10 may 2016
A demonstrator waves the Palestinian flag outside British PM David Cameron's residence in London on Sept. 9, 2015
By: Ramzy Baroud
Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist, author and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story.
There is a witch hunt in the British Labor Party. Britain's opposition party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is being hounded for not rooting out alleged anti-Semitism in his party. Those leading the charge are pro-Israel Zionists and their supporters within the party, members who are mostly allied with the former Prime Minister, the largely discredited pro-war Tony Blair. The Blairites are quite unhappy that Corbyn, who won the party's leadership election last September with a landslide victory is a non-elitist politician, with a deep-rooted grassroots activist past, and, yes, a strong stance for Palestinian rights.
Corbyn has been subjected to all sorts of attacks and ridicule from his own party, many members of which have been busy plotting to push him out, but remained hesitant because of his popular appeal. The Labor party had, in fact, lost much of its credibility since the days of Blair’s ‘New Labor’ and following the US lead in waging an immoral and illegal war on Iraq. Blair’s supporters changed the priorities of the party, which was ‘labor’ by name only. Corbyn’s advent galvanized young people around fresh ideals, and renewed the shaky faith of the party’s traditional supporters.
But since he became a leader, the man’s agenda of anti-corruption and greater equality in Britain has been slowed down, or even entirely halted, by some most bizarre controversies. He was attacked over such things as his supposed poor sense of fashion, his alleged lack of patriotism, and more. The attacks have been so ridiculous, yet omnipresent, that they became the subject of popular memes and much satire.
And when it all failed, he was hit with another manufactured controversy, that of alleged anti-Semitism within his own party. The recent attacks have been the most organized, yet. They involve Israel supporters, British politicians, the media and other sources.
The media has tried to paint him as an embattled leader who is not able to control the uncontainable Jewish hate oozing from his party members.
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, known for his strong support of Israel, joined the fray, charging that the lid has been lifted on bigotry within Labor and that investigation into anti-Semitism must be more than a 'sticker plaster.'
The investigation and the preceding outcry of anti-Semitism, however, targeted those who were critical of Israel, not Jews, in general, or Judaism. Former London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, who was suspended from Labor for suggesting links between the Nazi party and early Zionists, was not making any reference to Jews per se, and certainly not to Judaism. Arguably, if he was wrong, then it is a mere question of history, not race.
In its coverage of the controversy, even the BBC, delinks both concepts:
"Anti-Semitism is 'hostility and prejudice directed against Jewish people', while "Zionism refers to the movement to create a Jewish state in the Middle East."
Indeed, the first is a racist ideology, while the latter is an entirely political and historical question, especially since early Zionists were largely atheists. Israel’s Zionist-Jewish contradiction was phrased skillfully by Israeli historian Ilan Pappe when he wrote:
“The secular Jews who founded the Zionist movement wanted paradoxically both to secularize Jewish life and to use the Bible as a justification for colonizing Palestine; in other words, they did not believe in God but He, nonetheless, promised them Palestine.”
But the Rabbi, and many of those who unscrupulously joined the charge against Labor, pretend that Zionism, a late 19th century political movement, is the same as Judaism, a religion that dates back millennia.
However, there is nothing new here, and the manufactured ‘controversy’ is hardly limited to Britain or the Labor Party.
The message that Israeli hasbara (propaganda) has been steadily sending to its critics since the establishment of Israel over the ruins of the Palestinian homeland in May 1948: if you are critical of Israel, however slightly, you are a certified anti-Semite. If it happens that you are Jewish, then you are a self-hating Jew, and if you are an Arab, you must abandon the idea that you are, yourself, Semitic and Arab, by merely opposing Israel’s ethnic-cleansing of Palestinians who are all anti-Semites, anyway.
I doubt there is a self-respecting Palestinian intellectual who has not fended off accusations of being anti-Semitic for merely advocating for Palestinian rights, and demanding accountability of Israeli violations of human rights and war crimes.
