Ru?ing:

Nationality is determined by citizenship.

Israel has Jews, Muslims and Christians.

And Nazi persecution didn't define who was or is Jewish.

This thread is about anti-Semitism linked to criticism of Israel, which is not a political subject.

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rrmoderator
Nationality is determined by citizenship.

And ethnicity? I've noticed this - may be a US thing - maybe you don't make the distinction. Wierd. Never mind hey, I'll just rewrite my entire interpretation of European/Middle Eastern history!

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rrmoderator
This thread is about anti-Semitism linked to criticism of Israel, which is not a political subject.

So a defense of criticism of israel is political?

I was clearly defending an anti-Israeli Government stance and, by showing that I have a Jewish history, attempting to show that it is possible to take an anti-Israeli stance and not be an anti-semite.

I have nothing against my forefathers and mothers! But then I notice that when I have criticised the American Government that has been seen as 'anti-american'. Hmmm. A european difference in semantics? - we understand there is a difference between nationalism and patriotism.

You are showing double standards on the political nature of this and I really am not following your logic.

I remind you again of mach1's question, so maybe this can continue ON TOPIC.

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I was wondering where the line is drawn between being a critic of isreal and being anti semetic?
The reason i ask is because i notice alot of people get labled as anti semites for being critical of ireals governments and the mistreatment they give there neigbors.

I believe you may be showing bias TOWARDS israel. Which is, in effect, being anti-palestinian. Hmmmm.

I look forward to understanding your reasoning. Thankyou.

What I am basically saying is how can you expect a comment on this thread WITHOUT justification for the stance taken?

RU?ing:

The Ross Institute, which sponsors this message board is an educational nonprofit, which is not political.

The board isn't here for politics, that includes Bush bashing, liberal bashing etc.

It is possible to discuss anti-Semitism and how it may be linked to criticism of Israel or not linked to criticism of Israel.

I don't know if it's possible for you though.

Arguing on and on seemingly the sake of argument is wasting time.

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RU?ing
I would think that critizing Israeli policies would be considered pro-jewish!

Isreal is a repeat offender of UN orders - repeatedly ignoring world opinion - worse infact than Saddam.

And I am Jewish by blood. I can't see how pro-isrealies can sleep at night.

C'mon - is that really that harsh? I wouldn't call that bashing anyone or thing.

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rrmoderator
It is possible to discuss anti-Semitism and how it may be linked to criticism of Israel or not linked to criticism of Israel.

Sure, but you still haven't explained how to not make it political! Your sentence is not answering a simple question.

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rrmoderator
I don't know if it's possible for you though.

Lets just leave this now, that really is starting to sound personal.

I do believe I have the abiltity to:

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rrmoderator
discuss anti-Semitism and how it may be linked to criticism of Israel or not linked to criticism of Israel.

We really aren't going to agree here. I never say anything without offering proof, and I always answer a question.

RU?ing:

Yes. We can leave it.

Please understand that certain posts you make may not be approved.

The rules posted for this board outline why and politics is not really a subject focused upon at this board.

If you wish to discuss politics there are other boards where politics is the focus of discussion.

Sorry you don't like my responses, but I have responded.

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"I was wondering where the line is drawn between being a critic of isreal and being anti semetic?"

To answer that question one could write a book. It's very hard to capsualize this topic in a basic summary but I'll try.

Israel is a nation, it's nationals are "Israelis". If the Israeli government is in the wrong of course it's legitimate to criticise it. And that applies to any other nation. To put it into context, let's take the good ole US of A. Millions of people, including Americans have severely criticized the American government and George W. Bush for the war in Iraq. Does that mean all those people are automatically "anti-American"? Of course not. Some for sure are, but not everyone. There are many patriotic Americans who oppose the war in Iraq, but they could not be considered "Anti-American".

With respect to Israel, you need to be more specific on what you mean by "critic of Israel". For example, if you mean, "Israel is oppressing the Palestinians and take excessive military action in response to suicide bombings and in doing so kill innocent people", that is in [i:1f3d786494]no[/i:1f3d786494] way, shape or form anti-semitic no matter what anyone says. But if being a critic of Israel means, "the Jews are out to control the world and 'occupied Palestine' is their first conquest", i.e. the type of rhetoric you see on neo-Nazi websites, then yes that can be considered anti-semitic. But then the latter is not really a direct criticism of Israel, it is an anti-semitic statement using Israel as it's "whipping boy".

Looking at it from the opposite angle, many right-wing Israelis severely criticized Ariel Sharon's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. Does that mean they are all anti-semites because they are being critical of Israel here?

The variables on this subject is endless.

Anti-semites are ALWAYS anti-Israel (they're anti anything that's Jewish)That's where the confusion lies and why the line gets fuzzy between being anti-Israel and anti-semitic. But the bottom line is that you don't have to be an anti-semite to be a critic of Israel.

Excalibur:

Yes. That's pretty much it.

Though there are some people and groups that criticize Israel's policies and are also anti-Semitic.

They seem to resent Jews with power and are unsettled by the idea of a Jewish state.

But to categorically consider any criticism of Israeli policy "anti-Semitic" is not realistic or accurate.

And determining if a group or person is using such criticism to mask hatred of Jews would take time and research to determine.

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Excalibur
To answer that question one could write a book. It's very hard to capsualize this topic in a basic summary but I'll try.

Tries you did Excalibur, and well put you did!

Of course an extra dimension to the problem of course is a cultural stereotype - where's the line for that? Would really like a response from you on that, you're quite lucid!

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mach1
I was wondering where the line is drawn between being a critic of isreal and being anti semetic?

Alan Dershowitz has a perfect answer to this: Criticism of Israel in itself is, of course, not antisemitism (sic). However, when that critcism is taken out-of-context to other events, it is antisemitism. In other words, when another entity is doing the same thing or even worse, and criticism is only lashed out at Israel, then the criticism is antisemitism.

Here's an example: Two people break the law. One person is guilty of jaywalking. The other person is guilty of murder. Yet, only the jaywalker is criticized or condemned, and the crime of the murderer is completely and conveniently ignored.