’s<br />
music dramas. Siegfried, Siegmund, Tristan, Parsifal, and Wal<strong>the</strong>r were all<br />
ei<strong>the</strong>r unaware of who <strong>the</strong>ir fa<strong>the</strong>rs were or else had <strong>the</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r disappear or<br />
die when <strong>the</strong>y were young. It is difficult to see this leitmotif reoccur so<br />
many times in Wagner’s operas and not believe that he was obsessed with a<br />
fa<strong>the</strong>r’s absence.<br />
The idea for Wagner’s possible Jewish descent was exploited by<br />
detractors of his music, often in caricatures that appeared in <strong>the</strong> press,<br />
where he is shown with an excessively large nose designed to resemble <strong>the</strong><br />
stereotypical “distinctive physiognomy” that Jews were accused of possessing.<br />
Such caricatures also burlesqued o<strong>the</strong>r unVolkish physicality in Wagner.<br />
He was short, large of head, and had an excitable nature.<br />
Theodore Adorno (1903-1959), a German-born Protestant intellectual,<br />
sociologist, philosopher, musicologist, and composer (of Jewish descent),<br />
wrote in In Search of Wagner (1981) that Wagner’s early depiction of <strong>the</strong><br />
gnome Mime, an important character in The Ring, was so psychologically<br />
self-descriptive that Wagner withdrew and replaced it as soon as he realized<br />
what he had done—i.e., he had described some of his own physical characteristics:<br />
“[Mime] is small and bent, somewhat deformed and hobbling. His<br />
head is abnormally large, his face a dark ashen color and wrinkled, his eyes<br />
small and piercing, with red rims, his grey beard long and scrubby, his head<br />
bald . . .” Wagner’s description of Mime, which later also depicts him as
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN WAGNERIAN OPERA 245<br />
having an excitable nature, is a traditional antisemitic stereotype. How<br />
shocked Wagner must have been to see himself in Adorno’s description of<br />
<strong>the</strong> prototypical subhuman.<br />
MEISTERSINGER<br />
The opera, which takes place in medieval Nuremberg, tells of that<br />
city’s guild of singer/poets. 4 Entry into <strong>the</strong> guild was based on <strong>the</strong> applicant’s<br />
singing and his ability to craft <strong>the</strong> poetry on which his song would be<br />
based. Rules of text and song were strict, with little toleration for any deviation<br />
from orthodoxy.<br />
Wagner’s opera was an autobiographical roman à clef in which <strong>the</strong><br />
genius-hero, Wal<strong>the</strong>r—Wagner’s depiction of himself—breaks <strong>the</strong> rules of<br />
song construction but creates masterpieces. The villain, Sixtus Beckmesser,<br />
represents Wagner’s archenemy, <strong>the</strong> forces that insist on adherence to doctrine.<br />
Beckmesser, who is not a Jew and who could not have been a member<br />
of <strong>the</strong> guild if he were, is an accumulation of nineteenth-century antisemitic<br />
clichés, <strong>the</strong> personification of every unsavory aspect about Jews espoused<br />
by Wagner.<br />
Specifically, Wagner believed that Jews shuffle and stagger, <strong>the</strong>ir eyes<br />
squint, <strong>the</strong>y are belligerent, designing, and unscrupulous—all characteristics<br />
that Beckmesser displays in <strong>the</strong> course of <strong>the</strong> opera. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, and<br />
most important to <strong>the</strong> character of Beckmesser, is his absolute deficiency of<br />
musical talent, his inability to craft poetry, and his lack of metric or rhythmic<br />
sensitivity, any one of which should have made him unfit to be a member<br />
of <strong>the</strong> guild.<br />
4. Between <strong>the</strong> 14th and 16th centuries, Mastersingers generally belonged to<br />
<strong>the</strong> artisan and trading classes of German towns. The earliest Mastersinger school<br />
was in Mainz. O<strong>the</strong>rs were established in Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Wurzburg, Zurich,<br />
Prague, and Nuremberg, <strong>the</strong> latter under <strong>the</strong> leadership of Hans Sachs, who is a<br />
central figure in Wagner’s opera. The Nuremberg Mastersinger school became <strong>the</strong><br />
most famous school in <strong>the</strong> 16th century, by which time such schools had spread all<br />
over Germany to include Magdeburg, Breslau, Görlitz, and Danzig. Each guild had<br />
various classes of members, ranging from beginner to Meister, who were poets<br />
skilled in writing new melodies as well as new verses to already composed melodies.<br />
The singing was done without accompaniment and with rules of <strong>the</strong> art set<br />
down in <strong>the</strong> lawbook of <strong>the</strong> guild. Meetings took place ei<strong>the</strong>r in <strong>the</strong> town hall or,<br />
more frequently, in <strong>the</strong> town church. Three times a year, at Easter, Pentecost, and<br />
Christmas, special festivals and singing competitions were instituted. At such<br />
events, judges, called “Markers,” were appointed to criticize <strong>the</strong> competitors and<br />
note <strong>the</strong>ir offenses against <strong>the</strong> rules. In Meistersinger, this is <strong>the</strong> role of Sixtus<br />
Beckmesser.
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Wagner’s view on <strong>the</strong> Jew’s ability to contribute to <strong>the</strong> world of culture<br />
is described in his essay “Jewishness in Music”: 5 He writes, “In this<br />
language and this art <strong>the</strong> Jew can produce only imitative sounds and counterfeit<br />
goods—he cannot write truly eloquent poetry or create works of true<br />
art.”<br />
Elsewhere in this essay, Wagner writes, “If <strong>the</strong> Jew [is] incapable of<br />
articulating his feelings and intuitions through artistic speech, how much<br />
more incapable he must be of articulating <strong>the</strong>m through song.” Yet, like <strong>the</strong><br />
Jew who, in Wagner’s eyes, used devious and unscrupulous practices to<br />
gain entry into German society, Beckmesser has somehow become a member<br />
of <strong>the</strong> guild of singers, though how he passed <strong>the</strong> entrance examination<br />
at some previous time is incomprehensible.<br />
Unlike every o<strong>the</strong>r guild member, Beckmesser has no craft but earns<br />
his living as <strong>the</strong> town notary. Despite his inadequacies, he has become a<br />
Marker, measuring <strong>the</strong> worth of potential members for <strong>the</strong> guild and judging<br />
<strong>the</strong> merit of aspiring candidates. He criticizes <strong>the</strong> slightest deviation<br />
from doctrine, and is <strong>the</strong> very thing that Wagner hates, namely a critic. On<br />
this matter, it is noted that an early name for <strong>the</strong> character of Sixtus<br />
Beckmesser was “Veit Hanslich,” almost a duplicate of Wagner’s nemesis,<br />
Eduard Hanslick, <strong>the</strong> so-called “Bismarck of critics.” The name change to<br />
Sixtus Beckmesser occurred very early in <strong>the</strong> creative cycle, but <strong>the</strong> fact<br />
that Wagner even considered this humiliation for a man he regarded as an<br />
archenemy is notable. Beside <strong>the</strong> fact that Wagner’s detested Hanslick<br />
because of his negative criticisms about Wagner’s music, equally noteworthy<br />
is <strong>the</strong> fact that Hanslick’s mo<strong>the</strong>r was Jewish.<br />
It is in Beckmesser’s singing style that <strong>the</strong> most revealing picture<br />
makes itself known, for what he sings and how he sings it is a parody of <strong>the</strong><br />
rhythms and vocal inflections of synagogue chant. Fur<strong>the</strong>r, it is music that<br />
is very high—far too high, in fact, for <strong>the</strong> bass voice specified by Wagner.<br />
It is an example of <strong>the</strong> effeminate high voice that parodied <strong>the</strong> imagined<br />
result of castration, which, in <strong>the</strong> mind of <strong>the</strong> ill informed, was confused<br />
with circumcision.<br />
Beckmesser’s performance as a poet singer is so outrageously incompetent<br />
that <strong>the</strong> reactions to him from <strong>the</strong> citizens of Nuremberg range from<br />
cynical disrespect to outright ridicule. His ardent but pa<strong>the</strong>tic serenading of<br />
<strong>the</strong> wrong woman leads to a riot. And he is a thief as well, stealing a poem<br />
that he uses as <strong>the</strong> text for his own song. But even in this he fails because,<br />
in Wagner’s eyes, Beckmesser cannot be a musical person even when given<br />
5. The English title is often given as “Judaism in Music.” But Wagner’s intent<br />
was to describe alleged negative Jewish characteristics, not <strong>the</strong>ological details,<br />
which is <strong>the</strong> implication given by “Judaism in Music.”
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN WAGNERIAN OPERA 247<br />
satisfactory raw material and coached in its proper use by a master. Here,<br />
<strong>the</strong> parallel to <strong>the</strong> unpoetic, inarticulate, and unmusical Jew is<br />
unambiguous.<br />
Finally, <strong>the</strong>re is <strong>the</strong> matter of Beckmesser’s participation in a song<br />
contest that directly challenges Wal<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong> opera’s hero. Beckmesser’s<br />
purpose in this foolish act, which results in fur<strong>the</strong>r humiliation for him, is<br />
shaped by <strong>the</strong> contest’s prize being <strong>the</strong> beautiful daughter of a wealthy fellow<br />
guild member; <strong>the</strong> image of Beckmesser is that of a talentless and<br />
incompetent older man having sexual pretensions for a young, pure German<br />
maiden as well as a lust for wealth. This description summarizes Wagner’s<br />
opinion of Jews.<br />
The characteristics exhibited in Beckmesser generally pass unnoticed<br />
by contemporary audiences, mostly because our generation has little experience<br />
with and hardly any memory of coded nineteenth-century antisemitism.<br />
The heritage of <strong>the</strong> Shoah has gone far to desensitize us to all but <strong>the</strong><br />
most naked, uncamouflaged, and flagrant antisemitic actions. Our sensitivity<br />
to how <strong>the</strong> German world saw Jews at <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong> premiere of Meistersinger<br />
has become clouded, unfamiliar, and distorted by time, making it<br />
difficult for <strong>the</strong> contemporary world to recognize <strong>the</strong> subtle characteristics<br />
of coded antisemitism. For example, we no longer remember <strong>the</strong> Grimm<br />
fairy tale, “The Jew in <strong>the</strong> Thornbush,” 6 which appeared in 1815 though<br />
derived from a story dating from 1618. Theodore Adorno claimed that<br />
Wagner identified <strong>the</strong> character of Beckmesser with <strong>the</strong> “Jew in <strong>the</strong> Thorn-<br />
Bush,” though his assertion is disputed. 7 It is interesting to note that those<br />
who quarrel with Adorno’s contention have nei<strong>the</strong>r experience in <strong>the</strong> details<br />
of pre 20th-century antisemitism or exposure to antisemitic <strong>the</strong>ater.<br />
Early performances of Meistersinger suggest that its reception was not<br />
uniformly positive. There were hostile demonstrations, but it is not clear if<br />
<strong>the</strong>se were because of Wagner’s essay “Jewishness in Music,” <strong>the</strong> opera as<br />
a whole, <strong>the</strong> composer, or <strong>the</strong> character of Sixtus Beckmesser. But it was<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jews who were blamed for <strong>the</strong> disturbances when <strong>the</strong> audiences were<br />
said to be full of “distinctive physiognomies”—once again, <strong>the</strong> nose—<br />
“ready “to take <strong>the</strong>ir revenge on [Wagner].” Wagner’s wife, Cosima, wrote<br />
that “<strong>the</strong> [Jews] are spreading a story . . . that ‘Beckmesser’s Song’ is an old<br />
6. See Pat Pinsent, “After Fagin: Jewishness and Children’s Literature,” in<br />
Stanley E. Porter and Brook W. R. Pearson, Christian Jewish Relations Through<br />
<strong>the</strong> Centuries (London: T&T Clark International, 2004), 311-328.<br />
7. See Ritchie Robertson, ed., The German Jewish Dialogue: An Anthology of<br />
Literary Texts, 1749-1793 (Oxford University Press, first published as Oxford<br />
World’s Classics, 1999), 63-67; “The Jew in <strong>the</strong> Thorn-Bush” (1815).
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Jewish song that R[ichard] was trying to ridicule. In consequence [<strong>the</strong>re<br />
was] some hissing in <strong>the</strong> second act.”<br />
Wagner’s antisemitic subtlety in Meistersinger is matched by his cunning<br />
in depicting Jewish characteristics in The Ring. In that monumental<br />
music drama he would employ all of <strong>the</strong> artifacts used to characterize<br />
Beckmesser and add a few more, including references to <strong>the</strong> blood libel and<br />
<strong>the</strong> dangers of race mixing.<br />
THE RING<br />
It is possible to tell <strong>the</strong> story of The Ring, but <strong>the</strong> collection of characters,<br />
plots, and subplots make it difficult to understand. There are gods,<br />
goddesses, giants, gnomes who live beneath <strong>the</strong> earth, mermaid-like creatures<br />
living in <strong>the</strong> Rhine, mortals, and o<strong>the</strong>r roles difficult to categorize.<br />
The Ring is a pagan tale of sorcery and incest that presents an incomprehensible<br />
mythology as a rational philosophy for <strong>the</strong> world, but it is<br />
strong enough stuff to allow <strong>the</strong> modern listener to become drunk in its<br />
embrace. Rarely has <strong>the</strong> art-loving world been presented with such a deceit<br />
as this attempt at a complete work of art, for it is a tangle of falsehoods and<br />
pa<strong>the</strong>tic arrogance run amok, where trivial opinions are made into ponderous<br />
utterances, and bankrupt personal pursuits are elevated to matters of<br />
universal significance. Like every o<strong>the</strong>r written utterance of Wagner, The<br />
Ring is largely egocentric. But here it is of such proportions that it forms a<br />
stage work in which Wagner’s fantasies were transformed into <strong>the</strong> future of<br />
<strong>the</strong> German people.<br />
Excluding those few characters who are neutral, <strong>the</strong> personalities of<br />
<strong>the</strong> drama fall into two groups having opposite characteristics. One such<br />
group is <strong>the</strong> “Volk,” roughly translated as “<strong>the</strong> race” or “<strong>the</strong> nation,” but not<br />
“<strong>the</strong> common people.” The o<strong>the</strong>r is <strong>the</strong> “outsider,” who differs from <strong>the</strong><br />
Volk in many specifics.<br />
Wagner assigns various characteristics to <strong>the</strong> good Volk, and <strong>the</strong>n displays<br />
<strong>the</strong> opposite attributes as present in <strong>the</strong> evil outsiders. One such characteristic<br />
is that <strong>the</strong> Volk walk in a poised and confident manner, while <strong>the</strong><br />
outsider staggers and stumbles. This stage device is derived from <strong>the</strong> medieval<br />
superstition that Jews had goat feet. In <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages, <strong>the</strong> billy goat<br />
was presented as a symbol of satanic lechery and <strong>the</strong> devil’s most usual<br />
disguise. The Jews, believed to be Satan’s minions, were also accused of<br />
having <strong>the</strong> same attribute. That <strong>the</strong> Jew’s feet were shod in public was interpreted<br />
as using <strong>the</strong> cloak of civilization to disguise his corruption. This<br />
acceptance of Jewish deviltry gave rise to <strong>the</strong> concept that <strong>the</strong> Jewish foot<br />
could not function at a normal gait; <strong>the</strong> Jew stumbled and staggered. In The<br />
Ring, <strong>the</strong> gnomes walk in this fashion while <strong>the</strong> Volk are surefooted, a
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN WAGNERIAN OPERA 249<br />
characteristic also seen in <strong>the</strong> stumbling of Beckmesser as contrasted with<br />
<strong>the</strong> graceful dancing of <strong>the</strong> townspeople in Meistersinger.<br />
In Sander Gilman’s The Jew’s Body (1991), fur<strong>the</strong>r significance is<br />
given to <strong>the</strong> Jew’s feet. They became a source of disease, and <strong>the</strong> pace at<br />
which Jews walked was perceived as a sign of <strong>the</strong>ir affliction. The seventeenth-century<br />
Orientalist John Schudt commented that <strong>the</strong> crooked feet of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jews made <strong>the</strong>m physically inferior and, ultimately, <strong>the</strong> general belief<br />
about Jews’ feet influenced liberal efforts to include <strong>the</strong>m in <strong>the</strong> modern<br />
state. This is particularly true with military service, where it was believed<br />
that Jews would be worthless as soldiers. In Austria, for example, weak feet<br />
were said to be <strong>the</strong> main reason Jews inducted into <strong>the</strong> military were subsequently<br />
detached.<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r example of a characteristic with hidden antisemitic meaning is<br />
that of vocal patterns. Wagner’s formulation of a large-scale male and<br />
female voice, for example, <strong>the</strong> “heroic tenor,” is used for <strong>the</strong> Volk, whereas<br />
<strong>the</strong> outsiders sing in distinguishing non-Volkish ways. The gnomes in The<br />
Ring have high and piercing voices, <strong>the</strong> same coded message for <strong>the</strong> confusion<br />
between castration and circumcision found in Meistersinger, as well as<br />
a related claim connecting circumcision with effeminacy in <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
male. Thus, <strong>the</strong> Volk sing with heroic qualities while <strong>the</strong> outsider screams<br />
in a high-pitched, effeminate voice.<br />
Going beyond <strong>the</strong> visual and acoustic, Wagner employs <strong>the</strong> allegory of<br />
smell to evoke images of character. Sulphurous fumes and <strong>the</strong> noxious<br />
stenches that emanate from <strong>the</strong> outsider often accompany <strong>the</strong>m. The central<br />
<strong>the</strong>me of this coded idea is especially despicable because it is derived from<br />
<strong>the</strong> belief of <strong>the</strong> “Jewish stench,” or “foetor Judaicus.” 8<br />
The assertion that <strong>the</strong> Jew has a distinctive and unpleasant odor is a<br />
particularly grave accusation, first because of <strong>the</strong> origin alleged to be <strong>the</strong><br />
stench’s cause, and second because of <strong>the</strong> several ways Jews were said to<br />
act in order to eliminate it. Common belief during <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages associated<br />
good spirits with emitting a pleasant fragrance while evil spirits, particularly<br />
Satan and his minions, gave forth an obnoxious stench. For example,<br />
when <strong>the</strong> coffin of St. Stephen, <strong>the</strong> protomartyr, was opened, his body was<br />
said to have filled <strong>the</strong> air with a sweet fragrance that insinuated <strong>the</strong> odor of<br />
sanctity. 9 In <strong>the</strong> case of <strong>the</strong> Jews, <strong>the</strong> stink was said to be a punishment for<br />
8. For a survey of this degrading medieval superstition, see Jay Geller,<br />
“(G)nos(e)ology: The Cultural Construction of <strong>the</strong> O<strong>the</strong>r,” chap. 10 in People of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Body, ed. Howard Eilberg Schwartz (Albany, NY: State University of New<br />
York, 1992), 243-282.<br />
9. See Stephen <strong>the</strong> Deacon, Protomartyr, in http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/<br />
1226.shtml.
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<strong>the</strong>ir alleged crimes, which included accusations of host desecration and<br />
deicide.<br />
The Jews were believed to have two ways to eliminate <strong>the</strong> smell, one<br />
of which involved murder and cannibalism; it was said that Jews killed<br />
Christian children to obtain <strong>the</strong>ir blood for ritual purposes, one of which<br />
was said to occur during <strong>the</strong> Passover Seder. It was alleged that Jews consumed<br />
cups of this blood as a way to alleviate <strong>the</strong> Jewish stench. The o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
choice was acceptance of baptism. A direct quote from <strong>the</strong> time states that<br />
“<strong>the</strong> water of baptism carried off <strong>the</strong> Jews’ odor” and that this left <strong>the</strong>m<br />
with a fragrance “sweeter than that of ambrosia floating upon <strong>the</strong> heads<br />
touched by <strong>the</strong> sanctified oil.”<br />
This accusation went beyond those expressed in <strong>the</strong> extreme anti-Jewish<br />
rhetoric of Martin Lu<strong>the</strong>r, causing him to say, “So long as we use violence<br />
and slander, saying that [<strong>the</strong> Jews] use <strong>the</strong> blood of Christians to get<br />
rid of <strong>the</strong>ir stench . . ., what can we expect of <strong>the</strong>m?” 10<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r discriminatory feature used by Wagner is that of vision. 11<br />
Poor eyesight is a class attribute that was never applied to anyone but Jews.<br />
The medieval view was that Jews were blind to Christianity, that <strong>the</strong> synagogue<br />
was veiled. Statues of a blindfolded woman, an allegory representing<br />
“<strong>the</strong> synagogue defeated,” still decorate churches in Europe; one stands<br />
today in an alcove on <strong>the</strong> exterior of Strasbourg’s ca<strong>the</strong>dral, and postcards<br />
of it may be purchased at nearby shops. This notion eventually was concretized<br />
as weak eyes, which, among o<strong>the</strong>r things, caused squinting and blinking,<br />
characteristics that are found in <strong>the</strong> outsider. Wagner carried <strong>the</strong> idea of<br />
good vision of <strong>the</strong> Volk to a higher dimension in suggesting that <strong>the</strong>y recognize<br />
each o<strong>the</strong>r by glance alone, and can “see” <strong>the</strong> outsider as being<br />
different.<br />
Finally, in The Ring, Wagner gives coded messages about <strong>the</strong> dangers<br />
of race mixing. The character Hagen, who has a gnome fa<strong>the</strong>r but a Volkish<br />
mo<strong>the</strong>r, bears no good maternal characteristics. Instead, he retains <strong>the</strong><br />
depraved character of his fa<strong>the</strong>r, namely that of a liar, usurper, and villainous<br />
murderer. But his racially pure counterpart, Siegfried, <strong>the</strong> product of an<br />
incestuous twin bro<strong>the</strong>r-sister relationship, is an idealized hero who is hand-<br />
10. The statement appears in Martin Lu<strong>the</strong>r’s pamphlet, Dass Jesus ein<br />
Geborner Jude Sei, and is contained in <strong>the</strong> online Jewish Encyclopedia article on<br />
Martin Lu<strong>the</strong>r under <strong>the</strong> pamphlet’s title.<br />
11. See Marc A. Weiner, Richard Wagner and <strong>the</strong> Anti-Semitic Imagination<br />
(Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1995), chap. 1, “The Eyes of <strong>the</strong><br />
Volk.” Here, Weiner discusses <strong>the</strong> importance of vision as it appears in Wagner’s<br />
antisemitic writings.
