Press TV, the Iranian propaganda channel for which antiracists like George Galloway and Jeremy Corbyn have worked, has changed its headline (via Harry’s Place and antisemitism.org) :
Press TV, the Iranian propaganda channel for which antiracists like George Galloway and Jeremy Corbyn have worked, has changed its headline (via Harry’s Place and antisemitism.org) :
July 11, 2012 at 10:54 pm
Well, I’m glad they fixed that. I was worried there for a minute!
July 11, 2012 at 10:55 pm
Impressive. I will have to refer people to this when they (too frequently) don’t believe me when I tell them that “Zionist” is code for “Jew”. Many thanks.
July 11, 2012 at 11:54 pm
I wonder if any past supporters of Press TV, or proud “anti-Zionists”, will have the guts to admit the racism within the above text:
July 14, 2012 at 10:24 pm
I don’t blame David Hirsch for not wanting to give PressTV the traffic, but the original article is worth seeking out, if only because the word “Jewish” appears in the article sixteen (16) times, whereas “Zionist” only appears in the headline and in the comments. Makes you wonder why they even bothered changing the headline at all.
July 14, 2012 at 10:29 pm
*Hirsh*. My apologies.
July 12, 2012 at 10:02 am
On a related note,
Thursday, July 12, 2012 3:01 AM
See the cartoon at the URL here:
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/6348_13.htm
TEXT:
Anti-Semitic Cartoon Declared Winner Of Iranian ‘Wall Street Downfall’
Festival
New York, NY, July 11, 2012 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today
reacted to the results of an Iranian cartoon contest, in which the winning
entry depicts three religious Jews praying in front of a representation of
the Western Wall in Jerusalem labeled “New York Wall Street.”
“Once again, Iran takes the prize for promoting anti-Semitism,” said
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “The winning cartoon takes the
most sacred site in Judaism and perverts it into a shrine of greed. It is
offensive on so many levels.”
The virulently anti-Semitic cartoon was declared the winner of Iran’s
first annual “International Wall Street Downfall Cartoon Festival,”
co-sponsored by the Iranian media outlet Fars News. According to reports,
the contest’s jury consisted of seven judges from Iran, Turkey, Poland and
Romania who judged more than 1,600 cartoons. The winning artist, Mohammad
Tabrizi, was awarded 5,000 euros for his image of Jews praying in front of
“Wall Street.”
Mr. Foxman said: “Here’s the anti-Semitic notion of Jews and their love
for money, the canard that Jews ‘control’ Wall Street, and a cynical
perversion of the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism. This contest
not only puts virulent anti-Semitism on a pedestal, but in posting the
images online and involving judges from other countries, helps promote
classical anti-Semitic notions before a global audience of potentially
millions.”
In 2006, the Iranian government notoriously sponsored a Holocaust cartoon
contest in which the winning entries derided Jews and mocked and belittled
the death of six million Jews and millions of others in the Holocaust.
—
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading
organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that
counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
July 12, 2012 at 10:14 am
I appreciate that this is not in the spirit of the post, but it is interesting to note that to date, comment on the ‘banking crisis’ has been free of antisemitic rhetoric. For some, this is evidence of the demise of antisemitism in Europe and the US. What is not taken into account, of course, is the way that anti-Jewish theorising and sentiment has attached itself to ‘criticism’ of Israel (after all, how are these headlines and story that different in content from the idea that the US Congress and President is but mouthpieces for the Zionist/Israel Lobby?)
In the post above, Press TV has stripped bare the antecedences of what is treated as ‘legitimate criticism’ of Israel and shown it for what it is – classical antisemitism.
July 12, 2012 at 6:44 pm
I have heard from various friends in Greece that the racist and antisemitic far-right is on the ascendancy. We know also of some well-known Greek personages (such as Mikis Theodorakis) not of the right, who are into anti-Jewish conspiracy thinking. Could it be that it is this phenomenon that Press TV is tapping into and also to encourage?
July 12, 2012 at 6:48 pm
Sorry, I meant to add these links,
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/21/world/la-fg-greece-anti-semitism-20110221
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/a-greek-bishops-anti-semitic-tirade/
http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/europe/anti-semitism-greece
July 13, 2012 at 6:43 am
Absolute Observer,
I beg to differ with your first statement. The antisemitic rhetoric becomes more sophisticated, using terms that may escape a first glance. For instance, the term “banksters” that recently has become a euphemism of choice for American “soft” antisemitic discourse – check it out.
July 13, 2012 at 3:10 pm
snoopy,
Thanks for your comment. I have not come across that term; what does it signify and mean?
AO
July 17, 2012 at 3:25 pm
the vast mythology of anti-Zionism only ‘makes sense’ through the prism of antisemitic history, themes etc. it often seems like little more than a post-Shoah rebranding of antisemitism. then, along comes Iran and it all becomes even more horribly familiar.
July 17, 2012 at 4:45 pm
Mark, The good news/bad news on classical antisemitism is that, in a post Holocaust world (or at least the Western part of it) classical, vulgar, “Perish Judah” antisemitism is no longer acceptable in most circles. We forget just how widespread and respectable such views were in Europe (including the UK) before WWII.
Today, antisemitism has become the hatred that dare not speak it’s name. That’s why Jew haters — even those of the right — usually clothe their animus in the language of Anti-Zionism, pro-Palestinianism, anti-Imperialism etc. What we are seeing is an effort to make Jew hatred acceptable to people who would reject antisemitism. Hence the debate about “who is an antisemite”. The constant libel that “Zionists” use the allegation of antisemitism to shut down debate is central to the discourse because none of our enemies can expect to succeed if they are perceived as what they really are. Hence, one of the things we have to do is to expose crypto-antisemitism for what it is.
The problem is that crypto-antisemitism is not immediately identifiable as Jew hatred by the untrained observer. David Hirsh and the rest of the Engage team have been toiling on this issue for a long time (and kol hakavod to them). The recent CofE vote shows how much more work we all have to do on this issue.
July 17, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Mark,
I agree entirely; without the history of antisemitism these tales of ‘Israel lobbies’, of ‘ZIonist power’ would never gain the traction they do. And, as we know the power of myth is its ability to reinvent itself in new situations.
August 15, 2012 at 7:26 pm
This review by Benny Morris (2009) of Avi Shlaim’s recent book ‘Israel and Palestine’ covers some of the points raised here in great depth. It’s a long but fascinating read.
http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/derisionist-history?page=0,0