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GENOCIDE - One of the biggest lies from the Middle East is that opposition to Israeli/US-assisted genocide in Gaza is driven by hatred of Jews (anti-Semitism).
These are some of the reasons why this lie is so outrageous:
First, many of those accused of anti-Semitism are, in fact, Jewish. In the United States, several Jewish groups, such as Not in Our Name and Jewish Voice for Peace, have had a major presence at demonstrations opposing US military and diplomatic support for Israeli military actions in Gaza.
Second, according to the Middle East Monitor, “Nearly one-third of American Jews agree with accusations that Israel committed “genocide” in the Gaza Strip and 60 per cent support the establishment of an independent Palestinian State.”
Third, nearly all self-serving claims that critics of Israeli actions in Gaza are consumed by hatred of Jews originate with the Israeli government. These claims are part of Israel’s PR campaign to justify nearly two years of military attacks on women, children, and the elderly in Gaza.
Fourth, in the United States and Europe anti-Semitism historically meant violence against Jews. This was the work of home-grown racists, like the Ku Klux Klan. Jews were also subject to discrimination (1881 – 1970) in specific economic sectors, university teaching positions, private social clubs, fraternities and sororities, and residential neighborhoods.
As for anti-Semitic violence, it now barely exists, and discrimination disappeared over fifty years ago. As a result, traditional American anti-Semitism can no longer be used to label Israel’s critics as anti-Jewish bigots. This is why Israel and its supporters reinvented anti-Semitism in the 1970s. They called it the new anti-Semitism even though it was nothing more than anti-Zionism.
Some hard core supporters of Israel have begun to soften their views, but not (yet?) their actions. For example, President Trump recently said, “We have to help out the Palestinians. You know, a lot of people are starving in Gaza, so we have to look at both sides."
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tweeted. “Aid organizations report that thousands of children in Gaza are at risk of starvation while trucks full of food sit waiting across the border. The full flow of humanitarian assistance must be restored immediately.”
Her former boss, Barack Obama, also tweeted, “While a lasting resolution to the crisis in Gaza must involve a return of all hostages and a cessation of Israel’s military operations, these articles underscore the immediate need for action to be taken to prevent the travesty of innocent people dying of preventable starvation.”
What these and similar comments from American and Israeli officials have in common is they don’t mention the role of the US and Israeli governments in supporting Hamas, as well as the US supplying weapons and funding Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, including the destruction of hospitals, schools, and infrastructure.
Too little and too late? After 22 months of US-assisted Israeli attacks, most of them against children, women, and the elderly, these anemic comments are long overdue. They would be more convincing, however, if they called out the role of the US and Israeli governments, but that is expecting too much from perpetrators who are too slowly recognizing their own role in Gaza’s genocide.
The real test for them, especially if there are trials of US and Israeli government officials for war crimes, will be ending US protection of Israel at the United Nations, plus stopping US money and weapons from going to Israel for their attacks on Gaza’s infrastructure and civilians. The clock is running out on these former government officials to publicly change their behavior. As for current officials, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the clock may strike 12 before they end US military and diplomatic support for Israel.
While the future is difficult to predict, underlying trends are already moving in this direction. What we don’t know, however, is whether U.S. foreign policy will follow this new trajectory or continue as is.
(Victor Rothman is a California-based policy analyst who is a regular contributor to CityWatchLA.com.)
