CAFI Newsletter #159
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CAFI Newsletter Newsletter #159 Friday, November 7, 2003=20
"In the Shadow of Death"
A dark journey of madness, brutality and the slaughter =
of the innocent, into the light of hope and heroism.
Sunday, November 9, 2003
at The Toronto Centre for the Arts.
Full info here. =20
=20
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-
On Hating the Jews
by Natan Sharansky - Commentary Magazine - November 2003=20
NO HATRED has as rich and as lethal a history as =
anti-Semitism--"the longest hatred," as the historian Robert Wistrich =
has dubbed it. Over the millennia, anti-Semitism has infected a =
multitude of peoples, religions, and civilizations, in the process =
inflicting a host of terrors on its Jewish victims. But while there is =
no disputing the impressive reach of the phenomenon, there is =
surprisingly little agreement about its cause or causes.=20
Indeed, finding a single cause would seem too daunting a task--the =
incidence of anti-Semitism is too frequent, the time span too broad, the =
locales too numerous, the circumstances too varied. No doubt that is why =
some scholars have come to regard every outbreak as essentially unique, =
denying that a straight line can be drawn from the anti-Semitism of the =
ancient world to that of today. Whether it is the attack on the Jews of =
Alexandria in 38 C.E. or the ones that took place 200 years earlier in =
ancient Jerusalem, whether it is the Dreyfus affair in 1890's France or =
Kristallnacht in late-1930's Germany--each incident is seen as the =
outcome of a distinctive mix of political, social, economic, cultural, =
and religious forces that preclude the possibility of a deeper or =
recurring cause.=20
A less extreme version of this same approach identifies certain =
patterns of anti-Semitism, but only within individual and discrete =
"eras." In particular, a distinction is drawn between the religiously =
based hatred of the Middle Ages and the racially based hatred of the =
modern era. Responsibility for the anti-Semitic waves that engulfed =
Europe from the age of Constantine to the dawn of the Enlightenment is =
laid largely at the foot of the Church and its offshoots, while the =
convulsions that erupted over the course of the next three centuries are =
viewed as the byproduct of the rise of virulent nationalism.=20
Obviously, separating out incidents or eras has its advantages, =
enabling researchers to focus more intensively on specific circumstances =
and to examine individual outbreaks from start to finish. But what such =
analyses may gain in local explanatory power they sacrifice in =
comprehensiveness. Besides, if every incident or era of anti-Semitism is =
largely distinct from every other, how to explain the cumulative =
ferocity of the phenomenon?=20
As if in response to this question, some scholars have attempted =
to offer more sweeping, trans-historical explanations. Perhaps the two =
best known are the "scapegoat" theory, according to which tensions =
within society are regulated and released by blaming a weaker group, =
often the Jews, for whatever is troubling the majority, and the =
"demonization" theory, according to which Jews have been cast into the =
role of the "other" by the seemingly perennial need to reject those who =
are ethnically, religiously, or racially different.=20
Clearly, in this sociological approach, anti-Semitism emerges as a =
Jewish phenomenon in name only. Rather, it is but one variant in a =
family of hatreds that include racism and xenophobia. Thus, the =
specifically anti-Jewish violence in Russia at the turn of the 20th =
century, has as much in common with the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia at =
the turn of the 21st as it does with the massacres of Jews in the =
Ukraine in the mid-1600's. Taken to its logical conclusion, this theory, =
would redefine the Holocaust--at the hands of some scholars, it has =
redefined the Holocaust--as humanity's most destructive act of racism =
rather than as the most murderous campaign ever directed against the =
Jews.=20
Reacting to such universalizing tendencies a half-century ago, =
Hannah Arendt cited a piece of dialogue from "a joke which was told =
after the first World War":=20
An anti-Semite claimed that the Jews had caused the war; the reply =
was: Yes, the Jews and the bicyclists. Why the bicyclists? asks the one. =
Why the Jews? asks the other.=20
George Orwell offered a similar observation in 1944: "However tree =
the scapegoat theory may be in general terms, it does not explain why =
the Jews rather than some other minority group are picked on, nor does =
it make clear what they are the scapegoat for."=20
WHATEVER THE shortcomings of these approaches may be, I have to =
admit that nay own track record as a theorist is no better.=20
Three decades ago, as a young dissident in the Soviet Union, I =
compiled underground reports on anti-Semitism for foreign journalists =
and Western diplomats. At the time, I firmly believed that the cause of =
the "disease" was totalitarianism, and that democracy was the way to =
cure it. Once the Soviet regime came to be replaced by democratic rule, =
I figured, anti-Semitism was bound to wither away. In the struggle =
toward that goal, the free world, which in the aftermath of the =
Holocaust appeared to have inoculated itself against a recurrence of =
murderous anti-Jewish hatred, was our natural ally, the one political =
entity with both the means and the will to combat the great evil.=20
Today I know better. This year, following publication of a report =
by an Israeli government forum charged with addressing the issue of =
anti-Semitism, I invited to my office the ambassadors of the two =
countries that have outpaced all others in the frequency and intensity =
of anti-Jewish attacks within their borders. The emissaries were from =
France and Belgium--two mature democracies in the heart of Western =
Europe. It was in these ostensible bastions of enlightenment and =
tolerance that Jewish cemeteries were being desecrated, children =
assaulted, synagogues scorched.=20
To be sure, the anti-Semitism now pervasive in Western Europe is =
very different from the anti-Semitism I encountered a generation ago in =
the Soviet Union. In the latter, it was nurtured by systematic, =
government-imposed discrimination against Jews. In the former, it has =
largely been condemned and opposed by governments (though far less =
vigilantly than it should be). But this only makes anti-Semitism in the =
democracies more disturbing, shattering the illusion--which was hardly =
mine alone--that representative governance is an infallible antidote to =
active hatred of Jews.=20
Another shattered illusion is even more pertinent to our search. =
Shocked by the visceral anti-Semitism he witnessed at the Dreyfus trial =
in supposedly enlightened France, Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern =
Zionism, became convinced that the primary cause of anti-Semitism was =
the anomalous condition of the Jews: a people without a polity of its =
own. In his seminal work, The Jewish State (1896), published two years =
after the trial, Herzl envisioned the creation of such a Jewish polity =
and predicted that a mass emigration to it of European Jews would spell =
the end of anti-Semitism. Although his seemingly utopian political =
treatise would turn out to be one of the 20th century's most prescient =
books, on this point history has not been kind to Herzl; no one would =
seriously argue today that anti-Semitism came to a halt with the =
founding of the state of Israel. To the contrary, this particular =
illusion has come full circle: while Herzl and most Zionists after him =
believed that the emergence of a Jewish state would end anti-Semitism, =
an increasing number of people today, including some Jews, are convinced =
that anti-Semitism will end only with the disappearance of the Jewish =
state.=20
I first encountered this idea quite a long time ago, in the Soviet =
Union. In the period before, during, and after the Six-Day war of June =
1967--a time when I and many others were experiencing a heady =
reawakening of our Jewish identity--the Soviet press was filled with =
scathing attacks on Israel and Zionism, and a wave of official =
anti-Semitism was unleashed to accompany them. To quite a few Soviet =
Jews who had been trying their best to melt into Soviet life, Israel =
suddenly became a jarring reminder of their true status in the "workers' =
paradise": trapped in a world where they were free neither to live =
openly as Jews nor to escape the stigma of their Jewishness. To these =
Jews, Israel came to seem part of the problem, not (as it was for me and =
others) part of the solution. Expressing what was no doubt a shared =
sentiment, a distant relative of mine quipped: "If only Israel didn't =
exist, everything would be all right."=20
In the decades since, and especially over the last three years, =
the notion that Israel is one of the primary causes of anti-Semitism, if =
not the primary cause, has gained much wider currency. The world, we are =
told by friend and foe alike, increasingly hates Jews because it =
increasingly hates Israel. Surely this is what the Belgian ambassador =
had in mind when he informed me during his visit that anti-Semitism in =
his country would cease once Belgians no longer had to watch pictures on =
television of Israeli Jews oppressing Palestinian Arabs.=20
OBVIOUSLY THE state of Israel cannot be the cause of a phenomenon =
that predates it by over 2,000 years. But might it be properly regarded =
as the cause of contemporary anti-Semitism? What is certain is that, =
everywhere one looks, the Jewish state does appear to be at the center =
of the anti-Semitic storm--and nowhere more so, of course, than in the =
Middle East.=20
The rise in viciously anti-Semitic content disseminated through =
state-run Arab media is quite staggering, and has been thoroughly =
documented. Arab propagandists, journalists, and scholars now regularly =
employ the methods and the vocabulary used to demonize European Jews for =
centuries--calling Jews Christ-killers, charging them with poisoning =
non-Jews, fabricating blood libels, and the like. In a region where the =
Christian faith has few adherents, a lurid and time-worn Christian =
anti-Semitism boasts an enormous following.=20
To take only one example: this past February, the Egyptian =
government, formally at peace with Israel, saw fit to broadcast on its =
state-run television a 41-part series based on the infamous Czarist =
forgery about a global Jewish conspiracy to dominate humanity, the =
Protocols of the Elders of Zion. To ensure the highest ratings, the show =
was first aired, in prime time, just as millions of families were =
breaking their traditional Ramadan fast; Arab satellite television then =
rebroadcast the series to tens of millions more throughout the Middle =
East.=20
In Europe, the connection between Israel and anti-Semitism is =
equally conspicuous. For one thing, the timing and nature of the attacks =
on European Jews, whether physical or verbal, have all revolved around =
Israel, and the anti-Semitic wave itself, which began soon after the =
Palestinians launched their terrorist campaign against the Jewish state =
in September 2000, reached a peak (so far) when Israel initiated =
Operation Defensive Shield at the end of March 2002, a month in which =
125 Israelis had been killed by terrorists.=20
Though most of the physical attacks in Europe were perpetrated by =
Muslims, most of the verbal and cultural assaults came from European =
elites. Thus, the Italian newspaper La Stampa published a cartoon of an =
infant Jesus lying at the foot of an Israeli tank, pleading, "Don't tell =
me they want to kill me again." The frequent comparisons of Ariel Sharon =
to Adolf Hitler, of Israelis to Nazis, and of Palestinians to the Jewish =
victims of the Holocaust were not the work of hooligans spray-painting =
