Does Human Rights Watch Understand the Nature of Prejudice?

[shira]

A few days ago, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, tweeted the following statement: “Germans rally against anti-Semitism that flared in Europe in response to Israel’s conduct in Gaza war. Merkel joins.” Roth provided a link to a New York Times article about the rally, which took place in Berlin.

Roth’s framing of this issue is very odd and obtuse. Anti-Semitism in Europe did not flare “in response to Israel’s conduct in Gaza,” or anywhere else. Anti-Semitic violence and invective are not responses to events in the Middle East, just as anti-Semitism does not erupt “in response” to the policies of banks owned by Jews, or in response to editorial positions taken by The New York Times. This is for the simple reason that Jews do not cause anti-Semitism.

It is a universal and immutable rule that the targets of prejudice are not the cause of prejudice. Just as Jews (or Jewish organizations, or the Jewish state) do not cause anti-Semitism to flare, or intensify, or even to exist, neither do black people cause racism, nor gay people homophobia, nor Muslims Islamophobia. Like all prejudices, anti-Semitism is not a rational response to observable events; it is a manifestation of irrational hatred. Its proponents justify their anti-Semitism by pointing to the (putatively offensive or repulsive) behavior of their targets, but this does not mean that major figures in the world of human-rights advocacy should accept these pathetic excuses as legitimate.

A question: If a mosque in Europe or in the U.S. were to be attacked (God forbid) by Islamophobic arsonists, would Ken Roth describe such an attack as a manifestation of “anti-Muslim hatred that flared in response to the conduct of Muslim groups in the Middle East?”

more...
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/does-human-rights-watchs-kenneth-roth-understand-the-nature-of-prejudice/380556/

[shira]

1. Ken Roth Uses ‘Anti-Semite’ Straw Man to Avoid Answering Critics. Time to Grow Up, Ken (VIDEO)

Last edited Mon Sep 22, 2014, 06:02 AM - Edit history (1)

This interview with Human RIGHTS Watch’s Ken Roth on Dutch TV reveals how Roth avoids answering the many substantial, provable criticisms of his clear anti-Israel bias.

He simply claims that all his critics are accusing him of anti-Semitism....

....Since 2006, Roth and HRW have been criticized for their obsession with Israel from many quarters besides this blog. Here is a small sample:

Noah Pollak in The Wall Street Journal
NGO Monitor, many times
Natan Sharansky
Israel’s Prime Minister’s office
CAMERA
The New Republic
David Bernstein in WSJ
Jennifer Rubin in WaPo
David Feith in WSJ,
Ron Kampeas of JTA
Times of London
The JC
Commentary
The original founder of Human Rights Watch, Robert Bernstein

None of these critiques, many of which are quite substantive, accuse Ken Roth or Human RIGHTS Watch of anti-Semitism.

The reality isn’t close to what Roth claims in the video. HRW’s critics are not using a charge of anti-Semitism to silence the organization or Ken Roth. On the contrary, Ken Roth is using accusations of anti-Semitism charges to avoid answering his many critics!

Roth is playing whatever games he can to avoid facing reality: His over-the-top anti-Israel bias is provable from his own words and from what he doesn’t say. There is no impartiality in his organization, whose very moral force is dependent on its appearance of fairness....

...Incidentally, when Roth claims that he takes anti-Semitism seriously - that isn’t true either. By ignoring the major sources of anti-Semitic incitement today, namely, the Arab and Muslim world, it is Roth that cheapens the term, not his critics.

more...
http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/09/17/ken-roth-uses-anti-semite-straw-man-to-avoid-answering-critics-time-to-grow-up-ken-video/

[DanTex]

3. LOL. Do you ever even watch the youtube videos that you keep spamming this board with?

If you did, you'd notice that the reporter questioning him literally said "people have called you an anti-semite". I guess in your mind he's not supposed to use the word "anti-semitism" even when he's explicitly being asked about allegations of anti-semitism.

[shira]

5. Roth is accusing most critics of HRW of pulling the anti-semite card....

As you can see from the many substantive criticisms of HRW (and Ken Roth for that matter) there are no accusations of anti-semitism. He's using phony accusations of anti-semitism as a way to deflect criticism of his organization.

[DanTex]

8. He was directly asked about charges of anti-semitism.

If anyone played the anti-semitism card, it was the reporter.

HRW has an exemplary record of even-handedness, holding both sides if I/P to account for their crimes. Holding people accountable means that the people you hold accountable are going to criticize you. That's not a surprise. Israel is running a full-time propaganda offensive against anyone who dares to point out that what they are doing is criminal.

[shira]

10. He stated on video most of his critics call him or HRW anti-semitic

That's not true.

There's plenty of substantive criticism of HRW, but he doesn't feel he needs to respond b/c he falsely accuses his critics of calling him an antisemite.

