RUTHFULLY YOURS

Many cases of Anti-Semitism hide behind the mask of anti-Zionism, but there is a paper thin barrier that separates modern “anti-Zionism” from the blind and visceral hate of traditional anti-Semitism. The open hostility to Israel expressed by Islamists and their useful idiots in the left of politics forgives and endorses the outrages of Hamas: according to this trope, any failings of Hamas are forgivable because Israel has “created” the situation.

Whatever the origins of Anti-Semitism, the current trends resuscitate ancient blood libels. The the wild conspiracies described in the Russian 19^th century forgery “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” – in which Jews are said to control the world – have a second outing in the media.

An article by Adar Primor in Ha’aretz today states:

Two surveys, one conducted by the PEW Research Center in 2008 and the other by the Anti-Defamation League in 2009, portrayed Spain as the most anti-Semitic state in the Western world. The surveys showed that the rate of those holding negative opinions about Jews (which now stands at 46 percent ) doubled between 2005 and 2008, 75 percent of the Spanish population think “the Jews are too powerful in the international financial markets” and two-thirds believe the Jews “are not loyal to Spain.”

Attempts  are at least being made in Spain to rein in some of the excesses of this new tide of Anti-Semitism. A branch of the Spanish foreign office has set up a group calling itself Casa Sefarad, which aims to strengthen ties with  Israel and Jews. Former president José Maria Aznar has set up “Friends of Israel,” described as “an international initiative consisting of several global leaders who have come together to defend Israel’s right to exist.”

In nations like Britain, where Jews have assimilated well, a new breed of bigot has emerged. In December 2006, the London Daily Telegraph reported that:

Jewish people are four times more likely to be attacked because of their religion than Muslims, according to figures compiled by the police.

One in 400 Jews compared to one in 1,700 Muslims are likely to be victims of “faith hate” attacks every year. The figure is based on data collected over three months in police areas accounting for half the Muslim and Jewish populations of England and Wales. The crimes range from assault and verbal abuse to criminal damage at places of worship.

The Community Security Trust has produced two documents recently. One is entitled “Antisemitic Discourse in Britain 2009” (pdf document link here), and the other is called the 2009 Antisemitic Incidents Report (pdf document link here).

In the latter document, the Executive Summary contains the following:

·         CST recorded 924 antisemitic incidents in 2009. This is the highest annual total since it began recording anti-Semitic incidents in 1984, and is 55 per cent higher than the previous record of 598 incidents in 2006.

·         The total of 924 incidents is an increase of 69 per cent from the 2008 total of 546 incidents, and follows two years of falling incident totals in 2007 and 2008.

The Jerusalem Post states of the “Antisemitic Discourse in Britain 2009” document that:

Comparisons of Israel and its supporters to Nazi Germany have become increasingly common among the public, and anti-Semitic conspiracy themes are being used more freely in conversation, the “Anti-Semitic Discourse in Britain in 2009” indicated…

…The Nazi comparisons were seen during the often violent demonstrations that took place in London during the 22-day Gaza conflict. One of the main organizers, the British Muslim Initiative, produced placards saying “STOP the Holocaust in Gaza.”

The placard of another organizing group, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, featured a swastika joined to a Magen David with the words, “History seems to be repeating itself.”

Because of groups’ connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, the report questions the alliance with far-left fringe groups such as the Socialist Workers Party.

Richard Seymour, a spokesman for the party, asserted that those attending a Jewish community rally for peace “ought to be shunned and treated as the moral and political degenerates that they are.”

The report (p. 17) also includes discussion of how media criticism of Israel has been hijacked to serve the agenda of anti-Semites. The Times had a cartoon on January 16, 2009 which portrayed a missile strike and contained the words:

“Twinkle twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are

White with phosphorescent glow

Burning children down below.”

That same cartoon and comment was then reproduced, with added lines, and distributed in photocopied form. The added verse, which implies its authors empathize with the “Palestinian cause,” runs as follows:

“God will curse the filthy YIDS

They Kill our Wives, they kill our KIDS!

Steal our Land, Bomb our Houses to BITS,

God Won’t Forgive the Israeli GESTAPO SH*TS”

On October 4, 1936, in Cable Street, East London, British leftists marched to protect Jewish areas from the predations of Oswald Mosley’s fascists. Now many groups in the British left give voice to anti-Zionism and tacitly endorse anti-Semitism through uncritical approval of the racist terrorists of Hamas.

Some British supporters of the Palestinian cause are naif Useful Idiots for Islamists – such as Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales (pictured). In 2004 he gave a eulogy for Yasser Arafat and in September this year he gave a sermon in which he said that

the situation in Israel/Palestine is also appalling and the UK bears a historical responsibility for that particular region as it does for Zimbabwe.  Now I realise, that whenever I say anything about this matter, I will be accused of being anti-Semitic, but our own Prime Minister has described Gaza as a prison camp.

