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Jewish World / The language of anti-Semitism
By Dave Rich
Tags: anti-Semitism, British Jewry 

When, in 2003, the veteran Labour MP Tam Dalyell described the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair as being influenced by a "Jewish cabal," he was roundly condemned for making what many saw as an obviously antisemitic remark. Some, though, sought to justify his comment as a legitimate, if poorly-worded, criticism of Israel's supporters, rather than something more sinister.

The late left-wing journalist Paul Foot, writing in The Guardian, explained that Dalyell was "wrong to complain about Jewish pressure on Blair and Bush when he means Zionist pressure."

The idea that political leaders are influenced for malign purposes by Jews is at the heart of modern anti-Semitism. It is an alarming but increasingly familiar notion that by swapping "Zionist" for "Jewish" - i.e. that the then Prime Minister was surrounded by a "Zionist cabal" - Dalyell's comment can be rendered apparently "bigotry-free." This is typical of an anti-Semitic discourse by which the most common ideas, themes and images from the history of anti-Semitism have re-emerged in recent years, cloaked in an anti-Israel or anti-Zionist wrapping.
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This is something that the U.K.'s All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism recognised. Their report noted the existence of an anti-Semitic discourse, the difficulty in identifying and defining it, and that ideas and images with roots in traditional antisemitism crop up in anti-Israel commentary and activism. The Inquiry called on the media in particular to consider "the impact of language and imagery in current discourse on Judaism, anti-Zionism and Israel."

This is not an easy subject to analyse. Opinions will differ over exactly where, or whether, an anti-Israel screed becomes anti-Semitic. Often, the writer or publisher in question may be completely unaware that the words or images they choose have an anti-Semitic provenance. There is a necessary process of education before it can even be asked why a particular metaphor appealed to them, or why they thought it would resonate with their readers.

In an effort to measure and track the phenomenon, my organisation, CST, has published its first survey of anti-Semitism in mainstream discourse in Britain. This publication will be produced annually - the first one covers 2007 - and will complement our existing reports into anti-Semitic incidents each year.

One example is of a magazine article about the pro-Israel lobby in America which was illustrated with a cartoon of a giant sea dragon, emblazoned with what looked like a Star of David, but was in fact the AIPAC logo, a nuance that will have been missed by many of its British readers. Anti-Semitic iconography has long portrayed Jews as dragons, both in their individual physicality and as an abstract, collective force.

When a funding scandal broke involving donors to the Labour Party, and some (although by no means most) of the figures linked to the scandal happened to be Jewish, The Independent's columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown wrote of "the shadowy role of Labour Friends of Israel" and described the central figure in the story as a "strange shape-shifter," while expressing her fear of "the wrath of Moses" for daring to ask such questions.

We also found - and this is something with which Haaretz , like every major media organisation, has to grapple - that new media have opened a space, via online social networks, talkboards, message forums and so on, for expressions of anti-Semitism and other bigotry that previously only existed on extremist Web sites.

When the British Medical Journal ran an online poll asking if readers supported or opposed an academic boycott of Israel, one reader left the message: "Would you not boycott dr mengele [sic]?" An infamous posting on the BBC talkboards, which the BBC moderators removed and then put back after they decided it did not contravene their rules, read: "Zionism is a racist ideology where jews are given supremacy over all other races and faiths. This is found in the Talmud..."

When neo-Nazis allege Jewish control of the media or government, Jewish conspiracies to cause war or global foment, or Jewish infanticide and bloodlust, and when their propaganda portrays Jews as snakes, dragons or other beasts, nobody questions whether it is anti-Semitic. When similar allegations are made and associations drawn, but about supporters of Israel, not Jews per se, and set in the context of arguments over Israel and the Palestinians, there are plenty of people who cannot, or will not, see the connection between this contemporary discourse and an anti-Semitic past. Neo-Nazis have spotted this, and now also talk about Zionists, not Jews, blurring the distinctions further.

Anti-Semitism is not just about the hate crimes that make up the numbers of anti-Semitic incidents that get reported each year; it is also about the ideas, words and images of anti-Semitic discourse. We hope our report will go some way to helping measure, assess and understand this side of a very old bigotry.

Dave Rich is Deputy Director of Communications for CST, which provides security and defense services to the U.K. Jewish community and advises government and police on anti-Semitism and terrorism.

More by Dave Rich on Haaretz.com:
  • Britain is a good place to be Jewish
  • OPINION: U.K. better than most of Europe at reporting anti-Semitism
  • VIEWPOINT / 'Israel Lobby' book may have sinister impact in U.K.

