Matthias J. Becker - article (Vienna) final

Within society and public discourse, antisemitism is still perceived as emanating predominantly from the political Right. However, reactions to the Six-Day War in 1967 demonstrated the falsity of this assumption. Anti-Zionist attitudes spread in German public discourse, notably among the New Left. Although the left attempts to distance itself from antisemitism, it nevertheless justifies the reproduction of traditional antisemitic stereotypes (e.g. the greedy Jewish capitalist) and the use of antisemitic metaphors (e.g. plague of locusts) through the following two demonizing maneuvers: One, Israel has been associated since the late 1960s with ideologies the left clearly rejects: colonialism and imperialism, oppression, militarism, and chauvinism. The left has always positioned itself on the side of the weak fighting the mighty. In the context of the Mideast conflict, this means showing solidarity with the Palestinians. Based on such a perspective, Israel has been continuously blamed as the cruel and mighty oppressor. Leftists have seen Israel as the bridgehead for the United States into the Arab world, and partly interpret American support as the expression of the alleged Jewish global power. Two, parts of the German left have declared Israelis as the “new Nazis” and compare the Mideast Conflict to the Holocaust. Through such demonizing analogies, German atrocities become trivialized and identification with the German in-group can take place. Additionally, when claiming that the Mideast conflict resembles Nazi atrocities, Germans tend to emphasize their sensitivity regarding their own history and, as a result, feel morally superior. This leads to the birth of “honorable antisemitism”, wrapped in anti-Zionist reproaches. The way in which such distorted perspectives on Israel and the Mideast conflict are uttered depends to a large extent on the motives and the background of the speaker. Whilst the far-left depicts Israel and Jews as colonialists and imperialists, center-left milieus see themselves as advocates for human rights, eloquently advising the secularization of Israel and the abandonment of Zionism. Both groups however charge Israel with a backward and immoral behavior and the status of a pariah. 1 J. Améry, “Der ehrbare Antisemitismus,” Werke: Aufsätze zur Politik und Zeitgeschichte, ed. S. Steiner (Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 2005 [1969]), 131. All rig hts re se rve d b y a uth or 2 Its “rhetorical flexibility” makes this form of hatred towards Israel so attractive to the mainstream society. Speakers distance themselves from conventional forms of antisemitism, emphasizing – based on their ideological position – that it is impossible for them to hold prejudices against Jews. Antisemitism in this form is presented as legitimate criticism of Israel while at the same time the taboo of criticizing the Jewish state (another antisemitic stereotype) is emphasized. Left Israel-related antisemitism can then be embraced by the mainstream; its social acceptability makes it much more dangerous than the limited appeal of traditional forms of Jew-hatred.