The "3D Test" of Anti-Semitism

"3D Test" of Anti-Semitism

Israeli politician Natan Sharansky uses the “3D Test” to help distinguish legitimate criticism of Israel from anti-Semitism. Sharansky identifies three categories: de-legitimization, double standard and demonization.

De-legitimize

This refers to the argument made that Israel doesn’t meet the requirements of a legitimate state and therefore should not exist. Rather than addressing the particular issues at hand, there is a call for a destruction of the State of Israel.

Double standard

This is when criticism of Israel is applied selectively. Although other countries can be criticized for human rights violations during times of war, the finger is continuously pointed at Israel and often exaggerated. Little attention is given to the atrocities committed by other countries.

Demonize

Israel is accused of behaving like a demon and its actions are blown out of proportion. For example, comparisons are made between Israelis and Nazis and between Palestinian refugee camps and Auschwitz.  

 

Source: http://campusintifada.com/widget/LP_V_W.html

Khaldi: anti-Israel campus programs betraying moderate Muslims

Ishmael Khaldi, deputy consul general of Israel for the Pacific Northwest, blasts anti-Israel bashing on campus. Says, Let's be honest. "By any yardstick you choose - educational opportunity, economic development, women and gay's rights, freedom of speech and assembly,legislative representation - Israel's minorities fare far better than in any other country in the Middle East."

Lost in the blur of slogans

Ishmael Khaldi           Wednesday, March 4, 2009

For those who haven't heard, the first week in March has been designated as Israel Apartheid Week by activists who are either ill intentioned or misinformed. On American campuses, organizing committees are planning happenings to once again castigate Israel as the lone responsible party for all that maligns the Middle East.

Last year, at UC Berkeley, I had the opportunity to "dialogue" with some of the organizers of these events. My perspective is unique, both as the vice consul for Israel in San Francisco, and as a Bedouin and the highest-ranking Muslim representing the Israel in the United States. I was born into a Bedouin tribe in Northern Israel, one of 11 children, and began life as shepherd living in our family tent. I went on to serve in the Israeli border police, and later earned a master's degree in political science from Tel Aviv University before joining the Israel Foreign Ministry.

I am a proud Israeli - along with many other non-Jewish Israelis such as Druze, Bahai, Bedouin, Christians and Muslims, who live in one of the most culturally diversified societies and the only true democracy in the Middle East. Like America, Israeli society is far from perfect, but let us deals honestly. By any yardstick you choose - educational opportunity, economic development, women and gay's rights, freedom of speech and assembly, legislative representation - Israel's minorities fare far better than any other country in the Middle East

So, I would like to share the following with organizers of Israel Apartheid week, for those of them who are open to dialogue and not blinded by a hateful ideology:

You are part of the problem, not part of the solution: If you are really idealistic and committed to a better world, stop with the false rhetoric. We need moderate people to come together in good faith to help find the path to relieve the human suffering on both sides of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Vilification and false labeling is a blind alley that is unjust and takes us nowhere.

You deny Israel the fundamental right of every society to defend itself: You condemn Israel for building a security barrier to protect its citizens from suicide bombers and for striking at buildings from which missiles are launched at its cities - but you never offer an alternative. Aren't you practicing yourself a deep form of racism by denying an entire society the right to defend itself?

Your criticism is willfully hypocritical: Do Israel's Arab citizens suffer from disadvantage? You better believe it. Do African Americans 10 minutes from the Berkeley campus suffer from disadvantage - you better believe it, too. So should we launch a Berkeley Apartheid Week, or should we seek real ways to better our societies and make opportunity more available.

You are betraying the moderate Muslims and Jews who are working to achieve peace: Your radicalism is undermining the forces for peace in Israel and in the Palestinian territories. We are working hard to move toward a peace agreement that recognizes the legitimate rights of both Israel and the Palestinian people, and you are tearing down by falsely vilifying one side.

To the organizers of Israel Apartheid Week I would like to say:

If Israel were an apartheid state, I would not have been appointed here, nor would I have chosen to take upon myself this duty. There are many Arabs, both within Israel and in the Palestinian territories who have taken great courage to walk the path of peace. You should stand with us, rather than against us.

Ishmael Khaldi is deputy consul general of Israel for the Pacific Northwest.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/04/EDRP168GMT.DTL

This article appeared on page A - 11 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Hebron rioting moves into fifth day

 

JERUSALEM (JTA.org) 2/25/2010  -- Palestinian riots continued in Hebron five days after the city's Cave of the Patriarchs was designated an Israeli national heritage site.

As Palestinian schoolchildren demonstrated Thursday near the site, other Palestinian protesters set tires on fire and threw stones at Israeli soldiers and police.

More than 300 Palestinians in Hebron clashed with Israelis soldiers while commemorating the anniversary of the murder of 29 Muslims by Jewish radical Baruch Goldstein at the cave's Ibrahimi Mosque in 1994. Goldstein was beaten to death at the scene of the attack, which also injured about 150.

Israeli security forces responded with tear gas and stun grenades Thursday, according to reports.

Israeli Arab politicians who joined in the protest, including  Hebron Mayor Khaled Esseleh, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "lighting a fire" by declaring the cave a national heritage site.

Hebron's Jewish community was set to hold a prayer service at the cave Thursday to mark the Fast of Esther.

JCPA: anti-Israel movement needs to be confronted

JCPA Taking Direct Aim at Anti-Israel Boycotters

By Gal Beckerman

Published February 24, 2010, issue of March 05, 2010.  Excerpt

With anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions efforts gaining visibility, the Jewish community’s main public-policy coordinating body is for the first time confronting the BDS movement as a specific and stated priority.

