VIOLENCE AND VITRIOL Anti-Semitism Around the World During Israel’s Operation...

[shira]

"Jews to the gas!"
-Chanted in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, during an anti-Israel demonstration, July 12, 2014.

"Molotov Cocktail Thrown at Synagogue"
-Headline in Le Monde, July 12, 2014.

Once again, "Death to Jews!" and "Jews to the gas!" are heard in Europe. Once again, Jewish communities around the world are paying for the perceived "sins" of Israel.

Following the spate of serious anti-Semitic incidents during Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 - January 2009, we reported:

As Israel defends her citizens from Hamas' missiles, Jews around the world have also come under attack. Jews have been beaten on the street. Synagogues have been fire-bombed. "Jews to the gas" has been chanted at anti-Israel demonstrations. Newspapers in the Arab world and in Latin America have published pieces making blatant comparisons between Israel and the Nazis' perpetration of the Holocaust.

The pattern continued and metastasized during Israel's Operation Protective Edge in July and August 2014: Hamas fired missiles from Gaza; Israel's military responded; Jews around the world were attacked, this time in even greater numbers. Again synagogues were fire-bombed. Again Jews were beaten on the street. Again Jews received death threats, both publicly and privately.

And once again, Israel was accused of acting like the Nazis. In one instance in Santiago, Chile, a protester carried a sign accusing Israel of being worse than the Nazis. Other anti-Semitic motifs were also in clear evidence including blood libels.

much more...
http://www.adl.org/assets/pdf/anti-semitism/international/updated-adl-report-on-anti-semitism-during-ope-9-9-14.pdf

[Chemisse]

1. This is one reason why Israel really needs to curb its aggression.

People are angry about the bloody invasion of Palestine. And many people don't distinguish between the actions of a hawkish administration and the people of that country.

[oberliner]

5. Jews in France are not "people of that country"

French people are so angry about Gaza that they want Jews to die?

[Chemisse]

12. No they are not, which makes it even sadder to see this hatred spread.

But it's still the same phenomena, Jewish people everywhere are getting the blame for a Israel's actions.

[oberliner]

18. Blaming Jewish people for things predates the existence of the modern state of Israel

It's been going on for centuries with various specious excuses given depending on the historical era.

[Chemisse]

22. And yet the current discussion is in connection with Israel's operation in Gaza.

Which has spurred a surge in antisemitism in Europe.

[oberliner]

24. Exactly - this is the current excuse used to express hatred against Jewish people

There has always been something that could be pointed to as the "reason" for expressions of such antisemitism.

This one is among the most far-flung of them all as Jews living in Europe have zero to do with the policies and behavior of the Israeli government.

To say nothing about the fact that some people in Europe seem to have an out-of-proportion reaction with respect to Israel as opposed to the actions of other much more egregious violent actors against various people, Arabs and Muslims included.

It is one thing for Americans to pay particular attention to Israel - since we are the primary supplier of military funding to that country . But in Europe there is no such relationship.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. So you're saying that every time Israel

devastates large parts of what's left of the land they haven't taken from the Palestinians, and kill hundreds or thousands of civilians, hatred increases for Jewish people as a whole?

That's an amazing coincidence. Almost like the way when America goes around killing thousands of civilians in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, or using drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen, more people around the world hate America and want to behead Americans they can get their hands on, even if those particular Americans haven't done anything warlike, and don't even support the American attacks on countries in the Middle East. You'd almost think there might be some sort of connection.

Almost like indiscriminate violence begets indiscriminate violence. Like it doesn't matter who is 'responding' to what, but simply that "perceived" sins rebound upon more than just those who engage in such 'operations'.

If only America and Israel could figure out just why more people hate them, they could find some path forward that wouldn't just happen to coincide with increased hatred of them or people associated with them.

[King_David]

3. This is hate and violence against Jews outside Israel

Perpetrated by people who are not from Gaza.

[Chemisse]

9. Exactly. It's called generalization.

Some of those in a category of people do some bad things, and our human tendency is to think that all people in that category are bad.

It's the basis of racism.

[DanTex]

16. Yes. One reason why it's important to distinguish between Judaism as a whole and Israeli policy.

Unfortunately, extremists on both sides want to blur this distinction. Anti-semites in order to use Israel as justification for their hatred, and Zionist extremists in order to paint critics of Israel as anti-semitic.

Jews outside of Israel aren't responsible for Israel's actions. In fact, Jews in Israel aren't responsible for it either. The Israeli government is responsible.

