JOURNALfor the STUDYof ANTISEMITISM

2011] MEXICO IN A REGION UNDER CHANGE 35
and metaphors: according to José Steinsleger, the West Bank Wall was conceived
out of a great strategic plan, the slow and sustained “extermination;
. . . this time, without gas chambers.” 16 The naqba, Steinsleger says, Israel’s
“expulsion” of 700,000 Palestinians—which was preceded by “ethnic
cleansing”—has a straightforward parallel with the Holocaust: the word
naqba denotes the “oldest and most prolonged Holocaust” in contemporary
history as a result of the creation of an “illegal Zionist State.” 17 In his
words, “Nazi-fascist wall, locked up alive Palestinians in ‘ghettos.’ ”
Intermingled with the national/regional anti-American and anti-imperialist
discourse that recurrently emphasizes the alliance between the United
States and Israel, both the wall at the West Bank and at USA-Mexico border,
were equated, yet differentiated: only the former was seen as a “genocide
wall.” 18
As stated, the Flotilla Affair reflected the ebb and flow of the conflict
in the Middle East and its implications for antisemitic expressions. 19 Its
negative image reached an apex in this episode, which conveyed its “genocidal”
and “anti-humanitarian” nature and an illegitimate code of action. 20
One must also assess the impact on the national media of the transnational
dynamics that feed information. Specifically, La Jornada and Uno
más Uno—newspapers of the left—systematically reproduced editorial articles
of The Guardian and Independent, and their own editorial perspective
reinforced this stand.
Also in the mainstream press—particularly in Milenio, El Financiero,
and Excélsior—there has been an increased presence of articles critical of
Israeli actions, mainly of Benjamin Netanyahu’s settlement policy. 21 This
heightened criticism certainly points to varying degrees of symbolic violence
and its implications through the interplay of meanings and motivations
(prejudice vs. critical voice).
In contrast, the links of the Jewish community with Israel and other
Jewish centers have gained legitimacy in the public sphere—reinforced by
16. José Steinsleger, “¿Cuándo caerá el muro?” (When Will the Wall Fall?), La
Jornada, January 6, 2010.
17. José Steinsleger, “Palestina: orígenes de la nakba” (Palestine: origins of the
nakaba) La Jornada, May 5, 2010.
18. Héctor Delgado, “¡Bienvenida Señora Michelle Obama!” (Welcome, Ms.
Michelle Obama), Uno más uno, April 15, 2010.
19. Esteban Beltrán (director, Amnesty International, Spain), “El asfixiante bloqueo
de Gaza” (The suffocating blockade of Gaza), El País, June 1, 2010.
20. Héctor Delgado, “Israel asesina marinos civiles en Gaza” (Israel assasinates
civil marines in Gaza), Uno más uno, June 1, 2010.
21. Emilio Menéndez del Valle, “Imponer la paz en Palestina” (Imposing peace
in Palestine), April 9, 2010. Milenio and El Financiero have other examples.