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Exile or Diaspora: How European Jews Moved Into Exile Without Relocating: Manfred Gerstenfeld, CIJR, July 7, 2015 — After 1948, many Jews in the Western world gradually began to consider themselves as living in the diaspora rather than in exile.
Combating the New Anti-Semitism: Isi Leibler, Jerusalem Post, July 6, 2015— How does one effectively fight anti-Semitism and its newest mutation, anti-Israelism? The first step must be to understand how these phenomena are manifested and who is behind them.
Triumphant Over Titus: David M. Weinberg, Israel Hayom, July 3, 2015 — Great waves of emotion tinged with historical echoes washed over me last week as I stood under the Arch of Titus on the Via Sacra in Rome. At first I felt small, then I grew triumphant.
4th of July in Riga, Latvia: Memory, Distorted Behind Recognition: Sarra Liskovets, Jewish Press, July 3, 2015 — My face beamed with excitement when I woke up in the morning.
A Beautiful Story of Courage, and Survival – Against All Odds the Jewish People Live! (Video): Israel Video Network, 2015
Nuke Talks: Iran Keeps Holding Out for a More Complete Surrender From the West: J. E. Dyer, Jewish Press, July 7, 2015
After Court Ruling, Kafka Papers Go to Israeli National Library: Ben Niran, Algemeiner, July 9, 2015
Survivors Resolve to Move Forward: U.K. Marks Decade Since Deadly Blasts: Danica Kirka, National Post, July 8, 2015
HOW EUROPEAN JEWS MOVED INTO EXILE WITHOUT RELOCATING
Manfred Gerstenfeld
CIJR, July 7, 2015
After 1948, many Jews in the Western world gradually began to consider themselves as living in the diaspora rather than in exile. The establishment of the State of Israel gave Jews abroad an increased self-confidence, and their self-perception changed accordingly. In addition, many Israeli institutions increasingly began to use the word diaspora to describe Jews living outside the country. Like many of its predecessors, the current Israeli government has a ministry which has the term “diaspora” in its title.
In the new century, however, an increasing number of European Jews have moved – without relocating – from living in the Israeli diaspora to becoming Jews in exile. This change in perspective is a result of being the targets of violence and of feeling outsiders who, when they gather, must take security precautions which for others are unnecessary. There is also an increasing fear of expressing one’s identity as one would wish, and it is often becoming impossible to freely state one’s opinions.
Thus, these Jews are de facto in exile, even if their living conditions differ from those of the European Jews immediately following the Second World War. The Holocaust had taught most Jews that they were not considered part of the native population of their countries, no matter what passports they might hold. This was not because of what the German occupiers did to them, but rather due to the attitude and behavior of many of their co-nationals during that time.
Over ten years ago the late Israeli historian David Bankier eloquently described the Polish reality, the country which had the largest pre-war Jewish population in Europe. When I interviewed him, Bankier said, “The Jews were never considered part of the fabric of Polish society. Their ancestors may have lived there for 900 or even 1,000 years, but, as they did not belong to the national majority, they remained foreigners. Most people did not see in the catastrophe befalling the Polish Jews a tragedy affecting the Polish nation. At best, they saw two parallel disasters caused by the Germans. One concerned the Polish nation, the other the Jews.”
Bankier also quoted a Polish underground leader who claimed that it had been her duty to help save Jewish lives during the war. She added, however, that after the war, the Jews should leave Poland, because she wanted to live only among fellow Poles.
The Holocaust was a giant murderous challenge for all Jews in German-occupied countries. For assimilated Jews, however, it was also an intellectual challenge. Self-identification which included denying one’s Jewishness was made irrelevant. A third party, the occupiers, now determined whether or not you were a Jew.
Once the State of Israel was established, the Jews of Western Europe gradually began to feel like other citizens. Anti-Semitism had largely become latent. All positions were open to Jews. In the Netherlands, for instance, certain official positions had been de facto closed to Jews before the war. These included appointments such as those of city mayors. Since the war, there have however been a number of Jewish mayors. In Amsterdam alone, there were four. The diplomatic service was also closed to Jews before the war. After the war there have been Jewish diplomats – one of them an Orthodox Jew.
In the 1950s, when I was a pupil at the Jewish high school in Amsterdam, the janitor would open the door when the doorbell rang without first checking who was standing outside. In the Jewish elementary school, during recess, we kids played in the street in front of the school. Today, when I walk through Amsterdam, I see gentile kids in public schools playing freely in the schoolyard. There is no fear that somebody might attempt to hurt them. In stark contrast, children attending the Jewish schools do so in fortress-like buildings, and they are often told not to wear outside anything which identifies them as Jews. In this new century, various Jewish leaders have recommended that Jews hide their identities in public places. In a radio interview in 2003, for instance, then French Chief Rabbi Joseph Sitruk told French Jews to wear hats, rather than kippot, so as to avoid being attacked in the streets.
