The Holocaust can happen again, warns top anti-Semitism scholar
Robert Wistrich, a British-Israeli historian, believes current era poses genocidal threat to Jews.
By Raphael Ahren Tags: Holocaust Jewish World Israel newsThe photograph on the jacket cover of Robert Wistrich's new book on anti-Semitism shows two fog-shrouded train tracks that careful observers will recognize as leading to Auschwitz. But for Wistrich, one of the world's leading historians of anti-Semitism, this image is not only a look at the past.
While depicting Auschwitz as the culmination of where extreme Jew-hatred can lead, the photo is also meant to hint at the ubiquitous threat of anti-Semitism - what Wistrich calls a "future of uncertainty." Indeed, the British-Israeli scholar seems to suggest that while the worst is, perhaps, behind us, there may yet be another genocide just around the corner.
"We are in an era once again where the Jews are facing genocidal threats as a people," the author of the recently published "A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad" said during an interview in his Jerusalem office. "We have not been in that situation for quite a while. And maybe this is the first time since the Shoah that [Jews] feel that this is palpable."
Wistrich, who heads Hebrew University's International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism, a nonpolitical research center, is referring to the threats against Israel emanating from the Muslim world, especially Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Sixty-four years after Auschwitz, the politics of genocidal anti-Semitism and the indifference that made it possible are still with us," he writes at the end of the book.
Yes, Jews said the same thing after Israel's wars in 1967 and 1973, Wistrich acknowledged. Yet he maintains the current threat is much more serious: There are people who seek the Jews' extinction and aren't shy about their intentions.
"It's not a matter of speculation, are we interpreting it right or wrong - they say it in such a brazen, open way," he said. "It cannot be a mistake."
Wistrich, who is 65 and moved from Britain to Israel in 1980, pays special attention to the first decade of the 21st century. "I think that the graph of anti-Semitism significantly exploded in this period," in terms of the volume and the aggressiveness of anti-Jewish hostility, he said. He said his analysis was based on "a substantial amount of data" he accumulated.
Weeks before a Jewish Agency study made headlines earlier this year for calling 2009 the worst year for anti-Semitism since the end of World War II, Wistrich reached the same conclusion. (However, Wistrich says it was the worst, in terms of both violent and non-violent incidents, only since 1982, which he said was the first year accurate statistics about anti-Semitic incidents became available.)
No joke
In addition to studying statistics, a historian also "has to have a feeling beyond what is quantitatively analyzable," he said. Expressing such "feelings" sometimes make Wistrich sound more like a politician or an activist than a scholar. Indeed, while virtually all reviews of "A Lethal Obsession" praised its attention to detail and richness of sources, some have called it sensationalist. One reviewer wrote that the book reminded him of the famous one-liner: "What's a Jewish telegram? 'Start worrying: Letter follows.'" But this is no joke for Wistrich, who insists there is indeed good cause for concern.
"We're way beyond the monitoring phase," he said. "We have to act, we have to mobilize opinion, we have to enlighten people about the gravity of the threat. The way I see my own contribution here as a scholar is that I have mapped it all out in a way that has never been done before and made the danger crystal-clear. Nothing is determined, there is no fatality about this unless we close our eyes and shut our eyes. And then indeed, the worst scenario could materialize."
"A Lethal Obsession" devotes a substantial chunk of its 1,184 pages to global jihad and contemporary expressions of anti-Semitism. Naturally, however, the Holocaust is another central theme of the monumental work, although only two chapters are exclusively devoted to Nazi Germany.
"Probably in as many as in 20 out of 25 chapters, the shadow of Nazism and its different manifestations and legacies - both in an earlier period and the postwar era - and the central themes and metaphors that belong to Nazi anti-Semitism are continuously evoked," Wistrich explained. "For instance, in the chapters on Muslims and anti-Semitism there are constant parallels, analogies, and also sometimes differences, which are analyzed. The reader is constantly aware [of the Holocaust], in the sense that the cover evokes: There is a menacing cloud, this obscure but rather threatening fog - and of course, we do know it ultimately leads to Auschwitz. But it also may lead into an indefinite and infinite future of uncertainty. That sense of ominous threat is there all the time and it's inextricably linked with what I call genocidal anti-Semitism, of which the overwhelmingly dominant prototype is Nazism."