graffiti on the wall of a synagogue but of university educators and =
sophisticated columnists. As the Nobel Prize-winning author Jose =
Saramago declared of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians: "We can =
compare it with what happened at Auschwitz."=20
The centrality of Israel to the revival of a more generalized =
anti-Semitism is also evident in the international arena. Almost a year =
after the current round of Palestinian violence began, and after =
hundreds of Israelis had already been killed in buses, discos, and =
pizzerias, a so-called "World Conference against Racism" was held under =
the auspices of the United Nations in Durban, South Africa. It turned =
into an anti-Semitic circus, with the Jewish state being accused of =
everything from racism and apartheid to crimes against humanity and =
genocide. In this theater of the absurd, the Jews themselves were turned =
into perpetrators of anti-Semitism, as Israel was denounced for its =
"Zionist practices against Semitism"--the Semitism, that is to say, of =
the Palestinian Arabs.=20
Naturally, then, in searching for the "root cause" of =
anti-Semitism, the Jewish state would appear to be the prime suspect. =
But Israel, it should be clear, is not guilty. The Jewish state is no =
more the cause of anti-Semitism today than the absence of a Jewish state =
was its cause a century ago.=20
To see why, we must first appreciate that the always specious line =
between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism has now become completely =
blurred: Israel has effectively become the world's Jew. From Middle =
Eastern mosques, the bloodcurdling cry is not "Death to the Israelis," =
but "Death to the Jews." In more civilized circles, a columnist for the =
London Observer proudly announces that he does not read published =
letters in support of Israel that are signed by Jews. (That the =
complaints commission for the British press found nothing amiss in this =
statement only goes to show how far things have changed since Orwell =
wrote of Britain in 1945 that "it is not at present possible, indeed, =
that anti-Semitism should become respectable.") When discussion at =
fashionable European dinner parties turns to the Middle East, the air, =
we have been reliably informed, turns blue with old-fashioned =
anti-Semitism.=20
No less revealing is what might be called the mechanics of the =
discussion. For centuries, a clear sign of the anti-Semitic impulse at =
work has been the use of the double standard: social behavior that in =
others passes without comment or with the mildest questioning becomes, =
when exhibited by Jews, a pretext for wholesale group denunciation. Such =
double standards are applied just as recklessly today to the Jewish =
state. It is democratic Israel, not any of the dozens of tyrannies =
represented in the United Nations General Assembly, that that body =
singles out for condemnation in over two dozen resolutions each year; it =
is against Israel--not Cuba, North Korea, China, or Iran--that the UN =
human-rights commission, chaired recently by a lily-pure Libya, directs =
nearly a third of its official ire; it is Israel whose alleged =
misbehavior provoked the only joint session ever held by the signatories =
to the Geneva Convention; it is Israel, alone among nations, that has =
lately been targeted by Western campaigns of divestment; it is Israel's =
Magen David Adorn, alone among ambulance services in the world, that is =
denied membership in the International Red Cross; it is Israeli =
scholars, alone among academics in the world, who are denied grants and =
prevented from publishing articles in prestigious journals. The list =
goes on and on.=20
The idea that Israel has become the world's Jew and that =
anti-Zionism is a substitute for anti-Semitism is certainly not new. =
Years ago, Norman Podhoretz observed that the Jewish state "has become =
the touchstone of attitudes toward the Jewish people, and anti-Zionism =
has become the most relevant form of anti-Semitism." And well before =
that, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was even more unequivocal:=20
You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are =
merely "anti-Zionist." And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high =
mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God's green earth; =
when people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews--this is God's own truth.
But if Israel is indeed nothing more than the world's Jew, then to =
say that the world increasingly hates Jews because the world =
increasingly hates Israel means as much, or as little, as saying that =
the world hates Jews because the world hates Jews. We still need to =
know: why?=20
THIS MAY be a good juncture to let the anti-Semites speak for =
themselves.=20
Here is the reasoning invoked by Haman, the infamous viceroy of =
Persia in the biblical book of Esther, to convince his king to order the =
annihilation of the Jews:=20
There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the =
people in all the provinces of your kingdom, and their laws are =
different from those of other peoples, and the king's laws they do not =
keep, so that it is of no benefit for the king to tolerate them. If it =
please the king, let it be written that they be destroyed. [emphasis =
added]
This is hardly the only ancient source pointing to the Jews' =
incorrigible separateness, or their rejection of the majority's customs =
and moral concepts, as the reason for hostility toward them. Centuries =
after Hellenistic values had spread throughout and beyond the =
Mediterranean, the Roman historian Tacitus had this to say:=20
Among the Jews, all things are profane that we hold sacred; on =
the other hand, they regard as permissible what seems to us immoral... =
The rest of the world they confront with the hatred reserved for =
enemies. They will not feed or intermarry with gentiles... They have =
introduced circumcision to show that they are different from others... =
It is a crime among them to kill any newly born infant.
Philostratus, a Greek writer who lived a century later, offered a =
similar analysis:=20
For the Jews have long been in revolt not only against the =
Romans, but against humanity; and a race that has made its own life =
apart and irreconcilable, that cannot share with the rest of mankind in =
the pleasures of the table, nor join in their libations or prayers or =
sacrifices, are separated from ourselves by a greater gulf than divides =
us from Sura or Bactra of the more distant Indies.
Did the Jews actually reject the values that were dominant in the =
ancient world, or was this simply a fantasy of their enemies? While many =
of the allegations leveled at Jews were spurious--they did not ritually =
slaughter non-Jews, as the Greek writer Apion claimed--some were =
obviously based on true facts. The Jews did oppose intermarriage. They =
did refuse to sacrifice to foreign gods. And they did emphatically =
consider killing a newborn infant to be a crime.=20
Some, perhaps many, individual Jews in those days opted to join =
the (alluring) Hellenist stream; most did not. Even more important, the =
Jews were the only people seriously to challenge the moral system of the =
Greeks. They were not an "other" in the ancient world; they were the =
"other"--an other, moreover, steadfast in the conviction that Judaism =
represented not only a different way of life but, in a word, the truth. =
Jewish tradition claims that Abraham was chosen as the patriarch of what =
was to become the Jewish nation only after he had smashed the idols in =
his father's home. His descendants would continue to defy the pagan =
world around them, championing the idea of the one God and, unlike other =
peoples of antiquity, refusing to subordinate their beliefs to those of =
their conquerors.=20
THE (BY and large correct) perception of the Jews rejecting the =
prevailing value system of the ancient world hardly justifies the =
anti-Semitism directed against them; but it does take anti-Semitism out =
of the realm of fantasy, turning it into a genuine dash of ideals and of =
values. With the arrival of Christianity on the world stage, that same =
dash, based once again on the charge of Jewish rejectionism, would =
intensify a thousandfold. The refusal of the people of the "old =
covenant" to accept the new came to be defined as a threat to the very =
legitimacy of Christianity, and one that required a mobilized response.=20
Branding the Jews "Christ killers" and "sons of devils," the =
Church launched a systematic campaign to denigrate Christianity's parent =
religion and its adherents. Accusations of desecrating the host, ritual =
murder, and poisoning wells would be added over the centuries, creating =
an ever larger powder keg of hatred. With the growing power of the =
Church and the global spread of Christianity, these potentially =
explosive sentiments were carried to the far corners of the world, =
bringing anti-Semitism to places where no Jewish foot had ever trod.=20
According to some Christian thinkers, persecution of the powerless =
Jews was justified as a kind of divine payback for the Jewish rejection =
of Jesus. This heavenly stamp of approval would be invoked many times =
through the centuries, especially by those who had tried and failed to =
convince the Jews to acknowledge the superior truth of Christianity. The =
most famous case may be that of Martin Luther: at first extremely =
friendly toward Jews--as a young man he had complained about their =
mistreatment by the Church--Luther turned into one of their bitterest =
enemies as soon as he realized that his efforts to woo them to his new =
form of Christianity would never bear fruit.=20
Nor was this pattern unique to the Christian religion. Muhammad, =
too, had hoped to attract the Jewish communities of Arabia, and to this =
end he initially incorporated elements of Judaism into his new faith =
(directing prayer toward Jerusalem, fasting on Yore Kippur, and the =
like). When, however, the Jews refused to accept his code of law, =
Muhammad wheeled upon them with a vengeance, cursing them in words =
strikingly reminiscent of the early Church fathers: "Humiliation and =
wretchedness were stamped upon them, and they were visited with the =
wrath of Allah. That was because they disbelieved in Allah's revelation =
and slew the prophets wrongfully."=20
IN THESE cases, too, we might ask whether the perception of Jewish =
rejectionism was accurate. Of course the Jews did not drain the blood of =
children, poison wells, attempt to mutilate the body of Christ, or =
commit any of the other wild crimes of which the Church accused them. =
Moreover, since many teachings of Christianity and Islam stemmed =
directly from Jewish ones, Jews could hardly be said to have denied =
them. But if rejecting the Christian or Islamic world meant rejecting =
the Christian or Islamic creed, then Jews who clung to their own =
separate faith and way of life were, certainly, rejectionist.=20
This brings us to an apparent point of difference between =
pre-modern and modern anti-Semitism. For many Jews over the course of =
two millennia, there was, in theory at least, a way out of =
institutionalized discrimination and persecution: the Greco-Roman, =
Christian, and Muslim worlds were only too happy to embrace converts to =
their way of life. In the modern era, this choice often proved illusory. =
Both assimilated and non-assimilated Jews, both religious and secular =
Jews, were equally victimized by pogroms, persecutions, and genocide. In =
fact, the terrors directed at the assimilated Jews of Western Europe =
have led some to conclude that far from ending anti-Semitism, =
assimilation actually contributed to arousing it.=20
What accounts for this? In the pre-modern world, Jews and Gentiles =
were largely in agreement as to what defined Jewish rejectionism, and =
therefore what would constitute a reprieve from it: it was mostly a =
