Debunking anti-Semitism studies and Yehuda Bauer in particular
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Gilad Atzmon questions the foundations of Israeli Holocaustist Professor Yehuda Bauer’s pseudo-theories on the causes of anti-Semitism and his belief that Jews must always seek influence and domination.

”Judaism and Zionism are both saturated with racism. [Prof. Yehuda] Bauer is right to argue that Jews are not a race, but Jewish ideology – both secular and religious – is racist and supremacist to the bone."

Holocaust studies is an emerging pseudo-intellectual, academic trend. It basically allows rabid Zionists to elevate their discussions about “what is really wrong with the Goyim [Gentiles] into a university qualification. I recently learned about the “Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of anti-Semitism”. I also learned about a similar institute at the University of London.

“anti-Semitism studies” has the potential to be a valuable field of research if it could, for example, elaborate and scrutinize Jewish culture and history in order to grasp what it is that evokes anti-Jewish feelings. It could try to establish if there is a Jewish ideological, political or cultural pattern that may be amended.

In fact, early Zionists1 tried to dwell on the subject. They tried to diagnose the “cause” of anti-Semitsm so that they might learn why it invariably and repeatedly matured into host cultures regarding Jews as a parasitic force. Early Zionists insisted that aliya would bring about a new productive, ethical and civilized new Jew.

However, contemporary anti-Semitism scholars have a very different agenda in mind. They build their research on the axiom that Jews are categorically innocent. They then try to understand why the Goyim behave immorally and even murderously.

The Gentile – a pathological case?

But here is a clear, embarrassing catch: given that humanity is comprised of Goyim, anti-Semitism scholars who attempt to grasp “what is wrong with the Goyim” actually ask “what is wrong with humanity?” This is in fact a legitimate question, unless we leave one conspicuous group out. As things stand, in the new Judaeo-centric “academic” field, namely “anti-Semitism studies”, a Zionist is there to review the Goy as a pathological case. This is slightly odd, to say the least. It is even peculiar that such departments exist at Yale and London universities. However, since academic institutes thrive on corporate donations and other funding sources, we can no longer expect the academic world to lead intellectual discourse or even commit itself to any form of ethical integrity.

One of the leading scholars of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust is Yehuda Bauer, a professor at Jerusalem University and a director of Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum. Prof. Bauer is a world expert in the hatred and destruction of one people, namely the “chosen one”. I have recently found this video and I would urge every humanist to watch it. It is a lecture about the origin of anti-Semitism given by Professor Bauer in Hawaii in 2005.

Bauer initially comes across as a charming and open-minded person. He even makes some crucial observations. For the first 20 minutes it is possible to believe that one is witnessing a genuine, authentic intellectual.

“Anti-Semitism,” says Bauer, is a “wrong term” – there is no such a thing because “there are no Semites”. For Bauer, there are no Semitic people and he acknowledges that the Jews are not exactly a homogenous racial group anyway. He agrees that the ideology that was brought to life by Wilhelm Marr in the late 19th century is confusing. Anti-Semitism is nothing but “anti-Jewish” feelings or practice.

Where does anti-Semitism start? Interestingly enough, Bauer goes back to the Book of Esther. He suggests that it is an “allegory of fear of annihilation of the Diaspora Jew”. Esther, according to Bauer, is a tale of Jewish fear of their surrounding environment. “The origin of anti-Jewishness is the fact that Jewish civilization and culture is different to its surroundings”. I myself would take it further and argue that the Book of Esther is where Jewish lobbying and Jewish power matures into a vivid cultural paradigm. The moral of the story is quite clear. If Jews want to survive, they had better infiltrate the corridors of power. With Esther in mind, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Lord Levy and the Labour Friends of Israel look like embodiments of a deep Biblical and cultural ideology.

Yet, Bauer, the exemplary Judaeo-centric intellectual, fails to enlighten us on the specific ways in which Jewish civilization and culture are different. After all, if anti-Semitism is a unique form of hatred, then Jews must be uniquely different from all the other minorities that have endured prejudice across the centuries. I would expect an anti-Semitism scholar to elaborate on this crucial issue and suggest some answers. Bauer fails to do so. The reason is simple. Bauer is a Zionist and Zionism is a solution for the Diaspora Jews. If you do not want to be different, just come home and dwell with us on stolen Palestinian land.