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN WAGNERIAN OPERA 251<br />
some, honest, virtuous, and brave, and whose most significant flaw is that<br />
he is too trusting of strangers.<br />
It is often argued that every representation of a negative physical characteristic<br />
should not automatically be interpreted as an antisemitic statement.<br />
This is a perceptive and valuable criticism, but not as applied to <strong>the</strong>se<br />
five specifics, none of which are in <strong>the</strong> least extreme. As Paul Lawrence<br />
Rose said in Wagner: Race and Revolution, “If Wagner, with <strong>the</strong> supreme<br />
artist’s infallible intuition, never intruded his racialist <strong>the</strong>ories into his<br />
works of art, this does not mean that <strong>the</strong> art is free of racist content. It<br />
simply means that Wagner was too subtle an artist to reduce his operas to<br />
<strong>the</strong> level of political tracts.”<br />
While it would be possible to level a criticism of overreaction were<br />
<strong>the</strong>re to be only one or two instances where Wagner’s utterances could be<br />
confused with coded antisemitic statements, <strong>the</strong> presence of five specifics—<br />
feet, smell, voice, sight, and race mixing, as found in three of <strong>the</strong> four<br />
operas of The Ring—defies <strong>the</strong> laws of probability. I suggest that The Ring,<br />
with <strong>the</strong> exception of Valkyrie, is an anthology of Jew hatred from first note<br />
to last.<br />
NON-WAGNER OPERAS<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r than Wagner, negative stereotypes of Jews in opera are rare.<br />
Richard Strauss’s portrayal of five Jews in Salome shows quarreling, complaining,<br />
and whining men. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, four of <strong>the</strong> Jews are high tenors,<br />
which gives an especially shrill quality to <strong>the</strong>ir singing. As Sander Gilman<br />
has pointed out, 12 in <strong>the</strong> latter part of <strong>the</strong> nineteenth century, high voices<br />
were associated with castration, which, in <strong>the</strong> mind of <strong>the</strong> ill informed, was<br />
synonymous with circumcision. 13<br />
Sergei Prokofiev’s opera, Betrothal in a Monastery (La Duenna),<br />
based on an eighteenth-century play, La Duenna, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan<br />
(1751-1816), contains <strong>the</strong> individual, Isaac Mendoza, a Jew portrayed<br />
in a negative fashion. But this would be very much out of character for<br />
Prokofiev, who was not an antisemite. His Overture on Yiddish Themes was<br />
written in New York for his conservatory colleagues in <strong>the</strong> touring Jewish<br />
12. Sander Gilman is Distinguished Professor of <strong>the</strong> Liberal Arts and Sciences<br />
at Emory University, where he is <strong>the</strong> director of <strong>the</strong> Program in Psychoanalysis as<br />
well as <strong>the</strong> University’s Health Sciences Humanities Initiative. In 2007 he was<br />
appointed professor, Institute in <strong>the</strong> Humanities, Birkbeck College (London) and a<br />
visiting fellow of <strong>the</strong> new Institute of Advanced Studies, Warwick University, UK.<br />
13. Sander Gilman, The Jew’s Body (New York: Routledge, Chapman, and<br />
Hall, 1991).
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musical ensemble Zimro, and was based on Jewish-style melodic material<br />
given to him by Simeon Bellison, clarinetist with <strong>the</strong> ensemble and later<br />
principal clarinet with <strong>the</strong> New York Philharmonic. Betrothal in a Monastery’s<br />
antisemitic details come from Sheridan’s play in which Mendoza, a<br />
central character, gives up his Jewish faith in order to marry a rich Christian<br />
girl. Jack D. Durant, in his 1975 study of Sheridan, depicts Mendoza as “a<br />
repulsive, fortune-seeking Jew,” on <strong>the</strong> basis of <strong>the</strong> play’s characterization<br />
of Mendoza. 14<br />
The Tales of Hoffmann, an opera by <strong>the</strong> composer Jacques Offenbach<br />
(who was Jewish), makes an unfortunate reference to <strong>the</strong> bankruptcy of “<strong>the</strong><br />
Jew Elias,” who never appears in <strong>the</strong> opera. The implication is that Elias’s<br />
bankruptcy may have been deliberate to avoid <strong>the</strong> repayment of a debt. This<br />
operatic characterization is due ei<strong>the</strong>r to <strong>the</strong> surrealist, E. T. A. Hoffmann,<br />
three of whose stories were used as <strong>the</strong> basis of Offenbach’s opera, or <strong>the</strong><br />
librettists Jules and Pierre Barbier. Later in <strong>the</strong> drama, <strong>the</strong> shadowless<br />
“Schlemiel” makes his entrance. This character, whose name, Schlemiel, is<br />
a Yiddish word (derived from <strong>the</strong> Hebrew congnate Shlumi’el) that<br />
describes a hopelessly incompetent person, a bungler. The name, a synonym<br />
for any unlucky person, is mentioned in an 1813 novella, Peter<br />
Schlemiehl’s Remarkable Tale, by <strong>the</strong> German Romantic writer Adelbert<br />
von Chamisso (1781-1838). 15 In a letter to his bro<strong>the</strong>r, Chamisso explained<br />
that <strong>the</strong> word was “a Hebrew name meaning ‘<strong>the</strong> one who loved God’ . . .<br />
[and is a] term Jews use for clumsy or unhappy people.” Whatever <strong>the</strong><br />
source of Chamisso’s understanding, <strong>the</strong>re appears to be no malevolence in<br />
his or <strong>the</strong> opera’s use of <strong>the</strong> Schlemiel character.<br />
Rossini’s opera, Moses in Egypt, is said by Stendahl to have a chorus<br />
with “nasal intonation.” But this is an opera with which Stendahl has had no<br />
experience. No conclusions are possible without personal, first-hand understanding;<br />
even listening to a recorded performance is insufficient. One must<br />
see <strong>the</strong> event in its natural setting to experience <strong>the</strong> context in which such<br />
alleged stereotypical images may be presented. Stendahl’s comment is<br />
unclear, and by “nasal intonation” he may be referring to a classic<br />
antisemitic assertion about Jewish noses.<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r operas that have one or more Jewish characters (or sub<strong>the</strong>mes)—often<br />
portrayed sympa<strong>the</strong>tically—include Gounod’s The Queen<br />
of Sheba, Halevi’s La Juive, 16 Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz, Saint-Saens’ Sam-<br />
14. Jack D. Durant, “Sheridan and Language,” in Sheridan Studies, eds. James<br />
Morwood and David Crane (Cambridge University Press, 1995), 96-113.<br />
15. Adelbert von Chamisso, Peter Schlemihl’s wundersame Geschichte, 1814,<br />
ed. Friedrich Heinrich Karl La Motte-Fouqué (Nürnberg: J. L. Schrag).<br />
16. The English title of <strong>the</strong> opera is frequently given as The Jewess, which is an
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN WAGNERIAN OPERA 253<br />
son and Delilah, Sullivan’s Ivanhoe, and Verdi’s Nabucco.<br />
In effect, it is generally assumed—in fact, it is asserted as possible<br />
evidence of Wagner’s non-hostile view of Jews—that, unlike <strong>the</strong> few cases<br />
mentioned above, nowhere are Jews present or even remarked upon in<br />
Wagner’s operas. The evidence presented above, however, contradicts this<br />
assertion.<br />
SOME OF HIS BEST FRIENDS . . .<br />
Wagner’s antisemitism is sometimes said to be exaggerated. Manfred<br />
Eger, <strong>the</strong>n director of <strong>the</strong> Richard Wagner museum in Bayreuth and organizer<br />
of a 1985 exhibition on Wagner and <strong>the</strong> Jews, admits that some of<br />
Wagner’s utterances “could have been attributed to <strong>the</strong> National Socialist’s<br />
violently antisemitic publication, Der Stuermer, 17 but adds that “several of<br />
[Wagner’s] colleagues and friends were Jews.”<br />
The exhibition brochure stressed Wagner’s supposed appreciation of<br />
Jewish composers such as Mendelssohn and Halevy. The reference to Mendelssohn<br />
as a Jewish composer is <strong>the</strong> worst possible example for Eger to<br />
have employed in this context since doing so, even with <strong>the</strong> best of intentions<br />
and without malevolence, is an example of racial antisemitism. Mendelssohn,<br />
as it is frequently forgotten, became a Lu<strong>the</strong>ran Protestant at <strong>the</strong><br />
age of four, when his fa<strong>the</strong>r, Abraham, had <strong>the</strong> entire family, including <strong>the</strong><br />
children, converted to Christianity. And in Wagner’s eyes—as well as <strong>the</strong><br />
eyes of many antisemites, including Hitler’s—<strong>the</strong>re was no such thing as a<br />
former Jew. For Eger to refer to Mendelssohn as a Jew is little different<br />
from <strong>the</strong> National Socialist argument that Jewishness was such a sufficient<br />
evil that even divesting oneself of it by conversion to Christianity was inadequate<br />
for entry into German society; i.e., Jewishness was perceived as a<br />
ugly stereotype that needs to be eliminated from English usage. A more suitable<br />
translation would be The Jewish Woman. While many languages enforce a gender<br />
distinction, English does not. In medieval literature, <strong>the</strong> term “Jewess” was used<br />
synonymously with “witch,” or “sorceress.” Fur<strong>the</strong>r, such a use marginalizes Jewish<br />
women, since no one uses gender-based terms to describe female members of<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r religions. It would be ludicrous to hear <strong>the</strong> term “Protestantess,” or<br />
“Catholicess,” though <strong>the</strong> term “Mormoness” does appear from time to time. In <strong>the</strong><br />
case of animals, <strong>the</strong> terms “lioness,” “tigress,” and “pan<strong>the</strong>ress” suggest an aura of<br />
feline savagery for a Jewess. In Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, <strong>the</strong> term, when referring<br />
to Rebecca, is generally pejorative.<br />
17. Der Stuermer was a weekly Nazi newspaper and a central element of <strong>the</strong><br />
Nazi propaganda machine. The founder and publisher was Julius Streicher. At <strong>the</strong><br />
Nuremberg trials after <strong>the</strong> war, Streicher was convicted of crimes against humanity<br />
and executed.
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genetic disfigurement, a chromosomal defect, that was retained for several<br />
generations.<br />
After conversion, Mendelssohn was no more Jewish than Madeleine<br />
Albright; <strong>the</strong> late Cardinal Lustiger of France; <strong>the</strong> 20th century’s most<br />
important operatic baritone, <strong>the</strong> late Leonard Warren; and one of <strong>the</strong> 20th<br />
century’s most important historical musicologists, Otto Erich Deutsch, 18 all<br />
of whom happen to have been born Jews. Using <strong>the</strong> word “Jew” in reference<br />
to Mendelssohn shows how futile conversion to Christianity is in<br />
achieving social equality.<br />
The particulars of Wagner’s alleged friendship with Jews were offered<br />
by Eger as evidence, along with <strong>the</strong> fact that Wagner had an affair with a<br />
Jewish writer, Judith Gautier, that he was not an antisemite (a questionable<br />
piece of reasoning, which asserts that sex between Jew and non-Jew is evidence<br />
that <strong>the</strong> non-Jew is a philosemite). Wagner’s rages are suggested only<br />
to be resentment of <strong>the</strong> successes of <strong>the</strong> Jewish composer Giacomo Meyerbeer,<br />
whose operas were <strong>the</strong>n triumphs that today defy explanation.<br />
Eger suggested that antisemitism in Bayreuth was eliminated, and<br />
cited as evidence <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> 1983 season had three Jewish conductors,<br />
one of whom, Daniel Barenboim, has made public statements about his perception<br />
of both Wagner’s antisemitism and its presence in <strong>the</strong> music dramas.<br />
Barenboim stated at one point that “Wagner did not write antisemitic<br />
music,” and at ano<strong>the</strong>r, that “. . . knowing [Wagner’s] views on antisemitism<br />
and on Judaism you can interpret certain figures as such . . . But <strong>the</strong><br />
pieces [i.e., <strong>the</strong> music dramas] <strong>the</strong>mselves are not that.”<br />
It is disappointing to hear such a shallow interpretation of Wagner’s<br />
music dramas from a man so musically well schooled. That he has conducted<br />
performances of The Ring and saw no fur<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> superficial<br />
layer is appalling. In effect, Barenboim appears to be entirely ignorant of<br />
<strong>the</strong> antisemitic details of <strong>the</strong> Wagner that he conducts, and a hypocritical<br />
Jewish apologist for Wagner’s Jew-hating attitude.<br />
As for Mr. Eger, I am as heartened by his outstretched hand and genuinely<br />
positive effort as I am disappointed by his “some of my best friends<br />
18. See Gitta Deutsch’s biography of Otto Deutsch, The Red Thread (Riverside,<br />
CA: Ariadne Press, 1996), for a discussion of her fa<strong>the</strong>r’s conversion to Christianity.<br />
Both Deutsch and his daughter are buried in Vienna’s Central Cemetery, he in<br />
an Ehrengrab (grave of honor). This distinction is granted by certain German,<br />
Swiss, and Austrian cities to one of <strong>the</strong>ir citizens for extraordinary services or<br />
achievements in <strong>the</strong>ir lifetime. If <strong>the</strong>re are no descendants or institutions to care for<br />
<strong>the</strong> grave site, <strong>the</strong> communities or cities will take responsibility for <strong>the</strong> grave and<br />
for financing its care. Many honorary graves serve to document cultural history, for<br />
example, when a cemetery containing artistically notable graves is closed and <strong>the</strong><br />
graves are relocated at public expense.
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN WAGNERIAN OPERA 255<br />
are Jews” naïveté. It is true that Wagner had a number of long-term Jewish<br />
supporters, including conductor Hermann Levi, and pianists Karl Tausig<br />
and Joseph Rubenstein. But dealings with <strong>the</strong>se men can only be characterized<br />
as something similar to keeping pets in one’s home.<br />
Levi was publicly and privately abused and humiliated by Wagner at<br />
every opportunity, which included an insistence that Levi’s conversion to<br />
Christianity was a prerequisite to his conducting of Parsifal. In <strong>the</strong> face of<br />
this, Levi behaved like a lapdog, appreciative of any attention.<br />
A letter from Levi to his rabbi fa<strong>the</strong>r demonstrates what a spineless<br />
individual <strong>the</strong> son must have been, not only to tolerate <strong>the</strong> abuse, but to<br />
express such noble sentiments about Wagner. He calls him “<strong>the</strong> best and<br />
noblest of men,” offers <strong>the</strong> view that Wagner’s antisemitic opinions<br />
“[sprang] from <strong>the</strong> noblest motives,” and ends his pa<strong>the</strong>tic letter with <strong>the</strong><br />
statement that “The most wonderful thing I have experienced in my life is<br />
<strong>the</strong> privilege of being close to such a man, and I thank God for it every<br />
day.”<br />
Wagner had several reasons to deal with pianist Tausig. First, he was a<br />
key fund-raiser for Bayreuth; second, he acted as a foil to <strong>the</strong> outrage<br />
voiced by Wagner’s Jewish supporters after “Jewishness in Music” was<br />
reprinted. Tausig was naïve enough to be content with Wagner’s 1869 letter<br />
to him suggesting that if Jews would simply understand his essay in <strong>the</strong><br />
proper spirit, all would be well.<br />
Rubenstein may have been deranged. When he first arrived to meet<br />
Wagner, he was accompanied by his personal physician, who advised Wagner<br />
of his instability; Rubenstein requested that Wagner offer him salvation<br />
from his Jewishness. He came, however, from a wealthy family, played <strong>the</strong><br />
piano exceptionally well, promised financial support for <strong>the</strong> transcription of<br />
Wagner’s scores, became his mascot and house Jew, and was exploited,<br />
manipulated, and insulted behind his back by both Wagner and Cosima.<br />
It is painful to report <strong>the</strong> bootlicking reactions of some Jews to Wagner.<br />
Levi, Tausig, and Rubenstein were not <strong>the</strong> only Jewish apologists for<br />
his antisemitic views, but <strong>the</strong>y are, typically, <strong>the</strong> ones brought up to show<br />
that Wagner’s loathing of Jews as a class was exaggerated. Wagner, however,<br />
was prepared to enter into a symbiotic relationship with anyone,<br />
providing that person could be of use, and that he [Wagner] would be<br />
toadied to.<br />
An international conference on Wagner and <strong>the</strong> Jews was held in <strong>the</strong><br />
Bavarian city of Bayreuth in August 1998. Sponsored by <strong>the</strong> universities of<br />
Tel Aviv, Heidelberg, and Bayreuth, <strong>the</strong> event was funded by <strong>the</strong> Bayreuth<br />
Festival, <strong>the</strong> German government, and Israel’s Howard Gilman Israel Culture<br />
Foundation. The matter of <strong>the</strong> open-mindedness of <strong>the</strong> symposium
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became a sore spot even before it began, because of <strong>the</strong> apparently deliberate<br />
failure to invite Hartmut Zelinski, author of <strong>the</strong> 1976 book, Richard<br />
Wagner: Ein Deutsches Thema, that did so much to open <strong>the</strong> discussion of<br />
Baryeuth’s Nazi past. It is suggested that <strong>the</strong> rejection of Zelinski was due<br />
to his claims that Wagner’s antisemitism was expressed as part and parcel<br />
of his operas. Zelinski’s opinion contradicted and embarrassed those who<br />
want to separate Wagner’s music dramas from his expressions of Jew<br />
hatred.<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r Wagner critics not invited to attend <strong>the</strong> symposium were <strong>the</strong><br />
composer’s great-grandson, Gottfried Wagner, and Mark Weiner, author of<br />
Richard Wagner and <strong>the</strong> Anti-Semitic Imagination. The only known anti-<br />
Wagnerian writer to be invited to speak, an act now regretted by <strong>the</strong><br />
organizers of <strong>the</strong> event, was Paul Lawrence Rose, author of Wagner: Race<br />
and Revolution. His presentation was repeatedly interrupted by one of <strong>the</strong><br />
conference organizers, who told Rose that he would not be permitted to<br />
address questions about certain topics on <strong>the</strong> grounds that o<strong>the</strong>r speakers<br />
had thoroughly discussed <strong>the</strong>se points. His paper was denounced in hysterical<br />
terms because it argued that Wagner’s antisemitism was actually<br />
inscribed musically within <strong>the</strong> operas. Clearly, such attitudes changed <strong>the</strong><br />
nature of what was supposed to be a scholarly conference to that of a political<br />
convention.<br />
Criticisms were also leveled at <strong>the</strong> symposium’s structure of control.<br />
One Israeli participant became so disturbed by <strong>the</strong> lack of any open discussion<br />
of <strong>the</strong> problems of Wagner/Hitler/Holocaust and <strong>the</strong> violation of academic<br />
freedom that was imposed on <strong>the</strong> conference by <strong>the</strong> Bayreuth<br />
organizers that he walked out publicly and in protest on <strong>the</strong> second evening<br />
of <strong>the</strong> event.<br />
The conference, it seems, had a prearranged agenda—i.e., to secure <strong>the</strong><br />
lifting of <strong>the</strong> Israeli ban on Wagner and <strong>the</strong>n to use this as a certificate of<br />
good health in Germany. In this way, Bayreuth would be redeemed, sanitized,<br />
and restored to its prime position in German culture. At <strong>the</strong> symposium’s<br />
conclusion, a public invitation materialized inviting Wolfgang<br />
Wagner, <strong>the</strong> composer’s grandson, to a 1999 Tel Aviv conference on Wagner,<br />
along with <strong>the</strong> suggestion that his visit might be celebrated with a public<br />
performance of Wagner’s music in Israel.<br />
AN OLD DEBATE IS RENEWED<br />
Today, <strong>the</strong> Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) does not play Wagner’s<br />
music, though it is incorrect to suggest that <strong>the</strong>y never did. Arturo<br />
Toscanini included <strong>the</strong> preludes to Acts I and III of Lohengrin, Jascha Horenstein<br />
<strong>the</strong> overture to Tannhauser, and Bronislav Szulc <strong>the</strong> overture to <strong>the</strong>
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN WAGNERIAN OPERA 257<br />
Flying Dutchman, all before 1938. 19<br />
The ban on performance of Wagner’s music by <strong>the</strong> Palestine Orchestra<br />
(later <strong>the</strong> Palestine Philharmonic and, still later, <strong>the</strong> IPO) began on Nov. 12,<br />
1938. The closing work of <strong>the</strong> program was to have been <strong>the</strong> prelude to<br />
Meistersinger. Following <strong>the</strong> intermission of that concert, <strong>the</strong> chairman of<br />
<strong>the</strong> orchestral association announced that “because of <strong>the</strong> antisemitic<br />
excesses and disturbances in Germany,” <strong>the</strong> Wagner work had been<br />
removed from <strong>the</strong> program by public demand, and Weber’s overture to his<br />
opera Oberon had been substituted.<br />
The most significant factor in this action was due, not to Wagner, but<br />
to Kristallnacht, which had taken place only three days earlier, November<br />
9, 1938. It would appear that <strong>the</strong> use of <strong>the</strong> name “Nuremberg” and its<br />
connection with both Nazi party conventions and anti-Jewish laws was <strong>the</strong><br />
aggravating factor—i.e., <strong>the</strong> restrictive ordinances were made by <strong>the</strong> Nazis<br />
in that city in explicit deference to Wagner’s opera. As such, this was not a<br />
wholesale condemnation of Wagner by <strong>the</strong> management or <strong>the</strong> personnel of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Palestine Orchestra, and for <strong>the</strong> fourth concert of <strong>the</strong> season, <strong>the</strong> orchestra<br />
played <strong>the</strong> “Bacchanal” from Wagner’s Tannhauser, though not in Palestine<br />
but on tour in Egypt. From November 12, 1939, until today, however,<br />
with one well-publicized exception, <strong>the</strong> IPO has performed no music of<br />
Wagner.<br />
That exception occurred in 1981, when <strong>the</strong> conductor, Zubin Mehta,<br />
tried to heal <strong>the</strong> wounds with an unscheduled Wagner encore. Some orchestral<br />
musicians refused to participate; many older members of <strong>the</strong> audience<br />
left before <strong>the</strong> work—an excerpt from Tristan and Isolde—was played; and<br />
<strong>the</strong>re was considerable commotion during <strong>the</strong> encore from those who<br />
remained. Unwilling to repeat <strong>the</strong> reaction, and aware of a poll in which<br />
50% (later 30%) of those sampled were against <strong>the</strong> playing of Wagner’s<br />
music, performances of his works by <strong>the</strong> IPO were put aside. 20<br />
On June 7, 1998, <strong>the</strong> English version of <strong>the</strong> Israeli newpaper Ha’aretz<br />
reported emotional outbursts at <strong>the</strong> Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center, where<br />
19. The information about <strong>the</strong> Palestine Orchestra was taken from <strong>the</strong> book The<br />
History of <strong>the</strong> Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Researched and Remembered by Uri<br />
Töplitz, 1913-2006 (Tel Aviv: Sifiat Poalim Publishing House, translated from<br />
Hebrew. Töplitz, who immigrated to Israel from Germany in 1936, was one of <strong>the</strong><br />
orchestra’s original founders; until 1970, he held <strong>the</strong> chair of principal flutist with<br />
<strong>the</strong> orchestra. He was <strong>the</strong> son of one of <strong>the</strong> 20th century’s most important ma<strong>the</strong>maticians,<br />
Otto Töplitz (1881-1940).<br />
20. In 2001, Daniel Barenboim conducted an unadvertised excerpt from Tristan<br />
and Isolde as an encore at <strong>the</strong> Israel Festival with <strong>the</strong> Berlin Staatskapelle. For a<br />
BBC newscast of <strong>the</strong> event and <strong>the</strong> audience reactions, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/<br />
hi/entertainment/1428634.stm.