British xenophobia
For Wistrich, anti-Semitism isn't just a matter of dry theory. Having grown up in England as the son of Polish immigrants, he says he felt "the brunt of British xenophobia." He estimates that roughly 90 percent of the teachers in the grammar school he attended in the late 1950s and early 1960s were classic anti-Semites. "There were two teachers, who, though they fought against Nazi Germany in World War II, were in fact Nazi-like anti-Semites who truly hated the Jewish people," he recalled.
In the mid-'60s, the climate changed in Britain and it became less accepted to display one's anti-Semitism in public, Wistrich said. But an anti-Israel movement arose after the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, "on a larger scale than people realize today." In 1980, Wistrich left the U.K. and moved to Israel. "I wanted to make my choice a free choice, and not feel like I'm leaving the country because it's too hot," he said. "That wasn't the case in 1980. But I could see enough of what was emerging under the surface."
Wistrich believes his prediction was right. "In Britain, all the taboos that exist in polite society are long gone when it comes to Israel and the Jews," he said, adding that anti-Semitic comments are a daily occurrence, "whether it's at dinner tables, in academia or in the churches." While politicians are less apt than those less in the public eye to publicly display the same kind of animosity, anti-Semitism is widespread even among political leaders, he said. "When I look at anti-Semitism in Britain, I feel it's always been underestimated by people outside the country," said Wistrich. "Having lived with it, I would say it is structurally almost built in to British life and culture."
While the U.K. isn't necessarily the worst country in Europe, Wistrich called it "one where it's become, over a number of years now, an inhospitable climate for any self-respecting Jewish person who feels even the most minimal identification with Israel. And even if they don't, it's becoming an inhospitable and unpleasant environment where you have to constantly justify your identity. Britain is going through one of the most anti-Jewishly tinged periods of its history."
If the statistics are accurate and anti-Semitism is stronger than ever, what can we expect for the future?
"It is almost certainly unrealistic to imagine that we could eradicate anti-Semitism," Wistrich said. Although, there have been periods during which Jew-hatred has seemed to be relatively dormant, he said, "it's always there beneath the surface."
"But we can live with that," said Wistrich. "The Jewish people have always been able to live with that, and there is no reason why everybody has to love the Jews."
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Hey Observer, you sure are condemning the Jewish people with that last paragraph of yours. Having grown up with Jews, I can say the character defect appears to be the ongoing antisemitism of people in general. Jewish character has nothing to do with it. Why is it that what one Jew does, all Jews are responsible? I find it difficult to believe you are Jewish but you do remind me of the Jews of Germany. They did everything they could to be Gentile and they were still slaughtered. Maybe you should convert and start going to church. By the way, I got along great with my Jewish neighbors and couldn't find all those flaws you mentioned.
The problem with understanding current anti-Semitism has a great deal to do with mainstream historiography on the Holocaust that excessively focuses on Germany and the rise of the Nazi Party in 1933 rather than looking at the rise of modern anti-Semitism at the end of the 19th Century throughout Europe and 'little Europes' overseas, such as colonial Algeria and the US. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion myths are resurfacing around the world today, even in the press. Just look at all the rumors that were floating around with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The same economic conditions, neo-liberal excesses, the collapse of the social welfare system, massive unemployment that we saw at the end of the 19th Century is happening today and Jews are the collective scapegoat despite the fact that Jews worldwide are also suffering from this so-called recession. Israelis are also suffering economically despite the economic indicators, which don't measure real people's well-being.
