Two entirely different sources draw my attention to two entirely different articles today.
Imshin writes an article on hatred of Israel, coupling it with an article that appeared both in the UK Guardian and Front Page Magazine, titled An American Scapegoat in London. It's pretty scary reading.
Then there is an article in the Duke University newspaper titled The Jews , where a Benjamin N. Duke scholar thinks that "the Jews" took their "privilege" too far by seeking to prevent the Palestine Solidarity Movement from holding a conference there.
So, before you read more of my rantings, read all the stuff I've linked to above and think about it all.
What strikes me is that the difference between private and public speech is narrowing when it comes to Jews anywhere and the US in Europe. Philip Kurian is suggesting something that he probably hears a lot in private: Jews are greedy ingrates who take advantage of others. The Brits Ms. Gould runs into have simply given in to irrational hate and fear, taking it out on anyone with an American accent. (You have to wonder how Canadians deal with the situation). But these Brits and Kurian are basically singing from the same hymnal, one that obsesses over the dangers of an imaginary enemy.
This hymnal never mentions terrorism. Kurian is unfazed by the fact that PSM/ISM explicitly support murder as a political tool, and Ms Gould tells that two days after 9/11, a studio audience shouted anti-American slogans at him on television. (It's often been said that America experienced unanimous sympathy from around the world after 9/11. That is not my recollection - the "blowback" rhetoric started within hours).
If I were to speculate - and I freely will here in my little corner of the blogosphere - all this is motivated by fear.
If we let the ISM/PSM spew anti-Israeli, antisemitic lies, they'll somehow get it out of their system and chill out a little. If the US would only desist from hunting terrorists, the terrorists would eventually come to their senses and settle down in small, dusty, backward villages. What "the Jews," Israel, and the US are doing is stirring up a hornet's nest, and everyone will get stung.
It's cowardice, plain and simple. It's dangerous to side with the Jews, with Israel, with the US; so let's sit on the fence, be "even-handed," put some "balance" into the picture, etc.
The way to confront this hymnal is by being brave, reasonable, and sophisticated. Kurian and the British public believe in the same virtues we do, and they should be put to shame for giving in to their baser instincts.
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