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a symposium entitled “Wagner: An Artist or a Symbol” was being held.<br />
Sponsored by <strong>the</strong> New Israel Opera (NIO) and attended by <strong>the</strong> composer’s<br />
great-grandson, Dr. Gottfried Wagner, <strong>the</strong> discussion pitted Zalman Shoval,<br />
chairman of <strong>the</strong> NIO’s board, against Asher Fisch, NIO music director, who<br />
wished to perform Wagner’s operas in Israel. When Fisch, on piano, tried to<br />
accompany a baritone in a monologue from The Flying Dutchman, dozens<br />
of people left <strong>the</strong> hall in protest, shouting, “This is unthinkable!,” “Rape!,”<br />
and “In <strong>the</strong> name of culture, you are patronizing everyone!”<br />
For many music lovers, <strong>the</strong> emotions associated with <strong>the</strong> performance<br />
of Wagner’s music have a built-in safety valve, invoked with variations of<br />
<strong>the</strong> following statement of justification: “Certainly Wagner was an<br />
antisemite. However, Schubert’s alleged pedophilia does not change my<br />
perspective of his music’s beauty, nor does Mozart’s scatology, Beethoven’s<br />
poor hygiene, Delius’s sexual promiscuity, or Grainger’s whipping<br />
fetish. Besides, o<strong>the</strong>r composers also held loathsome antisemitic views. So,<br />
despite Wagner’s offensive declarations, his opinions are irrelevant to an<br />
admiration of his music, and one must not permit his abhorrent personal<br />
creed to be an impediment to an appreciation of his musical genius.”<br />
Yet, in 2010, <strong>the</strong> intended action of <strong>the</strong> Israeli Chamber Orchestra has<br />
resurrected a debate over whe<strong>the</strong>r it is appropriate for an Israeli orchestra to<br />
play <strong>the</strong> music of Richard Wagner, and in Germany no less. It seems that<br />
Ka<strong>the</strong>rina Wagner, <strong>the</strong> German composer’s great-granddaughter, sought to<br />
visit Israel to formally invite <strong>the</strong> Cameri Israeli Chamber Orchestra to inaugurate<br />
<strong>the</strong> 2010 Bayreuth Festival in Germany—an annual event promoting<br />
Wagner’s music. But when her intentions were leaked to <strong>the</strong> media, a maelstrom<br />
of anger arose and she canceled her visit. Later, <strong>the</strong> Cameri<br />
announced its intentions to perform at a venue o<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> Bayreuth<br />
Festpielhaus—as if that changes <strong>the</strong> picture—and it would nei<strong>the</strong>r rehearse<br />
nor play Wagner’s music in Israel. For an Israeli orchestra to actually go to<br />
Germany to perform Wagner’s works in Bayreuth, where <strong>the</strong> Nazis glorified<br />
him, is both a disgrace and a public humiliation.<br />
For those opposed to <strong>the</strong> playing of Wagner’s music in Israel, <strong>the</strong> situation<br />
became more uncertain when <strong>the</strong> Israeli government approved <strong>the</strong> creation<br />
of an Israeli Wagner Society, which has been accepted into <strong>the</strong><br />
International Association of Wagner Societies.<br />
The new association will be headed by an Israeli lawyer, Yonatan<br />
Livni, who said, “It’s time to allow those who desire to hear Wagner’s<br />
music in Israel to be able to do so . . . Karl Orff, and even Richard Strauss,<br />
who was president of <strong>the</strong> Reich’s State Music Bureau, are played in Israel.<br />
So why is it prohibited to play Wagner, who died years before <strong>the</strong> Nazis<br />
came to power? This boycott no longer makes sense.”
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN WAGNERIAN OPERA 259<br />
One can only wonder about Livni’s calculations, which enabled him to<br />
say, “It’s time to allow . . .” For some, that time will never be.<br />
BAREINBOIM REDUX<br />
Having touched on Daniel Barenboim’s blind eye to <strong>the</strong> antisemitism<br />
that is part and parcel of both Meistersinger and The Ring—but that he<br />
denies exists—<strong>the</strong>re are aspects of his Israel bashing that warrant mentioning,<br />
not <strong>the</strong> least of which is his silence on <strong>the</strong> matter of anti-Israel<br />
violence.<br />
Barenboim is a first-class musical talent, well schooled, and with technique<br />
and temperament to burn. Those skills are combined with a worldclass<br />
sense of political irresponsibility and gross naiveté. In a recent concert<br />
of Music Without Borders held in Hamastan 21 at <strong>the</strong> Mathaf Cultural<br />
House, he led an ensemble of musicians from <strong>the</strong> Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Berlin Staatskapelle, <strong>the</strong> Orchestra of La Scala in Milan, and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Orchestre de Paris, saying, “We are playing this concert as a sign of our<br />
solidarity and friendship with <strong>the</strong> civil society of Gaza,” which he followed<br />
with his wishes for success of <strong>the</strong> recently signed agreement executed in<br />
Egypt by Hamas and Fatah. While <strong>the</strong> orchestral players waited late into <strong>the</strong><br />
evening before just across <strong>the</strong> Egyptian border in nearby El Arish, Hamas<br />
officials almost sent <strong>the</strong> undertaking off <strong>the</strong> rails because <strong>the</strong>y thought that<br />
<strong>the</strong> event would somehow be interpreted as a celebration of Osama bin<br />
Laden’s assassination, which <strong>the</strong> Hamas government had just publicly<br />
condemned.<br />
Global public opinion sees Barenboim as <strong>the</strong> epitome of tolerance,<br />
though his actions show a distinctly different face. For example, he refused<br />
to take part in Israel’s 60th-anniversary celebrations. And, in 2005, during a<br />
book-signing ceremony (a book coauthored with <strong>the</strong> late anti-Israel activist<br />
Edward Said), he refused to be interviewed by an Israeli army radio reporter<br />
because <strong>the</strong> reporter was wearing an IDF uniform.<br />
In 2002, Barenboim performed in Ramallah at <strong>the</strong> very time that terrorist<br />
groups were launching suicide attacks inside Israel. In 2008, he<br />
became <strong>the</strong> recipient of a Palestinian passport, an act approved by <strong>the</strong> former<br />
Hamas-led Palestinian government, and <strong>the</strong>n he pledged allegiance to<br />
an antisemitic entity whose objective is <strong>the</strong> elimination of Israel.<br />
21. Hamastan is a derogative, newly coined term that merges “Hamas” and<br />
“-stan.” The term, which emerged during <strong>the</strong> days of Israel’s withdrawal from <strong>the</strong><br />
Gaza Strip in 2005, is suggestive of Hamas’ Islamic ideology as well as its political<br />
ties with Iran. Since 2007, <strong>the</strong> term has been used to refer to its victory over Fatah<br />
in Gaza in <strong>the</strong> ongoing inter-Palestinian conflict.
260 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:243<br />
Barenboim always claims to be promoting <strong>the</strong> “cause of peace,”<br />
though his behavior is <strong>the</strong> anti<strong>the</strong>sis of that claim. For example, he made no<br />
protest when Hamas banned all musical instruments not mentioned in <strong>the</strong><br />
Koran, and he also failed to object when a Palestinian youth orchestra was<br />
disbanded in Jenin because it had performed for Holocaust survivors in<br />
Israel.<br />
His silence in <strong>the</strong> face of attacks on Israelis speaks volumes. In August<br />
2003, while conducting a Concert for Peace in Spain with an Arab orchestra,<br />
a bus of <strong>the</strong> Jewish faithful returning from <strong>the</strong> Western Wall was blown<br />
up. Many infants were among <strong>the</strong> dead and injured. Instead of using <strong>the</strong><br />
Spanish concert to denounce <strong>the</strong> massacre of Jews, he chose to remain<br />
silent. And, tragically, I can find no comments by him concerning <strong>the</strong> death<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Fogel family by Arabs from <strong>the</strong> village of Avrata, and which<br />
included a three-month-old infant with her throat cut.<br />
Note<br />
Performing Wagner’s music in an orchestra gives one no special<br />
insight into matters beyond a simple understanding of how <strong>the</strong> music goes.<br />
Orchestral players are specialists in <strong>the</strong> difficult task of performing specific<br />
orchestral parts, and while some go beyond that because of personal curiosity<br />
and intellectual interest, it is not part of <strong>the</strong> job. Even some conductors<br />
do not inquire beyond that printed in <strong>the</strong> orchestral score. A colleague of<br />
mine, who held a principal chair with <strong>the</strong> Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for<br />
30 years, knew very little of <strong>the</strong> characters or <strong>the</strong> plots of <strong>the</strong> operas that he<br />
performed so many times, though he carried off his role as a critical orchestral<br />
player brilliantly. In my own case, I have performed <strong>the</strong> Nutcracker<br />
ballet more than 600 times but have no idea what happens on stage except<br />
that mice are somehow involved, a fact deduced when a heavy mechanical<br />
mouse used for one production wandered off <strong>the</strong> stage, tumbled into <strong>the</strong><br />
orchestra pit, glanced off my head and shoulder, and disabled me for several<br />
weeks.<br />
All this is by way of saying that though I have played a great deal of<br />
Wagner’s orchestral music over <strong>the</strong> years, <strong>the</strong> preparation of this article<br />
required considerable study. It was here that I benefited from <strong>the</strong> specialized<br />
research of some remarkably sophisticated historians and social scientists,<br />
many of whom have spent a great part of <strong>the</strong>ir adult lives plowing<br />
deep furrows in this gnarled, unpleasant, and distasteful territory.<br />
In addition to <strong>the</strong> brilliant Wagner: Race and Revolution of Paul Lawrence<br />
Rose, quoted from above (and with whom I had an exceptionally<br />
useful correspondence, some of which influenced my views about <strong>the</strong> Bayreuth<br />
conference of August 1998), I mention two o<strong>the</strong>r seminal research
2011] <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> IN WAGNERIAN OPERA 261<br />
efforts in this domain. They are Marc A. Weiner’s profound but disturbing<br />
book, Richard Wagner and <strong>the</strong> Anti-Semitic Imagination, and Barry Millington’s<br />
seminal article, “Is There Anti-Semitism in Die Meistersinger,” 22<br />
now summarized in <strong>the</strong> New Grove Dictionary of Opera.<br />
I honor and remember <strong>the</strong> late Uri Töplitz, retired principal flute of <strong>the</strong><br />
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of <strong>the</strong> group at <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong><br />
first concert under Toscanini, for supplying me with details of <strong>the</strong> IPO’s<br />
history regarding <strong>the</strong> playing of Wagner’s music.<br />
My career as an orchestral player has been over for some years. But if<br />
I were still performing—being sensitized now to what I did not know<br />
<strong>the</strong>n—I am not sure that I would be able to play any more of Wagner’s<br />
music, contractual obligations, its extraordinary beauty, fascinating architecture,<br />
and strong emotional effect notwithstanding. It has even become<br />
too painful to listen to it, and I am musically poorer because of this decision.<br />
But having lived through <strong>the</strong> period of <strong>the</strong> Shoah and seeing, from my<br />
safe haven in <strong>the</strong> America of my birth, where Wagner’s brand of thinking<br />
leads—and, more important, finding so much of that thinking coded into his<br />
music dramas—I do not wish to give such bigotry any fur<strong>the</strong>r space in my<br />
life. Despite <strong>the</strong> music’s extraordinary richness, it is not worth <strong>the</strong> pain.<br />
I speak for no one but myself, and offer no opinions on what o<strong>the</strong>rs<br />
should do.<br />
*Daniel Leeson retired from 30 years at IBM, <strong>the</strong>n taught ma<strong>the</strong>matics at De Anza<br />
Community College for an additional 15 years. A leading Mozart scholar with six<br />
books and some 100 published articles on <strong>the</strong> subject, Leeson has played professionally<br />
with major symphony orchestras. His interest in <strong>the</strong> history of antisemitism<br />
is long standing.<br />
22. Cambridge Opera Journal, 1991.
The Mosque at Rachel’s Tomb<br />
Shalva Weil*<br />
And Rachel died, and was buried on <strong>the</strong> way to Ephrath, which is<br />
Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is <strong>the</strong> pillar<br />
of Rachel’s grave unto this day.<br />
—Genesis 35:19-20<br />
The Biblical matriarch’s tomb, purportedly containing <strong>the</strong> bones of<br />
Rachel, has for many years now been a bone of contention. Last month,<br />
Palestinian youth hurled Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers guarding <strong>the</strong><br />
tomb situated on <strong>the</strong> outskirts of Jerusalem on <strong>the</strong> road to Bethlehem. In<br />
February 2010, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had drawn up<br />
a list of Israeli holy sites to be included in <strong>the</strong> UN Educational Scientific<br />
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) National Heritage list. The tomb,<br />
which is one of <strong>the</strong> holiest sites to Jews over <strong>the</strong> generations, was naturally<br />
included in <strong>the</strong> list, but instead, in October 2010, it was declared a mosque<br />
by UNESCO. Out of 58 member states, only <strong>the</strong> United States voted against<br />
<strong>the</strong> decision; 12 European and African countries abstained.<br />
The Tomb of Rachel marks <strong>the</strong> very spot where <strong>the</strong> Biblical matriarch<br />
Rachel died in childbirth on <strong>the</strong> road to Bethlehem. Muhammad al-Idrisi,<br />
<strong>the</strong> 12th-century Muslim geographer, wrote: “On <strong>the</strong> road between<br />
Bethlehem and Jerusalem is <strong>the</strong> Tomb of Rachel, <strong>the</strong> mo<strong>the</strong>r of Joseph and<br />
Benjamin.” The tomb has been <strong>the</strong> site of pilgrimage and prayer for Jews in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Diaspora for more than three thousand years. Throughout <strong>the</strong> centuries,<br />
Jews from all over <strong>the</strong> world visited <strong>the</strong> tomb, and sent funds to help<br />
renovate and maintain it. It was such a revered site that even Jews in farflung<br />
countries, as far away as India, longed to pray <strong>the</strong>re and felt<br />
connected to <strong>the</strong> place.<br />
The tomb is of special significance to women, who used to pray <strong>the</strong>re<br />
263
264 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:263<br />
for a suitable marriage partner or <strong>the</strong> ability to give birth. Rachel’s birthday,<br />
which falls on <strong>the</strong> 11th day of <strong>the</strong> lunar month of Heshvan, has become a<br />
day of pilgrimage for thousands of Jewish women, who come from all over<br />
<strong>the</strong> country to pray for fertility for <strong>the</strong>ir loved ones or <strong>the</strong>mselves. By an<br />
irony of history, this Hebrew date has also become a source of conflict.<br />
Rachel’s birthday coincides with <strong>the</strong> day on which Prime Minister Yitzhak<br />
Rabin was assassinated. In recent years, in an attempt to avoid<br />
commemorating <strong>the</strong> assassination of a left-wing political leader, many<br />
religious right-wing Jews have offered Rachel’s birthday as a “religious”<br />
alternative. It has thus come to pass that large sectors of Israeli society do<br />
not know when Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated but are reminded of<br />
Rachel’s death annually.<br />
As with many Jewish religious sites in Israel and elsewhere, and<br />
particularly with respect to tombs of patriarchs, prophets and great Rabbis,<br />
<strong>the</strong> site also had religious significance for members of o<strong>the</strong>r faiths. This was<br />
particularly well documented in <strong>the</strong> 15th century with descriptions of Jews,<br />
Muslims, and Christians frequenting <strong>the</strong> place. In 1615, Muhammad, Pasha<br />
of Jerusalem, gave <strong>the</strong> Jews exclusive rights to <strong>the</strong> tomb. In 1830, <strong>the</strong><br />
Ottomans recognized <strong>the</strong> legal rights of <strong>the</strong> Jews to <strong>the</strong> site. When Sir<br />
Moses Montefiore purchased <strong>the</strong> site in 1841, he restored <strong>the</strong> tomb and<br />
added a small prayer hall for <strong>the</strong> Muslims. Christians wanted to take this<br />
over and build a church <strong>the</strong>re. However, until 2000, <strong>the</strong> site remained<br />
predominantly Jewish.<br />
One of <strong>the</strong> lesser known historical facts is <strong>the</strong> connection between <strong>the</strong><br />
Jews of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, and Rachel’s tomb. Inscribed<br />
on <strong>the</strong> wall was <strong>the</strong> following plaque: “This well was made possible<br />
through a donation from our esteemed bro<strong>the</strong>rs, <strong>the</strong> Bene Israel, who dwell<br />
in <strong>the</strong> city of Bombay, may <strong>the</strong> Lord bless that place. In honour of <strong>the</strong><br />
whole congregation of Israel who come to worship at <strong>the</strong> gravestone for <strong>the</strong><br />
tomb of our matriarch Rachel, may her memory rest in peace, amen! In <strong>the</strong><br />
year 5625.” This lunar year is <strong>the</strong> equivalent of 1864.<br />
In 1859 <strong>the</strong> emissary Rabbi Eben Sapir from Jerusalem had stayed six<br />
months in Bombay in order to find out more about <strong>the</strong> “lost” tribes of Israel<br />
“who are called Bene Israel.” Sapir wrote: “And <strong>the</strong>y knew that <strong>the</strong>re are<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r Jews and <strong>the</strong> land of Israel, and Jerusalem, and <strong>the</strong> destruction of <strong>the</strong><br />
Temple, and that when <strong>the</strong> Messiah comes <strong>the</strong>y will be redeemed and<br />
ga<strong>the</strong>red toge<strong>the</strong>r in Jerusalem . . . . and <strong>the</strong>y also give charity and<br />
donations to <strong>the</strong> poor of Israel and to messengers who come from Palestine<br />
for this purpose.”<br />
At <strong>the</strong> beginning of <strong>the</strong> twentieth century, while Jewish art in Palestine<br />
always portrayed Rachel’s tomb as one of <strong>the</strong> most important holy sites, <strong>the</strong><br />
site began to be contested by Muslims, with <strong>the</strong> Wakf demanding control of
2011] THE MOSQUE AT RACHEL’S TOMB 265<br />
<strong>the</strong> place on <strong>the</strong> grounds that <strong>the</strong> tomb was part of a neighboring Muslim<br />
cemetery. After <strong>the</strong> Israeli War of Independence in 1948, <strong>the</strong> tomb was<br />
allocated to Jordan and Jews could no longer visit. During <strong>the</strong> Six Day War<br />
in 1967, after Israel occupied some Jordanian territory, <strong>the</strong> tomb once again<br />
became part of Israel. During <strong>the</strong> 1970s, when I used to visit <strong>the</strong> tomb of<br />
Rachel, <strong>the</strong> keeper of <strong>the</strong> small tomb was a Bene Israel Indian Jew from<br />
Bombay, who felt an historical affinity with <strong>the</strong> site because of his<br />
forefa<strong>the</strong>rs.<br />
In 1995, after <strong>the</strong> Oslo agreement, Bethlehem, with <strong>the</strong> exception of<br />
Rachel’s tomb, became part of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian Authority. The following<br />
year, <strong>the</strong> Israel Defence Forces, fearing a terrorist attack at <strong>the</strong> site, built a<br />
huge fortification round <strong>the</strong> previously modest tomb. In retaliation, <strong>the</strong><br />
Palestinian Authority declared <strong>the</strong> place to be on Palestinian land and built<br />
on an Islamic mosque. During <strong>the</strong> second Intifada in 2000, <strong>the</strong>re were<br />
intermittent attacks on <strong>the</strong> tomb with altercations between <strong>the</strong> IDF and<br />
Palestinian gunmen. Since <strong>the</strong>n, <strong>the</strong>re has been growing support for <strong>the</strong> idea<br />
launched by Al-Hayat al-Jadida, a Palestinian daily, that <strong>the</strong> site was a<br />
thousand year-old mosque by <strong>the</strong> name of <strong>the</strong> “Bilal ibn Rabah mosque”<br />
until, finally, UNESCO endorsed <strong>the</strong> idea. In a petition to UNESCO<br />
initiated on <strong>the</strong> internet, petitioners pointed out that Rachel’s Tomb was<br />
called Al-mawsu’ah al-filastiniyah in <strong>the</strong> Palestinian encyclopedia<br />
published after 1996, and also in Palestine, The Holy Land, a publication<br />
with an introduction by Yasser Arafat. They wrote: “In attempting to sever<br />
<strong>the</strong> Jewish cultural, religious, and natural heritage bond with <strong>the</strong> Tomb of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb, UNESCO denies <strong>the</strong> history it is<br />
mandated to preserve, engages in a political maneuver designed to weaken a<br />
member UN nations, and undermines its own principles. . . . We demand<br />
that UNESCO, whose purpose it is to protect heritage, also protect Jewish<br />
heritage, ra<strong>the</strong>r than deny it.”<br />
It has thus come to pass that Rachel’s Tomb, which today is situated in<br />
Israel just in front of <strong>the</strong> “checkpoint” to Bethlehem, has become a symbol<br />
not just of fertility, but of disputed historical memory.<br />
*Shalva Weil is a senior researcher at <strong>the</strong> Research Institute for Innovation in<br />
Education at <strong>the</strong> Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. She is a specialist in<br />
Indian Jewry and is <strong>the</strong> founding chair of <strong>the</strong> Israel-India Friendship Association.<br />
Reprinted by permission from ISN Insights. http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-<br />
Affairs/ISN-Insights/Detail?lng=en&ots627=fce62fe0-528d-4884-9cdf-283c282cf0<br />
b2&id=128699&contextid734=128699&contextid735=128314&tabid=128314
Journal of Contemporary<br />
Leftist Antisemitism?<br />
Mark Gardner*<br />
Routledge, <strong>the</strong> respected academic publishing house, has published a<br />
book review that is a depressing tour de force of contemporary high-brow<br />
leftist antisemitism. There has long been a sense of “anything goes” in such<br />
circles, and this review goes a long way to proving that—an impression that<br />
