The British press and the Left: Hitler and Bin Laden would be so proud
March 02, 2002 ~ 10:02 a.m.
A revealing debate has been going on in the pages of several newspapers about the rise of anti-Semitism in the British press, and it would appear that the British press itself is finally acknowledging their tainted slant on the Middle East. Take the following snippet from a debate forum published in the February 22 edition of The Times, in response to their question �Are those who criticize Israel anti-Semitic�or are they speaking out against racism?�:
�It seems ... that the Left is not opposed to the nation state per se, but only to one nation state, that of the Jewish people. In their lexicon, other nationalism represents national self-determination, whilst Jewish nationalism is supposedly racist. This is an example of both double standards and a failure to accept that all nation states may be guilty of abusing their power and making foreign policy blunders. Their venom, however, is directed to only one state. If Jewish nationalism is racist, then so is French, British or Palestinian.�
If that letter doesn�t speak volumes about the negative sentiment regarding the Jewish people�s right for self-defense and determination in this country and across Europe, then get a load of this missive, from the March 1 edition of The Guardian, which really gets to the heart of the matter:
�Today's British left has little understanding of Jews and anti-semitism [sic] because it was not forged by the struggle against fascism in the 1930s and the Holocaust. Jews are perceived to be white, bourgeois and invisible�certainly not members of the oppressed. The left is rationally anti-antisemitic [sic], but that is not the same as being pro-Jewish. There is a profound intellectual ignorance about the origins of Zionism as a revolutionary movement�much of which can be attributed to the confusion caused by the megaphone war between Israelis and Palestinians.There is a huge difference in attitude between the old left and the post-1967 left. The latter's thinking emerged during the age of liberation movements such as those in South Africa and Vietnamese�and Palestine seemingly fitted in. There is also an erroneous idea that because the Jews and the old left together fought fascism, the left has always been a proud opponent of anti-semitism. Many examples in history, such as Proudhon and Bakunin, prove the contrary.
This is why the Jewish national left who wish to see an end to the Sharon government and support a two-state solution perceive an ideological schism with the British left.�
What a fitting and accurate response to the debate, but I feel compelled to ask, when is ignorance ever intellectual? Oops, I forget, we are talking about the Left here. Never mind.
Long before this particular debate even began, I noticed a bias against Israel running rampant in the British press and even the televised news. It could be a case of disagreeing with Israel�s hawkish actions of late (a reaction that is unjustified, but I�ll get to that point soon), but I can�t help but think that it is all a case of thinly disguised anti-Semitism.
Synagogues are a very rare sight here. However, there is no shortage of mosques. Perhaps that has something to do with it? I explained in a past entry that Britain has a large Muslim population as a result of past and current immigration. Some accuse Britain of acting as a shelter for radical Islamic fundamentalists, but that is difficult to establish as fact. What can be established with certainty is that the police don�t want to know when you get mugged, so how on earth can we expect law enforcement to crack down on Islamic fundamentalism? The authorities would rather avert their eyes and pretend that calls for jihad aren't ringing out from all corners of this supposedly Western nation.
But then, you don�t need the large Muslim population present here to establish an anti-Semitic connection. Britain has never proven to be particularly receptive toward Jews�ever since King John banished them in the 14th century�treating them as objects for suspicion and treachery throughout British history. Of course, this is not just a trend in this nation, but all across Europe. Everyone needs a fall guy, and considering how deep anti-Semitism runs in the veins of the people on this continent, the Jews are convenient targets. We all know that Hitler spread propaganda about the Jews, but Nazi Germany was simply a case of being very direct and blatant about its anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism, after all, is normally a quiet disease, a feeling that festers inside the soul, never actually finding an outlet for its expression.
The case regarding Israel is a clear-cut example of an outlet allowing for such expression. To claims that Israel is committing racism with its bombing and bulldozing campaigns in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a little history here will dispel that notion: Before 1967, Palestinians aren�t known as such. They were Jordanians and content to be so. But smoldering resentment at Israel�s acquisition of the Gaza Strip after their 1948 war with Egypt boiled over in �67. Another war was fought, which Israel won and subsequently seized control of the West Bank. Soon thereafter, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was launched. But the change in terminology is what is most important. Before �67, when you spoke of the Palestinians, you spoke of the Jewish people. Post-�67, Arab fundamentalists grabbed the title for themselves. This is not coincidence. This was a deliberate attempt to establish themselves as the only presence with a right to exist in Palestine, and their manifesto, then as now, has always been to wipe Israel off the map. In stark contrast, Israel has always acknowledged its Arab neighbors and allowed Arabic to share official language status along with Hebrew. And yet, it�s the Israelis who are the racists?
I hear disclaimers all the time about Israel having a right to exist within its own borders, but the fact remains: When the Jewish state was established in 1948, the reaction of Europeans, including the British, was lukewarm at best. Israel soon realized what little friends it had and ever since, the Israeli state�s main focus has been self-preservation at all costs. For this, Israel can hardly be blamed. History has vindicated the Jews. They are in firm control of their own homeland and can defend it armed to the teeth.
Perhaps this is the real reason behind anti-Semitism�s status as vogue in the British press. Is it not so much the native Muslim population, the inherent and latent European variety of anti-Semitism, the holier-than-thou attitude regarding the appropriateness of a nation-state to defend itself or the disingenuous cries of racism, but the fact that Israel is simply a militaristically strong country? America gets criticized all the time for having too much military power and too strong a sense of patriotism. Combine that fear of power and dominance with the fact that Israel claims America as its biggest ally, and you are tapping into a vast well of what would appear to be a massive inferiority complex on the part of the British, French and other Europeans. The overriding attitude is that, if you are not willing to open up your borders completely and give terrorists an equal chance to blow your communities to smithereens, then you are very clearly lacking in intelligence and compassion. This high-mindedness of the British press has always been present, but at no recent time in memory has it been so profound as with the debate over Israel.
I am not suggesting for one moment that the average Briton is a rabid anti-Semite. Don�t misinterpret me. I am disgusted only at the press and the British/European Left, both responsible for this propaganda. Yet, it is troublesome to think that the average British citizen reads this crap every day on the way to work and then comes home in the evening to watch the evening news in which the words �Israel� or �the Israelis� are pronounced with a measure of disdain by the anchormen. Most British (at least those of non-Muslim extraction) maintain a clear-thinking mind when it comes to the troubles of the Middle East, but if you went by solely what you read in the papers or saw on the evening news, you�d be hard-pressed to believe that.
But, when it comes to anti-Semitism, fighting the ignorance of the press and the hypocrisy of the Left are the main events.
� M.E.M.
|
[Sign My Guestbook]
[View My Guestbook]
|
Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
AMERICA FOR TRUE AMERICANS!