That wasn't meant to be a rhyme, anyway, get real. It takes a lot of nerve to whine about evil antisemitism and the impending Holocaust when the Jewish State is oppressing Palestinians (which is of course, absolutely not a Holocaust, which brings me to a tangent. A crime does not have to be Holocaust-scale to be bad, it does not have to be South African apartheid either. Bad is bad, and what Israel is doing is bad) On that note, anti-semetism experienced by Jews the world over who live generally under very comfortable conditions is beyond pathetic. So your life went from luxurious, to slightly not luxurious. Boohoo. And then the constant fear--how many instances of not-getting-along-with-your-gentile-neighbors does it take before one can reflect on, say, Jewish character. It's reasonable, but it's "evil antisemetism." And I am speaking as an Israeli-American Jew (be'emet).
Tell me if I am wrong. Modern Israel was established in 1948. Right? Wasn't antisemitism before that? Yes or No? Wasn't antisemitism before 1967? Yes or No? Antisemtism has nothing to do with Israel. It existed when Israel didn't exist for nearly 2000 years and it will exist no matter what Israel does.
[Bob Wistrich on Anti-Semitism] Now, we have said we are reading the various English-Israeli Sites to see what they have too say about what?s going on an their views, and we came upon an article written by Raphael Ahren, based upon an interview the boy had with a anti-Semitism scholar named Robert Wistrich, for (www.Haaretz.Com) now Bob Wistrich believes; * Anti-Semitism is always beneath the surface in every civilization and generation. * There is no reason why everyone has to love the Jews. * It is unrealistic to think Anti-Semitism will ever be eradicated / ended. * That the worst Holocaust has passed, there maybe another but not to level of those in the past. Now, we are in complete and total argreement with only [75%] Seventy-Five percent of what old Bob has come to the conclusion about, the first [3] Three of [4] Four points but not the [4th] Fourth. HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN
Your comments are those of a well informed and educated person. I was wondering if you would further enlighten us (rednecks) with further thoughts on the subject matter...wow
Only Americans, Europeans and Ashkenazis can answer this question!
The only way that History may not be repeated is that those generations from whence that history comes learn from past mistakes. Even then there is no guarantee. Lightening does strike more than once in the same place.
For all of those who blame Anti-Semitism on the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians: Your arguments are absurd!!! Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis, Crusaders, Spanish inquisitors, Russian czar sponsored riots (just to name a few of the most notorious attacks against us) well before the state of Israel was created. Jews were expelled from Portugal, Spain, England, France (3 times), most of Russia, the Papal Estates (central Italy) and many of the German fiefdoms. Was all of that also the fault of the Israelis? The Mafia kills people in the US, is that a reason to kill Italians worldwide? A repeat of the Holocaust can happen again. Most people never believed that there would ever be a 1st one.
While there is no question that there was (is) a great deal of anti-semitism in the US, you totally ignore two facts. 1. There was 19% unemployment in 1938 (the tenth year of a continuing depression) when we could have opened up our immigration to allow the immigration of hundreds of thousands of German Jews. 2. There was no way of knowing Germany would have start an extermination policy. Granting these facts, would ANY nation open its doors?
Tell me so I can change myself ? In what common language one can talk with Ahmadinejad; those who wrote the Palestinian Charters of their Political Parties; the Saudis who let no none-Muslim puts one foot in their land; the many wars of Islam all over the globe killing themselves & others everyday; he Koran itself that glorify the killing of the Jews & all none believers in the name of a god that allow the slaughter of all those who don't believe in him; the very humanity that invented the nuclear bomb & now frighten to use it and kill itself; etc.. the list of anti-humanity is endless ! Much more than half of humanity today are living in their evolutionary origin, the ape; from hand-to-mouth. Those who speak about change, they don't know the meaning of the word. Just a trap to catch votes. Hunters to catch victims ! The one change since creation is doing better mass killing ! And that is ' no chip on anybody's shoulder " !
Isn't it time we get rid of this big big "chip on our shoulders"? Of course, there are anti Semites in Europe, the US and other countries, but they are a minute minority. There are many, Jews inclusive, who can not understand and condem the Israeli behaviour towards its Arab population, and it's occupation and apartheidlike tactics. I lost most of my family during WWII, and that is one of the reasons why I am against ANY FORM of racism and hatred, including the Israeli right wing Government's attitude towards the Palesinians! Let the victims of discrimination not become perpetrators of such policy towards others!!!!!!