Unable to defend Israeli actions based on logical arguments, international law or common sense, Israel’s supporters use other means, threats, smears and vilifications, and also by fabricating non-existing controversies. And no one is immune.
Daniel Greenfield engaged in a bizarre diatribe in the Jewish Press on March 8, in an article entitled: "Bernie Sanders is NOT a Jew." In the same familiar tone of distortion and self-pity, Greenfield theorized: “While Bernie Sanders invoked his last few drops of Jewishness and the Holocaust in support of a Muslim anti-Semite’s cry bullying, he didn’t feel the need to do so for the Jewish State when it actually stood on the verge of destruction. Instead, he had called for denying arms to Israel before the Yom Kippur War.”
How about the United Nations, which has failed to enforce a single resolution of the dozens of resolutions passed to demand justice for the Palestinians and accountability from Israel?
It is an “anti-Semitic circus” according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The novel designation followed the recent UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC's) decision to compile a list of international and Israeli companies that do business in illegal Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories.
Despite the fact that the UN is yet to reverse the worsening plight of the Palestinians or advance their cause beyond symbolic gestures, one rarely hears the accusation that the UN is anti-Palestinian, or anti-Arab.
On the other hand, for merely censuring Israeli action by words only, the UN, according to Jennifer Rubin writing in the Washington Post on February 16, “tolerates and, by its silence, condones, anti-Semitism.”
The US government has blindly and unconditionally given credence to that notion, marching to the drumbeat of the Israeli government on every occasion and boycotting international institutions whenever Israel raises the frequently false flag of anti-Semitism.
The matter is not only pertinent to Israel and Palestine. Anyone who dares go against Israel’s interest in the region and around the world is a candidate for the manipulation of Israeli terminology.
Following the Iran nuclear deal between Iran and western powers, conservative commentator Debbie Schlussel coined new terminology: ‘Jews in the Name Only’ or JINOs. Those alleged JINOs are the 98 prominent ‘Hollywood Jews’ who backed the Iran deal in an open letter.
By completely shutting the door on any form of criticism of Israel, Zionism, and the censure of its military behavior in the region coupled with the daily violence meted out against occupied Palestinians, Israel has expanded the definition of anti-Semitism to include whole countries, governments, international institutions and millions of independently thinking individuals the world over.
However, not even such deliberate distortion should prevent us from making the differentiation loud and clear: anti-Jewish racism should be condemned as loudly and decisively as Islamophobia and any other form of racial discrimination and bigotry.
However, criticizing violent political movements and the behavior of any state that violates international law and human rights is a moral duty. Israel will not be the exception.
The views expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect Ma'an News Agency's editorial policy.
By: Ramzy Baroud
Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist, author and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story.
There is a witch hunt in the British Labor Party. Britain's opposition party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is being hounded for not rooting out alleged anti-Semitism in his party. Those leading the charge are pro-Israel Zionists and their supporters within the party, members who are mostly allied with the former Prime Minister, the largely discredited pro-war Tony Blair. The Blairites are quite unhappy that Corbyn, who won the party's leadership election last September with a landslide victory is a non-elitist politician, with a deep-rooted grassroots activist past, and, yes, a strong stance for Palestinian rights.
Corbyn has been subjected to all sorts of attacks and ridicule from his own party, many members of which have been busy plotting to push him out, but remained hesitant because of his popular appeal. The Labor party had, in fact, lost much of its credibility since the days of Blair’s ‘New Labor’ and following the US lead in waging an immoral and illegal war on Iraq. Blair’s supporters changed the priorities of the party, which was ‘labor’ by name only. Corbyn’s advent galvanized young people around fresh ideals, and renewed the shaky faith of the party’s traditional supporters.
But since he became a leader, the man’s agenda of anti-corruption and greater equality in Britain has been slowed down, or even entirely halted, by some most bizarre controversies. He was attacked over such things as his supposed poor sense of fashion, his alleged lack of patriotism, and more. The attacks have been so ridiculous, yet omnipresent, that they became the subject of popular memes and much satire.