matter of beliefs and moral concepts, and of the social behavior that =
flowed from them. In the modern world, although the question of whether =
a Jew ate the food or worshiped the God of his neighbors remained =
relevant, it was less relevant than before. Instead, the modern Jew was =
seen as being born into a Jewish nation or race whose collective values =
were deeply embedded in the very fabric of his being. Assimilation, with =
or without conversion to the majority faith, might succeed in masking =
this bedrock taint; it could not expunge it.=20
While such views were not entirely absent in earlier periods, the =
burden of proof faced by the modern Jew to convince others that he could =
transcend his "Jewishness" was much greater than the one faced by his =
forebears. Despite the increasing secularism and openness of European =
society, which should have smoothed the prospects of assimilation, many =
modern Jews would find it more difficult to become real Frenchmen or =
true Germans than their ancestors would have found it to become Greeks =
or Romans, Christians or Muslims.=20
The novelty of modern anti-Semitism is thus not that the Jews were =
seen as the enemies of mankind. Indeed, Hitler's observation in Mein =
Kampf that "wherever I went, I began to see Jews, and the more I saw, =
the more sharply they became distinguished in my eyes from the rest of =
humanity" sounds no different from the one penned by Philostratus 1,700 =
years earlier. No, the novelty of modern anti-Semitism is only that it =
was far more difficult--and sometimes impossible--for the Jew to stop =
being an enemy of mankind.=20
ON CLOSER inspection, then, modern anti-Semitism begins to look =
quite continuous with pre-modern anti-Semitism, only worse. Modern Jews =
may not have believed they were rejecting the prevailing order around =
them, but that did not necessarily mean their enemies agreed with them. =
When it came to the Jews, indeed, European nationalism of the =
blood-and-soil variety only added another and even more murderous layer =
of hatred to the foundation built by age-old religious prejudice. Just =
as in the ancient world, the Jews in the modern world remained the =
other--inveterate rejectionists, no matter how separate, no matter how =
assimilated.=20
Was there any kernel of factual truth to this charge? It is =
demeaning to have to point out that, wherever and whenever they were =
given the chance, most modern Jews strove to become model citizens and =
showed, if anything, an exemplary talent for acculturation; the idea =
that by virtue of their birth, race, or religion they were implacable =
enemies of the state or nation was preposterous. So, too, with other =
modern libels directed against the Jews, which displayed about as much =
or as little truth content as ancient ones. The Jews did not and do not =
control the banks. They did not and do not control the media of =
communication. They did not and do not control governments, And they are =
not plotting to take over anything.=20
What some of them have indeed done, in various places and under =
specific circumstances, is to demonstrate--with an ardor and tenacity =
redolent perhaps of their long national experience--an attachment to =
great causes of one stripe or another, including, at times, the cause of =
their own people. This has had the effect (not everywhere, of course, =
but notably in highly stratified and/or intolerant societies) of putting =
them in a visibly adversary position to prevailing values or ideologies, =
and thereby awakening the never dormant dragon of anti-Semitism. =
Particularly instructive in this regard is the case of Soviet Jewry.=20
What makes the Soviet case instructive is, in no small measure, =
the fact that the professed purpose of Communism was to abolish all =
nations, peoples, and religions--those great engines of exclusion--on =
the road to the creation of a new world and a new man. As is well known, =
quite a few Jews, hoping to emancipate humanity and to "normalize" their =
own condition in the process, hitched their fates to this ideology and =
to the movements associated with it. After the Bolshevik revolution, =
these Jews proved to be among the most devoted servants of the Soviet =
regime.=20
Once again, however, the perception of ineradicable Jewish =
otherness proved as lethal as any reality. In the eyes of Stalin and his =
henchmen, the Jews, starting with the loyal Communists among them, were =
always suspect--"ideological immigrants," in the telling phrase. But the =
animosity went beyond Jewish Communists. The Soviet regime declared war =
on the over 100 nationalities and religions under its boot; whole =
peoples were deported, entire classes destroyed, millions starved to =
death, and tens of millions killed. Everybody suffered, not only Jews. =
But, decades later, long after Stalin's repression had given way to =
Khrushchev's "thaw," only one national language, Hebrew, was still =
banned in the Soviet Union; only one group, the Jews, was not permitted =
to establish schools for its children; only in the case of one group, =
the Jews, did the term "fifth line," referring to the space reserved for =
nationality on a Soviet citizen's identification papers, become a code =
for licensed discrimination.=20
Clearly, then, Jews were suspect in the Soviet Union as were no =
other group. Try as they might to conform, it mined out that joining the =
,mainstream of humanity through the medium of the great socialist cause =
in the East was no easier than joining the nation-state in the West. But =
that is not the whole story, either. To scant the rest of it is not only =
to do an injustice to Soviet Jews as historical actors in their own =
right but to miss something essential about anti-Semitism, which, even =
as it operates in accordance with its own twisted definitions and its =
own mad logic, proceeds almost always by reference to some genuine =
quality in its chosen victims.=20
As it happens, although Jews were disproportionately represented =
in the ranks of the early Bolsheviks, the majority of Russian Jews were =
far from being Bolsheviks, or even Bolshevik sympathizers. More =
importantly, Jews would also, in time, come to play a disproportionate =
role in Communism's demise. In the middle of the 1960's, by which time =
their overall share of the country's population had dwindled =
dramatically, Soviet Jews made up a significant element in the =
"democratic opposition." A visitor to the Gulag in those years would =
have discovered that Jews were also prominent among political dissidents =
and those convicted of so-called "economic crimes." Even more revealing, =
in the 1970's the Jews were the first to challenge the Soviet regime as =
a national group, and to do so publicly, en masse, with tens of =
thousands openly demanding to leave the totalitarian state.=20
To that degree, then, the claim of Soviet anti-Semites that =
"Jewish thoughts" and "Jewish values" were in opposition to prevailing =
norms was not entirely unfounded. And, to that degree, Soviet =
anti-Semitism partook of the essential characteristic of all =
anti-Semitism. This hardly makes its expression any the less monstrous; =
it merely, once again, takes it out of the realm of fantasy.=20
AND SO we arrive back at today, and at the hatred that takes as =
its focus the state of Israel. That state--the world's Jew--has the =
distinction of challenging two separate political/moral orders =
simultaneously: the order of the Arab and Muslim Middle East, and the =
order that prevails in Western Europe. The Middle Eastern case is the =
easier to grasp; the Western European one may be the more ominous.=20
The values ascendant in today's Middle East are shaped by two =
forces: Islamic fundamentalism and state authoritarianism. In the eyes =
of the former, any non-Muslim sovereign power in the region--for that =
matter, any secular Muslim power--is anathema. Particularly galling is =
Jewish sovereignty in an area delineated as dar al-Islam, the realm =
where Islam is destined to enjoy exclusive dominance. Such a violation =
cannot be compromised with; nothing will suffice but its extirpation.=20
In the eyes of the secular Arab regimes, the Jews of Israel are =
similarly an affront, but not so much on theological grounds as on =
account of the society they have built: flee, productive, democratic, a =
living rebuke to the corrupt, autocratic regimes surrounding it. In =
short, the Jewish state is the ultimate freedom fighter--an embodiment =
of the subversive liberties that threaten Islamic civilization and =
autocratic Arab rule alike. It is for this reason that, in the =
state-controlled Arab media as in the mosques, Jews have been turned =
into a symbol of all that is menacing in the democratic, materialist =
West as a whole, and are confidently reputed to be the insidious force =
manipulating the United States into a confrontation with Islam.=20
The particular dynamic of anti-Semitism in the Middle East orbit =
today may help explain why--unlike, as we shall see, in Europe--there =
was no drop in the level of anti-Jewish incitement in the region after =
the inception of the Oslo peace process. Quite the contrary. Mad the =
reason is plain: to the degree that Oslo were to have succeeded in =
bringing about a real reconciliation with Israel or in facilitating the =
spread of political freedom, to that degree it would have frustrated the =
overarching aim of eradicating the Jewish "evil" from the heart of the =
Middle East and/or preserving the autocratic power of the Arab regimes.=20
And so, while in the 1990's the democratic world, including the =
democratic society of Israel, was (deludedly, as it turned out) =
celebrating the promise of a new dawn in the Middle East, the schools in =
Gaza, the textbooks in Ramallah, the newspapers in Egypt, and the =
television channels in Saudi Arabia were projecting a truer picture of =
the state of feeling in the Arab world. It should come as no surprise =
that, in Egypt, pirated copies of Shimon Peres's A New Middle East, a =
book heralding a messianic era of free markets and free ideas, were =
printed with an introduction in Arabic claiming that what this bible of =
Middle East peacemaking proved was the veracity of everything written in =
file Protocols of the Elders of Zion about a Jewish plot to rule the =
world.=20
As for Western Europe, there the reputation of Israel and of the =
Jews has undergone a number of ups and downs over the decades. Before =
1967, the shadow of the Holocaust and the perception of Israel as a =
small state struggling for its existence in the face of Arab aggression =
combined to ensure, if not the favor of the European political classes, =
at least a certain dispensation from harsh criticism. But all this =
changed in June 1967, when the truncated Jewish state achieved a =
seemingly miraculous victory against its massed Arab enemies in the =
Six-Day war, and the erstwhile victim was overnight transformed into an =
aggressor. A possibly apocryphal story about Jean-Paul Sartre =
encapsulates the shift in the European mood. Before the war, as Israel =
lay diplomatically isolated and Arab leaders were already trumpeting its =
certain demise, the famous French philosopher signed a statement in =
support of the Jewish state. After the war, he reproached the man who =
had solicited his signature: "But you assured me they would lose."=20
Decades before "occupation" became a household word, the mood in =
European chancelleries and on the Left turned decidedly hostile. There =
were, to be sure, venal interests at stake, from the perceived need to =
curry favor with the oil-producing nations of the Arab world to, in =
later years, the perceived need to pander to the growing Muslim =
populations in Western Europe itself. But other currents were also at =
work, as anti-Western, anti-"imperialist," pacifist, and =
pro-liberationist sentiments, fanned and often subsidized by the USSR, =
