TEN FACES OF ANTI-SEMITISM - Dr. Bill Duerfeldt

THE TEN FACES OF ANTI-SEMITISM

            It's almost inconceivable that a mere 67 years after the Holocaust, the ugly face of international anti-Semitism is again rearing its head.  A recent study of this phenomenon was done by the Belgium author Joël Kotek.  Kotek, in studying political cartoons, has outlined ten “motifs” which he discovered has characterized the reemergence of this pernicious evil.  In capsule form, these ten motifs are:

1.      The first theme is the oldest – characterizing the demonized Jew as “an inferior human”. This is especially effective in Muslim countries which have the concept of dhimmi – or second class citizen. However, it is not only Jews who fall under this rubric.  Any non-Muslim is a dhimmi in an Islamic controlled country.  Characterizing the Jew as sub-human was also the tactic used during the beginning of the Nazi genocide in Germany.

2.      The second theme is that of “God-killers”.  This is a particular favorite of the Church – especially those denominations steeped in “Replacement Theology”.  The Jews are thus characterized as being responsible for killing the Messiah, and have therefore been rejected by God, who has, in turn, replaced them with the Church.  This is the theme of an entire article (or two) all its own!

3.      Israel as a Nazi state is the third motif being seen more and more these days, especially by the liberal world news media.  News outlets like the BBC, CNN, and the Huffington Post (to name only three) practically bend over backward to make the Israeli government look like the cold-blooded Gestapo whenever Israel attempts to defend itself against one form of terrorism or another.

4.      The forth strategy is called “zoomorphism” – that is, changing a hated enemy into a horrible beast.  Examples are picturing Jews as vampires sucking the life blood of other nations or characterizing the Jews as an octopus with tentacles circling the globe and strangling the world's economies.  Zoomorphism lends itself especially well to anti-Semitic cartoons of all types.  Snakes, pigs, and cockroaches are used extensively as caricatures of Jews.

5.      A fifth common anti-Semitic technique is to picture Jews as Masters of the World.  In other words, everything that goes on in the world today is all part of an enormous Jewish conspiracy.  Either the Jews are (a) attempting to control the world, or – in some circles – (b) they already do control the world.  American anti-Semitism (such as the neo-Nazi groups) is especially fond of the latter.  This is particularly fascinating when one considers motif #1 above.  It baffles me how one can see the Jew as both an “inferior sub-human” and at the same time, as a master of the world.  The sheer stupidity of such mental gymnastics boggles the mind.

6.      Seeing the Jews as a Corrupting Force in world politics is a sixth motif.  American presidents (especially Republican presidents) are seen as connected to Jewish organizations such as AIPAC (American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) or the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) who in turn give huge amounts of money to their campaign funds.  The fact that most American Jews are liberal and vote Democratic seems to be of no consequence when it comes to this particular brand of anti-Semitism.

7.      The “Blood Libel” is another very old characterization of the Jews.  They are portrayed as blood loving or blood thirsty, a belief that also has its origins in the Church.  The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches taught their congregations that the Jews required the blood of Christian children to drink during their Pesach (Passover) Seder services.  Such beliefs were responsible for many of the terrible pogroms which took place in Russia and the Eastern-Block countries during the Easter season.  Muslim countries, such as Egypt, have also taken up this caricature in recent years.

8.      The eighth anti-Semitic ploy is one which should also be broadened to be called anti-Zionism.  This is the statement that it is the Arabs who want peace, but Israel does not. This motif is gaining favor and supporters from sources which would otherwise seem to be “strange bedfellows”.  Clearly the Islamic world likes this one, but amazingly, so does Hollywood, and even denominations of the evangelical church.  The anti-Zionist rhetoric that can be seen in such such songs as “Freedom for Palestine” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NA19FpmvQ4 or during the recent “Christ at the Check-Point” conference in Bethlehem this past March, are but only two examples of this insidious perversion of the truth.

9.      Calls for the murder of the Jews, and the total elimination of Israel, especially in the Arab Muslim countries, are being seen in songs, speeches, and even in Arab children's textbooks. In fact, in Jerusalem, at an Arab Children Center and a health care facility where I made a visit on behalf of Christian Friends of Israel, I personally saw – in their “art therapy room” – a map of Israel, made by a Palestinian child in art class.  The map was the outline of modern Israel and the West Bank – but it was entirely filled in with the colors of the Palestinian flag.  Israel had been entirely eliminated!  And this travesty was hanging proudly on the wall outside the art room!  Worse yet, this is an organization supported by many Christian denominations!

10.  The most hideous and extreme of the anti-Semitic themes is that of Infanticide.   This demonic theme claims that the Jews are not only blood-thirsty murders, but that they actually delight, and prefer the murder of children.  World propagandists ignore the hundreds of thousands of children killed in Sudan, Bosnia, Chechenia, Algeria, the lake countries of Africa, and focus on the Palestinian children.  To be sure there have been children inadvertently killed in the cross-fire of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict.  But to depict the Jews and the IDF has gleefully killing children is unconscionable and reprehensible!  During the recent Israeli counter-strike into Gaza, following the launch of over 200 rockets from Gaza into Israel during the weekend of Purim, the Western media coverage was telling.  One article I read was accompanied by two photographs – both of destroyed building in Gaza and children walking helplessly through the rubble. Were there any photographs of the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage caused by the 200 terrorist rockets into Israel – which were the reason for the retaliatory strike in the first place?  Where there any photographs of terrified Israeli children quaking in fear outside their bombed out school building or their totally destroyed playgrounds?   Not a one!

            Mr. Kotek concludes his report with these chilling words:  "In the collective sub-conscious of many Christians, and now Arabs, anti-Semitic myths cannot be eradicated. They present the Jews as 'the Eternal Jew,' a warmonger and a danger for the world. This is no longer just an Arab concept. Many recent polls in the European Union confirm how strong these prejudices have permeated this continent."

            And I might add, they have permeated the Church in America as well.  John Hagee was in Jerusalem recently and he summed up the situation very well.  He said, “It's time for the Church to get off the fence” concerning its position with Israel and the Jewish people.

            God's Word is unambiguous.  He will bless those who bless His people.  He will curse those who do not.  The choice, and the consequences, are entirely up to each of one of us.

            Dr. Bill Duerfeldt

            Asheville, NC

For further reading: Cartoons and Extremism -- Israel and Jews in the Arab and Western Media, by Joel Kotek, is available on Amazon.com   http://www.amazon.com/Cartoons-Extremism-Israel-Western-Media/dp/0853037523