And when it all failed, he was hit with another manufactured controversy, that of alleged anti-Semitism within his own party. The recent attacks have been the most organized, yet. They involve Israel supporters, British politicians, the media and other sources.
The media has tried to paint him as an embattled leader who is not able to control the uncontainable Jewish hate oozing from his party members.
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, known for his strong support of Israel, joined the fray, charging that the lid has been lifted on bigotry within Labor and that investigation into anti-Semitism must be more than a 'sticker plaster.'
The investigation and the preceding outcry of anti-Semitism, however, targeted those who were critical of Israel, not Jews, in general, or Judaism. Former London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, who was suspended from Labor for suggesting links between the Nazi party and early Zionists, was not making any reference to Jews per se, and certainly not to Judaism. Arguably, if he was wrong, then it is a mere question of history, not race.
In its coverage of the controversy, even the BBC, delinks both concepts:
"Anti-Semitism is 'hostility and prejudice directed against Jewish people', while "Zionism refers to the movement to create a Jewish state in the Middle East."
Indeed, the first is a racist ideology, while the latter is an entirely political and historical question, especially since early Zionists were largely atheists. Israel’s Zionist-Jewish contradiction was phrased skillfully by Israeli historian Ilan Pappe when he wrote:
“The secular Jews who founded the Zionist movement wanted paradoxically both to secularize Jewish life and to use the Bible as a justification for colonizing Palestine; in other words, they did not believe in God but He, nonetheless, promised them Palestine.”
But the Rabbi, and many of those who unscrupulously joined the charge against Labor, pretend that Zionism, a late 19th century political movement, is the same as Judaism, a religion that dates back millennia.
However, there is nothing new here, and the manufactured ‘controversy’ is hardly limited to Britain or the Labor Party.
The message that Israeli hasbara (propaganda) has been steadily sending to its critics since the establishment of Israel over the ruins of the Palestinian homeland in May 1948: if you are critical of Israel, however slightly, you are a certified anti-Semite. If it happens that you are Jewish, then you are a self-hating Jew, and if you are an Arab, you must abandon the idea that you are, yourself, Semitic and Arab, by merely opposing Israel’s ethnic-cleansing of Palestinians who are all anti-Semites, anyway.
I doubt there is a self-respecting Palestinian intellectual who has not fended off accusations of being anti-Semitic for merely advocating for Palestinian rights, and demanding accountability of Israeli violations of human rights and war crimes.
Unable to defend Israeli actions based on logical arguments, international law or common sense, Israel’s supporters use other means, threats, smears and vilifications, and also by fabricating non-existing controversies. And no one is immune.
Daniel Greenfield engaged in a bizarre diatribe in the Jewish Press on March 8, in an article entitled: "Bernie Sanders is NOT a Jew." In the same familiar tone of distortion and self-pity, Greenfield theorized: “While Bernie Sanders invoked his last few drops of Jewishness and the Holocaust in support of a Muslim anti-Semite’s cry bullying, he didn’t feel the need to do so for the Jewish State when it actually stood on the verge of destruction. Instead, he had called for denying arms to Israel before the Yom Kippur War.”
How about the United Nations, which has failed to enforce a single resolution of the dozens of resolutions passed to demand justice for the Palestinians and accountability from Israel?
It is an “anti-Semitic circus” according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The novel designation followed the recent UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC's) decision to compile a list of international and Israeli companies that do business in illegal Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories.
Despite the fact that the UN is yet to reverse the worsening plight of the Palestinians or advance their cause beyond symbolic gestures, one rarely hears the accusation that the UN is anti-Palestinian, or anti-Arab.
On the other hand, for merely censuring Israeli action by words only, the UN, according to Jennifer Rubin writing in the Washington Post on February 16, “tolerates and, by its silence, condones, anti-Semitism.”
The US government has blindly and unconditionally given credence to that notion, marching to the drumbeat of the Israeli government on every occasion and boycotting international institutions whenever Israel raises the frequently false flag of anti-Semitism.
The matter is not only pertinent to Israel and Palestine. Anyone who dares go against Israel’s interest in the region and around the world is a candidate for the manipulation of Israeli terminology.