took over the advanced political culture both of Europe and of =
international diplomacy. Behind the new hostility to Israel lay the new =
ideological orthodoxy, according to whose categories the Jewish state =
had emerged on the world scene as a certified "colonial" and =
"imperialist" power, a "hegemon," and an "oppressor."=20
Before 1967, anti-Zionist resolutions sponsored by the Arabs and =
their Soviet patrons in the United Nations garnered little or no support =
among the democracies. After 1967, more and more Western countries =
joined the chorus of castigation. By 1974, Yasir Arafat, whose =
organization openly embraced both terrorism and the destruction of a UN =
member state, was invited to address the General Assembly. The next =
year, that same body passed the infamous "Zionism-is-racism" resolution. =
In 1981, Israel's strike against Iraq's nuclear reactor was condemned by =
the entire world, including the United States.=20
Then, in the 1990's, things began to change again. Despite the =
constant flow of biased UN resolutions, despite the continuing double =
standard, there were a number of positive developments as well: the =
Zionism-is-racism resolution was repealed, and over 65 member states =
either established or renewed diplomatic relations with Israel.=20
What had happened? Had Arab oil dried up? Had Muslims suddenly =
become a less potent political force on the European continent? Hardly. =
What changed was that, at Madrid and then at Oslo, Israel had agreed, =
first reluctantly and later with self-induced optimism, to conform to =
the ascendant ethos of international politics. Extending its hand to a =
terrorist organization still committed to its destruction, Israel agreed =
to the establishment of a dictatorial mad repressive regime on its very =
doorstep, sustaining its commitment to the so-called peace process no =
matter how many innocent Jews were killed and wounded in its fraudulent =
name.=20
The rewards for thus conforming to the template of the world's =
moralizers, cosmetic and temporary though they proved to be, flowed =
predictably not just to Israel but to the Jewish people as a whole. Sure =
enough, worldwide indices of anti-Semitism in the 1990's dropped to =
their lowest point since the Holocaust. As the world's Jews benefited =
from the increasing tolerance extended to the world's Jew, Western =
organizations devoted to fighting the anti-Semitic scourge began =
cautiously to declare victory and to refocus their efforts on other =
parts of the Jewish communal agenda.=20
But of course it would not last. In the summer of 2000, at Camp =
David, Elrod Barak offered the Palestinians nearly everything their =
leadership was thought to be demanding. The offer was summarily =
rejected, Arafat started his '"uprising," Israel undertook to defend =
itself--and Europe ceased to applaud. For many Jews at the time, this =
seemed utterly incomprehensible: had not Israel taken every last step =
for peace? But it was all too comprehensible. Europe was staying true to =
form; it was the world's Jew, by refusing to accept its share of blame =
for the "cycle of violence," that was out of line. And so were the =
world's Jews, who by definition, and whether they supported Israel or =
not, came rapidly to be associated with the Jewish state in its =
effrontery.=20
TO AMERICANS, the process I have been describing may sound eerily =
familiar. It should: Americans, too, have had numerous opportunities to =
see their nation in the dock of world opinion over recent years for the =
crime of rejecting the values of the so-called international community, =
and never more so than during the widespread hysteria that greeted =
President Bush's announced plan to dismantle the tyrannical regime of =
Saddam Hussein. In dozens of countries, protesters streamed into the =
streets to voice their fury at this refusal of the United States to =
conform to what "everybody" knew to be required of it. To judge from the =
placards on display at these rallies, President Bush, the leader of the =
free world, was a worse enemy of mankind than the butcher of Baghdad.=20
At first glance, this too must have seemed incomprehensible. =
Saddam Hussein was one of the world's most brutal dictators, a man who =
had gassed his own citizens, invaded his neighbors, defied Security =
Council resolutions, and was widely believed to possess weapons of mass =
destruction. But no matter: the protests were less about Iraqi virtue =
than about American vice, and the grievances aired by the assorted =
anti-capitalists, anti-globalists, radical environmentalists, =
self-styled anti-imperialists, and many others who assembled to decry =
the war had little to do with the possible drawbacks of a military =
operation in Iraq. They had to do, rather, with a genuine clash of =
values.=20
Insofar as the clash is between the United States and =
Europe--there is a large "European" body of opinion within the United =
States as well--it has been well diagnosed by Robert Kagan in his =
best-selling book, Of Paradise and Power. For our purposes, it is =
sufficient to remark on how quickly the initial "why-do-they-hate-us" =
debate in the wake of September 11, focusing on anti-American sentiment =
in the Muslim world, came to be overtaken by a "why-do-they-hate-us" =
debate centered on anti-American sentiment in "Old Europe." Generally, =
the two hatreds have been seen to emanate from divergent impulses, in =
the one case a perception of the threat posed by Western freedoms to =
Islamic civilization, in the other a perception of the threat posed by a =
self-confident and powerful America to the postmodern European idea of a =
world regulated not by force but by reason, compromise, and =
nonjudgmentalism. In today's Europe--professedly pacifist, =
postnationalist, anti-hegemonic--an expression like "axis of evil" wins =
few friends, and the idea of actually confronting the axis of evil still =
fewer.=20
Despite the differences between them, however, anti-Americanism in =
the Islamic world and anti-Americanism in Europe are in fact linked, and =
both bear an uncanny resemblance to anti-Semitism. It is, after all, =
with some reason that the United States is loathed and feared by the =
despots and fundamentalists of the Islamic world as well as by many =
Europeans. Like Israel, but in a much more powerful way, America =
embodies a different--a nonconforming--idea of the good, and refuses to =
abandon its moral clarity about the objective worth of that idea or of =
the free habits and institutions to which it has given birth. To the =
contrary, in undertaking their war against the evil of terrorism, the =
American people have demonstrated their determination not only to fight =
to preserve the blessings of liberty for themselves and their posterity, =
but to carry them to regions of the world that have proved most =
resistant to their benign influence.=20
IN THIS, positive sense as well, Israel and the Jewish people =
share something essential with the United States. The Jews, after all, =
have long held that they were chosen to play a special role in history, =
to be what their prophets called "a light unto the nations." What =
precisely is meant by that phrase has always been a matter of debate, =
and I would be the last to deny the mischief that has sometimes been =
done, including to the best interests of the Jews, by some who have =
raised it as their banner. Nevertheless, over four millennia, the =
universal vision and moral precepts of the Jews have not only worked to =
secure the survival of the Jewish people themselves but have constituted =
a powerful force for good in the world, inspiring myriads to fight for =
the right even as in others they have aroused rivalry, enmity, and =
unappeasable resentment.=20
It is similar with the United States--a nation that has long =
regarded itself as entrusted with a mission to be what John Winthrop in =
the 17th century called a "city on a hill" and Ronald Reagan in the 20th =
parsed as a "shining city on a hill." What precisely is meant by that =
phrase is likewise a matter of debate, but Americans who see their =
country in such terms certainly regard the advance of American values as =
central to American purpose. And, though the United States is still a =
very young nation, there can be no disputing that those values have =
likewise constituted an immense force for good in the world--even as =
they have earned America the enmity and resentment of many.=20
In resolving to face down enmity and hatred, an important source =
of strength is the lesson to be gained from contemplating the example of =
others. From Socrates to Churchill to Sakharov, there have been =
individuals whose voices and whose personal heroism have reinforced in =
others the resolve to stand firm for the good. But history has also been =
generous enough to offer, in the Jews, the example of an ancient people =
fired by the message of human freedom under God and, in the Americans, =
the example of a modern people who over the past century alone, acting =
in fidelity with their inmost beliefs, have confronted and defeated the =
greatest tyrannies ever known to man.=20
Fortunately for America, and fortunately for the world, the United =
States has been blessed by providence with the power to match its =
ideals. The Jewish state, by contrast, is a tiny island in an =
exceedingly dangerous sea, and its citizens will need every particle of =
strength they can muster for the trials ahead. It is their own people's =
astounding perseverance, despite centuries of suffering at the hands of =
faiths, ideologies, peoples, and individuals who have hated them and set =
out to do them in, that inspires one with confidence that the Jews will =
once again outlast their enemies.=20
Natan Sharansky, the former Soviet dissident and political =
prisoner, now serves in the government of Israel as minister for =
Jerusalem and Diaspora affairs. This article draws in part on ideas =
presented at a conference on anti-Semitism in Paris in May and at the =
World Forum of the American Enterprise Institute in June. Mr. Sharansky =
thanks Ron Dermer for help in developing the arguments and in preparing =
the manuscript.
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<TD vAlign=3Dtop><B><FONT color=3D#800000>Newsletter #159=20
Friday, November 7, 2003</FONT></B>=20
<P>
<CENTER>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D2 cellPadding=3D2 width=3D500 =
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<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD align=3Dmiddle><STRONG><FONT size=3D+1>"In the =
Shadow of=20
Death"</FONT><BR><FONT size=3D-1>A dark journey of =
madness,=20
brutality and the slaughter of the innocent, into the =
light of=20
hope and heroism.<BR><FONT color=3D#800000>Sunday, =
November 9,=20
2003</FONT><BR>at The Toronto Centre for the =
Arts.<BR><A=20
=
href=3D"http://christianactionforisrael.org/shadow.html"><FONT=20
size=3D+1>Full info =
here.</FONT></A></FONT></STRONG></TD>
<TD><A=20
=
href=3D"http://christianactionforisrael.org/shadow.html"><IMG=20
height=3D136 alt=3D""=20
=
src=3D"cid:000f01c3a561$07919ce0$2ad02b18@hnsn.phub.net.cable.rogers.com"=
=20
width=3D200 border=3D0 In the Shadow of=20
=
Death??></A></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>=
<HR>
<H1>On Hating the Jews</H1>by Natan Sharansky - Commentary =
Magazine -=20
November 2003=20
<P><FONT color=3D#800000 size=3D+2>N</FONT><B>O HATRED</B> has as =
rich and as=20
lethal a history as anti-Semitism--"the longest hatred," as the =
historian=20
Robert Wistrich has dubbed it. Over the millennia, anti-Semitism =
has=20
infected a multitude of peoples, religions, and civilizations, in =
the=20
process inflicting a host of terrors on its Jewish victims. But =
while=20
there is no disputing the impressive reach of the phenomenon, =
there is=20
surprisingly little agreement about its cause or causes.=20
<P>Indeed, finding a single cause would seem too daunting a =
task--the=20
