Something that Zach and I have long speculated but never confirmed is our suspicion that most of the really hateful anti-Zionists on the HP are Europeans, or at least not Americans. We know the Huffington Post attracts mostly Americans to the site as a whole, but that's because it's an American site mostly about American politics and celebrity gossip. But just from the spelling of their posts and the few personal details they divulge, I've gotten the impression many if not most of the anti-Israel posters are European. Which brings me to this conversation I had with Darcha (someone I know is European):
So Darcha admits most of the haters are Europeans, but check out his reasoning. Because Europeans have "freer access to real information." I guess the logical conclusion to that statement is that American information isn't free or unrestricted, it must be controlled by Jewish interests. What a brand new conspiracy theory.
But beyond that Elders of Zion talking point, I'm sure it's just a coincidence that many Europeans happen to hate Israel and their continent also has a history of anti-Semitism dating back to the Roman Empire and includes such greatest hits as the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust and Stalin's purges. I'm sure that while Jews in Malmo, Sweden don't feel safe to practice their religion freely and neo-Nazis still move freely in some Eastern European countries, European problems with Israel come from purely rational discourse and fact-checking. America, on the other hand, only supports Israel because Americans are fooled by Jews but America is the most Jewish friendly country in history with a vibrant Jewish culture and presence in national life.
I'm not saying all Europeans are anti-Israel and Europeans that are anti-Israel are all anti-Semites, but the relationship between past European anti-Semitism and current European anti-Israel sentiment is a real thing. And claiming that it is entirely based on "free information" is simply not acknowledging the truth. Isn't it amazing how anti-Zionists will try to twist reality so that they are angels?
Yup... the Europeans imbibe anti-Semitism with their mothers' milk. Not that it ever really went away.
ReplyDeleteStill, its good to know they're admitting they believe the worst about Israel and the last thing you can expect from anti-Zios, especially of the European variety, is to keep an open mind about the Jewish State.
Leftist Europeans are some of the worst. I just watched The Baader Meinhof Complex, and I was rooting for all the police in the movie because the so called heroes were nothing more than naive, stupid, anti-semitic, losers.
ReplyDeleteBut I do feel that a large majority of anti-Israel posters are Arabs, living either in the Middle East or in Europe, who are radicalized but pretend to be liberal. Also many posters sound like Stormfront types.
Watch the docu "Elders of Zion" by Marc Levine, it is very chilling.
Good post and good points. I just have one quibble. Much as I love the U.S. and acknowledge how good a country it has been for us, I wouldn't call it the best. My father was beaten regularly walking home from school and called "Christ-killer" by the neighborhood Catholic boys, and I know people even of my generation who were similarly harassed. We all know about the quotas that used to exist in universities. Finally, even today Jews are regarded with suspicion of "dual loyalty" in the intelligence community.
ReplyDeleteNeither India nor China, as far as I know, has ever persecuted its Jews; and in India they were even protected when the Portuguese arrived and wanted to institute an Inquisition against the Jewish community there. Non-Christian countries would seem to have the best record in this regard.