Following the Iran nuclear deal between Iran and western powers, conservative commentator Debbie Schlussel coined new terminology: ‘Jews in the Name Only’ or JINOs. Those alleged JINOs are the 98 prominent ‘Hollywood Jews’ who backed the Iran deal in an open letter.
By completely shutting the door on any form of criticism of Israel, Zionism, and the censure of its military behavior in the region coupled with the daily violence meted out against occupied Palestinians, Israel has expanded the definition of anti-Semitism to include whole countries, governments, international institutions and millions of independently thinking individuals the world over.
However, not even such deliberate distortion should prevent us from making the differentiation loud and clear: anti-Jewish racism should be condemned as loudly and decisively as Islamophobia and any other form of racial discrimination and bigotry.
However, criticizing violent political movements and the behavior of any state that violates international law and human rights is a moral duty. Israel will not be the exception.
The views expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect Ma'an News Agency's editorial policy.
26 apr 2016
MP Naz Shah of the UK Labour Party posted a photo of a relocated Israel on US territory, commenting, 'Problem solved'; she later apologized for the post, which she made before becoming a member of Parliament.
A Labour Party MP is being accused of anti-Israel sentiments after it was revealed that she had expressed support for a proposal to relocate the State of Israel to US territory, thus supposedly solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Naz Shah, an MP representing Bradford West, wrote the post on social network Facebook in 2014, before she became an MP.
The offending post shows Israel cut into a map of the United States. It purports to give a number of reasons for why the move would be a positive step for Israel, the Palestinians, the US, and the world at large.
A Labour Party MP is being accused of anti-Israel sentiments after it was revealed that she had expressed support for a proposal to relocate the State of Israel to US territory, thus supposedly solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Naz Shah, an MP representing Bradford West, wrote the post on social network Facebook in 2014, before she became an MP.
The offending post shows Israel cut into a map of the United States. It purports to give a number of reasons for why the move would be a positive step for Israel, the Palestinians, the US, and the world at large.
MP Shah posted the photo along with the comment "Problem solved."
After the post was revealed, Shah publically apologized, stating that it was written two years ago and does not represent her current views.
The Labour Party has been suffering from repeated scandals lately, as just last month it suspended party member and former MP candidate Vicki Kirby after seemingly-anti-Semitic tweets she posted in 2014 were uncovered. Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn, considered a strong critic of Israel, recently said that there is no place in the Labour party for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or xenophobia of any kind.
After the post was revealed, Shah publically apologized, stating that it was written two years ago and does not represent her current views.
The Labour Party has been suffering from repeated scandals lately, as just last month it suspended party member and former MP candidate Vicki Kirby after seemingly-anti-Semitic tweets she posted in 2014 were uncovered. Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn, considered a strong critic of Israel, recently said that there is no place in the Labour party for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or xenophobia of any kind.
16 mar 2016
After tweeting in 2014 that Hitler was the 'Zionist God' and that Jews have 'big noses,' Vicki Kirby was suspended. Recently, however, she regained an official position in the party, leading to an uproar.
A UK Labour Party member and former parliamentary candidate, Vicki Kirby, has been suspended by the party for the second time over anti-Semitic tweets she posted in 2014, saying Jews have big noses and Hitler is the "Zionist God."
In the tweets Kirby posted in 2014, she wrote, "We invented Israel when saving them from Hitler, who now seems to be their teacher." She also wrote, "I will never forget and I will make sure my kids teach their children how evil Israel is!"
Following an investigation in 2014, Kirby was suspended for a period of time and then readmitted to the party with a warning.
A Labour party spokesman said on Monday that “Vicki Kirby was suspended from the Labour party following comments on social media in 2014. Following her resignation as a parliamentary candidate she received a warning from the national executive committee (NEC) on her future conduct and the suspension was then lifted. If new evidence comes to light, the Labour party will review that evidence and make sure the rules of the party are upheld.”