is only deepened by its carrying a “peer review integrity” logo.<br />
Worse still, <strong>the</strong> review provides fur<strong>the</strong>r evidence of <strong>the</strong> convergence<br />
between <strong>the</strong> increasingly antisemitic anti-Zionism of parts of <strong>the</strong> left intelligentsia<br />
and <strong>the</strong> increasingly anti-Zionist antisemitism of American neo-<br />
Nazi ideologues.<br />
The damage is done. The only thing remaining is to see if Routledge<br />
and <strong>the</strong> editorial board responsible for <strong>the</strong> review belatedly distance <strong>the</strong>mselves<br />
from it.<br />
The review is of James Petras’ book, War Crimes in Gaza and <strong>the</strong><br />
Zionist Fifth Column in America. It shames <strong>the</strong> May 2011 edition of Routledge’s<br />
peer-reviewed Journal of Contemporary Asia, and is written by a<br />
former United Nations official, Frederic F. Clairmont. Both Petras and<br />
Clairmont, in addition to celebrity intellectual Noam Chomsky, are on <strong>the</strong><br />
Journal’s editorial board.<br />
The Petras book, and its Journal review, present a conspiracy <strong>the</strong>ory<br />
that has very little to do with traditional Asian <strong>the</strong>mes, but fits resoundingly<br />
with <strong>the</strong> late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century socialist linkage of<br />
Jews with capitalism, now updated and repackaged for twenty-first-century<br />
anti-capitalist discourse. Socialist antisemitism had nothing to do with biological<br />
racism, but exhibited striking resemblances to <strong>the</strong> subsequent<br />
national socialist propaganda that twinned “international Jewry” with<br />
American capitalism and British imperialism. Soviet antisemitism continued<br />
this lineage with its combined attacks on Zionism, finance capital, corporations,<br />
millionaires, and so on. Today, <strong>the</strong> trend continues, with far-left<br />
and far-right bastardization of <strong>the</strong> word “Zionist” providing <strong>the</strong> cornerstone,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> word “Jew” lurking in its shadow.<br />
Clairmont’s offending review in <strong>the</strong> Journal clearly derives from an<br />
earlier review by Clairmont, dated September 5, 2010, that can be read in<br />
full on James Petras’ Web site. The earlier review is <strong>the</strong> unexpurgated version:<br />
<strong>the</strong> Director’s Conspiracy Cut, as it were.<br />
The Routledge version avoids some of <strong>the</strong> trashier antisemitic aspects<br />
of <strong>the</strong> original. We can’t know if this editing was done by <strong>the</strong> editors of <strong>the</strong><br />
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268 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:267<br />
Journal or <strong>the</strong> author, but whatever <strong>the</strong> case, it is a good representation of<br />
how <strong>the</strong> antisemitic aspects of contemporary anti-Zionist hysteria are airbrushed—as<br />
if <strong>the</strong> old antisemitic conspiracy <strong>the</strong>ories would have been<br />
entirely accurate had <strong>the</strong>y only coined <strong>the</strong>ir own linguistic obfuscation of<br />
<strong>the</strong> word “Jew.”<br />
Clairmont’s only point of contention with <strong>the</strong> Zionist Fifth Column<br />
book is that he believes Petras should not have used <strong>the</strong> terms “Zionist Fifth<br />
Column in America” and “Zionist Power Configuration,” but should ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />
have called it <strong>the</strong> “Zio-fascist complex,” “so as to throw into sharper relief<br />
<strong>the</strong> horrors of its being.” Clairmont’s contemplation resembles a 2009 posting<br />
by ex-Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke on Stormfront, <strong>the</strong><br />
leading American neo-Nazi Web site, in which Duke asked his readers:<br />
Maybe one of you might have an idea to describe <strong>the</strong> matrix of power in<br />
America.<br />
Perhaps, <strong>the</strong> political, financial, media-Zionist matrix<br />
Or<br />
Just <strong>the</strong> Zionist media, political and financial matrix<br />
Or just <strong>the</strong> Zionist matrix,<br />
Or just <strong>the</strong> Zionist complex<br />
Any suggestions?<br />
Let’s work on this; we can create a whole new powerful term that sums<br />
up <strong>the</strong> core of Jewish extremist power in America and <strong>the</strong> world.<br />
It is most unlikely that this review will propel Journal readers to<br />
urgently warn <strong>the</strong>ir peers and students that <strong>the</strong> dangers of Zionism and<br />
Zionists are even worse than <strong>the</strong>y had previously believed. Never<strong>the</strong>less, it<br />
is <strong>the</strong> insidious nature of such arguments, repeated time and again with<br />
varying degrees of extremism, that is <strong>the</strong> biggest danger. Over time, such<br />
incitement is increasingly able to masquerade as academic <strong>the</strong>ory, especially<br />
when it is not simply unchallenged, but approved by an academic<br />
editorial board.<br />
Never<strong>the</strong>less, <strong>the</strong> similarity in belief and language between Stormfront<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Journal is more likely a reflection of David Duke having been<br />
seduced by James Petras et al.—by what <strong>the</strong>y get away with saying—ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />
than <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r way around. At any rate, both ideologies have reached <strong>the</strong><br />
same point, inexorably borne by what is, at root, an antisemitic conspiracy<br />
narrative.<br />
The Routledge version seems at least (implicitly) cognizant of <strong>the</strong> dangers<br />
of sounding outwardly antisemitic. For example, it states, “. . . [Israeli]<br />
‘settlements’ are being funded by <strong>the</strong> ‘donations’ of Zionist finance,”<br />
whereas Clairmont’s original says, “. . . [Israeli] ‘settlements’ are being<br />
funded by <strong>the</strong> big money bags of Zionist finance capital . . .” Perhaps an
2011] CONTEMPORARY LEFTIST <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong>? 269<br />
editor at <strong>the</strong> Journal realized that “<strong>the</strong> big money bags of Zionist finance<br />
capital” sounded more National Socialist brute than it did Revolutionary<br />
Socialist highbrow. Or perhaps Clairmont knew it himself.<br />
Then, in <strong>the</strong> next paragraph, <strong>the</strong>re is ano<strong>the</strong>r deletion of a phrase that is<br />
redolent of Nazi anti-capitalist antisemitism. The Routledge version says,<br />
“Excluding <strong>the</strong> huge German reparations, since 1950 Israel has received<br />
yearly some US $5 billion, and that in a land of about six million.” The<br />
original adds in a paren<strong>the</strong>tical after this statement: “(that is <strong>the</strong> private<br />
sector payouts from international Jewry plus <strong>the</strong> US government),” and follows<br />
by saying, “Any move to halt this . . . would be knifed by <strong>the</strong> Zionist<br />
cabals.”<br />
This is not, however, to say that <strong>the</strong> Routledge version does not have<br />
its own blatant shortcomings. Consider this:<br />
Israel is a brazen fascist monster. The mobilisation of its power in <strong>the</strong><br />
USA is by elected and appointed Zionist officialdom. A key to its power<br />
is that it is a mass grassroots organisation buttressed by <strong>the</strong> financial support<br />
of scores of millionaires, dozens of billionaires and a mass media<br />
that is its handmaiden.<br />
The review continues:<br />
In many ways it has paralyzed <strong>the</strong> US Congress and <strong>the</strong> Executive. It<br />
influences Treasury, State, <strong>the</strong> Pentagon and all leading Congressional<br />
committees that relate to Israeli expansionism . . . The career profiles of<br />
its professionals that are <strong>the</strong> quintessence of <strong>the</strong> “Fifth Column” are to be<br />
found in every nook and cranny of Wall street, <strong>the</strong> globe-girdling corporate<br />
law firms, <strong>the</strong> insurance industry, <strong>the</strong> big three stock market-rating<br />
agencies, <strong>the</strong> big three accounting firms and <strong>the</strong> media. As <strong>the</strong> author<br />
makes clear, pro-Israel career patterns and projections of power have<br />
established a hegemony of US public life.<br />
How does this conspiracy really differ from David Duke’s depiction of<br />
“<strong>the</strong> Zionist media, political and financial matrix”? Yes, Duke uses <strong>the</strong><br />
word “Jewish” (to be more precise, “Jewish extremist power”), but <strong>the</strong><br />
Petras book echoes even that, citing “Judeo-Zionist hegemony.” (A fantasy<br />
term, warmly quoted in Clairmont’s original article, “he [Petras] emphasizes<br />
that ‘in effect pro-Israel career patterns and projections of power have<br />
established a kind of Judeo-Zionist hegemony of US public life.’ ”)<br />
The above paragraphs may remind those familiar with antisemitism of<br />
<strong>the</strong> notorious forgery The Protocols of <strong>the</strong> Elders of Zion, with its global<br />
conspiracy <strong>the</strong>ory and attendant imagery, such as a Star of David-bearing<br />
octopus encircling <strong>the</strong> globe in its tentacles, or a Star of David-bearing spi-
270 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:267<br />
der holding <strong>the</strong> world in its web, or a grotesque Jewish capitalist squeezing<br />
blood out of <strong>the</strong> world. As if to reinforce <strong>the</strong> impression, <strong>the</strong> next paragraph<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Routledge version states that “<strong>the</strong> ramifications of <strong>the</strong> Zionist behemoth<br />
is by no means confined to <strong>the</strong> US political oligarchy. Indeed its tentacles<br />
are globalized, notably in all <strong>the</strong> major EU countries.” (Here, <strong>the</strong><br />
Routledge version omits Clairmont’s details of how “<strong>the</strong> grip” of “<strong>the</strong> operational<br />
fifth column . . . is vastly magnified by <strong>the</strong> stranglehold on <strong>the</strong> major<br />
media outlets notably on <strong>the</strong> Middle East.”)<br />
Perhaps Clairmont’s peer reviewers were seduced by <strong>the</strong> relative<br />
absence of <strong>the</strong> word “Jew” from <strong>the</strong>ir actual version of <strong>the</strong> article. After all,<br />
Jews (by name) appear only in <strong>the</strong> article’s conclusion:<br />
. . . <strong>the</strong> preparations for <strong>the</strong> obliteration of Iran has ga<strong>the</strong>red speed . . .<br />
The vote in Congress was galvanised amongst o<strong>the</strong>rs by <strong>the</strong> American<br />
Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and acclaimed by all <strong>the</strong> major<br />
American Jewish organizations.<br />
The upsurge of Zionism, as Petras notes is a virulent form of identity<br />
linked to a foreign power. Its overwhelmingly successful hegemonic<br />
inroads have been abetted by <strong>the</strong> abject capitulation of <strong>the</strong> US ruling<br />
class. The US political complex and successive administrations with no<br />
exception have become part of <strong>the</strong> interlaced web of Zionist power that<br />
extends into every nook and cranny of all sectors of American capitalism.<br />
There is no distancing here of Jews from this “interlaced web of Zionist<br />
power” that holds <strong>the</strong> “US ruling class” in “abject capitulation.” It is “all<br />
<strong>the</strong> major American Jewish organizations” that are ei<strong>the</strong>r in <strong>the</strong> conspiracy<br />
or cheering from <strong>the</strong> sidelines.<br />
This sudden introduction of “all <strong>the</strong> major American Jewish organisations”<br />
into <strong>the</strong> closing section of Clairmont’s polemic really lets <strong>the</strong><br />
antisemitic cat out of <strong>the</strong> bag. The only surprise is that whoever airbrushed<br />
Jews from <strong>the</strong> original article failed to spot this mention of <strong>the</strong>m. Or, perhaps<br />
more likely, <strong>the</strong> antisemitic cat had been squirming so furiously in <strong>the</strong><br />
anti-Zionist bag that it finally, inevitably, escaped.<br />
*Mark Gardner is director of communications, CST (Community Security Trust),<br />
http://www.<strong>the</strong>cst.org.uk/, and regularly publishes articles on antisemitism. Gardner<br />
was awarded a police commendation for his work during <strong>the</strong> 1999 neo-Nazi<br />
nail bombing campaign, and in 2006 he represented <strong>the</strong> Jewish community and<br />
CST during <strong>the</strong> Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism. He assists with several<br />
police advisory committees.
Miral and International Efforts<br />
to Delegitimize Israel<br />
Joanne Intrator and Scott Rose*<br />
Does Miral author Rula Jebreal harbor any antisemitic thoughts and<br />
feelings?<br />
In preparation for this article, we sent an interview request to Jebreal<br />
through <strong>the</strong> contacts given on her Web site. We said we wished to speak<br />
with her to gain clarity about her current political thoughts vis-à-vis Israel.<br />
We did not receive <strong>the</strong> courtesy of a reply. We note from <strong>the</strong> outset that<br />
Jebreal long suffered a very painful, arduous personal history. Among her<br />
many tragic living nightmares, her mo<strong>the</strong>r’s stepfa<strong>the</strong>r raped her mo<strong>the</strong>r,<br />
who committed suicide when Jebreal was five years old. We state also that<br />
aspects of her advocacy for <strong>the</strong> role that education might play toward establishing<br />
peace in <strong>the</strong> Middle East could conceivably be viewed as admirable.<br />
However, particularly given that her lover Julian Schnabel’s controversial<br />
film Miral was shown at <strong>the</strong> United Nations in New York, Jebreal now<br />
should consider that she is accountable for speaking responsibly in public<br />
about Israel. We have searched in vain for statements from her acknowledging<br />
that, for example, due to <strong>the</strong> centuries and centuries of anti-Jewish persecutions<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Muslim-majority countries of Africa and <strong>the</strong> Middle East,<br />
Jews—and Sephardic Jews most of all—have a right to be free of anti-<br />
Jewish persecution in at least some sliver of <strong>the</strong> geographical area that was<br />
<strong>the</strong> homeland of <strong>the</strong> ancient Hebrews.<br />
To <strong>the</strong> extent that Jebreal formulates coherent geopolitical proposals,<br />
she would appear to favor a single-state solution to <strong>the</strong> Israeli-Palestinian<br />
conflict. Notably, she is recklessly unbalanced in her recommendations for<br />
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how to reach that goal, were that goal even deemed enduringly safe for <strong>the</strong><br />
Jews of <strong>the</strong> Middle East. She has a tendency, outside of her fiction, to fault<br />
Jewish Israelis obliquely but sharply for everything, and Palestinian Muslims<br />
mildly for almost nothing. Interviewed on The Charlie Rose Show on<br />
March 23, 2011, for instance, she appeared glamorously beautiful as well as<br />
persuasive in her appeals for women in <strong>the</strong> Middle East to escape religious<br />
extremism through education. Without saying <strong>the</strong> country-name “Israel,”<br />
though, she talked about “walls” that have been built to prevent young Palestinian<br />
women from reaching Jerusalem to become educated. Repeatedly,<br />
she implicates Israel’s security barriers against suicide bombers, and o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
forms of attack, as <strong>the</strong> most formidable barrier to young Palestinian women<br />
becoming well educated. Even as she states that young Palestinian women<br />
must not be allowed to get trapped in <strong>the</strong>ir lives by Islamic extremists in<br />
Gaza and <strong>the</strong> West Bank, she implies that Israel should eliminate its<br />
defenses against <strong>the</strong> Islamic extremists in those places, in order that young<br />
Palestinian women should be allowed a better education. Why Jebreal does<br />
not instead demand of Palestinian authorities in Gaza and <strong>the</strong> West Bank<br />
that <strong>the</strong>y immediately allow <strong>the</strong>ir young women access to contemporary<br />
liberal education within those territories is anybody’s guess. Her belief,<br />
misguided, appears to be that if Israel removed its security barriers, all<br />
young Palestinian women would immediately receive enlightened educations<br />
in Jerusalem, and Israel would have nothing to fear from Hamas in<br />
Gaza or from various malevolent elements in <strong>the</strong> West Bank.<br />
Jebreal’s “pin <strong>the</strong> blame on Israeli Jews” viewpoint was confirmed<br />
when Charlie Rose asked her about recent Arab revolts against despotic<br />
leaders in countries including Tunisia and Egypt. Jebreal asked, “After <strong>the</strong><br />
uprising, are we telling people to stay behind walls?” It was clear in <strong>the</strong><br />
context that she was referring to Palestinians in Gaza and <strong>the</strong> West Bank as<br />
being “behind walls.” Equally clear was her lack of consideration for what<br />
would happen to Israelis were <strong>the</strong> referenced “walls” eliminated. Ironically,<br />
as we were at work on this article, in Egypt—with its popular uprising that<br />
Jebreal had cited as a model for an enlightened, peaceful new Middle East<br />
reality—hardliner Salifi Muslim mobs were setting violently upon<br />
Christians.<br />
As with life generally, it is a given in <strong>the</strong> Middle East that varying<br />
degrees of ambiguity attend <strong>the</strong> elements within it. Jebreal is not a conscienceless<br />
monster. Yet if her prescriptions for Israeli policies were implemented<br />
today, a result in very short order would be <strong>the</strong> subjugation of<br />
today’s Israeli Jews—and, not insignificantly, today’s Israeli Arabs—to <strong>the</strong><br />
much harsher dictates of <strong>the</strong>ocratic rule we now see imposed on <strong>the</strong> Palestinian<br />
populations in Gaza and <strong>the</strong> West Bank. The case of Walid Husayin<br />
comes to mind. In Qalqilya in <strong>the</strong> West Bank, Husayin posted online a<strong>the</strong>is-
2011] MIRAL AND DELEGITIMIZING ISRAEL 273<br />
tic messages lampooning Islamic religious beliefs. When <strong>the</strong> general population<br />
started giving Husayin death threats, and clamoring for him to be<br />
punished, <strong>the</strong> Palestinian authorities imprisoned him. Writing in The Wall<br />
Street Journal, Bret Stephens said, “if Palestinians cannot abide a single<br />
free-thinker in <strong>the</strong>ir midst, <strong>the</strong>y cannot be free in any meaningful sense of<br />
<strong>the</strong> word.” Worth noting, additionally, is that Husayin had originally written<br />
on his Noor al-Aqel (Enlightenment of Reason) blog that, in his view, Muslims<br />
“believe anyone who leaves Islam is an agent or a spy for a Western<br />
State, namely <strong>the</strong> Jewish State. They actually don’t get that people are free<br />
to think and believe in whatever suits <strong>the</strong>m.”<br />
We find unacceptable that Jebreal, in addressing an international public,<br />
mischaracterizes Israel’s security barriers as “walls” against <strong>the</strong> enlightened<br />
education of young Palestinian women. As if, were Hamas in Gaza<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Palestinian Authority in <strong>the</strong> West Bank to guarantee and fully to<br />
protect freedom of speech and freedom of religion for <strong>the</strong>ir populations,<br />
Israel would in <strong>the</strong> least object. As if Israel’s security barriers were in place<br />
mainly for <strong>the</strong> purpose of stopping young Palestinian women from receiving<br />
enlightened educations. When Jebreal mischaracterizes Israel’s security<br />
barriers as “walls” against Palestinian women becoming educated, she is<br />
demonizing and delegitimizing Israel.<br />
Whatever <strong>the</strong> qualities of <strong>the</strong> novel Miral and of Schnabel’s movie<br />
based on it, Jebreal is not alone in <strong>the</strong> present-day world to deliver genteelly<br />
wrapped public statements delegitimizing Israel. Imam Abdullah Antepli,<br />
for example, published an essay on <strong>the</strong> Huffington Post about his tour of<br />
Auschwitz. The ostensible <strong>the</strong>me of Antepli’s essay is his heightened sensitivity<br />
to Jewish-rights-related concerns in <strong>the</strong> wake of his increased understanding<br />
of <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>the</strong> Holocaust. Lamentably, though, Imam Antepli<br />
paints <strong>the</strong> Holocaust as an exclusively European event. He actually states<br />
that Bosnian Muslims did much to save Bosnian Jewry. (We e-mailed<br />
Imam Antepli, asking him whe<strong>the</strong>r he acknowledges <strong>the</strong> documented Middle<br />
Eastern Muslim complicity in <strong>the</strong> Holocaust. We did not receive <strong>the</strong><br />
courtesy of a reply.) There might indeed have been some individual Bosnian<br />
Muslims who made efforts to save Bosnian Jews from <strong>the</strong> Holocaust.<br />
However, <strong>the</strong> Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, who had a<br />
face-to-face meeting with Hitler during which <strong>the</strong>y agreed to extend <strong>the</strong><br />
“Final Solution” to Jews in all <strong>the</strong> Muslim-Arab majority countries, organized<br />
Muslim SS troops in Bosnia, and those troops collaborated in <strong>the</strong><br />
destruction of Bosnian Jewry.<br />
The Grand Mufti was later hailed by his nephew Yassir Arafat as a<br />
Palestinian national hero; Hind Husseini, <strong>the</strong> Mufti al-Husseini’s sister, was<br />
glorified uncritically in Miral. (Where is <strong>the</strong> record of Hind Husseini condemning<br />
her bro<strong>the</strong>r’s involvement in <strong>the</strong> Holocaust?) In her interview with
274 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:271<br />
Charlie Rose, Rula Jebreal said she does not believe one needs to know<br />
much of politics or history in order to have properly apportioned empathy<br />
for <strong>the</strong> people now living in <strong>the</strong> West Bank, Gaza, and Israel. We beg to<br />
differ.<br />
*Joanne Intrator, MD, is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Mt. Sinai<br />
School of Medicine in New York, where she also has a private practice. Scott Rose<br />
writes frequently on culture and <strong>the</strong> arts.