At its recent annual plenum, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs passed a resolution stating that BDS should now “be regarded with the utmost seriousness and urgency.”

“This is a very serious matter,” JCPA’s executive director, Rabbi Steve Gutow, told the Forward. “We need to wake up, whether we are on the right, left or center.”

The JCPA, an umbrella body representing Jewish community relations councils across the country and more than a dozen leading national Jewish groups, adopted the anti-BDS resolution at its plenum in Dallas on February 23. Gutow said that JCPA member groups are planning to create a permanent body that would respond to the activities of the BDS movement.

Ahmadinejad: US staged 9-11, delaying the Mahdi

Ahmadinejad addresses rally

In the [ 2/23/10] speech, broadcast live on state television and circulated in several media outlets, Ahmadinejad reiterated his accusations that the United States was hindering the return of the redeemer of Islam, the Mahdi, local media reported.

“If the Mahdi does not come, this will mean that the battle of Karbala could be repeated. The Mahdi will face what the prophets faced and his life will be in danger,” he told the rally.

While pointing out that the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which ousted the Shah and installed the current religious regime, is a prelude to the appearance of the Mahdi, Ahmadinejad argued that the arrogance of the United States is one the main obstacles to the Mahdi’s coming.

“The United States is an arrogant country that plunders the wealth of nations by invading them. It is also a criminal state because it supports Israel.”

Ahmadinejad accused the United States of planning and carrying out the September 11 attacks in order to gain the sympathy of the world.

“These attacks fed its propaganda and became an excuse for attacking Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting terrorism.”

This is not the first time Ahmadinejad refers to the Mahdi, which has earned him much criticism from Iran’s senior clerics and politicians.

In an earlier speech he gave in Esfahan in December, Ahmadinejad claimed he had documented evidence that the United States invaded Iraq in order to prevent the coming of the Mahdi and stressed that the Iranian people would prepare the ground for his coming forming the Mahdi Army.

In a meeting he held with cleric Ayatollah Jawadi Amuli, Ahmadinejad claimed a halo of light surrounded him while he gave a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, attributing this to the Mahdi’s support.

In Shiite faith, the Mahdi, an Arabic term for guided, is believed to be the redeemer of Islam who will come to earth before the Day of Judgment and, together with Jesus, rid the world of all tyranny and injustice. 

--

h/t Elder of Ziyon

Myth: "Advocates for Israel try to silence critics by labeling them anti-Semitic"

As addressed by Mitchell Bard.  2/24/2010

MYTH

“Advocates for Israel try to silence critics by labeling them anti-Semitic.”

FACT

Criticizing Israel does not necessarily make someone anti-Semitic. The determining factor is the intent of the commentator. Legitimate critics accept Israel’s right to exist, whereas anti-Semites do not. Anti-Semites use double standards when they criticize Israel, for example, denying Israelis the right to pursue their legitimate claims while encouraging the Palestinians to do so. Anti-Semites deny Israel the right to defend itself, and ignore Jewish victims, while blaming Israel for pursuing their murderers. Anti-Semites rarely, if ever, make positive statements about Israel. Anti-Semites describe Israelis using pejorative terms and hate-speech, suggesting, for example, that they are “racists” or “Nazis.” 

Natan Sharansky has suggested a “3-D” test for differentiating legitimate criticism of Israel from anti-Semitism. 

The first “D” is the test of whether Israel or its leaders are being demonized or their actions blown out of proportion. Equating Israel with Nazi Germany is one example of demonization. 

The second “D” is the test of double standards. An example is when Israel is singled out for condemnation at the United Nations for perceived human rights abuses while nations that violate human rights on a massive scale, such as Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, are not even mentioned. 

The third “D” is the test of delegitimization. Questioning Israel’s legitimacy, that is, its right to exist is always anti-Semitic.⁴¹

No campaign exists to prevent people from expressing negative opinions about Israeli policy. In fact, the most vociferous critics of Israel are Israelis themselves who use their freedom of speech to express their concerns every day. A glance at any Israeli newspaper will reveal a surfeit of articles questioning particular government policies. Anti-Semites, however, do not share Israelis’ interest in improving the society; their goal is to delegitimize the state in the short-run, and destroy it in the long-run. There is nothing Israel could do to satisfy these critics.

-----

footnote 41: Natan Sharansky, “Antisemitism in 3-D,”, Forward, (January 21, 2005), p. 9.

Arabs are important to Israel

Allan G. Ross | Posted: Tuesday, February 23, 2010

http://www.qctimes.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_a2c80a26-2027-11df-bd3d-001cc4c03286.html

Sgt. Major Ihab Khatib, an Israeli Arab Druze soldier, was murdered on Feb. 10 in a terrorist attack by a senior Palestinian policeman. Yes,  an Israeli… Arab …  Druze …  soldier.

Sometimes it takes a tragedy like this to remind us that Israel is replete with loyal Muslim, Christian and other minority citizens who make contributions and sacrifices for their country.

Besides serving in the military (some as generals), Israeli Arabs—including women— have the right to vote, their own

political parties, religious freedom and serve as doctors, lawyers, judges (even on the Supreme Court), ambassadors and members of parliament.

While this integration is not perfect yet and much work needs to be done, surveys reveal that most Israeli Arabs want to remain Israelis instead of becoming citizens of any future Palestinian state and 77 percent would prefer to live in Israel than in any country of the world.

As we mourn Sgt. Khatib, let us be proud of all citizens of Israel who protect and support the only democratic country in the Middle East and a strategic ally of the United States.

Allan G. Ross

Jewish Federation  of  the Quad-Cities

Rock Island