Recently, however, she was able to regain an official position as the vice-chairman of Labour’s branch in Woking, Surrey, which caused an uproar.
Kirby was suspended for the second time this week, hours after a parliamentary meeting of Labour MPs. According to The Guardian, Senior MP Louise Ellman said at the meeting that relations between the party and the Jewish community in Britain were "at rock bottom."
The Labour Party has faced increasing accusations in recent months about the activity of radical anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli officials in its ranks. The party is making efforts to dissociate itself from such activity.
Labor Party Chairman Jeremy Corbin, who is considered one of Israel's harshest critics and called Hamas and Hezbollah his "friends," said that there is no place in the Labour party for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or xenophobia of any type.
Moreover, the Labour Party opened investigation against Kirby, and she may very well be ousted from the party at its conclusion.
A UK Labour Party member and former parliamentary candidate, Vicki Kirby, has been suspended by the party for the second time over anti-Semitic tweets she posted in 2014, saying Jews have big noses and Hitler is the "Zionist God."
In the tweets Kirby posted in 2014, she wrote, "We invented Israel when saving them from Hitler, who now seems to be their teacher." She also wrote, "I will never forget and I will make sure my kids teach their children how evil Israel is!"
Following an investigation in 2014, Kirby was suspended for a period of time and then readmitted to the party with a warning.
A Labour party spokesman said on Monday that “Vicki Kirby was suspended from the Labour party following comments on social media in 2014. Following her resignation as a parliamentary candidate she received a warning from the national executive committee (NEC) on her future conduct and the suspension was then lifted. If new evidence comes to light, the Labour party will review that evidence and make sure the rules of the party are upheld.”
Recently, however, she was able to regain an official position as the vice-chairman of Labour’s branch in Woking, Surrey, which caused an uproar.
Kirby was suspended for the second time this week, hours after a parliamentary meeting of Labour MPs. According to The Guardian, Senior MP Louise Ellman said at the meeting that relations between the party and the Jewish community in Britain were "at rock bottom."
The Labour Party has faced increasing accusations in recent months about the activity of radical anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli officials in its ranks. The party is making efforts to dissociate itself from such activity.
Labor Party Chairman Jeremy Corbin, who is considered one of Israel's harshest critics and called Hamas and Hezbollah his "friends," said that there is no place in the Labour party for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or xenophobia of any type.
Moreover, the Labour Party opened investigation against Kirby, and she may very well be ousted from the party at its conclusion.
24 jan 2016
By Khalid Amayreh in Occupied Palestine
I don't want to irritate anyone, Jews or non-Jews. However, for those allergic to truth, I can't do much to help them avoid irritation.
We all condemn anti-Semitism in the strongest terms. We do so because hating a group of people because of their ethnicity, or religion, or because of the color of their skin, is inherently unacceptable. This is what civilized people call "racism."
In the final analysis, people may be more or less inclined to dislike certain people and certain regimes for their evil deeds, but not for what they are.
The list of evil doers is very long, indeed that is why, people like me, a late-comer, do hate the Nazis, who murdered millions of innocent people, the Soviet Communists who starved millions to death, most of the western powers which destroyed nations and exterminated countless human beings in the name of civility and democracy!!!!
And I don't forget the Bashar Assad regime, along with its Iranian and Russian supporters, who are carrying out a real holocaust in Syria for the purpose of extending the life-span of the criminal regime a few more months or a few more years.
For the same reason, I must also condemn the slow-motion genocide Zionist Jews have been carrying out for decades against the Palestinians for no reason other than the fact that the Palestinians don’t belong to the "Holy tribe." Yes, Israel may not be the worst evil doer under the sun. But it is an evil entity, none the less. And it would be dishonest to view the Zionist entity otherwise.
Let's return to the subject of anti-Semitism.
For many decades since WWII, Israeli and Zionist circles sought to blackmail the collective conscience of the West for the purpose of getting Western countries to support Nazi-like Israeli policies against the Palestinians.