HRW has an exemplary record of even-handedness, holding both sides if I/P to account for their crimes.

Yeah, right. Have you seen THIS yet?

[DanTex]

12. The reporter is the one who asked him about anti-semitism.

I don't see how he could possibly answer a question about anti-semitism without talking about anti-semitism.

And he's right, BTW. People who want to distract attention from Israel's war crimes frequently call anyone who criticizes Israel anti-semitic. You even see it on this board all the time.

As for HRW, we've been through this before. You stand with the right-wing think tanks rather than the human rights groups. We get it.

[shira]

21. He said MOST critics accuse him of antisemitism. That's bullshit.

Most critics have legit concerns.

As for HRW, we've been through this before. You stand with the right-wing think tanks rather than the human rights groups. We get it.

Funny how you write about people who want to "distract" from Israel's alleged "war crimes" b/c that's what you're doing here WRT Amnesty, HRW, and B'tselem.

You're well aware how they ignore/deny Hamas war crimes, as well as Fatah rockets. But this won't stop you from repeating the lie that they're credible and fair organizations. You then deflect by making bullshit claims that all the evidence I produce is rightwing. Most sources I've linked to aren't rightwing at all.

Why the lies?

[DanTex]

2. Umm, yeah, anti-Muslim hatred did flare up after 9-11.

Because people falsely attributed the terrorist acts to the entire religion of Islam. In fact, that's still happening: see Fox News.

[shira]

6. He was implying that the actions of Jews caused a spike in anti-semitism

Jews are not the cause of anti-semitism anymore than Muslims are the cause of Islamophobic hate crimes.

[DanTex]

7. You are misquoting him. He said that anti-Semitism flared up "in response to Israel's actions".

Which is patently obvious. You don't seriously think that the timing of the anti-Semitic flare up was just coincidental?

[shira]

9. Do u believe the actions of Jews cause anti-semitic attacks to spike? n/t

[DanTex]

11. I would put it the way he did "resulted in".

The only people to blame for anti-semitism are anti-semites. But to pretend that Israel's atrocities had nothing to do with the flare up is willful ignorance.

[shira]

13. Israel using its right to self-defense does not increase antisemitism. n/t

[DanTex]

14. So you think it's just a coincidence that anti-semitism flared up after the Gaza invasion?

That the timing is just some big accident, and the two events are entirely unrelated? You can't possibly be that naive.

[shira]

15. Anti-semites and Islamophobes need no reason for their hate attacks....

They just make up a pre-text.

To answer you, there's causation and then there's correlation. Look up the difference and then get back to me, okay?

[DanTex]

16. I'm asking whether you think that the correlation is coincidental or not.

To me, the atrocities committed by Israel and the ensuing anti-semitic flare up are obviously related. I'm just wondering if you are sufficiently willfully blind to deny this and pretend that the correlation is just a coincidence of timing.

[shira]

18. It's not coincidental. Studies show that the more hostile people are towards Israel....

....the more anti-semitic they tend to be. So this is no surprise.

[DanTex]

19. OK, so if it's not coincidental, then Ken Roth was right.

By the way, you just made Ken Roth's point again by accusing critics of Israel of being anti-semitic.

[shira]

20. Depends on how to read Roth (causation or correlation)

And I didn't say critics of Israel tend to be antisemitic.

I said studies show that the more hostile people are towards Israel, the more antisemitic they tend to be.

[King_David]

17. It gave AntiSemitism , that has always been there

Street cred.

[azurnoir]

4. Israel's summer Gaza campaign had nothing to with the rise in EU antisemitism? some may disagree

with that premise as seen here all of these threads are from between July 8 2014 and July 28 2014, posted by someone who was kind enough to make us aware of the problem

European Anti-Semites Attack Jews To "Protest" Israel-Gaza Conflict

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113473178

'Jews in France are stand -ins for Israeli targets'

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113470540

Danish jews threatened after Gaza conflict Echoes of the Israel-Palestine crisis reaching Denmark

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113470665

Antwerp rally features call to ‘slaughter the Jews’(july 18 2014)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113470431
European Jews face rising tide of anti-Semitism in Gaza operation's wake

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113473417

French Jewish Activist Ambushed at Home

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113473516

Paris Shul Firebombed as Anti-Semitism Flares Across Europe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113468524

Swedish man beaten for hanging Israeli flag

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113468303

Jewish man attacked in Melbourne

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113468260

Synagogue firebombed near Paris in renewed violence

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113468227

Pro-Gaza protests worldwide tainted by anti-Semitism; Calgary organizer to apologize for violence

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113471776

Anti-Semitic Riots in Paris – Again

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113472691

Germany, France and Italy Condemn Anti-Semitic Protesters After Violent Clashes

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113472692