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The ever-changing definition of ‘anti-Semitism’

27 May 2021

  • Where do we draw the line between political critique and unacceptable racism?

The conversations surrounding the recent atrocities committed by Israel within the Gaza strip have left many critics around the world baffled, primarily because scores of academics and journalists alike have been labelled “anti-Semites” in response to their political commentary regarding what can easily be classified as an unapologetic display of the worst level of war crimes. To be able to understand what it is to be truly anti-Semitic, one needs to delve deep into a definition which clarifies what the term means. Anti-Semitism, in simple terms, is defined as displaying “hostility towards or prejudice against Jewish people”. At the very outset, this would seem like the most natural definition of the term; both easily understandable while also leaving no room for anyone to defend racism which occurs as a result of anti-Semitic attitudes. However, what happens when anti-Semitism is conflated with a state or regime hellbent upon carrying forward their policies of ethnic cleansing and genocide? Is it wrong to call out war crimes and Zionistic practice, just because the perpetrators identify as Jewish? Does that then mean that anyone who is Jewish has a free pass when it comes to breaking international law? These are heavy questions; the answers for which appear even heavier, and sometimes, elusive. To make matters more complicated, there now appears to be a rise in “new” anti-Semitism, whereby the definitions for the same have been extended. Here is where we find the problem truly exists. The definition in question is the 2016 International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) “working definition of anti-Semitism”, which has become a tool of choice for so-called pro-Israel organisations. This definition shifts the meaning of anti-Semitism from its traditional focus on the hatred of Jews to one based largely on how critical people are, or might be, towards Israel’s “rights-abusive” policies. As a result, the problem then becomes that when a state’s actions and its government’s policies cannot be critiqued, then the pursuit of knowledge and academic freedom are threatened. Authors Neve Gordon and Mark LeVine state that “if successful, Israel’s use of the anti-Semitism charge to silence serious and well-grounded criticism could very well become the template for other countries, including the US Government, and powerful corporations to mobilise different kinds of hate speech accusations to protect rights-abusive behaviour”. It appears as though their worries have basis in absolute validity, as we see this very situation unfolding before our eyes in current-day conversation surrounding this ongoing issue. Anti-Semitism has in effect become an automatic gag order on anyone who seeks to criticise human rights violations committed by the Israeli Government. How then, in such a hostile atmosphere, where the ideals of “freedom of speech” seem to be stifled slowly, is anyone meant to call out atrocities as and when they happen? The short answer: They are not. Based on the definitions currently upheld of what it means to be anti-Semitic, several of the world’s greatest intellectuals could now be deemed anti-Semites as well. Albert Einstein and Hannah Arendt; anti-Semites? Sounds impossible, however, it is not. According to the definition of anti-Semitism that more than 30 countries (including the US through the Joe Biden administration recently adopted) these two leading intellectuals could very well be labelled the same. Both Einstein and Arendt sent an open letter on 4 December 1948 to The New York Times, and in it they claimed that the right-wing Herut Party in the newly formed State of Israel was “closely akin in its organisation, methods, political philosophy, and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties”. Imagine anyone saying this openly on any mainstream media channel in 2021? They would be fired just as quickly as Emily Wilder was from her position at the Associated Press. The list of potential anti-Semites goes on. Take the British-American Jewish historian Tony Judt, who described Israel as “autistic” in 2010, after it had put Gaza “under a punishment regime comparable to nothing else in the world”. The late Hebrew University philosopher and biochemist Yeshayahu Leibowitz would also have joined the so-called “anti-Semitic” brigade given his criticism of the growing “phenomena of Judeo-Nazism” following Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. And finally, Israel’s most prominent human rights organisation, B’tselem, would also fit this anti-Semitic bill, as it has recently published a report entitled “A Regime of Jewish Supremacy From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This Is Apartheid”. Neve Gordon and Mark LeVine, in their in-depth analysis and study of this area, have shed light through their research of all the organisations and individuals who would potentially fall into this trap of being labelled anti-Semitic, merely for expressing an opinion about state practices. Why then is nobody allowed to have open discourse which differentiates what it means to be anti-Semitic with being anti-Zionist? This past week, we saw the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, being interviewed on CNN, where controversy erupted as a result of comments he made. The Foreign Minister told CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga that Israel is losing “the media war, despite their connections”. The anchor swiftly asked the Pakistani leader to explain those “connections”. The Foreign Minister responded with a laugh and a comment saying: “Deep pockets…they control media.” The CNN anchor shot back, saying: “I would call that an anti-Semitic remark.” Critics swiftly descended upon Twitter to denounce Qureshi’s comments, however, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry dismissed those assertions in a statement last Friday (21), saying the remarks could not be “construed as anti-Semitic by any stretch of the imagination”. “Ridicule Islam and our Prophet PBUH (peace be upon him) and spread Islamophobia by claiming it as ‘freedom of speech’; when we highlight Israelis ‘deep pockets’ and influence over western media and govts, it gets labelled ‘anti-Semitic’! Massacre Palestinians and claim it's right of self-defence,” Pakistani Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari tweeted Friday. “Time to reject and counter this false narrative. Enough is enough. We cannot be bullied or blackmailed by such narratives bec(ause) we don't bear the burden of the history the West is trying to shift on our shoulders,” she wrote. One could argue that she makes extremely valid points. Is the western world trying to tell us that the worth of a Jewish life is placed higher than that of a Muslim one? Is what causes offence to the Jewish populace supposed to hold more weight simply because they are fewer in number? If the answer to all of these questions is “yes”, then why pretend at all that we as a global community care about the phrase “human rights” at all? Clearly, the lives and values placed upon those lives are not equal in this instance at all. Sri Lanka is no stranger to ethnic strife and conflict, with the civilian population having lived through the consequences of a ghastly war which spanned over three long and difficult decades. Sri Lankans know how to recognise the ugly face of racism, and the pain that is felt when it is met out to those in stark minority. It is never in anyone’s favour to treat human beings as “lesser” for any reason whatsoever, yet it happens nonetheless. In the context of Israel and its bloodlust when it comes to Palestinian children, we see that it is the minority in this instance, who are taking advantage of an atrocity which was committed years ago, to peddle a narrative of continued victimisation, veiled by the label of “self-defence”. To term facts as “anti-Semitic” leaves us to wonder whether there is any room left to counter any atrocity committed by a protected community. What is even more frustrating is that the battle being fought against the Israeli regime and its actions is based on principles of Zionism, not Judaism or anyone’s personal faith. Anti-Semitism is appalling and must be condemned, there are no two views about that. The genocide against displaced communities is equally appalling, and must be condemned with equal vigour. Let us not get lost under the cloak of what 2021 has deemed anti-Semitism to be. Threats are terrible; death is worse.   (The writer is a lawyer, teacher, and political commentator of Pakistani origin based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She can be found on twitter at @writergirl_11)  

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