One small example of how Jews are verbally attacked in the workplace for what Israel does, or allegedly does, was given by a Jewish hospital nurse from Amsterdam whom I interviewed. In view of the Dutch reality she requested to remain anonymous. She said: “Whenever the Dutch media wrote something about Israel, people would start a political discussion with me. They behaved as if I shaped Israeli politics. No one would ever say to someone with family in Italy: ‘What crazy thing has Berlusconi done again?’”
People tell me that while Jewish representatives try to show a stiff upper-lip when speaking publicly in internal meetings there are sometimes expressions of panic. Even stating the truth proves to be problematic for Jewish leaders in some countries. In February of this year, Roger Cukierman, the head of the umbrella body of French Jewish organizations, CRIF, said that all violence against the Jewish community was perpetrated by young Muslims, “even if they are a very small minority of the Muslim community.”…
[To Read the Full Article Click the Following Link—Ed.]
COMBATING THE NEW ANTI-SEMITISM
Isi Leibler
Jerusalem Post, July 6, 2015
How does one effectively fight anti-Semitism and its newest mutation, anti-Israelism? The first step must be to understand how these phenomena are manifested and who is behind them. Over the past decade as anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism increased exponentially, many books covering the subject have been published. Until now, aside from magisterial works of the late Robert Wistrich and the excellent analysis by Daniel Goldhagen, The Devil That Never Dies: The Rise and Threat of Global Anti-Semitism, there has not been a contemporary review of the global battlefield covering the world’s oldest hatred. There are other valuable studies but they are of limited scope.
Now a new study of considerable significance has become available. Manfred Gerstenfeld’s The War of a Million Cuts: The Struggle against the Delegitimization of Israel and the Jews and the Growth of the New Anti-Semitism… is a compelling book that outlines the components of the new anti-Semitism. The seemingly obscure title is explained in the text as referring to an unlimited number of often small hate attacks from a huge number of sources. This differs from the traditional anti-Semitism of concentrated attacks by major players, such as initially the Catholic Church and much later Nazism and its many allies. What is radically new in this book is that it presents a detailed strategy on how to fight the enemy.
Dr. Gerstenfeld served for 12 years as the chairman of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Israel’s leading think tank. A former international strategic business consultant to some of the world’s largest multinational corporations, Gerstenfeld would today, after the death of Wistrich, be considered the most qualified analyst of contemporary anti-Semitism with a focus on anti-Israelism. He is a prolific writer and has published 10 books on this subject, including pioneering studies on anti-Semitism on campuses in a variety of countries, the anti-Israelism behind the pseudo-humanitarian mask of the hypocritical Northern European societies, the attitude toward Jews as an indicator of the moral decay of the Netherlands, and the increasingly important role that Holocaust inversion and other distortions have assumed in the efforts to demonize the Jewish state.
His new book is a tour de force and undoubtedly represents his magnum opus. It is a readable 500 page volume that provides encyclopedic coverage of the subject. It is probably the first book that reviews the delegitimization of Israel as an entity, identifying the motifs employed, the categories of perpetrators, how the hate themes enter society and the extent of damage incurred by Israel and Jews. Citing a large number of examples from many countries, the central theme of the book highlights the fact that our current struggle is immensely more complex than confronting classical anti-Semitism in which hatred focused on single messages such as the killing of Jesus or genetic inferiority of Jews. Today the onslaught comes from many diverse sources, applies many different motifs and uses a great variety of methods and transmission channels.
His opening chapter is a lucid analysis of how anti-Semites have adopted and integrated anti-Israelism as a new mutation of traditional Jew hatred. The successive chapters discuss how ancient hate motifs have been espoused and upgraded by the current enemies of the Jewish people. Gerstenfeld demonstrates how Muslim anti-Semitism today has effectively adopted the role of Nazi anti-Semitism and is at the forefront of the hatred and violence against Jews – which not only emanates from Muslim countries but wherever Muslim migrants have settled.
He skillfully illustrates the interfacing and interaction between Muslims in Western countries, politicians, the traditional media, social media activists, nongovernmental organizations, church leaders, academics, trade union leaders, right-wing extremists, social democrats, and above all, those on the extreme Left now bolstered by Jewish self-haters who complete the witches’ brew from which the current onslaught of poisonous anti-Semitism has emerged.
Gerstenfeld demonstrates that anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism use the same core motifs. He cites a variety of studies which indicate that over 150 million European Union citizens embrace a satanic view of the Jewish state – where they believe the Israelis behave like Nazis or seek to exterminate the Palestinians. He systematically exposes the shameless, naked anti-Semitism of the majority of U.N. representatives. These include the Europeans who are increasingly inclined to either abstain from or vote in favor of outrageous resolutions, often initiated by rogue states, which apply double standards and single out Israel for censure. Gerstenfeld demonstrates that anti-Semitism is not only part of Europe’s history but also its culture. His depiction of a new criminal Europe warrants serious debate. He also analyzes the impact of the ongoing campaigns of delegitimization on Israel and the ramifications for Diaspora Jews – especially in Europe – who find themselves increasingly discriminated against.
