Why is criticizing Israel's actions,considered antisemitic?

Show all answers

Boogie

It's not, many jews and Israelis criticize Israel's actions as well, and you can't call a jew antisemitic.

By the way, the Semitic people are both jews and arabs.

Bravo Sierra

Because it's their way of democracy !
I agree 100% with "Stanless steel", it is the right answer, he deserve "best answer".

I hope ur question will not be reported, cause as I already mentioned, it's their way.

Blue Xull...

Nope, not antisemitism. Even 'criticizing Israel's right to exist' is not antisemitic.

I posted a question about this issue a while ago. And we had an open minded Jew (pro-Israeli himself by the way) who agreed with me. Even disapproving of Israel's existence is not necessarily antisemitic.

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:DV-i3B94_TwJ:answers.yahoo.com/question/index%3Fqid%3D20080319200255AAuGOfq%26show%3D7+%22I+don%27t+think+that+anyone+who+disapproves%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1
--------
Gator, okay, I will. Tibet should be handed over to Tibetans. Native Americans should be compensated. Arab countries should have secular laws. Done. Should I repeat this every time I criticize Israel?
*
----
Alrite, some of the Palestinian supporters here (e.g. me), criticize... say Saudi and strict Islamic laws on other sections. We don't hate Jews.

HopelessZ00

I have to agree with Bravo and Stainless, I asked a question about Israel going into Lebanon terrotory, regarding an article which was posted from YA. If it was not anti-semitic why was it deleted. No one even knows the true meaning of anti-semitic here. Cheers!

Bahira

Jews have always taken the view that criticism - any criticism - of any jewish organization constitutes what they call antisemitism,which they in turn define as any comment that is not lavishly laudatory. The term was in fact once associated with bigotry but the majority of people today readily grasp that at this point in time it is simply a cheap slur immediately and very loudly deployed against anyone who fails in their alleged obligation to admire jews and their multitudinous organizations.

sparkle

because anyone who criticises their human rights record,or lack of it is considered anti-semetic.it has nothing to do with hating the jewish people,its like saying anyone who criticises chinas violation of human rights is anti-oriental,...not true.in either case,but understandably israelis are very defensive of their actions,and continue to defend the indefensible.incidentally i got this same answer to a similar question reported and deleted,reiterates my point,they dont deal well with criticism..........read this quick before it goes

Cool Breeze

It isn't,not even by jews. It's just a public position intended to inhibit criticism. It does scare off many people,but not leftists around the world. One would have a tough time trying to convince anyone that a Scialist is a neo-nazi,since they are polar opposites.

oclugg

It's not. I critisize Israel all the time and am not anti semetic, I love Jews but hate Israel.

Zeno

Jews are very heavily represented in the mass media and hence the idea is given great latitude that all criticism of this rogue state is inspired solely by the fact that it is supposedly "jewish" ; i.e. established by devotees of Judaism. Most are atheists from Europe. Hence the press does - to some extent - consider it inappropriate to heavily criticize but this creates the misleading impression that this construction is accepted by all. Most people couldn't care less if the people who erected this monstrosity had jewish grandparents or not,or what religion they are or used to be. It is a government with the worst long-term history of extreme human-rights abuses on earth and it needs to go. It has no place on a planet increasingly committed to the establishment of peace and justice throughout the world.

Jurgen

Only by jews. Nobody else thinks so.

shimeringstars01

Well it goes like this.... when we start talking about things that Israel has done, that are clearly wrong, and they know are wrong, they start saying that we are being antisemitic. So then the conversation changes from being about what Israel has done wrong, to being about what the one talking about it has done wrong by being antisemitic. So its basically just a way of changing the subject. And since no one likes to be called prejudice, no one wants to risk criticizing Israel. It works very well for them.

Brynn

It is simply to gimmick to inhibit criticism. Ignore it. No one takes it seriously. Not even jews - at least not in private.

Galahad

Nobody seriously considers it antisemitic or antijewish,to be more accurate. But the possibility of being so accused does inhibit criticism,particularly with members of the media. That's why they are so soft on the zionist regime. The term itself has lost it's original meaning; it's just name-calling these days.

Maya

They aren't,except by the media. Ordinary people criticize it freely. Never mistake a media policy for reality.

gypsy_cat 345

Because Israel is above reproach.
Yeah, riiiiiiiiiiight, lol!

Habib

They are overly sensitive throng of people who consider themselve above criticism!

Don't you see, they strongly believe in opression & blood shed; how can they let you else they will have to mend their ways.

God only can help them as they turn a deaf ear to whatever you suggest, good or bad.

Nora

I know this is what they say but ridiculous because criticizing Israel for killing Palestinians is not anti-Semitic. Such accusations are not logical. I criticize Israel and I'm a Semite

winker

Because both sides are way too far from the center to see straight.

tamarindwalk

As long as you are able to separate state (i.e.government) from the people, critical remarks about Israel do not constitute antisemetic behavior.