This sermon was criticized by Anglican Friends of Israel in an article that points out that Archbishop Barry Morgan supported the Kairos Palestine Document of December 11, 2009, (pdf). This statement was produced by the World Council of Churches which condemns Israel while making no condemnation of the terrorists of Hamas.

Morgan has also given his endorsement to a recent document from the Methodist church entitled “Justice for Palestine and Israel,” (pdf) a document that criticizes Israeli policies and attacks the historical roots of Zionism. In the 57 pages of this document, the only references to Hamas occur on pages 25 -26 and 39 – 40. The conflict between Israel and Gaza is described in the Methodist document, with Israel described as the oppressor. However, no mention is given of how Hamas kidnapped Gilad Shalit in June 2006, leading to conflict (Shalit is still held hostage by Hamas). The Methodist document makes only one mention of Iranian-funded Hizbollah, but no mention is made of Hizbollah provocations that led to the 2006 war.

Because Simon McIlwaine, director of Anglican Friends of Israel, dared to criticize Morgan, an angry article appeared in Ikhwanweb, the official website of the Muslim Brotherhood.The article is titled: “How to anger the pro-Israel lobby, Tell how it really is in Gaza, especially if you’re an archbishop.”

The story is reprinted from “Redress.cc” a leftist organization that claims to expose “injustice, disinformation and bigotry,” apparently by providing its own brand of the same. The author is Stuart Littlewood, who apparently does not like Israel very much. An earlier article by Littlewood is entitled “Israel pisses on Britain (again) and our craven leaders love it.”

Littlewood’s article reproduced in Ikhwanweb condemns Anglican Friends of Israel and has been reproduced on a site called “Intifada Palestine.” Littlewood is the author of a book entitled “Radio Free Palestine” and his work also appears in the Gaza-produced Palestine Telegraph and the website of George Galloway’s Viva Palestina. The following are some quotes from Littlewood’s article in Ikhwanweb:

Hamas chief Khaled Mesh’al has explained that armed resistance against Israel is the result of Israeli occupation, injustice and oppression, not religious differences.

And

Israel was making Palestinians’ lives a misery long before Hamas appeared on the scene. What right has Israel or anyone else to isolate a democratically elected government and its people anyway?

Hamas is an Islamic party legitimately ruling a mainly Islamic country. It is the people’s choice. How can it be any more “tyrannical” than the Jewish State with its exclusivity laws and lethal attitude towards non-Jews?

With its support and justification of Hamas (a wing of the Muslim Brotherhood) it is no wonder that Ikhwanweb chose to highlight Littlewood’s article.

Mr. Littlewood openly defends a terrorist group, but to understand his outlook better, perhaps one should look at an article that he wrote on May 21 this year on Redress (now removed but available in its Google cache). In this article Littlewood turns his attention to Jews in the British parliament. The article is titled: “Jews are eight times over-represented in UK: At that rate Muslims would have 200 seats.”

Littlewood is part of the nexus of the left that condemns Israel but fails to condemn Islamic terrorists such as Hamas, whose luminaries include George Galloway.

Galloway is paid to appear on his own show on Press TV, even though this organization is funded by the Iranian government that kills democracy activists and bankrolls the terrorists of Hamas and Hezbollah. Galloway has been admonished by Britain’s broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, for biased comments against Israel, made on his two weekly shows on Press TV, called “Comment” and the “Real Deal.” Press TV, as an organ of the Iranian government (its production company disguises itself under the title “Imafilm” but is still a branch of IRIB, the Iranian state propaganda machine) endorses the actions of its anti-Semitic president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel. In March 2009, Galloway gave 25,000 British pounds to Hamas, even though Hamas is openly anti-Semitic.

Article Seven of Hamas’ charter states:

‘The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews.’ (related by al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Such bigotry goes beyond the issue of Israel’s existence (which Hamas refuses to acknowledge) and is expressed in speeches described below. Sadly, the statement quoted in Hamas’ charter does derive from authentic Hadiths. Variations can be found in Book 41 of the Hadiths of Bukhari (Kitab Al-Fitan wa Ashrat As-Sa’ah or The Book Pertaining to the Turmoil and Portents of the Last Hour), Numbers 6981:, 6982:, 6983: , 6984: , 6985:.

Between 2000 and 2004, Hamas carried out 425 terrorist acts. It  killed a total of 377 Israelis and wounded 2,076 soldiers and civilians. Any American institution that supports Hamas, irrespective of the fact that the group engages in terrorism, should be ostracized while Hamas retains its anti-Semitic charter.

