Dear Jerry,
I knew his comment arose in another context but speculated whether the racism in the comment had been lost sight of because of the easy target that the State of Israel has become-a convenient excuse, perhaps. Mind you, I visited the former Soviet Union in 1977 and encountered anti-semetic material (comics, posters etc) that could have come straight from Nazi Germany. But then the 'socialist' veneer of the Soviet union under Brezhnev was pretty thin in my experience. But you are absolutely right: the socialist movement has been strongly opposed to anti-semtism and all other forms of racism and ethnic hatreds (which, of course, includes what Al Qaida peddles). It annoys me to see some on the 'left' lose sight of that in today's world,
Cheers,
Ian
On 18/04/2011, at 10:25 AM, GERALD LEVY wrote:
> I can't think of a way.
Ian:
That's what I thought.
Even though Jurriaan Bendien's anti-semitic slur had nothing whatsoever to do with Zionism
or Palestine (i.e. t arose in the context of a discussion we have been having about
'free competition'), I agree that often charges of anti-Semitism are
misplaced and are used as a way by Zionists to shield Israel from criticism.
Nonetheless, there ARE anti-Semites (and they sometimes play right into the hands
of the Zionists) and I frankly can't think of a way to interpret J. Bendien's comment
as anything other than anti-Semitic. The socialist movement has historically taken
a resolute stand against anti-Semitism - whether the source was on the Right or
whether the rot came from other socialists.
In solidarity, Jerry
Some people on the 'left' seem unable to separate criticisms of the State of Israel for policies in the occupied territories that could be criticised on much the same grounds as pre 'final solution' Nazi policies in Poland were criticised from the racism for which the Nazis could also be criticised,
Cheers,
Ian
On 18/04/2011, at 9:30 AM, GERALD LEVY wrote:
> It does not follow that I "acknowledge that free competition was an ideological myth!". This is just a lying
> Jewish-American forgery of what I said!
Is there some way that I can interpret this comment by Jurriaan Bendien as not being anti-Semitic and racist?
In solidarity, Jerry
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Received on Sun Apr 17 21:30:20 2011
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