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      1.   Anti-Israeli policy is not anti-Semitic 19:02  |  Patrick 05/09/08
      2.   Anti Semitism is religiously based hatred based upon a myth. 19:20  |  JMK 05/09/08
      3.   Do not ignore anti-Semitism. 19:26  |  Jean Van Daem 05/09/08
      4.   In the Hebrew language, Sem[ite] comes from Shem 19:28  |  John Isenhower 05/09/08
      5.   Same old story 21:05  |  Jack Olson 05/09/08
      6.   The other way around 21:15  |  david 05/09/08
      7.   anti-Zionism etc. 21:32  |  itzik 05/09/08
      8.   When mentioning donors to the Labour you shouldn´t 21:34  |  Jew- and Bookburner 05/09/08
      9.   Natan Sharansky provided an interesting discussion on the subject 21:40  |  Jacob Blues 05/09/08
      10.   Heads in the Sand 21:51  |  JP 05/09/08
      11.   Let me see... 22:12  |  Veritas 05/09/08
      12.   Anti-Semitism expressed as anti-Zionism 22:22  |  Stephen in New York 05/09/08
      13.   A question for you 22:23  |  Angolo 05/09/08
      14.   Anti-semtism 22:43  |  RepublicanStones 05/09/08
      15.   Jewish World / The language of anti-Semitism 22:54  |  Chris Linthwaite 05/09/08
      16.   oh, really! 22:59  |  potobac 05/09/08
      17.   British AntiSemetism 23:09  |  Roger cochran 05/09/08
      18.   The other side of the shekel 23:10  |  Morris Valentine 05/09/08
      19.   to David #2 23:19  |  Itzik 05/09/08
      20.   Truth hurts 23:21  |  Jack 05/09/08
      21.   Anti-Semitism 23:25  |  Canadian 05/09/08
      22.   Anti-Semitism 23:37  |  Canadian 05/09/08
      23.   OLSON: SAME OLD SAME OLD 23:44  |  Brant 05/09/08
      24.   Antisemitism of the left 23:48  |  Shmuelshachor 05/09/08
      25.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 23:53  |  Clickfool 05/09/08
      26.   Re #11 00:17  |  Bilal 06/09/08
      27.   Sorry Jack 00:27  |  JP 06/09/08
      28.   Jack, Meet Clickfool 00:28  |  JP 06/09/08
      29.   David #2: 00:29  |  Itzik Hasheni 06/09/08
      30.   Clickfool proves the point! 00:35  |  Itzik Hasheni 06/09/08
      31.   #9 - The Truth Does Seem to Have Hurt Jack 00:37  |  JP 06/09/08
      32.   Talkbacks full of anti-semitism 00:40  |  Gili 06/09/08
      33.   to Canadian #11 00:40  |  Itzik 06/09/08
      34.   Crush the opposition 00:41  |  Dave Duncan+ 06/09/08
      35.   #11 Candaian: Do you oppose ALL "ehnic or religious based" states 00:43  |  Itzik Hasheni 06/09/08
      36.   #16, you`ve got the "fool" part down 00:45  |  Jew with a clue 06/09/08
      37.   Morris Valentine: You are no antisemite 00:46  |  Itzik Hasheni 06/09/08
      38.   Jack in Boston #11 00:50  |  Itzik 06/09/08
      39.   anti-Zionism, anti-Semitism, & untra-orthodox 00:55  |  R. H Mabbutt 06/09/08
      40.   #10 potobac and the 1800 year old story 00:58  |  vhardman 06/09/08
      41.   to Morris Valentine #9 01:06  |  Itzik 06/09/08
      42.   clickfool: AIPAC`s control incomplete 01:08  |  R. H. Mabbut 06/09/08
      43.   Chris the Talmudic scholar 01:16  |  Itzik Hasheni 06/09/08
      44.   to #10 01:24  |  Itzik 06/09/08
      45.   Now what does this article achieve ... 01:55  |  Axel 06/09/08
      46.   incantation to solve all problems 02:02  |  ellen 06/09/08
      47.   to itzik #29 02:03  |  david 06/09/08
      48.   But today`s anti-Semitism is sooo different! 02:05  |  Sam 06/09/08
      49.   #22, Vacuous in Vancouver 02:10  |  Jew with a clue 06/09/08
      50.   Axel, here`s your follow-up 02:14  |  Jew with a clue 06/09/08
      51.   #49 yeah? 03:10  |  RepublicanStones 06/09/08
      52.   HERE`S THE DIFFERENCE DAVE 03:31  |  VIPER 06/09/08
      53.   To Itzik (#41) 03:35  |  Morris Valentine 06/09/08
      54.   vhardman 40 04:04  |  potobac 06/09/08
      55.   #51, back atcha 04:13  |  Jew with a Clue 06/09/08
      56.   To Axel (#45) 04:29  |  Morris Valentine 06/09/08
      57.   One more thing, #51 04:37  |  Jew with a clue 06/09/08
      58.   Overdose 04:48  |  jjvanka 06/09/08
      59.   DELETED BY MODERATOR 05:21  |  Edithann, USA 06/09/08
      60.   to republicanstones 05:38  |  Itzik 06/09/08
      61.   to Morris Valentine 05:49  |  Itzik 06/09/08
      62.   to viper 06:06  |  Itzik 06/09/08
      63.   Stephen # 12 Anti-semitism "coined" 06:12  |  John Isenhower 06/09/08
      64.   To Itzik (#61) 06:56  |  Morris Valentine 06/09/08
      65.   #45 Axel and what is NOT anti-Semitic 07:15  |  hala 06/09/08
      66.   anti-semitism versus anti-zionism 07:34  |  rm 06/09/08
      67.   Israel and Jews 07:52  |  Dani 06/09/08
      68.   Same old rhetorric - what a cop-out! 09:46  |  Palestinian Brit 06/09/08
      69.   As long as there is no clear definition of Anti-Semite