The workings of anti-semitism
Sir: I was pleased to see from your last issue (Notebook, 13 November) that you gave at- tention to the symposium Anti-semitism Today published by our Institute. However, I find that it was on the basis of rather selective reading and quotations that you claim a new licence for 'Israel-bashing' from it without incurring the charge of anti- semitism.
I can ignore the views of the other 18 scholars and public personalities who par- ticipated in the symposium and restrict myself to the three whom you cited as witnesses in defence of your case. The Chief Rabbi, Sir Immanuel Jakobovits, said: 'That intense hostility to Israel spills over into antipathy against Jews is manifestly obvious. Anti-Zionism is certainly a cause of anti-semitism.' Lord Beloff states: 'Anti- Zionism does thus fairly rapidly become anti-semitism even though it may start from a different point.' And Conor Cruig O'Brien did not miss the point that it re: mains true that, as a general cause, Oil; Zionism does provide a cover under ',One, anti-semitism can work in various waYs, and speaks of 'this rather dangerous side el' fect' of anti-Zionism. These sound to me like witnesses for tile prosecution rather than the defence. The sad fact is that you seem completely to 111!ss, the point about 'effect'. Granted the pun of `non-anti-semitic' motives of even 111` worst critics of Israel, the effect of czars gerated, biased, indeed sometimes vicioti criticism is bound to evoke nasty PerceP; tions and images which will be applied lin only to Israel and Zionism but — throve/ out for annihilation — and by — also to the association of Jews with Israel Jews. It was in your columns that Nicholas 5 von Hoffman compared Israelis to Nor and said people see 'the Israel Government as pounding the Star of David into ; swastika' (19 June). In another instance c August) he equated the fate of the Palest,i- nians with that of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, knowing full well that in that gileatii to every man, woman and child was mark „ he thus makes the Israelis appielnaPrijacsalPer perpetrators of genocide. He apologised ,f° this in your last issue, but the damage done. Richard West was allowed to write about the Phalange massacre in the Palestinian camps that 'now, inexorably, the Christian° Lebanese have followed the Muslims, followed the Jews into this new and 110, ble world of assassination and car bonlse (23 October). Mark you: 'the Jews', n°ti Israelis, and they must have been the invert' ; tors of assassination because everybody else `followed'.
Words like these do create stereotyPes `Nazis', 'assassins', 'aggressors', 3; pressors' — which in the vocabulary 01 t modern world are just as derogatory as the old anti-semitic abuse of Jewish `parasites ,4 `exploiters', 'world conspirators' 'at `tricksters'. It is with such stereotypes thw anti-semitism begins — and we all lal° where it ends.
Dr S. J. Roth
Director, Institute of Jewish Affairs, 11 Hertford Street, London WI
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