Gerstenfeld outlines his plans to organize the fight on behalf of embattled Israel and the Jewish people. He is strongly convinced that the Israeli government has failed to deal with this problem for decades by mistakenly considering it a minor irritant instead of appreciating the immense consequences of losing the war for the world’s public opinion. He sees a desperate need for the Israeli government to set up an advanced, well-staffed and amply funded anti-propaganda agency which will globally refute the loathsome lies and defamation and humiliate and shame those responsible.
The first task of this agency would be to deal with research, an important component being the creation and updating of a databank of “enemies of Israel and the Jewish people.” Each new incident of hate-mongering could thus immediately be tracked to their combined past mischief. One would also be able to identify the vulnerabilities of Israel’s enemies.
Gerstenfeld states that many enemies of Israel today enjoy a free anti-Semitic lunch. He suggests that we could, for example, identify some of the academically weakest adherents of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and expose their professional failures among their university colleagues and in their profession internationally. He claims that it would not even cost much money. As most people are cowards, he believes that many would think twice before joining the BDS movement.
The second activity the anti-propaganda agency would deal with would be the monitoring of new developments concerning hatemongering. His suggestion that this should be done in three different categories is commendable. The first would be by activity, e.g., calls for violence, Holocaust inversion, BDS, etc. The second would be by perpetrators, such as Muslim states, Muslims in the Western world, media, politicians, liberal churches, NGOs, academics, social democratic parties, trade unions, etc. The third would monitor developments in various countries.
A third department of the proposed anti-propaganda agency would focus on activism, either directly or indirectly. One proposal is that tens of thousands of youngsters willing to defend Israel could be trained to understand how Israel’s enemies work, what lies and fallacies are used and how to expose them. Today the defense of Israel is chaotic. More coordination would enable much more with the same means.
The book includes an introduction by former Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar, who describes the book as “an excellent contribution to better understanding the indirect attacks against Israel.” It also contains endorsements and commendations from Czech Culture Minister Daniel Herman, former Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata, former Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal, former Swedish Development Cooperation Minister Alf Svensson, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, and others. This book should be considered a compulsory manual for anyone engaged in public activity to promote the case for Israel or combat anti-Semitism.
David M. Weinberg
Israel Hayom, July 3, 2015
Great waves of emotion tinged with historical echoes washed over me last week as I stood under the Arch of Titus on the Via Sacra in Rome. At first I felt small, then I grew triumphant. The epic arch was built to commemorate the victories of Emperor Titus, including his destruction of the Second Jewish Commonwealth in 70 C.E. Its southern panel famously depicts Roman soldiers parading spoils from the Temple in Jerusalem: the gold menorah, trumpets and showbread table. Potent symbols of Jewish defeat and dispersion.
Yet here I was, a Jew living in the Third Jewish Commonwealth — the modern State of Israel — viewing the arch amidst the tens of thousands of tourists swarming the surrounding archeological park (which includes the Temple of Jupiter and the Colosseum, where Jews were fed to Roman lions for entertainment).
I could only smile in victorious amusement. After all, the ancient Roman Empire has long dissipated and Lord Jupiter has been discredited, while Jewish civilization has prevailed and Jewish sovereignty has been robustly reborn in the land of Israel. Indeed, the captured menorah on that arch served as the model for the liberated menorah on the State of Israel's emblem.
And as for the plundered Temple artifacts themselves: Well, they may be buried deep somewhere in Rome or lost forever. Either way, new vessels are being fashioned in present-day Jerusalem, literally and figuratively, for worship and redemption — vessels that range from menorahs to flash memory chips, and from shofars to semiconductors. Titus is long gone. The people of Israel, however, live on, live well, till the land of Israel once again, and make enormous contributions to global arts, culture, ethics, morality, science, medicine and more. Excuse me for feeling triumphant.
Everywhere I traveled in Europe — Naples, Pompeii, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Cannes, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and more — people in the streets were thrilled to talk to real Jews and Israelis. Curious and surprised to meet us, people immediately began asking questions: Why did we (Jews with North American backgrounds and accents) move to Israel? Have we been to Jerusalem? Is it safe to live in or visit Israel? What about military service?
People seemed to know about Israeli innovation and technology, and about the dysfunctionality and divisions of our Palestinian neighbors. Young and old were impressed by Israel's achievements and buoyant about Europe-Israel relations. Nobody seemed too perturbed about "Zionist conquests" or concerned about Jewish settlements and Palestinian refugees. (Intelligent interlocutors, however, actually believed that the biblical Philistines and the latter-day Palestinians were one and the same; nonsense that is clearly a victory for Palestinian propaganda, and something that needs to be countered.)
