Hitler's Birthday and Anti-Semitism in 2009

Just in time for Adolph Hitler's birthday, coinciding with Holocaust Memorial Day and Mr. Ahmadinejad's speech in favor of Racism at the racist conference, here is the report of the Stephen Roth Institute on Anti-Semtism.

 

Antisemitism Report of Tel Aviv University

 

April 2009

The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University, in cooperation with the European Jewish Congress, at their annual meeting with the press highlighted the Institute's findings regarding the situation of antisemitism in 2008 and the beginning of 2009.

 

A stormy Beginning to 2009 compared to 2008

 

A Year of Moderate Decline in Antisemitic Activity
(on the opening day of Durban II)
 January 2009 proved to be an exceptional month. With the start of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip on December 27, a wave of antisemitic manifestations swept the world. These included both violent incidents (arson attacks on synagogues, assaults on Jewish individuals, desecration of cemeteries, and vandalizing of Jewish property and Holocaust monuments) and verbal and visual expressions (insults, threats, gruesome caricatures, and stormy demonstrations). Although most of these activities featured traditional antisemitic motifs, their use was more extreme, intensive, and vociferous than was hitherto known. Muslim activists and organizations worldwide, and especially the radicals among them, showed a high degree of mobilization and were the moving force behind the demonstrations, together with leftist and human rights activists, and to a lesser extent extreme right circles. Jews and former Israelis also took part in some of the rallies, mostly in the US.

 

It should be emphasized that it is not yet possible to determine exact numbers of violent incidents during the first month of 2009, but Jewish communities and monitoring organizations have pointed to a sharp rise in all types of antisemitic activities. According to the CST in the UK, for instance, 250 incidents of all types were counted in January, compared to 35 during the same month in 2008. From the data we have received to date, we estimate that there were close to 1000 manifestations of antisemitism of all types in January world wide. The violent cases (including use of arms, assaults on persons, and desecrations) numbered close to 90, three times that of January 2008. February and March witnessed a sharp decline in violent incidents, reaching figures that were in fact lower than the equivalent months of 2008, but the virulent verbal and visual expressions and the atmosphere of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rage have not yet subsided. A similar pattern followed the 2006 Second Lebanon War – an immediate sharp rise and then a steep decline, albeit to a lower degree.

 

The leitmotif of antisemitic expressions evident at the beginning of 2009 was not classic stereotyping of the Jews and Israelis as Jews, but abuse of the Holocaust, first and foremost, as a political tool against Israel, with the analogy of Israelis/Zionists/Jewish supporters of Israel with Nazis becoming almost an axiom. This outright equation − Magen David=swastika − is intended to underline that if Nazism, the monster of the modern era, has no right to exist, then the Jewish state and its supporters, too, should be eliminated. This equivalence has caught on easily because of widespread ignorance, especially among younger generations, regarding the Holocaust and its uniqueness, as well as the history and politics of the Middle East crisis; because of the lingering memory of the Holocaust that generates fatigue of the Jew as the ultimate victim; because of the desire of youngsters and left-wingers for a symbol of evil to combat and for a cure to the world's maladies; and finally, because radical Muslim propaganda, which efficiently enhances the image of the child-killer Jew, radiating cruelty and violence since its Biblical inception, has turned anti-Zionism into antisemitism.

 

There is little doubt, then, that the anti-Zionism of 2009, which is being expressed with frightening hatred and intensity, serves as a focal point for various parties and is essentially antisemitic; moreover, its expression is different in nature from other protests against other states in conflict.

 

* * * * *

 

The year 2008 witnessed a continuation of the trend of relative stability in numbers of antisemitic violence, with an approximate 11 percent decrease compared to 2007. A decline was recorded especially in Britain, Canada and Australia, but Belgium, the US, Hungary, Italy, and Lithuania reported an increase. The economic crisis which began in the summer triggered anti-Jewish reactions, most notably in eastern Europe and the Arab world, but not violent activities.

