The Gaza War And The New Outburst Of Anti-Semitism

by, Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld | Tamas Berzi
Published, March, 2009
No. 79, 1, April 2009 /, 7, Nissan 5769

Manfred Gerstenfeld and Tamas Berzi

:"(The authors thank Rachel Bresinger for her assistance with the research for this article. )":

Anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli manifestations reached post-Second World War highs during Israel's recent Gaza campaign. Attacks came from many directions. They included strong condemnations of Israeli actions by several governments as well as partly violent demonstrations in a number of countries. Furthermore, there were physical attacks on Jewish individuals as well as institutions. There was also much hate speech.
A number of new hate thresholds were crossed. There were much-increased public expressions of equating Israel with Nazi Germany. Calls for the murder of Jews abounded for the first time in demonstrations in Germany, as well as in the United States. Prominent politicians, including the Norwegian finance minister, marched in such protests. There are indications that a variety of Muslim bodies, including mosque organizations, had planned these events well in advance.
A number of actions by various independent Muslim bodies in several Western countries manifested their desire to conquer the public square and, at the same time, remove Jewish and Israeli identities from it. This development is relevant not only to Jews but also to the general public. Those who want to impose themselves in the public domain today at the expense of Jews, are likely to do so tomorrow at the expense of others.
The Gaza war has shown once again that Israel can cope with the many military challenges it faces. On the other hand, the problems of the asymmetric verbal war conducted against it by circles from the United Nations, several Western political parties, media, academe, NGOs, and many others have never been properly analyzed by the Israeli authorities. Understanding how this anti-Israeli propaganda functions, and internally interacts, is necessary for gradually building adequate defenses in this area as well.

Introduction

During Israel's Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, which lasted from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009, anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli manifestations reached post-Second World War highs. One indicator of the growth in expressed hate is that during this period the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain increased eightfold to 220 compared to the same period a year earlier. ‚ :"(Community Security Trust, Antisemitic Incidents and Threats to British Jews Arising from the Gaza Crisis, ‚ Update 4, 21 January 2009)": ‚ Estimates of the Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism put the worldwide increase of anti-Semitic incidents at 300 percent. ‚ :"(Report: Expect Sharp Rise in Anti-Semitism, JTA, 25 January 2009.)": Hate emails to the umbrella body of the Jewish community in Germany were up 40 percent. They now stand at 200-300 per week. ‚ :"( Holocaust-Gedenken ohne Zentralrat der Juden, ‚ Die Welt, 27 January 2009. German)":

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