But Will It Sell in Islamabad?<br />
Tarek Fatah, The Jew Is Not My Enemy.<br />
(Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 2010), 243 pp., $24.95<br />
Khaleel Mohammed*<br />
It is not often that someone gets to review a book in which he is positively<br />
mentioned. I note this at <strong>the</strong> very beginning in <strong>the</strong> interests of full<br />
disclosure. I must also point out that, after <strong>the</strong> publication of this book, <strong>the</strong><br />
author and I have blocked each o<strong>the</strong>r on our Facebook pages. I chose to do<br />
so because I feel that Tarek Fatah has morphed from someone with reformist<br />
ideas to a person sounding more like a self-hating Muslim, deeming all<br />
who disagree with him as Islamists. My evidence is <strong>the</strong> material on his<br />
Facebook page and <strong>the</strong> large following of Islamophobes that form his fan<br />
base, sparing no opportunity to disparage and denigrate Islam. I had also<br />
refused, until sent this copy for review, to read <strong>the</strong> book because I consider<br />
its title to be pandering to a Jewish readership.<br />
And yet, if I stick to <strong>the</strong> book and its contents only, I must admit that<br />
from its very first page it rivets <strong>the</strong> attention. The author is not an academic—perhaps<br />
mercifully so—because he spares us <strong>the</strong> stultifying pedantry<br />
that is often expected in such a work. Instead, he gives us an eloquent,<br />
well-researched document. The reception that his work has met is precisely<br />
why I, despite having researched <strong>the</strong> topic of Jewish-Muslim religions at<br />
great length, have chosen not to write a book for <strong>the</strong> popular press. For <strong>the</strong><br />
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Islamophobes, Tarek is not critical enough of Islam, and for <strong>the</strong> Islamists,<br />
he has crossed <strong>the</strong> boundaries of propriety (82).<br />
Tarek’s book is filled with references to contemporary events, items<br />
that <strong>the</strong> average reader can remember from television or newspaper news,<br />
and can easily research for accuracy. Even though I still feel that Jewish<br />
readers are more likely to make use of this book than are Tarek’s coreligionists,<br />
I find <strong>the</strong> principled statement that <strong>the</strong> author makes in his preface<br />
to be most commendable:<br />
For me, a discussion about Muslim-Jewish relations or <strong>the</strong> Arab-Israeli<br />
dispute becomes a non-starter <strong>the</strong> moment <strong>the</strong> right of Israel to exist as a<br />
Jewish state is challenged. Having said that, I firmly believe Israel, in<br />
continuing its occupation of <strong>the</strong> West Bank, is in serious violation of<br />
international law (xvii).<br />
Whe<strong>the</strong>r one agrees with Tarek or not is beside <strong>the</strong> point; what is<br />
established is that <strong>the</strong> writer is a principled man and states his position<br />
fearlessly. This is Tarek at his sometimes discomfiting best: saying what he<br />
feels, honestly and courageously—a characteristic he has displayed even<br />
from his days as a foreign worker in Saudi Arabia.<br />
If <strong>the</strong> book is wonderfully written; that some of it is hyperbole, often<br />
verging on outright prevarication, is problematic. Tarek claims that Professor<br />
Tarek Ramadan is one of those academics who has praised <strong>the</strong> alleged<br />
massacre of <strong>the</strong> Jews of <strong>the</strong> Banu Qurayzah “in glowing terms” (xxiii).<br />
Later in his book, he does refer to statements made by <strong>the</strong> professor on <strong>the</strong><br />
incident—and none of <strong>the</strong>se represent any “adulation,” as claimed (144).<br />
Tarek also asserts that for centuries, <strong>the</strong> norm has been for Muslims to<br />
ask God to “crush <strong>the</strong> Jews” (16). The fact is that while <strong>the</strong> hadith literature<br />
is replete with denigrating references to Jews, <strong>the</strong>re has never been a time<br />
when it would have been likely that Muslims would make that prayer<br />
except for <strong>the</strong> time of Muhammad’s wars with <strong>the</strong> Jewish tribes, <strong>the</strong> rebellion<br />
of Abu Isa al Isfahani, and <strong>the</strong> rise of modern Israel. For most of <strong>the</strong><br />
history of <strong>the</strong> Muslim polity, Jews were not a threat and <strong>the</strong> prayer would<br />
not have been applicable. If in Tarek’s lifetime this has been <strong>the</strong> norm, <strong>the</strong>n<br />
he ought to realize that <strong>the</strong> modern confrontation between Jews and Arabs<br />
started during WWI and that it is conceivable that Muslims started to make<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir invocations <strong>the</strong>n. Contrary to his norm, Tarek has provided no citations<br />
from classical texts showing any sources for invocations dating back<br />
centuries, as he claims.<br />
One of Tarek’s most astute observations is reflected in his term<br />
“pseudo anti-Americanism” (19). It is a statement that is likely to be<br />
attested to by any Muslim who has visited one of <strong>the</strong> Muslim-majority
2011] BUT WILL IT SELL IN ISLAMABAD? 277<br />
states. On my several visits, I have encountered in public <strong>the</strong> most hateful<br />
anti-American rhetoric. And yet, in private, <strong>the</strong> most vociferous perpetrators<br />
become transformed into abject beggars, pleading with me to find some<br />
way to get visas for <strong>the</strong>m and/or <strong>the</strong>ir family to <strong>the</strong> supposedly ungodly<br />
United States.<br />
Even with <strong>the</strong> very occasional hyperbole, Tarek ensures that his presentation<br />
is balanced and provides nuggets of information that one does not<br />
even find in <strong>the</strong> regular history texts. He shows, for example, that King Zog<br />
of Albania, during <strong>the</strong> time when <strong>the</strong> pogroms of Hitler were being conducted<br />
without much interference from abroad, was <strong>the</strong> first Muslim monarch<br />
to rescue <strong>the</strong> Jews in his country (41).<br />
Since <strong>the</strong> book is not an academic text, <strong>the</strong> author is certainly at liberty<br />
to write from his own political biases. As such, he considers <strong>the</strong> Arabs’<br />
siding with <strong>the</strong> British against <strong>the</strong> Ottomans in World War I as a betrayal<br />
(68). He does not seem to realize that <strong>the</strong> Arabs were never happy having<br />
<strong>the</strong> authority of Islam in <strong>the</strong> hands of non-Arabs, and to <strong>the</strong>m, <strong>the</strong>refore, <strong>the</strong><br />
Ottomans were just ano<strong>the</strong>r foreign oppressor. The British had offered independence<br />
to <strong>the</strong> Arabs in exchange for <strong>the</strong>ir assistance against <strong>the</strong> Ottomans.<br />
The Arabs were acting out of good faith—so much so that until <strong>the</strong>y<br />
found out that <strong>the</strong> British would renege on <strong>the</strong>ir promise, <strong>the</strong>y even supported<br />
<strong>the</strong> establishment of a Jewish state.<br />
Tarek also considers <strong>the</strong> Saudi presence in <strong>the</strong> Hijaz as an “occupation.”<br />
Perhaps he overlooks <strong>the</strong> fact that Muhammad united <strong>the</strong> Arab tribes<br />
under <strong>the</strong> banner of religion, and that <strong>the</strong> headquarters of Islam was seen to<br />
belong to <strong>the</strong> Arab people as a whole. The power of <strong>the</strong> Najdis, <strong>the</strong>refore, is<br />
not considered as an occupation by most Muslims—and Tarek’s contention<br />
might come across, unintentionally, as trying to place <strong>the</strong> Arab-Israeli dispute<br />
on a par with what he deems a Saudi occupation (xvii).<br />
The Arab-Israeli dispute is presented with remarkable candor—one<br />
that is probably not going to win <strong>the</strong> author support by ardent supporters of<br />
ei<strong>the</strong>r side. His chiding <strong>the</strong> Arabs for <strong>the</strong>ir own problems (76) is straightforward<br />
and precise; his dealing with <strong>the</strong> modern as well as <strong>the</strong> classical material<br />
is truly remarkable. In his chapter on <strong>the</strong> investigation of <strong>the</strong> alleged<br />
massacre of <strong>the</strong> Banu Qurayzah, Tarek does something no Muslim writer<br />
has done with as much intrepidity and ingenuity: he probes, dissects, and<br />
finally debunks <strong>the</strong> whole massacre story as a myth. Shortly before reviewing<br />
this book, I read Sir Martin Gilbert’s In Ishmael’s House. Sir Martin<br />
also deals with <strong>the</strong> Banu Qurayzah story. Strangely, though, <strong>the</strong> accounts of<br />
<strong>the</strong> two authors are vastly different—Sir Martin comes across as<br />
unschooled in history, while Tarek emerges as <strong>the</strong> consummate academic.<br />
What we glean from Tarek’s investigation is something that has been<br />
known to biblical scholars for a long while, even if it has been lost on
278 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:275<br />
Muslims: stories of war and depictions of <strong>the</strong> routed enemy in classical<br />
presentations are often done with highly exaggerated numbers. They were<br />
presented to show God’s chastisement of a people—and did not cater to<br />
questions of a later time, such as <strong>the</strong> investigation of data, considerations of<br />
human rights, and o<strong>the</strong>r issues.<br />
In dealing with <strong>the</strong> scriptural basis for <strong>the</strong> existence of Israel, as well<br />
as <strong>the</strong> pervasive antisemitism in modern Islam, Tarek makes use of much of<br />
my material. He painstakingly investigated all my claims, and in <strong>the</strong> end<br />
reached <strong>the</strong> same conclusion that I did. He is to be commended for his<br />
industrious approach to his task, as I remember him cross-examining me on<br />
my references. O<strong>the</strong>rs have sought to use Tarek to advance <strong>the</strong>ir own<br />
agenda. Farzana Khan, for example, tries to find a hole in Tarek’s reference<br />
to 5:21 of <strong>the</strong> Qur’an, where he asserts that God had decreed Israel as<br />
belonging to <strong>the</strong> Jews in perpetuity. 1 Ms. Khan claims that Q5:26 refutes<br />
such permanency, and that that “Fatah Muhammad” argument is fallacious.<br />
She obviously has no training in hermeneutics; if she had done her research,<br />
she would have found that classical exegetes did not see 5:26 as a refutation.<br />
She also claims that 6:165 of <strong>the</strong> Qur’an denies specific Jewish claims<br />
to <strong>the</strong> land (enlandisement), and that God’s bounties are open to all. In fact,<br />
no exegete, classical or modern, makes this claim. Her interpretation of<br />
religious continuity to show that Muslims are somehow, by scriptural writ,<br />
entitled to <strong>the</strong> Holy Land is simply supersession in disguise. The Qur’an<br />
never denies Jews <strong>the</strong>ir land. And when, during <strong>the</strong> caliphate of Umar, that<br />
territory was captured, he declared it a waqf (endowment) precisely because<br />
he knew it was not to be treated like o<strong>the</strong>r territories since <strong>the</strong> Qur’an had<br />
specifically mentioned its owners.<br />
Even if Muslim scholars had laid claim to Israel based on Ms. Khan’s<br />
unique interpretation, <strong>the</strong> fact is that Jewish claims to <strong>the</strong>ir land are not<br />
contingent upon Muslim approval. Indeed, for Jews, and for Muslims who<br />
are directed to look to <strong>the</strong> Bible for history (Q 21:7, 16:43), Sarah had<br />
exacted a promise from God that <strong>the</strong> inheritance would be through her<br />
son—Isaac. Muslim claims to Israel are based on <strong>the</strong> hadith . . . a genre of<br />
literature that Tarek has shown is notorious for its self-serving, supremacist<br />
agenda. Without realizing it, Ms. Khan has, while ostensibly fighting<br />
Islamism, sought to supply it with a new argument against Israel.<br />
As I noted earlier, I had refused to read this book because I felt its title<br />
pandered to a Jewish readership. Interestingly, Tarek accuses Irshad Mani<br />
of catering to Jews with <strong>the</strong> publication of her book, The Trouble with<br />
Islam. He claims that she accused him of being anti-Jewish because she<br />
1. See http://www.artsandopinion.com/2010_v9_n6/hassan-2.htm. Accessed<br />
January 30, 2011.
2011] BUT WILL IT SELL IN ISLAMABAD? 279<br />
could not understand his pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian positions (79).<br />
Tarek’s depiction of Ms. Manji may lead some to <strong>the</strong> misconception that<br />
she is anti-Palestinian. This is <strong>the</strong> far<strong>the</strong>st thing from <strong>the</strong> truth. I remember<br />
some colleagues from Israel complaining to me that Ms. Manji had refused<br />
to pose for photographs with an Israeli tank crew. When I asked her about<br />
<strong>the</strong> incident, she pointed out that she did not wish to give <strong>the</strong> impression she<br />
was siding with any occupation by force. Both Tarek Fatah and Irshad<br />
Manji are reformist- minded Muslims who have <strong>the</strong> same positions on<br />
many issues; it behooves Tarek to be more judicious in his representation of<br />
allies in his cause.<br />
In rating Tarek’s book, I am reminded of my Arabic-language professor<br />
at McGill. I dreaded receiving my corrected research papers from him;<br />
<strong>the</strong>y would invariably be covered in notes. Yet, I never received less than<br />
an “A”—because <strong>the</strong> professor was a perfectionist; his comments were<br />
meant to be constructive. My voluminous critique of Tarek’s book is in that<br />
category. But for <strong>the</strong> fact that Tarek has lauded me in it, I would have given<br />
it an A+. Since I do not wish to be accused of favoritism, however, I must<br />
award it only an A. Yet, however, in my department, we do not give A+s,<br />
so in <strong>the</strong> end, his book still gets <strong>the</strong> top grade. This book should be in every<br />
mosque, every church, every synagogue, every library—every institution<br />
that promotes knowledge as empowerment.<br />
*Khaleel Mohammed is an associate professor of religion in <strong>the</strong> Department of<br />
Religious Studies at San Diego State University. He has a bachelor’s in religion<br />
and psychology from Universidad Interamerica (Mexico), an MA from Concordia<br />
University (Canada), and a PhD in Islamic law from McGill (Canada). He has read<br />
law at Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University and held a Kraft Hiatt fellowship<br />
from Brandeis.
Time Well Spent<br />
Albert S. Lindemann and Richard S. Levy, eds.,<br />
Antisemitism: A History<br />
(Oxford University Press, 2010), 288 pp., $31.95<br />
Leon Rosenberg*<br />
According to <strong>the</strong> editors of this collection, Albert S. Lindemann, professor<br />
of history emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara, and<br />
Richard S. Levy, professor of history, University of Illinois, Chicago, <strong>the</strong><br />
“central goal of this volume is to offer a reasonable overview of a daunting<br />
topic.” To accomplish this task, <strong>the</strong>y recruited “a wide selection of recognized<br />
scholars, asking <strong>the</strong>m to include <strong>the</strong> most important new developments<br />
in <strong>the</strong>ir fields, as succinctly as possible.” I volunteered to write a<br />
review on this book in an effort to learn <strong>the</strong> topic; <strong>the</strong> authors and editors of<br />
Antisemitism: A History successfully taught me <strong>the</strong> facts and imparted <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
opinions.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> body of <strong>the</strong> work, 232 pages of this 288-page book, Lindemann<br />
and Levy, with a distinguished supporting cast, educated me in true professorial<br />
style. They used <strong>the</strong> classical formula, “Tell <strong>the</strong>m what you’re going<br />
to tell <strong>the</strong>m, tell <strong>the</strong>m, <strong>the</strong>n tell <strong>the</strong>m what you told <strong>the</strong>m,” and did just that,<br />
discussing <strong>the</strong> last 2,000 years of prejudice against Jews and antisemitism.<br />
The introduction, <strong>the</strong> “Tell <strong>the</strong>m what you’re going to tell <strong>the</strong>m” and<br />
including <strong>the</strong> subtitle “Antisemitism: What Is It? How Can We Best Understand<br />
It?” begins <strong>the</strong> discussion; <strong>the</strong> epilogue, entitled “The Conclusion:<br />
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Not <strong>the</strong> Final Word,” weaves over <strong>the</strong> factual history, using all of <strong>the</strong> information<br />
in <strong>the</strong> book to help us to understand <strong>the</strong> editors’ hypo<strong>the</strong>sis: that we<br />
are only in <strong>the</strong> second century of <strong>the</strong> new face of antisemitism, not just<br />
hatred of <strong>the</strong> Jews, but an era of death and destruction to <strong>the</strong> Jews. In his<br />
summary, Levy notes that since <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> 18th century, certain people<br />
have moved from “Jew-hatred, Jew-baiting, and Judeo-phobia and <strong>the</strong>ir permutations<br />
and o<strong>the</strong>r prejudices to anti-Jewish actions.” Prior to <strong>the</strong> last century,<br />
“persecution, especially in violent forms, had been episodic ra<strong>the</strong>r than<br />
continuous, and long periods of European history yielded no evidence of<br />
anti-Jewish violence.” The editors note that <strong>the</strong> “fantasy of enormous Jewish<br />
power became <strong>the</strong> position of enough individuals to float a movement.”<br />
Prior to this, Augustine had taught that “Jews should go on living but that<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir debased condition was fitting testimony to <strong>the</strong> superiority of Christian<br />
faith.” In <strong>the</strong> last 200 years, however, Jews thriving and triumphant ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />
than suffering and subservient violated a culturally embedded expectation.<br />
Jews are now to be feared, not just hated.<br />
The body of <strong>the</strong> pieces begins with two chapters entitled “The Jewish<br />
Question,” by Albert S. Lindemann; and “The Ancient Mediterranean and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Pre-Christian Era,” by Benjamin Isaac, Lessing Professor of Ancient<br />
History, Tel Aviv University, and ends with two chapters entitled<br />
“Antisemitism in Eastern Europe (excluding Russia and <strong>the</strong> Soviet Empire)<br />
Since 1848,” by Istvan Deak, Seth Low Professor of History emeritus,<br />
Columbia University; and “Israel and Antisemitism,” by Meir Litvak, associate<br />
professor of Middle Eastern history, Tel Aviv University, and Es<strong>the</strong>r<br />
Webman, senior research fellow, Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and<br />
African Studies, and <strong>the</strong> Stephen Roth Institute for <strong>the</strong> Study of Antisemitism<br />
and Racism.<br />
The 15 middle chapters open with <strong>the</strong> following quote in Chapter 3,<br />
“Jews and Christians from <strong>the</strong> Time of Christ to Constantine’s Reign,” by<br />
Philip A. Cunningham, professor of <strong>the</strong>ology and director of <strong>the</strong> Institute<br />
for Jewish-Catholic Relations, St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia: “It is a<br />
widely held belief that Judaism and Christianity became separate and fundamentally<br />
opposed religious communities shortly after <strong>the</strong> lifetime of<br />
Jesus,” teaching <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>the</strong> world from an antisemitic perspective.<br />
Lindemann and Levy wonder what, perhaps, <strong>the</strong> Jews had done to<br />
deserve <strong>the</strong>ir special status as <strong>the</strong> eternal scapegoat, but had no convincing,<br />
valid explanation for it; indeed, given <strong>the</strong> present level of anti-Jewish, anti-<br />
Zionistic, and antisemitic feelings among <strong>the</strong> billion Muslim voices, <strong>the</strong>y<br />
despair in <strong>the</strong> conclusion to <strong>the</strong> book—although <strong>the</strong>y recognize that it is not<br />
<strong>the</strong> final word—that “It is difficult to believe that antisemitism will anytime<br />
soon be overcome.”<br />
This book could ei<strong>the</strong>r be used in <strong>the</strong> classroom, or serve, as it did for
2011] TIME WELL SPENT 283<br />
me, as a self-directed course. I learned a great deal, even from <strong>the</strong> glossary,<br />
which should have been placed immediately after <strong>the</strong> preface and should<br />
have been more extensive, as I had to resort to <strong>the</strong> Internet to uncover <strong>the</strong><br />
meaning of such previously esoteric words as neopaganism—an umbrella<br />
term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly<br />
those influenced by pre-Christian pagan beliefs of Europe; and by<br />
eschatology, <strong>the</strong> branch of <strong>the</strong>ology concerned with End Times. Most of<br />
<strong>the</strong>se words, however, were readily explained in <strong>the</strong> text. Such concepts<br />
include <strong>the</strong> Doctrine of Jewish Witness, noted above, <strong>the</strong> influential argument<br />
advanced by Augustine of Hippo at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> 4th century that<br />
said Jews and Judaism should be allowed to survive in <strong>the</strong> Christian world<br />
in order to “bear witness, in <strong>the</strong>ir depraved state, to <strong>the</strong> superior truth of<br />
Christianity.” Likewise, <strong>the</strong> ancient phrase, “<strong>the</strong> enemy of my enemy is my<br />
friend,” explained <strong>the</strong> Catholic-Jewish and alternatively Protestant-Jewish<br />
alliances that proved, intermittently, to alleviate <strong>the</strong> burden of antisemitism<br />
for <strong>the</strong> Jews.<br />
The early chapters of <strong>the</strong> book for <strong>the</strong> most part are set in a format that<br />
separates each chapter’s conclusion, or editorial comments, from <strong>the</strong> primary<br />
resource material of <strong>the</strong> chapter. Had <strong>the</strong> editors insisted on this format<br />
in every chapter, this great book might have been even better. It is done<br />
well in Chapter 9, “Antisemitism in Modern France: Dreyfus, Vichy and<br />
Beyond,” by Richard J. Golsan, Distinguished Professor of French, Texas<br />
A&M, who ends his chapter with a section titled “Conclusion: The Duty to<br />
Remember,” in which he editorializes upon his area of expertise. Similarly,<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r chapters separate content from opinion in a clear way that uses <strong>the</strong><br />
content to reinforce <strong>the</strong> opinions of <strong>the</strong>se learned writers.<br />
On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, Heinz-Dietrich Lowe, in his Chapter 11, entitled<br />
“Antisemitism in Russia and <strong>the</strong> Soviet Union,” while doing an excellent<br />
job of teaching us, for instance, that “Pogroms were not an everyday occurrence<br />
in Russia[;] ra<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong>y appeared in three great waves, 1881 to 1884,<br />
1905 to 1906, and 1917 to 1921,” that “more than 95% of all pogroms took<br />
place in <strong>the</strong> four years, 1881, 1882, 1905 and 1906,” and that “Contrary to<br />
widespread opinion, <strong>the</strong> pogroms were not government organized or <strong>the</strong><br />
work of any mysterious hidden hand,” goes on to hypo<strong>the</strong>size that <strong>the</strong><br />
pogroms were targeted, suggesting that <strong>the</strong> “acculturated, integrated, and<br />
economically successful Jews may have been more intolerable to <strong>the</strong><br />
broader masses than <strong>the</strong> Orthodox poor and less assertive Jews.” He cites as<br />
evidence for this that prior to <strong>the</strong>se pogroms (noted above), o<strong>the</strong>rs occurred<br />
in Odessa in 1821, 1859, and 1871, where “Jews were <strong>the</strong> most modernized<br />
and integrated.” Lowe claims additional support for this hypo<strong>the</strong>sis that <strong>the</strong><br />
pogroms were targeted “[w]hen <strong>the</strong> few pogroms of 1884 and <strong>the</strong> infamous<br />
pogrom of Kishinev are were taken into consideration,” but does not tell us
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about <strong>the</strong> economic and social situation of Kishinev or about <strong>the</strong> economic<br />
and social situation where <strong>the</strong> 1884 pogrom took place. It is confusing when<br />
Lowe mixes fact with opinion in this way. Later, on page 182, he discusses<br />
<strong>the</strong> “only important special institution for Jews inside <strong>the</strong> (communist)<br />
Soviet system, <strong>the</strong> Yevsektsiya (<strong>the</strong> wholly subordinate Jewish section of<br />
<strong>the</strong> communist party of <strong>the</strong> Soviet Union), was abolished in 1903.” Lowe<br />
editorializes within <strong>the</strong> factual/scientific body of <strong>the</strong> chapter when he says<br />
that <strong>the</strong> Yevsektsiya was “created to combat <strong>the</strong> overwhelming influence of<br />
non-communist groups within <strong>the</strong> Jewish population, it was obviously<br />
never intended as a means of pursuing Jewish national aims,” without giving<br />
any scientific evidence for his non-scientific “obviously.”<br />
Despite this minor shortcoming, anyone interested in learning and<br />
delving deeper into <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>the</strong> Jews and of antisemitism—i.e., not<br />
just that <strong>the</strong>re were marranos, but that <strong>the</strong>se marranos eventually became<br />
known as New Christians, singled out after conversion, even though <strong>the</strong>y<br />
were forced to convert as “Ethnic Jews no longer constrained by anti-Jewish<br />
restrictions and whose increasing influencing and prosperity provoked<br />
resentment and jealousy” to separate <strong>the</strong>m from Old Christians, who began<br />
to fear “actual physical contamination from near proximity to <strong>the</strong> New<br />
Christians’ “polluted blood’ ”—will learn a great deal from this book.<br />
So, I agree with <strong>the</strong> statement on <strong>the</strong> back cover of this paperback<br />
collection, which reads: “The essays contained in this volume provide an<br />
ideal introduction to <strong>the</strong> history and nature of antisemitism, stressing readability,<br />
balance, and <strong>the</strong>matic coherence, while trying to gain some distance<br />
from <strong>the</strong> polemics and apologetics that so often cloud <strong>the</strong> subject.” Reading<br />
this book was time well spent.<br />
*Leon I. Rosenberg, MD, is <strong>the</strong> president and medical director of <strong>the</strong> Center For<br />
Emotional Fitness (CFEF) in Cherry Hill, N.J., where he practices psychiatry, geriatric<br />
psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry.
