Subject:
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Re: Anti-Semitism and Anti-Americanism
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Fri, 26 Oct 2001 15:07:30 GMT
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Viewed:
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828 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Scott Arthur writes:
> I'm sure that Wasserstein is aware that some of the "hatred" may well be
> entirely rational - does anyone seriously deny that? I know that for some
> time (prior to the events of Sept 11) Bush Jr almost appeared to be
> nurturing Amera-scepticism overseas. The text would have carried more weight
> if he had shown why the "hate" could not be rationalised - rather than
> inferring it could.
>
> I am impressed by the way he moved from anti-Semitism to the USA pro-Israeli
> lobby without using the "Z" word. As for events in Durban, the USA cast its
> own die there, and perhaps that outcome could be "rationalised".
How did we cast our own die there? (I really want to know.)
james
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> Scott A
>
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, James Simpson writes:
> > I just came across this article, and thought that it would make good debate
> > fodder. (It's sure to raise some hackles from some quarters.) It is by Bernard
> > Wasserstein, Professor of History at the University of Glasgow, and President of
> > the Jewish Historical Society of England. Quoted from the Chronicle of Higher
> > Education, 9.28.01:
> >
> > "A century ago, anti-Semitism was called 'the socialism of fools.' Now
> > something similar threatens to become rampant: anti-Americanism.
> > Psychologically, it fulfills some of the same functions as anti-Semitism.
> > It gives vent to a hatred of the successful, and is fueled by envy and
> > frustration. It attributes responsibility for all the ills of the world to one
> > primary source. It ascribes to a supposed ruling clique of the despised group
> > an ambition to control and exploit humanity. This new conspiracy theory has
> > been embraced by large sections of the thinking classes in many countries. Like
> > historical anti-Semitism, it transcends ideological boundaries and brings
> > together economic, social, religious, and national animosities in a murderous
> > brew.
> > Americans are advised by many abroad (and by some at home): 'Ask yourselves
> > why you are so hated.' It might be worth remembering that similar questions
> > were put to Jews in the 1930s. And to recall that, as Victor Klemperer recorded
> > in his diaries of the war years in Dresden, some Jews internalized the worldview
> > of their enemies and persuaded themselves that such violent hatred must, indeed,
> > have had a rational source in their own behavior.
> > The parallel between anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism is more than just
> > an analogy. The two paranoias are linked, and the nodal point of connection is
> > the American-Israeli alliance. To some, the Israeli/Jewish hand is detected
> > behind, controlling, the American leviathan. Perry Anderson (a British
> > historican teaching at the University of California at Los Angeles), for
> > example, writes in the latest New Left Review: "Entrenched in business,
> > government and the media, American Zionism has since the sixties acquired a firm
> > grip on the levers of public opinion and official policy towards Israel.' The
> > recent UN conference in Durban, South Africa, showed the degree to which anti-
> > Americanism and anti-Semitism seem to have combined in a symbiotic relationship.
> > As an ideology, anti-Semitism dehumanized its object and so helped prepare
> > the way for mass murder. So, too, with the new anti-Americanism.
> > But the answer to irrationalism is not more unreason. I detect strong
> > support here in Europe for firm action--including, if necessary, the use of
> > force--to capture those responsible for terrorist acts and to forestall further
> > attacks. But the United States must not strike out like a blinded giant. It
> > must not sacrifice its own civil liberties. Above all, it must not repeat the
> > mistake of internalizing the discourse and values of unreason by ascribing a
> > ratonal basis to this new socialism of fools."
> >
> > Just some grist for the mill.
> >
> > james
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Anti-Semitism and Anti-Americanism
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| (...) I may be wrong, but I think the USA poured cold water on the meeting well before it even started as is was going to give its friends in the Middle East a hard time. So if the USA did not play ball because of the way Israel was being treated, (...) (25 years ago, 26-Oct-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Anti-Semitism and Anti-Americanism
|
| I'm sure that Wasserstein is aware that some of the "hatred" may well be entirely rational - does anyone seriously deny that? I know that for some time (prior to the events of Sept 11) Bush Jr almost appeared to be nurturing Amera-scepticism (...) (25 years ago, 26-Oct-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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