Unusual voice speaks against anti-Semitism

Sun, Jan. 05, 2003
MARY ROBINSON

Unusual voice speaks against anti-Semitism

When the voice of human rights speaks out at a difficult time and against the local tide, it is important to hear and to affirm that voice. I was glad to hear the voice of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, EOHR, expressing its concern in a recent press release about the airing of a major television series Horseman Without a Horse by Egypt's new satellite channel Dream TV.

The 41-part docudrama, broadcast during the holy month of Ramadan, presents Middle East history, in part, through the prism of an alleged Jewish conspiracy, incorporating material from the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. This booklet, initially probably published in Russia in the early 1900s, purports to be a smuggled copy of minutes from secret meetings in Switzerland where Jewish leaders devised a plot to rule the world. Though it was long ago discredited as a forgery there has been a recent resurgence of interest in Protocols throughout the Arab world.

Prompted by the broadcast, copies of Protocols are selling out in Cairo bookshops. It is also being published closer to home. In Patterson, N.J., The Arab Voice has begun running a serialized version in Arabic.

There are other deeply disturbing examples of a resurgence of anti-Semitism. In Europe, synagogues and Jewish cemeteries are defaced and Jews are physically attacked on the streets. Throughout the Middle East anti-Semitic diatribes are everyday fare in state-controlled news media -- from Syria to Saudi Arabia, from Iraq to Egypt -- portraying Jews as ritual murderers and leaders of a global conspiracy to defeat the Arab world.

And even in the United States, on several prestigious college campuses, there are attempts to cast Israel as a pariah state, and equate its actions with those of South African apartheid, a first step toward questioning Israel's right to exist.

What is the cause of this upsurge? One factor is the revival of historical and deep-seated prejudice. But another and more-immediate one is the problem noted by the EOHR. They and others trying to cut through the high-stakes rhetoric to emphasize the need to distinguish between what they termed ''crimes perpetrated by Israeli occupying forces that must be confronted'' and ''the need to eliminate historical lies.'' The EOHR press release makes clear that ``such differentiation is important, as the context that introduced the Protocols was based on hatred against the Jewish people, not criticism of the practices of Israeli occupation.''

As tensions between Israelis and Palestinians escalate, as the situation on the ground becomes ever more grim and as hopes for a political settlement fade, friends of human rights must consider what steps should be taken both by governments and the nongovernmental community. I believe there are several.

• We must all be vigilant in distinguishing legitimate criticism of acts by the Israeli security forces, which have raised serious and legitimate human-rights concerns, from the anti-Semitism disguised as such. The global community must set and honor clear lines in the debate about current Israeli practices with respect to the Palestinians. Supporters of Israel need to recognize that criticisms of Israeli policies and practices are not in and of themselves anti-Semitic. Many human-rights groups here and elsewhere are sharply -- and I believe rightly -- critical of some of Israel's practices, based on the application of universally accepted international human-rights norms.

The Jewish community should use its influence to challenge the government of Israel when its government's policies and security forces violate these international standards. But those who advocate for the rights of Palestinians must ensure that their criticisms and related actions do not become broadside attacks against Jews and the Jewish State. The conflict in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians -- and by extension much of the Arab world -- will become even harder to address if the rhetoric continues in this way; if anger against Israel continues to spill over into broader patterns of antagonism against Jews, and if the speech devolves into outright racism and calling into question Israel's right to exist.

• In Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere, governments must acknowledge that anti-Semitism is a virulent form of racism and that anti-Semitic acts need to be seen as violations of international human rights. They need systematically to monitor and report on hate crimes and to adopt aggressive measures to prosecute those who are responsible.

The human-rights advocates in Egypt are showing us the way. Their brave voice is speaking truth to prejudice. They inspire courage and should spur leadership to make good on the commitment, made after the horrors of the last century, that ``never again.''

Mary Robinson is the former United Nations high commissioner on human rights.