 

Some 560 violent cases occurred in 2008 world wide, compared to 632 in 2007. The use of weapons declined, perhaps as a result of anti-terrorist measures in many states, while other forms of violence, such as arson, remained at the same level. Though hard to quantify, threats, insults, graffiti, and slogans were on the rise, evidence of the general antisemitic atmosphere. There were fewer attacks on persons (about 170 cases compared to 255 in 2007), yet figures for vandalizing of schools, synagogues, cemeteries, community centers, monuments, and private property remained relatively unchanged.  

 

We stress that despite a decrease in certain years (such as 2005 and 2008), the level of the overall number of incidents in the first decade of the new century has never returned to that of the 1990s, so that the general tendency is one of a continuous rise.

 

****

 

General Analysis 2008/9
OVERVIEW

 

 

 

The year 2008 witnessed a continuation of the trend of relative stability in numbers of antisemitic violence, with a small percentage decrease compared to 2007 (except for Germany, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, and the US, where numbers increased). The economic crisis which began in the summer triggered anti-Jewish reactions, most notably in eastern Europe and the Arab world, but not violent activities (see below for a detailed analysis of 2008). We stress that despite a decrease in certain years (such as 2005 and 2008), the level of the overall number of incidents in the first decade of the new century has never returned to that of the 1990s (see graphs below).

 

January 2009 proved to be a striking exception. With the start of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip on December 27, a wave of antisemitic manifestations swept the world. These included both violent activities (arson attacks on synagogues, assaults on Jewish individuals, desecration of cemeteries, and vandalizing of Jewish property and Holocaust monuments) and verbal and visual expressions (insults, threats, gruesome caricatures, and stormy demonstrations). Although most of these activities featured traditional antisemitic motifs, their use was more extreme, intensive, and vociferous than was hitherto known. Muslim activists and organizations worldwide, and especially the radicals among them, showed a high degree of mobilization and were the moving force behind the demonstrations, together with leftist and human rights activists, and to a lesser degree extreme right circles. Jews and former Israelis also took part in some of the rallies, mostly in the US.

 

It should be emphasized that it is not yet possible to determine exact numbers of violent incidents during the first months of 2009, but Jewish communities and monitoring organizations have pointed to a sharp rise of all types of antisemitic activities. According to the CST in the UK, for instance, 250 incidents of all types were counted in January, compared to 35 during the same month in 2008. Based on the data we have received to date, we estimate that there were close to 1000 manifestations of antisemitism of all types in January world wide. The violent cases (including use of arms, assaults on persons, and desecrations) numbered close to 90, three times that of January 2008. February and March witnessed a sharp decline in violent incidents, reaching figures that were in fact lower than the equivalent months of 2008, but the virulent verbal and visual expressions and the atmosphere of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rage have not yet subsided. A similar pattern followed the 2006 Second Lebanon War – an immediate sharp rise and then a steep decline, albeit to a lower degree.

 

The leitmotif of antisemitic expressions during the last months of 2008 and beginning of 2009 was not classic stereotyping of the Jews and Israelis as Jews, but abuse of the Holocaust, first and foremost as a political tool against Israel: the equation of Israelis/Zionists/Jewish supporters of Israel with Nazis became a recurring theme in demonstrations and individual expressions, especially in the West, which appeared to have abandoned completely post-World War II taboos on denigrating the Holocaust. This outright equation − Magen David=swastika − which symbolizes ultimate evil, cruelty, and disregard for human values, is intended to underline that if Nazism, the monster of the modern era, has no right to exist, then the Jewish state and its supporters, too, should be eliminated.

 

            The key questions that might be asked are: why did this wave of antisemitism erupt with such immediacy, as if activists had been waiting for the opportunity to set their plans in motion, and why has the comparison to the Nazis, sometimes accompanied in demonstrations by slogans such as "Death to the Jews" and "Jews to the gas," caught on with such zeal?

 

First, despite the growing interest in the Holocaust among non-Jews in many countries, especially in the West, its burdensome, lingering memory generates fatigue of the Jewish people because of what seems to be their constant harping on their image as the ultimate victim, without regard for the many other tragedies that have happened since in the world. The equation of Israel, a Jewish state, together with its Jewish supporters, with Nazis and Nazism, transfers the yoke from Europe's neck to that of Israel and the Jews. The resulting sense of relief, especially in Europe, the focal point of World War II, is reflected in the massive demonstrations and banners carried by the participants.

