Malaysian PM correct?

Editorial

While many were recoiling from the mythological anti-Semitism of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a local newspaper came to his defence, saying the criticism of Mahathir "plays into the hands of people who want to dampen criticism of Israel's right-wing government."

The Asian Pacific Post, an English-language biweekly aimed at the diverse south- and east-Asian communities in the Lower Mainland, said Mahathir's comments were taken out of context and that criticism of the statements raises risks of ending free speech.

"This, if left unchecked," stated an unsigned editorial in the Oct. 23-Nov. 5 edition, "will lead to accusations of anti-Semitism becoming so common that many will be unable to distinguish between dissent and hate."

Too late. The Post editorial writer has exhibited a breathtaking inability to do just that.

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that charges of anti-Semitism are used too often to stifle criticism of Israel. Mahathir made only vague references to Israel. His ad hominem attack was aimed at Jews, not Israel. He did not suggest that Israel controls the world, but declared that Jews do. He did not suggest Muslims need to conclude a "final victory" over Israel, he demanded final victory over "the Jews." He did not claim that Israel gets non-Jews to fight and die on its behalf, this astonishing assertion was attributed to Jews.

"Being critical of Israeli policies does not make one anti-Semitic," concluded the Post editorial. Of course it doesn't. If it did, half or more of Israeli voters would fall into that category. But criticism of Israel was only incidental to Mahathir's diatribe. His target was Jews.

As for the remarks being taken out of context, as the editorial asserted, extracting a few paragraphs does not perforce equal decontextualization. The comments stand alone and no amount of context could alter their prejudiced foundations nor their hateful intent. Mahathir's comments were as extreme in their anti-Semitism as any words spoken. There may be times when anti-Semitism is too strong an accusation. This is not one of them. The Post and its publishers should be ashamed.

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