Jihad and Judaism . . . The New Incivility<br />
David Patterson, A Genealogy of Evil:<br />
Anti-Semitism and Nazism to Islamic Jihad<br />
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 312 pp., $27.99<br />
Steven K. Baum*<br />
Of his thirty books, this may be David Patterson’s best book to date.<br />
For those who are new to Dr. Patterson’s work, he is <strong>the</strong> Hillel Feinberg<br />
Chair in Holocaust Studies at <strong>the</strong> University of Texas at Dallas and generally<br />
writes in <strong>the</strong> humanities on subjects ranging from philosophy to education.<br />
He now turns his attention to <strong>the</strong> jihad.<br />
The first three chapters of A Genealogy of Evil are spent laying <strong>the</strong><br />
foundation for his case for Islamism as an ideology of hate. The case is<br />
compelling and well organized, focusing correctly by Chapter 3 on <strong>the</strong> key<br />
Islamist ideologues—al Banna, Qutb, and Maududi. The Muslim Bro<strong>the</strong>rhood<br />
becomes <strong>the</strong> pivot point for <strong>the</strong> next chapter, which is incredibly<br />
timely as we watch <strong>the</strong> Arab Spring unfold in Egypt with questions of how<br />
and where <strong>the</strong> Bro<strong>the</strong>rhood will affect <strong>the</strong> burgeoning democracy. Their<br />
influence for <strong>the</strong> jihad may be a fait accompli. According to a 2011 Pew<br />
Research Center poll, only 36% of Egyptians would maintain a treaty with<br />
Israel, while 82% of Egyptians view <strong>the</strong> United States unfavorably.<br />
The remaining chapters document <strong>the</strong> activities of Hamas, Islamic<br />
Jihad, and <strong>the</strong> Sudanese National Islamic Front. It is interesting that Dr.<br />
Patterson separates out <strong>the</strong> religious (Hezbollah, al Qaeda, Islamic Revolu-<br />
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tion) from secular offshoots of Islamist activities—e.g., Baath Party,<br />
PLO—though he acknowledges that <strong>the</strong> boundaries fuse at times: <strong>the</strong> secular<br />
are religious and <strong>the</strong> religious are at times political.<br />
The conclusion may be somewhat troubling for <strong>the</strong> less religious person.<br />
Because of his Orthodox Jewish background, Dr. Patterson easily cites<br />
Old Testament passages, making his case that Israel’s existence is humanity’s<br />
existence. Indeed, <strong>the</strong> last line of <strong>the</strong> book is ki mi-Zion tetze Torah<br />
undevar Ha Shem mi Yerushalyum (Isaiah 2:3). It is not translated into<br />
English in <strong>the</strong> text, but means “for from Zion (Israel), <strong>the</strong> Torah Law comes<br />
forth and Hashem (God) shall speak from Jerusalem.” Citing <strong>the</strong> Bible to<br />
make an academic point is just fine for <strong>the</strong> religious reader. For <strong>the</strong> nonreligious<br />
reader, however, citing <strong>the</strong> Bible borders on <strong>the</strong> squeamish.<br />
Biblical citations notwithstanding, this is a good academic work on <strong>the</strong><br />
jihad and <strong>the</strong> politics of hate. David Patterson’s newest book is timely and<br />
solidly based and well worth <strong>the</strong> read. An early review by Oxford’s<br />
Jonathan Leader Maynard found o<strong>the</strong>rwise. It was unduly scathing and his<br />
criticism was not based on <strong>the</strong> criteria that usually makes for bad reviews—<br />
sloppy footnoting, erroneous conclusions, lack of originality, timeliness.<br />
Instead, it bordered on antisemitism using denigration as academic pretense<br />
to attack in what may be termed <strong>the</strong> new incivility.<br />
While conceding that <strong>the</strong>re are linkages between Nazism and jihadism,<br />
Maynard dismisses or may not know of <strong>the</strong> 1,500-year history of Muslim<br />
antisemitism prior to <strong>the</strong> formation of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel. He focuses exclusively<br />
on <strong>the</strong> Palestinian-Israeli conflict, blaming Israel for <strong>the</strong> jihad and<br />
subsequent antisemitism. He writes, “Patterson seems blind to <strong>the</strong> obvious<br />
fault in his inference”:<br />
Jihadists’ belief that “Jews are evil irrespective of what <strong>the</strong>y/Israel does”<br />
does not demonstrate that Israeli actions do not play a causal role in<br />
explaining Jihadists’ anti-Semitism, or in providing a narrative within<br />
which anti-Semitic rhetoric is persuasive for potential audiences.”<br />
Taking this position not only dismisses prior scholarly work by Jeffrey<br />
Herf, Laurent Murawiec, Mat<strong>the</strong>w Kuntzel, Walid Phares, Richard<br />
Breitman, and Richard Rubenstein, as well as Andrew Bostom on <strong>the</strong> Nazijihadi<br />
linkage, it points up <strong>the</strong> new incivility. No one has said that <strong>the</strong>se<br />
authors used false methodology or garnered a “poor interpretative method,”<br />
as Maynard did with Patterson. But with <strong>the</strong> new incivility, you can.<br />
Regarding Islam and Nazism, Maynard concedes that “It’s not that<br />
<strong>the</strong>re is nothing to this argument,” but he seems to be worried that “Patterson’s<br />
deflection of criticism from Israel” is due to “prior political or religious<br />
projects [that] are driving <strong>the</strong> production of preconceptions.” When
2011] THE NEW INCIVILITY 287<br />
Patterson writes: “There is much for <strong>the</strong> world to atone for, starting with <strong>the</strong><br />
countless UN resolutions against <strong>the</strong> Jewish state . . . [for] while Mecca<br />
signifies <strong>the</strong> truth of Islam, Jerusalem signifies <strong>the</strong> holiness of humanity—<br />
that is what makes it God’s dwelling place . . . Jerusalem is not only <strong>the</strong><br />
capital of Israel, it is <strong>the</strong> centre of <strong>the</strong> world . . . hence humanity’s need for<br />
Israel.” Maynard counters with “readers hardly need assistance in evaluating<br />
<strong>the</strong>se passages and <strong>the</strong> motivations behind <strong>the</strong>m.” In <strong>the</strong> new uncivility,<br />
you can dismiss Jews as being too subjective.<br />
Too Jewish to be objective about Israel was <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>me of Margaret<br />
Thatcher’s former press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham. Ingham said that, as<br />
editor of The Private Eye, he would never read a letter to <strong>the</strong> editor about<br />
Israel written by someone with a “Jewish sounding name,” because he<br />
knew it would be biased. It should <strong>the</strong>n follow that all Christian and Muslim<br />
letters are unbiased purveyors of <strong>the</strong> political truth.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> new incivility, it is better to be critical of Israel and minimize<br />
antisemitism while justifying jihad. Like it not, <strong>the</strong> new incivility is here<br />
and is working hard to convince you that it is politically unfettered in<br />
speaking <strong>the</strong> truth to Jewish power. Reasonable people may ask what in <strong>the</strong><br />
world this has to do in saying a book is academically sound—as is David<br />
Patterson’s latest work—and <strong>the</strong>y would be right.<br />
*Steven K. Baum is <strong>the</strong> co-editor of <strong>the</strong> Journal for <strong>the</strong> Study of Antisemitism.
Analysis of <strong>the</strong> Pogrom<br />
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, David Gaunt,<br />
Natan M. Meir, and Israel Bartal (eds.),<br />
Anti-Jewish Violence:<br />
Rethinking <strong>the</strong> Pogrom in East European History<br />
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010), 240 pp., $34.95<br />
Paul R. Bartrop*<br />
The word pogrom comes from Russian roots: grom, thunder, and<br />
pogrimit, to smash or destroy. It is a term usually associated with mob<br />
attacks against Jewish communities, especially in Tsarist Russia before<br />
1917, though embracing numerous additional anti-Jewish persecutions in<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r countries up to relatively recent times. The term became common<br />
when describing anti-Jewish riots in <strong>the</strong> Russian Empire that had been<br />
organized by (or at least arranged with some form of assistance from) local<br />
authorities. During much of <strong>the</strong> twentieth century, <strong>the</strong> term implied any<br />
attack on Jews regardless of <strong>the</strong> degree of official input, and irrespective of<br />
whe<strong>the</strong>r or not <strong>the</strong> attack was spontaneous or planned. The destruction<br />
wrought by pogroms varied from situation to situation, and could involve<br />
murder, rape, pillage, physical assault, and wanton or random destruction.<br />
The relationship of pogroms to genocide is a close one, in that pogroms<br />
could lead to genocidal massacres, or, when not going as far as this, could<br />
none<strong>the</strong>less promote <strong>the</strong> physical and psychological preconditions in <strong>the</strong><br />
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minds of <strong>the</strong> perpetrators to be disposed to taking <strong>the</strong> extra step toward<br />
genocide if ever <strong>the</strong> conditions should call for it.<br />
While this latter situation did not occur in Russia, <strong>the</strong> destruction that<br />
rained down on Jewish communities at <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> nineteenth and <strong>the</strong><br />
start of <strong>the</strong> twentieth centuries was no less horrifying for <strong>the</strong> Jewish communities<br />
and individuals who suffered. The formula attributed to <strong>the</strong> conservative<br />
Russian statesman Konstantin Pobedonostsev (1827-1907)—that<br />
<strong>the</strong> solution to Russian’s Jewish problem would be for one third to die, one<br />
third to assimilate, and one third to emigrate—found expression in <strong>the</strong><br />
pogroms: certainly <strong>the</strong>re were deaths, certainly <strong>the</strong>re were those who sought<br />
sanctuary through merging into <strong>the</strong> general population (difficult though that<br />
was), and certainly <strong>the</strong>re was intimidation, leading many Jews to flee<br />
overseas.<br />
This book examines <strong>the</strong> phenomenon of <strong>the</strong> pogrom and its effects,<br />
seen through a new lens and asking by <strong>the</strong> asking of new questions. The<br />
story of <strong>the</strong> pogroms is essentially connected to <strong>the</strong> Jews of Russia, though<br />
<strong>the</strong> pogrom as a device for terrorizing Jews and attaining antisemitic policy<br />
goals spread throughout eastern Europe in <strong>the</strong> latter part of <strong>the</strong> nineteenth<br />
century. This book, which comprises a number of articles originally<br />
presented as papers at an academic conference on <strong>the</strong> subject held in Stockholm,<br />
Sweden, in May 2005, examines <strong>the</strong> pogrom not only in <strong>the</strong> late<br />
Russian Empire, <strong>the</strong> Revolutionary period, and <strong>the</strong> early Soviet Union, but<br />
also localizes <strong>the</strong> phenomenon through considered studies of Ukraine,<br />
Poland, Lithuania, Siberia, and Belorussia.<br />
While <strong>the</strong> various essays all bring <strong>the</strong>ir own distinctive perspectives on<br />
pogroms to <strong>the</strong> table, <strong>the</strong> Introduction by <strong>the</strong> editors provides a very useful<br />
unifying structure to <strong>the</strong> volume overall. A brief consideration of <strong>the</strong> nature<br />
of anti-Jewish violence as a general <strong>the</strong>me in European history gives way to<br />
a definitional discussion concerning <strong>the</strong> notion of <strong>the</strong> pogrom itself: what it<br />
was, how it varied from place to place, and what its intentions were. A<br />
conclusion worthy of note is that while <strong>the</strong> pogroms stimulated a considerable<br />
outcry from foreign observers, and a resultant sympathy for <strong>the</strong> persecuted<br />
Jews, this did not lead to any form of concrete action to alleviate <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
distress.<br />
An additional point made in <strong>the</strong> Introduction—for some readers no<br />
doubt an obvious one, for o<strong>the</strong>rs perhaps not so obvious—is that <strong>the</strong><br />
pogroms have been largely overshadowed historically by <strong>the</strong> far greater<br />
antisemitic explosion that took place a generation later under <strong>the</strong> Nazis, <strong>the</strong><br />
Holocaust. It should not be held, though, that <strong>the</strong>se were necessarily two<br />
distinct experiences. The precedents offered in Russia were noted by many<br />
in Germany and elsewhere, and <strong>the</strong> political, social, and psychological uses<br />
that could be made of anti-Jewish violence were studied carefully by Euro-
2011] ANALYSIS OF THE POGROM 291<br />
pean racists, rabble-rousers, and anti-democratic politicians throughout <strong>the</strong><br />
first third of <strong>the</strong> twentieth century—a period during which antisemitism<br />
once more became fashionable and new uses (and justifications) were found<br />
for exploiting <strong>the</strong> Jewish presence.<br />
How did <strong>the</strong> Jews <strong>the</strong>mselves respond to <strong>the</strong>se developments? An<br />
important section of <strong>the</strong> book, “Responses to Pogroms,” contains two<br />
essays that consider Jewish reactions, noting that <strong>the</strong> Jews did not sit by<br />
passively awaiting <strong>the</strong>ir victimization. Ra<strong>the</strong>r, we see some of <strong>the</strong> ways in<br />
which Jews organized <strong>the</strong>ir various communities to meet <strong>the</strong> challenge of<br />
anti-Jewish violence—not through counter violence (which could never<br />
hope to be successful), but, ra<strong>the</strong>r, through self-defense, meaningful dialogue<br />
with <strong>the</strong> authorities leading to political intercession, and a systematic<br />
campaign with <strong>the</strong> broader (non-Jewish) community to raise awareness of<br />
<strong>the</strong> need to oppose antisemitism through <strong>the</strong> dissemination of books and<br />
pamphlets, as well as through public education efforts. In Kiev, we learn,<br />
Jews reminded <strong>the</strong>ir Christian neighbors of <strong>the</strong> long-standing interrelationships<br />
that had existed between <strong>the</strong> two communities, working from <strong>the</strong> perspective<br />
of a shared history ra<strong>the</strong>r than one in which two disparate groups<br />
had nothing to do with each o<strong>the</strong>r.<br />
Overall, this outstanding collection of eleven essays (plus <strong>the</strong> Introduction)<br />
sheds fresh light on <strong>the</strong> phenomenon of <strong>the</strong> pogrom in late-nineteenth<br />
and early-twentieth-century Russia. It offers much that is new and groundbreaking,<br />
enabling a contemporary readership to delve into <strong>the</strong> roots of this<br />
expression of anti-Jewish atrocity. From this, even newer questions may be<br />
asked, and something of <strong>the</strong> character of <strong>the</strong> pogroms may be discerned.<br />
Finally, it is to be hoped that <strong>the</strong> initiative taken by those who called <strong>the</strong><br />
original conference from which this book derives (and <strong>the</strong> editors who followed<br />
it through to publication) will stimulate additional scholarship in this<br />
area. For too long, pogroms have been neglected, overshadowed by <strong>the</strong><br />
much greater expression of evil that followed twenty to thirty years later.<br />
*Paul R. Bartrop is <strong>the</strong> head of <strong>the</strong> History Department at Bialik College, Melbourne,<br />
Australia, where he teaches Jewish Studies, Comparative Genocide Studies,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> History of Revolutions. His most recent book, co-authored with Steven<br />
Leonard Jacobs, is Fifty Key Thinkers on <strong>the</strong> Holocaust and Genocide (Routledge,<br />
2011).
What Walt and Mearsheimer Got Wrong<br />
Mitchell Bard, The Arab Lobby: The Invisible Alliance that<br />
Undermines America’s Interest in <strong>the</strong> Middle East<br />
(New York: Harper Collins, 2010), 362 pp., $27.99<br />
Samuel M. Edelman*<br />
Walt and Mearsheimer got it wrong. Their work on <strong>the</strong> so-called Israel<br />
“lobby” published as an article in 2006 and full book in 2007 accused <strong>the</strong><br />
lobby of overwhelming influence on American foreign policy. Their accusation<br />
was unwarranted and unsubstantiated, <strong>the</strong>ir research finding flawed.<br />
Yet, <strong>the</strong>ir work has become one of <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>oretical underpinnings for anti-<br />
Israel boycotts, divestment, and sanctions. It has also been used by<br />
antisemites. Israel remains a staunch ally of <strong>the</strong> United States, and economic,<br />
educational, military, and cultural relations between <strong>the</strong> two countries<br />
have been and continue to be beneficial to both.<br />
The relationship between <strong>the</strong> United States and <strong>the</strong> Arab world has not<br />
been so beneficial. Billions have been spent by <strong>the</strong> United States on military<br />
solutions to conflicts with <strong>the</strong> Arab world; 9-11 caused <strong>the</strong> deaths of<br />
thousands of America citizens; today we spend more than ever on gasolineand<br />
oil-based products; and our homeland security costs have gone up dramatically.<br />
Yet, <strong>the</strong>re remains a lobbying effort paid for by <strong>the</strong> Arab nations,<br />
which spend in <strong>the</strong> billions of dollars to influence American public opinion<br />
and to shape policies in Congress, and have affected a generation of Middle<br />
East scholars through Arab-funded Middle East Studies programs. Libya,<br />
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Saudi Arabia, <strong>the</strong> Emirates, and even non-Arab Iran have a daily impact on<br />
American policies through paid lobbyists and volunteer organizations<br />
underwritten by foreign funds. Walt and Mearsheimer are <strong>the</strong> recipients of<br />
some of this largess <strong>the</strong>mselves.<br />
Mitchell Bard’s book, The Arab Lobby, explores in detail <strong>the</strong> history<br />
and <strong>the</strong> impact of <strong>the</strong> Arab lobby—a mix of old-style Christian missionary<br />
anti-Jewish groups, oil lobbyists and companies, Arabists retired from <strong>the</strong><br />
State Department, members of Arab-American groups, Islamic religious<br />
groups, and <strong>the</strong> Arab diplomatic corps and a variety of both extreme leftist<br />
and rightist groups whose major interest is less in <strong>the</strong> Arab world and more<br />
in pursuing anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiments.<br />
Bard’s work is a crucial and important primer into this relatively<br />
unknown world. It is certainly a work that uncovers <strong>the</strong> negative impact of<br />
Arab lobbying efforts on <strong>the</strong> U.S. economy in <strong>the</strong> arena of energy policy.<br />
Even more important for scholars and lay people concerned about<br />
antisemitism, Bard’s work reveals <strong>the</strong> deep-seated anti-Jewish and anti-<br />
Israel nature of many of <strong>the</strong> groups and organizations lobbying <strong>the</strong> U.S.<br />
president and <strong>the</strong> Congress on behalf of <strong>the</strong> Arab world.<br />
Every American has <strong>the</strong> constitutional right to petition his or her government<br />
no matter whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y are Jewish or Arab; Walt and Mearsheimer<br />
seem to forget that seminal concept in <strong>the</strong>ir writing. Bard does not. He does<br />
not attack Arab Americans for petitioning <strong>the</strong>ir government but he does<br />
rightly go after Arab governments and big oil for using <strong>the</strong>ir massive wealth<br />
to affect public policy without any regard to <strong>the</strong> negative consequences for<br />
<strong>the</strong> United States. Clearly, Mitchell Bard got it right. Walt and Mearsheimer<br />
got it wrong.<br />
*Samuel M. Edelman is <strong>the</strong> executive director, Scholars for Peace in <strong>the</strong> Middle<br />
East; professor emeritus, CSU, Chico; and former dean at American Jewish<br />
University.
Confluent Ideologies—Nazism and Islamism<br />
Klaus-Michael Mallmann and Martin Cüppers, Nazi Palestine<br />
(New York: Enigma Books, 2010). Paper.<br />
Reviewed by David Sokol*<br />
Enigma Books should be complimented for bringing Klaus-Michael<br />
Mallmann and Martin Cüppers’ book to <strong>the</strong> English-reading world. Originally<br />
published in German in 2006 as Halbmond und Hakenkreuz: Das<br />
Dritte Reich, die Araber und Palestinia (The Crescent and <strong>the</strong> Swastika:<br />
The Third Reich, The Arabs and Palestine), its title, unfortunately, has been<br />
changed by <strong>the</strong> publisher to Nazi Palestine. I say unfortunately because <strong>the</strong><br />
original title is more indicative of <strong>the</strong> goals and focus of <strong>the</strong> book. Nazi<br />
Palestine sounds to me like a defamation, a name calling, and leads to supporting<br />
a politically motivated criticism of <strong>the</strong> book that is simply not true<br />
for two reasons 1 : The criticism I refer to suggests that <strong>the</strong> book is part of an<br />
Israeli propaganda movement. The truth is that <strong>the</strong> original title reflects <strong>the</strong><br />
clear-headed analysis contained in <strong>the</strong> book of <strong>the</strong> relationship between <strong>the</strong><br />
Muslim world (<strong>the</strong> Crescent) and <strong>the</strong> National Socialists (<strong>the</strong> Swastika). It<br />
describes how <strong>the</strong> common value of Jew-hating and anti-Zionism made Palestine<br />
a ripe prize and rallying point both strategically and politically for<br />
Islamists, Arab nationalists, and Nazis. In a personal communication, <strong>the</strong><br />
1. Gilbert Achcar, “Blame <strong>the</strong> Grand Mufti: Israel’s Propaganda War,” Le<br />
Monde Diplomatique (English ed.), May 2010.<br />
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editor for Enigma Books told me that “The title was picked by Enigma<br />
Books, not <strong>the</strong> translator; it means to indicate what would have happened if<br />
Palestine and <strong>the</strong> rest of North Africa had been conquered by <strong>the</strong><br />
Germans.” 2 The book does paint <strong>the</strong> disastrous probable outcome of a<br />
“Nazi Palestine,” but it is much more than that. It is a book about what did<br />
happen, not a fantasy. It makes clear that <strong>the</strong> outcome of a success of <strong>the</strong><br />
Arab/Nazi coalition in WW II would have been genocide of <strong>the</strong> Jews, led<br />
by Germans and enforced by Arabs.<br />
Nazi Palestine is one of <strong>the</strong> first of a shower of post-2001 books on <strong>the</strong><br />
relationship between <strong>the</strong> Muslim world and <strong>the</strong> Nazis. O<strong>the</strong>r books at <strong>the</strong><br />
top of <strong>the</strong> list, filling that story out—by Matthias Küntzel, Ephraim Karsh,<br />
and Jeffrey Herf, and some chapters in Robert Wistrich 3 —are invaluable to<br />
understanding what actually happened in that part of <strong>the</strong> world during and<br />
after WW II.<br />
Since history is not a snapshot of an event but more like a film—a<br />
continuous and sequential set of ongoing happenings—it is crucial to find<br />
out what has led up to contemporary events. Nazi Palestine does that by<br />
revealing some of <strong>the</strong> underpinnings to <strong>the</strong> intractable problems between<br />
Israel and Palestine. When it seems clear that reasonable men and women<br />
could come to a solution to a problem of boundaries and assets, Mallmann<br />
and Cüppers show us <strong>the</strong> irrational roots of history. The authors discuss<br />
how useful <strong>the</strong> irrationality of Jew-hating was as a tool for uniting Muslims<br />
and Nazis. In addition, Nazi Palestine displays <strong>the</strong> toxic mix of Nazi and<br />
Muslim antisemitism, showing how <strong>the</strong> Germans exploited its pragmatic<br />
and historical tendency in <strong>the</strong> Middle East. The debate about how intrinsic<br />
antisemitism is in Muslim orthodoxy is not dealt with here, however. The<br />
relevant discussion between writers like Bassam Tibi, Bernard Lewis versus<br />
Andrew Bostom, 4 and o<strong>the</strong>rs might be expanded by this work.<br />
Did <strong>the</strong> Nazis bring genocidal antisemitism to an Arab culture that<br />
previously had a very negative view of Jews, or is <strong>the</strong>re a genocidal message<br />
in <strong>the</strong> core of Islam that <strong>the</strong> radical Islamists are bringing to <strong>the</strong> fore?<br />
Although Nazi Palestine does not approach this philosophical question<br />
2. Robert Miller, personal letter to author, March 15, 2011.<br />
3. Matthias Küntzel, Jihad and Jew Hatred (New York: Telos Press, 2007);<br />
Jeffrey Herf, Nazi Propaganda for <strong>the</strong> Arab World (New Haven: Yale University<br />
Press, 2009); Ephraim Karsh, Palestine Betrayed (New Haven: Yale University<br />
Press, 2010); Robert Wistrich, A Lethal Obsession (New York: Random House,<br />
2010).<br />
4. Bassam Tibi, From Sayyid Qutb to Hama: The Middle East Conflict and <strong>the</strong><br />
Islamization of Antisemitism (New Haven: YIISA, 2010); Bernard Lewis, “The<br />
New Antisemitism,” The American Scholar, Vol. 75, no. 1 (Winter 2006); Andrew<br />
Bostom, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism (Amherst, NY: Prome<strong>the</strong>us, 2008).
