Manufacturing consent by generalizing dissent

Criticism of Israeli government and anti-Semitism are not one and the same

Julie Knott

The Canadian government believes the increasing international criticism of the Israeli government is related to a rise in anti-Semitism. 

Speaking a couple weeks ago at the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism (IPCCA), Prime Minister Stephen Harper reiterated the Canadian government’s hardline support for the state of Israel in light of the threat of “new anti-Semitism.”

The IPCCA regards this “new” anti-Semitism as demonstrated in “excessive” and “unjust” criticism of Israel. 

Whatever “excessive” and “unjust” means apparently does not matter to the IPCCA; these terms are in fact generalized to the point of being unrecognizable.

Seemingly, the terms refer to those individuals and groups who concern themselves too much with criticizing the unilateral interests of the Israeli government, which is often assumed to be reflective of the interests of the Jewish people at large.

The word “absurd” is appropriate to use when referring to such a fusion between the Israeli government and Jewish people worldwide.

Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic and arguing that growing opposition to Israel is due to the spread of anti-Semitism is blatant propaganda.

Anti-Semitism implies individual or group hostility to or prejudice against Jewish people in general.

Because Jewish people don’t live in Israel solely, and because many different ethnic groups live in Israel, criticism of Israel doesn’t necessarily mean that such dissent is related to or aimed at Jewish people.

Moreover, because support for the Zionistic policies of the Israeli government varies greatly among Jewish people, it is indefensible to say that criticism of the state of Israel equals hatred for Jewish people. 

To collapse criticism of Israel’s policies into criticism of an ethnic/religious group is an ad hominem argument that implies Israel is a legitimate authority over all Jewish people, and the state’s actions are thereby reflective of the general interests of Jewish people. 

I am unaware of any referendum or evidence of undisputed consent given to the Israeli government by all Jewish people.

Instead, Israeli state elites have appointed themselves that voice, which in turn brings up fundamental questions regarding the legitimacy of Israel as an unambiguously “Jewish state” in the first place. 

Israel may have been created for the protection of the Jewish people, but that never gave the state the power to violate other groups’ human rights in the name of the interests of Jewish people. 

By understanding this, conclusions about “new anti-Semitism” can be drawn.

The premise of the term is a canny propaganda strategy employed by the Israeli government, which utilizes charges of anti-Semitism in order to pacify opposition regarding its policies toward Palestine. Dissent and contention become “anti-Semitic.” 

The Israeli government recognizes that there is increasing international opposition to its militaristic policies that are in direct violation of international law and the basic human rights of millions of Palestinians.

Therefore, anti-Semitism has become a political tool aimed at distorting the reality of its policies. 

By branding dissent as anti-Semitic, the government of Israel is able to justify its actions as “defense” against anti-Semitism. It’s also connected with a greater strategy of controlling free speech.

The argument has worked so well on Harper and his government that it has actually convinced him to change the policies of the Canadian state to the point where it only supports the interests of Israel, regardless of that government’s human rights violations and disrespect for international law.

This is evidenced in the Canadian government’s rhetoric, trade policies and in the large cuts in funding for Canadian International Development Agency programs and government-funded NGOs that operate in Palestine. 

Anti-Semitism exists, as do many other types of racism, and of course the Canadian government should oppose it. There are ignorant criticisms of Israel too, but it’s a perturbing standard to set by classifying growing disagreement with Israel’s government as anti-Semitism. There is no quantifiable way to prove that these two issues are paired together. 

Matt Austman is a politics student at the University of Winnipeg.

Published in Volume 65, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 18, 2010)

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