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http://www.counterpunch.org/finkelstein09122006.html 

Counterpunch September 12, 2006 

The Dream Philosophy of Paranoids 

Kill Arabs, Cry Anti-Semitism 

By NORMAN FINKELSTEIN 

A central thesis of my book Beyond Chutzpah is that whenever Israel
faces a public relations debacle, its apologists sound the alarm that a
"new anti-Semitism" is upon us. So, predictably, just after Israel faced
another image problem due to its murderous destruction of Lebanon, a
British all-party parliamentary group led by notorious Israel-firster
Denis MacShane MP (Labor) released yet another report alleging a
resurgence of anti-Semitism (Report of the All-Party Parliamentary
Inquiry Into Antisemitism, September 2006). To judge by the witnesses
(David Cesarani, Lord Janner, Oona King, Emanuele Ottolenghi, Melanie
Phillips) and sources (MEMRI, Holocaust Education Trust) cited in the
body of the report, much time and money could have been saved had it
just been contracted out to the Israel Foreign Ministry. (The report's
statement that "we received no evidence of the accusation of
anti-Semitism being misused by mainstream British Jewish community
organizations and leaders" perhaps speaks more to the selection of the
witnesses than the reality.) 

The single novelty of the report, which mostly rehashes fatuous
allegations already disposed of in Beyond Chutzpah, is the new
thresholds in idiocy it breaks. Consider the methodology deployed for
demonstrating a new anti-Semitism. The report defines an anti-Semitic
incident as any occasion "perceived" to be anti-Semitic by the "Jewish
community." This is the school of thought according to which it's
raining even in the absence of any precipitation because I feel it's
raining. It is the dream philosophy of paranoids, especially rational
paranoids, for whom alleged victimhood is politically serviceable. The
report includes under the rubric of anti-Semitic incidents not just
violent acts and incendiary speech but "conversations, discussions, or
pronouncements made in public or private, which cross the line of
acceptability, " as well as "the mood and tone when Jews are discussed."
The wonder is that it didn't also tabulate repressed anti-Semitic
libidinal fantasies. In the category of inherently anti-Semitic
pronouncements the report includes "drawing comparisons of contemporary
Israeli policy to that of the Nazis" (only comparisons of contemporary
Arab policy to that of the Nazis are permissible) and "theories about
Jewish or Zionist influence on American foreign policy" (even if Jewish
and Zionist organizations boast about this influence). 

Much of the evidence of pervasive British anti-Semitism requires real
strains in credulity. * The lone item listed under the ominous
subheading "The Blood Libel" is a Syrian television series "that would
be possible for viewers in the UK to seeif they had suitable satellite
receiving equipment." It also notes the unreferenced "case of a Jewish
university lecturer who was subjected to an anti-Semitic tirade from a
student in the middle of a lecture and subsequently asked to explain to
the university authorities why he ha upset the student." Is it
anti-Semitic to wonder whether this is a crock? And then the report
cites the warning of the London Assembly Conservative Group that "there
is a risk that in some political quarters' views on international events
can, almost subconsciously, lead to subtly different attitudes to, and
levels of engagement with, different minority groups.'" The new
anti-Semitism business must be going seriously awry when British
conservatives start sounding like Lacan. Finally, it is anti-Semitic for
student unions to advocate a boycott of Israeli goods because this
"would restrict the availability of kosher food on campus." Maybe Israel
can organize a " Berlin airlift" of gefilte fish. 

Although claiming that, in the struggle against anti-Semitism, "none of
those who gave evidence wished to see the right free speech eroded," and
"only in extreme circumstances would we advocate legal intervention, "
the report recommends that university authorities "take an active
interest in combating acts, speeches, literature and events that cause
anxiety or alarm among their Jewish students," and it registers disquiet
that "classic and modern anti-Semitic works are freely available for
ordering on the Amazon.com website," and that "the United States in
particular has been slow to take action" in closing down "anti-Semitic
internet sites." It is at moments like this that even the least
patriotic of souls can take pride in being an American. 

* The police data on an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in itself
proves little because, as the report concedes, the spike might be due to
more incidents being reported and a coarsening of British life
generally, as well as the "spillover" from the Israel-Palestine
conflict. In addition, there is little evidence of "organized,"
"politically motivated" anti-Semitic attacks; there is no evidence that
perpetrators of anti-Semitic attacks were disproportionately Muslim; and
most of the suspects in the incidents were adolescents. For 2005 the
report cites a couple incidents that were "potentially"
life-threatening. It cites no comparative data for other minorities in
Britain , although tacitly acknowledging that "the level of prejudice
and discrimination by Jews in Britain remains lower," a considerable
understatement . On a related note, it deplores that "less than one in
ten [anti-Semitic] incidents reported to the police resulted in a
suspect becoming an accused" , but cites no comparative data indicating
whether this ratio is aberrant. 

Norman Finkelstein' s most recent book is Beyond Chutzpah: On the misuse
of anti-Semitism and the abuse of history ( University of California
Press ). His web site is www.NormanFinkelstein.com.