Article Two of Hamas’s Charter admits that Hamas is part of the Muslim Brotherhood:

The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. Muslim Brotherhood Movement is a universal organization which constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times. It is characterised by its deep understanding, accurate comprehension and its complete embrace of all Islamic concepts of all aspects of life, culture, creed, politics, economics, education, society, justice and judgement, the spreading of Islam, education, art, information, science of the occult and conversion to Islam.

It is to America’s eternal shame that the current administration allows Muslim Brotherhood front groups to have any influence and direct contact, let alone to be invited to “iftar dinners,” until these groups can show some moral integrity and openly denounce Hamas.

Adrian Morgan

The Editor, Family Security Matters

Last week on Tuesday (a week ago today), a 26-year old architecture student in Genoa, northern Italy was threatened by Palestinian students. The incident took place at the University of Genoa cafeteria. One of the students was armed, stated Menachem Gantz in Ynet News. The first Palestinian was another student called Ibrahim Haji, who came from Gaza. Assaf, the Israeli student, stated:

“He came towards me, punched me and said ‘why are you looking at me?’ I told him I wasn’t looking at him, and asked him to let me eat in peace. A minute later he was back, swinging a fork, and called me in front of everyone to come outside while cursing Israel and declaring his intention to kill.

I understood that I have to avoid this dangerous situation. I told my Italian friends, who were eating with me, that I’m going back to my room so as not to respond to this provocation. On my way out I turned to the cashier and told her, ‘Call the police. You heard the man threatening to kill,’ and she responded, ‘It’s not my job to separate Jews and Arabs.’ “

Outside the college, Assaf was again attacked by the Gaza student, who had lain in wait, and who had a large kitchen knife. Assaf fled:

“I saw death in front of my eyes. I broke free and ran into the storage in the kitchen and locked myself in. After a few minutes more Muslim students arrived and began shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great) and ‘Itbach el Yahud’ (slaughter the Jews). Later I understood that there are over 40 angry students there.”

Assaf’s attempts to have the incident taken seriously by the Italian police were unsuccessful until local Jewish community leaders interceded on his behalf.

The Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism was formed in March 2009 by a group of political figures within the Ottawa parliament, though the body is not officially commissioned by the Canadian government. The Canadian coalition is part of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism. The bloc from Quebec decided to drop out of the Canadian commission shortly after the body was founded, claiming the group was biased in favour of Israel and against Palestinians.

The recent second meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism took place last week in Ottowa. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed the conference, but his words have raised the hackles of leftists. Murray Dobbin in the Vancouver Sun questioned whether Harper “is mentally fit to be prime minister.” Dobbin wrote:

In effect, Harper has taken the position of being Israel’s defender no matter what – in other words, this commitment comes before his duty as prime minister, before his duty to represent Canada’s interests abroad, before his role of elected representative. Harper is a defender of Israel no matter the consequences for Canada. He stated:

“[As] long as I am Prime Minister, whether it is at the United Nations, the Francophonie, or anywhere else, Canada will take that stand whatever the cost. I say this, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because history shows us, and the ideology of the anti-Israeli mob tell us all too well if we listen to it, that those who threaten the existence of the Jewish people are a threat to all of us.”

His dedication to that country supersedes his commitment to his own. That would be disturbing enough if Harper were merely a private citizen. But as prime minister it is beyond the pale and it isn’t much of a stretch to suggest it borders on the betrayal of Canada and certainly Canadian interests. For what does it mean that Harper will defend Israel no matter the consequences for Canada?

Dobbin’s bizarre statements were met with a rejoinder by Eyal Lichtman in the Vancouver Sun. This is an extract:

Accusing Harper of putting support for Israel above “his duty to represent Canada’s interests abroad” tells us that Dobbin is ideologically blinded to the fact that Israel’s security is among Canada’s foremost interests abroad, both morally and strategically. From the moral standpoint, if defending the Middle East’s tiny oasis of pluralism, democracy, multiculturalism, human rights and women’s equality is not among Canada’s top foreign policy priorities, what are we doing on the world stage at all? And, strategically, Israel’s fight is our fight. Just as, in previous decades, enemies came for the Jews but quickly targeted other groups as well, today’s enemies of Israel have their sights set on all of Western civilization. The fact that Dobbin and his mob will dismiss this statement as paranoid ideology is the crux of our disagreement. Israel is the frontline against Islamist terror. In the mob narrative, Islamism will be neutered when Palestine is free, though “free” may not be quite the right term for Palestinians living under Hamas or, for that matter, Fatah. In this perversely cheerful worldview, Islamism merely demands a little bit of Palestine, and is not a real threat bent on eliminating Israel, therefore Israel has no legitimate right to self-defence, ergo all its actions are illegitimate.

