JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

05/05/09 01:10 PM

The ADL, AIPAC and other Zionist lobby groups go well beyond fighting anti-semitism. I think if you look deeper into the so called anti-semitic talk backs you will find that most of these individuals are mistaking Jews, members of a religion with Zionists, members of a political, secular organization. They mean to criticize (sometimes harshly) a political movement and use the incorrect designation to do so. They don’t mean Jews, they mean Zionists. While many would decry the criticism of Zionism, it is in no way is anti-semitic. There is absolutely, at least in my mind, no rational of any kind to defend anti-semitism but due to the negative and deadly condition of the Middle East I will continue to decry Zionism in its most destructive guise.

05/05/09 02:16 PM

Mr. Heilman,

I can’t believe you are only now seeing this. I have seen it going on for years now, since before the Iraq War, but it literally exploded after the Israel/Hezbollah war in 2006.

I do not agree with Archie that there is always a clear cut distinction being made in these attacks between Jews and Zionists-- perhaps for him and some others an attempt is made to do so, but in my experience (regularly frequenting internet forums as diverse as The Washington Post to such alternative sites as Information Clearing House) for most others it is not.

I am not Jewish, but have studied Jewish history extensively at University. I see several problematic issues at stake here, which I do not believe the Jewish community should ignore much longer, nor do I believe draconian actions on the part of Israel or radical Zionists will help alleviate-- but peace and reconciliation might:

1. Anti-Semitism itself has become a buzzword. Rather than understanding that the racist German Wilhelm Marr invented the term in the late 19th century for the purpose of attacking and oppressing Jews specifically and not Arabs, most anti-Semites excuse themselves by claiming that since they support the Palestinians specifically and the Arabs generally (who in their thinking are also Semites) they cannot, by definition, be anti-Semitic. To them, the term in fact is just a broad brush with which the evil Jews use to try to paint anyone who criticizes them. There may be some truth that some of the most extreme Zionists throw the word about quite easily, but more needs to be done to educate people on the origins of the term itself as specific towards the Jews and the real history of anti-Semitism, and that it isn’t just a word made up by them to hide behind.

2. Most of these people have now accepted the pseudo-historical mumbo jumbo based on the book of one man, that the Ashkenazim are not really descendants of inhabitants of the Middle East at all, but instead are mixtures of European and Turkic people, specifically the Khazars, who lurked in Eastern Europe for a thousand years before stealing Palestine from the Arabs. The Khazars did indeed “convert” to Judaism in the 8th or 9th century, but modern DNA tests on Ashkenazim show high numbers of markers proving descent from Middle Eastern ancestry. There are indeed also markers for European, and perhaps even Central Asian markers as well, but there is no way to dispute the fact that Ashkenazim are descended from the Jews carried by the Romans into Europe as slaves. This issue is in urgent need of address.

3. Unbelievably, reference to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are actually being made again. The book is back in print in many languages, and apparently believed. Things are much worse than most Jewish people are aware, I think. I do not believe that hatred toward the Jews has ever been as high and as widespread in the history of the world as it is now. This should give the Jewish people with their tiny sliver of land and several nuclear weapons great pause.

I am ashamed of the wars the US is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am ashamed of Israel’s actions in Lebanon and Gaza. But I am an anti-antiSemite, who also believes Israel has a right to exist, and that the descendants of Jews evicted from that land two thousand years ago have a right to live there which overrides the rights of those who came in later and filled the void. There must be a two state solution, along pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as an International City of Peace. The settlements must be disbanded and evacuated. The Palestinians must track down and suppress terror elements in their midst. The IDF must conduct itself according to Nuremberg. Perhaps these things will be a beginning.

05/05/09 06:51 PM

Zionism is the right of return to the Jewish homeland of all Jews to a land that was basically barren.  There were always Jews who lived there who had never left.  The only destructive system in the Middle East is the terrorist Islamofacists who believe in murdering Jewish women and children and destroying Israel.  You are an idiot “Archie.”

Another ignoramus is Daniel.  You seem to have your heart in the right place but you are mistaken about many things.  Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish homeland.  It was thousands of years ago and is today.  Islam has no claim to Jerusalem.  The Koran never mentions the city at all.

There should never be a “Palestinian” country because there has never been a “Palestinian” people, country, culture, or language.  Israel was re-named Palestine by the Romans and has no Arab connection.  The Jews were the first to be called “Palestinians” because Jews have always lived in Israel/Palestine.  Arabs stole the term in the 1960’s for propaganda purposes and to steal the Jewish homeland. 

Millions of Arab invadors already occupy Jewish land.  The Britsh created country of Jordan was carved out of ancient Israel.  The Arabs are the settlers and occupiers of Jewish land.  NO to another Arab occupied country on Jewish land.  Arabs need to give back the Jewish land they invaded and stole.  Better yet they should go back to Arabia where they came from and leave the Jews alone!

05/05/09 10:34 PM

“Note to Mr. Barnea: Comments sections of Web sites are always driven by the most extreme readers—those angry or passionate enough to take the trouble to post their comments. It’s the nature of the beast.”

While this is true, it is also true that most newspaper and news Web sites have abdicated all efforts at moderating the comments sections.  Racist and obscene comments that would have been thrown in the trash had they come in the form of a letter to the editor during the old days of hard-copy newspapers are now posted immediately following any given article, tacitly giving these abhorrent and sometimes literally crazy statements the same weight and validity of any other real, thoughtful, serious and constructive comment on the issue.

05/06/09 01:15 PM

To Mr. Parkinson - you are correct on much of this, however you should realize that much of the anti-Zionism is disguised anti-Semitism for the simple reason that Israel is held to a much higher standard than any other country.  the fact that you say you are ashamed of Israel’s war in southern Lebanon in 2006 or Gaza in 2008 and make no comment about Hezbollah or Hamas, who instigated both wars, is symptomatic of the problems.  I often comment back on these talk backs, but this is something we should all do. Thanks.