The hidden faces of anti-Semitism

JACK CHIVO SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

Discussion about anti-Semitism has re-emerged as a hot topic over the past few years, unfortunately. For those of us who have miraculously survived the Shoah, it was supposed to be a dead topic, relegated to the garbage bins of history, but, as it appears, its ugly head is rising again all over the world.

Why it is happening is an entirely different subject, but it is interesting to study the new semantics and twists used by modern anti-Semites to cover their thoughts, policies and actions. In the "good ol' days," anti-Semites were open, up front, brutally clear about their intentions. Today, most of them, especially those from the "peace camps" and/or so-called intellectual circles, use code words and a plethora of politically correct expressions to obfuscate their true aims.

Allow me to unmask some of these transparent methods that one can find in daily reporting, television debates or propaganda shows, even among some members of the local Jewish community.

The first mask is the often repeated comment, "We are Arabs, or Muslims, and therefore Semites, so how can we be anti-Semites?" (Even though Muslims are not, perforce, Semites.)

As recently as a few weeks ago, during a program with Valerie Pringle, a Muslim cleric repeated this statement after delivering a vicious anti-Israel, anti-Jewish tirade, and not even one person challenged the red herring.

Everyone who has the slightest interest in modern history knows that the word "anti-Semite" was coined at the end of the 19th century as a purely anti-Jewish statement by Wilhelm Marr, a rabid propagandist and agitator against the Jews, who created the "League of Anti-Semites" and was the author of the anti-Jewish provocative essay, "The Victory of Judaism over Germanism." There was never any doubt that the word anti-Semite was exclusively used against Jews, and the nonsense about anti-Semitism being broadened to include Arabs is as stupid as if one might believe that the White Supremacists from the "Aryan Nation" would accept the Iranians, or some Indians, considered also as being Aryans by origin, as their brothers.

The deliberate confusion is easily contradicted by the well-documented participation of large segments of the Muslim population, during the Second World War, in the massacres of Jews in countries such as the former Yugoslavia or the Caucasus republics. A huge number of "Bushniaks" (Muslims from Bosnia and the surrounding areas) volunteered to join the Nazi war machine. During the same time, Muslims from Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Crimea and Chechnya, created their own Nazi units, "specializing" in mass murder, pillage, rapes and destruction. The chief organizer and spiritual leader of all these murderous outfits was the infamous Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin el-Husseini, an admirer and supporter of Adolf Hitler, who – in some versions of Yasser Arafat's family history – also happened to be a grand uncle, from the mother's side, of Arafat. The same Mufti who visited Auschwitz during the war and reportedly commented that the gas chambers could be run more diligently. (See "The Arab/Muslim Nazi connection," EretzYisroel.org.)

Today, the new breed of Islamic anti-Semites are blowing up synagogues in Istanbul, beating up rabbis in Paris or London or desecrating Jewish institutions all over Europe. As recently as early February 2004, during a televised concert in Macon, France, sponsored and attended by French First Lady Bernadette Chirac, French Jewish singer Shirel was forced off the stage by about 100 Arab troublemakers, who physically threatened her, while chanting "Dirty Jewess," "Death to the Jews" and "We will kill all of you." According to the French media, it was the worst, and most atrocious, anti-Semitic outburst in the country since the liberation from under the Nazi tyranny. How can one call such acts anything but Arab anti-Semitism?

Other often-repeated statements are "I am not anti-Jewish, only anti-Zionist!" or "Don't call me an anti-Semite just because I criticize Israel, or some Jews!"

It was a standard defence used by Doug Collins and is still the cover for other "critics" of ours on both sides of the ideological spectrum. We hear it not only from zealots, but from politicians, social activists, journalists.

If criticizing Israel and some of its policies were the only criteria for being called an anti-Semite, 100 per cent of the population in Israel could be lumped into that category. There is no Israeli citizen, as in many other countries, who couldn't find, every day, at least one reason to disagree with some, or many, of the political, social or economic decisions of their government, and will communicate that disagreement loudly and actively. There is however a world of difference between criticizing the actions of a government, Israeli or any other, and demonizing an entire nation, de-legitimizing it, boycotting it as a whole and treating its citizens as pariahs around the world.