[King_David]

17. That will not make any difference to the Antisemites,

That has absolutely NOTHING to do with anti-Semitism, In Europe, In America, in The Middle East, or Hamas/ISIS/Al Quada..


They hate Jews , extreme left extreme right ....do not care about Israel's policies.

Antisemites hate Jews...PERIOD !!!!

[oberliner]

4. "Kill hundreds of thousands of civilians"

What the heck are you talking about?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

6. OR. I wrote 'OR' not 'OF'.

Maybe you need a bigger screen or a different font to make it easier to read.

[oberliner]

7. Oh sorry

It is weird though how there are other countries and organizations who have killed hundreds OF thousands of civilians, yet folks in Europe seem to get particularly angry about the hundreds OR thousands killed by Israel and sometimes direct that anger towards the small percentage of Jews who still live there, even though they are not Israelis.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

8. Sure - I gave a prime example, America.

The Iraq War resulted in the deaths of an estimated half a million Iraqis through things like displacement, disease, and destruction of medical and other infrastructure.

One reason that Palestinian deaths have disproportionately high regard is that they are at best considered 'wards' of Israel, or at worst, prisoners of same. They are largely dependent upon Israel. So, in analogy, it's the difference between two unrelated people getting in a fight, and a step-parent beating a violent child they keep locked in the basement. (And yes, I know there are deaths on each side, which cannot easily be analogized down into something that doesn't involve killing.) Or a 300 lb muscled man in an elevator punching a 110 lb woman in the face when she slaps him. Some few people will say 'If a woman hits a man, she should expect to get hit back.' But the vast majority of people will consider the man a bully who deserves to be arrested. In an all out war, it's obvious that Israel could completely level Gaza and kill every single Palestinian, while taking very few overall casualties itself. So Israel is seen as that 300 lb man in the elevator, or that parent who locks their step-child in the basement.

My point is not that anti-semitism doesn't exist, but that certain actions 'fan the flames'. And most people are too intellectually lazy to discriminate between the actual people who do actions with which they take umbrage and those they consider to be 'the same'. They also make the incorrect mental shortcut of 'Israel is a Jewish state' to 'Jewish people are essentially Israelis'. So they attack the people nearby who they feel are associated with Israel, because they're nearby, rather than hopping on a plane to declare jihad against the IDF and Netanyahu.

Hatred grows fastest where there is ignorance and stupidity.

[Chemisse]

10. Passions rise very high over this I/P conflict.

Even as far worse atrocities happen around the globe.

Some say that Al Quada's anti-Americanism had its roots in anger over the Israeli - Palestinian conflict.

[King_David]

14. It's the reason Israel exists as the Jewish state

And refuge .

[DanTex]

15. By that logic, it's weird how some Americans get upset when Hamas kills tens of Israelis,

and yet have no problem when thousands of Palestinians are killed by Israel.

[azurnoir]

20. It has occurred that one side feeds the other here

a quick look at threads-OP's and comments in this group will reveal the extent to which Jews is used in place of Israeli and when called on it those doing it will use examples such as the violence in France ect as justification however that also feeds those who would do violence to Jews outside of Israel as a protest of Israel's policy the two are nearly hand in glove flip sides of the same coin-not a right-left thing IMO as both are rightists

[King_David]

21. Not true at all

AntiSemitism exists and has existed for 1000s of years.
It has absolutely nothing to do with Israel and absolute nothing to do with the right/left political spectrum.
Extremist right wing meets extremist left wing AntiSemitism in their hatred of Jews be it Hamas , David Duke , ISIS ,
Al Quaida.

Jew haters gonna hate Jews and it has nothing to do with Israel .

But the converse is also true, Jew haters gonna hate Israel cos it is The Jewish State.

[Chemisse]

11. Very good points.

And ones we are completely ignoring by heading off to Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS.

Wash, rinse and repeat.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

13. Yup. We're continuing to raise up more people to hate America.

What would I do instead? I'd tell the neighbouring countries we're not going to commit acts of violence in the Middle East, but that we'll support them in non-military ways. We'll help the people of those countries improve their transportation, electric grids and generation (preferably solar), manufacturing, water and sewer, education, etc. That lets them commit their own resources to military defense while making people actually feel they have things to thank America for, rather than resent us.

You can't 'win hearts and minds' with tanks and missiles.

[Aerows]

19. Well said! n/t

[Chemisse]

23. Exactly.