 

An additional reason is widespread ignorance among the younger generations concerning the Holocaust and its uniqueness, despite recent attempts to teach it in a number of countries. Their vague knowledge about mass killings that took place during World War II makes the Holocaust seem similar to many other massacres that have happened since, and paves the way for an easy acceptance of the equation with Nazis. Ignorance, too, about the history of Zionism as a Jewish national movement and about the Middle East conflict is no less prevalent, and it facilitates an unqualified comparison to the Holocaust rather than to other military, territorial, or even religious struggles.

 

About 20 million Muslims – some estimates are higher – live today in central and western Europe, and the equation of Jews with Nazis serves the radicals among them both as a political tool against the existence of Israel and the weakening of its supporters, and as an additional instrument for the building of a strong, cohesive Muslim identity around a common goal. Protests against the analogy or against the calls to kill Jews were scarce and weak. Western democratic Europe is torn between its liberal values − including political correctness − and anxiety that the growing Muslim presence in every sphere of life will get out of hand. The younger generations, especially on the left, which have been growing up with this reality, have been seeking direction, preferably an anti-establishment ideal. They march through the streets with a keffiah around their necks, identifying with Hamas and other terrorist organizations and sympathizing with the Palestinians as the contemporary underdogs, with complete disregard for other conflicts and tragedies, such as Sudan and Darfur, or Tibet and Chechnya.

 

            Classic Christian antisemitic motifs, too, have been effectively used in Muslim propaganda, two in particular. One is the ritual murder libel: continuing the myth of Jesus' crucifixion by the Jews, it alleges that Christian children are slaughtered before the Jewish Passover in order to use their blood for baking matzot. Today the sight of Palestinian children – sometimes portrayed in a crucifixion pose − in Arab TV series, in caricatures and photos, and at times even in mainstream newspapers, combined with the scenes of casualties during the Gaza operation, resonates, leaving a vivid, enduring impression. This, in turn, has led to a second motif, that of the ugly, greedy, bloodthirsty old Orthodox Israeli or Diaspora Jew (most Jews today are secular) that is reminiscent of Nazi portrayals. Moreover, cruelty and lust for vengeance are seen as ingrained, even genetically coded in Jews, since Biblical times in accordance with the instructions of a vengeful god that emerged in the Land of Cana'an. Thus, alleged Jewish characteristics are projected onto Israelis, both as individuals and especially as a public, to the extent that any decent person feels obliged to combat this evil.

 

Demonstrators and others who express outrage against Israelis and Jews protest when they are accused of antisemitism, claiming they are anti-Zionist. It should be stressed that according to the international Working Definition of Antisemitism, agreed upon by 25 EU countries, (and de facto, by many of the 55 OSCE member countries), anti-Israelism (a discrimination in itself) becomes antisemitism when it uses symbols and images associated with classical antisemitism, when it denies the Jewish people their right to self-determination or applies double standards by requiring of it behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation, when it holds Jews collectively responsible for steps taken by the State of Israel, and – most importantly in the 2009 case – when it draws comparisons between contemporary Israeli policy and that of the Nazis.

 

There is little doubt, then, that the anti-Zionism of 2009, which is being expressed with such frightening hatred and intensity, serves as a focal point for various parties and is essentially antisemitic; moreover, its expression is different in nature from other protests against other states in conflict. Finally, an analysis of the early 2009 wave of antisemitic manifestations shows that it was the result of a fusion of Muslim interests, youth and activists searching for a banner, and traditional antisemitism.

 

 

 

Prof. Dina Porat, Head of the Stephen Roth Institute – 054-6824383

 

Dr. Moshe (Vyacheslav) Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress

 

Asi. -  Maria 0079165977010

 

Dr. Esther Webman, Acting Director of the Stephen Roth Institute – 054-5458686

 

Institute Researchers –

 

Dr. Rafi Vago – 052-4377847

 

Dr. Graciela Ben-Dror – 050-7677935

 

Dr. Haim Fireberg – 054-4602205

 

Ms. Sarah Rembiszewski – 054-4630822

 

Ms. Irena Cantorovich – 054-7233760