Israel/Palestine
In reply to the discussion: No, criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitism [View all]Shaktimaan
(5,397 posts)I believe it is possible to make anti-Semitic statements without necessarily being an anti-Semite. In fact, I'm sure that it happens all the time, just as a significant portion of the people who have made racist jokes do not necessarily align themselves with any racist ideology and would probably be quite appalled at the notion.
I think in a lot of cases using terminology like "Nazi" is done primarily out of a desire to leverage meaningful Jewish history in order to incite a big reaction or make an incendiary statement. It is just done to hurt its intended target or to produce a response. Some people undoubtedly believe what they are saying, but it goes without saying that those morons have no idea what they're talking about.
I would go so far as to say that it is possible to hold anti-Semitic ideology, actually believe it, without being an anti-Semite at heart. Many, if not most, racists and anti-Semites hold certain beliefs out of sheer ignorance. No one hates another group for no reason at all. The Arab street hates the Jews for a variety of reasons. We own the world's banks and control their governments, keeping the Arab people poor. We steal and sell Palestinian children's organs. We use their blood to make matzoh. We caused the Nakba and oppress Arabs unnecessarily. We seek to destroy Al-Aqsa and build a temple there. We have no real historical connection to Israel or Jerusalem yet we made up a false one so we could deny the Arabs their rightful claim to the valuable land.
Most lies have a germ of truth in them. Out of all the propaganda above, how much is true? If someone learned everything above as the Gods-honest-truth then why wouldn't they hate Jews? A recent-ish poll in Poland showed that a majority of Poles thought that Jews had far too much influence within their government. They actually think this despite the fact that there were no Jews in their government at all when the poll was taken, and practically no Jews living in the entire country. Yet they honestly believe in this Protocols of Zion type stuff.
So yeah, it's anti-Semitic to advance these ideas and make those statements, no matter who is doing it. That said, there is a world of difference between a settler who is essentially saying "You are acting like the Nazis did when you make us leave our homes." and an ignorant fool who says "There is no difference between Gaza today and the Warsaw Ghetto under Nazi rule." and a true anti-Semite who says "There can be no question that the Zionists are more more cruel in their beliefs and more hateful in their actions than the Nazis ever were." In a lot of cases it is obvious that the word "Zionist" is being used as a stand-in for their true target, "the Jews" even if political correctness necessitates that they uphold the charade at all costs. Those guys tend to be your real life, dyed-in-the-wool anti-Semites. IMO anyway.