Unemployed, those without shelter above their heads, elderly poor non-holocaust citizens, underprivileged children, the poor, downtrodden, disabled are undergoing living suffering when the authorities turn their backs, and live the good life only for their very own selves. It's what's happening now right here in Israel. No doubt. And turning back on above means cruelty and cruelty can lead to divine interventions and another G-d forbid holocaust.
Nor is there comfort in the oft-declared ?exceptionality? of our own particular Diasporic homeland. While most European countries were actively engaged in the transport and murder of our people, the remainder of the Christian West were content to allow the murder to begin and take its eliminationist course. Led by the United States, itself about as antisemitic in the years before, during and following the Holocaust, Canada and the rest of the ?civilized world refused refuge, even on a temporary basis, so were complicit also in our murder.
a weaknessof his book. Dr. Wistrich wrote an excellent compilation of antisemitism in its modern form, the volume even prescient in describing the emergence of the radical and antisemitic Right in Hungary, Austria, Holland, France, etc. These precisely provide the indicators upon which 2009 was described as the ?most? antisemitic since Shoah, and by which 2010 will certainly surpass. The strength of this article is precisely the weakness of his book, his focus on Christian antisemitism over the Muslim adaptation of the Christian model. Not that Ahmadinejad and the Saudi fundamentalists do not deserve attention, but the alarming indicators we are all concerned about are not the obvious in Israel?s neighborhood, but emanating from our next door neighbors in the Diaspora. The real issue is still among the perpetrators of Shoah, Christendom, among whom we in Diaspora reside.
And it didn't end with the Holocaust either. Every country that ever had a Jewish community within its borders has had bouts of anti-Semitism. Even the United States and Canada are no exception.
This time, countries that want to get rid of their Jewish population simply stand aside while the Muslim immigrant population does all the damage. Then they'll say "Hey, it all got out of control and we didn't have the resources to contain the problem. What did you expect us to do about it?"
Wrong, anti-semitism is alive and well and living in Britain. I have family there and when my daughter was visiting England she was on a bus with my mom and the white Christian kids on the bus were shouting disgusting things at the jewish kids who were walking home from school, minding their own business. Where do these kids get their ideas from, their parents? Great new generation of kids growing up in Britain! and this was not the only incident.
I sometimes perceive that Jews are fiercely and sometimes dirtily quarreling among themselves. Remember for example that "Lost Jew" campaign or Neturei Karta's "Zionists aren't Jews". In this town, too, we had a case where Jews threatened to complain about other Jews at a non-Jewish German trial concerning a struggle internal to the community. Maybe I'm wrong, but sometimes I think the Jews have to be protected against their own division. I'm not sure why this little people is so at odds with itself: Cultural diversity through life in different diasporas? Differing experiences with successful integration and anti-Jewish racism? Contrasting awarenesses of victimhood on one hand and military strength and occupation on the other one? There was a time when I thought about becoming Jewish, but it's already worrying enough to observe the struggles from outside. Choosing one group? Choosing my own eclectic judaism, and be fought by others? No thanks, life's difficult enough...
Israel can play a role in thwarting the anti Semitic trends. It must make a genuine and not halfhearted effort to make peace with its Palestinian neighbors. It cannot give the anti Semites the Zionist oppressor card. The world wants to move on rather than dealing with the issue of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Europe would feel much respond to Israel more positively if it looked like they were sincere about pulling back from the lands conquered in 67 and sharing Jerusalem. The anti Semites would have difficulty garnering more support for anti Jewish sentiment if Israel came across as really wanting peace instead of absconding Palestinian land and deporting Palestinians
What a load of codswallop. I grew up in England and never heard a negative word about Jews. There were Jewish girls in my class at school. I worked with many Jews. If we knew people were Jewish we didn't care. Actually the first time I ever witnessed racism there was in 1963 when visiting Jewish friends in London. One Saturday morning I went with them to the local open market, and my Jewish friend's mother nudged me and said, disparagingly: "look at the Schwartzes!" I had never heard the word before, and only then did I notice a family of black people shopping nearby.
