I was struck by how, with Pittsburgh being a Far Right attack they were quite happy to state that the perpetrators aim was to kill Jews. Compare and contrast with the Paris Kosher Shop attack and many other attacks by Islamists. The BBC seems to feel then it has to disguise the true motives of terrorists.
I think Jews should careful of not over-using the anti-semitism label, rather as we see 'Islamophobia' being used to close down debate about Islam or the actions of some Muslims.
No doubt there are some that hate all Jews but I suspect that are also some that seek to express a grudge against specific Jews or the actions of some that happen to be Jews.
Why if a neighbour keeps parking in my space am I a racist if he is black, an Islamophobe if he is Muslim or an anti-semite if he is a Jew but just angry if he 'looks like me'? That is the stupidity of the whole idea of 'hate crimes'.
It is early days to analyse 'Pittsburgh' but there is a suggestion that the accused was angry that his victims' group was assisting immigrants. We have a similar situation in the UK, Jews who were brought to the UK under Kinder Transport have said that the UK should be bringing in more refugee children. From the Jewish perspective those that benefitted from Kinder Transport might feel a moral duty to lobby on behalf of refugees, from an anti-immigration perspective the lobbyists are acting against the interests of those that have suffered from immigration, the religion or race of the lobbyists isn't a factor. The one advocates immigration because he is a Jew, the other opposes the lobbyist because he is against immigration,not because he is anti-semitic.
I was struck by how, with Pittsburgh being a Far Right attack they were quite happy to state that the perpetrators aim was to kill Jews. Compare and contrast with the Paris Kosher Shop attack and many other attacks by Islamists. The BBC seems to feel then it has to disguise the true motives of terrorists.
ReplyDeleteI think Jews should careful of not over-using the anti-semitism label, rather as we see 'Islamophobia' being used to close down debate about Islam or the actions of some Muslims.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt there are some that hate all Jews but I suspect that are also some that seek to express a grudge against specific Jews or the actions of some that happen to be Jews.
Why if a neighbour keeps parking in my space am I a racist if he is black, an Islamophobe if he is Muslim or an anti-semite if he is a Jew but just angry if he 'looks like me'? That is the stupidity of the whole idea of 'hate crimes'.
It is early days to analyse 'Pittsburgh' but there is a suggestion that the accused was angry that his victims' group was assisting immigrants. We have a similar situation in the UK, Jews who were brought to the UK under Kinder Transport have said that the UK should be bringing in more refugee children. From the Jewish perspective those that benefitted from Kinder Transport might feel a moral duty to lobby on behalf of refugees, from an anti-immigration perspective the lobbyists are acting against the interests of those that have suffered from immigration, the religion or race of the lobbyists isn't a factor. The one advocates immigration because he is a Jew, the other opposes the lobbyist because he is against immigration,not because he is anti-semitic.