Over the years, I have developed a few simple criteria to determine whether those "critics" are true to their words or simply obfuscating their anti-Semitic feelings and activities. First, such people are hidden anti-Semites when they always criticize Israel, or the Jews, with the harshest possible fervor, for some of their actions, while wilfully and constantly ignoring events thousands of times more repugnant and atrocious that are happening daily in front of their eyes, without having any respect for balance and relevance. For example, these people will go on about the so-called Palestinian refugees, while ignoring the fate of some 700,000 Jewish refugees from Muslim countries and the millions of other refugees all over the world.

Add to the equation, all these radio, print and television correspondents or anchors who routinely count and report every injured teenaged stone-thrower in Bethlehem or Gaza, and all but ignore, for example, the millions of people killed in recent years in central Africa.

The next criteria is the singling out of a Jew, or some Jews, by name, or ethnicity, while the origins of others, or their religious identity, are not mentioned.

About 10 years ago, I questioned a reporter from the Vancouver Sun who wrote about the "reclusive Canadian-Iranian-Jewish brothers Ghermezian, the owners of the Edmonton Mall," in spite of the fact that they have lived in Canada for about 50 years. When I asked whether he would also write about a "Canadian-Scottish-Catholic businessman" associated with a similar enterprise, he was surprised by my question and had no answer. More recently, an Aug. 15, 2003, article on Gazette.net about a commerical development described the Ghermezian family as "Orthodox Jewish Canadians originally from Iran." The simple fact is that singling out Jews, for good or bad things, especially the latter, is latently anti-Semitic.

Finally, there is the canard that the Jews dominate this or that, especially the banks and other financial institutions. Ask anyone on the streets of Vancouver and the great majority will agree with the statement. Ask further how many of the "big five" banks' CEOs, or those of the largest insurance companies, are Jewish and no one could name one individual, for there is none, as far as I know.

But the worst claim of all is, "How can I be an anti-Semite? I am (or I was born) Jewish."

The sad fact is that, over thousands of years, some of the most ferocious anti-Semites were born Jewish, giving them additional incentive to destroy their brethren in order to prove their loyalty to their newly acquired masters. From the Hellenists to the Inquisition, and from the Kapos in concentration camps, to the party activists and informers behind the Iron Curtain, our people's history is full of such terrible examples.

During modern times, the former Soviet communist leader Lazar Kaganovich was instrumental in sending his entire family, including his brother, to the Gulag, where many perished. One of the most vitriolic and open Jewish anti-Zionists in North America – categorized by many commentators as anti-Semitic – was Moshe Menuhin. Yes, the father of the violinist, who is still celebrated today by Arabs and Neo-Nazis for his "contribution" to their cause. (References can be found on the Institute for Historical Review Web site, along with articles by the likes of Collins and Ernst Zundel.) Unfortunately, we can find such Jewish anti-Semites in every country, including Israel, even here in Canada.

The "new historians" in Israel have tried for more than a decade to de-legitimize the state, by portraying it as a country created through ethnic cleansing, massacres and land grab. While they have been unmasked by reputable historians as having purposely misread "findings," they continue their anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activities. Ilan Pappe, a "new historian" at Haifa University, compares aspects of the Jewish state to Nazi Germany and he initiated the call of a boycott of Israel.

Therefore, when you hear or read statements by some peace activists or anti-Zionists, ask yourself if they fit in the above criteria. Contact them and ask some pertinent questions. Based on my experiences, once relevant questions are asked, the thin veneer of "peace activism" soon cracks, revealing the ugly face of anti-Semitism.

History has taught us to keep our eyes open and be aware of our obvious, but also of our hidden, enemies and detractors. Sixty years ago, the survivors made a commitment to the Six Million who perished: "Never again." Let's keep this promise in mind.

Jack Chivo has a PhD in the history of European journalism. He has worked as a reporter and editor in Europe, and is a former radio correspondent. He lives in West Vancouver.

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