Weaponization Of Antisemitism Stifling Legitimate Criticism Of Israel – OpEd
Antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab discrimination, like all hatred for a person’s race or religion, should be banned and severely punished. But too often, especially in America, accusations of antisemitism are leveled against all critics of the Israeli government’s policies, while anti-Arab hate is ignored.
This has been going on since before the first Arab-Israeli war, with pro-Jewish groups advocating for the expulsion of Christians and Muslims from Palestine in the 1930s.
Religious and racial bias against Arabs was accepted and even became a part of American foreign policy when politicians like President Harry Truman marginalized the claims of Palestine’s non-Jewish population.
Because Israel defines itself as a “Jewish state,” even though it has a large non-Jewish population, anyone who criticizes the policies of Israel’s government are denounced as antisemitic. Arabs thus find themselves at a disadvantage when fighting anti-Arabism and are denounced as antisemitic during the debate over Israel and Palestine because the pro-Israel community has historically better understood the power of words and rhetoric through public relations and the influence of the American news media.
Israel’s Intelligence Ministry and many elected Israeli officials have openly called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza into Egypt — a true form of anti-Arab hate.
The weaponization of antisemitism to silence critics of the Israeli government’s violent policies not only dominates the Israel-Gaza war, but it also has a huge influence in the US, which is one of........
© Eurasia Review
visit website