With almost instant communications from every nook&cranny on the planet plus a heighten awareness, I cannot see how a holocaust could happen again. The oringinal holocaust (and the only holocaust) will not be repeated for a number of reasons: (1) From Israel to around the world, the vigilal to prevent a genocide of Jewish people is sincere & effective; (2) There are many safe places, including the USA; (3) For a holocaust to occur--a long period of time is required --again a secret can't be kept that long. Israel could change the climate by acting BIG and doing something Great, like making peace. A comprehensive peace with the Pals, Syrians, and the Lebonese would change world's opinion very quickly.
running wild in the United Kingdom I am surprised to see Jews in positions of leadership both in the business world and in the political field. Let alone the numbers of Israelis who move to the UK every year including the richest on the planet who frankly could move to pretty much wherever they wanted to. The author is equating anti Israel sentiment with anti Jewish sentiment, when they are both different. Get over trying to sell us anti semitism 2.0, fact is being critical of Israel and her policies towards the Palestinian people is not anti semitism, in fact claiming it is is the last refuge of a scoundral.
Can I just rebutt this nonsense - at least as it applies to the UK. It is designed to scaremonger people into buying his new book - shameful. I am not a Jew but I work with some and know others - they do not suffer anti-semitism. They are ordinary people that breathe in and out just like everyone else. An awkward fact for someone who makes a living out seeing what is not there.
Let's face it. For whatever reason, how in G-d's name can anyone imprison 3 million people for over 60 years in their own homes? Wake up Israel. Even our own PR people and the US AIPAC group cannot sustain such actions much longer.
You cannot blame other countries for the worldwide opposition to Israel's racist policies. Start implementing fair, non-racist policies towards the Palestinian people, start abiding by International law and join the REAL democracies of the world. Until you do those things anti-Israel sentiments (not anti-Jewish) will only continue to grow. The author of this article fails to see the bigger picture imo and is blinded by his paranoia and sense of victimhood.
Examples: (1) 1971 "Operation Searchlight" in which 3.5 million Bengalis and Chakma tribals (of these 2.3 million were Bengali Muslims) were murdered by 145,000 Muslim Punjabis and Bhimaru-origin (mohajir/Bihari) (2) current (since 2003--though denied by Useless Numpties) situation in Darfur (casualites so far 500,000 African Muslims) at hand of Arab-Muslim government in Khartoum (3) Iraq's "Anfal" against Kurds, 1979-2002, total victims 200,000 Note that all of the above happened with bullets, bayonets and some WMD's--with NO concentration camps.
If people don't like you, it's always more comforting to think it's something wrong with them rather than you. We all do it from time to time. I have to say the picture Wistrich paints of Britain is just not one I recognise in any way. "He estimates that roughly 90 percent of the teachers in the grammar school he attended in the late 1950s and early 1960s were classic anti-Semites." "In Britain, all the taboos that exist in polite society are long gone when it comes to Israel and the Jews," he said, adding that anti-Semitic comments are a daily occurrence, "whether it's at dinner tables, in academia or in the churches." "Britain is going through one of the most anti-Jewishly tinged periods of its history." Bollocks. I can't remember the last time I heard anybody say anything bad about Jews. Most people don't even care that much about Israel We've got Jewish MPs, Jewish ministers, Jewish judges, Jewish TV channel heads etc. etc.
If it comes to the situation where Israel's existence is on the line, then, the foolish country that seeks to destroy Israel will be blasted off the earth's crust and sent into orbit around the moon. Don't underestimate the nation with the greatest physicists.