2011] CONFLUENT IDEOLOGIES—NAZISM AND ISLAMISM 297<br />
directly, it gives us a lot of facts useful in drawing conclusions and in providing<br />
an understanding of how, in much of <strong>the</strong> Palestinian population, this<br />
antisemitism was transformed into genocidal hate and political ammunition.<br />
The book educates us about what went on between Germans, Arabs,<br />
and Jews between 1933 and 1945 in <strong>the</strong> Middle East. Numerous anti-Jewish<br />
assaults began after <strong>the</strong> end of WW I. Early in Nazi Palestine, Mallmann<br />
and Cüppers introduce us to <strong>the</strong> Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin el-Husseini.<br />
The Mufti and his actions have been well known. During WW II and<br />
earlier, <strong>the</strong> Mufti was a celebrity—a dark star, no doubt, but often seen in<br />
newsreels and in The New York Times. His murderous conspiracies lost<br />
public attention until recently, but post 9/11 research is bringing him back<br />
under scrutiny; he is one of <strong>the</strong> few Arab sources directly quoted. The Iraqi<br />
leader and Nazi supporter Gailani (elsewhere spelt as Kailani) is also mentioned,<br />
but most of <strong>the</strong> narrative is told by <strong>the</strong> authors through translations<br />
of German sources. This does not make <strong>the</strong> information in any way inaccurate,<br />
but <strong>the</strong> reader should be aware that what <strong>the</strong> Germans said about <strong>the</strong><br />
Arabs may be somewhat different from what <strong>the</strong> Arabs were saying to each<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r. The Mufti is freely quoted promoting <strong>the</strong> antisemitic forgery The<br />
Protocols of <strong>the</strong> Elders of Zion.<br />
Before WW II, <strong>the</strong> Mufti was ranting for genocide. In 1936 he said,<br />
“When <strong>the</strong> English remove <strong>the</strong>ir hands from this land, we will throw and<br />
chase all <strong>the</strong> Jews in a stampede into <strong>the</strong> sea.” 5 The authors mention that<br />
<strong>the</strong> Mufti incited <strong>the</strong> Arab revolt against <strong>the</strong> English and Jews of Palestine<br />
in 1936-1939. In <strong>the</strong> revolt, more Arabs perished under <strong>the</strong> terror of <strong>the</strong><br />
Mufti’s gunmen than did Jews or Englishmen; <strong>the</strong> Mufti had taken this<br />
opportunity to start killing off any Arabs in Palestine who showed signs of<br />
compromising with <strong>the</strong> Jews or <strong>the</strong> English.<br />
In 1933, <strong>the</strong> Mufti reached out to <strong>the</strong> German consul general with a<br />
warm gesture toward <strong>the</strong> new German regime and his idol Adolph Hitler.<br />
The relationship of <strong>the</strong>se men mirrors a nefarious love affair. The authors<br />
merely touch on this metaphor of romantic love, and it deserves more<br />
development. In 1938, articles appeared in various Arab newspapers in<br />
which Hitler was placed on a level with <strong>the</strong> Prophet Mohammad.” 6<br />
Clerics began preaching that God had sent <strong>the</strong> twelfth imam to <strong>the</strong><br />
world in <strong>the</strong> form of Adolph Hitler. The myth of Hitler’s divinity became<br />
an orchestrated public relations move planned in Germany and aimed at<br />
Islam; a common chant at demonstrations was “In Heaven Allah/On Earth<br />
Hitler.” A love affair was growing—one not nurtured on kindness but fed<br />
5. Klaus-Michael Mallmann and Martin Cüppers, Nazi Palestine (New York:<br />
Enigma Books, 2010), 18.<br />
6. Mallmann and Cüppers, Nazi Palestine, 30.
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by hate, specifically Jew hating. Representatives of Nazi Germany began<br />
visiting <strong>the</strong> Middle East. The German head of Hitler Youth visited Iraq.<br />
Arab youth organizations popped up, designed after Hitler Youth and promoting<br />
<strong>the</strong> similarities between Nazis and <strong>the</strong> pan-Arab renaissance.<br />
“Anyone who drove through Arab territory with a swastika pennant<br />
had nothing to fear and was met with rapturous cheers,” <strong>the</strong> authors state. 7<br />
Comments like <strong>the</strong>se support o<strong>the</strong>r reports of <strong>the</strong> popularity of <strong>the</strong> Nazis in<br />
<strong>the</strong> Middle East. They also bring up <strong>the</strong> question that although <strong>the</strong>re is<br />
anecdotal evidence of collusion of <strong>the</strong> population, can <strong>the</strong> level of support<br />
be quantified? Since most of <strong>the</strong> evidence is from <strong>the</strong> German report, we<br />
once again miss <strong>the</strong> firsthand contemporary Arab translations that might<br />
provide some quantifiable evidence. The reason we cannot completely trust<br />
only <strong>the</strong> German reports is twofold. First, using <strong>the</strong> previous example of<br />
“rapturous cheers” for <strong>the</strong> swastika, it is possible that after <strong>the</strong> Mufti terrorized<br />
his Arab opposition into silence, <strong>the</strong>re was an obligation to conform.<br />
Imagine in Tripoli during <strong>the</strong> 2011 uprising refusing to cheer Gadafi while<br />
in <strong>the</strong> midst of Gadafi supporters.<br />
Next, <strong>the</strong>re is a term in Arabic called taqiyya. The principle of taqiyya<br />
allows Muslims to lie with honor if <strong>the</strong>y believe it protects <strong>the</strong> goals of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
faith. Lying to <strong>the</strong> Germans in some situations may have been strategic. We<br />
know today that some of Arab leaders’ comments in English can be contradicted<br />
by <strong>the</strong> same leader’s comments in Arabic.<br />
Nowhere in Nazi Palestine does it state that all Palestinians were<br />
antisemitic Nazis. There are a few stabs at measuring <strong>the</strong> amount of sympathy<br />
for Nazis. There were 2,500 German settlers living in Palestine—members<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Templar Society (Templars), a Christian group. Where 5% of<br />
non-Jewish Germans outside of Germany belonged to <strong>the</strong> Nazi Party, 17%<br />
of <strong>the</strong> German Palestinian Templars were Nazis. The authors later quote a<br />
“British situation analysis concluding that 95% of <strong>the</strong> population of Iraq<br />
was also quite positively disposed toward Germany.” 8 In 1942, Germany<br />
sent Persian spies to assess <strong>the</strong> situation in Iran. They reported that 90%<br />
were in support of Germany. Robert Satloff 9 estimates that possibly up to<br />
90% of Arabs might have been indifferent to <strong>the</strong> fate of <strong>the</strong> Jews. That still<br />
left 10%, or millions of people, to support <strong>the</strong> Nazi persecution of <strong>the</strong> Jews.<br />
The love affair between Hitler and <strong>the</strong> Arab world did not start out<br />
smoothly. Many Arabs had stars in <strong>the</strong>ir eyes. They projected <strong>the</strong>ir hopes of<br />
a liberator onto Hitler and were blind to <strong>the</strong> racist discrimination that would<br />
most likely be in store for <strong>the</strong>m. In <strong>the</strong> beginning, <strong>the</strong> Germans were not in<br />
7. Mallmann and Cüppers, Nazi Palestine, 30.<br />
8. Mallmann and Cüppers, Nazi Palestine, 39.<br />
9. Robert Satloff, Among <strong>the</strong> Righteous (Perseus Group, PublicAffairs, 2006).
2011] CONFLUENT IDEOLOGIES—NAZISM AND ISLAMISM 299<br />
any way in favor of <strong>the</strong> Arabs. They did not want to offend <strong>the</strong> British,<br />
whom <strong>the</strong>y wanted to keep neutral. What started out as a rejection by Germany<br />
would turn into a mutually exploitive relationship. By 1937, Adolph<br />
Eichmann’s visit to <strong>the</strong> Middle East indicated a serious interest in exploring<br />
<strong>the</strong> relationship; by 1939, <strong>the</strong>re was evidence that <strong>the</strong> Germans had secretly<br />
funded <strong>the</strong> Mufti’s Arab Revolt. The cool reception <strong>the</strong> initial Arab courting<br />
got from <strong>the</strong> Nazis was changing into something hotter and more<br />
mutual. The British Mandate system estimated that 60% of Palestinians<br />
who owned radios listened to Radio Bari. Radio Bari, an Italian station, was<br />
broadcast all over <strong>the</strong> world. The Mufti (Palestine) and Gailani (Iraq) and<br />
o<strong>the</strong>rs broadcast over 5,000 broadcasts of vicious antisemitic and anti-British/American<br />
propaganda on Radio Bari.<br />
After presenting information of <strong>the</strong> deepening confluence of Palestinian<br />
and Nazi interests and resources, Mallmann and Cüppers, in an unusual<br />
criticism, charge an American historian with being “erroneous” and “inconsistent”<br />
when he claims that “The Arab cause in Palestine . . . was not<br />
among <strong>the</strong> interests of National Socialist Germany.” 10<br />
If <strong>the</strong> German Mediterranean strategy had been successful, <strong>the</strong>re is no<br />
reason to believe that <strong>the</strong> future of <strong>the</strong> Jews <strong>the</strong>re would have been any<br />
different from <strong>the</strong>ir fate in <strong>the</strong> conquered nations in Europe. In 1941, <strong>the</strong><br />
Mufti escaped <strong>the</strong> British, who were chasing him around <strong>the</strong> Middle East.<br />
and took up residence in Berlin. His meeting with Adolph Hitler is <strong>the</strong> consummation<br />
of <strong>the</strong> Mufti and Arab love affair with Hitler. They agreed to<br />
share <strong>the</strong> German solution to <strong>the</strong> “Jewish question.” This period brought<br />
explicit plans for <strong>the</strong> destruction of <strong>the</strong> Jews worldwide. One quote states:<br />
“The Jews could be enclosed and isolated in <strong>the</strong>ir Zionist state and<br />
destroyed <strong>the</strong>re root and branch.” 11 This antisemitic genocidal statement is<br />
echoed in modern times by Hassan Nasrallah, <strong>the</strong> head of Hezbollah, when<br />
he says, “If <strong>the</strong>y [Jews] all ga<strong>the</strong>r in Israel, it will save us <strong>the</strong> trouble of<br />
going after <strong>the</strong>m world wide.” 12<br />
An unbelievable criticism of Nazi Palestine is that <strong>the</strong> Mufti was actually<br />
a marginal power at <strong>the</strong> time and never had <strong>the</strong> power attributed to him.<br />
These critics ignore <strong>the</strong> facts. Yasser Arafat became a disciple of <strong>the</strong> Mufti<br />
when he was 17 years old. At <strong>the</strong> Mufti’s funeral in 1974, Arafat called him<br />
“our Hero.” The U.S. government was threatened by <strong>the</strong> Muslim Bro<strong>the</strong>rhood<br />
at <strong>the</strong> end of WW II. The Bro<strong>the</strong>rhood basically said that if <strong>the</strong> Mufti<br />
were prosecuted for war crimes, <strong>the</strong> United States would be <strong>the</strong> target of<br />
10. Mallmann and Cüppers, Nazi Palestine, 133.<br />
11. Mallmann and Cüppers, Nazi Palestine, 54.<br />
12. Deborah Passner, “Hassan Nasrallah: In His Own Words,” Committee for<br />
Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), July 26, 2006.
300 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:295<br />
terrorism. The king of Egypt provided living quarters to <strong>the</strong> Mufti, and <strong>the</strong><br />
whole establishment of <strong>the</strong> Arab world welcomed him back from Europe<br />
after <strong>the</strong> war as a hero. The Arab Higher Committee was renewed and Husseini<br />
was appointed leader.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> 1960s, <strong>the</strong> Mufti lost his glow in <strong>the</strong> Arab world. Though politics<br />
put him on <strong>the</strong> losing side at times, he has always been a powerful figure<br />
in Palestine and beyond. In 2011, when Israel destroyed a wing of <strong>the</strong><br />
decrepit Shepherd Hotel, protests arose that this was a “Palestinian and<br />
Islamic symbol” that should be honored and preserved. The building was<br />
originally built by and as a home to Husseini. The lead Palestinian spokesperson<br />
protesting <strong>the</strong> partial destruction of <strong>the</strong> building was a Palestinian<br />
official directly related to <strong>the</strong> Mufti. Thirty-six years after his death, many<br />
still hold <strong>the</strong> Mufti in high regard. In light of all this, <strong>the</strong> authors are right to<br />
ascribe significant power to Amin al-Husseini.<br />
ROMMEL AND THE ROAD TO CAIRO<br />
At this point in <strong>the</strong> book I wanted a military table map to keep track of<br />
ground, sea, and air movements. At least a printed situation map included in<br />
<strong>the</strong> book would have been helpful. The propaganda in <strong>the</strong> region was that<br />
<strong>the</strong> Axis powers in <strong>the</strong> form of <strong>the</strong> Afrika Korps were coming to liberate<br />
Egypt. Mussolini was ready to ride into Cairo on a white horse. He already<br />
had victory medallions minted. The Axis plan was to destroy Russia as an<br />
ally to <strong>the</strong> United States, bring Nazis into <strong>the</strong> Middle East from <strong>the</strong><br />
Caucuses and from <strong>the</strong> west, and, through Tunisia and Libya, conquer<br />
Egypt and <strong>the</strong> rest.<br />
Probably <strong>the</strong> most shocking and freshest research in Nazi Palestine is<br />
<strong>the</strong> information on <strong>the</strong> Einsatzkommando and Rommel’s Afrika Korps. The<br />
Einsatzkommando was authorized by <strong>the</strong> SS and <strong>the</strong> German police to “take<br />
executive measures against civilian populations on its own authority.” 13<br />
This was a euphemism for a license to commit mass murder on civilians,<br />
especially Jews. The Einsatzgruppen had a history as a small group of commandos<br />
who recruited <strong>the</strong> help of local sympathizers to slaughter large<br />
numbers of non-military men, women, and children. They did this in <strong>the</strong><br />
Soviet Union, Poland, Lithuania, and Serbia. The authors give us a very<br />
personal profile of <strong>the</strong> members of <strong>the</strong> Einsatzkommando. They were<br />
young, idealistic, and committed Nazis, most in <strong>the</strong>ir twenties. Walter Rauff<br />
was <strong>the</strong> leader of this killing unit deployed in Egypt with plans to actively<br />
sweep into Palestine, exterminating <strong>the</strong> Jewish population on <strong>the</strong> way. One<br />
of Rauff’s claims to fame was <strong>the</strong> invention and use of automotive trans-<br />
13. Mallmann and Cüppers, Nazi Palestine, 85.
2011] CONFLUENT IDEOLOGIES—NAZISM AND ISLAMISM 301<br />
ports that had <strong>the</strong> exhaust hooked up to <strong>the</strong> cargo section of <strong>the</strong> van, delivering<br />
lethal doses of carbon monoxide to <strong>the</strong> passengers/cargo. The<br />
readiness of this unit, along with <strong>the</strong> assurances of Arab leaders of assistance<br />
in <strong>the</strong> mass murder of <strong>the</strong> Jewish populations, gave little doubt of <strong>the</strong><br />
antisemitic genocide about to take place. The precedent had been set. The<br />
Einsatzkommando had a tried-and-true protocol, tested in Europe, that <strong>the</strong>y<br />
were about use in <strong>the</strong> implementation of <strong>the</strong> Holocaust in <strong>the</strong> Middle East.<br />
While <strong>the</strong> Mufti and Arabs enjoyed a honeymoon of hate with <strong>the</strong><br />
Third Reich, <strong>the</strong>re were Arab troops in Greece waiting for deployment.<br />
Eichmann was bragging about <strong>the</strong> success of “<strong>the</strong> solution to <strong>the</strong> European<br />
Jewish Question.” Eichmann and <strong>the</strong> Mufti were equally charmed with each<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r; <strong>the</strong> Jews were <strong>the</strong>ir mutual mortal enemy.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> Arab world, people were greeting each o<strong>the</strong>r on <strong>the</strong> street with<br />
“Heil Rommel.” Nasser was an advocate of The Protocols of <strong>the</strong> Elders of<br />
Zion. Sadat said of <strong>the</strong> Nazis and his own political circle in Egypt that “We<br />
acted in complete harmony.” 14 Once Rommel crossed <strong>the</strong> Suez, Arabs, with<br />
German guidance, would have instituted <strong>the</strong> Nazi solution to <strong>the</strong> Jewish<br />
Problem in Palestine.<br />
In 1936, David Ben Gurion predicted “<strong>the</strong> greatest catastrophe <strong>the</strong><br />
world has ever experienced,” stating that Hitler and Arab supporters would<br />
invade <strong>the</strong> Middle East and destroy all Jews. In 1942, it looked like this was<br />
right on schedule: 15,000 Jews left Egypt for Jerusalem; Rommel was<br />
advancing with <strong>the</strong> Einsatzkommando, and plenty of willing Arab henchmen,<br />
behind him. The Haganah and <strong>the</strong> Irgun debated strategy. Jews from<br />
Palestine were ready to join <strong>the</strong> British military. The Palmach was formed<br />
to perform commando missions. A Jewish fighting force was maturing.<br />
There were plans for a mass evacuation should Rommel succeed in reaching<br />
Palestine. But evacuate to where? The reality was that <strong>the</strong> Jewish community<br />
in Palestine would have been annihilated.<br />
Alas for Hitler, his decision to put most of his resources in <strong>the</strong> Eastern<br />
Front foiled his plans for conquering <strong>the</strong> Middle East. The battles at El<br />
Alamein and <strong>the</strong> Nazi invasion from <strong>the</strong> Caucuses began to fail. The intelligence<br />
advantage switched to <strong>the</strong> British side. Supplies became scarce for<br />
<strong>the</strong> Axis powers. The Nazi plan was to converge on <strong>the</strong> Arab region from<br />
<strong>the</strong> east and west. Rommel’s losses at Alamein ended <strong>the</strong> hopes to crush <strong>the</strong><br />
Jews and <strong>the</strong> British in <strong>the</strong> Arab world. Walter Rauff and his Einsatzgruppen<br />
were sent back to Europe.<br />
Before Rauff returned to Europe, he inflicted a reign of terror in Tunisia.<br />
He enforced a labor program on Jews for months and robbed <strong>the</strong>m of<br />
14. Mallmann and Cüppers, Nazi Palestine, 96.
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<strong>the</strong>ir personal possessions. After Rauff was evacuated from Tunisia, <strong>the</strong> war<br />
soon ended.<br />
The Middle East was not <strong>the</strong> only place Muslims were working for<br />
Hitler. The Mufti was crucial to raising Muslim Nazi troops in Croatia and<br />
elsewhere. These troops, who were SS war criminals, wore uniforms honoring<br />
both Nazi and Islamic symbols. Certainly, all European Muslims were<br />
not Waffen SS soldiers. But this book is not about those who were not<br />
Nazis, it is about those who were. In Among <strong>the</strong> Righteous, Satloff 15 told<br />
about <strong>the</strong> righteous Muslims of WW II who saved Jews. Unfortunately,<br />
<strong>the</strong>re were tens of thousands more who carried guns, burned homes with<br />
civilians inside, and generally perpetrated mayhem under <strong>the</strong> Crescent and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Swastika. Bolshevism, Jews, Catholic Serbs, and gypsies were <strong>the</strong><br />
enemy. The troops were inspired by Imams trained in Islam and Nazi propaganda<br />
who traveled with <strong>the</strong>m as <strong>the</strong>y inflicted havoc. The cover of Nazi<br />
Palestine shows a photograph of two young and innocent-looking Muslim<br />
Waffen SS soldiers studying an antisemitic text. In Western Europe, <strong>the</strong>re<br />
were training camps provided by <strong>the</strong> Germans for Arab informers who were<br />
trained in sabotage, insurrection, and radio operations. They were guided<br />
intellectually and politically to believe that Nazi and Islamic interests were<br />
parallel. Nowhere, though, do Mallmann and Cüppers claim that <strong>the</strong>se Muslim<br />
troops were crucial to <strong>the</strong> Holocaust; in fact, <strong>the</strong>y write when discussing<br />
<strong>the</strong> Muslim troops, “The practical value of <strong>the</strong> SS formations proved to be<br />
modest.” 16 Those troops did, however, commit numerous war crimes and<br />
“had taken wide ranging measures against <strong>the</strong> Jews.” 17<br />
Husseini exaggerated to <strong>the</strong> Reich what he could deliver to <strong>the</strong>m in<br />
terms of real military might. He was a failure not only to his troops and <strong>the</strong><br />
Nazis, but to his people as well. Or was he? In <strong>the</strong> short term, he failed, but<br />
his view was wider and longer than WW II. One could say that his anti-<br />
Western plan is continuing and that WW II was just <strong>the</strong> beginning.<br />
Mallmann and Cüppers end <strong>the</strong> book with a follow-up on some of <strong>the</strong><br />
villains. The Mufti lived a long and celebrated life. Walter Rauff retired to<br />
South America and spoke freely of his death machine; he was protected by<br />
Chile’s lack of deportation laws. O<strong>the</strong>rs were killed by <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> war,<br />
and very few were tracked down and punished after <strong>the</strong> war.<br />
Of course, all Arabs were not Nazis. The Mufti and his thugs did<br />
allow, intentionally or not, some moderate, communist, and o<strong>the</strong>r Palestinians<br />
to live. Mallmann and Cüppers did not write a survey of all of Arab<br />
hearts and minds. They wrote instead a shocking and dangerously revealing<br />
15. Satloff, Among <strong>the</strong> Righteous.<br />
16. Mallmann and Cüppers, Nazi Palestine, 17.<br />
17. Mallmann and Cüppers, Nazi Palestine, 146.
2011] CONFLUENT IDEOLOGIES—NAZISM AND ISLAMISM 303<br />
story of a significant threat to <strong>the</strong> world reflected in <strong>the</strong> relevance of Nazi<br />
ideology and Nazi values to many Arabs. We hear in modern voices rising<br />
from Palestine and <strong>the</strong> Middle East repetitions of those genocidal threats<br />
that seem to have been coined in <strong>the</strong> 1930s and 40s. There should be room<br />
to defend against a blanket condemnation of a whole people as “Nazis.” At<br />
<strong>the</strong> same time, <strong>the</strong>re should be <strong>the</strong> awareness of a legacy of Nazi sympathizers<br />
that exists in <strong>the</strong> Middle East.<br />
It would be interesting to see this subject followed up by a study using<br />
Arabic sources researched from <strong>the</strong> same time period. René Wildangel does<br />
attempt to counter Mallmann and Cüppers, but his book, Between <strong>the</strong> Axis<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Mandate Power, 18 published in German, is unavailable in English.<br />
This reviewer cannot read German, but from commentary, Wildangel<br />
believes Mallmann and Cüpper’s position is overstated.<br />
Ano<strong>the</strong>r book, by Es<strong>the</strong>r Webman and Meir Litvak, 19 is primarily<br />
about post-Holocaust Arab opinion. This work, which helps <strong>the</strong> Western<br />
reader understand Arab thinking on <strong>the</strong> Nazis, uses many Arabic sources as<br />
it takes a look at <strong>the</strong> complexity of Arab opinion after <strong>the</strong> war of <strong>the</strong> treatment<br />
of Jews by Nazis.<br />
What makes this book extraordinarily relevant today is not that Arabs<br />
collaborated with Nazis; French, Polish, and o<strong>the</strong>r peoples did as well.<br />
What is different is that today we hear <strong>the</strong> same hateful and genocidal rants<br />
tolerated, not from Europe, but from <strong>the</strong> Middle East. It is imperative to<br />
determine <strong>the</strong> roots of this criminal speech and intent so that it can be<br />
overcome.<br />
The public has <strong>the</strong> tendency to keep <strong>the</strong>ir eyes shut tight and not see<br />
<strong>the</strong> uncomfortable even if it is obvious. It is <strong>the</strong> role of <strong>the</strong> researcher to pry<br />
those eyes open through well-researched material, allowing scholars and <strong>the</strong><br />
public to see <strong>the</strong> facts. The authors of Nazi Palestine have done just that<br />
with good scholarship and potent writing.<br />
*David Sokol, MA, is a writer, psychologist, and visual artist living in Vermont.<br />
He wrote and produced <strong>the</strong> video Mufti and writes about antisemitism.<br />
18. René Wildangel, Between <strong>the</strong> Axis and <strong>the</strong> Mandate Power (Berlin: Klaus<br />
Schwarz Verlag, 2007).<br />
19. Es<strong>the</strong>r Webman and Meir Litvak, From Empathy to Denial: Arab Reponses<br />
to <strong>the</strong> Holocaust (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009).
