Anti-globalization
Critics of the anti-globalization movement have expressed concern over what they see as the rising acceptance of anti-Semitism within the movement. The movement's supporters counter that allegations of anti-Semitism are unfounded or exaggerated, and aim to stigmatize what they regard as legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies.
Allegations
"[L]eftist
anti-Semitism is directly connected to the Left's dedication to anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism and
anti-globalization," according to Dr. Phyllis Chesler, author of
The New Anti-Semitism: The Current Crisis and What We Must Do About It.
[1]
Mark Strauss, a senior editor at Foreign Policy magazine, writes that anti-Semitism within the anti-globalization movement has scared off some intellectuals who would otherwise support the latter, but argues that more attention needs to be paid to the alleged phenomenon.
Anti-Semitism is again on the rise. Why now? Blame the backlash against globalization. As public anxiety grows over lost jobs, shaky economies, and political and social upheaval, the Brownshirt and Birkenstock crowds are seeking solace in conspiracy theories. And in their search for the hidden hand that guides the new world order, modern anxieties are merging with old hatreds and the myths on which they rest. [2]
A March 2003 report on anti-Semitism in the European Union by Werner Bergmann and Juliane Wetzel of the Berlin Research Centre on Anti-Semitism identified anti-globalization rallies as one of the sources of anti-Semitism on the Left. (However, although the report was written for the European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), a statement on the EUMC website distances the EU from the report, because, they say, it fails to distinguish between anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel.) [3] Bergmann and Wetzel noted:
In the extreme left-wing scene anti-Semitic remarks were to be found mainly in the context of pro-Palestinian and anti-globalisation rallies and in newspaper articles using anti-Semitic stereotypes in their criticism of Israel. Often this generated a combination of anti-Zionist and anti-American views that formed an important element in the emergence of an anti-Semitic mood in Europe. [4] (pdf)
Sol Stern, a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor to City Journal, identifies what he sees as anti-Semitism within the movement as a function of Jews no longer being portrayed as the victims of capitalism.
The Left loved Jews when they could be portrayed as victims of monopoly capitalism and its alleged progeny, fascism ... Now the Left ... sees embattled little Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East and the collective expression of the Jewish people, as an obstacle to the creation of a 23rd or 24th Arab state. Even more troubling to the Left is that Israel gets support from the Great Satan, the United States. Imagine if by some historical quirk there was an alliance between Israel and revolutionary Cuba against all the reactionary, feudal Arab regimes. The Left would be lining up to buy Israel Bonds. [5]
Reaction to allegations
In defense of the anti-globalization movement, supporters point to the support given by many Jews, such as Noam Chomsky, to anti-globalization initiatives, and to the participation of Israeli pacifist organizations in anti-globalization demonstrations.
One of the leaders of the anti-globalization movement, the Canadian writer and activist Naomi Klein, argues that such allegations of anti-Semitism are politically motivated, and that to defeat these accusations, activists should avoid political simplifications that could be perceived as anti-Semitic:
- The globalization movement isn't anti-Semitic, it just hasn't fully confronted the implications of diving into the Middle East conflict. Most people on the left are simply choosing sides. In the Middle East, where one side is under occupation and the other has the U.S. military behind it, the choice seems clear. But it is possible to criticize Israel while forcefully condemning the rise of anti-Semitism. And it is equally possible to be pro-Palestinian independence without adopting a simplistic pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel dichotomy, a mirror image of the good-versus-evil equations so beloved by President George W. Bush. [6]
Bret Stephens, in a 2002 Jerusalem Post article condemning the European political left, including many of the members of the anti-globalization coalition, nevertheless argues that it is not anti-Semitic:
- "...to say that the anti-Israel left has become anti-Semitic both overstates the case and misses the point. Overstates because, even while there's a hard core of Israel-haters who really are anti-Semitic - France's Robert Faurisson comes to mind - many more are simply well-wishers of what they see as the legitimate Palestinian struggle for self-determination within the West Bank and Gaza Strip. And it misses the point because opposing Israel's policies in the territories (or just plain opposing Israel) is just one plank in a much broader political and cultural agenda covering everything from global warming to free trade to labor policy. In this, anti-Semitism is never a premise, and only rarely a conclusion, whereas for genuine anti-Semites the malevolence of Jews is always the premise." (4/19/02, p.16.B)
References
- "Symposium: Leftist Anti-Semitism" by Jamie Glazov, FrontPageMagazine.com, September 19, 2003
- "Antiglobalism's Jewish Problem" by Mark Strauss, Foreign Policy, November-December 2003, on YaleGlobal Online, Yale University.
- "Manifestations of Anti-Semitism in the European Union" (pdf) by Werner Bergmann and Juliane Wetzel, Berlin Research Centre on Anti-Semitism, Berlin Technical University.
- "Sharon's Best Weapon" by Naomi Klein, In These Times, May 2, 2002.
Further reading
