The Dream Philosophy of Paranoids: Kill Arabs, Cry Anti-Semitism
- by Norman Finkelstein
zgrams at zgrams.zundelsite.org
zgrams at zgrams.zundelsite.org
Sun Sep 17 16:35:31 EDT 2006
--
<http://www.counterpunch.org/finkelstein09122006.html>http://www.counterpunch.org/finkelstein09122006.html
Counterpunch September 12, 2006
The Dream Philosophy of Paranoids: Kill Arabs, Cry Anti-Semitism
By NORMAN FINKELSTEIN
A central thesis of my book Beyond Chutzpah is that whenever Israel
faces a public relations debacle its apologists sound the alarm that
a "new anti-Semitism" is upon us. So, predictably, just after Israel
faced another image problem due to its murderous destruction of
Lebanon, a British all-party parliamentary group led by notorious
Israel-firster Denis MacShane MP (Labor) released yet another report
alleging a resurgence of anti-Semitism (Report of the All-Party
Parliamentary Inquiry Into Antisemitism, September 2006). To judge by
the witnesses (David Cesarani, Lord Janner, Oona King, Emanuele
Ottolenghi, Melanie Phillips) and sources (MEMRI, Holocaust Education
Trust) cited in the body of the report, much time and money could
have been saved had it just been contracted out to the Israel Foreign
Ministry. (The report's statement that "we received no evidence of
the accusation of anti-Semitism being misused by mainstream British
Jewish community organizations and leaders" perhaps speaks more to
the selection of the witnesses than the reality.)
The single novelty of the report, which mostly rehashes fatuous
allegations already disposed of in Beyond Chutzpah, is the new
thresholds in idiocy it breaks. Consider the methodology deployed for
demonstrating a new anti-Semitism. The report defines an anti-Semitic
incident as any occasion "perceived" to be anti-Semitic by the
"Jewish community." This is the school of thought according to which
it's raining even in the absence of any precipitation because I feel
it's raining. It is the dream philosophy of paranoids, especially
rational paranoids, for whom alleged victimhood is politically
serviceable. The report includes under the rubric of anti-Semitic
incidents not just violent acts and incendiary speech but
"conversations, discussions, or pronouncements made in public or
private, which cross the line of acceptability," as well as "the mood
and tone when Jews are discussed." The wonder is that it didn't also
tabulate repressed anti-Semitic libidinal fantasies.
In the category of inherently anti-Semitic pronouncements the report
includes "drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that
of the Nazis" (only comparisons of contemporary Arab policy to that
of the Nazis are permissible) and "theories about Jewish or Zionist
influence on American foreign policy" (even if Jewish and Zionist
organizations boast about this influence).
Much of the evidence of pervasive British anti-Semitism requires real
strains in credulity. * The lone item listed under the ominous
subheading "The Blood Libel" is a Syrian television series "that
would be possible for viewers in the UK to see if they had suitable
satellite receiving equipment."
It also notes the unreferenced "case of a Jewish university lecturer
who was subjected to an anti-Semitic tirade from a student in the
middle of a lecture and subsequently asked to explain to the
university authorities why he had upset the student." Is it
anti-Semitic to wonder whether this is a crock?
And then the report cites the warning of the London Assembly
Conservative Group that "there is a risk that in some political
quarters 'views on international events can, almost subconsciously,
lead to subtly different attitudes to, and levels of engagement with,
different minority groups.'" The new anti-Semitism business must be
going seriously awry when British conservatives start sounding like
Lacan.
Finally, it is anti-Semitic for student unions to advocate a boycott
of Israeli goods because this "would restrict the availability of
kosher food on campus." Maybe Israel can organize a "Berlin airlift"
of gefilte fish.
Although claiming that, in the struggle against anti-Semitism, "none
of those who gave evidence wished to see the right free speech
eroded," and "only in extreme circumstances would we advocate legal
intervention," the report recommends that university authorities
"take an active interest in combating acts, speeches, literature and
events that cause anxiety or alarm among their Jewish students," and
it registers disquiet that "classic and modern anti-Semitic works are
freely available for ordering on the Amazon.com website," and that
"the United States in particular has been slow to take action" in
closing down "anti-Semitic internet sites." It is at moments like
this that even the least patriotic of souls can take pride in being
an American.
=====
* The police data on an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in itself
proves little because, as the report concedes, the spike might be due
to more incidents being reported and a coarsening of British life
generally, as well as the "spillover" from the Israel-Palestine
conflict. In addition, there is little evidence of "organized,"
"politically motivated" anti-Semitic attacks; there is no evidence
that perpetrators of anti-Semitic attacks were disproportionately
Muslim; and most of the suspects in the incidents were adolescents.
For 2005 the report cites a couple incidents that were "potentially"
life-threatening. It cites no comparative data for other minorities
in Britain, although tacitly acknowledging that "the level of
prejudice and discrimination by Jews in Britain remains lower," a
considerable understatement . On a related note, it deplores that
"less than one in ten [anti-Semitic] incidents reported to the police
resulted in a suspect becoming an accused", but cites no comparative
data indicating whether this ratio is aberrant.
Norman Finkelstein's most recent book is Beyond Chutzpah: On the
misuse of anti-Semitism and the abuse of history (University of
California Press). His web site is
<http://www.NormanFinkelstein.com/>www.NormanFinkelstein.com.
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