And when some western nations voiced some objections or a measure of ambivalence over Israeli crimes, Israel screamed Nazis, Holocaust, Auschwitz Bergen Belen, etc. in the faces of these nations.
Unfortunately, some of these states were thoroughly intimidated and forced to shut up, even gravel at Israel's feet.
Now, Israel is trying once again to impose its own twisted understanding of anti-Semitism on the world community, especially Europe.
Hence, anti-Semitism, according to the Israeli version, is no longer about hating Jews for being Jews. Indeed, for the likes of Binyamin Netanyahu, the pathological liar and shameless propagandist who happens to be Israel's Prime Minster, anti-Semitism has acquired news far-fetched meanings and connotations including criticizing Israeli crimes and opposing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as well as Israel’s Lebensraum policies in the West Bank.
Thus, if you criticize Israel's blanket bombings of civilian neighborhoods in Gaza, you become instantly an anti-Semite.!
And if you criticize the on-the-spot execution of Palestinian kids in the street of the West Bank, you are an emulator of the Nazis, pure and simple!
And if you argue that Israel ought to return to the borders of 1967 in implementation of UN resolution 242, then you are the ultimate enemy of the Jewish people, very much like Haman the Agagite!!!
Still, if you demand rather politely that Israel should halt the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, then such demands are equated with pushing Israel to the brink of Auschwitz!!!
Frankly, I cannot think of a more scandalous abuse of anti-Semitism and the memories of Jews who perished because of their faith and ethnicity.
Today, the likes of Binyamin Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett are effectively embracing and encouraging brashly racist actions against Palestinians (Muslim and Christian alike), that have much in common with actions carried out against Jews in the 1920 and 1930-Germany.
We all remember that the Holocaust didn't really start with the concentration camps, but started much earlier with a book called Mein Kamph, with some anti-Jewish laws, the Nuremburg laws, and racist scattered attacks against Jewish properties, business, and places of worship, very much like what settler thugs are now doing to Palestinians.
Eventually came Krystalnacht. We know the rest of the story.
I can claim in all honesty that Netanyahu's anger over the burning of the Dawabsheh family at the hands of a member of Gush Emunim (a Jewish extremist group) had nothing to do with any genuine humanitarian concerns over the murder by way of burning of an entire family.
His anger is driven first and foremost by the fact that the gruesome crime portrayed Israel in bad light and seriously harmed Israeli Hasbara (propaganda efforts).
Today, nothing harms the legitimate cause of fighting anti-Semitism more than the criminally racist Israeli policies and practices in Palestine.
We, who live here in the West Bank, know more than anyone else the evil nature of Israeli crimes against our people, crimes that in many cases prompt Palestinian youngsters to carry out desperate acts that often end with death.
Israel doesn't stop trying to narrow our horizons, using every conceivable tactics. Hence, it is Israel that is really pushing the Palestinians to the brink of Auschwitz.
Now, Israel is trying to starve our people, by denying the bulk of Palestinians in the West Bank access to employment.
So, don't be surprised if you watch starving children in the West Bank a few months from now.
And don't you believe the Israelis if they tell you that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is to blame.
After all, the PA is itself languishing helplessly under the Israeli occupation and is responsible and answerable to Israel, not to the Palestinian people.
Khalid Amayreh is a veteran journalist and political commentator living in Dura in the Southern West Bank
I don't want to irritate anyone, Jews or non-Jews. However, for those allergic to truth, I can't do much to help them avoid irritation.
We all condemn anti-Semitism in the strongest terms. We do so because hating a group of people because of their ethnicity, or religion, or because of the color of their skin, is inherently unacceptable. This is what civilized people call "racism."
In the final analysis, people may be more or less inclined to dislike certain people and certain regimes for their evil deeds, but not for what they are.
The list of evil doers is very long, indeed that is why, people like me, a late-comer, do hate the Nazis, who murdered millions of innocent people, the Soviet Communists who starved millions to death, most of the western powers which destroyed nations and exterminated countless human beings in the name of civility and democracy!!!!
