A comparison from hell

“The problem from hell.” – Samantha Powers’ characterization of genocide in the 20th century.

Israel-Nazi Comparison:

Robin Shepherd, in 2009, wrote:

“Attempts in Europe to portray Israel as the modern incarnation of Nazi Germany were once the preserve of the extremists. Islamists, fascists and communists — each acting for reasons of their own — have employed the technique to portray the Jewish state as the epitome of political evil with which no compromise can be made.”

The cartoon above, from Arab News (April 10, 2002), shows Ariel Sharon wielding a swastika-shaped axe to chop up Palestinian children. Arab News is a Saudi-based English language daily which is supposedly one of the Arab world’s more moderate papers.

“It is a sign of the times”however, that the Nazification of Israel as a technique of denigration has begun to invade the mainstream.”

In 2008, this cartoon appeared in the student newspaper of Emory University (near Atlanta) which directly compared the Nazi ghettos with the separation fence the Israelis have erected on the West Bank

Shepherd continued:

“A commentary in the (August 18, 2009) Guardian by the prominent Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek offers a perfect illustration of how the technique is now employed.  Zizek, who has near iconic status among Europe’s liberal-Left, begins his piece with some familiar distortions about the eviction earlier this month of two Palestinian families from their homes in the east Jerusalem district of Sheikh Jarrah. Zizek presents what was in fact an eviction due to non-payment of rent as merely one instance of a broader policy of ethnic cleansing — a policy which is reminiscent, he infers, of the way the Nazis treated the Jews.” “The state of Israel is clearly engaged in a slow, invisible process, ignored by the media,” he says. “One day, the world will awake and discover that there is no more Palestinian West Bank, that the land is Palestinian-frei, and that we must accept the fact.” The term “Palestinian-frei”? It is obviously an inversion of the Nazi term Judenfrei, literally meaning free of Jews.”

And, it should be noted, CiF contributor, Tony Greenstein has ardently defended such hideous comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany.

Adbusters

A 2004 issue of the Canadian-based corporate-bashing lefty journal Adbusters, had an article entitled, “Why won’t anyone say they are Jewish?” They are the “neocons.” The editor of the journal, Kalle Lasn, helpfully compiled a list of 50 “influential neocons,” and annotated the list by scribbling little black dots in the margin next to the names of the 25 he thought were Jews.

Lasn thus confirmed the joke definition of David Brooks, who explained that “con is short for ‘conservative’ and neo is short for ‘Jewish.'” Lasn, however, seemed to think he is being brave.

Drawing attention to the Jewishness of the neocons is a tricky game. Anyone who does so can count on automatically being smeared as an anti-Semite. But . . . here at Adbusters, we decided to tackle the issue head on.”

Well, Adbusters, in 2009, again showed its courage, by “bravely” publishing a photo essay entitled: “Never Again: A ghettoized Gaza bears striking similarities to the Warsaw ghetto.

The photos (with accompanying captions), below, advance the utterly insidious theme advanced by many in the Arab world, and their far-left Western supporters, that Israel has become the new Nazi Germany.

Shepherd, in  his 2009 essay, concluded by saying:

“The denigration of the Jewish state in modern Europe has now become part of such an edifice of hatred and bigotry that there are no longer any taboos. It is now possible to say anything, literally anything, about Israel, however grotesque and defamatory, and to feel no shame, to invite no censure. No other state in the world is talked about in such a manner.  And yes, it is anti-Semitism. And yes, it’s back.”

Indeed, narratives which characterize the Jewish state as morally equivalent to Nazi Germany have been codified as anti-Semitic by both the European Union and the U.S. State Department. As Manfred Gerstenfeld noted:

“The core motif of classic anti-Semitism was that Jews embody the most extreme malevolence. During the post-war era, the Nazi regime has become the paradigm for absolute evil. Comparing Israel’s conduct to its actions is a new mutation of this ancient theme.”

Moreover, those employing the Israel-Nazi comparison knowingly exploit the reality that Nazism has become the defining metaphor of human evil – an act “from hell.”

Invariably, if Zionists are “Nazis” and if Israeli leaders are really no better than Hitler, then it becomes a moral and, indeed, “progressive” obligation to wage war against Israel. Such accusations aren’t simply morally vile, but need to be seen as part of the overall arsenal by those who openly seek Israel’s destruction.

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