incidence of anti-Semitism is too frequent, the time span too =
broad, the=20
locales too numerous, the circumstances too varied. No doubt that =
is why=20
some scholars have come to regard every outbreak as essentially =
unique,=20
denying that a straight line can be drawn from the anti-Semitism =
of the=20
ancient world to that of today. Whether it is the attack on the =
Jews of=20
Alexandria in 38 C.E. or the ones that took place 200 years =
earlier in=20
ancient Jerusalem, whether it is the Dreyfus affair in 1890's =
France or=20
Kristallnacht in late-1930's Germany--each incident is seen as the =
outcome=20
of a distinctive mix of political, social, economic, cultural, and =
religious forces that preclude the possibility of a deeper or =
recurring=20
cause.=20
<P>A less extreme version of this same approach identifies certain =
patterns of anti-Semitism, but only within individual and discrete =
"eras."=20
In particular, a distinction is drawn between the religiously =
based hatred=20
of the Middle Ages and the racially based hatred of the modern =
era.=20
Responsibility for the anti-Semitic waves that engulfed Europe =
from the=20
age of Constantine to the dawn of the Enlightenment is laid =
largely at the=20
foot of the Church and its offshoots, while the convulsions that =
erupted=20
over the course of the next three centuries are viewed as the =
byproduct of=20
the rise of virulent nationalism.=20
<P>Obviously, separating out incidents or eras has its advantages, =
enabling researchers to focus more intensively on specific =
circumstances=20
and to examine individual outbreaks from start to finish. But what =
such=20
analyses may gain in local explanatory power they sacrifice in=20
comprehensiveness. Besides, if every incident or era of =
anti-Semitism is=20
largely distinct from every other, how to explain the cumulative =
ferocity=20
of the phenomenon?=20
<P>As if in response to this question, some scholars have =
attempted to=20
offer more sweeping, trans-historical explanations. Perhaps the =
two best=20
known are the "scapegoat" theory, according to which tensions =
within=20
society are regulated and released by blaming a weaker group, =
often the=20
Jews, for whatever is troubling the majority, and the =
"demonization"=20
theory, according to which Jews have been cast into the role of =
the=20
"other" by the seemingly perennial need to reject those who are=20
ethnically, religiously, or racially different.=20
<P>Clearly, in this sociological approach, anti-Semitism emerges =
as a=20
Jewish phenomenon in name only. Rather, it is but one variant in a =
family=20
of hatreds that include racism and xenophobia. Thus, the =
specifically=20
anti-Jewish violence in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, =
has as=20
much in common with the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia at the turn of =
the 21st=20
as it does with the massacres of Jews in the Ukraine in the =
mid-1600's.=20
Taken to its logical conclusion, this theory, would redefine the=20
Holocaust--at the hands of some scholars, it has redefined the=20
Holocaust--as humanity's most destructive act of racism rather =
than as the=20
most murderous campaign ever directed against the Jews.=20
<P>Reacting to such universalizing tendencies a half-century ago, =
Hannah=20
Arendt cited a piece of dialogue from "a joke which was told after =
the=20
first World War":=20
<P>An anti-Semite claimed that the Jews had caused the war; the =
reply was:=20
Yes, the Jews and the bicyclists. Why the bicyclists? asks the =
one. Why=20
the Jews? asks the other.=20
<P>George Orwell offered a similar observation in 1944: "However =
tree the=20
scapegoat theory may be in general terms, it does not explain why =
the Jews=20
rather than some other minority group are picked on, nor does it =
make=20
clear what they are the scapegoat for."=20
<P><STRONG>WHATEVER THE</STRONG> shortcomings of these approaches =
may be,=20
I have to admit that nay own track record as a theorist is no =
better.=20
<P>Three decades ago, as a young dissident in the Soviet Union, I =
compiled=20
underground reports on anti-Semitism for foreign journalists and =
Western=20
diplomats. At the time, I firmly believed that the cause of the =
"disease"=20
was totalitarianism, and that democracy was the way to cure it. =
Once the=20
Soviet regime came to be replaced by democratic rule, I figured,=20
anti-Semitism was bound to wither away. In the struggle toward =
that goal,=20
the free world, which in the aftermath of the Holocaust appeared =
to have=20
inoculated itself against a recurrence of murderous anti-Jewish =
hatred,=20
was our natural ally, the one political entity with both the means =
and the=20
will to combat the great evil.=20
<P>Today I know better. This year, following publication of a =
report by an=20
Israeli government forum charged with addressing the issue of=20
anti-Semitism, I invited to my office the ambassadors of the two =
countries=20
that have outpaced all others in the frequency and intensity of=20
anti-Jewish attacks within their borders. The emissaries were from =
France=20
and Belgium--two mature democracies in the heart of Western =
Europe. It was=20
in these ostensible bastions of enlightenment and tolerance that =
Jewish=20
cemeteries were being desecrated, children assaulted, synagogues =
scorched.=20
<P>To be sure, the anti-Semitism now pervasive in Western Europe =
is very=20
different from the anti-Semitism I encountered a generation ago in =
the=20
Soviet Union. In the latter, it was nurtured by systematic,=20
government-imposed discrimination against Jews. In the former, it =
has=20
largely been condemned and opposed by governments (though far less =
vigilantly than it should be). But this only makes anti-Semitism =
in the=20
democracies more disturbing, shattering the illusion--which was =
hardly=20
mine alone--that representative governance is an infallible =
antidote to=20
active hatred of Jews.=20
<P>Another shattered illusion is even more pertinent to our =
search.=20
Shocked by the visceral anti-Semitism he witnessed at the Dreyfus =
trial in=20
supposedly enlightened France, Theodor Herzl, the founder of =
modern=20
Zionism, became convinced that the primary cause of anti-Semitism =
was the=20
anomalous condition of the Jews: a people without a polity of its =
own. In=20
his seminal work, The Jewish State (1896), published two years =
after the=20
trial, Herzl envisioned the creation of such a Jewish polity and =
predicted=20
that a mass emigration to it of European Jews would spell the end =
of=20
anti-Semitism. Although his seemingly utopian political treatise =
would=20
turn out to be one of the 20th century's most prescient books, on =
this=20
point history has not been kind to Herzl; no one would seriously =
argue=20
today that anti-Semitism came to a halt with the founding of the =
state of=20
Israel. To the contrary, this particular illusion has come full =
circle:=20
while Herzl and most Zionists after him believed that the =
emergence of a=20
Jewish state would end anti-Semitism, an increasing number of =
people=20
today, including some Jews, are convinced that anti-Semitism will =
end only=20
with the disappearance of the Jewish state.=20
<P>I first encountered this idea quite a long time ago, in the =
Soviet=20
Union. In the period before, during, and after the Six-Day war of =
June=20
1967--a time when I and many others were experiencing a heady =
reawakening=20
of our Jewish identity--the Soviet press was filled with scathing =
attacks=20
on Israel and Zionism, and a wave of official anti-Semitism was =
unleashed=20
to accompany them. To quite a few Soviet Jews who had been trying =
their=20
best to melt into Soviet life, Israel suddenly became a jarring =
reminder=20
of their true status in the "workers' paradise": trapped in a =
world where=20
they were free neither to live openly as Jews nor to escape the =
stigma of=20
their Jewishness. To these Jews, Israel came to seem part of the =
problem,=20
not (as it was for me and others) part of the solution. Expressing =
what=20
was no doubt a shared sentiment, a distant relative of mine =
quipped: "If=20
only Israel didn't exist, everything would be all right."=20
<P>In the decades since, and especially over the last three years, =
the=20
notion that Israel is one of the primary causes of anti-Semitism, =
if not=20
the primary cause, has gained much wider currency. The world, we =
are told=20
by friend and foe alike, increasingly hates Jews because it =
increasingly=20
hates Israel. Surely this is what the Belgian ambassador had in =
mind when=20
he informed me during his visit that anti-Semitism in his country =
would=20
cease once Belgians no longer had to watch pictures on television =
of=20
Israeli Jews oppressing Palestinian Arabs.=20
<P><STRONG>OBVIOUSLY THE</STRONG> state of Israel cannot be the =
cause of a=20
phenomenon that predates it by over 2,000 years. But might it be =
properly=20
regarded as the cause of contemporary anti-Semitism? What is =
certain is=20
that, everywhere one looks, the Jewish state does appear to be at =
the=20
center of the anti-Semitic storm--and nowhere more so, of course, =
than in=20
the Middle East.=20
<P>The rise in viciously anti-Semitic content disseminated through =
state-run Arab media is quite staggering, and has been thoroughly=20
documented. Arab propagandists, journalists, and scholars now =
regularly=20
employ the methods and the vocabulary used to demonize European =
Jews for=20
centuries--calling Jews Christ-killers, charging them with =
poisoning=20
non-Jews, fabricating blood libels, and the like. In a region =
where the=20
Christian faith has few adherents, a lurid and time-worn Christian =
anti-Semitism boasts an enormous following.=20
<P>To take only one example: this past February, the Egyptian =
government,=20
formally at peace with Israel, saw fit to broadcast on its =
state-run=20
television a 41-part series based on the infamous Czarist forgery =
about a=20
global Jewish conspiracy to dominate humanity, the Protocols of =
the Elders=20
of Zion. To ensure the highest ratings, the show was first aired, =
in prime=20
time, just as millions of families were breaking their traditional =
Ramadan=20
fast; Arab satellite television then rebroadcast the series to =
tens of=20
millions more throughout the Middle East.=20
<P>In Europe, the connection between Israel and anti-Semitism is =
equally=20
conspicuous. For one thing, the timing and nature of the attacks =
on=20
European Jews, whether physical or verbal, have all revolved =
around=20
Israel, and the anti-Semitic wave itself, which began soon after =
the=20
Palestinians launched their terrorist campaign against the Jewish =
state in=20
September 2000, reached a peak (so far) when Israel initiated =
Operation=20
Defensive Shield at the end of March 2002, a month in which 125 =
Israelis=20
had been killed by terrorists.=20
<P>Though most of the physical attacks in Europe were perpetrated =
by=20
Muslims, most of the verbal and cultural assaults came from =
European=20
elites. Thus, the Italian newspaper La Stampa published a cartoon =
of an=20
infant Jesus lying at the foot of an Israeli tank, pleading, =
"Don't tell=20
me they want to kill me again." The frequent comparisons of Ariel =
Sharon=20
to Adolf Hitler, of Israelis to Nazis, and of Palestinians to the =
Jewish=20
victims of the Holocaust were not the work of hooligans =
spray-painting=20
graffiti on the wall of a synagogue but of university educators =
and=20
sophisticated columnists. As the Nobel Prize-winning author Jose =
Saramago=20
declared of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians: "We can =
compare it=20
with what happened at Auschwitz."=20
<P>The centrality of Israel to the revival of a more generalized=20
anti-Semitism is also evident in the international arena. Almost a =
year=20
after the current round of Palestinian violence began, and after =
hundreds=20