The First Argentinian Jewish Women<br />
Sandra McGee Deutsch, Crossing Borders, Claiming a<br />
Nation: A History of Argentine Jewish Women, 1880-1955<br />
(Duke University Press, 2010), 368 pp., $84.95<br />
Donna Guy*<br />
The publication of Sandra McGee Deutsch’s Crossing Borders, Claiming<br />
a Nation marks a major contribution to <strong>the</strong> history of Jews in Argentina<br />
as well as to women’s history. Her nuanced and engaging stories of women<br />
from <strong>the</strong> right, <strong>the</strong> left, and <strong>the</strong> center of <strong>the</strong> Argentine Jewish community<br />
and <strong>the</strong>ir efforts to distinguish <strong>the</strong>mselves beyond <strong>the</strong> realm of hearth and<br />
home represents <strong>the</strong> first major monograph on Jewish women in <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn<br />
Hemisphere. It covers women who grew up in <strong>the</strong> Jewish agricultural<br />
communities as well as those who lived in urban areas from 1880 to 1955.<br />
From women who told of <strong>the</strong>ir daily existence in families to those who<br />
portrayed Jewish <strong>the</strong>mes in <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>ater and in music, to socialists and Zionists,<br />
women appear in <strong>the</strong> records of <strong>the</strong> Jewish community, even though<br />
<strong>the</strong>y often had little power outside <strong>the</strong> home within <strong>the</strong> religious community.<br />
Equally important, Deutsch has paid careful attention to German, eastern<br />
European, and Moroccan Jewish women.<br />
Often, prosopography can be weighed down by <strong>the</strong> biographical<br />
unsubstantiated by personal recollections, but Deutsch has relied on a combination<br />
of statistics, memoirs, and personal interviews to bring life to <strong>the</strong><br />
many women discussed. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, <strong>the</strong>ir lives become more than anecdo-<br />
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tal through <strong>the</strong> skillful use of <strong>the</strong> concepts denoted in <strong>the</strong> book title: <strong>the</strong><br />
efforts of women to transit communal, geographic, political, and familial<br />
boundaries. Toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y form part of a transnational diasporic community<br />
bounded by gender, religious, and ideological expectations that women<br />
challenged as well as celebrated in many ways.<br />
Each chapter deals with a different group of women, beginning with<br />
those in <strong>the</strong> Jewish agricultural colonies who were often ignored or<br />
expected to remain at home by <strong>the</strong> Jewish Colonization Association officials.<br />
Although <strong>the</strong> common recollections of <strong>the</strong>se communities are often<br />
nostalgic, <strong>the</strong> Ashkenazi and Sephardic women who went to <strong>the</strong> interior<br />
sometimes had to support <strong>the</strong> family by moving to Buenos Aires to work,<br />
and widows became <strong>the</strong> only women entitled to plots of land without <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
husbands to help out. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, Jewish girls received less education than<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir male counterparts, partly due to poverty, but also to <strong>the</strong> emphasis on<br />
male education. One solution became boarding schools in more urban areas,<br />
with <strong>the</strong> girls living with relatives, and women became active in founding<br />
and supporting libraries. Communist-supported libraries also introduced<br />
Jewish women to new ideas. They also supported activities extolling <strong>the</strong><br />
Argentine state on its public holidays as part of <strong>the</strong> process of both assimilation<br />
and patriotism long before women gained voting rights in 1947.<br />
In Buenos Aires, as well as in o<strong>the</strong>r urban diasporic cities, poor Jewish<br />
women helped support <strong>the</strong> family through menial tasks such as laundering<br />
clothing. Educated women became involved in cultural centers and philanthropic<br />
activities. Although Jewish women lived in neighborhoods more<br />
segregated than o<strong>the</strong>rs in immigrant communities, that did not mean <strong>the</strong>y<br />
had no opportunities to reach out and engage in activities that transcended<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir own streets and families. They also received more education, often<br />
through religious organizations, than in <strong>the</strong> countryside, and teaching<br />
offered an acceptable occupation for educated women both inside and<br />
outside <strong>the</strong> Jewish community. Once again <strong>the</strong> presence of strong ideological<br />
movements such as anarchism, socialism, and, after 1918, communism,<br />
meant that women proved <strong>the</strong>ir usefulness ideologically by engaging in<br />
strikes, maintaining solidarity with those imprisoned on political charges,<br />
and both publishing and teaching <strong>the</strong>se ideologies.<br />
The narratives and analysis become <strong>the</strong> strongest as <strong>the</strong> research<br />
approaches <strong>the</strong> mid twentieth century due to <strong>the</strong> possibility of interviewing<br />
women who participated in <strong>the</strong>se processes. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, <strong>the</strong> coverage of<br />
both antifascist and Zionist Jewish women shows that women could cross<br />
international borders as well as work closely with groups of o<strong>the</strong>r Argentine<br />
women, particularly with <strong>the</strong> Junta de la Victoria in <strong>the</strong> case of <strong>the</strong> antifascist<br />
women.<br />
Ra<strong>the</strong>r than tell just <strong>the</strong> stories of <strong>the</strong> most famous Jewish women
2011] THE FIRST ARGENTINIAN JEWISH WOMEN 307<br />
Deutsch truly tries to integrate <strong>the</strong> unknown, <strong>the</strong> infamous (in <strong>the</strong> case of<br />
Jewish prostitutes), and <strong>the</strong> more well-known political activists. Thus while<br />
we learn more about <strong>the</strong> socialist Chertkoff sisters, we also learn of Elisa, a<br />
seamstress from Romania. We now know much more about <strong>the</strong> entertainers<br />
Cipe Lincofsky and Golda Fleme. What remains untold, however, is <strong>the</strong><br />
interaction of <strong>the</strong>se women with formal Jewish associations controlled by<br />
men. Indeed, <strong>the</strong> emphasis in this book, o<strong>the</strong>r than looking at <strong>the</strong> Zionists, is<br />
on women who generally worked outside <strong>the</strong> framework of “appropriate”<br />
roles for Jewish women in Argentina. Equally important, it is very difficult<br />
to tell whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> patriarchal nature of <strong>the</strong> formal Jewish community or<br />
husbands actually impeded women “crossing borders.” For example, <strong>the</strong>re<br />
are no studies on divorces among <strong>the</strong> religious and <strong>the</strong>ir impact on Jewish<br />
women, nor of community ostracism of women who transgressed boundaries<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r than commercial sex.<br />
Since it would be impossible to quantify <strong>the</strong> number of women who<br />
became notable within <strong>the</strong> Jewish community over time, it is even more<br />
difficult to gauge whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y are principally with <strong>the</strong> left or <strong>the</strong> Zionists.<br />
In more recent times, estimates of Jews in Argentina who do not practice<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir faith well outnumber those who do, and given <strong>the</strong> fact that before <strong>the</strong><br />
1960s no Jewish seminaries operated in Argentina, one might surmise that<br />
non-practicing Jews also outnumbered those who belonged to <strong>the</strong> formal<br />
Jewish community. Thus <strong>the</strong> issue of patriarchy and religious control is a<br />
particularly important question for <strong>the</strong> Jewish women of Argentina, as <strong>the</strong><br />
Jewish community itself solidified its fragmentation between <strong>the</strong> left and<br />
<strong>the</strong> religious during <strong>the</strong> Peronist era and thus muddied <strong>the</strong>se waters. Despite<br />
<strong>the</strong>se thorny questions, <strong>the</strong>re can be no doubt that few have gone as far as<br />
McGee Deutsch to reveal <strong>the</strong> history of Jewish women in Argentina. In<br />
fact, it ranks as <strong>the</strong> first major publication on women in an immigrant community<br />
anywhere in Latin America. And that is quite an achievement.<br />
*Donna Guy teaches in <strong>the</strong> Department of History at Ohio State University. This<br />
review was originally published on H-Judaic (June 2011) and is reprinted with<br />
permission of <strong>the</strong> author.
. . . From <strong>the</strong> Conference Floor<br />
Madeleine Albright and Joschka Fischer<br />
speaking with AJC’s David Harris<br />
Neal E. Rosenberg<br />
AJC 2011<br />
On April 27-29 of this year, <strong>the</strong> American Jewish Committee (AJC)<br />
presented its Global Forum on global Jewish advocacy at <strong>the</strong> Grand Hyatt<br />
in Washington, D.C. The Journal for <strong>the</strong> Study of Antisemitism editors<br />
Steven K. Baum and Neal E. Rosenberg attended, as did several o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
groups, such as SPME.<br />
Speakers and debates included renowned diplomats and political<br />
figures such as Madeline Albright (former U.S. secretary of state), Joschka<br />
Fisher (foreign minister and vice chancellor of Germany), Elliot Abrams<br />
(U.S. deputy security advisor), and William M. Daley (White House chief<br />
of staff). Their analysis of <strong>the</strong> current political climate concerning global<br />
antisemitism was insightful and succinct.<br />
The debate between Yossi Klein Halevi of The New Republic and<br />
Peter Beinart, senior political writer for <strong>the</strong> Daily Beast, was exciting. Beinart<br />
made an impassioned plea against settlement building in West Bank<br />
(Sumeria and Judea), focusing on <strong>the</strong> offended sensibilities of <strong>the</strong> Palestinians.<br />
Halevi <strong>the</strong>n asked Beinart why he did not have <strong>the</strong> same passion and<br />
sensitivity for Jews living under <strong>the</strong> yoke of Muslim fundamentalist terrorism<br />
in Israel. Along those lines. Halevi asked Beinart why he did not criticize<br />
<strong>the</strong> bomb and missile attacks with <strong>the</strong> same intensity in his remarks<br />
about Palestinian sensitivities concerning settlement building. Halevi<br />
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addressed <strong>the</strong> double standard of judging <strong>the</strong> actions of Jews by one standard<br />
and <strong>the</strong> Palestinians by ano<strong>the</strong>r. The debate was lively.<br />
There were several breakout sessions with lectures. Of particular interest<br />
was <strong>the</strong> forum on “Anti-Semitism in <strong>the</strong> 21st Century: Confronting a<br />
Persistent Menace,” by Andrew Baker, <strong>the</strong> AJC director of international<br />
Jewish affairs. Rabbi Baker’s analysis of <strong>the</strong> Dutch approach to antisemitism<br />
illustrated <strong>the</strong> complicated nature of <strong>the</strong> phenomenon in Holland. The<br />
audience’s engagement and personal experiences added greatly to <strong>the</strong> texture<br />
of <strong>the</strong> breakout sessions.<br />
AJC excels as an advocacy group that fosters <strong>the</strong> equitable interests of<br />
Jews, Israel, and <strong>the</strong> world at large. With its specific focus on worldwide<br />
antisemitism, AJC’s nuanced and sophisticated offensive is a bulwark<br />
against <strong>the</strong> multifaceted expression of antisemitism in <strong>the</strong> contemporary<br />
world, and lays important methodical groundwork to streng<strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> ties<br />
between Jews and non-Jews throughout <strong>the</strong> world. This was illustrated to<br />
me in a discussion with Antonyia Parvanova, a member of <strong>the</strong> European<br />
Parliament from Bulgaria. Dr. Parvanova is a member of a faction of <strong>the</strong><br />
European Parliament identified as <strong>the</strong> “Friends of Israel.” These members<br />
attempt to foster a good relationship between <strong>the</strong> European Union and<br />
Israel. The AJC assists <strong>the</strong> Friends of Israel with information, personal persuasion,<br />
trips to Israel, and trips to conferences such as this AJC Global<br />
Forum.<br />
AJC is an older group and has begun to seek out Jewish youth. As<br />
such, it encourages Jewish youth from all corners of <strong>the</strong> globe to involve<br />
<strong>the</strong>mselves with issues concerning Jews, Israel, and antisemitism. At <strong>the</strong><br />
end of <strong>the</strong> Global Forum on Friday, <strong>the</strong> weekend continued with a youth<br />
conference called Access 20/20 Weekend. The AJC believes that <strong>the</strong> future<br />
of global Jewish issues is dependent upon <strong>the</strong> enthusiasm and participation<br />
of today’s youth. It is <strong>the</strong> young Jews who will be inheriting <strong>the</strong> legacy of<br />
antisemitism—whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y are prepared is AJC’s concern.
AIPAC Conference May 22-24, Washington, D.C.<br />
Neal E. Rosenberg<br />
AIPAC 2011<br />
The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference<br />
was held May 22-24 this year at <strong>the</strong> Convention Center in Washington,<br />
coinciding with <strong>the</strong> visit of Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of <strong>the</strong><br />
State of Israel, with Barack Obama, president of <strong>the</strong> United States of<br />
America. The atmosphere was charged with excitement and anticipation.<br />
On <strong>the</strong> first day of <strong>the</strong> conference, President Obama came to <strong>the</strong><br />
podium. His speech clarified comments he had made concerning whe<strong>the</strong>r<br />
<strong>the</strong> 1967 borders of Israel would be <strong>the</strong> basis of <strong>the</strong> settlement between <strong>the</strong><br />
Israelis and Arabs for a comprehensive peace. The president’s speech was<br />
courageous in that many of <strong>the</strong> delegates at <strong>the</strong> AIPAC conference had<br />
strong reservations about <strong>the</strong> level of commitment that he has to <strong>the</strong> State of<br />
Israel. President Obama reiterated his strong support for <strong>the</strong> territorial integrity<br />
of Israel and military support for <strong>the</strong> Jewish state. But <strong>the</strong>re was an<br />
unspoken issue of concern to <strong>the</strong> audience at <strong>the</strong> conference: What is <strong>the</strong><br />
real inner conviction of <strong>the</strong> president for <strong>the</strong> survival of <strong>the</strong> Jewish state?<br />
President Obama’s intent was to convince those assembled at <strong>the</strong> AIPAC<br />
conference that his inner conviction strongly supports <strong>the</strong> Jewish state. During<br />
<strong>the</strong> speech, he produced all <strong>the</strong> buzzwords concerning support of <strong>the</strong><br />
State of Israel and <strong>the</strong> mutual democratic traditions of both countries. But,<br />
for many, <strong>the</strong> buzzwords were not enough. The question remains concerning<br />
<strong>the</strong> strength of his inner commitment to <strong>the</strong> Jewish state. President<br />
Obama’s speech did not overcome <strong>the</strong> reservations of many in <strong>the</strong> audience.<br />
These members, even after <strong>the</strong> speech, questioned that commitment and<br />
wondered whe<strong>the</strong>r he identifies more with <strong>the</strong> plight of <strong>the</strong> Palestinians than<br />
<strong>the</strong> survival of <strong>the</strong> Jewish people in Israel.<br />
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, addressed <strong>the</strong> con-<br />
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ference on Monday evening. He stressed <strong>the</strong> historical and emotional ties<br />
between <strong>the</strong> Israeli people and <strong>the</strong> American people, describing in his most<br />
succinct point what a democracy is in relation to <strong>the</strong> Arab revolutions now<br />
taking place. Natanyahu’s fear is that <strong>the</strong> revolutions may herald <strong>the</strong> arrival<br />
of fundamentalist and authoritarian regimes that will not accept <strong>the</strong> peace<br />
process with Israel. He pointed out that a democracy is not just <strong>the</strong> vote of<br />
its people; ra<strong>the</strong>r, it is a true democratic government that has many necessary<br />
values associated with it, such as freedom of <strong>the</strong> press, freedom of<br />
religion, and freedom of associations. Without <strong>the</strong>se values, a democratic<br />
vote does not reflect true liberal democracy. Natanyahu strongly stated that,<br />
without <strong>the</strong>se associated freedoms, Israel will not have true democratic partners<br />
to make peace with its Arab neighbors and <strong>the</strong> Palestinian people. And,<br />
without <strong>the</strong>se associated democratic traditions, any peace accord will<br />
always be in jeopardy.<br />
Not only did <strong>the</strong> conference consist of a Who’s Who of policy makers<br />
concerning Israel, but also <strong>the</strong> AIPAC assembly and two-thirds of Congress<br />
for <strong>the</strong> dinner honoring Benjamin Netanyahu. Along with <strong>the</strong> prime minister,<br />
at <strong>the</strong> dinner were both Harry Reed (D-NV), majority leader of <strong>the</strong> U.S.<br />
Senate, and <strong>the</strong> Honorable John Boehner (R-OH), speaker of <strong>the</strong> U.S.<br />
House of Representatives, who voiced <strong>the</strong>ir strong support for <strong>the</strong> State of<br />
Israel. The conference achieved its purpose of bringing toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> supporters<br />
of <strong>the</strong> State of Israel in <strong>the</strong> United States, and making clear <strong>the</strong><br />
division between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin<br />
Netanyahu concerning <strong>the</strong> elements needed for peace between Israel and its<br />
neighbors. The audience’s engagement and personal experiences added<br />
greatly to <strong>the</strong> texture of <strong>the</strong> breakout sessions.
Antisemitica<br />
313
314 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF <strong>ANTISEMITISM</strong> [ VOL. 3:313<br />
In <strong>the</strong> 1992 embassy bombing in Buenos Aires, 29 people were killed and<br />
242 were injured. In <strong>the</strong> bombing at <strong>the</strong> AMIA Jewish community center<br />
in 1994, 85 people were killed and 300 injured.<br />
A banner made of <strong>the</strong> colors of <strong>the</strong> Israeli flag and Nazi swastika reads,<br />
in Spanish, “What a shame Israel” at a march to <strong>the</strong> Israeli Embassy in<br />
Buenos Aires, January 6, 2009. (AP Photo)
2011] ANTISEMITICA 315<br />
Cartoons by Carlos<br />
Carlos Latuff, Brazilian cartoonist, b. November 30, 1968<br />
Urging Turkish PM to “cut ties with Israel NOW” A Palestinian as a Holocaust victim<br />
Israelis are born to kill. Like Nazis, <strong>the</strong>y are just following<br />
orders.
The Shunned Toadstool<br />
In <strong>the</strong> past, fungi were often regarded with suspicion and fear. Mysterious and<br />
magical qualities were associated with <strong>the</strong>ir unusual shape, and it was also well known<br />
that many of <strong>the</strong> species could be toxic and even fatal. The fact that <strong>the</strong>y thrive in dark<br />
and wet places added to <strong>the</strong> misgivings people held about <strong>the</strong>m. These weird botanical<br />
wonders were given strange names that were supported by folklore and superstition.<br />
Even when scientific and rational explanations emerged in time, certain stories<br />
prevailed and still appear in <strong>the</strong>ir old garb. Myriads of mushrooms spring up all over <strong>the</strong><br />
world; <strong>the</strong>y sprout, bloom, burst forth, and wi<strong>the</strong>r very quickly; some of <strong>the</strong>m have<br />
become well known for <strong>the</strong>ir poisonous deadly attributes, yet o<strong>the</strong>rs—<strong>the</strong> edible ones—<br />
are considered delicacies, fit to be <strong>the</strong> gold of <strong>the</strong> gods. Most mushrooms have always<br />
been treated with great respect for <strong>the</strong>se reasons, but no fungus has been considered as<br />
vile and unholy as <strong>the</strong> edible Auricularia auricular, or, as it is known by its alternate<br />
name, Auricula judae—Latin for Jew’s ear.<br />
The Auricula judae grows mainly but not exclusively on dead and dying elders,<br />
and its nickname goes back to <strong>the</strong> Middle Ages. People believed that Judas Iscariot had<br />
betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, <strong>the</strong>n grew desolate and morbid because of his<br />
deed, discarded <strong>the</strong> money, and hanged himself on an elder tree. The fungus appeared<br />
on <strong>the</strong> tree as a symbolic manifestation of Judas’ evil deed, a representation that his<br />
doomed spirit cannot find rest. The toadstool is edible, velvety soft, and jelly-like, and<br />
truly looks like a wrinkled disfigured ear. Its vicious reputation does not prevent some<br />
people from picking it and consuming it in a stew, despite that it does not seem to add<br />
any desirable flavor. Some who like practical jokes might enjoy <strong>the</strong> surprise and disgust<br />
on <strong>the</strong> faces of <strong>the</strong>ir guests when <strong>the</strong>y serve <strong>the</strong> soup that seems to have ears floating in<br />
it.<br />
Hatred and hostility toward Jews was widespread, deep, and illogical. People<br />
forgot that Jesus himself had been a Jew, and that Judas, whose exact motives are<br />
unknown, had betrayed a friend, and not a member of a different religion or race. Judas’<br />
act is but one of <strong>the</strong> excuses for <strong>the</strong> spread of discrimination, prejudice, and intolerance.<br />
Folklore sometimes, as in this case, reinforces <strong>the</strong> strong negative feelings of those who<br />
chose to follow <strong>the</strong> dark paths. The unlucky Auricula judae is regarded as a curse, not<br />
just because of its shape, but also due to its repulsive odor that was believed to have<br />
some connection with witchcraft. It grows very quickly, and some tales connect its<br />
unusual rapid birth and demise with <strong>the</strong> full moon and <strong>the</strong> thundering skies. Thunder is<br />
usually followed by rain, and thus creates <strong>the</strong> ideal breeding field for mushrooms, while<br />
<strong>the</strong> full moon exerts a certain additional gravitational pull to which fungi seem to<br />
respond by maturing even faster.<br />
The elder tree shares some of this toadstool’s despicable reputation, since its<br />
flowers and leaves are commonly considered to be foul smelling. The curse fell on <strong>the</strong><br />
tree, reflecting that some say it was its wood that served as Jesus’ cross. The legend has<br />
more far-reaching, dismal insinuations. It was believed that God punished <strong>the</strong> Jews for<br />
Judas’ betrayal by inflicting on <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong> same putrid smell and some abominable<br />
disease. Yet ano<strong>the</strong>r sinister tale sprang forth, as a result of <strong>the</strong> previous one, claiming<br />
that for <strong>the</strong> Jews <strong>the</strong> best medicine to combat those illnesses was <strong>the</strong> blood of Christian<br />
children. Thus it became a common conviction that Jews murdered youngsters,<br />
particularly around Passover. The proof—<strong>the</strong> brownish-reddish flakes that appear on<br />
<strong>the</strong> surface of <strong>the</strong> baked matzo eaten during <strong>the</strong> holiday—is a sure sign that blood is<br />
used in its making.<br />
—From Nadine Grosser Nagarajan’s Pomegranate Seeds<br />
(University of New Mexico Press, 2005).<br />
317
The UK’s University and College Union (UCU) decided this weekend to<br />
immunize itself against anybody who might claim that antisemitism can<br />
come in a form that looks like criticism of Israel. It did this by rejecting and<br />
denouncing <strong>the</strong> EUMC working definition of antisemitism. There was only<br />
one Jewish person at UCU willing or to speak against this stance, and it<br />
was met with stony silence.<br />
I, a Jewish member of this union, am telling you that I feel an antisemitic<br />
mood in this union and even in this room. I would feel your refusal to<br />
engage with <strong>the</strong> EUMC definition of antisemitism, if you pass this motion,<br />
as a racist act. Many Jews have resigned from this union, citing <strong>the</strong>ir experience<br />
of antisemitism. Only yesterday a delegate here said: “They are an<br />
expansionist people.” It is difficult to think that <strong>the</strong> people in question are<br />
anything o<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> Jews. You may disagree with me. You may disagree<br />
with all <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r Jewish members who have said similar things. You may<br />
think we are mistaken. But you have a duty to listen seriously. Instead of<br />
being listened to, I am routinely told that anyone who raises <strong>the</strong> issue of<br />
antisemitism is doing so in bad faith. Congress, imagine how it feels when<br />
you say that you are experiencing racism, and your union responds: “Stop<br />
lying, stop trying to play <strong>the</strong> antisemitism card.” You, a group of mainly<br />
white, non-Jewish trade unionists, do not have <strong>the</strong> right to tell me, a Jew,<br />
what feels like antisemitism and what does not. Macpherson tells us that<br />
when somebody says <strong>the</strong>y have been a victim of racism, <strong>the</strong>n institutions<br />
should begin by believing <strong>the</strong>m. This motion mandates <strong>the</strong> union to do <strong>the</strong><br />
opposite. Until this union takes complaints of antisemitism seriously, <strong>the</strong><br />
UCU will continue to be labeled as an institutionally antisemitic organization.<br />
It’s true that anti-Zionist Jews may perceive things differently. But <strong>the</strong><br />
overwhelming majority of Jews feel that <strong>the</strong>re is something wrong in this<br />
union. They understand that it is legitimate to criticize Israel in a way that<br />
is, quoting from <strong>the</strong> definition, “similar to that leveled to any o<strong>the</strong>r country,”<br />
but <strong>the</strong>y make a distinction between criticism and <strong>the</strong> kind of demonization<br />
that is considered acceptable in this union.<br />
—Ronnie Fraser, UCU Congress, Harrogate, UK, May 29, 2011<br />
Religions are based on scripture, which is mostly poetry. So it only makes sense<br />
that religious conflict must be resolved through poetry, and not through politics,<br />
negotiation, or war. I propose that all religious conflicts be redefined poetically, so<br />
that <strong>the</strong>y can be resolved without bloodshed, winners, or losers. So let’s sharpen<br />
our pencils, not our swords; send missives, not missiles; and apply our minds not to<br />
pomposity, animosity, ferocity, atrocity, or monstrosity but to metaphor, simile,<br />
rhyme, meter, and prosody.<br />
—Hugh Mann<br />
319