 

Jews as a “unique race”

Bauer then moves on and asks: what are the types of crises that lead towards anti-Semitism? Christian anti-Semitism is not too problematic to grasp. “Christianity had to differentiate itself from Judaism,” says Bauer. However, Christianity is not a major problem. “Christianity doesn’t like Jews, it discriminates against Jews, yet due to its theology, it prevents genocide.” In fact, according to Bauer, the genocidal tendency in Europe emerged with the secularization of Christian communities. One is left with Christian anti-Semitism minus the theology that curtails murderous inclinations. Again, in Bauer’s trivial world, the Jews are innocent. It is always the Goyim who fail morally and ethically.

Racism wasn’t born in 19th-century Europe, says Bauer. “There is some evidence of racism in the Iberian Peninsula from the 15th century,” he says. Someone had better remind Bauer that, as far as Judaism is concerned he can trace evidence of racism in every religious source whether it is the Torah or the Talmud.

“Racism turned against the Jews,” says Bauer “because we are a different race”, because we are the “paradigmatic Other.” But then, contradicting himself, he also insists on dismantling the notion of race in general. “There is no such thing as race – humanity comes from Africa; we are all Africans.”

Let’s for a second agree with Bauer that race is a “pseudo-scientific concept”. Yet, the problem with race is not the attempt to divide the world into racial groups or trace people's anthropological origins. Race becomes a problematic issue when racism is introduced. Racism is the belief that one group of people is better than another. Devastatingly enough, Judaism and Zionism are both saturated with racism. Bauer is right to argue that Jews are not a race, but Jewish ideology – both secular and religious – is racist and supremacist to the bone.

“The Israel-Palestine conflict, how important is it?” “Very important,” says Bauer. Would a resolution of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict reduce anti-Semitism? Yes, concludes Bauer, but anti-Semitism won’t disappear. Bauer is probably correct. According to his philosophy, anti-Semitsm is the product of Jewish otherness and this fact may never change. As long as Jews maintain their chosen tribal identity they will always preserve their “difference”.

Bauer is rather concerned with the “anti-Semitism of the chattering classes – the media, intelligentsia, universities, doctors". He contends that we have seen a “sudden rise of it along with the second Intifada”. Obviously, the chances of Bauer winning an argument in intellectual circles is rather limited. However, it is pretty reasonable that thinkers within the media, the intelligentsia and academic circles would oppose the Jewish state, especially when evidence of Israeli genocidal barbarism is mounting.

Rules for criticizing Israel

It takes a few good minutes before Bauer, the proud owner of a rabid Zionist mind, shows his real colours. “Is it okay to criticize Israel?” Yes, for sure, says Bauer. The Israeli press are the first to criticize Israeli politics. Condemnation of Israel is not anti-Semitic unless one describes Israel as a “Nazi state”. This is exactly where Bauer relinquishes his last drop of intellectual integrity. Are there any rules that we must employ when criticizing the “Jewish State”? Is there any intellectual obligation that we have to take into consideration when referring to a racist Jew-only, expansionist, murderous state? Surely, the 45 per cent of Europeans who regard Israel as an exterminatory state do so for a reason. Israel and the Zionists had better learn to take responsibility for their actions. They may then understand why almost half of the Europeans equate them with Nazis.

Bauer says political criticism is legitimate yet when you turn the attack on the people and the state you then shift into “genocidal territory”. The truth of the matter is very simple. Within the Palestinian and anti-Zionist discourse no one I can think of suggests annihilating any Jews. Many of us argue that the Jewish state doesn’t have the right to exist at the expense of other people. Yet, we do not talk about or suggest the “extermination” of anyone. We are talking about a change of political setting that will mature into a “state of its people”. We believe in equal rights. We believe in the Palestinian right of return. If Jews want to form a Jew-only state, they should find a desert island to do so, or even better, a different planet.

Fighting anti-Semitism through influence and domination

How do you fight anti-Semitism? “The ADL and the AJC are doing excellent work,” says Bauer. But what about a hypothetical case of rising anti-Semitism in a different territory, for instance Russia? Could the ADL influence the Russian Federation? Bauer thinks not but Jews could make an impact “together with non-Jews”. Things changed in the Soviet Union because the USA mounted pressure on the USSR. “The Jews have to find allies and the allies will come when they understand that anti-Semitism just starts with the Jews.”

