Home > Who benefits from "Anti-semitism" ? (a sad story)

Who benefits from "Anti-semitism" ? (a sad story)

by Open-Publishing - Sunday 24 October 2004
8 comments

Edito Wars and conflicts Robert Thompson


By Robert Thompson

A respectable lady went into a Bordeaux supermarket and stuck labels on dates
which had come from the "State of Israel", on which it was pointed out that the
state of origin of the fruit was founded on racist principles and asking customers
to boycott anything coming from there. This strategy was well-known and popularly
supported by people protesting against the apartheid of the former South African
régime.

The Manager of the supermarket called the Police and the lady was arrested and
taken to the Police Headquarters on a charge relating to racial discrimination.

After a time, she was released, and later the same day the Police called at her home and re-arrested her, following which she had to spend the night in a cell despite her wish to return home to her husband.

After further interrogation, she was charged with an offence in no way connected with racial discrimination, but alleging that she had damaged the goods on display. As a retired lawyer, I have asked to see the exact wording of the charge, since it is hard without seeing this to know what is likely to happen next. Many of us across France are watching with interest.

The lesson of all this sad story is that this lady is the victim of a campaign whereby certain Zionist organisations are trying as hard as they can to accuse anyone who opposes Zionism (such as this lady and many other law-abiding citizens including myself) of being "anti-semitic". As we know, Mr Ariel Sharon accused our country of being "anti-semitic" because, in the majority, we are willing to express our support for the sufferings of the Palestinians, and he further invited our Jewish fellow citizens to join him and his like in the Zionist expansion, with particular emphasis on the illegal colonies in Palestine. Happily, leading spokesmen for our national Jewish community reacted immediately by saying publicly that Mr Sharon should stay out of our internal affairs, which did not concern him.

Obviously all forms of racism are evil. This lady did absolutely nothing in any way to promote, or to encourage, "anti-semitic" feeling, but she certainly did express her objections to the rampant racism of the Zionist state, established by conquest in Palestine with the connivance of the victorious powers after the Second World War to assuage their guilty consciences.

I write "anti-semitic" because (as I have written many times before) many more Semites speak Arabic than Hebrew, and the word "semitic" relates to a group of languages spoken by people of all colours of skin. The idea of a "semitic race" arises from the racist theories of Theodor Herzl who invented the "Jewish race" as a basis for his political aim of Zionism. If anyone looks at a dark-skinned Jew from Harlem (New York) or from Ethiopia, he or she does not in my view have any close resemblance to a white-skinned Jew from Europe. I still think of a Jew as being a person who tries to live his or her life in accordance with the tenets of Judaism, a religion for which I, as a Christian, have the deepest respect.

In contrast with this attitude, the Nazis used Herzl’s theories as a convenient excuse for persecuting the Jews, and decreed that anyone with a Jewish grandparent was thereby of "Jewish race". Rather than following Rabbinic rules as to who is a Jew, the founders of the Zionist state followed Herzl and used exactly the same formula as the Nazis when deciding who should have the absolute "right" to settle in Palestine under their auspices. This same racist principle is currently used to limit the number of indigenous Arabs living within the borders of the "State of Israel" and, furthermore, to give them a lower status as second-class citizens of their state.

The good lady in Bordeaux has not made any claims to racist superiority or suggested any action against Jews, but the hysteria, whipped up by certain Zionist circles, surrounding any anti-Jewish actions in our country (which are admittedly very unpleasant) has apparently led some officials and Police officers to over-react by trying to crack-down on a form of "racism" which has never existed. Curiously enough the principal genuine anti-semitism in this country (i.e. discrimination against those whose families had traditionally spoken a semitic language) concerns our brothers and sisters of North African origin and has nothing to do with Jews.

The only ones to benefit from spreading a belief in the dangers of what is known as "anti-semitism" are the proponents of Zionism, as envisaged by Herzl in the 19th Century, but established in Palestine in the 20th.

Forum posts

  • The author is very onesided in his views. The matter is very complicated, but fact is that Israel
    excists by international agreement, support as a home for jews spread in the world for two thousand years away from the land of king David. The aim of the radical palistinians is to eradicate Israel through terror. So Israel is fighting for to resist the terror, but I diaagree with Mr. Sharon’s harsh methods.
    Oskar Nydal

    • Israel exists because they made adeal to with the brits in the first world war.It basically says,we’ll get america to help you win the war if you give us israel.The people that are most vocal about getting rid of the palestinians are not even israeli.They are supossed jews that have migrated to israel believing that is gods plan.They also dont admit to an agenda that involves ousting all non-jewish semites from the region,not just palestine.
      Archeologically,israel in the bible is no where near the israel claimed to be the holy land.There are in fact true jews living in the tiny place that was the true israel and they are on the side of their fellow semites as are the people the arab nations refer to as the stones of christ.
      Zionists also dont like to admit that they believe they are a race apart and closer to angels than humans and it is theirfore not wrong to kill muslims or christians by their logic.
      It is not their god given right to drive the idiginous people of palestine out of their country.After all it was the british that decided palestine was israel as part of their evil deal with rich zionist bankers.
      I am not anti-jewish,I am anti zionist.People with that much hatred are not religious because that would make God just like them.And if these so called keepers of the faith love their god so much and suppossedly follow his teaching why are they running the entertainment industry and subjecting our children to sex,drugs,violence and lies at all levels.
      The european and american zionists living in Israel are doubtfully all of ethnic jewish origin yet the are the voices and perpertrators of all violence.
      There centre is in Brooklyn so why dont they all move their.They are not on any religious pilgramage or following they are out to own all semite states in the region.Somehow I dont think that was part of gods plan.The meek will inherit the Earth,not the filthy rich and powerful.