and anyone who dedicates their professional life to the study of 'anti semitism' is likely to be more prone to it than most. I am a member and occasional attendee at Boundary Rd synagogue London E17 in what (anyone who knows the area will testify) is a very Muslim area, with very few Jews living in the vicinity these days. My father grew up there and in his time anti semitism was fairly common(before Muslim influx). Today the synagogue has virtually no problems with any locals, no vandalism as such and no attempted break ins in all the years I have been a member. I live a few miles further out of London in what is a Jewish area and anti semitism is a rarity accept the occasional incident(minor ones) involving teenagers associated with schools(one Jewish Snr school in area). Apart from that, zilch. My son graduated from Leeds University without recounting any incidents of anti semitism and my daughter is at Loughborough Uni. and has had no problems. I myself was schooled in Essex in a school where I was the only Jew. No problems. Now as far as I am concerned, that is not a reason to be complacent but it does tell me one thing. As with some black people, there are those who will see anti semites/racists around every corner and will live their lives accordingly, whilst others will simply get on with life. The former are better off in Israel. The latter could live just about anywhere without much ado. Secondly, the author is deluded if he thinks that some of the Israeli excesses in the territories and Lebanon can not be opposed by Europeans unless those Europeans are anti semites. He has merely bought into the bankrupt theory that criticism of Israel is by definition repressed anti Semitism or self hatred. On the contrary, criticism of modern day Israeli tactics is a necessary requirement for any conscientious Jew.
there is a term for this schizophrenia. The delusions of paranoid schizophrenics usually involve thoughts of being persecuted or harmed by others or exaggerated opinions of their own importance, but may also reflect feelings of jealousy or excessive religiosity
He is right,the arab propaganda machine helped by countries with large Islamic communities, ie.Britain and France are pushing Anti-semitism to an all time high. The publicity concerning Israel's cast lead operation,the Dubai affair and many others just does not end. Not even the daily slaughter of innocent Iraqi civilians gets so much attention. Last but not least,the moralist Erdogan of Turkey has joined the bash Israel band wagon.
Any writing, book or article, about "anti-semitism" that fails to acknowledge the psychological fact of the difference between (1) individual prejudice against Jews qua Jews, and (2) personal antipathy and repugnance at the inhumane behaviors of Israel and Israel's worshippers in the diaspora, simply isn't worth reading. Denial of this distinction is a political argument that flies in the face of the science of human psychology.
A world wide campaign to build hate against the jews & israel ! The Holocaust started to be a dirty word for some people & some countries who deny its very existence ! No, this is not unexpected ! In fact this is the norm, looking back in history. When the world in trouble, as it is today; those who first pay are the jews ! Palestine & Palestinians are just the excuse. There is billions of people who never know who are the palestinians & where is palestine on the map, who hate the jews & israel ! If anything has repeated itself in history are those who makes the jews always pay for those people's mistakes. Israel is our last port of escape where there is no white paper to stop us from going there and save our skin ! A reminder for all of us to think again !
It was a minor incident, but it was there for the first time since Sephardi Jews were welcomed to our country in the fifteenth century. It was horrific to behold. Condemnations followed immediately from the Islamic community and both Catholic and Orthodox Churches, but it had happened. What I am saying is that both Europe and ME(including Israel) need to change their policy regarding this issue. Both sides are to blame and both need to bear the brunt of change. No one can expect Muslims and Christians to change their view of Jews and Israel, without changing the way Israel acts towards them. Respect and friendship are two ways streets. Until this is understood we shall have Jew-hatred, islamophobia, terrorist attacks, assasinations, walls, human rights violations, settlements, segregation, racial and religious aparthaid and so forth. If this doesn't change it will only get worse, no matter how many bombs are dropped, or how many suicide bombers blow themselves apart among civilians.
or not voting in far right governments bent on the creation of a Greater Israel through land expropiation and oppression---not to mention "Mass Expulsions". A novel idea--perhaps.
or not voting in far right governments bent on the creation of a Greater Israel through land expropiation and oppression---not to mention "Mass Expulsions". A novel idea--perhaps.
I would classify the "Scholar" as a typical paranoid, who confuses anti-Israel sentiments with anti-Semitism. Nevertheless, a proper guidlines should be put to distinguish real anti-Semitism from legitimate criticism of Israel. To get over it, Israel should become a country with proper internationally recognized borders, obaying international laws and abiding by UN resolutions, then Jews can become safer not being tainted by illigimate Israeli actions. And I should tell the "Scholar" that even though he is paranoid, but that doesn't mean nobody is out there to get you, but the whole world will be with you, including Moslem nations, and will be against antisemites when the Palestinian Problem is resolved, and a proper termination of the conflict is achieved. Only then a real clear cut will be made. The status of the city of Jerusalem is a key to enlightenment.