And I don't forget the Bashar Assad regime, along with its Iranian and Russian supporters, who are carrying out a real holocaust in Syria for the purpose of extending the life-span of the criminal regime a few more months or a few more years.
For the same reason, I must also condemn the slow-motion genocide Zionist Jews have been carrying out for decades against the Palestinians for no reason other than the fact that the Palestinians don’t belong to the "Holy tribe." Yes, Israel may not be the worst evil doer under the sun. But it is an evil entity, none the less. And it would be dishonest to view the Zionist entity otherwise.
Let's return to the subject of anti-Semitism.
For many decades since WWII, Israeli and Zionist circles sought to blackmail the collective conscience of the West for the purpose of getting Western countries to support Nazi-like Israeli policies against the Palestinians.
And when some western nations voiced some objections or a measure of ambivalence over Israeli crimes, Israel screamed Nazis, Holocaust, Auschwitz Bergen Belen, etc. in the faces of these nations.
Unfortunately, some of these states were thoroughly intimidated and forced to shut up, even gravel at Israel's feet.
Now, Israel is trying once again to impose its own twisted understanding of anti-Semitism on the world community, especially Europe.
Hence, anti-Semitism, according to the Israeli version, is no longer about hating Jews for being Jews. Indeed, for the likes of Binyamin Netanyahu, the pathological liar and shameless propagandist who happens to be Israel's Prime Minster, anti-Semitism has acquired news far-fetched meanings and connotations including criticizing Israeli crimes and opposing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as well as Israel’s Lebensraum policies in the West Bank.
Thus, if you criticize Israel's blanket bombings of civilian neighborhoods in Gaza, you become instantly an anti-Semite.!
And if you criticize the on-the-spot execution of Palestinian kids in the street of the West Bank, you are an emulator of the Nazis, pure and simple!
And if you argue that Israel ought to return to the borders of 1967 in implementation of UN resolution 242, then you are the ultimate enemy of the Jewish people, very much like Haman the Agagite!!!
Still, if you demand rather politely that Israel should halt the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, then such demands are equated with pushing Israel to the brink of Auschwitz!!!
Frankly, I cannot think of a more scandalous abuse of anti-Semitism and the memories of Jews who perished because of their faith and ethnicity.
Today, the likes of Binyamin Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett are effectively embracing and encouraging brashly racist actions against Palestinians (Muslim and Christian alike), that have much in common with actions carried out against Jews in the 1920 and 1930-Germany.
We all remember that the Holocaust didn't really start with the concentration camps, but started much earlier with a book called Mein Kamph, with some anti-Jewish laws, the Nuremburg laws, and racist scattered attacks against Jewish properties, business, and places of worship, very much like what settler thugs are now doing to Palestinians.
Eventually came Krystalnacht. We know the rest of the story.
I can claim in all honesty that Netanyahu's anger over the burning of the Dawabsheh family at the hands of a member of Gush Emunim (a Jewish extremist group) had nothing to do with any genuine humanitarian concerns over the murder by way of burning of an entire family.
His anger is driven first and foremost by the fact that the gruesome crime portrayed Israel in bad light and seriously harmed Israeli Hasbara (propaganda efforts).
Today, nothing harms the legitimate cause of fighting anti-Semitism more than the criminally racist Israeli policies and practices in Palestine.
We, who live here in the West Bank, know more than anyone else the evil nature of Israeli crimes against our people, crimes that in many cases prompt Palestinian youngsters to carry out desperate acts that often end with death.
Israel doesn't stop trying to narrow our horizons, using every conceivable tactics. Hence, it is Israel that is really pushing the Palestinians to the brink of Auschwitz.
Now, Israel is trying to starve our people, by denying the bulk of Palestinians in the West Bank access to employment.
So, don't be surprised if you watch starving children in the West Bank a few months from now.
And don't you believe the Israelis if they tell you that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is to blame.
After all, the PA is itself languishing helplessly under the Israeli occupation and is responsible and answerable to Israel, not to the Palestinian people.
Khalid Amayreh is a veteran journalist and political commentator living in Dura in the Southern West Bank
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