  • The author is wrong to assert that Herzl invented the term "Jewish race" in the 19th century. Christians and Moslems have used the term for many centuries, nearly always in a derogatory manner, which lead to violence and bloodshed directed at the Jews. The thinking was "It’s ok to do that, you see, because those jews are a different race, not really like true humans, like us."

    Zionism is not racism, it is a form of nationalism. Is it racism for a person to define part of their identity through the country or ethnic group or language group that they feel a part of? No, it is not; in fact, it is so common that it seems to be a natural aspect of humanity. The same case could be made that Palestinians, by defining themselves as such, are being racist. Clearly the world does not see this as true - why is the case different when Jews are involved?

    Israel is a tiny nation surrounded by millions of people whose stated goal is to kill all the Jews and destroy the nation of Israel. Name me another country that would not fight back against such a force. I do not agree with many of Sharon’s policies and acts, but he is defending his country as he sees fit - this is not "racism".

    • Let’s think of Israel a different way, they are a nation of either Jewish or Jewish descended personages. There is nothing whatsover wrong with this. Surrounding them are many countries of Islamic faith. There is nothing wrong with this.
      Their are only three major problems:
      – Since the dawn of time Israeli’s and Arabs (I over generalise and sterotype) have hated each other because of cultural, religious and ideological reasons. Therefore attempts at peace or at least a truce are much more difficult than any other situation in the world today.
      – The placement of the countries. There wouldn’t be anywhere like the problem there is today if the ’international community’ had not placed opposing nations right next to each other. Israel, because of there overly close relationship, should have moved to Texas. Same climate and environment. Not to mention the Americans and Israelis are good chums.
      – For the past sixty years (since the end of WWII), America and occassionally other countries have been providing aid to Israel. It is seen as small oppressed because of its location and surrounding neighbours. No one saw the need, until recently, to provide the Islamic countries with resources. Israel began stockpiling weapons and now has the fifth (i think) biggest military force in the world. They have in place system like compulsary military service in order to ’protect’ themselves. A fatal trap, protection should be attempted with words rather than weapons. Conflict evolved when the close contact between these nations became too much and hasn’t stopped since.

      Now, this is very simplified, but why do Jewish and Muslim people hate each other so much? Surely it can’t be huge national pride or jealously at the size of each others territory or military. That would be petty, and if that were the case the whole of Europe would be decimating each other. Maybe there religions are so completely different, but the moral codes of bothe religions are pretty similar, teaching the same messages of love, trust, tolerance and understanding. Maybe this age old hate which nobody can quite put a finger on its cause... Maybe it is that it is a human ’virtue’ that hate and fear what we don’t know. Perhaps we should do the opposite of America and remove all weapons from Israel and all Arab states (pref. the rest of the world for that matter) and sit them down together in a padded room until they began to understand that the other race were not so different?

      Hmmm....

    • I think there is nothing that words can add that pictures cannot.

      There are two web pages for people to view that I would recommend:

      http://www.thewe.cc/contents/more/archive2004/may/war_2004_may_images_4.html

      Ahmed and Asma, story of two children dying

      http://www.thewe.cc/contents/more/archive/atrocities.htm

      Atrocities files — graphic images

      The second has a discussion at the end of the most important role the United States plays in the
      terrible harm being perpetrated upon the Palestinian people.

      Both in its arming and its financial support, allowing the Israeli government to do what it does,

    • Whenever I hear the word "Anti-Semite" used as a catch-all smear of anyone whom we disagree
      with (after all, one doesn’t have to prove the invalidity of any argument put forward by an Anti-
      Semite, does one?), I’m reminded of a story told by a college professor. It seems that as a
      small boy he took 2nd Prize in a Spelling Bee at school. But when he proudly returned home
      his relatives (they were Jewish) insisted that he had actually been the best speller in the contest,
      but that the Judges had been Anti-Semites and so couldn’t allow a Jew to win 1st Prize.

      "Well, that may be," the boy replied, "but the little girl who won was Jewish."

    • Israel is atiny nation that didnt exist before it was given them by people with no authority against the wishes of the idigenous people of the area.
      Wake up.

    • If the zionists hadnt stolen their country they might not hate them so much.Just remember Israel was Palestine before it was Israel.Albeit occupied by British empire builders.Isnt it about time people left the Palestinians alone.