But you need to be clear that it is the Israeli government's policies and actions are what you are critical of - and not label all of the people of Israel.

I believe the government of Israel carried out a horrible war against the Lebanese and I intensely dislike the Israeli government for what it did. But I cannot take to task the Israeli people for these actions. A large number of them did not favor the war against the Lebanese, also.

doodle

It's not, but it's the way that people go about saying it that is anti-Semitic. Lots of good examples on here... it's fine to point out Israels flaws, but it's not OK to say stuff like "Israel is an illegal country, it doesn't exist! Wipe it off the map! All Israelis hate Palestinians!".... you know. Most Jews and Israelis won't get offended when people say things about Israel (unless it's crossing the line), but there are always going to be some fanatic people who will jump on every remark and call it "anti-Semitic".

Shalom, Salaam

Cher JPA

Criticizing Israel is not anti-semitic. Jews & non-Jews do it all the time...and a quick read of Israel newspapers will show that they take the criticisims seriously & look to make improvements.

Here's the thing. Many of the criticisms & criticizers are steeped in anti-semitism. They often don't realize it. I've spoken with people here & seen postings that are blantant classic anti-semitic beliefs about Jews leftover from the centuries of it. Of course, those hatreds are bound to color their perceptions of Israel since it's "the Jewish state". And, some of the critisims of Israel sound practically like anti-semitic beliefs about Jews. So it's much more likely that there is anti-semitism operating, than it is that Jews suddenly became their hateful stereotypes when they formed a country. These criticisms often have much false elements to them accusing Jews/Israelis of things they don't do or believe, yet no amount of arguing gets some folks to see it.

This was brought home to me by a very leftist non-Jewish friend who asked me to look at her source websites on Israel because she was bothered it seeming off-key, since she's not bigoted at anyone. The first site was mildly anti-Israel & a little bothersome in it's undertones of distain, but okay. The next site was not so nice -- along with those same views of Israel more strongly worded, -- it mixed in some anti-semitic undertones. Classic ones I recognized from well, having grown up knowing about it & occasionally facing it. The 3rd site was downright hateful at Israel with the same complaints, -- but mixed in was blatent beliefs about how Jews intend to take over the world & are the source of all evil & control the media & it went on vitrolly from there. (Visit some of the more extreme sites yourself & you'll be surprised how much you've absorbed.) The ties on the mild site to anti-semitism became more obvious as the other sources were seen. I pointed out the parallels of the bigotry to classic anti-semitism & much to her credit my friend started using sources with more caution.

Much of the Middle East has classic Nazi anti-semitism available and mixed into media presentations & so on. Mein Kauf & "Protocol of the Elders" have been best sellers in Egypt. Many criticisms of Israel come from these locations. While they may get watered down to make them more understandable and palatable to a "westerner", many of them feel like & sting like anti-semitism is in there -- and it's not an accident.

Add to it that in Europe anti-semitism is very far from dead, and comments & critisms of Israel can get twisted so that this stuff is contained. I read a factual article by BBC...and then at the end, in the last sentence, was a hit. It was a classic anti-semitic description of a piece of Israel that could have been taken out of a Charles Dickens book from the 1700-1800s (who's anti-semitic imagry such as Fabegan is renknown). The article went from fact, to irrelevant comment, that painted Israel as evil in a classic way. I couldn't figure out whether to cry or throwup.

So, criticizing Israel is just fine. However, any aware person will use caution at filtering their citicisms AND sources of data to see if they are being effected. It's a special case situation. Actually, not the special, because I'd do the same when reading a story about Africa (telling me black people are childlike & unable to care for themselves, a classic excuse for slavery, doesn't go over well with me.)

As far as criticizing Israel goes, if one knows anything about Judaism, one knows that having opinions, & self-evaluation, is popular. This is a religion that absorbs from other religions and doesn't try to overpower anyone else's. So bring it on - constructively. Maybe somewhere in there we'll find the keys that make it all work. That's what Judaism teaches.

I hope that helps explain this difficult topic.

-----

Gator's double standard is a good example of how this of happens frequently, but is written off.

Think about it - how many people spend their time critizing Israel with furious hateful feelings, some who have little or no connection to the region. How many of them criticize Saudi Arabia or Sudan with the same amout of energy & time? Check on Y!A itself.

How many of answered this question by saying Jews & Israel controlling the media, some by softening the words until this classic anti-semitic accusation sounds "realistic"? How many have evaluated whether this is real or they got it from an anti-semitic source?

Get real. 1. If Jews controlled the media, we'd do a better job than this. 2. We are a minority in in a free-speech democracy in the U.S.. Agreement, is not control.