of Israelis had already been killed in buses, discos, and =
pizzerias, a=20
so-called "World Conference against Racism" was held under the =
auspices of=20
the United Nations in Durban, South Africa. It turned into an =
anti-Semitic=20
circus, with the Jewish state being accused of everything from =
racism and=20
apartheid to crimes against humanity and genocide. In this theater =
of the=20
absurd, the Jews themselves were turned into perpetrators of=20
anti-Semitism, as Israel was denounced for its "Zionist practices =
against=20
Semitism"--the Semitism, that is to say, of the Palestinian Arabs. =
<P>Naturally, then, in searching for the "root cause" of =
anti-Semitism,=20
the Jewish state would appear to be the prime suspect. But Israel, =
it=20
should be clear, is not guilty. The Jewish state is no more the =
cause of=20
anti-Semitism today than the absence of a Jewish state was its =
cause a=20
century ago.=20
<P>To see why, we must first appreciate that the always specious =
line=20
between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism has now become completely =
blurred:=20
Israel has effectively become the world's Jew. From Middle Eastern =
mosques, the bloodcurdling cry is not "Death to the Israelis," but =
"Death=20
to the Jews." In more civilized circles, a columnist for the =
London=20
Observer proudly announces that he does not read published letters =
in=20
support of Israel that are signed by Jews. (That the complaints =
commission=20
for the British press found nothing amiss in this statement only =
goes to=20
show how far things have changed since Orwell wrote of Britain in =
1945=20
that "it is not at present possible, indeed, that anti-Semitism =
should=20
become respectable.") When discussion at fashionable European =
dinner=20
parties turns to the Middle East, the air, we have been reliably =
informed,=20
turns blue with old-fashioned anti-Semitism.=20
<P>No less revealing is what might be called the mechanics of the=20
discussion. For centuries, a clear sign of the anti-Semitic =
impulse at=20
work has been the use of the double standard: social behavior that =
in=20
others passes without comment or with the mildest questioning =
becomes,=20
when exhibited by Jews, a pretext for wholesale group =
denunciation. Such=20
double standards are applied just as recklessly today to the =
Jewish state.=20
It is democratic Israel, not any of the dozens of tyrannies =
represented in=20
the United Nations General Assembly, that that body singles out =
for=20
condemnation in over two dozen resolutions each year; it is =
against=20
Israel--not Cuba, North Korea, China, or Iran--that the UN =
human-rights=20
commission, chaired recently by a lily-pure Libya, directs nearly =
a third=20
of its official ire; it is Israel whose alleged misbehavior =
provoked the=20
only joint session ever held by the signatories to the Geneva =
Convention;=20
it is Israel, alone among nations, that has lately been targeted =
by=20
Western campaigns of divestment; it is Israel's Magen David Adorn, =
alone=20
among ambulance services in the world, that is denied membership =
in the=20
International Red Cross; it is Israeli scholars, alone among =
academics in=20
the world, who are denied grants and prevented from publishing =
articles in=20
prestigious journals. The list goes on and on.=20
<P>The idea that Israel has become the world's Jew and that =
anti-Zionism=20
is a substitute for anti-Semitism is certainly not new. Years ago, =
Norman=20
Podhoretz observed that the Jewish state "has become the =
touchstone of=20
attitudes toward the Jewish people, and anti-Zionism has become =
the most=20
relevant form of anti-Semitism." And well before that, Dr. Martin =
Luther=20
King, Jr. was even more unequivocal:=20
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the =
Jews,=20
you are merely "anti-Zionist." And I say, let the truth ring =
forth from=20
the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God's =
green=20
earth; when people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews--this is =
God's own=20
truth.</I></BLOCKQUOTE>But if Israel is indeed nothing more than =
the=20
world's Jew, then to say that the world increasingly hates Jews =
because=20
the world increasingly hates Israel means as much, or as little, =
as saying=20
that the world hates Jews because the world hates Jews. We still =
need to=20
know: why?=20
<P><STRONG>THIS MAY</STRONG> be a good juncture to let the =
anti-Semites=20
speak for themselves.=20
<P>Here is the reasoning invoked by Haman, the infamous viceroy of =
Persia=20
in the biblical book of Esther, to convince his king to order the=20
annihilation of the Jews:=20
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>There is a certain people scattered and dispersed =
among=20
the people in all the provinces of your kingdom, and their laws =
are=20
different from those of other peoples, and the king's laws they =
do not=20
keep, so that it is of no benefit for the king to tolerate them. =
If it=20
please the king, let it be written that they be destroyed. =
[emphasis=20
added]</I></BLOCKQUOTE>This is hardly the only ancient source =
pointing to=20
the Jews' incorrigible separateness, or their rejection of the =
majority's=20
customs and moral concepts, as the reason for hostility toward =
them.=20
Centuries after Hellenistic values had spread throughout and =
beyond the=20
Mediterranean, the Roman historian Tacitus had this to say:=20
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>Among the Jews, all things are profane that we hold =
sacred; on the other hand, they regard as permissible what seems =
to us=20
immoral... The rest of the world they confront with the hatred =
reserved=20
for enemies. They will not feed or intermarry with gentiles... =
They have=20
introduced circumcision to show that they are different from =
others...=20
It is a crime among them to kill any newly born=20
infant.</I></BLOCKQUOTE>Philostratus, a Greek writer who lived a =
century=20
later, offered a similar analysis:=20
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>For the Jews have long been in revolt not only =
against=20
the Romans, but against humanity; and a race that has made its =
own life=20
apart and irreconcilable, that cannot share with the rest of =
mankind in=20
the pleasures of the table, nor join in their libations or =
prayers or=20
sacrifices, are separated from ourselves by a greater gulf than =
divides=20
us from Sura or Bactra of the more distant =
Indies.</I></BLOCKQUOTE>Did the=20
Jews actually reject the values that were dominant in the ancient =
world,=20
or was this simply a fantasy of their enemies? While many of the=20
allegations leveled at Jews were spurious--they did not ritually =
slaughter=20
non-Jews, as the Greek writer Apion claimed--some were obviously =
based on=20
true facts. The Jews did oppose intermarriage. They did refuse to=20
sacrifice to foreign gods. And they did emphatically consider =
killing a=20
newborn infant to be a crime.=20
<P>Some, perhaps many, individual Jews in those days opted to join =
the=20
(alluring) Hellenist stream; most did not. Even more important, =
the Jews=20
were the only people seriously to challenge the moral system of =
the=20
Greeks. They were not an "other" in the ancient world; they were =
the=20
"other"--an other, moreover, steadfast in the conviction that =
Judaism=20
represented not only a different way of life but, in a word, the =
truth.=20
Jewish tradition claims that Abraham was chosen as the patriarch =
of what=20
was to become the Jewish nation only after he had smashed the =
idols in his=20
father's home. His descendants would continue to defy the pagan =
world=20
around them, championing the idea of the one God and, unlike other =
peoples=20
of antiquity, refusing to subordinate their beliefs to those of =
their=20
conquerors.=20
<P><STRONG>THE</STRONG> (BY and large correct) perception of the =
Jews=20
rejecting the prevailing value system of the ancient world hardly=20
justifies the anti-Semitism directed against them; but it does =
take=20
anti-Semitism out of the realm of fantasy, turning it into a =
genuine dash=20
of ideals and of values. With the arrival of Christianity on the =
world=20
stage, that same dash, based once again on the charge of Jewish=20
rejectionism, would intensify a thousandfold. The refusal of the =
people of=20
the "old covenant" to accept the new came to be defined as a =
threat to the=20
very legitimacy of Christianity, and one that required a mobilized =
response.=20
<P>Branding the Jews "Christ killers" and "sons of devils," the =
Church=20
launched a systematic campaign to denigrate Christianity's parent =
religion=20
and its adherents. Accusations of desecrating the host, ritual =
murder, and=20
poisoning wells would be added over the centuries, creating an =
ever larger=20
powder keg of hatred. With the growing power of the Church and the =
global=20
spread of Christianity, these potentially explosive sentiments =
were=20
carried to the far corners of the world, bringing anti-Semitism to =
places=20
where no Jewish foot had ever trod.=20
<P>According to some Christian thinkers, persecution of the =
powerless Jews=20
was justified as a kind of divine payback for the Jewish rejection =
of=20
Jesus. This heavenly stamp of approval would be invoked many times =
through=20
the centuries, especially by those who had tried and failed to =
convince=20
the Jews to acknowledge the superior truth of Christianity. The =
most=20
famous case may be that of Martin Luther: at first extremely =
friendly=20
toward Jews--as a young man he had complained about their =
mistreatment by=20
the Church--Luther turned into one of their bitterest enemies as =
soon as=20
he realized that his efforts to woo them to his new form of =
Christianity=20
would never bear fruit.=20
<P>Nor was this pattern unique to the Christian religion. =
Muhammad, too,=20
had hoped to attract the Jewish communities of Arabia, and to this =
end he=20
initially incorporated elements of Judaism into his new faith =
(directing=20
prayer toward Jerusalem, fasting on Yore Kippur, and the like). =
When,=20
however, the Jews refused to accept his code of law, Muhammad =
wheeled upon=20
them with a vengeance, cursing them in words strikingly =
reminiscent of the=20
early Church fathers: "Humiliation and wretchedness were stamped =
upon=20
them, and they were visited with the wrath of Allah. That was =
because they=20
disbelieved in Allah's revelation and slew the prophets =
wrongfully."=20
<P>IN THESE cases, too, we might ask whether the perception of =
Jewish=20
rejectionism was accurate. Of course the Jews did not drain the =
blood of=20
children, poison wells, attempt to mutilate the body of Christ, or =
commit=20
any of the other wild crimes of which the Church accused them. =
Moreover,=20
since many teachings of Christianity and Islam stemmed directly =
from=20
Jewish ones, Jews could hardly be said to have denied them. But if =
rejecting the Christian or Islamic world meant rejecting the =
Christian or=20
Islamic creed, then Jews who clung to their own separate faith and =
way of=20
life were, certainly, rejectionist.=20
<P>This brings us to an apparent point of difference between =
pre-modern=20
and modern anti-Semitism. For many Jews over the course of two =
millennia,=20
there was, in theory at least, a way out of institutionalized=20
discrimination and persecution: the Greco-Roman, Christian, and =
Muslim=20
worlds were only too happy to embrace converts to their way of =
life. In=20
the modern era, this choice often proved illusory. Both =
assimilated and=20
non-assimilated Jews, both religious and secular Jews, were =
equally=20
victimized by pogroms, persecutions, and genocide. In fact, the =
terrors=20
directed at the assimilated Jews of Western Europe have led some =
to=20
conclude that far from ending anti-Semitism, assimilation actually =
contributed to arousing it.=20
<P>What accounts for this? In the pre-modern world, Jews and =