Ialso was born in the uk, grew up there and went to school with many jewish kids and NEVER i saw or heard of any anti semitism remarks like you are talking about, we used to love the time of year when they would share sweets with us, sweets were hard to come by in those days,so where did you live in the uk?
Anti-Jewish sentiment is a problem. One that has to be addressed before it spins out of contol. But from this article I can conclude that it is always the other side that is to blame for such sentiments. While Muslims and Christians have a share of the blame, so does the State of Israel with it's contraversial politics. Muslim world, by and large, wasn't anti-Jewish before 20th century. In fact, it was seen as very tolerant to Judaism. A place of refuge from the pogroms taking place across the continent. Such sentiments only started to apear after things like Irgun terrorist attacks and deportation of Muslims from their homes. The fact is that anti-Jewish incidents flare up as a rule when Israel conducts military operations in it's neighborhood. For example; in my country(some 50-60% Muslim population) we never even knew about anti-Semitism, and lived with our Jewish citizens not even caring about religion. Yet, after Cast Lead first anti-Jewish graffiti apeared.
Robert Wistrich, like a lot of Jewish people in Israel, thinks that Britain has become more anti-Semitic. The truth is that Britain has become more anti-Islamic. This is due to the large number of immigrants from Muslim countries, and the perception that they are changing the cultural make-up of the country. If Britain is so anti-Semitic, can Mr Wistrich explain why there are such a large number of successful Jewish personalities in the British industrial, commercial, entertainment and political arenas?
Wistrich is an extremist opposed to any peace treaty with the Palestinians. Thus, he mongers fears of antisemitism to feather his position. And besides, what do you expect from a scholar that makes a career out of antisemitism in Israel? Would he ever say that antisemitism is less of a threat today than in the 1950s or that Israel's actions in the West Bank directly justifiably breed antisemitism? (If Israel is THE Jewish State and all Jews should feel proud of its achievements, by the same token all Jews should be stained by its misdeeds).
I have lived in Britain as a Jew and would never deny the existence of anti-semitism there or wherever I have lived in Europe but the identification of an existential threat to us from Jihadists does not make sense. There is a misconstrual of Muslim anti-Zionism - which is frequently on course - with Nazi anti-semitism. This is just wrong and steers Jews away from the recognition that the continuing occupation and the blatantly expansionist history of the State of Israel since 1967 are the source of our de-legitimization in the modern world. The occupation coupled with the brutality of Israel's responses to perceived and real threats makes no sense for the long-term security of Israel. A peaceful resolution to the conflict in accordance with international law is the best contribution to Israel's security and will pacify our relations as Jews to at least the mass of Muslims. In this crisis the worry is from real Nazis and skinheads, the same who threaten Muslim immigrants!
Despite the frenetic efforts of Robert Wistrich, (who, incidentally, does have a vested interest because he is trying to plug his latest book), indifference rather than hatred is the real situation for Jews in the UK. As he left the UK in 1980 his experiences are hardly relevant today! This indifference can be found in both the Jewish community and society at large. The high rate of "marrying out" in the UK shows that Jews are not sufficiently concerned about marrying other Jews, a matter of great concern to the Chief Rabbi and other Jewish community leaders. In the non-Jewish community, people simply don't care about Jews, they choose their doctor or cobbler or accountant or baker based on their competence, not their religion. Jews can be found at the highest levels of politics, sport, medicine, business and academia which hardly gives any support to the idea that Jews face any real barriers to advancement in the UK.
It's not can happen but the holocaust happens already. Think of the Gaza and several countries in Africa.