What's scarey is the accusers like Hezbollah do try to control the media. CNN ran a story after the Lebanon war on how they were restricted & images were manipulated by Hezbollah or they would not be allowed to report. When those IDF soldiers got lost & torn to bits in the PA police station, the story wasn't released for days because there were life threats on the station if it was. Maybe there are those who support this kind of manipulation and are therefore are more easily convinced of this tired old false Jewish stereotype, and use it as an accusation at every opportunity.

ariela s

Its not antisemitic but plenty people who criticize Israel are MOTIVATED by antisemitism. Jimmy Carter belongs to a church that compared IDF to Pharisee killers of Christ. And there are others who just love to see Israelis killed or are holocaust deniers who have jumped on the bandwagon.

The First Dragon

Criticizing Israel's actions is not, in itself, anti-semitic. But it happens sometimes that an anti-semitic person criticizes Israel's actions, and while the criticism is worded in such a way as to avoid the charge of anti-semitism, it is in fact fueled by anti-semitism.
There is also the fact that people may have different ideas of what constitutes anti-semitism. Some may give it a much broader definition than others.
And of course, some people are oversensitive or assume anti-semitism where it doesn't actually exist.
Then again, some people recently thought I was a Jew because I said something in favor of Israel.
Feelings run pretty high in some quarters.

Gator

Because, Israel is predominately Jewish nation, most internal and foreign affairs are done by Jews.

So the question is how do you separate the attack on Israel without offending Jews?

If you hold Israel under different standards than you hold other countries that is considered double standards. Double standards are Anti-Semitic.

Example:

If Israel is tough on crime, USA tough on crime, Saudi Arabia tough on crime, rest of the world tough on crime.

Somebody comes up and says - i don't like all the countries that are tough on crime - but only specifically mentioning Israel as being tough on crime - that's called double standard

edit:
Blue Xull, by itself criticizing Israel's right to exist is not anti-Semitic. But only if you're consistent & fair in your argument as it is applied to other nations as well.

You cannot critize Israel's right to exist without critizing the right to exist of most countries in the world.

Choose any ground to challange Israel's right to exist and apply the same argument to the rest of the countries (in order to be somewhat fair)

2nd Edit to Blue: No, you don't have to repeat about countries just as long as you're aware of that fact. Since you are not Anti-Jewish you understand the difference between Anti-Semitism & Anti-Israel.

Tequila

Saudi Dude: You may personally dislike Israel. And, every government -- including that of the State of Israel-- may be legitimately criticized. Yet, as both European and mideastern thinking have been impacted to some degree by anti-Semitic patterns for years, criticism of Jews or Israel is rarely free of anti-Semitic stereotypes. Let's refer to the following European Union working definition to evaluate where objective, legitimate criticism stops and anti-Semitism begins:
1. When Israeli policy is compared to Nazi practices or when symbols and images of long-established anti-Semitism are assigned to Israel; 2. When Israelā€™s right to existence is denied; &, most importantly,
3. When a double standard is maintained whereby demands are made of Israel that would never be expected or demanded of another democratic state.
Again, some who cross these lines may not necessarily be full supporters of Nazi style anti-Semitism. However, they are responsible for laying the foundation for others who happily espouse the total destruction of the single Jewish state.
There are obvious anti-Semites in the world today who proclaim understanding of the world based on the ā€Protocols of the Elders of Zionā€¯ or other evil treatises. Additionally, some individuals in various countries align themselves with modes of anti-Semitic thinking, sometimes in liberal Western movements and systems. The latter frequently support and promulgate (in seemingly civilized tones) attempts by anti-Semites to delegitimize, and ultimately to destroy, Israel.

That said, if you don't like the felafel in Jerusalem, I remain open to hearing your considered "non-bashing" argument indicating that Riyadh does it better.

kismet

Criticizing Israel's policies is not antisemitic, but denying the Jewish people their right to live in their homeland is antisemitic.
It is the new, socially-acceptable way of being antisemitic.

spReez

Well, maybe it isn't really antisemitic....more like senselessness.

Friend

Speaking about the regular posters on this very travel section I can attest to the fact the anti-Israel posters are 99% anti- Jewish. Since Semitic can refer to people of Arab origin the term anti-semitic does not apply. From USA high school teachers and college students, Egyptians and canadian muslims they do little to mask their anti-Jewish rhetoric.The proof is the way they never mention the 22% of Israelis who are non-Jewish.

riviva

It's not.. unless you're criticizing Israel's right to exist

holmes.john14

If the Question is phrased properly it deserves an Answer, but not if SOMEONE IS TRYING TO MAKE A STATEMENT!

Seen it all before

it isn't

but it is often bigotry

why is it that any criticism of a muslim is anti-islamic?
it seems that any criticism of islam or muslims will get you labelled as an islamaphobe or nazi......

yet i see more abuse aimed at jews from muslims than any thing else.....and they LOVE to call jews NAZIS

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: