http://english.daralhayat.com/column/10-2003/Article-20031006-10d235a4-c0a8-01ed-003c-37f4692649e3/story.html
Ayoon wa Azan (New Definition of Anti-Semitism)
Jihad Al Khazen Al-Hayat 2003/10/6
Over the past few weeks, I noticed that an increasing number of Jewish Likudists around the world have been reading the Arab press, especially the press that is translated to English and published on the Internet. They either make comments or respond, and most of the time they accuse the reporter of this broad accusation of "anti-Semitism."
In the past, anti-Semitism used to mean a person who hates Jews. Today, in the era of Sharon's Likudnik immorality, it means any person hated by the Jews. I used to object to letters I received complaining about what I said about the Israeli government and its practices. The people sending me the letters considered what I said as being against the Jews in general, although I am always cautious and rarely attack Israel without mentioning that the majority of Jews in Israel still wish for a peaceful solution and that the majority of Jews in the world are moderate liberals with whom it is easy to make peace.
This was and still is my opinion, and I have always objected to my articles being read in a selective manner; nevertheless, I found some consolation when Edgard Bronfman, a committed Zionist presiding the World Jewish Forum, was victim of a defamation campaign, waged by radicals who have blood on their hands, such as Ariel Sharon. He had dared send President Bush a letter objecting to Israel's construction of the security wall on Palestinian territory.
The security wall means that it is impossible to reach a peaceful agreement, because if it is completed the way Sharon and the war criminals around him want it, it could take up 40% of the West Bank territories. Once, Mahmoud Abbas told me that if the Israelis want to build such wall for security as they claim, nothing prevented them from building it on their own land. Abbas insisted that it would be impossible to reach an agreement if the wall was completed according to Sharon's official plans…which would mean that the wall's construction comes against the Israeli people's desire for peace, which is vindicated in the opinion polls.
What matters is that Bronfman (along with Lawrence Eagleburger, the former U.S. Secretary of State) dared express the desire of the majority of Jews with regards to the wall, and the result was that one of Sharon's supporters attacked him and accused him of being disloyal.
I read that Bronfman's letter reached Izy Leibler, the deputy president of the World Jewish Forum, so he launched a campaign on the president and asked him to withdraw his letter and apologize because his duty is to promote the Israeli government.
Bronfman is a billionaire who presides SEGHAM. He constitutes along with his family one of the pillars of the world Jewish support to Israel. The reason why he is treated so disrespectfully is because he expressed the stance of the majority of Jews; so the reader can only imagine how an Arab writer or any commentator is treated if he dare criticize Israel.
Trying to control the media and silencing the opposition to Israel goes along with the process of killing Palestinians and destroying peace. Before Bronfman, George Bush was subject to a harsh campaign that reflected the endless impudence of Israel and its supporters.
This was in the beginning of the summer, when a truce between the Palestinian factions and Israel was worked out so Abbas' government would be able to implement the Roadmap; but Israel tried to kill Dr. Abdulaziz Rantissi, who escaped, but killed a woman and a three-year-old child, also injuring 27 people. President Bush's comment on that was that he was concerned about the attacks of the Israeli helicopters and that he was sorry for the loss of lives, adding, he did not believe the attacks helped Israel's security.
Israel and its supporters in Congress replied to these simple words by objecting and denouncing. Tom DeLay, the leader of the Republican majority in Congress, threatened President Bush that Congress would issue a resolution supporting the Israeli attacks if the President did not declare his unconditioned support for Israel.
I would add here that Hamas retaliated the next day of the murder attempt through a suicide attack in Jerusalem, where 16 people were killed. I insist that it was the war criminal Sharon who killed them and not Hamas, because he knew his crime would be punished. He probably even welcomed the retaliation in order to justify his next crime.
With the mounting Israeli crimes, there is a wide campaign to ban any criticism of Israel. One of the official members of the Jewish lobby AIPAC wrote in the Denver Post that the unacceptable side of anti-Semitism today is to criticize Israel, which, he added, is the only state in the world controlled by Jews (he forgot to mention the U.S.) then he complained about focusing on Israel and neglecting the violation of human rights in other countries.
What I understood is that human rights violations in other countries justify their violation in Israel. Most important is silencing the media, in the lobby's member sayings, an attempt we followed in Europe as well, for in a conference about anti-Semitism the representative of French Jews called for banning Al-Jazeera, claiming that it provoked anti-Israeli feelings. Some people in the conference called for controlling the Internet and finding ways to ban any criticism of Israel under the excuse of fighting anti-Semitism.
As I write, I have before me a paper clip about Israel and its supporters' attempt to ban a novel called A Little Piece of Ground written by award-winner novelist from New Zealand, Elizabeth Laird, in which she tells the story of Karim, a Palestinian boy living under the occupation who sees his father threatened and humiliated and the family's land stolen by the settlers. The result was that Jewish groups threatened the publisher McMillan and called for destroying all copies of the book.
George Orwell talked about Big Brother, who controls the minds and decides on behalf of the people, but he had expected the Big Brother would come from some great country and not from the criminal state of Israel, protected by the U.S., which gives it free reign to control and subdue us al.
