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Voices of Peace
Vol.6
An excerpt from The Guardian April 24, 2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk
Sharon's best weapon: Anti-semitism sustains
Israel's brutal leader - the fight against it must be reclaimed
by Naomi Klein
.....The hatred of Jews is a potent political tool in
the hands of both the right in Europe and in Israel. For Ariel Sharon, it is the
fear of anti-semitism, both real and imagined, that is the weapon. Mr Sharon likes
to say that he stands up to terrorists to show he is not afraid. In fact, his policies
are driven by fear. His great talent is that he fully understands the depths of Jewish
fear of another Holocaust. He knows how to draw parallels between Jewish anxieties
about anti-semitism and American fears of terrorism, and he is an expert at harnessing
all of it for his political ends.
The primary and familiar fear that Sharon draws on, the one that allows him to disguise
all aggressive actions as defensive ones, is the fear that Israel's neighbours want
to drive the Jews into the sea. The secondary fear Sharon manipulates is the fear
among Jews in the diaspora that they will eventually be driven to seek a safe haven
in Israel. This leads millions of Jews around the world, many of them sickened by
Israeli aggression, to shut up and send their cheques, a down- payment on future
sanctuary.
The equation is simple: the more fearful Jews are, the more powerful Sharon is. Elected
on a platform of "peace through security", Sharon's administration could
barely hide its delight at Le Pen's ascendancy, immediately calling on French Jews
to pack their bags and come to the promised land. For Sharon, Jewish fear is a guarantee
that his power will go unchecked, granting him the impunity needed to do the unthinkable:
send troops into the Palestinian Authority's education ministry to steal and destroy
records, bury children alive in their homes, block ambulances from getting to the
dying, sabotage all international attempts to get at the truth of what happened in
Jenin.
Jews outside Israel now find themselves in a tightening vice: the actions of the
country that was supposed to ensure their future safety are making them less safe
right now. Sharon is deliberately erasing distinctions between the terms "Jew"
and "Israeli", claiming he is fighting not for Israeli territory but for
the survival of the Jewish people. When anti-semitism rises at least partly as a
result of his actions, it is Sharon who is positioned once again to collect the political
dividends.
It works. Most Jews are so frightened that they are now willing to do anything to
defend Israeli policies. So at my neighbourhood synagogue, where the humble facade
was badly scarred by a suspicious fire recently, the sign on the door doesn't say,
"Thanks for nothing, Sharon." It says, "Support Israel - now more
than ever."
There is a way out. Nothing is going to erase anti- semitism, but Jews outside and
inside Israel might be a little safer if there was a campaign to distinguish between
diverse Jewish positions and the actions of the Israeli state. ..... It is precisely
because anti-semitism is used and abused by the likes of Sharon that the fight against
it must be reclaimed.
When anti-semitism is no longer treated as Jewish business, to be taken care of by
Israel and the rightwing Zionist lobby, Sharon is robbed of his most effective weapon
in the indefensible and increasingly brutal occupation. ....
Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited, From The Guardian April 24, 2002 http://www.guardian.co.uk
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