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“When Israel, the only country in the world whose very existence is under attack, is consistently and conspicuously singled out for condemnation, I believe we are morally obligated to take a stand.” by Canada's PM Harper

Thursday 25 April 2013

How can it be called anything but Antisemitism?

In more than one country (including quite a few European ones unfortunately) there is strong movement of official, often state-sponsored bodies against Israel.
Often the members of such bodies say they are not Antisemitic but purely anti-Israeli, and anybody can criticize any country, isn't it so?

No, it isn't so obvious. Anybody can criticize any country (or rather its authorities) provided the facts are not distorted, the state is not singled out because of ethnicity/ religion, the boycott if one is proposed doesn't embrace all ideas/ products/ thoughts just because they are developed in this country, no matter what they present. And such is the case for Israel.

Last year the Scottish University of Dundee banned water from Eden Springs on the campus, because - it claimed - “it steals water from the Salukia spring in the occupied Syrian Golan, where it is bottled in the illegal Israeli settlement of Katzrin”.

Another Scottish provincial council near Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire, in 2011 prohibited the purchase of English translations of Israeli books and the distribution of these books in public libraries throughout the council's jurisdiction.
One's memory went back to the German spring of 1933, when students, professors and librarians worked on a list of “degenerate” Jewish books. The list included Stefan Zweig, Erich Maria Remarque, Thomas Mann and Heinrich Heine. In the largest event outside Berlin, 18,000 Jewish books were destroyed
It is two years since the Dunbartonshire Council prohibition made the headlines. What is the current status of Israeli books in the Scottish libraries?
The Dunbartonshire decision marks the first time that a region in Europe has been cleansed of the presence of Israeli books. It does not matter what ideas are contained in these books, it is the bare fact of their origin which is enough for them to be banned. It seems that the shocking announcement worked.
In the library’s catalogue, David Grossman appears with just two titles, bought before the banning edict; Amos Oz is present with two and Abraham Yehoshua with one, as are Nobel Laureate Shai Agnon and Yoram Kaniuk.
There are no entries at all for Batya Gur, Dorit Rabinyan, Sami Michael, Naomi Ragen (a U.S. born writer who lives in Israel), Yehuda Amichai, Orly Castel-Bloom, Dan Pagis, Emil Habibi and Michal Govrin.

I have already written about decision of Irish teachers' trade union to boycott Israel. Somebody might think there  are no other countries for Scottish or Irish universities which may be problematic. They cooperate with China, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran - no hard feeling, nice democratic countries, ain't they?
So how is it that so many countries may call themselves Muslim or Christian (till very recently Catholic teaching was law in Ireland) but the single one in the whole world, one of the smallest existing that calls herself Jewish is scolded for it?
So how is it that the only democracy in Middle East is shown as cruel state (having Arab scientists, judges - including in Supreme Court or doctors - including new medical director of Hadassa Medical Center)? And countries persecuting women, Christians, Jews (or any non-Muslims for that matter, try being Catholic or Scotch Protestant in Saudi Arabia for example), homosexuals and teaching their children hatred and preaching destruction of this only one Jewish state are nice partners for those unis? (Dublin based RCSI cooperates with Bahrain for years including time when authorities was shooting protesters in the streets 2 years ago)?
So how is it that no cultural boycott was ever in existence against culture of one country per se (including apartheid South Africa where it was limited to state sponsored activities and even them not totally, and boycott was based on the thought behind it and not the citizenship of the author)? And there is and never was anything like apartheid in Israel.
How is it that continent with such shameful record in persecution of Jews, where still are people remembering burning Jewish books, burning Jewish shops and synagogues, burning PEOPLE themselves now turns Antisemitic again?
As it is not anti-Israeli because of sth. It is Antisemitic!!!!! Killing Palestinians by Syrians is fine, killing Christians in Egypt is fine, as in Nigeria, genocides in Somalia and Darfur were fine, Tibetan suffering is sad, but Chine is oh so great (and may punish Europe banning export of socks) and one tiny, democratic nation is the world's (and Scottish and Irish unis) greatest problem as it is Jewish nation?
It is pure Antisemitism like in time of black death, like in time of nationalism being born, like in time of II WW, just redressed.

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