Everybody we met wanted to know what the plan is for dealing with anarchic Islamic forces surging across the Middle East. And what really alarms them is the intrusion of radical Islamists into Europe! They understood Israel as a bulwark against such extremism. This rosy picture stands in stark contrast to the doom and gloom about Israel's reputation, foreign relations and ties with Europe that we regularly read about in the newspapers. Perhaps this is because I was meeting plain people in the streets and cafes, not the sophisticated types in universities or parliaments. Or perhaps it is because not everybody has read the poisonous literature coming out of Israel itself…
[To Read the Full Article Click the Following Link—Ed.]
MEMORY, DISTORTED BEHIND RECOGNITION
Sarra Liskovets
Jewish Press, July 3, 2015
My face beamed with excitement when I woke up in the morning. Even six time zones away from America, on the other side of Atlantic Ocean, I felt myself amongst the Americans celebrating the country’s 238th birthday and was overwhelmed with graduate to the country that adopted me and transformed me into a happy, content and fulfilled person. The second summer I came to this small town on the marvelous shore of the Baltic Sea, or more accurately of its Gulf of Riga, to escape the heat and humidity of the Washington, DC area and work on my memoirs. I was delighted to notice the Latvian national flag at a single-story office building located exactly in front of the window where I was sitting and writing; Latvia also had something to celebrate on the 4th of July. It was windy, and the flag, two red strips with a narrow white one between, was cheerfully fluttering in the breeze.
Perhaps a half hour later, I looked again in the window, a man standing on a chair was removing the flag from its holder. “What’s was going on”, I wondered? Only then I noticed that a narrow, black ribbon, a symbol of mourning, which had not properly tightened, had been under the flag. The man carefully tied the ribbon to the proper place above the flag and put it back on the wall. The black ribbon flying above the flag somewhat calmed my excitement of the day – you feel less comfortable being happy when other people are grieving.
It was not the first time during my visiting I saw the national flag with a black ribbon. As always being curios, I tried to ask what tragic event in the Latvian history was honored, nobody, even the homeowners, who put the flags on their houses, could not give a certain answer. I assume they did not want to share with me their tragedy of being, what officially called, occupied for almost 50 years by the Soviet Union. Several hours later I went to the local library to check my e-mail. Of course a flag with a black ribbon was on the library building; as a last chance I asked the librarian about the black ribbon. Proud she could finally answer on my question, many of my previous ones were not so lucky, she replayed, “Today we honor the memory of the victims of genocide during Holocaust.” The combination of words genocide and Holocaust painted my ears and immediately I felt pangs in my heart – my oldest sister had been killed during the Holocaust, thus, I considered the tragedy of the Jews during the WWII very personally.
Being a mathematician much more than only by education, I have a special feeling for numbers and dates. Hitler began the War against the Soviet Union with massive bombardment of Minsk, Belarus, the biggest city close to the border, on Sunday, June 22 of 1941. This year, 73 years later, June 22 also occurred on Sunday and I felt compelled to relive day by day my parents’ fleeing from the unavoidable Nazi’s occupation. They escaped separately, my mother with her family, she came to visit them only two days before, from Minsk, my father with two children and his extended family from Bobruisk, a small town about 100mi south of Minsk. Although all of them, but my oldest sister, were out of immediate danger by the end of the first week of the War; they were exceedingly lucky for both places had been occupied almost immediately, in my mind, I was following their odyssey…
[To Read the Full Article Click the Following Link—Ed.]
CIJR Wishes All Our Friends and Supporters: Shabbat Shalom!
A Beautiful Story of Courage, and Survival – Against All Odds the Jewish People Live! (Video): Israel Video Network, 2015
Nuke Talks: Iran Keeps Holding Out for a More Complete Surrender From the West: J. E. Dyer, Jewish Press, July 7, 2015 —You may have heard that the Iran nuclear talks will continue past the 30 June deadline.
After Court Ruling, Kafka Papers Go to Israeli National Library: Ben Niran, Algemeiner, July 9, 2015—After decades of legal wrangling, a Tel Aviv District Court has awarded custody of the estate of Max Brod, Franz Kafka’s friend and publisher, to the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem.
Survivors Resolve to Move Forward: U.K. Marks Decade Since Deadly Blasts: Danica Kirka, National Post, July 8, 2015—Britons paused in silence and walked in solidarity Tuesday to mark the 10th anniversary of suicide bomb attacks on London's transit system. Four British men inspired by al-Qaida blew themselves up on three London subway trains and a bus during the morning rush hour on July 7, 2005, killing 52 commuters and injuring more than 700.