Gentiles were=20
largely in agreement as to what defined Jewish rejectionism, and =
therefore=20
what would constitute a reprieve from it: it was mostly a matter =
of=20
beliefs and moral concepts, and of the social behavior that flowed =
from=20
them. In the modern world, although the question of whether a Jew =
ate the=20
food or worshiped the God of his neighbors remained relevant, it =
was less=20
relevant than before. Instead, the modern Jew was seen as being =
born into=20
a Jewish nation or race whose collective values were deeply =
embedded in=20
the very fabric of his being. Assimilation, with or without =
conversion to=20
the majority faith, might succeed in masking this bedrock taint; =
it could=20
not expunge it.=20
<P>While such views were not entirely absent in earlier periods, =
the=20
burden of proof faced by the modern Jew to convince others that he =
could=20
transcend his "Jewishness" was much greater than the one faced by =
his=20
forebears. Despite the increasing secularism and openness of =
European=20
society, which should have smoothed the prospects of assimilation, =
many=20
modern Jews would find it more difficult to become real Frenchmen =
or true=20
Germans than their ancestors would have found it to become Greeks =
or=20
Romans, Christians or Muslims.=20
<P>The novelty of modern anti-Semitism is thus not that the Jews =
were seen=20
as the enemies of mankind. Indeed, Hitler's observation in Mein =
Kampf that=20
"wherever I went, I began to see Jews, and the more I saw, the =
more=20
sharply they became distinguished in my eyes from the rest of =
humanity"=20
sounds no different from the one penned by Philostratus 1,700 =
years=20
earlier. No, the novelty of modern anti-Semitism is only that it =
was far=20
more difficult--and sometimes impossible--for the Jew to stop =
being an=20
enemy of mankind.=20
<P><STRONG>ON CLOSER</STRONG> inspection, then, modern =
anti-Semitism=20
begins to look quite continuous with pre-modern anti-Semitism, =
only worse.=20
Modern Jews may not have believed they were rejecting the =
prevailing order=20
around them, but that did not necessarily mean their enemies =
agreed with=20
them. When it came to the Jews, indeed, European nationalism of =
the=20
blood-and-soil variety only added another and even more murderous =
layer of=20
hatred to the foundation built by age-old religious prejudice. =
Just as in=20
the ancient world, the Jews in the modern world remained the=20
other--inveterate rejectionists, no matter how separate, no matter =
how=20
assimilated.=20
<P>Was there any kernel of factual truth to this charge? It is =
demeaning=20
to have to point out that, wherever and whenever they were given =
the=20
chance, most modern Jews strove to become model citizens and =
showed, if=20
anything, an exemplary talent for acculturation; the idea that by =
virtue=20
of their birth, race, or religion they were implacable enemies of =
the=20
state or nation was preposterous. So, too, with other modern =
libels=20
directed against the Jews, which displayed about as much or as =
little=20
truth content as ancient ones. The Jews did not and do not control =
the=20
banks. They did not and do not control the media of communication. =
They=20
did not and do not control governments, And they are not plotting =
to take=20
over anything.=20
<P>What some of them have indeed done, in various places and under =
specific circumstances, is to demonstrate--with an ardor and =
tenacity=20
redolent perhaps of their long national experience--an attachment =
to great=20
causes of one stripe or another, including, at times, the cause of =
their=20
own people. This has had the effect (not everywhere, of course, =
but=20
notably in highly stratified and/or intolerant societies) of =
putting them=20
in a visibly adversary position to prevailing values or =
ideologies, and=20
thereby awakening the never dormant dragon of anti-Semitism. =
Particularly=20
instructive in this regard is the case of Soviet Jewry.=20
<P>What makes the Soviet case instructive is, in no small measure, =
the=20
fact that the professed purpose of Communism was to abolish all =
nations,=20
peoples, and religions--those great engines of exclusion--on the =
road to=20
the creation of a new world and a new man. As is well known, quite =
a few=20
Jews, hoping to emancipate humanity and to "normalize" their own =
condition=20
in the process, hitched their fates to this ideology and to the =
movements=20
associated with it. After the Bolshevik revolution, these Jews =
proved to=20
be among the most devoted servants of the Soviet regime.=20
<P>Once again, however, the perception of ineradicable Jewish =
otherness=20
proved as lethal as any reality. In the eyes of Stalin and his =
henchmen,=20
the Jews, starting with the loyal Communists among them, were =
always=20
suspect--"ideological immigrants," in the telling phrase. But the=20
animosity went beyond Jewish Communists. The Soviet regime =
declared war on=20
the over 100 nationalities and religions under its boot; whole =
peoples=20
were deported, entire classes destroyed, millions starved to =
death, and=20
tens of millions killed. Everybody suffered, not only Jews. But, =
decades=20
later, long after Stalin's repression had given way to =
Khrushchev's=20
"thaw," only one national language, Hebrew, was still banned in =
the Soviet=20
Union; only one group, the Jews, was not permitted to establish =
schools=20
for its children; only in the case of one group, the Jews, did the =
term=20
"fifth line," referring to the space reserved for nationality on a =
Soviet=20
citizen's identification papers, become a code for licensed=20
discrimination.=20
<P>Clearly, then, Jews were suspect in the Soviet Union as were no =
other=20
group. Try as they might to conform, it mined out that joining the =
,mainstream of humanity through the medium of the great socialist =
cause in=20
the East was no easier than joining the nation-state in the West. =
But that=20
is not the whole story, either. To scant the rest of it is not =
only to do=20
an injustice to Soviet Jews as historical actors in their own =
right but to=20
miss something essential about anti-Semitism, which, even as it =
operates=20
in accordance with its own twisted definitions and its own mad =
logic,=20
proceeds almost always by reference to some genuine quality in its =
chosen=20
victims.=20
<P>As it happens, although Jews were disproportionately =
represented in the=20
ranks of the early Bolsheviks, the majority of Russian Jews were =
far from=20
being Bolsheviks, or even Bolshevik sympathizers. More =
importantly, Jews=20
would also, in time, come to play a disproportionate role in =
Communism's=20
demise. In the middle of the 1960's, by which time their overall =
share of=20
the country's population had dwindled dramatically, Soviet Jews =
made up a=20
significant element in the "democratic opposition." A visitor to =
the Gulag=20
in those years would have discovered that Jews were also prominent =
among=20
political dissidents and those convicted of so-called "economic =
crimes."=20
Even more revealing, in the 1970's the Jews were the first to =
challenge=20
the Soviet regime as a national group, and to do so publicly, en =
masse,=20
with tens of thousands openly demanding to leave the totalitarian =
state.=20
<P>To that degree, then, the claim of Soviet anti-Semites that =
"Jewish=20
thoughts" and "Jewish values" were in opposition to prevailing =
norms was=20
not entirely unfounded. And, to that degree, Soviet anti-Semitism =
partook=20
of the essential characteristic of all anti-Semitism. This hardly =
makes=20
its expression any the less monstrous; it merely, once again, =
takes it out=20
of the realm of fantasy.=20
<P><STRONG>AND SO</STRONG> we arrive back at today, and at the =
hatred that=20
takes as its focus the state of Israel. That state--the world's =
Jew--has=20
the distinction of challenging two separate political/moral orders =
simultaneously: the order of the Arab and Muslim Middle East, and =
the=20
order that prevails in Western Europe. The Middle Eastern case is =
the=20
easier to grasp; the Western European one may be the more ominous. =
<P>The values ascendant in today's Middle East are shaped by two =
forces:=20
Islamic fundamentalism and state authoritarianism. In the eyes of =
the=20
former, any non-Muslim sovereign power in the region--for that =
matter, any=20
secular Muslim power--is anathema. Particularly galling is Jewish=20
sovereignty in an area delineated as dar al-Islam, the realm where =
Islam=20
is destined to enjoy exclusive dominance. Such a violation cannot =
be=20
compromised with; nothing will suffice but its extirpation.=20
<P>In the eyes of the secular Arab regimes, the Jews of Israel are =
similarly an affront, but not so much on theological grounds as on =
account=20
of the society they have built: flee, productive, democratic, a =
living=20
rebuke to the corrupt, autocratic regimes surrounding it. In =
short, the=20
Jewish state is the ultimate freedom fighter--an embodiment of the =
subversive liberties that threaten Islamic civilization and =
autocratic=20
Arab rule alike. It is for this reason that, in the =
state-controlled Arab=20
media as in the mosques, Jews have been turned into a symbol of =
all that=20
is menacing in the democratic, materialist West as a whole, and =
are=20
confidently reputed to be the insidious force manipulating the =
United=20
States into a confrontation with Islam.=20
<P>The particular dynamic of anti-Semitism in the Middle East =
orbit today=20
may help explain why--unlike, as we shall see, in Europe--there =
was no=20
drop in the level of anti-Jewish incitement in the region after =
the=20
inception of the Oslo peace process. Quite the contrary. Mad the =
reason is=20
plain: to the degree that Oslo were to have succeeded in bringing =
about a=20
real reconciliation with Israel or in facilitating the spread of =
political=20
freedom, to that degree it would have frustrated the overarching =
aim of=20
eradicating the Jewish "evil" from the heart of the Middle East =
and/or=20
preserving the autocratic power of the Arab regimes.=20
<P>And so, while in the 1990's the democratic world, including the =
democratic society of Israel, was (deludedly, as it turned out)=20
celebrating the promise of a new dawn in the Middle East, the =
schools in=20
Gaza, the textbooks in Ramallah, the newspapers in Egypt, and the=20
television channels in Saudi Arabia were projecting a truer =
picture of the=20
state of feeling in the Arab world. It should come as no surprise =
that, in=20
Egypt, pirated copies of Shimon Peres's A New Middle East, a book=20
heralding a messianic era of free markets and free ideas, were =
printed=20
with an introduction in Arabic claiming that what this bible of =
Middle=20
East peacemaking proved was the veracity of everything written in =
file=20
Protocols of the Elders of Zion about a Jewish plot to rule the =
world.=20
<P>As for Western Europe, there the reputation of Israel and of =
the Jews=20
has undergone a number of ups and downs over the decades. Before =
1967, the=20
shadow of the Holocaust and the perception of Israel as a small =
state=20
struggling for its existence in the face of Arab aggression =
combined to=20
ensure, if not the favor of the European political classes, at =
least a=20
certain dispensation from harsh criticism. But all this changed in =
June=20
1967, when the truncated Jewish state achieved a seemingly =
miraculous=20
victory against its massed Arab enemies in the Six-Day war, and =
the=20
erstwhile victim was overnight transformed into an aggressor. A =
possibly=20
apocryphal story about Jean-Paul Sartre encapsulates the shift in =
the=20
European mood. Before the war, as Israel lay diplomatically =
isolated and=20
Arab leaders were already trumpeting its certain demise, the =
famous French=20
philosopher signed a statement in support of the Jewish state. =
After the=20
