The recent terrible events in Toulouse
naturally evoke horror and great sympathy, but they also provoke questions and
tempt the formation of opinions. I mustn’t do that because I’m not sufficiently
well acquainted with the facts, and so I must refrain from even the suggestion
of a comment relating specifically to the circumstances.
There is, however, one general point that can and should be made:
Being anti-Israeli is not the same thing as being
anti-Semitic. One might follow from the other, but not necessarily. This is
something Mr Netanyahu should bear mind before he opens his mouth to utter
premature and overly simplistic judgements.
2 comments:
Neither label (if that's really important) works here. If the shooter is 'anti-Semitic' because he murdered Jews in France, then why would he espouse his beliefs that Jews don't belong in Israel? I'm paraphrasing here.
To me, it's simply hatred of a particular race of people.
Bree, that comment was driven by two things:
1) Whenever a Jew is attacked in any way, there is an immediate presumption of anti-Semitism, which is irrational and blatantly unfair. I saw something similar when I worked for Sam’s charity. Any Muslim boy who was told off for trashing the place immediately cried ‘racism.’
2) Netanyahu publicly presumed anti-Semitic sensibilities on the part of the murderer even before the murderer’s identity was known, doing so despite the fact that three of the victims were Arab members of the French armed forces. This amounts to using the deaths of innocent children to score politico-cultural points, and must surely be the sickest form of opportunism.
Since I don’t know the murderer’s mind, I don’t know whether he was driven by anger at the treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli Establishment, specific anti-Semitic sensibilities, or a combination of the two. Neither do you, neither does Netanyahu, and neither does anybody else who doesn’t know the man’s mind very well indeed.
I agree: anti-Semitism is 'simply a hatred of a particular race of people.' Knowing as much isn't so easy.
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