To be a Jew in Britain today. Is it all dandy, all happiness and light, with just a few spiteful voices raises in hyperbolic fear-mongering? Or is it time for the Jews to flee, to abandon Britain and indeed Europe to safer shores, to escape an inevitable repeat of demonisation and pogrom?
The events of the last few months have made the first opinion look absurd and the second, increasingly relevant.
Two examples
and
One might, and many have, argue that it is merely a blind and stupid reaction to the wrongs of Israel. Truly the Socialism of Fools, but understandable given the situation in Gaza. This is bullshit.
The events of 'Cast Lead' and the media's reporting of them might have given judeophobia wide traction, 'beclaiming' many, but the narrative is unchanged. Jews because they are Jews and thus represent some modernist Satyr of downfall and evil are being targeted. World control, brutal use of violence, conspiracy, hatred of the gentile and Jewish supremacy, each laughable and quite clearly fallacious paranoid fantasies, together are being recited.
One might ask is anti-semitism part of the experience modernity, existing in places where there are no Jews but a surplus of anxieties and disruption and change. I would suggest alas yes. But does this mean Jews should run, flee, ahead of being purged or worst? I think not. Maybe I am overly optimistic but people I know have been appalled by anti-Jewish hysteria that gripped part of the Gaza demos, disgusted at the Gaza-Warsaw ghetto analogies. A sub-culture where Palestinian solidarity, anti-Zionism and anti-semitism have become entangled has existed on the margins, out of plain sight, using disguise and visage to extend its discourse. Now it is in the full light of day. And it cannot hide. And it will be judged.
The Jewish diaspora has, despite suffering violence and genocide, been one of the most important and creative phenomena in human history. They might not realise it yet, but the expulsion of the Arab Jews was a catastrophe for the Arab nations. We need to crush this hatred now
2 comments:
excellent post, you should email David T and get some of you stuff put out to a wider audience, those comments on the nature of Fascism were worthy of a full blog entry, why email David T?
hmmmmm, possibly
Much ta anyway, Mod
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