Again, in a historical twist that doesn’t cease to produce a bleak irony, Israel’s government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, finds itself on the side of the propagators of global antisemitism.
This time, the fully right-wing government mobilized in the defense of a host of ugly statements made by businessman Elon Musk about the American-Hungarian Holocaust survivor billionaire George Soros. This, despite widespread condemnation from all sides, and the fact that these statements spurred an anti-Jewish wave of conspiracy theories online.
Musk embarked on his personal vendetta against the 92-year-old Soros after it was reported that a holding company founded by Soros had withdrawn its investments in Tesla, a company owned by Musk. Last Tuesday, Musk tweeted on Twitter, a company he also owns, that “Soros hates humanity.” He continued to compare Soros to Magneto, an arch-villain in the comic series X-Men, a Holocaust survivor who’s declared a crusade against humanity.
These tweets did not appear out of nowhere. They were linked to older antisemitic tropes directed at Soros, who in recent years has become, due to his enormous contributions to progressive causes, the punching bag of the extreme right around the world. Conspiracy theories about him have grown to ridiculous proportions, among other reasons because of the encouragement of right-wing governments, chiefly that of Viktor Orban, in Soros’ homeland Hungary.
The problem with Musk’s statements was immediately picked up by Jewish organizations that have to contend with the practical implications of such antisemitic waves.
Thus, for example, the Anti-Defamation League warned that these statements and the waves they engendered were not just a concern, but a tangible danger.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry subsequently followed suit in condemning the tweets. This was a reasonable and expected move by a state with pretensions of representing the entire Jewish people, defining for everyone what antisemitism is. The head of digital diplomacy at the ministry, David Saranga, one of the few remaining people there who still understands this logic, tweeted on his account, which is shared with the ministry’s official account, that the expression “The Jews” appeared on the list of trendy topics on Twitter right after Musk posted his antisemitic-tinged tweet on the platform he owns. So far, all seems reasonable.
But then, 24 hours later, due to pressure by the right over the fact that the Foreign Ministry had dared condemn antisemitism, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen decided to dissociate himself from his own ministry’s tweet.
The foreign minister of the Jewish state stood up to defend antisemitism.
The absurdity didn’t stop there. Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, who is responsible for combating antisemitism also pitched in – in defense of…antisemitism. Chikli declared that “as the minister charged with combating antisemitism, I would like to clarify that…criticism of Soros, who funds the organizations most hostile to Jews and to Israel is not antisemitism; on the contrary.”
The government’s mobilization in the service of stoking antisemitism is not surprising. It is the fruit of a long and consistent process in which the Netanyahu government has been growing closer to extreme right-wing elements around the world, at the expense of Jewish communities it purports to represent.
Back in 2017, the Jewish community in Hungary begged the Netanyahu government to put pressure on Orban so that he would stop his campaign against Soros, which encouraged antisemitic stereotypes. The end is known: Netanyahu chose Orban’s side.
The largest Jewish community in the world, in the United States, also received a kick in the pants from Netanyahu, since most American Jews are liberal, and he preferred the apocalyptic warmongering Evangelists.
The Musk affair is but one more reminder of the ongoing shame of the consistent support the Netanyahu government lends to those fostering antisemitism around the world. A government defending antisemitism.
When the Jewish State's Government Defends Antisemitism
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22.05.2023
Again, in a historical twist that doesn’t cease to produce a bleak irony, Israel’s government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, finds itself on the side of the propagators of global antisemitism.
This time, the fully right-wing government mobilized in the defense of a host of ugly statements made by businessman Elon Musk about the American-Hungarian Holocaust survivor billionaire George Soros. This, despite widespread condemnation from all sides, and the fact that these statements spurred an anti-Jewish wave of conspiracy theories online.
Musk embarked on his personal vendetta against the 92-year-old Soros after it was reported that a holding company founded by Soros had withdrawn its investments in Tesla, a company owned by Musk. Last Tuesday, Musk tweeted on Twitter, a company he also owns, that “Soros hates humanity.” He continued to compare Soros to Magneto, an arch-villain in the comic series X-Men, a Holocaust survivor who’s declared a crusade against humanity.
These tweets did not appear out of........
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