Further, according to the findings of the Institute, anti-Semitism is particularly severe in Western Europe where, since 2000, angry and disenchanted Muslim and Arab youth seem to be behind some of the attacks. Meanwhile, in the Arab world there has been a steady increase in anti-Semitic rhetoric in the media and on the street. Anti-Jewish pronouncements linking Jews to world conspiracies are made on Arab television, and anti-Semitic books such as "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" find an audience. The documentary, hosted by former CNN anchor Judy woodruff asks the question: "What seems to be fueling the rise of anti-Semitism in the Arab and Islamic world today?"
To understand the historical context of anti-Semitism, the documentary goes back in history and explores the relationship between Muslims and Jews from the 8th to the 20th centuries. Bernard Lewis, professor of near eastern studies at Princeton University said that although two models existed both are misleading. One is that Jews and Muslims co-existed in total peace and harmony and the other is that Jews were persecuted under Muslim rule. Lewis contended that the reality was somewhere in between. However, other scholars insisted that although there was some form of discrimination, it was not what was today considered anti-Semitism.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the birth of Zionism as a political movement sought to establish a Jewish state in the Holy Land and change everything. Jewish immigration to Palestine increased and so did the unease of the local Arab population. When the Ottoman Empire fell, British Mandate over Palestine saw tensions between Arabs and Jews rise to an all time high, and eventually violence broke out between the two communities.
Lewis noted that anti-Semitism was a distinctly "Christian" concept introduced by European missionaries. The concept arose from the idea that Jews were the killers of Christ. Rashid Khalidi, professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University agreed that anti-Semitism was rooted in Christian theology and that there was no sense of it in Islam because Muslims do not believe that Jews killed Christ.
The documentary also acknowledged that the founding of Israel and the dispossession of the Palestinians was the major driving force behind anti-Semitism in the Arab world. A Palestinian professor mentioned that the only image of Jews most Palestinians had was that of Israeli soldiers carrying weapons, charging into their neighborhoods, shooting rock-throwing children, bulldozing homes, building settlements on stolen land and killing anyone who stood in their way.
What the documentary failed to mention, however, was that pro-Israel supporters have been very successful in blurring the line between Zionism and Judaism to confuse the masses and deflect legitimate criticism of Israel. So any criticism of Israel was akin to criticism of Judaism and was therefore tagged anti-Semitism (the fact that Arabs are also Semites is a whole different topic all together). This is exactly how any debate about Israel is stifled in the United States. Today in America, one can criticize the president, Jesus and even God, but not the Jewish state.
Pro-Israel lobbyists like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have Congress and the Senate in a headlock, wringing absolute and total loyalty. Dissent is punished at the polls and usually means political death. Any media criticism of Israel is also muffled with cries of anti-Semitism. Even anti-Zionist Jews like the Naturei Karta have not been spared. After receiving several threats their main synagogue in suburban New York was recently burned to the ground. The hate crime barely made the news and will certainly not be documented by the ADL or the Steve Roth Institute as an anti-Semitic incident.
In the end, the documentary seems to have answered its own question. Anti-Semitism, or more appropriately anti-Zionism in the Arab and Muslim world is the direct result of Israel’s sins; with its brutality, apartheid policies and oppressive treatment of the Palestinians (and most recently Lebanon), Israel is feeding anti-Semitism and fueling its rise around the world.
