On April 4, the Monitor published an opinion piece from the Washington Post concerning what it called anti-Semitism on college campuses where decisions have been made to boycott and divest of companies and institutions doing business in the West Bank and the Israeli military.
The article equates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. This term is the weapon being used by the Zionists to quiet criticism of Israel.
Anti-Semitism is indeed a bad word and a worse attitude. But the word in this case is a red herring. Jews and Judaism are not the target.
The article asks why hold Israel to a higher standard when so much ethnic cleansing and tribal warfare in Africa have received scant negative attention from the U.S. Is it because we don’t want to be called racist?
Maybe, but I believe the answer is this: Israel, though located in the Middle East, is as “Western” a culture as our own country. America calls Israel its greatest friend in that part of the world.
Consequently anyone paying attention to what our friend is doing, i.e. ethnic cleansing of its indigenous Arab population, denial of their civil rights, indiscriminant bombing and shooting of innocent persons, an unequal justice system, flagrant disregard for international law and outright theft of land belonging to the Palestinians, should be shouting “STOP!”
Criticism and all efforts to pressure Israel to recognize Palestinians as equal citizens of the land once called Palestine is/are not anti-Semitic. It is instead the voice of experience and aggregate shame that harkens back to the cleansing of the native peoples of North America by European “settlers.”
Gail Page
Concord