The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #149360 Message #3481805
Posted By: Steve Shaw
20-Feb-13 - 06:49 PM
Thread Name: BS: Israel condemned by UN
Subject: RE: BS: Israel condemned by UN
Necessary to point out to Jim, yet again, that to use the word "Nazi" in conncection with anything Israeli-connected, whatever the apparent or pleaded motivation or justification, is a purposeful piece of provocative antisemitism any way you slice it.
Simplistic rubbish, Michael. Now I don't employ that word in this context myself because I do have at least some regard for the outcomes of my remarks, but (and I shouldn't really have to point this out to you) any comment that is Israel-related, whether the word Nazi is incorporated or not, is only antisemitic if it refers to all Jews being inferior in some way or all Jews having undesirable traits. Alternatively, it could be a comment in which "Jew" is gratuitously employed in a derogatory way ("I noticed that that bloody Jew didn't pay his bus fare!" instead of "I noticed that that bloody chap didn't pay his bus fare!") Let's stick with this and assume as default that comments referring to Israel normally refer to the Zionist tendencies of its leaders and, perhaps, to some of the hoodwinked people. I would be antisemitic if I said that the Jewish lobby in the US tries to manipulate the government in Israel's favour (AIPAC contains many Christians as well as various pillocks of other persuasions). If I said that the Israel lobby/pro-Israel lobby was doing it, that would not be antisemitic, even if I called them Nazis. That would be unwise and inaccurate, but it would not be antisemitic.