Prof Wistrich is perfectly right in his assessment of the undercurrent of anti-semitism in Britain and Europe, Jews need to realise that it has always been there and will surface from time to time. But, thank goodness, it has never taken the form of organised violence and political legislation against us as it did in Nazi Germany. However, the main point of a recurring Holocaust has been missed. The focus of existential threat is now against Israel's Jews in the form of nuclear attack from Iran. It is now up to us who live in the diaspora to defend and speak up for the rights of Israels Jews. Simply because we should be proud of its achievments and for restoring us as people and nation. In reality it is our turn to help Israel.
even the Iranians know that very well and while they propable would love to be an existantial threat, they are not and will not be.
in britain a few years ago, with a gentile identity created by those helping my experiment, my social espionage, my study, i think this publication in not sensible, and rather alarmist. in many gentile to gentile conversations (me in my masquerade), they being professionals, educated, and similar, i even tried to provoke responses. people in britain seem to have so many other things to worry about; and found say, and i can not blame them, discussions about the middle east boring, irrelevant, unimportant to them, compared with the economy, northern ireland, dependence on fossil fuel. over many years, with hundreds of interactions, i never met any of the types of people highlighted in this article. i must presume they exist, as i hope readers will allow my contrary experience to also exist.
There was a deep-rooted antisemitism in England in the 1980s too when I was studying at Cambridge. It was even hidden - people had no qualms about making antisemitic comments in my presence, even though I was quite open about being Jewish. In fact, it was one of the deciding factors that brought me to Israel. A colleague who studied at Oxford just a few years earlier recently told me the his decision to make aliya was based on a similar experience. I have noticed that many Israelis are insufficiently acquainted with British society to recognise these signs, and mistakenly take British politeness as a sign of acceptance.
I had my first taste when I was five, growing up in the slums of Glasgow. A kid yelled at me, "You killed Christ", Deeply upset, I ran home crying and pleaded with my Mother, "I never killed anyone".
europe has now reverted to what it has been to jews for over two thousand years. we have to build israel in expectation of a further mass migration to the jewish state.
Since when does Iran want to exterminate all the Jews? If they did why don't they start with their own community, which lives a trouble-free, protected life in the country? And any scholar worth his salt will accept Ahmedinejad has never asked for the destruction of Israel, but professed a belief that it cannot survive if it continues on this road to self-destruction (you know what: he's right). Finally, if he was a good scholar wouldn't he address the root causes of this episodic anti-semitism? My personal experience of the 'Jewish polemic' here in New York emanates from Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and the gross injustices meted out to a subjugated people, and to the massive death counts in Cast Lead and Lebanon in 2006. A poor scholar; more of a panic monger.
who probably kept his British passport equating opposition to Israeli policies against the Palestinians to anti semitism. Interesting this socalled historian thinks that Britain fought Nazi Germany on behalf of the Jews. I thought that Britain joined in World War II because Hitler had invaded Poland. It is flattering though that Zionists have singled out Britain for attack. Nothing to do with the numbers of Israelis ditching Israel and choosing to move to Britain? Including Israel's richest citizens who to be honest could move wherever they wanted. And I won't even mention the Russian Jewish oligarchs like Berenovsky and Abramovitch. Even Netanyahu and his wife came to Britain and stayed during Lebanon2 and he subsequently got elected as Israel's Prime Minister. Interesting article though.
I am of similar age to the author Robert Wistrich. I was born in England a second generation Jew. Every word that the author has stated, was what I had experienced living in the UK. A continual subtle hatred. It is a country with deep antisemitic undertones, the Jew hatred was never far beneath the surface. Unfortunately many of our Jewish bretheren choose to bury their heads in the sand avoiding reality. I fear very much for our children's future, unless solid steps are taken to strengthen our resolve. NEVER AGAIN!!
I am not a profesor and I don't write books, but I have been saying that and put it in my comments to the papers for many years now. I blame the the international and Israeli media for de legitimizing Israel which of course reflects on Jews in general. This goes on through out History which repeats itself. Like the Nazi propaganda before WW2 which many listen to and beleive even today.
A question the article left out, is why is Great Britain such a hotbed of anti-Semitism today. The seeds, as the article points out, were there before the massive immigration of Muslims. Once again, it seems to be an explosive mix of factors, sources, but all of them pointing out to the same, mysterious lethal obsession. What do Gordon Brown or David Cameron think and feel beyond the thick layer of publicly acceptable talk, for example?