But the main purpose of Dobbin’s rant is to repeat the nonsense that Zionists seek to “redefine anti-Semitism to mean virtually any criticism of Israel.” This familiar allegation is a total inversion of reality. It is not supporters of Israel who seek to silence – this would be a quixotic waste of time even if we tried. It is not Israel-bashers, he should note, who get hauled before Canadian human rights tribunals; it is Zionists like Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant. So who is silencing whom? What Dobbin is actually saying is that he should be able to condemn Israel in the most vociferous terms and no one has the right to contradict him. Indeed, if you disagree with him, you must have a mental disorder. An intellectual give-and-take is not what he and the mob seek. Take issue with any part of the extremist narrative and invite accusations of trying to silence debate. In fact, all Zionists are seeking is genuine and balanced dialogue; Dobbin sees only a Zionist conspiracy behind every good faith attempt to engage in discourse.

MEMRI has translated comments by Hamas co-founder Mahmoud Al-Zahhar (aka Mahmoud al-Zahar) in which he justifies the historical persecution of the Jews and says that they “have no future among the nations of the world. You are headed to annihilation.” According to the MEMRI report:

Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, which aired on Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV on November 5, 2010:

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit this link.

Mahmoud Al-Zahhar: “On this occasion, dear brothers and sisters, we cannot but recall the crimes of these criminal [Jews] throughout history. Today, we present the world with a bunch of questions, and we challenge it to answer them honestly, for today, interests overshadow moral values, elections overshadow principles, and Zionism has overshadowed the truth.

“We ask the people of the world today: Why did France, in 1253, expel and uproot the Jewish entity, which was represented by the ghetto? Why did they expel them? Because they sucked the blood of the French, because they shed the blood of the French, slaughtered them, stole their money, and conspired against them. At the end of the day, the French had no choice but to expel them in 1253.

“The [Jews] fled north, to Britain, and lived there for only 27 years, until the English realized the criminality of these people, who murdered them, sucked their blood, and stole their money. So they slaughtered hem, and expelled them in 1280.

“We ask the French and the British: Why did you expel them? We ask Germany of pre-Hitler times: Why were the [Jews] expelled in 1384? We ask the [Jews] why France expelled them a second time, in 1360, why Hungary expelled them in 1360, and why Belgium expelled them in 1370.

This was not something new – it started even before 1253, on the day that Pharaoh the tyrant expelled them because they had shed the blood of the Egyptians, and had conspired with their enemies against them. So [Pharaoh] expelled them, after they lost their religion, after the time of Joseph.

“Was this series [of expulsions] anything new? No. After the Czechs expelled them in 1380. Austria expelled them in 1420, Holland in 1444, and Spain in 1492. Russia expelled them after they conspired to assassinate the Czar in 1882, and Germany expelled them once again in 1945.

“The series of expulsions continues to this day. Blood continues to be shed, martyrs continue to fall, our sons continue to hoist the banner high, and Allah willing, their expulsion from Palestine in its entirety is certain to come. We are no weaker or less honorable than the peoples that expelled and annihilated the Jews. The day we expel them is drawing near. […]

“The nation that opens up its doors, its hearts, and its homes to the [Jews] who were expelled from all corners of the earth was the Islamic nation. […] “We extended our hands to feed these hungry dogs and wild beasts, and they devoured our fingers. We have learned the lesson – there is no place for you among us, and you have no future among the nations of the world. You are headed to annihilation.” […]

In another MEMRI translated statement, Hamas cleric Yunis Al-Astal called Upon the Islamic nation to kidnap Israelis in Arab and Islamic countries:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Hamas MP and cleric Yunis Al-Astal, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on October 25, 2010:

Yunis Al-Astal: Even if we find it difficult to kidnap [Israeli] soldiers due to the rigid security measures, there are still Zionist citizens, living in Palestine, who walk about carefree in many Arab and Islamic countries. It is possible to kidnap soldiers and settlers over there in order to swap them with our prisoners.

The Jews took the confrontation out of Palestine when they assassinated resistance fighters abroad. This means that we will not be blamed when we expand the parameters of our pursuit of Jews.

If the Palestinians are unable to do this, then it becomes the duty of the entire Islamic nation, because the Palestinian cause is not the cause of the Palestinians only.

The Hamas charter states that it is “is one of the wings of the Muslim Brothers in Palestine” and an Israeli TV station has reported that in 2008, Muslim Brotherhood “representatives” traveled to Gaza from Egypt through the open border to meet with Hamas. An earlier media report indicated that shortly after Hamas took over the Gaza strip, Muslim Brotherhood representatives were present to review Hamas military formations. Last June, a Hamas journalist acknowledged the role that the “international Muslim Brotherhood” has played in providing funds for the purchase of weapons.