war, he reproached the man who had solicited his signature: "But =
you=20
assured me they would lose."=20
<P>Decades before "occupation" became a household word, the mood =
in=20
European chancelleries and on the Left turned decidedly hostile. =
There=20
were, to be sure, venal interests at stake, from the perceived =
need to=20
curry favor with the oil-producing nations of the Arab world to, =
in later=20
years, the perceived need to pander to the growing Muslim =
populations in=20
Western Europe itself. But other currents were also at work, as=20
anti-Western, anti-"imperialist," pacifist, and pro-liberationist=20
sentiments, fanned and often subsidized by the USSR, took over the =
advanced political culture both of Europe and of international =
diplomacy.=20
Behind the new hostility to Israel lay the new ideological =
orthodoxy,=20
according to whose categories the Jewish state had emerged on the =
world=20
scene as a certified "colonial" and "imperialist" power, a =
"hegemon," and=20
an "oppressor."=20
<P>Before 1967, anti-Zionist resolutions sponsored by the Arabs =
and their=20
Soviet patrons in the United Nations garnered little or no support =
among=20
the democracies. After 1967, more and more Western countries =
joined the=20
chorus of castigation. By 1974, Yasir Arafat, whose organization =
openly=20
embraced both terrorism and the destruction of a UN member state, =
was=20
invited to address the General Assembly. The next year, that same =
body=20
passed the infamous "Zionism-is-racism" resolution. In 1981, =
Israel's=20
strike against Iraq's nuclear reactor was condemned by the entire =
world,=20
including the United States.=20
<P>Then, in the 1990's, things began to change again. Despite the =
constant=20
flow of biased UN resolutions, despite the continuing double =
standard,=20
there were a number of positive developments as well: the=20
Zionism-is-racism resolution was repealed, and over 65 member =
states=20
either established or renewed diplomatic relations with Israel.=20
<P>What had happened? Had Arab oil dried up? Had Muslims suddenly =
become a=20
less potent political force on the European continent? Hardly. =
What=20
changed was that, at Madrid and then at Oslo, Israel had agreed, =
first=20
reluctantly and later with self-induced optimism, to conform to =
the=20
ascendant ethos of international politics. Extending its hand to a =
terrorist organization still committed to its destruction, Israel =
agreed=20
to the establishment of a dictatorial mad repressive regime on its =
very=20
doorstep, sustaining its commitment to the so-called peace process =
no=20
matter how many innocent Jews were killed and wounded in its =
fraudulent=20
name.=20
<P>The rewards for thus conforming to the template of the world's=20
moralizers, cosmetic and temporary though they proved to be, =
flowed=20
predictably not just to Israel but to the Jewish people as a =
whole. Sure=20
enough, worldwide indices of anti-Semitism in the 1990's dropped =
to their=20
lowest point since the Holocaust. As the world's Jews benefited =
from the=20
increasing tolerance extended to the world's Jew, Western =
organizations=20
devoted to fighting the anti-Semitic scourge began cautiously to =
declare=20
victory and to refocus their efforts on other parts of the Jewish =
communal=20
agenda.=20
<P>But of course it would not last. In the summer of 2000, at Camp =
David,=20
Elrod Barak offered the Palestinians nearly everything their =
leadership=20
was thought to be demanding. The offer was summarily rejected, =
Arafat=20
started his '"uprising," Israel undertook to defend itself--and =
Europe=20
ceased to applaud. For many Jews at the time, this seemed utterly=20
incomprehensible: had not Israel taken every last step for peace? =
But it=20
was all too comprehensible. Europe was staying true to form; it =
was the=20
world's Jew, by refusing to accept its share of blame for the =
"cycle of=20
violence," that was out of line. And so were the world's Jews, who =
by=20
definition, and whether they supported Israel or not, came rapidly =
to be=20
associated with the Jewish state in its effrontery.=20
<P><STRONG>TO AMERICANS</STRONG>, the process I have been =
describing may=20
sound eerily familiar. It should: Americans, too, have had =
numerous=20
opportunities to see their nation in the dock of world opinion =
over recent=20
years for the crime of rejecting the values of the so-called =
international=20
community, and never more so than during the widespread hysteria =
that=20
greeted President Bush's announced plan to dismantle the =
tyrannical regime=20
of Saddam Hussein. In dozens of countries, protesters streamed =
into the=20
streets to voice their fury at this refusal of the United States =
to=20
conform to what "everybody" knew to be required of it. To judge =
from the=20
placards on display at these rallies, President Bush, the leader =
of the=20
free world, was a worse enemy of mankind than the butcher of =
Baghdad.=20
<P>At first glance, this too must have seemed incomprehensible. =
Saddam=20
Hussein was one of the world's most brutal dictators, a man who =
had gassed=20
his own citizens, invaded his neighbors, defied Security Council=20
resolutions, and was widely believed to possess weapons of mass=20
destruction. But no matter: the protests were less about Iraqi =
virtue than=20
about American vice, and the grievances aired by the assorted=20
anti-capitalists, anti-globalists, radical environmentalists, =
self-styled=20
anti-imperialists, and many others who assembled to decry the war =
had=20
little to do with the possible drawbacks of a military operation =
in Iraq.=20
They had to do, rather, with a genuine clash of values.=20
<P>Insofar as the clash is between the United States and =
Europe--there is=20
a large "European" body of opinion within the United States as =
well--it=20
has been well diagnosed by Robert Kagan in his best-selling book, =
Of=20
Paradise and Power. For our purposes, it is sufficient to remark =
on how=20
quickly the initial "why-do-they-hate-us" debate in the wake of =
September=20
11, focusing on anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world, came =
to be=20
overtaken by a "why-do-they-hate-us" debate centered on =
anti-American=20
sentiment in "Old Europe." Generally, the two hatreds have been =
seen to=20
emanate from divergent impulses, in the one case a perception of =
the=20
threat posed by Western freedoms to Islamic civilization, in the =
other a=20
perception of the threat posed by a self-confident and powerful =
America to=20
the postmodern European idea of a world regulated not by force but =
by=20
reason, compromise, and nonjudgmentalism. In today's =
Europe--professedly=20
pacifist, postnationalist, anti-hegemonic--an expression like =
"axis of=20
evil" wins few friends, and the idea of actually confronting the =
axis of=20
evil still fewer.=20
<P>Despite the differences between them, however, anti-Americanism =
in the=20
Islamic world and anti-Americanism in Europe are in fact linked, =
and both=20
bear an uncanny resemblance to anti-Semitism. It is, after all, =
with some=20
reason that the United States is loathed and feared by the despots =
and=20
fundamentalists of the Islamic world as well as by many Europeans. =
Like=20
Israel, but in a much more powerful way, America embodies a =
different--a=20
nonconforming--idea of the good, and refuses to abandon its moral =
clarity=20
about the objective worth of that idea or of the free habits and=20
institutions to which it has given birth. To the contrary, in =
undertaking=20
their war against the evil of terrorism, the American people have=20
demonstrated their determination not only to fight to preserve the =
blessings of liberty for themselves and their posterity, but to =
carry them=20
to regions of the world that have proved most resistant to their =
benign=20
influence.=20
<P><STRONG>IN THIS</STRONG>, positive sense as well, Israel and =
the Jewish=20
people share something essential with the United States. The Jews, =
after=20
all, have long held that they were chosen to play a special role =
in=20
history, to be what their prophets called "a light unto the =
nations." What=20
precisely is meant by that phrase has always been a matter of =
debate, and=20
I would be the last to deny the mischief that has sometimes been =
done,=20
including to the best interests of the Jews, by some who have =
raised it as=20
their banner. Nevertheless, over four millennia, the universal =
vision and=20
moral precepts of the Jews have not only worked to secure the =
survival of=20
the Jewish people themselves but have constituted a powerful force =
for=20
good in the world, inspiring myriads to fight for the right even =
as in=20
others they have aroused rivalry, enmity, and unappeasable =
resentment.=20
<P>It is similar with the United States--a nation that has long =
regarded=20
itself as entrusted with a mission to be what John Winthrop in the =
17th=20
century called a "city on a hill" and Ronald Reagan in the 20th =
parsed as=20
a "shining city on a hill." What precisely is meant by that phrase =
is=20
likewise a matter of debate, but Americans who see their country =
in such=20
terms certainly regard the advance of American values as central =
to=20
American purpose. And, though the United States is still a very =
young=20
nation, there can be no disputing that those values have likewise=20
constituted an immense force for good in the world--even as they =
have=20
earned America the enmity and resentment of many.=20
<P>In resolving to face down enmity and hatred, an important =
source of=20
strength is the lesson to be gained from contemplating the example =
of=20
others. From Socrates to Churchill to Sakharov, there have been=20
individuals whose voices and whose personal heroism have =
reinforced in=20
others the resolve to stand firm for the good. But history has =
also been=20
generous enough to offer, in the Jews, the example of an ancient =
people=20
fired by the message of human freedom under God and, in the =
Americans, the=20
example of a modern people who over the past century alone, acting =
in=20
fidelity with their inmost beliefs, have confronted and defeated =
the=20
greatest tyrannies ever known to man.=20
<P>Fortunately for America, and fortunately for the world, the =
United=20
States has been blessed by providence with the power to match its =
ideals.=20
The Jewish state, by contrast, is a tiny island in an exceedingly=20
dangerous sea, and its citizens will need every particle of =
strength they=20
can muster for the trials ahead. It is their own people's =
astounding=20
perseverance, despite centuries of suffering at the hands of =
faiths,=20
ideologies, peoples, and individuals who have hated them and set =
out to do=20
them in, that inspires one with confidence that the Jews will once =
again=20
outlast their enemies.=20
<BLOCKQUOTE><FONT size=3D-2><STRONG>Natan Sharansky, the former =
Soviet=20
dissident and political prisoner, now serves in the government =
of Israel=20
as minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora affairs. This article =
draws in=20
part on ideas presented at a conference on anti-Semitism in =
Paris in May=20
and at the World Forum of the American Enterprise Institute in =
June. Mr.=20
Sharansky thanks Ron Dermer for help in developing the arguments =
and in=20
preparing the manuscript.</STRONG></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
<HR>
We depend ENTIRELY on viewer/reader donations. PLEASE HELP US get =
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truth out about Israel and God's chosen people. All needed info =
at: <A=20
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href=3D"http://christianactionforisrael.org/donations.html">http://christ=
ianactionforisrael.org/donations.html</A>=20
<HR>
<B>PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS NEWSLETTER !</B>=20
<P>Send Comments/Suggestions to <A=20
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