In some very simple words Bauer explains the current Zionist ideology. Jews must find new allies. They must bond with emerging powers. It is almost amusing that Bauer, an expert on anti-Semitism, fails to see that this is exactly the root cause of resentment of Jewish power. This endless seeking of influence and domination is exactly where Jews buy enemies.

Bauer ends his talk with a fierce attack on “radical Islam”. “Radical Islam is not just anti-Semitic, it is anti-Semitic in a genocidal way.” He then reads the famous Hamas Charter2. He brings to life the quotes about Jewish power, world domination and so on. Some of the quotes are facts. Others sentences are accepted views. Some ideas are slightly over the top. But there is one thing Bauer fails to do: provide a single genocidal quote.

Bizarrely enough, Bauer ends his talk by saying that “since 1982 I have tried to convince the Israeli government to find allies to fight that thing. Only now things start to happen.” In fact, Yehuda Bauer himself proves that the Hamas Charter is a genuine description of Jewish tribal activism. The “seeking allies” which Bauer pushes for is exactly what the Hamas Charter refers to in the following lines:

They took advantage of key elements in unfolding events, and accumulated a huge and influential material wealth which they put to the service of implementing their [Zionist] dream. (Hamas Charter, 1988)

Is not finding “new allies” a reference to seeking influence via the media and political movements? The Hamas Charter describes it eloquently indeed:

...take over control of the world media such as news agencies, the press, publication houses, broadcasting and the like. [They also used this] wealth to stir revolutions in various parts of the globe in order to fulfill their interests and pick the fruits.” (Hamas Charter, 1988)

Considering the lecture was given in 2005, four years into the “war on terror” and two years into the Iraq war where American and British soldiers ended up fighting Zionist wars and combating the enemies of Israel, I think that by now we all have a glimpse of understanding of what Prof. Bauer refers to when he talks about “allies”.

Prof. Yehuda Bauer is an academic adviser to the Israeli Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem. Perhaps Bauer should reflect on the fact that the Holocaust Institute he represents is located on Mt Herzl on the land of the Palestinian village of Ein Karem, 1,400 metres south of the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin, the scene of a Jewish atrocity against the native Palestinians. If Bauer contemplates this fact alone he will understand why as many as 37.4 per cent of Europeans would find it hard to buy an old car from him, let alone his disingenuous Judaeo-centric, pseudo academic ranting.3


Notes

1. Here are a few examples of early Zionists’ take on anti-Semitism: Theodor Herzl, Max Nordau and Ze'ev Jabotinsky.

2. “The enemies have been scheming for a long time, and they have consolidated their schemes, in order to achieve what they have achieved. They took advantage of key elements in unfolding events, and accumulated a huge and influential material wealth which they put to the service of implementing their dream. This wealth [permitted them to] take over control of the world media such as news agencies, the press, publication houses, broadcasting and the like. [They also used this] wealth to stir revolutions in various parts of the globe in order to fulfil their interests and pick the fruits.

“They stood behind the French and the communist revolutions and behind most of the revolutions we hear about here and there. They also used the money to establish clandestine organizations which are spreading around the world, in order to destroy societies and carry out Zionist interests. Such organizations are: the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, lions Clubs, B’nai B’rith and the like. All of them are destructive spying organizations. They also used the money to take over control of the imperialist states and made them colonize many countries in order to exploit the wealth of those countries and spread their corruption therein.

“As regards local and world wars, it has come to pass – and no one objects – that they stood behind World War I, so as to wipe out the Islamic caliphate. They collected material gains and took control of many sources of wealth. They obtained the Balfour Declaration and established the League of Nations in order to rule the world by means of that organization. They also stood behind World War II, where they collected immense benefits from trading with war materials and prepared for the establishment of their state. They inspired the establishment of the United Nations and the Security Council to replace the League of Nations, in order to rule the world by their intermediary.” (
Article 22, Hamas Charter)

3. According to new research conducted by Bielefeld University, “about 37.4 per cent (Europeans) agree with the following statement: Considering Israel’s policy, I can understand why people do not like Jews.”



Gilad Atzmon
is an Israeli-born musician, writer and anti-racism campaigner. His latest jazz album, "In loving memory of America", was released on 1 March 2009 and can be purchased here.

Source >  Redress Information & Analysis 


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