Europeans, Atheists, Socialists, and Anti-Semites
May 2002
Above there are four terms; all of them can be interpreted pejoratively. I am a European, an atheist, and a socialist - I am not an anti-Semite.
So why am I, an atheist, contributing to Reformed.Net? Well, I've read several articles on the situation in the middle-East on this site recently, and I'd like to contribute to the debate.
Anyway, if we're going to indulge in name-calling, I'm also a man, a journalist, Irish, a smoker, an ex-Catholic from a mixed Catholic and Episcopalian Protestant family, a university graduate, an academic, and who knows what else....
Being an insomniac, I enjoy late-night and early morning radio. My favourite stations are the BBC World Service and the UK's domestic news service, BBC Radio Five Live. Recently news coverage on these two stations has brought to my attention the fact that editorials in US newspapers have recently been suggesting that Europeans do not support Israel because of latent anti-Semitic tendencies.
This is, of course, complete nonsense. First of all, many Europeans do support Israel, but more importantly, the entire turn of phrase is wrong. Sadly, conflicts are rarely black and white, nor are territorial claims or ethnic rivalries. On top of all that, Palestinians are 'Semites' also, so if the Europeans are anti-Semitic, surely such racism would necessitate hatred for the Palestinian cause also?
The reason that so many Europeans, especially those prominent in the media, have criticised Ariel Sharon, is because his actions are demonstrably wrong. Whether or not you support the founding of a Palestinian homeland, it's plain for all to see that Sharon's heavy-handed, militaristic, knee-jerk reaction is going to do nothing for Israel's cause.
The reason that many US journalists cannot understand the European response is because of politico-cultural differences between the US and Europe. Despite the much publicised apparent rise of the far-right in France and the Netherlands, European countries - including the UK - have not seen the dominance of right-wing or neo-liberal economics in the same way that the US has. Politics here tends to be more centrist, though, of course, we also have an outspoken left-socialist minority.
The few anti-Semite racists that we do have in Europe argue that the US is biased because of the so-called 'Jewish lobby'. This is, of course, nonsense. Not only does it hark back to the most obscene Nazi propaganda from the 1930s, but it is also a delusionary misreading of contemporary American politics. Given that Jews as a religious group make up only 2% of the population of the US, it's clearly ridiculous to so overstate their electoral importance.
If there is to be any religious explanation for US policy in the region, surely it is more to do with the large number of evangelical Protestants in the US who read the position of Israel directly from the Bible. This is the source of the disharmony between the US and Europe in polity and in the media.
Despite misguided attempts to remove Christianity from US schools, America is a much more religious nation than any in Europe. The contemporary European outlook is just not fashioned by religion. Thus, the only solution acceptable to most Europeans is the peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestinian states. Both sides must compromise; it's as simple as that.
Add on to this the fact that socialism - real socialism, not the Canadian liberal variety - is not off the map politically in Europe, and the European reaction becomes easier to understand. Socialists, including the many great Jewish socialists, have traditionally defended the rights of the Palestinians whilst simultaneously supporting the right of Israel to exist. To portray the middle-East as an either/or situation does a disservice to all of the inhabitants of the region.
What is worrying is that leading Jewish figures in the UK have been publicly censured for criticising Ariel Sharon.
Of course we are all disgusted by the suicide bombers attacking innocent Israeli civilians - this alone shows just how degraded Palestinian politics have become in recent years - but revulsion at terrorism shouldn't end with individual terrorism. We have to accept that there are instances of state terrorism also. Now, I don't know the specifics of what has or hasn't happened under Israeli military occupation, and I am as wary of media hyperbole about alleged massacres and war crimes in relation to Israel as I am in relation to Yugoslavia, Ireland, or anywhere else, but for US journalists to label Europeans as racists and anti-Semites is a total misrepresentation of Europe, its media, its politicians, and its people.
This article © 2002 by Jason Walsh.
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